Swamp Survival: Isra's Pride and My Undead Army
The next day.
I woke up and immediately searched for information on the Challenging Realm.
“Nothing.”
Nothing?
“What’s nothing?”
“I’m shocked.”
Hey, Kyung?
Let’s turn the sleep mode back on and go in.
I don’t have any privacy, you know.
Because I’m in the Death Space, my sense of time is fading.
“Ah.”
I should have turned it off before I went to sleep.
The system said I can turn consciousness on and off, right?
After a few more times it’ll strain my heart.
So what’s nothing?
“I looked for SSS-rank clear related stuff.”
I asked the hunters I went with to keep the secret, but I figured the chance of them spilling it was higher.
But when I saw the article, it was surprisingly quiet.
Your sense of self-importance is quite excessive, my lord.
“You don’t know this, but an SSS-rank hunt will cause chaos, Kyung.”
Similar weight to an S-rank promotion?
“Not quite that heavy.”
D-rank gates can be cleared at higher ranks if you throw expensive items at them, since promotion doesn’t depend on talent like before.
But the hype around clearing an SSS-rank wasn’t lacking.
Whenever a top hunter shows up, trouble follows.
If I had been identified, related articles would have loosened up.
Or the guild people would be lining up in front of the door begging for handshakes.
Hmm.
Thinking about it made me nervous.
I peeked out the window and couldn’t even find a single ant.
You didn’t find someone looking for you, did you?
“Let’s keep it quiet, Kyung.”
Hahahaha! It seems your sense of self-importance is correct after all.
“Shh.”
I commanded with strong will.
Sir Isra, who was grumbling, stayed quiet.
Sigh.
Now it’s finally quiet.
I searched a few more times and opened the Hunter 24 app.
“How long are you going to stare at it?”
……
“Fine. Now you can talk.”
…….
Hey.
Why the silence, Kyung?
“Sir Isra?”
…….
I’m ticked off. I’m really ticked off.
“No choice. Today I’ll have to clear the gate with the new undead.”
I clicked the Hunter 24 app button and searched for D-rank gates near my apartment.
I felt a gaze on me.
Sir Isra.
Stop flashing your eyes.
Are you having a hard time acting like you don’t care?
I held my phone at the angle where Sir Isra could easily see it, pretending not to notice.
Let me see.
Where is the closest gate from home?
“Here it is.”
[Deep Swamp]
Location: Hanam City, Misa Lake Park
Difficulty: D
Entry Limit: D-rank (10 people)
Spawn Monsters: Elikro
It’s a swamp. It doesn’t sit well with me.
Sir Isra naturally spat out a line.
She had said we’d hunt with Armed Zombie Warriors, but she dismissed the idea of going together like it was obvious.
I held back the urge to tease her and continued the conversation.
“The swamp terrain debuff is pretty harsh.”
I just don’t like the sticky feeling.
“You’re an undead, Kyung.”
As you know, my senses remain.
“I can turn them on and off whenever I want. Why the weak act?”
Anyway, I hate it!
Our knight lord is really picky.
“Then I guess I have to go with the Armed Zombie Warriors.”
No choice. I can’t entrust you to servants I don’t trust, my lord.
The purpose of entering the gate was to test the Armed Zombie Warriors’ performance, but
“Heh. As expected, the Continent’s Best Sword is Sir Isra.”
Hahahaha! To know my sincerity so well, I’m overwhelmed!
I decided to set aside the uncomfortable truth.
Sigh.
I seem to be raising a lord instead of servants.
***
30 minutes by public transport.
I arrived at Hanam Lake Park.
In front of the gate was a makeshift booth.
“Haaaarrrn.”
The suited man yawned as if he was tired.
Probably a staff from the Gate Management Authority.
Hmm. Your work attitude is poor, my lord.
“If you’re bored, you can do that.”
If my knight had done that, I would have punished him severely!
Sir Isra.
She was an old man before he died.
I wonder what age he was when he died.
Did you not have any inappropriate thoughts?
“No.”
Hmm.
Kyung.
You don’t have mind-reading.
Even if I try to see through you, it’s useless.
Since we’re in front of the gate,
I pulled Sir Isra out of the Death Space.
The undead popped out into the empty space, and the Gate Management staff member looked shocked.
“Ah. You’re a hunter.”
“Can I enter the gate?”
“Yes. Let me check your hunter registration first.”
[Hunter Registration]
Name: Park Minho
Rank: E
Ah.
Since I promoted, I need to renew it.
“Recently I rose to D-rank.”
“Yes. Because the entry condition is D, you wouldn’t be able to enter without promotion.”
The Gate Management staff held a laptop-sized device to the gate.
“Please wait a moment.”
Shhh—
Energy Distribution – 78%
“Too bad. If it were 2% higher, you’d receive the reward.”
“What can you do. Anyway.”
Reward?
“If the mana distribution exceeds 80%, the Gate Management Authority gives a reward.”
When the mana distribution reaches 100%, a break occurs.
This is the phenomenon where the gate covers reality.
Monsters inside are forced to erupt outside.
If the gate core isn’t removed in the early break, the surrounding environment changes permanently.
80% or higher is considered dangerous.
“Eh. Classified as break risk.”
The reason the gate mana distribution rises is simple.
They keep leaving the monsters generated inside unchecked.
In other words, the distribution number can be seen as the number of monsters.
It’s a gate others are reluctant to enter. It shouldn’t be dangerous, should it?
After Sir Isra’s words, the Gate Management staff member let out a sigh.
It seems he was worried about me not entering the gate.
Well, well.
Factually speaking, you can’t use it on people.
