novelraw Chapter 61 : Chapter 61
Chapter 61 : Chapter 61
Chapter 61: The First Mission (5)
‘What is this?’
While I was moving through the Gate to complete the raid, my ears suddenly felt a bit itchy.
Was someone talking about me?
It was a saying with absolutely no scientific basis, but for some reason, I felt like someone was definitely discussing me.
Given everything I had done so far, it was not as if I had a clean conscience.
‘Well, there are only two people who would be talking about me at this timing anyway.’
Either Shin Yu-hwan or Cha Yu-na.
If someone was talking about me, I could not think of anyone else besides those two.
If that was the case, there was no need to worry.
Even if they were talking about me, it would not cause any problems.
‘Neither of them is the type to take a deep interest in my secrets.’
In the case of Shin Yu-hwan, he was not the kind of man to pay much attention even if I acted unexpectedly.
He would likely choose to just wait and see, simply because the situation was interesting, rather than trying to dig into my background.
That was exactly the kind of personality Shin Yu-hwan had.
‘That is Shin Yu-hwan’s greatest charm.’
And I was not particularly worried about Cha Yu-na either.
Although her personality had its fastidious sides, I was connected to Shin Yu-hwan.
Even though Cha Yu-na occasionally teased Shin Yu-hwan or said harsh words to him, she was someone who knew how to maintain boundaries.
In short, she would never do anything that Shin Yu-hwan might find unpleasant.
To put it simply, because I was someone Shin Yu-hwan was interested in, I actually did not need to worry about Cha Yu-na.
‘If there is one major character who might take a significant interest in my identity and try to dig into it later… there is probably only one.’
Ju Ha-yeon.
Aside from her, it seemed I did not need to worry much.
In the case of Ju Ha-yeon, she had a tendency to want even the most minute details regarding the people she was interested in.
Therefore, for the sake of my happy future, I had to avoid making any mistakes that she could catch me on as much as possible.
‘Since we have not had much reason to be involved with each other yet, there is obviously no problem.’
Even so, I had to stay vigilant and strive to show only the image of a typical cadet when I was in front of Ju Ha-yeon.
Human beings do not let their guard down because they want to; they do it without even realizing it.
It was just as I was thinking about Ju Ha-yeon with a more serious expression than before.
“Um, your expression suddenly seems to have darkened. Are you feeling unwell anywhere?”
“Ah.”
The preparatory villain walking ahead of me spoke to me with a worried look.
Managing one’s expression is the foundation of acting, yet it seemed I had let my guard down too much.
I flashed a smile at the man as if nothing were wrong and spoke playfully.
“Hahaha, it is nothing. My ears just felt a bit itchy for a moment, so I wondered if someone was bad-mouthing me.”
“Oh dear, bad-mouthing such a kind person! That person must surely be a bad guy.”
The bad guy is you, you bastard.
It is people like you who are called a social cancer, you jerk.
“Haha! It is truly a gratitude to hear you say that.”
“Not at all. And please, I told you that you can just call me Sang-woo.”
“I am a bit shy… I will start calling you that gradually.”
That was the name he had given me when he first introduced himself after we stepped foot in this place.
It was obvious that it was likely not his real name, and since I had no desire to call a villain by a friendly name, I had not called him by his name until now.
Of course, I had no intention of doing so in the future either.
“I see. Then please call me that once you feel more comfortable.”
“Of course.”
I responded to that Sang-woo fellow’s smiling words with a smile of my own.
It was a scene that looked so friendly that one would never guess we had only met today.
I wondered if our warm appearance looked quite strange to those watching.
Not to mention the gazes of Oh Deok-pal and Ryu Jin-oh, I could even sense that the other preparatory villain’s expression seemed a bit fed up.
‘…But even I think I am a crazy bastard.’
That guy and I both knew that we would soon become enemies. Our respective parties were also aware of that fact.
Yet, because there was not a shred of tension to be found in the way we were laughing and chatting together, such reactions were only natural.
It was at that moment, as I barely swallowed the hollow laughter that was threatening to leak out.
SCREECH-!!
A small monster suddenly lunged from the side.
Because its size was small and it had not emitted any killing intent until now, it seemed no one had noticed it approaching.
However, no one was flustered by the sudden appearance of such a small monster.
That was because…….
CRACK-!
It was thanks to the performance of the preparatory villain, Sang-woo, who killed it as if such a monster were nothing.
“Oh dear, I did not know there would be a monster capable of hiding its killing intent.”
With a casual expression, the preparatory villain who had cleanly disposed of the monster grinned and looked at us.
Seeing that, I put on a smile outwardly, but internally, I could not help but have other thoughts.
‘No matter how much I think about it, his combat prowess is quite excellent.’
In fact, the reason we were able to maintain such a relaxed atmosphere while proceeding with the raid after entering the Gate was all thanks to him.
Normally, a Gate raid should be conducted while maintaining a sense of tension.
I began to think that his level of strength was considerably higher than I had anticipated.
‘I do not think I could have done it that cleanly.’
Although I had cleared the C-rank Waryong's Dungeon alone, that was strictly a special case.
To put it simply, should I call it a matter of compatibility?
‘Back then, the compatibility between the type of monsters and the talent I used was a perfect match.’
The monsters had belonged to the ghost type, and I had used the fire-attributed Blue Flame, which was famous for being effective against such creatures.
On top of that, Im Seong-cheol’s Blue Flame was a fire that was on a different level from ordinary flames, so it had acted even more powerfully.
If not for that compatibility, it was certain that I would have struggled much more there.
Thinking about it that way, it was clear that the preparatory villain in front of me was a fairly skilled individual.
