Chapter 185 – Reason to Hide (1)
Translator: Seven
Editor: Ana_Banana
One of the secrets to humanity’s prosperity over the years was the fact that it didn’t stop progressing, even in the face of despair.
It was the same when the world turned into a game overnight.
Everyone despaired, but they nevertheless continued advancing in some way.
The same was true with Isaac Ivanov and the so-called ‘h.e.l.lhound Disaster’.
But it wasn’t just despair.
[The act of terrorism was carried out by the same group that killed Kim Woo-jin!]
[The j.a.panese government declares war on terrorism!]
People moved to find and deal with the cause of the disaster.
[What kind of dungeon is the h.e.l.lhound Dungeon?]
[The h.e.l.lhound, the Demon of 4 Floors!]
They also began researching ways to clear the h.e.l.lhound dungeon.
However, this wasn’t to predict the probability of Isaac Ivanov’s team clearing the dungeon.
-Can’t Isaac Ivanov’s party clear the h.e.l.lhound dungeon? It’s a similar situation to the Hatchling, isn’t it?
?This is different from the time with the Hatchling dungeon. At that time, Isaac Ivanov intended to hunt it alone.
? Right, Isaac Ivanov chose to attack that dungeon because he was confident. On the other hand, this time was an accident.
? The worst possible accident.
Because even the average person understood that the difference between 3 Floor and 4 Floor dungeons wasn’t just the addition of one floor.
Nevertheless, the reason for the research and discussion on how to clear the h.e.l.lhound dungeon was simple.
[The world vows to avenge Isaac Ivanov!] (TL: again)
[The most valuable dungeon in the world appears.]
The moment Isaac Ivanov died, the h.e.l.lhound dungeon would become the most valuable dungeon in the world.
That was why everyone in the world became interested in the h.e.l.lhound dungeon, and asked many questions to the j.a.panese government.
How many times had the h.e.l.lhound dungeon been challenged?
What was the number and level of the players who attacked the dungeon?
The j.a.panese government answered these questions easily.
“At the time of the discovery, another party had already been attacking the dungeon, after that attack failed, we tried to attack the dungeon once more, but that failed as well. There were no other attacks after that.”
They said that there were only two attacks and those who partic.i.p.ated weren’t particularly special.
This was definitely a positive factor.
Rather than them trying to clear the dungeon ten times and failing every time.
The problem was that the j.a.panese government’s announcement wasn’t true.
“Even when the nuclear plant exploded, those guys weren’t so forthcoming with the information, were they?”
Of course, Oh Se-chan would not believe the j.a.panese government’s announcement so easily.
He had already investigated the h.e.l.lhound dungeon beforehand.
And it didn’t take him long to figure out.
“That’s right. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have hidden the dungeon away for three years.”
The fact that the dungeon had appeared in 2021, three years before.
“There’s nothing strange about hiding it.”
Of course, it wasn’t unusual for them to hide the h.e.l.lhound dungeon away.
After all, the value of an A+ rank Dungeon was quite high after all.
“But to hide something like that in Tokyo is quite hard.”
The problem was the price they would have had to pay to keep it hidden.
Hiding a dungeon wasn’t as simple as building a tent to hide the dungeon gate.
In that case who would take care of the monsters that might escape from the dungeon?
“Right, and since it’s a 4 Floor dungeon…there might be monsters that cannot be dealt with by normal weapons.”
And as Oh Se-chan’s subordinate had pointed out, there was a high probability of the appearance of monsters that couldn’t be dealt with by ordinary guns.
This meant that they would need to at least prepare more powerful weapons like artillery and tanks.
“And they have to hide that too.”
The cost of hiding it would be much higher than just managing it in the open.
And to do that for three years rather than a day or two far exceeded the scope of common sense.
“We know that well don’t we? How much that would cost.”
“We know that very well.”
The price of that was something that Oh Se-chan and his men, who went by the name Dungeon Brokers, would know better than anyone.
