Chapter 160 – LV.? Goddess of Beauty – [One]

Oh Haengun mocked himself for why he was here doing this. He had never run for class president during his school days, had avoided all positions as team leader for group assignments, and hadn’t even served as a squad leader in his platoon. And now he was leading a force the size of a battalion?

Looking around, it was all trenches. Half were dug by the Dawn Corps soldiers, and half were dug by his own spells.

Inside them were the Dawn Corps soldiers and the Players from Happy Village.

No one dared to stick their head out of the trenches. They couldn’t help it. If they so much as peeked out, dozens of bullets would immediately fly over and embed themselves. They were bullets fired by Skeletons, so commonplace now that they were tiresome to see.

Those Skeletons, lacking muscles to withstand recoil, had poor accuracy, but the problem was that despite their poor shooting skills, they calmly aimed and fired in every situation. Whether artillery shells fell among them or they exchanged bullets with each other, those bastards calmly aimed and fired volleys at their targets.

In the previous battle, one of Happy Village’s Warriors had been killed by the bullets they fired.

He was an elite Warrior clad in thick Armor that could easily deflect rifle rounds. His Level was as high as 8. He charged toward the Skeletons with a mighty roar, only for one of the dozens of bullets aimed at his face to lodge in the gap of his Helm, killing him.

That Warrior’s name was Park Jaeyun, a Player who had been with Happy Village since its founding. And besides Park Jaeyun, many others had died, all villagers who had been with Oh Haengun for the past several years.

Part of him wanted to mourn their deaths, hole up in a Tent for about a week, and whine, but he couldn’t. He had to care more about those who would die in the future than those already dead. It was a cold, almost heartless thing, but since he had taken on the role of Chief, he had to do it even if he disliked it.

The Mage’s Familiar, Little Stone, showed the scenery outside the trench.

Above the trench, the Skeletons, who had been wildly firing bullets, stopped and were seen charging. Were they planning to rush into the trenches and wield their weapons? From this side’s perspective, that was a good thing. If they fought with Cold Weapons, humans would have a much greater advantage over muscle-less Skeletons anyway.

Oh Haengun cast an amplification Spell on himself and shouted.

「They’re coming! Everyone, ready your weapons!」

Just then, an Artillery Shell flew over and exploded in the trench ahead. Oh Haengun tried to calm his pounding heart and continued shouting.

「About thirty meters away… they’ll be upon us soon!」

Moments later, battle cries erupted from all around. With a stern face, Oh Haengun fervently hoped that among those shouts, there were no death cries, and that among those crying out, there was no one he knew.

With everyone fighting so fiercely like this, a Level 13 Mage (he had recently gained one Level) couldn’t just keep commanding from the rear. That would be too great a waste of combat power.

Even now, Golems and Gargoyles were rampaging, crushing and breaking Skeletons, but that alone wasn’t enough.

Oh Haengun continued shouting, and when the real battle began, he muttered, reciting a Spell.

In the midst of this, something brushed past his cheek. What was it? Damn, it was a mosquito. Summer was ending, and it was already early winter weather, yet mosquitoes were still flying around, not dead.

Trying not to pay attention to that damn insect, he completed the Spell. Clenching his fist, the ground ahead deformed under the powerful Spell. Through Little Stone, he saw a huge pit appear within a radius of several dozen meters ahead, swallowing the charging Skeletons all at once.

Good, with this, he’d earned his keep for today’s battle… Just as Oh Haengun was clenching his fist, something brushed past his cheek again. He thought it was another mosquito, but this time he felt a sharp sensation.

“Chief! Over there…”

Raising his head, Oh Haengun saw a submachine gun glowing enchantingly, as if a Magic Spell had been cast on it, and the Skeleton holding that weapon.

The moment he saw the magical purple flames spewing from that muzzle, he intuitively understood it was aimed at him, the Commander of this place.

Along with that, Oh Haengun thought blankly. I can’t die like this. Not simply because he didn’t want to die, but because if he did, the people left behind would be screwed. If the Chief who needed to command fell so meaninglessly…

Soon after, over a dozen bullets pierced his chest. His heart burst, cutting off blood supply, and the consciousness in his head sank into darkness.

