Chapter 12
Chapter 12
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 12
Chapter Title: Panic Room (2)
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『World Tree Labyrinth』
The first dungeon in Billion Saga, where the map layout and difficulty are entirely randomized.
Right now, we're facing the bastard holed up in the deepest part of the labyrinth.
Kr... Kruk... Grgrgr...
🗡️ Kobold Lord [Krakschmar] This guy was a famous named monster in this worn-out game that no one had ever taken down.
To begin with, the encounter rate was a measly 0.0001%, so meeting it was no easy feat. And the difficulty was so brutal that everyone just gave up.
You had to break through a encirclement of 32 kobold archers to catch this fog-shrouded bastard that you couldn't even see. It was an absurd condition.
When you crunched the numbers on cost versus reward, giving up clean was the smart play.
But we're different.
We go all out on every dungeon—that's our mindset.
"Seonghyeon, trust me and keep pushing in."
The kobold archers were perched on the cliff above, showing no signs of coming down.
Taking them all out would take all day even if we ran nonstop, so our plan was to ignore them and just behead the boss.
This was already our twentieth attempt since the dungeon opened.
Nothing different this time, either.
But after witnessing her passionate control up close like this, I wanted to pull off something impossible right now.
If I crumbled here after she went all out, it wouldn't look good for the main tank.
Focus.
Tat-tat-tat-tat!
I measured my field of view while running.
Four archers targeting me.
Dahye had deflected two arrows, so now the remaining two were incoming.
She couldn't see these from her view.
Clang!
I smacked one away, then slid under the other.
Next up...
⚡ SKILL ACTIVATED ⚡ Leaf Attack Lv.20 Leaf Attack, the warrior class's longest-range movement skill.
Once I leaped into the air, I wouldn't get hit by arrows during the fall, easing the burden on Dahye.
Riding the momentum of the jump, I scaled straight to the top of the cliff, then dropped right toward the boss.
Fwooooosh!
A massive wind roared up from the abyss below my feet.
Suddenly, a club swept through the fog like a storm, bursting up from the depths.
It was one of Billion Saga's unspoken rules.
If a big guy was hiding its body, it was guaranteed to open with a first-strike-kill pattern.
I knew from getting smashed by it countless times—it was a one-shot kill.
Already airborne? How do you react to that?
Time for a magic spell.
"Pokttal! Cover me~!"
Shout that and drop straight down.
Then, timed perfectly with the club's impact...
Ting! Soul Companion effect activated. Sharing [Holy Shield] effect for 0.1 seconds. Whoosh!
Krakschmar's club passed right through my invulnerable self, slicing empty air.
See that? That's our Pokttal's skill.
And after a big move comes the big backlash.
Krakschmar's armpit was wide open in this perfect moment.
This was the alpha and omega of our strategy.
Took twenty tries to finally reach it.
Our party's damage dealer? None. So we went with a one-strike-kill pattern.
Just like that kobold bastard.
Except we were even more brute-force about it.
⚡ SKILL ACTIVATED ⚡ Exploding Muscles skill used. Strength +46 for 10 seconds.
Kim Pokttal has temporarily enhanced buff. Attack power doubled for 5 seconds. Kim Pokttal used [Attack Power Boost Scroll (Swift)]. Attack power increased 1.5x for 5 seconds. Kim Pokttal used [Moment of Sacrifice]. Next attack power doubled. Party EXP reduced. A piercing thrust loaded with every buff we could scrape together, plunging down.
⚡ SKILL ACTIVATED ⚡ Meteor Thrust Lv.MAX Splat!
Blood sprayed up through the fog.
Whoo-whoo-whoo—whoo! Crack!
Then, way off in the distance, the club I'd launched into the air came crashing down.
With Krakschmar's arm still attached to the handle.
💥 CRITICAL HIT! 💥 Kwon Seonghyeon Fighter's [Meteor Thrust Lv.MAX] lands as critical hit!
Exploited Krakschmar's hidden weak point. ⚔ FIRST CLEAR! ⚔ World Tree Labyrinth boss monster first-cleared! Congratulations. First clear of World Tree Labyrinth, [Deep Hollow Kobold Territory]! Acquired massive EXP. Level up! Behind the flood of system messages, I spotted the kobold archers fleeing.
"Huh?"
What the hell?
I only landed one thrust— wasn't the real fight supposed to start now?
Just in case, I glanced sideways. Park Dahye was staring slack-jawed.
Probably the same expression as mine.
"Whoa. Seonghyeon. What is this?"
"What? Is it dead?"
No way that infamous brutal boss went down in one hit?
Guess my hunch was right—the armpit was the weak spot.
We glued our eyes back to the monitors, desperately hunting for proof.
Clear evidence of the boss monster's death.
And as the fog cleared...