“But they did it anyway…so there must be a reason.”
In other words, Oh Se-chan couldn’t understand why the j.a.panese government would pay such a price for an A+ dungeon.
And there was one more person who shared his thoughts.
“Kim Woo-jin also feels the same way.”
…
Players who attacked 4 Floor dungeons usually failed on the fourth floor.
But that wasn’t always the case.
There were also situations where players failed 4 Floor dungeons on the third floor.
“Because everyone tried to save as much of their strength as possible for the final floor.”
In preparation for the hard challenge, everyone would want to conserve their strength and hide their trump cards unless absolutely necessary.
It wasn’t strange that they’d feel that way.
“Especially for 4 Floor dungeons where the boss monster is named in the dungeon’s t.i.tle.”
If they knew what monster they would have to face on the fourth floor, they couldn’t help but feel that way.
It was the same for the h.e.l.lhound dungeon.
Players who entered the h.e.l.lhound dungeon would have their minds filled with the h.e.l.lhound as soon as they arrived on the third floor.
“It’s important to conserve strength.”
Of course, this wasn’t a foolish decision.
In fact, it was a very logical and rational decision.
“But in this case, it’s the problem.”
But as always, there were exceptions for everything.
“Because the damage can be minimized as long as you’re willing to make sacrifices and endure some of it.”
But what if they felt it was possible to conserve more power by using a situation where the majority would live at the expense of a few?
What if they could be saved by sacrificing a few?
Then the accidents would begin to happen.
“It’s suicide to make such a decision against the boss monster of the third floor, an Ogre.”
Moreover, when dealing with monsters like Ogres, such decisions were bound to have many accidents.
-Excuse me.
Then Lee Jin-ah’s voice was heard in the ear of Kim Woo-jin who was wearing the Grim Reaper’s mask.
The voice had been delivered through the skeleton that Kim Woo-jin was connected to.
-Why are you doing that while I’m fighting against the Ogre? Huh?
In addition, Lee Jin-ah was currently locked in combat with the Ogre boss.
-Also when will I be getting reinforcements?
In fact, he was fighting alone.
He was going against the Ogre without the support of any Skeleton Soldiers except for the small Goblin Skeleton that Kim Woo-jin was using to watch over the situation.
In such a situation, Kim Woo-jin’s mention of sacrifice made Lee Jin-ah incredibly dissatisfied.
Hearing Lee Jin-ah’s words, Kim Woo-jin spoke through the Skeleton Soldier’s mouth.
“Ogres are monsters that are hard to find. But they were also difficult to handle when you do encounter them. Battle experience can’t be bought with money so you should take this opportunity to learn everything you can.”
-What?
“Endure it.”
Kim Woo-jin’s words scared Lee Jin-ah greatly.
-What the h.e.l.l are you saying? I thought you said you would launch an attack after I grabbed the Ogre’s aggro.
Kim Woo-jin shrugged slightly.
“That was a lie.”
-A lie?
“Because you need to gain experience fighting against Ogre’s and you never would have faced the Ogre alone if I didn’t tell you that.”
-f.u.c.k, of course, I wouldn’t! It’s an Ogre! An Ogre!
It was then.
-Ugh, f.u.c.k. f.u.c.k!
Lee Jin-ah stopped talking since he had to focus completely on the fight.
-Roar!
Soon after, the Ogre’s roar was heard.
It seemed the Ogre had learned Lee Jin-ah’s expression because of his swearing.
Kim Woo-jin, who was watching the situation through the skeleton, gave Lee Jin-ah some brief a.s.surance.
“You won’t die, you’re wearing the Nemean Lion’s skin.”
Of course, there was no answer to his a.s.surance.
But Kim Woo-jin didn’t really care about that anymore.
‘I finally found it.’
Because he had finally found what he was looking for.
[Anubis’ eyes have opened.]
The Ogre’s nest and the remains of the players who had come before. That was what Kim Woo-jin had been looking for.