Episode 150 [Paldal Mountain, Secret of the Dragon Labyrinth – 4]
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“—Hey! Kim Kang-sik, what are you doing with these high-ranking people?”
Commander Jeong Sang-sik made a loud noise and got up from his seat.
He then glared at Colonel Kim Kang-seok as if he was going to grab him by the collar at any moment.
Beside him, Edward Woods and Director Hwang Yeon-soo were sitting with stern faces.
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“What the hell is that, man!”
What he was pointing at was the TV. There was breaking news now.
– …This is the Paldalsan Labyrinth site. It’s been an hour since Lee Hyun-wook Stillane arrived on the scene. According to the news that just came in, Lee Hyun-wook’s strategy team has entered the labyrinth!
It was a scene that was nothing special because it had been predicted since yesterday.
However, as Kim Kang-seok said earlier, Captain Seo Eun-ha, a ‘qualified’ candidate, appeared on TV…
“Now… Captain Seo followed so-and-so… and went somewhere!”
She was with Lee Hyun-wook. No matter how you look at it, it was a situation where Lee Hyun-wook hit the mark.
Those who came to her assuming that she was a ‘qualified person’ could not help but be devastated…
“…Commander, I don’t know why you’re acting like this all of a sudden. “What mistake did I make?”
“What man?”
“As I mentioned earlier, Captain Seo was deployed in a very important operation. “That’s it.”
Kim Kang-seok was uncharacteristically joking. I wanted to pick them that much and it was a success.
Edward Woods still had an expressionless face, but his face was bright red unlike usual.
Director Hwang Yeon-soo, who had been watching the scene, sighed and shook his head.
“Ha—General Jeong, are you worse at managing young troops than I thought?”
“Oh no… Deputy Director Hwang, that’s not it….”
The Samsung General immediately bursts into laughter at one word from the future power.
Kim Kang-seok found the scene so ugly that he was disgusted.
“Deputy Director Hwang, it’s not too late. “I will immediately order you to bring Captain Seo.”
Hwang Yeon-soo snorted at those words.
“You fucking think that’s going to work? And if you do that, it’ll ruin the picture. Ha… the British gentleman here came to visit me in a polite way, so what would people think if I did that? Yes?”
For a moment, a heavy silence fell in the battalion commander’s office.
“Ha—well, it doesn’t matter. Even if General Jeong doesn’t do his job well, I do it well.”
“…….”
“And you’re so arrogant that Colonel Naburaeng treated you like a hero…”
Hwang Yeon-soo snorted while looking at Kim Kang-seok and jumped up from his seat.
“But you’re not gone for a few days. You will realize that your attitude toward social life is very wrong.”
He whispered meaningfully and walked out of the battalion commander’s office with Edward Woods.
***
At that time, Hyunwook Lee was standing in front of the left door at the crossroads at the entrance to the labyrinth.
– Now ‘ Do you want to open the door to the ‘Dragon Lair Ruins (Labyrinth)’? (Y/N)
* One ‘Dragon Lair Ruins – Entry Token’ is consumed. (Own 3)
Like this, the number of times you can open this labyrinth door is limited. The entrance ticket was
given as a reward when catching Aji Dahaka.
‘And this labyrinth was originally designed to be attempted multiple times.’
From the beginning, a hint was given at the last gate that at least two entry certificates would be needed.
‘But I only have one and it’s enough.’
Ku—gu—gu—gu——!
Soon, the huge door opened, a distant darkness unfolded, and a chilling wind came out.
“Wow… It feels more like a royal palace than a labyrinth?”
As Park Jun-mo said, it felt luxurious, like the hallway of a European-style mansion. However, everything seemed distant and large, as if I was in a land of giants, and there was so much darkness that I couldn’t see the end.
And….
And
in the darkness, blue eyes appear in the distance along with an unidentifiable breathing sound.
But the strange thing was that the eye lights were also coming out from the walls, ceiling, and floor.
“What are they… they look like they’re crawling out of the wall?”
As Jeongjun Lee said, maggots came out from all sides and fell to the ground with a thud.
“That must be a draugr.”
Hyunwook Lee said.
In Viking mythology, Draugr was an undead soldier who looked like a mummy at first glance as a ghost guarding a tomb. It often appeared in tombs or ruin-type dungeons.
“You can’t let down your guard just by looking at appearances. “It has different powers depending on the level of the summoner.”
“Then, since this is a dragon lair ruin, we can assume that they are above average, right?”
– Draug of the Dragon Lair Ruins (LV：81)
‘Still, each one is not that strong.’
The problem is, as we saw earlier, dimensional cracks occur in the ceiling, walls, and floor, and they pour out.
