Chapter 71: Hill of Blowing Wind


    <b>Chapter 71: Hill of Blowing Wind</b>


    I couldnt stop what was bound to happen.


    Even if it didnt happen today


    It would definitely happen eventually. A yers Convention would be scheduled one day, and during it, an event would certainly ur. Since that was the case, I decided it was best for me to use the knowledge I had and the factors I was capable of controlling to do my best.


    Im going in.


    [You have entered the sh Gate, Hill of Blowing Wind.]


    The field was arge hill. I looked around, seeing a crowd of yers that hadnt yet figured out what was happening.


    Even without knowledge of the future if you step back a little and think, its natural for something like this to happen.


    This was a ce full of yers in their beginning days, and most of the ones chosen in one way or another were here. With Streamers and Guardians alike watching, of course it would be a big event. It was the first gathering of yers independent of the System. It would be fun if something happened during it, no?


    Like what the Giant of the Sunset did.


    The Giant of the Sunset made the Shot Table Dungeon for Choi Sung-gu. The Guardian likely had to invest a massive amount of Coins to make it happen, all for his own amusement and pleasure. In other words, a Guardians extravagance. There were many Guardians who could afford such extravagance.


    They can easily make one sh gate.


    Actually, there was no way to check if it was a gate artificially made by a Guardian. I simply estimated that there was a high chance it was.


    Broken pirs.


    There were marble pirs broken at various heights. In the past, Jo Sunghyun once revealed the following:


    <i>There were eighteen broken pirs there.</i>


    As I was looking at the pirs, people discovered that Yoohyun had entered. Yoohyun had made several appearances on TV, so he was already famous.


    Huh? Isnt that the Tutorial Ender?


    It-Its So Yoohyun!


    Yoohyun instantly became the focus of the attention of the disoriented yers who were running around in confusion.


    Still, its much more disappointing than I thought.


    It might be the early days of ying, and only the 4th month since the Cataclysm, but this was too severe.


    Its already been three minutes since they came in.


    They were still running pell-mell. I didnt really see any yers who were trying to ascertain the terrain. Of course, the few yers Id nurtured were already calmly inspecting the surroundings and moving towards clearing the sh gate, but


    I dont see any yers with leadership.


    In most cases, and especially for a gate or dungeon whererge numbers of yers could join at the same time, it was nearly impossible to achieve a solo clear, even if you knew the strategy.


    I guess I cant expect too much from the early period, but still


    I would have still liked to see a few peoplee forward and round up the yers, dividing people into various roles based on each persons traits and ss. There was a stark absence of a leader, aka a sovereign. That was the biggest problem these guys were facing right now.


    Yoohyun. You take the public leader role.


    Wh-What?


    Why? Never did it before?


    During the three months while I was in the Forest of Unknowns, Yoohyun must have grown in his own way. As was befitting for the Tutorial Ender, he must have experienced being a leader several times, too. At a time like this, his Tutorial Ender fame would be verypelling.


    Th-Thats not the case, but How could I dare to when


    Basically, he was trying to say he couldnt dare take such a role when his mighty hyungnim was here.


    Im not famous. Do you think those guys will listen to me?


    The look in Yoohyun''s hesitant eyes changed a little. Like the phrase clothes make the man, the position you found yourself in changed how you behaved. When Yoohyun consideredmanding those people, his aura changed under the weight of the responsibility.


    Theres something off about this wind.


    Huh?


    Its weak, but the wind has mana in it. It feels different from a natural wind. If, by any chance, the wind starts blowing hard tell everyone to get t onto the ground. Multiple times. You can warn them multiple times. Because the wind uphill seems off, too.


    This was all I could do right now.


    ...Understood, hyungnim.


    I didnt think I could save everyone here. Even if I said that this and this is going to happen, so everyone listen to me, itd already be a blessing if I werent treated like a total lunatic.


    I cant save everyone.


    Someone, or some people, would definitely die. I would just do everything within my power.


    [Monsters are appearing.]


    A bleak wind blew in along with the notice. Many hero stories or promotional videos had been filmed based on what Jo Sunghyun said, and I remembered them all very clearly.


    <i>A weak wind began to blow. Following that, specter monsters appeared all over the ce. As you know, they were neutral monstersWraiths.</i>


    A slightly somber wind.


    Specter monsters, Wraiths.


    Their average level was around 20. The specter monsters floating around looked likerge seagulls. Other than the fact that physical attacks had no effect on them, they werent very strong monsters.


    Wraith LVL 21


    It-Its monsters.


    A few people even attempted to attack them.


    The attacks arent doing anything!


    We cant attack them!