Han Siwoo planned to say later, when recalling this journey, that it was a very tedious and exhausting trip. Even the fact that he was traveling with the three prettiest girls couldn’t add any enjoyment to it.

First, Seo Rayeon, originally quite talkative, remained silent throughout the journey. She kept her mouth shut so much that despite being a woman with 10 points in charm, she had almost no presence in the group.

In the past, Gaeulbi would have played the mood-maker with her uniquely lively voice, but since that day, Gaeulbi hadn’t been very bright. Even when she occasionally babbled something in an excited voice, it was clearly forced cheerfulness, making it all the more awkward.

And above all, Seo Yun… That girl seemed to think she was a firefighter and the truck they were riding in was a fire truck. If they didn’t reach the burning place as quickly as possible, many would die, and in that case, the firefighter would be neglecting her duty.

Perhaps because of this, over the past month, Seo Yun had driven the truck with a desperation that fit the word, but the results weren’t very good compared to her efforts. The map marked with Dungeons, given by the Troll’s Avatar Body, was a game map, and the surrounding terrain was so featureless that it was hard to find anything.

So Seo Yun personally spread her wings, flew ahead to scout, and caught the eye of a Skeleton army marching in the distance. The battle that ensued didn’t end with just one encounter; it continued for over a week.

Those tiresome Skeletons didn’t end after being defeated once; they returned with more troops from somewhere, and if this side tried to avoid the fight and run away, they pursued relentlessly without ever tiring. During that process, the bullets they fired blew out all the truck’s tires.

That was why the four of them were now moving on foot. Because of that, their movement speed slowed even more, so the time to reach their destination became longer, and shaking off the enemy pursuit became even harder.

Even now, enemies were chasing from behind. The echoing gunfire signaled yet another attack.They all turned around without showing any sign of surprise. In Han Siwoo’s eyes, a group of skeletons standing on the hill came into view. They were all armed with rifles.

Han Siwoo shielded the three team members and spoke.

“Don’t step forward under any circumstances. Those bastards know we’ve been using the Non-Magical Weapon Immunity Spell, so now they’re naturally coming with magic-enhanced weapons. Anyone but me gets shot, they die instantly.”

Gaeulbi replied with a weary voice.

“I know.”

“So everyone stay here and—”

Siwoo cut himself off and charged. The skeletons slid down the hill. They had to strike first before the enemies closed the distance.

Siwoo charged with a roar, covering his face with his shield. He could feel bullets flying and striking the shield he held out front, but he paid no heed and kept running.

Finally, having plunged into the midst of the skeletons, Siwoo swung his sword like a madman. Now that Siwoo was also among the highest of high Levels, he smashed through the surrounding enemies without hesitation, but even destroying four per second didn’t seem to reduce their numbers.

While fighting like that, he encountered a massive skeleton that clearly had never been human in life. It looked strong at a glance, and even looking over his shield, it seemed so.

Just as Siwoo grew tense, the giant skeleton swung an electric pole it had pulled out from who knows where. Because Siwoo was covering half his field of view with his shield, his response was delayed.

Ugh…!

Siwoo, hit there, didn’t fly away due to the weight, but fell flat on his back. Opening his eyes, he saw the gun barrels of skeletons aimed at him.

His shield was lying far away, unable to cover his face. Gunshots rang out in rapid succession.

A scream echoed from the direction of his teammates.

“Han Siwoo!”

He couldn’t tell if it was Gaeulbi or Seo Yun who shouted. Probably both.

And the next moment, Siwoo felt a searing heat, perceptible even through the Fire Resistance Spell. Despite being told not to step forward, Seo Yun had spread her Burning Wings and was flying towards him.

Soon, flames engulfed his vision. Siwoo got up from his spot, blood streaming down his face.

They had repelled the enemies once more, but it wasn’t a rewarding victory. They did gain Experience Points, but not a significant amount, and there were even casualties.

Siwoo groaned as he pulled out the bullet that had been lodged in his face. Seeing this, Gaeulbi approached and whispered.

