Chapter 63
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 63
Chapter Title: Zero-Sum Game (1)
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I barely made it, and as I stepped out of the car, I pressed my fingers against my throbbing forehead.
I had my suspicions when she showed up in a supercar, but who would have thought someone so small would floor it with such glee.
‘Why are all these Hunters so obsessed with supercars?’
I should have known from the moment she pulled up in that yellow sports car at the hotel parking lot.
Choi Soo-hyun was one thing, but Jeong Cho-ah was just as bad.
I walked over to Cho-ah, who was carrying a small bag.
"I'm driving on the way back."
"I'll think about it."
Think about it? What is there to think about, lady?
If I let her drive again, I'd probably die in a car crash before a monster ever got me.
Cho-ah didn't seem to like my declaration that I would be driving on the return trip.
As we approached the dungeon, an Association employee in a jumper came over.
Guiding Hunters to dungeons was usually a job for new recruits who had just passed their exams.
These new employees were required to do two years of mandatory fieldwork.
However, the man accompanying the young employee this time looked quite old.
He was a middle-aged man, far too old to be considered a rookie.
"I heard from Chairman Park. I'm..."
"Yes. I know."
Cho-ah cut him off abruptly.
The man broke into a cold sweat at her attitude.
"What? Ah, well, if I could just briefly introduce myself..."
"I'll just sign and head into the dungeon."
Jeong Cho-ah held out her hand to the young man behind him.
He handed her the tablet he was holding.
After signing, Cho-ah passed the tablet to me.
‘Wow, she’s so dismissive.’
It was less a signature and more of a single, quick slash.
From her sloppy autograph, I could guess she was angry for some reason.
I signed the tablet and handed it back.
"I'm going in first."
"Wait..."
Without giving him a chance to speak, Cho-ah threw herself into the dungeon gate.
"Ah, well... Please head in. I'll take care of things here..."
Time was just a suggestion; there was no strict rule about when one had to enter a dungeon.
As long as there was a valid reason, entering a bit early wasn't a major issue.
Still, I felt a little bad for the man who had clearly come out of his way for us.
But since Cho-ah had already gone in, I couldn't delay either, so I followed her into the dungeon.
[Troll Forest]
Rank: B
Terrain: Jungle
Recommended Party Size: 10-15
Objective: Obtain the Giant Troll's Essence.
Rewards
1) All party members upon clearing the dungeon [3,000 Contribution Points]
2) All party members upon killing all trolls [2,500 Contribution Points]
3) Possessor of the Giant Troll's Essence [4,000 Contribution Points]
4) One Strike, Two Cuts (一刀兩斷) [2,500 Contribution Points]
…….
10) No Mercy. [1,200 Contribution Points]
"Why are there so many?"
Now that I was in a B-rank dungeon, I could really feel the sharp increase in the number of quests.
It was no wonder other Hunters unanimously said that clearing dungeons took so long not because of hunting monsters, but because of the quests.
"We won't be clearing all of them."
Cho-ah peeked out from between two large tree trunks.
So that's where she went.
I dismissed the status window and shook my head.
My goal was just to gauge my abilities, anyway.
The quests were secondary.
The Troll Forest was incredibly dense.
Massive trees that looked thousands of years old stretched on endlessly.
"By the way, Cho-ah, why did you follow me here?"
"To watch you."
It wasn't that I hadn't guessed.
But I didn't expect her to be so blatant about it.
Seriously, is my credibility that low?
"I'm kidding."
"Huh?"
"I said I wanted to come."
She was a master at messing with people.
"What was that all about earlier?"
The man who had approached us outside the dungeon was clearly a superior.
He seemed to be trying to be helpful, so there was no need to be so openly cold to him.
"Because Si-woo didn't give the Association any special instructions. It's obvious why those guys show up at a dungeon site like this."
Cho-ah vaulted over a tree root as high as her waist and dusted off her hands.
Since the Association and the guilds had a symbiotic relationship, it was hard to ignore connections or stakes with specific guilds.
"The upcoming raid... Si-woo has the boss summoning ticket."
"Meaning?"
"Meaning Si-woo is the raid leader."
"How did he get his hands on something like that?"
"He said a god told him."
Cho-ah said she didn't know any more details than that.
A boss raid was an event where a boss was artificially summoned to a specific location.
Only those with tickets could participate, and it could only be initiated by the holder of the summoning ticket.
The difference between a raid and a rift was that a rift was an unprepared battle, whereas a raid was a fight that allowed for thorough preparation.
Among the various items, a boss summoning ticket was something you couldn't get even if you wanted to.
It was no surprise that the Aria Guild's—or more accurately, Park Si-woo's—stock was rising.
"Si-woo has high hopes for you. So, do your best."
Cho-ah pushed my back with both hands.
Propelled forward by her push, I looked up.
Red eyes glinted between the tree trunks.
A tree branch came flying toward me.
It was called a branch, but its thickness was no different from a tree trunk.
I drew the Sky Sword and sliced the branch in two.
[The aura of the god Soter blesses you.]
[All stats are greatly increased.]
I kicked off a tree trunk and leaped upward.
A troll, looking up, threw a punch.
I slashed its arm and went straight for its face.
"Ugh."
Ignoring its severed arm, the troll swung its other one.
I managed to block the attack, but my body was sent flying.
Another troll, hidden behind a tree, reached for me.
I twisted my body slightly, gripping my sword, planning to use Moonlight Slash.
‘Wait...’
As I cut off the troll's arm, I also left a deep gash on its shoulder.
