Chapter 194 – Forest of Giants (2)
Translator: Seven
Editor: Ana_Banana
Pudong International Airport, Shanghai.
The island in front of the crowded international airport, was now filled with people.
This was the island where the Forest of Giants, the dungeon that made even the Messiah back down, was located.
“The dungeon attack is in 12 hours! Make sure you secure the perimeter!”
“There must be no accidents like what happened in Japan!”
This place that had been sealed for a very long time was now busily preparing for its first challengers.
The same was true for the challengers.
“That’s the end of the briefing.”
289 players received a briefing 12 hours before the commencement of the dungeon attack.
It was actually the last briefing.
The expressions of all the players receiving the briefing were firm.
Of course, everyone there had already received the dungeon report in advance.
[Forest of Giants]
– Floors: 4
– Difficulty: A+
– Maximum number of entries: 303
– Requirements: Level 134 or lower
– Conditions: Survive for 5 days against the two headed, one eyed monster!
– Reward: Achievements for the survivors
The contents of the dungeon report were also the reason for the players’ firm expressions.
Firstly, the boss monster for the fourth floor, the two headed, one eyed monster, referred to a Twin-Headed Cyclops.
‘A variant no one has ever hunted before.’
It was a monster that had never been hunted before.
Moreover, the quest to clear the dungeon was not to hunt this monster, but to simply survive for five days.
This meant that this A+ rank dungeon could be cleared just by surviving.
‘How powerful is that monster to cause the clear conditions to be survival?’
‘It won’t be easy.’
This was proof that the Twin-headed Cyclops was not a simple monster.
However, the thing that truly made the players feel solemn was the information about the monsters that had stormed out of this dungeon.
For dungeons, if they weren’t attacked after a certain period of time, monsters would begin to pour out of them.
This was part of the reason why dungeon gates had become the world’s nightmare.
On the other hand, it was also an opportunity because the players could use this to gauge the strength of the dungeon.
This didn’t mean much for 1 and 2 Floor dungeons, but this information tended to be extremely valuable for 4 Floor dungeons and above.
The case was similar this time.
“The briefing is over but I will warn you once again. There are Queen Spiders and Striped Ants in this dungeon.”
During the time that the Forest of Giants Dungeon was not being attacked, monsters had come out of the dungeon gate.
Among them were Queen Spiders and Striped Ants.
‘This combination…’
‘A combination that’s really the worst.’
Queen Spiders were boss monsters that appeared in 3 Floor dungeons and above who had the ability to release pheromones which made other monsters their slaves.
Striped ants on the other hand were ants with bodies around 1 meter long that were proficient at digging tunnels and lived in large groups.
Separately, these two monsters weren’t that intimidating.
‘If a Queen Spider enslaved a colony of Striped Ants and then forced them to make a nest, the difficulty of the hunt goes beyond common sense.’
The problem was when these two monsters were combined.
They were among the worst opponents the players could face.
‘They could be separated but…’
Of course, there was the possibility that these monsters were actually on different floors in the dungeon.
However, it would be foolish of them to attempt it without preparing for the worst possible scenario.
‘This is the reason the Messiah Guild gave up right before the attack.’
‘No wonder Lee Se-jun gave up. Anyone would’ve given up.’
This was enough reason for Lee Se-jun and his team, who had cleared dungeons that no one else dared try, had given up on this dungeon.
‘This is also the reason why Isaac Ivanov requested help.’
‘It’s not easy.’
At the same time, it was also the reason why Isaac Ivanov, who had successfully cleared the Hellhound Dungeon with just a party of two, had recruited as many willing players as possible.
Of course, not everyone had the same thought.
‘This doesn’t seem really difficult though…’
By Lee Jin-ah’s standards, this Forest of Giants Dungeon was still not as difficult as the Hellhound Dungeon.
‘Isn’t this still better than two Hellhounds?’
The combination of the Queen Spider and Striped Ant were still nothing in comparison to dealing with two Hellhounds simultaneously.
‘It’s a 4 Floor dungeon with a five day survival quest. I feel like it would be better with less people.’
Moreover, clearing a 4 Floor dungeon that only required survival was quite easy for Kim Woo-jin and Lee Jin-ah.
To be honest, Lee Jin-ah’s thoughts weren’t wrong.
Kim Woo-jin thought the same.
‘Lee Jin-ah could clear this dungeon on his own.’
Kim Woo-jin didn’t need the additional 280 people to clear this dungeon.
In fact, for Kim Woo-jin’s standards, they were nothing more than a hindrance.
Nevertheless, there was one reason why Kim Woo-jin accepted them.
‘But in that way, he would just be an amazing player, he would never be considered a match for the Messiah Guild.’
He wanted to wage a proper war against the Messiah Guild.
‘And in the end, Johann Georg’s method is the best.’
