Chapter 154 [Episode 79] Diamond Cut Diamond 2

In the "World of StarCraft", which is a cla.s.sic Nuclear-age game, the goblin NPC used to say these words.

"Time is gold, my friend!"

This statement prevailed, whether it was in reality or in a game.

Sang Hyuk's party used their time as if it was as precious as gold.

The storm zone that started at the end of the windless zone definitely allowed them to experience a different level of difficulty than ever before.

Not only the fourth grade Sky Whales and pirate s.h.i.+ps which appeared from time to time but the insect troops which also floated on the Sky-sea were so powerful that they couldn't get distracted.

Not only that, if the helmsman was distracted even for a bit, they could be caught up in a storm, and suffer great damage, or be pushed badly off-course.

If you're talking about the results, 'Team Rush' overcame hards.h.i.+ps.

Of course it wasn't easy.

In particular, the 4th grade Sky Whale and pirate s.h.i.+ps that appeared in the early storm zone were tough opponents even for Sang Hyuk. Even Sang Hyuk was shaken by the difficulty of the battle, and Gye Baek and Dark Knight, who couldn't be protected by Sang Hyuk, would be pushed to the brink of death.

A single misstep would have caused their team to fall apart, and that level of tension lasted a long time, but the three of them remained focused until the end, and eventually reached the finish line.

After holding on so many times, the three of them gradually reached a plateau. As their level increased and their experiences grew, their limits grew greater and greater and in the end their road didn't seem so precarious.

These were difficult trials for Team Rush.

They survived the Storm Zone, proving that humans are adaptable animals.

So after pa.s.sing through the storms, it's already been six months since they entered the Middle Layer.

The blessing of Sky-sea ended a week ago.

And the levels of three of them were 74 for Sang Hyuk, 61 for Gye Baek, and 60 for Dark Knight.

Dark Knight would be out of the stagnant levels in a day or two, so they were going to level up in the last area of Middle Layer, the Red Zone.

"Actually, the Red Zone itself is smaller compared to the previous areas. Was it about half of the Windless zone or Storm Zone? It's not accurate, but it's probably about that."

Sang Hyuk stopped the boat in the border area between the Storm Zone and the Red Zone and briefed Gye Baek and Dark Knight on the information about the Red Zone he knew.

"So, how about running the booster constantly and breaking through it as quickly as possible?"

"If it is possible that wouldn't be a bad idea, but the problem is that it's impossible to break though like that."

"Huh? Impossible?"

"Yes, the end of the Sky-sea, the Red Zone and the Continent of the Sun aren't that simple, you know."

The exit of the Red Zone. This was the biggest problem.

"So how does it work then?"

"The final boss of the Middle Layer exists deep in the Red Zone…. The 'Red Bearded Whale', if you defeat that second grade Sky Whale and activate the warp gate that exists in its mouth, you can move to the Continent of the Sun through it."

"Hooooo…."

"Hmmm…."

Gye Baek and Dark Knight, who had heard the secret of the Red Zone, nodded with a serious expression.

They thought they could simply break through the Sky-sea and get to the Continent of the Sun. Of course, they shouldn't have expected to get out of the Sky-sea in this way.

In fact, this information alone was what users could only get by collecting the clues from various Sky Islands and also after clearing various linked quests. But as usual, Sang Hyuk, who already knew the right answer, skipped the process and immediately gave the answers to the two of them.

"Well, you know that we can't catch him with our condition now, right? Now we have to grind third grade Sky Whales or pirate s.h.i.+ps in the Red Zone to level up. It's a familiar story but this job will never be easy. But if we can get over it and get enough levels and upgrade our equipment, the Red Bearded Whale won't be out of our reach forever."

In fact, even in Sang Hyuk's previous life, many users caught the Red Bearded Whale without going through this task. They had used the 'Power of Numbers', or zerg tactics to overcome the limitations of levels and equipment.

However, all the users who entered the Continent of the Sun forcefully like that were crushed on the Continent of the Sun.

Since then the users understood the role of the Red Bearded Whale.

Red Bearded Whale was a kind of a measuring device.

If they couldn't catch it with a team of 25 people maximum, it is not right to go to the Continent of the Sun.

If they increased the number of people to catch it, once they arrived on the Continent of the Sun, they wouldn't be able to do anything and would be killed uselessly, so after many of them failed, exploits for catching the Red Bearded Whale were forbidden.

The users, who couldn't pa.s.s over the Red Bearded Whale by standard procedure, who went to the Continent of the Sun, even breathing was too much for them.

"Hyuu, how many levels do we need to raise if we're going to catch it?"

"I think we need to guess while we do some hunting… but I don't think we need to get past level 80 and all the equipment needs to be high level unique grade items."

"That is a long way to go, then."

"The blessing of the Sky-sea is over, but the Red Zone itself is an area where the acquisition of karma is doubled and amplified, and the third grade Sky Whales or pirate s.h.i.+ps gives bountiful karma so there is no better place to level up."

"But it would be dangerous, right?"

Gye Baek picked up an important fact that was not included in Sang Hyuk's words.

"Hoohoo, you know me well. It's probably two or three times harder than the Storm Zone."

"Huh….. Three, three times? Then, it would be the same as telling us to die, isn't it?"