What Is a Raid Team?
There’s that Alien Forest on the 1st floor, right? I heard all the Skinter nests there were wiped out. Does anyone know who did it? I was trying to go on a 1st-floor raid with the Hunter Bureau, but they told me to pull a waiting ticket. What kind of situation is this, seriously;; I’m about to become unemployed thanks to this...
[Scorching Desert – Field 32]
A place where the reddish-brown, massive sand plains contrast with the deep blue sky. Under the scorching sun, there is shimmering sand and air so hot it feels like you're choking. This is the so-called 2nd floor, the Scorching Desert.
I watched Eunseo flying by, munching on a large date. One month into the raid, the people of the Paradise Guild were gradually accepting the extraordinary as their fate.
“Wow, that’s a home run, a real home run.”
Hyeongtae ran over and struggled to pull out Eunseo, who was stuck in the sand with only her legs visible. The leather armor and leather pants I’d given her were already tattered. They were C-class items I’d obtained on the 1st floor, but they hadn’t even lasted a month before being shredded.
Eunseo wiped her face, shedding tears as if she had sand in her eyes and mouth. “Ptooey, ptooey, ugh. Please stop helping me now...”
I smiled at Eunseo, who was looking at me with a pitiful expression. “If it weren’t for you, this old man would be in big trouble. You’re handling a C-class monster all by yourself right now, aren’t you?”
Eunseo’s large eyes widened.
“Huck! Ildo-ajusshi!”
In the distance, atop a sand dune, Ildo was blocking the fangs of a Sandworm with a tattered shield.
“I am fine, so hurry and cut its weak point!”
The Sandworm’s weak point was the 12 black eyes clustered on its upper body. Golden blood was already streaming down from several previous attacks. It was clear that a few more strikes would finish off this Sandworm as well.
‘If we finish off the Sandworm, an elite will spawn in this field, too.’
The Tower’s terrain was usually divided into fields and dungeons. Raid zones consisting of caves, buildings, or ruins—like Skinter or Queen nests—were dungeons. Places where monsters poured out onto open, non-enclosed land like this were fields. Dungeons had high difficulty for individual monsters, but the elites were weak. Fields had lower monster difficulty, but the elites were quite strong.
“Everyone probably isn’t ready to face a field elite yet. I should just catch this one and get out.”
Especially since the Giant Sandworm elite here was famous for being notoriously difficult to raid. If I let the three of them take it on, they might actually die.
Just as I spat a date seed onto the sand:
“Hey! Who gave you permission to raid here?”
A group of men in suits and hunters approached us.
“Oh...”
This was a first for me. I stood up from the rock I was sitting on to greet the man in the suit.
“What?”
“What? You green, young brat. Who gave you permission to raid here?!” The man in the suit pressed his index finger hard against my forehead, spitting as he spoke. “A hunter! Doesn’t even know! The basic manners! Of the raid floor! Anyway, these kids these days!”
Ah, geez. The spit. It smelled terrible, so I scrunched up my face.
“Ah, geez...”
“W-what? Geez? Are you Kang Hyunseo? Everlight! You must be getting cocky because you got some title! You’re just a rookie who barely made it to D-class, where do you think you are?!”
Hmm... seeing this reaction, I guess the information really was wiped.
I looked past the man in the suit, who was shouting at me, at the people behind him with a blank expression. The man in the flashiest armor made eye contact with me and walked over.
“Haha, Administrator, I will handle this well.”
“Ha! Hey. You’d better know you’re lucky! This hunter here is the guild leader of the Gangnam Guild!”
Gangnam Guild? I’d never heard of that guild.
“Haha, I am Baek Jungjin, guild leader of the Gangnam Guild, a subsidiary of the Seoul Guild.”
Jungjin? That’s a unique name.
“Kang Hyunseo.”
At my words, Jungjin’s brow furrowed deeply. Hmm, is this guy also the prideful type? He seems similar to Cheon Myeong-seok.
“Hoo, are you the rumored Everlight?”
“Yeah, that’s me.”
I narrowed my eyes and let out the killing intent that was flying toward me. A tingling, sharp killing intent was coming from the back in droves. Are these guys serious? Do they want to fight?
“Wow, you’re calmer than the rumors. I guess I underestimated you because you’re D-class.”
“You can underestimate me. I’m D-class, so I can’t even join the battle.”
Just as I said that and pointed toward the sand dune, the Sandworm let out a shriek and collapsed.
“Got it!”
“Uwaaaaah!”
“Let’s take a break, a break!”
Watching the three of them jump around, Jungjin said in a hollow tone.
“Haha. This is quite something, using our raid zone as you please.”
“What kind of bullsh*t is that? Since when does a raid zone have an owner?”
“It’s a rule set by Guild Leader Cheon Myeong-seok of the Seoul Guild for the efficiency of raids. You shouldn’t be unaware of the basics if you’re a raid team?” Jungjin raised the corners of his mouth. “You didn’t know because you’re not the 1st squad?”