“Pretend you’re in too much pain to move.”

At the sudden words, Siwoo stared blankly, mouth shut, before finally understanding her meaning. He slowly nodded and slumped to the ground, deliberately letting out a louder groan. It was a groan for Seo Yun, for that girl to hear.

“Still hurts? I clearly extracted the bullet and cast a Healing Spell…”

When Seo Yun’s worried gaze turned his way, Siwoo felt a slight pang of guilt but endured it.

And then Gaeulbi spoke.

“Let’s go back.”

Seo Yun looked at Gaeulbi.

“Go back? Now, of all times?”

“Don’t worry about the sunk cost! Let’s go back. Okay? We don’t even know if we’re headed in the right direction anymore, isn’t continuing like this just a waste of time?”

“From what I see, we’re almost there.”

“You said that yesterday too? And the day before.”

“Let me say again, the situation…”

While Seo Yun was being evasive, Gaeulbi snapped back.

“Yeah, you mean we can’t stop even for the sake of those left behind. I know! But Siwoo’s in that state… Aren’t we important?”

“You are important.”

“How important?”

“Very much.”

At Seo Yun’s words, Gaeulbi crossed her arms as if demanding proof of what she just said.

And Seo Yun spoke in her characteristically calm voice.

“You all have your Return Spell Scrolls, right? The items we brought to use when going back.”

“But…?”

“Then, use them to go back. So Siwoo can see a doctor and get proper treatment.”

“You mean you’re coming back with us, right Seo Yun?”

Gaeulbi asked suspiciously, but Seo Yun shook her head.

“Of course not. Gaeulbi, you take Siwoo and go back.”

“How can we…!”

“Don’t think of it as abandoning a friend, okay? I’m already so grateful for the help up to now, I could die.”

Even after that, Gaeulbi argued, but of course, Seo Yun’s mind didn’t change. It was clear it wouldn’t change in the future either. After all, that girl wouldn’t do such a thing.

Unable to bear it any longer, Siwoo finally stopped the act. Putting his helm back on, he got up and said.

“Enough wasting time, if we’re going to keep going, let’s go quickly…”

At that, Gaeulbi glared at him for a moment before sighing.

Meanwhile, Seo Yun, as if she had anticipated this situation, didn’t even pretend to be surprised. After asking a few times if he was okay, she took the lead and walked briskly ahead.

And as they walked again, another blizzard swept in. Thanks to the spell from the Hearth Priest that kept their bodies warm, it wasn’t too painful, but the obstructed vision was a problem.

“Should I use a weather manipulation spell?”

At Seo Yun’s words, Seo Rayeon replied.

“No, we should conserve spells. Let’s just go, Unni.”

But it might have been the wrong decision. The blizzard intensified, and now, even if it wasn’t cold, the ash and dust mixed with the snow made it hard to breathe.

Siwoo felt the urge to suggest once more that they should just pack it all in and go back.

Frankly, while he understood logically why they had to do this, he couldn’t understand it emotionally. That girl’s goal of fixing the world was too grand to accept. At least the immediate goal of pacifying the skeletons was understandable, but even then, this thought arose.

Why does she have to do it? There are so many adults in this world. Those people should do something, why does that kid…?

Siwoo’s mouth twitched. It was right on the verge of uttering the words “Let’s go back” that Gaeulbi had said earlier.

Seo Yun stopped. She turned around and, with eyes glowing as if she had activated Spirit Vision, looked their way and said.

“There’s something nearby.”

The necklace around her neck was also swaying. There was something in the vicinity.

Clearly, there was nothing around, so why? Perhaps there was something not on the surface, but underground. If so…

Sure enough, after a brief search, when they melted all the snow piled on the ground with a spell, a bronze-colored door was revealed. Having read the Rulebook earlier, they immediately knew what it was.It was the entrance to the Dungeon. The place she had desperately searched for until now. Seo Yun, who had been maintaining a calm expression all this time, let out a sigh. Until now, she had forced herself to remain composed, but only now did she seem to finally feel relieved.

The end of the journey was approaching.