Chapter 296
Chapter: 296
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>Translator: penny
>Chapter: 296
>Chapter Title: Code Zero (1)
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‘What the hell is going on?'
Seongjin fiddled with his status window for a moment.
〚Object - Skin 'Gather, Friends'〛
>〚*On*/Off〛
>〚Object - Skin 'Gather, Friends'〛
>〚On/*Off*〛
No matter how many times he toggled the skin on and off, nothing changed. Not only the external objects, but even the player's graphical skin felt completely wiped out.
Of course, the fact that he was still stuck as a little mountain goat in this situation was infuriating.
"You sure you're okay, newbie?"
Owen, with his unfamiliar face, asked again with a worried look.
That wasn't the only change.
Static.
There were occasional unpleasant noises, but the surrounding scenery now appeared far more realistic than before.
So the initial glitchy graphics weren't just because the signpost was broken.
-You already see, hear, and breathe through me!
The voice of the drowned corpse that had desperately clawed at his eyes suddenly came to mind, sending shivers down Seongjin's spine.
It had to be that guy's doing, right?
Had No. 2 Demon King properly taken care of him?
[Seongjin, do you still have elements to consider? If the leader objects, we can postpone the theme dungeon even now.]
Hatasu Titi. No, the shield warrior with Hatasu Titi's voice asked.
He looked like a perfectly normal person on the outside. Of course, his abnormally thin and elongated features and the creaking movements of his limbs remained the same.
[I trust Dexter, Seongjin. It's fine.]
The most unexpected was Gurub. She had taken on the form of a strikingly typical beauty, with fine hair flowing around her.
The only flaw was her ranger-like slender limbs twitching unnaturally.
'What? I thought since she said she had roots in the original world, her avatar would be some full-on soft-bodied creature, but surprisingly normal?'
He almost fell for it.
If Gurub's long hair hadn't slithered on its own to politely offer him a potion right in front of his eyes!
'......!?'
[Status Ailment Potion. Shall I have you drink it?]
Stunned, Seongjin numbly took the potion.
'What the hell? Does the hair have joints?'
Gurub. What kind of messed-up avatar are you?
"What do you say, newbie? If you're not feeling well, wanna skip this dungeon?"
Even amid all this, Owen's appearance was quite the sight.
He looked free-spirited, with shabby clothes topped by haphazard armor and his coppery hair messily tied back.
Holding the potion, Seongjin shot him a displeased glare for a moment.
'There's a limit to sloppiness. What's with the bird's nest on your head and those feathers? You're Delcross's 1st Prince, man—can't you dress properly?'
But with their identities still undisclosed, he couldn't just nag like that.
[What's up, newbie?]
[...Nah, nothing.]
Right. Didn't he say he'd spent a long time on the battlefield with heretics? Maybe he had to cut him some slack.
Having rubbed shoulders with tidy palace folk for so long, Seongjin had assumed Owen would be similar.
'Let it slide this time. But you little punk, just try walking around the palace like that later!'
[......?]
Zap.
Owen scratched his unkempt hair in confusion, having no idea why he was getting Seongjin's sharp glare.
* * *
[C-Rank Dungeon, 'Orc King's Labyrinth' isn't that tough overall. True to its name, the structure is complex like a maze, but if you clear the 'conditions' right, the difficulty drops sharply like previous dungeons.]
The little mole fiddled with his goggles as he continued explaining. Even with everyone's appearances changed, only Dexter retained his cute animal friend look.
Maybe because he bought the skin himself. Or proof that the avatar changes weren't just superficial overlays.
[Ranged, melee, and magic orcs are scattered evenly throughout the maze. Their matchups are pretty clear-cut, so if you break through methodically, no big issues.]
Hatasu Titi tilted his head. Going from a simple deer to a solemn warrior form felt so unfamiliar still.
[As explained initially, Dexter. Bringing it up again—does that mean you're not planning to follow the standard strategy?]
[Yeah. Need to discuss it with everyone.]
The mole adjusted his goggles and nodded.
[After checking records here, other teams' time challenge records are way faster than expected.]
[Meaning......]
[If we go textbook, we won't even come close to those times.]
The standard clear for 'Orc King's Labyrinth' involved navigating all three intertwined mazes and heading to the boss room.
A tricky setup dodging traps and alarms scattered around, stepping through mazes that shifted over time.
[Sure, you could skip parts of the maze for the boss room, but that shortens time at the cost of a trash clear score.]
[What? Then how'd the others do it?]
