Second World Novel

𝐍𝑜𝑣𝓔𝓵𝑵𝔢xt.𝗰𝐎𝔪

‘Lucifer, Satan, Mammon… I guess Wilted’s people took inspiration from the real world’s devil when they designed this underworld’s hierarchy, eh?’ Jack thought. He then asked Peniel, “What’re the names of the other kings of Hell?”

“Leviathan, Beelzebub, Asmodeus, and Belphegor,” Peniel answered.

“I see… the big names from the seven sins. By the way, if Satan is a level 99 Eternal grade, how strong is Lucifer? Satan should already be the strongest, shouldn’t he?”

“Lucifer has crossed the boundary of levels. He is at the same power as the Gods and Goddesses,” Peniel answered.

“Oh… I guess I should be glad that these brimstone trees are not inside his region then,” Jack said.

“I wouldn’t have told you about the trees if they are,” Peniel returned. “I know you will still risk it even if they are inside Lucifer’s region. But even if you want to get the fruits here, how are you going to get past that force field?”

“There should be an entrance somewhere. We can try to find it, wait, and sneak in when the demons use that entrance, but I don’t have the time for that.”

“So?”

“We wait for that stormbird to leave first. Then I will see if I can unravel the rune diagrams maintaining that force field,” Jack said.

The infernal stormbird continued banging the force field non-stop. Jack admired the stormbird’s persistence. Darmos did mention the brimstone fruits attract monsters, so maybe the stormbird wanted those fruits very much.

Jack was also astonished by the force field. It could resist the power of a level 80 mythical monster. The rune diagram that powered it should be one that needed a Greater Dispel to undo, or a lot of time if unraveling it manually.

Luckily, Jack didn’t see any demons guarding the perimeter, nor any demon patrols. The one in charge of this plantation must be extremely confident of the force field. This meant that he could work on unraveling the rune diagram without the worry of getting noticed.

After a good three hours, the stormbird finally gave up and flew away.

Jack made sure it was out of sight before coming out of hiding. He approached the edge of the force field. It was invisible but Jack’s mana sense could detect it once he came near.

He checked one more time on his radar to make sure that no one was nearby. It was hard to see through all the yellow fog. Peniel mentioned that normally the yellow fog from the brimstone trees was not this thick. But considering the trees had been packed close to each other, the fume they emitted must be overlapping one another and created such dense fog.

This dense yellow fog served to his advantage. Even if there was a demon patrol coming from inside the force field, the demons won’t spot Jack because of all this fog. He would see them first on his radar.

But he still preferred no such thing to happen. If he was to unravel the rune diagram manually, he couldn’t stop midway.

He called Therras and his royal agents to watch his six. He didn’t summon Nerd, though. Nerd’s level was the lowest. That recruit won’t provide much help and Jack preferred him to focus on leveling up for now.

Duke Alfredo, Laurent, and Jonathan had increased by one level to 73, 71, and 63 respectively. Lindsey was level 55 and Amy was level 52. Howard remained at level 60 since it was not that long ago when Jack was power-leveling him.

Out of the six, only Laurent had not yet been to the underworld. He was visibly anxious due to the unfamiliar environment. Duke Alfredo assured him not to worry.

Jack gave them a short explanation about what he wanted to do. With Therras, they formed a protective circle in case a monster approached.

Jack then focused his attention on the force field. He closed his eyes and let his mana sense work. Within seconds, he could perceive in his mind the shapes of the rune diagrams under the edge of the force field.

It was a series of overlapping rune diagrams that produced interconnecting force field that covered the entire plantation. In his mind’s eye, the force field looked like honeycomb cells linked with each other to form a half-sphere.

Jack was relieved after learning this. It meant that he didn’t need to deal with the entire rune diagrams. He just needed to focus on the area where he was. Taking out one or two of these honeycomb cells and created a hole large enough for him to pass through.

Even though he only needed to deal with one part, he admitted the rune diagrams applied here were top-tiered. Not only in terms of complexity but the energy injected into the rune diagrams was also very powerful. No wonder the force field could easily block the violent assault of that infernal stormbird.

Fortunately, his mana manipulation ability had increased greatly. Otherwise, it would be extremely difficult to unravel this rune diagram. It would be like trying to pull a lever that was locked. But with his current mana manipulation, he had enough power to slowly force that lever to move.

The unraveling was not a challenge. His mana sense was advanced enough to know what he should do. He only needed time.

He spent around one hour unraveling enough rune diagrams that a hole appeared in the force field right in front of him. To his relief, no monsters came near. Now that he thought about it, no monsters came near the force field except for the infernal stormbird. Maybe aside from the forcefield, other means were in place to keep weaker monsters away. Whatever it was, Jack was thankful for it.

Bringing a large group was counter-productive in a sneaking attempt, so Jack unsummoned everyone. Furthermore, he only needed to go in and take one fruit from a tree. He didn’t need that many helpers for that.

Jack then entered through the hole he had created.