Novel Will Be Taken Down on 17 May or Earlier Chapter 2 - If you need training (1)

Since Arcana flooded reality.

 

The symbol of Korea has become the ‘Mage Tower’.

 

“Yes, I am now in front of the Mage Tower!”

 

“Wow. How many meters is that? I can’t believe such a thing happened overnight.”

 

“Wait, aren’t those supernovas? Are they threatening the rankers?”

 

Mage Tower.

 

Sanctuary of all mages.

 

A place that also played an important role in Arcana.

 

After the Mage Tower rose in Seoul.

 

The ripple effect that followed was indescribable.

 

[Is this the Mage Tower’s effect? The rankers flock to Korea.]

 

[Mages of the Mage Tower, “We only seek new knowledge. We want a friendly relationship.”]

 

[The popularity of Mage Tower Tour… 3,000% more tourists than last year]

 

“Why did I come to Korea? Of course, it’s because of the Mage Tower. From long-distance teleportation to enchanting. There are a lot of services available at the Mage Tower. So, our Shining Guild is planning to stay in Korea for the time being.”

 

The world’s best, Shining Guild, had established a branch in Korea.

 

Following the Shining, large guilds from around the world also settled in Korea.

 

The huge taxes they were going to pay were fundamental.

 

As the number of players increased, it was only natural that the damage caused by monsters would decrease.

 

The future of Korea was getting brighter day by day!

 

However, it wasn’t just the Mage tower that came over from Arcana.

 

Besides, if there is light, there is also darkness.

 

‘Damn it. Even if I’ve become a player, am I going to be a sidekick?’

 

‘I want to be successful like that too!’

 

‘I envy you. I’m so envious that I want to kill myself because my stomach hurts.’

 

Yes, the demons lived hiding in that darkness.

 

“At first, it was difficult to adapt. But the more you look at it, the better it is for us demons to act than in the Arcana Continent. Envy, jealousy, pessimism, and all kinds of negative emotions never stop!”

 

In this kind of environment, it was only a matter of time before they become high-ranking demons.

 

“Someday I’ll be like the demon lord…!”

 

A low-level demon, an imp, licked his lips with an ecstatic expression.

 

The guy caught his prey.

 

There were five players.

 

“Let’s go with those guys this time.”

 

He recalled the men and women he killed and played with yesterday.

 

Their desperate cries were nice to hear.

 

Those guys who looked more immature than those bastards seemed like easy prey

 

*

 

Five people, including me.

 

‘But it’s a relief.’

 

After all, there was no rule that only high-level players should awaken.

 

There were many job postings in the community looking for players at a similar level to them.

 

Because playing solo was dangerous.

 

Besides, this was the reality.

 

If you die, it’s not game over. it’s the end.

 

Basically, death.

 

“I see it over there. The rupture.”

 

The place that was being pointed to was a subway exit.

 

It was still rush hour, so the crowd was quite large.

 

If I hadn’t written my resignation letter, I’d have been there, right?

 

As I thought of this, I reached the exit.

 

…This is how the players see it.

 

A rupture visible only to the player’s eyes.

 

I could see a ‘barrier’ blocking the subway exit.

 

Office workers broke through the barrier and headed to the platform.

 

As you can see, ordinary people were not affected by the ruptures.

 

Thanks to this, society could run the way it was now.

 

[Gnoll’s Underground Warehouse]

 

[Recommended level: Lv35~40]

 

[Collapse progress: 19.8%]

 

‘I can see the rupture’s information too.’

 

When the collapse progress reached 100 percent, the rupture collapsed and the monster was released into reality.

 

In the early days after the Cataclysm.

 

Back when players and knowledge of ruptures were insufficient, ruptures often collapsed and released monsters.

 

The casualties caused by it were unspeakable.

 

Because of their sacrifice, current players were able to attack the ruptures without any restrictions.

 

Ruptures were a time bomb.

 

Because only the players could access it.

