Chapter 53: I’m Going to Be a Prospect Starting Today (5)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 53: I’m Going to Be a Prospect Starting Today (5)
The D-6 Dungeon, Volcano Path, is quite narrow for a dungeon.
While it wasn't a straight, stage-style dungeon, lava flowed along the sides of the path, so all you had to do was follow the trail. There were a few forks in the road, but if you just followed the path where the monsters gathered, you’d eventually reach the boss.
With my Mana Detection, navigation was a breeze.
I acted as the guide, leading the way while explaining the strategy to Yoon A-young and Kwon Ye-jin.
"Kwon Ye-jin, you’re an Attacker this time too."
"Yay! Leave it to me!"
Perhaps excited to be an Attacker again after a while, Kwon Ye-jin grinned widely.
"We’re leaving the 2nd line empty. Kwon Ye-jin and Yoon A-young on the 1st line. I’ll be on the 3rd."
"Got it. How are we handling the combat?"
Yoon A-young asked, looking concerned since her abilities were the polar opposite of the Volcano Path's environment.
"Don't worry, Sunbae. Master’s instructions have never been wrong."
Having gained full confidence in me through our raids so far, Kwon Ye-jin smiled at Yoon A-young, telling her to trust me.
"Yeah, trust me. All you two have to do now is attack."
"..."
"..."
"...Is that it?"
After a long silence, Yoon A-young tilted her head and asked.
Kwon Ye-jin also looked at me with a bewildered expression, but I simply gave a thin smile and nodded.
"Yeah, that’s it. You guys just keep attacking and attacking until the monsters are dead."
Yoon A-young’s eyes went blank as she looked back and forth before slowly turning her head toward Kwon Ye-jin. Her gaze seemed to ask if I was for real, but Ye-jin was too flustered to answer.
"The reason heroes hate the Volcano Path dungeon is because of the ground effects. You two don't need to worry about dodging them."
"Ground effects? Are you talking about the Flame Domains?"
Whoops. I accidentally used gamer slang without thinking.
Yoon A-young tilted her head, as if the term 'ground effect' was completely foreign in this world.
"Ground effect... like, an effect on the ground? That’s not bad. It has a nice ring to it. Master, Sunbae—let’s call those kinds of skills 'ground effects' from now on."
There’s a reason that word spread so far among gamers.
Kwon Ye-jin muttered "ground effect" to herself a few times, nodding as if she really liked it.
Yoon A-young, who didn't care for trivialities, kept her focus and sent me a questioning look.
"Are you saying you can deal with the Flame Domains?"
"Yeah. Just trust me and beat them down. Without those domains, they’re just mediocre monsters."
Despite being a short dungeon, the reason the world record for D-rank heroes is 26 minutes is that every monster here lays down ground effects.
In a world without a single healer-type Supporter, Attackers absolutely loathe ground effects. Even if they take down a monster in one hit with high damage, the ground effect remains, dealing continuous damage.
Since the monsters basically only fight on top of their ground effects, most heroes who come here are long-range types; melee Attackers won't even look at this dungeon.
However, if left alone, Erosion begins and monsters start leaking out of the dungeon, so clans often force D-ranks to clear it. It’s considered a "dud" dungeon.
I only chose it because there weren't many dungeons left after I tried to process five at once.
Though she looked at me with disbelief, Yoon A-young walked on in silence, seemingly intending to follow orders for now.
When a pack of Fire Frogs—the most common monsters here—appeared, Yoon A-young glanced at Kwon Ye-jin, and the two dashed forward in sync.
"Haaah!!"
The two of them took out three Fire Frogs with a surprise attack before they could react, but the rest began laying down ground effects rather than attacking.
Even though the effects didn't stack, the dozen or so frogs gathered together all laid them down at once. If they had been smart enough to spread out and cover more area, it would have been harder for the heroes, but they were so stupid.
Circular ground effects signaling the Flame Domains appeared, and the floor turned a burning red.
Continuous damage began to tick, but the two ignored the pain and focused solely on targeting the Fire Frogs as I had ordered.
Bang—!
"Agh! You scared me!"
"..."
Kwon Ye-jin cried out after being hit in the butt by a bullet, while Yoon A-young, who had already experienced this during training, silently swung her sword. However, the glance she shot me was full of grievance.
She must have thought I was just joking around when I shot them during training.
After healing the two of them, I fired in rapid succession.
