Chapter 31

31. Preparing to Face the Waves - 1

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‘...This is tough.’

The moment Hyun-wook faced the boss monster, Old Alpha Mail, he felt this way.

The metal weapons the monster wielded were under a special magic spell, making them impossible to ‘control.’

And the monster must have felt that Hyun-wook was tough as well.

The monster focused all its attention solely on Hyun-wook.

Thus, it deflected all the metal weapon attacks controlled by Hyun-wook with its two kukris.

Clang! Clank! Clang! Clang! Clang!

It truly had an incredible dynamic vision and reflexes.

Even if one of the attacks managed to slip through the monster’s defenses...

Thud-

‘Magic barrier...’

The tattoos on the monster’s body glowed, forming a ‘magic barrier.’

Of course, the magic barrier had durability and would eventually break, but...

‘My mana will run out first.’

Fortunately, Hyun-wook had a weapon that could penetrate that magic barrier.

‘The Pale Note works.’

A secret engraving on his left wrist,

Sir Tristan’s ‘Pale Note’ had the effect of ‘nullifying magic.’

‘However, I can’t just pull it out carelessly.’

If the monster detected and deflected the Pale Note, there would be no second chance.

It was truly his trump card.

Once it failed, the ‘trump’ would be gone.

‘It’s just one shot. I need to hit at the perfect timing and catch it off guard perfectly.’

To do that, he needed to distract the monster’s ‘attention.’

For example...

“-Aah!”

Like this, a powerful arrow would fly from somewhere, accompanied by a scream.

Swoosh!

The monster’s ears perked up, and it flinched.

It was a surprise attack, so it was natural.

Hyun-wook nudged the arrow that was about to miss and guided it toward the monster,

and the monster quickly turned and deflected the arrow.

Clank!

‘But from now on, it will be more wary of that sniper than me.’

All of Hyun-wook’s attacks so far had been blocked by the monster’s ‘magic barrier.’

But the sniper’s shots from the distant sand dune were different.

The monster instinctively knew that the heavy impact from the sniper couldn’t be blocked by a magic barrier.

Thus, it had to start paying more attention to the sniper.

In other words, its vigilance towards Hyun-wook would be relaxed.

In short,

‘Right now.’

Hyun-wook kicked off the ground and advanced, sending all his weapons while extending his left hand.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

The scattered metal pieces on the ground shot up, disrupting the monster’s attention.

The monster’s eyes were on Hyun-wook, but its other senses were wary of the distant sniper.

That was a gap.

‘In other words, it’s over.’

A black smoke instantly spread from Hyun-wook’s left wrist,

and a silver flash emerged from within.

Boom-

The flash connected to Old Alpha Mail’s abdomen.

“...”

The monster looked at its abdomen, not knowing what had happened.

Pale Note-

A hero-grade arrow that ignored magic resistance was embedded in the monster’s chest.

Ker-heng!

The monster staggered, spitting blood.

Additionally, the ‘tattoos’ on the monster’s body twisted, and the ‘magic barrier’ disappeared.

‘Now, it’s defenseless.’

Hyun-wook raised both hands.

Then, daggers, long swords, metal balls, arrowheads, and all kinds of metal in the area rose up.

Following that, as his hands slowly extended—

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

Like a machine gun barrage, everything shot out—

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

Into the neck, shoulder, chest, abdomen, thigh, knee—sharp metal pieces mercilessly pierced the monster’s body.

Five, six, twelve, forty-one, fifty-one...

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

The monster’s body trembled and turned red with blood as the attacks rained down like a heavy rain.

Keeeee...

Thus, pierced by dozens of metal pieces, Old Alpha Mail collapsed.

And finally, he shot a Cloud Sword, piercing the monster’s heart.

Thud!

– The Cloud Sword is charged with an unknown energy. (49%)

All of this happened in just a few seconds.

– Congratulations! You have defeated the boss monster ‘Old Alpha Mail’!

In front of everyone, a message appeared, signaling the end of the dungeon’s conquest.

As the leader died, the remaining Nols began to flee in panic.

However, only a dozen or so managed to survive.

They had swept away all the monsters in the dungeon through multiple battles.

“Corporal Hyun-wook! The monsters are fleeing! Should we chase them?”

“No, just let them go.”

There was no need to chase them.

‘As long as I get the World Stone, the conquest is a success.’

Hyun-wook picked up the red stone that had fallen from Old Alpha Mail’s mouth.

– You have obtained the ‘World Stone (Red Gate).’

* Only players of the analyst class can view the ‘detailed information.’

If he took this out and destroyed it, the gate would close.

That was the only way to close the gate.

Hyun-wook secured the World Stone and turned his head.

Behind the dead tree on the sand dune, Kim Tae-sub was crouching.

He met Hyun-wook’s eyes and, startled, hid himself.

Hyun-wook extended his hand towards him.

“Aah!”

Although his wristwatch was still on, this time he grabbed the gold ring and bent the finger.

“Aah! Y-Yes! T-This... Aah!”

He tried his hardest to remove the gold ring, but it wouldn’t come off, and he tumbled down the sand dune, landing on his back.

“...Get up.”

When Hyun-wook released his metal control, Kim Tae-sub quickly removed the ring and put it in his pocket.

Then he took a step back and started making excuses.

“Hey! N-No! I helped with the conquest, honestly, didn’t I?”

“...”

Hyun-wook glared at him silently.

The boy, avoiding his eyes, continued to babble.

“No, I, I’m a sniper, what else am I supposed to do? Damn... What did I do wrong...”

Hyun-wook raised his left index finger and slowly bent it.

