Translator: Seven
Editor: Ana_Banana
rank Dungeons were there places where the probability to get legendary cla.s.s skills and items was the highest. However it was only on the first floor that one could recklessly fight and explore.
In high ranking dungeons, especially those at B+ rank and above, the floors after the 1st floor were on completely different levels.
Though everyone knew that there were many opportunities to be had in higher floors, the fact was that one couldn't get them simply through their abilities, courage and determination.
Kim Woo-jin also admitted to this fact.
'The ones left should be sufficiently talented.'
He had to admit that many of those who entered the dungeon with him to hunt the Needle Snake were exceptional, by the current standards at least.
'They should gain their bearings as long as they have enough time.'
Though they were unprepared to face the survival quest, they would be able to survive and adapt if they had enough time.
So he gave them enough time.
'I don't need to babysit the talented ones. Now, I don't need to do everything on my own.'
He had given them five days instead of the one or two they had expected. That should be enough for them to rest, gather themselves and prepare for the hunt on the second floor.
For the five days, Kim Woo-jin and Lee Jin-ah had expended a little effort.
“Attention!”
A man, 2m tall, from the Haitai Guild, addressed the 85 players who had after hearing the rescue signal that Kim Woo-jin released.
“I'm going to notify you first, that most of the surviving are gathered here right now.”
Ahn Young-jun's eyes swept across the crowd as he said,
“We are going to attack the Needle Snake. Are there any objections?”
He said this, but Ahn Young-jun's tone did not give anyone the chance to refute. Moreover, as Ahn Young-jun asked his question, many people put red bands around their arms almost in sync.
When the others saw this, their hearts sank and a feeling of defeat welled up within them.
'Is it 56 people?'
The number of people with red bands amounted to 56.
'It wouldn't help even if we got those that didn't come.'
In a situation where 56 of 85 people were openly showing their support for the person talking there was no one who dared to refute.
'Around 60 people…they gathered more than I expected. I suppose they're not so bad after all.'
This was Kim Woo-jin's thought.
Ahn Young-jun and those who followed him had no intention of missing the great opportunity they had before them. While they knew that the five days of peace and the sudden gathering were not accidents, they would naturally make use of the situation to their advantage.
It was clear to them that with the five days of rest and preparation that they had, as long as they went into the second floor with a plan then there would be no better chance for them to successfully kill the Needle Snake.
“There were no objections, so I will tell you the only thing you need to pay attention to. We are going to hunt the Needle Snake, and you'd better not interfere.”
Ahn Young-jun and his allies decided to put up a strong front to ensure there were no issues.
“For any of those who try, we will kill you.”
We will kill you.
'How ruthless.'
It was a warning to those who were not a part of the group.
At that moment, a large black man with curly hair approached Kim Woo-jin who was among the crowd. In English, he asked,
“Did you understand what he said?”
Kim Woo-jin answered as if he was waiting for such a question.
“Goodluck.”
A red snake slithered through a sea of red bamboo, a type that could only be found in dungeons.
Sssss!
The body of the snake was over 33 metres long and it was thick enough to easily swallow a car. Long red spikes covered its body, similar to a hedgehog.
The Needle Snake.
It moved openly and brazenly through the bamboo shoots, exuding an aura as if daring something to attack it.
Sss?
Suddenly the snake stopped and flicked its tongue rapidly. As it flicked its tongue, the snake tasted a scent it hadn't tasted before.
The Needle Snake's eyes became sharper and its aura changed, like a predator that had been cornered.
Kya!
It released an angry scream.
“Fire!”
At the same time as the shout was heard, many fireb.a.l.l.s were launched to the Needle Snake.
Kuyang!
The fireb.a.l.l.s. .h.i.t the body of the Needle Snake and exploded loudly.
This showed that these weren't ordinary b.a.l.l.s of fire but had instead been enhanced with magic. Their power couldn't be compared to the normal fireball.
Kya!
The Needle Snake once again let out an ear piercing scream as if to validate the power of the fireb.a.l.l.s.
However, that was only the beginning.
“Fire!”
Fireb.a.l.l.s once again bombarded the snake as Ahn Young-jun's voice once again repeated the order.
“Fire!”
The fireb.a.l.l.s flew for a third time, devastating the needle snake and the red bamboo.
The players were winning! It was a sight to behold.
However no one expressed any joy. Rather, everyone became even more serious as they knew it wouldn't be so easy.
“Get ready!”
Before long, those who had been waiting in the bamboo started moving forward.
Thud!
Those who appeared were armored to perfection. With their gleaming armor and shields even larger than themselves, they were the perfect representation of the word 'Tank'.