We finally spotted it, sparkling brilliantly.
🎁 TREASURE CHEST 🎁 [Treasure Chest Infused with World Tree Essence] What the hell just happened.
In eight years of gaming, this had happened only a handful of times.
First clear of a dungeon.
We'd been at it nonstop for eight straight hours, no food, pure focus.
The view outside the window had gone from midday to pitch dark.
The thrill crawling up my spine... exploded at the crown of my head.
"Eeeeek! Seonghyeon!"
"Kwaaaaaah! Pokttal! We did it!"
We shot up from our seats in a daze, hugging and screaming our lungs out.
We never dreamed we'd clear a dungeon we met by sheer 0.0001% luck.
Drunk on the server-first euphoria and the triumph of conquering ultra-hard content, we forgot we were in an apartment and just hollered away.
But from experience, this level of hype always ended badly.
"Wha—whoa! Hold on!"
Park Dahye's overexcited body slam came flying...
"Eek! Momma!"
I toppled backward with my chair.
See that? That's our Pokttal's skill.
Thud!
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "Ow..."
"Ugh... What do we do... Sorry, Seonghyeon... You okay?"
"I'm fine. You hurt anywhere?"
"Me? Uh... My arm stings a bit."
"Let me see."
Her wrist was a little red where it had smacked during the fall.
No pain on movement, no break, but it might bruise by tomorrow.
"Jeez..."
I didn't want to scold her for getting too hyped.
Considering the 60 hours we'd poured into this dungeon and her love for the game, this excitement was par for the course.
Even I, at 29, had lost my mind and bounced around like a kid.
But thinking of a bruise on that skinny wrist tugged at my heart.
"Seonghyeon... I think I'm fine..."
"No, you're not. Need some ice."
"R-Really? But more importantly..."
Gulp.
Why was I swallowing at a time like this?
The adrenaline rush from the hype had vanished in that split-second mishap.
The desperate battle, the impossible teamwork, the thrill of victory.
All gone. And in the void left behind, only her face remained.
Park Dahye's face, overlaid on mine, so close our noses nearly touched.
Why were we like this? Oh...
I was still holding her wrist. She couldn't get up.
Suddenly, time slowed.
After eight hours of frame-perfect control, my nerves were on edge.
Or maybe she had a slow debuff.
Her flushed pink cheeks from excitement, her sweat-dampened bangs.
Her wandering, flustered eyes, her hesitant little lips.
It all played in slow motion.
Slower made it clearer.
That expression screamed embarrassment.
How'd we end up here?
Hm, standing up awkwardly would just make it worse.
How do you handle this?
Time for another magic spell.
"Dahye."
"Y-Yeah... Seonghyeon... What?"
"Wanna get chicken?"
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "You saw it? You saw it? No one else has this, right? We're the first, yeah?"
"Obviously. We were the first to open that treasure chest, too."
"Whoa... Jackpot. Posting this to the community would blow up all three shots, huh?"
"You gonna?"
"Nah? Keeping it to myself. Not telling a soul. Hehe. Gonna look at 'em three times a day."
Park Dahye kept giggling nonstop at the screenshots on her phone.
From escaping the labyrinth, waiting for chicken delivery, to finishing the meal—she hadn't stopped.
One in front of the boss's treasure chest drop.
One of the item from it, Labyrinth Essence.
And our victory shot in front of the boss corpse.
Three in total.
Posting to the community would've kept us trending for a week.
But hiding first-clear items to savor solo was Park Dahye's habit.
Her collection or whatever.
I didn't get it, but it was her fun, so I stayed out of it.
Besides, it was all her doing anyway.
Without her insane control, we never would've reached the boss.
"Enough screenshots. More chicken."
"Mmm... Full. One more? Nah. Time to quit. Belly full, back warm, bliss~."
"You were hurting too, huh?"
"Ugh... Pathetic. You suggested chicken first, so you lose. Admit defeat!"
No, I could've gone three more hours easy.
I threw it. For real.
So stop looking at me like that, please.
"Look at that face. So smug. What're you gonna do about it."
"It's winner's grace. You wouldn't get it, Seonghyeon. Heehee. You'll grant my three wishes now, right? No vetoes?"
"But nothing too ridiculous."
"Got it, got it."
Getting curious now.
One wish has to be game gear, right? A new PC, or pretty item shopping.
Beyond that, no clue.
I only knew she loved games.
Wonder when she'll wish.
Entirely up to her whim, but probably not long.
She never hesitated before stuff she loved.
Her style was charging headfirst when she wanted something.
"Ah~ Decided. First wish."
See? Crazy fast.
Faster than I thought.
What is it?
"What?"
"This one~."
This? That's your wish? Never saw it coming.
Was gonna learn more about her through these wishes.
But this? Now I'll know even less.
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