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Chapter 12
Too Strong for Solo Living
Isolation (1)
The third floor of the World Tree Tower, at the far west end.
Inside the black jagged rocks.
A place where hundreds of caves are intricately connected like a maze.
The Ant Cave of the Alkeras cultists.
The lair of heretics worshiping the demon tribe’s “Alkeras,” the third-floor boss.
It’s such a dangerous place that NPCs don’t dare go near it.
For players…
[I1023Man: Ant Cave? You’re better off not stepping in there.]
[Sakier: Honestly, if you go in, you won’t come out. Endless heretics and monsters spring from traps… ugh, I don’t even want to imagine it.]
[LinkidAl: Dangerous, maze-like. Better to clear a few other fame quests than go there. A truckload of people have died from getting lost there.]
Naturally, it’s a no-go zone.
At the queen’s chamber of the ant cave.
Of course, the queen ant lives here.
Hellmothers.
This fat, insect-like monster continuously lays eggs to increase its numbers and emits waves of malice, giving its fanatical followers immense power.
Additionally, hundreds of elite fanatics and soldier ants are stationed around it.
In short: an infuriatingly difficult, tricky boss.
But…
KRAZZZZT!
“KIEEEEEK!”
KUUUUUNG!
The greedy, fat head of the Hellmother splits in half and falls to the floor.
Inside the queen’s chamber.
Amidst a sea of corpses of monsters and elite heretics.
“Ughhh.”
The villain responsible swings his axe repeatedly through the air, shaking off the blood drenched all over it.
“Ohhh, as expected, it’s Venti.”
Clap clap clap!
Haminho, waiting nearby in a similar outfit, claps and cheers.
Immediately after, status windows pop up one after another.
[You have defeated the demon tribe Hellmother!]
[Fame Quest “Herd of Heretics and the Queen of the Ant Cave” completed!]
[Congratulations! You have gained 7 Fame!]
[Achievement “Purified the Ant Cave (Hero)” unlocked!]
Rank: Legendary
Effect: Strength +1
[Level increased from 21 to 23!]
So many notifications appear at once that it almost feels like a cheap mobile game, like Miracle Gun.
Meanwhile…
“Heheheh, heheh.”
KRAK! KRAZZZZT!
Humming, Venti approaches the Hellmother’s corpse, roughly tearing out the magic stone from its chest and returns.
“Minho, here.”
“Thanks.”
Minho takes it and puts it in his bag.
Venti lifts his mask and hood and sighs.
“Phew… Minho, do we have to keep doing this? It’s a little… frustrating.”
Looking slightly annoyed, as if uncomfortable.
He’s been running around non-stop, and wearing both a hood and mask seems to be inconvenient.
“Sorry, sorry.”
Rustle!
Minho scratches his head awkwardly and takes out a triangular rice ball from his bag.
The true classic: Tuna Mayo.
Venti’s favorite flavor.
He peels it and holds it out.
“Yum!”
Venti opens his mouth wide and munches on the rice ball.
As Minho gently pats his head, Venti’s ears twitch like a dog enjoying a treat.
“So… delicious!”
Suddenly, Venti’s face lights up with a sunflower-like smile.
Minho wipes the mayonnaise from his mouth with a wet tissue and continues.
“I know Venti is uncomfortable, but it’s better to be careful. In our world, Venti’s power… isn’t ordinary.”
“So if my identity is discovered, Minho gets in trouble, right?”
“Yes, exactly.”
“Well, if it’s Minho, I can’t do anything about it…”
Venti puts his mask back on.
It’s like saying:
“Sorry about that.”
I just made sure he ate properly, yet he’s going out of his way to climb the tower.
I won’t forget this favor, Lord Venti.
At that moment, Venti slings his axe over his shoulder and asks:
“So now we just go fight the boss, right?”
“Yes, that’s the plan.”
Minho smiles.
“Then, hold on tight.”
“Take it easy… please.”
Venti lifts Minho onto his shoulder.
Tadadadad!
“Whaaaah!”
At insane speed, they rush out of the ant cave.
KRAAANG! KRAAANG!
Kicking and smashing walls along the way.
Thanks to that…
“Venti, slowly! A bit softer! Take it slow!”
“No way! We have to save time!”
Minho, hanging on Venti’s shoulder, turns pale.
Several dozen minutes later.
A bit north of the central field on the third floor.
A huge volcano rises here.
At its center.
A demon emanating black-red energy stands tall, half-buried in lava, chained with massive chains, screaming in agony.
“Ughhh…”
Its body regenerates as it burns, repeating this cycle endlessly.
The demon tribe Alkeras.
A being that massacred this area in the distant past… the third-floor final boss.
Sealed by a hero party long ago, it lay dormant, but for hundreds of years, it regained strength using heretics—the scenario of this floor.
World Tree Tower.
