Chapter 17
TL: Uncle Choi
Editor: Bait
As soon as the lights went out, tall trees emerged.
The gray trees, which rose straight up like a telephone pole, gave the forest an urban atmosphere. Rather feeling the richness of a forest, the asphalt-like world gave them an unpleasant premonition.
“I’ve never been in a place like this before.”
“What kind of trees are they?”
Park Je-soon’s party members made a grim face upon seeing the sight.
These gray forests could not help but appear unpleasant to them, who had only seen green forests uptil now.
“Come on, let’s get our act together.”
It was Park Je-soon who settled the uneasy mood.
“Don’t be frightened, it’s not like the trees will kill us. The only thing we need to watch out for are the monsters. Aight, then let’s search around first.”
Park Je-soon skillfully directed the party.
Then the party members came to their senses one by one and started to perform their duties.
With the exception of Kim Woo-jin, everyone else looked like players who were level 17 or above.
To reach level 17, it took experience clearing at least ten dungeons.
Therefore, even if they were slightly disturbed at first, they were definitely different from those cocky newbies who were below level 10 when it came to encountering unexpected situations.
“Um, I’ll handle the role of a scout.”
At that time, Kim Woo-jin asked to be in charge of scouting the perimeter.
“Scout?”
“Yes.”
“Your ability has nothing to do with scouting, right? Will you be okay?”
Kim Woo-jin’s halo was the Emissary of the Underworld.
Most of the players with the Emissary of the Underworld as their halo usually played the role between magicians and swordsmen. They were often called magic swordsmen by other players.
It was an inappropriate halo for taking the role of a scout.
Furthermore, Kim Woo-jin said his ability was based around the poison from his blood poisoning.
“I should be a help to everyone like this.”
After Kim Woo-jin’s remark, there was no more opposition to his request.
There was no reason to refuse to him when he volunteered to assume such a dangerous role. ‘It’s better if he dies.’
If there was an unfortunate incident, then it would be like everyone blowing their noses without using their hands.
Kim Woo-jin left the area to assume his role as a scout.
The rest immediately started chatting.
“What a foolish fellow, he’s the type of person who would end up killing himself even when left alone.”
“That’s right. Hyung-nim, it seems like all that time and energy we spent were in vain. I think he would have died even if we left him alone.”
Park Je-soon, who tapped himself on the head with his staff, thought so as well.
‘Damn it, and here I thought he was something…’
At first, he was very wary of Kim Woo-jin.
It was because of the rumor.
Although the rumors that he stole a boss monster on the verge of death were bad rumors, it still required certain degree of skill and ability to steal a boss monster from a group of players.
Even though it was a boss monster on the verge of death, didn’t it also mean he had the experience of clearing a dungeon by himself?
Looking at his result and accomplishments alone, everyone would, at the very least, think that he had the basics down.
‘To think that he was just lucky.’
However, Kim Woo-jin’s actions showed that he did not even understand the word “basic” anywhere.
He was a case in which he got this far due to his good luck.
He was also of a common breed.
There were plenty of cases in which players were lucky enough to go on a roll. Then as soon as their luck ran out, it was “game over” for them.
‘I can’t believe he uses poison as well.’
Furthermore, Kim Woo-jin’s ability was poison!
It was the best ability to produce results beyond one’s ability when luck went the person’s way.
‘The kids are right. He would have died even if I left him alone.’
In other words, even if Park Je-soon didn’t go out of his way to eliminate him, he would have died in a dungeon.
‘Shit.’
When he came to such a conclusion, Park Je-soon’s heart began to ache with bitterness.
‘My 100 million won…’
The amount of money and effort he put in to deal with Kim Woo-jin was not low.
“Anything’s fine. It just has to be certain he dies.”
Thus, Park Je-soon emphasized to his party members that it had to be definite.
“We have to somehow check his dead body. We also have to take care of everything in here.” Everyone nodded at those statements.
“Absolutely.”
“You can count on us.”
None of those who answered had any hesitation.
It wasn’t because they were determined or because they had a strong resolve.
“I mean it’s not like this is our first or second time doing it.”
They were just used to doing this.
“So, what are we going to do? Should we just remove him when he comes? Or should we use a monster?”
Park Je-soon smiled at that question.
“Use him as much as we can until we can’t use him anymore. Let’s use him as a bait until he can’t be used for now.”
Thirty minutes later, Kim Woo-jin appeared.
“Hey, hey! We’re in trouble!”
He ran in a rush while having trouble breathing.
“Hey, hey!”
Kim Woo-jin, who went on a search, rushed toward Park Je-soon and his party.
