Chapter 128
Seong-Hwi looked into Shin Jun’s eyes, void of doubt, and thought, He’s toughened up.
He could feel that Jun was not even thinking of failure. Such people were bound to reach great heights.
“I heard that you are a poacher attacker. I’m sorry, but could you tell us your battle style and stats?” Jun asked cautiously.
Knowledge of each team member’s battle style and stats was necessary for a commander to give more effective orders. However, some refused to share such information, claiming it was a breach of privacy.
“No problem. I specialize in stealth and single-target nuking. You can think of me as an assassin-type attacker,” Seong-Hwi answered.
“As I thought,” Min-Jae, who had been listening beside Jun, mumbled.
He said inwardly, Assassin-type? More like a straight-up assassin. Is he a Dark Human, as I expected?
Jun asked, “If you’re a Single-A, what is your main stat?”’
“Magic. Anything else?” Seong-Hwi remarked.
“The job you’ve been hired for is to assist us in defeating Carrombus. As you’ve been notified, you will be rewarded with Coins and one unconfirmed artifact our clan discovered in a dungeon.”
Unconfirmed artifacts were those with unknown potential because Karma had not been invested in them. Of course, artifacts had at least C-rank potential, but Seong-Hwi had not come with high hopes for the reward.
I have high hopes for... them, Seong-Hwi thought as he looked around.
One Tree clansmen came out of their tents one after the other. Their auras were sharp, and their eyes were gleaming with life. They had surely overcome life-threatening trials multiple times.
“Allow me to ask you a question this time. What rank are you all?” Seong-Hwi asked.
Jun answered, “Most of us are Single-C and up.”
“What about you, clan leader?”
“I am Penta-C. My stats have almost reached the intermediate caliber.”
Seong-Hwi smiled. They were more than worthy of being called an intermediate clan.
Good. I’m sure the dungeon information I gave him helped, but he’s growing even faster than I had in my past life.
“Not bad. Let’s get right into it. Time is money,” Seong-Hwi remarked.
***
“Commander! Twenty Lucanids in three hundred meters, straight ahead!” Ha Rin, the clan’s volante, shouted as her dog nose from her Partial Beastification twitched.
“Assume diamond formation!” Jun shouted.
Around a hundred fifty One Tree clansmen moved simultaneously. Tanks and attackers formed a triangle in the avant-garde. The mid-garde and cote-garde were behind them in a trapezoid, and the arriere-garde formed a small reverse triangle in the rear. Although a diamond formation was more unstable than a triangular one, it was more flexible when switching between offense and defense.
Stag beetles the size of buses flew toward them, their wings noisily flapping.
Gyeeeh!
Kiiih!
[Lucanid of the race Chaos, discovered.]
They landed on the ground, forming a dust cloud. It was like standing before a black wall.
Lucanids, huh? Quite difficult opponents they chose, Seong-Hwi thought.
Their sleek exoskeleton looked extremely hard, and their antler-like mandibles, opening and closing as they clacked, looked destructive enough to demolish a building.
A man repeatedly pressed the shutter of a DSLR camera in the middle of the formation. He seemed to be an interno.
He shouted, “Ten Armed! Seven Lapangs, two Segals, and one Adora!”
Oh? They even have an observer, Seong-Hwi thought.
Observers mainly relayed situations and deciphered information for the team. A good observer was as valuable as a healer.
Jun heard the observer’s report and ordered, “Stoppers, stop their movements! Targetmen, keep the enemies on you!”
“Haaah!”
“Chaaa!”
Tanks holding shields stopped the Lucanids’ charge.
[Activating Skill: Motionless Shield.]
[Activating Skill: Attention Shield Attack.]
Tanks could be subdivided into stoppers who stopped the enemies, targetmen who taunted enemies, sweepers who could tank and deal damage, and much more. Each performed their duty accordingly.
“Weakeners, debuff!” Jun shouted.
“Roger!”
Weakeners were a support position that mainly handled debuffs. They activated skills to weaken the Lucanids.
[Activating Skill: Weakening Curse.]
[Activating Unique Skill: Virus Mist.]
“Holders, bind!” Jun shouted.
“Huuup!”
“Haaah!”
The holders activated various binding skills to restrict the Lucanids’ movements.
[Activating Unique Skill: Cowboy Lasso.]
[Activating Unique Skill: Sticky Trap.]
[Activating Unique Skill: Cat’s Cradle - Candles.]
“Now! Spray the repellent!” Jun ordered.
Gambeta attackers, who specialized in attack speed and footwork with a high Dexterity stat, charged simultaneously with a black ball the size of a fist in their hand. They threw the balls at the bound Lucanids. The balls burst, spraying black smoke, and the Lucanids that inhaled the smoke began swinging their mandibles aimlessly as if they had lost their sense of direction.
Gyeeeh!
Kiiih!
Their mandibles shattered trees and themselves, injuring each other.
“Sever their legs!” Jun ordered.