“Ah...”
As I put on a dejected expression, the corners of his mouth rose even higher.
“Hyunseo-nim? What’s going on?”
“What’s the matter?”
“Did we do something wrong? Why did a Hunter Bureau guy come?”
As soon as the three of them approached me, their faces turned pale. It was because of the killing intent coming from the hunters in the back. Hmm. They’re touching my students. Should I kill them all? Should I kill them and see how the Seoul Guild reacts? I thought about it, but then I made eye contact with the man from the Hunter Bureau. If they happen to have some kind of communication magic tool, things could get complicated. I’d gone to the trouble of wiping all the information; it would be annoying if new trouble arose.
“What is it that you want?”
When I asked, Jungjin gave me a friendly smile.
“We don’t need anything else, just hand over the items from the Sandworm you just caught, and leave the 30s field.”
At Jungjin’s words, Eunseo gasped.
“T-the entire 30s? Then are you telling us to go to the 40s field?”
“What? That’s telling us to go out and die!”
Watching Eunseo and Hyeongtae speak, terrified, I shrugged my shoulders.
“Can’t be helped... Let’s give them all the items and go to the 40s.”
“Yes? But even so, the items?” Hyeongtae shouted, holding the D-class item. “We can’t give you the items! The party that catches it keeping the loot is the most basic rule!”
“It’s fine, give it to them.”
“Haha, as expected, Everlight-nim is reasonable.”
“...Good luck.”
I handed over the items that had just come out of the Sandworm to the Gangnam Guild, packed our bags, and headed toward the 40s.
“Wow, they’re eating the Sandworm for free.”
“Wow, isn’t this a D-class item?”
“They just sat there and made 10 million won.”
Watching the Gangnam Guild members excitedly appraising the items, Eunseo was flustered.
“Hyunseo-nim, right now, this is...”
“Well, can’t be helped.”
On the road, carrying our backpacks. Once the Gangnam Guild was far enough away, Hyeongtae kicked the sand with his foot.
“Wow, that’s really too much. I’d only heard about the talk of claiming raid zones.”
“To have our items stolen, hoo, this is really...”
“Hyunseo-nim...”
I chuckled, watching Eunseo clinging to me. Hyunseo seemed flustered by me, shaking the clothes she was holding.
“Hyunseoniiim! That was a Sandworm we risked our lives to catch!”
“I know, I know. But we can’t help it. They’re threatening us by saying the Seoul Guild is behind them. And they even dared to throw killing intent at us.”
Come to think of it, is that a trait of the Seoul Guild guys? Anyway, trash people never change.
“Still...” Eunseo looked around. “What does it matter? We were going to go to the 40s anyway after this. If we go this far, a safe zone should appear soon.”
“Ah, is that so?”
“Then can we use the tent again?”
“Ah, then a shower too!”
Eunseo’s face brightened again. I chuckled at the joy clearly visible on her face. Hasn’t Eunseo become a bit simple since she started traveling with me? I felt a strange emotion as I climbed the sand dune.
“Well, to be precise, it’ll be a place we have to make into a safe zone.”
At my words, everyone seemed flustered, recalling the Abyss defense battle, and their steps slowed.
“W-wait a minute. Don’t tell me, that hell again..?”
“The four of us?”
“Uh...”
“Hey, that quest was just weird. Usually, it ends once you clear a simple quest or catch a boss.”
At my words, everyone’s pace slowed even more.
“Catch a boss...”
“Don’t tell me, the main quest...”
“Hoo... Honey... I am now...”
Aish, seriously.
“If it looks hard, we can just run! Why worry? You think I’d really ask you to beat a boss?”
“Ah,”
“Right?”
“Honey... I think I can go home...”
Their pace quickened again. When we were crossing the sand dunes, looking at the map we’d obtained from the edge of the 2nd floor:
Kugugugugung-
A sound of the earth shaking came from afar. It was the sound of the field boss, the Giant Sandworm, appearing.
“Huh? What is that?”
“It sounds like it’s behind us?”
“Ignore it, it’s not our business anymore.”
I grinned and headed forward. Go ahead and die, you bastards. If you manage to run away, I’ll kill you right then.
“I guess so... that’s right.”
I pointed to the oasis visible in the distance from the top of the sand dune.
“Ah, that way must be the safe zone. I can see small tents too.”
“Wow, the oasis water is clear.”
“It really is.”
“Wait a minute.”
I stopped, looking at the area near the oasis I’d seen from afar.
“There’s no sign of life.”
“Sign of life?”
“Yeah.”
“There’s nobody there, you say?”
Tsk, don’t tell me they already slaughtered everyone and left. I hardened my expression and rode down the sand dune.
“Anyway, those raid team bastards only know how to kill.”
I felt an ominous premonition and headed toward the oasis.