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Reincarnator – Chapter 219 : Exodus (3)
Hansoo looked around as he headed towards the east in the middle of the city.
There was the flaming lands in the south and the frozen tundra to the north.
Countless players were heading in four directions of north, east, west and south from the center of the fortress.
This location, a location between the kingdoms in the east and west, had become an extremely popular place for those who were above level 200 after the 5th patch.
Since all four locations had good things.
Especially the south and the north locations were the reason why this Bellum War Fortress was a popular place.
The alpha and omega of this Bellum War Fortress.
The final location of the hundreds of thousands of players coming to this place through the warp gate in the city square.
'But… Not yet.'
Hansoo glanced at the players going to the north and south noisily as he ignored them and continued his way.
Towards the east.
There was an extremely important dungeon outside the War Fortress in the east.
The dungeon that would become the starting point for the road towards the Spirit Land.
'The great maze of the Ains.'
Hansoo mumbled towards the strange looking mountain that had hundreds of entrances holed into it.
A race that had a slightly different form from the humans.
Actually the players couldn't even meet this race before the 5th patch.
They could only read about them, they had no idea where these things were.
But once the racial quest,
At first everybody scoffed.
For just a single Great Maze to have opened despite the size of the quest.
Of course nobody thought this way anymore.
The amount of people gathered around it proved it.
In the vast field in front of him, countless amount of people set up camp there.
These were people who had gathered in order to enter into the giant mountain,
As Hansoo approached them, he could hear their loud shouts.
"Gathering one more person for the maze attack squad! We're planning to share the protection elixirs that come out of the Ains equally!"
"Searching for a party in order to gather protection elixirs! People who have high mana resistances! We welcome any master-tier players!"
Protection elixir.
The item that these guys were shouting about was the core item from this Great Maze.
The item which allowed people to enter the
Before the 5th patch.
The Spirit Land was a place that nobody could enter.
It wasn't because the map wasn't built or the game company locked it up.
Such a thing wouldn't happen in this game,
There was a simple reason.
They died the moment they stepped in.
It wasn't because there were tremendously powerful beasts inside.
It was worse.
The huge amount of DoT damage they received the moment they stepped inside it.
As soon as they stepped into the blazing and frozen land, their health which could even tank against boss-level monsters got shredded apart.
Even level 250 master level players would lose all their health and die after only a few moments.
They would die even before seeing anything.
But the story changed as the Great Maze opened up.
As the
Of course the price of the Protection Elixir which could be obtained from inside the maze rose to the heavens as well.
Everybody who was gathered here had gathered for the Protection Elixir.
One of the players who was passing by Hansoo chewed the Atollen gum, which was sold around here, and mumbled.
"Fuck. Nobody's coming around. Only weaklings are walking around.
The player looked at the party members approaching him as he frowned.
It had been over 20 years since the game Exodus had opened up.
Though leveling was hard, due to how long the game had been out there were plenty of level 200 players.
Of course there should be countless people who could enter the maze which had the level limit of 200 but it was hard to find useful party members.
This was because in this game, Exodus, differences between individual were very prominent.
Every level 200 weren't the same from each other.
Depending on their skills, artifact and control the differences of battle power would be huge.
To the point of a seasoned level 250 master player being able to beat numerous tens of beginner master players.
The difficulty of the newly opened Great Maze was extremely high and there were locations where there was a limit to how many people could enter.
And even more so in places where one can get precious items.
He had started to curse as he only saw weaklings when filling his party with only elites wouldn't be enough.
Hansoo nodded as he heard the player's complaint.
'I need to create a party.'
In a normal game, every beast was below the level of a player.
But it was different for this place.
You would get destroyed if you fought alone due to the power of the beasts.
With the unfriendly game system, solo playing would be countless times slower than party playing.
So the game Exodus was better the more you bunched up.
Even more so if the average strength of the party members were high.
The number of people in each party here was around 30 to 50.
This is where most of the new players of Exodus make their mistakes.
Instead of party playing, staying in a group with just the adventurers who had come with them.
It was better to fill up your party as much as possible despite not being able to trust somebody who wasn't serious about their work.
Of course the chances of their betrayal once a precious artifact or a reward came along existed but this place wasn't a place where you were done for once you got killed.
Since one needed to be wary of being revenged by those they had betrayed after they revived so not many people acted like that.
So people grouped around in 40 or 50 players groups but of course they would get caught in the eye if they roamed around the maze or hunting grounds in groups of 10 or 15.
Even more so if they ran around solo because they were confident.
This was how the bug killers filtered bug players out.
'Exodus isn't such an easy game.'
Hansoo mumbled.
Those who can survive and continue at a decent pace alone or in small groups were the best of the best out of the master players.
And because these players had played the game for so long and were famous, they could be found with a simple search.
If no information came up despite them moving around in small groups and if they were also weak, they would become targets of the bug killers and these bug killers would likely kill them on the spot.
The chances were half and half but if they found them then it was amazing.
Illegal PK's penalties were high but even if they compensate the dead players after receiving the penalties, it was still a profit in the end.
'This is why…I need to go into the maze in a party.'
He wasn't going into the Great Maze for the Protection Elixir but there was no need to get caught in the eyes of others by acting alone before he got to a certain point.
He would eventually get caught if he acted out properly but there wouldn't be a case where he would get held down until then.
Hansoo found a decent party as he looked around.
People who were well off in the standards of Exodus and had nice Artifacts as well.
He could tell with just a single glance since he had spent quite a time within this place in the past.
Hansoo thought of the adventurers who had come here previously as he was about to join them.
Friends who had come to the Bellum War Fortress.
'It'd be nice if they were with me.'
Hansoo clicked his tongue.
If he was going to party play, it was better to be with adventurers than players.
The chances of being caught would be much lower and their attitudes and habits were different from the players since they could die.
And since they were of the elite squad that Ekidu had hand picked herself, they would have quite nice personalities as well.
Hansoo shook his head as he looked at the countless people around him.
'Mmm….Finding them here is too much.'
There were at least a few hundred thousand people in this War Fortress.
And he didn't even know their faces, he could not find them and hide the fact he was an adventurer at the same time.
'I'll move out first.'
Hansoo finished his thoughts and headed towards the party members he had chosen previously.
...............….
"Maze 5th-level hunting ground. One person please."
Hansoo spoke towards the male, the party leader, in his mid 30s in front of him.
With a respectful tone since his settings were in mid 20s.
The party leader [Hikikomaria] pondered as he looked at Hansoo.
'What a common name. For him to choose such a name.'
In his opinion, [Hansoo] was the second most common name after [Chulsoo].
'Anyways…What we need is two.'
Along with the male who had just come, the total amount of people who wanted to join were 3.
The man who had come first mumbled unhappily as he looked at Hikikomaria who was pondering while looking at the 2 males and 1 female in front of him.
"Isn't it first come first serve? I came first."
Hikikomaria scoffed.
"No, it is by personal strength. The 5th level isn't an easy place."
The Great Maze of the Ains.
Nobody had seen the end of this place.
The difficulty was indeed high but most of the people who had gathered here came for the Protection Elixir.
Whether they used it for themselves or sold them during when the prices rose to the heavens, the Protection Elixir was one of the highest priced items one could get from the maze.
Which meant that there was no reason to go into the depths of the maze and face the dangers.
Somebody might ask.
Why would one go into the 5th floor when the Protection Elixir came out on the 1st floor?
There was a reason for everything.
The 1st level gave out level 1 Protection Elixirs and the 5th level gave out level 5 Protection Elixirs.
The Protection Elixirs that came out became better the deeper one went in.
Protection Elixirs that decreased more DoT damages and lasted longer.
Fighting the powerful beasts was stressful enough, keeping check on the DoT damage would get one pissed.
This was why the players who were closer to 250 or were at that level look for the higher level Protection Elixirs in the depths.
Of course the Protection Elixir that would get them the most profit as of now from the player's calculations was the level 5 Protection Elixir.
Which meant that although it would be better to go in deeper, there was no need to since it was too dangerous.
'Well, the 5th level isn't easy as well. That damned guy, why does he have to have overnight shift toda?.'
Hikikomaria made an annoyed expression as he mumbled.
Since there was a limit of 50 people, the ones who he could let in had to be the stronger ones.
He couldn't allow weaklings to enter.
So the female of the three suddenly spoke.
"Let's just have a quick test. Circle Formation. It doesn't seem like you're looking for a healer or a support… This should be enough right?"
This was the best test for determining those who would be in the attack position.
The man made a slightly annoyed expression at the female's words and then looked at Hansoo.
There wouldn't even be a need to get tested if that guy hadn't come but things had gotten annoying.
The man spoke.
"Isn't experience the most important thing? I don't know about others but I have been to the 5th floor before."
The man then fumbled around his pockets to lift up his wrist.
A clear symbol.
A few people whislted as they looked at that symbol.
Stamp.
The curse of the Ains who live from the 5th floor and upwards.
Once one collided with the Ains in order to gather the Protection Elixir and kill them, they leave behind a line of curse as they fell.
Once this happened a small symbol will appear on their wrist.
A symbol saying that they had gotten the curse of the Ains.
This couldn't be erased and nobody erased it anyway.
It had no effect and it was more like a symbol.
That they had been to the 5th level of the maze.
The fact that they killed an Ain and gotten the curse meant that they had been to the 5th level at least once.
The man touched the symbol and looked at the people around him as he spoke.