The Lucanids’ exposed legs were the thinnest part of their body. The several attackers, waiting for the right opportunity behind the tanks, charged simultaneously to sever, break, or burn the Lucanids’ legs.
“Haaah!”
“Chaaa!”
[Activating Skill: Sharp Strike.]
[Activating Unique Skill: Spiral Slash.]
[Activating Unique Skill: Fiery Gloves - Fire Fist.]
Kryaaah!
Gyeeeh!
“Nukers! Destroy their exoskeletons!” Jun shouted.
“Here we go!”
“Oraaa!”
Ho-Geun took the lead as the nukers charged to attack the Lucanids.
[Activating Unique Skill: Demolition Hammer.]
[Activating Unique Skill: Heavy Blow.]
[Activating Unique Skill: Focus Barrage.]
They destroyed the Lucanids’ hard exoskeletons with their powerful burst skills. The Lucanids’ os were in their heads. The shining os, the size of a fist, were revealed under the exoskeleton.
“Raumdeuters!” Jun called.
“Fire!” Min-Jae shouted.
He and the other ranged attackers simultaneously activated skills, aiming for the exposed os.
[Activating Unique Skill: Foresight - Ten Points.]
[Activating Unique Skill: Rupture Shot.]
[Activating Unique Skill: Linear Dart.]
Arrows, bullets, magic spells, and various ranged skills struck the Lucanids. They tried to resist but were weakened, bound, and had no sense of direction because of the repellent. They could only be defeated helplessly. Their os were destroyed one after the other, and they collapsed.
“Gyeeeh! Damn intruders!” shouted the Adora-rank Lucanid, the strongest of them.
It continued to resist as it swung its Chaos Mana-infused mandibles, but it ultimately collapsed from the endless barrage of attacks. Several Akasha Messages appeared.
[14,550 Karma obtained.]
[11,211 Karma obtained.]
...
[Generating new quest.]
...
[Garapan Reclamation (Quest)
Rank: B
Description: Defeat the Lucanid horde and Carrombus to reclaim Garapan.]
The clansmen cheered once the twenty Lucanids collapsed.
“Ahaha! What a bunch of small fry!”
“We’re One Tree, goddamn insects!”
“The Karma profits aren’t bad! It was a party hunt, but I got quite a lot.”
“Hahaha! A B-rank quest was generated! I’d expect nothing less from us!”
Jun turned to Seong-Hwi, observing the battle with his hands in the hoodie pocket, and asked, “What did you think, Smith?”
“Your teamwork was impressive. Have the members been with you since the early days of the clan?”
“Yes, most of them. New clansmen go through an education process.”
Seong-Hwi could hear pride for the clan in Jun’s voice. It was understandable since the clan Jun had made with fellow newbies he graduated from Edu had grown to an intermediate clan.
“We’re confident we can buy you enough time to get close to Carrombus,” Jun said proudly.
Seong-Hwi smiled and asked, “Have you ever hunted a Uluhatu-rank Chaos?”
“No, not yet.”
“Uluhatu is practically on another level compared to the ranks below it. They use unique elements, and also have a Secondary Transformation.”
Jun listened to Seong-Hwi attentively. Although he had great pride in his clan, he was not idiotic enough to trust blindly in their power. It was natural to pay attention to the teachings of those above them.
“On top of that, Carrombus is a Named Chaos. It will be several times stronger than regular Uluhatu Chaos. If you try to defeat it with the tactic you just used...” Seong-Hwi trailed off as he smiled at Jun and continued, “You could defeat it if you sacrificed half your forces.”
Jun gasped.
“Of course, that doesn’t matter if you’re willing to take such losses for subsequent profits. It won’t hinder me from defeating it,” Seong-Hwi said.
“No way!”
“If you can’t accept that, you’ll have to think of another way.”
Seong-Hwi’s eyes shone as he stared at the stiff-faced Jun and thought, I wonder what solution you’ll come up with.
***
Several people sat around Jun, mostly the category captains and the founding members.
“What? He said half of us will die?” Ho-Geun repeated Jun’s words dumbfoundedly.
“That’s bullshit,” the transformation captain Maximilian remarked as he snorted.
Seong-Tae scratched his head and added, “Hmmm... There’s no way someone like Smith, who’s only met us for the first time today, would have ill intentions toward us, right?”
Hwa-Yeon, performing maintenance on her spear, said, “Then are you saying he was telling the truth?”
“Why would he lie? He’s a Single-A, so he has more experience than we do.”
“Does he even have eyes? Single-A? More like Single Eye! Anyone could see we destroyed those bugs!”
“Why are you yelling at me for? I’m not Smith!” Seong-Tae said in frustration as he looked around.
Brandon, the manipulation captain, fiddled with his D Weapon, a lasso, and remarked, “I agree... I barely had a hold of the Adora-rank Chaos when I had it bound. If it were a Uluhatu-rank... it might be impossible to bind.”
“Stop talking like a weakling! There’s no such thing as an unbreakable wall!” Ho-Geun shouted as he pounded his sledgehammer on the ground.
