Chapter 31: Preparing to Face the Waves

Chapter 31: Preparing to Face the Waves

< Chapter 31: Preparing to Face the Waves – 1 >

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‘...It’s difficult.’

The moment he faced the boss monster, Old Alpha Male, Lee Hyunwook felt this way.

The metal weapons that the monster wielded couldn’t be ‘controlled’ as they were under a special magic.

And, the monster must have also found Lee Hyunwook challenging.

The monster focused all of its attention solely on Lee Hyunwook.

Thus, it managed to fend off the onslaught of metal weapons controlled by Lee Hyunwook using two of its kukris.

Chang! Chae-ang! Chang! Chang! Chang!

Indeed, it had extraordinary physical agility and reflexes.

Even if, by some chance, one weapon managed to break through the monster’s guard...

Thud-

‘A magic barrier...’

The tattoos on the monster’s body glowed, forming a ‘magic shield’.

Of course, that magic barrier would have a limit to its durability...

‘But my mana will run out first.’

Luckily, Lee Hyunwook had a weapon that could pierce through that barrier.

‘Failnaught can get through.’

The secret move engraved on his left wrist,

Tristan’s ‘Failnaught’ had the effect of ‘nullifying magic’.

‘But, I can’t recklessly use it.’

If the monster detects and deflects even the Failnaught, there would be no next move.

It was literally his trump card.

The moment he failed, the ‘trump’ would vanish.

‘I have only one shot. I need to find the perfect timing to exploit a vulnerability.’

For that, he needed to distract the monster’s ‘attention’.

For example...

“-Agh!”

Like this, when a powerful arrow, accompanied by a scream, flew from somewhere.

Shi-eek!

The monster twitched at the unexpected attack.

It was a natural reaction.

Lee Hyunwook diverted the off-target arrow to aim it at the monster.

Quickly turning, the monster deflected the arrow.

Chae-ang!

‘But from now on, it’ll be more wary of that sniper than me.’

All the attacks Lee Hyunwook had shown until now were stopped by the monster’s ‘magic barrier’.

But the sniper’s shot from a distant sand dune was different.

The monster intuitively knew that its heavy hit couldn’t be blocked by a mere magic barrier.

Therefore, it had no choice but to be more cautious about the sniper.

In other words, its guard against Lee Hyunwook would weaken.

In short,

‘Now is the time.’

Lee Hyunwook dashed forward, launching all his weapons and stretching out his left hand.

Shi-shi-shi-shi-shi-

Metal fragments scattered on the ground soared all at once, distracting the monster.

While the monster’s eyes were on Lee Hyunwook, its other senses were on alert for the distant sniper.

That was its vulnerability.

‘In other words, it’s over.’

Black smoke dispersed momentarily from Lee Hyunwook’s left wrist,

and from within, a silver flash flickered for a moment.

Swish-

That flash connected to the abdomen of the Old Alpha Male.

“...”

The creature looked at its abdomen with an expression that it couldn’t understand what just happened.

Failnaught-

A hero-grade arrow that ignores magic resistance was stuck in its vital spot.

Gurgle-

It staggered, vomiting blood.

Moreover, the ‘tattoo’ drawn on its body distorted, and the ‘magic protective shield’ disappeared as well.

‘Now, it’s defenseless.’

Lee Hyunwook raised both of his hands.

Then, daggers, long swords, steel beads, arrowheads, without exception, all the metals in the area rose.

Next, as he slowly stretched both hands-

Shi-shi-shi-shi-shi-shi!

Like a barrage from a machine gun, all those things burst out simultaneously-

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

Neck, shoulders, chest, abdomen, thighs, knees- sharp metals mercilessly pierced all over the body.

5, 6, 12, 41, 51...

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

Under the rain-like attack, its body twitched and became soaked in blood.

Keuh....

Just like that, pierced by dozens of metals, the Old Alpha Male collapsed.

And lastly, he shot the Sword of Clouds piercing through its heart.

Thud!

[ An unknown energy is building up in the Sword of Clouds (49%) ]

All of this happened in just a few seconds.

[ Congratulations! You have defeated the boss monster ‘Old Alpha Male’! ]

In front of everyone, a message signaling the end of the dungeon assault appeared.

As the leader died, the few remaining goblins began to flee in all directions.

