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 [Chapter 143]

[Unexplored Area (2)]

What is the role of a party leader?

It is to take responsibility for the party members.

Mok Min-ho could be confident about that.

"─Where are the captured people now?"

Just before completing the conquest of the 5th underground floor,

Min-ho's party was ambushed by wasp-type monsters at the main hall.

Monsters that could freely fly through the air.

They quickly surrounded the area and began kidnapping students.

At that time, the only choice Min-ho could make as the students' representative was to flee from them.

"..."

It was the best choice.

It couldn't be helped.

But the fact that he tried to protect at least the remaining students while leaving behind the captured ones didn't change.

"Phew..."

He was always sensitive to authority,

And knew that authority stems from the trust of subordinates.

Therefore, he had the mindset that he should know how to take responsibility for those under him.

So he simply couldn't turn his back on those creatures.

Moreover─

─Even Yoon I-byeol was captured.

It's my mistake. I was so focused on the other kids that I didn't notice I-byeol falling behind.

Yoon I-byeol had been captured.

Mok Min-ho didn't want to run away leaving his party member behind.

At that moment, he steeled his resolve and immediately chased after those creatures.

Seo-na can be trusted with the party. She'll be able to safely escape with the kids.

The creatures focused on capturing, not killing the students.

It was like gambling in a way.

He entrusted the party to Jin Seo-na and drew the monsters' aggro to allow the party to escape safely.

The aggro was successful.

Moreover, luck was on his side.

"Somehow I managed to get in, but..."

He too ended up being captured by them.

But perhaps the paralytic poison hadn't fully taken effect.

Hidden Piece, 6th underground floor.

Mok Min-ho, who had been captured and dragged to their nest, watched for a moment when their guard was down.

And when the time came,

He escaped from them and hid somewhere in their nest.

Was I too reckless...

Min-ho self-deprecated.

It was good that he followed them and found the nest.

It was also good that he happened to hide where the students were being held captive.

But this was the enemies' lair.

Monsters were lurking everywhere.

In such a situation, he had to rescue the captured students.

Moreover─

─I couldn't cut them with my sword.

How much firepower would it take to bring that thing down?

To maintain his composure,

He placed his hand on the sword at his waist.

It wasn't just the 7th tier monster Golden Wasps in this dungeon.

There were also monsters of higher tiers than them.

In fact, he had been defeated by a monster of a higher tier than them.

His sword didn't work.

It couldn't have been 5th tier...

It was probably 6th tier... What should I do if I encounter that thing again?

Unlike the 7th tier monster Golden Wasps,

A monster that took on a form similar to humans.

Min-ho recalled the gloves of the creature his sword couldn't cut.

He didn't know how to deal with it if he encountered it again.

It loomed like a wall before him.

But if there's a wall─

─You just need to overcome it in the end.

Walls are meant to be overcome.

How many times had he not faced them before?

There's no need to be afraid now.

Above all, didn't Eunha say?

"If you can't overcome it, just smash it, he said..."

Nonsense.

But he smiled as he recalled Eunha's words.

He shook off his fear.

"First, I need to think about how to save the kids."

There's nothing in this world he can't cut.

Min-ho, gripping the sword at his waist tightly, decided to focus on the immediate problem.

☆

Jumping into the well,

It was a new world.

Who would have thought a 6th underground floor existed.

It's been about 2 years since the dungeon transformed.

So it means it wasn't discovered for almost 2 years.

Unexplored area, 6th underground floor.

Eunha, who landed safely on the ground, looked around and let out an exclamation.

Turning around the corner, a wide open world was waiting for him.

"Wow..."

And monsters too.

To be precise, wasp-type monsters.

They were flying through the sky.

Some of them were carrying captured monsters.

"Is that their nest?"

The direction the wasp-type monsters were heading was all consistent.

And in the direction they were advancing, there was a structure reminiscent of a beehive.

It looks just like a fortress.

It seemed to be their base.

""""...."""

The party members appeared behind him.

And they couldn't close their mouths as soon as they saw that sight.

So many monsters.

A fortress that looked impregnable.

It was understandable that they were overwhelmed.

