The Returner Wants Complete Victory

30 – 030. Black flare

The day dawned.

Noah was waiting in front of the door of the dorm, ready to arrive, and Eunha and Bo-kyung were also sitting in the lobby with their backpacks even before the sun rose.

“come in. You guys put down your bags too. “I have to eat and go.”

Before breakfast was served, I started with a brief briefing.

Even if you explain it in detail, the kids won’t be able to understand it clearly because it’s their first experience.

It is better to give only a rough outline and explain the details after experiencing it firsthand.

“ruler. “The schedule is looking at a minimum of 12 days, and up to 15 days if any variables occur.”

“The destination is a rocky mountain area that you will find if you go all the way north. And it’s a ruin inside a cave. “It is presumed to be a temple of a forgotten old god, but this is not certain, so don’t put too much faith in it.”

This is something I already told the kids last night.

I was curious about Noah’s reaction, so I looked at him, and I could see him frowning slightly when he heard the word “historic site.”

“Why, is there some problem?”

“… no. “Just a rumor.”

also.

Rumors about the dungeon must have already been spreading even before I negotiated with Mad Dog.

It’s time for most of the idiots who hung around with curses to come back.

And even if Mad Dog threatened that they were preparing an attack, they would not have been able to control each and every one of the mayflies who were looking to make a fortune.

Looking at the atmosphere in the plaza yesterday, it seemed like those with a certain level of skill had already given up, but minnows that can’t even become loaches may still be dying in the dungeon in real time.

It might be a little difficult… .

Still, it will work out somehow.

“I have a way to solve that.”

At my words, Noah returned to his expressionless expression.

I didn’t even ask what the method was.

Do you trust me or are you not interested?

“Then to continue the story, Eunha and Bokyung will take priority in the battle against regular chimeras. “Because the purpose is to gain practical experience in addition to simple achievements.”

“The Martial Artists’ League may attack us in the middle. In this case, it’s me and Noah. And just in case, when you sleep at night, I will take additional measures to the barrier stone and tent.”

“Total sleep time is 9 hours and 30 minutes. On watch duty, I, Bo-kyung, Noah, and Eunha are in that order for 2 hours each, and I am on the night shift for an additional 1 hour and 30 minutes. To this point, does anyone have any questions?”

I deliberately set my sleep time long. Even if you stay awake, you can sleep for about 7 hours and 30 minutes.

Sleeping too much is a problem, but on the other hand, not being able to sleep and losing your physical condition is also a problem you need to be wary of.

The turn also placed Noah and Eunha, who had intuition, in the most dangerous early morning hours.

After hearing my explanation, Bo-kyung asked with a worried expression.

“senior. Wouldn’t it be a little difficult to stand alone as a senior twice? Then you can only sleep 6 hours a day… .”

It was a different attitude from the kids who said they would be on guard twice, but were turned away without interest.

“are you okay.”

But it was a needless worry.

What is 6 hours?

You can comfortably cover a two-week expedition by just taking a nap while sitting down.

“And there are a lot of things to do during the first and last hours of the day, including setting up barrier stones and various other things, so I have to stand anyway.”

If we’re only going to deal with the Chimera, there’s no problem, but we might have to deal with the Martial Artist League additionally, and humans know how to neutralize the barrier stone.

To prepare for that, we need to take additional magical measures, and no one here but me can do that.

“So does anyone have any more questions?”

Noah and Eunha were absent-mindedly thinking about other things, and Bo-kyung was the only one who expressed her opinion by shaking her head at my words.

As expected, he is the only child with good social skills… .

*

There was a cool air in the conference room of the headquarters of the Martial Artists League.

Tension as if walking on a knife edge.

Dozens of people were sitting there, but they all kept their mouths shut, as if they had been silenced.

The uncomfortable silence continued for a moment, and then the leader broke the silence and spoke.

“They left the city?”

“yes. “It is expected that they headed to the historical site where we leaked the information.”

“The guys I wanted to catch didn’t get caught, and the wrong guy got caught instead… .”

“But it might actually be a good thing. “James can still predict the power to a certain extent, but with that man, everything is kept under wraps.”

Hearing Park Jong-su’s words, Maengju stroked his chin.

Although I didn’t know anything about the wizard from Emur, I also didn’t know everything about James.

“Jongsu. “Do you think we can win against a complete mad dog and a gutter rat?”

“I’m not sure of victory, but I’m sure now is my chance.”

Despite Park Jong-su’s words, Maengju still seemed to be worried.

You coward.

Park Jong-su cursed inwardly.

His military power is insufficient compared to Kanghyuk, and Jimo is inferior to him.

There is only one reason why he is in the leadership position.

He is the leader of the Chinese group, the largest faction within the Martial Artist League.

That was all.

“… Vice leader. “Do you think Kanghyuk can defeat James?”

The leader, who usually called him Jongsu and showed off his closeness, called him by the title of deputy leader.

A manifestation of the unconscious wanting to share responsibility for decisions.

The question was also a repetition of whether the war could be won in the end, with only the words changed.

“You have to believe that. “For that, didn’t you lower your blood power and encourage growth?”

