Chapter 201

Chapter 201. A Day on the Battlefield (5)

“Just because your weapon is short, does that make your arm short too? How long has it been since this issue was pointed out, yet it’s still the same?”

“Well, bad habits aren’t something you can just fix overnight…”

Kim Yul murmured as his lips pouted.

Of course, he shut his mouth immediately when I turned my head and glared at him.

“… I’ll try to pay more attention.”

“Of course, you should.”

Next up was Yang Taeho.

“You’re the same, hyung. The hit rate is lower than expected. It looked like it was barely hitting 70%.”

“Hmm…”

“Especially when targeting joints, the failure rate is high. How much has your blunt weapon skill improved?”

“Uh, it’s improved by 3% since last week…”

During the battle, I wasn’t just swinging my spear and killing monsters.

It was also my responsibility to assess the combat capabilities of my party members and point out any bad habits they had.

Observing both of them become unusually quiet, I crossed my arms and tapped my foot.

‘It seems like both might have gotten a bit complacent since they became Gold rank.’

It’s not something incomprehensible. The body of a Gold rank is extraordinary.

Sometimes, it feels like you’re omnipotent, capable of achieving anything.

But you must not become intoxicated by that feeling.

‘Becoming content like that leads to quick decline.’

I had no intention of letting my party members fall behind.

“Starting today, we’ll add personal training during watch duty.”

At this point, I was also pushing myself in my training to transition from Mana Control, which I had maxed out at 99.99%, to Mana Domination.

Let’s give the two of them a slightly tighter training schedule as well.

With a tone that left no room for disagreement, Yang Taeho let out a groan.

Meanwhile, Kim Yul, who had his mouth opened wide, objected urgently.

“Hyung, isn’t this being way too inconsiderate?”

“Inconsiderate?”

“It’s inconsiderate to expect us to meet the same level of standards you hold! We should get some rest during watch duty, shouldn’t we?”

As Kim Yul shouted in frustration, Yang Taeho, who had been silent, nodded earnestly beside him.

I looked at them alternately in disbelief.

Had they really formed an alliance to protest against my decision after only a few days of seeming camaraderie?

If I’d known they’d join forces like this to oppose me, I wouldn’t have bothered trying to improve our relationship. I would have just left things as they were.

At the very least, I wasn’t going to allow any behavior that contradicted my decisions within the party.

Such insubordinate behavior needed to be nipped in the bud from the start.

I tilted my head slightly, maintaining my arms crossed.

“And?”

“And what?”

“Are you saying you can’t do it?”

“As if!”

Kim Yul, who seemed ready to unleash a retort, faltered upon meeting my gaze directly.

“As if?”

“As if, of course, I’ll do it and do it earnestly.”

Fortunately, this time they gave the answer I wanted.

Satisfied, as I uncrossed my arms, I heard Yang Taeho mutter under his breath.

“Geez, all that talk about achieving something big, but in the end… nothing different from me.”

Kim Yul glared at him with sharp eyes and whispered.

“At least I tried to fight for our freedom?”

“Such a great effort there.”

“What did you just say? Are you mocking me?”

Watching the two of them bicker openly, I chuckled to myself.

It seemed they had indeed formed some sort of alliance without my knowledge.

They must have realized today how pointless that was.

I was about to wrap up and move on when a chat message arrived.

– Lily: K, the strategy schedule has been set.

The message from Lily surprised me slightly.

As I quickly reviewed our existing plans in response to the message.

“Looks like.”

“Huh?”

I spoke to the still-quarreling party members.

“We need to pick up the pace a bit more.”

As mentioned before, I wouldn’t allow any behavior that went against my decisions in the party.

* * *

The main scenario Chapter 6, which began about a week ago, was entirely the player’s responsibility.

The Order’s forces did not enter the corrupted area included in the main scenario’s contributions calculations.

As a result, it was true that there was more mana available for players to absorb in the areas previously bypassed.

However, there was also a downside to this.

“Damn it all!”

Crash, crash-crash!

Urgent cries intermingled with the massive tremor that made it almost impossible to stand still.

During the purification of a six-star corrupted area, monsters suddenly started gathering in one location.

The number of monsters assembling beneath the gentle slope already well-exceeded ten thousand at a glance.

Their mere presence was daunting.