Clap

At that moment, Eunha clapped his hands hard, infusing them with mana.

A clear sound rang out.

His friends snapped back to their senses.

"What are you getting scared about with just this?" "Hey! I'm not scared!"

"The silly hyung, stay quiet. When did we say we're going to face those guys? We're just going to rescue the kids and retreat. Our goal isn't to conquer the dungeon." """"...."""

Isn't rescuing them more difficult?

As Eunha spoke so nonchalantly,

His friends couldn't say anything and just looked at each other.

Then, finding it funny, they suddenly burst out laughing.

"So what are we going to do now?"

Once the mood had settled somewhat,

Bae Su-bin asked him on behalf of the friends.

Eunha shrugged.

"From the looks of it, the captured people seem to be inside that beehive now... So we need to go in there."

Noh Eunha standing at the edge of the cliff.

Eunha looked at the distant beehive and searched for a path leading from where he was standing to the beehive.

Turning his head, he saw a path leading down.

There seemed to be adequate cover, perfect for the students to hide themselves.

"Kaede." "Yeah."

"Can you find a way to get there? From what I can see, it looks like we should go down that path, what do you think?"

The specialties for finding paths are rangers and navigators.

Among them, rangers were unmatched in exploring terrain.

Eunha called Hosimiya Kaede and asked for her opinion.

"Hmm..."

She seemed to have been examining the path already.

Soon she finished her thoughts and opened her mouth.

"We'll know for sure when we go check directly, but for now there are no visible traps."

"Really?"

"It looks narrow, but it should be fine for us to pass through. The path leading to the beehive also seems certain."

"Alright. Then let's go."

Kaede spoke confidently.

Eunha, pleased with her attitude, nodded with satisfaction.

Soon the party began descending the steep path in a line.

"Judging by the footprints here and there, it seems to be a path the monsters use. But it doesn't look like it's been used recently."

"That makes sense. All the monsters that lived here were probably captured by those guys."

"It doesn't seem like we'll encounter any monsters on the way. Rather, what we need to be careful of is..."

"The sky?"

"That's right."

Hosimiya Kaede took the lead.

She checked if there were any dangers on the path they were taking.

Then she turned her head towards the sky.

Eunha also looked up at the sky following her.

""""...."""

Monsters were repeatedly flying over their heads.

Each time, the students hid behind cover to avoid being seen by the monsters.

"A scouting party..."

Eunha recalled the wasp-type monster that had just passed by.

It wasn't a Golden Wasp.

It looked different.

Monsters that looked like that were roaming the area repeatedly.

Eunha inferred from their behavior that they were monsters specialized in scouting.

If so, that's troublesome.

Those guys are going to be annoying.

Unlike the Golden Wasps, even if they discover us, they'll pretend not to notice and return to the nest to bring their group.

Annoying creatures.

Eunha clicked his tongue silently, increasingly bothered by the scouting parties constantly roaming the area.

Kaede seemed to feel the same way.

She narrowed her eyes whenever the creatures appeared.

The party's movement speed naturally had to slow down.

"Can't you shoot them with your arrows?" "It would be fine if I could kill them in one shot. But can you do that against flying creatures, and without being noticed by the others?"

When Eunha asked Kaede,

She shook her head.

She also seemed to want to aim her arrows at them if she could.

But they couldn't risk unnecessary danger.

In the end, Eunha agreed.

Isn't there any other way?

If only we could lure those guys, we wouldn't have to worry like this.

The beehive was getting closer and closer.

Eunha fell into thought as he watched the approaching beehive.

It was an operation that required secrecy.

They had to rescue the students without being detected by those creatures somehow.

But with such strict surveillance, there was nothing they could do.

They had to break down the monsters' surveillance system.

If only they could lure them one by one and kill them secretly─

"─Ah."

Just then,

Eunha suddenly recalled a memory from his previous life.

He quickly turned his head.

"Hm? What what?"

"Pi? Pipu pipu?"

Ariel, who was following like glue. And Fire Chicken she was holding.

The fish and baby bird tilted their heads curiously.

"Wow... You might actually be useful? It's really good I brought you."

