Chapter 45
Chapter 45
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 45
Chapter Title: Shortcut to Thunder Cave
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Kwachik-!
A mercenary's jaw twisted as he lost consciousness and collapsed.
With the last of his comrades passing out right next to Soo-hyuk, Vulture's tenth member paced anxiously.
'I can't beat that guy. But if I run away here...'
He glanced around furtively. All he saw were pitying stares directed his way.
'A mercenary who gets embarrassed once is done for.'
"No need to agonize—"
Crack.
A gentle impact struck his jaw.
Along with the voice coming from right up close, the final mercenary standing blacked out on the spot.
"Just sleep."
Thud.
Having cleaned up the last mercenary, Soo-hyuk looked up.
A few people averted their eyes. Sensing their fearful gazes, Soo-hyuk turned the mic and muttered.
"Why's everyone acting like that?"
Come to think of it, yeah, the situation was pretty intense. He'd actually been happy when their shoulders bumped earlier.
"It was self-defense."
"It's not?"
Soo-hyuk scratched his head as he looked at the mercenaries sprawled around him.
Sure enough, it was way too flashy for just a single shoulder bump.
That was when the surrounding mercenaries were avoiding Soo-hyuk's gaze.
"You've got some serious skills."
One man called out to Soo-hyuk from a corner seat.
He was young for a mercenary. His face had a healthy glow, and his neatly trimmed hair made him look more like a knight than a sellsword.
"Doesn't seem like that shoulder bump was such a big injustice. What's your real goal here?"
And sharp, too.
Soo-hyuk nodded and replied.
"I figured there'd be someone like you in this group."
"Someone like me?"
"Even in a backwater like this, they must do rank evaluations, right?"
The man's eyes narrowed at Soo-hyuk's words.
Rank evaluator. That was the man's official title.
"You're a newbie I haven't seen before. Got any completed requests under your belt?"
To take a rank evaluation, you needed achievements.
You carried out requests available to an E-rank mercenary, built up your record, and then took the evaluation.
That was the normal progression, normally.
"As you know, the requests an E-rank can take are pretty limited."
This trial was all about accumulating achievement points. You needed at least 10,000 to move to the next floor.
But E-rank quests offered pitiful rewards. At best 50 achievement points, sometimes as low as 10.
'How long would that take?'
A way to skip ranks and take higher-level requests.
To that end, Soo-hyuk had gladly accepted Vulture's shoulder bump.
"Shortcuts are made, aren't they?"
That line was one of many left behind by Soo-hyuk from his past life.
"Shortcuts are made. There are no fixed routes in trials."
It was one truth Soo-hyuk had realized through his long career as a Player.
Even if the given tasks and goals were the same.
The processes and outcomes could differ for everyone.
"You're no ordinary mercenary."
"Yes."
"An Otherworlder? Haven't seen many lately. It's been a while."
Otherworlder.
That was the local slang for Players.
Compared to the Kingdom of Audman, where knights started efficiently, Conrad was less appealing, making Players rare here.
"Your skills are real, but I can't give you special treatment. Procedures must be followed."
"Isn't there a way to shorten those procedures?"
"There is, but why would we go out of our way for an Otherworlder who's leaving soon?"
Otherworlders vanished. A few months at shortest, a few years at longest, then they ascended as Players to the next floor.
Knowing that, the man had no intention of favoring Soo-hyuk.
Especially someone who would leave anyway.
"If you do, I'll handle what you want."
"What we want?"
"Yes."
"What exactly?"
"Thunder Cave."
The man's expression changed at the name from Soo-hyuk's lips.
"That's the one you're competing with the Osman Kingdom over, right?"
The viewers cheered.
Thunder Cave.
It was the name of a dungeon on the 3rd floor that had never once been cleared.
And also.
"You're saying you'll conquer that for us?"
"Quick on the uptake."
"Requests there start at A-rank minimum. But the issue isn't whether you take the request or not."
"I know. The impregnable dungeon. A matter of pride between the Osman and Conrad Kingdoms."
Impregnable.
No Player, mercenary, or knight had ever conquered it. That was Thunder Cave.
Moreover.
"But for both kingdoms' legitimacy, conquering Thunder Cave is essential."
For the mercenary guild, this request was a double-edged sword.
A massive bounty if cleared, but it always ended in casualties.
