Chapter 223

Episode 223 Tree Defense (3)

‘Did elite monsters appear in the first wave?’

I thought about it for a long time, but it didn’t come to mind right away.

Jaehyun scratched his chin with a puzzled expression.

It was strange.

When I first read the rules of Tree Defense, the following was written in the quest window.

[Elite monsters appear in every wave, and the wave ends when the elite monsters are defeated.]

“Elite monsters appear in every wave. But I never hunted the first elite monster.”

that’s what it is in the end.

“The first elite monster. You’d be right to think he’s already appeared and is hiding somewhere.”

And it was very likely that he had damaged the tree.

Jaehyun pursed his lips and looked at the tree whose vitality had been slightly chipped.

Jaehyun lifted his head and turned around. He muttered, frowning.

“That’s somewhere in the friendly camp.”

the moment he realized

With a refreshing voice, a new quest emerged in front of Jaehyun’s eyes.

―I noticed the existence of the first elite monster!

―The hidden quest is accepted.

―Find the first elite monster hiding in your formation and defeat it.

―Compensation will be increased upon clearing.

* * *

[Hidden Quest] In

the hidden elite monster

tree defense game, there are monsters secretly hiding in your formation.

He is greedy and eager for golden apples.

Find the first hidden elite monster and defeat him.

‘I thought there were hidden elite monsters… I never thought of this again.’

Jaehyun brushed his hair and complained. It couldn’t have been more embarrassing for him.

The difficulty of the game itself, called Tree Defense, was also very high, and it was enough to test the reproduction.

But hiding another elite monster here to put them to the test again?

Jaehyun is Idun. The fierce goddess’s third trial made her teeth tremble.

“Anyway, I’ll complain later. The priority now is to find the first elite monster.”

Jaehyun stood up on a simple chair made of thick tree roots and raised his mana.

As expected, the first skill I used was Mana Perception.

Tsutsutsutsu!

Jae-hyun spread the nascent magic power widely and collected information around the tree.

It was to check if there was something other than the magical power of the existence he knew around him.

‘If the enemy is hiding using the stealth skill, I’ll be able to find it through magic detection.’

However, contrary to his thoughts, he did not feel any alien magical powers around him.

I couldn’t help it. Mana detection is a great skill, but it wasn’t a skill that could perfectly distinguish between enemies and allies.

Jae-hyun took a closer look at the tree at the same time as connecting the thoughts.

Before long, he was able to find several small wounds on the corners of the apple trees.

Jaehyun crossed his arms and tilted his head.

“I thought it might have been hurt by a ranged attack… but I don’t think it was.”

The wounds on the tree were not caused by ranged attacks.

The outer bark of the tree left marks as if it had been stamped with a dagger.

At that moment, a thought passed through Jaehyun’s mind.

“Yeah… now I get it. Elite monsters do not hide their appearance or damage trees with long-range attacks.”

Jaehyun hurriedly turned around and clenched his fists.

“Then, the remaining possibilities are…”

His gaze turned to one place.

* * *

After a while.

The place where Jaehyun arrived was the garrison where Papi and the summoned demon guardian were gathered.

A place where friendly troops are waiting for the next wave.

“Because you don’t have time. Everyone, stand up and stand in a line.”

Jaehyun shouted with his magical energy. He lined up the beasts and guardians and scanned the surroundings with his eyes.

chuck! chuck!

Soon all the allies lined up in front of him.

As Papy stood with his feet next to each other, Jaehyun patted Papi’s head and said.

“You don’t have to stand.”

Only then did Poppy relax and start eating the sandwich that Jaehyun had brought out earlier.

Jaehyun took his gaze away from Poppy and raised his mana.

―Active skill 《Insight Eye》.

―Based on the opponent’s ability, we classify the degree of danger.

Jaehyun started to check the level of danger of his allies using the effect of the skill.

Of course, there was a definite reason for his actions.

Just to confirm the fact that you guessed.

―The risk level of the designated target is 《Low》.

The ranks of all monsters were fixed.

Well, it was more strange that the same monsters were summoned, but the grades were different.

Jaehyun continued to check the details of the Guardians.

The same message as before continued, and they busily shared the degree of danger of the beast.

A message that doesn’t seem to make much of a difference.

But Jaehyun was convinced.

The fact that there will be hidden variables in this that you have not properly grasped.

―The risk level of the designated target is 《Low》.

―The risk level of the designated target is 《Low》.

―The risk level of the designated target is 《Low》.

…―The designated target has a risk rating of «Medium».

And a message he heard at that moment proved that his prediction was not wrong.

“Is it you? A spy.”

Jaehyun smiled and raised his fist towards a guardian.

Quaang!

Without hesitation, he swung his fist and the guardian’s new model flew and stuck into the wall behind him. The wall on which the wooden fence was built shattered and splinters of wood flew out.

Turbuck.

Jaehyun took a step forward and looked at the fallen guardian.

The perpetrator who hurt the tree.

Jaehyun had just found it.

* * *

Jaehyun’s mouth held a fishy sneer.

He was still walking towards the Guardian.

