The Legendary Moonlight Sculptor

Volume 23: Chapter 4: Uncollapsible Sand Castle

“Geez, what’s taking her so long?”

Lee Hyun was

waiting for Seo Yoon at the train station.

Having just turned

into a Death Knight, he was extremely busy hunting.

He was able to

wear iron plated armors, use dark energy and enhance his swordsmanship.

The strength of

the knight class was tremendous!

Many players

choose this class as it was well balanced with many advantages.

With his

outstanding horse-riding, his movement speed was pretty fast.

Maintaining his

horse was inconvenient but being very helpful in battles it was worth taking

care of.

The only

disadvantage would have been that the stamina droped too quickly compared to a different

class such as swordsman but it didn’t matter as Death Knight was an Undead.

“It was perfect

timing for levelling up as well…”

Lee Hyun decided

to keep his promise and left his house a little bit early.

Seo Yoon arrived

ten minutes before the 8 am meeting time.

She brought two

travelling bags with her.

Even wearing a

simple white T-shirts and jeans she was gorgeous.

People at the

station couldn’t get their eyes off of her.

Glimpsing at her

face briefly, he was left with impressions of clear beauty.

He couldn’t help

look at her face again, staring at her piece by piece.

The phrase, ‘the

eyes are the window to the soul’ was absolutely right.

Her eyes were

deep, pure and dazzling.

It was like her

eyes were the world’s most clear jewels.

Her eyebrows were straight,

nothing to find fault with.

He couldn’t find

any flaws in her nose, lips, cheek, forehead, ear lobes or anywhere on her

body.

When looking at

her, it felt like everything was in its place.

Her body expresses

an unbelievable beauty.

“Were you waiting

for me?”

“No, I just came.

Let’s get the tickets firsts.”

After arriving in

train by the big city in the north by the seashore, they planned to rent a car.

Seo Yoon said she

had a driver’s license.

“When did you get

your license?”

“I received it

just yesterday after passing the test.”

“………"

________________________________________________

On the train

heading to the seashore, they had kimbap and soda which he brought from home.

Lee Hyun fell

asleep while staring out at the window.

Travelling relaxed

his tension and stress.

“I……”

Lee Hyun was

muttering in a low-pitched tone. Seo Yoon brought her ear close to listen.

“…tem…”

Lee Hyun was sleep

talking!

Seo Yoon didn’t

get enough sleep because she was busy preparing early in the morning.

She leaned her

head on Lee Hyun’s shoulder and fell asleep as well.

Every time the

train stopped, passengers saw that scene while getting on the train.

‘That guy doesn’t deserve

her.’

‘Why is she with a

lame guy like him…’

‘This is so

unfair! What is this!’

When the train

arrived at their destination, they picked up their bags and got off.

The car rental place

was found near the train station.

After renting their

reserved car, Seo Yoon sat on the driver seat and Lee Hyun on the passenger

seat.

“Shall we go?”

“After starting

the car.”

Seo Yoon started

the car and then spoke.

“Let’s go now.”

Lee Hyun was

nervous but Seo Yoon seemed strong in real life as well.

Now that she

started the car, she drove very smoothly.

But then suddenly

the wiper activated!

“Where is the signal

lamp for turning?”

“On the other

side.”

Lee Hyun regretted

not getting a driver’s license before hand.

After leaving

downtown, North Sea of Korea became visible along the national highway.

East or west seas

had their own charming points but North Sea had a lot more to take in with its

warm climate. Also it wasn’t as expensive.

By driving along

the seashore, they were able to go around the big islands.

There were flowers

growing on the crooked roads right beside the sea.

When they arrived,

Seo Yoon took out her camera.

“Can we take a

picture here?”

“Of course we

can.”

Taking pictures

was a must-do while travelling.

“I’ll take a

picture of you.”

Seo Yoon took picture

of him with the sea as the background.

In the photo he

seemed like an awkward tourist stuck on a beautiful scenery.

“Ok, now it’s your

turn.”

Lee Hyun received

Seo Yoon’s camera and pressed the shutter.

Every time her

picture was taken, it was a like a photo shoot.

She just stood

still like Lee Hyun but it was a whole different kind of images.

He felt like the

sands were shining and a gentle breeze coalescing around her.

She didn’t smile

or held many poses but she looked great with the winter sea as the background.

There were also

many tourists at the seashore.

Lee Hyun asked the

tourists for a favor.

“Excuse me… Do you

mind taking a picture for us?”

It looked like

they were on a graduation trip.

“Sure, I don’t

mind.”

These men took a

picture of Lee Hyun and Seo Yoon standing together.

