Chapter 24
Chapter 24
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 24
Chapter Title: Monster Defense Strategy
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"Is that really true?"
After getting the information from Hae-jin, Jung Nam-gil wore a look of disbelief.
It was understandable.
If the info from Hae-jin was legit?
For the two of them, it was like grabbing a genuine golden lifeline.
Hae-jin nodded at Jung Nam-gil, who was asking if the information was real.
"Yeah. You saw it in the last Trials' Arena, right? I cleared all the hidden trials."
"Yes, you did."
Anyone in the current zone knew it.
That Hae-jin had monopolized every hidden trial in the previous Trials' Arena.
Having brought up the hidden trials he'd claimed for himself, Hae-jin revealed the reward for them.
"The reward for those hidden trials is information on the next Trials' Arena."
Of course, that wasn't true.
But no one knew if it was fact or fiction.
Only Hae-jin, who had cleared the hidden trials or possessed pre-regression knowledge, could know.
So when he claimed the hidden trial reward was info on the next Trials' Arena, Jung Nam-gil had no choice but to believe it.
"Ah, I see!"
"Yeah. So survive this Trials' Arena using the info I gave you. Then I'll take you under my wing."
"Got it! We'll hold the line hard!"
Jung Nam-gil said he'd ramp up the defense based on the info Hae-jin provided.
That was when it happened.
Kang Hee-soon suddenly raised her hand.
"Mr. Hae-jin."
"What?"
"Could I join you on offense, by any chance?"
Offense.
She'd reacted that way after hearing one piece of the info Hae-jin had just shared.
Because he'd said he was heading out of the village for offense to clear the hidden trials.
In exchange, he'd given Jung Nam-gil and Kang Hee-soon good tips for defense inside the village.
Yet despite those tips, Kang Hee-soon wanted to follow him out for offense.
Hae-jin frowned at her.
"You trying to steal my mission rewards?"
As he frowned, Hae-jin unleashed his killing intent.
Jung Nam-gil and Kang Hee-soon, standing nearby, flinched in shock.
They had no choice but to be shocked.
Both were killers hardened to murder.
Yet this killing intent made even them shiver.
In the real world, they'd only ever projected killing intent at others—they'd never been on the receiving end directly.
Well, experiencing tangible killing intent like this was probably a first for them.
They might manage it later once they grew as Players.
But they wouldn't get the chance.
Hae-jin planned to deal with both of them in this Trials' Arena.
In any case, Kang Hee-soon's face went pale under Hae-jin's killing intent.
"N... No, sir."
"Then why do you want to go on offense?"
"I... I just wanted to help you out, Mr. Hae-jin."
"Help me?"
"Y... Yes!"
Kang Hee-soon stammered her reply, scared stiff.
Hae-jin smirked at the sight.
Withdrawing his killing intent, he spoke to her.
"Cut the nonsense and hunt the monsters coming into the village properly."
"Got it!"
As Hae-jin pulled back his killing intent, Kang Hee-soon replied energetically.
Watching it all, Jung Nam-gil inwardly clicked his tongue.
[Tsk, can't she tell when to step up and when to back off?]
Jung Nam-gil found Kang Hee-soon frustrating.
She was a killer with surprisingly good physical prowess.
So she was definitely helpful for tanking or the like.
But she lacked situational awareness.
The situation just now was a perfect example.
Hae-jin had given them tips, so the normal thing would be to use those tips to survive this Trials' Arena and join him, right?
[He gave us an edge over everyone else for survival, and she wants to ditch that surefire plan to go on offense with him? What an idiot.]
Just moments ago, Jung Nam-gil and Kang Hee-soon had received info from Hae-jin on how to survive this Trials' Arena with an advantage over the others.
And after giving them defense intel, she wanted to follow him on offense?
It was downright stupid.
[If that top-ranker wanted it, he'd have invited us himself from the start. Instead of giving defense info!]
It even risked coming off as distrusting the info he'd provided.
In any case, with Kang Hee-soon snapping to her senses from the killing intent, Jung Nam-gil spoke up.
"Yeah, let's stick to the defense info Mr. Hae-jin gave us and hold the line."
"Got it."
"You two focus on defense. I've got a mission, so I need to head out."
"Yes, sir!"
Hearing their replies, Hae-jin dashed toward the village entrance.
Whoosh!
In an instant, he shot out beyond the village entrance.
"Wha... what the?!"
Not just Jung Nam-gil and Kang Hee-soon—every Player nearby jumped in surprise at Hae-jin.
How could they not?
In the blink of an eye, he'd rocketed a distance they couldn't even imagine.
Seeing it, Jung Nam-gil spoke up.
"Hey, you think we could've kept up with a monster like that on offense?"
"...I was wrong."
"Yeah, good you realize it now. We just use the info he gave us and stick to defense as best we can."
"Understood."
And so Jung Nam-gil and Kang Hee-soon moved to survive this Trials' Arena using Hae-jin's info.
Using the method he'd taught them to survive.
It wasn't long before the Players could see it.
Hundreds of monsters trying to push into the village.
