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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Kiteretsu]
[Proofreader - Kyros]
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Chapter 4: Let’s Go Die (4)
The Abyssal Forest, where the dead are captivated.
6-Star Otherworld Gate.
A place where monsters of calamity grade, with a minimum level of over 50, appear as bosses.
Although it was displayed as ‘■■■’ on the status window, I knew its true identity.
Level 54, Fire Attribute Humojo
A gigantic bird with tiger-like patterns, its size exceeded 10 meters, making it a massive monster. No one in my life has probably seen as many Humojo as I have.
Now, I even feel a sense of familiarity when I see it. I could walk up and wave, saying hello. Of course, what would respond wouldn’t be a greeting but rather its enormous front paw.
As the latecomers, we entered the Otherworld Gate nearly last. By the time we stepped in, all the field monsters had already been dealt with.
The chilling atmosphere of the Abyssal Forest itself had the effect of inducing various status ailments.
If this were a game, by now—
[[User So-and-So] has been afflicted by “Chaos.”]
[[User So-and-So] has been afflicted by “Silence.”]
[[User So-and-So] has been afflicted by “Immunosuppression.”]
Such things might have appeared in succession. Unfortunately, in our reality, if this were a game, it would be an irretrievably broken game, not so kind.
The status window, even if we looked at it, would only show the level, experience points, skills, abilities, and titles at best. Still, I suppose that’s better than nothing.
It was fulfilling its original role as a status window.
Our objective was the heart of the Abyssal Forest, where the Humojo and the field core resided.
We were in charge of dealing with the monsters that the advance party missed or the respawning minions.
Monsters that the swiftly advancing advance team had overlooked suddenly sprang from the bushes. They were drakes, slightly larger than adult men.
With a shield in hand, Park Dong-Hyun shouted.
“Su-Hyuk, don’t go too far ahead; if it comes down to it, fall back behind me!”
Despite his concerned tone, I kicked off the ground and charged at the creature.
Kyaaaah!
I couldn’t tell if it was the monster screeching or the forest itself wailing, but it didn’t matter.
A claw the size of my forearm came close to my face. I wedged my sword between its claws and precisely severed the drake’s tendons.
With its front leg losing strength, it stumbled, losing its balance.
Swoosh!
I pulled my sword back and used the recoil to stab the tip into its chest. Normally, with my skills, it would be impossible to crush a heart in one blow. But—
‘Not anymore!’
After regressing dozens, hundreds of times, I could dissect a drake even with my eyes closed. Was there such a title as a drake expert?
No, given the number I had taken down, I was closer to being a massacre artist than an expert.
At the precise moment, I turned my sword slightly and slid the blade between the scales. The drake's scales were undoubtedly tough, making it difficult to slice through with my strength.
Perhaps someone like Kim Do-Jin could manage it. However, the skin beneath the scales was only slightly tougher than pigskin.
Kuwung.
As I withdrew my sword, the drake collapsed forward, spilling blood. I wiped the splattered blood off my cheek and looked at Park Dong-Hyun.
“Sorry, what did you say?”
“Oh, nothing. You’re doing well! Have you ever caught a drake before?”
I nodded slightly in response. Just then, monsters began to emerge from the forest once again.
Aside from the boss and the guardians, monsters would continue to respawn at regular intervals until the field core disappeared.
The greater the level difference with the boss monster, the faster the respawn cycle for the monsters would be.
With the skill level of the advanced team, it was indeed true that low-level monsters posed no threat. However, during intense battles, it was always best to minimize even the smallest variables.
For them, this was reality; it was absolutely not like a game where they could just start over.
“Su-hyuk, take the left!”
“Cleared it.”
“Could you help out over here… Thanks.”
“I think you can use magic now! That thing is a mutated type!”
“Ah, okay!”
The wizard at the back quickly cast a spell. Ice spears flew from the blue magic circle and pierced the mutated drake's body in various places. However, it didn’t die.
Kraaah!
Mutated types are generally considered to be 3 to 4 stars higher than the standard level. The average level of drakes is around 25, so this one could be estimated to be about 27 to 28.
Normally, they would have to call for support, but given the current situation, that wasn't necessary.
The orders came in quickly, and within seconds, our team’s wizard, Park Mun-o, had already landed the first blow.
Even though I had hastily warned them about the situation, they attacked without a moment's hesitation. They were well aware of how important it was to trust the team.
‘Tsk, if only I wasn’t trapped in this infinite loop, they’d be such good people.’
While there was originally a player named Woo Cheon-jae who was supposed to fill my role, I couldn’t help but envy the existence of a team like this.
Red blood dripped from the wounds created by the ice spears. The mutated drake charged at us, enduring the pain. Flames flickered from its mouth.
This was a signal that it was about to use its breath attack, and I immediately crouched down.
“Nice!”
Though I was temporarily filling in as a dealer in Woo Cheon-jae’s absence, he was originally the tank who led the team. Just as Park Dong-hyun was waiting for the right moment, he stepped forward and thrust his shield forward.
A light emanated from the shield, and its size suddenly expanded.
This was the effect of Park Dong-hyun's signature skill, ‘Shield Block (4 Star).’
‘If he uses that ability along with a skill, it would be no joke.’
This was a moment that showed why Park Dong-hyun was recognized as a rising star among the three-star awakeners. In any case, his shield block was sufficient to withstand the mutated drake’s breath attack.
