Chapter 45
Crack-!
Another mercenary, his jaw dislocated, collapsed unconscious. With the last of Vulture’s comrades defeated, the final mercenary at Suhyuk’s side was on edge.
‘I can’t beat him. But if I run away now…’
A quick glance around showed nothing but pitiful looks directed at him.
‘A mercenary who gets humiliated once is done for-.’
“No need to worry-.”
Crunch-.
A comfortable impact on his jaw. With the voice coming from nearby, the last standing mercenary fell unconscious as well.
“Just sleep.”
Thud-.
With the last mercenary dealt with, Suhyuk raised his head. Some looked away, avoiding eye contact. Feeling their intimidated gaze, Suhyuk turned his microphone and mumbled.
“What’s with them?”
『’Shoulder Bump’ donated 10 points.』
『You flattened ten people just because of a shoulder bump, and you wonder why they’re scared?』
Come to think of it, the situation was indeed like that. He had reacted with joy when his shoulder was bumped.
“It was self-defense.”
『’First Strike Wins’ donated 100 points.』
『Shoulder bump > Flattening ten people > Self-defense???』
“Was it not?”
Looking at the fallen mercenaries, Suhyuk scratched his head. Clearly, this was too much of an uproar for a mere shoulder bump. While the surrounding mercenaries avoided his gaze, someone spoke from a corner.
“You’ve got quite the skills.”
A young man, remarkably tidy for a mercenary, approached Suhyuk. His face had a sheen of youth, and his well-kept hair made him resemble a knight more than a mercenary.
“You didn’t seem too bothered by a shoulder bump. Did you have an agenda?”
Sharp-witted, too.
Suhyuk nodded and replied.
“Surely there would be someone like you among this crowd?”
“Someone like me?”
“I figured there might be a rank assessor even in such a rural place.”
The man’s eyes narrowed at Suhyuk’s words. Rank assessor. That was the man’s title.
“You’re a newbie I’ve seen for the first time today. Have you completed any tasks?”
To take a rank assessment, one needs achievements. An E-Rank mercenary has to complete given tasks to accumulate achievements and then take the rank assessment. Normally, that’s the standard procedure.
“As you know, the tasks available for E-Rank are quite limited.”
– Just bring something else already, LOL.
– All this fuss just to skip E-Rank tasks?
– The shoulder bump was just an excuse, LOL.
– RIP Vulture.
The objective of this trial is to accumulate performance points. At least 10,000 points are needed to proceed to the next floor.
However, the tasks available to E-Rank mercenaries offer very meager rewards. The highest you could get is 50 points, and sometimes as low as 10.
‘So how long do you expect that to take?’
A method to skip ahead to higher-ranked tasks. For that reason, Suhyuk willingly accepted Vulture’s shoulder bump.
“Isn’t it about creating shortcuts?”
A Quote to Remember
– His concept is solid, LOL.
The words Suhyuk just spoke were one of many left by Suhyuk in his past life.
“Shortcuts are to be made. There are no fixed routes in trials.”
This was a truth Suhyuk had realized through his extensive experience as a player. Even though the tasks given and the goals aimed for might be the same. The process and outcome could be entirely different for everyone.
“You’re not just any mercenary, are you?”
“No.”
“Are you an Otherworlder? It’s been a while since I’ve seen one.”
Otherworlder. This was the local term for players. Compared to Odman Kingdom, which started with knights, Conrad was inefficient and thus had fewer players.
“Your skills are undeniable, but I can’t give you any special treatment. Procedures must be followed.”
“There must be a way to expedite those procedures?”
“There is, but why should we cater to an Otherworlder who’s just going to leave soon?”
Otherworlders eventually leave. They stay for a few months or years at most, but they must ascend to the next floor as players. Knowing this, the man had no intention of giving Suhyuk any special treatment.
Since he would eventually leave anyway.
“If you do, I’ll do something you want.”
“Something we want?”
“Yes.”
“What might that be?”
“Thunder Cave.”
At the mention of the name, the man’s expression changed.
“It’s being contested by the Odman Kingdom, isn’t it?”
– Hell yeah!!
– As expected!!!!
– This is it, LOL.
– I saw it coming.
The viewers cheered.
Thunder Cave.
It was a dungeon that had never been conquered on the 3rd floor.
And also.
“You’re saying you’ll conquer it?”
“You catch on quickly.”
“Only A-Rank and above can take on that quest. But the problem isn’t just about taking on the quest.”
“I’m aware. An impregnable dungeon. A matter of pride between the Odman and Conrad Kingdoms.”
Impregnable. No player, mercenary, or knight had ever been able to conquer the dungeon known as Thunder Cave.
Furthermore.
“But to maintain their legitimacy, both kingdoms need the conquest of Thunder Cave.”
For the mercenary guild, this quest was a double-edged sword. The reward was immense, but each attempt only resulted in casualties. And it was the same for the Odman Kingdom.
The difference was that the Odman Kingdom continuously attempted the conquest due to the steady influx of players.
“How about we do this?”
“What do you propose?”
“Give me an A-Rank badge, and I’ll conquer Thunder Cave. However, the badge will only be used for the Thunder Cave quest.”
