Episode 60 Week 4 Strategy (2)
In the interpersonal match, we met the opponent twice in a row.
This time, I became partners with Hong Yeon-hwa.
I don’t know what our fate is that keeps coming back to me.
‘Not bad.’
I’d rather have this than engage in a mediocre battle with an opponent.
Since he is a promising player, isn’t his fighting prowess already proven?
All the parts that require fighting can be passed on to you.
And there was a corner that felt somehow familiar.
Ruby Mattap was my main pick back in the day.
The more I look at Hong Yeon-hwa, the more she resembles the ruby top.
It’s like seeing a version of yourself that’s a few years younger.
‘If only the facial expressions were similar, they would be exactly the same.’
The only difference is the expression on his face as he looks at me.
Ruby Matapju always has a bomb-like atmosphere that could explode at any moment, revealing her fiery temperament, while Hong Yeonhwa in front of her looks terrified and cowering.
Of course, this wasn’t my fault.
Every time we met, I got smashed three times, so it was understandable that I would feel intimidated.
But I don’t think it’s to the point where you’d get scared just by looking at it.
I wonder if there is some big misunderstanding.
There is a way to gradually resolve the misunderstanding by treating the world sweetly from now on, but
‘Why?’
Do I really have to solve it?
My goal right now is to complete quests quickly and efficiently.
It seems that creating a certain level of fear would be more helpful in achieving the goal.
So I decided to act according to the image in my mind of Hong Yeon-hwa.
If you think I’m a tyrant, I’ll become a tyrant.
Hong Yeon-hwa’s face turned even whiter as she made an eerie expression.
* * *
Hong Yeon-hwa wanted to cry.
It was entirely her fault that things had come to this.
Hong Yeon-hwa arrived at the dungeon as usual and was trying to find a match.
But just before scanning her student ID, she discovered it.
Kim Ho waiting for his turn nearby.
Fortunately, Kim Ho had his back turned and was looking in the opposite direction.
But just seeing his back sent a chill down Hong Yeon-hwa’s spine.
She has a new goal.
A more important goal than the battle results.
‘You should avoid your partner.’
Team members are chosen randomly, but if you take your student ID now and by any chance get matched with that monstrous guy… … .
And if the two of us are alone in a closed space… … .
Just thinking about it takes my breath away.
Hong Yeon-hwa decided to accept her older sister Hong Ye-hwa’s advice.
I decided to wait a bit and apply for today’s strategy battle.
If Kim Ho enters the dungeon with someone else, he will also have to find a teammate.
So she waited endlessly, secretly stealing glances at Kim Ho.
Just for a teleportation portal to open near him.
Waiting… … .
Waiting… … .
Waiting again… … .
I kept waiting.
The longer the wait went on, the more Hong Yeon-hwa’s pride was crushed.
In inverse proportion, my self-loathing grew.
I’m supposed to be the next Ruby Tower Lord, but do I have to be so obsessed with what other people think like a rat?
When I glanced at Kim Ho again, he had a blank expression on his face, lost in thought.
There is still no sign of a match being made.
‘I can’t wait any longer!’
The pride that had been suppressed by fear caused a strong backlash.
I won’t keep on just watching like this!
… … It’s not like I gained the confidence to partner with Kim Ho, I just changed the strategy a little.
To quickly get in first.
There, Hong Yeon-hwa thought about it a little more.
‘Let’s go into real mode.’
Since the author is human, he will probably go into practice mode.
So, if you skip the practice mode and go straight into the actual match, you could be blocking any chance of becoming a partner.
The actual battle is a bit shaky from the beginning, but I guess I’ll be able to twist my body somehow.
When Hong Yeon-hwa scanned her student ID card, amazed at her own genius… … .
A teleportation portal opened before her.
And in front of Kim Ho too.
Hong Yeon-hwa’s pupils shook without mercy.
‘T, why is this… … ?’
No, right?
Maybe it just happened that they opened at the same time?
My partner must be somewhere else?
While Hong Yeon-hwa was desperately denying reality, Kim Ho entered the dungeon without hesitation.
It’s her turn to go in next.
But my feet didn’t move easily.
What was an ordinary teleportation portal looked to her like an entrance to the abyss of hell.
Hong Yeon-hwa, who had been hesitating continuously, took a deep breath.
‘Phew… … . Okay, I should go in.’
The problem won’t be solved by doing this.
I forced my heavy feet to move and walked into the dungeon.
Of course, there was a glimmer of hope left in a corner of my heart.
There is hope that if you go in, there will be other people there.
“… … .”
But that’s impossible.
My eyes met with Kim Ho’s, who was waiting inside.
Hong Yeon-hwa’s gaze turned to the floor without her knowing it.