Freezing Bullets fired from my pistol landed at their feet, pushing back the ground effects. However, because the mana infused in them was pathetic, they were quickly erased, and the ground effects filled back in.
It was a short window, but it was enough.
The two were constantly moving, never staying in one spot. I timed my Freezing Bullets to hit the floor exactly where their feet landed and fired Recovery Bullets to heal the minor damage they took.
The Fire Frogs, which had weak physical stats, were quickly swept away by their blades, and the girls exited the ground effects by following the path of Freezing Bullets I created.
"This is insane. How many seconds did that take?"
"34 seconds."
"Wow... this is the Volcano Path. Is it really okay for it to be this easy?"
Knowing the notorious reputation of the Volcano Path, Kwon Ye-jin looked dumbfounded as she flicked the blood off her sword.
Yoon A-young looked at the lingering, flickering flames of the ground effects even after the frogs were dead, then turned to me.
"It’s definitely better to focus entirely on the attack."
Is there anything you can't do?
After experiencing it once, Yoon A-young immediately understood my tactics. As she said, the key was to shut up and attack to end the battle as quickly as possible.
Even if the amount was small, both Recovery Bullets and Freezing Bullets consumed mana. The faster they ended the fight, the less mana I would consume.
The 20-minute goal wasn't just to break the world record; it was a time calculated based on my mana capacity.
"Is your mana okay?"
"It’s nothing to worry about. I’d appreciate it if you finished them off even faster, though."
"Understood. I’ll follow the leader’s orders."
Yoon A-young nodded, now fully trusting me after that battle.
Kwon Ye-jin belatedly acted smug, telling Yoon A-young not to worry because she had trusted "Master" all along. She had a thick skin, considering she looked at me with total doubt at first.
Having understood the objective of the tactic, Yoon A-young stopped playing a supporting role for Kwon Ye-jin and returned to her old self.
Returning to an Attacker who just "attack-moved" and focused purely on offense, Yoon A-young’s blade was fierce. Even without being able to use skills, she was strong enough. With every swing, she cut down two monsters at a time, leaping around and beginning a massacre. Kwon Ye-jin, who was relatively slower, even started complaining for her to leave some for her.
Monsters that looked like eels—with the simple and honest name of Fire Eels—had better physical stats than the Fire Frogs and spat fireballs from their mouths.
"Don't worry about focusing on the eels first. Just focus on ending the battle as quickly as possible, by any means."
Following my instructions, they stepped into the ground effects and swung their swords.
While the Fire Frogs were busy fighting at the front, a Fire Eel, apparently annoyed by me shooting from the back, spat a fireball my way.
I had told them not to worry about me, but seeing the fireball fly past them toward me, Yoon A-young and Kwon Ye-jin both turned their heads at the same time.
Bang—!
An Explosive Bullet hit the fireball, knocking it off course and sending it flying far away from me. If you want to hit me from a distance, you’d better fire at least as fast as a bullet.
I nonchalantly swapped magazines and fired Freezing Bullets at the floor, and the girls turned back to swing their swords.
Who’s worrying about whom? Just do your best to be my hands and feet and fight, you two.
We lost three seconds because of that, so move your hands faster.
Realizing they didn't need to worry about me, they quickly cleared the situation and stepped out of the ground effects.
"How many minutes has it been?"
"13 minutes."
When I told Yoon A-young the time, Kwon Ye-jin laughed.
"Ha, isn't our record going to be unbeatable? Plus, there are three of us, Master."
"The clear time for the Volcano Path will only get shorter from now on."
Since Square Garden is taking an interest in Supporters, they’ll probably establish themselves in a few years. With a Supporter to block ground effects and an Attacker with good offensive power, the D-rank Volcano Path is nothing.
Our party doesn't even have an Attacker specialized purely in offense, and we’re already at this level.
"Then, is it that... catfish next? It’s a catfish, right?"
"It’s a Fire Moray. It looks nothing like a catfish."
"As expected, Sunbae knows her stuff. Anyway, it’s over once we beat the Moray, right?"
The D-rank Volcano Path boss, the Fire Moray, was a massive monster. Its body, the size of a large truck loaded with cargo, was threatening just by thrashing around, and it was impossible to gauge how long its body was, hidden beneath the lava.
Yoon A-young looked at me, her eyes asking for orders.
"Attack."
At the same command as the beginning, Yoon A-young nodded.
