Episode 272
“Huh?”
A cabin nestled in dense vines.
One of the players, who had been waiting quietly, let out a puzzled voice.
“Why? Did you find something interesting?”
A colleague, who was poring over the community, asked nonchalantly.
While Max was outside the building, discipline inside had completely broken down.
“Black Dragon is streaming again?”
“What?”
“He’s alive?”
At this absurd news, others began to show interest one by one.
The man watching the screen tilted his head and said,
“He says he’s introducing some interesting monster. Doesn’t it look familiar?”
“A monster?”
The people who had also tuned into Black Dragon’s stream scanned their screens.
They tilted their heads and said,
“All I see are vines.”
“You saw a monster like this?”
Looking down from above, dark brown vines were densely interwoven. Standing
at the very top, Black Dragon held his sword low.
“Huh? What is this…?”
Just then, a woman narrowed her brows and examined the screen closely.
It was Bayst, a new recruit assigned to the team a few days ago.
After concentrating for a moment, she looked at her colleagues and said,
“Isn’t this similar to where we came in?”
“What?”
“What nonsense are you talking about? We just pushed through some vines.”
“Right, if it were a monster, would we be alive right now?”
When she raised her doubts, her colleagues scoffed, dismissing the possibility.
There was no way they would believe such a preposterous story about entering a monster.
“But still, the surrounding terrain is almost identical, isn’t it? If it’s some kind of trap… No, wait, how are you supposed to occupy a strategic base here in the first place?”
“Occupation is occupation, what do you mean ‘how’? You just have to sit right there.”
“It’s one of the victory conditions, so there’s no way it isn’t implemented in the system. Go outside and check…”
“If that were the case, Brother Max would have given the order long ago. Hey, stop messing around and just do what you’re told. If you’re here as reinforcement, just do exactly that.”
“…….”
Bayst fell silent at the sarcastic rebuke.
The internal structure had become a chaotic mess as her company suddenly declared itself affiliated with the Adult Faction.
Although she had been contemplating quitting, she transferred to Max's team for now, following instructions.
'Hopeless humans.'
These people, wagging their tails at Max and merely hoping for crumbs to fall their way, had absolutely no sense of independence.
They were people who had given up on thinking, let alone making sound judgments.
"There are more monsters like this than you might think. Viewers, please be careful. If you are late in making a decision, you will die immediately."
The Black Dragon continued his explanation while poking the vines with his sword.
Although he looked completely harmless, Bayest’s opinion remained unchanged.
"I will go and see for myself."
"Hey, that's a useless thing…"
"No, never mind. Go ahead. You learn things by banging your head against the wall." Just as
someone angrily tried to stop him, the man acting as the deputy commander spoke.
Slumped in his chair, he waved his hand dismissively.
"Go quickly. But whatever happens is your responsibility."
"…Yes."
It was a statement that clearly shifted the blame.
Clenching her fist tightly, Bayest left the lodge with her reply.
“Hey, you go up and report to the boss. Tell him the Black Dragon has started broadcasting.”
“Come on, wouldn’t he know? Besides, I think Xiaohui would just kill him first.”
While such conversation could be heard, she pushed through the vines and moved forward.
The effect of the domain, which began immediately, twisted the surrounding scenery right away.
With the added debuff, the cabin was distorted and barely visible.
“Damn company, I’m really quitting.”
Bayest cursed as she moved forward. Thanks to
holding onto the vines as she advanced, she didn’t get lost.
And just as the shimmering view outside came into sight straight ahead, a voice came from the broadcast.
“Those of you who know will be aware, but the hardliners and moderates have formed an alliance. Naturally, we decided to join forces to counter the Adult Faction in this event as well. But it turns out there’s a spy in the hardliners?”
“…Huh?”
She thought she must have misheard the words spoken so nonchalantly.
A spy meant Max, and them.
Could it be that he orchestrated this situation knowing everything?
No, how could he have identified the spy in the first place?
“Damn it!”
Clenching his teeth, Bayst pressed forward, gripping the vines with all his might.
