HLABS 13

Chapter 13 

Living Alone but Too Strong
Ostracizing (2)

The moment Shin Sohyun appeared, my head felt like it was on fire.

“Why… why is she here?”

I’d heard she was involved in the operation to find Minho, but out of all the people…

Why did I have to run into her here of all places?

“Sorry. My subordinates have a bit of a rough personality. They don’t mean any harm, so please cooperate with us,” Sohyun said politely, bowing slightly as she grabbed one of her subordinate’s heads and forced them to bow.

But… Venti was spinning his fists in place.

“No way…? It can’t be.”

Minho quickly reached out and shouted,

“Venti! Stop!”

“Stop what?”

“The cup ramen! Stop!”

“Cup ramen!”

Venti smiled faintly.

“Hmm?”

What are they doing?

The players, including Sohyun, tilted their heads in confusion.

Then—

Shwaaaah!

Venti disappeared, leaving only a shadow behind.

Bwaaak! Bwak! Bwaaak!

“Ahhh!”
“Kyaaa!”
“Ugh!”

Players began collapsing one by one, losing focus in their eyes.

It all happened in less than five seconds. Among them…

“Ughhh…”

Even Shin Sohyun, foam bubbling from her mouth, was knocked out.

Minho glared at Venti.

“I said stop!”

“I did stop… I used cup ramen, didn’t I?”

…Yeah, that’s our Venti. Good boy.

“Haaaa…”

Minho crouched, sighing deeply, checking his condition. His pulse was normal. No serious injuries.

“Thank goodness.”

Just as he exhaled in relief,

Tap, tap!

Venti slapped his chest proudly.

“Don’t worry. I only knocked them out. They’re not seriously hurt.”

“Yeah… well done.”

Good job, Venti. Yeah, that’s enough.

“Sorry, Sohyun.”

Minho turned away and looked to the opposite side.

“Then, let’s begin.”

“Okay!”

Venti grabbed axes in both hands and readjusted his stance. Then—

“Grrrrr!”

A blue aura radiated from his entire body.

Crack! Sizzle!

The aura was so intense that my skin tingled and wind swirled around him. The blue aura spiraled around his twin axes, looking ominous and terrifying.

When the aura reached its peak, Venti’s eyes glowed blue as he scanned beyond the bushes.

“Seeker!”

A skill that detects hidden enemies or traps. His vision turned like an infrared camera, revealing nearby lifeforms. He located the space that fell from the volcano.

“Hutcha!”

He swung his axe lightly.

Kwaaaaah!

A blue flash shot forward and landed in the middle of the forest.

This was part of Minho’s plan this time.

• Venti, can you draw people’s attention before entering the boss zone? Maybe with a skill or item.

• Ah! Yes, I can!

• Then please do it. If it’s noisy, we can go into the boss zone more safely.

• Leave it to me!

With a single move to grab the players’ attention… they would storm the boss zone and defeat the boss in an instant. Simple enough.

“Simple is best.”

Minho knew well. If he added unnecessary steps, the chance of being caught would only increase. If Venti used his skill on the ground, he could easily draw attention…

Kwaaaaaaaaaaaang!

“Huh…?”

Minho’s mouth fell open inside his mask.

The skill he expected to produce a moderate explosion… had instead created a massive blue pillar on the ground. Clouds swirled in the sky, and the light was so intense it seemed like it could engulf everything around it.

“Is this what a nuclear bomb feels like?”

It was overwhelmingly powerful, enough to make me think we’d be caught in it too.

“What the—!”
“Everyone, move!”

Players near the volcano shouted and activated defensive skills, while some reckless ones ran toward the light. Everyone’s attention was drawn to the blue pillar.

“Hutcha!”
“Ugh!”

Venti hoisted Minho onto his shoulder.

“Let’s go!”
“Okay!”

They began sprinting toward the volcano crater at insane speed. Still faster than Minho could handle. Normally, the players’ attention would have been fully caught by the spectacle.

“Still okay.”

Thanks to the pillar’s residual effects, there was some leeway. Minho squinted, observing the situation. The light slowly dimmed.

“What? What is this?”

Players, noticing something strange, started scanning the area. Meanwhile, Venti and Minho were still far from the volcano.

“Let’s try distracting their attention a bit more.”

Minho pulled something from his backpack—a long blue stick. Firework. A festival item sold in Kelbaton. Useless on its own, with no real power, but made by a famous craftsman and unnecessarily expensive.

“Perfect for drawing attention.”

He launched the firework to the opposite side.

Swish!

It flew like an arrow and then—

Frrrsh! Bang!

It ignited late and exploded.

“What’s that!”
“Move that way!”

