Translator: Seven
Editor: Ana_Banana
Day 2 of the Dungeon Attack.
[6,666 monsters have been hunted so far.]
The players, who were all hunting monsters, heard the notification which alerted them to their progress.
“It’s over 6,000 already?”
And their first reaction was surprise.
“This hunting speed is no joke.”
199 players from 9 different guilds.
While this was not a small number, it was still surprising that they’d be able to hunt over 6,000 monsters by the second day.
Of course, it wasn’t just that they were surprised.
“This number…”
Instead, when they heard the notification, the leaders from the various guilds began doing calculations in their heads.
‘I’m afraid we’re lagging behind.’
‘At our speed getting to the top ranks will be difficult.’
They were trying to see where they were positioned among the groups.
‘The competition might be stiff but there is no reason for us to run ourselves ragged.’
‘Well, I guess we’ll just give up on the first floor.’
After finishing their calculations, some of them decided to give up on the competition.
It was a smart choice.
Was there a need for them to take risks to catch up to the leading teams when they were already so far ahead?
‘There’s still the second floor.’
‘Right now, the most important thing would be to conserve our power.’
‘This is a place that has failed more than once. The most important thing would be to conserve our power.’
Moreover, this was an A+ rank dungeon that had been failed multiple times before.
No matter how valuable the rewards were, they couldn’t be greater than the cost of their lives.
Of course, not everyone thought that way.
“Boss, Isaac Ivanov is taking a break after hunting.”
Crik.
However, instead of responding to her subordinate’s report, Ellis Highton simply grit her teeth.
The sound caused the entire party to shut their mouths.
After meeting Isaac Ivanov, the Great One Guild’s team did not change their course. Rather, they even adjusted it a bit so that they were hunting monsters in the same direction as Isaac Ivanov.
They intended to overtake him and make him see only the corpses of the monsters that they left behind.
However, from the beginning, the Great One Guild’s team had never overtaken Isaac Ivanov.
Instead, they were the ones who were constantly being overtaken.
‘This will be the sixth time.’
Not once, not twice, but six times!
‘How the hell?’
In truth, it was hard for them to understand.
‘His power is at the level that we expected.’
The Great One Guild had done full investigations to estimate Isaac Ivanov’s level of strength.
And the true ability that Isaac Ivanov showed coincided with what they had estimated.
‘No, he’s even weaker than we expected.’
If you wanted to be accurate, then from what they had seen, Isaac Ivanov’s true power was actually lower than the estimation made by the guild.
Usually, when measuring someone’s strength, it was better to overestimate them to some extent.
‘We’re much stronger.’
Combined with the destructive powers of a monster like Ellis Highton, the Great One Guild’s team of elites were much more powerful than Isaac Ivanov.
But somehow it seemed like the longer they hunted, the wider the gap between the two groups.
Of course, it could just be a coincidence.
“He must be really lucky. They’re only meeting weak monsters.”
For example, if Isaac Ivanov’s group only met with weak or small groups of monsters, then it was no wonder why they were so far ahead.
In the first place, the Great One Guild’s team wasn’t moving the exact same route as Isaac Ivanov.
They were only going in similar directions.
“So?”
However, in the eyes of the Great One Guild’s team, even if that was really the case, they would not simply allow it to continue.
“Are we going to let him stay in front of us just because he’s lucky?”
“…sorry.”
It was still an unacceptable situation.
“You said he’s resting ahead of us right?”
“Yes.”
“Good, then we’ll take a break too.”
Although they could have chosen to hunt more monsters while Isaac Ivanov was resting and widening the distance between them, Ellis did not choose to do this.
Instead, at that moment, she made up her mind.
“It would be better to rest while he is resting. Let’s go say hello again.”
She was getting ready to have a proper race with Isaac Ivanov.
…
“You’re hunting quite diligently.”
Kim Woo-jin was not surprised when the members of the Great One Guild walked out of the thick fog.
‘A bite.’
There was no reason for him to be surprised when the fish started biting the baited hook.
It was intentional.
From the beginning, Kim Woo-jin had been hunting monsters in front of them with the intention of catching their attention.
“You’re as amazing as the rumors say. What’s your secret?”
“I was just lucky.”
In fact, the power of the Skeleton Soldiers that Kim Woo-jin had summoned was indeed behind that of the Great One Guild’s team.
The Great One Guild’s judgement was correct.
‘It’s all thanks to Lee Jin-ah.’
However, Kim Woo-jin was able to maintain the lead because of the plan he had made with Lee Jin-ah beforehand.
To put it simply, Kim Woo-jin was eating at a table prepared by Lee Jin-ah while the Great One Guild’s team was still setting up their table.