"I went with those bug-killer friends before. They are probably near here right now. If they hadn't found some trash bug players then we would've long been in there."
The man showed them the symbol and spoke with a smile.
Reincarnator – Chapter 220 : The Great Maze of the Ains (1)
"Hmm."
As Hikikomaria's expression changed from the look of the symbol, the female also raised her wrist while scoffing at the man.
Showing a symbol that had an even deeper in color.
"Does this actually mean anything? The thing that is important is after we get into the 5th floor. Also there have been a lot of fakers recently. Getting into a party with their stamps and then becoming baggage. And how do we know that you haven't been abandoned by the bug killers because you were trash?"
"… Aren't your words a bit too harsh?"
As the man growled the female only shrugged her shoulders and continued to speak.
"I'm just saying because my last party got massacred because of it and we actually were at a loss. I wish to check the skill levels, if not then I'll just leave instead."
Meaning that she wouldn't join a party where they don't even check one's powers.
If a random weakling triggered a trap in the maze then things could get really tiresome.
Hikikomaria pondered at the female's words for a moment and then spoke.
"No, no. Let's get this show on the road."
"Fucking hell…"
The man grumbled as he pulled out his sword.
A basic item with a level requirement of 205.
He felt despair while looking at the shining weapons of those around him but there was nothing he could do.
Since he had used all his gold due to the expensive cost of the warp gates.
Normally one would need to upgrade their items in order to go to a higher level zone but he had no money for such a thing.
'Fuck. I need to earn money quickly and change my items. That bitch is just too meticulous.'
He didn't even have enough time to hunt but these guys were holding him down.
But he couldn't make a ruckus here.
Since he could waste even more time.
A player would be treated very well in areas where they were lacking but the War Fortress was one of the hottest places.
A region where there were swarms of players.
Of course they would only prefer those who had better personalities and were stronger.
'Let's calm down for now.'
The man hardened his expression and mumbled.
The Great Maze of the Ains was a place worthy of him to back off like this.
Since he would be able to gain plenty of money for him items if he gained a large amount of the level 5 Protection Elixirs.
And in reality, he had been lucky enough to participate in the maze once which allowed him to change his armor to a better one.
'It's a real jackpot.'
He needed to calm down.
As the man changed his armor and nodded, Hikikomaria spoke towards the three.
"Let's start then."
Then 12 party members surrounded the three.
With their individual weapons and skills.
The moment the people formed a circle.
Hikikomaria shouted.
"The time limit is 45 seconds. Quickly. We will take two people, excluding the first one to be taken out."
Then.
Papapapapak.
The surrounding 12 people started to pour out their assaults.
Artifacts, skills and levels were all important.
But these were all secondary.
Since a bit of luck or connections can improve all of this.
Which meant that there was only one thing that was truly important.
It was how much one could squeeze this out and convert it into battle strength.
Tototototoong!
Boooboom!
Of course since it was a test, they didn't attack to kill.
But even then, one might be taken out if they dropped their guards.
How fast and well one could react to the skills that were flying towards them.
This was very important in Exodus where surprise attacks constantly flew towards them.
Since there were a lot of cases where people died to surprise attacks from the beasts in a short amount of time.
Hikikomaria looked towards the three in the middle who were dealing with the attacks with a cold expression.
'Hmm.'
Hikikomaria raised his hands after about 10 seconds.
"Stop."
The man who had been blocking attacks madly looked around.
'Did I succeed?'
The man, [EclipticMania], smiled towards the two who had been hurt quite a lot.
Since he had a lot less injuries compared to the two.
But an unexpected answer came out from Hikikomaria's mouth.
"The two over there will come with us. EclipticMania, sorry but maybe next time."
"Huh? Why?"
The man asked in shock.
He had been in a Circle Formation a few times already and knew the standards changed a bit depending on the hunting ground but most of them were based on how well one could block the attacks.
And he, who had a good reaction speed, always passed the test.
As the man who had done the best out of the three asked Hikikomaria, he just shook his head and answered.
"You waste too much. You should trust in the healers, take the damage that you can and filter what you can dodge and block. If you continue like that then you would die off on the first floor."
Blocking it all wasn't the important part.
Since that was impossible.
One needed to save mana from blocking useless attacks and only focus on the fatal ones.
Which meant that one needed experience to determine all of this in addition to just reaction speed.
'That guy… Seems to have come from a laid back place. For even such weaklings to have come here…'
Hikikomaria shook his head while he looked at EclipticMania.
Though one could raise one's level and set up their artifacts in weaker areas, they wouldn't be able to be part of the most important things.
Like this.
That guy probably heard about this place and came here through the warp gate but soon he will find out the cruel reality.
On the other hand, the two others were amazing.
'Especially that Hansoo guy. His skills are…'
Hikikomaria mumbled with a shocked expression.
It was not easy to judge every single skill flying towards them from all directions.
Since there were just too many of them.
But that man had sorted through all those and even filtered them in mid-air with the spear, which was a weapon many regarded as being difficult to use.
'He wouldn't hold us back with that level at least. Hmm, should I try recruiting him into Spair?'
He didn't know for sure since they hadn't faced real battles together but the possibility still existed.
Hikikomaria whistled and then spoke with a happy expression while pointing at the entrance of the giant mountain in the distance.
"Let's start right away. We will head in. We'll resupply at the village on the 1st floor."
........................…..
Rumble
A giant mountain.
A large stone door around 5m diameter made strange grinding noises as it opened up.
Hansoo mumbled as he looked at the door, which had many symbols engraved upon it, that seemed like it had been created to trap something.
'This is the start.'
The 1st floor was the most important.
Since the hidden piece was on the first floor.
Everything would start from here.
Hikikomaria chuckled at Hansoo who had been gazing at the hole and then spoke to him.
"Don't worry so much. The first floor isn't much. It doesn't seem like you have a symbol on your wrist, is it your first time at the maze then? Where did you play around mainly?"
With this much strength, he should've been quite famous in that area.
Though he himself didn't know the tens of thousands of areas.
Hansoo pondered for a moment and then spoke.
"I was mainly around the Arrancar Zone."
"Oh?"
Hikokomaria was shocked.
Arrancar Zone.
He knew.
It wasn't far away from here and was quite famous.
'One of the few places that a player became a suzerain of.'
While one continued along their quests, they would sometimes receive a quest related to a kingdom or a country.
And when they perform these quests they are able to gain achievement points.
Depending on achievement points these individuals can receive the rights over a certain amount of land within that country and become a suzerain.
'I heard that it was quite a quiet place. He came from such a boring place huh.'
Normally the people in their 20s would search for areas with harsh quests.
But the Arrancar Zone was filled with only decent quests and there were no secrets to be found so it was a place famous for people like him who were in their 30s and 40s to hunt leisurely.
Which meant that it was a place with low popularity.
And though the Arrancar Zone was close by, it was over the border and in the Korin Kingdom.
'He should be penniless if he just came over then.'
Though they didn't take money even if you moved between countries, you couldn't use money from the previous country in the new one.
And since they didn't exchange currencies, it was really maddening.
This meant that one would need to earn money from the beginning if they changed countries, this was why there weren't many who moved between countries.
Most played around in that kingdom or that country.
This was something the separate powers had set up in order to prevent the players of their side becoming part of the strength of their enemy.
'Well. There are a lot of people like this. There's a lot to earn here.'
If you were confident in your skills then it wasn't a bad choice to come over to this place either.
Since this place, the War Fortress, was the hottest place in the game currently.
Hikikomaria shrugged and asked while smiling.
"Why did you play around there? I thought you'd come from a more intense place."
They had plenty of time to talk until they reached the village on the 1st level anyway.
Hikikomaria thought that he had come from an area filled with military quests due to his skills.
Hansoo replied while laughing.
"It's just a place I have fond memories of."
'I indeed have fond memories.'
He mumbled as he thought back to the past.
...............…..
A giant city where millions of people came and left.
The War Fortress showed off its tremendous amount of people as well as its humongous size.
Of course there were places that were not repaired yet and places that nobody inhabited.
And a few people were gathered in the rundown ruins at the corner of this War Fortress.
These 15 or so people's expressions were filled with fatigue.
No, it wasn't just their faces that was the problem.
They sighed in exhaustion as they healed the numerous injuries on each other's bodies.
At that moment.
Rustle.
A noise came from the outside of the destroyed ruins which they had covered with the straws.
The people inside flinched.
'Fucking bastards. Did they come here already…No. How did they figure us out.!'
The leader, Christopher, spat out and tensed up as he thought of the guy who attacked him for no reason.
As Christopher tightly clenched the sword in his hand.
A familiar voice could be heard.
"It's me! Me! I'm coming in!"
"Phew…"
The others sighed in relief and an agile female rushed inside.
Christopher frowned as he looked at the female.
"…Why are you alone? Where's Gahee?"
The female clenched her teeth and spoke through them.
"I think he got caught."
"Fucking bastards!"
Christopher forgot that he was hiding and cursed out.
Though it was a game for those guys, this was a problem of survival for them.
For them to die to people who were charging at them because it was just a game!
He at least understood those he had fought against until now, this was even worse than a useless death.
The female who had gone out for scouting, Ellenoia, made a depressed expression while looking at Christopher.
Since she didn't feel any better than him.
But Ellenoia suddenly made an excited expression as she spoke towards Christopher.
"I still have good news though."
"…What is it?"