“If you think about it, it was strange from the beginning. Why did the Guardians, who were programmed for trials, make mistakes when performing group actions?”

Jaehyun murmured and looked at the collapsed wall.

The guardian’s body, which had been pinned to the wall, fell to the floor within no time. The golem’s stone fragments fell from the pit of the stomach that was hit directly by the attack.

‘Familiar face. It must have been him.’

The boy’s face was oddly familiar.

The guy who made a lot of mistakes when he first lined up and went into battle.

At the time, Jaehyun thought his actions were just happenings.

However, it was never because of his own shortcomings that he repeatedly made mistakes. Just because he wasn’t a Guardian from the beginning.

It was because he was a thief who was aiming for the golden apple while wearing the mask of a guardian.

actually. When he used the insight eye a while ago, unlike the others, the risk level was classified as medium.

This was obviously odd.

When I first explained the rules of the game, the system spoke to itself.

It is said that the ranks of all guardians and monsters summoned are fixed.

‘But only one guy has a different level of risk? The reason is obvious.’

The moment Jaehyun is convinced. Once again the sound of the system was heard.

―You have found the first elite monster 《Beatlayer》.

Jaehyun nodded at the message he heard and realized that he was not wrong.

bitlayer.

The system referred to the previous elite monsters as such.

Bitlayer means a traitor or a traitor.

‘It’s a monster worthy of its name.’

Jaehyun clicked his tongue thinking that.

He raised his magic power without delay.

Kiaaa…!

with him. As if realizing that it was impossible to hide any longer, Bitlayer, who was in the form of a guardian, changed his appearance.

Kuruk.

The original tree roots and stone fragments were distorted, and tentacles protruded from the cracks.

The tips of the tentacles were as sharp as a well-forged sword.

It seemed that the cuts on the trees I had just seen were caused by these tentacles.

Huge black eyes opened from the center where the core should be.

Jaehyun couldn’t help but shake his head involuntarily at that bizarre appearance.

“I never thought I would hide this guy.”

Jaehyun groaned and looked ahead.

I also thought that I shouldn’t slow down.

Overall, the difficulty of the third ordeal was very high and gave Jaehyun a great hardship.

Waiting endlessly and doubting what he believed in…

Jaehyun had no choice but to clenched his fists in a burning desire for revenge against Idun as he went through this over and over again.

“Let’s see… The wave starts in an hour. I’ll finish it in 30 minutes.”

Jaehyun raised his fist without even pulling out his sword.

Weapons are good and magic is good, but fists are the answer to a guy who stabs people in the back.

Slap!

Jaehyun’s tightly clenched fists turned Beat Layer’s face around once again.

KIAAA…!!

The guy wouldn’t know.

That’s the beginning and the fact that I’ll be moaning at Jaehyun’s fist for the next 30 minutes.

Jaehyun instinctively knew how to hit with such force that the enemy’s spirit would not be broken.

It was like an instinct born from many years of experience (?).

“Bite this tight.”

After a while.

As soon as I heard the sound of tapping my hand, a system window popped up.

―You have succeeded in defeating the first elite monster 《Beatlayer》.

* * *

―You have succeeded in clearing the Hidden Quest 《Hidden Elite Monster》.

―The reward for clearing the ordeal is increased.

―You have defeated an elite monster. You have earned 30 points.

After defeating the bit layer. Another 30 minutes passed.

Jaehyun sighed as he prepared for the final wave.

The defense barricade was upgraded to the last 3 stages by using 100 points again.

Thanks to that, the remaining points are 313. Thanks to killing two elite monsters, I earned 60 points, so I didn’t spend as much as I thought.

Jaehyun took all the remaining points and bought the Frost Troll, a defensive monster.

I don’t know what kind of enemy will appear at the end, but the boss fight won’t be that easy.

There will inevitably come a situation where Jaehyun will face the boss alone, and choice and concentration were important now.

Penetrating and magic-type monsters are also good choices, but at this point in time, the efficiency was poor.

“So is it finally the end?”

Greung!

“okay. Poppy, do you want to go back soon? The sandwiches are all gone.”

Jaehyun smiled mischievously. Poppy smiled and nodded.

It seemed that he missed Kim Yoo-jung and the terrible dishes she cooked.

Jaehyun caught his breath and prepared for the final defense on top of the tree.

―The third wave begins.

With the sound of the system, in the distance, a group of pitch-black troops could be seen advancing.

thud. thud.

The coercion of the Witchbeast Corps walking in line boasted a final wave-like solemnity.

Jaehyun looked at the two witches walking in the middle.

It is difficult to accurately estimate the size due to the distance, but the face is perfectly matched with the giant figure that is likely to exceed at least 2 meters. And he was holding an ax the size of a lion’s head.

Jaehyun’s brow furrowed. His gaze lingered on the two beings.

‘……Overwhelming magical power.’

Jaehyun felt it.

The two beings he is looking at right now.

That they are the elite monsters of the last wave.

―The third elite monster 《Executioner》 appears!

As if confirming the fact, the sound of the system rang in Jaehyun’s ears.