Chapter 173 – Ruler of the Battlefield (2)
Translator: Seven
Editor: Ana_Banana
[Survive 7 Days to proceed to the next floor.]
The moment the notification sounded out, a cold wind blew in the dungeon.
It was the moment a world of ice and snow revealed itself to and greeted its 177 visitors.
However, no one responded to the harsh greeting.
Instead, everyone turned their eyes toward two people.
In a crowd of yellow skinned people, everyone was looking at the only two who had white skin, Kim Woo-jin and Lee Jin-ah.
‘Isaac Ivanov.’
‘So he’s here.’
Their eyes were those of people looking at something they found troublesome.
It was natural why they wouldn’t be happy.
‘Because of him, our gains…’
For the Japanese players, Isaac Ivanov was like an invasive species who was harming their interests.
The fact that he was here in the first place was already considered as a loss by the Japanese players.
Because of these two people, two Japanese players who were supposed to have been here could not come in the end.
Above all, all the players here were above level 100.
They weren’t just members of their respective guilds, but were each executives in their guilds.
Executives who needed to consider their guild’s interests before their own personal interests.
And from their perspective, they could not tolerate Isaac Ivanov receiving a free pass so easily.
‘We have to stop them somehow.’
‘We have to stop him from getting the free pass.’
So, naturally, they were going to do everything they could to hinder Isaac Ivanov and his teammates.
‘And we have to make sure he doesn’t die.’
Of course, no one actually thought about baring their fangs at Isaac Ivanov at that moment.
They knew.
‘If he dies here, we will die too.’
This was because of the attack on Isaac Ivanov’s teammate, Kim Woo-jin, by Japanese ‘terrorists’.
Under such circumstances, what kind of situation would they have to face if something happened to Isaac Ivanov in this dungeon?
No, it was dangerous for Isaac Ivanov to even die of an accident in this dungeon, much less a terrorist attack.
In any case, if Isaac Ivanov was to die in this dungeon, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Therefore the Japanese players were intent on removing any risk factors for Isaac Ivanov.
As a result, the Japanese players all had one purpose.
‘We will destroy all the monsters before they can become a threat to Isaac Ivanov.’
‘We won’t let Isaac Ivanov hunt even a single monster.’
They would take away Isaac Ivanov’s chance to show his skills!
It was a moment when the Japanese players’ will to hunt monsters burned hotter than ever before.
“Then let’s start hunting right away.”
“We have to kill all the monsters on this floor during these seven days.”
Even the incessantly blowing cold air could not douse the burning spirit within these Japanese players.
Of course, it didn’t take long for that burning will to be extinguished.
“Shiba.”
“Huh.”
“If you can’t reach level 100 in this dungeon, I won’t allow you to eat.”
“Huh?”
Because Kim Woo-jin’s fighting spirit was also burning hotter than ever.
And so the dungeon attack began.
…
“The difference between 3 Floor and 4 Floor dungeons?”
There were, of course, many differences between 3 Floor and 4 Floor dungeons besides the floor numbers.
“The first is a difference of numbers.”
The first thing was a difference in the number of monsters than one would find in one group.
In 3 Floor dungeons, it was basically impossible to find monsters in groups of 100 or more unless it was a special case. However, in 4 Floor dungeons, the base number for each group was 100.
“Naturally, this means that the number of bosses also increases.”
And as the number of monsters increases, so does the number of bosses that appeared among them, which was one of the reasons why 4 Floor dungeons were much more difficult than 3 Floor dungeons.
“And mid-sized monsters appear much more frequently.”
Also, a big difference was the fact that mid-sized monsters, who would usually appear as boss monsters in 3 Floor dungeons, could appear at any time.
“Of course, there’s also the fact that there are many monsters that you would’ve never seen before. Including annoying monsters that aren’t affected by physical attacks.”
At the same time, in 4 Floor dungeons, types of monsters that were not affected by physical attacks and could only be attacked with magic, began to appear.
For example spiritual and magical monsters like Wisps and Salamanders, and spectral monsters like Wraiths and Ghosts.
It made a very large difference.
“It’s the worst.”
In simple terms, the difference between 3 Floor and 4 Floor dungeons was the same as the difference between heaven and earth.
“But the survival rate in 4 Floor dungeons is higher.”
However, an interesting fact to note was that the survival rate of 4 Floor dungeons was actually much higher.
The reason for this was simple.
“That’s what it means to be over level 100.”
“They are much more mature not only in their talent, but also in their experience, and their item configurations are completely incomparable. Many of them even had legendary skills and items.”
Apart from the number of levels, the experience that they gained while accumulating those levels could not be ignored.
Naturally, players who were active in 4 Floor dungeons were also quite confident in their ability.
And these Japanese players who had been able to participate in this D rank, Black Goblin dungeon, who were talented players selected from every level 100 player in the country through fierce competition, were no different.