 

“Looking at the progress, there might be players who entered first. Let’s do our best though! Come on, just smoke a cigarette. We will enter in exactly 5 minutes.”

 

…I’m a little nervous.

 

This reaction was inevitable.

 

I was an ordinary office worker until a few days ago.

 

I was about to hunt monsters that hadn’t existed in my life.

 

It was natural to feel nervous.

 

‘I feel fortunate at times like this.’

 

But it was just my feeling.

 

I didn’t feel the slightest tremor in my body.

 

A very upright neck.

 

Shoulders that didn’t shrink in the slightest

 

A clear gaze with confidence.

 

…I am a nobleman on a subway.

 

I didn’t look like a player entering the rupture for the first time today.

 

Let’s try to stay positive.

 

Being nervous wouldn’t do me any good.

 

Besides, haven’t I joined this party while taking into account that it is my first experience?

 

[Recommedned level: Lv35-40]

 

My current level was 55.

 

Even if demon hunters had mediocre stats, the level difference was 15… There was no need to be scared.

 

“Now, shall we go in?”

 

“Nice to meet you!”

 

“Let’s work hard together!”

 

It seemed five minutes had passed.

 

Motivated party members.

 

Three older people.

 

Those older people were only a few years apart from my age.

 

I had learned several tacts since I was young to survive as a neutral party in the war between my sisters.

 

I was loved by my bosses for that experience.

 

I also opened my mouth to lighten up the mood.

 

In a very noble tone.

 

“With me, you have nothing to worry about.”

 

…Wait, who worries about who?!

 

But I couldn’t take back the words that came out of nowhere.

 

“…Yes?”

 

Damn it, I could see the party members startled.

 

At this rate, I am going to die out of embarrassment.

 

Grandfel, my bloody dark history.

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

There is a saying that a still tongue keeps a wise head.

 

I better kept my mouth shut as much as possible.

 

That was my conclusion.

 

Soon after entering the rupture, a different scenery caught my eye.

 

It was the subway I saw every day, commuting back and forth to work.

 

I felt a sense of disparity.

 

Nam Cheolmin, the leader of the party ahead of me, clicked his tongue.

 

“The escalator is rusty, so we’ll have to walk. Oh, there are a lot of stairs here… Let’s just think of it as a warm-up and go down!”

 

At those words, I looked at the escalator.

 

This is real, isn’t it?

 

A rusty escalator.

 

A damp, unpleasant smell emanated from the other side of the basement.

 

Even the occasional howl of the beast.

 

‘Is that a gnoll’s cry?.’

 

Indeed, under the influence of the rupture, the subway seemed to have changed to a suitable environment.

 

Only players had access to the ruined subway station.

 

Of course, when the rupture collapsed, the subway in the reality would change into this.

 

“Get your gear.”

 

“Looking at the entrance, I guess there’s a party that has entered first.”

 

“It certainly seems so. But, you don’t have to worry. It’s quite big, maybe because this is the transit station? If you choose your route well, you should be able to hunt without overlapping with other parties..”

 

I was glad I could find a party too.

 

If I came alone, I would have made a fool of myself.

 

I opened the inventory and checked the equipment.

 

‘…Should I think of this as a good thing?’

 

Level 55.

 

It may be just a low level now, but it was quite a high level back then.

 

At that time, getting equipment was not easy.

 

But who was I in the past?

 

Middle school second-year syndrome patient that lived stylishly and died stylishly.

 

I vaguely remembered investing my pocket money to get cool equipment.

 

Anyway, thanks to that live-by-how-you-look-and-die-with-how-you-look mindset, my current level of equipment belonged to a daily luxurious standard.

 

[A masterpiece of an unknown blacksmith: Silver Dagger]

 

[Grade: Rare]

 

[Restriction: Lv.50]

 

[Effect: Give additional damage to the undead and the demons.]

 

[Description: It is a masterpiece of a blacksmith who has excellent skills but lacks fame.]

 

Among them, this dagger remained in my memory.

