Chapter 32
Chapter 32
32.Night of Despair (3)
"What kind of BS is this..."
In certain Gates, Monsters know the location of humans and chase after them. The Monsters are given Maphack.
That's why I was so nervous when the first medium-sized Gate opened. It would be a disaster if an Ogre came chasing after me.
However, this Gate didn't have that setting. I thought it was because of the Sniffers.
Honestly, it doesn't make sense to give them Maphack on top of that.
"No, this isn't right!"
Uncle, who woke up from his sleep and immediately started running, expressed his resentment. It was like being struck by lightning out of the blue.
Instead of praising him for wisely avoiding a fight, they're adjusting the difficulty? Where in the world is there such BS?
"What's with getting more ferocious for not fighting? Are they hungry? No, they'd be hungry even if they fought, right?"
"I should have gone out and caused a ruckus in between."
I should have used Deodorant and Leap to draw aggro from the other side.
"It would have been the same! The Monsters would be like, 'We're getting angry, we're getting ferocious!'"
It seemed Uncle was quite angry.
Of course, the Gate doesn't respect the Hunter's feelings at all. Before we knew it, the Monsters were right on our heels.
"Let's run for now!"
We went down to the subway through the passage connected to the Jangchung Gymnasium, and we could already see the Spiders behind us.
Running on eight legs as tall as a person made them quite fast.
-Awooooo!
Moreover, we kept hearing the Sniffer's cries from above the subway. After the first cry, it gradually increased and became a multi-layered sound.
It seemed that Sniffers were constantly gathering, drawn by the cries. Well, it wouldn't be just Sniffers.
Every Monster inside the Gate was probably heading this way. The distance to the Spiders was getting closer.
Lee Shin-hee shouted.
"Han Hye! Block the path behind us with fire..."
"Yes!"
I nodded without hearing the rest. I was already opening the Subspace, intending to act.
I immediately took out a gas can and poured it all over the stairs we had come down.
"Min-jae!"
"Yes!"
As Seo Min-jae created a small spark, the stairs were instantly covered in flames. It was a way to buy us some time.
Since I roughly poured it and threw the gas can away, a small explosion occurred. I went down to the platform and asked Uncle.
"Where should we go?"
Uncle thought for a moment before opening his mouth.
"Chungmuro Station. It's a transfer station, so there will be many escape routes."
I nodded and broke the screen door with Wind Split. At that moment, Lee Shin-hee spoke.
"Let's break both sides."
"Why the other side?"
"I'm concerned about the Sniffer's constant crying. It could be that the Monsters' location tracking is happening at regular intervals."
Come to think of it, the Sniffer kept crying even though our location was known. It was strange. Why would they keep calling them in?
As Lee Shin-hee said, the Monsters' Maphack can be continuous, but sometimes it has a cycle.
"That makes sense."
I knew she had good judgment from before, but I was slightly surprised this time. She seemed to have a sharp mind.
She wasn't just a Healer with an A-class Skill, but also a very capable Hunter.
Min-jae and Uncle Cheol-gi are simple. I didn't learn much, but my head is smart.
If Lee Shin-hee is added here, wouldn't the combination be pretty good?
-Crash!
First, I broke both the left and right screen doors as Lee Shin-hee said.
Then, using Leap, I threw extra clothes into the other tracks.
I didn't know if it would have a big effect, but it was an action to buy us even a little more time.
Because in the future, even a few minutes could be precious.
"..."
Lee Shin-hee looked at me with slightly surprised eyes. It seemed like a look of recognition. As expected, smart people understand each other.
Anyway, after that, we entered the tunnel heading towards Chungmuro.
Thump-!
As we were running along the tracks, a loud noise came from above.
Due to the large vibration, dust-like things fell from the ceiling.
"...It's here."
I could tell it was an Ogre without looking. It's faster than I thought. That's probably the sound of it breaking structures that are obstructing it in the process of entering.
The subway is wide, but there would be obstacles like escalators, ticket gates, and stairs.
"Huh?"
However, our escape was forcibly stopped not long after.
"It's completely blocked?"
That was because we were blocked by a wall while heading towards Chungmuro Station.
