Chapter 61 - Joint Subjugation (1)
When it ca to the Field near the Tower, it was, in fact, a place steeped in various mories for a veteran like .
Not just for veterans, but for any Conqueror player, the Field was bound to be steeped in all sorts of emotions. After all, the ti spent in the ga was overwhelmingly more in the Field than inside the Tower.
The inside of the Tower was where the real ga content was, a place where you could only barely clear by struggling for your life. It wasn't a place to relax, that's what I ant.
However, the Field had a lower difficulty, and unless there was a special event, demonic beasts spawned infinitely, making it the perfect place for ‘experints’.
Ah, it brings back old mories.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that this place was responsible for about half of the process of my complete ferntation into a veteran.
Learning the habits of demonic beasts, studying their patterns, honing my fundantals. And so on.
It felt similar to how a successful sports athlete might look around the gym where they had practiced for decades.
Just how much ti had I poured into this place alone to succeed in the ‘no equipnt, no hit, no skill, all parry, only basic attacks’ playstyle I aid for when I saw the ending for the last ti?
This place had undoubtedly made a significant contribution to the birth of a top-tier veteran who could defeat even the final boss with just a pair of panties on the character and bare hands.
In that sense.
This place was no different from a walk in my front yard.
I could probably clean up this entire place by myself in half a day.
That's how lenient the Field near the Tower was, enough for a bottom-tier F-grade Climber to boast so confidently.
Usually, that is.
“The numbers are beyond our expectations! Casualties are mounting, you must retreat now!”
“Damn it! What the hell did the Observation departnt see to call this an easy subjugation...!”
And this veteran’s assessnt of the current situation.
“Well now. What a ss.”
It was a total ss.
***
Let's rewind ti by a few hours.
“...Wow.”
Beside , Seo Ah-in let out a dazed sound of admiration.
Normally, I would have chided her to get a grip, but I didn't feel like it in this situation.
That was because it was a magnificent sight with all three of Korea's major guilds gathered.
Hunting Alliance, Jeokpungdae, Daeshinjeon.
The sight of them, dressed in uniforms emblazoned with their respective guild emblems and lined up in neat rows and columns on the Field, exuded a montum that would impress anyone.
“...”
And seeing that, Seo Ah-in's gaze flickered between and those Climbers, as if comparing sothing.
“What.”
“...Those people are all dressed up so splendidly. What on earth did you bring, Mr. Kim Gyu-sik?”
“Camping gear.”
“...”
A radio, a folding chair, instant coffee, things like that.
Outdoor living essentials.
“...I assu you won’t answer even if I ask why you brought those things?”
“Yup.”
“I thought so.”
I chuckled at Seo Ah-in's quick resignation and turned my head again.
‘The people in command are...’
They were all familiar faces.
Seo Hye-in of the Hunting Alliance. Jeong Woo-jin of Jeokpungdae. Sepia of Daeshinjeon.
This was another reason why this joint subjugation was important.
It was a place where all the people I would be seeing quite often in the future had gathered.
“Ah, Mr. Kim Gyu-sik!”
And as if she had spotted , Ms. Seo Hye-in approached with light, quick steps.
Her voice was bright, a slight departure from her usual image.
“Did I hear that right? Was that really Section Chief Seo’s voice?”
“Everyone has their personal circumstances. Why, Section Chief Seo is also getting on in years...”
“Ah, right. She must be getting conscious of what others think, and when people around you are getting married one by one while you're all alone...”
“...”
These geezers.
They must have been chosen as elites from a large guild like the Hunting Alliance to be here.
But the way they were busy gossiping behind her back was like a bunch of housewives at a laundry place.
Though they all coughed awkwardly and turned their heads away when Seo Hye-in glared at them.
And when Seo Hye-in's face turned back to , a smile like a blooming flower was on her lips.
“...”
How should I put it?
The change in temperature was so drastic it was a bit hard to accept.
It wasn't a shrewd feeling like Darien's, but rather, her straightforwardness was disarming.
Even her own sister, Seo Ah-in, had a shocked expression, as if she had just seen a flying spaghetti monster.
“So you’ve co as well, Mr. Kim Gyu-sik. I heard you received a recomndation from Climber Kim Kang-in.”
“...Has that already beco a rumor?”
“Wouldn't it be harder for it not to be a rumor? For soone who has had no particular activities until now.”
While Seo Hye-in chattered on, saying the rumor had probably spread to the Western guilds as well, and Seo Ah-in was confused by this side of her sister she had never seen before, the Climbers who were to enter the Field were getting ready one by one.
The thod was simple. Just form teams of three or four and clean up the Field.
When a special-grade demonic beast appeared, the existing demonic beasts on the Field would join forces to attack, so this was a task to reduce the hassle.
Ms. Seo Hye-in had to take overall command, so of course, she couldn't go with us. So the team was composed of Seo Ah-in, , and a @.
“It's a pleasure to et you. My na is Kim Jin-gyu.”
And Mr. @ seed to be an exceptionally polite person.
It was also clear that was his only noticeable virtue.
“...Mr. Kim Gyu-sik. Will we be okay?”
It was so bad that Seo Ah-in would say sothing like this so openly.
A youthful appearance that looked to be in his early 20s at most, a neatly maintained but clearly unused standard-issue longsword. A uniform that wasn't even properly broken in yet.
It was a combination that could be exhibited in a museum as a textbook example of ‘a rookie who wants to work hard but has zero practical experience’.
“I-I’m a beginner, but I attended training diligently, so I won't hold you back. I look forward to working with you!”
Even his proud declaration that he would be of no help was perfect.
No one would want to entrust their back to soone like this on a battlefield where a montary mistake could an life or death.
