abcnovels
Chapter 29
Chapter 29
[Translator - Jjescus ]
[Proofreader - Starfall ]
Chapter: 29
"Get first place? Is he crazy?"
"He got the hidden skill. He must be blind with ambition."
"You don't realize you're trash until you hit your head against the wall."
The murmuring voices of the people around the dungeon entrance could be heard.
Half of them didn't even bother to lower their voices.
"The reaction is too heated."
-LMAO
-That's a normal reaction.
-Do you think Black Dragon is a joke?
-Yes.
-10th place is a bit...
Despite witnessing Hanbit's achievements, people's opinions were still negative.
Ignoring their reactions, Hanbit stepped closer to the entrance.
Ding-!
[Challenge Dungeon]
This dungeon requires an entrance fee of 500 gold.
Records are updated immediately upon achievement, and the accumulated entrance fee is paid to the 1st place player every Monday.
Level Limit: Below Lv.30
*Ranking
1st Place: Kim Han-seop (19 minutes 25 seconds)
2nd Place: Nowaki (19 minutes 38 seconds)
3rd Place: Odin (19 minutes 41 seconds)
.......
-Information) The 1st place record hasn't been broken for a year.
-Time attack 'devil'
-He was once a promising GOAT.
-I thought he would join the advanced teams.
-Odin, who took 3rd place, joined the advanced teams lol
-Odin is just a talented guy.
'The first place is indeed unrivaled.'
The difference between 1st and 2nd place was 13 seconds.
Seeing that most of the differences were within 5 seconds, it was indeed impressive.
It was surprising that the record hadn't been broken for a year, but it was also unexpected that the record holder wasn't an advanced player.
"How many advanced players are in the rankings?"
"Almost none. It was in the early days of the server, and those people would have focused on the story and internal affairs rather than spending time on this."
Yeonwoo's explanation made sense.
There was no need for advanced players to spend an excessive amount of time on such records.
Moreover, in the early days of the server, when there weren't even any guides, it would have been a far cry from setting records.
"Then what about the person named Odin in 3rd place? The chat window said he's an advanced player?"
"Odin is a special case. He set that record on his first try and joined the advanced team six months later."
"He just went without aiming for 1st place?"
"That's how difficult it is. How much effort is needed to reduce even 1 second. Of course, Odin himself has never stated the reason."
-But Odin is really talented.
-Started a year ago and now he's a mid-ranking advanced player lol
-Is he the fastest climber among users who didn't start in the early days?
-Isn't Luna the fastest?
-Blood was fast too.
The names of various advanced players appeared in the chat window.
It seemed to be quite a hot topic that someone who didn't play RP from the beginning became an advanced team.
Anyway, what was important now was the dungeon record.
[10th Place: 20 minutes 03 seconds]
The 10th place record, which was the standard for the mission, was about 20 minutes.
Of course, Hanbit, aiming for1st place, only had eyes for the top record.
"I'm going in alone, right?"
"Challenge is always solo. I'll be watching through the stream, so you just have to proceed."
"Hmm, are all the guides for this place public?"
"A lot of them have been released. There will be a lot of articles on RPG..."
Yeonwoo quickly started searching for information.
It didn't take even a minute for the results to come out.
"I sent you the link."
Hanbit accessed the link in the message he sent.
The bulletin board post linked to the community listed photos and strategies of the inside of the dungeon.
'Exactly the same.'
He checked just in case, but as expected, it was exactly the same dungeon that Hanbit knew.
Traps lined up from the beginning and a complex maze.
Even the structure of every nook and cranny that wasn't in the photos was clearly drawn in his head.
"Hyung, and ignore the quest in the middle."
"Quest?"
"There's an NPC named Flona in the dungeon. The difficulty is extremely hard, but the rewards are so poor that it's standard to ignore it."
-It's really freaking hard.
-Abandon Flona?
-You can't clear it if you don't abandon her.
-Are there even 5 people who cleared it with her?
-Maybe the advanced players tried it?
As Yeonwoo said, the quest was written in the middle of the strategy guide.
The condition for completion was to clear the dungeon while saving a girl named Flona who had been kidnapped by monsters.
However, the combination of extremely high difficulty and useless rewards did not appeal to players.
"Are there people who have cleared the quest?"
"There are some cases. But they barely cleared it by throwing all sorts of items at it. It took them over an hour."
"So? After rescuing her?"
"What happens next? You clear the dungeon, get the reward, and that's it. Some cheap herbs and a little experience."
"...And that's it?"
Hanbit's voice was filled with disbelief.
This was because Flona's rescue had a huge impact on the early story progression.
To think they didn't take advantage of the opportunity at all after clearing such a difficult quest.
He felt like confronting those people directly.
"But you're really okay, right? If you fail the mission, you have to spend a whole day teaching viewers."
Yeonwoo asked worriedly, looking at Hanbit who was focused on the post.
Did he think he could solve it with a last-minute strategy?
-lol too late
-It's meaningless even if you look at it.
-It's okay if Black Dragon panics later
-I'll give you a lot of backseat gaming.
-He's going to do it, he's going to do it
The viewers were already getting ready.
He didn't mind if they backseat gamed or whatever.
That is, if he had the time.
"It's fine, so just watch. I'll be back."
Hanbit turned his gaze and stepped inside the entrance.
Ding-!
[500 gold will be consumed as an entrance fee.]
The scenery changed as the entrance fee was automatically deducted.
Inside, a cave passage with luminous objects embedded in it unfolded.
[00:02]
The timer displayed at the top of the screen.
Although he had an estimated arrival time, there was no harm in hurrying.
Thud-!