SNAP!

They put their

focus right on Seo Yoon, blurring out Lee Hyun!

‘What an unmatched

couple.’

‘That guy must

have saved the universe in his past life.’

Going to several

places while riding in their car, they went to popular tourist spots and took photos.

They spent plenty

of time together in Royal Road but this was different, no hunting, no quest, it

was like two of them were dating.

Soon, it became

dark.

The temperature

dropped fast after sunset so they began looking for a place to stay.

“I’ve found a place… Was it this way?”

After roaming around

in their car, they arrived at the camping site.

With minimum

price, they were able to use this place freely.

There were groups

of families having set up their tents already.

“We are late. We better hurry.”

Lee Hyun took out

the camping equipment from his large bag.

He borrow it from Ma

Sungbum from the dojo,

After setting up

the tent, he took out the burner to boil water, which he was able to obtain in

the camping site, and prepare dinner.

While Seo Yoon was

washing the raw rice for cooking, Lee Hyun grabbed a fishing rod and head to

the coast.

“I’m going to

catch some fish for dinner alright?”

There were middle

age men concentrating on fishing while their wives and daughters watched on.

“Geez, not a

single fish.”

They wanted to

show off in front of their families but unless you were some natural-born

fisherman, it wasn’t easy.

Lee Hyun opened a

small container.

These energetic

worms were caught directly from his yard this morning.

Every time he threw

his fishing rod with the baits on, he was able to catch the fish quickly.

63cm flatfish!

“What a waste of

worm.”

49cm rockfish!

“I needed

something for fish stew. This will do nicely.”

The rockfish were

known delicacy of this area.

“Aren’t you guys tired?

Stop taking my baits.”

Fish were

crowded in the bucket Lee Hyun brought.

Middle age men

comforted themselves thinking about their wives and daughters.

‘As long as I have

a happy family…’

‘Even if my wife

nags often, the joy of going on a trip with her is…”

Lee Hyun murmured

holding his fishing rod.

“I should be

getting back for dinner… It would be nice if a black porgy took my bait. What

are they doing, geez.”

The men thought in

their heads.

‘Hey kid, black

porgy isn’t some kind of carps that you can just catch easily.’

‘I’ve been here

for twelfth time now and even I haven’t seen it.’

At that moment,

Lee Hyun’s float sank a little bit.

Picking the right

spot was the heart of fishing, shaking your fishing rod slightly and make it

look like the worm was wriggling was advanced skill!

And with that,

another fish took the bait.

Unfortunately, it

wasn’t a black porgy. It was a sea eel.

“This will be nice

when roasted.”

When Lee Hyun was

about to return, Seo Yoon came out from the tent.

“Did you catch a

lot?”

“Not enough in my

life time. I caught just enough to be full.”

After Lee Hyun and

Seo Yoon went back to their tent, the men’s eyes were moist with tears.

“Daddy, there are

so many mosquitoes biting. I don’t like it here. I wanted to watch TV at home.”

“Honey, can’t you

do this hobby of yours alone?”

They could barely

get to talk with their daughters after school and their wives left their home

frequently to take a trip with their friends.

These men

reminisced their golden age when they were in high school or university.

‘Sigh… If only I

could go back.”

____________________________________________________

With his nimble

hands, Lee Hyun made charcoal fire and placed a grill on top of it.

Until the fire was

stable, he made doenjang soup and when the fire was hot enough, he roasted, not

pork of beef, but variety of fish!

“Do you want to

trade for a rockfish?”

Roaming the other

tents, he traded for clams, crabs, sausages and even some cheap wine.

Flipping the

fish, he also boiled fish stew.

With gentle

crashing of waves in the background, they saw stars shining from the clear sky.

“Let’s eat.”

Eating fish outside was excellent.

After the filling dinner,

Lee Hyun even cleaned the dishes.

“You want some

coffee?”

“Sure.”

They sat on the

beach, savouring a cup of coffee.

When it was completely

dark, they could hear chirps of crickets.

All other tents had

turned their lights off.

“We should go to

sleep as well.”

It was a tent for

four so there was sufficient place for two people to sleep in.

Despite that fact,

it still felt cramped.

Once in their sleeping

bag, they could hear each other’s breath coming from the other side of the

tent.

Seo Yoon’s nervous

heart was beating fast.

Even in the tent,

in a separate sleeping bag, it felt like they were sleeping in the same room.

Seo Yoon was

worried that her heartbeat might be heard along with the crash of waves and

chirps of crickets.

However, she could

soon hear snoring from Lee Hyun.

______________________________________________________

Lee Hyun woke at

dawn to the sound of bird chirping.