"While I was looking at the plaza…I saw him. Kang Hansoo."
"What? Are you sure?"
Ellenoia nodded.
"How could I forgot his physique and his artifacts. After all, we all saw him. I'm sure."
She wouldn't be able to forget even if she wanted to.
The look of the man who had jumped into the Gael-Tara's body while swinging his spear.
Christopher made a shocked expression at Ellenoia's words.
'Did he kill that thing and come up? Or did he also run away?'
Christopher pondered as he thought of Hansoo who had gone into the giant body of the Gael-Tara.
He then spoke.
"Let's join up with him."
"Would it be different for him?"
This wasn't a problem of strength.
Since their enemies didn't die.
Hansoo might be able to kill the bug-killers but what about afterwards?
More would charge at them like a swarm of bees.
Towards Hansoo.
As Ellenoia asked worryingly, Christopher just shook his head.
"I feel as if this guy can even survive in hell."
Ellenoia subconsciously nodded at Christopher's words but then asked with a worried expression.
"What if… He denies us?"
How great would it be if he accepted them because they went to him.
Christopher shook his head at Ellenoia's worries and then spoke.
"Forget about freeloading. I heard that he was lacking in terms of searching and movement skills. There would be something we can help him out with."
'And…We don't have much of a choice.'
At this rate they would slowly get driven into a corner and die.
This wasn't the best choice but a choice made in order to escape from the worst situation.
'Fuck. How is that guy planning to deal with this.'
Even ten of them could barely hide here.
If hundreds of thousands of adventurers came here then a great massacre would begin.
Since the players didn't die and there were many more of them than themselves.
Christopher realized that this was not something he should be worried about right now and prepared to go out.
In order to find traces of Hansoo.
Reincarnator – Chapter 221 : The Great Maze of the Ains (2)
The great maze.
A dungeon where countless players had lost their lives due to its complex structure and traps during the first moments of its opening.
But Hansoo and his party members were proceeding through the 1st floor without any delays.
Though the maze split up into numerous parts on multiple occasions, Hikikomaria was moving forward as if this was his house and he was familiar with it.
And the party members behind followed him as if this was normal.
Soon.
Mumble mumble.
A giant area appeared before their eyes.
A giant area full of people.
Surprisingly, there was a human town in the corner of the Great Maze.
"Selling potions! Essential items! Prepare them quick!"
"Two spots left! Recruiting people urgently!"
Countless people were moving around and shouting within the town at corner of the dark underground structure.
A town made from the hands of players.
'What an unkind game.'
Hikokomaria thought about how long this town took to build and mumbled.
The Exodus did not supply the players with anything for their benefit.
It was just literally another world.
There weren't NPCs who sold unlimited amounts of potions and neither was there people who handed out quests with set requirements.
The players, who were used to friendly game systems which were designed to attract as many people as possible, were shocked by this game at first but they slowly realized.
That this kind of cockyness in this game stemmed from its confidence.
'As long as a game's fun, it will be popular.'
Hikikomaria mumbled as he looked at the countless people in the Level 1 Supply Zone.
Though the game company was unfriendly, the game itself was fun.
So it was up to the players to deal with things that were uncomfortable.
If there wasn't a clan system then they would recruit them in real life.
If there wasn't a village then they would create it with people.
The Level 1 Supply Zone here was created in this manner.
They had dealt with various traps and beasts on level 1 and settled upon a wide area in the maze.
As safety was slowly increasing as more and more players traded and resupplied here, the NPCs who were living in the War Fortress also came in, this was how the current Level 1 Supply Zone was created.
Hikikomaria spoke towards the party members.
"Vision Enhancing Stones and other tools have been bought already with the party funds, we'll rest here for 30 minutes so prepare the things you need by yourselves."
There were a few things that were a necessity in the Maze.
The Vision Enhancing tone, which increased how far they could see, or the Alarming Stone, which alerted one from sneak attacks, there were countless magic artifacts the mages of the kingdoms in Exodus created and sold.
And since such things were a necessity for the whole group, they could be bought with the limited party funds but personal requirements and preparations were all up to oneself.
Since this game had a tremendous amount of freedom, there were simply countless different types of battle styles.
Hansoo nodded.
30 minutes.
30 minutes was more than enough to do what he needed.
There was no need for him to prepare gears really.
'Well, I don't really have gold either.'
Hansoo smiled.
He was penniless so he didn't even have the money to buy them.
Since this place, Level 1 Supply Zone, was a place which only sold necessary items so their prices weren't exactly low.
Well, it was closer to the price of items in tourist locations.
Hansoo exclaimed out at the price of numerous price signs while moving through people as he found a grave at the center of the village and nodded.
'Found it.'
Though the Level 1 Supply Zone was created by the hands of players and NPCs, they didn't just make it anywhere.
Before this place had been built into the Supply Zone, it was actually the location where the most amount of people had died at.
Countless players have melted down from the poison damage of the mysterious, infected warriors who poured out from the small pyramid structure in the middle.
Only after the mages of the kingdoms released cures for the poison and when the high level players got interested by the maze did the jewel deep inside that pyramid get broken.
Of course the construction of this Supply Zone in the largest area within the 1st floor was way after this.
As Hansoo was walking.
Somebody came up to him and started to speak.
"It's your first time in the Great Maze right? Let's go together, I'll help you prepare."
'Crap.'
Hansoo shook his head as he looked at his newly acquired annoyance.
The female who had taken the test with him, [Kameira], was smiling next to him.
With a very amused expression.
Hansoo replied expressionlessly.
"I've prepared everything I needed already. I'm just planning to go to that grave over there, it seems interesting."
"That pyramid?"
Kameira looked at Hansoo flirtatiously and then spoke:
"Hahaha! There's nothing there anymore! The ones who cleared it in the beginning…Well it seems they received a large amount of rewards but nothing is there anymore."
It seemed Hansoo had been trying to find the remnant of a quest in there.
Of course Hansoo wasn't the only person who thought this way.
Since Kameira was also curious and had looked all over that pyramid.
Just because the ones who cleared it first got large rewards did not mean every secret inside it had been found.
But everyone had failed.
Countless people have searched inside the pyramid for a long time but they had all failed.
Hansoo smiled at Kameira and then mumbled.
'You can only find it if you know what you're looking for.'
One can only see as much as they know.
Since an item that looked like trash in the eyes of the common people may be a heavenly treasure to experts.
Though the Players have been in this game for a long time, they were still noobs when it came to this world.
Since they only thought of this world as a game.
They weren't interested in the race and the history of this world nor did they even want to know about it.
Even if they were interested, they didn't dwell too much or pry too deeply.
But of course there were exceptions.
There were a few players out of the countless who were intrigued by this world and solely focused on research and adventures.
'Well. I don't remember their ID though.'
A year from now.
Their leveling was slow due to their focus in exploration but they barely met the level requirements for the War Fortress and made their way to this Great Maze.
He will then find the traces that will start the Great Change.
Unlike the other players, whose goals were just the Protection Elixirs and Quests, his objectives were much different.
And there were indeed such traces inside the Pyramid.
It looked run down but those traces were necessary to begin these quests.
Hansoo finished his thoughts as he shrugged his shoulders.
"Who knows."
Kameia chuckled at Hansoo and then followed after him.
She was interested.
She was famous for her reasoning skills where she had come from but this guy was different.
Kameia decided to get closer and continued to ask questions.
"How old are you anyway?"
"I guess about 21."
Kameia made a dumbfounded expression.
'…About? With that physique?'
Guessing one's age was secondary but for him to be 21 with his looks.
Due to his huge posture and muscles that radiated fierceness, there was no way one would look at him and think him to be 21.
'It doesn't seem like he customized his looks.'
The Exodus did not provide the option to customize one's looks so one would need to buy surgery or elixirs for them.
Kameia stared at Hansoo, who didn't have any traces of such work done to him, and then smiled.
Since age wasn't very important.
"Then let's drop the formalities since we're of the same age. It seems like you're from Goryu as well."
Hansoo flinched at the name of the unfamiliar country which he hadn't heard in a long time.
'Oh yeah. I heard that this nation's history is a bit different than ours.'
He had heard that their culture was more western than Korea.
Which meant that being informal was more common in that country.
Hansoo pondered as to whether he should continue being formal or informal but then spoke out.
"No, no. I'm more comfortable being formal."
The formal speech was uncomfortable but she would continue to stick by if he let her in like this.
'Hnng. Did the fact that I'm a noona* get found out? I look quite young for my age though.'
She had faked her age in order to get closer but she was sad that he had walled her off.
Then the entrance of the Pyramid appeared in front of Hansoo's eyes.
'Let's go in.'
As he was about to.
"Stop. You must pay the fee to tour the Pyramid. 10 gold."
"…?"
'Was it always like this?'
Hansoo frowned.
Actually he had never been to the Great Maze in the past.
Since the 6th Great Change had been going on when he had come up here in the past.
Since the Protection Elixir's prices had dropped so much, there wasn't really a need to go into the Great Maze.
He had only memorized the core parts of the Quest, he didn't care about small things like this.
Hansoo frowned as he felt his empty pockets.
He hadn't prepared any gold since he would get some while hunting in the Maze but for such a thing like this to happen.
The NPC who had been working as a guard looked at this Hansoo and then frowned as he spoke.
"Due to a large amount of people visiting, the Kingdoms decided to place a maintenance fee."
