episode_0210

Frog in the Well (4) ― World Hard Dungeon ‘World Botanical Garden’

The scenery changes completely as soon as you take a step towards the cave.

What greeted me was not a dark cave, but sudden sunlight.

I narrowed my eyes slightly and quickly looked around.

Glass and excessively lush greenery surround the area, like a huge greenhouse.

As soon as I took a step, the ‘botanical garden’, just as the system called it, was in front of me.

“Ugh—! There is no suddenness like this.”

Seongju stretched lightly as if this rapidly changing environment was not strange at all.

Likewise, Kang San quietly takes out his spear and Yeong Gong glances around.

[Check the number of people entering ‘World Botanical Garden’!]

[Adventurer Lee Hye-seong, Adventurer Kang San, Adventurer Park Jeong-woong, Awakened Han Gu-won.]

[Awakened Han Gu-won will be given the opportunity to register as a world citizen upon clearing the dungeon.]

… … oh.

Citizenship is granted in this way… … .

As Seongju said, World was definitely a city with a stronger sense of the might of the jungle than ours.

[The theme of ‘World Botanical Garden’ is ‘Breakthrough’!]

[Reach the finish line as safely and quickly as possible!]

“It’s been a long time since I came back here. Is the theme still the same, Mr. Kang San?”

“… … Yes.”

“Good! What-”

match-!

Seongju, who brightened the mood with applause, looked back at me with his mouth widening.

I took a step back to show him off.

“Yes, well- I think I know roughly what you’re thinking, so we’ll show it to you. Old man!”

The old man nodded at the name of the lord of the castle and stretched out his hand forward.

What he was aiming at were plants that had grown so thick that they blocked his view.

Kiiing—!

A straight line of flame shoots out along with a red light that fills his entire body.

“Now- Mr. Kang San, please get ready. I follow the standard strategy, follow the standard strategy.”

Grumbling!

The red light is gradually increasing in size as it eats up the lush green light.

Even at that moment, the adventurers held their ground without taking a single step.

Only Kang San was in a hurry to stand in the vanguard as if to protect Yeonggam.

and-

“kkieeek―!”

A dark figure was shooting out at them like a beam of light through the burning botanical garden.

Abnormally developed thighs and the resulting destructive jumping power.

The mutant ‘Frog’ flew in like a moon and stretched out its arms towards Seongju.

“It’s serious from the beginning―!”

Sigh!

Seongju cut that frog in two with a single wave of his hand.

The ‘item’ in his hand as he stands quietly after cutting down the guy.

Seongju lightly slashed his sword as if to shake off the blood and stared ahead again.

“kkieeek―!”

Starting with Frog’s charge, zombies rush through the burning green light.

Kang San, who was standing still, swung his spear and destroyed the heads of the zombies who had lost their balance and were staggering around.

And the spark of inspiration that continues to cover such gaps in Kangsan from the rear.

It was a textbook battle that was well put together, but it wasn’t what I was hoping for.

“Seongju.”

“Yes?!”

Upon hearing my call, Seongju immediately turns his head and stares at me.

The castle lord was continuing to cut down the zombies that had been running at him just a moment ago, but he showed no signs of urgency.

Begi, who was skilled enough to look like a machine, actually showed a relaxed attitude.

Just a simple cut with no skills, items, or stats highlighted.

“The theme of the dungeon is breakthrough. Is it okay to stay in this place?”

“That’s why this dungeon is a hard dungeon! By inducing a sense of urgency like that, luring adventurers into the grassy forest with poor visibility!”

Sigh!

Seongju stared at me and lightly decapitated the zombie that was running towards him and continued speaking.

“The moment you enter the enemy’s home ground due to a non-existent time limit is the moment the zombies lurking in the botanical garden have been waiting for! The standard strategy for ‘World Botanical Garden’ is to destroy the plants themselves using items or skills! It’s not about breaking through, it’s about securing an area and then moving forward!”

“Listening to what you say, it’s not something you’ve only mastered once or twice.”

“What- I told you. Dungeons are very much a system, so they do whatever they want! There are dungeons that seem easy to conquer like a botanical garden, and there are also dungeons that are ambiguous and difficult, right? ”

Wow!

Even at the moment of conversation with me, there was no problem with the safety of Seongju.

He actually went one step further and started explaining the dungeon to me.

“Furthermore, some dungeons can be entered repeatedly, while others can only be entered once, so it’s up to you! Still, this botanical garden is a dungeon with a wide number of entries that allows you to formulate a strategy!”

“… … I see.”

This is a dungeon where a standard strategy has been discovered that allows you to safely clear the dungeon without experiencing any special crises.

My goal cannot be achieved through a dungeon like this.

Kiiing—!

The scene of a massacre was too one-sided to be a fierce battle, and I stretched out my hand, manifesting mana towards the beyond.

Deddudeddd!

The botanical garden began to vibrate due to the telekinesis of my will.

Regardless of whether it was a burning tree or a tree that was still green, all the plants trembled.

The adventurers, who were naturally in a lull, turned their heads in surprise.

Deddudeddd!

Trees that are gently pulled out of the ground like radishes.

As the intricately tangled roots appeared, black dirt fell to the ground of the Ussu tree.

Along with the trees that were possessed by my telekinesis, the flowers and unknown grasses that thrived in the botanical garden also floated in the air.

A strange scene where all the elements that had been blocking the view of the botanical garden suddenly floated into the air.

“kkieeek―!”

Thanks to this, the zombies who were still hiding in the lush green light fell to the ground like rain along with the remaining ashes from the burned plants.

“Kkisss—!”

As soon as they hit the floor, the zombies struggle to get back up and stop moving all at once.

Fuhuaaa!

And then he lost his head in one fell swoop and fell to the floor in an awkward manner.

