Chapter 32: First Major Update
You can strengthen your equipment with the minotaur leather obtained from the 8th floor underground.
The beginner’s guide had warned that the competition was so fierce it would be far more comfortable to simply buy cash for what you wanted, but…
Now, though, isn’t there any competition at all?
While hunting on the 7th floor underground and using the leftover time to reach the 8th floor and claim the minotaur leather, you can make a fortune.
[Let’s head back to the village today.]
[Yeah… I have classes tomorrow too.]
They logged out near midnight.
Kim Sujin, the teacher, had stayed behind in the club room the entire time, hanging out with them.
“Teacher, aren’t you tired?”
“Huh? I’m fine~ Shall we head to the dorm?”
“Yes.”
“Yes.”
The next morning.
After finishing the morning classes, they headed straight to the club room.
Kim Sujin was already there, searching through something on her monitor.
“Hello, teacher.”
“Hello.”
Kim Sujin stood up from her seat and greeted them warmly.
“Come on in, everyone~ How was class today?”
“It was just… so-so.”
“There are only four classes a day, so the lessons are actually fun.”
Eunhye and Naeun chatted easily with their teacher.
“By the way, you play the Hero game, right?”
“Yes.”
“Right.”
“You’re in Shurie territory right now?”
“Yes.”
Whenever they played the game, Kim Sujin would sit right beside them and join in the conversation, asking about their current location and the dungeon monsters.
“I was checking the Hero community earlier, and there’s a post about a dungeon.”
“Really!?”
Lee Doun checked the monitor Kim Sujin had been using.
It was real.
There was even a screenshot of the dungeon information posted.
Once the dungeon was exposed, a flood of players would rush in within minutes.
And they would clear it faster than their group.
They were only five people,
but those dozens or hundreds of players would compete fiercely to wipe out the dungeon.
“Let’s log in and start the game right now.”
“Yes!”
They had to maximize their gains before the competition kicked in.
Once things heated up, dungeon hunting efficiency would plummet.
They logged into the game and rushed toward the dungeon.
[Cain, there are people gathered in front of the dungeon.]
As Seolhwa had said, a large crowd was forming parties at the entrance.
[Let’s head straight to the 7th floor underground.]
[Got it.]
1st floor underground dungeon.
Many players were hunting wolves.
2nd floor underground dungeon.
Several players were taking down goblins.
3rd floor underground dungeon.
4th floor underground dungeon.
Players were present all the way to the 5th floor underground.
Only on the 6th floor underground did they find it empty.
They hunted the 7th floor like the day before, then used the remaining time to take down the minotaur on the 8th floor.
After repeating this several times,
[Cain, it looks like the minotaur still hasn’t spawned.]
The hunting speed picked up, and they quickly descended to the 8th floor.
[Cain, shall we take a quick look around?]
[The 8th floor underground?]
[Yeah, we haven’t searched here yet.]
[Uh… sure.]
In truth, there was no need to search.
According to the beginner’s guide, the 8th floor was the end.
That was why they had always cleared only the minotaur and returned to the 7th floor…
But to their surprise, a large door stood in the corner of the 8th floor underground.
[Wow! There’s a 9th floor underground too.]
[Should we go to the 9th floor today?]
They had no idea what to say to the question.
The 9th floor shouldn’t exist.
It was a beginner’s guide that had been revised and verified for over ten years.
Yet here it was…
“Dowoon-ah.”
“Huh?”
The hand on his shoulder pulled Lee Doun back to the present.
“Shall we go to the 9th floor underground today?”
“Uh… I don’t know…”
“Huh?”
Naeun’s face showed clear surprise.
“I’ll think about it for a moment.”
“Okay, got it.”
So far, he had always been a good party leader.
From level one, he had maintained stable, steady growth.
Seolhwa, who had joined from the very beginning, knew it well.
They had hunted rabbits, deer, foxes, and wolves,
joined the mercenary guild and cleared goblin dungeons,
gathered massive amounts of animal byproducts to earn huge game currency,
and turned it into over eighty million won in real cash.
After the Holy Royal Empire’s major update, things had changed.
They had moved to the unknown Shurie territory,
bought slaves, and hunted dungeons.
They had taken the best route and achieved the best results.
Anyone would call them a good party leader.
But that was because they had remembered the old beginner’s guide.
The newly appeared 9th floor underground was still a mystery to him.
Seolhwa and Naeun waited for his decision the way they always had, but he hesitated on what to say.
He didn’t know what waited on the 9th floor.
“First… let’s hunt the 7th and 8th floors today.”
“Yes~!”
“Understood.”
They could handle the 7th and 8th floors without trouble, but rushing straight to the 9th felt risky.
They planned to improve their armor with the minotaur leather first.
Of course, they couldn’t drag this out forever.
The dungeon location had already been posted in the Hero community, and dozens of players were already flooding in.
11 PM.
[Let’s wrap it up here today.]
[Yeah.]
They obtained the minotaur leather, passed the 7th floor, and climbed to the 6th.
But then…
[Heal! Heal! Heal!]
[Tank, wait until you pull enough aggro!]
[Archer, standby. Stop attacking.]
Over ten players were hunting normal skeletons on the 6th floor.
[What…? Already?]
[Eh?]
The opponents had noticed them.
[Eh…?]
[You are…]
They recognized each other’s faces.
He was the one who had spent eighty million won to buy game currency from Lee Doun.
Other users who had migrated from other games to Hero.
Heavy spenders.
Their levels looked low, but they were all wearing the highest-grade items sold in the Shurie gear shop.
Not just a couple—everyone.
[Nice to meet you.]
[Hello…]
[I mentioned this before, but if you want, feel free to visit our guild anytime. I really like talented people like you.]
