Chapter 79 : Chapter 79

Chapter 79 - Solo Run (1)

Batan Gilius was the type whose head worked pretty fast.

At least, he was sharp enough to be the first to point out what no one else around him had noticed.

First, the water that had started to pool on the ground.

Until a while ago, it was just at the level of the dirt floor becoming muddy.

“...The demonic beasts are nowhere to be seen.”

“Pardon?”

“It’s been a while since we were attacked, yet there’s no sign of them. All the fights are only between other climbers.”

As he spoke in an annoyed voice, the subordinate who had questioned him instantly flinched.

It was an unavoidable reaction, having continuously seen how he had treated his other subordinates on the way here.

The sight of him unhesitatingly throwing other guys as bait or sacrificing them if he judged that he himself would be in danger had been repeated countless times.

The number of people, which was around 20 when they first entered the ordeal, was now barely over 10.

‘...Son of a bitch.’

All the subordinates were probably thinking that about Batan, but even so, they couldn't start a mutiny here.

It was clear that even if they combined all the combat power of the remaining 10, they wouldn't even be able to touch Batan's toes.

Moreover, if he started to regain his mana…

“...”

The subordinate swallowed dryly and looked at the sword on Batan’s back.

Among the reasons why Batan was called the Berserker, his messed-up personality was one, but the infamy of that equipment also contributed a significant part.

Bloody Reaven. A unique piece of equipment of which there were less than 1,000 in the entire world.

The thought of Batan, who could now handle mana, using that properly... was horrifying just to imagine.

‘Even that Kim Gyu-sik guy wouldn't stand a chance against that...’

He was a guy who had shown various feats that were bizarre for his rank, but it was clear that if Batan could fight in earnest, he wouldn't even be a handful.

As the subordinate was thinking that with a bitter smile, Batan, who had been staring at the sky for a long time, suddenly turned his head this way.

“Hey.”

“Y-yes!”

“Take the guys who are in one piece and go around cutting some trees.”

“Tr-trees?”

To the subordinate who asked blankly, Batan silently gave a cold stare.

He only clicked his tongue after seeing the subordinate's terrified face.

Stupid bastards. They’re all the kind who only get it after you explain everything one by one.

“The concept of this ordeal is survival. Which means it has to continuously provide challenges to the participants. But what’s the change that happened after the demonic beasts disappeared?”

It was raining.

And it was non-stop, to a degree that didn't seem natural at all, without any sign of letting up.

If that was the biggest change that occurred with the stage change, it was best to assume that the biggest challenge to come in this stage would also be that.

“This is going to keep falling. Looking at this, it seems like it's going to overflow like a flood. If you don't want to drown, you'd better build a raft.”

“...Ah.”

“Useless bastards. If you understand, then move.”

At the signs of understanding that finally came from those around, Batan let out a deep sigh and swept his hair back.

The gazes of his subordinates, which had been filled with only fear a moment ago, were now glancing at him with a certain degree of admiration, but for Batan, the fact that none of them were helpful only fueled his irritation.

‘...Still, the other guys probably couldn't even follow this far.’

Batan thought so and smirked.

The thoughtless ones were probably focused only on knocking out other competitors, and among those who vaguely realized that the rain from the sky would be some kind of variable, there probably weren't many who were moving with a clear sense of purpose like them.

In other words.

The only ones who could properly cope after this were those whose heads worked fast, had the ability to act, and had enough team members to handle such labor.

Batan himself was an excellent human who met all those conditions.

‘You vermin. Just lie quietly beneath me.’

Batan thought so, his eyes shining brightly.

***

“-is what a third-rater who thinks he's smart would probably think.”

As I yawned and said that, the people nearby all narrowed their eyes and looked at me.

Why. What’s the problem.

“No, I mean, from your perspective, Mr. Gyu-sik, everyone would look like that…”

“To be purely impressed, it’s somewhat suspicious... as if I'm participating in some sinister plan...”

“...Do you all treat me like some pervert who only plots schemes all day long?”

When I said that, they all turned to each other with wide eyes.

Then they turned their heads back to me and answered.

“Yes.”

“Yes.”

“It’s more surprising that you didn’t think so yourself until now. Do you perhaps have a conscience...?”

Shut up.

Shut your traps.

“...Anyway. Just realizing that this environment is a variable won't be enough to cope properly. There are various things that need to be done.”

Well, even I can't survive this stage with just a log raft like this.

“Huh? If it’s just rain like this causing a flood, isn't this enough?”

“There’s no way it would end with just that.”

“...”

Well.

One could think that.

But if it rains a lot, the stage name should be ‘Flood’, not Quagmire.

“By the way, why do you keep looking at your watch like that?”

As Lee Si-yeong asked that question, the others nodded their heads in agreement.

It was understandable that they would find it strange that I had gathered everyone and was just checking the time.

“...Uh.”

Only Seo Ah-in, who seemed to have realized what this meant, turned pale.

