Chapter 136: Chapter 136

[South Korea – D Zone]

[The 1st round will begin shortly.]

[Kill all other teams and become the last team standing to win!]

This was the map where the first round of the Guild War would take place.

The theme of the map was a small city, with abandoned buildings scattered throughout.

There were portals in the north, south, east, and west, which could be used to move to other zones.

‘I’m in Zone D. With so many buildings, a lot of users will probably gather here.’

Jeong-Hoon quickly assessed his surroundings.

“Son!”

As expected in a 2-player team, his mother was summoned right next to him.

“Mom.”

“Did you make a bet?”

“Hmm? How did you know?”

“The NPC named Ling Ling told me. She said if you win the bet, she’ll raise your level by 30.”

She told his mother right away?

Jeong-Hoon chuckled.

“It’s okay. It’s a bet for first place.”

“…Anyway, let’s go into the building.”

“Wait a moment. I have something to do before that.”

Jeong-Hoon immediately summoned Michael.

“Yes, Master.”

“It’s time to test that ring, isn’t it?”

The Black Heart Ring.

“Of course!”

Michael was also eager to try out the ring’s power.

“Good. Then can you use necromancy to go to another zone and search for traps?”

“T-Traps, Master?”

Michael looked at him with a puzzled expression.

He had a point. How could he find hidden traps?

Even with necromancy to summon ghosts, it was impossible.

“It would take forever if you just try to find them randomly.”

“Yes, exactly.”

“Here.”

Jeong-Hoon took out two maps from his inventory.

But the maps were blank sheets of paper with nothing marked on them.

[Scan Map]

– Type: Map

– Grade: Epic

– Scans the current region and creates a map.

– When scanned, it is recorded with your current location as the center.

This was a Scan Map, an item that could be purchased from the Achievement Shop.

The price was 20,000 points per map.

It was quite expensive, but considering its efficiency, it was an item worth investing in.

‘I’m sure everyone else bought this map too.’

They would have scanned the map with it as soon as they were summoned.

It was one of the essential items, as it recorded the user’s location first.

[Scanning the entire D Zone of South Korea.]

As Jeong-Hoon attempted to scan, the blank paper quickly filled with drawings, starting with a black border.

The drawings formed a map, with small markers indicating various landmarks.

The single sheet of paper divided into multiple pages and then bound together into a booklet.

‘I’m guessing there’s one trap hidden in each zone.’

Just like the First Cataclysm, humans couldn’t prevent the Second Cataclysm.

That’s because they didn’t even know there were traps hidden in the first place.

It was only later revealed because the warning signs started to appear one by one.

Only then did people realize that this Guild War event included traps.

Of course, the exact locations of the traps were unknown, and they could only deduce them through the stories of those who participated at the time and the landmarks on the scan maps.

In the process, Iwase Haruto, an Exploration Enhancer, joined in and revealed a few traps.

‘So the traps he discovered are here and here.’

Jeong-Hoon opened the maps for Zone A and Zone G and marked specific buildings with an X.

‘Now I need to find the other suspicious locations…’

Jeong-Hoon recalled his memories from his past life and marked six more locations on the map with an X.

“A total of eight?”

“Yes. The ones I marked in red are definite, and the ones in yellow are uncertain.”

“Okay. Should I just find them all?”

“Just check the surrounding landmarks. And see if there are any people nearby.”

“Got it!”

“Then let’s go.”

“Yes!”

‘But what does this have to do with the ring he got?’

Michael, with a puzzled look on his face, went through the portal to another zone.

* * *

Not long after Michael left, two users entered a building in Zone D.

“We can use this as our base, right?”

“Yeah.”

They had found a 5-story building marked on the map and immediately rushed there.

It was a half-destroyed gray concrete building, sturdy enough and perfect for cover.

===

[Player Information]

– Nickname: Lodoc

– Level: 231

– Class: Magic Knight (3rd Advancement)

===

[Player Information]

– Nickname: AddictedToJung

– Level: 238

– Class: Sharp Shooter (3rd Advancement)

===

They were users representing Organ, a well-known mid-sized guild.

Organ was a guild established six years ago, and it was still growing rapidly, having recently recruited a large number of talented individuals.

The representatives from such a guild were all Epic-grade.

A Magic Knight who used both swordsmanship and magic.

And a Sharp Shooter who boasted accurate shooting skills.

“Hold on. We need to check for enemies.”

“There’s bound to be an ambush in a sweet spot like this.”

Lodoc, the Magic Knight, heightened his senses to the maximum and slowly entered the building.

Just then,

Bang!n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

A gunshot rang out from inside the building, and a blue barrier materialized between Magic Knight Lodoc and Sharp Shooter AddictedToJung.

“Barrier deployment!”

Being of the same class, AddictedToJung immediately recognized the skill.

But the barrier was too thin.

This meant it was a 2nd advancement barrier, not a 3rd advancement one.

AddictedToJung, the Sharp Shooter, aimed his gun at the barrier and pulled the trigger.

Bang!

Crackle. Crack!

The barrier couldn’t withstand it and quickly shattered.

“What the hell, that was a really weak guy, wasn’t it?”

“Still, be careful. I couldn’t tell where the shot came from at all!”

AddictedToJung hadn’t been able to detect where the shot that created the barrier had come from, even with his search skill activated.

This was the first time this had happened to him while facing another gunslinger class.

Bang!

Another gunshot echoed from the building.

Bam!

[Critical Hit!]

[HP decreased by 2%.]

The bullet hit AddictedToJung squarely in the head.

It pierced his forehead precisely, depleting 2% of his health.

The damage was too low for a critical hit.

But then,

“Ahhh!”

AddictedToJung fell to his knees, his brain burning with excruciating pain.

“Are you okay?!”