‘I’m screwed… … .’
Seolma ended up catching a person.
I never thought Kim Ho would apply for the real thing.
Only then did it become clear why he had been waiting for so long.
Since the siege had just begun, the vast majority of students were in practice mode, and only a handful had actually entered the actual battle. No, there were none.
It was natural to keep waiting since my partner never showed up.
It was natural that they would become partners as soon as they found a match.
It was like walking into a tiger’s den on my own two feet.
‘Why did I really do that?’
Belated regrets began to creep in.
Don’t be proud,
Don’t use your brain,
I’ll just rest today and do it tomorrow…
But it’s already spilt milk.
Regretting won’t change the current situation.
Hong Yeon-hwa tried hard to calm her mind.
No matter what the situation is, you must do your best within this dungeon.
[Number of monsters remaining: 88]
The goal of this offensive is elimination.
If you catch all 88 monsters, you will receive 100% completion and full marks.
Given that the strategy teacher emphasized ‘detail,’ ‘meticulousness,’ and ‘observation,’ the possibility of these monsters coming to them on their own was slim.
They will surely be cleverly hiding themselves all over the dungeon.
‘How can I find it?’
I needed to discuss it with my team members.
Baek Jun-seok, who was previously on the team, was too lazy to think, so Hong Yeon-hwa usually gave unilateral orders.
There’s nothing you can do about ignorant inspectors.
On the other hand, Kim Ho is in the same caster group as her.
I guess you have your own thoughts.
Hong Yeon-hwa lifted her gaze from the floor to discuss.
I immediately met Kim Ho’s cold gaze,
“… … .”
My mouth wouldn’t open.
To Baek Jun-seok, the words he had said well were just lingering in his mouth.
As Hong Yeon-hwa continued to move her lips but was unable to speak, Kim Ho blurted out a single word.
“Follow me.”
“Huh, huh?”
And then I started walking alone, staggering.
Hong Yeon-hwa followed without knowing what was happening.
Kim Ho, who had been walking briskly for a while, stopped again and looked at the bushes on one side of the forest.
Hong Yeon-hwa stared at the same spot, but didn’t see anything unusual.
‘There’s nothing.’
At that moment, Kim Ho kicked a rock rolling nearby with the tip of his foot.
Then the stone shot out at a terrifying speed and disappeared beyond the bushes,
“Quite a lot!”
[Number of monsters remaining: 87]
With the last word, the number of remaining monsters was reduced by one.
Hong Yeon-hwa opened her eyes wide.
‘… … was there?’
“Keeruk!”
The surprise was short-lived, as three goblins jumped out from the bushes.
It seemed as if he had been lying in wait and then revealed himself out of indignation at the death of his own people.
Kim Ho took a quick glance at them, then started walking again as if he had no interest at all.
The goblins’ attention was focused on the remaining Hong Yeon-hwa.
Hong Yeon-hwa blinked her eyes and looked back and forth between Kim Ho, who was leaving, and the goblins running towards her.
“No, over there.”
Are you just going to leave it like this?
The absurdity was so extreme that I wasn’t even angry.
The ruby flashed a bright red light,
– Pfft!
[Number of monsters remaining: 84]
Three goblins were turned into charcoal.
In fact, goblins were just mobs that she could deal with on her own.
After I roughly understood it and turned around, I saw that Kim Ho was already way ahead of me.
Hong Yeon-hwa ran at full speed, not wanting to miss it.
Just when I was finally catching up.
In Kim Ho’s hand was a large rock that he had picked up somewhere.
As I mercilessly threw it into the nearby bushes, four more angry goblins jumped out.
Since she had already experienced it once, Hong Yeon-hwa was not flustered and immediately cast the magic.
– Pfft!
[Number of monsters remaining: 80]
Looking back, Kim Ho had made a lot of distance in that short period of time.
Hong Yeon-hwa finally exploded.
Honestly, if I’ve been able to tolerate her temper this much, I’ve put up with a lot.
‘Hey!! Let’s go together!! Are you going to do this alone?’
—I only said that in my mind.
The actual words that came out of his mouth were like this.
“Hey, come with me.”
Strangely enough, the volume is automatically adjusted when playing against Kim Ho.
He glanced back, as if he had heard that small word.
And he slowed his pace.
‘You’re really delaying me… … .’
Hong Yeon-hwa confirmed once again that the man was a person who could communicate with others.
Anyway, I’m slowly getting used to the pattern.
If Kim Ho walks ahead and throws a stone or uses an invisible force to provoke an ambush site such as a bush, tree, or behind a rock, a monster will jump out in response.
And the aftermath is Hong Yeon-hwa’s job.
It wasn’t difficult because they were mostly low-level monsters like goblins or orcs.
