Chapter 30

30. Cheongdam-dong, Red Gate – 3

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Park Gitae, the leader of the Cheonghua raid team, was staring blankly at the sky while receiving healing from a healer. As a leader, he was constantly thinking about what to do next.

“...”

Then, as if a thought struck him, he suddenly stood up.

“Hey! Damn it, this won’t do! Hey! Tae-sub!”

“Yes?”

“Boss mob... Let’s just snipe it!”

At his words, the entire Cheonghua raid team looked up.

* Gulp *

Especially Kim Tae-sub, who had a dazed expression and swallowed hard.

Being called by name meant he had to do something.

Moreover, he had just been told to snipe.

Kim Tae-sub had the 'sniper' characteristic.

“...Yes? Snipe...?”

“Even if we survive this, the only way to avoid being kicked out of the guild is to do this.”

The 4th raid team had received a huge investment of money and time.

If they ended the raid with 0% contribution, the guild leaders would not let it slide.

“Now... Are you telling me to steal?”

Steal (Steal), literally means theft.

However, in the game, it referred to taking away monsters or items that were essentially owned by other players.

“Hey, aren’t you a sniper? It’s natural for a sniper to hide and take a shot to secretly kill. Steal? What kind of rule is that? It’s not even a system rule! Isn’t that right?”

“Ah, um...”

It was a forced argument, but it was the best justification they had.

“Even so, we need to build some contribution to use the ‘seed right’ and secure that thing, ‘Achilles’ Spear’... If AMT claims ownership of the spear and things get complicated... Well, the guild will certainly make a good deal to secure it, but we’ll be out of luck.”

Achilles’ Spear, a hero-grade item with incalculable value, lay here.

Along with the body of the second grandson of the second-largest conglomerate in Korea...

‘This is all because that arrogant brat had an arrogant item and died inside!’

This was the point when the first raid of Red Gate had failed.

Goo Dong-hoon, the second grandson of the second-largest conglomerate in Korea, who had just signed a contract with the Cheonghua guild, had decided to try raiding it once, bringing his own group.

He probably thought he could raid a dungeon with a failed raid history and make a name for himself as a promising newcomer, and it seemed he had even gained the support of his grandfather, the chairman of GooKwang Group.

Thus, through lobbying by GooKwang Group, a team was organized with Goo Dong-hoon at the center.

At that time, the item he received from his grandfather was none other than ‘Achilles’ Spear’...

The result was...

However, the GooKwang Group was in an uproar, demanding that at least the spear be retrieved, even if they couldn’t get Goo Dong-hoon’s body.

It was a top-tier hero-grade item, and its value was incalculable.

According to guild rumors, they had agreed to a compensation of 80 billion won if the recovery was successful.

‘80 billion won just to return it...’

It meant its true value was truly immense.

Yet, the Cheonghua guild was willing to hand it over to maintain their relationship with GooKwang Group.

Thus, the item was also tied to the business of the Cheonghua guild.

“Sigh, the situation is already bad, but if our guild is to use the seed right to secure it, we need some contribution, right?”

“Yeah...”

The seed right was the right of the side that first obtained the dungeon ownership to choose the ‘reward’ first.

In this case, they were naturally going to choose ‘Achilles’ Spear’.

But with 0% contribution... What right could they claim?

That’s why Park Gitae chose the last resort.

Steal...

“Hey, Tae-sub, this is a real opportunity for you. I’m going to hell anyway... But you, if you just stick an arrow in the boss monster’s heart at the decisive moment, you’ll be the guild’s hero, and you can get that Ferrari you’ve always wanted! Since you’ll be the one who secured Achilles’ Spear, they’ll give you a huge bonus, right?”

“Ferrari...”

Kim Tae-sub hesitated for a moment, then grabbed an arrow and stood up.

He had come in confidently, ready to risk his life for a big win.

“...Alright.”

“Oh! You’ve made up your mind?”

“Well, that guy was a pain in the ass anyway. I’ll give him a big surprise from behind. But my shot to the vital point is really powerful, right?”

He slapped his cheek and took down the ‘Cheotae Gong’ from his shoulder.

Then, the lying Park Gitae suddenly stood up and patted Kim Tae-sub’s shoulder.

“Yeah! You’re awesome, kid! You can do it!”

Encouraged by the team members, C-grade 2-tier sniper Kim Tae-sub’s ‘steal’ operation began.

***

“Don’t let your guard down yet. Keep an eye on the surroundings.”

At Lee Hyun-wook’s words, the eight squad members aimed their weapons in all directions, scanning the area.

Whoosh—

A gust of wind blew away all the sand and dust that had risen from the intense battle.

There was no movement.