Players scrambled as Minho continued launching fireworks at precise intervals to grab attention. Venti smiled.

“Minho is smart.”

No one expected these luxury fireworks to be used this way.

And that wasn’t all.

“Field of vision is wide.”

Over a hundred players were scattered around. Each had different hiding spots and directions. This made tracking variables difficult. But Minho launched the fireworks almost perfectly timed.

“Minho has talent.”

Gentle, well-fed Minho… was far more capable than anyone realized. Venti tilted his head slightly.

“Venti! Right, left!”

Minho kept signaling while launching fireworks. His eyes rolled rapidly, his face showing sheer determination. Venti smirked.

“Maybe… Minho can pull this off.”

Then—

Tat-tat-tat!

“Got it!”

He increased his speed. How far had they gone?

“Damn.”

A firework fell from Minho’s backpack.

“Did the light… stop?”
“What was that?”

Players finally realized the situation, their field of vision widened.

“There! Someone’s running toward the volcano!”
“What the heck?”

They saw Venti and Minho, suspiciously dressed, moving like lightning. Instinct told them: these two were the “Trace King” or connected to him.

“Chase them!”
“Catch them!”

Players used skills to pursue, but couldn’t close the distance.

“How are they so fast?”
“They’re monsters.”

Most were top-tier in the tower’s ecosystem, and few could move faster than them. They couldn’t imagine someone like Venti existing. Their faces and movements betrayed their shock.

Meanwhile, Minho grabbed a handful of sour-sweet candies from his chest and shouted,

“Eat!”

Venti opened his mouth, and Minho fed him.

Crunch! Crunch!

As Venti chewed fiercely, light flickered ahead, revealing a man wearing a gray hood.

“Stop if you don’t want to die.”

He extended his palm coldly.

“No.”

Venti accelerated.

“Hyaaah!”

Bang! Bang!

Energy waves shot from the man’s hands at high speed.

“Got you.”

A wicked smile appeared under his hood. He was sure of his victory.

But—

“Hraah.”

Kaang!

Venti swung his axe horizontally, dispersing the energy waves.

“Excuse me, face!”
“Huh?”

Bwaaak!

“Ahhh!”

Using the man’s face as a springboard, Venti jumped upward with all his strength. Both soared crazily, reaching toward the sky.

“Huh…?”
“Insane.”
“Is that a skill? Or talent?”

Players gawked. Such a leap was impossible with mere physical ability.

“Hahaha! So refreshing!”

Venti laughed manically.

Jenzzaang!

Minho gritted his teeth, holding on tight to avoid falling. Their eyes focused on the volcano crater.

“Grrrrr…”

The third-floor final boss, the demon Alkeras, glared with blood-red eyes.

“Grrraaah!”

He roared, conjuring hundreds, thousands of fireballs and fired them at the two.

“Let’s go!”

Venti dashed toward him like freefalling.

“Hot!”

Flames brushed dangerously close to Minho, burning his clothes. He used potions and water to treat burns and extinguish the fire.

How far had they gone? The distance was nearly closed. Venti said,

“Minho, hang on a bit.”
“Okay!”
“Grrrr…”

Venti thrust his axe forward.

Kwaaa-jijijik!

It pierced the boss’s chest toward the red heart.

Grrrraaah!

They plunged into the body. Scorching heat made breathing painful.

Clack! Clack!

Hundreds of tentacles attacked from inside.

Kwa-jik! Kwa-jijik!

“Let’s go!”

Venti swung his axe, cleaving the tentacles.

Kwa-jijijik!

His extended fist tore through the heart, a large dark magic stone in hand.

Grrrraaaah!

The boss screamed, shaking its entire body.

[Congratulations! You defeated the demon Alkeras and cleared the 3rd floor!]
[You’ve gained access to the 4th floor!]
[Achievement: ‘Killed Alkeras in the Shortest Time (Legendary)’ unlocked!]

• Condition: Defeat Alkeras in the shortest time among all players.

• Reward: Agility +2

[Achievement: ‘Killed Alkeras with Minimum Players (Mythic)’ unlocked!]

• Condition: Defeat Alkeras with 5 or fewer players.

• Reward: 1 Mythic Chance Box

Simultaneously, messages appeared one after another.

“Status screen, send us to the 4th floor immediately!”

Minho issued the command.

[Haminho is being transported to the 4th floor!]

Minho and Venti were enveloped in light, then—

Paaaah!

They blinked out of existence.

Above the volcano crater, over a hundred players peered down, stunned.

“What is this…?”
“Did they really defeat him in that short time? Is that even possible?”
“No, I just… don’t understand at all.”

Inside the crater:

Grrrraaah…

The final boss, Alkeras, was torn apart, his massive body shredded and scattered into the void.