The group hiked the mountain until nightfall. After the first battle, the kobolds didnât attack again.
The knights Weaver and Rhodi stopped when they discovered a large clearing.
âWe will set up camp here for tonight!â
âWe will be taking watch in rotations, so finish your supper quickly and get some sleep.â
They had been moving nonstop since they left the city when the sun rose until sunset. Not only that but they had battled against hundreds of kobolds halfway through. Even though all the participants were veterans, they couldnât help but feel a little tired.
âPhew, Iâm starting to wonder if it was worth coming here. Itâs so tiringâŚâ
âI know, right? I thought Iâd be able to gain a lot of levels and EXP.â
âAll we did was walk all day! I shouldâve just done a Quest or something.â
Complaints started to spill out everywhere.
Tsk, tsk.
The Frost Queen clicked her tongue.
âThose weaklings. They have so many complaints,â she said.
âThey probably didnât have this in mind when they signed up for the competition.â
Frankly, this wasnât what Seo Jun-Ho had in mind either. But that didnât mean he was disappointed like the others. The encounter with the blood kobolds had put him on edge.
âContractor, look over there.â The Frost Queen tugged on Jun-Hoâs hair and pointed. There, Baek Geon-Woo was sitting at the foot of a large tree, eating riceballs by himself.
âThe best time to start a conversation is when someone is eating alone,â she commented.
âYou know your stuff...â
As Seo Jun-Ho strode over, the other Players started to look at him.
âIs this seat taken?â he asked.
As Baek Geon-Woo looked up at him, he started to stand up.
Embarrassed, Seo Jun-Ho quickly shook his hands. âOh, no. Iâm not asking you to move.â
â...â
Baek Geon-Woo stared at him. His eyes were as clear as a creek on a summerâs day. A moment later, he spoke. âNo.â His voice was plain. Baek Geon-Woo turned back to his riceballs and resumed his meal. Seo Jun-Ho immediately sat down beside him.
âMy name is Seo Jun-Ho,â he said, taking out his meal.
â...â
Baek Geon-Woo focused on his meal as if he didnât hear Seo Jun-Ho speak. He had no desire to get close to other Players.
âThey only ever come approach me for one of two reasons.â
They either wanted to feel a sense of superiority, or they pitied him.
It had always been one of those twoâŚ
âSeo Jun-Ho⌠The articles and rumors about him didnât leave a bad impression.â
He was famous for his heroic deeds. He had saved dozens of Players in the Burning Dunes and then pulled Players from a crisis into victory in the Wild Forest. In other words, he would be too self-secure to approach Baek Geon-Woo for his own ego.
âThen⌠Is it pity?â
Baek Geon-Woo didnât feel any particular emotion about it. If he got mad, he would be the weird one. Even though the sympathy was unsolicited, the people who pitied him never really had bad intentions.
But sometimes, that sincere kindness hurt even more.
Baek Geon-Woo knew this all too well from his past experiences. That was why he didnât bother trying to create relationships with people.
However, his impression of Seo Jun-Ho changed when the latter spoke.
âWhy donât you use any weapons?â
â...?â Baek Geon-Wooâs hand paused, riceball in hand. He slowly turned to Seo Jun-Ho and stared into the latterâs eyes, trying to understand what was his intention behind the question.
âIâm not trying to mock you. I am asking because Iâm genuinely curious.â Seo Jun-Ho explained.
Humans were stronger when they fought with tools instead of their bare hands. This had always been true since ancient times. Rocks were stronger than fists, and swords were stronger than rocks.
Spears were a good option too. The spear was known as the king of primitive weapons, easy to master yet still mighty.
â...â
Baek Geon-Woo lowered his riceball. He got the feeling that Seo Jun-Ho wouldnât leave him alone until he answered.
âItâs related to my skill, so I cannot tell you.â
âOhâŚÂ I see. Iâm sorry for asking.â Seo Jun-Ho apologized. He started to eat with an embarrassed expression. They ate in silence.
âUgh, I canât breathe! This is suffocating!â Trapped between the two, the Frost Queen, clutched her throat, trying to breathe. At that moment, Baek Geon-Woo finished his riceballs and stood up before he disappeared.
âPhewâŚâ She let out a deep breath. âThat man is quite hard to approach. Unlike you, he is not a pushover.â
âItâs not good. I want to get closer to him,â Seo Jun-Ho muttered.
âMay I ask why? I do not quite see the benefit of that.â
âJust⌠Instinct? I get the feeling that heâll get stronger at some point. It would be like an investment.â He explained.
Of course, he didnât know when or how much stronger Baek Geon-Woo would get in the future. There had been many times his instincts were wrong, so this could just be a dud.
âButâŚâ
The most important detail was that they shared the same pain. For that simple reason, Seo Jun-Ho wanted to watch over him.
â...Anyway, those fiend bastards. They really donât know when to stop,â Seo Jun-Ho whispered, looking up at the hazy crescent moon.
***
Luckily, Seo Jun-Ho got the first watch. He had a suspicion that Weaver had placed him there with his skills in consideration as if telling him to rest up before the big fight tomorrow. Thanks to that, Seo Jun-Ho felt nice and refreshed the next morning.
âThere was no ambush during the night.â
He had actually been preparing for one. If he were the ruler of the kobolds, he would have seized the chance to attack when most of the group were asleep.
âBut why didnât they attack? Did they think the terrain was disadvantageous for them?â
The large clearing was more advantageous for the group. Even if they managed to successfully snuck in, the Players could easily launch a counterattack.