And just as he passed through the last gap in the vines, a voice spoke.
“There are some perceptive people here. We’ll deal with that one later; for now, let’s get started.”
"Phew—!"
With a chilling voice, the Black Dragon thrust its sword downward.
At the same time, a change occurred behind him.
Screech—!
Sizzle—!
With a deafening sound of something coiling, vines were being sucked inward.
If he had been just one step closer, he would undoubtedly have been swept up in them and crushed.
Slumped down, Beist stared blankly up and muttered,
"I really want to quit my job."
***
Crunch—!
Hanbit, who was at the very top, looked down at the sphere of vines gradually compressing.
The voice coming from inside grew closer.
The cabin was still visible through the gap.
"Uh, uh…!"
"Shit, what is that!"
"It really was where we were!"
-Are those guys spies?
-Hmm.
-Shouldn't spies be smart?
-Aren't they just throwaway cards? -Looking at
the way they look, I guess so. Haha.
The players who had rushed out of the cabin looked around in panic.
And Max, who had been surveying the situation from atop the lodge, moved belatedly.
“What’s going on?”
He came down and asked, looking at his subordinates.
The players, hesitating at the question, cautiously opened their mouths.
“Um… the Black Dragon’s broadcast has started, and it seems we are inside a monster.”
“Did you report it? Why didn’t you?”
“I intended to! But it’s not certain, and Xiaohui again…”
*Smack!*
Max punched the subordinate who was spouting excuses.
Raising his head, he pulled a large greatsword from his inventory.
“One is missing.”
“Yes. I went out on my own to conduct that investigation. I apologize.”
“Incompetent fools.” *
Snip*
Max clicked his tongue and looked up.
The vine-covered ceiling was drawing closer.
There wasn’t much time left before they would strike this place.
“B-Brother!”
“What are we to do!”
“There isn’t even room to escape now!”
His subordinates stomped their feet in panic at the looming shadow of death.
Ignoring them, Max knelt and lowered his stance.
And.
Bang!
He kicked off and shot up toward the ceiling.
Crunch!
The greatsword, engulfed in flames, plunged into the vines with tremendous force.
However, piercing through the layers of vines was impossible.
“That kind of sword won’t work. This one is pretty sturdy.”
Crouching down, Hanbit tapped the ground below.
Their eyes met through the gap that had now shrunk to a tiny size.
Max, holding onto the greatsword to hold on, gritted his teeth.
“Black Dragon…!”
A voice filled with rage, as if ready to devour him.
Hanbit smirked and said,
“I should have hidden it better. It’s so obvious.”
“You damn bastard. Did you know it was all there and just use me?”
“You guys just let yourself be used. Since I’m thankful, shall I give you this?”
Clink—
Hanbit dropped a 1-gold coin through the gap smaller than a fist.
It landed precisely on the crown of Max’s head.
-Hahaha
-Tap.
-A huge sum of money thrown, yikes;
"-Isn't 1 Gold a bit too much?"
"-Seriously, I want to split you in half.
" "You bastard… I will definitely kill you."
"With your skills, it won't work. Well, good luck."
Hanbit shrugged and slowly rose to his feet.
The sphere of vines, which had shrunk in size before he knew it, had reached the cabin.
"Brother!"
"How…?"
"We're going to die! We're failing!"
The subordinates raised their voices pitifully, looking only at Max.
But there was nothing they could do.
"Damn it."
Crunch—!
With the last voice, the gap closed completely.
No matter how hard he swung his sword, nothing would change.
Ta-da—!
Hanbit jumped from the top and went down.
There, a woman was sitting on the ground.
"Ah…"
Upon seeing Hanbit, she opened her eyes wide in surprise.
Above her head, the name Beist was visible.
"At least there was someone with a brain."
"…Just kill me. I hate the company and everything else now."
The woman, who seemed to have achieved some kind of enlightenment, was half-giving up.
In this place, which is just a game, dying wouldn't have been a problem, especially if you were playing for work.
“If he dies, he can’t even log out, and he might just stay in that state.”
