Translator: Seven
Editor: Ana_Banana
There were two ways that players could increase their chances of survival in dungeons.
One was to obtain better items.
The other was to get better companions.
The most important thing, however, was the ability to tell what was better.
In the case of items, this distinction was not difficult.
Because the world had been transformed into a game, it was not hard to see the differences between them.
The problem was the teammates.
In the case of players, simply having better items or higher levels didn’t mean that they were better.
In other words, it was impossible to compare them without visible differences.
That said, it was impossible to judge who was better just by doing a rough comparison.
After all, wasn’t this a matter of life and death?
That’s why the players had come up with their own ways to compare their abilities.
“I heard that there’s going to be a match between the Ishakawa siblings and Isaac Ivanov’s teammate.”
“Really?”
“Tanks going against each other huh. So which method are they using?”
“Zone.”
Zone was one of the methods that Tanks used to compare their abilities.
The method was simple.
Endure as long as possible without asking for help.
That was Zone.
“Zone…that’s dangerous.”
It was a simple, but bloody method.
Staying within the designated area meant that they couldn’t escape.
This meant that regardless of how many monsters appeared, how bloody the battle got, or how injured they became, they would have to stay and fight the monsters as long as they possibly could.
“Are they really going to do that on the fourth floor of the dungeon?”
“Well, people are already attacking the Spiny Lizard which is the condition to clear the third floor, aren’t they? So the fourth floor is the only one left.”
Moreover, the stage for the challenge between Lee Jin-ah and the Ishikawa siblings was the fourth floor of the dungeon.
“It’s a survival quest, so the number of monsters will be no joke…”
In a survival quest floor which was bound to have more monsters than normal floors, they had decided to play Zone.
The dangers of such actions were quite clear to these players who were all above level 100.
“It would be difficult for a normal tank to hold out for more than an hour.”
“What do you mean an hour? A normal tank would probably run after the second wave.”
It was a confrontation that normal tanks would never try to win.
Of course, at the same time, they knew.
“But the Ishikawa siblings could never be described as ordinary.”
“Spashiba is Isaac Ivanov’s teammate.”
The two parties who were participating in this even were far from ordinary.
“But the Ishikawa siblings have an advantage since their levels are higher.”
“But while the Ishikawa siblings were tanking on the third floor, Spashiba did nothing right?”
Because of this, no one is certain who has the advantage, and could only make speculations.
A notification came to them as they were wondering what the outcome of the challenge would be.
[The Spiny Lizard has been slain.]
[Proceed to the next floor.]
The third floor had been cleared.
…
[Survive for 10 days.]
It was giant’s reeds that stretched to the sky that greeted the players together with the notification as they entered the fourth floor of the dungeon.
The moment the player saw this, however, their expressions stiffened considerably.
‘Aren’t these giant’s reeds?’
‘How troublesome.’
Giant’s reeds.
As the name suggested, they were large reeds.
They usually grew to around a height of 6 meters while the larger ones could grow as tall as ten meters.
Other than that, there were no significant differences between them and normal reeds.
So it was quite troublesome.
‘It’s hell for tanks.’
Reeds, which collapsed easily, could not function as proper cover, unlike trees or boulders.
On the other hand, the amount of obstruction they gave was much higher than trees and rocks. Even calling them an obstruction was an under exaggeration.
Sss.
In addition, the sound that the reed forest made was much more distracting when compared to the sounds in a normal forest.
However, the worst part was the fact that trails remained and were hard to miss.
Normally in a forest, the only trail one could leave would be their footprints.
However, in this reed forest, the path you took would remain.
From the monsters’ perspectives, it was like their prey was creating a highway which led them right to their delicious food.
“How long will they last?”
“No matter how strong the Ishikawa siblings are, it’ll be difficult for them to last more than three hours.”
“What about Spashiba?”
“It should be the same or less.”
Because of this, it would be hard for the confrontation to last more than a few hours at best.
Ishikawa Yohei called his younger siblings over before saying.
“The situation will change depending on our luck, but the way things are now, our limit will be about three hours.”
They too were able to clearly gauge their own levels.
This was evidence of their capability.
Not being overly confident, overestimating oneself, misjudging the situation, and being able to properly and calmly calculate regardless of the circumstance, were the most essential factors for a truly skilled player.
“But with the Nemean Lion leather, we should be able to last for more than a day.”
Which meant that this judgement was made after cold calculation and was not just a pretense made out of fake confidence.
In addition, there was someone who calculated even more coldly than they did.
Kim Woo-jin was able to judge the situation more calmly and accurately than anyone else.
‘If it’s the Ishikawa siblings, they should be able to last for four hours.’