Park Je-soon and his party members were now fully alert, and started preparing for battle.
There was only one case in which the scout came back in a such an urgent way.
‘Damn it, that bastard!’
‘To hell with you. If you are going to fucking die, die alone!’
It was a case when the scout draws a monster back to their party.
Of course, Park Je-soon and his party were appalled.
It was not easy for them to manage their facial expressions.
Soon after joining the party, Kim Woo-jin approached Park Je-soon and said urgently.
“There’s a troll coming from over there.”
Everyone’s faces became twisted upon his remark.
“Fucking really!?”
“Why would you scout like that!”
Angry shouts sprang up everywhere.
They couldn’t help it when they thought of a fearsome monster like a troll.
Trolls were not easy to damage with physical attacks.
That is why it was important to create an environment where magicians can use their magic safely after setting up a sufficient amount of traps.
They had to take the initiative. It was a monster that they couldn’t allow to dictate the pace of the battle.
“You want to die, son of a bitch?”
That’s why they couldn’t help but feel angry toward Kim Woo-jin.
“Everyone hold it together!”
It was Park Je-soon who calmed their anger.
“Warriors in the front. Healer be on standby. First, two of us will prepare our magic. Don’t forget to prepare the oil!”
After receiving the commands, everyone took out their oils from their inventories.
It was to use fireball magics after pouring oils on the troll’s body.
It was the most methodical tactic for the situation.
“Get in battle formation!”
Everyone got in their battle position for the upcoming battle as well.
Two soldiers wearing iron armor stood in the front to face the troll, while the healer stood by to deploy heal and move at any time, and behind them were two magicians including Park Je-soon.
“I will go first!”
One of them started casting.
Standing straight, he put his hands together. Then the flame started to coil around his palms.
The coiled fire began to grow.
After he saw it, Park Je-soon looked away.
There’s only one left.
“Kim Woo-jin, you…”
Naturally, Park Je-soon was thinking of send Kim Woo-jin at the front to attract the troll’s attention.
He intended to call out Kim Woo-jin’s name to send him to the front line right now.
But Park Je-soon wasn’t able to spit out those words.
Seug!
A small but an extremely sharp dagger cut through Park Je-soon’s windpipe in an instant.
Ugh!
With the sound of Park Je-soon’s breath escaping his body, he dropped to the floor.
The fallen Park Je-soon could not even let out a scream.
He could only look at what was happening.
It was the scene of Kim Woo-jin running away with the healer after slicing through the healer’s neck so that he could not be treated by his colleague.
What was most important in a battle was the timing of the ambush.
No one would deny the importance of knowing the right time for initiation.
It was as important as knowing the right time for retreat.
You don’t have to force yourself to do it all at once.
It was good to bite your opponent’s neck to make them bleed, but it was also not bad for you to keep your opponent in a corner and bleed out his blood.
Kim Woo-jin wanted to hunt Park Je-soon in the latter way.
He did not intend to engage in bloody battles against people who weren’t new to murdering, especially since they had six levels or greater advantages, unless absolutely necessary.
This was why Kim Woo-jin did not bite more than he could chew in the first battle. He left Park Je-soon in a state where he was unable to battle and also took the healer with him after.
He wanted to break the opponent’s core strength first and then take care of the rest.
“Fuck, without Young-wook, we’ll all die!”
“What do we do?”
“We gotta catch him!”
The decision that Park Je-soon’s party opted for was to chase Kim Woo-jin.
The two warriors from the Undying Fighter halo simultaneously began to chase after Kim Woo-jin.
It was a rather reasonable judgment.
‘It will be troublesome if we let him escape right now.’
“That bastard’s level is below ours. There is no reason for us to be unable to catch him.’
Kim Woo-jin’s level was lower than theirs.
Which meant no matter how much points Kim Woo-jin invested in his constitution, there was almost no way he had a higher constitution than them.
In other words, there was no reason for them to lose against Kim Woo-jin when it came to speed and close-range fights.
Kim Woo-jin was also well aware of that fact.
‘So, they decided to chase.’
Of course, Kim Woo-jin also planned for things to go this way.
30 minutes. There was no way he spent 30 minutes fooling around smoking his cigarette or something, was there?
The translucent wire hidden between the trees finally caught on a person’s ankles.
“Uah!”
A cry came out from a man who fell.
But the cry did not last long.
In the place where he fell, a sharp piles of stone that had been prepared penetrated into the man’s face.
Fortunately, his helmet prevented his face from being smashed into a pulp.
Ppudeug!
