Chapter 283
[Material Collection]
==
Cressit has requested that as many materials as possible be collected from the otherworld he named 'Chaos' and brought to the research institute.
Objective: Material procurement
Reward: ???
==
After one hour of the third day had passed.
People reached out their hands to the green rift.
Watching them vanish in an instant, Seojun stepped forward, moving to the front.
With just over ten participants, it was almost immediately their turn.
Seojun extended his hand to the rift, and his body was sucked right in.
“Is this the place?”
After a brief moment of the surroundings blurring together, the world he saw was dark.
There were light sources floating in the sky, but they were multiple and not as intense as the sun.
The dull light they gave off was a dark shade of bluish-green.
“The atmosphere is... peculiar.”
The color illuminating the desolate earth was such that if there had been fog, one would have wondered if it was a graveyard or some kind of afterlife.
To the north, massive tree trunks intertwined to form canyon-like terrain, and around them, soldiers were guarding the rift.
“Where shall we go, hyung-nim?”
Beside him, Yon asked Seojun.
Hearing the conversation, the other participants who had been deciding their directions looked toward where they stood.
They had just confirmed that Yon and Seojun had teamed up.
During the previous ten-minute break, the two had been talking in a spot away from others, so this would have been new information.
Not crucial, but the kind of information worth noting.
Or perhaps the most crucial information of all. They might go hunting together.
It was a collaboration, but in the eyes of the other participants, that's how it looked.
“Hmm.”
Just moments ago, while laying out the overall strategy, they hadn't decided on details like which direction to go.
They had decided on where to go.
A flat area, far enough away that others would almost certainly not come.
“You should lead the way.”
Seojun patted Yon on the shoulder.
Since no materials could be found nearby, the participants began to scatter.
The types of materials they were gathering were diverse.
And obtaining each one took a bit of time.
There were plants obtainable by climbing into the canyon of giant trunks to the north.
Ores procurable with an extractor by descending into cracks similar to the commonly seen crevasses that had formed here and there.
Flora and fauna gathered from the foggy marshlands.
And so on.
They still hadn't fully grasped what else could happen in this place.
The participants were sharing information to some extent, but
since the item itself simply occupied an inventory slot as a kit and, upon use, produced tools suited to the environment, there might be other types of terrain as well.
Likewise, materials only updated in the quest window once they were first discovered.
“Alright. Let's just go anywhere. Since we have to go far anyway, I doubt it matters much which direction.”
Seojun’s Judgment Sword would be visible even from a bit of a distance, and if where they hunted was close to the entrance, they’d inevitably run into someone, so they had to go far.
And if they went far enough that no one would come, the direction wasn’t all that important.
With the entrance squarely at their backs, they left the canyon of giant trees behind on the opposite side and began running south.
“Feels like an adventure, hyung-nim.”
“It does.”
Even if they went far, they could return at any time.
As long as they didn’t end up in an environment where too many monsters gathered and hindered them.
“It’s appeared.”
“Let’s take it out first.”
There was no gathering the monsters just yet.
This time, what appeared was a monster resembling a wild dog.
The two raised their weapons toward the creature lunging at them simultaneously.
Taran of the Barrier was a bruiser hero, not a support.
Meaning a top-lane position that could both tank and dish out damage—a man’s lane.
Taran’s weapons were his fists.
More precisely, a defensive shield that could cover his whole body.
[Magical Engineering Defensive Field]
A hero called Taran fights as if wearing knuckles by enveloping himself in a mana field and defends his body.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
On the left, fists; on the right, a sword—they attacked the wild dog.
In an instant, the otherworldly monster’s health plummeted.
After a relatively long seven seconds for two people attacking, the creature departed this world.
If thirty seconds passed from when they first faced it, the monster would howl and another one would be added.
The monsters had a trait of calling one more ally if not dealt with within thirty seconds.
“Hoo. See? I told you it was tough.”
“Dodging is easy.”
“That’s only when it’s one or two... .”
They continued running straight on.
Until they reached a point where it seemed people would not come.
They walked in a straight line for four minutes, then turned right for another two.
After six minutes in total, they arrived at a perfectly barren flatland with nothing around.
“We’ve arrived.”
From then on, the two began to wait quietly.
Yon, perhaps a bit nervous, kept talking to Seojun.
“Hyung-nim, do you really think I can avoid dying?”
“If you die, you’d have to retire, wouldn’t you?”
“... .”
“... .”
“How on earth did you come up with a plan like this?”
“After hearing about the monsters, you came to mind. It’s a perfect fit.”
“It is, but... hyung-nim, this is absolutely crazy.”
Seojun glanced sideways at Yon.
Yon avoided Seojun’s gaze.
“The AI already stated itself that they double every time, so there won’t be any mid-course corrections.”
“You even converse with the AI?”
“Cressit said so. To be careful of the otherworldly monsters.”
“How is that an AI... ? Huh?”
Before long, a wild beast with eyes glowing green appeared before them.
The mob hunt had begun.
The contrast was stark: Yon’s tense face against Seojun’s consistently relaxed one.
***
“Ah, one has appeared! The crazy plan is starting!”
Bangju clapped his hands in delight from where he sat.
The third day.
Seojun was still soaring high.
The official broadcast would be spotlighting this place too.
It had no choice.
“Official broadcast, did you all hear the two talking earlier? Everyone?”
Bangju chuckled heartily.
- no
- didn't hear
- was watching Baek Doyul briefly while they were talking
- even Christina in Atura
- But the other observation teams summarize everything and write a script in a flash, so they do explain, right? Bangju doesn’t have a team like that, does he?
