163 – The returner becomes stronger (8)
Talk. All right. All right.
It rattled. It rattled. It rattled.
Horses walking leisurely in the scorching sun.
“… “
“… “
20 Players walking around it. There is no conversation between people. It wasn’t because it was particularly hot, but because there was nothing to talk about.
Following Choi Ji-won’s suggestion a little while ago, the players’ primary goal was to ‘guard the carriage all the way, and then respond when the situation changes.’ Accordingly, he was walking next to the carriage…
“What’s not showing up?”
“Ugh… “
For about three hours, nothing happened. There was literally ‘no’ change. The sun was still shining brightly, small grains of dirt hit my eyeballs and I had to keep rubbing them, and the horses continued to walk at a steady pace.
The sound of people’s footsteps moving and pacing has such a certain rhythm that it almost feels like you’re being hypnotized. Who am I. Where are we?
“Now, in times like these, we must not let down our guard. In essence, a surprise attack is aimed at the moment when the enemy is most unguarded and when the greatest number of loopholes are revealed. The man earlier said 3 days at most, so we always… “
“I know, you idiot.”
“… “
A player who likes to pretend to know something tries to talk back and forth, but is immediately overpowered by a skinhead man. Actually, this is a given. The surprise attack party will, of course, look for the moment when an opening is revealed.
Everyone knows that, so they keep their mouths shut and keep walking… Even if you know it, it is inevitable that you will feel tense.
“… “
Looking at the players, I kept my mouth shut and concentrated on walking. In my case, I was worried that I might have raised too many flags.
I’m trying to start with one layer, but I can’t believe I’m repeating that it’s easy. Isn’t it almost like going to war and taking out family photos from your chest? The level of difficulty on the 11th floor itself was easy, but just as the situation went awry, even now, a lot of sh*tty situations can be created. We must be vigilant.
But for some reason… I keep letting my guard down. Even if I just lie down in the carriage, I feel like I’m going to wake up. My head understands it, but my heart keeps urging me to get some rest.
“Stop.”
“Huh?”
“Stop. If I move any further, will it cut me?”
“… “
Choi Ji-won, taking advantage of the moment when everyone was distracted, stopped a player who was trying to secretly remove the cloth from the carriage.
“Didn’t you promise not to touch the carriage? “But what are we going to do now?”
“No, that’s… By Bored… “
“There is no next time.”
The reason I let my guard down is simple. One of Choi Ji-won’s strengths was his detection ability.
Even in the tutorial, I was able to sense everything that was happening in that wide open space, but what about now that I have become even stronger? This is Choi Ji-won, who understands every move of every player here. If anyone tries to do something foolish, they can be found out right away.
“… Sorry.”
“… “
Other players who were curious about the inside of the carriage also kept their evil thoughts after seeing Choi Ji-won’s agile movements. This… Can not be done. This is not a level you can achieve by fighting. Was it not a lie that he confronted the Shinigami on the 11th floor and crushed him to death?
The moment when the players swallowed their saliva after realizing the gap in power.
“Hey, what do you see?”
“It’s coming, something is coming!”
One of the players standing in front of her was pounding on her own armor and making her scream.
A cloud of dust visible in the distance. Through the increasingly approaching dust clouds, several black shapes can be seen.
“… Cow?”
A herd of black cows with curved horns. A herd of cows was running toward the carriage at incredible speed.
“Cooooo, cooooo!”
Of course, their eyes were stained red as if they were ordinary cattle, and they were running with drool flowing from their mouths. The crying sound is also very strange. I don’t know, but one thing is clear: I’m possessed by something. They were probably sent by those targeting the carriage.
“Is there about 100 of them?”
“It’s not a joke… “
Of course, that number was extremely small compared to the monster wave that came from the 4th floor. However, the fact that large creatures were running towards me with their eyes glaring, and that there were as many as 100 of them, gave me a unique sense of pressure.
“Can’t we avoid this? “Isn’t there anyone who knows how to handle horses?”
“It’s no use. “They completely ignore us.”
There was a player who tried to control the horse to drive the carriage, but the horse completely ignored the player and just walked straight ahead. In other words, if things continue like this, it is obvious that the herd of cattle and the carriage will collide head-on.
“… “What should I do about this?”
“Damn… “
You could say that all we had to do was stop the herd of cows, but the players were all hesitant. If it’s 1v1 with a cow, you don’t even have to go to the top level, you can just handle it as a mid to upper level player. However, the pressure from not having a small number of cows was making them hesitate. In any case, there was a possibility that while trying to catch a cow, he would be trampled and die instantly.
“Get out of the way.”
This is the time for me to step forward. I quietly released the magic power that I had been suppressing for a while and jumped towards the herd of cows with confident steps.
“Oh, oh!”
“Mister! Be careful! Then die!”