"Huh? What? Why do I feel bad even though it sounds like a compliment? Hm hm? What what?" "Pipu pipu?"

"No, it's a compliment. Just be happy." "Hehehe."

"Pipipi."

"Laugh more quietly. Do you want to get caught?" "Yes sir."

"Pu."

Even dung has its uses, they say.

Eunha looked at Ariel anew.

Though her annoying behavior hadn't changed.

She might even be more annoying than the scouting creatures.

Oh well, never mind.

Eunha decided to forget about it for now.

Dealing with the scouting party comes first.

☆

Ariel's gift is <Beast >.

And her gift <Beast > is based on the 5th tier monster Diva Siren.

This means that if Ariel puts her mind to it, she can use magic that applies the principles of Diva Siren.

She was so amazing before the regression.

I can't believe I forgot about that.

<Mermaid > Ariel.

The reason she could receive the alias <Mermaid > as a Player wasn't just because she could transform into a mermaid using <Beast >.

Her voice is imbued with magical power.

Not mana.

Magical power (魔力), the power to enchant people.

Her voice has the power to enchant people.

[Boom! Beating drums and gongs and cymbals...]

""""...."""

"...This isn't right. The <Mermaid > I knew wasn't like this..."

While the students were dumbfounded,

Ariel, in a state of ecstasy, was spewing out something that may or may not have been beatboxing.

She spreads it through telepathy.

[Dong dong. Dong dong. We are the turtle ship!]

""""...."""

"Did she drink alcohol or something?"

Now she's spouting lyrics that may or may not be rap.

Eunha felt like he wanted to hide somewhere out of embarrassment.

But she was enthusiastically spreading telepathy while striking a pose as if holding a microphone.

""""...."""

"Eolssu!"

She dances with a strange rhythm.

She sings with a strange pitch.

Ariel alone was excited.

No, Jin Pa-rang was excited too.

The rest of the students had blank expressions on their faces.

"No, I told you just singing normally would be fine..."

Meanwhile, Eunha sighed.

It was what he intended.

He did tell her to use the power of <Beast > to spread telepathy.

But he never thought she would spread such strange telepathy.

Thanks to that, the song was ringing in his head and he couldn't even cover his ears.

Damn... I'm really going to go crazy.

But the thing is, he couldn't even get properly angry.

There was something in her voice that soothed the heart.

The song was clearly bizarre.

However, her voice was so good that it couldn't be evaluated with just the word bizarre.

A voice like an angel whispering death.

It was a voice that could drive people mad.

That was ringing clearly in his head.

I'm going to get addicted at this rate...

If you get addicted to this, you'll go insane.

Whether she knew how he felt or not,

Ariel sang excitedly.

Sparks kept flying from the scales attached to both sides of her head.

The telepathy continued to spread.

And so─

"─They're coming."

Though it was different from what Eunha had imagined,

In the end, the scouting parties passing by were captivated by Ariel's telepathy and were gathering.

Only then did Eunha change his expression and give the signal.

"─Bae Su-bin, prepare to attack."

"Preparations complete." "Cha Eun-woo, prepare the barrier."

"Preparations finished." "Ho-u, prepare for the second attack."

"I'm ready..."

"Bong Gu-rae, I'll leave the tracking to you."

"Leave it to me, honey." "Hey! What about me!?" "The silly hyung, stand by next to me."

"Roger."

"Pipu pi!" "You stay on top of my head."

Friends each assigned their roles.

Eunha took a step back.

Soon the monsters were about to rush towards Ariel─

─Fireball

A magnificent fireball flew in.

At the same time, Cha Eun-woo spread a barrier to reduce the noise and explosion.

Weasel Claws

The monsters that weren't caught in the explosion finally came to their senses, but

It was too late.

Hosimiya Kaede's arrows didn't allow them to escape.

And Bong Gu-rae climbed to a high place to scout the surroundings for any anomalies.

Finally, Ariel─

[─May my song be more valuable than all the songs in the world.]

"Pipipi papapa pupupu!"

"No... <Mermaid > didn't do things like this..."

Now even Fire Chicken was infected.

Noh Eunha wailed.