Episode 79
Chapter 17 Laying the cornerstone (4)
“Can I call you Yokai?”
Codename Yokai, real name Ahn Ki-joon, is a player belonging to Yang Hye-won’s party.
“Ah, yes… … .”
“Nice to meet you. This is K.”
“Bar, nice to meet you.”
Today is the day I decided to go hunting with Kim Yul and the monster.
“By the way, what is that wagon? Where did you come from?”
“Someone I know borrowed it.”
“… … Anyone here know? One day after connecting to the server? How is that possible?”
“If you do well.”
“her?”
While exchanging nonsensical conversations with Kim Yul, Ahn Ki-joon seemed a little uncomfortable and looked at me with a nervous expression.
I had no intention of continuing this awkward situation for long.
So I decided to moderate Kim Yul’s chatter.
“You don’t have to wait any longer, do you?”
“Yeah, it’s because we trust only hyung and go. You know what it means if we die, it’s all your fault, right?”
At first glance, it sounded like they were passing the blame on me, but the inside was a little different.
Although he had a bright smile on his face, Kim Yul was subtly showing that he was scared.
It’s like only three people are entering the mission.
‘Well, there are quite a lot of members over there too.’
Including those who did not join the NIS, there are only 7 party members.
That was also the number around the time Namgyu joined, so it might have increased.
It seems that he is worried about moving as a minority, perhaps because he has always been with the majority.
But what a great advantage this small number is.
“Soon you will bow, seeking my virtue, not my fault.”
“A man who only talks isn’t attractive.”
I narrowed my eyes and immediately realized what the slurred words meant.
I shook my head and took out the potion from the storage box.
I bought in bulk the other day, so the quantity was ample.
“Are you okay?”
“As expected, my older brother is the best.”
“Stop talking nonsense and let’s go. The youkai also accepts it.”
“Oh, thank you.”
You have to stay here for a spectacle.
‘Eyes are already gathering.’
There are three people gathered together wearing unusual outfits and wearing something over their heads, of course.
Among them, there were quite a few players like us.
I can hear the searching glances and whispering voices.
“With three people?”
“I will join you at the outpost.”
“Who is the guy in the middle? I don’t even have a sword… … .”
I took Kim Yul and Ahn Ki-jun and headed straight to the castle gate to avoid that attention.
The people who were glancing at us stepped aside little by little.
When we arrived at the gate, the guard guarding the place stepped aside and opened the way.
“If you go up the stairs on the right, there is a movement magic circle.”
“Yes, thank you.”
The guards’ attitude toward us was quite natural.
He didn’t seem too surprised.
If you think about it, it makes sense.
‘Because it’s been a day since the server was connected.’
The quick-footed ones must have already moved to the hunting grounds.
According to reviews posted on the community, outposts 1, 4, and 5 are open to strangers.
‘The remaining five outposts are still undisclosed.’
It’s probably a high-risk area in the nearby contaminated area.
Currently, it is only contamination that corresponds to the existing level 3 or 4, but it is open.
And not a few players hunted there and posted reviews.
“Before hyung came, I was on about five teams. There were more than 7 people in all, and one team had 10 people.”
“You are diligent.”
Those who have the power to act are diligently moving.
‘I can’t fall behind.’
I retook my steps. Of course, that didn’t mean the movement speed was faster.
“Yeah, but Mae, do I have to go up here every time? Is there any other way? Could you install a safety bar too!”
“Don’t pull! Kim Yul, hey! Don’t pull!”
The stairs we had to climb were, of course, on the cliff.
Because of that, Kim Yul and Ahn Gi-jun almost crawled and moved.
I shook my head excitedly at the noisy behavior of the two.
“Come quickly. Are you going to live there forever?”
“Are you alright brother? If it twists, it will fall!”
Shouldn’t we be careful not to fall at the right time to say such a thing?
“If you want to fall, push me.”
Kim Yul shook his head vigorously while hugging Ahn Gi-jun.
“Then be quiet and come quickly.”
“Yes.”
For some reason, it seemed that climbing the stairs became a little easier when Kim Yul kept his mouth shut.
It didn’t take long to climb the cliff, which could have been several meters high.
This is the place where Rashar and his party arrived a few days ago.
Instead of the teratological picture drawn on the floor, I checked the landscape over the cliff.
The clear river and endless plains beyond the horizon were showing off their overwhelming presence today.
The view from the top of the cliff was still beautiful.
‘I’ll see you often from now on.’
Thinking like that makes me feel a little better.
I looked around after admiring the scenery that filled my eyesight.
Paintings full of unusual sentences were drawn on the floor around them.
It was a magic circle that the resistance forces used to come and go from the outpost.
Around the magic circle prepared for a large army, small magic circles that could be used by a small number of people were tightly packed.
If you activate all of those magic circles, you can move up to 2,000 people at the same time.
Yesterday, while waiting for Rashar, he asked Chantler, so he was probably certain.
And a building that was placed next to the magic circle.
‘Here.’
The last time I came, I was so distracted by the scenery over the cliff that I didn’t even know there was anything like that around.
After confirming that Kim Yul and Ahn Ki-joon had risen above, I took the first step.
“excuse me.”
There are a total of 3 people there.
I said, looking at the wizard with shackles around his neck, wrists, and ankles like Ahel.
“Is it possible to use the moving magic circle?”
His gaze landed on top of my head and then fell.
“… … How many outposts do you go to?”
An outpost refers to an area in contact with a contaminated site, a dangerous zone where cleanup work is actually in progress.
