episode_0019

There was no difficulty in opening the gate of Chunghoeseong.

It wasn’t a door that was that firmly closed in the first place, and there were some really great experts at opening doors.

“Damn guy. He put some crude black magic on the door.”

Adele quietly picked up the huge lock and opened it.

The black magic that was cast on the royal gate wouldn’t have been easy… but she did it in no time.

As expected of a thief in a warrior party, he can dismantle most traps and alarms.

-Kugu-kung!

As we entered the palace, all kinds of bugs greeted us.

Spiders, raccoons, cockroaches, etc.

As light comes in through the crack in the door, countless bugs scatter in all directions in unison.

The party members who saw it said it was creepy.

“Crazy··· I want to burn everything down.”

“Sigh···.”

“It reminds me of the old days when I lived in a cave···.”

Lily swears, Camilla sighs, and Adele recalls unpleasant events from her past.

This place was definitely full of bugs, and just looking at it made me frown.

The problem is that we have to stay here for at least a few days.

I thought as I smelled the musty air inside the castle.

‘There are two main ways to conquer Chungwang.’

Surprise and growth.

The first method, assassination by surprise, was the most traditional and popular way to assassinate a king.

Quickly attack the bugs before they gather in the audience room where King Chungwang resides.

It was a fairly effective method, as the main body, Vulcan itself, was relatively weak.

When I was a gamer, I often used this method when I got tired of trying to conquer Chungwang. It was easy to conquer, and the success rate was quite high.

Just hide quietly for a few days, go straight to the audience room, and run at full speed when you get caught.

Of course, if you get caught before you get close enough, you might end up in a hopeless situation where you get hit by a swarm of bugs in front of you and behind you… but that’s something you just have to be careful about.

Next, the second strategy, growth.

Unlike the surprise attack that aimed to break through in the shortest time, the second attack method had a completely opposite direction.

Start by going around the outskirts and attack slowly.

This castle was not a place for people to live due to the large number of poisonous insects and monsters, but on the other hand, it was also an optimal hunting ground.

So, if you focus on hunting monsters for a few months while holding each one, you can aim for significant growth.

If a surprise attack is about taking advantage of the opponent’s carelessness, growth is closer to slowly building a tower and then making a fair fight.

And I will use the first method.

No, to be exact, I have no choice but to use it.

‘Honestly, the second one is the most stable···.’

Probably not many people would agree with the second option.

There was a huge problem here.

It is a very ordinary problem called ‘stress’.

As I said before, this is not a place for people to live.

The inside of the castle walls is covered in mold, and the air is extremely stale due to moisture and the dust from dead insects.

There are bugs crawling everywhere in real time, and there is a severe lack of places to wash your body.

You have to stay in a place like that for several months.

Even though I thought it was a good method rationally, I couldn’t help but find it difficult to accept it emotionally.

Especially, among our party members, the saintess Yulis hates bugs extremely···.

‘But we should talk about it at least once.’

Still, I decided to talk about two methods for now.

Shouldn’t you at least know the options?

“Okay, let’s have a meeting.”

“Huh, you were going to do that anyway?”

So I gathered the party members together and started talking.

My trust level has hit rock bottom due to the Minotaur incident last time.

Perhaps because the saint spoke clearly, no one confronted me directly… but I couldn’t help but feel like they were ignoring what I said, knowingly or unknowingly.

So, probably no one will listen to me carefully.

But that’s okay.

Isn’t this the method of speaking that is meant to be used in times like this?

“How do you want to attack?”

Instead of coming up with strategies myself, I let them think about it.

Since people’s thoughts are the same anyway, a strategy will come out soon.

“What are you asking? Of course I should run straight there and catch that Balkan bastard! I want to get out of this annoying place right now.”

“Calm down, Lily. What if you get surrounded by bugs? It would be better to slowly attack from the outskirts even if it takes a while···.”

It subtly adds flesh to the argument that has already been made.

