Atla Raid (3)
The giant turtle, Atla.
The strategy for it was simple.
Just a sandbag.
Just beat it hard. Didn't the event notice say as much? Break the shell and destroy the gravity core. Really, that's all there is to it.
Thrashing it was the end of it.
However.
It has to be cleared within twelve hours. Otherwise the core goes berserk and unleashes a condensed gravity breath… whose power is known to reduce even a tower to dust and still have some left over.
Twelve hours, huh…
Hyun Si-woon closed his eyes.
I'd prefer to save all eight if I can.
A way to keep all eight alive while still claiming the contribution rewards for each one.
It was simpler than expected.
Just split the members.
It might be dangerous, but the gains were enormous.
What if even one of them was lost?
This time, he would regress without the slightest hesitation.
Losing a comrade to my own misjudgment is something I will never accept.
As always.
The privilege of regression was broken as hell.
Even if you failed, even if you died…
It simply became experience points for the next success.
"From now on, everyone heads to the tower in their assigned region ahead of time. First, only Noona Do-hee stays in Seoul, and Noona Cha-yul heads to Incheon."
Hyun Si-woon began issuing orders.
"Daejeon goes to Hyeong Yeon-ho, Daegu to Si-a, and Gwangju to you, Dae-un. Okay?"
One member stationed in each city.
"But, Hyeong-nim."
"Speak."
"What's the selection criteria…? The community says Gwangju is dangerous because there are no climbers there…"
"Nothing special. Age order."
"Huh?"
"If you don't like it, you should've been born earlier."
In a world already ruined, what meaning did age even hold…?
Still, the spirit of the land of courtesy in the East never fully disappeared.
He simply assigned the elders to the closer locations first.
In truth, age was just an excuse; he had divided them that way out of sheer laziness.
"Then what about the remaining Ulsan, Busan, and Jeju Island? Three places left."
Every gaze turned back to Hyun Si-woon.
The remaining three.
Especially the isolated Jeju Island—everyone considered it impossible.
Hyun Si-woon spoke as if he had been waiting for the question, short and sharp.
"I'll take those."
"…!"
The members' eyes widened.
He was saying he would handle three locations alone?
Even Hwang Dae-un, who had been whining that Gwangju was dangerous, kept his mouth shut this time.
"From now on I'll drop each of you off at your positions with Pungjo, then head straight to Jeju myself. From there I'll clean up Busan and Ulsan in that order as I work my way up."
"Is that even possible inside twelve hours?"
This time Baek Yeon-ho asked. Concern filled his voice.
At Pungjo's speed it should be doable, yet he still felt uneasy for no good reason.
If even one place went wrong, they would accomplish nothing and only lose members.
"Yeah. I'll make it possible no matter what."
Others might not, but Hyun Si-woon could.
Because he could regress.
Compared to the hardships he had already endured inside the Tower of Despair, this didn't even look particularly difficult.
The next day.
A post from the Wandering Merchant appeared on the community board.
It shot to the top with an unprecedented number of recommendations.
The title alone threw the entire server into an uproar.
Climbers clicked the post like madmen.
The content was short and blunt.
I was deeply moved by Yoo Jin-hyeok-nim's noble intentions. We of ★Wandering Merchant★, as fellow members of the Korean server, wish to contribute what little strength we can to this raid. To every climber who sends a [Raid Participation] mail, we will freely distribute 10 lowest-grade potions and 10 combat rations. Yoo Jin-hyeok-nim need only forward the participant information to us. We sincerely hope everyone survives.
The reaction was explosive.
If Yoo Jin-hyeok's appearance had been hope, the Wandering Merchant's declaration was salvation.
In this hell where everyone risked their lives for TC, unconditional large-scale support!
Climbers felt something beyond gratitude—something close to religious reverence.
And before that heat could even cool, another post appeared.
This time from Owl.
It too rocketed upward with recommendations at terrifying speed.
Sharing emergency information for confused climbers.
First: besides Yoo Jin-hyeok-nim's party, there is one more party that has cleared the 7th floor.
They are still reluctant to reveal their identities, but this is confirmed intelligence from us at Owl. In other words, two suns now hang over the forefront of the Korean server.
Second: the commander of that party spoke to us at Owl.
They will dispatch their members to each region for this raid. Therefore, please do not flee to other cities. Leaving your current region is an act of suicide. Especially climbers of Jeju Island—do not give up. Support will absolutely come.
Owl's notice was like pouring oil on already blazing public sentiment.
Endless speculation flooded in.
Every theory under the sun poured out about the identity of the hidden 7th-floor party.
But who they were didn't matter.
Only one thing mattered.
That this raid suddenly felt doable!