Even in an

unfamiliar place, he didn’t toss and turn. Rather, he slept soundly.

Lee Hyun turned

and found Seo Yoon was still asleep facing in his direction.

Getting out of his

sleeping bag, he went outside quietly.

‘Should I make

some crab stew for breakfast?’

Lee Hyun preped the

ingredients and waited for Seo Yoon to wake up.

Thinking Seo Yoon

was still exhausted from the travel, she didn’t wake up even after sunrise.

But the truth was,

Seo Yoon slept late staring at Lee Hyun’s sleeping face.

Her first

impressions of him, the thoughts she had every time seeing him in Royal Road, the

appreciation of going on a trip together.

She opened her

heart out and speak about it, but Lee Hyun had no clue as he was busy snoring

in his sleep.

“Maybe I should

take a walk.”

Lee Hyun walked

alonged the sandy beach breathing in the fresh morning breeze.

‘The weather is

really nice.’

Birds were

chirping as they looked for foods.

And there were a

gathering of childrens on the beach, building a sand castle.

‘I want to give it

a try.’

Anyone who went to

the beach did it at least one time or another.

Lee Hyun never did

have a chance to do it but it would be nice way to kill some time.

Ten minutes later

the other kids were gathering around and looking at Lee Hyun.

The sand castle he

was building was becoming life size reaching about 1.5 meters.

Adults came as

well as they watched the ramparts and towers getting built.

This was all

thanks to the skill he had mastered in construction sites and sculptures in

Royal Road.

An hour later, the

sand castle was complete.

People around him

complemented him for the perfectness, but their words didn’t reach him.

‘Not like I can

trade this in a real estate… or get money from it.’

A complete

utilitarian!

Once the tides

came, it would collapse and get wiped out.

It was just a sand

castle that would fall even against a little bit of strong wind.

With the sand castle

finished, people left one by one, leaving for breakfast or going home.

Lee Hyun watched

the coming tides and the sand castle in vain.

“We’ve gone on a

trip together now… But someday, she’s going drift apart to the point where I

can’t even get close.”

Lee Hyun was

willing to let her go for her own sake.

All the time spent

with her will remain as memories later.

That was why he

wrote something under the castle.

Lee Hyun and Seo

Yoon’s house.

__________________________________________________

When he came back

to the tent, Seo Yoon was cooking with the prepared ingredients.

After a filling

breakfast they planned to take a look around North Sea a little bit more,

before take a train going back home in afternoon.

Lee Hyun packed

his stuff and spoke to Seo Yoon as he was tidying up the space.

“I’ll take care of

this. Why don’t you get some rest?”

Seo Yoon walked

toward the sandy beach.

Once she got back

to the city, she would most likely will not be able to see it anymore.

As she barely went

outside she decided to pick up some kind of small souvenir, such as conches or

pebbles.

“After today, I’ll

be going back to my normal life.”

Walking on the sand,

she noticed a particularly giant sand castle.

She had no idea

who built this but it was a very well-made and sturdy sand castle.

Seo Yoon headed

toward it.

_________________________________________________

Four armies from

the Undead Legion advanced toward Morata.

But only two army’s

worth made it to the one week distance away from Morata.

Due to some of

them having no legs and walking uncomfortably, majority of them were coming

late.

Not to mention

some of the Undead going off the main route, falling into a well, or circling

around a forest.

Because Undead

armies disperse a lot when they are on the move, more self inflicted casualties

arose.

And with the many

ordinary monsters in the north, they disappeared as monsters like goblins,

trolls or ogres protect their territories.

“An Undead army is

coming this way.”

Players on

adventures and hunting ground spotted the Undead army and raised the alarm in Morata.

It was a huge

event for the novices and merchants.

The church knight

from Freya order was dispatched right after they were assigned to Morata.

“Looks like the

church knight is moving out to hunt Undeads.”

“Lu’s order and

Freya’s order jointly commissioned an Undead-hunting quests.”

Parties hunting in

Morata joined priests and the paladins on the quest.

In the lord’s

castle, a punitive force was organized to eliminate the Undeads.

There were weak

skeletons among the enemies so anyone over level 30 could participate.

“Let’s go have

some fun.”

“Let’s beat those Undeads!”

For novices, this

was a good event and they could get a lot of experiences for participating in a

large-scale suppression.

450 units of the paladins

from Freya’s order gathered.

These holy knights

were unbelievably strong compared to Morata’s knights.

Because they do

not belong to a city or a village, not even the lord can give them orders.

They only fought

for the church when there was a religious crisis or a threat from monsters.