“Aah! Aah!”

This time, he grabbed the piercing on the left ear.

“P-Please! Just stop...”

“If you say one more useless word, I’ll really tear it off.”

“...Hic!”

Kim Tae-sub clutched his ear and sniffled.

Hyun-wook took the chain mail Kim Tae-sub was wearing and threw it to Min-tae.

He couldn’t have a sniper who had lost his trust behind him.

“Min-tae, if this guy says anything more, punch him to shut him up.”

“A... Yes, understood.”

Min-tae approached Kim Tae-sub.

“Hey, M-Min-tae...”

But Min-tae didn’t even glance at him.

“Hey, shut up. If you say anything useless, I’ll punch you in the mouth.”

“...”

Hyun-wook and Park Jun-mo entered the largest hut to search for items.

“Wow, there’s a lot of stuff here.”

This seemed to be Old Alpha Mail’s dwelling, and it was almost like a treasure trove.

All kinds of weapons were scattered everywhere.

The first thing that caught his eye was a lump of metal on the table.

‘Adamant, as expected, it’s here.’

This ultra-high-value magical metal, worth up to 1.3 million won per 10g, seemed to be about 230g.

Naturally, it went straight into Hyun-wook’s mouth.

Gulp-

Besides that, various high-quality magical metals, including mithril, were scattered around.

Hyun-wook subtly swallowed them.

Although he received a penalty for overconsumption, he couldn’t miss this opportunity.

When he lifted the old rug on the floor, the entrance to a basement was revealed.

“Corporal Hyun-wook? This seems to be a real treasure trove.”

Hyun-wook and Park Jun-mo lifted the door together.

Clank!

“Oh... There’s a lot of stuff in here too.”

Inside were all kinds of items.

They seemed to be the legacy of previous conquest teams.

Among them, one item particularly caught his eye...

“Park Jun-mo, go outside and find some sacks to put these in.”

“A, Yes!”

After sending Park Jun-mo out, he took out a black spear.

It was covered in dust, but it exuded a sense of nobility at first glance.

Though not flashy, its value was evident...

That was...

– You have obtained ‘Achilles’ Spear (Hero).’

...The very reason he entered this dungeon.

– Name: Achilles’ Spear (Hero)

– Effect: Wounds caused by this spear do not heal easily.

A simple and straightforward effect, but truly a formidable one.

Even a decent healer couldn’t heal these wounds with all their mana.

‘Engraving.’

Hyun-wook immediately ‘secretly engraved’ the item.

Sssss-

The long spear instantly turned into black smoke, and a spear-shaped tattoo appeared on his left wrist.

Since he could only do one secret engraving, he hung the Pale Note on his belt.

‘This way, I can take it out without being noticed.’

If he just took it out, it would inevitably end up in someone else’s hands.

It would probably be secured by AMT and then go to the Kookwang Group after the Blue Flower Guild paid the cost.

But not now.

“Corporal Hyun-wook, this is the sack the Nols used. There’s only one in good condition.”

“We’ll take a few and leave the rest for the ‘Dungeon Demolition Team’ to handle.”

After the dungeon conquest, a ‘Dungeon Demolition Team’ would sweep up all the resources inside.

They would handle the remaining monsters, collect dungeon creatures, mine minerals, and gather anything valuable.

And at that time, they would also collect any items left behind.

As Hyun-wook and Park Jun-mo came out of the building, Kim Tae-sub approached, fidgeting.

“...Um, maybe...”

“...”

“...Did you see any high-quality items among them?”

Hyun-wook stared at him silently.

“Um, like... a spear...”

Kim Tae-sub was talking about Achilles’ Spear.

However, AMT wouldn’t know the true nature of the item, so he was speaking indirectly.

Of course, with 0% contribution, he couldn’t use the ‘seed right.’

But he still wanted to confirm the item’s existence.

It was already the worst-case scenario, but if it were to disappear, it would be even worse...

“Hey, Hyun-wook, maybe you should check inside one more time?”

“The remaining items will be collected by the Dungeon Demolition Team. Don’t worry about it.”

“But... It’s really important to our guild, so just once...”

As Kim Tae-sub’s tongue started to run again, someone hit the back of his head.

Smack!

“Aah!”

“...Hey, I told you to shut up, didn’t I?”

Min-tae raised his fist and growled.

“Kim Tae-sub, just shut up. You have no contribution, so what’s it to you about our guild’s items?”

“...”

Now he couldn’t say anything.

It wasn’t just a matter of rank; this was the real result.

***

Eun-ha was standing at the Red Gate site in Cheongdam-dong.

Although she couldn’t do anything due to the level restriction, as the squad leader, it was right for her to guard the site where her fellow soldiers were deployed.

‘...’

She looked at the Red Gate, which flickered like a pit of fire, and thought of Hyun-wook.

‘Why did that guy...’

According to Kim Gang-seok, Hyun-wook had volunteered without showing any reluctance, essentially supporting the mission.

Even if the commander had hinted at it, this wasn’t something to be done with a blind eye.

‘Did he know it was a ridiculous thing to do and still supported it?’

Hyun-wook had recently shown unbelievable prowess, but even so, the Red Gate conquest was on a different level.

It was the unknown.

A place where no one knew what threats lay ahead, and for those with no experience in conquest, it was akin to suicide, Eun-ha thought.

‘There have been many who, brimming with confidence after a few successful conquests, disappeared in an instant...’

In the world of players who risk their lives to gain fame, such fleeting stars were common.

Eun-ha now believed in Hyun-wook’s abilities, but he could also disappear.

And perhaps, it could happen today...

“...Hello, Eun-h