    One of therge seagull-shaped monsters went from flying slowly to opening its wings wide and wrapping a yer within them. It then pecked the yers head with its beak.


    A-AAAGHH! screamed the yer.


    Does it hurt that bad?


    No, it shouldnt hurt that much. It was painful, yes, but the Wraiths attack shouldnt be that terribleit wasnt that strong of a monster.


    This is pathetic.


    I might have messed up a bit. I had cleared the Seoul Station Dungeon, which was supposed to break a few times, too quickly. The yers might have lost one of the ways in which they could be stronger.


    I heard a loud shout.


    ORYAAA!!!


    It reminded me of a record someone had written.


    <i>There was the sound of someone shouting Orya. It was Kim Taechun, who is now called the Brown Bear. He had just won an overwhelming victory in a PVP match against Jo Sunghyun and was full of confidence. It only took him eighty seconds to destroy one of the pirs with his huge axe.</i>


    There were eighteen broken pirs here. Every time one of the pirs was destroyed, there would be a slight change.


    A notice withrge arrows appeared over the entire field.


    []


    I quietly prepared myself. A strong wind would soon blow over the field, so strong you could hardly stay upright.


    <i>Wind began to blow. The yers had a hard time staying upright. We realized then that the arrows were showing the direction of the wind.</i>


    Before long, the wind picked up, starting to blow hard. I had to take care of my party members.


    Everyone, get t onto the floor.


    The wind was buffeting us so hard it was hard to remain standing.


    This isnt enough to send anyone flying.


    It was true that it was a very strong wind, but everyone gathered here were yers. They could resist a breeze of this level. However, it was good to respond with extra care, since there was no knowing when a whirlwind would strike. Every time a pir was broken, a strong wind with a different trajectory would blow.


    When some pirs are destroyed, the Central Pir will appear.


    When Jo Sunghyun was reminiscing about this time, he said


    <i>When we had destroyed seven pirs, a huge pir appeared. Its name was the Central Pir, and on top of it, there was a clue for the clear.</i>


    In any case, we had to destroy at least seven pirs.


    <i>Thinking back on it now, I think the ideal clear method might have been to destroy just twelve or thirteen pirs.</i>


    The more pirs were destroyed, the stronger the wind would be, and the more ferocious the Wraiths would be. New monsters would also appear, and countless people might lose their lives.


    Though the Central Pir gets lower the more pirs are destroyed


    Only one pir had been destroyed so far. A strong wind was blowing, but the Wraiths were still weak.


    And theyre still neutral monsters.


    Kim Taechun shrugged, lookingpletely confident. Raising his voice, he shouted, Seeing as the broken pirs are attackable, I think we need to do something about them!


    As if to show off his courage, he swung his axe and started hacking away at another pir.


    Pir of the Ruined Temple


    The pirs could be attacked. After hearing that, the other yers began to destroy the pirs using their own individual ways.


    I turned to Sung-gu. You hunt as many of the Wraiths as you can with magic.


    M-Me? Sung-gu trembled. Ah, fuck. Im scared of ghosts.


    But apparently, he must have known it wasnt the time to joke around, because after one full-body shudder, Sung-gu headed towards the area where the Wraiths were gathered.


    Sunhwa, go support him.


    Got it.


    Sunhwa followed Sung-gu. Yeonseo asked, What about me? What should I do?


    Destroy pirs along with Yoohyun. Dont overdo it. I gave a little more advice. Go at it gently, while keeping an eye on your stamina. Other monsters might show up, after all. Youve got the most agility, so if something unexpected happens, stick to me.


    Okidoki, gotcha. Yeonseo smiled brightly. It really is nice to y with you. Its reassuring.


    ...


    It kinda feels like you concretely draw out what I have to do. As expected of our boss!


    After giving me a big thumbs up, Yeonseo used Heavenly Demonic Flying Step to move to the pirs. Here and there, pirs were being destroyed. In the meantime, the Tutorial Ender So Yoohyun took the temporary party leader role under the rmendation of the other yers.


    Yoohyun said some pretty smart stuff. Lets not destroy all of them at once, he said to the listening crowd. We need to see what changes ur whenever we destroy a pir.


    * * *


    * * *


    Jo Sunghyun, who had been silent up until now, finally came up to me and spoke.


    ...What He hesitated a little. What should I do?


    Thats right. I knew he would be like this. Sunghyun couldnt be forced to do something or be pulled along at someone elses pace. You had to make him move of his own will. That was my evaluation of him, and he was acting exactly as I expected.


    Mm. I did have him hooked, but I couldnt be too hasty. For now, how about you join our party? The others just now are party members whove been with me from the start.


