The sky island in the distance was much farther away than it appeared. It took a whole day of running to finally arrive right under the sky island.
“Wow.”
“It’s scary.”
It was an island of truly overwhelming size. Up close, it was so large that it couldn’t be fully seen in one view. How could something like this float in the sky? I heard about a stone called ‘floatstone’ before—could this island be made entirely of floatstone?
“Can we get up there?”
As I looked up and muttered, Frey flapped excitedly and struck a fighting pose.
-“I’ll try going up there myself!”
“Can you make it?”
-“Of course!”
Frey then flapped her wings vigorously and ascended. Chirpy, who came along, flew slowly by Frey’s side.
-“Why not climb up using that vine?”
As we watched Frey soar, Mammon pointed something out.
There were long vines hanging from the island, although they were still at a considerable height.
Standing still and watching wasn’t enough, so we moved toward where the vines were.
“It’s high.”
As expected, the vines were located at a great height. Frey was flying hard, just reaching a suitable position.
-“Ashu will try to jump!”
The attempt to reach the vine began immediately. Ashu, who had the best jumping ability, went first.
But no matter how good Ashu’s jumping was, it was impossible to reach such a high vine…
Phew!
Flapping.
Thump!
“Uh?”
It almost touched it.
No way, it was almost as high as a skyscraper, and it almost reached it?
-“Too bad! Ashu, try a few more times, you might make it!”
“That’s incredible!”
“It’s really amazing!”
To think that’s a reachable height…
It seemed I had underestimated the Seven Deadly Sins too much.
After all, even those who awaken to the level 8 caused a frenzy among nations to recruit them, let alone the higher level, the Level 9 awakeners, who couldn’t defeat even one of the Seven Deadly Sins.
A boss monster of a Level 9 dungeon.
They seemed so cute that it was easy to forget, but they were arguably the strongest beings on Earth.
-Hup!
Another leap!
And this time, she finally grabbed the end of the vine.
“Wow! Crazy.”
“Ashu caught it!”
-Hmm, maybe I should try too.
Eventually, Ashu succeeded in grabbing the vine.
She jumped with such force, like Superman kicking off the ground, and she succeeded.
‘The ground Ashu jumped from burst open.’
I glanced to the side, and the ground where Ashu had stepped had completely collapsed, even showing cracks.
Soon, Ras was spurred on by competitive spirit and followed in Ashu’s footsteps.
Boom!
With a tremendous roar, Ras soared up like a superhero, although he couldn’t jump as grotesquely high as Ashu.
Of course, the jump was impressive enough to drop jaws.
-“That’s a pity.”
Ras gave up easily.
Meanwhile, Ashu was climbing even higher.
“Ashu! It’s dangerous, be careful!!”
Ah, why am I worrying about her?
Still, falling from that height would be worrying, even for Ashu.
Just in case, I took out various camping gear from Bokkeum and laid them out where Ashu might fall to cushion her landing.
I stacked sleeping bags layer by layer, and piled up tents that hadn’t been set up yet…
“Ah, I should just set up the portal here for now.”
Once the portal was installed, the kids were all cheering for Ashu.
“Give it your all!”
“You can do it!”
-“Conquer the end for me.”
-“But can you really get to the top of the island if you climb up all the way?”
At a glance, Frey and Ashu were about at the same height.
Frey could fly but was quite slow, while Ashu, climbing the vine, was faster.
“It’s going to take a while, isn’t it?”
Still, it was a long way up to the island. It seemed like it would take several more hours at this rate.
Then someone came through the portal.
I thought it must be Seon-ah, and it really was her.
“Kids, I’m here.”
“Seon-ah! You’re here. Ashu is climbing up there.”
“……What is this place?”
Seon-ah, who had just arrived, was shocked to see the island floating in the sky and checked on Ashu climbing vigorously and Frey flapping beside her.
“Oh, brother! Is this the Sky Island?”
“Yeah. The kids are trying to get up first.”