“That’s a good method. As if by surprise, approach the King as quietly as possible and then attack him all at once. He must be flustered, too.”

“What Adele said is true. I don’t know how many monsters there are in this castle… but it would be nice if we could grow too.”

Each time, the party members’ eyes grew deeper and deeper.

I was trying to lose some weight that I had secretly put on, but then I changed my plan.

The meeting time goes on like this. Many opinions are exchanged and the plan gradually becomes more concrete.

I summarized the two plans I had made and told them about them.

“Okay. Then let’s summarize it. These are the two. The first is to break through as quickly as possible and hit the Chungwang who is caught off guard. And the second is to slowly attack the monsters from the outside···.”

I thought about it as I was presented with two options.

‘Perhaps the saint will appear around this time.’

And then I’ll just shout out the first one.

She hates bugs so much that she’ll want to escape this castle as quickly as possible.

In fact, even in the game, when the second option was presented, she immediately opposed it. The only reason was that she hated bugs so much.

If you choose the second method, constant and persistent persuasion is absolutely essential.

So, since it was difficult to persuade them because of the curse, I had no choice but to go with the first option…

“Second! Let’s do it the second time!!”

“?”

The saint immediately began to favor the second method.

‘huh?’

There’s no way this can happen?

Oh, did I get the order wrong?

I thought that might be the case, so I told her as if I was looking at a slightly lacking student.

“Just in case, the first is a surprise attack, the second is growth···.”

“I knew that much too?! I knew that and chose the second one!”

Then, I was able to see the saintess looking irritated for the first time in a long time.

I tilted my head.

You chose it even though you knew?

‘Why on earth?’

Although I felt good inside, I couldn’t help but feel like I didn’t understand.

“Really? Let me just say this, the second option would require you to live here for at least a few months. But still?”

“What does it matter how many months it takes? In my opinion, the second method is definitely better. You have to pursue stability in everything, right? ”

It was such a reasonable statement that I couldn’t help but nod.

The problem is that the person saying that is a saint.

Originally, it was something I, as the one in the position of persuading, should have said.

‘What on earth was blowing···.’

I really don’t know.

The game was so messed up from the beginning.

The saint who hates bugs has become a total idiot, and the game has become so fucking difficult with so many variables.

‘Fuck, I don’t even know anymore.’

Since it was a good thing for me anyway, I decided not to think about it this time. A good thing is a good thing, after all.

“I agree with Yuris. My father always said that impatience always ruins the operation.”

“I will follow the majority this time too.”

“What? How many months do I have to stay here? Sigh, I’m already losing motivation···.”

Once one person agreed, it was easy to get the rest to agree.

I nodded my head inwardly with satisfaction.

‘That’s fortunate.’

I thought I’d go first.

This is a happy variable. I was already looking for a hunting ground to grow in, and now I can fight in a suitable hunting ground.

As I said before, the first boss, Chungwang, is tougher than any of the Four Heavenly Kings in the beginning.

He had countless poisons and fighting insects, while we didn’t even have the proper specs.

Even now, the world has become much more difficult than the original game. It was hard to even guess what kind of monster the Balkan guy would become.

Even if you attack by surprise while taking advantage of the guy’s carelessness, it is unclear whether you will have a chance of winning.

In that case, it would be better to grow up for a few months and then confront it properly.

And I had a corner of faith.

‘Heavenly martial arts body.’

Use this skill to maximize your growth potential and squeeze out as much as you can.

In addition, I plan to help my team members grow to some extent.

I turned on the system for a moment and checked their levels.

Each was at the level of Yulysse, Lily, Adele, and Camilla.

Considering that my level is 74, the party is fairly evenly distributed.

The highest leveled one was the dark elf thief Adel. Of course, since she was a supporting character, her actual combat ability was similar, but…

Anyway, this was the overall level of the party.

I looked at the party with satisfied eyes for the first time in a long time.

These guys still have limitless potential for growth.

I looked at the guys and thought.

Just follow me quietly.

‘I’ll level you up.’

About level 2.