Hanbit immediately kicked off and ran straight ahead.
Thanks to his increased speed, it didn't take long to reach the first checkpoint.
-1st checkpoint appeared.
-Actually, it's the 0th checkpoint.
-Newbie entrance cut-off section.
At first glance, it looked like an ordinary passage.
However, various traps were hidden on the ceiling, walls, and floor.
Although there were quite a few in number and variety, he had to save a lot of time here.
Shing-!
Hanbit drew his sword and lowered his upper body, taking a stance.
Chirp-!
Perhaps sensing his intentions, the wind spirit Sylph made a sound.
Then, the wind slowly gathered around his legs.
It was a change brought about by the hidden skill, Wind Movement.
Basically, it was a passive skill that enhanced physical abilities, but the power of the spirit was also added.
Thud-
Putting force on his hind legs, he focused his gaze on the front.
And he kicked off the ground towards the center path.
Thud-!
His body sprang forward at an amazing speed.
At the same time, he swung the sword in his right hand diagonally.
Wheek-!
Clang-!
A cheerful noise accompanied the trajectory that drew an arc.
Three arrows, their heads deflected, scattered in the air.
Whoosh-!
Iron thorns sprang up from the floor as if to signal the beginning.
However, Hanbit's legs had already passed that section.
Whoosh-!
The next trap was sharp spears protruding from the ceiling and walls.
The attack, which seemed to be designed to pierce his body at once, was threatening, but if he knew the exact launch location and timing, he could avoid it sufficiently.
Whoosh-! Whoosh-!
Hanbit dodged the spears, moving his head and body from side to side.
Even while doing so, his running speed hardly decreased.
-?
-What kind of bug is this?
-Did he dodge it, or did it just not hit him?
-Seems like he memorized all the trap locations?
-Don't be ridiculous
-Didn't you see Asla's test? This guy is a trap master.
-It's just a bug, you game noobs.
The chat window was a mix of confusion and awe.
Amidst the complex reactions, Hanbit continued forward.
And it wasn't long before he reached his target spot.
Sniffle-
A small side path connected to one side of the corner.
At the entrance, a red-haired girl was hugging her knees and crying.
[Flona]
The name and face that appeared above her head were all too familiar.
Hanbit approached and lowered his body.
"Are you okay?"
"...Huh?"
Flona, who looked up at the sound of footsteps, met Hanbit's gaze.
Her eyes widened immediately.
"Ah...!"
Her face was a mixture of surprise, faint relief, and extreme fear.
She realized that he was an adventurer, but she couldn't bring herself to speak.
She just fumbled with her hands, as if unsure whether she could ask for help.
"I'm the adventurer Black Dragon. Who are you?"
"My name is... Flona."
"How did you get into the dungeon?"
"I came out to get some herbs...and I ran into a monster..."
When he asked the question, tears welled up in the girl's eyes.
Her intermittent answers, when put together, were simple.
Flona, who lived in the slums, had secretly left the city to find herbs for her injured friend.
In the process, she encountered a monster, and while running away, she fell into this side path of the dungeon.
-????
-This won't do. Let's save her.
-You all abandoned her though;
-It couldn't be helped.
-The quest is too hard.
The viewers who had experienced the dungeon had passed by Flona, ignoring her.
They only felt a very slight sense of guilt for playing the game that way.
It was just a matter of abandoning a quest with a bad reward.
'I don't even want to think about it.'
The consequences of not saving Flona here were terrible.
If they knew how tragically the girl in front of him would die, and what kind of absurd tragedy would follow...
No one would be able to pass by this girl.
'Let's get out of here as soon as possible.'
Hanbit, remembering the past, strengthened his resolve.
Although Flona would ask for help after a little more time passed, returning to the city quickly was also for her sake.
"Let's go. We have to clear the dungeon to get out of here."
"Are you... helping me? But I don't have any money..."
She sniffled and trailed off hesitantly.
Children living in slums knew their situation all too well. Therefore, they didn't think they could easily receive help.
Especially since adventurers were mostly driven by money.
"You don't have to give me anything. I'm Lia’s friend."
"Huh? Lia?"
Lia, a celebrity in the slums.
When he mentioned her name, Flona's expression brightened noticeably.
-Lia all of a sudden?
-They are close.
-There's also a cleaning quest.
-It was so cute watching them play with the cat lol
-Please say it's meow-cute.
It was widely known that the two were close.
Perhaps if you looked around the slums a bit, you could see them playing together.
"Really... are you sure you don't need anything?"
"It's okay. I'm helping you out because it's on the way."
"But..."
Flona pondered over his words that he didn't need anything in return.
"Ah!"
After racking her brains for a while, she rummaged through her bag as if she had remembered something.
And then she took out a red leaf and said, "I'll give you this!"
It was a Red Herb, a very common and cheap medicinal herb.
Of course, it was a very precious item for a slum girl.
"Then I'll take it after we get out of the dungeon. Is that okay?"
"Yes!"
Ding-!
[Quest]
Flona, a girl unexpectedly caught up in the dungeon.
Take the frightened girl outside.
Objective: Clear the dungeon while protecting Flona
Reward: Red Herb, 500 experience points
Time Limit: None
A quest message popped up along with her bright reply.
Hanbit closed the window and turned his gaze to the timer.
[05:31]
The time roughly matched his expectations.
But the real challenge started now.
"I'll have to carry you."
"Huh? Uh...!"
Hanbit lifted Flona into his arms.
Securing the startled girl in his arms, he immediately kicked off the ground towards the path.
"Hold on tight. Let's go."
[Translator - Jjescus ]
[Proofreader - Starfall ]