Chapter 34 ….
Slash!
“Kieeek! Kiiik!”
Charging boldly into the ranks of soldiers, Dohyeon cut down a goblin soldier without hesitation.
It was a charging slash BastardSword knew well.
‘…Wait, is that really a charging slash?’
The speed was so fast it was hard to believe he was wielding a greatsword, but the movement itself was unmistakably a charging slash.
As they watched Dohyeon swing his sword among the soldiers—
“…That’s him, right?”
A low voice came from behind.
It was the Holy Knight, who had also been watching Dohyeon. The innocent smile he had shown in front of Dohyeon was gone, replaced by a cold expression and a subdued voice.
As if used to this, BastardSword replied casually.
“Kaiser with the Warrior Set… and a greatsword. It’s definitely him. There can’t be several guys like that in this section.”
“True… it’s not like the Warrior Set is common.”
“So what do you think?”
At BastardSword’s question, the Holy Knight thought for a moment before answering.
“Not bad. He avoids vital points well, and he’s fast for someone using a greatsword.”
“Is it because of his gear? His damage seems high, and he looks quick. That guy over there barely got hit a few times and he’s already down.”
BastardSword nodded at Geojapchae’s added remark.
He was certainly fast and powerful.
It was hard to believe he was only level 20. At that level of performance, he wouldn’t be outmatched by gear in this area.
But—
“It’s strange.”
“What is?”
It didn’t make sense.
“You’re telling me that Assassin got wiped by a guy who’s just gear-stacking like this?”
High damage and speed?
Sure, he’d admit that.
But the Assassin Boy he knew wasn’t weak either.
And Assassin Boy’s class was Assassin.
With stealth and paralysis poison, he wasn’t someone who would easily lose in PvP.
When they heard he had lost three-on-one, they had been tense inside…
“He’s just a typical gear-pusher.”
“Hm… now that you mention it, it is a bit weird. Even if the new guys he recruited were below standard, it’s hard to accept.”
The Holy Knight stroked his chin.
They were Assassin Boy’s close friends and former teammates.
They had once been part of his newbie-hunting party—what you could call the original party.
They knew Assassin Boy’s tendencies and skills better than anyone.
“He’s not the type to let his guard down.”
“If anything, he’s obsessively thorough.”
No matter who the opponent was, Assassin Boy never fought head-on.
Even they, as his allies, had found him viciously meticulous.
But what about this guy?
He was strong, sure—but that was all.
“His combat sense is mediocre, and his judgment is average.”
“If you say he just forced his way through because he could burst things down, I can accept that… but even then, he’s amateur level.”
He avoided vital spots well, but he didn’t land clean hits either.
Going into the middle of the soldiers and starting the fight surrounded was also a questionable decision.
Overall, he didn’t feel like someone seasoned in battle—more like a middle-aged player who pushes through with gear.
Though, to be fair, a swordsman facing three spear-wielding soldiers had little choice.
He had to close the distance to attack at all.
“The way he does it is just kind of dumb.”
“Still, be careful. His damage is higher than expected.”
“I know. Assassin probably got caught off guard by that damage too.”
“They didn’t even have a tanker, so…”
Even so, they had no intention of letting their guard down.
This wasn’t their first time doing this. Back when they were flying around with Assassin Boy, they had devoured countless parties.
Now they had stepped back after getting scouted by a guild through luck, but in this field, they considered themselves professionals.
And that was why they had sought out Kaiser.
“Of all times, a kill-on-sight order had to be issued… makes it messy.”
“You didn’t believe me before that order came down anyway.”
“Still, we’ve benefited from him consistently. If we don’t want to get exposed, we should at least get him some revenge.”
If they ignored him and Assassin Boy snapped and exposed their past to the guild?
They’d all go down together.
That was why they couldn’t refuse his request.
They had set a condition—only until they graduated—but they hadn’t expected to find Kaiser this quickly.
