Chapter 327. One Person (1)
Even as Seo Jun-Ho stumbled from dizziness, he scanned his surroundings. He was met with a familiar setting, familiar faces, and a familiar scene.
‘I... went back again.’
The first thing he felt was a strong sense of relief. He had killed himself with his own hands because he thought Erebo wouldn’t let him die if he was captured, but he wasn’t certain if he would go back to the past again.
“Hm? Are you okay?” Someone caught his trembling body. It was probably Wei Chun-Hak. Seo Jun-Ho let Wei Chun-Hak catch him instead of slapping his arms away like last time.
“You don’t look too good. You must really hate bugs,” Wei Chun-Hak said, sounding concerned.
“...I kind of—no, I really do,” Seo Jun-Ho muttered, his face pale. He waved the man away to signal that he was fine.
Wei Chun-Hak stepped back and did a double-take when he looked out the window.
“Goodness, it has already started.”
Wei Chun-Hak quickly made his way to the front and said, “Every day at 6 am, the city neatly initializes itself like that.”
After that, he handed out the hotel room keys. As the party members began to disperse, Seo Jun-Ho called for Skaya.
“What is it?” Skaya asked, sounding annoyed. She felt gross after seeing the c.o.c.kroaches and wanted to take a shower as soon as possible.
“Skaya, do you know anything about the World Tree?” Seo Jun-Ho asked.
“The World Tree? The ent.i.ty that elves worship?”
“Yeah. If you know anything, can you tell me in as much detail as possible?”
“I dunno... All I know is the stuff from the Magic Tower’s library.”
“That’s enough for me.”
Skaya took a moment to recollect the contents of the books she read before saying, “You know how there used to be Gates in Frontier a very long time ago? According to the legends, the elves crossed over from them. It’s said that the World Tree handed down her powers and her wisdom to them, and the elves attended to her as both their mother and G.o.d.”
“What kind of powers and wisdom did they receive?
“The ones we know about are the ability to discern lives and hear her voice in their heads once or twice in their lifetimes.”
“...”
Those were the same as Erebo’s abilities, which allowed him to access the hivemind and detect lies. The only difference was that the World Tree had used those powers to enrich the lives of the elves, while that b.a.s.t.a.r.d of an insect used them to turn his subordinates into toys.
‘That means he wasn’t lying about eating the World Tree...’
Now that it was confirmed, Seo Jun-Ho went back to his room and stepped into the bathroom.
Shwaaa!
As he stood under the rousing downpour of cold water, he made a decision.
‘We’ll do this as quickly as possible. I’ll follow Rahmadat’s plan.’
To kill Erebo, they had to clear the Quests. It would be standard procedure to continue unlocking new regions and get stronger until they reached him.
“But I’m different...”
In this game, Seo Jun-Ho was a wild card. He was the one and only person who could lure Erebo out of his stationary position in the last region.
‘If I do that, I don’t think I’ll have to go back again.’
After he was done, Seo Jun-Ho checked the diary.
[#2]
This time, I tried a completely different tactic. I didn’t hunt at all and never revealed the effects of Exterminator.
It hurt to see my comrades lose faith in me during the process...
...
...
I was wrong.
Even though I took a different path, the results ended up being the same.
However, I found out what the hivemind is, as well as Erebo’s secret.
The strategy that Rahmadat proposed might be the only way to escape this h.e.l.l.
Like last time, everything he had gone through was written in a short summary.
‘Last time it said 1, but this one says 2,’ Seo Jun-Ho fell into deep thought. As he had expected, this diary was most certainly a record of each time he died.
“The 1st attempt and the 2nd attempt. I suppose that’s how it’s being labeled.”
The first entry left the bottom half of the page empty, but the second entry went all the way to the next page.
“So each life will fill up each page.”
In that case, the number of pages left was the number of extra lives he had remaining, so Seo Jun-Ho counted the pages in the diary.
“That’s 365.” He got the feeling that it was similar to a diary on Earth that allowed one to use just one diary for a whole year. Seo Jun-Ho’s face brightened. “Hey, that’s a lot!”
There were still 363 pages left. He could still go back to the past 363 more times.
“Status window.”
He quickly scanned the window. This time, he looked disappointed.
‘So the stat points were reset.’
In his second life, Skaya had given him one of her stat point orbs, telling him to check if stat points would remain the same, just in case he went back to the past again.
“...Yeah, I suppose it was greedy of me to expect that.” Getting a near-unlimited number of chances was already a huge blessing. He shook aside his disappointment and stepped out of the bathroom.
The Frost Queen was definitely done writing her diary entries because she was using the tablet to catch up on dramas.