The NPC emphasized on the word
Though 10 gold wasn't a large amount of money, there were a lot of immortals, the title given to Players by the NPCs, who were too cheap or caused a ruckus because they didn't like being told by others.
The guard judged Hansoo to be one of those people and spoke out in order to prevent trouble.
Since even the immortal players would have a hard time ignoring the words of the Kingdoms.
At that moment Kameira smiled as she handed over the money.
"Here, 20 gold."
"Thank you. Have a nice tour. The time limit is 10 minutes."
"…"
Kameira smiled as she looked at Hansoo who was staring at her.
"You told me you had no money after crossing the border. I can pay this much. Oh and since I'm the noona, I'll speak comfortably."
'…How sly.'
Hansoo shook his head at Kameira who had shoved her way in and caused him to be in debt.
"I'll pay you back soon."
"Hehe. It's nothing."
Hansoo entered the Pyramid along with Kameria.
She wouldn't cause much trouble for him anyway.
Since it wasn't like he was going to do something big.
As Hansoo was about to move out.
He heard people mumbling in the distance.
'Hmm?'
Hansoo's supernatural hearing caught the speech of the people from the village.
The people's talks rang throughout the entire space.
Bug players.
The Protection Elixirs were important.
But bug players had a value far higher.
Beside the artifacts they gave, the amount of experience they gave was far higher.
Killing them was basically winning the lottery.
A large amount of movement had been caused by this.
Because of this huge lottery which had made their way into the Pyramid.
Kameira went into the Pyramid while listening to the mumbles as she clicked her tongue.
"Hnng. What trash. For them to use bugs because they don't have skills."
Bug players.
They were merely trash unlike the others who constantly struggled in order to live.
'Sigh. Anyways…If it's ten then it's highly likely it's those guys.'
Hansoo frowned as he looked at the Supply Zone which had become busy.
For those who aren't familiar with Korean culture : There is an informal and formal speech. Formal speech is used in a situation where respect is needed while the informal speech is more so between close friends or when you're berating others if you aren't close. It is seen as highly disrespectful when one is using informal speech when they aren't close to each other. the And those who are older are given titles? Noona is how a younger male describes an older female.
Reincarnator – Chapter 222 : The Great Maze of the Ains (3)
Hansoo pondered for a moment and then shook his head.
'..If I go in then I'll get swept by as well. They caused too many eyes to focus on them.'
The entire Level 1 Supply Zone was in a ruckus.
The countless people who had come in to get the expensive Protection Elixirs.
This was how enticing these bug players were.
Though not all these people will go crazy in order to kill them but things will still become dirty if he went to help them now.
'I can only pray that they're lucky. I need to focus on my work first.'
Hansoo expression remained still as he just went inside.
Kameira asked Hansoo.
"Aren't you going to go get them? It'll be a jackpot if you kill them."
Most bug players were strong enough to destroy normal players.
Since their controls were much different than them.
Though these people were going crazy, if they met the bug players while roaming around in small parties the ones killed would not be the bug players but them instead.
If they weren't like the Bug Killers who had professional PK items, it would be hard to deal with them.
But Hansoo was even stronger than them.
There was a reason why Kameira wasn't chasing them.
Because she could get smashed apart the moment she saw them and get logged out.
Though she would revive, not being able to log in for an entire day was annoying.
Hansoo shrugged his shoulders.
"Not very interested. And it's not like I'll find them even if I searched for them. It's better to just get Protection Elixirs in that time."
"True."
Kameira nodded.
They were like lottos.
Unless they were Bug killers, it was better for them to just do what they had been doing.
Kameira then finished her thoughts and then looked at Hansoo suspiciously.
'Isn't this guy a bug player as well?'
He didn't have a single ounce of gold and had amazing control, she questioned for a moment but then shook his head.
There was nothing in his movements that told her that he was a bug players.
And it might be different for other places but there were plenty of people like Hansoo in the War Fortress.
Since the strong people of various locations heard the rumors and had sold everything for the warp gate fees in order to come here.
Hansoo saw Kameira's expression and then mumbled inwardly.
'It'll become tedious if I show more skill than what I've shown.'
Though he wouldn't hesitate when he would need to accomplish something, he thought to himself that he would control himself better from now on.
As Hansoo continued in, he had arrived at a large area with an altar in the middle after passing through the tunnel.
This altar, which had a large gemstone on the top of it, was the proof that the players had taken over this Maze in the past.
Since hundreds of thousands of corpse soldiers spawned and attacked the players as that gemstone shone.
Though the gem, which had been destroyed by the players, had been fixed and had been placed here again, it didn't shine brightly as before.
Like a broken lamp.
And there were a few other players around the Altar who were looking around the pyramid with lazy expressions.
They had come in because it was famous but soon realized nothing was here.
It would've been more fun if this place was filled with monsters and guards instead.
But though this place was boring to others, it was better for Hansoo.
Since he could avoid useless fights.
Hansoo walked up to the giant altar and pretended to look at his surroundings as he read out everything at an extreme speed.
From the scratches that didn't seem to mean anything and to even the symbols at the very corners of the pyramid.
And soon Hansoo's eyes turned to the inside of the pyramid's walls.
Countless skulls were hung in the inside of the pyramid.
These skulls had small letters engraved on their foreheads.
These were the skulls of the infected soldiers who had guarded this place in the past.
These things, which had constantly revived from the power of the jewels, lost their immortality as the gem had been destroyed and the NPCs who had visited here took apart the skulls from their skeletons and displayed them on the inside of the pyramid.
Kameria shrugged her shoulders from next to Hansoo.
"Well. It's quite a sight but not that great to look at right? I don't know why those guys died in here though."
These hundreds of thousands of corpse soldiers were originally NPCs.
It would've been understandable if they died in here after the dungeon opened but these guys had been here even before the dungeon opened.
'…They should've have been placed here randomly due to the game's mechanics.'
As Kameira was making a confused expression.
A small ruckus was made in the corner.
"You cannot take that."
"…Tsk. Just an Npc, how annoying."
A player got annoyed at the NPC as he was about to take a skull as souvenir and then threw the skull onto the ground.
The guard frowned but didn't say anything as he placed the skull back onto the wall.
'These damned immortals.'
The guard mumbled inwardly.
If they weren't here then none of the countless skulls would still be here.
All of it would've become souvenirs for these guys.
The guard looked at the immortals walking around the inside.
They were never serious and were very vicious and violent.
The guard's eyes landed upon Kameria and Hansoo who were quietly observing things in the corner.
With an expression saying that he wouldn't let them go if they did anything suspicious.
'I'm going to chase them out the moment their 10 minutes are up.'
Hansoo ignored the guard's eyes as he slowly read the small words of the Ains upon the skull's foreheads.
Hansoo's supernatural eyes allowed him to read every skull inside the pyramid from where he stood.
The language of the Ains which he had painstakingly learned.
He wasn't fluent so it was more like deciphering but he could still understand them.
This was what they meant roughly.
But of course it wasn't this that was important.
There was something else.
Hansoo looked over the tens of thousands of skulls and then found something.
'Found it.'
A different looking language.
It wasn't the language of the Ains which flowed like water.
It was instead created of straight lines, like a child's play.
It was the ancient language of the Kingdom's mages.
And there were many of these skulls in the pyramid.
A total of 144.
These skulls, which were spread out evenly, drew out a shape which resembled a magical formation. Of course normal people would not be able to figure out the formation due to countless skulls hiding them.
Hansoo continued to read out the words and then found the skull that was located at the core.
'It's that. I found it.'
But it would be a bit hard to take that right now.
Since the guard was glaring at him from afar.
Though the inner parts of the Pyramid was large, it was hard to dodge the eyes of the many guards here.
Though it was within a spot where he could reach, the guards would chase him down the moment he touched it.
And it would become very annoying if he collided against them.
The guards themselves weren't an issue but the one standing behind them was.
The players, who had been complaining, hadn't left because they had good personalities.
"What are you doing? Let's go out. Time's almost up anyway. Even if we have nothing to prepare, we should still go there early."
Kameira got bored as she spoke to Hansoo.
Though a bit more time still existed, there wasn't much to see.
Even more so for Kameira who had been here before.
Hansoo frowned at Kameira's words.
'Do I have to aim for another chance? It would be nice if the Bug Killers moved around in here.'
Since it wasn't like he could buy time infinitely it would be nice for him to solve this in the quickest time possible but it had become hard for him to.
Hansoo pondered for a moment and then nodded as he prepared to go outside.
'I guess I'll come here with a mask, knock down all the guards unconscious and run away with it.'
Though it would be dangerous, this was the only method for him.
And this was the original method of the player who had found it anyway.
As Hansoo was about to turn around.
"Oh hey! We meet again!"
A voice calling them could be heard.
Kameira frowned at that voice.
'Why did that guy come here.'
The Ecliptic Mania, who had failed the test before, had appeared before them.
Kameira asked the man who had appeared.
"Hello. How did you get here?"
The man shouted as he spoke.
"There are other parties other than yours, isn't it obvious how I got here?"
He wasn't openly angering them but it could clearly be heard that he was annoyed.
It was clear that his pride had been hurt when he had failed earlier.
Anyways, they could guess how he had come here.
'I thought he would go somewhere else after being infuriated…It seems he came in here with a party that would go up to the 2nd or the 3rd floor. Or came in here thoughtlessly.'
He was nowhere good enough for the 5th floor and would get in the way but he was suitable for the easier 2nd and 3rd floors.