Additional 840 men

joined from Lu’s priests and Freya’s priests respectively, to fight the Undead army.

The manpower was

somewhat excellent but there were over 3,000 priests in the punitive force

comprised solely of ordinary players.

People with priest

class in Morata participated in this quest as it could increases their faith.

Those who were

busy or on some quests rushed toward the battlefield.

“Yay, Undeads!”

“God, I love the Undead.”

Priests were

filled with joys when they saw all the Undeads.

Priests came fast,

almost at the same time as paladins, riding on horse to engage the Undead first.

There were many other priests in the punitive force who would come later.

Because of the

fairly high reputation compared to other cities because of the Goddess statue

and the Grand Cathedral, tens of thousands of players chose to become Freya’s

priests.

It became the

reverse with them advancing on the Undead Legion!

Paladins were

mobilized, along with players with class like mercenary, warrior, magician,

summoner and bard to joined the punitive force and defend against the invasion

from the Undead armies.

Compared to the

high-level players across the central continent, their overall average level

wasn’t very high.

This was due to

the high number of novices starting out in Morata every day.

Due to such

advantage, Morata became one of the greatest city next to other metropolises.

Early players of

Morata had memories of their village being silent and secluded but now, even in

the middle of night, merchants were camping out in every square.

Anyone could feel

that the village was changing day by day.

Fifty thousand men

in the punitive force came early!

It lacked the

manpower compared to the two Undead armies, which was approximately over sixty

thousand.

But being camped

on the hill they had geographic advantage over the battle.

Their morals were

striking high with area-of-effect blessings from the priests.

Zaffran, who was

assigned as the captain of the punitive force for this quest shouted loudly.

“Let’s defeat

theses Undeads invading our new home, our land!”

“Attack!!!”

Paladins, the

punitive force, and the Undeads charged each other.

More players in

the punitive force were arriving continuously and the Undead Legion were

flowing with Undeads.

The war between

two armies, had finally begun.

________________________________________________

Polon obtained

information from the Hermes Guild.

-Necromancers were

summoned by an unknown force and are now fighting for the Undead Legion as Undeads.

Even Necromancers

from their guilds were aligned with the Undead Legion.

They had great

talent filling in several occupations in the guild but unfortunately, the Necromancer

was a recently created position.

The Necromancers who

were part of their guild didn’t even have high levels and their hunting speeds was

slow. They were currently still stuck at the rank of High Level Skeleton.

Zabrin : Seems

like every Necromancers in Versailles Continent have been gathered there.

Zabrin reported

all the information through the guild’s long distance communication channe.

Polon, knights,

magicians and rangers in the army including the executives of the Hermes Guild

could listen to the report.

Zabrin : I’m

seeing every famous Necromancers such as Jeanne or Bohram.

Polon : What is

their current quest?

Zabrin : I’m not

so sure but they are continuously on battles related quest for the Undead

Legion.

Zabrin felt good

reporting in.

In Hermes guild,

they were given full support if they thought it was necessary.

Not to mention the

guild providing good equipment and hunting grounds, they even provided troops

for quest and other needs.

If he achieve

something this time, he just might be able to participate in a hunting party that

was above his current rank!

Since he reported

that with his current rank he could not join the other Necromancer who advance

further then him on the quest, any help from the guild would be huge help for

Zabrin who wasn’t even level 300 yet.

The only reason

Zabrin joined the Hermes Guild was the greed of receiving support to easily

level up.

Zabrin : If you

need any kind of information, I’ll look into it. I’ve made many Necromancer friends

so I should be able to get any information you want.

Polon : It would

be nice if you can create some influence among the Necromancers.

Zabrin : Ok, I’ll

try. But the most famous and strong Necromancers got promoted to higher rank

and is fighting some place close by. Unfortunately my level is low and I cannot

follow them right now.

Polon : Can you

wear equipment for magicians?

Zabrin : Yes I can.

It’s much better if it’s a cursed item.

Skeletons and

ghost could were able to wear equipment without any race limitation.

For example, a

cursed item that reduces life and increase mana, could increased both for the

Undead.

For Zabrin the

cursed items were much better off.

Polon : Whatever

you need, you will get it. But you must provide daily reports and inform me

immediately if you hear anything important. Any information on Weed takes

priority.

Zabrin : You can

trust me. As a member of Hermes guild, I will not let you down.

_________________________________________________

After coming back

from the trip, Weed reconnected and was at the canyon where the Undead Legion

was situated.

With successful

promotion to Death Knight, he was placed in the canyon for battle.

DING!

·

Garrison of Kilizar

?

