Chapter 72: Base Defense Battle (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 72: Base Defense Battle (1)
The sudden announcement of the 4th-floor raid threw the entire world into absolute chaos.
"W-what on earth is going on?!"
"He's starting right now? Is he serious?"
"Crazy bastard! Summon all the rankers right now! This is an emergency. Tell them to pinch it off mid-shit and get their asses over here!"
"Do we have the list of candidate bases? Bring it! And grab all the 4th-floor data we've gathered so far, too!"
Executives of major guilds screamed like madmen.
It was common sense that in a wave-type defense, securing a base with a good location was of paramount importance. Every single second was precious if they wanted to make the most of this one-time opportunity. After all, they had to lead their raid teams to the 4th floor in just eight hours. On top of that, they had to formulate a complete strategy on how to conquer the 4th floor within the remaining time.
While everyone else was running around frantically until dawn...
"Uggghhh!"
Jinhyuk woke up and stretched on his plush bed.
Crack!
Pop!
His joints popped back into place. He felt amazingly refreshed, as if he had been reborn.
'It feels like all the fatigue I've accumulated has washed away at once.'
To engage in a new battle, one's physical condition had to support it. Of course, the same couldn't be said for everyone else.
'They're probably in the worst shape possible.'
Thanks to his deliberate late-night announcement, they would have spent the entire night racking their brains, leaving them physically and mentally exhausted. But what could they do? This wasn't some sport played in a regulated stadium. There was absolutely no reason to play fair with his competitors. The 4th floor was structured such that the fewer competitors there were, the greater the rewards.
[Time remaining until the first wave: 1h 37m 51s]
It was time to head to the 4th floor.
* * *
The 4th floor of the Tower of Trials.
In the past, this was the first major hurdle that made countless players quit the game. And for good reason. Not only did they have to defend against 100 waves of normal and special zombies by strategically placing defense towers from thousands of possible combinations, but they also had to find a way to secure food, clothing, and shelter within their base.
Most of all, if not a single player cleared all 100 waves, the entire game would reset—an absurd penalty that turned the game into a living hell of rage-quits and endless cursing. There was a reason the Tower of Trials had been called a trash game.
And right now.
Whirrrr!
With a flash of bright light, a single player materialized at the entrance of the 4th floor.
'This place is as bleak as ever.'
Jinhyuk looked around. True to its zombie theme, the entire 4th floor exuded a post-apocalyptic atmosphere. Darkened buildings, abandoned cars, and streets where civilization had completely vanished. He couldn't help but feel a bitter twinge. Perhaps this sight was a mirror reflecting the future of humanity.
It was then.
Tring!
A status window appeared before his eyes.
[You are the first to enter the 4th floor of the Tower of Trials.]
[Other players will be allowed to enter the 4th floor in 20 minutes.]
The 20-minute head start he received for being the first to clear the 3rd floor. This would be the crucial window that determined his success on this floor.
'I need to hurry.'
Jinhyuk began running toward the north.
However, the path was so treacherous that he couldn't build up much speed. Roads swallowed by sinkholes, walls blocked by thick vines—obstacles were everywhere.
'Faster... faster!'
Jinhyuk regulated his breathing and accelerated even more. He had less than ten minutes left.
Crash! Boom!
Cutting through obstacles with 'Grave of Swords' and repairing the gaping holes in the ground with 'Glacial Shaping', how long did he run like that? Finally, Jinhyuk came to a halt. He had arrived at a massive World Cup stadium.
'Just in the nick of time.'
He had to secure his desired base before the other players entered, so he had to move fast despite the exhaustion. Some players possessed acceleration or teleportation abilities, after all.
'It should be around here...'
Found it.
Jinhyuk placed his palm against one of the pillars at the stadium's entrance. At that exact moment:
[Using 'Priority Base Designation Ticket'!]
[‘Sangam World Cup Stadium’ has been designated as your base!]
A red flag rose above the World Cup Stadium. This was a warning, a declaration that said: 'This place is claimed. Look elsewhere.'
'Good.'
Nodding in satisfaction, Jinhyuk stepped inside the stadium.
The green grass where twenty-two players once sweated and competed was nowhere to be seen. Instead, the field was filled with dry dirt and dust.
Exactly.
'Just the conditions I wanted.'
Dirt and dust. Though they symbolized the end of life, they also hinted at the birth of new life.
[Scattering 1kg of 'Squishy Grains'.]
[Planting 5 'Sola's Seeds'.]
[Preparing 50L of 'Natural Water'.]
Jinhyuk pulled out the rewards he had obtained from defeating Muhon. The grains and seeds sank into the soil. Out of the countless defense methods available on the 4th floor, Jinhyuk had chosen 'plants'.
'I'll place one plant at each entrance of the stadium, and the last one in the center.'
[Time remaining until 'Sola's Seeds' hatch: 55m 33s]
[Time remaining until 'Squishy Grains' hatch: 5h 19m 10s]
By the time the first zombie wave arrived, these plants would serve as an excellent bulwark to defend the base. The grains, which would serve as vital food, would also sprout before long.
It was then.
Tring! Tring!
Blue status windows popped up one after another.
[Oppa, you told me to contact you when you got to the 4th floor, so here I am. Taemin is with me too.]