Lodoc hurriedly checked on him.

“Ugh! I’m fine, just get inside quickly!”

Bang!

Another gunshot rang out.

Bam!

[Critical Hit!]

[HP decreased by 2.5%.]

It hit AddictedToJung’s head once again.

“Aaaaagh!”

AddictedToJung screamed in agony and hurriedly expanded the range of his search skill.

‘…One guy. But I can’t see the other one.’

The gunslinger who presumably pulled the trigger just now wasn’t caught by his search.

‘Damn it, what the hell is this?’

‘Where are they shooting from?!’

“Drink a potion first!”

“Hey! Behind you!”

Someone jumped out of the building, swinging their sword wide.

“Huh…? Oh, shit!”

Lodoc stopped trying to hand over the potion and hurriedly turned around, drawing his sword.

Clang!

Sword met sword, and a sharp metallic sound rang out.

A heavy impact was felt, and Lodoc frowned slightly.

‘What kind of power is this…?’

It was heavy.

‘Could this guy’s level be over 240?’

Judging by his power alone, it was clear that his Strength stat was considerably high.

===

[Player Information]

– Nickname: Hoon

– Level: 173

– Class: Intermediate Martial Artist (2nd Advancement)

===

‘What…?’

Intermediate Martial Artist, 2nd advancement?

His level was only 173?

Lodoc was momentarily stunned by the absurdly low numbers, then gritted his teeth.

‘Don’t fuck with me! I’ll crush you!’

Fire Sword.

Flames erupted from his sword, engulfing it entirely, up to the hilt.

At the same time, an aura formed around him.

This was the Magic Knight’s enchantment.

It boasted 1.2 times the damage of a normal sword strike, and inflicted continuous burn damage once hit.

‘Fire Rage.’

He swung his sword diagonally, slashing forward, and flames erupted from the blade, firing a circular disc towards the enemy.

Clang!

At that moment, the ground turned black, and something like a human hand emerged, grabbing Lodoc’s ankle.

“What the…? Ugh!”

Thud!

A sharp pain pierced his abdomen.

Was that a fist…?

It wasn’t a sword that struck his abdomen, but a fist.

A fist faintly imbued with a black aura.

‘What kind of fist attack deals this much damage…!’

The damage was beyond imagination.

He couldn’t breathe, and his insides felt like they were twisting.

“Sh-Shit…!”

Lodoc tried to swing his sword.

But fists repeatedly struck his abdomen, disrupting his balance.

He desperately tried to create distance with his movement skills, but the enemy followed suit, maintaining the distance and continuing the barrage of punches.

Even when he changed direction with his movement skills, the enemy, as if anticipating it, didn’t panic at all and kept landing punches while maintaining the distance.

Bam! Bam!

The damage pierced through his armor.

[The armor’s durability has reached 0% and is destroyed.]

His armor’s durability had reached zero and was destroyed.

‘Oh no!’

Lodoc hurriedly cast a Fire Barrier.

It was a magic similar to a barrier, creating a protective shield of flames around his body.

Bam! Bam!

The black aura surrounding the man’s fists grew denser.

“Ugh, you leech! Get off me!”

Lodoc endured the pain and swung his sword.

But the sword sliced through the air, and the man kicked Lodoc hard between his legs.

“Ugh!”

At that moment, he saw stars.

An indescribable pain surged through him, and Lodoc collapsed on the spot, trembling.

“Don’t worry, it didn’t actually burst.”

With those words, the man’s sword sliced through Lodoc’s neck.

* * *

Jeong-Hoon’s gaze turned to the Sharp Shooter.

He was still unconscious from the two headshots.

“Gulp. Gulp. Damn it! Why isn’t the potion working?!”

He had been chugging potions since earlier.

It was only natural.

His mother’s skill, ‘Genesis Shot’.

If you were hit by a critical hit from that shot, you would experience excruciating pain, as if your brain was burning, for a full three minutes.

The effect applied as long as the level difference wasn’t more than 150, making it a truly overpowered skill.

Bang!

Another Genesis Shot flew from the building.

Bam!

The mana bullet hit her head once again.

“Aaaaagh!”

AddictedToJung cried out and collapsed on the spot.

Although her head wasn’t pierced due to the significant level difference, the impact was strong enough that she didn’t even notice Jeong-Hoon approaching.

Stab!

Jeong-Hoon thrust Leviathan into her neck, ending her life.

[1 team eliminated.]

With that, he had eliminated one team.

“Phew… Son! Are you alright?!”

As the situation ended, his mother hurriedly ran out of the building.

Jeong-Hoon smiled and nodded.

“Yes, I’m fine.”

“Thank goodness. But what was so hard about them…? Their heads didn’t get pierced.”

His mother muttered, looking down at the spot where the user had disappeared.

At first, she hesitated, saying she couldn’t shoot people, but perhaps because it was a game and she would die if she didn’t shoot, she pulled the trigger without hesitation.

Thanks to that, it was much easier to deal with them.

If it weren’t for her, the Sharp Shooter would have joined the fight, making it longer.

* * *

Michael returned three hours later.

[6 teams eliminated.]

During that time, Jeong-Hoon had encountered and eliminated five teams, bringing the total to six.

“Master!”

“Yes. Did you visit all the places I marked?”

“Yes. I was able to complete the exploration quickly using necromancy.”

Thanks to the ring, Michael could now handle necromancy more freely.

A whopping 10% increase in dark magic power.

The control range had also widened by that 10%.

“Any hidden personnel?”

“Yes. I’ve marked them on the map here.”

On the map Michael handed over, small green circles had been added.

These were the teams hiding in ambush near the traps.

“Okay.”

“Are we leaving now?”

His mother also came out from inside, having finished her preparations.

“Yes. It’s about time we move.”

———