Chapter 27 : Manners maketh man (2)

“Kim Do Yoon.”

“Yes?”

While the meeting was in full swing, the Beastkin hunter standing in the center suddenly called Do Yoon.

“How much do you know about the 5th-floor area?”

At those words, Do Yoon fumbled through the information in his memory.

5th floor, Theme Stage.

It was said to be the part where the Tower’s essential trials begin, and that different conditions were needed compared to the simple clears he

had dealt with so far.

[-AgedWine*): Hoe-eh-eh…! Be careful of ‘me’ who will be there… .!]

Clearly, the master of the Tower Do Yoon was in, Wine-jwa, had said that.

“Tower Master.”

We need to subjugate the boss monster on the 5th floor and, at the same time, find the Tower Master’s object that will be there.”

The 5th floor Theme Stage was unique in that simply subjugating the boss monster wasn’t enough to move to the next stratum.

‘Object.’

If the hidden piece in the stratum was a blessing for the hunters.

The object was an element that embodied the hunters’ misfortune.

A memory of the Tower Master Wine-jwa, a small fragment from within it.

Hunters had to confront such a fragment of the Tower Master, understand, and accept the Tower’s trial.

That was the core of conquering the 5th floor Theme Stage.

“You know well.”

“An object is necessary for the Tower conquest.”

“Yes.”

“And that object would have been deployed somewhere in the stratum the moment I arrived here.”

“Correct.”

“That’s also why we’ve been waiting for the last challenger here all this time.”

The object, presumed to be a part of the Tower Master’s memory.

It would have fully revealed itself the moment all the hunters in the Waiting Room were present.

For the sake of a single ‘story’.

“‘Jinjo’ will awaken.”

Another name for Wine-jwa popped out of the Beastkin hunter’s mouth.

To be precise, it would be a false NPC composed of Jinjo’s memories.

“To clear the stratum, we must somehow find and secure the object here, ‘Jinjo’.”

“We must.”

Do Yoon thought of the object that would be here and felt a deep curiosity.

According to Wine-jwa, one of his dark histories.

Hearing that it was the form of someone who was the Tower Master, his interest kept growing.

“Tomorrow, our goal is to search the Forbidden Zone where the object will be.”

 Finally, the real conquest begins!”

“Really, finally.”

The hunters each expressed their anticipation.

They had wasted a lot of time unnecessarily until now.

A stage where the Forbidden Zone hadn’t opened was useless, merely a place to vent their pent-up patience.

“By the way, Do Yoon, you seem to have some information about this place.”

“Well… people here and there informed me well.”

“Is that so.”

The Beastkin man admired Do Yoon’s unexpected information network.

‘Is there a decent senior hunter over there?’

Anyway, if the work process speeds up, it’s something to be happy about.

The Beastkin man took his eyes off Do Yoon and continued the meeting.

“The total number of hunters is fourteen.”

“Among them, we will continue exploring the stratum in parties of at least two.”

“!! Good!!”

“…The goal is the location of the boss room and the object’s location.”

“Of course, there are hunters who have been exploring in advance until now, but from tomorrow, we will venture deeper.”

‘Sounds good.’

He had already heard information about the monsters of this stratum through the Gallery and senior hunters.

Kobolds.

They were said to be not the furry, bipedal beasts typically depicted in fantasy, but monsters twisted by some experiment.

Of course, as long as he wasn’t careless, he would be able to handle them sufficiently.

“But I have a question.”

“What is it?”

As the meeting was nearing its end, a hunter raised his hand to ask a question that suddenly came to mind.

“Why are you suddenly taking the lead in the meeting?”

“Weren’t we supposed to just take turns sharing information about the stratum we explored?”

Do Yoon was flustered upon hearing that.

‘What the.’

“Come to think of it, that’s right?”

“Why are you acting like you’re the leader.”

As if his eyes had been opened by the truth, one hunter spoke to the Beastkin hunter with realization.

“A duel.”

“Prove it fairly with your skills.”

“Hoo, everyone calm down.”

Among the hunters who were about to subtly start freaking out again, the Beastkin hunter perked up his ears and opened his mouth.

“I just suddenly felt like doing it.”

“Because I like receiving attention.”

“You’re remarkably honest.”

“Good, I’ll forgive you.”

“If you put it that way, I don’t really have anything to say.”

“We needed a hunter to organize the situation anyway.”

‘What the hell, really.’

Do Yoon felt a momentary dizziness at the flow of the hunters’ conversation, which moved faster than his understanding.

“Then, I think that’s about enough talk, and we’ll start full-scale activities from tomorrow.”

“Alright.”

The meeting ended, and the hunters returned to their respective places, looking forward to tomorrow.

The peaceful start of the conquest day.

Hunters formed parties one by one and left for the Forbidden Zone, and Do Yoon, who was left behind, was also about to depart.

“Wait.”

Behind him, as he was about to leave, a familiar voice was heard.

When he turned his head, the Beastkin hunter from yesterday was staring intently at Do Yoon.

“Why.”

“Didn’t you hear me yesterday?”

“To leave for the Forbidden Zone, you must form a party.”

“Everyone left without saying anything.”

In reality, the other hunters had formed teams among themselves and left, as if deliberately ignoring Do Yoon.

Even the hunter named ‘Larkia Vels’, who had spoken rudely to him–

–had led hunters who seemed like subordinates and left for the Forbidden Zone.

What remained were the Beastkin hunter and himself…

‘Wait.’

What about that hunter?