Seeing her frantically look around with agitated eyes, the gazes of the others also turned to her.

“What are you doing?”

“...Well, I’m trying to be as less surprised as possible...!”

Well.

It seems she had learned well that something big happens every time I check the time like this.

But this time, you missed the point.

The thing you need to look at isn't that way, but the ‘ground’.

-!

-!!

“Uh, uh-uh? What was that just now...?”

“Wait a minute, the ground is moving?!”

The sound of something clearly ‘awakening’.

And the entire ground shaking violently.

In fact, to be precise, it wasn't just shaking.

“Everyone, get on quickly.”

I yawned and got on the raft.

It was true that this crazy downpour was a variable.

But common-sensically, would a simple flood be a threat to superhumans like climbers?

It was more reasonable to assume that they had put ‘something’ inside the flood that would cut down the other guys.

-!

-!!

-!!!

The ground shook as if an earthquake had struck, and then the entire forest swirled around a single point.

Crack, even the nearby trees broke and were swept away.

The entire forest, as if it had become an antlion pit, swirled and was ‘sucked’ to one side.

“Wh-what is this?!”

“It means the stage is starting.”

I said that and looked up at the sky.

A new piece of information that seemed to have just been updated was posted there.

[ Survive for the limited time. ]

[ Good luck to all Conquerors. ]

[ 00:29:59 ]

“...Huh? 30 minutes?”

I smirked at the blank murmur from the side.

It was certainly a much shorter time compared to Stage 1.

In other words.

It meant that it had much more ‘discriminating power’.

Just looking at the gigantic something rising from within the vortex that was sucking in the entire forest proved that.

-!

-!!

Though partially degenerated, a body that clearly proved it once had wings. Blue scales. An appearance that retained the characteristics of a reptile.

An overwhelming magical dominance that could make a low-resistance climber faint just by breathing.

And a colossal body that was noticeable even from a great distance.

These were characteristics that no one could fail to recognize.

“...A Dragonkin? Are you kidding me?!”

That much could be told just by the scream that erupted from Seo Ah-in as she was getting on the raft.

She also looked like she was getting seasick from the raft shaking crazily as that thing appeared.

“To be precise, it’s a Water Dragon. Not a real Dragonkin, but half-Dragonkin.”

If a real Dragonkin had appeared in this section, even I wouldn't be confident of winning.

A Water Dragon has less mana, lower intelligence, and overall much lower combat power compared to a real dragon.

Of course, that didn't change the fact that it was a monster.

“Wh-what, why are you so calm? It's a Dragonkin?! An S-grade demonic beast is a natural disaster that even a nation would have trouble subjugating?!”

“I know, you brat.”

“And you want to face that on a raft like this?!”

“Yeah.”

I answered nonchalantly and rummaged through my backpack.

Certainly, compared to an S-grade demonic beast, this raft hastily made of logs did look a bit shabby.

“With this much rain pouring down, it’s completely their home ground, you know? With such a flimsy support, there’s no way...!”

That was all true too.

So, it needed a little upgrade right now.

I took out the four cubes I had received from Mr. Ebga and Ironclad and attached them to each corner of the raft.

“What are those?!”

“Engines.”

To be precise, ‘mana thrusters’.

I answered and fiddled with my necklace.

Well, I can’t do it for long.

[ Arcane Burst ]

[ Observation ]

I sent mana into the thrusters and scanned the surroundings with Observation.

Lines, spirals, vectors, energy.

All information about the current situation was hammered into my brain.

And accordingly, I immediately ‘controlled’ the raft.

And with just that, the floor instantly regained its stability.

Then.

“...Huh? Uh-uh? Uh-uh-uh?!”

“Are you kidding me, for real?! Does this make sense?!”

While the entire forest was being sucked towards the Water Dragon, this small raft alone began to ‘levitate’.

If the entire forest became a quagmire and was sucked that way, the solution was simple.

‘If you get away from the ground,’ you can escape from it.

“You guys, do you happen to like Arabian Nights?”

I like it.

Especially the magic lamp episode.

The flying carpet looked so cool.

“...This person, he's actually a mage, right?! He's not the same kind of human as us, right?!”

“I don't know. They're certifying him as a real mage, but even mages can't do this. Balancing all this, distributing mana evenly, analyzing the surroundings... at least, I can't do it!”

And seeing that, a dejected voice came from the outfield.

Especially Lee Si-yeong, who realized how high-level this mana control was, was having her mental state thoroughly shattered.

Well, to be precise, it wasn't me, but my Observation skill that was doing everything.

“Aaaa...argh...?”

The other climbers who were being swept away screaming nearby also stared at us, so entranced that they forgot their own situation upon seeing the raft floating in the air.

Their expressions said, what the hell are those guys doing with something like that prepared in this situation.

“Well, this is much better than before, right?”

“...”

“...”

Gazes that seemed to ask if I was really saying that flew from all around, but I answered by giving them a big smile.

What did I say?

I told you not to doubt me.

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