“He’s a spy anyway, isn’t he? Just like this, he can just…”
Crunch—!
Just then, the sound of something being crushed came from behind.
The vines, tightly bound together and now smaller than a small house.
The tragedy that unfolded within them came to mind effortlessly.
“…….”
Bastet turned his head and fell silent.
Watching this, Hanbit pondered for a moment.
'Should I at least test it out?'
Having made a decision, he slowly nodded.
Then, he summoned the vines of the World Tree.
Quadru—!
Dozens of stems shot out furiously, enveloping Bastet.
The space had suddenly closed off completely.
Turning his back, Hanbit began to move away from the spot.
-He’s leaving.
-I should let the spy go.
-If I spare him, I’ll just get backstabbed.
-Is there only one left now?
-Rank 9 is coming.
The viewers were convinced that Bastet would die.
However, Hanbit’s plan was slightly different.
「Find the real strategic base and capture it.」 "If you succeed, I'll let you transfer companies."
After sending this short message, he released the vines he had summoned.
Naturally, no one saw it.
'I wonder how this will turn out.'
The emotion he read from Bast was somewhat similar to what he had felt from Kim Jae-ha in the past.
If she was disillusioned with her current company and her work, it would be a matter of taking her over.
It was always a good idea to gather talented people with good instincts.
Of course, accepting the offer was entirely her choice.
Ta-ta!
Pushing off with her foot, Hanbit headed toward the fifth floor, the last remaining floor.
The true danger of the Forest of Specters.
It was the space where its essence was gathered.
Saaa-
As she passed through the boundary, an eerie energy brushed against her entire body.
It was not a debuff or an area effect, but a pure sensation of the abyss.
Swoosh—
Silenced, Hanbit stepped onto the fifth floor.
A space where not a single sound could be heard, to the point of being chilling.
But that was an illusion.
Whoosh!
A vibration echoing from a distance burst through the air and spread.
Hanbit climbed the tree immediately and reached the top.
Turning his gaze, he spotted a massive being moving at one end.
[Boss: Source of Specters Consumed by Evil (Lv. 842)]
The boss, moving as if gliding, came into view at a glance. It
appeared to be at least 10 meters tall.
Its body, emitting a green light, was a repulsive sight somewhere between a skeleton and a corpse.
The massive scythes held in both hands were stained a vivid red.
"-Ugh, damn
it;" "-You want me to catch that?
" "-We just need to protect it.
" "-Who are protecting whom?
" "-Should we just leave it alone?
" "-Let's go home;"
The viewers were horrified by the boss's appearance, which naturally instilled fear in them.
And standing against it was a woman.
Bang!
Xiaohui unleashed a wave of platinum from her swung fist.
It was a tremendous force, enough to break all the surrounding trees.
'Well, they probably have one too.'
Xiaohui also possessed a golden sphere.
Of course, it was still unknown to what level of debuff that could block.
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
A thick shadow of a specter scattered from the boss's scythe, which was swung swiftly.
Xiaohui narrowly dodged it.
It wouldn't have been surprising if she had been hit directly, but her speed was also far beyond the ordinary.
Bang!
Crash!
Xiaohui counterattacked while dodging attacks.
The hits striking her legs and waist were clearly inflicting damage on the boss.
'She holds up well, as expected.'
To describe the boss's current state, it was Phase 1.
Hanbit's role was to kill Xiaohui by utilizing the source of that specter.
However, there was another objective regarding that boss.
The Jewel of the Abyss he possessed was absolutely necessary to prepare for the Demon Realm.
In other words, Hanbit had to kill both of them and defend the occupied territory.
Swoosh—
Hanbit pulled a long purple scythe from his inventory.
It was the Scythe of Hunger taken from Alberto, a player of the Holy Kingdom.
Its performance was excessive, capable of stealing the opponent's strength and abilities.
Although it had limitations, it was a weapon perfectly suited to achieve the objective.
Swooshing
down, Hanbit observed the flow of the battle.
And the moment the boss's huge scythe was swung once.
Whoosh!
Wrapping in the wind, it charged at the guy.