It wasn't a transparent wall like the one I saw in the Labyrinth's Dead End. It was a Gate wall with a different texture from the nearby walls.
"This is the boundary area of this Gate."
* * *
Not all Gate areas are infinite. It's not like they bring an entire world intact.
I heard that high-level Gates have areas that are wider than you can imagine...
Usually, there is a certain area, and you can't get out of it. The same was true here, in the Gate that was based on Earth.
It was a moment when I understood even more why those who had entered before us hadn't come back alive.
We started at Yaksu Station. The limit is near Chungmuro Station.
It definitely wasn't a small size, but it was too difficult to survive for 12 hours from the Sniffers and Ogres.
"Crazy..."
The group's expressions darkened at the fact that the road was blocked. It was an unexpected situation.
Since the road is blocked, we have no choice but to use the Escape Secretary.
"Hmm."
However, I hadn't given up yet. As I moved along the tunnel, something kept coming to my mind.
This tunnel. It seemed like I could block it sufficiently with Subspace.
Of course, I was worried because it was impossible to block it perfectly, and there might be some variables...
But if the back is completely blocked like this, it was worth trying.
"It might work?"
"It might work?"
"It means it's safe except for the front. We just need to block the front."
A tunnel with two subways running in both directions is called a double-track tunnel, and a tunnel with platforms and tracks on the left and right is called a single-track tunnel.
We are currently located in a single-track tunnel. In other words, it means that the space is narrow, and we can utilize Subspace.
"But the Ogre is coming from the front?"
Kim Seung-tae expressed his doubts, and Lee Shin-hee waited with a calm face to hear what I had to say.
On the other hand, Uncle Cheol-gi completely understood what I was saying.
"Could it be, is it possible?"
"Yes."
However, there was no time to explain further.
-Kyaaah!
The Giant Spider's scream was heard from behind. Judging by the scorched marks, it had come through the flames.
The number wasn't large, probably because they were scattered along the subway tracks.
"I'll clear the way forward for now."
The back is blocked. Since we might have to retreat depending on the situation when the Ogre comes, securing space was essential.
-Kyaaah!
In this situation, it was standard for the rear guard to attack first. Because the vanguard can't use wide-area skills if they step forward.
"Seung-tae."
"Yes."
Kim Seung-tae, with a stiff face, moved his lips.
"Igni!"
Soon, a Flame Spirit resembling a wolf appeared and moved towards the enemies. When it collided with the Spider, a fierce flame erupted.
The Spirit was fine. It flew around the Monsters, burning the surroundings with fire.
Was that an B-class Skill? I thought that Elementalist weren't popular rare jobs for nothing.
Still, the destructive power itself was no match for the Magician Seo Min-jae.
However, the problem was that enemies were constantly gathering since the start of the battle.
The Spirit played a big role in clearing the way forward a little, but the tracks were gradually filling with Monsters.
"Min-jae."
"Yes!"
Min-jae immediately threw a Fireball.
Kwaaang-!
As the Fireball that had destroyed the building fell among the enemies, a violent explosion occurred.
It was weaker than last time, but it seemed like he had adjusted the power accordingly.
"What...?"
Still, the effect was certain. Even Lee Shin-hee, who had been calm even after seeing the reduced destructive power, was surprised.
However, the admiration didn't last long. While heading forward a little, breaking through the Monsters...
Thump-! Thump-!
That was because the Ogre had appeared. Its size was so large that it filled the tracks, giving the feeling that a subway was approaching.
-Krrr!
"..."
Only Yong-yong growled lowly at the Ogre, and the group silently stared at the Ogre.
It was a dangerous situation. The Ogre was a Monster that Hunters level 30 or higher, and in some cases even level 40, would be nervous about catching, a Monster with a large gap between us.
Even if we were promising talents designated by the government, we couldn't close the gap with the Ogre.
Fighting a head-on battle that we couldn't win wasn't a wise move.
'Then, around this point, I should tell Uncle Cheol-gi what I was going to say earlier...'
The reason I said it was okay earlier was because I wasn't planning on fighting head-on.
That's why I said it might be okay.
"Everyo..."
...Just as I was about to open my mouth.
A voice was heard from behind.
