Chapter 164 – 164. Dungeon Survival
164. Dungeon Survival
It was the sixth day of the Dungeon Survival.
I had hacked into the alliance’s plans. They were planning to attack in three hours, at 1 PM.
They knew Kang Seok-soo’s location, probably because they had surveillance on him.
They also knew we had met at the rest area and suspected we had formed an alliance.
“Senior, should I tell you the plan again?”
“…I know it, so there’s no need.”
“If it seems dangerous, just give up.”
Han Ha-rin glared at me, as if my words had offended her.
“That won’t happen. You just worry about yourself.”
I suppressed the urge to touch Han Ha-rin’s ample chest. Damn it, there were eight cameras filming us. They were everywhere, leaving no openings.
“Let’s start. You need to keep to the schedule.”
“…Worry about yourself. I can fly, so I’m fine, but you can’t? That’s seriously dangerous.”
I grinned. Despite everything, Han Ha-rin was worried about me. In the past, she wouldn’t have cared about me, let alone listened to me.
“It’s okay. I have a plan.”
We parted ways. She went north, and I went south. The association staff who knew our plan were divided into groups of four, each following us.
‘Using B-rank hunter manpower in a place like this… How much are the association guys expecting from Dungeon Survival Reforged?’
Still, I was sure that if this was broadcast, it would become a hot topic. Since the first Dungeon Survival in Korea had been a complete failure, there hadn’t been any similar broadcast programs.
‘Well then, let’s go.’
I moved without hesitation, looking at the map on my tablet. Han Ha-rin would also be looking at a tablet she had taken from some hunter and moving to her designated location.
The place I arrived at was the W-7 area. It was a lake with a huge waterfall.
‘Water Walking.’
Using the skill, I walked on the surface of the lake towards the waterfall. The closer I got to the waterfall, the colder it felt.
Beyond the waterfall, there was a cave half-submerged in water.
My previous treasure, the real-time map, showed not only the locations of humans but also monsters.
Our survival points were at rock bottom, so even if we actively hunted monsters, we couldn’t beat the Aqua Stone team. Instead, we ambushed hunters to reduce their numbers.
‘The real-time map shows not only regular monsters but also boss-level monsters.’
There was a boss monster inside the cave beyond this waterfall.
I threw a stone I was holding in my right hand into the cave.
Thud!
It wasn’t a splash, but the sound of something being hit.
Kugugugugu.
The cave shook, and the lake’s surface became rough like waves. I kept my balance to avoid falling and stared into the cave.
A white squid tentacle stretched out. Without hesitation, I turned and started running away.
‘If I make a mistake, I’m screwed.’
Soon, it revealed itself.
A giant squid over 10 meters in size.
It was a C-rank boss monster, a Little Kraken.
The size of a Kraken varies from individual to individual, and its rank and name are determined by its size. The S-rank boss monster, King Kraken, is a monster over 50 meters.
The Kraken hesitated, trying to follow me.
‘Was one stone not enough to draw its aggro?’
Fzzzt.
I threw a lightning bolt at the Kraken. The Kraken, hit by the lightning, paused for a moment and then began to glare at me. Its eerie yellow eyes were terrifying.
More than a dozen thick tentacles writhed and began to swim across the lake towards me.
‘It’s seriously pissed! Just as planned!’
I didn’t look back and started running across the lake.
‘Accelerate!’
[Accelerate is activated. It will last for 10 minutes. Remaining stacks: 4]
The swimming Kraken was fast, so I had no choice but to use Accelerate. After crossing the lake and reaching the shore, I turned back to look at the Kraken. I wondered if its aggro would wear off and it would return to the cave.
That didn’t happen.
It was splashing and following me. I could feel its determination to kill me.
“Haha. This way.”
I picked up a nearby branch and threw it at the Kraken.
There was no way it would cause any damage. It was just to anger the Kraken. And it worked well.
The Kraken came up onto the shore. I started running into the forest.
‘I need to maintain a proper distance here.’