And the same went for the Osman Kingdom.
The difference was that Osman kept attempting it thanks to steady Player influx.
"How about this?"
"How what?"
"Give me an A-rank emblem, and I'll conquer Thunder Cave. But that emblem is strictly for the Thunder Cave request."
An emblem limited to Thunder Cave.
That changed things. Soo-hyuk's condition was a clear declaration of his intent to tackle Thunder Cave.
"Hm..."
The man pondered for a moment.
In the meantime, Soo-hyuk turned the mic to the viewers.
"This could get annoying if he refuses."
Soo-hyuk thought ahead.
"Should I knock this one out too...?"
"Vulture'd," huh? Soo-hyuk paused, wondering what that meant.
The first mission since starting the 3rd floor trial.
Soo-hyuk's eyes sparkled.
The type who issued tough missions and enjoyed the struggle.
But the donation amounts were on another level compared to before.
Missions of the same type piled up one after another. Once the momentum started, the amounts snowballed.
Soo-hyuk didn't respond to accept or decline. His mind was busy tallying the mission rewards.
'How much is all this?'
As Soo-hyuk's mouth hung open at the unexpected windfall.
"I'll write you a letter of recommendation."
The man, done deliberating, spoke up.
"Recommendation letter?"
"Yeah. Your goal is conquering Thunder Cave, right? Not a mercenary emblem."
Soo-hyuk nodded.
Mercenary ranks were just temporary IDs that vanished upon ascending to the next floor anyway.
What mattered was access to Thunder Cave. An A-rank status was merely the prerequisite.
"My letter should get you a spot on the raid team. They'll make room in the party composition anyway."
"I see."
A bit different from what he'd hoped, but the outcome wasn't bad.
Apparently, the man he'd hooked held considerable sway.
"Name's Raymond. Mercenary rank evaluator for the eastern region."
"Nice to meet you."
"The Thunder Cave raid party leaves in five days. I'll write the letter, so stand by until then."
Five days.
That lined up perfectly with the end of the 3rd floor tournament.
Soo-hyuk narrowed his eyes, reminded that Blue Zone had set this schedule.
'Did they time the tournament around this?'
Blue Zone was interested in Thunder Cave too.
If schedules overlapped, they couldn't send their own Players, which was obvious.
"Wait here a moment."
Raymond said that and stepped away. About ten minutes later, he returned with a leather document.
"Here's the recommendation letter. Take this, and you should be able to enter the dungeon."
"Thank you."
"Conquering Thunder Cave... Honestly, I still can't believe it."
Raymond shuddered slightly as he said it.
"Do you know what that place is like?"
"I'm an A-rank mercenary myself. And I was young once. I challenged Thunder Cave. And that day, I lost half my comrades."
Lost comrades.
Soo-hyuk's expression shifted beneath his mask.
"So be careful. You might end up like me."
That must've been why Raymond was shaken by Soo-hyuk's declaration to conquer it.
Soo-hyuk nodded at Raymond's words, laced with goodwill and concern.
"Thanks for the advice. But that won't happen."
"Is that so? Well, Otherworlders are strange beings who don't truly die anyway."
That's how they were known in this world. Players didn't die.
But that was wrong.
'We die just the same.'
Just like Raymond, who lost comrades in Thunder Cave.
Soo-hyuk had lost comrades long ago too.
Though years had passed in this life, it felt vivid, like just yesterday.
But the real reason Soo-hyuk said it wouldn't happen was different.
"Not that. I'm going solo."
"...Solo?"
No comrades meant no losing comrades. Soo-hyuk planned to challenge the dungeon alone, without other party members.
The reactions from viewers and Raymond were much the same.
"Thunder Cave is a 20-man raid dungeon. And you're saying you'll solo it?"
"Does it even fill up to 20?"
"Well..."
Raymond faltered at Soo-hyuk's counterquestion.
Unlike Osman Kingdom with its steady Player influx, Conrad had few Players.
Players kept challenging despite deaths—only losing points—but Conrad couldn't afford that.
Thus, Thunder Cave currently couldn't even fill its roster.
"I thought you had more comrades."
"I don't."
Suddenly, the ice flower in the 1st floor memorial came to mind.
"For now."
He didn't plan to stay solo forever.
He would find them. Whether he sought them out, or they came to him.
The stream was for that purpose too.
Reincarnator's Streaming