Chapter 193 – Forest of Giants (1)
Translator: Seven
Editor: Ana_Banana
The Five Great Guilds.
It was natural that these groups who transcended their countries to represent the world, didn’t get to their positions by luck.
They proved their qualifications by accomplis.h.i.+ng achievements that other guilds wouldn’t dare replicate, and by doing so, gained the right to enjoy such a position.
However, they didn’t always succeed.
“Of course that doesn’t mean they don’t fail. In fact, they have a higher chance than anyone to fail because the challenges they take on are much more difficult.”
The Five Great Guilds had experienced numerous failures and suffered significant losses numerous times.
There were even some failures that could have badly damaged their reputations.
But the Five Great Guilds either hid these failures well, or they wrapped them up so nicely that they didn’t look as bad.
“They did what you’d call Career Management.”
It was the secret to how the Five Great Guilds became the Five Great Guilds, because one could not be king just by being strong.
They hid their flaws.
“And of course, the ones who were best at Career Management were the Messiah Guild.”
The same was true for the Messiah Guild.
They had many flaws.
Among them, was the Forest of Giants dungeon that appeared in Shanghai, China,
“The Forest of Giants, that appeared in China in 2021, was hidden by the Chinese government the moment it appeared.”
The dungeon itself was nothing special.
“The Messiah Guild was given the chance to attack the dungeon. But before the attack, they backed out. Well, it isn’t weird to give up. In fact, it would have been foolish of them to force something that couldn’t be done.”
It wasn’t strange for the Messiah Guild to give up on a dungeon either.
“But the problem was that it was none other than Lee Se-jun, who had given up the attack.”
The problem was that it was the Savior, Lee Se-jun who had given up the attack on the dungeon.
“It’s one of Lee Se-jun’s weaknesses.”
It was one of the few flaws on Lee Se-jun’s otherwise perfect record.
“Of course, no one poked at it.”
However, there had never been anyone brave enough to openly poke at the Messiah Guild’s weaknesses or undermine Lee Se-jun.
“After all, no human wanted to anger a dragon by touching its reverse scale(1).”
To go against Lee Se-jun was to go against the world.
“First of all, if you dared to point out this flaw, you would be hit with one question. Then will you attack the dungeon?”
After all, if one was to point out Lee Se-jun’s flaws, it would be like pointing out everyone’s flaws.
The option of attacking the dungeon was completely out of the question, after all.
“How many dungeons has Lee Se-jun given up?”
Entering a dungeon that even Lee Se-jun gave up was no better than suicide.
“So no one attacked the dungeon. They didn’t even try.”
So after Lee Se-jun gave up the attack, the Forest of Giants dungeon became buried in the hands of the Chinese government, and the world practically forgot about it.
“That is why this is so shocking for the Messiah Guild. Because he is poking at none other than Lee Se-jun.”
Kim Woo-jin borrowed Isaac Ivanov’s name and stabbed one of Lee Se-jun’s flaws.
“We’ve crossed the Rubicon now(2).”
When Oh Se-chan finished his story, Lee Jin-ah, who had been listening this whole time, finally said something.
“Buuurp!”
He put down the washbasin-sized bowl that he had been holding to his head and let out a loud burp that even the listeners could feel.
“Ah, it’s been a while since I ate Kimchi Jjigae(3), so I had to enjoy it. Kimchi Jjigae is truly the best for Koreans. And among all the Kimchi I’ve had, Se-chan’s Kimchi is the best. It was perfectly fermented till it was almost melting, so it was delicious.”
Oh Se-chan grit his teeth and said.
“Hey, were you listening to me?”
When he saw the expression on Oh Se-chan’s face, Lee Jin-ah looked left and right a few times before answering.
“Yes? Ah, I mean yes. Well, basically…”
“You d.a.m.n pig b.a.s.t.a.r.d.”
Oh Se-chan shouted out in anger.
Lee Jin-ah grumbled slightly when he saw that.
“Ah, you’re acting like I’m not allowed to eat. I came back to Korea after a long time, can’t I enjoy the food?”
At that moment, a vein on Oh Se-chan’s s.h.i.+ny bald head began to twitch like the countdown timer on a bomb.
See this, Lee Jin-ah hurriedly changed the subject.
“So what does that guy, Kim Woo-jin, plan to do? Are you attacking this dungeon alone too?”
Oh Se-chan’s expression became a bit subdued when he heard that question.
“No, you won’t be clearing this dungeon alone.”
“How many are we letting in?”
“As many as possible.”
“Huh?”
When he heard that there would be a lot of people, Lee Jin-ah couldn’t help but tilt his head in surprise.
“Is it going to be that difficult?”