The Kraken could move on land, but it was slow. If the Kraken lost sight of me, it would definitely return to the lake.
I occasionally threw stones or branches at the Kraken to provoke it.
“Over here, squid.”
The Kraken spat acidic ink at me. I quickly backed away. It took less than three seconds for the tree hit by the acidic ink to melt and disappear.
‘Whew. If I got hit head-on, my bones would melt too.’
The Kraken was terrifying. Although it was slow at crawling, its power was monstrous, reminiscent of Superman. The Kraken didn’t avoid trees or stones that blocked its path. It just charged straight through them and chased after me.
‘The thrill is amazing!’
•••
Area F-3. A grassland with a rest area.
I arrived at my destination on time. A battle was already underway there.
The Aqua Stone team and 25 members of the Hunter Alliance.
Surprisingly, despite being outnumbered, they were fighting on equal terms.
‘…They’ve set up a lot of magic circles.’
Thanks to the trap magic that Kang Seok-soo had set up in advance, the Aqua Stone team was able to fight on equal terms.
“It’s Seong Yu-jin from the Gukcheon Hunter Team!”
“That guy’s here? Wait! What’s that behind him?!”
“A Little Kraken! He brought a C-rank boss monster, a Little Kraken. That crazy bastard!”
I grinned and ran towards the battle. The hunters were flustered. It was difficult to escape because of the magic circles laid out everywhere.
“L-Let’s retreat for now! We’re not prepared to face the Kraken and the Aqua Stone team at the same time!”
A tall man with four arms shouted. From his voice, I recognized him as Seo Oh-joon, the leader of the alliance. Having four arms was probably his ability.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
“It’s, it’s coming from behind too!”
Han Ha-rin was flying in the air using gravity manipulation, and a 5-meter-tall black golem was chasing after her.
“That’s a C-rank boss monster, a Basalt Golem!”
A Basalt Golem. Also known as a basalt golem, it was a boss-level monster.
“Gukcheon Hunters! These guys are trying to make a mess of the situation!”
That was right.
‘If you’re going to have fun without me, that won’t do.’
If they hadn’t excluded me, I wouldn’t have gone this far.
‘If you’re short on allies, you can just call for them. Well, it’s a shame that they can’t communicate and are trying to kill me.’
The Kraken and the golem began to attack the hunters. Monsters have an instinct to attack humans first. Also, the Kraken and the golem weren’t very intelligent.
‘Since we’re wearing similar clothes provided by Dungeon Survival, they can’t tell me apart.’
Just like it’s hard to distinguish between several dogs of the same breed, monsters also have trouble distinguishing between humans wearing the same clothes.
I moved back and forth among the alliance members, swinging my sword.
I glanced at Han Ha-rin’s location. As planned, she was guarding the entrance to the rest area cabin.
‘If they get into the rest area, it’ll be a headache.’
Kang Seok-soo chose this place not only because of the distance and the wide view of the grassland but also because of the rest area.
If things went wrong, they could escape to the rest area, which was a no-combat zone. That must be what they were thinking.
‘I absolutely can’t let them get in.’
If not only Kang Seok-soo but any other hunter entered the rest area, we could lose.
Our current survival points were -4825.
If any hunter entered the rest area and didn’t come out until the end of Dungeon Survival, there was a high probability that we would lose.
‘Fortunately, the situation is such a mess that not many hunters are thinking of going to the rest area.’
Some were trying to go to the rest area, but the magic traps and the Basalt Golem were blocking them. Han Ha-rin was also guarding the entrance with her eyes wide open, so there was no need to worry.
‘What I need to do is kill the ones who are trying to escape. If I let them get away and they hole up in a rest area in another area, things will go wrong.’
My priority was the ones who were trying to escape, and then the ones who were attacking from a distance.
I scanned my surroundings and started moving.
I swung my sword at the back of a hunter who was trying to escape.
“This cowardly act… Did you really have to go this far?!”