However, even the surviving goblins amounted to no more than about ten.

It was because they had completely wiped out all the monsters in this dungeon through several battles.

“Corporal Lee Hyunwook! They are fleeing! Should we chase them?”

“No, just leave them be.”

There was no need to chase them unnecessarily.

‘As long as we secure the World Stone, the raid is a success.’

Lee Hyunwook picked up the red stone that had rolled out from the mouth of the Old Alpha Male.

[ You have acquired the ‘World Stone (Red Gate)’ ]

-Only players in the analyst series can check the ‘detailed information’.

If you take this outside and destroy it, this gate will close.

That was the one and only method to close the gate.

Lee Hyunwook secured the World Stone and turned his head.Finndd the newest novels on n/o/velbin(.)com

Behind the dead tree on the sand dune, Kim Tae-seop was crouched down.

He met eyes with Lee Hyunwook, was startled, and hid his body.

Lee Hyunwook stretched his hand towards him.

“Ah!”

Although he had undone the wristwatch again, this time he pulled the gold ring and broke his finger.

“Ah! Ugh! This, this is... Ah!”

He tried his utmost to somehow remove the gold ring, but it wouldn’t come off, and floundering like that, he eventually rolled down the sand dune and lay face down.

“...Get up.”

When Lee Hyunwook released the metal control, Kim Tae-seop quickly took off the ring and put it in his pocket.

Then, he started to backpedal, rattling off excuses.

“Look! Ah, no! I also helped with the strategy, honestly, didn’t I?”

“...”

Lee Hyunwook silently glared at him.

Then, the guy avoided eye contact but continued to jabber on.

“No, well, why would a sniper not snipe, what the hell... what did I do wrong...”

Lee Hyunwook slowly raised and bent the index finger of his left hand.

“Ah! Ah!”

This time, he pulled the piercing on the left ear.

“Pl- please! Stop it...”

“If you spout one more unnecessary word, I will genuinely rip it off.”

Seo Eunha found it strange that she suddenly brought up Lee Hyunwook.

“But that guy, ha~ proposed a bet with me on who would kill the boss monster?”

“...”

“So, well, I accepted it. If I win, that guy... will join our guild.”

Seo Eunha tried to ignore Yoo Haena who was babbling on, but she unknowingly furrowed her brows.

‘... Lee Hyunwook is joining Cheonghwa Guild?’

Honestly, it had bothered her ever since the Orc Gate incident when Yoo Haena handed her business card to Lee Hyunwook.

The leaders, including the battalion commander of AMT, were paying attention to the new star named Lee Hyunwook, and planning to nurture him.

Frankly, Seo Eunha was also conscious of this matter in various ways.

Because Lee Hyunwook could potentially become the next operation team leader.

But the fact that he could possibly end up under that unlucky woman...

‘Why of all people...’

She didn’t show it, but as an officer of AMT, it was really unpleasant.

Especially more so as a member of the 3rd Cavalry Brigade, which was in competition with the Cheonghwa Guild...

“Ah, is Eun-joo doing well?”

She was talking about Seo Eun-joo, Seo Eunha’s older sister.

At that moment, Seo Eunha couldn’t hold back and glared at Yoo Haena.

“Don’t mention my sister’s name... with that kind of mouth.”

“...”

Yoo Haena’s smiling lips slowly fell.

It was then.

Woong- Woong- Woong-

The gate vibrated three times.

Then the employees of the Cheonghwa Guild began to move hastily.

“It’s the exit signal!”

It was good news.

Cheers could be heard from all around.

“Finally, finally we’ve successfully raided!”

It was a success after the fourth attempt to raid the Red Gate in Cheongdam-dong.

“...Ah, they’re coming out now?”

Yoo Haena walked towards the red gate with a slight smile.

She slightly lowered her sunglasses and looked at the people exiting.

“The players are coming out!”

The first to come out was the AMT special raid team.

Just as when they entered, all nine of them were there, and it seemed there were no casualties.

“Ha, what... were they really just holed up in a corner?”

Although they were soaked with sweat and covered in sand, they looked unharmed.

Considering they entered a high-difficulty dungeon, they looked suspiciously fine.

This could be interpreted to mean that they did not take the forefront.

On the other hand, the Cheonghwa Guild’s raid team...