Of course the quality and quantity of the Protection Elixirs were much lower there, it was much easier due to only infected beasts and soldiers existing there instead of Ains.
There were countless hunting grounds around the War Fortress. This place was indeed the best place in terms of efficiency.
And it was the best choice if one was going to remain here for a long time.
'Well. Since he has come all the way to the War Fortress, he probably wants something out of it. I just hope he doesn't get in our way.'
Though there was a large difference in their skills, it didn't feel good to have someone who didn't like them lingering around them.
And even more so if it was the dangerous Maze.
As Kameira frowned.
Ecliptic Mania gulped and he looked around cautiously.
'This is the last chance.'
He had shouted loudly to Kameira but his situation wasn't the best.
He had gone into the first party by luck, no other parties that went to the 5th floor were willing to let him in after they realized his skills were lacking.
But he didn't want to waste his time on the useless floors like those from the 1st to the 4th where everything had been squeezed out by others already.
Since he hadn't come to the War Fortress by spending a fortune for that.
While he was pondering what to do, somebody approached him.
'Korin kingdom huh.'
The Kingdom whose border stood against the original owner of the War Fortress, the Keil Kingdom.
Though it was just an impudent NPC but her request was hard to deny.
'Well, it's not like I will die for real anyway.'
As long as the reward was large, there was nothing he couldn't do.
Ecliptic Mania thought of the female who had carefully approached him before and tightly grasped the item in his hands.
Reincarnator – Chapter 223 : The Great Maze of the Ains (4)
'Fucking hell…'
Ecliptic Mania made an annoyed expression at the girl's words.
Since being entrusted with a job that even a monkey could do infuriated him.
She didn't have to talk like this.
'I can only ask you… Is it weird if I do it this way? Maybe it's because I'm an NPC. Damned bastards.'
He knew that if she had said something like this then he would've been suspicious of her anyway.
He knew better than anyone else that there was nothing special about him.
He had shone where he had come from amongst people of 40 to 50 years old because it was quite laid back and had come here with his confidence after investing a large amount of money but he was merely the lowest of the food chain here.
'I have to take this chance.'
Ecliptic Mania tightly held onto the mysterious gem and then mumbled.
The female's request was actually very simple.
<…Yes. But I heard there wasn't much there.>
The female continued.
She said that he just needed to pour mana into the gem inside the altar.
'So. She's going to allow me to play around at a decent hunting ground in the Korin Kingdom huh? As well as give me contribution points.'
It wasn't bad.
He didn't know how bad the things he would do here would be but it'll probably become troublesome to move around in the Keil Kingdom from now on.
But it didn't matter.
Since even if he died here, he could just revive in the Korin Kingdom and play there.
Though he would lose the rights to use the War Fortress, the hottest place, he had long accepted the fact.
That there was no place for him here.
Well, there would be a place for him if he played long enough but he didn't like the idea of waiting that long.
He wanted to climb faster, he wanted to become a master player.
And he wanted to join those people in their respective battlefields and shine.
'Yeah. This isn't the only place in this game. I can just go to the next most famous hunting ground.'
As soon as he finished his thought.
Whooosh!
Ecliptic Mania poured mana into the gem in his hand.
..................…..
Rumble
"Huh?"
Kameia stopped at the strange noise and the vibration that suddenly rang out.
And then spoke out.
"What did you just do?"
Ecliptic Mania chuckled.
"Why do I have to reply to that?"
He didn't even like her, why did he have to answer?
And even if he answered her question, he didn't know what would happen from now on anyway.
Other people were making uneasy expressions but he himself was extremely excited.
Since he was curious about the things what he had done would cause.
Kiiiiiing!
But the vibration wasn't the end.
Light exploded out from Ecliptic Mania.
"Huh? Hey! What are you doing over there?"
"Damn! What the hell are you doing!?"
The guards were approaching in shock but then started to scream.
Though they were guards, they were strong enough to determine the amount of mana within that light.
Such a tremendous reaction.
If such a thing exploded then the surrounding area would all be erased.
And another thing.
They would all die.
'Fucking crazy immortals.'
The guard, Moreum, made an expression of despair.
Each individual here was a beast filled with the desire to get stronger even by risking their life.
And such people had the weapon called immortality.
Immortality and desire.
These players had done things that were extremely monstrous.
And Moreum made an expression filled with despair, he would die but they wouldn't.
For him to lose his life from their toying acts without knowing the reason.
He wanted to scream out.
'Fucking bastards! Don't play with us! We are…We're different from you guys!'
Moreum grinded his teeth.
But he knew he couldn't.
Since there were rules which existed in this world.
A secret from the immortals.
They were merely existences who were created for those immortals.
Kiiiiiiingg!
The gem on Ecliptic Mania which was shining brightly and vibrating intensely was still even now letting out a huge roar.
And the sensation that was radiating out from it.
'So that's what that is. The thing which used the
Moreum thought up to this point and then gave up his life.
Since it was impossible to escape from its vicinity.
'This is the end. Good luck captain.'
Then.
Booooooooooooom!
A huge explosion swept through the insides of the altar.
A large amount of destructive force.
The inferno swept through the entire altar.
Rumble!
The skulls that were on the walls of the Pyramid couldn't handle the heat as they all melted down.
"Kyaaaaak!"
"Kuuuhaak!"
The surrounding players tried to quickly use their defensive skills but it was useless.
They treated this world as a game and they could revive anyway.
The tremendous amount of energy melted down their body and caused them to log out.
Along with Kameia who was next to them.
The moment Kameia and all other players melted down from the light.
'They're all dead.'
Hansoo realized that everyone else died and his body started to move.
Churrrrrrrk.
Of course Hansoo's body was also melting down since he was the closest to the flame.
But the durability of his body, the mana he had and his skills were different from those of the others.
Whooooosh!
The Demonic Dragon's Essence fired up from Hansoo's body and started to resist the light that was smashing into him.
Chiiijijijiiik.
The melting body restructured again and started to resist the energy.
At the same time Hansoo's brain started to work quickly.
An ability born from his battle experience.
Once he used it then everything around him would look as if it had stopped.
'Phew, So I need to use at least this amount of mana to use this huh.'
Hansoo mumbled as he felt the Mana Jade that was rotating intensely.
Of course it wasn't like he could move quickly in this stopped world but the fact that he could think and judge clearly at normal speed was a tremendous bonus.
First he saw the skulls melting down.
They were resisting the flame because they had some special mana inside of them but they would soon melt.
And the one Hansoo targeted was resisting more but would also soon melt down.
Maybe about a second in real-life time.
And there were three guards below the explosion who had instinctively rolled up.
Residents of this world.
They would die at this rate.
Of course he didn't really have any thoughts of saving them but he was feeling responsible now.
Since he had left the guy in front of him alone and let him cause the explosion.
He didn't have a reason to stop him from causing the explosion and he probably could've if he tried but he did not.
Since it was a chance for him.
'I'll take the skull with this chance.'
Hansoo's judgement, which was clear in the stopped world, made a decision.
It would've been very annoying originally.
Since they would've been being chasing him if he stole the skull at night.
But the story would change with this explosion.
Since it would be even weirder if a skull remained after this explosion.
Even if he took a single skull from all this, nothing would change.
In an instant.
Boooooom!
The stopped world started to move again at the original speed.
The explosion swept through the surroundings and headed towards the guards.
Hansoo quickly moved his body, blocked the explosion and smashed his foot down into the ground.
Kwaaagagagagaaak!
The ground was forcibly ripped up.
And Hansoo kicked the raised land towards the three guards.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The broken floor of the pyramid smashed onto the guards and then pushed them out of the tunnel.
At a speed which they wouldn't have been able to by running.
'That's good.'
Since they had been in front of the tunnel which headed outside and were far away from the explosion, it acted as fortune for them.
Though they would get burned, they would be able to escape the explosion radius.
Since the force of the explosion and the impact of the floor piece would push them back.
Like a tsunami pushing back a surfboard.
Hansoo, after smashing away the floor piece, then jumped towards the ceiling.
Booooom!
He then plucked the skull that was embedded in the ceiling and then shoved it down near his waist.
He then started to resist the flame with all his mana.
Kuooooooo!
Kuuuguguguguuungg!
The bomb Ecliptic Mania brought was powerful but it wasn't strong enough to get through Hansoo's Demonic Dragon's Reinforcement.
If the others were higher-level players then they might've been able to block it.
Rumble.
As the flames quieted down, Hansoo released his hand which he had smashed into the ceiling and then landed down on the ground.
All his surroundings had turned into ashes.
The players and the skulls in the walls had all melted down and then turned black.
A tremendous might.
'For them to use the Spirit Stones already to create this amount of force.'
As Hansoo was mumbling.
Piiiiiing!
The red gem, which had maintained its shape through the explosion, started to make a ringing noise.
'So their objective was to release the seal of that thing.'
Hansoo mumbled as he looked at the sealed red gem, the
..................….
Rumble.
A red flame exploded out from the pyramid as a strange vibration rang throughout the Level 1 Supply Zone.
The man who was swinging his blade, Flame Warrior-V, flinched at this vibration.
Of course his blade didn't stop because of this.
Crunch!
"God damn. It's annoying as hell to kill them one by one. Why are they so loyal to each other."
"Ugh…"
Flame Warrior-V cut apart the neck of the woman who had held him down until the end a few more times and then watched the bug players running towards the pyramid as he smiled.