“Currently... No enemies are detected.”

The battle was over.

Out of the 44 Nol that had ambushed them, 32 were killed, and the rest had fled.

It was a complete victory.

From the moment the metal balls in the sand exploded under the Nol’s feet, the tide had turned. With just one shot, over twenty Nol were immobilized.

Moreover, the fear that such an event could happen again paralyzed the Nol, preventing them from moving freely.

In other words, one shot had completely shattered their fighting spirit.

After that, it was a systematic response following Lee Hyun-wook’s orders, sweeping them away completely.

“However, I just leveled up to level 18 from this battle.”

An Min-tae said.

“Oh, great! You leveled up again?”

“Yeah, hahaha, it feels strange...”

His face was filled with excitement.

His level, which had been stagnant for months, had risen by three in just a few days.

Cobalt Gate, the Lucky Event at Seoul Station, and this Red Gate...

Unprecedented experience points had poured in.

“Wow! Congratulations, Sergeant An Min-tae!”

“I just reached level 17, and I’ll catch up soon!”

Thus, everyone except the F-grade Park Jun-mo had experienced a level-up.

This was a very encouraging development.

The average level of the 1st Battalion, the 1st line combat unit of the company, was around level 23.

It was possible that the 5th squad would catch up to the 1st squad in no time.

‘Indeed, they are growing well.’

If they had remained at level 15 or below, they wouldn’t have been able to handle the 4th wave.

And in fact, the 5th squad, the weakest, was the first to be wiped out.

Moreover, it happened on the first day of the wave.

‘Still...’

Lee Hyun-wook felt a sense of alienation for a moment.

‘It feels like a rat is following me...’

He sensed a ‘metal mass’ moving behind a distant hill.

Lee Hyun-wook closed his eyes and carefully scanned the metal.

‘This is...’

He felt something familiar among the metals.

‘...A watch.’

He knew it well, having handled it before.

Before entering the gate, the one he had messed with was the watch of Kim Tae-sub, a training camp mate of An Min-tae.

And decisively, the small, dense metal pieces gathered in one place...

They were, an arrow quiver.

The owner of the watch, Kim Tae-sub, was also an archer, so this was confirmed.

‘...Moreover, he’s a sniper.’

Lee Hyun-wook had thoroughly examined the weapons of the Cheonghua guild raid team to understand their capabilities.

It was a basic necessity to analyze and understand the enemy’s strength before a joint raid.

From what he saw, Kim Tae-sub’s bow, Cheotae Gong, had an optical zoom dot sight, and his utility belt contained a ‘Marksman’s Potion’ to dramatically reduce body tremors.

It was a typical setup for a sniper.

‘The reason he’s following now is probably to snipe the boss monster...’

There was no other reason for a sniper to act so conspicuously.

Without any standing, he was trying to secure ‘contribution’ with a decisive shot.

The score given by the ‘boss monster’ was significant.

‘But this is a bit foolish, not realizing that I can detect metal...’

A player who could understand one thing and infer ten would be useful, but Kim Tae-sub, despite seeing Lee Hyun-wook’s abilities, had not anticipated the detection of metal and followed with metal all over his body...

It was pitiful.

‘Indeed, player levels are useless...’

Lee Hyun-wook smiled and turned his head.

He decided to pretend not to notice for now.

“Let’s move forward again. We’ll soon face the boss mob, so stay alert.”

Because...

‘Good, I can use this at the decisive moment.’

A raid was about using everything that could be used.

Even if it was another player...

***

Kim Tae-sub was running through the desert.

‘Right, as the team leader said, if I succeed this time, I can rise even higher in the future!’

He was actually one of the players that the Cheonghua guild was paying attention to.

First, the sniper characteristic was quite rare and highly useful among archers, and he had a ‘skill’ that significantly enhanced his sniping ability.

– Name: Sneak Shot

– Grade: D

– Effect: Consumes 100 mana to deliver a critical hit while hidden. (+440%)

Leveling players gained a ‘random’ skill every five levels, and Kim Tae-sub had obtained this skill, which synergized perfectly with the sniper characteristic, at level 10.

In a mission to snipe a boss monster, he was the top prospect.

On the other hand, he found it not too difficult to traverse this hot and dry desert.

– ‘Rugged Terrain Mobility’ skill is active.

With this skill, he could run even in harsh conditions.

Thus, he quickly caught up with the AMT special raid squad.

However...

“Huh? Damn...”

They were being attacked in the middle of the desert.

Over forty Nol were advancing from three directions, forming a shield formation.

The nine players were maintaining a decent position, but...

“Damn... They’re all going to die, aren’t they?”

The situation looked very bad.

They had allowed the Nol to approach without causing any