Closed Beta That Only I Played

Chapter 258: New Hunting Ground (3)

Honestly, I felt ashamed because everyone here had their gazes drawn to me the moment I stepped forward proudly and naturally, only for me to be bounced off the portal like this.

But, pretending it was not a big deal, I stood up casually and dusted myself off.

As a matter of fact, it really wasn’t a big deal.

Before, everyone who was bounced off said that no message arang.

They said as soon as they stepped in the portal, they were thrown out with a strong repulsive force. But a message rang while I was sent crashing on the floor.

[You are partying with those who are not qualified to step into the portal.

-You must first stop partying with them to be able to enter.]

The message announced that I was currently partying with those not qualified. In other words, it meant I was qualified.

So I told my father, the current leader of this party, that I could no longer act as Juyoung Hong, and needed to act as the solo player Asirante.

“I think I have to leave the party for a while. According to the message I received, I can’t enter because I’m in a party with everyone and not acting alone.”

There were whispers here and there.

“?”

“I didn’t see such a message at all.”

“So, we can’t move inside because we’re in a party?”

Those who already experienced being thrown out like me responded one by one.

So, some of them exited the party and stepped forward to the portal full of question marks.

But they experienced the same thing.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

“I didn’t hear the message ringing this time…”

“Me, neither.”

Their eyes turned to me again, but I ignored their gaze, and instead moved to the portal and stepped inside it like before.

Then I felt like my body was being dragged somewhere just like when I used the portals to the level 1300, level 1400, and level 1500 hunting grounds. At the same time, a bright light greeted me along with a message.

[You are the first one to enter the level ???? hunting ground.

-As a reward, all stat points increase by 300.]

[There is a bonus event as you are the first one to enter this level ???? hunting ground.

-If you can inflict even the slightest damage to the boss monster, you will receive 300 remaining stat points.]

“Hahaha”

When I entered the level 1300, level 1400, level 1500 hunting grounds, all stat points increased by 100, and that was enough for me because all stats increased by 300, given that there were three hunting grounds. It was almost the same as obtaining a high-level title for free.

But this time, all stat points increased by 300 at once.

In other words, it meant that all my stat points had increased by 600 in total, so I had no choice but to smile in satisfaction.

While Asirante successfully entered the portal full of question marks, all the other 19 players disbanded the party and stepped inside the portal one by one.

Obviously, they were almost 100% likely to fail, but the rewards they got from the level 1300, level 1400, and level 1500 hunting grounds were so huge that they could not give up here.

As expected, there were whispers again here and there.

“Well, I failed again.”

“Me too.”

“Man, Asirante is already too strong. He made it this time as well! He’s going to be even stronger!”

After all, the fact that Asirante alone succeeded in entering the portal meant that he alone would claim all the rewards, so the other players had no choice but to feel envious of him.

Moreover, they had the hunch that the hunting ground full of question marks would most likely give better rewards than the level 1300, level 1400, and level 1500 hunting grounds, so they felt even more jealous. Of course, some of them felt really proud of his successful entrance as if they were the ones to do so. They were some of the users belonging to the Myongjin Guild, or more precisely, the family members of Asirante, or Juyoung Hong.

Inside the portal marked with question marks.

“Hmm.”

Frankly speaking, I wanted to look around this hunting ground from the beginning.

I wondered what monsters would be waiting for me when I left this safety zone and how they would fight against me.

And at that moment, I was a little thrilled because I strongly felt the urge to defeat them.

“Yeah, I can…”

Of course, it may not be a big deal because someone else might be able to defeat the monsters easily. However, it was quite special to me that I felt such a strong urge to defeat them even before I knew it. Moreover, I had never experienced hunting in a special place like this.

So, I felt a strong desire to defeat them and emerge victorious, but in the end, I retreated form the portal because although I valued my desire to win, there were 19 players who I had already promised to move with, and I was not stupid enough to lose my self-control in this situation.

Moreover, my family members were among the 19 players.

After a while, my father declared, “Everyone, get inside the level 1300 portal again!”

“Yeah.”

“Okay.”

As if my father had already taken some measures, nobody asked me what happened to me inside the portal marked with question marks when I exited it. Instead, they greeted me as if nothing happened. So, we reorganized the party, then went straight to the level 1300 portal because there was still a lot more we had to gain despite the fact that we had already gained a lot.

For example, coins were crucial, along with golden rings, items, and EXP. And the message clearly said that inflicting damage to the boss monster would grant us an additional100 remaining stat points.

Of course, 100 remaining stat points were small compared to all the stat points we already obtained, but we could not give them up, so we moved into the level 1300 hunting ground with the aim of damaging the boss monster.

Inside the level 1300 hunting ground.

Just like any other hunting ground, we could confirm what kind of monsters inhabited it not long after we left the safety zone at the starting point.

They were some sort of crocodile monsters.

“Man, they are huge! They are even bigger than the crocodiles appearing in the level 700 Alligator Swamp hunting ground.”

“You’re right.”

Like they said, the crocodiles that appeared before my eyes were really big. So much so that they could be mistaken as dinosaurs at first glance. Of course, they were not dinosaurs.

Moreover, their elongated snouts and pointed teeth really overwhelmed us.

However, their appearance stimulated my strong urge to defeat them all the more.

Besides, I was still experiencing the strong desire to hunt, which I felt a little while ago.

“Let me deal with them first,” I said.

As a matter of fact, we already made an agreement in advance that I would first deal with the monsters.

Although they were not the boss monster and just general monsters, they were level 1300. They were definitely strong enough not to die at my first attack. With the huge penalty increase, it was natural that I tested the waters first to make sure it was safe for the rest of the members.

“Kheeeeeeeeeng!”

“Kahhhhhhhhhng!”