The Undead Legion have great faith in your abilities.

?

Having succeeded every mission so far, the Undead Legion expect

you to annihilate the enemy in Kilizar canyon.

Difficulty: B

Restriction: Undead Only

The difficulty

went up drastically.

Luckily 33 other Necromancers

including Jeanne, Otem, Bohram, Harien, Gruzed, Varenna and Goshu came before

him.

As they were

magicians or summoners before becoming Necromancers their level was already

high.

Jeanne would have

leveled up many times after becoming a Necromancer and her current level was

presumed to be about level 408.

Because each

individual had different stat and skills, it was difficult to assume one’s

level just from the number of Undeads one could summons.

Also taking into considering

the possibility that they were hiding their true power, it’s was much more

complicated.

Varenna revealed

her level to be 390 and considering her enormous mana consumption when summoning

and casting dark magic, Jeanne had to be at least level 408 in comparison.

‘No wonder they

are considered as one of the best Necromancers.’

Weed acknowledged

the Necromancers standing before him.

Not only were they

excellent in controlling their Undeads, they didn’t hesitate using their

perfect skills in battles.

Weed chose a class

with direct combat skills while in comparison their class specialized in

summoning Undeads.

Death Wizards and

Death Witches!

The other players

chose class as wizards and witches.

To control the Undeads,

corpses need to be raised up and enhanced before battle began.

Also all kinds of

curses need to be cast on the enemy, weakening, slowing and confusing them.

Necromancer was a

very busy occupation, exploding corpses or summoning guards to defend them.

Compared to other

magicians and clerics who could depend on their party members to protect them

in battle while steadily setting up magic, Necromancers had a lot to do all the

while observe the battlefield.

As a one-man army,

they had to support the Undeads, with variety of stats and skills also needing

to be increased.

Necromancers’

strength differs a lot depending on their own sharp observation, quick reaction

time and abilities to grasp the situations but their overall capabilities were

beyond expectations.

‘Not bad, not bad

at all.’

Weed was very

satisfied with him being Death Knight.

‘It’s nice to have

great allies.’

When these Necromancers

brought the Undeads into the fight, all he had to do was killing off the monsters

and obtaining experience and drops.

With thousands of Undeads

and monsters tangled up in the fight, there were so many enemies to kill.

‘They are coming

endlessly.’

This place is what

people would have call a paradise of strong monsters.

There was a reason

the humans couldn’t come here to hunt.

The monsters

reproduced fast and had the intelligence to move in groups.

Undead Legion were

extremely strong but these monsters were of high standards as well.

These Undead wore

the weapons and armour plundered long ago after the fall of Niflheim Empire.

Monsters

considered the Undead Legion as a serious threat and continuously attacked them.

And it was not like Balkan could come and rain endless spells on the monsters.

This was how the chaotic

and fierce battlefield for Undeads and monsters was prepared.

Weed hunting deep

inside the monsters side, levelled up to 394.

Less than ten

minutes later, groups of monsters were coming again.

He saw the rising

sand dusts and felt a warmth of life approaching far from here.

“Enemies are

coming soon. Use enhancing spells on Undeads.”

As Jeanne spoke,

they woke up from their mana-charging meditations and quickly got ready for the

next battle.

Necromancers

acknowledged Jeanne as their captain.

Because Undead

armies needed to cooperate every time they battle, they were specifically given

their duties.

“Fight! Do not

retreat!”

“Kill them all!”

Undeads summoned

by Otem, Bohram, Harien and Gruzed picked up their weapons and shields.

“Bone Strike!”

“Ice Field!”

“Poison Cloud!”

“Unholy Weapon!”

On the canyon, Jeanne,

Varenna, Goshu and other players continued to casted offensive spells.

All kinds of

curses and spells from high-level Necromancers struck the army of monsters

heading toward the canyon.

Skeleton mages and

archers rained their respective ammunition.

Another battle

starting deep into the night!

Undeads had their

geographical advantages but these monsters were impressive as well.

They were breaking

through, slicing Undeads with axes.

“Sumon Phantom Horse!”

Weed got on his

horse.

-

Horse’s morale is at its maximum

Fighting spirit,

charisma and agility increase by 10%.

As his phantom horse

appeared, it increased his stat as Death Knight.

“Go!”

NEIGHHH!

On his horse, Weed

ran down the cliff.

His horse-riding

skills weren’t that great at first but it continue to improve when he was a

Skelton Knight and Death Knight.

Even so, the

courage to run down a cliff on a horse!

“Here I come my

experience and items!”

He charged into

monsters trying to climb the cliff riddled with arrows and spells.