Bosses here are divided into two main types:
-
Dungeon-type bosses: Entered via magic circles or gates by certain people.
-
Field-type bosses: Released in specific zones of the field, like this one.
(There are some exceptions.)
This third-floor boss is a field-type.
This creates a rather annoying situation for someone.
“Hmmm, well laid out, as expected.”
About a kilometer from the volcano.
On a hill.
Minho monitors the volcano area with a telescope.
‘At a glance, there must be fifty or sixty.’
Near the volcano.
Players, who look high-level, are stationed at various points.
Including those hiding in ambush, the number is probably several times higher.
At that moment, Venti puffed out his cheeks and said:
“Why worry so much, Minho? We just go.”
“But… it’s better to make as little noise as possible.”
Venti asks, and Minho sighs as he lowers the telescope.
‘Does it really have to be this dramatic?’
Recently, the player community has been buzzing about Minho.
Rumors of him being an S-rank or higher player.
A savior of the world.
But in reality… he was rated F-rank at best.
‘Savior, my foot. He’s just a bus driver.’
And his reason for climbing the tower? Just to expand his apartment.
Annoying, in every sense.
‘Stick to the plan.’
Still, this situation was within the expected range.
Plans were already set. Following them would allow safe entry.
—Or so they thought, while waiting.
“Hey, what are you doing there?”
“Huh?”
Venti and Minho turn their heads. Several players are looking at them.
Emblems with mountain symbols are on their chests.
Minho’s eyes widen.
‘The Deungjeong Guild.’
Members of one of the top five guilds.
Them gathering on the third floor probably means…
‘They’re looking for me.’
He could feel it instinctively. Trouble might start now.
“Remove your masks and hoods, reveal your identities.”
“And if we don’t?”
Their tone is authoritative.
Minho pulls his hood even tighter.
The guild members exchange glances. Something feels suspicious.
“Then we’ll have to use force. We’re on a very important mission, you see.”
Shrrrr!
They all draw weapons.
Swords, bows, guns… mostly glowing purple with strange bits of flesh attached.
Minho squints.
‘Void Weapons…’
Weapons from the third-tier Abyssrium.
This means they’re over level 200.
“What the—why draw weapons?”
Venti steps forward, placing a hand on his waist, challenging them.
The guild members chuckle.
“What’s with this brat?”
“Miss, not sure what guts you have, but we’re Deungjeong Guild members. People climbing the tower for humanity. You’d better cooperate.”
They blatantly threaten with their weapons.
Regardless of laws inside the tower, survival of the fittest rules.
Seeing these supposed “saviors” acting like thugs…
‘Are these supposed saviors a joke?’
Minho holds back the words rising in his throat.
But being cautious seems useless.
“Isn’t it a little early for you weaklings to talk like that?”
“What?”
Venti mercilessly points out a fact.
“Exactly. You can’t even reach the 30th floor, yet talk like that. Hilarious. And… I heard you’re too scared to enter the tower?”
“What?”
“My friend told me. You’re so incompetent that others suffered because of you.”
Thunk!
Minho puts a hand on his forehead.
‘Ah… we’re screwed.’
-
Minho’s home collapsed?
-
Yeah, because of monster poles. Players couldn’t clear it.
Venti remembered what he said while eating and used it to provoke them.
“What a crazy chick…”
A slim, sharp-featured player in front clenches his teeth and grabs Venti by the collar.
Venti tilts his head and asks:
“What now?”
“Haah…”
No going home comfortably today.
Minho massages his forehead, recalling the plan with Venti.
-
Venti, let’s set a code just in case.
-
Code? What’s that?
-
“Cup Noodles” means knock them out. Don’t kill them.
-
Oh, cup noodles! Sounds yummy…
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Focus! And “Triangular Rice Ball” means escape. Got it?
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Got it! Cup Noodles = knock out, Rice Ball = run!
-
Don’t kill them!
Normally, this wouldn’t be necessary.
But the situation forced their hand.
“Cup Noodles!”
Minho shouts.
“What?”
“Cup Noodles?”
The players tilt their heads, confused.
“Haha! Got it!”
Crack! Crack!
Venti twists his wrists and prepares to “teach” them a lesson.
He’s restraining his power to avoid serious damage.
The opponents are high-level players, so knocking them out should suffice.
‘Quickly finish this, then head to the boss zone.’
At that moment…
“Huh? What are you doing there?”
“Ah, team leader!”
A woman’s voice comes from behind as someone walks over.
Then…
“They… told these guys to take off their masks, but they refused.”
Haah… I knew it. You spoke arrogantly again, didn’t you?
“No, not really… and look, don’t they seem suspicious?”
Minho’s eyes widen.
Standing there…
‘Sohyeon nuna?’
It’s Shin Sohyeon, essentially Minho’s real older sister.
