Ch.180July’s Dungeon, and Terror (3)

“Come on! Come on! Let’s farm! Farm!”

I shouted loudly.

They weren’t great weapons, but somehow those guys had managed to get to the central area and obtain metal weapons. They probably just grabbed the weapons and ran, planning to camp out in the outskirts. I know how it works.

“Everyone take one.”

I said.

“Hmm… I don’t like blades.”

Umi grumbled.

Fair enough. Even if Umi did pick one up and swing it around, I would have stopped her. It would be like watching a kid play with a fruit knife.

But Umi needed to pull her weight too. This was survival, after all.

“Here. Take this dagger.”

I said to Umi. It was a weapon that even beginners could handle well. Even a dedicated healer needed to protect herself.

Dagger techniques… that’s something I’m actually good at. Should I teach Umi later? I thought about it but quickly gave up. Umi… she’d definitely find it bothersome. She hates learning anything new.

“This one seems useful.”

Taiga smiled as she picked up a huge club. It was a primitive weapon—a wooden club with spikes sticking out all over. Very fitting for Taiga.

“You look like an oni…”

I muttered without thinking. Not the cute Korean version of dokkaebi, but more like the terrifying Japanese oni. Anyway, it looked like she could crack someone’s skull with that thing.

“Hey!! What are you saying to a lady?!!”

Taiga immediately swung the club.

“Whoa! Stop!”

I desperately dodged the club. Getting hit by that would be seriously dangerous!

“Everyone, stop fooling around. This is the real deal.”

At that moment, Sasith seized the opportunity to act like a leader.

“………”

Yeah, right. It felt like he’d finally delivered a line he’d been dying to use. Sasith was smiling slightly, the corners of his mouth turning up. He must be feeling the satisfaction of delivering the perfect line.

“Sasith… so cool.”

Frill, already completely smitten with Sasith, was looking at him with sparkling eyes. Amazing. I can’t believe that worked. The power of love is incredible.

Anyway, Sasith picked up a sword like mine, and Frill grabbed a dagger.

And Tina… didn’t take anything.

“Bare fists are enough.”

Tina said, throwing punches in the air.

Well… I knew the power of Tina’s fists. They could easily smash a monster’s skull.

In any case, everyone finally had proper equipment.

“Anyway, Shota. What should we do now?”

The problem was that Sasith’s cool act never lasted long. His coolness was about as cold as a popsicle in a lukewarm refrigerator.

He had delivered his line boldly, but then immediately delegated the decision-making to me.

“………”

Frill’s gaze cooled slightly. It felt like her affection dropped by about 3 points. Sasith, please pay attention! This won’t do. I resolved to create opportunities for Sasith to look cool later.

But actually, we didn’t need to do anything. It was now 1:30 AM. The shadow world’s invasion was coming to an end.

Ping-!!

A brightly glowing orb shot out from the abandoned building we had claimed as our base.

Ding-! Ding-!

Beyond the orb appeared a timer. It showed about 15 minutes. A portal that would open after 15 minutes.

“This is… a small portal.”

Frill, being from the shadow world, immediately recognized what it was.

“Yeah. If you stay in one place long enough, a small portal appears. We’ll start from here tomorrow.”

I explained.

“I see. So that’s why having a base is important.”

Sasith nodded.

“Right. If you don’t have a base, you’ll be summoned randomly somewhere on the island.”

I said.

“Isn’t that a bit much?”

Taiga said.

“Yeah. The chances of getting killed while wandering around the island are high.”

I explained. If you spawn in a terrible location on day two, it could be an immediate game over. Well… if this were just a game, that would be less frustrating, but this was reality. Dying in the game meant dying for real. That had to be avoided at all costs. That’s why securing a base was important.

———-

Before that… it would be good to ensure our safety.

“Pinocchio! Come out!!”

I immediately called for Pinocchio.

“M-Master? You’re not going to throw me at something weird again, are you?”

Pinocchio looked at me with suspicious eyes.

It seemed the trauma of being thrown full-swing at a statue last time was still fresh.

“No. You can fly at a certain distance from me, right?”

I asked, stroking Pinocchio’s nose.

“Ah… yes. I can fly, but…”

However, Pinocchio still seemed wary of me.

“Great! Then fly around the area and let me know if you see anything suspicious! And lure any suspicious characters toward me!”

I shouted.

“T-That’s still dangerous!!”

Pinocchio immediately tried to resist.

“Argh!! Really!!!! Just do as I say!!”

I immediately applied pressure to Pinocchio’s nose as if I was about to break it.

“M-Master!! My nose!! My nose hurts!! My nose!!!”

Pinocchio squirmed.

“Will you do it? Or not?!!”

Wait, am I really going to break it?

“I’ll do it!! I’ll do it!!”

Pinocchio slapped my palm in surrender, in 16-bit style. Wow!! 16-bit!! Wow!!! Super Famicom!!

Whoosh-!!

Pinocchio wiped away tears and flew around like a reconnaissance drone.

———

Of course, the island wasn’t very large and wasn’t densely populated. There were dangerous neighbors nearby, as expected.

Even elite mobs were monsters at their core. Pinocchio’s passive ability of overwhelming presence immediately took effect. Just being nearby was enough to draw aggro.

