Chapter 734: Week 9–10 Midterms (13)

Before long, Mo Yongjun unfolded his map and said,

“First, know this. I saw him yesterday around five in the afternoon. There is no guarantee he is still in the same place.”

“Of course.”

I gave an unconcerned tilt of my chin.

Even we were constantly crossing from one zone to another without rest, so Sagong Uk’s group had probably moved somewhere else by now.

In other words, even if we went looking, there was a high chance we would come up empty-handed.

“Still, I’d like to hear it for reference.”

“Then understood.”

Mo Yongjun lightly scanned the map.

Then he pointed to a spot in the northeast and continued.

“I remember seeing them while passing through around here.”

“That was a D-rank zone, right?”

“It was.”

“About how many of them were there?”

“I only saw them from afar and passed by, so I cannot say for certain, but there seemed to be more than ten.”

Sagong Uk belonged to the Swordsmanship Club’s dark-blade faction, but from what I had heard, he had also taken on additional party members beyond that.

All told, their numbers were probably similar to Cha Hyeonju’s group, or slightly larger.

That meant I had obtained all the information I needed, so I grinned and said to Mo Yongjun,

“Thanks. I’ll go take a look.”

“I pray you accomplish what you desire.”

“See you again. In the A zone.”

While the Swordsmanship Club group left—

We kept the map open and held a brief strategy meeting.

Go Hyeonwoo let out a contemplative hum and said,

“There are far too few clues to determine Brother Sagong’s trail. Still, it seems his radius of movement has narrowed somewhat.”

A fairly long time had passed, but there was no way Sagong Uk’s group had gone all the way to the opposite side of the Great Forest.

Since they had many people, their movement speed would be slow, and if they encountered various dangers along the way, it would have slowed even more.

Hong Yeonhwa thought for a moment, then joined the conversation.

“I think we should focus on C zones.”

“Mm, since their ranks must have risen as well.”

Because of the [Fixed Zone] rule, suffering in a D-rank zone or a C-rank zone was similar either way.

In that case, moving to a place with even slightly better rewards was the obvious choice.

As if a question had suddenly occurred to him, Go Hyeonwoo asked,

“Do you think there is no possibility they moved to B?”

“None. Even we haven’t gone there yet.”

“That is certainly true.”

It was true that we had started later than the others, but we had selectively taken the key hidden pieces and even stirred up a B-rank zone once before coming out.

On top of that, three [Boost] cards that increased experience by 1.5 times had been applied, and we had two [Payback] cards too.

The gap between us and the other participants should have mostly closed, or rather, we might have surpassed them.

Even we were still somewhat lacking for entering a B-rank zone in earnest, so there was no way Sagong Uk’s group had finished preparations.

Hong Yeonhwa had reason to be certain.

Go Hyeonwoo nodded and looked back down at the map.

He scanned around the spot Mo Yongjun had pointed out.

“If it is a C-rank zone within this radius...... there is only one.”

“I think that side is the most likely too.”

“What do you think, Brother Kim?”

When the two of them looked this way, I lightly tilted my chin.

“I think the same.”

“Shall we go?”

“Shall we go?”

“It is a bit far.”

The goal we had set in the morning was to sweep field bosses and claim B-rank zones first.

If we went to catch Sagong Uk’s group, that goal would inevitably be delayed.

In the worst case, our prediction would be wrong and we would waste our time.

“Still, it’s worth betting on. As long as we succeed—”

“—three birds with one stone.”

Seo Ye-in’s eyes shone as she picked up my sentence.

We could repay our debt, overachieve the quest objective, and seize their items.

In multiple ways, the return was greater than the risk.

The party members seemed to be thinking similarly and agreed unanimously. Soon, Han Somi took the lead with powerful steps.

“We walk! The road of revenge!”

*****

On our way to the C-rank zone, I took some time to inspect our [Item Cards].