“This was the only way. And you guys formed an alliance to catch Kang Seok-soo, didn’t you? Why are you acting like you’re the only righteous one?”
I swung my sword towards his crown. Since he had an energy protect, he wouldn’t be cut.
His energy protect turned red, and an association staff member rushed over like a bullet and took him away from the battlefield.
The current situation was too dangerous. The association staff members also looked tense.
‘If anyone dies here, the broadcast itself will be ruined, and the association will face fierce criticism.’
So they had no choice but to act to prevent casualties.
‘Well, they say that you can’t use energy protect when it turns red, but in reality, 10% of the energy remains.’
It was a kind of insurance.
Some of the more perceptive hunters besides me would know that.
I continued to chase after the escaping hunters and eliminate them.
‘Since the cameras are rolling, I can’t use full recovery. I need to be careful with how I distribute my power.’
Kang Seok-soo would eventually survive. That’s how things were going. So I had to save my strength to face Kang Seok-soo.
“……!”
I tilted my head to the side to avoid an arrow flying towards me. If I hadn’t been tense and paying attention to my surroundings, I would have been hit.
I turned around. Yoo Jung-mi was visible about 300 meters away, aiming her bow at me.
I saw it correctly.
The situation here was a mess. The alliance had already broken down, and the hunters were fighting among themselves. They had realized that the one who survived here would ultimately win.
And the ones who were currently moving the most calmly and steadily reducing the number of alliance members were me and Kang Seok-soo. From Yoo Jung-mi’s perspective, I was an enemy that had to be eliminated.
Ting!
I knocked away the incoming arrows with my sword and ran towards Yoo Jung-mi.
‘Yoo Jung-mi can’t use mana. In the end, I’ll be the one to win.’
Ting! Ting ting!
The arrows flying straight at me were not at all frightening.
The distance was gradually closing. 200M, 150M, 80M….
In front of Yoo Jung-mi, a golden tiger made of light was summoned and ran towards me.
It was Yoo Jung-mi’s ability, ‘Golden Animals’. As the name of the ability suggests, it was the ability to summon golden animals to attack.
Having learned about her ability through hacking, I wasn’t at all flustered and climbed onto the tiger’s back and struck down with my sword. The tiger’s body collapsed and soon disappeared.
I kept running.
When I reached a distance of 30M. Dozens of golden pigeons appeared and rushed towards me.
‘Those pigeons will stick to my body and explode.’
It was one of Yoo Jung-mi’s fighting methods. The explosion of one pigeon itself wasn’t that powerful, but if there were more than 30, it was a different story. If I got hit, I would be eliminated for sure.
I stretched out my hand forward.
‘Man-Roe (卍雷)…!’
Man-Roe appeared in front of my hand, condensing lightning. The pigeons came right up to my face.
‘Discharge!’
Lightning spread out in all directions, sweeping through the pigeons. The pigeons disappeared without exploding.
1M.
I swung my sword with all my might towards Yoo Jung-mi’s body. After five strikes, Yoo Jung-mi’s energy protect turned red.
“……Haa. Are you really an E-rank?”
“Yeah. It hasn’t even been a year since I became a hunter.”
“…What?”
A female association staff member tried to pick up Yoo Jung-mi and leave.
I quickly said to her.
“Wait a minute! Please give me the bow and arrows!”
“Here you go.”
The association staff member handed them over right away. Since Yoo Jung-mi had been eliminated by me, this was treated as spoils of war, and if I said this before she disappeared, I could get them.
“I know you’re strong. But you won’t be able to beat Seok-soo. Seok-soo has something amazing.”
I knew what it was, but I couldn’t show it.
“It’s okay. I’m amazing too. You know that too, right, Jung-mi noona?”
When I said it subtly, Yoo Jung-mi’s gaze moved to my lower body and then back to its original position. She tried to say something, but the association staff member took her away and disappeared in an instant.
I loaded an arrow into the bow and aimed it at Kang Seok-soo and shot.
‘I need to interfere a little and reduce his energy.’