Creak.
Before the effect of the shield block wore off, I activated a water rune. Using the rune stone was simple.
You just have to chew it. To be clear, it tastes absolutely horrible. It feels like chewing on gritty jelly?
Thanks to the attribute enhancement effect, a blue light emanated from my sword.
Kwaaaah!
I leaned forward and put strength into my sword.
The only skill I had, and my signature move, was the Heaven’s Sword. The skill level was an impressive 5 stars, considering that Park Dong-hyun’s shield block, a 4 star skill, belonged to a tank in the late 20s.
Furthermore, my proficiency was 99.999%, and the reason it couldn't go higher was, of course, due to my level.
Who would have thought there would be a cap on skill levels?
If I were to compare my situation, I’d say I had done all the quests and grinding that others couldn’t complete in the beginner zone. While others were leveling up and growing stronger, I had been stuck in the mire of infinite regression, unable to do anything.
‘In this place, the only thing I could level up was Heaven’s Sword.’
You might think, “Can’t you just do strength training while trapped in infinite regression?” But what good is that if my body returns to its state from two days ago? There was no significant effect.
As I drew my sword, the mutated drake collapsed with a thud.
“Sorry. I was busy dealing with the deathworm, huh? It fell down, right?”
“Ah, yes. I took it down.”
The rear dealer, who had rushed over late, blinked at the fallen mutated drake.
“You’re under Team Leader Choi, right? Your skills are quite impressive.”
“Haha, thank you.”
Park Dong-hyun awkwardly smiled.
Beep—beep—
At the sound of the whistle from the opposite side, he rushed to follow the sound again. The rear guard had to defeat monsters that were lower than their levels, which made it relatively easier, but that also meant they had to run around until their feet were cramped.
The sense of responsibility was immense, and if they couldn’t properly deal with the intermediate monsters, the rear would collapse. In that case, the blame would fall not on the rear support team but on the rear guard.
As Park Dong-hyun approached, he saw the glowing blue sword. Since I hadn’t even awakened yet, there was no way I could use aura.
“Level 4, huh? Were you born with a silver spoon?”
The duration of the water rune was about 30 minutes, and since I bought three of them, that meant I had about an hour and a half in total.
In other words, I was burning 3 million won in an hour and a half. Those who used a level 4 rune without having awakened were typically regarded as being born with a silver spoon, so I knew that much.
“Haha, no. You know the Old Fire Lord, right? I was supposed to go in there, but it fell through.”
The Old Fire Lord was a dungeon-type Otherworld Gate that opened in the same location at regular intervals.
It opened once a month for ten days, and aside from the boss, Phygon, the monster respawn rate was tremendous, making it known as a farming spot.
The competition was also quite fierce, making it difficult to join a team that had entrance tickets. However, as long as you entered the area below level 30, you could at least gain a level 1, making it highly efficient.
Most of the monsters that appeared were of fire attribute, so people usually brought along water runes.
“Oh, that’s too bad. I bet you prepared a lot.”
“Thanks to that, I got to come in here. I’ll just consider it a substitute.”
That was a lie, too. I hadn’t even gotten close to the Otherworld Gate where the Old Fire Lord appeared, let alone Phygon.
I had only seen pictures and videos online, but it was the only excuse I could come up with that didn’t sound too far-fetched.
“Haha! Don’t worry too much. The experience points won’t be as high as the Fire Lord’s, but the money will be good.”
“That’s why I came in.”
It wasn’t bad to show a somewhat materialistic side to get along socially.
“Alright, from now on, you’ll fight as the main dealer against the drakes.”
This was an outrageous offer for a melee dealer at level 19, especially since the opposing team was made up entirely of three-star players. However, no one objected.
They had seen for themselves how I could hold my own, and when I mentioned I had two more water runes, Park Dong-hyun was rather pleased and entrusted me with the front lines.
We reorganized and moved forward again. Though I was technically part of Park Dong-hyun’s team, our coordination was surprisingly good.
It was closer to the truth that I adjusted to Park Dong-hyun’s team. As a result, my fighting style started to resemble that of Woo Cheon-jae, the dealer of Park Dong-hyun's team.
I felt a bit guilty about taking his place, but I had to survive too. After all, I was just a mayfly, right?
That said, I couldn’t ask Park Dong-hyun’s team to adapt to my style, nor did I have the luxury to do so, so it was far more efficient for me to adapt to their familiar fighting style.
Even though we were in the rear guard, we had ventured quite deep into the Forest of the Dead. One side of the forest was stained a deep red, as if a line had been drawn.
‘Now!’
I took down the Black Eyes that appeared in front of the border, and precisely ten seconds later, a huge flash of light poured down from the black sky.
It was Kim Do-jin’s skill, Sunlight Sword (presumably at max level). Sunlight Sword was a single-target skill, meaning it produced that much power in just one hit.
No matter how many times I witnessed it, I couldn’t adapt. It felt like I was looking at the unattainable end of another world.
The beams of light sliced through the neck of the Humojo.
The sword twisted and rotated in mid-air.
The thrust penetrated the chest of the Humojo in a single blow.
With the Humojo collapsing, the message appeared.
[Hidden Field "The Overlord's Underground World" is now open.]
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Kiteretsu]
[Proofreader - Kyros]
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