Chapter 22
Chapter 22
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 22
Chapter Title: Moonlight Starlight's Request
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Their hunt went smoothly. Yuseong's skills were already overwhelming enough to devastate multiple kobold dens on his own, and the NPC who had introduced himself as Moonlight Starlight was no slouch either.
His agile movements—dodging kobold attacks with a short sword, stabbing, and quickly pulling back—surpassed any other NPC Yuseong had seen so far.
"It was just that a bunch of other kobolds showed up out of nowhere last time, catching me off guard. I'm not half bad myself."
Sensing that his earlier escape had been embarrassing, he offered the excuse in a defensive tone.
It didn't take long to wipe out the kobolds in the den. The two then moved to another den and cleared out its inhabitants as well.
"Shall we head to the next den now?"
Moonlight Starlight seemed pretty excited. But Yuseong shook his head.
"I think we should call it a day for hunting."
The quest completion notice had already popped up when they'd cleared about half the den. It was time to collect the reward.
"Oh, I see."
Moonlight Starlight looked a bit disappointed.
"Could we hunt together again sometime?"
"Sure."
It wasn't like they were making any formal commitment. There was no reason to refuse.
"How about tomorrow, then?"
"That works."
As he replied, Yuseong felt a warm swell in his chest.
He recalled the first time he met Naltorri, when he'd had to turn down the invitation due to the generator and battery's performance issues.
But now, he could easily accept such an offer. Thanks to the new generator and battery.
With that, Yuseong and Moonlight Starlight promised to meet the next day and parted ways.
* * *
After that, Yuseong hunted with Moonlight Starlight quite frequently.
"That's why you ended up meeting me so late."
Naltorri said this as he swung his sword at the monster in front of him.
What he was facing was a monster called a rock snake.
It was covered in hard, rocky scales protruding like armor in places across its body, making it tricky to deal damage properly since you had to target the gaps between those scales.
But Naltorri skillfully stabbed only at the exposed flesh, dealing solid hits.
"Get out of the way!"
Hearing the shout from behind, Naltorri quickly stepped aside. A fireball the size of a fist flew past him.
Boom!
With the explosion, two rock snakes were engulfed in flames. The blast and fire seeped through the gaps in their rocky scales, striking at their vulnerabilities.
The rock snakes writhed in agony. In the meantime, Naltorri charged at another one.
Bang! Bang!
From a distance, Yuseong fired at a rock snake. Attacking the soft spots between rocky scales with a sword was quite difficult.
But Yuseong's bullets ignored such concerns and effortlessly tore into the vulnerable areas.
By then, Naltorri had taken out the rest of the rock snakes.
Just like that, the group of rock snakes they'd gathered to hunt all at once were dealt with.
"That's right."
With the battle over, Yuseong finally answered Naltorri's earlier question. Bomomi, who had wandered over, scolded Naltorri.
"You're asking that in the middle of combat?"
"What's the big deal? These aren't even dangerous. Plus, with Yuseong here, it's even safer."
"You still need to be careful."
"My mom and sister nag me plenty already."
"Maybe you should listen to them sometime."
Naltorri and Bomomi bickered. Their viewers enjoyed watching the two, laughing along.
The chemistry they'd shown during the old mansion strategy stream had been well-received, so they often streamed together now.
"Anyway, it's getting harder and harder to hunt with Yuseong."
"He's a hotshot now. I knew it early on when Bomomi stole him from me."
Naltorri tossed out the joke, then his expression hardened slightly as he turned to Yuseong.
"Still, you need to be careful. Most people are reasonable, but not everyone is."
"He's right. There are some real nasty types out there."
As they gained popularity as streamers, they were starting to deal with the inevitable troublemakers that came with it, so their advice carried real weight.
"Is that so?"
Yuseong figured there must be some NPCs out there who could cause harm.
"I'll keep that in mind."
"Good idea. But with your skills, Yuseong, I doubt you have much to worry about."
The three scattered again to round up more rock snakes.
* * *
[Notice. Got something to report.]
[What?]
[Found an interesting hunting target. Perfect as our debut sacrifice.]
[Who is this punk?]
[You know that guy who's been the talk of the town for chaining extra boss kills?]
[Oh, him?]
[That's the one?]
[Yeah. Wouldn't it be fun? He's probably strutting around all smug right now, and we dump a bucket of cold water on him.]
[LOLOL that rotten bastard from the start.]
[Bet his first leaves were bright yellow LOLOL]
[Even if he gets flamed by the same types, he'll take zero damage. So you in or not?]
[Obviously.]
[He pissed me off anyway.]