They were all skilled and talented people who always received the best treatment, and the experience they had could not be compared to ordinary players.
“Oh my God…!”
“Is what I’m seeing right now real?”
But they all wore dumbfounded expressions at that moment.
“Is this what a scene created by Isaac Ivanov usually looks like?”
The trail that Isaac Ivanov left behind was the reason they were in such a state.
It wasn’t because the scene was horrible or cruel.
Instead, the traces that Isaac Ivanov’s team left behind were probably cleaner than any other.
There were numerous monster corpses that had a few fatal injuries instead of signs of fierce battle. Some of them didn’t even show any signs of resistance.
That was the real reason they were so surprised.
It was impossible for these Japanese players who surpassed level 100 to not know that the best thing was not to fight fierce battles.
Rather, utilizing excellent skill and minimizing the need for prolonged battles was truly the best way to hunt.
“This efficiency is perfect.”
“What kinds of tactics and strategies must we use to achieve a similar effect?”
In particular, since the time taken to clear 4 Floor dungeons was naturally more, it was very important to minimize energy consumption as much as possible.
In that sense, Isaac Ivanov’s combat method was the most ideal.
“He’s not just a powerful player.”
It was at that moment that the Japanese players realised that Isaac Ivanov wasn’t simply a player who relied on his powerful necromancy skills.
And that was exactly what Kim Woo-jin wanted.
‘I left those traces on purpose so that their way of thinking would change.’
…
Kyaha!
The cry of a Skeleton Knight wearing Hatchling Leather Armor signified the moment a group of Orcs had been annihilated, and Kim Woo-jin took the Grim Reaper’s Mask off his face.
Then he saw a group of Kobolds eating in the distance.
The distance between the two groups was not large.
Sniff! Sniff!
The sound of a Kobold sniffing the air reached Kim Woo-jin’s ears. Nevertheless, the Kobolds continued eating their meal as though they had not noticed Kim Woo-jin’s presence.
This meant that Kim Woo-jin had perfectly erased his presence.
Unsurprisingly, a commander’s ability to obtain information about their target was a decisive factor that greatly influenced their victory or defeat in battle.
That was the way Kim Woo-jin battled.
It was not just ignorant use of overwhelming power, but an incredibly devastating victory obtained by combining overwhelming strategy with overwhelming power.
‘I’m sure the traces I deliberately left behind have impacted the atmosphere quite a bit.’
Kim Woo-jin was intent to show himself to the Japanese players this time.
‘I won’t hide it.’
Through these battles that he had together with Lee Jin-ah, he intended to show them, and more importantly, the world.
‘That way, they won’t make fools of themselves.’
To not show him broken teeth.
‘Just like Lee Se-jun and Johann Georg did.’
That was the way Lee Se-jun and Johann Georg, the only one who had been able to oppose him, acted.
The two of them always displayed their absolute strength without intending to hide anything.
In this way, even if they were to stand in a storm, no one dared to easily touch them.
And like the eye of a typhoon, the winds around them would only make them stronger.
‘Lee Se-jun, I will do what I learned from you.’
That was the method Kim Woo-jin intended to use this time.
[Your level has increased.] (TL: It’s been so long since we saw this message.)
[The Emissary of the Underworld is pleased with your methods.]
A notification then sounded in his ear.
‘It seems my halo also agrees with my method.’
The notifications put a smile on Kim Woo-jin’s face.
[The Emissary of the Underworld has bestowed some power onto you.]
[The rank of the Skeleton Wizard skill has increased.]
And the following notifications made his smiles even brighter.
‘Maybe I should use a Skill Stone(A) to increase the rank.’
At the same time, Kim Woo-jin remembered the skills stones sitting in his inventory.
An item that would make a B rank skill become A rank.
For Kim Woo-jin, who had the Plus Ring, it was an item that made B rank skills reach the Transcendent rank.
‘I have two, so I don’t have to worry about using one.’
More surprisingly was the fact that Kim Woo-jin actually had two Skill Stone(A)s, that were extremely difficult to obtain, sitting in his inventory.
They were rewards he’d received from the Forest of the Dead and Hatchling dungeons.
‘Anything is fine.’
This was also part of the reason why players were so eager to challenge A series dungeons.
Of course, Kim Woo-jin didn’t agonise about this decision for a long time.
In fact, he did not agonise about it at all.
Even while his mind had been on his rewards, Kim Woo-jin’s gaze and other senses were still locked on the eating Kobold group.
He was looking for any flaws.
‘After they’ve eaten their fill, they will stuff their mouths with food and move the rest of the food to their storage.’
He waited for the moment when the Kobolds finished eating and moved to transfer the remaining food.
He was waiting for the moment the Kobolds truly let their guards down.
Kung kung!
‘Let’s begin.’
When the moment he was waiting for finally came, Kim Woo-jin sent the signal without hesitation.
“Spashiba!”
Once again, the hunt had begun.