The monsters regulated their breath as if refining their battle lines, then charged forward.

“We have to stop them!”

“Who doesn’t know that?! If we can’t hold them back, everyone here will die!”

“Tanker, tankers!”

Clouds of thick dust rose up as if a tidal wave was sweeping in.

Faced with the overwhelming scene ahead, Anata’s complexion grew pale.

‘Perhaps, is purifying the six-star corrupted area impossible for players alone?’

It wasn’t particularly challenging for players to purify four or five-star corrupted areas.

With parties banding together to form large clans, two or three clans entering a five-star corrupted area would suffice to clear it.

However, the six-star corrupted area where Anata stood was not a place that a mere party or clan could purify on their own.

MISSION

「Purification of Corrupted Area ★★★★★★ (08-1633785)」

Exterminate all enemies within a certain range and destroy Messeo.

• Messeo(2/79)

「Reward」

Choose one of the following rewards:

• Mana 160, reputation 8

• Attribute Mana 80, reputation 16

※ This corrupted area is included in the contribution calculations for Act 1, chapter 6 of the main scenario.

The indicated level was Level 8, making it the main stage for the main scenario.

The number of monsters stationed there ranged from the hundreds of thousands to potentially millions.

Players now had to solve a place once cleared with scores of troops and needed help.

Voices of concern arose from all directions.

This was the reason why the Players’ Association got actively involved in the issue of the six-star corrupted area.

After a full day’s discussion, the association reached an agreement and announced a straightforward plan:

The purification of low-grade corrupted areas would be left to individual parties’ discretion as it is now.

However, parties wishing to participate in the purification of six-star corrupted areas would gather at the designated location announced by the association by the given date.

The order to tackle the existing six-star corrupted areas in various locations was also determined.

Anata’s party decided to follow that directive, arriving at the appointed western assembly point on the designated date.

Even at this location alone, thousands of players had gathered.

Heading toward the center with Messeo step by step meant at least tens of thousands of players would be gathered near the six-star corrupted area.

So it seemed purification missions themselves weren’t too difficult, thinking this way.

Seeing the monstrous hordes surge like a tidal wave revealed how naive that thinking was.

Anata’s mind turned utterly blank, raising a question in self-reflection.

‘Why am I even here?’

A few months had passed since being dragged into this life-or-death game with monsters.

Anata bore a sense of duty until just moments ago.

Determined to prevent the looming disaster from reaching Earth.

To stop these monsters from crossing into her world, threatening her family, nation, and the planet.

She wanted to secure the Gold rank in this scenario and protect Earth.

Indeed, there was a selfish hope for a prosperous life on Earth with spoils obtained from Bihar.

But none of these aspirations remained now.

“Ah…”

The sight before her eyes stripped her mental faculties, rendering sophisticated thoughts pointless in mere moments.

Anata stared blankly at the scene unfolding before her, like a soulless doll.

“Barrier!”

Just then, with a voice calling out, gigantic rocks began to shoot up from the front, climbing like bamboo after rain.

Recovered with a jolt, Anata glanced around.

“We’re saved!”

“Use this time to reorganize the ranks! General players, fall back and ready for melee combat!”

“Elements, air attribute types get ready now!”

Before the cries from players affiliated with the association subsided, a crash followed by a crunching sound was heard.

The monsters charging forward collided with the large barrier constructed by the tankers.

At that moment, Anata noticed something odd.

The barrier made by the rock attribute tankers was irregular.

It wasn’t constructed densely in a narrow area but arranged in a manner reminiscent of a labyrinth over a wide expanse.

Why did they use magic like this?

The answer to that question came soon enough.

“They’re coming through the front!”

Some of the monsters spearheading the attack broke through the sparse barrier made by the tankers.

“Ah.”

It was to scatter the monsters.

So the barrier wouldn’t crumble all at once, allowing the monsters from beyond to surge in.

To have monsters coming through the maze-like barrier spread out.

‘The association didn’t merely assemble the players.’

They were orchestrating the battle itself.

Upon realizing this, Anata felt hope rekindle as she firmly grasped her sword.

Unfortunately, as someone without an attribute, she didn’t get a chance to shine.

Swish, swish!

Somewhere, a gust of wind began slicing through the monsters breaching the barrier.