[Map(B+)]

[Campsite(5 People)]

Originally, we had possessed quite a few [Exit] cards, but now that regrouping was finished, they were effectively useless.

On the other hand, since Mo Yongjun was leading several groups as part of the Swordsmanship Club, the usefulness of [Exit] for him was almost on the level of teleportation.

So I had handed all of them over.

As for [Campsite], we only needed enough for five people tonight, and we could just get more tomorrow.

Meanwhile, Mo Yongjun needed to secure more than a dozen cards every day, so his need for them was very high.

So I handed those over too, leaving only the bare minimum.

The cards I received in exchange were [Plunder], [Protection], and [Ejection].

[Plunder]*8

[Protection]*14

[Ejection]*17

Feeling reassured, I next checked the rare cards.

We still haven’t gotten that many.

[Concealment(B)]

[Concealment(C)]

[Payback(B+)]*2

[Shackles(C+)]*2

The field boss we beat up right before meeting Mo Yongjun had dropped one more [Shackles].

After this, we would need to go around collecting hidden pieces too.

Once I finished organizing the cards for now, I continued onward with the group.

Eventually, a notification message appeared in the corner of my vision.

[You are entering a fixed zone.]

[The ranks of skills/traits/equipment will be adjusted to C-rank.]

It seemed we had finally reached the C zone.

The first thing I did was unfold the map.

I wanted to check whether there was a field boss, and if so, where it was.

“There’s one crown left.”

“Are we catching it first? Before we see Sagong Uk’s group?”

At Han Somi’s question, I shook my head.

“The opposite. We catch Sagong Uk’s group first.”

“Ing? How?”

“Think from their position. If you were them, what would you do in a C-rank zone?”

“......The boss first!”

An exclamation mark seemed to pop above Han Somi’s head.

If Sagong Uk’s group was in this C zone as we predicted, they would try to attack the field boss as quickly as possible.

The reward was quite good, and if they dragged their feet, another party might take it.

Hong Yeonhwa added one sentence.

“I think we just need to wait nearby.”

“Good. Let’s go.”

We cut straight through the C zone toward the crown.

Once we drew close enough, the field boss came into view. It was a mix of sundews, Venus flytraps, and pitcher plants, all two to three stories high.

A complete set of carnivorous plants.

It was obvious, but if its body grew large, its prey would also grow large.

Even if it was originally a carnivorous plant, once it became as large as a building, it would eat beasts, monsters, and eventually even people.

Of course, dealing with it would be something for later.

I lowered my body and gave instructions.

“Let’s wait here.”

“Understood.”

“Confirmed.”

The party members each found places that did not stand out and settled down.

Behind thick ancient trees, inside bushes, between rocks, and so on.

In that state, Han Somi asked in a small voice,

“But what if they don’t come?”

“Then we catch it and move on.”

It would mean we had wasted some time, but that level of risk was something we had accepted from the start.

However, before long, it became clear Han Somi’s concern had been needless.

Here they come.

Several silhouettes were approaching from the distance.

Soon, the distance between us and them narrowed enough for me to recognize their faces.

It is Sagong Uk.

Back Guy was beside him, and there were the dark-blade swordsmen I had seen once or twice too.

Meanwhile, aside from them, students of various classes such as mages, priests, and archers also stood out.

They were probably the additional party members I had heard about.

How unfortunate.

Because once the fight broke out, they would be swept away with the rest.

Their mistake was joining hands with Sagong Uk.

On top of that, apparently some of them had participated in checking Go, Han, and Hong’s party too.

When you think about it, there’s nothing unfair here.

This is all self-inflicted, ladies and gentlemen.

Shedding even the last of my guilt, I kept watching Sagong Uk’s expedition group.

Soon, they stopped at a moderate distance from the field boss and held a brief strategy meeting.

Then, while forming a formation, they steadily closed the remaining distance.

As if sensing the humans’ movements, the carnivorous plants attacked first.

They swung thick tree vines like whips.

