Chapter 64
Chapter 64
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 64
Chapter Title: Thunder Cave
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The Thunder Cave was located between the Odman Kingdom and the Conrad Kingdom.
Fairly right in the middle—an impartial dungeon.
Moreover, both kingdoms had the exact same schedule for raiding the Thunder Cave.
The cave's entrance opened and closed on a fixed cycle, so there was no helping it.
"What a strange place."
Gazing at the massive mountain in the distance, S-rank mercenary Demon muttered to himself.
"Every cycle, the same door opens. Can't help but smell something artificial about it."
Soo-hyuk flicked his ear at Demon's muttering right next to him.
"Typical extra character."
Soo-hyuk took in the entirety of the Thunder Cave.
'Bigger than I expected.'
He had already looked up photos of the Thunder Cave via Kit.
But there was a difference between seeing it in pictures and seeing it in person.
A mountain range towering at least 500 meters high. Just as Demon had said, an artificially carved cave entrance stretched along the lengthy ridge.
Kurrr-.
Even from this distance, the sound of thunder reached them.
That was the reason for the "thunder" in Thunder Cave.
"Let's go."
Demon, who had at some point taken it upon himself to act as party leader.
Soo-hyuk followed behind him toward the Thunder Cave entrance.
Kurung, kurrr-.
The closer they got, the clearer the thunder grew.
"The entrance to the Thunder Cave is barraged by lightning. Keeps everyone out."
"You seem to know a lot about the Thunder Cave."
Demon nodded at Veil's question.
"I do. Not my first time challenging it."
"Oh yeah?"
"Third time for me. But let me tell you—fewer than twenty mercenaries have challenged the Thunder Cave and lived to tell the tale. And I'm one of them."
Demon proudly boasted without anyone even asking.
Still, the fact that he'd survived a Thunder Cave run proved he had real skill.
"You really planning to raid this place? It won't be easy."
"You nuts? I don't have multiple lives like you lot."
"Then?"
"Trace of Thunder. That's what I'm after."
Trace of Thunder.
A rare material item that had hit the market a few times.
Expensive stuff you could snag without clearing the entire cave.
And one of the few reasons mercenaries still bothered with the Thunder Cave.
"Find the Trace of Thunder, and I'm done with this shitty life. Sick of risking my neck as a merc anyway."
In other words, he planned to hit it big in the Thunder Cave and retire.
The Trace of Thunder was worth that much. Not just in this world, but to Players too.
"No interest in going all the way?"
"Obvious. You kids don't know squat about this place yet, so you can say that."
Demon scoffed at Veil's words, then turned to Soo-hyuk.
"Especially you, E-rank. Don't do jack. Or if you're gonna die, do it quick. Don't hang around causing trouble."
Demon, always picking fights.
Seemed he didn't like an E-rank merc riding the raid party's coattails with a recommendation letter.
The group drew closer to the Thunder Cave.
The cave had two entrances total.
One facing the Odman Kingdom, the other the Conrad Kingdom.
And the interiors of those two mirrored each other perfectly.
That was why Schneider's intel was so useful.
'This is the entrance.'
Kurung-!
A cave crackling with thunder.
The entrance yawned over ten meters wide, like some massive beast with its jaws agape.
Electricity arced across the opening, barring entry. The thunder sounds came from there.
The entrance opened once every two months. For exactly one day.
The moment the lightning stopped—that was when the raid began.
Chijik, chi-.
Kurrr-.
The entrance hadn't opened yet.
Lightning crashed noisily amid the thunder.
Demon glanced between the entrance and the sky.
"Sun's position says about an hour till it opens. Rest up till then."
Demon, self-appointed party leader, issued orders before leaning against a wall to rest himself. The other mercenaries following him and the Players like Veil did the same.
The viewers were bored during the downtime too.
Probably the raid party from Schneider and the Odman Kingdom side across the way was in the same boat, gearing up for the Thunder Cave as usual.
But.
Chijijik-.
Unlike the other mercenaries, Soo-hyuk headed straight for the entrance.
The chat panicked.
But Soo-hyuk ignored it and pressed forward.
'Feels just like back then.'
The trial on the second floor.
Inside Millennium Mountain, where he'd gone to claim the Lightning Spear.
The power enveloping that spear felt identical to this gate.