[Hard to grasp. They don't clear all mazes. Yet they kill all mobs. How?]
Right then, Seongjin, who had been quietly listening, spoke up calmly.
[...They trigger every alarm from the start.]
[......!?]
All eyes turned to him in shock.
Dexter stared at Seongjin in surprise, then nodded dazedly.
[Exactly. Good catch. That's my conclusion too. Other parties probably deliberately lured mobs into their path to minimize clear time.]
[But is that possible? Methodical clears by matchup are one thing, but if all maze mobs swarm at once, clear difficulty skyrockets.]
At Hatasu Titi's words, everyone's faces grew serious.
Hundreds of various mob types pouring in at once—that stopped being low-level mob fodder.
[Don't different types have their own 'conditions' to fulfill? Justitia's conditions get pretty complex from C-Rank. Handling hundreds of orcs while meeting them sequentially......]
Owen shook his head gravely.
[No matter how I think, it's reckless. Fine for normal users with retries, but for us, it's all-or-nothing.]
Pangea Chronicle was brutally realistic—a high-level user could die screaming to a noob's swing.
If attacks poured from all sides, even high-defense wouldn't last.
[But Dexter's smart. Surely there's a way.]
At Gurub's point, the mole nodded a bit sheepishly.
[Yeah. In theory, it's not impossible. Wanna hear it?]
Dexter's proposal was a kind of defensive battle.
Sprint shortest path to the boss room trijunction, then alternate blocking attacks from each direction by matchup.
[...Switch?]
[Right. Core of the defense. The 'condition' in 'Orc King's Labyrinth' is dealing 30% of total HP in same-attribute attacks.]
Melee mobs with melee, casters with magic to start.
But breaking condition meant hitting weakened mobs with mismatched attacks for defense gains—tricky.
E.g., if caster weakens caster, ranger had to beat them to death next.
[Ranger counters melee, magic counters melee. So face incoming waves from three sides, break conditions each, then quick-switch positions by matchup.]
[Hmm......]
Sounded plausible at first, but issues abounded.
Gurub swept her quiver with her hair and asked.
[Tight. What if same mobs from three directions overlap?]
[Trigger alarm on shortest path to boss room—that solves it. Orc squads evenly distributed, so simultaneous boss rush rarely overlaps.]
Plus, mismatch didn't nullify damage. First cleared side supports others—Dexter added.
[But mobs en route? Maze shifts over time. By boss room, chasing squads will mix chaotically.]
Dexter nodded at Hatasu Titi's point.
[Break conditions on every encounter while moving. Ideally thin numbers while running. Clears our path for easier defense later.]
[Still sounds tight.]
Worries lingered.
But Silence Villains' faces brightened versus before. Hearing Dexter, they started thinking it might really work.
[Orc warriors have narrow aggro range, slight delay on ranged targets. Orc casters switch to buff mode if ranged ahead. Exploit those gaps.]
Dexter continued confidently.
[Plus everyone's stronger than yesterday. High-grade reinforced weapons, right? I say worth a shot.]
[Right. Key is reaching boss room fast without maze wandering.]
Owen, arms crossed in thought, slyly checked Seongjin's face.
[What about you, newbie? Honestly, seems realistic plan.]
[Hm......]
Seongjin gripped his newbie sword without answering.
Normally he'd reject outright—
'Feels doable?'
Strong hunch.
Dexter's plan already mapped precisely in Seongjin's head.
Some sync slips possible, but within his handling range.
'With vision blockers gone now......'
Unlike before, he could unleash fully.
Plus, couldn't outright oppose—earlier words nagged.
-You will accelerate this chaos flood, ultimately causing world collapse.
Justitia's warning meant his time here might be short.
Had to deal with that fox bastard somehow!
[...Let's do it.]
Seongjin's heavy answer lit up faces.
[Good call, mo... Seongjin!]
[What, newbie? Thought you'd balk—hotter than expected?]
[If Seongjin approves, this plan's got real odds!]
Yeah, think what you want.
Seongjin let excited Silence Villains chatter. Better relaxed than tense—boosted success.
'Plus, last resort escape if needed.'
Seongjin smiled brightly at Gurub.
[If plan goes south, Gurub-ppy-gurub-bby-bibberubby grabs us and hangs from ceiling, right?]
Then summon Hayes, sweep all mobs in perception range.
The beauty ranger, joy-dancing with wriggles, raised slender arm confidently.
[Maze no problem! Gurub hang strong forever!]
Good, Gurub.
You're the most reliable here.