Chapter 124. D-Day (1)

Kang Oh came to the auction house.

He sat on a comfy sofa and opened the auction interface.

Just to be sure, he checked for any items with healing debuffs, but couldn't find any.

"Oh well."

Kang Oh gave up and turned his attention elsewhere; in preparation for the big day, he picked out items that could be used as fodder for Gluttony.

'They have to be at least A-rank.'

The item rank would determine Gluttony's effects; BB-rank items would double his abilities, while A-rank items or higher would triple them.

It was an important bout, so it was only right that he picked A-rank items.

'They should have really high level requirements.'

The higher the level requirement, the longer he could maintain Gluttony.

'Lastly, they should be on the cheap side.'

Kang Oh sifted through the auction house, looking for items that fit these three categories.

How much time had passed?

"This looks good."

Kang Oh bought Julio's Lion-shaped Armor.

The armor was A-rank, and it required a level of 220. Its defense was high and offered extremely high stat bonuses as well.

There was, however, a crucial defect. It didn't have any special effects! Thus, the 'buy now' price had been set at only 500 gold.

After confirming that the item was securely in his inventory, Kang Oh sent Asu a message.

- Ms. Idol.

- Yes, Oppa?

- Can we talk?

- Sure.

* * *

At the Viyoom Inn...

Kang Oh and Asu sat at a corner table and ordered refreshments.

"Tomorrow's the big day," Asu said.

Her face was filled with a variety of emotions: anticipation, excitement, concern, anxiety, etc.

"Yeah."

"Can we win?"

"Wewillwin 100%. If I use my full power, then no one can beat me for at least 20 minutes."

Kang Oh grinned.

After all, he had Baramut's Roar at his disposal, which added a tiger's power to his own! Not only that, but he had Gluttony too, which tripled his abilities. If he used his trump card, Devil Trigger, in combination with the other two abilities, then there was no one who could match him!

His overwhelming confidence was infectious, making her more confident as well.

"I'll do my best too!"

"Alright, let me check one last time. What's your level?"

"101."

Kang Oh was currently level 182.

Besides helping her, Kang Oh had spent the rest of his time hunting bandits, so he had leveled up significantly.

"You have plenty of strength, agility, and health potions, right?"

Strength and agility potions were the most commonly used potions in Arth.

"Yes, I have enough of them."

"Ok. Tomorrow we'll go all the way with the A course."

The escape game was divided into three categories: A, B, or C.

Although the A course was the shortest, the player was forced to fight more guards.

"I memorized the route."

"Did you watch all of the '1 hour hell' clear videos I told you about?" Kang Oh asked.

Following the Crazy Highschooler, Bart's success, several rankers had attempted to clear the escape game. A portion of them had managed to clear the '1 hour hell'.

Videos of these successful runs were posted on Arthtory, and Kang Oh had sent her the links as reference.

"Yes, I watched all of them."

"How was it?"

"None of them cleared it with pure power aside from Bart. Everyone else used either a healing debuff skill or item."

"Healing debuff items are hard to come by, so not everyone can go that route, but... Park Tae Gyu will probably do just that, since he's part of a large guild."

It shouldn't be too hard for a guild as large as the Jairus Guild to acquire a healing debuff item.

"In any case, what did you think about the monster prison guards?" Kang Oh asked.

"Compared to the ordinary guards, they're incomparably strong."

"What else?"

"Their regenerative abilities are tremendous, and they use fire magic as well. Some of them used curses too... It'll be tough," Asu said firmly.

"Good. You'll be ok even if it's your first time tomorrow."

"I-I have nerves of steel!"

She pointed her index finger at her heart.

"Did you memorize the guard chief's attack pattern and the other unimportant details?"

"Yes!"

Asu sported a cute expression and saluted at him. Seeing that, Kang Oh grinned.

"I've already gone over what the boss will do... I think we're all ready, so let's turn in for the day."

"Ok!"

"Rest well, and make sure you're in tip-top shape."

"You too."

* * *

It was bright on D-day.

Jae Woo and Soo Ah chatted whilst waiting for the shoot to start.

Then, the door swung open, and in came Park Tae Gyu and Yoon Se Hwa.

"Did you prepare yourselves?"

As always, Park Tae Gyu was all dressed up and sported a gentle smile.

"Get ready to kneel," Yoon Se Hwa said maliciously whilst maintaining her haughty expression.

However, there was also something else deep within her eyes; desire.

'I'm going to beat Jeong Soo Ah!'

She wanted to win today and prove herself. 'I'm not inferior, damaged goods compared to her!'.

"Why would I? You're the one who's going to kneel," Soo Ah retorted whilst smiling.

But there was something in her eyes as well.

'I really hope I can end this tedious relationship once and for all...'

She was sick of being hated and pushed around by Se Hwa.

She truly hoped that she wouldn't be hurt or stressed by Se Hwa ever again following today's victory.

"Hoho, look at you. You're really thick skinned now."

Yoon Se Hwa might be smiling, but overall, she had a wild vibe.

"They say that a frightened dog barks louder... Could you stop with the barking already?" Jae Woo said.

"What?"

Se Hwa raised her eyebrows.

Then, Tae Gyu grabbed her shoulder.

"That's enough. We'll win in the end anyway."

"Are you so sure?"

Jae Woo grinned.

"We'll see who's right in the end."