“Damn it! Quickly move the injured!”

“It’s a symptom of poisoning! Bring the intermediate detox potion!”

They were quite battered, forcing the healing teams that were on standby to move hurriedly.

‘What... even though they fought to the extent of getting that badly hurt, those guys were just sitting still?’

Yoo Haena thought so while looking at Lee Hyunwook who was approaching her.

He opened his mouth first.

“Catherine, I guess I have nothing to ask from you.”

Given it was a requirement of the bet, having nothing to ask meant...

‘He’s surprisingly giving in easily?’

Yoo Haena thought so.

“Ah, don’t tell me you accepted my initial proposal? Were you so scared as soon as you entered that you completely lost the desire to bet... It’s a bit too much given the state our team is in, don’t you think...?”

Yoo Haena laughed nervously.

However, she did not like Lee Hyunwook’s response this time either.

“Haha...”

He began to laugh, carrying an inexplicable ridicule.

“No, since your guild won’t get anything from that dungeon, there’s nothing for me to take.”

“...What?”

Yoo Haena blinked her eyes wide, wondering what he was talking about.

But Lee Hyunwook only said that much and turned around and disappeared.

“...What does he mean?”

A while later, the analyst player series from the Cheonghwa Guild arrived at the scene.

They had the ability to ‘interpret’ various information of this game. When they tightly grasped the ‘World Stone’ brought from inside the dungeon after the raid completion, they could confirm obvious information.

The ‘contribution’ of the player’s dungeon raid was also one of that information.

Everyone waited for the announcement of the contribution.

After a while, the analysis team leader came forward and announced the results.

“I will announce the results. First, Che, Cheonghwa Guild... co, contribution... 0%.”

At that single phrase, the atmosphere on the Cheonghwa Guild’s side went cold.

In other words, it meant that AMT, Lee Hyunwook, and his squad members had accomplished everything.

There was no need to listen to the subsequent announcement of AMT’s contribution.

“It, it can’t be...”

Yoo Haena couldn’t believe it.

However, the following testimonies supported the fact that the information was true.

The Cheonghwa Guild’s raid team also admitted that they were out as soon as they entered.

“It can’t... be...”

In a moment, Lee Hyunwook’s voice resounded in her mind.

‘No, since your guild won’t get anything from that dungeon, there’s nothing for me to take.’

More than losing the bet, it was more infuriating that Lee Hyunwook had dismissed her in that way.

She turned her head with a flustered expression.

She was looking for Lee Hyunwook.

“How on earth...”

He was currently standing face-to-face with Seo Eunha, engaged in a conversation.

And behind them, the AMT soldiers were laughing and chatting.

It was a scene contrasting starkly with the Cheonghwa Guild’s raid team who were being carried away, groaning in pain.

Unknowingly, Yoo Haena approached them.

“...You!”

As Yoo Haena exclaimed like that, all eyes gathered on her.

“Ha! You may not know what happened, but what do you want?”

“...Huh?”

“A bet is a bet, isn’t it? Saying there is nothing for you to give? No way! What should I give you? Tell me!”

Lee Hyunwook stared at her silently for a while.

Then, her face turned red.

She realized that she had impulsively blurted out, commonly referred to as a burst of words.

She then cleared her throat to regain her haughty expression.

‘Well, well... She herself asked for something this grand, very nice.’

Lee Hyunwook thought so.

Like this, by stimulating her vanity, she bit into an even bigger bait on her own accord.

“Hmm, you can give anything?”

“Say it, what do you want?”

“Are you willing to give the necklace you are currently wearing?”

It was a hero-grade item.

Yoo Haena clutched her own necklace.

“...Are, are you kidding?”

“Of course, it’s a joke.”

At that moment, someone ran over hastily towards them.

It was Lieutenant Kwak Jun-yong, the company commander.

He was politely holding a cell phone in both hands and while looking at Lee Hyunwook, he whispered softly.

“... Le, Lee Hyunwook, it’s a call from the commander.”

It seemed like asking something from Yoo Haena would have to wait for another time.

Lee Hyunwook received the phone from Lieutenant Kwak Jun-yong.

“Salute! This is Corporal Lee Hyunwook!”

Then, a gruff voice exploded from the other end of the phone.

―Hey! Hu, in my life, you are the first person like this I have ever seen!