“It’s fine. Let’s go in.”
“Thank you for your hard work, hunter.”
Now switching to another D-rank gate seems even more troublesome.
Since the Continent’s Best Sword is here, it should be okay.
“Let me guide you on the points to watch during the hunt.”
Elikro are close-range monsters with strong strength and toughness.
They have low magic resistance, so the best way is to kill them before they get close.
“……I won, but it’s not easy because they hide in the swamp.”
Approaching while hiding in the swamp area.
When the distance narrows, it becomes very dangerous with the charging skill.
“It’s a more difficult enemy than Living Armor, so be careful.”
Ah.
Then I don’t have to worry.
“Let’s go in slowly.”
“Are you giving up on clearing the gate?”
“Entering right away doesn’t look good.”
Leaving the relieved staff member behind,
I stepped into the blue wormhole.
***
The light filling my retinas disappeared.
The first thought that came to mind was
Thunk!
“This is disgusting.”
Mud up to my ankles.
The viscous swamp pulled my body in like a bog.
The pulling force wasn’t strong.
If I gave it a little, I could lift my foot.
But it wasn’t pleasant.
Stagnation Lv 3
The disgusting sensation wasn’t the only problem.
Thanks to the swamp effect, my body had slowed down.
I already knew that.
“That’s right.”
Endure it.
Whoa.
Who was it complaining about the sticky sensation?
Booboo—
At that moment, bubbles rose from nearby.
Almost at the same time, unwelcome guests poked their faces in.
Elikro that looked like crocodiles.
Brats. Who do you think you’re poking your ugly faces at?!
Shunk—
Monsters over 2 meters tall fell from Sir Isra’s sword strike.
Great.
Even now it’s art.
Elikro seemed to be offering their heads voluntarily.
The problem was there were more than one.
“Krrararack!”
Elikro that appeared behind followed, five in total.
“Kyung.”
Don’t worry.
Sir Isra stepped back, widening the distance.
With just a centimeter difference,
The Elikro’s nails grazed the armor.
“Krrarack!”
The third Elikro that charged from the side swung its arm.
This one I can’t dodge.
Clang!
The bone sword lightly deflected the nail.
From the spot where they collided, sparks flew.
Thanks to Heavenly Martial Body,
Sir Isra’s swordsmanship in the short clash stood out.
“Wow. Is that possible?”
If I had taken it head-on, the strength difference would have been too great and Sir Isra would have been pushed back.
With swordsmanship close to a miracle, it deflected the nails and used the enemy’s strength to collapse the center.
Two strikes fired simultaneously.
Hmm. Too shallow.
Sir Isra retreated again.
A scar appeared on her chest.
Green blood flowed steadily,
But the Elikro didn’t die.
Clang! Clang!
It was a bit different from when I fought Living Armor.
Not a narrow passage but an open space.
Although the defense was lower than Living Armor,
The more agile and stronger Elikro gradually pressured Sir Isra.
But I didn’t think it was dangerous.
The winner was Sir Isra.
Her heightened senses with Heavenly Martial Body told her the answer.
But I couldn’t just sit and watch my fingers.
I had a purpose for visiting this gate today.
“It’s your time to shine.”
[Death Space]
[1/10 → 0/10]
A white giant emerged from the shadows.
The Armed Zombie Warrior turned its head slightly and looked at me.
“Gooouuuk.”
Was he asking me to give an order?
It was different from the zombies I made during E-rank days.
Because the undead rank was high?
Or the influence of the shattered soul stone?
I’ll figure it out slowly later.
“Kill the monsters.”
“Gooouuk. I will obey the orders.”
Thunk! Thunk!
The Armed Zombie Warrior pushed through the swamp and advanced.
“Krrararack!”
“Gooouuk.”
Two giants collided head-on.
They locked fingers and competed in strength.
“Krrararack?”
The fingers bent backward.
The Elikro’s eyes widened.
“It’s strong. Very strong.”
Four times the power of Sir Isra’s.
Just looking at the numbers, I thought that’s right.
Seeing the giant’s fingers bending and the arms about to break, I realized anew how amazing the 400 power stat was.
“Krrarack!”
Another monster lowered its jaw.
Teeth sharp as blades bit down on the Armed Zombie Warrior.
Crack.
It broke.
Its teeth.
“Gooouuk.”
“Ruuuaar?”
So?
It even changed pronunciation when it lost its teeth.
But it was fine.
From now on it wouldn’t be able to bite.
The Armed Zombie Warrior slammed its fist into the head,
causing the Elikro that had bitten the armor to have its forehead cave in deeply.
“Guurruk.”
The sitting monster.
The Elikro that had fought in the initial strength contest remained.
Brats. Just die already.
Shunk—
It was there. Now it’s gone.
The neatly sliced monster’s neck fell in a parabolic arc.
A place I don’t want to stay long.
“Indeed.”
Ambush near the entrance.
Uncommon, but with high mana distribution, you experience everything.
By the way,
“The performance is pretty good, isn’t it?”
It’s amazing.
Armed Zombie Warrior.
It was an active performance that made the Gate Management staff member’s warning meaningless.
One flaw is weak decision-making.
So, then.
“How about if I give you this?”
Hmm. I knew you could sell it.
“It doesn’t wear out just because it’s used a little.”
Do as you judge, my lord.
I released [Axe of Grievance] from the Void Space and gave it to the Armed Zombie Warrior.
“Gooouuuk. Master. I received the weapon.”
“Show me your axe technique.”
“Gooouuk. Understood.”
A while later,
This! This is unbelievable!
Sir Isra screamed.