[Jealousy from an ugly bastard is an eyesore.]
[Shut up, like I don't know you think the same.]
[LOLOL Agreed.]
[So it's settled?]
[Yeah. But how'd you spot him? He's been busy showing off with other streamers lately.]
[Ran into him by chance. He was hunting kobolds, and I sensed someone around. Thought it'd be a quick monster raid takedown, but he didn't even flinch—just swept them clean.]
[Guy's got skills, for sure. Got a plan? We mess with him wrong, we could get wrecked.]
[Overwhelm with numbers.]
[Obviously. But even if the three of us rush him, I don't like our odds.]
[Fair. Dude's a total monster. Watched his extra boss vid—guy's insane.]
[Don't worry. I have an idea.]
[As expected lol]
[Gotta hand it to him, his twisted brain works wonders LOLOL]
[So you're both in? Let's prep.]
<OK>
<OK>
* * *
"Could you possibly help me with a quest?"
Yuseong, who had been loading bullets into his magazine, looked up at Moonlight Starlight's sudden request.
"A quest?"
"Yes. I'm working on one right now, but it's a bit tough."
Evidently embarrassed to ask, Moonlight Starlight scratched his head and averted his gaze.
"It's a dungeon conquest quest, and this dungeon's pretty high-level. I've challenged it multiple times, but failed every time."
He glanced at Yuseong's reaction.
"I won't have many more chances to hunt with you like this, so I figured I'd swallow my pride and ask."
In fact, Yuseong had already informed Moonlight Starlight that he couldn't keep hunting together at their current frequency.
Hunting with him didn't boost attention much anyway, and Yuseong had his own tasks to handle.
"Got it."
It wasn't a big deal. Moonlight Starlight's face lit up.
"Thank you!"
He bowed his head deeply.
They finished that day's hunt, promised to meet next time, and parted ways.
Moonlight Starlight watched Yuseong's retreating back. One corner of his mouth twitched upward slyly.
* * *
On the appointed day, Yuseong headed to the meeting spot.
Chewing and swallowing the black bread he'd gotten as a quest reward, he walked briskly for a while before spotting Moonlight Starlight, who had arrived early and was waiting.
After a quick greeting, Yuseong followed Moonlight Starlight, who led the way to the dungeon.
"This dungeon is one I discovered first. It's a secret spot no one else knows about."
Proud of finding a dungeon unknown to others, Moonlight Starlight puffed out his chest.
"The quest popped up right after I found it, but no matter how hard I try, I can't clear it."
"Your skills seemed solid enough, Moonlight Starlight. And it still gave you trouble?"
"Haha, thanks for the compliment."
Pleased, Moonlight Starlight laughed heartily.
"I think my skills put me in the mid-to-upper tier for my level, but this dungeon was still too much. That's when I met you—right as I was considering asking others for help."
"What kind of dungeon exactly?"
"It's full of kobolds. But they're high-level ones. Not just regulars—plenty of elites too."
Yuseong had only hunted the regular kobolds along the roads, so he'd never faced elites. But he wasn't too worried.
According to the strategy guide, there was a difference, but nothing that threatened him.
The place Moonlight Starlight led him to was one of the kobold dens scattered near the road.
Located a bit off the path, it looked no different from the others on the outside.
"The dungeon's inside here."
Moonlight Starlight took Yuseong into the den. They casually cleared out the annoying kobolds as they went deeper. Soon, Yuseong stood before a jagged rock wall.
"Right here."
Moonlight Starlight approached the wall. He examined it carefully, as if searching for something, then placed his hand on a specific spot.
Clunk!
A mechanical sound echoed from behind the rock wall.
Rumble!
A rock at the base of a wall some distance away slid upward, revealing a small hole—just big enough for a person to crawl through if they bent at the waist.
Yuseong peered into the hole.
'Strategy guide. What's this dungeon?'
【This is the 'Giant Kobold Den.' It starts with regular kobolds and is packed with plenty of elites too.】
'I see.'
Moonlight Starlight ducked in first. Yuseong followed. As Yuseong emerged from the hole, the rock slid back down, sealing the entrance.
"What do you think, Yuseong? I found it by pure chance."
His eyes sparkled like a kid showing off a secret hideout.
It resembled a typical cave but on a grand scale. Looking inside revealed a long, extending passageway.
"Looks like they just supersized a kobold den."
"That's spot on. It's called the Giant Kobold Den, after all. True to the name, all sorts of kobolds come swarming out. And kobolds always travel in packs. If another group spots you while you're fighting one, you'll get surrounded just like when we first met. That's what makes it so tough."
The two began properly venturing into the dungeon.