First of all, he’d completely grasped the abilities of the Ishikawa siblings.
‘But they should’ve received a legendary item from the Sword Saint.’
In addition, he also grasped the fact that they would have never provoked Lee Jin-ah without making preparations.
‘If it’s the Nemean Lion’s leather, or an equivalent armor…then it wouldn’t be a problem for them to endure more than a day.’
Even in that case, Kim Woo-jin was able to estimate how long they could withstand the challenge.
‘As for Lee Jin-ah…’
Next was Lee Jin-ah’s turn.
Kim Woo-jin had already calculated that the three Ishikawa siblings would be able to endure for more than a day there.
So how long would Lee Jin-ah be able to endure when placed under the same conditions?
To answer that question, Kim Woo-jin once again calculated calmly and the answer he got afterward was as expected.
‘He could wipe out all the monsters in his zone within a day.’
In the first place, this result was surprising for him.
That was the conclusion Kim Woo-jin reached.
…
The showdown began and everything was silent for about twenty minutes.
The reason for this was that most of the monsters were cautious about the sudden appearance of the players.
In such a situation, it was a herd of Striped Chickens who signalled the start of the battle. (TL: lol…chickens…)
Cluck!
The chicken cry, which was made by over one hundred one meter tall Striped Chickens turned the tranquil reed forest into a mess.
“It’s started.”
The other players watched on nervously.
“When a request for help comes, we have to be prepared to go immediately.”
The reason they were nervous was because they would need to go and offer assistance as soon as it was requested.
Because of this, many of the players were paying close attention to the scene in front of them.
“Don’t let your guards down, just in case!”
“Be prepared so that you can enter the battle at any time.”
At that moment, everyone sharpened their senses because they didn’t know when the battles would commence.
“Don’t relax, we’re also targets for the monsters.”
Above all, they couldn’t forget the fact that in the monsters eyes, they were also prey.
It was an hour after the battle began that the players began noticing something strange.
Roar!
The screams of the Red Orcs, who’d taken over after the Striped Chickens had been defeated, rang out from the battlefield.
“Do you feel like something is wrong?”
“You think so too?”
Some players began recognizing that the sounds the Red Orcs on both sides were making were different.
“Are they…screaming?”
“Right, they’re screaming.”
They found that the cries from one side weren’t roars, they were screams.
And they were immediately able to figure out why.
“Shiba!”
Lee Jin-ah was killing the Orcs.
Everyone had ridiculous expressions at this sight.
‘Oh my God, how is this possible?”
The tank’s job was to control the monsters.
However, Lee Jin-ah was killing the monsters instead of enduring their attacks.
A small exaggeration would be that he was sweeping the monsters away.
The combat power that Lee Jin-ah was showing at that moment did not fall short of world renowned damage dealers.
‘A tank has such destructive power?’
‘Spashiba was this strong?”
This was a very shocking sight for those who, until now, had thought that Lee Jin-ah was only good at blocking monsters with his body.
On the other hand, this was a natural sight for Kim Woo-jin.
‘Now this is what I remember.’
Before he’d returned to the past, the Lee Jin-ah that Kim Woo-jin knew wasn’t a tank who defended his teammates with a shield.
Instead, he was a terrifying beast with teeth sharp enough to threaten even the best hunting dogs.
‘It was worth pushing him.’
Moreover, such a beast had been trained to the limit by none other than the strongest hunting dog.
Skeleton Soldiers!
He had repeatedly fought for his life against these summons who were like slightly weakened versions of Kim Woo-jin.
‘His sword skill isn’t good enough.’
For Lee Jin-ah, neither the Striped Chickens nor Red Orcs were opponents who could give him pause.
Of course, at this moment, Kim Woo-jin wasn’t interested in winning or losing this challenge.
He’d also lost interest in Lee Jin-ah as well.
At that moment, there was only one thing that Kim Woo-jin was interested in.
And that was the golden lion skin being worn by Ishikawa Yohei at that moment. (TL: the author put ???(Shohei-Syohei) rather than ???(Yohei) so it could have been a typo or it could be the twin brother. For now, I left it at Yohei, but it is subject to change in the future)
[Nemean Lion Leather]
– Rating: Legendary
– Required Level: Level 100 or higher
– Description: Leather armor worn by the Great Hero Hercules. Normal attacks can’t hurt you.
– +100% physical defense
– +100% magical defense
– Activates ‘Hero’s Dignity’
– Cannot be destroyed
‘They really gave them the Nemean Lion Leather.’
After confirming the item with Horus’ eyes, a smile formed at the corner of Kim Woo-jin’s lips.
‘I like it.’
It was the smile of a predator who had found their prey.