Meanwhile, Ashu seemed to have gotten the hang of it as her speed gradually increased.
Eventually, the flying Frey was hanging onto Ashu’s back.
-“I’m speeding up!”
-“Run, Ashu!”
It made me sweat nervously.
Thus, contrary to my expectation that it would take hours, Ashu was able to reach the end in just one hour.
But the problem was what came next.
-“It’s blocked!”
Ashu’s voice echoed from afar.
It seemed the vine had penetrated the center of the island and ended at the bottom of the island.
If the vine had flowed from the edge of the island, it would have been no problem to climb up, but that wasn’t the case.
“Isn’t there another vine nearby?!!”
As I shouted, Ashu responded.
-“There is!!”
“Then check if there’s a vine nearby that you can climb up!!”
-“Got it!!”
Ashu started to move sideways.
Like a monkey jumping between vines, she hopped, making my heart race.
“Give it your all, Ashu!”
“Keep going!”
Ara and Cheong cheered for Ashu back and forth.
Ras was ready to catch Ashu if she fell, and Mammon kept touching his crown, sweating.
“Ugh…”
Seon-ah also looked up anxiously…
Finally, Ashu exclaimed.
-“Oh! I can go up!”
“Wow!!”
With those words, the dot-like figure of Ashu disappeared. It seemed she had succeeded in going up.
“Wow!”
“Hooray! Hooray!”
Ara and Cheong hugged each other in celebration, and Ras and Mammon breathed a sigh of relief.
Now what?
We had sent Ashu, Frey, and Chirpy up there, but nothing had changed.
“Now what do we do.”
Seon-ah asked exactly what was on my mind.
I just shrugged and looked up.
“Guess we’ll have to wait for them to come down?”
“……”
The kids ended up staying up there longer than expected.
Finally, Chirpy came down alone to update us.
-Chirp!
“They’re braiding the vines to make a long rope! They’re making it so we can all go up!”
“Oh. I wondered why it was taking so long; they were doing that.”
Braiding the vines took longer than expected. Thus, about 12 more hours had passed beyond the original estimate when Chirpy came down again to give us an update.
“The vines are all braided!”
“Oh! Finally!”
Wow, how many days has it been?
Thinking back to when we set off for the Sky Island, it had been nearly ten days.
Luckily, thanks to the existence of the portal, I checked daily if there were any messages from outside. Except for one time when Meluca fruits were taken by the guild, there were no other incidents.
Sssshhhrrrrrr!
A bundle of vines was thrown from above.
The vine stretched and descended.
The length was tremendous, and it seemed to be additionally reinforced, twisted several times for thickness.
“Oh, good, good.”
Finally, I’ll get to see the Sky Island!
As soon as we get up, I’ll set up a portal!
We decided to send Ara and Ras up first.
After sending them, we planned to tie the vine around our bodies well and have it pulled from above.
-“I will pull you up.”
“Go up first!”
Excited Ara climbed up the vine first.
Ras followed powerfully behind her.
We waited for the two to ascend quickly.
I tied Cheong and Mammon securely with the vine and then tied myself.
“All set.”
Ara and Ras had gone up.
Soon, Chirpy moved back and forth, checking if everyone was ready, and then started pulling the vine slowly.
Swoosh- Swoosh-.
“Wow, it’s scary…?”
“It’s scary.”
As we ascended, the altitude increased.
The vine was very sturdy, but I couldn’t help feeling scared.
Moreover, because it was slower than climbing directly, we had to climb for a long time.
-“Overlord! Look at that!”
Unlike Cheong and me, Mammon, apparently not as scared, pointed ahead with a touched expression.
Looking up, a clear view of the dungeon’s landscape unfolded.
“Wow…….”
A horizon filled with the Milky Way.
An ethereal sky touched a pristine natural environment, stretching wide.
Green landscapes, earth-colored landscapes, blue landscapes.
And all of them touching a dark purple sky filled with the Milky Way.
I was moved beyond words and tears welled up unknowingly.