He didn't know what was going on but one thing was clear.
'Try a bit more heheh.'
He could catch them.
But his experience told him.
That bug players would look for other bug players when they fell into danger.
'Dumbasses. It's not like they really die.'
"Chase them!"
The other players plucked away the artifacts from the corpse and then ran after the bug players while laughing.
Reincarnator – Chapter 224 : The Great Maze of the Ains (5)
Crunch!
Uuudududuk!
"Phew. You had fun with the bugs up until now right? Don't be so upset now."
"Ugh…"
"We'll use your artifacts to buy some drinks for ourselves."
Christopher clenched his teeth as he looked at the player who was eyeing the artifacts on his body.
And his comrades had been turned into a mess around him.
People who had been caught and had been ripped apart on the way to Hansoo.
Christopher looked at these people with pained expressions.
'…I shouldn't have come this way.'
Because it was such a complex structure, he didn't think they would get caught on the way to Hansoo.
But because they were in such a rush, they forgot the most important part.
The fact that nobody in this world was on their side.
There were people who were shouting around him.
"Isn't there anything for us? We were the ones who gave in intel."
"Though you guys are the one who killed them we did something as well! How would you have done it without us!"
They were trying to negotiate with prey which had been trapped already.
Though they didn't dare to fight the bug players, they could at least give directions.
Because of the others, who had given away their positions, they had been driven into the corner like this.
'…This is the end.'
As Christopher gave up.
Rumble.
The land which they had been standing on.
The surface started to tremble intensely.
.....................….
Rumble.
As the inner parts of the pyramid was quaking.
Ooooooong!
A ray of golden light poured out from where Kameira stood before.
And soon the golden light disappeared as a humanoid walked out from it.
Kameira, who had been logged out, had come out.
She then cursed as soon as she came out.
"Uaaaaaa! Fucking bastard! Does he know how expensive the immortality stone is!?"
Boom! Boom!
Kameira, surrounded by the golden light, exclaimed her rage while stomping upon the ground.
Immortality stone.
An artifact that allowed one to revive on the spot where they died without any penalties.
She had bought it in order to use it on the 5th floor if she got ambushed in order to rejoin the party right away but for her to use it like this!
The revived Kameira looked around her surroundings and then made a happy expression as she looked at Hansoo.
"Oh? You used it as well?"
She was happy to have found a comrade.
Hansoo adjusted the Demonic Dragon Reinforcement's golden light and made it look like the light of revival as he nodded.
"Yes. This expensive thing…Ugh."
"Anyways, what the hell was his quest."
Kameira kicked away the spot where Ecliptic Mania was standing at as he grinded his teeth.
He wouldn't have had any reason to perform revenge or anything.
He would've done it for a quest.
At that moment.
Kiiiiiing!
Kameira looked around and then turned towards where a ruckus was coming from.
She then made a shocked expression.
"Huh? What? That still works?"
As Kameia was making a confused expression while watching the red gem shining brightly red.
Kiiiiiing!
The gem slowly radiated its red aura as if it was going to show them something.
Then.
Rumble.
A intense tremor rang out from beneath the floor of the pyramid.
"Huh? What is this?"
As Kameira exclaimed out in shock.
Boooom!
A thick hand exploded out from beneath the floor.
"Aaaaaak!"
Kameia freaked out as she saw this.
A hand with pieces of flesh missing.
And pus which filled the entire arm.
Along with the red eye that could be seen through the gaps where the hand came out from.
Kameira screamed out in disgust.
"God damnit! They said all the infected soldiers had been eradicated! Why is this happening again!"
Kameira groaned out as she stomped upon the ghoul like soldiers who were crawling out from beneath the ground.
Infected soldiers.
The name given to the immortal creatures who resembled ghouls or zombies on the first floor of the pyramid.
Stomping on a few wouldn't do anything.
Thousands of hands were sticking out from the melted floor.
And Kameia freaked out again as she saw all these hands.
The soldiers who had been buried here after the eradication.
Kameia was shocked as she saw all these zombies.
'Damn! If I knew it was like this then I wouldn't have revived!'
Each and every one of these guys weren't pushovers.
They were all at least level 190 and above.
The stronger ones even reached level 195.
They had no fear and even had immortality.
She herself would die from fighting just a few dozens.
Since this place was somewhere where people fought in dozens or in hundreds instead of being alone.
Kameia hurriedly looked around and then spoke to Hansoo with a brilliant idea.
"Hey! Let's break that! We can probably break it too!"
Hansoo shook his head as he looked at Kameia who was shouting while pointing at the slightly cracked gem.
'It won't do.'
That gem was not something that could be broken with strength.
Everyone thought that people broke that gem and found peace in the first level of the maze but that was not the exact facts.
That gem,
Of course that gem worked as a transmission tower that raised the dead by converting energy so breaking it could buy them time temporarily.
But it would eventually get restored by the strange aura within this place.
The reason why this gem hadn't been working until now was not because it had been broken by players.
It's because the mana formation made by the skulls had separated the energy from the outside and from the inside.
The mana formation created by the Keil Kingdom was the reason why the 1st floor of the maze had been able to stay sustained.
'And the ones who broke that formation are probably…The Korin Kingdom.'
Seeing the relationship between the Keil and Korin Kingdoms after the maze had been found, anybody would figure out who had broken this mana formation.
Hansoo looked at the red gem and spoke to Kameira.
"I'm leaving."
"Hhu? Why?"
"It'll be hard with just us. Did you not hear what they had to go through in order to break it?"
"Ugh…"
Kameia remembered.
He was right.
While an elite group of people which consisted of master players surrounded that gem and prevented the zombies from approaching it, the top tier player
For over 5 minutes.
Of course it was just 5 minutes but the formation they had created had almost been annihilated, it was not possible with just the two of them.
'Damn.'
As Kameira smacked his lips.
Boooom!
An explosion rang out from the tunnel that lead outside the pyramid.
Hansoo had started to smash apart the zombies which were charging towards him.
Hansoo mumbled as he created a path.
'…Could probably break it but there's no reason to.'
Hansoo thought of the skull that was quietly sleeping in this pocket.
He had long accomplished his goal.
And if he showed the might of breaking that gem, it would cause others to suspect him.
Since despite Exodus having countless players, there weren't many people as skilled as him.
And according to what he knew those players were basically top stars in their world.
'Since there's a witness it'll be tedious. Shall I log her out?'
Hansoo pondered for a moment and decided not to.
Since there wasn't a need to.
Boooom!
'Wow.'
Kameia exclaimed out in shock as she looked at Hansoo who started to focus on clearing the road.
She thought he only had good control but he had a lot of power as well.
'The Arrancar zone? He must've been quite famous there.'
Kameia looked at the zombies being smashed apart and supported Hansoo from behind.
"Ugh… It's a shitshow."
Kameia swallowed her saliva.
"Damn! Why are these guys suddenly crawling out!"
"Fuck! Serious? Aaaak! My sign! I paid so much in order to get this spot!"
"Shit! I'm an alchemist class! Damnit!"
Crunch!
Uddududuk!
The Level 1 Supply Zone was filled with ghouls and zombies.
The ones who had crawled out started to chomp apart the players and were creating a ruckus after stealing weapons.
It was an army of the dead.
The stronger people had gone into the 2nd floor and below so the ones who were on the first floor could only suffer.
Kuuuduududuk!
Crunch!
Hansoo continuously smashed apart the ghouls who were charging towards him.
But Kameira couldn't.
Though she was skilled, the Exodus was not a place a small group of people could go through.
Crunch.
Uduk.
"Ugh! This is annoying! Tell them I'm going ahead! Fuck! Ecliptic Mania, you just fucking wait! Ugh!"
Kameira couldn't handle the attacks infected soldiers as she returned surrounded by golden light.
She looked so pissed that she would've smashed apart Ecliptic Mania if he was right in front of her.
Hansoo chuckled.
'Well. Since she even used that expensive Immortality stone and died again, it would be quite annoying.'
The Immortality stone was an artifact could only be used once so even if she did revive she would revive at the saved revival spot, the plaza of the War Fortress.
Hansoo looked around and then pondered.
Whether to go in deeper into the maze where his objective laid.
Or to regroup with his group members.
But he soon realized it was a pointless train of thought.
Since the reason why he had found the party was in order to not arouse any suspicion.
But nobody would suspect him for roaming around by himself in a situation like this.
'I'll go down alone.'
Ooooooong.
As Hansoo's spear was about to smash into the infected soldiers.
"Kuhuuk!"
A different kind of scream rang out from the distance than those of the infected soldiers.
Unlike the screams of the players who had died unluckily, it was a scream filled with lament and despair.
Hansoo's head turned subconsciously.
And he saw the shape of the player who had found him in the distance.
The player who had been chased by the Bug killers and had gotten to this point.
The man looked towards him and the location behind him as he pondered.
Specifically Hansoo and his underlings who were getting chased around and being killed.
'Did he come for me?'
Hansoo clenched onto the spear in his hand.
Since the moment that player, who had been found out as a bug player, shouted for help he could get swept in it as well.
Since the bug killers would go for him as well.
But that moment.
The man seemed to have hardened up as he turned his head around.
As if he didn't notice.
'…He's not asking for help? Why?'
Hansoo's eyebrows twitched.
Reincarnator – Chapter 225 : The Great Maze of the Ains (6)
Christopher looked at Hansoo with a bitter expression and steeled himself.