– Whoosh whoosh!
[Number of monsters remaining: 66]
“Keeruk!”
Not all monsters reacted the same way.
Occasionally, there were those who turned their backs and tried to run away as soon as they were discovered.
[Sweep] This kind of guy is a pain in the ass because if you run away and hide somewhere else, you’ll end up having to go back to the places you’ve already been to.
“Keruk?”
But the escape was never successful.
A gust of wind blew, and the men were unable to advance as if they were blocked by a transparent wall.
And soon, he was swallowed up by the flames summoned by Hong Yeon-hwa.
– Whoosh whoosh!
After repeating it a few times, Hong Yeon-hwa, who at first had no idea what was hidden, began to see something little by little.
There was a peculiar sense of unease in the places where monsters were lying in wait.
The more I look at it, the more the sense of discomfort becomes apparent.
Without realizing it, my powers of observation are growing rapidly.
Hong Yeon-hwa tilted her head as she looked at Kim Ho’s back.
‘This is weird… … but?’
Is it that easy?
Because she has such a hasty temper, she is far from the kind of leisurely and meticulous work that goes into a sweeping battle.
So, I expected that I would have a hard time when I entered the dungeon.
But in reality, monsters popped out wherever Kim Ho went, so all you had to do was follow him around and everything would be solved.
Kim Ho doesn’t hesitate for a second throughout the entire battle and moves on to the next location, and then the next.
He was so skilled at it that it was as if he had done this dozens or hundreds of times.
However, since it is not likely that he has done it dozens or hundreds of times, it was clear that he either had an incredibly keen eye or a detection skill of a similar level.
Hong Yeon-hwa added Kim Ho’s information in her head.
Tremendous magical defense, extreme martial arts, and extremely high levels of sensing ability.
“… … .”
In the midst of all this, Kim Ho stopped in his tracks again.
Hong Yeon-hwa stopped and looked ahead, and a deep, puddle-like terrain appeared in front of them.
The terrain of this forest was irregularly undulating, but it looked particularly unnatural.
So suspicious that anyone can tell.
As Kim Ho waved his hand lightly,
– Perseus,
Sure enough, the soil on one side of the pit collapsed, revealing the entrance to a cave.
Hong Yeon-hwa’s eyebrows rose.
‘You saw that?’
I thought it was worth going down and taking a closer look, but I didn’t expect to find it so quickly.
Leaving her confusion behind, Hong Yeon-hwa also observed the cave.
It was so large that it seemed like a person would have to crouch uncomfortably to fit inside.
At that moment, Kim Ho opened his mouth.
“Check it out.”
“……I?”
“You don’t like it?”
Kim Ho’s expression gradually hardened.
Hong Yeon-hwa instinctively sensed the crisis and quickly responded.
“Go, just go. If you go… … .”
And then, grumbling, he crawled into the cave.
In fact, the words ‘check it out’ meant to use flame magic inside, but Hong Yeon-hwa had no way of knowing that.
After she entered, a moment later,
– Boom! Boom!
[Number of monsters remaining: 35]
There were several explosions inside and the number of monsters decreased considerably.
Then, Hong Yeon-hwa crawled out of the cave with thick smoke.
His whole body is covered in dirt and he is wearing an arrogant expression that seems to express his unpleasant feelings.
‘Why do I have to do this!’
But when Kim Ho’s eyes met, he quickly controlled his expression.
‘… … Now that I think about it, I guess I could do something like that.’
I’ve had an easy time so far thanks to that guy.
Rationalize quickly.
“… … .”
Kim Ho walked to the next location without saying a word, not knowing whether he knew Hong Yeon-hwa’s true intentions or not.
Hong Yeon-hwa hurriedly followed behind him.
* * *
[Number of monsters remaining: 2]
The battle that had been raging like a storm is finally coming to an end.
The last two didn’t seem like they would be hard to find.
Because it was right in front of my eyes.
troll.
It is a medium-sized monster with a slightly larger build than an adult male.
It has high regenerative power and even has its own magic resistance, making it difficult for wizards to deal with.
Two such trolls.
Even at first glance, these guys looked out of the ordinary, giving off a boss monster vibe.
One of them carried a large club, the other a double axe.
Hong Yeon-hwa looked at Kim Ho with a cautious look, asking what to do.
Kim Ho met her gaze for a few seconds and then answered briefly.
“Try to fight.”
“… … Me alone?”
“… … .”
No reply came back.
Hong Yeon-hwa sighed inwardly.
Yeah, I was a fool to have expected anything.
There’s no way that guy would kindly match the match.
Hong Yeon-hwa took a step forward.
Soon the area around her began to heat up.
The trolls swayed in the rising mist.
‘I’m enough on my own.’
