Chapter 11
Chapter 11
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 11
Chapter Title: Mapping and Scouting
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The group first moved to the temporary base Kang-seok and Seong Yu-jin had established on the 6th floor.
The monsters in Labyrinthos had a habit of moving only within specific territories. Because of this, every floor had 'empty zones' where the monsters' patrol routes didn't overlap.
These empty zones were generally unsuitable for living. Then again, the very idea of a 'livable' place within this dungeon was laughable.
Regardless, these empty zones shared several common characteristics.
They were far from water channels or poorly ventilated.
They were dark, lacking torches.
They were structurally cramped, with pockets of cold air.
They were infested with bugs.
These were all drawbacks, but they came with one absolute advantage: monsters never appeared there.
That was why Kang-seok and Seong Yu-jin had set up their temporary base in one of these empty zones on the 6th floor.
A little discomfort was far better than being attacked in their sleep.
“Let’s sit down first.”
The room hadn't felt so cramped with just the two of them, but with six people inside, it felt completely full.
Kang-seok took out a brazier he had found on the 10th floor and kindled an ember. It was just a tiny spark, but it was more than enough to warm the room's air.
Once they were more or less settled, all eyes turned to Park Han-yeong.
Park Han-yeong's lips quivered for a moment before she finally managed to speak.
“I-In the game I used to play, Peko Peko Online, the main content was something called *yarikomi* play in dungeons. So mapping was a really important task.”
“*Yarikomi* play?”
Mapping obviously meant making a map, but he had never heard the word *yarikomi* before.
Seong Yu-jin tilted her head and repeated the word. Kang-seok blinked, not understanding either.
‘Is that Japanese?’
Once again, Park Han-yeong couldn't answer and just flustered. The one who provided the answer was not her, but An Jae-min.
“*Yarikomi* play means ‘to play in-depth.’ Like grinding your level to the absolute limit or delving into an endless dungeon… Basically, it's what we’d call grinding.”
“R-Right. That. Grinding.”
Park Han-yeong nodded quickly, her eyes crinkling into a smile, and An Jae-min smiled back at her.
Whether it was because she felt relieved, her expression brightened, and she continued her interrupted explanation.
“I tried making a map of the 6th floor, just like I used to in Peko Peko. Um, but… how do I show it to you?”
From the sound of it, she had created the map using a system unique to Peko Peko Online.
If so, only she would be able to see it.
Kang-seok answered smoothly, as if he had already anticipated this.
“It’ll be a bit of a pain, but could you draw a copy of it here?”
Kang-seok handed her a spare sheet of paper and a pen from Leif Erikson's belongings.
It wasn't a fountain pen; you had to dip the nib directly into an inkwell. It was inconvenient, but far better than nothing.
While Seong Yu-jin helped a flustered Park Han-yeong draw the dungeon map, Kang-seok turned his attention to Kim Kang-san. As if he had been waiting, Kim Kang-san spoke up.
“How much remaining survival time do you have?”
“About twenty days?”
The initial time given was 30 days, or 720 hours.
He had only bought time with Kron once as a test. Just as he’d told Seong Yu-jin, he had been saving his Kron.
From the 10th floor down to the 6th.
Honestly, he had gathered a fair amount of Kron. He wasn't sure if it was because his level was still low or if the monsters in this dungeon were just generous with Kron, but a full day of hunting on the 10th floor could earn him more than a week's worth of time.
‘No, on second thought, maybe the exchange rate is fair.’
This was reality, not a game.
You couldn't devote every single day to hunting, and there was no guarantee monsters would keep spawning indefinitely.
Moreover, unlike himself, the amount of Kron Seong Yu-jin earned decreased as her level rose.
A system where you earned just enough time to survive one more day would be unsustainable.
Before you could even think about leveling up, you’d waste away from a nervous breakdown and die without ever using up your remaining time.
Who summoned the Players?
Why on earth was a system like this created?
The questions piled up, but there were no definitive answers to be found in his current situation. He could only hope the system would continue to operate as 'rationally' as it had seemed so far.
As Kang-seok was lost in these thoughts, Kim Kang-san, who had been mulling over the twenty days mentioned, spoke again.
“We have about 25 days left. The amount of time we’ve each purchased might differ, but… it seems we didn’t all start at the same time.”
“No, it seems not.”
Kang-seok nodded in agreement.
It seemed that not only their starting floors but their very arrival times were different.
“Yu-jin and I seem to have been brought here at midnight on December 31st… so, on January 1st. What about you?”
“We also arrived on January 1st. Hmm, I’m not sure why our arrival times would be different if we all left at the same time.”
The conversation only seemed to make things more confusing.
Kim Kang-san looked at Kang-seok again and said.
