Chapter 291


    Looking for these, by any chance?


    In his hand were three Iron Horns. Song Junghyes eyes widened.


    Huh?


    She already knew Kim Hyukjin was capable of theft, which was why she had taken safety measures.


    What about Lee Sora?


    Her head whipped backwards, her eyes fixing themselves on the woman who was called the Moon Priestess in Blood and Iron. Constantly floating next to Lee Sora was a mote of light the shape of a moon. This light was called Artemis, and it was a unique power that protected Lee Sora. That was why Junghye had entrusted the Iron Horns to her safekeeping, trusting that Artemis would protect it.


    Jackson shook his head back and forth, chuckling. No wonder. I was wondering why Mark was pestering Miss Lee so persistently. The explorer seemed to have figured everything out. So you were the one whomissioned ck Crow, Hyukjin?


    Commissioned? What are you talking about?


    Hyukjin feigned ignorance, but Jackson nodded as if he hadnt heard.


    No wonder. I thought it was weird that American yers would suddenly enter the Nanba Terminal Dungeon, of all ces. He sighed. Anyway, I suppose well be kicked out soon.


    They had lost their Iron Horn. Now, a new path would open up, with only the team with the three horns moving on to the next ind. Even without waging GVG, Blood and Iron Lion were registered as having lost.


    Kim Hyukjin, you bastard!


    If youre mad, just get good.


    ck Crow had fulfilled their rolemensurably. Their job wasnt to duke out a battle of life and death with Blood and Iron Lion, but to distract them with whatever means possible. The two teams were equally matched, and ck Crow had devoted themselves to that one goal. On top of that, Mark, an archer, had doggedly targeted the Moon Priestess.


    Yeonseo giggled. Welp, there they go. Serves them right! She returned Asura to its sheath. Anyhoo, that was you, right, Boss? You got Mark to target Lee Sora.


    Yeah.


    No wonder. I noticed he was bending over backwards to harass her.


    The American team had behaved a bit strangely for one of the US top three. ck Crow hadnt moved like they were seeking victory. That was how it looked to Yeonseo, at least.


    So ck Crow drew the aggro and you pulled a fast one on them with Darongi, huh?


    Thats right.<blockquote>


    [The Milky Way Neutron Star is delighted by your ying.]


    [1,000 Coins have been sent as a sponsorship.]</blockquote>


    Hyukjin cheered inwardly. It seemed the Milky Way Neutron Star was very pleased with his ying.


    As I thought, theyre a generous Guardian.


    They had dropped a whopping 1,000 Coin sponsorship in one go. Soon, yers would be entering a time period where Coins were of great importance. Each and every Coin was as precious as gold, so getting a massive lump sum at this point was highly wee.


    Sunhwa said, Oppa. That weird light thing protecting Sora unnie, what was that?


    Kang Somyi intercepted the question. Ahem, allow me to exin.


    She went on to exin that the small moon was Artemis, a power that protected Lee Sora. Upon hearing that, Sunhwa was truly jealous.


    Whoaaa. That kind of thing exists?


    Seriously. Thats luck, I guess. Either that, or shes got disgusting talent.


    When she said that, everyones eyes swiveled in unison towards Hyukjin, who, acutely aware of their gazes, scratched the back of his head.


    Come to think of it, I <em>do </em>have disgusting talent.


    He was definitely a [No Talent] blockhead before regressing, and yet That moment, a spike of painnced through his temple.


    Ngh.


    The painsted only for a split second before fading away, so fleeting he almost thought he imagined it.


    Why is Song Jinchuls faceing to mind?


    Every time he saw Song Jinchul, something was a little off. And he still didnt know what the [A factor in a major variable] meant.


    Yeonseo poked Hyukjins cheek. Boss, whats wrong?


    Its nothing, Hyukjin replied.


    * * *


    * * *


    The loose ends were pretty much all wrapped up. The Guardians were also well-informed on the situation, thanks to the conversation between the yers. Countless Guardians were surely watching their ying with interest.


    With a graceful p of her wings, Senias feet touched the ground.


    We will now move on to the next scenario. I, an Intermediate Administrator, will return to stealth mode, and in one minute, the regr dungeon scenario willmence.


    Hyukjin nodded.


    The regr dungeon scenario, is it?


    That meant everything so far was an irregr dungeon scenario. That had to be the case. The process so far was far too different from the Nanba Terminal Dungeon Hyukjin remembered.


    Sure enough, a notice came in confirming his thoughts.<blockquote>


    [All foreign influences in the Endless Sky Crystal have been removed.]


    [Canceling scenario alteration.]


    [Returning to the regr scenario trajectory.]</blockquote>


    It wasnt visible to the naked eye, but the first two inds disappeared, and with it, the route Giantgod had traveled through to reach the beach.


    This is the first starting point.


    Hyukjin recalled the clear strategy from his past.


    <em>A sea monster called Kraken appears in the Nanba Terminal Dungeon. Its better to move to the Nanba Ind where the Clear Crystal exists while avoiding the Krakens than to hunt the Krakens directly.</em>


    That was pretty much all he knew. This was a foreign dungeon, not one found within Koreas borders, and it wasnt even that important a ce. That was why Hyukjin was dithering betweening here or not.


    And were starting on the beach.


    Eye of Perception could feel it. Somewhere in that vast ocean, a massive creature was moving within the depths.


