episode_0177

For a moment I couldn’t believe my eyes.

I wonder if my optic nerves have lost their taste because I have been marinating in too much pleasure.

So I rubbed my eyes and hit my head a few times, but what I saw was still the same.

Elena and Seo-yeon were the party that attacked the ‘coral reef cave’ where the explorers were hiding.

“… What does that mean?”

After barely acknowledging that fact, a dizzying thought passes through my head.

Perhaps one or both of them may be ‘people with qualities’.

“After the vacation, you two started hanging out together a lot… .”

Starting from vacation, photos of the two of them together began to be frequently posted in the group chat room where the entire team was gathered.

We met by chance, and we got along well with each other, went through dungeons together, made money, and learned various things while playing together.

At that time, I simply thought that there were people who unexpectedly communicated with each other even though it didn’t seem like it at all, so I ignored it… , What if it wasn’t actually that?

“Maybe by chance they found out about each other’s identities and joined hands… .”

It seems impossible to rule out that possibility.

Of course, the number of possibilities that two people have is too many.

There is a possibility that they came here by chance to conquer the dungeon, and there is also a possibility that only one of the two people is a ‘person with qualifications’.

In order to gain certainty, we must close some of the possibilities that extend in many directions.

The best way to do that is to follow in their footsteps.

“Mr. Jian.”

“yes.”

“Can you check other people’s dungeon access records?”

“uh… , Unauthorized viewing of other people’s dungeon access records is illegal unless there are special reasons… .”

Oh, I did.

It was obviously illegal in name only.

The association’s high-ranking officials were ignoring it.

“hmm… “Then it must be difficult.”

What should I do with this?

If there is a ‘person with qualifications’ among the two, you must know their path.

Only then will we be able to detour without overlapping and focus on eliminating the explorers.

The moment the paths overlap, not only will one side’s efforts be in vain, but it will also raise doubts about each other’s identity.

Because it’s best to keep those doubts to myself.

“Uh… , that.”

While I was immersed in worry, Ji-an Yoon asked me in a worried tone.

“Is that really what Mr. Dojin needs now…? ?”

“uh… “If possible, I should say that it is extremely advantageous to me.”

If you say that something is so necessary that you have to do it even at a loss, that is not the case.

However, it is true that it would be extremely beneficial to me if I could understand their routes in real time by viewing records.

After hearing my answer, she shakes her head with a stern expression.

“All right. then… , I will take a look.”

“… They say that’s illegal. “I don’t want to pass on the burden of disadvantage to Mr. Jian.”

This is sincerity without a single bit of falsehood.

I can’t put someone else, even my office wife, at risk for something that can be solved with gum instead, right?

“Mr. Dojin… .”

That must have been very touching to her.

Haha, I didn’t mean to, but I got caught by a lucky punch.

A light smile appears on her red face.

“You don’t have to worry too much. I have a close friend in the immigration department. “If you ask that friend, you can find out without worrying about being caught.”

Then she continues speaking hastily.

“Of course, if he refuses, I have no choice.”

“… “Can I ask my friend to do something illegal?”

“Yes, it will be okay. “I helped you once before.”

An extremely tempting proposition.

“then… “Shall we ask you a simple favor?”

I asked in an awkward tone, feeling a little embarrassed, and she smiled.

“I’ll make a phone call in a moment.”

She gets out of the car and makes a phone call somewhere.

I hope it goes well.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

After eliminating another explorer in the C+ grade dungeon ‘Small Ruins’ on the outskirts of Busan, Yoon Ji-an, who was waiting, approached me.

“Son Seo-yeon and Elena’s dungeon access records have been updated.”

“Where is it?”

“It is a ‘stinking sewer’ located 12km away from here.”

“A sewer with a foul smell… .”

Just hearing the name makes my nose sting with a foul smell.

Zoom in on the mini-map and compare the dungeon where the seeker’s location is marked with the dungeon she mentioned.

The moment you realize that the two locations are exactly the same, the marking disappears from the minimap.

In other words, the explorer hiding in the smelly sewer has been eliminated.

“Ah, it has been updated again. “I just finished the strategy and came out.”

“also… .”

With this, one thing seems to have become clear.

It is definitely not a coincidence that the two are targeting a dungeon in Busan, far away from Seoul.

And that the two people, or one of the two people, will be ‘people with qualifications’.

“I’m embarrassed, really… .”

There are a total of 504 people with the trait ‘person with qualities’.

Although it may seem like a large number at first glance, it is truly only a very small number.

That’s because those 504 people are not based on Korea, but around the world.

The current world population is 5.5 billion.

So, this means that out of 5.5 billion, a very small number of 504 people, two or three, belong to the same university and the same team.

That’s not all.

“… “If you’re not careful, you could end up as father and daughter.”

If Seoyeon is a ‘person with qualifications’, the odds are even more twisted.

A father and daughter who swapped bodies meet at the same university and are on the same team, and they are even two of the 504 people with the ‘Quality Possessor’ trait?

“Well, this isn’t a third-rate fantasy novel… .”

Even if it’s a third-rate novel, if that level of coincidence overlaps, it’s not just a novel, it’s kindling.