“Well, this works out better. We can shut him up with this.”
“Let’s wash our hands after this job.”
“If he keeps bringing it up after this, we’ll just smash him.”
“We’re taking a risk too. If he has any conscience, he won’t push it.”
Clicking his tongue, BastardSword looked ahead and adjusted his expression.
“Let’s move in. Manage your expressions.”
“Don’t worry about it.”
“Let’s go like we always do.”
After their discussion, they returned to their innocent young-man personas.
The Holy Knight rushed forward to block a goblin’s spear, and the others joined late to add damage.
With their arrival, the tide turned instantly.
As they quickly dealt with the remaining goblin soldiers, a message appeared.
[Red Goblin Soldier has been defeated.]
[Through contribution distribution, ‘Kaiser’ has obtained Red Goblin Soldier Leather.]
“Wow.”
At the same time, they spoke in apparent admiration.
“You’re really good! Is that the Warrior Set? Your damage is insane.”
“We joined just in case, but it looked like you could’ve handled it alone.”
“See? No bad swordsmen around. That’s what a swordsman should be!”
At their reactions, Dohyeon smiled and waved his hand.
“No, not at all. You’re all quite skilled yourselves.”
“We’ve worked together a lot. At this rate, Kaiser, you’ll sync up with us in no time.”
“Where did you find such an expert?”
“All thanks to my eye for talent.”
As they shamelessly threw out compliments, Dohyeon was inwardly dumbfounded.
Throwing a party member alone into the battlefield to test their skills was bad manners.
It left one person pulling all the aggro, and if the party ran away, that player could end up dropping equipment—an absolute disaster.
It was unpleasant behavior in general.
‘This isn’t their first time doing this.’
After pulling something like that, they were now praising him with innocent expressions.
Most low-level users would feel uneasy at first, but fall for that act and feel better.
They had joined in—albeit late—and no one disliked praise.
So Dohyeon also acted ordinary.
He moved lazily, deliberately taking visible hits and making his damage look sloppy.
If he kept this up, the moment would surely come when they bit the bait.
“Then shall we try syncing up properly this time?”
“Sounds good.”
With a benevolent smile, BastardSword extended his hand.
Dohyeon shook it.
‘I’ll quietly bury him when I get the chance.’
‘Act bad… act as bad as possible…’
Each hiding different intentions, they shook hands under the guise of a wholesome party.
And so their uncomfortable dungeon run continued.
An hour later—
[Red Goblin Soldier has been defeated.]
…
[Goblin Chieftain trembles in fear.]
After roughly an hour of clearing, when another group of goblin soldiers fell, BastardSword wiped his sweat.
“Whew. Shall we take a short break?”
“Sure.”
“Yeah, let’s rest a bit. I’m dying.”
The party collapsed as if falling over, all visibly tired.
Understandably so.
The difficulty had steadily increased, and now more than ten soldiers were charging at them at once.
The soldiers were clearly stronger and tougher than forest goblins. They wore armor and wielded spears.
When over ten of them appeared together, it was naturally overwhelming.
‘No wonder swordsmen get treated like that.’
Swinging a sword against ten spear-wielding soldiers?
It was hard to even reach them.
Push in recklessly for damage, and you’d be surrounded instantly. Keep your distance, and opportunities to deal damage were scarce.
Meanwhile, ranged dealers could pour out steady, comfortable damage as long as a tanker held the line.
No wonder ranged DPS was preferred.
This party had two swordsmen—arguably the worst condition.
But—
“Wow, Kaiser, your damage is insane.”
“With two swordsmen, this clear speed is crazy.”
“When you can just burst everything down, it really makes a difference. You should step it up too.”
Dohyeon was no ordinary swordsman.
Even in bad conditions, once he found an opening, he unleashed firepower rivaling a mage—a gear-stacked powerhouse!
That power shone even here.
That was the reason.
‘…Why is he so strong?’