Even if he himself was in a state somewhere between being an outcast and being wary, why was that hunter left here alone?

“Team up with me.”

“Huh?”

“Foxes are a symbol of misfortune.”

“And I am a Fox Beastkin.”

“So?”

“No one wants to embrace misfortune.”

“That’s why I showed my face at the meeting beforehand and tried to build some recognition, but it didn’t work.”

Do Yoon gradually became uneasy.

He didn’t believe in superstitions about misfortune or anything, but the situation was increasingly leading him to expect a certain outcome.

“I promise.”

“If you take me on your team, I will definitely be helpful.”

“Is there a reason I should accept you?”

“Hey, Do Yoon.”

“You might really be a strong hunter among hunters, but the Forbidden Zone is truly dangerous.”

“Hmm.”

Do Yoon pondered for a moment.

Should I let that hunter join the team?

The Gallery users always told him to be wary and careful of hunters.

Just the day before yesterday, hadn’t a hunter picked a ridiculous fight with him?

“I ask you politely.”

However, contrary to his initial pretentious demeanor, seeing him plead pitifully like an abandoned puppy.

“If you become a nuisance, I’ll leave you behind.”

“Good thinking.”

“The best team has been formed.”

Do Yoon eventually accepted the Beastkin hunter into his team, entering the stage as a duo.

“Let’s go immediately.”

The two hunters headed towards the Forbidden Zone, following the other hunters.

“Do Yoon, do you know what kind of place the Forbidden Zone is?”

“The place where the object is.”

“It’s also the starting point of the ‘story’ implemented here.”

“Indeed, it’s strange.”

“Did you hear about such things in advance?”

‘He talks more than I thought.’

Do Yoon answered the Beastkin, who had been asking various questions since earlier, in an annoyed tone.

“Yes.”

“There are ways.”

And soon after, they discovered low-level monsters roaming the stratum.

Kobolds.

They had a physique similar to humans, but the head above the neck was that of a beast.

“….Monsters!”

“Three in total.”

“Please take care of one side.”

“You’ll face two of them alone?”

“Yes.”

“Because I can.”

Nice to meet you for the first time.

It was because he had already been drilled to death by the Gallery.

Was that all?

His past experiences, the tough times rolling around with various hunters in the training room, supported Do Yoon’s confidence.

-Sreung.

The curved sword drawn from its scabbard was aimed at the enemies with a cool aura.

The target was the lifeline beyond the tough hide.

-Tat!

Do Yoon, taking a step, quickly closed in on the monster.

The flustered Kobold belatedly swung its arm, but Do Yoon’s swing of the curved sword was faster.

‘One down for now.’

The Kobold, with half its neck sliced, collapsed, foaming blood.

Do Yoon’s gaze immediately turned to the next monster.

Seeing its comrade lose its life in an instant beside it, the Kobold stared at Do Yoon with bewildered eyes.

“Better than Goblins.”

Its grotesquely twisted body was bizarre, but it was easier on the eyes than Goblins, which seemed to have all sorts of ugliness crammed into

them.

“Farewell.”

Do Yoon presented the next Kobold with a simple greeting and liberation from the Tower.

‘Is this graduation too?’

A good monster is a dead monster.

And it was said that the greatest wish of the monsters here was graduation.

Therefore, Do Yoon had done a good deed.

Around the time he was resolving his own questions, a dull bursting sound came from where the Beastkin hunter was.

A Kobold with a shattered skull rolled on the floor.

Above it, the Beastkin hunter, holding an iron baton, was staring at Do Yoon with a dumbfounded expression.

“Th-that.”

“What on earth is that?”

“What.”

“This weapon?”

“…Yes.”

“I got lucky and picked it up.”

“On the 2nd floor.”

He didn’t give a clear answer.

Because he didn’t feel the need to.

“Let’s go.”

Passing the swiftly dealt-with Kobold corpses, Do Yoon casually left the spot.

‘What is that speed.’

From what he had briefly experienced, it was a speed and reaction time that was difficult to follow even with his own vision.

What on earth is happening?

Regardless, following Do Yoon who was walking towards the Forbidden Zone, the Beastkin hunter also hurriedly followed him.

And so, the two who finally arrived at the Forbidden Zone.

“Huk! Heok…!”

“What is it.”

“What are you doing here?”

They found hunters gasping for breath at the entrance area of the Forbidden Zone.

“O-object.”

“Object?”

“Jinjo.”

“Jinjo has appeared!”

“This can’t be.”

“How did it get here already…”

“If it appeared, you should try to appease it.”

“Why the terrified expression.”

As Do Yoon opened his mouth, as if he couldn’t understand their reaction–

“I-it wasn’t in a state where we could communicate.”

“Something is strange.”

“Things are going strangely right now!”

At the hunter’s expression, which looked as if he had really lost his mind, Do Yoon couldn’t help but flinch.

“J-Jinjo abducted a hunter.”

“…What?”

“Saying something about a kinsfolk or whatever, it dragged them into its domain.”

“Th-they must be dead for sure.”

“Who was it.”

The terrified hunter raised his head at Do Yoon’s question.

A haggard appearance, drenched in cold sweat.

‘What on earth happened to them.’

As Do Yoon asked, feeling uneasy, the hunter swallowed dryly and finally opened his mouth.

“…Do you remember the hunter who picked a fight with you.”

“Yes.”

“Th-that woman was dragged away.”

Larkia Vels.

The hunter, steeped in deep fear, informed him that the hunter who had consistently been intoxicated with her own self-importance had

retired.