Climbers truly began to find courage.
They fixed their weapons and started gathering in front of the towers.
Applications poured into Yoo Jin-hyeok.
Ah, and.
The place that reacted most fiercely was, without question, Jeju Island.
To those drowning in the despair of having been abandoned, Owl's final sentence was a single ray of light.
And Yoo Jin-hyeok was watching that very scene as well.
One of his teammates clicked his tongue.
"The board's completely flipped, Leader."
Yoo Jin-hyeok watched the community without answering.
Just in case, he had asked.
Owl.
Whether there really was another party that had cleared the 7th floor.
And the moment he asked, Owl had said "How did you know?" and made that announcement.
His feelings were complicated.
First displeasure, then awe.
And finally, competitive fire surged up.
"Hoo."
Yoo Jin-hyeok exhaled and closed the community.
"Don't worry about the other regions."
Then he murmured quietly.
"Only the three places we took. Seoul, Incheon, Daejeon."
His eyes burned.
"Contribution rank 1 for these three regions will be ours no matter what. Thirty Despair Stones—do not let even one slip away."
Two suns?
Ridiculous.
Under the sky there was only one sun.
"This raid will be the stage of proof. Who the true strongest climber party of the Korean server is… we'll carve it into everyone's minds."
Whoooosh!
The massive Pungjo soared through the sky.
The first destination was the outskirts of Seoul.
The place they always landed.
"Noona Do-hee."
"Got it. See you when it's over."
Baek Do-hee leapt nimbly from Pungjo's back. Even as a staff user she never neglected her physical and footwork training, so her body was light.
Next, Incheon.
"You do well too, Noona Cha-yul."
"Yeah! I'll show you contribution rank 1. I'll just take its head with Dragon Emerging from the Sea."
After that they moved through Daejeon, Daegu, and Gwangju in order, dropping the members near each location.
He wanted to take them all the way to the towers, but that was impossible.
Who knew what Rankers might be lurking near the towers.
The outskirts were always safer.
None of the members hesitated in their movements.
They trusted their leader's plan and simply moved their bodies to fulfill their roles.
Before long Pungjo was flying over the blue waters of the South Sea.
The journey toward Jeju Island.
Now only Hyun Si-woon remained on Pungjo's back.
"Hoo."
He caught his breath for a moment and pulled a bow from his inventory.
Covenant of the Spirit King.
Swish.
Hyun Si-woon nocked an arrow, thought of "fire" inside, and released the string.
Fwoosh!
Summoning lower-rank fire spirit 'Kasa'.
A small lizard spirit appeared and climbed onto his shoulder.
The incarnation of the element of fire.
Hyun Si-woon had sensed it instinctively the moment he first called the spirits.
These little things had infinite uses depending on the user's imagination.
You could burn something with fire, or light the darkness.
You could use it as smoke to obscure an enemy's vision, or as warmth to thaw a cold body.
Water is the same.
Splash!
Summoning lower-rank water spirit 'Undine'.
Ah, the surprising ability he had discovered from Undine!
Healing.
The warmth of water mended wounds.
He had also experimented with raising the pressure to use it like a water jet, but as a lower-rank spirit the power was still weak.
Summoning lower-rank earth spirit 'Gnome'.
He had wanted to try using Gnome, but they were in mid-air so it didn't work well.
As an earth spirit it seemed uncomfortable simply existing above empty space, so he dismissed it quickly.
He would use this one properly next time.
He needed more practice handling spirits, but the event had blown up and left him no time.
Summoning lower-rank wind spirit 'Sylph'.
Finally, Sylph.
Ehehehehit!
Sylph raced around as if she had found her true domain.
In truth her power was stronger than the other spirits as well.
It seemed to be an effect of being next to Pungjo.
Right then, Hyun Si-woon sensed a strange change.
The wind resistance… vanished?
Even though they were flying near the speed of sound, the skin-slicing headwind had become as soft as a feather.
Sylph was perfectly controlling the air currents around Pungjo, creating a path of wind with almost no air resistance.
Want to push it further?
"Pungjo, full speed!"
At Hyun Si-woon's command Pungjo beat its wings with all its might.
Sylph's power exploded.
When she waved her tiny hands, the air behind them became a massive propulsive force that shoved Pungjo's back.
KWAAAAAAANG!
A roar that tore at the eardrums erupted as the air wrapping Pungjo's body compressed white and formed condensation clouds.
"Whoa!"
Sonic boom!
The sound barrier that Pungjo alone could never have crossed was broken with ease thanks to the help of one small lower-rank spirit.
Crazy.
At this speed, travel between cities would be even faster.
Good.
A faint smile touched Hyun Si-woon's lips.