“The casters can handle the explaining. But you have to hear the two of them say it themselves for it to be meaningful and fun! And why would I need another team! All I have to do is watch Seojun-nim, isn’t that right?”
The mob hunt had begun.
The otherworldly monster doubled every thirty seconds.
Left unchecked, that meant it would accumulate in powers of two: 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, 256.
Based on average DPS excluding ultimates, the time it took to defeat that monster was around fourteen seconds.
In other words, the moment they became four, if you couldn’t use your ultimate, it was essentially a death sentence.
If you fled and returned to the original starting point, the soldiers Cressit had stationed would handle it, but was that even possible?
How many would they multiply into along the way?
“Ah! Thirty seconds pass. Howling! It’s become two! The two heroes are just blocking!”
- Whoa
- But when you think about the plan, he's seriously insane lololololol
- The idea itself is totally over the top
- For real lol
“A stroke of genius. Only Seojun-nim could pull it off.”
The plan is simple to explain.
Gather monsters like crazy.
Then take them all out at once.
How?
“Taran’s ultimate! Defensive Field Conversion!”
An ultimate that grants invincibility for a set duration, then reflects 90% of the damage taken within a large area.
“I calculated it too, and it seems about right. Five Judgment Swords and it’s a one-combo kill! Easily doable!”
Four for splash damage, one from the damage Yon directly takes.
Because Seojun and Yon can deal damage to each other.
Of course, attacking each other would light up the signal light, but as long as they don’t bring that to Cressit, it resets after thirty minutes, so it doesn’t matter.
“There are plenty of issues! If it fails, it’s retirement.”
If either of them couldn’t endure and died, that would be the end of their history.
Without having really done anything.
Of course, even if it was only the third day, one could say Seojun had done a lot, but wouldn’t it be a shame?
- Madman! Madman! Madman!
- Life’s a tightrope!!!
- But isn’t it easy? The squad leader just does his 5-man ult. The opponents are just NPC otherworldly monsters.
- You think it’s easy?
“The number of monsters Seojun-nim is aiming to catch at once is 128! About three minutes and thirty seconds must pass!”
The problem is.
“Thirty seconds when the monsters are at 16! Thirty seconds at 32! Thirty seconds at 64!”
Of course, he wouldn’t be facing 32 at exactly the same moment, but surviving amidst the constantly rotating, incoming attacks...
“At 128, twenty seconds until at least the 5-man Judgment Sword!”
It would be near impossible.
“Already 8!”
The number of monsters swelled in an instant.
“They could still turn back now. If they both use their ultimates, they could take down eight! But! Ah, they just go through with it! No attacks, only blocking!”
Yon and Seojun silently focused on the battle.
As if there was no need for any more chatter.
“16!”
The wild beasts surrounded them and began their relentless assault.
Truly, they couldn’t even catch a breath.
They had to constantly move and block.
Seojun looked relaxed.
Yon still did as well.
“32!”
Yon let one wild beast attack through. His leg was bitten.
Thanks to the mana field that reacted to the attack, his health only decreased a little, but there was still much time to endure.
The 32 wild beasts kept their distance and then continuously lunged.
Sometimes one lunged at a time, sometimes two. Even three. Even four.
They had to dodge or block them all.
Fortunately, the beasts weren't completely berserk, charging in without any sense of distance as if getting hurt didn’t matter, but—
it was extremely tight.
Yon’s health began to gradually deplete.
If Yon died, it would be difficult for Seojun to survive as well.
The conclusion was that to stack splash damage and take the monsters out in one go, at least seven Judgment Swords were needed.
Was that even possible in such a chaotic brawl?
‘Or maybe not? Could Seojun-nim manage to survive, perhaps?’
Bangju clutched his hands, watching the fight with a certain faith in Seojun in one corner of his mind.
“64! Countdown 30 seconds!”
***
Meanwhile, Bangju wasn’t the only one watching Seojun.
The whole world was watching Seojun.
[He's insane. He says if you listen to him, you just kill the rest.]
==
Knowing full well it’s a collaboration!
Now I’m scared that Korean guy might actually kill them all.
It definitely seems like a collaboration, but no!!!!!!
==
[Can someone really tell me why Yon is so subservient to that streamer?]
Starting from before the mob hunt even began.
[With that level of physical ability, holding out better than Yon, I think I understand why he’s a streamer.]
==
He had the skills to draw even more aggro than that.
==
Right up to the moment the mob hunt started.
Talk about Seojun was being incessantly reproduced.
The reason is simple.
The official broadcast kept shining its spotlight on Seojun.
And the reason the official broadcast kept highlighting Seojun is also simple.
It was impossible for him not to draw attention.
[That Korean guy is a madman, though]
==
He just draws aggro every single moment.
That’s a streamer. Others should reflect on that.
==
[If he succeeds, he could not only overturn the delay but also get an absurdly huge reward.]
==
The drop rate for the otherworldly monster’s materials is 50%.
If 128 are killed, roughly 64 items drop. Since the inventory slots of the History Book are six, we’ll have a situation where the two of them have to go back and forth like crazy!
Of course, the conditions are tough.
They have to pull off that 5-man Judgment Sword the Koreans are so proud of amidst that massive horde of monsters, and they must save the Radiant Blessing to use at the exact timing of Taran’s ultimate.
Above all, the twenty seconds at 128.
Yon has to endure.
==
[64!!!]
But.
When that ship drawing all that attention starts to wobble.
The factions with discontent naturally get excited.
[Oh? This is bad for Yon.]
==
HP at half!!!! Even lower!!!
Now they’re both going to die. Hahaha.
But I knew this would happen!
Hahahaha!