Spotting them, Jung Nam-gil shouted.
"Block them at the entrance before all the monsters get in!!!"
One of the tips Hae-jin had shared.
Don't wait dumbly for the monsters to enter the village—hunt them at the entrance.
Honestly, it wasn't even much of a tip.
Anyone with a bit of brains would do it naturally.
In any case, after telling the other Players to target the incoming monsters at the entrance, Jung Nam-gil charged forward.
Naturally, Kang Hee-soon, who'd agreed to team up, followed suit.
Both had job-changed into thief and assassin classes suited for killing.
Which meant rushing a monster horde first was basically suicide.
But heedless of that, Jung Nam-gil and Kang Hee-soon burned through their skills without holding back, hunting monsters like their lives didn't matter.
They ignored dodging or blocking attacks, focusing solely on offense.
That left Jung Nam-gil fuming.
[What the hell, you bastards? Help already!]
He could see the other Players hesitating while he and Kang Hee-soon risked death to fight.
Truth be told, it was less hesitation and more shock.
[How can they fight like that?]
All the Players feared death.
That was why the Trials' Arena was called a Survival Game from reality.
So they had no choice but to prioritize safety.
But those two?
They fought as if death held no terror.
That sparked some courage in a few.
"Hurry, let's back them up!"
"Yeah!"
Better late than never, the Players moved to support Jung Nam-gil and Kang Hee-soon.
Confirming it, Jung Nam-gil said.
"Hee-soon."
"Yeah?"
"Everyone's piling in now, so let's grab one more and respawn."
"Got it."
After that exchange, Jung Nam-gil and Kang Hee-soon snagged a few more monsters before dying on the spot.
Seeing their deaths, reactions erupted from the Players in a rainbow of emotions.
"Kyaaak!"
"No!"
"What are you all doing? We have to save them!"
"Too late."
"Damn it! Our hesitation got them killed!"
"All we can do now is avenge them!"
"Yeah, let's get revenge!"
"Right!"
The Players, thinking their safety-first approach had sacrificed Jung Nam-gil and Kang Hee-soon, fought the monsters fiercely.
If they thought about it properly, the system had explained the Trials' Arena.
Protect the Goddess Statue in the village center.
Only by protecting it could they survive.
So obviously, they shouldn't hesitate when monsters entered the village.
But they'd all prioritized their own safety and hesitated.
That had led to the deaths of the two bravely holding the defense.
Thanks to that realization of their fault, the Players fought even harder.
However, the Players didn't know.
That Jung Nam-gil and Kang Hee-soon had died on purpose.
The reason they'd died was the info they'd gotten from Hae-jin.
"You know this Trials' Arena is about stopping the monster horde, right?"
"Well..."
The screen had informed them that to survive the third Trials' Arena, they had to protect the Goddess Statue in the village center from the monsters.
So there was no way they didn't know they had to block the incoming monsters.
At Jung Nam-gil's natural affirmation, Hae-jin continued.
"But it starts with a thousand of them."
"Pardon? A thousand?!"
Jung Nam-gil and Kang Hee-soon jumped in shock at Hae-jin's words.
Understandably so.
Facing a thousand monsters made their vision go dark.
Hae-jin nodded at that.
"Yeah."
"Can we even block that?"
"Yeah, we can. And anyway, you two won't have to face thousands."
"We won't?"
Jung Nam-gil stared, wondering what that meant.
Hae-jin explained why the starting monster count of a thousand wouldn't apply to them.
"Because I'll be pushing forward, wiping out the monster groups that need defending with offense."
"Offense?"
"Yeah. You guard the Goddess Statue in the village, and I'll sweep all incoming monsters as I advance."
"Why? Isn't the mission for this Trials' Arena defense?"
"Because the hidden trial this time is that."
"Ah! So clearing the hidden trial tells you what the next one's hidden trial is?"
"Exactly."
Jung Nam-gil reacted with stunned admiration at Hae-jin's explanation.
"Damn, this strong-eat-strong system is no joke."
Strong-eat-strong.
If the rewards Hae-jin described were real, he couldn't help but feel that way.
Hae-jin smirked at Jung Nam-gil's reaction.
"If you're bitter, you should've been strong from the start."
"Urk. Still, sharing this info with us means you'll let us join you, right, Mr. Hae-jin?"
"Yeah. And I'll give you one more piece of info."
"What is it?"
Jung Nam-gil asked what info he planned to share.
Hae-jin told him.
"In this Trials' Arena, you survive based on how many monsters you kill. Obviously, you'd figure that out quick."
"Yes."
"Use up all your skills and rack up as many kills as possible. Even if you die after, it's fine."
"Pardon?"
Jung Nam-gil and Kang Hee-soon stared at Hae-jin in bewilderment after hearing his advice.
They had no choice.
What were Players supposed to do in the Trials' Arena?
Survive.
Yet Hae-jin was telling them to die.
To the pair who couldn't wrap their heads around it, Hae-jin shared info that normal Players wouldn't know without experiencing it firsthand.
"In this Trials' Arena, you don't die for real. Even if you do, you respawn near the Goddess Statue."