'Ugh…What kind of a delusion did we have.'
The moment the ground broke apart and the ghoul things came out, he had dashed out through the surrounding people.
He had thrown away his underlings to save other surviving ones.
Since he thought that finding Hansoo could clear up everything.
The others agreed with him as they ran here with him and he had finally found Hansoo.
But when he found him, his sanity came out.
What he had found was not a god or a paragon but an adventurer just like themselves.
The crazy rules of this fucked up god's boardgame set by the fairy applied to Hansoo the same as well.
Since even if the others got killed by Hansoo, those immortals wouldn't disappear or anything.
Of course Hansoo would probably be able to save him right now.
'…But afterwards?'
Christopher pondered for a moment but then steeled his mind.
To not cause any trouble.
His underlings pained him but the ones next to him weren't the only ones he cared for.
'I shall die here without holding you down so please… Make it so the ones who come after us don't suffer like us. I don't know how you will do this but…'
He didn't know what one would have done in the floor below but that guy had done it.
He would be able to do it.
"Fuck! You bastards! Let's die here then!"
He had made sacrifices and given up his underlings until he got here, now he would just become a sacrifice for Hansoo.
Christopher's mind was at ease after giving up as he clenched tightly onto the spear and charged forward after quickly turning around.
...................
"Fuck… So you were only running away?"
Flame Warrior-V clicked his tongue as he saw the bug players suddenly turning around fighting crazily.
He thought it was a jackpot but was disappointed.
There was a rumor in the past.
That a large amount of bug-players were hiding from the normal players within the maze.
And Flame Warrior-V actually trusted that rumor to a degree.
Since these guys wouldn't play the game without any motives.
They had to continuously go on quests and hunts in order to get items, gold and level up.
And for that the Great Maze was a perfect location.
It was a location which still had a part shrouded by mystery in a game like Exodus where everything had been found out.
Since there were less and less players the deeper one went in, these bug players could actually dodge the eyes of the players and hunt there.
Even more so if they were high-level bug players.
He had chased them this far in case they were running towards a larger group but for this small group to be all of them.
Though 15 wasn't a low number, he was still quite enraged because he originally had high expectations.
'Tsk. Damned bastards. I'll play around with you before you die.'
"Hey! It seems like there's nothing else! Kill them all!"
As soon as Flame Warrior-V's words rang out.
The people around made disappointed expressions as they started to charge in.
Since if Flame Warrior-V judged there was nothing else to take, there really was nothing else.
Flame Warrior-V shook his head as he watched the other players charge in like a swarm of ants towards the bug players.
'There's no need for me to step in. Anyways…It's really chaotic here now. How did this happen.'
Flame Warrior-V frowned as he watched the Level 1 Supply Zone which had turned into a mess.
Infected warriors were charging in from all directions.
They had split up into two groups in order to keep the infected warriors back and kill the bug players at the same time.
But since most of the high level players around level 200 had left already, this current location, which was mainly filled with non-battle classes, was getting massacred.
The stronger ones had already gone below.
The ones remaining were getting smashed apart.
Constant logouts.
Of course he had no thoughts of saving them.
Since it wasn't like he was going to get anything for saving these guys.
And if his group received more casualties then he, the party leader, would have to bear the brunt of it all.
'We need to clean up and fall back.'
As Flame Warrior-V was about to turn around.
A unique player came into his view.
'Mmm?'
A player who was constantly killing zombie soldiers left and right.
And Flame Warrior-V was shocked as he saw this.
'Huh? Why is there a high level player here? Why didn't he go down? Did he come down to resupply?'
Everything from skills to artifacts to control.
They were all top tier.
Crunch!
Ududuududuk!
Every time the shining golden spear snaked around, a head flew off and the entire body got destroyed.
He didn't know what skills and armor he had on but they remained spotless despite the sword attacks of the infected warriors.
Flame Warrior-V was shocked.
'Crazy bastard…How much real life money did he spent.'
Those artifacts and skills looked extremely expensive.
In that instant the greed within the depths of Flame Warrior-V's mind twitched.
'The infected warriors are mostly dealt with as well.'
Though the infected warriors were immortal, there was a limit to how fast they can regenerate.
Since the 2nd group had cleaned the surroundings well, there would be some time until the other infected warriors, who had gone out to chase other players, came back to them.
Flame Warrior-V tapped his comrade,
"Huh? What is it?"
"Look over there?"
"Hmm?"
Arirangcar frowned at the location the Flame Warrior-V pointed to and frowned.
"You want us to kill him?"
Flame Warrior-V nodded as he spoke.
"If we're correct then it's a jackpot."
The thing the bug players had ran towards.
And a person who was hunting alone near them with amazing controls.
It doesn't matter if he was a bug player or not.
If they were right then it was a huge jackpot.
If not then they could just apologize, return the dropped artifacts and pay him fees for the death penalty.
Their bug killer group,
The hate the players had towards bug players and the bug killers who dealt with this.
This had given them the right to attack anybody.
'If we're wrong then whatever but…If we're right then it's a huge jackpot.'
Even if one of those items dropped, it would be extremely expensive.
Since countless players played Exodus and there were plenty of rich people who wanted to fill in the gaps of bad control with good artifacts.
The amount of money they spent was on a different level from normal people, these people used tremendous amounts of money just to get a slight advantage over others.
If that guy was a bug player then not being able to find the lair of bug players was okay.
But Arirangcar shook his head.
"You aren't sure right?"
"…No."
"Then let's just focus. It's not good to make enemies for no reason."
Having some expectations and not getting anything was annoying for them as well.
And that person was too strong for them to provoke without knowing for sure.
If that guy had a nasty personality, attacked them back and caused the bug players to run because their formation broke apart then things would get annoying.
"Ugh."
Flame Warrior-V heard Arirangcar's words and then came back to his senses.
Since those words were right.
He had seen hundreds of bug players over 5 years and saw the habits of thousands of bug players through records.
Since this was his job.
The reason why he was appointed the party leader was not because of this battle strength.
Eyes.
It's because of his eyes which were amazing at finding out the bug players hiding within players.
That was his strong point and his greatest fortune.
He couldn't tell others how to determine them but with careful observation he could tell.
The strangeness that existed within them.
But he could not feel that with that person over there.
'If that's an act then…That guy has to be somebody amazing.'
One couldn't judge somebody was a bug player just from good controls.
They had to judge their aura, eyes, actions, hands and every other movements to come down to a goal.
And with all this, that guy passed.
Flame Warrior-V did not believe there was somebody who was so good at acting to the point of escaping his eyes.
'Ugh. I'll buy you the bag next time Minah. Business isn't that great for oppa these days.'
As Flame Warrior-V thought of his girlfriend in real life and was turning around.
'Huh?'
Something strange entered the eyes of Flame Warrior-V
.........................
Kwaddddduk!
Hansoo smashed apart the head of the infected warrior charging towards him and then looked towards the adventurers who were dying with heavy eyes.
Even this was a dangerous action.
Since there weren't many who looked to the bug players with eyes of pity.
The only ones who would do that were other bug players.
But this much was okay.
There were a lot of people who looked at bug players like insects but there were quite a lot of others who frowned at the cruelty of what happened to them.
But if he took a step further than that he could get caught.
Since the moment he showed some form of connection to them, the bug players will figure it out and attack him.
But he remembered the expression of Christopher.
And made a decision.
'I can't help them outright.'
Pity and priorities were two different things.
If he got found out then he wouldn't be able to do anything.
Since there was no reason a normal player would help the bug players.
He would go on the blacklist of the Anteaters.
But it'll be good if everything goes according to his plan.
'I hope that the party leader's skills are good. And even better if he's greedy…'
Hansoo finished his thoughts and let loose a few other actions that made him look like a player discreetly.
........................….
'Huh?'
Flame Warrior-V flinched.
The strangeness started to occur.
It increased the more the bug players he had been chasing got driven into a corner.
And Flame Warrior-V was delighted.
'Fuck yeah! Good job Flame Warrior!'
Flame Warrior-V immediately whispered to Arirangcar next to him.
"Yo. Let's get him."
"Dude, I told you…"
Arirangcar froze after seeing his friend's expression.
It was completely different from the one before.
Arirangcar looked at his friend with a strange expression.
"I can't see it…You sure?"
He was a bug killer but he was acknowledged for his PK skills, he wasn't as good as his friend who looked at recordings of bug players all day at discerning bug players.
'He looks like a normal player to me…'
Flame-Warrior V chuckled as he replied.
"Can't you trust me?"
"…Mmm."
Arirangcar agreed and then sent a signal.
"2nd group, since you dealt with the soldiers come over here. We found a new one."
It was different from before.
There were only a very few rare cases where he had been wrong with such a confident expression.
'Just wait Minah you bitch. I'll buy you the fucking bag you were singing about.'
This was a jackpot.
Flame Warrior-V drooled as he looked at the new bug player and mumbled.
Reincarnator – Chapter 226 : God's Destruction Maul (1)
Crunch!
Attacks flew into Hansoo who was killing the infected soldiers.
Kuuudududuk!
'So his eyes were better than I thought huh.'
Hansoo swung his spear to deflect the attack and then asked with a surprised expression.
"Why are you doing this? I didn't interfere with your hunt."
Flame Warrior-V chuckled at Hanson's words.
'Why are all of them same?'