“Having fun?” Seo Jun-Ho said.
“Yes. Very much so.”
Seo Jun-Ho envied her because she could afford to be so carefree. He gently pet her head as if she was a cat.
“...” The Frost Queen looked up and stared intently at his hand. “What is this? How presumptuous of you.”
“Sorry. I’m just proud of you.”
He suddenly remembered the way she bawled, begging him not to die. With how prim and proper she acted all the time, he didn’t expect she would be so torn up over his death.
“I should live a long life, for your sake,” Seo Jun-Ho muttered.
“...What nonsense is that? You are strange, Contractor.” The Frost Queen gave him a sullen stare as if he were some old man she couldn’t understand.
***
Once the whole party was gathered, Seo Jun-Ho shared with them his current situation.
There was only one reason he quickly explained to them without hesitation.
“So... Are you telling me to go to the next city and bring the Players from there?” Chun-Hak asked.
“Exactly,” Seo Jun-Ho said. The plan couldn’t be carried out without Wei Chun-Hak’s a.s.sistance. Seo Jun-Ho had to tell him the situation before the latter left and asked for help.
“Hm.” After listening to his story, Wei Chun-Hak was locked deep in thought. However, he soon stood up and said, “I’ll do it, then.”
“...Do you not doubt me?”
“I know that Specter wouldn’t lie about something like this.”
Wei Chun-Hak grinned, flashing his teeth. He told them he would be back within a week and left the city.
“All right. In the meantime, we’ll collect marbles and use the vending machines.”
Of course, Seo Jun-Ho didn’t go hunting this time as well. Needless to say, the party didn’t push their luck like they had done the second time around. They collected marbles during the day, and at night, they gave up on the potential EXP they could have earned, though they found it was a shame. Instead of hunting, they hid at the hotel.
“Everything will be over once Wei Chun-Hak comes back.”
A week soon pa.s.sed...
***
“They’re coming!”
Seo Jun-Ho watched the Players fill the streets from the sky lounge. His hands clenched into fists. Wei Chun-Hak had brought them over just as he had promised.
“But...”
“Hey, there’re fewer than I thought.”
“That does not look like thirty thousand people.”
Currently, there were over thirty-five thousand Players on the 4th Floor. But the Players who entered the city only seemed to number a little more than five thousand.
Seo Jun-Ho ran over to Shin Sung-Hyun, Wei Chun-Hak, and Milphage, standing at the forefront.
“What happened? Are you sure this is everyone?”
“...” Sung-Hyun looked liked his pride was hurt. He closed his eyes in response.
Wei Chun-Hak stiffly lit a cigarette maybe because he had nothing to say or perhaps he didn’t want to talk.
“What happened? Oh, my apologies; I have to speak formally now, right?” Milphage scoffed. “It has already been five months since we came here. Other than a few idiots, everyone has gone down through the Save Points.”
“That means...”
Most of the Players had decided there was nothing more to do here and went back to Earth. They might come back up after preparing for it, but that wasn’t the case right now.
“Of course, there are those who stayed behind. About—eighteen thousand, I would say.”
“Then, how come you only brought this many people?”
If eighteen thousand Players had come here, Seo Jun-Ho would have no need to worry about anything, but five thousand—It was a lot less than he had expected.
“Fear and checks, I suppose.” After quietly watching from the back, Kim Woo-Joong spoke. He seemed to be correct because Milphage actually looked embarra.s.sed.
“Well, as the Sword Saint said, most stayed behind because they were scared, but some of those Guildies...” Milphage paused before saying with a resigned look, “They said that it’s more polite to ask a favor in person.”
“...What?” Seo Jun-Ho looked dumbfounded. He had only done it this way because he wasn’t in a position where he could go there himself.
‘Let’s say that we can’t force people to come if they’re scared. But the latter group...’
Just as Kim Woo-Joong said, this was an outright power play against him.
He didn’t mind competing for power. But right now? In the current situation? When they could potentially clear the 4th Floor?
Seo Jun-Ho couldn’t understand it at all.
“Sky Soul. The Sky Soul Guild was there, weren’t they?”
“...Those words are from Tenmei Ryo.”
“Did you tell him that Mio, his younger sister was here?”
“Chun-Hak did. Three or four times...”
“Ha.” Seo Jun-Ho scoffed in spite of himself. He closed his eyes for fear that the fury they contained would be directed at innocent people.
‘That family... They still haven’t got it together.’
They had already lost a child once, and after losing a second one, Seo Jun-Ho thought that they had woken up by now.