From the moment you step into that labyrinth, you have to fight constantly without a break.
In other words, it was a place where you had to gather your treasures and leave as quickly as possible rather than going on a quiet adventure.
“…and it keeps crawling out of all directions, so I think I need to be a bit more careful.”
However, Lee Hyun-wook had the best tank corps that could not feel any fear.
“Advance—”
Creep—Crump—
Living Armor and the Iron Golem move forward, maintaining their shoulder-to-shoulder formation.
Like this, the plan was to advance using 45 Living Armor and 15 Iron Golems as shields.
In addition, if Talos, the ‘Bronze Sentinel’, joins in, they can push forward like a tank corps.
“You can leave the front lines to us!”
And the crystals of magical engineering that had been studied over the years began to shine one by one.
The first was the magic machine gun ‘Grave Buffalo’, which was one level higher.
To—do—do—do—do——!
As many as 25 Graverpalos spewed fire at the same time, literally crushing the approaching draugr. A few of them came through the fire net and approached. The front-line iron golems stood tall like a rock wall.
The draugr’s greatsword and ax filled with gloomy power struck the Aiur golem’s body.
Ka—ang——!
In just one blow, the solid metal body was cut like tofu.
However, if there was no intelligence to target the core, the strike was useless.
Gurgling—gurgling—
the broken pieces of metal on the floor were absorbed into the iron golem’s body.
Then, didn’t the cut part completely recover?
“Wow—this combat system is simple, but it’s not a joke, is it?”
“That’s right. Enormous firepower and absolute defense…”
Even the players of the Hope Guild who followed behind couldn’t help but be impressed once again.
But that didn’t mean they were playing around. They had no chance like now.
“Now what are you all doing! “Free experience points are coming in droves!”
At Kim Se-hee’s shout, the Hope Guild members used their skills in unison – wiping out the approaching draugr.
“There is no chance like this unless we attack together with the boss!”
“okay! “I have to get to level 35 here today!”
The players of the Hope Guild eagerly used wide-area magic with the feeling of wondering what the hell was going on.
Bang—bang—bang—bang——!
“Oh, you’re really gaining experience points?”
“K-I’ve already leveled up 1!”
Among the excited players, Lee Hyun-wook opened his mouth:
“Draug respawn quite a lot here. “Let’s go hunting a little more.”
Everyone cheered at this.
But for Seo Eun-ha, the sight was just astounding.
“Wait a minute, it’s hunting…”
But it was really a hunting, or closer to a massacre, taking place right before our eyes.
To—do—do—do—do——!
A hallway that divides into four directions, and we set up camp in the center and go in all directions. No, he swept away the swarms of insect-like draugr that were pouring down from all sides, including the ceiling, walls, and floor, as if catching bugs.
“Oh no, can this now be called a raid?”
It was a scene she couldn’t easily understand. The raids she had done so far were quite difficult. No matter how easy the monsters were, she had to run into them directly and there was a risk of being killed or injured. So she always had to be careful, but now this was… stable. It was so peaceful.
‘Huh—is it possible for raids to be automated? If this happens… will players also lose their jobs in the future?’
How could it be so absurd to worry about such nonsense? She was quite shocked.
“…Lee Hyun-wook, are you controlling all of that?”
Seo Eun-ha asked Lee Hyun-wook with a bewildered expression, and Lee Hyun-wook nodded.
As a result of applying the ‘Golden Reins of Athena’ obtained earlier, the maximum number of followers increased significantly.
‘Now, I can control up to 93 aircraft.’
In other words, we can operate twice as many numbers as we do now, but we did not necessarily use excessive force.
“Oh, and by applying a buff to the front lines, the captain will also receive experience points.”
Even now, the [Hope] guild members under Lee Hyun-wook were happily gaining experience points like that.
“Should I say that’s what we commonly say when we go out with our boss?”
Kim Se-hee added a word like that, but Seo Eun-ha looked like she didn’t know what she was saying.
“…What?”
“Oh, sister, didn’t you ever play computer games or something like that when you were young?”
“Yeah…”
Kim Se-hee smiled with a shy expression and then explained.
“Uh, that means… you can easily gain experience points.”
Of course, there were many cases where high-level players helped low-level players grow, but such arrogance should be avoided as it could put the entire attack team in danger. ‘But if it’s like this, you will definitely receive experience points stably
. ‘You can.’
Come to think of it, in addition to Lee Hyeon-wook, Kim Se-hee and Park Jun-mo, who were originally soldiers, also showed remarkable growth.
“Hani—now!”
Sehee Kim created a gust of wind and tore through the left hallway, tearing a dozen draugrs into small pieces.
Kwa—ga—ga—ga——!