Tae Gyu looked overwhelmingly confident.

"Make sure you pay up when you lose. Especially you."

Jae Woo pointed at Yoon Se Hwa.

"Hmph."

Yoon Se Hwa left the waiting room.

"I'll get going now."

Tae Gyu left as well.

Sometime later...

A staff member came looking for them.

"The shoot will begin soon. Please be on standby."

* * *

The shoot progressed like any other episode of Dungeon Conquering Man.

"Hello, this is Seol Hee."

"It's nice to see you. This is Jeon Seong Gook."

The two MCs smoothly progressed through the show.

"First, we'll show you the results of the popularity poll."

Seol Hee pointed at the screen, and then the teams' ranking appeared.

1st place: Park Tae Gyu, Yoon Se Hwa

2nd place: Oga, Soo Ah

3rd place: Jaker, Hye Yeon

4th place: Park Bae Shik, Lisa

"Aah, the rankings have changed significantly!" Jeon Seong Gook yelled.

"Indeed. Team Tae Gyu and Se Hwa has overtaken Team Oga and Soo Ah, and has taken first place!"

Seol Hee raised her voice too.

"I guess I didn't pay enough attention to the viewers."

Jae Woo scratched his neck and stared at Soo Ah.

"Well, youwereunfriendly and pretty much just cruised through the shoots," Soo Ah smiled and retorted.

She wasn't really concerned about dropping to 2nd place.

"But still, I'm teamed up with a top idol, so... I didn't think we'd lose 1st place."

"That just shows you how desperate they were... Right?"

Soo Ah stared at Yoon Se Hwa.

Se Hwa stretched both hands sky high and seemed extremely happy.

"I watched the last episode; they had a lot of good moments."

Jae Woo stared at Tae Gyu.

Then, Jae Woo and Tae Gyu's gazes met.

Tae Gyu raised his index finger, an expression that he'd come in first.

"Well, it all works out. We'll win the matchandget 1st place back too."

Jae Woo grinned.

"Hoo, hoo. That's my style; losing now, but winning in the end."

Soo Ah's lips slightly curled up. It was her pride as a top idol. She had no intention of being beaten like this.

The shoot continued whilst Jae Woo and Soo Ah chatted.

"Ah, Mr. Bae Shik. You're in 4th place... What exactly happened?"

"It isn't over yet. I'll turn things around no matter what," Bae Shik said strongly.

"Please do so! I hope that's how things turn out for you. I overheard the writers saying that the last place team will receive a horrendous punishment," Seong Gook said teasingly.

After that, they moved on to choosing dungeons.

Of course, there was only one level 5 dungeon, the Tarnatose Prison, so Jae Woo didn't need to pick a dungeon.

"Now then, Team Oga and Soo Ah, and Team Tae Gyu and Se Hwa will attempt to clear the Tarnatose Prison. Please show us the mission!" Seol Hee yelled.

[Mission: Clear the '1 hour hell'.]

'As I thought, we have to clear the 1 hour hell.'

His expectation had been right on. He hadn't been the only one; Soo Ah, Tae Gyu, and Se Hwa had all expected the mission, so none of them were surprised.

"Aah, so the mission for our Dungeon Conquering Men/Girls is clearing the '1 hour hell'," Seong Gook said.

"For those who aren't familiar with it, we've prepared some footage of the Tarnatose Prison for you. Please take a look," Seol Hee said.

The screen showed footage of the Tarnatose Prison, the escape game, and the 1 hour hell.

"It's just the right place for our contestants to show us what they got for the last time!" Seong Gook said.

"That's right. I wonder how our two teams will do. Good luck!"

Then, the other teams picked their dungeons and received their missions.

However, the 3rd and 4th place teams looked completely serious as they chose their level 4 dungeons; they just wanted to make sure they didn't come last.

"Now, all of our teams have chosen their final dungeons," Seol Hee said.

"Before our Dungeon Conquering Men/Girls show their stuff...!" Seong Gook said.

Seol Hee continued, "We'll see you in a minute!"

She acted cute and waved both her hands.

"Cut."

"Good job everyone. Contestants, please gather in the capsule room at the appointed time."

* * *

Kang Oh, Asu, and their writer came to the Urdan Cemetery in order to obtain their quest.

However, Tae Gyu and Se Hwa's writer was already there, vacantly standing by.

"Unni."

The youngest writer came forward.

"Oh, you're here?"

"Yes. Did Team Tae Gyu and Se Hwa already go in?"

"Yeah. They went in earlier," Tae Gyu and Se Hwa's writer said.

'So they went in already? I wonder how they'd feel if we came out before them...'

"We don't have to sign a contract today, right?" Kang Oh asked his writer.

The writers had already told him prior that he wouldn't be limited in the level 5 dungeon.

"Yes. You can use your full power today. Ah, and please remember to turn on film mode," the youngest writer said.

"Film!"

Kang Oh and Asu immediately activated film mode.

"Then we'll get going now. Are you ready?"

"Yes, I'm ready. Maybe I really do have nerves of steel. I'm not shaking at all."

Hearing that, Kang Oh smiled.

"Me too. I'm completely relaxed. Anyway, let's go."

"Ok!"

Once he touched the tombstone, he received a quest.

"Yes!"

Then, Kang Oh and Asu's bodies faded.

[Entering the spatiotemporal intersection point, Tarnatose Prison.]