A-rank artifact, Blood Demon Sword.

This is a relic unearthed from the ruins of an old god.

It is unclear what kind of god this temple worshiped and why there was such a cursed weapon, but its power was certain.

A growth-type artifact that becomes stronger the more it is fed with blood, and can rise up to S rank.

There was a warning that it would affect the personality of the owner, but what does that mean?

Basically, it’s a problem that can be solved if you hand it over to that guy.

“I heard that Blood Demon Island is still A-rank. “Wouldn’t maintaining the status quo until you grow to S rank be another way?”

At Maengju’s words, Park Jongsu’s eyebrows narrowed.

Are you that scared of James?

Enough to worry about reversing the war just because James didn’t fall into the trap?

I knew that I had been beaten harshly in the past, but wasn’t this kind of behavior like a rat in front of a male cat?

“Even if we wanted to do that, the other party wouldn’t let us do it. Have you already forgotten that Mad Dog and that man had a meeting two weeks ago?”

“But we haven’t seen each other since then?”

“Yes, we didn’t meet separately! But now, the man has left for the dungeon where Mad Dog is rumored to be preparing to attack! What does that mean? There was some kind of deal between Mad Dog and that man over the dungeon! The man got a dungeon. So what on earth did Mad Dog get?”

Park Jong-su could not bear it and raised his voice as the leader continued to try to withdraw his footing.

What did Mad Dog get?

Of course, you were promised help in the war effort.

The leader already knew that much.

However, for the leader who has been growing his power by trampling and coopting the weak in a safe way, he wanted to avoid war with the intact Mad Dog at all costs.

If the wizard from Emur gets cursed by the dungeon and gets out of this game.

If so, wouldn’t it be possible to slowly take down Mad Dog while maintaining the delicate balance as before?

But this too was a gamble.

A gamble where you have to bet that the man will be cursed and collapse.

If the man returns safely, Mad Dog may attack him first.

As Park Jong-su said, Maengju realized that the time had come when he had no choice but to make a decision.

“Jongsu. “Is Kanghyuk still in ambush in the dungeon?”

“yes.”

“Bring them in.”

It meant war.

*

The beginning of the journey was boring.

An empty plain with nothing.

A wasteland with only withered trees here and there serving as landmarks.

The kids, who looked very nervous, were wearing military uniforms and walking languidly like zombies.

“senior… . How far have we walked now… ?”

From noble mtl dot com

Bo-kyung was already out of focus when she asked that question.

“6 hours.”

Walk for 50 minutes and rest for 10 minutes.

This is the optimal routine that has been clinically tested with millions of soldiers.

Rather than saying that the kids were tired because it was hard, they were probably just tired of the current situation where they only had to walk endlessly.

The area around Kirnyu is like this.

Hunters who have to somehow catch a chimera to make a living walk around all day.

As I walked like that, I eventually arrived at the border with the empire.

In fact, even if it is a border, it is not something that can be seen.

There are no border guard posts erected, no barbed wire erected, and no lines drawn.

There is only one other thing.

“Guys. “Turn on your phone.”

At my words, Eunha and Bokyung stopped for a moment and took out their cell phones.

“I remember? “On the first day of the tutorial, I heard a map explanation in the auditorium.”

“Ah, yes! If it is the first time you have been to an area, it will be recorded… .”

“I remember it well. From now on, look as broadly as possible. “As far as you can see, it will be recorded on your map, and your achievement level for exploring new areas will increase as it is recorded.”

Exploration of new areas in the achievement window only includes the former imperial territory, which is the territory of the Chimera.

There are exploration-related achievements in the human domain, so it is best to refrain from sharing them blindly, but you should never share them in the chimera domain, no matter what.

If you lose your stats because you can’t achieve high-level achievements by one or two cities, it will really make you cry.

“uh? “Sir, what is that?”

At that time, Bo-kyung, who was looking around, placed a sunshade over her eyes with her hand and asked.

When Bo-kyung looked in the direction she was looking at, she saw black dots moving as a group in the distance.

Considering that it is a plain and the visibility is wide, it is at least a few kilometers.

The dots appear to be moving slowly, but considering the distance, it is obvious that both the chasing and being chased are running at full speed.

“Everyone, put your bags down. “It’s a battle.”

And I immediately took out a flare from my backpack.

Piyuung—!

A green line soared into the sky.

It roughly has the meaning of safe, no problem, and positive.

Originally, it was usually used to mean responding to a signal asking for help, but whatever. Anyway, how is it? All you had to do was make sense.

And fortunately, the black dots that were being chased seemed to have seen the signal I had fired and turned around and started running in this direction.

Piyuung—!

And the other side fired a signal flare as if in response.

yellow.

You can roughly interpret it as something like, “I’m screwed, please save me.”

Although we are careful not to provide free services, it is important now to quickly begin the children’s first practical training.

Wouldn’t it be quite rewarding for the children if their first real experience was helping someone?

It’s a win-win for both sides.

That was when I was thinking about it.

Piyuung—!

At that time, the other side fired another signal.

black.

There is a commander object.

… Isn’t this a bit weird?