If you push it into burning firewood, it will burn very brightly, yes.

But there is a saying in the world like this.

It is said that sometimes reality surpasses fictional fiction.

… I feel uneasy because it somehow feels like that.

“If Seoyeon is truly ‘a person with qualifications’… .”

Obviously, since I was the 504th ‘person with the qualification’, it means that Seoyeon acquired that characteristic ahead of me… .

All kinds of thoughts pound in my head.

When did he acquire that trait, and why didn’t he say anything to his parents, me or Joohee?

Was it because my parents were unreliable, or was there another reason?

Now, meaningless, fleeting thoughts keep confusing my head.

“Whoa!”

I know.

I’m not the father of this guy or anything.

Still, this is something that can’t be helped, right?

I’ve been his father for 20 years, so how can I cut all the strings at once?

“Mr. Dojin, where should we go next?”

“ah.”

I suddenly come to my senses at Yoon Ji-an’s question.

okay.

Now is not the time.

It’s time to act before you think to get the upper hand in this damn competition.

It is not too late to organize your thoughts after this time is over.

“wait a minute.”

Immediately enter the new destination into the navigation.

All explorers in Busan were eliminated.

Out of a total of 20, I killed half of them, and Seoyeon and Elena killed six.

So what happened to the other four?

It was eliminated by a party that accidentally entered the dungeon.

As a result, I realized another variable.

Explorers may be eliminated by those who normally enter the dungeon to conquer it.

So we need to move more diligently.

Especially late at night or early in the morning when dungeons are rarely raided.

“Mr. Jian.”

“yes.”

“I’m sorry, but we’ll take turns sleeping for three days.”

“Do not worry. “You won’t die if you don’t sleep for three days.”

Ji-an Yoon answers confidently, raising his strong arms.

I said, lightly touching her strong arm.

“After we’re done, let’s go and finish what we were doing in the car earlier.”

“hot… !”

Her nostrils widen slightly, and hot breath pours out.

And then he immediately gripped the steering wheel tightly.

“Okay, then I’ll go right away!”

I started to press on the full accelerator.

… help me.

* * *

“Kaaa!”

“Aaaah!”

Two ashen-skinned explorers jointly attack Kim Do-jin.

One side is a sword, the other side is a bow.

It struggled for a while due to the fantastic combination of close and long range and the difficulty of being a B-class dungeon.

「Aegis.」

The cold that poured from the shield manifested through signature magic turned the situation around.

Pap-duk!

While the explorer wielding the sword on his shield is frozen and unable to move, another explorer who is shooting an arrow from a certain distance plunges his sword into the heart.

Quack!

It was the sword that another explorer froze and dropped a little while ago.

One seeker whose heart had been pierced collapsed, and another seeker who had pulled himself out of the ice pile just in time rushed towards him, screaming.

“Kwaaak!”

The opponent who lost the sword became even weaker.

The form of the technique that had been clear just a moment ago disappeared everywhere, and only reckless punches followed.

“No matter how good you are at swords, you should have learned some other martial arts as well.”

Even if you mainly use swordsmanship, you must be prepared for situations where your sword is taken away or you cannot use it.

But this explorer couldn’t do that.

That became a major cause of defeat.

Flutter!

After killing one searcher, he picked up the sword that had fallen and returned it to its original owner.

In your heart, not in your hands.

“Cruk… !”

With the sound of phlegm boiling, the explorer piled on top of where his colleague had fallen.

Kim Do-jin picked up the two magic stones that fell on the ground and left the dungeon.

“Wow, it’s cold.”

As the cold wind touched my sweaty body, I started to feel cold.

As I was taking out extra clothes from the bag in the backseat and changing, Yoon Ji-an approached me with a slightly worried expression.

It looks like something happened.

“Mr. Dojin.”

“yes?”

“Son Seo-yeon, there seems to be a problem at Elena’s party.”

“… “Is it a problem?”

“It’s been five hours since we started raiding the dungeon, and we still can’t get out… .”

Kim Do-jin’s face hardened.

“… “What dungeon did you two go into?”

“This is the B-class dungeon ‘Brutal Forest.’ “The monster that appears is an ice troll.”

Ice Troll.

It is a troll whose body is covered in pure white snow.

Unlike the existing trolls, which are A-class, this monster is ranked B-class due to its frozen body, which lacks the troll’s unique regenerative ability.

Neither its strength nor its agility are great, but its skin color itself is a protective color in snowy weather, so it can easily respond to surprise attacks as long as you watch out for them.

‘I don’t feel very good… .’

A bad picture is drawn in my head.

If they were ambushed by an ice troll while eliminating the explorers, no matter how talented they were, they would not be able to escape easily.

“How long does it take from here?”

“If you use the free pass lane, you can get there in about 30 minutes.”

It could be rain.

To make sure, the dungeon attack time is delayed, and they may be slaughtering all the ice trolls without difficulty.

However, the opposite situation may also have occurred.

“… “Let’s go right away.”

In the end, he decided to check the condition of the two people himself.

Otherwise, I don’t think I’ll be able to stabilize my heart that’s racing so anxiously.