Chapter 120
Chapter 120
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 120
Chapter Title: ACT.21 Ch.11(3)
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I found people at the eastern edge of the residential area.
Their numbers were significantly smaller than before, but it wasn't hard to guess why.
‘They either left to complete the mission, or died while doing it.’
Or perhaps they failed to escape the Red Zone in time and got caught up in it.
Just being in the Red Zone doesn't mean instant death, but it's true that most people can't last more than a few minutes.
Unless they had various traits and skills suited for a tanker and had distributed their stats with a focus on vitality.
…Even if they did, it's probably meaningless for ordinary players at this point.
“Oppa!”
Jo Min-ah spotted me and ran over.
The others must have been gathered nearby, as they quickly looked up at Jo Min-ah's voice and turned their gazes toward me.
“Oppa, are you okay? You're not hurt, are you?”
“I'm fine. Perfectly fine.”
“What if you were infected with some unknown virus from another dimension or something…”
“Don't say such ominous things. Do you think Hyung is the type to catch something like that?”
As Jo Min-ah fussed, half on the verge of tears, Jo Min-woo immediately pulled her away.
I was a bit flustered by her sudden embrace, but it just meant I was that important to them.
It was a good sign, really.
“Nothing's wrong. I'm really okay, so you don't have to worry.”
I smiled and waved my hand.
Even if there really was an unknown virus in that other world, I never took the dimension stone off my body until right before I returned, so there's no way I could have been infected.
“We heard the news from the other guild masters, but you didn't come back for over a day… Still, I'm so glad you returned safely.”
Jo Min-ah, her eyes red, sighed in relief as if a weight had been lifted.
I thought I came back pretty quickly, though.
Perhaps because of the different flow of time, more time had passed on Earth than I had spent there.
“More importantly, Hyung! I heard what other people were saying. That you and Hwang Chan-jin? That you two were incredible and took down the boss! Seriously, hearing that made my chest swell with pride.”
“That's the story that spread?”
“Only for the first day. Another incident broke out right after, so it's been chaotic here too…”
Jo Min-woo pouted and grumbled.
I used Extreme Eye.
‘It's amplifying.’
I could feel a stronger aura from both Jo Min-ah and Jo Min-woo than last time.
The twins, who create synergy with each other.
The unique ability Jo Min-woo awakened is currently A-rank, but as long as he's with Jo Min-ah, it displays power comparable to an S-rank.
And Jo Min-ah wields enough power to be called a proper S-rank player.
If the conditions are right, they could both grow even stronger, but that's a long way off.
“…Haven't you gotten stronger, if anything? Or am I mistaken?”
Choi Yeon-soo asked sharply.
I shrugged it off and instead asked Choi Yeon-soo what had happened while I was gone.
“Well…”
The events that unfolded after I entered the Ark Gate.
Choi Yeon-soo gave the broad strokes, and the twins, who were there, filled in the finer details. That's how I got the information.
After I disappeared, several more individuals, seemingly dispatched by The Order, appeared and summoned additional Flame Giants, throwing the residential area into chaos. However, thanks to the efforts of the twins, Jun Bo-ra, and Han Hyeok-jun, they succeeded in repelling them all.
At first, they felt a sense of despair at the appearance of multiple S-rank monsters, but once they started fighting, they found it manageable and eventually defeated them.
‘Those Flame Giants were a degraded version.’
There's no way a true S-rank monster could be controlled so easily, or by just anyone.
Unless a 'Summoner' executive from within The Order stepped forward personally.
“Then what about Han Hyeok-jun and Jun Bo-ra after that?”
“Han Hyeok-jun-hyung said he had to chase them and left right away. As for Jun Bo-ra-nuna… um, I'm not sure.”
“She disappeared without a word. Said she remembered something she had to do.”
I expected as much from Han Hyeok-jun.
Jun Bo-ra likely returned to the east, where her forces remain.
I don't know what she had to do.
It's more likely she decided she wouldn't get any good rewards by staying here because of me and Hwang Chan-jin, and made her move based on that.
“The problem came after that. Shortly after the guilds that entered the Ark Gate returned, something called the Red Zone activated, and all players were given a mission.”
“I saw it. It popped up as soon as I returned to Earth.”
“Those conditions are a real headache.”
Choi Yeon-soo touched his forehead.
“From what we know so far, to clear the mission, you ultimately have to clear a gate, though the specifics vary slightly. But you die if you don't complete the mission, and you also die if you're not in the top 50% even if you do. So, the stronger players try to advance through the missions quickly, but that makes the Red Zone expand. Weaker players need to clear low-rank gates to complete their missions, but those gates are clustered closer to the Red Zone. So when the frontrunners clear their missions quickly, the Red Zone expands to cover the areas with low-rank gates, making it impossible for the stragglers to catch up.”
“There must be a lot of resentment towards the people who are progressing through the missions quickly.”
“Exactly. That's why the guild masters are all stuck at the third stage, just racking their brains.”
If they handle this poorly, their guilds, which are made up of players, will face a backlash from those very players.
The problem is that it's not just low-rank players who are resentful; even high-rank players with relatively good dispositions will be disappointed and turn their backs on them.
But they can't just ignore the mission forever, either.
If they don't clear it, everyone will die.
[MISSION.1]
Clear D-Rank Gate (0/1)
The very first mission is a D-rank, not even an E-rank.
For those who couldn't achieve much, suffered from the Ruler's taxes, and couldn't even hunt monsters during the virus outbreak to grow stronger, this was overwhelming from the start.