Rotten blood seeping into the dirt torn by my telekinesis.

Thanks to that, I looked beyond the blood that didn’t spread too much on the floor.

A botanical garden where all the obstacles that hindered breakthrough have disappeared.

In my wide-open field of vision, I saw a sparkling, shining line.

Perhaps that is the ‘finish point’ announced by the system.

“… … Huh.”

While I was lightly floating and flying to the finish line, I heard Seongju laughing.

I didn’t really react and passed the finish line at the botanical garden, which didn’t do much for me.

Tiring—!

[Awakened Han Gu-won has passed the finish line of ‘World Botanical Garden’!]

[Dungeon cleared!]

[Calculating the contribution of a party of 4… … .]

Crack! widely-!

The adventurers who followed me belatedly glanced behind me with still bewildered eyes.

Plants still floating in the air and zombies with their heads missing scattered on the floor.

“No, if it’s like this… … Just wake up by yourself a long time ago.”

[Maximum contribution: Han Gu-won (80%)]

[The recipient of the dungeon clear reward is ‘Han Gu-won’, the person with the highest contribution!]

pop-! pop-!

A small congratulatory sound amidst the loud system messages.

Along with the sound of exploding fireworks, system messages continued to flow again.

[World record achieved!]

[Shortest time clear party]

[One. ??? (NEW!)]

[2. zx dancing with the supreme swordsman zx]

[3. Do you fall asleep at that point?]

[4. Cherry Blossoms (Recruiting newbie adventurers! Right now at the tavern―)]

[5. beech tree]

“Ha… … It was taken away.”

Seongju, who was staring into space just like me, sighed.

I looked again at the 2nd place’s tacky name and frowned.

[The name of the 4-person party that cleared the hard dungeon ‘World Botanical Garden’ has not been determined!]

[Please name the party that will decorate the world record!]

“Oh― Oh― Cult leader―!”

Seongju raises his hand with a notification message.

I ignored his enthusiastic hand gestures and continued to look at the message.

“Sir – You must not do anything about this! There is dignity as a religious leader! If you leave it to me—”

“Salvation―”

“No no no—! no-! Just once—just once, leader—!”

Before I knew it, Seongju came in front of me, stretched out one finger in desperation, and started crying.

“Ha- What is it?”

“The name of our party of 4 is ‘Geoogang’! Let’s do it through spoken language!”

“… … What river? Do you know what kind of river the Lord of Seong is talking about now, San?”

“… … .”

[Would you like to confirm the party name as ‘Geoogang’?]

“Yes! yes Please do it right away!”

[The name of the party that will renew the world record No. 1 is ‘Geoogang’!]

[Shortest time clear party]

[One. Spoken Word Course (NEW!)]

[2. zx dancing with the supreme swordsman zx]

[3. Do you fall asleep at that point?]

[4. Cherry Blossoms (Recruiting newbie adventurers! Right now at the tavern―)]

[5. beech tree]

“Wow! Line up for 1st and 2nd place – this is the ranker! This is a game!”

match-! match-! match-!

Seongju cheers and applauds after seeing the newly updated leaderboard.

The guy became aware of the look in my eyes, smiled, and pointed to the leaderboard with his hand.

“Hehe― Usually, a name like this has three letters.”

“… … Where is the Gueo River located again, Seongju? Is it next to the Nakdong River?”

“Ai, how can Gueo River be the name of a river, old man! Spoken language river! How did the Salvation Church become a powerful nation? Great promotional effect! The advertising effect that makes you curious is also good! Is there a better party name than this?”

“… … Huh.”

Does this guy think I’m an idiot who doesn’t even use the internet?

At that moment, my fingers were itching towards the guy who was smiling brightly and laughing out loud at the absurdity of it all.

The system messages that were not yet finished continued.

Tiring—!

[You have reached the ‘World Botanical Garden’ finish line in a very short time!]

[Dungeon Achievement ‘It was there, but it’s gone!’ Attainment!]

[Reward items are calculated based on the combination of world record 1st place renewal and achievement achievement!]

“Wow! Spoken language class! Spoken language class—!”

“… … Shut up, Seongju.”

“… … Yep.”

Tsk!

I really need to close that mouth or something.

I clicked my tongue loudly, telling him to please listen, and looked at the dungeon item I was going to get for the first time.

The difficulty levels were probably Easy, Normal, Hard, and Hell – so there was no way they would give me such a bad item.

Moreover, it is said that the system will give you an item that combines the 1st place renewal and achievement achievement as indicated.

‘If possible, it would be good to have a defensive item.’

Due to my skill set, items related to attacks were not very useful.

After all, there is nothing that can stop the versatile and divinely assisted telekinesis.

In addition, since I was planning on giving useful items to other executives, I was even more desperate for defensive items.

Tiring—!

[The awakened person’s special job was recognized during dungeon reward calculation!]

[The Awakened’s special job and City World’s dungeon rewards are linked!]

Paaa!

As soon as the message ended, bright lights began to gather at one point.

“En? What, has the way of giving items changed these days? Eook- my lieun-”

“… … .”

A jewel was placed in a place where the light that had spread brightly in all directions, so bright that you had to squint your eyes, had faded away.

I stretched out my hand towards the white jewel that was gently flying towards me.

Considering it’s a gem type like that, I think it’s probably a defense type.

is not it? Is this an enchantment, a feature that often appears in games?

Although it was certainly smaller than ‘Grace’, the power of the city of paradise, it was impressive in its shape, splendidly emitting the light contained within, as if someone had precisely carved it.

Tuk!

The notification window is updated with the jewel gently held in my hand.

[You have acquired the holy relic ‘Hand of Salvation’!]

Oh, yeah… … Holy relic.

Relics aren’t bad either…

… … what?!