Chapter 171

[Translator – Night]

[Proofreader – Gun]

Chapter 171: Sharing the Bed with Enemies (6)

“Alien, you say? What nonsense.”

Yeongwoo pretended to laugh it off, but inwardly, he was sweating coldly.

He was already equipped with the disguise and spine of another dimension.

So strictly speaking, he wasn’t entirely human anymore, was he?

“Oh, by the way.”

Yeongwoo turned the topic towards Tomiko, the Miyagi’s Sword Master who survived from furnace 3, and Sandong’s Twin Evil Jang Jaham.

“Are you two okay? You don’t look too good.”

As Yeongwoo spoke, the two who had been waiting for him in the arena were truly battered.

Due to the ‘hunting’ problem, they had been in battle with the monsters for too long and had no uninjured parts on their bodies.

Especially Jang Jaham, who had been injured outside the arena, was now covered in blood even on his face.

Just how serious the injuries were… Ryu Manho, who had declared he would kill him just a while ago, had already cleaned up his intentions neatly.

‘No matter how much you hate someone, it’s not honorable to attack someone who’s practically incapacitated in battle.’

Besides, they had already retaliated by scattering the monsters over there.

And above all, he was concerned about the Korean named Jeong Yeongwoo and didn’t want to cause any more trouble.

“Ah…It might be a lie to say I’m okay. But since my bones aren’t broken, I should be fine with a little rest.”

Finally, Tomiko, who came from Miyagi, wrapped her blood-stained arm and spoke.

“Yes. It’s fortunate that you seem to be conscious…”

After glancing alternately at the two who didn’t seem well, Yeongwoo shifted his gaze to the timer hanging in the air.

Tick.

To the regret of the injured, the rest time was already ending.

[00:00:19]

Remaining time, 19 seconds.

As Yeongwoo checked the timer, the others also wore grim expressions.

“Well, well. Is the time already up?”

“Considering we were only given 30 minutes.”

“…So are we going straight into the boss battle?”

Including Yeongwoo, the five of them looked up at the ceiling of the arena.

Then they noticed the giant statue they saw when they first came here.

A creature of unknown identity, hanging upside down on the ceiling like a bat.

‘Did they call it Titan Gameta?’

Yeongwoo recalled the dungeon boss’s name.

Even though the distance from the ceiling was quite far, if it looked that big, its actual size must have been enormous.

And finally.

[00:00:01]

Beep…!

As the timer expired, a sharp signal echoed throughout the arena.

Then.

Crash.

A sound like buildings collapsing came from the ceiling.

“…!”

It was none other than the sound of Titan Gameta waking up.

Crash!

Titan Gameta, who had been crouching on the ceiling, began to straighten his upper body.

“Unbelievable.”

“Is it, is it that big…?”

Experts from various countries widened their eyes at the size larger than they imagined.

Crash!

Titan Gameta, made entirely of rocks, looked like a giant despite its height not exceeding 8 meters.

On its back were a pair of wings resembling large hands, but because Titan Gameta was hanging upside down, it looked as if only the hands were wide open while its arms were pressed against each other.

Its grotesque appearance gave off a strange sense of horror and discomfort.

The problem was that everyone here was trapped in the same space as this unpleasant creature.

“…Now we have to fight that?”

Sandong’s Twin Evil Jang Jaham murmured in a fearful voice.

It had only been a few minutes since he struggled among thousands of monsters.

As a result, his spirit was already half-broken.

“But, but… since we’ve already set fire to the furnace, wouldn’t that be enough?”

Tomiko, the Miyagi’s Sword Master, also spoke uncertainly, without any conviction.

And just as her words ended, three dim lights appeared somewhere in the ceiling.

Bang, bang, bang!

Presumably, as many lights came on as the number of furnaces successfully ignited.

“Well, what’s this now?”

“Looks like it’s time for the boss battle.”

As everyone nervously looked around, a new message appeared in everyone’s sight.

「Activated furnace: 3/3」

「Titan Gameta’s combat power decreases by 3 levels.」

Then, a very large circular boundary line was drawn in blue on the floor of the arena.

Swish!

「The boundary line you see now is the ‘deadline.’」

“Deadline?”

“What… what does that mean?”

It didn’t sound good.

The tone wasn’t very pleasant, and indeed, it was meant to be taken literally.

「From now on, each of you will be assigned a number based on the order of entry into the deadline area.」

“Number?”

As someone reiterated, holographic numbers from 1 to 5 appeared in the center of the arena.

Pop, pop!

「These numbers represent the attack priority of Gameta.」

“Oh…”

Understanding the rule immediately, Yeongwoo checked the ‘deadline’ of Balch.

“So the tank will be assigned according to the order of entry.”

Before Yeongwoo finished speaking, the system added more details.

「When the battle begins, Gameta will prioritize attacking player 1. If player 1 dies or exits the deadline, player 2 will be designated as the next target.」

“What’s this…?”

As Jang Jaham frowned at the somewhat complicated explanation, Yeongwoo summarized it simply.

“That Gameta guy will kill us one by one in order of entry.”

But the rules didn’t end here.

「Players who exit the deadline area will be pushed down the priority list for Gameta’s attacks. However, for each player who exits, Gameta’s combat power will increase by one level.」

This was the core rule of this boss battle.

“What?”

“Isn’t this insane?”

“Why did we even light the furnaces then?”

As people went crazy over the nonsensical rules, Yeongwoo explained while putting on his golden oath breastplate again.