It was hard to believe this landscape was real.
I quickly took out my phone from my pocket to capture this scene.
However, the view did not feel as impressive as seeing it with my own eyes.
Thus, we were pulled up for several hours, watching the constantly changing dungeon landscape as we ascended to the Sky Island.
Even after we arrived on the Sky Island, we couldn’t hide our amazement.
“What, what is this?”
On the Sky Island…
There were clearly man-made buildings.
It was an unexpected discovery of civilization.
***
“Today’s catalog.”
A woman checks the booklet handed by her secretary.
Just by looking at the catalog, the woman, who exuded an aura of nobility, soon found something of interest.
“Oh.”
She discovered a piece she liked.
Looking closely, it was listed as located in Korea.
“Korea…”
The woman, who had a taste for art, asked her secretary for more information about the piece and the artist she had just seen and carefully examined the photos.
At the moment she resolved to verify it with her own eyes, someone entered the room without a word.
“Who is it?!”
The woman’s secretary, appearing guarded, tried to block the man entering.
However, the woman, who was sitting behind and not paying attention, flipping through a booklet, said,
“Don’t stop him. He’s not someone who can be stopped just like that.”
“Katrina…?”
“It’s fine. Besides, I have something personal to discuss with this person. Could you please leave us alone for a moment?”
“Ah, understood.”
As soon as the secretary left, still looking wary, the man spoke.
“I believe we had an appointment today.”
“Ah. I forgot. I found a piece that really caught my interest.”
Katrina Smith.
A Level 9 Awakener and a Grand Witch, a prominent figure representing America.
She handed the booklet to the man who had approached her.
“Take a look.”
“I’m not interested in that stuff.”
“Ah, that’s right, Kyler, didn’t you just come back from Korea?”
The identity of the man in front of her was revealed.
Wanderer Kyler, he had come in person to converse with the Grand Witch.
Though both were Level 9 Awakeners, their circumstances were ironically contrasting.
Kyler briefly looked over the booklet and said, “Why suddenly ask about Korea?”
“That piece, I’ve got my eye on it. And it turns out it’s by an artist in Korea?”
The piece that Katrina was interested in was none other than a sculpture created by Mammon, known as Ingo.
Katrina, known as a major figure in the art world, showing interest meant significant implications.
The Korean art scene could be shaken by this.
However, Kyler had little interest in such matters.
“I was originally planning to make a request to you.”
“Hm? You were planning to? Does that mean you no longer need to make the request? What were you going to ask?”
“Katrina.”
Kyler called her name softly, a hint of warning in his tone.
“Whatever I do, don’t act rashly.”
“I don’t understand what you’re saying.”
“I know that you’re monitoring my movements at the government’s behest. We used to scratch each other’s backs, but it’s not good to start like this.”
“Hmmm.”
Katrina feigned ignorance with a strange nasal sound, but Kyler, believing she understood enough, turned away.
“How was Lee Kyu-seong?”
Kyler’s steps halted.
But Katrina hadn’t finished speaking.
“I was planning to go to Korea to check this piece anyway, and I might as well see Lee Kyu-seong. I wonder what could move a wanderer like you.”
“If you touch him, I will kill you.”
“Oh my, is that so?”
Kyler turned back to look at Katrina with an expressionless face. Sensing the intense energy hidden within, Katrina smirked and waved her hand.
“It won’t do us any good to fight each other.”
“If you don’t like that, then don’t provoke me.”
“But I’m really going to Korea because of this piece. And you should at least allow me to meet him casually, shouldn’t you?”
“If anything happens to Lee Kyu-seong, you’ll definitely die. Be prepared.”
“Wow, the famous wanderer coming out like this? It makes me even more curious.”
Katrina smirked cheekily and waved her hand.
Then, Kyler vanished in an instant.
She had used her ability, ‘magic’.
“I need to arrange my schedule immediately.”
The Level 9 Awakener and Grand Witch.
She had decided to visit Korea.
Cliche Novel 