Using the severed arm as a stepping stone, I beheaded the first troll.
The blinded troll stomped around relentlessly.
Unless its essence was destroyed, the creature was practically immortal.
I plunged my sword into the wandering troll's right chest.
I felt something burst inside the troll's body.
*Grrrwl.*
When I pulled out the sword, the troll let out a ragged breath and fell backward, taking a tree down with it.
Its regeneration apparently complete, the other troll's massive palm descended on me from above.
I sliced off its fingers and climbed a tree that was about the same height as the troll.
As I channeled my mana, the sword began to glow with a blue light.
This wasn't just a simple blue glow.
‘The Sword that Cleaves the Sky!’
I used Meteor Slash, aiming for the troll's chest.
The troll's body, along with its essence, was split in half.
I landed on the ground along with the troll's falling upper torso.
The blood on my sword vanished as if it were never there.
Even after using it for nearly a month, I still wasn't used to this damn sword.
At first, I wondered what kind of sword it was.
But the more I used it, the more I realized what a fine blade it was.
For one, it was ridiculously sharp.
Much sharper than the 8.5 million dollar sword I got from Choi Soo-hyun.
For a sword of unknown origin, it was far too good.
Whatever the case, it seemed I'd hit the jackpot on this item draw.
‘Though it was a gift.’
I had shown Nodens my Taboo.
Speaking of the Taboo itself wasn't forbidden, but some Taboos could become fatal weaknesses just by being known.
So, I considered it a fair trade.
*Clap, clap.*
I heard applause from the side.
Cho-ah hopped over the fallen troll's body and approached me.
"Wow, that was amazing."
"Could you stop reading from a script?"
"Oh, but it's true."
While I was fighting the trolls, Cho-ah had stayed far back.
I flicked the blood from my sword and sheathed it.
Cho-ah quickly came closer and stared openly at the sword.
"I've never seen that sword before. Did you get it from Choi Soo-hyun's vault?"
"Something like that."
I couldn't talk about Nodens, so I gave a vague answer.
Cho-ah didn't seem to care much about my reply.
She crouched in front of the dead troll's corpse and took something out of her bag.
"A syringe?"
"Something like it. Troll spinal fluid sells for decent pocket money."
With those words, she nonchalantly stuck a large metal needle into the troll's spine.
The amount of spinal fluid from the two trolls wasn't much.
It was only about 50mL in volume, but considering that only 2-3mL was needed to make a potion, it wasn't a small amount either.
"Slow down!"
I called out to Cho-ah, who was walking ahead.
I didn't know what she was so excited about, but she was navigating the rough jungle terrain at an incredible speed.
With Mana Detection, I wasn't worried about losing her, but I needed to be able to protect her in a pinch, so letting her get too far away wasn't a good idea.
I barely managed to catch up to Cho-ah.
To be precise, it was more like she waited for me.
"You could get hurt."
"Why is getting hurt a big deal?"
I was momentarily speechless at her genuinely curious question.
"Because it hurts?"
Was that too simple an answer?
Cho-ah chuckled lightly and turned to the side.
A short distance away, a troll was staring at us.
"You don't need to think about protecting me, and you don't have to worry if I get hurt."
"Still..."
"I'm not as weak as you think, Han-gyeol. So you can just treat me like I'm not even here."
Cho-ah continued speaking, unfazed by the troll charging toward her.
The troll opened its massive mouth, aiming for Cho-ah.
She leaped lightly and swung her leg toward the troll's neck.
The huge troll's body pitched forward and slammed into the ground.
Standing on the troll's corpse, Cho-ah casually dusted off her hands.
Cho-ah was right.
She had told Park Si-woo she wanted to enter the dungeon because she was confident.
And Park Si-woo hadn't allowed it because of me.
He knew she would be fine in a B-rank dungeon even on her own.
It really was a pointless worry.
Another troll charged at Cho-ah.
I swung the Sky Sword, and the troll's body was sliced in half, along with its essence.
Seeing me with my sword drawn, Cho-ah smiled.
"When you kill them, please be careful with the spine."
"Hah, fine."
We continued to take down trolls.
At first, I found Cho-ah's personality hard to get used to, but as time passed, I was able to accept it calmly enough.
The troll hunt went smoothly.
Judging that it was about time to go after the boss, we headed for the Giant Troll's location at the crack of dawn.
"You seem to be good at finding monsters, Han-gyeol. Is it a skill?"
"It is."
Mana Detection was an incredibly useful skill if used correctly.
But proficiency played a bigger role than just acquiring the skill, so it wasn't easy for most ordinary Hunters to do what I did.
I certainly hadn't been this good from the start, either.
‘The real genius would be that guy.’
Yoo Ji-han.
After finally watching all the recorded videos from the third floor, I realized once again what a monster he was.
What's more, on the third floor, he had introduced himself as Kim Yoo-han.
If only I had seen that sooner, things wouldn't have gotten so complicated.
But why Kim Yoo-han?
‘He probably just made it up on the spot.’
I could picture it perfectly.
Kim is the most common surname in Korea, and Yoo-han was just his own name with a letter dropped.
For someone his age, he had not a speck of finesse in anything outside of fighting.
*Kuuuuung.*
The entire forest shook, and the air instantly grew heavy.
What I had thought was a hill began to slowly rise.
It was the boss monster of the Troll Forest, the Giant Troll.
"It appeared... huh?"
But this one was different from the one I knew.
Cho-ah, who had been nibbling on a calorie bar, looked up.
"It has two heads."
Like I can't see that it has two heads?