Even if the Great One Guild ate fast, they would still be unable to catch up to Kim Woo-jin.
‘Lee Jin-ah is the only tank who can lure monsters in such a way.’
Of course, this wasn’t a method that ordinary players would dare to try.
No, they would specifically list it as a method that they would never try.
No matter how good a tank is, they could not stand up to dozens of monsters.
Therefore, the Great One Guild’s team didn’t even dare to imagine such a method.
“It must be nice to be lucky.”
However, they were still wondering if there was something else that Isaac Ivanov did not tell them about.
That’s why the members of the team were staring at Kim Woo-jin and his Skeleton Soldiers with wide eyes.
‘There’s definitely something else.’
‘Is it an item? No, it must be something else.’
Therefore, they stared at Isaac Ivanov, hoping to find a clue to what it might be.
They were so blatant that Kim Woo-jin was able to figure out their intentions without even having to think about it.
“If I’m in the way, I’ll go hunt somewhere else.”
Therefore, Kim Woo-jin gave them an offer.
“What?”
Ellis Highton, who was subtly inspecting Kim Woo-jin’s items, frowned at his words.
“If you’re having issues hunting monsters because of me then I’ll go to another place.”
It was said in a very polite tone.
‘This bastard…’
However, his words were enough to cut deeply into the pride of the Great One Guild’s team members.
After all, wasn’t Isaac Ivanov saying that he would basically pander to them?
“That won’t be necessary.”
Of course, there were no signs of these thoughts on Ellis Highton’s face as she responded naturally.
“We need to hunt monsters anyway, so if you manage to hunt a lot of them then it’s better for all of us.”
Furthermore, Ellis Highton struggled to act like it was okay.
‘She’s taking it better than I expected.’
Kim Woo-jin laughed inwardly at her mixed expression.
This was because Ellis Highton did not have a patient personality. This was a fact that was not just known to Kim Woo-jin.
At this point, almost everyone knew that she had an extremely high level of competitiveness.
In fact, it was one of the most basic conditions to become one of the best players.
They all desired to be stronger than everyone else and they hated losing.
‘Well, she should be at her limit now.’
What’s more, for Ellis Highton, this dungeon was like a birthday party. A party where everything was organized just for her.
‘Maybe I can make her explode now.’
Isaac Ivanov, the main culprit for ruining her party, then spoke.
“The ring that you’re wearing, is that King Arthur’s Ring?”
“What?’
“If that is it, could you show me the properties of the item?”
Ellis Highton’s expression changed at those words.
It was like her face had been cooled with ice.
Her voice was the same.
“You’re full of confidence.”
There was no emotion mixed into her voice when she said these words, so they sounded rather chilling.
The members of her team flinched subconsciously.
Of course, from Kim Woo-jin’s perspective, it wasn’t a big deal.
Rather, because it was the reaction that he’d expected, Kim Woo-jin continued to speak the lines he’d prepared.
“My goal is to target as many uncleared 3 Floor dungeons as possible before heading to 4 Floor dungeons. I’ll do anything for that.”
“So you need items to help you clear the uncleared dungeons?”
“Yes.”
Ellis Highton finally exploded at his words.
“Then why don’t you give me an item instead huh? Give me that Van Gogh Bracelet or whatever, and I’ll go clear all those unconquerable dungeons.”
She fell for Kim Woo-jin’s provocations, which caused the faces of the members of her team to stiffen.
‘Oh my God.’
‘Van Gogh’s Bracelet is…’
In truth, one of the Great One Guild’s objectives had been to retrieve the bracelet that Isaac Ivanov had in his possession and in such a situation, Ellis Highton herself had mentioned the item.
It would not be strange if the quarrel suddenly became a real fight.
‘Isaac Ivanov is by no means a good person.’
Moreover, everyone knew that Isaac Ivanov had never claimed to have a good personality.
This made the members of the Great One Guild’s team very nervous.
‘There might be a surprise attack.’
They began preparing for a battle that might occur at any moment.
Just when the tension had reached its peak, Kim Woo-jin who seemed to be considering something, finally spoke.
“Well, it’s not like I can’t.”
“What?”
“Giving better items to better players, isn’t that the surest way to increase our chances of clearing dungeons?”
“That’s right…”
Ellis Highton was surprised at his sudden acceptance.
At that moment Kim Woo-jin continued.
“Alright. I will give Van Gogh’s Bracelet to whoever kills the boss monster in this dungeon.”
Along with those words, Kim Woo-jin turned his eyes to look at Ellis Highton again.
“If you agree with the phrase ‘better players should get better items’.”
Along with those words, Kim Woo-jin’s eyes turned to look at Merlin’s staff that Ellis Highton was holding in her hand.
After a moment, Ellis responded.
“I agree.”