    Sounds good.


    Sunghyun entered our party.


    You are the core key of this raid.


    The Central Pir couldnt be cleared without Sunghyuns ability. ording to what I knew, we needed his innate ability Standstill. And if he was willing to help me, we could clear this gate a little more safely and quickly.


    Please hunt Wraiths with Sung-gu, keeping an eye on your stamina. Id like you not to overdo it and just approach it like stretching your muscles. Take all the items that drop.


    For now, it was important that he learned how to cooperate with Sung-gu. That would be the key to the clear. I believed that they would do well without meying out every detail. Both of them were geniuses, and it wasnt something I could influence with my words.


    Can I Once again, Sunghyun hesitated for a long time. Can I call you hyung?


    His voice was trembling a little, and I couldnt figure out why he was so nervous about something like this. I almost snorted at the sight of the future Typhoon acting like this.


    You can do so if you want. I dont think our ages are that different, anyway.


    Hyung, please feel free to speak casually.


    Jo Sunghyun was famous for not opening his heart easily to others, but apparently, the teenage Sunghyun was still pretty amenable. It seemed like he had epted me.


    If monsters other than Wraiths happen to appear, bring everyone back to me. Sung-gu and Sunhwa should understand if you tell them that.


    I understand.


    Sunghyun joined up with Sung-gu and Sunhwa.


    Alright then Guess I should go to Yoohyuns side, too.


    Just then, another pir was broken. Yoohyun bellowed, Halt!


    It was too much to expect perfect order or anything like that. Only after several others repeated themand did all the yers stop moving. By future standards, it was truly nothing short of deplorable.


    []


    With the arrows, began another bout of wind.


    The wind has definitely gotten stronger.


    Hearing shouts of Get down! from a few quick-witted people and Yoohyun, the yers got t onto the ground. As they did so, the Wraithsunaffected by the windattacked the yers.


    Sunhwa should be fine.


    Most of the aggro was being drawn by Sung-gu, Sunghyun, and Sunhwa. They were also not taking much damage from the Wraiths. It was thanks to them that the yers on this side could focus on destroying the pirs without paying much attention to the Wraiths.


    The third pir was destroyed. Yoohyun shouted, Everyone, get t on the ground!


    Most yers were now used to the routine and went straight down. But a few people didnt follow his instructions.


    Its not that bad. It was okay even standing up.


    Why does he keep telling us to get down and all?


    It seems a little excessive to me


    In terms of percentages, 90% of the yers followed Yoohyuns instruction, and the remaining 10% didnt. For the next pirthe fourththe number of yers who stayed standing increased a little, perhaps because they had realized that they wouldnt get hurt even if they stayed standing.


    See? Its fine even if you dont get down.


    Ah, jeez. That was a waste of strength earlier.


    There were even people who tantlyined. That much was enough to make Yoohyun feel bad, but he faithfully carried out my words to keep getting down, since the wind was getting stronger. He kept repeating the same things, saying that by getting down, we could markedly reduce the effect of the wind.


    Somethings off about this wind. I would be grateful if you were to please listen to me!


    He kept saying that, but Yoohyun had no power, nor did he have the ability to force them. Several yers refused to listen to him. Kim Taechun, who had lost the initiative due to Yoohyun, even overtly ridiculed him.


    Whats got you so scared that youre trembling like a little bitch? Come now, lets just destroy all the pirs. Are you men, or are you boys?


    Several people agreed with him. I simply watched. I was no Superman and I had no power to forcefullymand them. More than anything, I was not a saint. They were choosing to be reckless. Id done what I could through Yoohyun.


    The fifth pir, then the sixth, were destroyed. The number of arrows increased from 7 to 10.


    []


    This time, a powerful gust blew in, almost like a tornado. It was a whirlwind.


    Uwaaaaaaaaahh!


    Someone lifted into the air, sent flying high by the wind. I squeezed my eyes shut, already aware of what would happen. The three yers in the air were cut into pieces.


    <i>Drip, st, stter.</i>


    Chunks of human flesh fell to the ground, along with blood rain. If you were lifted into the air, that was what would happen to you. I felt my head bing ice cold. Perhaps it was the effect of the Calm Observers Eye bundled into my Eye of Perception, but I was much calmer than when the Tutorial happened.


    From here on out the real clearing begins.


    With the three deaths, a distortion appeared in the field. Although I knew it would happen, I was also able to feel it instinctively.


    And now, that monster will appear.


    I knew that it wasnt the time for me to be taking the position of an observer.


    Im going.


    Right now, I absolutely had to move.


    ____


    ____