[Jinhyuk-ssi, I've arrived. It's the 4th-floor entrance, right?]
His veteran companions, Yu Yeon-hwa and Lee Tae-min, along with Teresa, the Saint of Amsterdam, had all contacted him.
"Grow big and strong. I'll be right back."
Jinhyuk generously poured the 'Natural Water' over the seeds that were just starting to settle.
[The growth rate of the plants has increased by 20%!]
* * *
About ten minutes later, Jinhyuk returned to his starting point. The 4th-floor starting point was packed with a massive crowd of players.
'Almost all the famous major guilds are here.'
Despite the tight schedule, an immense number of people had gathered. They must have been incredibly greedy for the rewards. Well, of course. An opportunity to choose an A-rank random box didn't come around very often. Even those who had quit the Tower of Trials early on would have researched enough to know that A-rank items belonged to the top 5%, and that the items they obtained from it would dictate their future path.
As Jinhyuk scanned the players:
"Oppa!"
"Hyung!"
Spotting Jinhyuk, Yu Yeon-hwa and Lee Tae-min waved.
"Jinhyuk-ssi!"
Beside them, the platinum-blonde girl, Teresa, also smiled brightly. He had met Yu Yeon-hwa yesterday, but it had been quite a while since he last saw the other two.
"Sorry for calling you all so suddenly. Things moved faster than expected, so I didn't have time to explain."
"No, it's fine. If Hyung calls, of course we have to come."
"I'm not affiliated with any group right now anyway, so it doesn't matter. Besides, I much prefer being with you, Jinhyuk-ssi."
Hmm...
Hearing them say that made him feel a tiny bit guilty. After all, he fully intended to exploit all three of them as excellent workers (?) from here on out. An abusive business owner violating labor laws and his diligent part-time employees—this was the ideal dynamic Jinhyuk strove for.
"Look over there. It's Yu Yeon-hwa and Lee Tae-min. Didn't they clear that B-rank labyrinth on the 2nd floor by themselves?"
"Teresa... is there too. She said she left the Association, but did she do it to team up with them?"
"The one with them is Player Kang Jinhyuk, right? The super rookie from Korea."
"That's Kang Jinhyuk? The guy whose mana level broke the meter during his re-awakening?"
"Yeah. I heard it was way higher than other S-ranks. People are even saying we need to subdivide the ranks because of him."
"First that player named Unknown, and now him. Looks like a lot of monster rookies are popping up lately."
"Their numbers are small, but that's a terrifying lineup. They might be stronger than most raid teams."
Since such high-profile figures had gathered, they naturally drew everyone's attention. Of course, Jinhyuk wasn't the type to care about such stares.
"You all prepared well, right?"
"We prepared thoroughly, but more importantly, Oppa... are you sure it's okay with just us?"
"Hmm?"
"The zombie waves here are seriously nauseatingly massive."
Yu Yeon-hwa shuddered slightly. Horrific memories of the past, filled with the stench of blood and scattered flesh, flashed through her mind.
"My ability is summoning, but my level is still too low, so it's tough. Especially when the waves of mutated zombies come, holding them off is..." Lee Tae-min chimed in.
No matter how experienced they were, facing a wave unprepared was bound to be overwhelming.
But.
"Doesn't that make it more fun?"
A pure, innocent smile played on Jinhyuk's face, as if he was dying of anticipation at the prospect of experiencing an even higher difficulty.
"F-fun? Oppa, this isn't a game. If you get bitten by a zombie here, you actually die."
"Sigh. Hyung, you still haven't kicked your old habits. At this point, isn't it just masochism?"
"Jinhyuk-ssi... you're a total pervert."
The three of them let out soft sighs.
Why were they despairing already?
"And here I went and chose the stadium as our base."
"Heh?! The s-stadium? Not the Sangam Stadium, right? Please tell me it's not."
"It is."
"Hyung, are you insane? That's the hardest base of them all! It's a massive base that requires at least a hundred people to defend!"
He knew. But it was also the place with the juiciest rewards.
"Come on, you guys have all made it near the 20th floor before, so stop whining. You know as well as I do that we need to hoard as many early-game opportunities as possible to make things easier for us later on."
"Well, that's true, but..."
"Ugh! I don't even know anymore. That only works for you, Oppa. It's too much for us."
Not all veterans were created equal. There was stagnant water, then there was petroleum, and above even that lay the ancient fossils. Unfortunately, Yu Yeon-hwa and Lee Tae-min had ended up in the same boat as the most monstrous ammonite of them all.
While the two of them were tearing their hair out:
"Um, Jinhyuk-ssi. May I ask one thing?"
Teresa, who had been quiet, raised her hand.
"Yes, go ahead."
"From what I know, a minimum number of people is required to carry out this defense battle, but it seems we're short-handed."
"Huh? Come to think of it..."
"Oh, right. I was so focused on the stadium that I completely forgot about that."
Yu Yeon-hwa and Lee Tae-min chimed in, startled.
The minimum number of players required for this floor was five. However, there were only four of them gathered. This meant they needed one more person to even begin the base defense battle.
"The last member will be here soon," Jinhyuk spoke reassuringly.
And right on cue:
BOOM!
A loud explosion echoed from a short distance away.
'Tsk, tsk.'
As expected, he never knew how to make a quiet entrance.