Sssss!
Then the Needle Snake burst forth from within the flames.
Shaaa!
A uniquely horrifying sound was released from the Needle Snake as it charged toward its target at a speed that greatly belied its size.
“Uh…Ugh”
As soon as it arrived at its target, it wound its body tightly around the unlucky individual.
Pop!
The player burst. Similar to if a child grabbed an earthworm in their hand and crushed it.
All the players who saw this, froze.
“Wh, what?”
“He just popped?”
Although they had made many plans and contingencies, the player had died before they could even begin to think properly.
“Wake up!”
At that moment the voice of Ahn Young-jun rang out in the bamboo forest.
“Hurry! Mages, get ready to cast! Shoot the arrows!”
Immediately after the order, arrows began to fall like rain.
Pfft!
A long thread similar to a spider's web attached to the Needle Snakes tail, and many arrows pierced its body.
“Fire!”
Once again, fireb.a.l.l.s painted the sky red.
“Move in!”
Some players began closing in on the snake with barrels of oil in their hands, intending to use the oil and fire to gravely wound the snake. This showed that players had prepared a smart strategy for this battle.
“Will they kill it?”
Lee Jin-ah who watched the fight from a distance, was getting a little worried.
“Their strategy is perfect. Perfect!”
Then a Skeleton Soldier next to him replied,
“Those tactics are far from perfect.”
Lee Jin-ah gave the skeleton an odd look.
“That's far from perfect?”
In his opinion, it couldn't be more perfect than this. Starting with the initial use of fire, the skillful placement of the tanks, while using the ability of the archers to constrain the monster along with the additional attacks and great teamwork, this was a performance that was hard to recreate even by first cla.s.s guilds.
This teamwork was only possible because Kim Woo-jin gave them five days.
Teamwork and proper planning weren't something that could be done in just one or two days.
“Aren't you just bluffing? Their tactics are wrong? You're always right huh?”
Lee Jin-ah felt that Kim Woo-jin was simply blowing hot air. Instead of answering, the skeleton asked him a question,
“If you encounter a monster for the first time, what would you do first?”
“First? I'd probably give it a jab.” (TL: a testing punch)
“So does that look like a jab?”
“Jab? Ah…”
Lee Jin-ah nodded as he finally understood why Kim Woo-jin said their tactics were wrong.
“If you are not fully confident in defeating the Needle Snake, it's most important to create an element of confidence.”
The first to do against a Needle Snake that no one had ever killed before, was to test it.
The priority should be to learn how tough it's skin is, how resistant to the elements it is, how fast it moves, it's strength.
“This is not a game.”
Gaining the advantage by pouring in firepower only worked in novels and video games.
“The bigger problem is about to start.”
What was about to come would be even more troublesome.
“There's another problem?”
“There is no information on the Needle Snake, so I don't know what it would do when facing such a situation.”
“Wouldn't it shoot out the spikes, or spray poison fog like you said?”
“They should've prepared for such attacks.”
The Needle Snake attacks weren't the problem. Kim Woo-jin was sure that they were prepared to handle whatever the Needle Snake threw at them.
“But there's probably no plan for if it was to escape.”
“Escape?”
It was then.
Kyaaa!
At the same time that Lee Jin-ah showed a look of surprise, the struggling snake launched its attack.
“Go back!”
“Careful!”
The snake rolled fiercely, it's surroundings becoming a field of death and all the players jumped back to avoid it.
“Uh?”
“Huh?”
The players were shocked when the struggling snake immediately changed from it's vicious attack to something they weren't expecting.
“No, it's running away!”
The Needle Snake rapidly left the battlefield. Before the tanks knew what was happening, it pushed them aside at an incredible speed, and in the blink of an eye, it was gone.
Lee Jin-ah was surprised.
“It really ran away?”
It wasn't just Lee Jin-ah that was shocked, all the players that had been fighting with great determination were at a loss.
“It ran away?”
“What should we do? Chase after it?”
“What's the command?”
As the Skeleton Soldier saw the indecision that swept through the group of players, it said in a cold voice,
“They just did something you should never do in front of a monster.”
“Huh? What's that?”
“Hesitate.”
It was as Kim Woo-jin expected.
Kya?
The Needle Snake, who had run away rapidly without looking back, wondered why they weren't chasing it and stopped. The feelings of the players who were unsure what to do when it suddenly escaped, could be felt by the Needle Snake.
Needless to say, though the snake could not understand words, actions or gestures, it could instinctively feel that these prey had lost their edge. Realising this, the snake immediately turned and rushed towards the weakened prey.
Sssss!!