“We lit the furnaces, so it starts from -3. Originally, it would have increased by one level from 0, right?”

“What…?”

“The increase in combat power doesn’t just mean it’s restored from negatives to its original state. It could become even stronger than before.”

Click!

Fully armored now, Yeongwoo stared at Gameta with a calm gaze.

“And judging by how they referred to us as ‘players,’ they’re not the type to lay down the gauntlet. Until player 1 dies, the rest of us are meant to attack while they run around.”

Come to think of it, that made sense.

Why did they label us as runners instead of warriors or fighters?

[Translator – Night]

[Proofreader – Gun]

That purely meant people who run.

“Huh…”

As everyone nodded in understanding of the fairly reasonable interpretation, Jeonggu swallowed heavily and asked.

“So, what do we do now? If the role of player 1 is to run around, shouldn’t the fastest person take it?”

If that were the case, Tomiko and Jang Jaham, who seemed barely able to move, were already out of the running for the first number.

In other words, they were lacking not just players but attackers as well.

“Yes. That’s usually how it goes.”

The most agile person takes player 1 to draw Gameta’s attention, while the rest launch a full-on attack.

This was the textbook strategy for this boss battle.

“But we have injured people, and if it weren’t for me, the weak team wouldn’t have made it through the furnace section, right?”

“….?”

Everyone was taken aback by Yeongwoo’s sudden arrogance, but no one dared to say anything.

Anyway, it was a fact.

“So what do we do?”

As Jeonggu’s mood soured, Yeongwoo pointed to himself.

“I’ll take number 1.”

Then he pointed to Jeonggu next.

“You’re number 2, Father. Taiwan takes 3. China and Japan, figure out 4 and 5 amongst yourselves.”

Yeongwoo’s strategy was very simple.

“There’s no way you can handle that monster that’s clearly set to run away. So I’ll make sure the numbers don’t fall behind.”

“So you’ll be guarding number 1?”

“Yes. But once the battle starts, don’t ever run out of the deadline. If that thing gets stronger, I can’t guarantee victory either.”

Instead of fleeing outside the deadline, he wanted to say they’d better off die on the spot for the sake of the remaining people, but Yeongwoo held his tongue.

Even if he recommended it, there was no guarantee it would be followed.

“Are you really volunteering for number 1?”

It was such a radical suggestion that Jang Jaham couldn’t believe it.

Since they were already quite injured, there was a high chance they would die in the boss battle if no one stepped up.

If the Joseon’s Strongest Sword really managed to defeat Gameta in this battle, it would be no different than owing his life to him.

“As you said, if Yeongwoo takes number 1… what should we do? How do we defeat that Gameta?”

Tomiko showed her determination to fight despite her injuries, and Yeongwoo nodded.

“The two of you with severe injuries should stay as far away from Gameta as possible. If you get exposed to him, even for a moment, it’ll be a bigger headache.”

In this battle, Yeongwoo was most wary of allies fleeing.

Didn’t they say that for each escapee, Gameta’s combat power would increase by one level?

“But if the two of us drop out, practically three of us will have to deal with it?”

Tomiko reminded them that the recommended number of people for this dungeon was six.

Of course, Yeongwoo hadn’t forgotten that fact, so he had devised a plan.

“We won’t be short of numbers. We’ll fill the six slots tightly.”

“What…? What do you mean?”

“Yes…? What do you mean?”

As Tomiko queried, Jeonggu realized what Yeongwoo was talking about.

‘Ah, this bastard. He had a squad of mutants.’

Even now, three ‘friends’ were waiting desperately for Yeongwoo’s call in the returnee’s room.

Yeongwoo had intended to call them to fill the numbers in this battle.

Yeongwoo, Jeonggu, Ryu Manho.

Adding Yeongtae, Taejoon, and General Kim Younghyeom made exactly six.

“If there are no objections, let’s begin now.”

Eventually, Yeongwoo touched the whistle hanging around his neck and stepped into the blue ‘deadline.’

Click.

Suddenly, light gathered above his head, forming a large number.

「1」

Player 1, Jeong Yeongwoo.

Gameta’s top priority target.

And right on cue, Gameta, who had been hanging upside down from the ceiling, descended vertically toward the ground as if icicles were falling.

Swoosh, crash!

It was so much like the scene of a mutant’s appearance that everyone in the arena flinched, and by this time, Jeonggu pushed himself into the deadline and received number 2.

Pop!

「2」

Then, with somewhat cheerful voice, he asked Player 1.

“Yeongwoo, what should I do? Since I’m number 2, if by any chance you fall behind….”

Before the dialogue even ended, Yeongwoo threw two swords with a flick of his foot.

“What’s this?”

“My weapons. Now that I have to alternate between bow and sword, hold onto those and give them back to me when I ask for it.”

“What?”

“If I drop the sword on the ground, you’ll have to pick it up quickly. Got it? I didn’t have the golden goblin here, so I was a bit short-handed, but it worked out well.”

“What, you bastard? You’re telling me to shuttle swords?”

An infuriated Jeonggu protested, but Yeongwoo didn’t hear his last words.

―Five…? Your courage is incredible.

Because Gameta, who had landed on the ground by then, was counting the number of humans in the arena.

Yeongwoo then looked at Gameta while clutching the whistle around his neck.

“Then how about eight……?”

―…?

[Translator – Night]

[Proofreader – Gun]