“I want to go to Base 1, La Malt Mountains.”
According to reviews posted on the community, the average magical power of the monsters there is in the early 40s.
The other two are in their 20s and 30s.
“Please wait a moment.”
Kim Yul and Ahn Ki-jun arrived while the wizard, who nodded at my request, was getting ready.
“It feels like a real game now. Isn’t that like a beginner’s village?”
“That’s how it is.”
In the brief moment we were chatting, the wizard called us, saying that he had finished his preparations.
As he stood on top of the painting, a bright light covered his vision, just like when Ahel used space magic.
By the time the halo of light had disappeared and visibility was secured again.
「Enter the polluted area.」
We arrived at an outpost surrounded by a rather high barrier.
The two, experiencing the movement magic for the first time, sat down on the floor.
However, the two were more focused on looking around than on falling themselves.
“Oh, that sounds pretty good, right?”
“It’s a sight you’d only see in a movie, it’s kind of cool.”
While Kim Yul and Ahn Ki-jun exclaimed each other in admiration, I watched the message window with my eyes narrowed.
Unlike the two of them, I kept sending messages.
“Special capitalism is detected.”
「Information on the recommended missions promised to the support target is provided. The map function is activated.”
“The map function is combined with magic detection. Auto-detection begins.”
Eventually, when all messages were finished, a strange window popped up.
In the middle of the polluted area, it was a map with stars that meant recommended missions.
On that map, a radius of about 400m centered on me.
The reds and blues and spots were moving randomly.
No matter how you look at this… … .
‘It’s a radar.’
The corners of my lips twitched involuntarily.
* * *
A lot has changed since the server was connected.
According to Kim Yul’s experience, the most changed was the way the mission was conducted.
‘In the past, they dropped it right on the mission paper.’
Now you have to go directly from the secure garrison to the outpost and then enter the contaminated area.
Even though it became more cumbersome than before, the community was saying that it is better now.
Because the advantages gained from this hassle were so clear.
‘I can stop hunting in the middle.’
If the injury is severe or dangerous, you can withdraw your foot without looking at the end.
It doesn’t matter if the mission is completed or not.
‘There will be fewer people dying than before.’
Kim Yul was also quite happy when he first heard this news from the community.
Well, it was a change that didn’t mean much to him now.
“If it’s only this much, don’t rest and skip right away.”
Kay, whom I knew almost from the beginning of the game, was truly a dog.
‘I’ve had a clue since I was teaching you how to use magic, but… … .’
I didn’t know it would be like this.
Kay did not rest for a moment after entering the contaminated area.
Killed, killed, and killed a monster the size of a pig with rhino-like horns.
Each time Kay swung the longsword, the monster’s head fell off or its body split in half.
At first, I was surprised by the hunting speed and chased after it with rabbit eyes.
In the hunting that Kim Yul had been doing, two or three people caught the monster, and the other people stopped their breath.
So, with each swing of the sword, he was fed up with Kay’s hunting, killing a monster.
However, after more than an hour of such a situation, I no longer felt any inspiration.
I was just filled with the thought that it would be difficult to follow.
“Do you want to keep wandering? come fast.”
“this… … I can’t go, I can’t go!”
In the end, Kim Yul, impatient, sat down in his seat and raised his voice.
The increased Chaos level from repeated hunting ate away his patience more easily than usual.
Ahn Gi-jun, who had been chasing after Kim Yul’s declaration of abandonment, also let out a rough breath and put down his weapon.
“This is a scam! Harshness!”
The time when I was trying to increase the complaints accumulated while hunting non-stop like a marathon.
“I said we were hunting together, but I ended up in labor hell… … !”
“shut up.”
Kei’s eyes were cold as he aimed the longsword at Kim Yul’s neck.
“Are you out to play?”
The hoarse voice was a bonus.
“If you die, do you think you can use a resurrection item to come back to life? Is that why you’re screaming in a place full of monsters?”
It seemed that the eyes of Kei, who was looking down at him from above, were momentarily tinged with blue light.
Looking into those eyes, the dissatisfaction that seemed to be able to spit out without a break did not come out.
“Ah, no, I’m too fast paced… … .”
“Then go back.”
“… … .”
“If you don’t want to do that, wake up right away.”
At the cold warning, Ahn Ki-jun grabbed the weapon he had put down.
Kim Yul also pouted a little, but soon left his seat and got up.
Kei let out a deep sigh as if he was frustrated.
“Seeing you grumble like this, I know roughly what kind of hunting you did, but to be honest, the pace right now isn’t difficult, right?”
“… … .”
“With that proof, you have the power to speak softly.”
Tsk, Kei clicked his tongue and continued speaking with his head tilted to the side.
“I don’t do that. If I had been resting and hunting like your party, I wouldn’t have been able to gather this much magic alone.”
“… … .”
“Today’s target is 3,000 or more per person, and I’m going to run about two tang of the existing 3rd level. Go back if you don’t like my pace. Please, I do not intend to hold you back.”
At the repeated warnings and admonitions, Kim Yul muttered in a sinking voice.
“… … I’m sorry, I was complaining too much.”
Kei, who was staring down at the relatively short Kim Yul, turned his gaze to Ahn Ki-jun.
“Youkai too. Go if you’re having a hard time. I’m indebted to you, so I’ll help you earn magic, but I don’t have a hobby to take care of people who don’t like it.”
At Ahn Ki-jun’s answer that followed, Kim Yul bit the flesh in his mouth.