The dozens of points of wind that made up that gust were all sharp ‘knives of wind.’
“—I’ll sweep into the hallway on the right!”
Park Jun-mo’s shout. Sparks began to fly loudly from his palm.
Rumble–
Then, the scene where dark clouds were formed near the ceiling was nothing short of mysterious even to Seo Eun-ha.
And…
blah blah blah blah blah blah. !
Lightning rained down inside, turning dozens of draugrs into ashes. Until
recently, no matter how ace he was, he was literally at the level of a soldier, but he was far below her… ‘
…Now, honestly, he’s about the same as me. ‘It’s one level, right?’
Looking at that incredible growth, it will catch up in a little while… I felt somewhat deprived.
‘How on earth is Lee Hyun-wook growing up the people around him so quickly?’
This sense of alienation and awe that I had felt towards Lee Hyun-wook for a long time… grew bigger as time went by.
“It seems like a waste of opportunity to just watch her.”
“Oh yeah… I guess I should help too…”
Seo Eun-ha eventually joined the hunting group and was able to gain quite a bit of experience.
***
After moving forward for about 8 hours without stopping, we finally arrived in front of the ‘last door.
‘ —Oh—Oh—Oh——
A 10m high iron gate was blocking the road.
‘This is the final gate.’
And a red lock sign appeared on the surface.
– (!) The area can only be entered if ‘special conditions’ are met. When
Lee Hyun-wook approached and placed his hand, some letters began to appear on the door.
– This door can only be opened by those with ‘qualifications.’
“So the person with those qualifications is now me, right?”
Seo Eun-ha raised the ‘sword with unknown power’ and asked, and Lee Hyun-wook nodded.
She slowly walked forward and placed her right hand on the door panel. Then…
Boom——!
There was a loud noise and the sound of something moving inside the wall, and then the door began to open.
Ku—gu—gu—gu——
And so a huge hall, presumed to be the last room of this labyrinth, unfolded.
When I looked up, the chandeliers I saw seemed as big as a helicopter.
“Wow—is this a place where dragons actually live? Everything is really big.”
And there was a staircase in front, and at the end of it was a large box.
‘……It’s over there.’
That box contained a ‘dragon egg.’
But of course, I couldn’t take it right away.
Because
the box was guarded by a large draugr.
– Guardian of Dragon Lair (LV: 115)
. As he slowly raises his head, a blue flame burns fiercely in his eyes.
“Where are we… mere humans…”
The moment he grabbed the large sword stuck in the ground and pulled it out, the ground shook. — rang out.
The size of the sword alone was about 4 meters, and the guy’s height seemed to be 6 meters.
Huh ——
At that time, a small magic circle appeared in the exact center of the hall.
“—Something is coming!”
The players predicted a magic attack and prepared to defend, but nothing happened.
Ugh——
The tiles on the floor near the entrance started to glow and took on the shape of an arrow.
“…what? Are you telling me to step on that magic circle?”
Someone said that and it was correct.
Lee Hyun-wook turned his head and looked at Seo Eun-ha.
“Captain Seo, didn’t something like a system message appear in front of you?”
Even as she nodded, she could not take her eyes off the ‘Guardian of the Dragon Lair’.
– (!) To prove your qualifications, compete alone against the ‘Guardian of the Dragon Lair’.
* If you win the match, you will be eligible to obtain a ‘hidden reward’.
* If you win with the help of others, you will only receive the ‘specified reward’.
“Hmm, are you saying that I have to catch that thing by myself?”
Lee Hyun-wook asked, pretending not to know even though he already knew it well. But she didn’t answer.
“…….”
She was looking at the ‘Guardian of the Dragon Lair’ and trying to figure out his ‘level’.
“. ……”
Players who have reached a certain level develop ‘intuition’. As a result, they are able to feel mana more deeply, experience power, and distinguish between opponents they should fight and those they should not dare to fight.
‘That feeling is a very important element in raiding.’
It was the sense of a leader who could avoid the death of not only herself but also her team members.
Soon, she nodded with a frown on her face.
“I don’t want to sound weak… I think this is a bit too much…”
Her intuition – that is, her instinct – was warning her that if she attacked that guy one-on-one, she would die.
“That thing seems stronger than most boss monsters, right?”
In fact, a level 115 boss monster would only appear in a very large event.
In other words, if you could catch that one-on-one, you were proving that you were the best player in the world.
‘Yes, Seo Eun-ha is not at that level yet.’
She was an excellent tank and strategy team leader, not a warrior who could defeat the enemy on her own.
However, just because it was difficult, it was not a style that could be avoided at all costs at this important moment.
“…But there’s no other way from here, right?”
“Yes, I think there is no other way.”
In response to his response, she took a step forward.