“Anyway, the guild masters are in a meeting right now. The people left here can't do much, so they're tasked with occasionally dealing with the monsters that cross the broken walls into the residential area.”
“Speaking of which, what about you? You don't have any combat abilities. Were you able to clear the mission?”
“These kids helped me.”
“I told you to stop calling us kids! We're not kids!”
Choi Yeon-soo chuckled and nodded.
True, the mission never said you had to clear the gate alone.
“So all three of you have paused your mission progress?”
“For now.”
“Leader, I think it would be best for you to proceed to the promised third stage for now…”
Choi Yeon-soo trailed off, his brow furrowing.
The twins noticed it too and looked flustered.
“Oh, what do we do, Oppa? For you to start the mission now…”
Jo Min-ah's eyes shifted to the group of people gathered in one spot.
The location for the first mission had already been swallowed by the Red Zone.
For whatever reason, the people who hadn't completed the first mission had looks of resignation on their faces.
Breaking through the Red Zone to enter a gate. That was impossible.
The moment you stepped out, you would suffer a horrific death, burned alive.
“It's fine.”
“What do you mean, it's fine? Are you saying it's okay not to do the mission?”
“Of course not. The mission has to be done.”
I gave a bitter smile, refuting Jo Min-ah's words.
No matter what, the mission must be completed.
As number one, if possible.
It's not so much that the clear reward is good, but that it's a powerful way to secure a means to make clearing the next chapter easier.
‘Of course, aiming for first place right now is out of the question.’
I can ignore the public outcry, but I must avoid souring my relationships with the guild masters I've worked hard to build.
If I just do what I can, the opportunity will present itself.
I brought up the rankings again to check the situation.
Hwang Chan-jin still held first place by an overwhelming margin.
Is he planning to take first place even if it means sacrificing all those relationships?
“Th-Then, are you saying you're going to enter the Red Zone and clear the mission!?”
“Oppa, you can't! A considerable number of people have already tried, only to enter the Red Zone and burn to a crisp without lasting even ten seconds!”
I could feel their genuine worry in the flustered way the twins tried to stop me.
After returning to Earth, it took me over 20 minutes just to run from the middle of the Red Zone to the Safety Zone.
That much wasn't a problem for me.
“I have my own way. You guys should hunt the monsters that appear around the gates without clearing them, and earn some coins. If you just stand around, you'll only lose coins to the usage fee. Don't fall for the devil's tricks.”
“The devil?”
“A new one will show up soon.”
Leaving those words behind, I turned and ran.
I have to move quickly.
If I'm going to prepare to catch up to Hwang Chan-jin, who's clearing missions without a care for anyone else's reaction.
[You have entered the Red Zone.]
[Your HP will continuously decrease due to the intense heat.]
[The effect is reduced by your Fire attribute resistance.]
The suffocating heat instantly became bearable.
The resistance I'd built up while running from the Red Zone to the Safety Zone earlier was taking effect.
It's not explicitly stated, but the higher the vitality stat, the more attribute resistance you gain.
With my current stats… is it about 30%?
That's more than enough.
I covered my mouth with a water-soaked handkerchief and ran at full speed in one direction.
‘Among the scattered gates, there are some that absolutely must be cleared.’
The gates' spawn locations change randomly, but they only appear within a certain area.
As I looked around with Extreme Eye activated, I found one immediately.
I entered the gate without delay.
[Moss Spider's Nest (D)]
When I checked the gate's interior with Extreme Eye, even its name was displayed.
I marveled at this feature for a moment, but then spiders as large as big dogs began to creep out with a rustling sound.
These are monsters that have sacrificed many low-rank players due to their webs, which can't be cut by swords, and their potent neurotoxin that paralyzes the entire body within three seconds of being hit.
‘It hasn't been cleared.’
The corners of my mouth lifted slightly.
It's a stroke of luck that the Moss Spider's Nest is still here.
Then again, the first-generation players would be well aware of the dangers of the Moss Spider.
Even if they found this place, they likely wouldn't have entered for safety's sake.
As for the other low-rank players who entered without knowing… they probably became one of the skeletons lying over there.
[Kiiiiek!]
It seemed to be sizing me up, and when I remained still for a while, one of them finally shot a web from its mouth.
The Moss Spider's pattern is simple.
It restricts your movement with its web, and if it sees an opening, it bites to inject its neurotoxin.
If you get hit by that, you'll be tightly bound in webs and become their food.
Indeed, looking up at the ceiling, I could see a considerable number of cocoons hanging there.
Most of them were already dead bodies.
Examining their bodies with Extreme Eye revealed burns, suggesting they had braved the Red Zone to clear the mission, only to lose the fight in their weakened state and end up like this.
‘Can't save them.’
Fwhoosh!
As I swung my sword, black flames erupted along its trajectory.
Not only was the web flying toward me incinerated, but a few nearby spiders were sliced in two and then consumed by the flames, vanishing completely.
The spiders that had been closing in flinched and raised their guard.
One of them leaped forward aggressively, but it too lost its life in a single strike.
Clang.
The spider I just killed vanished, dropping something that looked like a brass coin.
I've only killed a few, and one already dropped.
Not a bad start.
I picked it up and, this time, I advanced.
“Alpha.”
As I softly called its name, Alpha and the Army of Darkness rose silently.
Seeing this, the spiders grew even more wary, letting out low cries.
“Clear them all out.”