This was a normal reaction the bug players had when they got caught.
"Don't pretend you bastards. Jesus, all these bug players really need to die."
Flame Warrior-V had already confirmed it inside his mind, he didn't even greet him as normal players did.
Well, this was the correct method actually.
Once he found his prey, he had to drive the fact that the other guy was a bug player.
That was the only way to get rid of hesitation when they fought.
Being rude to bug players was normal.
Hansoo clicked his tongue at the feeling he hadn't felt in quite a while.
'These bug killers are rude as usual.'
Because these guys had the majority as their backup, they treated others as criminals.
If not then whatever, if suspicious then catch them first.
Even more so since people couldn't die or anything in this game.
The people who get killed will feel shitty but they couldn't do anything against the bug killers who specialized in PKing and they received quite generous rewards so ignored it most of the times.
And getting rid of bugs was beneficial for them as well.
These bug killers were the monsters the game's system had created.
As Hansoo was clicking his tongue.
Arirangcar shook his head with an uncertain expression while looking at Flame Warrior-V.
Though Flame Warrior-V was sure, he still wasn't.
And if you took into account that guy's strength, it was better to not provoke him.
Arirangcar coughed a bit and then spoke towards Hansoo.
"Are you willing to die once for us? We're willing to compensate you. It'll become troublesome if you resist. If you have a Immortality Stone then we will compensate for that as well."
If Hansoo wasn't a bug player, this wasn't a bad deal.
But of course Hansoo did not have any intentions of agreeing.
Hansoo made an extremely dissatisfied expression and replied sharply.
"I heard that the Anteaters were shoving their blades everywhere like mad dogs but it was true huh. If you guys ask us to die then do we have to give our necks up and log out like that?"
Arirangcar's expression froze up.
"…You're making things tedious. Logging out isn't that hard you know. We're working hard, you should help us out."
Of course they were working for a profit but they still had pride in their work.
Since the game had to be fair.
The removal of bug players was not something only they did but something that everyone did.
And they were using their own time in order to do this but for that guy to be this uncooperative.
Arirangcar wasn't the only one who got angry at Hansoo's remark.
"Just kill him! The clan will compensate if we're wrong!"
"Why would that guy be that hostile if he has no secrets?"
"Arirangcar! Do you not trust Flame Warrior? He's rarely been wrong!"
As the players cursed out and mumbled.
Hansoo chuckled and fanned the flame.
"How patriotic. You guys really think you are doing something honorable. Do you also need a badge for that?"
"This fucking bitch…"
As Hansoo said those words.
Every player's expressions froze.
'Most bug players try to evade collision…'
It was even more confusing because he was so direct.
That moment.
Flame Warrior-V shouted.
"Yo! We don't have time!"
Like water flowing through a hole.
The infected soldiers were charging towards them after their targets had disappeared.
They had to choose quickly.
Whether to only kill 10 and end it there.
Or finish the guy in front of them as well.
The answer came out quickly.
'Fucking bastard! I don't care if you aren't a bug player, I need you kill you at least once!'
Booooom!
The moment a diamond level skill that one needed to be at least level 210 to learn,
"Kill him!"
Crunch!
Uududuk!
Countless skills exploded out.
Hansoo mumbled while looking at these bug killers.
'This is more than enough reason for self defense.'
The thing that came after this was the problem.
He could either buy time until the adventurers over there escaped and then come to peace.
Or destroy them all.
Since he was the one who provoked them and they attacked first, it wouldn't be hard to come to peace.
'But if I destroy them…I'll probably go onto the black list.'
Hansoo pondered for a moment.
He was worried about getting onto the blacklist and the players chasing after him.
Since he would need to get chased instead of quietly slipping away in a party.
This was why he had wanted to join a party and quietly go down.
But thinking about it for a while, he realized the water had already been spilt.
The moment the red gem recovered and this place got filled with zombie soldiers.
The terror incident of the Great Maze should've happened a year from now anyway.
Taking into account what will happen from now on, the collision between the Keil and Korin Kingdom, it wouldn't really become a problem.
'These players…These guys won't have any time to care about this place anyway.'
And another thing.
He remembered something in the past.
How these guys had killed his friends for fun.
As he remembered this.
Hansoo decided.
To make things worse instead of dodging around.
'Clean these guys up…And go down.'
Then.
Whoooosh!
Hansoo's entire body flared up with golden light.
..................…..
Booom!
Boooooom!
"Hey! Use suppression!"
"Fuck! I am!"
"That's his movement after being suppressed!"
"Aaaak! Crazy bastard, how much money did he spend on resistance!"
"Fucking hell! Dodge! Dodge! He's charging in with dispels!"
Chaos occurred in a corner of the Level 1 supply zone.
Hansoo who was jumping around like a mad dog and the players retaliating.
Hansoo made an extremely enraged expression.
"You! Bastards! If you're going to kill then kill bugs! You dare touch a normal player!"
Booom!
Boooooom!
"Uaaak! Hey! Chulbae's dead!"
"Tankers what are you doing! At least block his kick or something before you die!"
The long range attackers started to scream in the back.
'Fuck! I just need to….I just need to hit him!'
That guy wasn't invincible.
He was actually dodging their attacks.
The problem was that he was too good at dodging.
Even if it was his real body, one wouldn't be able to move like that unless they were like a pro fighter.
But that guy was doing that.
He was looking at the minute movements of each fingers and eyes and calculating the direction and expected range of the skills.
The long-range attackers were slowly getting killed one by one despite using their comrades as shields and were barely dodging.
And the tankers grinded their teeth and shouted out at the shouts of the long range attackers.
"Fuck! We're trying as well!"
Kwaddudududdk
But before the guy could finish his words.
The head of the man who was charging forward flew off as his body shined golden bright.
The spear smashed into his fatal location.
And the guy who had just died was armed to the teeth with diamond-level full plate armor.
Somebody who couldn't and who shouldn't die like that.
But he couldn't block attacks that accurately aimed between the plate armor and into one's fatal point.
His defensive skills were good but the opponent's attacks were too strong.
This was a difference of quality.
'Fucking hell…A full plate can't even block that one spear poking around? Is that guy a pro or something?'
Arirangcar, who was leading the long range attackers, was shocked.
Pro players.
Beasts who learned all sorts of martial arts, combat skills as well as used tremendous amounts of experience and calculations to fill in the gaps of reduced reaction speed just to sit at the top of the ladder in this game of Exodus.
In order to show off their quality a company or even an entire country would recruit them and supply them, their skills were not something amateurs should compare to.
Since a single experienced pro player was said to be able to kill 50 to 100 players of the same level as him.
Of course he knew that guy couldn't be a pro but such words did really come out.
He knew the faces of most pro players and such pro players wouldn't sit around in a place like the Great Maze.
The location they played around at was the land where master level players were at.
Something was confirmed in his head.
Arirangcar shouted to Flame Warrior-V.
"Hey, I think this guy is a bug player!"
Flame Warrior-V nodded subconsciously.
He knew that guy was strong but not to this extent.
The reason why he had stepped forward because he was confident that his group would be able to win even if he was a bug player.
But the result was completely different.
That guy had gotten crazy to the point where he was killing both the 1st and 2nd groups and at this rate they would even lose the bug killers they had already caught.
And he, the party leader, would have to deal with this issue later.
'Fuck…No! I'll lose a huge amount of income for a long time!"
Failing a hunt was something else but this would be really bad.
As Flame Warrior-V was making an urgent expression.
Crunch!
A spear flew in and filled his vision.
'Fucking hell…'
Flame Warrior-V disappeared into golden light with his expression of shock.
Watching his friends being massacred and the bug players leaving with this chance.
..................…..
"Uwaaaaaaak!"
Crash! Clank!
Flame Warrior-V, Kang Junho, stood up from the Connector set up in his house and threw away his desk clock.
The desk clock smashed onto the small apartment room which had fancy clothes that didn't fit this small room and shattered into small pieces.
'Fuck…I'll really starve at this rate!'
Jungo cursed about as he gulped down water.
At that moment.
Oooong
The phone next to Junho started to vibrate and ring.
Junho stopped grinding his teeth and then checked his phone.
At that instant.
Whoosh!
Blood was drained from his face.
He wouldn't usually be afraid of these people.
Since he repeated borrowing and paying back by calculating his normal income.
But the story would change in a situation like this where the fault of failing the bug player hunt has been shoved onto him and he would lose a huge amount of income.
These guys were people who changed the instant a customer stopped being a customer.
They wouldn't do anything as of now since he had dealt with them numerous times but if he couldn't repay the money then things could get real complicated.
'I'm the dumbass. Just to make my girlfriend happier…'
He felt himself was extremely pathetic to have sold himself just for a girl but that was not the important thing as of now.
Junho, who had been writhing in anger, calmed down and picked up his Connector.
The Revival Talisman was expensive but that wasn't important.
He would need to work really hard to recover from his failure and he felt like he would go crazy if he didn't let this off somewhere.
'Fucking bastards. You guys are using bugs because this is just a game but it's survival for me.'
Junho cursed around as he put on the headset shaped Connector and laid down onto the bed.
...................
Crunch!
Hansoo smashed away the head of the final player, swung the spear around and then thought of his objective again.
The reason why he got the skull within his arms.
The core and the goal of the thing that sustained the seal on this
Solo numbering 3 artifact.
Hansoo thought of the thing that was sleeping in the 4th floor of the Great Maze of the Ains.