## Chapter 163 – 163. Dungeon Survival
163. Dungeon Survival
It was the fifth day of Dungeon Survival Reforged.
Han Harin and I had a good rest in the rest area and only went outside at 10 AM. Our condition was perfect. Among the food we had obtained, there was quite a bit of preserved food, so we were hiding it in a place only we knew and eating it when we wanted.
‘With the map and the number of participants in the dungeon decreasing, we even managed to get three food boxes at once.’
Food was no longer an issue for us.
‘I guess it’s the same for other teams.’
If they searched, they would have figured out some information about food. There are also monsters that can be eaten. Food no longer holds much significance in Dungeon Survival.
‘Currently, there are a total of 71 participants alive. 27 teams.’
Even though we’re actively eliminating them, that’s how many there are. Among them, Kang Seok-soo’s team has the highest survival points, and we’re still in last place.
‘Kang Seok-soo will find a base today.’
I think about Kang Seok-soo’s personality. That guy always pursues efficiency and thoroughness. So, he’ll create a base somewhere in the dungeon and hold out there for the remaining two days.
Kang Seok-soo is predicting the events of the sixth and seventh days.
The events of the sixth and seventh days are battle royales. The locations of all participants will be revealed on the tablet map.
‘The base Kang Seok-soo finds will probably be near the rest area.’
In case of an emergency, we can escape into the rest area. From the perspective of the viewers and other participants, it might be cowardly, but it’s a very efficient strategy. He would have earned a lot of survival points, so he can afford to endure for more than an hour in the rest area.
‘That strategy can only be used on the last day. We need to eliminate Kang Seok-soo today or tomorrow.’
There’s something else to be concerned about.
It’s the treasure Kang Seok-soo has, ‘Resurrection.’ Even if he’s eliminated, he can immediately get a new chance.
‘Damn it. Why did he get this last night?’
It’s a treasure of a similar level to the ‘Real-Time Map’ I obtained in the Dungeon Survival settings.
‘If some nobody had it, it would be a useless treasure, but… it’s a different story if Kang Seok-soo has it.’
Let’s say we manage to eliminate him once by taking advantage of a moment of carelessness. But Kang Seok-soo won’t be eliminated and will resurrect. And then we have to fight him head-on, without him being careless at all.
‘This is really difficult.’
Things weren’t going well. Until Kang Seok-soo got ‘Resurrection,’ I thought our chances of winning were over 70%, but now I doubt it’s even 10%.
“Seong Yu-jin. What are you doing?”
I snapped back to reality at Han Harin’s words.
“Ah. Sorry.”
We were currently moving quietly to ambush another participant. It wasn’t the time to be deep in thought.
Soon, we saw two people resting by the stream. We hid in the trees and watched them.
‘One of them is already eliminated. I confirmed it through hacking earlier.’
I signal to Han Harin. It’s a hand signal used by hunters. There are often situations in the dungeon where you can’t make noise, so hunters must learn it. It’s simply called ‘Hunter Sign.’
‘I suffered for a month memorizing this in my first year.’
There was a saying that hunters who didn’t know Hunter Sign wouldn’t be allowed in a party, so I memorized it desperately.
-Start the attack.
She nodded after reading my sign and used her gravity field.
“Huh?!”
“Ugh!”
The two hunters are flustered by the sudden attack. I kicked off the tree branch and jumped towards them. Blue electricity flows from the sword in my hand.
“An enemy?!”
“Damn it…!”
They each try to draw their swords from their waists.
‘Too late. They’re already within my range. They should have reacted a second earlier.’
I use an instant.
The world slowed down. I swung my sword towards their necks.
It’s a critical spot that can kill instantly. But the energy protect takes the damage instead. The two hunters know this, so they ignore the pain and swing their swords at me.
‘One more time. Instant.’
I dodged their swords and moved behind them in an instant. I swung my sword at one person’s back and grabbed the back of the other person’s head with my left hand.
‘Thunder.’
Pzzzzzt!
Intense electricity flowed from my left hand.
When the two hunters’ energy protects turned red, I moved away from them.