I can hear the panicked voices of the players, but ignore them and focus on the magic within my body. To be honest, it is difficult to completely harden something as large as a cow. It is difficult to harden all 100 cows.
“Roughly the height of the leg joints… “Is it like this?”
However, what if we only target specific parts of the cow’s body? That’s not a large number, if you only target about five.
Huuung.
As the chill gathers at the tip of the sword, the sword vibrates and makes a strange sound. After concentrating your magical energy appropriately, without putting too much strain on your body.
“Inhale!”
When I swing the sword with concentrated cold energy low and wide, the cold spreads out in the shape of a crescent moon. The weather was hot, and the dense chill spread out and became lighter, so the power contained was not that great.
Damn.
“Kuuuk?”
“Cooooo!”
As the thinly spread cold hit the knee joints of the cow running in the lead, the cow’s feet, which had been running with all its might, had no choice but to naturally twist. My joints suddenly become stiff, and there is no way I can get up without falling.
About three cows running in the lead lost their balance and fell.
“Cooooo!”
“Cooooo!”
The rest of the cows following behind got caught by the fallen cow and fell one after another like dominoes. The sound of something breaking, hitting, or being smashed resonates loudly, as if there was a car accident.
In the end, only about five cows came running. Even that was dealt with too late by the players who were watching in bewilderment.
“It’s amazing.”
This is the part where ‘Cold’ is deceptive. Unless you know the information in advance, you are bound to fall victim to this power at least once. And body parts harden when exposed to cold? In the world of superhumans, where the outcome is decided in 0.01 Seconds, being unable to move freely due to an important body part becoming frozen is virtually instantaneous death.
If we had to look for a disadvantage… If the other person is cautious, it will be difficult. Excellent warriors would quickly adapt to the cold. If I don’t get an advantage on the first move, I’m naturally at a disadvantage because I can’t fight for long. [70] That’s why I lost to the mannequin on the difficulty level.
However, against a herd of cows that lose their senses and run towards you, you can easily deal with them without much effort. The fact that swarming creatures are extremely vulnerable if they knock down the leader from a distance also worked to my advantage.
“… “Who is he?”
“… “I heard you’re Choi Ji-won’s colleague.”
“Huh, f*ck you.”
I slowly walked back to the carriage, enjoying the outpouring of attention. When I return and clear the 13th floor, I plan to hide my identity. I should have enjoyed it a lot now.
“Now, everyone, don’t sit still and let’s clean up the dead cows. “Having a live cow makes it easier.”
Choi Ji-won takes the lead and taps my shoulder. I flashed a smile that meant, ‘I am a person who does things when I have time to do things.’
“… “You look like a pervert.”
“… ?”
It seemed a little strange to Choi Ji-won.
**
The wagon was able to move smoothly after the herd of cattle without any major threats. As I continued to walk like that, the sun set and night fell.
“Oh, I stopped talking.”
“It looks like they rest at night too. “I think I can sleep here.”
Players preparing to take a break. There were 20 personal sleeping bags in the last carriage, so I thought I could sleep in them. A person with the fire attribute gathered dry grass nearby and lit the fire, so although it wasn’t cozy, it was still bearable.
“Wait a minute. “There are some things I haven’t decided on yet.”
Just as everyone was lying down and trying to fall asleep, one player came forward. He is black with a large scar over his eye.
“The order of night and night duty must be determined. “There can be attacks even at night.”
“Well, definitely… “You don’t need to be on watch.”
From Noble mtl dot com
In fact, a night watch is essential when camping. Therefore, the man’s opinion to set a watch watch was indeed valid, but there was a dark intention hidden behind it.
If you want to secretly check inside the carriage, night is the best time. It was confirmed that Choi Ji-won’s sensing and motor skills were outside the standards… When you fall asleep, it’s a different story. Do you have sensitive senses? You just have to hide better than that. Although Choi Ji-won is overwhelming, the other players are also clearly superhuman. If you move stealthily with the help of your characteristics, secretly stealing items from the carriage is not a problem.
And since I was asked to ‘escort’ this carriage, wouldn’t it be highly likely that what’s inside is something valuable? If we steal the rewards here, growing up to match Choi Ji-won is not a dream… The true intention was hidden.
However, Choi Ji-won shakes her head even at opinions that seem reasonable at first glance.
“No, there is no need to keep watch.”
“… “What does that mean?”
“I will stand watch alone. “If you don’t trust me, I don’t mind standing with you.”
“… Are you going to stand alone?”
“Yes.”
“Then, then…” But what are you going to do tomorrow morning? When the day comes, the carriage will move again… “
“It’s okay.”
Choi Ji-won’s characteristics, Shingeomhapil. A characteristic where the sword gains the hearts of humans and humans gain the strength of the sword.
“I am confident in my physical strength. “If you don’t sleep for three days, that’s it.”
Choi Ji-won’s physical strength was, as the word says, like steel.