Multiple players poured sequential magic, allowing a tremendous number of monsters to perish.

The carcasses of the monsters piled high enough that there was hardly any room to step.

“W-What?”

However, why were there seemed to be more monsters appearing instead of fewer ones?

The eyes of Anata trembled as she stabbed and killed a monster approaching after luckily avoiding the magic.

It was no mere illusion. The monsters, which should have decreased, were instead accumulating evermore.

The monsters were squeezing through the walls set by the tankers in endless streams.

“Is the area attack magic not ready yet?”

“Huh?! My mana hasn’t recharged yet!”

“Do you know how hard spellcraft is?!”

Most of the players who had already unleashed area magic were now in depleted states.

Even if mana were to recover, time was still required to reconstitute the magics.

Given the sheer number of monsters increasing, even killing these creatures one by one was no longer viable.

‘We have to slay at least dozens per person at this stage.’

When the power gap becomes that wide, tactics and strategy become moot.

Even the person burdened with directing the battle at the western assembly point acknowledged that much.

Thus, with a stern expression, he opened his mouth to speak.

“Withdraw, we need to… Agh!”

Before he could finish his words, a black worm-like entity emerged, piercing through his chest.

Examining closely, something stood beside the player.

A diminutive stature at waist height.

Its length appeared 4 to 5 meters, resembling a whip for an appendage.

A muzzle protruding slightly like that of a monkey.

A rough visual of thick fur entered view immediately.

And at last, those familiar red-eye sockets devoid of any pupil peculiar to monsters.

“General rank!”

An insistent general-rank monster flaunting a plaque boasting eight stars suddenly appeared.

This general wasn’t the only one.

Amid numerous ordinary monsters, nearly twenty generals of the seven-star class began surfacing.

“How could it be, this sudden…?”

Surely, players proficient in detection-type magic were constantly observing the situation.

How did these many generals manage to close in undetected?

Too flustered, Anata didn’t notice all the seven-star generals pairing off, holding something.

She wasn’t afforded the luxury to focus on such details in the first place.

Slap-!

“What…?”

Right then, the sound of something tearing through the air reached her ears.

After a brief interval, the figure of a player several steps ahead of Anata began splitting apart.

Barely blinking, Anata saw red blood gushing out from the bifurcated player’s body like a fountain.

“Too weak, kururuk, move aside quickly.”

The 8-star general at the forefront spoke human language, yet the words failed to register on her ears.

That preceding sight still lingered, muddling understanding.

It didn’t seem like the 8-star general planned to wait until Anata grasped the situation.

The way its arm rose like a whip surely meant.

Raising its arm, another slapping, tearing sound echoed in succession.

This time, Anata recognized it explicitly as the sound of a person being torn apart.

As Anata staggered backward, she inadvertently fell, leaving her seated pathetically.

The result was already decided from this moment—having seen morale plummet.

A callous voice came as someone threw the verbal switch.

“You fools, retreat!”

The players present started abandoning their posts one after another.

Suddenly recalling the futility of clashing with generals while at the Silver rank state.

“We must prevent them from reaching the Silver ranks!”

In the scramble for survival, the Gold ranks swiftly moved forward to face the generals, raising their weapons assertively.

However, the situation could hardly be any grimmer.

Among the gold ranks, merely six or so bore association emblems, while the others retreated with the Silver ranks.

“I’m out of mana!”

“Anyway, magic doesn’t work much against them!”

“Take one hit if you must to get in close!”

“Why’s it coming this way?!”

“The disparity in numbers is against us, we should retreat!”

As disputes arose between those staying to fight and those seeking escape.

Seated at her post, trembling frightfully, Anata plunged into despair once again.

‘Assigning one person per creature hardly assures victory.’

Having freshly learned the dismal meaning of utter darkness, she reached the point where confusion overtakes vision.

The general raised its arm to strike again.

Anata, almost in a trance, remained fixated on the general’s arm descending upon her.

The surreal spectacle made her something of a detached third party observer.

Thus, a certain hand, intruding upon her field of vision, was evident as a sharp, definitive image in her mind.

Moreover, the player who grabbed the mutated creature’s arm likewise fell within the gaze of her vigilant eyes.

The player, winding the 8-star general’s arm around his own, said with a slight smirk.

“Where are you headed in such haste?”

Damned System