Seo Jun-Ho slowly opened his eyes and turned around, glancing at Mio. She met his eyes, looking bitter.
“I’m sorry,” she said.
“...Why are you apologizing?” Seeing that only made Seo Jun-Ho even more furious. He gnashed his teeth. “So, how many are there in total?”
“5,281. It took us some time to gather the solo Players willing to join us.”
Still, that wasn’t a small amount.
Actually, if they had this many, they could definitely kill Erebo.
‘But compared to having twenty thousand Players...’
There would be a lot more casualties.
Seo Jun-Ho had to put in great effort to hold back the curses at the tip of his tongue.
***
“...”
From a mountain peak far, far away from the battlefield, Erebo watched seven men and women. It had already been ten days since he sent his army after discovering his ‘natural enemy,’ and he could see how their physical and mental energy depleted every second.
‘It’s about time to make a move.’
As soon as that man entered the field, the tide of the battle turned around. The man’s enemies were powerful enough that normal c.o.c.kroaches or special ent.i.ties could only hope to defeat them.
‘But...’
Would he be able to take on Erebo once his physical and mental energy was exhausted?
That would be impossible.
And Erebo made his decision based on that.
And he was correct...
“Guh!” Kim Woo-Joong raised his blade and narrowly managed to block Erebo’s kick. Even though it was but a single strike, his limbs wouldn’t stop shaking.
“You lot are pitiful.” It was a blessing that the monster had discovered his natural enemy early on. He energetically cornered the seven people.
“Huff, huff.”
Seo Jun-Ho’s breathing was ragged. At some point, the sun had set, and the street lamps started to light up one by one.
‘He fell right into our trap.’
Everything was going as planned.
Seo Jun-Ho squeezed out the magic energy he had been reserving for the past ten days.
As he did, 128 ice mirrors appeared in the air and trapped Erebo.
“Blind him, Crystal Room.”
“...What are you trying to do, capture me?”
“Well, what do people usually do after catching a bug?”
When Jun-Ho gestured with his finger, Skaya erected a pillar of light in the air.
“They spray it with insecticide.”
***
Erebo finally stopped wriggling and stilled.
The Players watched in silence.
They had killed the boss, but no one dared to celebrate.
“Hyung! Hyung! Please, open your eyes, hyung!
“Healer! We need a healer! Please, help our Master!”
“s.h.i.t! I should have just listened to you. I should have gone back to Earth...”
It had come with a cost. A very expensive one, at that.
Erebo had summoned even more c.o.c.kroaches after being pushed into a corner. Countless c.o.c.kroaches poured into the city, creating a special kind of h.e.l.l. At Specter’s command, the Players united and fought for two more days.
“...”
Whenever Seo Jun-Ho fought alongside others, it would always leave a bitter taste in his mouth.
Seo Jun-Ho made sure to go as far as burning Erebo’s corpse. As he stared at the black ashes, a limping Kim Woo-Joong approached him.
“It’s finally over,” he said.
“It is,” Seo Jun-Ho replied. He suddenly sensed something strange and looked up at Kim Woo-Joong. “Hey, you just spoke casually.”
“...I didn’t. Yo.”
“How long are you going to keep that up? We promised to be friends at the hospital, didn’t we?”
“...” Kim Woo-Joong ran his hand through his hair, which was drenched with green slime. “...You’re right. Maybe I should. To be honest, it has been a little uncomfortable.”
“You should’ve done that in the first place.”
They chuckled together.
“This Floor is pretty slow, though,” Kim Woo-Joong said, looking refreshed.
“Hm? What do you mean?”
“The clear message. With both Janabi and Phanactos, it appeared as soon as we killed them.”
“...” The smile slowly vanished from Seo Jun-Ho’s face.
He was right. Where was it?”
‘...No, wait.’
Instinctively, something came into mind, and Seo Jun-Ho unknowingly muttered, “When this guy appeared, did we receive a message that we encountered a Floor Master?”???ewe???ѵ??.?ｏ?
Seo Jun-Ho could see how Kim Woo-Joong responded with a shake of his head as the latter said something with an incredulous expression.
However, the words never reached Seo Jun-Ho’s ears, as he started to fade away.
Beeeeep.
A loud beeping noise woke him up.
Seo Jun-Ho’s face fell when he realized what he was looking at.
“Once you finish the initial Quests, it would be best to leave this city as soon as possible. You’ll get nothing out of staying here.”
Why?
His head flooded with questions as he tried his best to process everything.
Wei Chun-Hak continued on with his script, undeterred.
“Every day at 6 am, the city neatly initializes itself like that.”
‘Why?’