As a dungeon boss, the Fire Moray possessed power different from the other monsters. It could swing its massive body to attack or spit out volleys of the fireballs the Fire Eels used.
However, I ordered them to just focus on attacking, saying I would handle everything else.
Though the two had read the dungeon info before coming, they didn't question my order and charged at the Fire Moray.
Before they could reach it, the Fire Moray laid down a ground effect. Its range was on a different level compared to the eels or frogs, reaching all the way to where I stood. This was one of the reasons why melee-heavy parties hated the Volcano Path.
In a boss fight, you were forced to take damage, which was agonizing.
I could feel the pain Yoon A-young and Kwon Ye-jin must be feeling as they fought. It didn't feel like I was literally burning, as it looked, but it was hard to ignore and just keep taking it.
I fired a Recovery Bullet into my own thigh and then aimed my guns at the two of them.
My muzzles spat fire as I continuously fired bullets. Moving along the path created by the bullets, the two swung their swords with all their might at the Moray.
As they split up to fight on both sides, my arms holding the dual pistols spread wide to match them. Without even the leisure to put away empty magazines, I flicked my wrists to drop them and slammed in new ones.
Click—
As the sound of reloading rang out, I fired another Recovery Bullet into my thigh. The Fire Moray, which had been doing nothing but taking hits, raised its head high and spat out fireballs.
The fireballs that had soared high into the sky began to fall.
"Attack."
Before they could get distracted, I spoke first, and the two continued to attack the Moray, trusting me.
When I created a foothold on the lava, Yoon A-young stepped on it, dashed forward to slash the inner body, and retreated. As the Moray lowered its head, Kwon Ye-jin’s greatsword came crashing down on its skull.
I aimed the gun in my right hand at the girls and the one in my left hand upward.
On the ground, Recovery and Freezing Bullets were scattered, while in the air, Explosive Bullets roared with loud bangs, knocking the fireballs spat by the Moray back into the lava.
With its ground effects and fireballs proving useless and having done nothing but take a beating, the Fire Moray raised its head, let out a great roar, and began to writhe its body violently.
"Looks like Master's piece."
"..."
"Sorry."
Kwon Ye-jin, who had made a dick joke upon seeing the Moray's shape over the lava, immediately apologized after catching Yoon A-young’s glare.
In the meantime, the Fire Moray swept across the ground, swinging its body like a club.
"The floor is rising, keep your balance!"
As bullets hit the ground beneath their feet, stone pillars just large enough for one person to stand on shot up.
Having been warned in advance, the two held their balance. As the Fire Moray swept past the stone pillars, they leaped into the air as if flying and brought their blades down hard.
Kwon Ye-jin’s greatsword pierced the crown of the Fire Moray’s head, and Yoon A-young’s sword sliced halfway through its skull.
"Kieeeeeeeek!!"
As the Fire Moray shrieked and writhed, bullets hit the surrounding floor. Unlike the pillars that had lifted the two up, sharp-tipped stone pillars jutted out diagonally, piercing and pinning the thrashing Moray’s body.
Yoon A-young, who had leaped into the air when the Moray thrashed, spun her body once and dove toward the half-carved wound.
Her sword, infused with an excessive amount of mana, vibrated so hard it was visible from a distance, and light leaked from the blade as if it were about to explode.
—Ssh.
It felt like a massive explosion was about to occur, but when the sword actually swung, only a faint sound followed as Yoon A-young landed on the ground.
Behind her, the Fire Moray’s head was belatedly severed and separated from its body.
"Whoa—that was insane. Sunbae, you’re so cool."
It was swordsmanship that even I could admire.
After defeating the Fire Moray, we immediately headed back. We still had four more dungeons to clear today.
"Waaaaaaaah—!!"
However, when we emerged from the dungeon, the surrounding area was packed with a sea of people.
There had been many people when we entered, but now there were several times more. Near the dungeon, a massive screen that hadn't been there before was broadcasting us.
It’s Park Sung-jun.
Thinking he had me in his pocket, he must have decided to fully hype us up by turning the dungeon entrance into a cheering square.
Right now, the screen was probably showing us exiting the dungeon, but while we were inside, the raid footage must have been being broadcast.
Well, thanks. For making us famous.
Thanks to this, the time it takes for the Break Line to disappear will be shortened.
Seeing the crowd that looked impossible to push through, we looked at each other and shared a bitter smile.