She wasn’t sure she could win. No, she couldn’t win.
“If I die… try finding the next hitter from the Holy Knights.”
But even though I said this, I wasn’t sure that I was going to die.
At least Lee Hyun-wook won’t let that happen.
“Then I’ll lend you some items so you don’t die.”
At those words, Seo Eun-ha looked at Lee Hyun-wook with a blank expression.
“Just like Captain Seo gave me a bracelet.”
“You… steep it so many times?”
“Yes, it was quite touching. “I will return the favor now.”
Tongue—
He took an AD-2 and began pulling things out of it and placing them on the floor.
It was a set of black armor, including a helmet, upper and lower body gaiters.
“This is a full plate armor set with 85% adamant.”
For tank position players, armor made of full adamant is considered a lifelong dream.
The same was true for Seo Eun-ha. But now it was right in front of her.
She slowly stretched out her hand and picked up one of them.
[Item information]
– Name: Adamant Armor Top (Skilled)
– Effect: The slightest impact cannot even scratch this armor.
It is a skilled-grade manufactured item. In other words, it was on the same level as hero grade.
Let’s wear all that armor…
– [Adamant Armor Set (5/5)] effect is activated!
* Ignores a certain amount of all physical damage. (-30%)
* Inflicts additional damage when in contact with the opponent. (+20%)
“. ..No, is this something that exists in reality?”
Of course, at this point, such an item had no choice but to exist.
‘This is what the dimension shifter William Bernard wore.’
It would be 7 to 8 times more powerful than the full plate armor that Seo Eun-ha is currently wearing.
“Captain Seo, just keep that.”
Seo Eun-ha looked surprised again, and today she was surprised so often that it was embarrassing.
“Now, I can’t give you this. I’m borrowing it.”
It was some kind of belt… it was a ‘Megingijord’.
“It’s legendary level…”
Lee Hyun-wook took it out of AD-2 like taking camping gear out of a backpack and laid it down on the floor.
Then he continued AD. Rummaging through the sub-space of -2 seemed like something would come out again.
“Oh, and are you immune to electric shock?”
“That’s natural. I’m a paladin, right?”
The best advantage of the Paladin class was that it had some immunity to all attributes.
“Then that’s a good thing. “There is something that can be used as a set with that belt.”
Thump—
what he put down was a hammer with a short handle.
“omg!”
I knew what it was without even having to check.
“…isn’t it Mjolnir?”
It was an item that caused a stir in the world for a while after Lee Hyun-wook introduced it.
“If you use that with Megingijord, the current option will be added as a set effect. Oh, and…”
That wasn’t the end.
Tong——
What I took out this time were ‘Achilles’ Shield’ and ‘Achilles’ Spear’.
“Now, hold a shield in one hand, hold a spear behind your back, and take out the spear at a dangerous moment. This will make you invincible for a moment and buy you time. If you use it well, it can also be used as a counter.”
She nodded with a blank expression and did as Lee Hyun-wook told her.
“Now, do you think you can do it now?”
Lee Hyun-wook asked that question and smiled.
It felt like something a third-generation chaebol would coolly say after spending a lot of money.
“Okay, if it’s this much… it’s definitely bound to be different, right?”
And only then did Seo Eun-ha realize. Why are so many talented people being held in the arms of private guilds rather than AMT? Is this like the so-called thrill of increasing one’s specs through a lot of money? On the other hand, it feels strangely exciting to see such incredible things being put out at random
. I felt this.
I felt like I could do great things if I stuck to this person.
“…Thank you.”
“yes?”
“—Oh no!”
She moved forward, feeling an exhilarating sense of fulfillment, wearing the items that Lee Hyun-wook had supported.
“After all, since you believed in me and supported me like this…”
She moved forward, holding Mjolnir in her right hand and the Shield of Achilles in her left hand. He walked away.
“…It’s my turn to prove it, right?”
Confidence suddenly bloomed on her face.
If she used overwhelming items as her base, her skills would double.
And since she was confident in her fighting sense, she had high expectations for herself.
But…
‘I’ve been paying attention to that since a while ago .’ It’s being used…’
Lee Hyun-wook’s eyes caught something else.
His eyes landed on a plain wall in one corner of the hall.
Because…
– At the entrance to the hidden stage ‘Emperor’s Secret Space’,
there was that kind of writing. was hanging in Lee Hyun-wook’s field of vision.
‘It’s strange… No one had ever found a passage like that in a past life?’
It was probably detected by the upgraded ‘Insight Lens’ this morning.
‘Hmm, what is the hidden stage hidden in this level of labyrinth…?’
Whatever it was, there would be a reward that Lee Hyun-wook did not know about and that was beyond his imagination.