“Sigh. We're in big trouble.”
“Don't run your mouth, F-grade. Not long ago, you were no different from this person.”
“...Mr. Kim Gyu-sik, you're an F-grade just like , aren't you?”
“Do you really think so?”
“...”
Instantly refuted by a single sentence, Seo Ah-in pressed her temples and trudged ahead.
She was grinding her teeth, but she couldn't bring herself to retort.
“Ahaha... Did I make so kind of mistake?”
I chuckled at Mr. Kim Jin-gyu who said that in a fluster.
“No. In fact, it's perfect.”
“Uh, no. You are F-grades, but I really have no practical experience. You don't have to say that...”
“Anyone who didn't know would be completely fooled.”
I was serious about it being perfect.
Even I, who knew beforehand, was impressed.
Kim Jin-gyu. Even his na, as extra-like as Kim Gyu-sik, was a perfect match.
“...Pardon? What do you an by that...?”
“I know who you are. And why you ca.”
Saying that, I also got my gear ready.
“I'll play along for now. We're all in this together, after all.”
Finishing my sentence, I followed behind Seo Ah-in.
Mr. Kim Jin-gyu’s gaze remained fixed on my back.
***
And ti returns to the present.
“Hi-Hieek! Mr. Kim Gyu-sik! They're splitting, they're splitting! Waaaaah!”
“C-Climber Seo Ah-in! Please calm down! If we remain calm, we can definitely resolve this situa... Waaaaah! Don't co any closer!”
“...”
Yeah.
A total ss.
Special-grade demonic beasts were terrifying enough to require the three major guilds to join forces, but the demonic beasts on the Field were generally not considered very threatening.
If anything, they were thankful punching bags that served as the main source of inco for low-grade Climbers.
The administrative departnts of each guild probably formulated their plans based on that assumption when they planned this joint subjugation.
Hmm.
So.
The origin of the disaster happening right now stemd from there.
The surrounding Climbers fell like autumn leaves.
Even as they fell, many of them couldn't accept that they, dispatched from major guilds, were being overwheld by re Field demonic beasts.
‘This special-grade demonic beast is a bit of a tricky one...’
The Field, which should have been filled with only F~D-grade demonic beasts, was now entirely filled with sticky masses.
Of course, they weren't cute and sticky like slis.
They were the kind of unpleasantly sticky fellows that would intermittently beco hard and spiky, spew acid, and grow teeth to eat people.
“W-What are these?! I've been to the Field a few tis, but I've never seen anything like this?!”
“It's Ectoplasm.”
That mysterious substance said to be generated near spiritual beings.
Within Conqueror, it was treated as a kind of event monster that filled the Field before a boss spawned.
If you left it as it was, it would grant the boss an almost invincible buff when it spawned, so you had to clear it out beforehand.
However, as you could tell from the struggling figures around, they weren't easy opponents.
When hit with a physical attack, instead of dying, they would split and multiply. And to use sothing like magic, there was no support from the Magic Tower here.
“Then how do we kill these things?!”
“Properly.”
“Don't joke around!”
“I'm not joking.”
No, really, there was no other way than to kill them properly yourself.
They had physical attack resistance in the first place.
“...”
I chuckled at Seo Ah-in who was glaring at with her mouth shut and drew my sword.
“Isn't that just a standard-issue sword? What are you going to do with that...”
“This is enough.”
In the past, I had faced much tougher opponents with worse than this.
Letting Seo Ah-in's worried words go in one ear and out the other, I tossed an item I had brought in my pouch towards her.
“Huh? A cara? Why are you giving this to now...?”
“To film.”
“Pardon?”
“You have to transmit it and show it to the others.”
The demonstration of a skilled instructor will now begin.
Ectoplasm's behavior chanism was simple. It wriggles in place. It attacks when you get close.
And if you drill this into your head, you can pull off so pretty slick moves.
As I stepped into its attack range, the white mass wriggled and turned spiky.
A linear attack flying straight at .
Now, from here, I calculate the timing.
I review all the things I've done in this Field so far.
Matching the exact mont was as natural as breathing.
I held the sword at an angle to match the mont of attack. It had no special aning, just mimicking a ‘defensive motion’.
So.
Now.
To match the exact mont it touches my body.
-!
The body of the Ectoplasm that was deflected by my attack flashed white for a mont.
At this mont, all of this creature's ‘defense’ and ‘physical resistance’ are nullified.
And matching that mont.
[ Shadow Secret Arts: Forceful Blow ]
[ Double Pulse ]
I slamd a direct hit with single-shot firepower raised to its maximum.
The Ectoplasm, which took a direct hit, was annihilated without splitting, despite being hit by a physical attack.
“...”
“...”
And, the surrounding Climbers who were watching fell silent all at once.
They were all standing with their mouths agape, as if they had just witnessed a miracle like the parting of the sea.
“You do it like this.”
“...How do you do that? It doesn't look like you just blocked the attack.”
“You hit it with the thought of deflecting it at the exact mont it touches your body. It's not that hard.”
It was a technique called Just Fra Parry.
Ah. Brings back old mories. When I was practicing hard, I'd fight a dragon with a single tree branch and parry its breath.
The window was quite generous, too. As long as the motion was executed within about 0.1 to 0.2 seconds, it would succeed every ti.
Considering the skill activation standard was 1/60th of a second, which was called the unwritten rule for Conqueror veterans, it was an incredibly generous window.
“...How on earth do you do that?! 0.1 seconds? Are you kidding right now?!”
Hmm.
I don't get it. Why can't they do this?
Anyone can do it with a little practice.
“Go die. You damn deceiver.”
Ahem.
Let's refrain from using bad words.
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