 

I remembered buying it at a very high price at the auction house…

 

As explained in the description, it was a device made by a blacksmith player who was very famous at the time.

 

I didn’t know who it was, but if they kept playing Arcana, they must have become a very famous blacksmith by now.

 

‘That’s not what’s important.’

 

…So this is the only weapon I have?!

 

This was a disaster.

 

Silver weapons had very poor durability.

 

Every time he hunted, its durability decreased and I vividly remembered spending a considerable amount of gold on its repairs.

 

It had been gold back then, but I had to use cash now!

 

I had a bow, but there were only five arrows.

 

They were all silver arrows, too.

 

I couldn’t even use the silver arrows because I was worried about their durability.

 

I made a quick decision.

 

‘I should fight as little as possible.’

 

At least until I got a new weapon.

 

[You have entered Gnoll’s Underground Warehouse – Grocery Storage.]

 

The only new weapon here would be the crude weapon used by the gnoll.

 

Still, it would be better than the silver weapon.

 

‘But there’s still a gap in our level.’

 

Having judged that, I regretted it once the battle began.

 

‘…Really, Lee Hoyeol, you bastard!’

 

No matter how cool the silver weapon is.

 

Was it that hard to get a practical weapon?!

 

“Crrrrr!”

 

Dogman, Gnoll.

 

The real things were much faster and smarter than what I had seen in Arcana.

 

Maybe they had adapted to the subway station.

 

They had been attacking us using the topography of the complex subway station.

 

Swish-!

 

An arrow flew from the blind spots.

 

Seo Jungyeon, a mage who managed to escape, shouted.

 

“An archer gnoll! It’s hiding behind a vending machine over there!”

 

The division of roles was better than our party.

 

I looked at Nam Cheolmin.

 

‘…Is this how you hunt with parties these days?’

 

I didn’t hear it myself, but Nam Cheolmin’s class was obviously a tanker.

 

His large shield and metal armor proved it.

 

But why.

 

Rather than protecting the party, Nam Cheolmin was in a state of breaking away.

 

‘Whatever it is, things aren’t good.’

 

A situation where I couldn’t afford food.

 

Mage Seo Jungyeon was the only long-distance dealer at our party.

 

I looked at the vending machine as she said that.

 

Indeed, there were two archer gnolls behind the vending machine.

 

‘They’re reloading their arrows.’

 

Is this my chance?

 

I spun my brain.

 

Yeah, it’s my chance.

 

Archer gnolls were terrible at close combat.

 

If you knocked them down, you could take their arrow away.

 

But isn’t it the same for me who have poor combat power?

 

In addition, this was my first battle in more than a decade.

 

Tap tap–

 

But that kind of worry was useless.

 

I walked leisurely.

 

My steps were relaxed.

 

As if the gnolls couldn’t approach me.

 

I walked toward the archer gnolls confidently.

 

Yes, I was considering all the variables and risks in my head.

 

The body was honest.

 

I wasn’t nervous at all.

 

No, to be precise, to be frightened by a group of gnolls.

 

Grandfel’s confidence that was overwritten on me was too great.

 

“H-Hey, there! It’s dangerous! Without weapons…?”

 

Suddenly, I felt as though I could hear Seo Jungyeon’s shouting in my ears.

 

But I didn’t hear it till the end.

 

Maybe I just couldn’t.

 

I couldn’t tell if Seo Jungyeon had blurred the end of her words.

 

“Crrrr!”

 

With their fangs exposed.

 

Two hostile gnolls.

 

Tap tap–

 

As I approached them lightly.

 

Tap tap–

 

I punched both of them in the nose.

 

In that series of movements, I felt a sense of elegance beyond its composure.

 

There was not even the slightest shake in my vision.

 

I spoke.

 

“It looks like you haven’t been disciplined enough.”

 

As if scolding a raised hunting dog.

 

“I don’t like it, but just in case.”

 

Looking down from a place far too high.

 

It was the attitude of a haughty aristocrat.

 

“You also need punishment.”

 

…Y-Yip!!