Chapter 74 : Chapter 74

Chapter 74 - Tag (3)

“Hmm.”

In the midst of the spreading, bewildering atmosphere, Seo Ah-in scanned her surroundings.

There were an unusual number of high-spec people scattered around.

Seo Hye-in. The face of the Hunting Alliance and an A-grade Climber. She possessed a terrifying combat power befitting her nickname, Sword Demon, and was not someone who wouldn't receive VIP treatment wherever she went.

Darien. The head of a rising new religious group. She possessed the unique ability to read minds and was capable of versatile活躍 using it.

And Seo Ah-in herself. Although her grade was F, she fought reasonably well. She prided herself on having experienced all sorts of crazy things while traveling with Mr. Kim Gyu-sik. In fact, she might have the most practical experience among them.

And as a result of such high-class personnel gathering.

“...What do you think Mr. Kim Gyu-sik will say to us when he gets back?”

“...”

“...”

As those words came out of Seo Ah-in, the gazes of the women went back and forth awkwardly among the scattered camping equipment.

So.

It was good that they had come to the ‘camping spot’ as Mr. Kim Gyu-sik had guided them.

A tent that stood so flimsy it looked like it would collapse with just a gust of wind.

Charred remains that couldn't even be presented as evidence of an attempt to prepare a meal.

These were the things that had resulted from their attempt to set up a ‘base camp’ according to Mr. Kim Gyu-sik's instructions so far.

Considering that most camping equipment was made to be easily handled even by beginners, it was a result that wouldn't be strange to call catastrophic.

“...”

“...”

Even now, the forest was filled with people screaming and being chased and Demonic Beasts letting out spine-chilling howls, yet the people gathered here couldn't even properly handle a place to sleep for the night and a meal to eat.

As everyone kept their mouths shut at this bitter irony, Chang Meirin, who had been sitting quietly in a corner, tried to change the mood.

“I-It's okay! We still salvaged some things!”

She said that and rummaged through the things on the frying pan she was fiddling with.

Compared to what the other three women had done, they were at least dishes that looked edible.

“...An ordinary woman stuck among people with high stats only in the fierce department. I see. Mr. Kim Gyu-sik must have thought it wouldn't work like this and included this person. In terms of feminine skills, it's an overwhelming defeat...”

“Pardon?”

As Meirin was flustered by the content Seo Ah-in was pouring out with narrowed eyes, Darien, who had been pouting nearby, muttered.

“I wanted to do well and be praised by the Avatar of the Savior.”

“...Well, it's not like I called you guys to do this kind of work either.”

And, it seemed that you can't speak of the devil.

Mr. Kim Gyu-sik appeared with the ‘reconnaissance team’.

Seeing Lee Si-yeong and Yoo Ho-jun simultaneously looking at Mr. Kim Gyu-sik as if he were a monster, it seemed he had done something spectacular again.

“You weren't attacked or anything while you were here?”

“...No. On the contrary, while others were being chased, it was so peaceful here that it was unsettling.”

“Yeah, that's a relief.”

Mr. Kim Gyu-sik nodded at that answer. As if everything was within his expectations.

Mr. Kim Gyu-sik, who then approached this way without a care, scanned the clumsy tent and the remains of the food and just scratched his nose slightly.

As if he had known from the beginning that this group of people would be able to do this little.

“Give that to me.”

Then, Mr. Kim Gyu-sik, who picked up something like a burnt rubber on the frying pan, ignored its creator, Seo Hye-in, who was flailing in a fluster, and shoved it into his mouth.

“Well, it's more edible than I thought.”

“...”

Seeing Seo Hye-in stroking her slightly flushed cheek, Seo Ah-in let out a deep sigh inwardly.

Unni.

That's not a compliment.

No matter how you look at it, it wasn't a tone of it being delicious, but a feeling that it wasn't so bad that a person couldn't eat it to survive.

“By the way, the minimum mana limit will be lifted at night. Probably... I think we'll be able to use about 10%. With that much, we can manage the ‘first day's’ Demonic Beasts just fine. I trained you all for that.”

Mr. Kim Gyu-sik, who was chewing on the thing in his mouth for a long time, as if it were incredibly tough, continued his explanation.

“...The first day? Does that mean different Demonic Beasts will appear tomorrow?”

“Rather than different, various other gimmicks will be added each day. The variables will probably be random... we'll know when we see it tomorrow.”

“...”

This person, again.

He was smoothly spouting information that others would risk their lives to find out, as if it were today's horoscope.

“So today, it seems like a good idea to just go around and clean up the vicinity. Let's all work hard once and sleep comfortably.”

After saying that, he went near the collapsing tent and tinkered with something.

As if he had done this kind of work many times, Mr. Kim Gyu-sik, who had quickly made the tent presentable, wriggled inside.

“So I'll go to sleep early to preserve my stamina. You all finish up your work and go to sleep too.”