[Sorry.]
They passed the group and returned to Shurie castle.
[Today… I have to play more.]
[Huh? It’s already past eleven.]
They were different from ordinary players.
They poured enormous real-world money into the game and hunted for over fifteen hours a day.
Considering they had come to a brand-new dungeon, they would likely hunt through the night.
Considering their gear level and the speed at which they leveled in dungeons, by the time tomorrow’s classes ended, they might already have cleared the 8th floor.
Lee Doun looked away from the monitor and turned to Kim Sujin, who was sitting right beside him.
[Eh!]
[Oh my.]
He hadn’t realized she was this close.
If he hadn’t been careful, their faces would have brushed.
He forced his racing heart to calm and spoke to the teacher.
“Teacher, I want to play until dawn today.”
“Yeah~ Uh… okay, go ahead.”
The teacher, startled by the near-collision, gave permission with a stutter.
[First, let’s head to the Shurie workshop.]
[Yes.]
They had gathered enough minotaur leather from hunting.
At the workshop, they reinforced each piece of armor with minotaur leather.
Name: Shurie High-Grade Armor
Defense: 60(+5)
Magic Resistance: 5%
Description: High-grade armor sold in Shurie Castle. Reinforced with minotaur leather.
Defense rose slightly, and magic resistance increased as well.
[Let’s go… Let’s clear the 9th floor underground today.]
[Yes!]
After the reinforcement, they hurried back to the dungeon.
Fortunately, the Blood Alliance’s heavy spenders were still stuck on the 6th floor.
They passed the players hunting skeletons and quickly made their way to the 9th floor underground.
[Everyone, be careful.]
[Yes!]
They scouted the surroundings and descended cautiously.
The 9th floor underground was completely unknown territory.
The interior was nothing like the 8th floor.
Where the terrain had been cave-like before, this place was… a vast chamber.
And
a female swordswoman sat on a chair.
[Again…? Is it time?]
A woman in her twenties with long white hair stood from the chair and drew her sword.
[Everyone, be careful.]
She stepped forward.
She was clearly focusing her attention on Lee Doun.
Shuuuuk.
[Eh!?]
Bang!
Damage numbers flashed, and he was afflicted with Chill I.
Ice shards clung to the shield he had taken the hit with.
[Be careful. If you get hit, you’ll be afflicted with a status effect.]
His movements slowed as if his agility had dropped.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The enemy poured continuous attacks at the now-slowed Lee Doun.
Chill II.
Persin and Seolhwa attacked the female swordswoman from both sides.
[Healing.]
[Mana Bolt.]
Rear support followed in quick succession, and Lee Doun could finally catch his breath.
[Be careful. If you allow an attack, you’ll slow down.]
[Yes.]
The female swordswoman’s agility was terrifyingly high; she made it nearly impossible to land a hit.
She blocked Persin and Seolhwa’s attacks with a single sword and even dodged the Mana Bolts that occasionally flew past.
[Push her to one side.]
[Yes.]
[Understood.]
The only saving grace was that the space wasn’t very wide.
It would be better to force her against the wall and reduce her room to maneuver.
Three melee characters pressed the female swordswoman, and she was eventually driven back against the wall.
Crack.
Though shallow, Seolhwa’s sword grazed the female swordswoman’s waist.
Clang. Clang. Clang.
At the exact moment the female swordswoman blocked Seolhwa and Persin’s attacks,
Lee Doun threw himself forward and used Shield Bash.
Kung!
The female swordswoman had no space to dodge and took the Shield Bash directly to the body.
[Groo…]
She couldn’t block the follow-up attacks from Seolhwa and Persin, who were still reeling from the Shield Bash.
She was also hit by the Mana Bolt they had previously avoided.
[Groo!!!]
[What?]
[Be careful.]
Chill suddenly spread around the female swordswoman.
Chill I.
Even without landing a hit on her, he was afflicted with the status effect.
The female swordswoman absorbed Seolhwa and Persin’s attacks with her body and broke the encirclement.
Lee Doun and Persin, now slower, couldn’t keep up.
Fortunately, Seolhwa—blessed with high status resistance—managed to follow the female swordswoman.
[Sara, be careful!]
Sara stood in the female swordswoman’s path.
Lee Doun tried to move his character, but Chill I’s Slow effect prevented him from gaining any speed.
[Kyaaak.]
The female swordswoman’s blade sliced deep into Sara’s side.
She swung downward again, clearly aiming for a finishing blow.
[No!]
Seolhwa threw herself forward and took the hit instead.
The female swordswoman didn’t hesitate; she sent a second strike at Seolhwa.
Seolhwa, having regained balance, blocked it.
But
Seolhwa’s bleeding was severe.
Only when the third attack came flying at Seolhwa did Lee Doun finally close the distance.
Clang! Thud!
Seolhwa’s sword clashed with the female swordswoman’s, and at that perfect moment, Lee Doun threw himself into Shield Bash.
Critical!
The female swordswoman, hit during her own attack, took critical damage and was briefly stunned.
Persin, who arrived a moment later, drove his blade deep into the female swordswoman’s neck.
[Groo…]
The pained expression on the female swordswoman’s face slowly softened.
She dropped the sword she was holding, as if giving up.
[This time… is this how I die…]
She spoke her final words and fell.
[Healing.]
[Healing.]
[Healing.]
Thanks to the recovery potions and Elena’s healing, Seolhwa and Sara survived.
They picked up the female swordswoman’s weapon and exited the 9th floor underground.
The moment they stepped onto the 8th floor, the door to the 9th floor vanished.
As if it had never existed.
That was why the beginner’s guide had marked the final floor as the 8th.
The 9th floor underground was a space you could never enter again once you cleared it.