NOVEL NEXT Chapter 26
When five people get together, four of them are idiots.
This sentence, which expresses the depth of the group project, concludes that when many people gather to solve a problem, everyone is an idiot except me.
‘Ah~ It’s a group assignment, but there are freeloaders?’
Come to think of it. That group project advice came out in the Cha Sehyeong video I watched during my studies.
I recalled the hazy past and pulled out memories.
‘Can’t we just do the freeloader’s part? It’s not very difficult.’
The smile on his face was like that of a demon. Oh, I got around that part and ended it once.
‘You might be thinking,
Everyone else in the group besides me are freeloaders. Am I the only one risking my life on grades?
‘
Calloused fingers flicked the ballpoint pen.
Tuk-tuk
. The interval between hitting the desk was bizarrely constant. It was almost at the level of a cesium atomic clock.
“Finger King-nim, the barrier to the west is broken again.”
“Finger King-nim, it seems the barrier to the east with Yoo Juha has broken.”
“Finger King-nim, Big Sis Saetbyeol is attacking a party member.”
His smiling face was like a devil’s face.
I struggled with horror as I listened to that disgusting voice in real life when I was a test-taker.
‘Then you can do everything. A task is nothing special. Won’t it stop once you get good grades? Then no one will disturb you.’
No, you devil.
The devil, whose brain was too powerful to sympathize with the sadness of ordinary people, laughed and laughed while talking bullshit.
“Finger King-nim, I’m dead!”
And even after he died, he smiled brightly, telling me he had died.
I know, you piece of shit. Don’t pass through my body as a ghost.
[(Player3) <Letter>(B+) has died.]
[The terminal will be disconnected as a death penalty.]
[Could not disconnect.]
[Switch to observe state.]
“Miss Coincidence, Mr. Letter! Are you okay?!”
Seobin & Minju, who avoided the trap by a narrow margin, ran towards this side where the trap had sprung. Seeing them deftly avoiding the falling stone on the ceiling was very impressive.
“It’s a ghost.” Seeing Cha Sehyeong as a ghost, Minju immediately narrowed her eyes and said.
A translucent ghost floated over the corpse, which was only left to its toes, as it gradually disappeared.
No. Actually, I think it’ll be more correct to call it a hologram than a ghost, considering there are legs, but isn’t it too much to treat humans as a hologram piece?
But it really looks like a hologram in the HatsXne MXku concert.
“How did you end up like that? Oh, nevermind. You must’ve been crushed by a rock.”
“That’s right. Even shields are useless,” Cha Sehyeong replied with a smile. Judging from the fact that he was spinning around and examining his body, he seemed curious about himself as a ghost.
“Did the others enter the room successfully?” Seobin asked as he brushed off the stone chips from his white hoodie zip-up. I looked at the window that opened in front of me and nodded.
[(Player1) <Behind the Scene I Really Like> (S) and (Player2) <Frost Flower Loveless> (S) have entered the ‘Hidden Stage – Ancient Shrine’.]
[(Player4) <Sweet Melody>(A-) and (Player5) <Geranium>(A) have entered the ‘Hidden Stage – Ancient Shrine’.]
“They’ve made a good entry.”
[(Player1) <Behind the Scene I Really Like> (S) and (Player2) <Frost Flower Loveless> (S) destroyed the ‘Statue of the Ancient God’.]
[The ancient god is furious and curses (Player1) <Behind the Scene I Really Like> (S) and (Player2) <Frost Flower Loveless> (S).]
“There are some problems, though.”
It is said that someone who ruins everything makes people angrier than someone who does nothing. Those two are that exact pair.
“I think it’s the usual problem, looking at Finger King-nim’s expression. It looks like Yoo Juha and Big Sis Saetbyeol have caused an accident. Well, that side was risky from the beginning. Why did guild leader-nim send them both together?” Cha Sehyeong, floating in the air in a holographic state, constantly ran his mouth.
He was truly a broadcasting specialist.
Simply put, it means that he’s good at one-man shows.
“Finger King-nim, what should we do now?” Minju raised her head and asked after clearing away the stones rolling around.