WHIRRRR!

The swordsmen at the front struck them away, and support fire poured in from the rear.

Next, the carnivorous plants scattered clumps that looked like purple fruits.

Sagong Uk’s expedition group struck some away, and some fell to the ground, but either way, the result did not seem much different.

HISSSSSSS......

Judging by the purple poison gas spraying out from each fruit.

Still, it’s going fairly smoothly.

They were steadily shaving down the field boss’s health in an extremely standard way.

At this rate, they might finish without any major damage.

If we weren’t here, that is.

I raised the corners of my mouth in a grin and exchanged glances with my party members.

“Shall we start preparing?”

“Wipeout.”

Starting with Seo Ye-in, everyone began preparing for battle in their own ways.

I took out [Concealment] and used it immediately.

SHHHHHH......

And as soon as pitch-black energy settled down and wrapped around our bodies—

“Let’s go.”

We all kicked off the ground and shot forward.

The distance between us and Sagong Uk’s group rapidly narrowed.

WHIRRRR!

They were so focused on exchanging offense and defense with the carnivorous plants that they did not notice us approaching in the slightest.

Only after we arrived just a few steps away did one of them turn this way.

“Wha......!”

But by then, [Item Cards] were already shining in everyone’s hands.

“[Plunder].”

“[Plunder].”

FLASH-FLASH-FLASH-FLASH!

FSSSSSS......

Beams of light shot out wildly and struck Sagong Uk’s group.

Most of them seemed to be blocked by [Protection] and bounced right off, but—

That was the point from the start. To strip them.

After we fired [Plunder] wildly, what we pulled out next was [Ejection].

FLASH-FLASH-FLASH-FLASH!

More beams of light struck Sagong Uk’s group.

And before they even had time to panic—

“What the—”

“You son of a—”

“Hey, wait—”

FLASH-FLASH-FLASH!

They shot high into the sky and flew far away.

Less than half the original group remained.

And Sagong Uk was included among them.

I grinned and waved at him as his eyes bulged like they might tear open.

“Hello there.”

“You......!”

“You said you were waiting for me, right?”

Hong Yeonhwa chimed in proudly from beside me.

“You said he didn’t even show his face. You also said it wouldn’t change much even if he came.”

“......!”

“But now that he’s actually here, do you think you can’t win?”

At that, Sagong Uk seemed to lose his words, opening and closing his mouth repeatedly.

At the same time, he looked like he was wondering what to do, but he had not had many options to begin with.

Either surrender and apologize for everything he had done until now—

“......Damn it! Hit them!”

Or clash with us like he had nothing left to lose.

The battle resumed, and the dark-blade swordsmen collided with Go Hyeonwoo and Han Somi.

The first few exchanges seemed reasonably even, but as the offensive and defensive exchanges continued, the dark-blade side was pushed back helplessly.

SLAAASH!

“Gaaah!”

“Urk.”

In the end, they allowed fatal blows through.

Moreover, they were in the middle of attacking a field boss.

WHIRRRR, SMACK!

Another dark-blade swordsman was caught by a whip, and another was dragged away and swallowed whole by a large pitcher.

One by one, they were ejected from the Great Forest, and now only Sagong Uk remained.

Of course, our exchange with him had already been settled long ago.

I declared in a solemn tone,

“Sagong Uk, I sentence you to ‘ice bubble’ punishment.”

“......!”

He glared at me like he wanted to kill me while trapped in ice.

He had been hit by the [Bubble Bubble(S)] + [Frost-White Shot] combo.

So why am I dragging it out instead of finishing him right away?

Shouldn’t I hurry up and beat him down to take his cards, or blast him far away like another grand slam?

There was a reason for all this.

FLASH-FLASH-FLASH!

Beams of light were flying in from beyond the sky.

It meant some of the people we had just sent flying with [Ejection] were returning with [Exit].

And if they had [Exit]?

They must have other cards too.

Our valued customers were coming back!