“In any case, we need to level up quickly. We have no idea how strong the floor boss will be.”
According to the information they had exchanged on the way here, Kim Kang-san, An Jae-min, and Kim Nam-yeong were all level 3.
The three of them had only just begun to fight. Furthermore, judging from their earlier performance, it was no exaggeration to say that Kim Kang-san was the only effective combatant among them.
They had all been playing Blood, but their circumstances were different. Kim Kang-san had been logged into his main character, while An Jae-min and Kim Nam-yeong were on new alts they had just started leveling.
‘No, is it a more fundamental difference than that?’
After all, everyone was basically level 1 at the start.
He had learned a lot from observing the other Players.
Even if you were given the body of a game character, it didn't automatically make you a good fighter. Mental fortitude was just as important as physical prowess.
Come to think of it, fighting games were the clearest proof of this fact.
A character with the same stats could have vastly different combat effectiveness depending on who was controlling them.
‘And their appearances.’
Blood was a legend among Korean MMORPGs. Even Kang-seok, who hadn't really played any online games besides *War God Online*, knew what the characters in Blood looked like.
Being an old game, Blood had limited customization options. And none of them allowed for characters that looked like Kim Kang-san, An Jae-min, or Kim Nam-yeong.
Their current appearances were a mix of their game characters' features and their real-life faces.
Kang-seok gave his head a hard shake, clearing his thoughts. What mattered right now was what Kim Kang-san had said.
They needed to focus on leveling up.
He was right. But they didn’t have unlimited time.
Kang-seok said.
“We can’t drag this out for too long. Our remaining survival time is one problem, but securing food is another.”
They could get drinking water from the channels.
But what about food?
Kim Kang-san asked.
“We’ve been eating the dog-like monsters from the lower floors. What about you?”
“Emergency rations from the body we found on a lower floor… and pretty much the same as you. Eventually.”
There was a limit to how long they could survive on combat rations that looked like grain pills. They had no choice but to hunt and eat the monsters that looked the least human.
These were the intensely realistic problems you never faced in a game.
Worry clouded Kim Kang-san’s face. Then, as if on cue, Seong Yu-jin spoke up.
“It’s done.”
Seong Yu-jin unfolded the map, as Park Han-yeong shyly hunched her shoulders. Kim Kang-san clicked his tongue in amazement at the densely drawn diagram.
“This is much larger than I thought.”
If the room where they had first met was a size of 1, then the entire 6th floor was nearly 100 times that size.
Kang-seok asked Park Han-yeong.
“Where’s the floor boss?”
“It’s over here.”
Park Han-yeong pointed to a room in the very center of the map.
Since their empty zone was in the far-left corner, the boss room was roughly seven hundred meters away in a straight line.
Kang-seok didn't waste any time. He stood up and spoke.
“First, let’s establish a new base and prepare for the fight. This isn’t something we can rush.”
“A new base? What about this place?”
Kang-seok shrugged at An Jae-min’s question.
“It’s too cramped for six people. And, this is a bit awkward to bring up, but there’s also the issue of a latrine.”
“Oh… r-right. Now that you mention it.”
An Jae-min scratched the back of his head, while Seong Yu-jin and Park Han-yeong averted their gazes. Kang-seok cleared his throat and spoke again.
“Han-yeong, can you recommend a place for a base? Somewhere monsters don’t usually go.”
“Th-There’s the place I was hiding in. The room is much bigger than this one, too.”
“Good. Let’s move there for now. Once we arrive, Kang-san, please focus on leveling up with the others.”
Defeating the floor boss wasn't something they could do in one go. Since losing the fight could mean actual death, it was best to level up as much as time permitted before challenging it.
This was a perfectly logical plan, so An Jae-min and Kim Nam-yeong simply nodded. But Kim Kang-san was different. He had caught the subtle nuance in Kang-seok’s words.
“Kang-seok, you aren’t coming with us?”
Kim Kang-san and his party would focus on leveling up.
So what would Kang-seok and Seong Yu-jin be doing?
Kang-seok replied with a wry smile.
“Someone has to go scout it out.”
“Scouting?”
“Yes, scouting.”
Even when playing a single-player RPG, you’d usually check a guide before a boss fight. This was a real battle with their lives on the line.
Among the group, only Park Han-yeong had seen the floor boss. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust her, but they had too little information. He needed to see the floor boss with his own eyes.
The floor boss’s appearance, its weapon, its special traits.
Gathering even the smallest piece of information would surely help.
“In that spirit, I’ll be counting on you.”
“What?”
Kang-seok smiled naturally at Park Han-yeong, who blinked several times. A moment later, she understood what he meant and her face fell.