âWake up, everyone! Weâll have a brief breakfast before we start moving again.â
âOur goal today is to reach the koboldsâ cave at the peak of the Hainal Mountains!â
The two knights woke the group, loudly banging on their breastplates.
âOwâŚÂ My muscles ache.â
âDammit, my calves hurt. It has been a while since Iâve walked for so long.â
âUgh. I was too laid back about this.â
Everyone was grumbling, but being veterans, they still started preparing to leave without much protest.
âWake up,â Seo Jun-Ho said to the Frost Queen. She couldnât use the fancy dollhouse in the woods, so she had gone back to using tissues as her bedding.
âMhmmâŚÂ ContractorâŚâ She thumped her chest as she whined. âI hate being away from home⌠Hurry up and defeat the kobolds so we can go backâŚâ
âItâs just one more day. Based on what they said, I think weâll get to their cave later.â
âAh, wellâŚEven if there are blood kobolds there, I suppose it wonât be too dangerous,â she muttered.
âYup.â
671 veteran Players and Adventurers made for a formidable force. As long as they didnât let their guards down, they wouldnât be bested in battle.
âAs long as we donât let our guards downâŚâ
The march began again. As they got closer and closer to the summit, the Players started to become warier and on edge. Befitting as veterans, they were preparing for a battle.
âWe were worried for nothing. Seems like everyoneâs got it together now. I can feel the pressure in the air,â the Frost Queen observed.
âYouâre right. I underestimated them. But I wonder where the kobolds went?â Seo Jun-Ho asked.
They hadnât seen a single kobold from morning to noon. This was his second day of filming, but he hadnât been able to get anything good. The battle from the day before had been too one-sided.
âIf we canât get anything, my PPâŚHuh?â
Seo Jun-Ho saw something glint from the top of the mountain. There was a sharp flash, like sunlight bouncing off a mirror.
âWhat is that?â
The moment he stopped and the question popped into his head, confused screams started to erupt around him.
âW-Woah!â
âW-what is that?â
He felt something explode under his feet.
Rrrrrrrr!
The mountain started to shake violently as if it would collapse at any second.
âItâs an earthquake!â
âDammit, what shitty luckâŚ!â
âDidnât you feel something explode underground just now? Is this⌠a trap?!â
An earthquake in the mountain was scary enough, but some people quickly realized what would happen next and their faces started to turn pale.
âW-we have to get downâŚâ an Adventurer whispered.
From the front lines, Weaverâs face fell and he shouted, âAll forces! Descend the mountain! Immediately!â
Boom!
His voice was lost under a loud explosion. The Playersâ eyes filled with fear.
Rrrrrrrrr!
âA-A landslideâŚItâs a landslide!â
âDammit! How the hell are we supposed to go down after coming all the way here!â
âWe canât! We have to hold out!â
âDig into the ground for cover! Thatâs the only way!â
It was like a tsunami on land. A wave of earth started to flood down toward them at alarming speeds.
Their forces numbered 671, but that only made it worse. Their screams echoed as they started to trip over themselves and bump shoulders.
âContractor!â
â...Shit.â
Seo Jun-Ho bit his bottom lip, hard. He had never even imagined this kind of situation.
âYouâre telling me that the kobolds have someone capable of organizing this kind of trap?â
No one could have predicted this. Even a Player of Seo Jun-Hoâs level needed time to prepare an artificial landslide.
âWait, time to prepareâŚâ
He realized that they had been bamboozled.
The kobolds in the Hainal Mountains had been quiet for the past few months, but it wasnât because they were scared. They had been waiting for a moment like this. They had been fully prepared for their campaign.
âItâs the same reason why they didnât ambush us at night.â
There was no need to risk it when they had a more surefire way to win.
âBarrier.â
Woosh!
The mages started to activate barriers in preparation for the incoming impact.
But it made no differenceâŚ
Crack!
From above, the kobold mages had started to cast spells. Four kobold mages could be seen through the continuous rush of dirt, trees, and rocks.
Craaaack!
Their fireballs exploded on the magesâ barriers, causing them to shatter.
âGoddammit! Theyâre really making me curse!â
âHow did those inferior kobolds manage to outsmart us?â
âThis makes no sense. They play dirty, but they shouldnât be able to use tactics of this level!â
âThatâs not what you should be worried about right now! Everyone gather here!â
âHow the hell is the barrier supposed to block the landslide?! Dig! We have to dig!â
The Players and Adventurers quickly started to gather into small groups. They started to dig together and crawled inside the holes they made.
âI-Itâs coming!â someone shouted. The landslide swept the frontlines of the group, but most of them had managed to dig into the ground, so only a few of them were swept away.
âContractor! You canât hide underground!â
â...I know. Thatâll only delay the inevitable.â
It would take a considerable amount of strength and energy to dig out of the hole even once the landslide passed. In fact, he could even die if he ran out of oxygen.
âAnd most importantly, those guys wonât just stay stillâŚâ
On the summit, hundreds of blood kobolds were already holding their weapons, ready for battle. Once the landslide passed, they would start to kill those crawling out of the ground.
âContractor!â the Frost Queen yelled.
Now was the time to make his choiceâŚ
âThere are three options.â
First, he could use Watchguard of Darkness and Shadow Step to avoid the impact. Or, he could use Frost to shield himself from the landslide. However, either option would require him to reveal one of his skills.
âButâŚâ
Seo Jun-Ho bit down on his lip and decided to go with the final option. Even as he made up his mind, he still wasnât sure if it was the right choice.
âSomeone has to remain and stop the blood koboldsâŚâ
Otherwise, their group would be massacred.
But no matter how he thought about it, there was only one person who could do that.