A badge limited to Thunder Cave. That changed things. Suhyuk’s condition was a clear declaration of his intention to conquer Thunder Cave.
“Hmm….”
The man fell into brief contemplation. Meanwhile, Suhyuk turned his microphone toward the viewers.
“If he refuses, this will get annoying.”
Suhyuk pondered his next move.
“Should I knock him down too…?”
– ????
– Yo, run away quickly.
– He’s gonna get Vulture’d too.
– Vulture’d, LOL.
Vulture’d.
Suhyuk briefly wondered what that meant, contemplating it for a moment.
『’Mission Villain’ has registered a mission.』
『Solo clear Lightning Dungeon for 20,000 points. Deal?』
The first mission since starting the 3rd floor trial.
Suhyuk’s eyes sparkled.
– LOL, this dude’s crazy.
– Mission guy took it up a notch, LOL.
– Mission Villain strikes again!
『’Mission Villain’ has donated 100 points.』
『Chicken out? LOL.』
A type that enjoyed setting difficult missions and watching the struggle.
However, the donation amount was incomparable to any received before.
『’Safe Asset’ has registered a mission.』
『This better be safe… Adding 10,000 points to the same mission.』
『’On to Floor 10′ has registered a mission.』
『Adding 5,000 points to the same mission. Chicken out? LOL.』
Similar missions started appearing back-to-back. Once the momentum picked up, the amount snowballed. Suhyuk didn’t immediately respond to accepting the mission. He was busy calculating the total mission rewards.
‘How much is this altogether?’
While Suhyuk’s mouth hung open in surprise at the unexpected donation sums, the man spoke up.
“I’ll write you a recommendation letter.”
The man, having finished contemplating, finally opened his mouth.
“A recommendation?”
“Yes. After all, your goal is to conquer Thunder Cave, not the mercenary badge.”
Suhyuk nodded. The mercenary ranks would disappear as soon as he ascended to the next floor, serving only as a temporary status. What mattered was access to Thunder Cave. The A-Rank rank was merely a means to that end.
“My recommendation letter will allow you to join. They’ll probably have a position in the conquest team, anyway.”
“Is that so?”
Though it wasn’t exactly as planned, the result was satisfactory. It seemed the man who got caught in his scheme held quite a high status.
“My name is Raymond. I’m the mercenary rank assessor for the eastern region.”
“Nice to meet you.”
“The Thunder Cave conquest team departs in five days. I’ll write you a recommendation letter; you’ll need to wait until then.”
Five days.
That perfectly coincided with the end of the 3rd floor tournament.
– This might end up clashing with Blue Zone if this keeps going.
– Seriously, especially since he chose Conrad.
Suhyuk narrowed his eyes, recalling that Blue Zone had set this schedule.
‘Did they schedule the tournament to coincide with this?’
Blue Zone was also interested in Thunder Cave. If the schedules overlapped, they wouldn’t be able to send their players into the cave, which made sense.
“Wait here for a moment.”
Raymond said, leaving briefly. About ten minutes later, he returned with a leather-bound document.
“It’s a recommendation letter. This will grant you access to the dungeon.”
“Thank you.”
“Conquering Thunder Cave… Honestly, I still can’t believe it.”
Raymond’s shoulders trembled slightly as he spoke.
“Do you know what kind of place it is?”
“I’m an A-Rank mercenary myself. I was young once. I challenged Thunder Cave. That day, I lost half my comrades.”
Lost comrades. Suhyuk’s expression shifted slightly behind his mask.
“So be careful. You might end up like me.”
This concern explained why Raymond was so unsettled by Suhyuk’s intention to challenge Thunder Cave. With genuine concern and goodwill in his voice, Raymond advised Suhyuk.
“Thank you for the warning. But that won’t happen.”
“Really? Well, you Otherworlders are strange beings who don’t die, after all.”
In this world, players were known for seemingly never dying. But they were wrong.
‘We die just the same.’
Like Raymond, who lost his comrades in Thunder Cave. Suhyuk had also experienced losing comrades a long time ago. It felt recent, despite the time that had passed.
But there was another reason Suhyuk confidently stated it wouldn’t happen.
“It’s because I’ll be challenging it alone.”
“…Alone?”
If there are no comrades, they can’t be lost. Suhyuk planned to challenge the dungeon without recruiting any additional team members.
– Is he really going solo???
– Don’t you guys know? He cleared the 2nd floor alone too, LOL.
– But this is different! That dungeon hasn’t been conquered for over 20 years.
Reactions from both viewers and Raymond were similar.
“Thunder Cave is a 20-man dungeon. And you’re saying you’ll go solo?”
“Does it even get fully staffed in the first place?”
“Well…”
Raymond faltered at Suhyuk’s question. Unlike the Osman Kingdom, where players actively flowed in, Conrad had few players. While players, whose lives only resulted in point deductions, continuously challenged Thunder Cave, Conrad couldn’t do the same.
Hence, currently, Thunder Cave couldn’t muster a full team.
“I thought you had more companions.”
“I don’t.”
Suddenly, the ice flower at the 1st-floor memorial came to mind.
“Not now.”
Suhyuk never intended to stay alone forever. He would find them, whether he had to search them out or they came to him. The stream was a means to that end as well.
TL’s Corner:
Time to get another lightning shard.