Chijik-.
He reached out to test the intensity.
A brief sting, then even that faded to familiarity.
Yeah.
There was a clear difference between then and now.
Lightning Heart.
A creation born for humans to wield the mighty power of lightning.
And now, it was in Soo-hyuk's grasp.
"Wh-what the hell's that bastard doing?"
"Suicide wish or what?"
"S-Soo-hyuk?"
"Where you—"
Demon, Veil, the other mercenaries, and Players spotted him and rushed over.
But Soo-hyuk didn't stop. He stepped right inside. The mercenaries chasing him halted at the threshold.
'Not harmful.'
The sting hit once at first.
After that, it even felt cozy.
'Wasn't just sealed shut, huh.'
He'd planned to force his way through initially.
But it looked like he wouldn't need to.
Chiji, chijijiji-!
For a split second, the gate roiled violently. Shaking like it might explode, it gradually died down like the last embers burning out.
Chijiji-.
The electricity coalesced into a point and vanished.
And then.
Flicker-.
The bundled lightning from the Thunder Gate solidified into a yellow crystal and dropped.
As the Trace of Thunder landed in Soo-hyuk's hand, Demon's eyes—fierce just moments ago—went wide as saucers.
"Th-Th-Thunder..."
The reason he'd risked his life visiting the Thunder Cave three times to retire rich as a merc.
That reason was now in Soo-hyuk's hand.
Demon had come here thrice hunting the Trace of Thunder.
And now it had gone to someone else out of nowhere.
'Snagged something unexpected.'
Soo-hyuk eyed the small crystal in his palm.
A fingernail-sized gem sparkling yellow.
A material item Players could rarely obtain from Thunder Cave runs—at an extremely low drop rate.
Not just Demon—even some Players hit it up occasionally, dreaming of striking it rich.
Of course.
Finding a Trace of Thunder in a hellishly tough dungeon that only opened one day every two months was like plucking stars from the sky.
'Wasn't closed off to begin with.'
The thunder quieted, and the door swung wide open.
As if it had been waiting for him.
'Looking for its owner.'
There were two keys to this gate.
First: Lightning.
Second: Lightning Heart.
In short, the Thunder Cave on the third floor was an extension of the Lightning Trial.
The chat exploded over the Trace of Thunder.
Viewers hotly debated its market price.
But as an item that hadn't dropped in years, no one knew for sure.
In other words, priceless—name your price.
No time to join the fun, though. Soo-hyuk moved.
Whoosh-.
Squeee-!
An axe whistled over his head, missing and cleaving the wall. Demon's axe, aimed at his neck.
Demon stared at Soo-hyuk, who had dodged and opened distance, face twisted in shock.
"Dodged?"
Obviously, that axe was meant to kill.
Demon had sized up Soo-hyuk's movements in an instant and realized he wasn't some noob.
His eyes changed. He yanked the axe from the wall and gripped it two-handed.
"Guess that recommendation letter wasn't just handed to you."
Crackle-.
Debris rained from the split wall.
A solid axe swing with real power. He could've been a successful lumberjack.
Most trees would've toppled from one hit.
"Hand it over nice and easy."
"Not off to a good start. Why should I?"
"That ain't yours. Just lucky it fell into your hands."
Sophistry.
He probably dimly realized it too. The Thunder Gate vanishing into the Trace of Thunder wasn't coincidence.
Step, step-.
Two mercenaries who'd joined with Demon flanked him.
Not on Demon's level, but confident enough to challenge the Thunder Cave.
They drew weapons, glaring murderously at Soo-hyuk.
"Even if you're not from around here, dying ain't nothing, right?"
Demon grinned, baring yellowed teeth.
He was right. Even if trial deaths weren't permanent, the pain was real.
Plus, death meant point penalties. And retrying cost another trial fee— no small burden.
Demon had likely offed plenty of Players in his merc days.
But.
"That settles it, then."
Soo-hyuk nodded, like it was perfect.
"This bastard's vulture bait too."
Mic still unmuted.
"Vulture?"
"What the hell's that?"
Demon and his crew tilted their heads, clueless.
He'd expected haggling over a split or a cocky challenge.
Not "vulture."
Still unmuted.
"They don't know the meta."
Then.
"Guess you'll find out now."
He moved to teach them the latest trend.