‘It’s not that his control is bad. Does he just not need control?’
‘Tch…’
That overwhelming damage was why they hadn’t acted yet.
Combined with the fact that Assassin Boy’s party had been defeated before, they had to be cautious.
In fact, they had tried a few times.
‘Aim properly. Why can’t you hit him?’
‘I swear I aimed right. It just… didn’t hit.’
“What are you talking about? He was standing still. You just missed.”
‘Ugh, this is so unfair.’
Geojapchae had occasionally cast spells during the hunt under the pretense of mistakes—but they never hit.
Either a goblin happened to take the hit, or Dohyeon would get pushed back at the perfect moment and dodge by “luck.”
The highlight was when he fired because Dohyeon was moving forward—only for Dohyeon to suddenly stop.
Like some robot with automatic detection sensors…
‘There’s no way he stopped on purpose… but how can someone be that lucky?’
He looked bad at controlling, yet every spell somehow missed him.
And when he smiled and shouted “Nice!” it didn’t even seem intentional.
That made Geojapchae even more furious.
He wanted to just beat him down—but that monstrous damage made him hesitate.
Why gamble when there was a safer route?
‘Yeah, next time…’
‘Please hit next time.’
‘No, if we do it too often it’ll be obvious. Slowly.’
They smiled outwardly, but inside they were burning.
Dohyeon was no different.
‘At this point I’ve tried my best to play badly. What are they waiting for?’
He had instinctively dodged a few spells at first, but then consciously stepped into them.
Then the spells conveniently veered off on their own.
How frustrating must that be?
‘Seriously? You won’t even run into it? Should I just start the fight myself?’
After creating openings several times with no response, only quiet hunting, he grew just as impatient.
He debated whether to provoke them first or wait.
And so, through their silent standoff, they reached this point.
[Boss Stage has opened.]
[You may now enter the Goblin Chieftain’s chamber.]
“We’re already at the boss room.”
“With two swordsmen, this speed is still amazing.”
Their earlier tension eased.
‘Right. We can’t fail here.’
Goblin Chieftain.
To defeat it, a mage was needed.
For swordsmen, it was a troublesome boss.
If they used that well, dealing with this guy wouldn’t be impossible.
“Shall we go in?”
“Understood.”
“Let’s go.”
With bright expressions, BastardSword pushed open the boss door.
Creeeak—
[You have entered the Boss Room.]
[Goblin Chieftain has detected intruders.]
[Red Goblin Elite Soldier attempts to block the intruders.]
As the rusty metal screeched and the stage opened, BastardSword immediately looked for Dohyeon.
“Kaiser. Please take care of the elite soldiers first.”
The boss room here was different from other dungeons.
Not a single boss—but a boss accompanied by two elite soldiers.
[Red Goblin Elite Soldier]
Title: Elite Monster
Type: Goblin
Trait: Obsession
Description: The strongest and best-trained among the Red Goblin soldiers. Tasked with protecting the Goblin Chieftain. Once it recognizes someone as an enemy, its obsession with that target is immense.
Unlike normal monsters, elite monsters had traits.
And these elite soldiers were troublesome.
With the “Obsession” trait, they would not change aggro until their first target died.
That was why this dungeon typically required a sub-tanker or a healer.
Handling both the boss and the elites was too much for one tanker.
You either endured with a healer or had a sub-tanker take the elites.
“Kaiser?”
They intended to assign that role to Kaiser.
Monsters that never switched aggro until death. While Dohyeon was busy with two elite soldiers, they would approach and—
‘Beating down someone whose feet are tied is child’s play.’
That was why they had a 100% PK success rate in this dungeon.
Five against one was a combination you could hardly lose with.
No matter how strong his damage was, he couldn’t handle two elites and the three of them at once.
They were certain this time would succeed.
“Kaiser…?”
“…?”
“What the—where did he go?”
But…
The Kaiser in question had vanished.