After all, Kim Woo-jin wasn’t the type of person who would include other players without a good reason.
The fact that he was going to accept a large number of players meant that they would be necessary to clear the dungeon.
“Is it really bad enough that he would say that?”
The problem was that Kim Woo-jin was not a simple player.
At least from Lee Jin-ah’s perspective, it was almost impossible for him to need any help in a 4 Floor dungeon.
“Well, it may be difficult, but that’s not the reason.”
Oh Se-chan shook his head as he answered Lee Jin-ah’s questions.
“He’s basically holding an investment presentation.”
…
[Isaac Ivanov to attack the Forest of Giants dungeon!]
[The Chinese government approves of Isaac Ivanov’s attack on the dungeon!]
Isaac Ivanov’s request to attack the Forest of Giants dungeon went smoothly.
This was natural.
[The Chinese government will spare no effort to help Isaac Ivanov clear the dungeon!]
Firstly, the Chinese government had no reason to refuse an attack on a dungeon that no one else could clear.
The public also had no reason to reject this.
-As expected of Isaac Ivanov! He’s not like the others!
-He’s on a completely different level than the other players.
-I think I’m getting high on Isaac Ivanov!
Isaac Ivanov was exactly the type of player the public wanted.
[The Messiah Guild supports Isaac Ivanov’s challenge!]
Even the final hurdle, the Messiah Guild, had no choice but to cheer on Isaac Ivanov’s attack.
Regardless of whether this was a jab at Lee Se-jun or not, could they possibly refuse while carrying the name of the Messiah Guild.
All that remained was for Isaac Ivanov to actually begin his attack.
In such an atmosphere, new news was released.
[Isaac Ivanov is recruiting players for his dungeon attack!]
It was news that Isaac Ivanov was gathering people to a.s.sist him in the attack on the Forest of Giants dungeon.
In fact, this in itself was nothing strange.
Instead, it was smart and logical for a player or group who gained the right to attack a dungeon, to recruit other players.
-Huh? What was that? Recruiting volunteers?
-There are more than 200 spots. Does he intend to fill them up?
However, Isaac Ivanov wasn’t the right person to use the word logic within the same sentence.
After all, who was he?
He was the player who had cleared a h.e.l.lhound dungeon with a party of two.
Therefore, the world was shocked by the fact that he was recruiting more players.
-Is this dungeon really so difficult that even Isaac has to recruit more players?
-The Messiah Guild was like that too, what the h.e.l.l is with this dungeon?
What kind of dungeon was this that not only Lee Se-jun, but even Isaac Ivanov would be so cautious of it?
Of course, unlike the public, the players were quite moved.
After all, the possibility of clearing the dungeon rose significantly since Isaac Ivanov would also be partic.i.p.ating.
“It would be great even if you just survive.”
Even if most of the profits were gained by Isaac Ivanov, just the record of having survived the dungeon attack was already incredibly valuable for the players.
The only thing left was the Messiah Guild’s decision.
Would the Messiah Guild be in a good mood with Isaac Ivanov openly poking at Lee Se-jun’s flaws?
But this too was nothing to worry about.
[The Messiah Guild supports with 60 players!]
[The Messiah Guild gives its full cooperation!]
Instead, it seemed that the Messiah Guild was the most active when responding to Isaac Ivanov’s request for support.
Rather than attacking Isaac Ivanov and the Phoenix Guild for targeting a dungeon they gave up, this showed that the Messiah Guild had judged that the outcome would be much better if they wholeheartedly partic.i.p.ated in this dungeon attack.
Of course, the other guilds fought to show their support.
[50 players from the Kunlun Guild will partic.i.p.ate!]
[30 players from the Frontier Guild will partic.i.p.ate!]
And so, the preparations for the dungeon attack were completed in no time.
[The attack on the Forest of Giants Dungeon has begun!]
And the attack began immediately.
(Note:
1. In Chinese culture, people who are outstanding or brave are often compared to the dragon. … The dragon’s reverse scale had become a figurative expression of something you should not touch, and “touching the reverse scale” had come to mean “offending the emperor or a man in power”.
2. This phrase means to commit to an irrevocable course of action, or to make a fateful and final decision. It alludes to Julius Caesar’s crossing the Rubicon River (between Italy and Gaul) in 49 b.c., thereby starting a war against Pompey and the Roman Senate.
3. Honestly I felt a bit bad adding this one since it’s just stew, but I’ve been using the romanized hangul names for the other dishes so I’ll keep up conventions…
Kimchi-jjigae or kimchi stew is a jjigae, or stew-like Korean dish, made with kimchi and other ingredients, such as pork or seafood, scallions, onions, and diced tofu. It is one of the most common stews in Korean cuisine. )