It meant that, at the very least, he still had plenty of strength in reserve to use when he eventually launched an attack on us.
‘I vaguely thought that B-rank might be manageable if I pushed myself hard enough, but…….’
He was much stronger than expected.
To be honest, I had never anticipated that a B-rank would be at this level.
It was a big mistake to look at a Player’s power in text and think, ‘It should be about this much.’
‘But it is much better that I realized it now.’
Right now, this was a mission with a safety net, so to speak.
Rather than making such a mistake in a situation where I truly had to risk my life, was it not much better for it to happen in a case like this?
Even though this was a real battle, it was still a real battle that served as a form of practice.
‘…If that is the case, then what Cha Yu-na wants is not for us to suppress the villains through ordinary combat.’
Of course, even if the opponent was B-rank and showed that level of combat power, there was plenty of a chance for us to win if Ryu Jin-oh and I attacked together.
However, unfortunately, the enemy was not just one person.
That female villain had not shown any significant activity yet, so I did not know her level, but it was right to assume she would not fall short compared to the man.
‘If I judge it that way, the probability of victory is practically close to zero.’
Unless we pulled off a surprise attack, and even then, it would be them who would be launching the surprise attack, not us.
Once my thoughts reached that point, I felt like I knew what Cha Yu-na wanted from this mission.
Perhaps what she wanted to see through this mission was…….
‘The ability to create variables?’
Fighting between humans and monsters was strictly different.
No, it would be more accurate to say that they were on completely different levels.
That was because, excluding the intelligent monsters that occasionally appeared in top-tier Gates, the patterns of ordinary monsters were usually similar.
Because monsters acted as if they lacked the emotion of fear, they felt simple, and as long as one’s skills were properly established, there were no particular problems in dealing with them.
One could see this from the fact that among the accidents that occurred inside Gates, cases of being defeated purely by monsters were almost non-existent.
‘But combat between humans is different.’
The radius of action changed depending on the situation, and the element of emotion existed within it as well.
Because it was a fight they knew they would lose, they might run away, but there were also situations where they had to grit their teeth and attack even in a losing battle.
Depending on what kind of move was made, the number of possibilities that followed was something that could not be easily calculated in a fight against humans.
It meant that there was no set answer like a textbook.
That was why Hero Academy "Glory" conducted a separate curriculum for sparring classes.
‘This is not a problem where a proper answer will emerge just by thinking about it in advance.’
It was a mission with an extremely low probability of success.
What was needed in such a situation was the ability to create variables by making immediate judgments and acting accordingly, but that was not something that could be solved by worrying ahead of time.
Since no one knew what would happen when the situation actually hit, what would change by making a plan?
If that was the case, there was only one thing I could do for now.
“It seems there are no more monsters nearby. I think we can move forward.”
“I see. Understood.”
The first step was to proceed with the Gate raid and then face the situation.
Therefore, I nodded at the words of the preparatory villain, Sang-woo, and resumed my stalled footsteps.
I did not know what would happen after the battle broke out, but facing that situation in the best possible condition was also one of the necessary tasks.
***
ROA-A-A-AR-!!!
“Phew, it seems it is finally over.”
“I am glad it was not as difficult as I expected.”
“I agree. They were just simple beast-type monsters, so we were able to get here comfortably.”
The Gate Boss fell while letting out a loud cry.
After that, we were able to reach the boss’s chamber smoothly without any particular problems, and the boss was also easily defeated.
I smiled back at the villain Sang-woo, who was smiling at me as if he were in a good mood, and checked the notifications that appeared.
[The Gate Boss, ‘Ferocious Giant Ogre,’ has been defeated.]
[The Gate raid has been confirmed.]
[Calculating contribution…….]
[Player Choi Yu-seong’s contribution is calculated at 9%.]
[Rewards corresponding to the contribution are being distributed.]
These were the same notifications I had seen back in Waryong's Dungeon.
If there was anything different from that time, it was that my contribution was calculated at 9% instead of 100%.
In the first place, I had not entered for the sake of the raid rewards, and since I had not acted aggressively, it was not something that bothered me much.
[The E-rank artifact, ‘Violent Berserker's Pauldron,’ has been distributed.]
The reward I received for my 9% contribution was an E-rank artifact.
However, the others would not have received exceptionally better rewards either.
Even the villain Sang-woo and Oh Deok-pal, who were expected to have the highest contribution, would have received at most an Upper-grade D-rank artifact.
Waryong's Dungeon, which I had cleared before, was unique; ordinary Gates calculated rewards at exactly that level.
Seeing that there was no change in the expressions of the two, it seemed my guess was correct.
‘More importantly, it starts from now.’
What was the initial purpose of entering this Gate? Was it not to suppress the villains?
Rather than focusing on the rewards, I focused on checking the expressions of the villain Sang-woo and the woman.
The direction their eyes were heading was, as expected, toward Oh Deok-pal.
It seemed they had judged that he would be the most troublesome opponent if they turned us into enemies during the raid.
Of course, even if we were to fight for real, it was true that Oh Deok-pal was the strongest.
‘I should start preparing.’
Judging by how their gazes were becoming increasingly cold, it seemed they would move into action soon.
Therefore, I placed my hand on the sword hanging at my waist and simultaneously looked at Ryu Jin-oh, who would be conducting the mission with me.
Ryu Jin-oh was also touching his sword and looking at me, indicating that his preparations for the situation were complete.
‘Okay.’
Now, all preparations were finished on our side as well.
All that was left was to wait for those two to start the incident.
It was time for the real first mission for Ryu Jin-oh and me to begin.