“Ugh…”
“So easily…”
Their faces were full of resentment as they disappeared, guided by the association staff. It was understandable, since it only took 5 seconds from the ambush to their elimination.
‘Han Harin slows them down with the gravity field, and I rush in to finish them off. Even hunters who can use mana would have a hard time reacting properly.’
Only a handful of hunters have countered and retaliated against this method.
“You can’t win by just dealing with small fry. You know that too, right?”
Han Harin said as she approached me.
“Yes. I know.”
I can’t explain my worries to Han Harin. If I were to tell her that Kang Seok-soo can resurrect, I would inevitably have to explain my hacking ability.
“Let’s plan something…”
I stopped talking.
One of the association staff members who was filming us approached and held out a speaker towards us.
A man’s voice came from the speaker.
-Ah. Ah. Mic test. Can you hear me well?
Unlike the bewildered Han Harin, I immediately realized what was going on.
‘One of the participants used one of the treasures, the ‘Megaphone’.’
Just because I can hack doesn’t mean I know every detail about all the participants. The only person I thought I needed to be careful of was Kang Seok-soo.
I don’t know much about the other teams.
‘I need to find out more about this guy later.’
-For those who are surprised, let me briefly explain. This is the power of the megaphone, a treasure I possess. Once every three hours, I can speak to all participants for one minute.
‘The megaphone is a decent treasure.’
It all depends on how you use it. You can use the megaphone to draw aggro, or to incite people with false information. There are many ways to use it.
-I am Seo Oh-joon, the leader of the Three Tucks team. I am a C-rank hunter and I am aiming for victory.
I instinctively understood Seo Oh-joon’s intentions.
‘This bastard… he’s trying to incite people?’
-But if things continue like this, the winner of Dungeon Survival Reforged will be the Aqua Stone team, the team that Kang Seok-soo belongs to. I believe everyone knows this without me having to say it.
Yesterday’s event was the ‘Ask Me Anything’ event.
If you went to a designated place, you could contact the organizers and get information about Dungeon Survival. The number of questions was limited to three per team.
Most hunters would have asked about the most likely winner.
-Currently, the Aqua Stone team’s survival points are 7,955. And the second-place team, the ‘Gari Brothers’ team, has 5,120 survival points. The difference between first and second place is almost 3,000. Yes. If things continue like this, Aqua Stone’s victory is certain.
I smiled.
Things were going even better than I had expected.
-So, I propose. Why don’t we all gather together and eliminate Aqua Stone? After that, we can compete among ourselves to determine the winner.
In short, it’s a temporary alliance.
Just like when the SS-rank monster Red Dragon appeared in the past, the top 10 guilds in Korea united as one. He’s saying let’s unite to eliminate Kang Seok-soo.
‘Actually, the participants have all thought about it at least once. If they’re proper hunters, they would know about Kang Seok-soo’s team.’
But this is a broadcast program. It’s a fact that should never be forgotten.
Dozens of hunters uniting to eliminate one person? Viewers might criticize the alliance.
‘Also, there wasn’t a proper way to gather the hunters. Seo Oh-joon, who has the megaphone, took the lead.’
Even if other hunters get criticized, Seo Oh-joon won’t get as much criticism.
-Those who want to join us, please come to area A-11 at 9 AM tomorrow. Thank you.
All the hunters will go to area A-11. I can guarantee that.
Teams with high survival points will benefit from eliminating the Aqua Stone team for sure, and teams with low survival points will go to get a chance to turn the tables.
‘Above all, this is a broadcast program. You can’t miss out on such a big event.’
Most of the reasons why hunters participate in Dungeon Survival are to make themselves known. To show their strength, gain popularity, and ultimately join a well-known guild.
‘Of course, I’m going too.’
-Ah! And! The Gukcheondae Hunter team. Don’t you come. I asked yesterday, and they said that the hunter who eliminated the most hunters was Seong Yu-jin of the Gukcheondae Hunter team. You guys are untrustworthy. If you come, we’ll attack you without question.
“……”
The camera is filming my face.