For this war, Kim Woo-jin intended to use the methods of none other than the King of Undead, Johann Georg.
The King of Undead would allow players to join him in dungeons just to unleash the might of his undead legion in front of them and to show that he alone was enough to clear the dungeon in the first place.
Kim Woo-jin intended to do the same.
Because after a while, that fear became faith.
That only the King of Undead was worthy to rival the ridiculous being known as Lee Se-jun who stood at the top of the world.
In other words, Kim Woo-jin didn’t simply intend to attack this dungeon.
No, it couldn’t be called an attack.
‘I never expected to follow in his footsteps.’
It would just be a brutal massacre that bordered on abuse.
…
The higher the number of floors a dungeon had, the more diverse and mysterious the things they encountered became.
Not only the monsters, but even the worlds they found themselves in felt like completely new dimensions.
This case was the same.
The world that players encountered when they entered the dungeon truly suited the name ‘Forest of Giants.’
The size of the boulders on the ground were reminiscent of a country house while the trees were similar in size to large high rise apartment buildings.
Each leaf was large enough to completely cover an adult.
The players who entered such an environment resembled Lilliputians(1) from the novel Gulliver’s Travels.
It was quite the amazing sight.
“Dammit.”
However, the first words out of the players’ lips weren’t admiration at the amazing sight, but a heavy sigh.
[Defeat the Queen Spider to move onto the next floor.]
The reason for this sigh was the notification they got upon entering the dungeon.
“The Queen Spider is the very first floor…”
“There’s no way the Striped Ants are here too right?”
“I have a bad feeling.”
After the sigh, they began to worry if the worst case scenario that they had envisioned would really come true.
“Hey, it’s a tunnel.”
“Doesn’t that look like an ant nest?”
And that concern soon became a reality.
“Is it really the combination of a Queen Spider and Striped Ants?”
“It’s the worst combination.”
It was at the moment when they realised that they would have to encounter the combination of the Queen Spider and the Spider Ants on the very first floor of the dungeon.
Of course, the situation still wasn’t the worst it could be.
“Then what will we meet on the second floor? Still, it’s best to face it on the first or second floor.”
“It’s best to fight them in our top condition. If your condition isn’t good, you might get affected by the Queen Spider’s pheromones.”
The only positive factor was the fact that the players would be able to face this challenge while in their best conditions.
Above all, the players knew.
“Well, it doesn’t change the fact that we have to fight them anyway.”
“Right. We can’t stop on the first floor can we?”
Regardless of whether it was the worst combination or not, it didn’t change the fact that the dungeon attack couldn’t be stopped after they entered the dungeon.
“The Messiah Guild is making its move!”
Faced with this fact, the first ones to make their move was the Messiah Guild.
“As expected, the Messiah Guild’s team was the first to move.”
This was something that everyone expected.
“After all, it’s the Savior’s pride that’s on the line, they don’t want Isaac Ivanov to be the one to clear this dungeon.”
“Those guys from the Messiah Guild won’t just sit and watch, they’ll fight back.”
The moment Isaac Ivanov challenged the Forest of Giants Dungeon, he became the only person who dared to challenge a dungeon Lee Se-jun had given up.
This was completely unacceptable in the eyes of the Messiah Guild, and they had only one way to stop it.
The Messiah Guild would need to clear the dungeon first!
When Lee Se-jun gave up on the attack in 2021, the average level of players was very different from that of the players in 2024.
Compared to that time, the players were much higher leveled and were equipped with more experience and better items.
More importantly, their mindsets were different.
“It’s for the Savior’s honor, not anyone else.”
“All 60 of them are prepared to die.”
At that time, Lee Se-jun was the only pillar of the Messiah Guild.
His death would have led to the death of the Messiah Guild, which is why he was unable to take certain risks.
On the other hand, the players who had entered the dungeon without hesitation were those who held Lee Se-jun as their God.
In other words, they were fanatics who were willing to sacrifice their lives if it meant their deaths could wipe away the blemish for their idol.
Therefore the players didn’t question the Messiah Guild’s actions.
‘Then how will Isaac Ivanov move?’
Instead, they turned their gazes to Isaac Ivanov.
‘Since Isaac Ivanov also put forward his confidence, he can’t back down now.’
‘The two of them will be going head to head.’
“Isaac, give us your orders.”
Thinking this, the players who the Phoenix Guild sent to assist him, came forward for instructions.
However, they were surprised by his words.
“Get some rest.”
“Huh?”
“You just need to rest for three days.”
“Wh-, what’s that…”
Isaac Ivanov’s incomprehensible ‘orders’ completely shocked the players from the Phoenix Guild.
He simply fidgeted with a ring on his right hand.
And that’s how the dungeon attack began.
(Note:
1. Lilliput was one of two fictional island nations that appear in the first part of the 1726 novel Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift.)