Then he really just went inside.

As if he didn't care about the rest of the situation.

With a motion that exuded the conviction that if he judged it to be okay, it would never go wrong.

“...”

“...”

An awkward silence roamed nearby.

Soon, Darien, who had been making a blank face, opened her mouth with a look of realization.

“You know, actually. That person.”

“...Yes.”

“Don't you think he has no expectations for us at all?”

“...”

“He can overcome all difficulties by himself, so our help is something that's fine to have, but also fine not to have... Even if we can't properly do one job of setting up a place to camp, he just accepts it...”

“...”

No one could deny it.

***

“Everyone... everyone, just a little more strength!”

Jin Hisaori was a Climber from Japan.

In fact, anyone with some knowledge of the Climber society would be able to tell at a glance what kind of hardships Jin usually went through just from that.

Korea, which possessed quality Climber forces by Asian standards, and China, where the proportion of Climbers was very low but had somehow managed to gather the numbers.

These two were countries that could at least have a voice in the world, but Japan, which belonged to neither, was an undisputed Climber-poor country.

In that respect.

“Leader. Everyone is tired and scared. If we don't find some means...!”

“Keuk...!”

Coming up to the Tower and being in such an extreme situation could be said to have been a foregone conclusion.

‘I promised everyone...!’

He had responded to the invitation from the Tower to change the perception of his hometown, which was ignored by everyone, but the result was truly miserable.

To be chased around as if being hunted by Demonic Beasts as soon as they entered the Tower.

‘At least some mana has returned...’

After the sun had completely set, he was able to use a tiny fraction of the mana he usually used. Thanks to that, he was able to run away.

But, for a Climber from Japan whose basic abilities were weak in the first place, having some mana return was just a temporary measure.

Jin gritted his teeth and looked around.

He had already lost several precious comrades to multiple attacks from Demonic Beasts whose appearances were hard to even grasp properly.

He had promised to bring everyone back, and he was so resentful of his own powerlessness that he couldn't keep that promise.

-!

“...H-Hic! This sound, this sound...!”

“Did they... did they follow us again...?”

And at the sound of the beast's cry that came from nearby again, his comrades cowered.

Jin too couldn't help but squeeze his eyes shut, thinking of the experience he had suffered until it became natural.

‘What should I do...!’

How could he get through this situation.

How on earth should I...!

“-So, we need to try a little harder to leave a deep impression on Mr. Kim Gyu-sik, don't we?”

And next to Jin, who was desperately racking his brain, such a carefree voice suddenly fell.

“...?”

Wondering what it was, he turned his head to see two women with their faces completely colored with melancholy walking through the forest in a dejected state.

Weren't they a duo like students who had been scolded by a teacher?

In the forest filled with tension and the smell of blood, they alone had a detached atmosphere.

“I agree. In the first place, it's not a matter of who wins the Avatar of the Savior’s favor, but we all need to cooperate to turn his attention this way- Ah, 3 from the west. About 5m.”

“Hmm, confirmed.”

But apart from that atmosphere, the scene that followed was truly surreal.

That Demonic Beast that had been tormenting them like a nightmare until now.

It was being identified in advance as if looking at the palm of one's hand.

And a Climber, who, like them, should have only basic mana returned, was being driven away screaming in pain by a single sword strike that was casually thrown.

“...”

“...”

Jin and his team members were all staring at the scene in a daze, but the parties who had produced such a scene were still walking through the forest listlessly in a melancholic state.

Not only Jin and his team members.

The Demonic Beast that was currently painting the entire forest in fear was not even in their sight, and they had an air of having come out to clean up fallen leaves on a stroll.

“These guys... they're not as big of a deal as I thought. We've run into them three or four times, and it's been like this every time, right? The Avatar of the Savior could probably have survived with about 30 of them on his tail, right?”

“I agree. It doesn't seem like this much will be of much help to Mr. Kim Gyu-sik... In the first place, isn't he the one who trained us to be able to do this kind of thing according to the situation?”

“I know, right. I wish we could do something amazing enough to impress him, not just these trivial things...”

The two, who had a conversation in an utterly depressing voice, continued on their way and disappeared.

It was a sight that was unbelievable for people who had accomplished something that would be treated as a miracle if done even once in this forest.

‘...Who trained them?’

And what he could infer from the conversation he had heard so far was.

That they were also part of a team with someone as a leader.

And that the leader was on another level, so much so that the feats they had shown before their eyes were not enough to even properly attract their attention, let alone their approval.

“...”

Jin suddenly thought that if he got out of this ordeal safely, he wanted to go back to his hometown.

Clearly.

If the world level was a place where guys like that ran around, he would surely never be able to reach it even if he tried for his whole life.

‘...I miss my parents.’

Suddenly recalling the scenery of the farm in his hometown, Jin put a hollow smile on his face.

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