“Over there!! Suspicious characters!!”

“Kill it! Tseek!”

The monsters immediately rushed toward Pinocchio. There were about five of them. They lived in the ruins next door. We needed to clear out all the monsters in this area to make future battles easier.

“M-Master!!!”

Pinocchio immediately ran toward me.

“Well done!! Pinocchio!! Everyone!! Prepare for battle!!”

I shouted loudly.

Then, I whispered to Sasith.

“You should show off to your girlfriend.”

I said with a smile.

“I-I’m not doing it for such shallow reasons…!!”

Sasith’s face turned bright red, as if embarrassed that his true intentions had been exposed. Geez… what a shy guy.

“Sasith!! Use Uwang 799 to launch them into the air!!”

I immediately gave the order.

“Umi!!! Cast all your buffs on everyone!!”

I shouted to Umi. We could probably win without buffs, but it was better to be certain.

“Okay!! Max Buff!!”

Umi cast a comprehensive buff skill on all of us. It was an area-of-effect skill that boosted strength, speed, and durability—a complete nutritional supplement in the world of buffs. It was the signature skill representing Umi’s prime as a buffer and healer.

“I’m helpful, right!! Shota!!”

Umi looked at me with eyes demanding praise.

“Yeah!! That’s right! You’re the best!!”

I nodded and shouted.

‘Yes… enjoy your first and last prime time….’

I thought sadly to myself.

Levels 50 to 60 were Umi’s only prime time. With just one area buff skill called Max Buff, she could dominate both mob fights and boss fights.

But… once players reached level 60 and created the Lightning Guide, Umi would go back to being just a healing shuttle.

The Lightning Guide could not only use Mutation Buff, which was superior to Max Buff, but also God’s Wrath, the highest-tier lightning skill.

The lightning skills were a perfect upgrade to Umi’s psycho-robo, Cupid, which was just a healer with minimal offensive capabilities.

“Umi… are you happy right now?”

I found myself tearing up without realizing it.

“Ah!! Shota!! You’re thinking something rude about me again!!”

Umi got angry for some reason. This kid. She’s so perceptive.

Anyway. The battle began.

“Come forth!! Uwang 799! Earthquake Smash!!”

Sasith immediately summoned Uwang 799.

Boom-!!!!!!

Uwang 799 slammed the ground.

“Gack!!”

“Those humans!! They’re psycho-robo users!!”

“Tseeeek!!”

The monsters were launched high into the air. This was our chance, while they couldn’t control their bodies in mid-air.

“Let’s go!!!”

Taiga seized the opportunity and summoned Fenrir.

“Inferno!!!”

Pillars of fire struck in all directions.

Whoosh-!!

The monsters’ bodies caught fire. However, the damage wasn’t enough yet. These monsters’ bodies were made of stone and had some resistance to fire.

“Tina!! Go!!!”

I directed Tina.

“Yeah!! Let’s go!! Shota!!”

Tina immediately jumped high, spinning in the air and delivering a kick.

Crack-!!

When her kick connected with the monster’s jaw, its head exploded. I never expected her to actually use a technique that looked like it came straight out of a fighting game.

“I can’t lose either!!!”

I couldn’t be outdone in terms of impact. I activated Blazing Stance and concentrated power in my legs to jump high.

“Hiyaaah!!!!”

Swoosh-!!!

My sword slash cut through the air.

Boom-!!!

The monsters’ bodies shattered into pieces.

After defeating the monsters, we immediately started farming.

“What? They’re not carrying anything.”

Umi said with a disappointed expression.

“They must have failed at farming. So they had no choice but to wander the island without finding a base, and ended up drifting here.”

I explained.

Yeah, they were basically roadkill. They just got run over.

“We should keep sweeping up weaklings like these!!”

I immediately set our direction.

“Really… you’re tougher on the weak than anyone else…”

Taiga said with an incredulous expression.

That’s a bit harsh.

———-

In this way, I used Pinocchio as a surveillance drone and bait to deal with the wanderers nearby.

Around 2 AM, the entire island shook.

“Now!!! The first day of the War Festival is coming to an end!!!”

Rahitan’s shout echoed loudly.

It was as if speakers had been installed everywhere.

“Speakers… Henesys Free Market…!!”

I immediately recalled the horror I felt in that classic online game. People shouting through speakers everywhere made me exhausted. There was so much lag that if someone used a flashy skill, the game would crash. Everyone complained, but deep down, when I was a low-level player, I envied them. I wanted to show off with flashy skills too… that desire had sprouted.

Anyway, Rahitan’s announcement of the end of day one came through the speakers.

“Now!! Some of you have secured bases!! Some haven’t!!! Total casualties for day one: 35 people!! Fewer deaths than expected!! Don’t drag this out, kill more!!!! The War Festival continues until only one team remains!!! Try to surpass me, Rahitan!!!!!”

Ignoring those words, we opened the portal. By the way, Emoto’s name never appeared in the kill log. Darn. He survived.

“Let’s go back then.”

I said with a smile.

Well, we had secured a base, and things were going smoothly so far.

“Sasith… the way you controlled that psycho-robo was so cool…”

Honey started dripping from Frill’s eyes again. Heh. My friend’s love life was going well too.