I checked the location of the two parties that blinked like dots on the dungeon map and looked high at the rocky mountain.
“We must attack the boss tomorrow, so let’s move quickly. There are things I need to get from the shrine.”
In the past, Finger Technique closed the special gate dungeon in Pyeongan province, ‘Hell Goat’s Burnt Offering’.
The Fest of the Hell Goats begins in two days.
When the festival begins, the King of Sloth will tear through the space and arrive, and then I’ll have to see the unseen again.
Maybe this time, I’ll truly get hit by his horn and roll down the rocky mountain.
Following Letter’s precedent, I know I won’t die if I die, but if I die, I may be trapped in this digital world forever.
[(Player1) <Behind the Scene I Really Like> (S) and (Player2) <Frost Flower Loveless> (S) destroyed the Nine Pillars of the Temple (4).]
[You have found the fourth Crystal of Destruction.]
There’s a 1% chance that they’ll clear it without me if IRL and Loveless cooperate, but seeing what they’re doing now, it’s impossible.
They’re such a mess even now. It’ll be even worse once the King of Sloth appears.
I had no doubts that those two would fight like dogs in front of the King of Sloth.
That’s the way humans are. If they would cooperate by displaying incredible wit in the face of a crisis, they would’ve done so long ago.
But look at them making a mess over there. If it weren’t for me, they’d be done for. Everyone would’ve been destined to be HatsXne MXku like Cha Sehyeong over there.
Of course, they have no reason to enter this dungeon without me.
My mom told me not to go around with my head down, so I raised my head firmly.
The sun, burning purple, hung over the ridge. I thought casually as I watched the sunset.
[(Player1) <Behind the Scene I Really Like> (S) and (Player2) <Frost Flower Loveless> (S) destroyed the ‘Sacred Water Source’.]
[The ancient god is furious and curses (Player1) <Behind the Scene I Really Like> (S) and (Player2) <Frost Flower Loveless> (S) (2).]
Lord, can’t I just do it alone?
***
The main monster in the ? rank dungeon ‘Hell Goat’s Burnt Offering’ is ‘Hell Goat’.
Hell Goat is a monster that emits fire breath and can be said to be a fire attribute monster, and its reverse attribute is water.
Water is its weakness, but the ice in our party can also work.
In addition to Loveless’ rank being S, we also have a buffer, Sweet Melody.
The brass temple on top of the rocky mountain is heated by fire during festivals.
Hell Goats are resistant to high temperatures like a fire attribute, so they can live well even in temples with thousands of degrees, but humans are a bit different.
If you enter at will, you will kick the bucket.
So what you need is item farming. In the dungeon of ‘Hell Goat’s Burnt Offering’, there is a shrine of Molech, the forgotten old ruler.
This is the hidden stage ‘Ancient Shrine’ that we have just entered, and we must gather all the items touched by the ancient god here to invade the top of that mountain.
The old god is furious with the Hell Goats for betraying him and hates the current king, the King of Sloth.
[(Player1) <Behind the Scene I Really Like> (S) and (Player2) <Frost Flower Loveless> (S) destroyed the ‘Bull-Shaped Jegi’.]
[T/N: Jegi is utensils used in ancestral rites.]
[The ancient god is furious and curses (Player1) <Behind the Scene I Really Like> (S) and (Player2) <Frost Flower Loveless> (S) (13).]
That’s why we need to get the blessing of the ancient god, but what the hell are those bastards doing?
Does the ancient god have any reason to give these guys protection?
“Finger King-nim, calm down.” Letter, who clung to my side in his ghost form, spoke calmly.
I tried to keep my composure at his words and clenched my fists. Thinking they’re idiots is quite helpful…
“Even our guild leader has given up on them, so you better give up quickly. Those two are soul threshers that destroy human souls. I had a glimmer of hope that Finger King-nim would be able to control them both, but given your mental state, it must be impossible. Don’t worry, though, Finger Technique. I will always be your no. 1 fan.”
You, too. Get out of here, too.
I abandoned my personality five hours into the dungeon.
It was because when five people got together, four of them except me were idiots.
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