"I'll use the Escape Secretary. Han Hye, please take care of the rear."
"Yes? Just a moment."
I hurriedly turned my head, but Kim Seung-tae had already torn the Escape Secretary.
Whoosh-!
And Kim Seung-tae disappeared before my eyes.
No, he disappeared without even listening to what I had to say.
I said I had a method in mind, didn't I?
Of course, the situation was urgent, so I couldn't say it.
'Wait 3 seconds, no, just 1 second...'
Well, there's nothing I can do since the Elementalist is already gone.
"Everyone, don't use the Escape Secretary."
"...?"
Lee Shin-hee and Seo Min-jae, who were about to tear the Escape Secretary, tilted their heads.
Whoosh-
Instead of explaining at length, I opened the Subspace. As large as I could.
And Lee Shin-hee and Seo Min-jae were shocked to see the opened Subspace.
"Huh?"
"W, what is this...?"
* * *
It goes without saying, but Han Hye didn't completely block the tracks with Subspace. That's because there is a limit to the size of the Subspace entrance.
Chunbae said that it would increase as the Skill level increased, but after it grew beyond a certain level, there would be a limit.
The maximum size of the entrance that Han Hye can currently open is 5x5m. The current single-track tunnel is 5m wide and 6m high.
In other words, it meant that it was enough to block this tunnel now.
Since the entrance can't only be opened in a square shape, it was possible to block it according to this single-track tunnel.
There was about 1m open at the top and about 10cm open on both sides.
This was enough.
"You can block it like this."
"You were capable of this?"
Lee Shin-hee, who was surprised and had her mouth open, quickly corrected her expression.
Seo Min-jae was also surprised. He hadn't seen this last time.
"Yes. When we were discussing it earlier, we assumed that the battlefield would be wide, so I couldn't say it, but as you can see, the situation has changed a lot..."
I couldn't have imagined that the inside of the Gate would be a city, so it was difficult to predict a single-track tunnel.
Seo Min-jae opened his mouth, conscious of the other side of the Subspace.
"Can't those guys break through this?"
"Yeah. The Subspace entrance is physically immune, so those guys can't cross over."
"Physically immune? What kind of OP Skill is that..."
Lee Shin-hee inadvertently said what she was thinking, then closed her mouth in embarrassment. Of course, Han Hye didn't particularly care.
"I should have said it sooner..."
In fact, Han Hye had no choice but to bring up this story late. If it had been a double-track tunnel, he wouldn't have been able to use it because it was wider than it is now.
Even though I knew it was a single-track tunnel, the reason I was worried was because the back wasn't blocked.
I could block the front and back with two Subspace entrances, but I couldn't maintain that for the remaining four hours.
Goblins could cross over through the narrow gaps, or the enemies could gradually get closer while I went into Subspace to replenish my Mana.
I was worried about that possibility, but the transparent wall appeared, so I had no choice, but the situation was okay.
Now that we had secured quite a distance, it was enough for Han Hye to replenish his Mana inside Subspace.
"But as Shin-hee said, it's an OP Skill. That means even that Ogre can't break through it?"
When Seo Min-jae brought up the words 'OP Skill' again, Lee Shin-hee closed her eyes tightly.
I couldn't tell them that even the Dragon couldn't break through it, so Han Hye just smiled faintly.
"But Magic comes through."
"Min-jae didn't know either?"
Lee Shin-hee, who was embarrassed by the 'OP Skill' comment, changed the subject.
"I've only been in a Gate once with you."
"Ah."
Lee Shin-hee, who nodded, turned her gaze to Han Hye. She didn't say anything, but her eyes seemed to say that he was amazing.
Kwaang-! Kwaang-!
Of course, while the group was talking, they weren't just standing still on the other side. The very angry Ogre was roughly pounding on the Subspace entrance.
Han Hye swallowed a laugh as he watched that sight.
'Even the Dragon couldn't break through it, you bastard.'
At that time, Chunbae, who had been silent, opened his mouth.
-Han Hye. Open another entrance and attack. It's an opportunity to gain experience.
'What are you talking about? I'll die if I go out now.'
-No.
And Han Hye's eyes widened as she heard Chunbae's advice that followed.
'Oh? That's right?'