But It could not prevent his neck from being twisted backward.
Pudruru!
Not too long after, the body of the man with a broken neck started to convulse as if it had been electrocuted.
“Jun-Wook!”
The remaining one screamed in surprise upon seeing how his colleague had just been excluded from the fight.
“Hey, you fucking son of a bitch!”
Soon after, he vented his anger against the main culprit of the whole affair.
That was all.
“Come out! Come out, you son of a bitch!”
The man who could only vent his anger, Jung Il-soo, did not move from his position.
He knew that if he recklessly moved out of anger, he would end up just like his colleague.
“Fucking bastard, I told you to get out!”
In response to Jung Il-soo’s repeated shouts, figures that were hiding behind the tree came out.
“Let’s go, you son of a bitch… huh?”
However, the figures that appeared were goblin skeletons.
“Uh? Uh?”
Not one but three.
Three goblin skeleton soldiers slowly narrowed the distance between Jung Il-soo, each holding a dagger in its hand.
“Wha, what?”
With the arrival of the goblin skeletons, Jung Il-soo started to shrink back in fear.
His entire body showcased how he was overwhelmed with fear rather than reason.
Tteolgeuleogtteolgeuleog!
This fact prompted the skeletons to rush at the man without any hesitation.
A few minutes later, a scream echoed in the woods.
“Eueu, what happened?”
Park Je-soon, who managed to heal his neck wounds with the help of a healing potion, carefully opened his mouth while lying down.
“I don’t know… Kuk!”
But what followed the question was the moan of his last companion.
“What, what is it?”
He looked at his colleague who was treating him.
“Argh, bow…”
A colleague knelt to the floor after answering. He wasn’t dead.
Puk!
But at the mercy of another arrow, the companion fell forward.
“Shit, what the hell is happening…”
Park Je-soon rose reflexively from his seat.
However, the moment he got up, a terrible dizziness struck Park Je-soon.
“Ugh!”
Park Je-soon stumbled and fell to the floor.
The wound was treated, but he was still anemic from the severe blood loss.
It was also the most frightening symptom.
It was a sign that Park Je-soon didn’t have much blood left at this point.
Nevertheless, Park Je-soon tried to rise. However, he couldn’t get up, forcing him to move his upper body instead.
Then he turned his head in the direction of where the arrows came from.
A man with three goblins, who was knocking a new arrow in his bow could be seen.
Park Je-soon knew the person’s face.
“Ki, Kim Woo-jin!”
But the image of Kim Woo-jin in Park Je-soon’s eyes was not something he had ever seen from a player.
It was a image of a beast whose eyes shone brightly upon seeing its prey.
Facing such a horror, Park Je-soon had no doubt in his mind that Kim Woo-jin had already killed his healer and his two warrior companions.
Moreover, Park Je-soon did not question Kim Woo-jin.
‘I, I’m going to die.’
Park Je-soon was more aware than anyone as to why Kim Woo-jin would want to kill Park Je-soon and his companions.
“Ple, please spare me.”
Therefore, Park Je-soon begged for his life instead of asking why.
“I, I’ll do anything for you. Money, I’ll get you as much money as I can.”
He began to negotiate for his life.
But Kim Woo-jin pulled his bow without any hesitation.
“I have secretly hidden items! There’s something I snuck out from behind! I have things I have accumulated secretly!”
Then Park Je-soon screamed.
Despite the anemia caused by his severe blood loss making him dizzy, Park Je-soon did not stop. “When I die, you won’t be able to get all the items I secretly hid away! I’m the only one who knows where it is! Ah, no, I also know other players’ secrets besides that! There’s a lot of things that can be turned into money!”
He repeatedly stressed the benefits of keeping him alive.
However, Kim Woo-jin did not respond and remained indifferent to Park Je-soon’s pleading.
In the first place, the situation was neither a revenge against one’s sworn enemy nor a duel with one’s honor at stake.
It was nothing more than a hunter hunting his game.
Of course, there was no need for a sympathy or room for negotiation.
Above all, Kim did Woo-jin not have to try to listen to the story from the living.
Soon, Kim Woo-jin let go of the bowstring with a calm face.
Paang!
After a brief shriek, an arrowhead made of his own blood pierced Park Je-soon’s chest.
Park Je-soon had taken off his leather armor during the process of treating the wound on his neck, making it possible for Kim Woo-jin’s arrow to strike at his open chest.
Heart, it pierced exactly at the location of his heart.
At that moment, Park Je-soon uttered his final will.
“Le, legendary itemm…”
Kim Woo-jin looked surprised for the first time.