The noise startled the Yorkshire Terrier, Chocho, and it burrowed deep into Rin’s embrace. The snow leopard, Hugh, sleeping with its tail in its mouth, jumped in surprise.
“Ho-Geun ahjussi! You scared Chocho!” Rin shouted.
“No wonder Hugh doesn’t like you, beard monster!” Shaya added.
“Keh! I don’t like animals either!” Ho-Geun retorted.
Arf! Arf!
Grrr!
Jun shook his head as the meeting turned into a riot and said, “We shouldn’t blindly trust him, but we shouldn’t completely ignore him either. I’m sure it was meant to keep us vigilant.”
“Tch, is a Uluhatu-rank Chaos that strong?” Ho-Geun wondered.
“At least, that’s what we’ve heard,” Seong-Tae added.
Jun answered, “It would’ve been manageable if it were just a Uluhatu-rank Chaos, but Carrombus is a Named Chaos. We should treat it like a dungeon boss and stay cautious.”
“Carrombus uses poison, right?” Min-Jae suddenly joined the discussion.
Seong-Tae pulled out the Fiery Gloves from his D Weapon, Premium Clutch Bag, and said, “Yeah, that’s why fiery humans like me with fire-attribute skills were added into the avant-garde.”
“Hey! You’re singeing my hair! Put that away!” Hwa-Yeon shouted.
“Alright, alright. Stop nagging,” Seong-Tae snorted as he canceled his skill.
As he mentioned, attackers with fire skills would burn Carrombus’s poison.
“Three people, including myself, have detoxification skills,” said the conjuration captain, Nathaniel, as he showed off his huge biceps by curling his D Weapon, a shaker, like a dumbbell.
“Then we should place another keeper tank on each of them,” Jun remarked.
A delicate-looking red-haired woman, chewing a flower, shouted, “Jun! Does that mean you’re taking three more tanks from us? Do you wanna see us die that badly?”
“It’s necessary, Natalie. We’re done for if the detoxification skill users are incapacitated.”
The red-haired Natalie was a mediano tank, often referred to as a standard main tank. She was in charge of taking Jun’s orders to fine-tune the tanks’ actions and regulating the defense line.
“Even so, three is too many... Then send a few arriere-garde tanks to the front,” Natalie suggested.
“The diamond formation will become a little skewed, but... Okay. That sounds more effective,” Jun remarked.
He listened to each member’s opinion and considered it to improve their operation. Just then, the cowardly Chocho whined in Rin’s arms.
“Huh? Above?” Rin asked.
She looked up. Above them were only sturdy tree branches providing shade for Jun and the others.
“There’s nothing there. Did you get scared again, Chocho? It’s okay, it’s okay.” Rin patted Chocho to comfort her.
Chocho gradually calmed down.
***
As I thought, he’s not bad at all. Such people are rare, Seong-Hwi thought as he looked down at Jun and the others discussing the operation.
His presence was currently hidden with Shadowless Plum Blossom Branch and Hermit’s Robe. He stared at Jun sentimentally, remembering the days when he led Clan Calasanz. No, Jun was a far better leader than he ever was. Jun would benefit humanity if he successfully reclaimed Garapan and expanded his forces.
He turned to Garapan and thought, We should reach the center within three days at this speed.
He could feel an unsettling Chaos Mana from afar. It was the presence of Carrombus, the Uluhatu-rank Named Chaos.
I could assist them from beginning to end, but... I shouldn’t.
Seong-Hwi was only here to examine Clan One Tree to determine whether the seed he had sown had bud or rotted. From what he had seen, the seed had undoubtedly budded and would grow nice and big with enough fertilizer and nutrition. A battle against a powerful opponent would be the perfect nutrition for Jun and his clan.
On top of that, Garapan is close to Fortitudo, the orc capital.
In his past life, Garapan had been a crucial outpost during the war between humans and orcs.
I’m unsure if humanity’s relationship with orcs will change in this life, but we’re better off reclaiming Garapan regardless.
Seong-Hwi organized his thoughts and looked down fixedly at Jun and the others to listen to their friendly discussion.
“Ahaha! Just cut that stupid-looking hair already! Look at Jun and how tidy his hair is!” Ho-Geun said.
“Stop being such a boomer. What do you know about style, damn geezer?” Seong-Tae remarked.
“Na Seong-Tae! How could you talk to Ho-Geun ahjussi like that?!” Hwa-Yeon shouted.
“Why do you only nag at me?! Sheesh! Thank God Ye-Ji stayed in Butuan. If she followed us, I would’ve had double the bitching.”
“What? Bitching? Do you want me to show you what real bitching looks like?”
“Kekek! There they go again.”
Seong-Hwi listened to their routine conversation as he lay on the tree branch and closed his eyes.
Comrades, huh?
The faces of his comrades popped up in his head as he listened to the conversation. He had met four of his former Calasanz clansmen so far: Jurie, Lina Ahn, Leo, and Kim Seo-Yeon.
That reminds me. I wonder if Seo-Yeon took my suggestion to heart.