    Theres not just one of them.


    There were several Krakens. These enormous octopus monsters had long snouts from which they could shoot ink so acidic it could melt down entire boats.


    I can feel monsters in the ocean. Theyre huge, said Somyi. She continued confidently, There are a lot of inds in this ocean. We need to find the Clear Crystal hiding on one of those inds and destroy it.


    Her shoulders were set straight with prideshe felt like she was proving herself as an explorer.


    I think it would be best to avoid the monsters in the ocean. They feel super powerful. If we mess up, we might even drown.


    Everyone listened carefully. Her confidence bolstered by their attentiveness, Somyi quickly went on.


    I think we need to find a boat first.


    Theres no need for that, Somyi.


    What?


    I have a boat.


    Hyukjin looked straight at Kang Somyi. Yellow light, the light he became capable of seeing when he reached level 44, was glowing atop her head. And because it was her, he could discern what that yellow light was about.<blockquote>


    [This is the Explorer of Service.]


    [Capable of a special incantation.]</blockquote>


    That wasnt all.


    Also, were going to hunt the sea monsters.


    What? Why? That has nothing to do with the clear. We dont need to hunt them, so why risk it?


    Hyukjin shrugged and just stared at her. Just three secondster, Somyi began to blink rapidly.


    You cant mean


    What youre thinking is correct.


    Beforeing to the Nanba Terminal Dungeon, Hyukjin had told Somyi this:


    <em>A hidden piece of yours is there.</em>


    To which she replied


    <em>Hidden pieces are love, hidden pieces are life!</em>


    Hyukjin borated. As your liege, I can now see scenario quests and hidden pieces rted to your ss.


    Mm, right. I know.


    Somyi was unable to understand why Hyukjin was saying that. She wondered why he was repeating something she already knew. That was because she was fairly new to working with Hyukjin. But Giantgod Guild knew what Hyukjin was doing.


    This was an exnation given to the Guardians. Like in TV shows that began with a summary of the previous episode, Hyukjin was doing just that. He was giving them a reminder so they could follow the plot.


    The monsters here are giant octopi called Krakens. Their levels are in the early 40s. Theyre definitely dangerous monsters.


    ...


    Somyi stared speechlessly at him. Shed been excitedly giving an exnation of her deductions, but Kim Hyukjin seemed to have already known everything. At this point, she was almost scared of him.


    There are a total of eight Krakens here. When we encounter one, youll get a quest. A quest to hunt all eight Krakens and then the boss monster, the King Kraken.


    ...A quest for me?


    Thats the first ss scenario the Explorer of Service gets.


    Hyukjin thought of Jackson, who had disappeared while smiling.


    He intentionally sent Somyi to me, and in the end, he made it so she came here with me.


    It was Hyukjin who had made use of a variable to pivot, but it seemed that Jackson had foreseen even that.


    Its probably not a coincidence that the first ss scenario the Explorer of Service gets is in the Nanba Terminal Dungeon.


    Jacksons smiling face was etched in his mind.


    To Jackson, both Song Junghye getting the new fleet and me awakening the Explorer of Service are good choices.


    Jackson just had to flip the coin and pick one. As Hyukjin had suspected, it was highly likely Jackson was a transcendent being of some kind. He definitely wasnt a yer.


    Someone has imposed foreign influences on the Endless Sky Crystal to alter the contents of this dungeon, thus allowing the acquisition of a fleet that didnt originally exist here.


    Everyone craned their ears to listen. Even the aplished members of Giantgod Guild hadnt heard of this before, but no one doubted his words.


    But I think that someone also had another scenario other than the fleet in mind. A ss scenario for the Explorer of Service is hidden here.


    There was no way that was a coincidence.


    That someone has made arrangements in this dungeon.


    Somyi looked puzzled. And who is that someone?


    Im still finding that out myself.


    The Great Explorer Jackson, someone who might be of the same caliber as the Demon King, had made arrangements for them. The Demon King held no punches and gave dangerous arrangements, whereas Jackson set upparatively safer ones.


    But theres no doubt someone is making arrangements for us behind the scenes. Hyukjin smiled. And we cant call ourselves Giantgod Guild if we fail to scoop up the free goodies we are offered. Even if our target is a boss monster, the King Kraken.


    The King Krakens level was typically in the mid tote 40s. On top of that, as an ocean-dwelling monster, it was a far more difficult foe thannd monsters. Because of that, the hunt was sure to have countless Guardians on the edge of their seats.<blockquote>


    [The Nameless Observer is observing.]


    [The White Hunter is happy.]


    [The Conductor of Sound is focusing.]


    [The Night of Shooting Stars has high hopes for your ying.]</blockquote>


    And there was one other GuardianKang Somyis Guardian, one he hadnt known before his regression, finally made an appearance.<blockquote>


    [The Ruler of the New Continent is observing the sovereign.]</blockquote>


    There was an important point to notice. They werent observing the y, but the sovereign.


    Well be clearing the hidden piece and fully awakening you.


    Wh-Why?


    Because youre an explorer in Giantgod Guild from today onwards, of course?


    I-I am? Somyi stammered, ncing at the others in bafflement. Shouldnt there be a vote where everyone agrees, or a majority vote or something?


    It was a very sensible question, but Kang Somyi was still sorely misinformed about the guild she was joining.