I have to put back the urge to say dog’s child, cow’s child, and ten’s child.
-I’ll say it again. Area A-11. We will be waiting for many hunters to come. Please come.
The association staff member put away the speaker.
Han Harin is frowning and looking at me.
“What are you going to do? At this rate, we’ll be completely excluded?”
“…We have to go. If we don’t go because they told us not to, there’s no way to win. This is an opportunity.”
“Just in case, you’re not thinking of allying with Kang Seok-soo, are you?”
That’s also one of the options.
Since we’ve been excluded from the alliance, we could stick with the Aqua Stone team and fight against the hunter alliance. The hunter alliance might target us next. The probability is very low, though.
‘Kang Seok-soo has a low chance of winning against the alliance. Even if he’s the strongest here, he’s up against dozens of people.’
I gave a bitter smile and said to her.
“That’s also one of the options. Should we go meet him?”
I have the real-time map. If I want to meet Kang Seok-soo, I can meet him anytime.
•••
Han Harin and I entered the rest area located in area C.
All the rest areas in the dungeon are the same log cabins and have the same structure.
When we opened the front door of the cabin, we immediately saw the living room. Two men sitting on the sofa, Choi Sa-hyun and Kang Seok-soo, looked at us.
“I never thought we’d meet again in the rest area. It’s strange.”
“That’s what we wanted to say?”
It’s strange, but I came to see you.
Kang Seok-soo won’t use the same strategy as on the first day. He knows that we’ve already completely given up on survival points.
Han Harin glanced at Kang Seok-soo with cold eyes and immediately headed towards the bathroom.
I approached the sofa and sat down across from Kang Seok-soo, crossing my legs.
“……Do you have something to say?”
Kang Seok-soo’s eyes were filled with wariness towards me.
“No. I just sat here to see the face of a screwed-up guy up close.”
“You bastard…!”
Kang Seok-soo stopped Choi Sa-hyun from getting up by grabbing his shoulder.
“Your way of speaking is vulgar.”
“That’s how everyone talks these days. You’re such a middle schooler.”
“I have no intention of having a war of nerves with you. State your business. You’re probably here to propose an alliance, aren’t you?”
“Hmm. Wanna ally?”
“I refuse. If you want to win without survival points, you have to defeat us. You’ll definitely betray us at a crucial moment.”
“Fine, whatever.”
I got up from my seat.
I knew Kang Seok-soo would refuse. There’s the issue of trust between us, but Kang Seok-soo’s prideful personality also played a part. Kang Seok-soo probably thinks like this: that he can do it.
“But where did Jungmi noona go?”
“……Jungmi noona?”
I didn’t miss Kang Seok-soo’s eyebrows twitching. It’s not a normal reaction. Kang Seok-soo definitely has some feelings for Yu Jung-mi.
‘Yu Jung-mi also has feelings for Kang Seok-soo… but it feels like he likes Yu Jung-mi more.’
Yu Jung-mi said before that she was dumped by Kang Seok-soo two years ago. They had a big fight and broke up because he was clumsy in relationships.
‘He doesn’t seem like the type to be good at relationships. He must have been insensitive, which led to a fight and a breakup.’
After that, Yu Jung-mi was angry and dated another guy on a whim, but they didn’t last long and broke up.
“We talked a bit when we met in the rest area before. Unlike you, she was easy to talk to. Hehe.”
“……”
“Well, whatever. See ya.”
I took a quick shower in the bathroom and went upstairs. And I found Yu Jung-mi lying on the bed.
“I’m going to rest, so don’t come in… Huh? Yu-jin?”
“Hi, Jungmi noona.”
I closed the door. And I took off my pants and took out my thing.
“Wh-what? Why are you suddenly taking off your pants?”
“Let’s do it once. We agreed to be sex friends back then.”
“We didn’t! That was just for that one day!”
“Then let’s enjoy today too.”
I approached her. Yu Jung-mi stared blankly at my thing for a moment. She probably remembered the pleasure she felt on the first day.
“……Just once.”
“Okay. I know.”
I ejaculated inside her four times.
