Chapter 12: (2): – Season 1: Preparation
***
Hyun-seok raised all his stats to 100 in tutorial mode. In fact, he even has nine extra stat points. He knew that penalties would be applied because of that. However, he didn’t know whether those penalties would also be applied in the dungeon.
“It seems like there are still survivors around.”
The notification read “safety zone revoked” and “recovery zone revoked,” indicating that there were safe areas in the game, places protected from monster attacks. Hyun-seok and Jong-won took the lead and started running.
In the distance, three men were running toward them. They looked pathetic. Their clothes were tattered, their hair was disheveled, and they looked like they hadn’t showered in days.
“Damn it, this is the entrance!”
Still, they had no choice but to keep running toward Hyun-seok and Jong-won. Jong-won asked, “Are you guys, survivors?”
One of the men replied, “Damn you. Are you guys another rescue team full of lies?”
It was not surprising that they were skeptical. There had been quite a few slayers who had claimed to be rescuers, but they were all useless. They usually died fighting orcs and caused chaos by attracting more orcs from other areas. The rescue teams were actually getting in the way of their survival.
For a while, no rescue teams came, but then they suddenly appeared again. Apparently, they had cleared the dungeon in I’UET, and the strategy information had been released.
Anyway, that was not important right now. The safety zone had disappeared, and even the crystal that restored their health had disappeared. They had been relying on those things to recover their health, but now they were gone. They were left with no choice but to die.
Another man suddenly fell to the ground.
“We’ve already made a mistake.”
“You idiot! What mistake did we make? Hey, if you have something to eat, give it up willingly.”
One of the men pointed his weapon, an ordinary sword, at Hyun-seok and his group. Jong-won shrugged his shoulders and said, “He seems pretty confident for someone begging for food.”
“Shut up!”
The man clenched his teeth. Whether they had food or not, death was inevitable. The orcs hadn’t discovered their location yet, but once they did, they were as good as dead. The rescue team had experienced too many failures to hold onto hope. It was a die-or-die situation.
Hyun-seok stepped forward.
“We didn’t bring any food supplies, but we might be able to help you. This is I’UET’s combat slayer, Ha Jong-won, and I am Yoo Hyun-seok. This is our support slayer, Yoo Min-seo. We came to clear the dungeon.”
“I…I’UET…?”
“The…Solo Orc Slayer?”
“Ha…Ha Jong-won?!”
I’UET was incredibly famous. As a guild that had cleared the dungeon this time, they had become well-known, and among them, Ha Jong-won was a particularly renowned slayer who ran a separate assassination group and was famous for being a top-tier slayer who could solo orcs. He was considered one of the most famous slayers in Korea.
As soon as he revealed that he was Jong-won from I’UET, the situation was turned around. The three survivors handed over all the information they had learned so far to Hyun-seok’s party. There was one open space in the dungeon, and if they followed the winding path, they would come across three rooms. Moreover, it was limited to a maximum of seven people, and there were safe zones at certain intervals that blocked monster access and restored health, but they suddenly disappeared. That was because of Hyun-seok’s entry, but he didn’t bother to mention it.
One of the survivors spoke up.
“There are seven orcs residing in the open space. However, their regeneration time is about seven minutes, so it’s very fast…”
Jong-won cut him off.
“Thank you. That’s enough information. We’ll take care of those orcs.”
He didn’t mention that it was he who would take care of them, not the others. Hyun-seok took the lead. He was afraid of the unknown dungeon before, but not anymore.
The men said.
“We’ll follow you.”
“you staying here… would be more comfortable for us.”
“Please, take us with you.”
The men begged. Even if they were to handle the orcs in the open field, the orcs would regenerate in 7 minutes. During that time, they said their lives would be at risk if the orcs discovered them. That’s when Min-seo spoke up.
“Then please sign this contract.”
Jong-won and Hyun-seok looked puzzled. Min-seo had prepared something that even they didn’t know about.
“What’s this?”
“Well… Last time, Jong-won Oppa made a fuss about income. I thought there might be survivors, so I prepared this in advance. We’ll help with the clear, but we’ll take the income. It’s a contract that I wrote with our school’s social studies teacher.”
Jong-won sighed heavily and Hyun-seok nodded proudly as if he was very proud of his younger sister. The men signed the contract without hesitation in the current situation, and thus the dungeon clear began.
The men kept talking.
“Hey… You’re known as a skilled player in I’UET, but you seem too reckless.”
“That’s right. The orcs here are sensitive to sound. If 7 of them come rushing at once…”
Rescue teams had come about 7 times, and among them, the 4th team was in danger of being killed due to their noisy behavior. Therefore, they were in a very sensitive state.
“We have to be careful. More than 30 rescuers have died so far. Even though we warned them, they said the orcs were nothing…”
Those who survived were definitely quick on the uptake. Anyway, surviving was proof of that.
Jong-won said.
“It’s okay. Orcs are not a threat.”
The man spoke softly but nervously.
“Well, I’ve heard that more than 4 times already. There’s no harm in being cautious. No matter how much of a skilled slayer you are in taking down Orcs alone…”
To these people, Hyun-seok and his group were their only hope. It wasn’t originally the case, but because Jong-won had intervened, they had gained hope. A hard-earned hope. They were thinking that they should be careful, because if seven Orcs rushed at them all at once, they wouldn’t be able to avoid being wiped out. With the safe zone gone, if even they died, there would be no hope of survival.
Min-seo smirked.
“If the Orcs are sensitive to sound… should we call them over here?”
Jong-won nodded.
“Yes. That’s a good idea.”
The faces of the survivors turned pale.
“W-What the…!”
“O-Orcs! Not other monsters…!”
From their perspective, it was an unreasonable idea. Orcs usually hunt in teams of 5-6. Hunting is possible with fewer numbers, but the danger is too high. But to hunt seven Orcs, not even defeating them individually but all at once was insane. It was like saying “Let’s commit suicide.” Min-seo shouted,
“Orcs! Come out! Come out! Come out! Come out!”
“D-Dammit!”
But the deed was already done. At the same time that Min-seo shouted, echoes resounded in the cave.
“We’re screwed…”
“A…are you crazy?”
Seeing the men show a perfectly logical response, Jong-won grinned. He could explain in detail, but it was too much trouble. Seeing is believing.
Kruooo!
The Orcs’ roar could be heard from far away. Thump! Thump! Thump! The sound of running could be heard as if they were running their hardest.
Despair enveloped the faces of the survivors, and at that moment, Hyun-seok took a step forward. He had come with the purpose of rescuing survivors from the beginning. There was no need to hide his strength when his purpose was to rescue. No, he intended to show his full strength.
Unnecessarily, it was troublesome that rumors had spread about how strong he was, but he had already prepared for countermeasures. After understanding the situation, Hyun-seok grinned. It was hard to find tension in his face.
“Min-seo, stand back.”
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