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After spending a day mingling with those creatures, Kang Hyeon felt like he could write a whole book about guerrilla warfare.

-Whoosh!

“Again?!”

Sniping with a bow.

These arrows, flying in just when you start to forget about them, packed considerable power and couldn’t be ignored.

“Urgh?!”

Traps scattered everywhere.

As if knowing that Kang Hyeon’s route was the core, they had set up traps at every path.

No matter how tough Kang Hyeon’s body was, he couldn’t help but feel his nerves sharpening.

-Thud thud thud thud!

“They’re coming! Get ready!”

Lastly, luring large groups of monsters.

Somehow, they managed to lead a horde of monsters to appear.

Dozens of monsters with arrows stuck in their bodies rushed madly towards Kang Hyeon’s location.

“Haah…”

Besides these three tactics, they attacked the group relentlessly day and night, constantly draining their strength and grating on their nerves.

“Argh! Let us sleep! You bastards!”

Kang Hyeon wasn’t just taking it lying down.

He had activated all his buffs and hunted them with full force at times.

But capturing even one Benandi consumed too much energy.

“I’m clearly faster than them… But I can’t chase them easily.”

As the name ‘Benandi’s Forest’ suggested, this place was completely their territory.

The creatures leaping between trees as if it were their home were each like ninjas from a cartoon.

In the end, even giving it his all only resulted in catching one at most.

That alone wasn’t enough to resolve this situation.

-Whoosh!

Another arrow flew in from somewhere.

Kang Hyeon quickly turned his head to dodge the arrow, but he couldn’t avoid getting the tip of his ear slightly cut.

“This won’t end like this.”

“…”

“If we keep going like this, we’ll run out of energy before reaching the core. Then it’s over.”

“How about we just ignore them and rush straight to the core?”

Kang Hyeon shook his head at Shin Seong-a’s suggestion.

“We’re still quite far from the core. And that method is too dangerous.”

“Hmm…”

“It’s not a strategy we can attempt on our own, especially in our current weakened state. Maybe if we had someone else…”

At that moment, An Yu-seong quietly raised his hand.

“Kang Hyeon.”

“What?”

“How about we try taking a hostage?”

“A hostage?!”

Suddenly, Kang Hyeon’s mind sparked.

‘It’s the kind of idea only someone like An Yu-seong would come up with, but…’

It seemed quite plausible.

In fact, Kang Hyeon was ready to sell his soul to the devil if it meant getting rid of these creatures.

“Alright. Let’s do it!”

***

Ippotranslation

***

Failure!

The creatures didn’t care at all whether their comrade was captured or not.

No, rather, they attacked even more fiercely as if seeking revenge.

“Haah… I’m the fool for believing in you.”

“You said it was a good idea earlier.”

Kang Hyeon roughly ran his hand through his hair, feeling the rising stress.

“I’m tired.”

The life-or-death game of tag continued.

Moreover, as they felt themselves getting closer to the core, the creatures’ harassment became even more persistent.

“What haven’t we tried yet?”.

Meanwhile, the group had been constantly trying to overcome this obstacle.

“We’ve already tried everything I had in mind.”

Shin Seong-a listed the plans they had executed so far.

Plan 1: Annihilation → Failure

Plan 2: Hostage → Failure

Plan 3: Torture → Failure

Plan 4: Containment → Failure

“This failed, that failed, failure, failure…”

“Stop, stop! I get it, so stop!”

“Yes.”

Kang Hyeon, with dark circles under his eyes, threw a hysterical fit.

“Can’t you just go ‘whoosh’ with your bow?”

“In this terrain, the use of a bow is limited.”

“But they shoot just fine!”

“My situation is different from theirs.”

Kang Hyeon knew this too.

It was nonsensical to think of hitting enemies who were hiding and sniping with a bow.

He had just said it out of frustration, wanting to do something, anything.

“I’m sorry… You must be more tired than me.”

While Kang Hyeon’s fatigue was lessened due to his physical regeneration, An Yu-seong and Shin Seong-a were holding on by sheer willpower alone.

Especially Shin Seong-a, who had also been doing reconnaissance, it was a wonder she hadn’t collapsed already.

“Argh! I’m going crazy!”

Kang Hyeon shouted in frustration at the situation where no solution seemed in sight.

“The sun is starting to rise.”

“Haah…”

The rising sun in the distance began to illuminate Kang Hyeon’s face.

The dark circles under his eyes seemed particularly prominent.

-Boom!

That’s when it happened.

A faint explosion was heard from afar.

Looking up at the sky, they saw a red flare illuminating the dawn twilight.

“It’s a distress signal!”

There was no time to hesitate.

If they stayed like this, they might die of overwork before reaching the main core.

“Let’s go!”

Kang Hyeon immediately grabbed his belongings and ran.

‘Whatever happens, it can’t be worse than our current situation.’

***

Ippotranslation

***

Screams were coming from all directions.

-Bang!

“Vice Guild Master, I’ve fired the flare!”

Han Si-hwan nodded upon seeing the red light.

“Hold on a little longer! Support from other guilds will arrive soon!”

Han Si-hwan, the Vice Guild Master of the Guardian Guild.

Due to the absence of Guild Master Park Se-hyeon, he reluctantly took charge of this raid party.

‘Damn it! If only the Guild Master were here at a time like this…’

At the last meeting, Guild Master Park Se-hyeon, who had transformed into a monster, eventually couldn’t regain his senses.

And he died.

The absence of the strong and charismatic Park Se-hyeon was felt even more acutely now that their lives were in danger.

“Aaargh! Help me!”

A scream came from somewhere.

Turning his gaze, he saw another guild member being impaled by a monster’s hand.

“Don’t give up! Just hold on a little longer!”

Han Si-hwan encouraged the guild members.

Nevertheless, there was no hope to be found on their faces.

Everyone was bloodied and exhausted.

They looked like they could collapse from fatigue at any moment, but the swarming monsters gave them no respite.

“Kyaaaak!”

“Keeek!”

The endlessly appearing monsters looked like an army of ants.

Han Si-hwan wondered where in this mountain range so many monsters had been hiding.

‘Damn bastards…’

Originally, the situation wouldn’t have deteriorated this badly.

But when Park Se-hyeon died, the guild executives all bared their teeth, and eventually, the guild was on the verge of splitting into several factions.

-We will proceed with the C-rank dungeon raid as scheduled!

Han Si-hwan, who couldn’t ascend to the position of Guild Master due to opposition from other executives.

He led this raid party to rebuild the crumbling guild and gain recognition as the Guild Master.

“It was just my greed after all.”

The raid had failed.

“Maybe I never had what it takes to be a Guild Master in the first place.”

Guilt weighed heavily on his shoulders.

He felt as if he had driven innocent guild members to their deaths.

“By now, those bastards must be celebrating.”

His teeth clenched at the thought of the executives back at the guild who were probably hoping for his death.

-Thud, thud!.

Suddenly, Han Si-hwan’s head turned at the sound of the earth shaking.

In the distance, he could see three Ogres emerging from the forest.

“Right. They’re really driving the nail in… Hahaha!”

The already exhausted guild members couldn’t stop them.

“O-Ogres!”

“Shit! We can’t die like this!”

“Where are you going! Don’t break formation!”

Watching this, Han Si-hwan gave up on everything.

As Han Si-hwan lowered his sword to the ground, a guild member ran up to him.

“Vice Guild Master, what are you doing? If this continues, we’ll be wiped out!”

“…”

“Please lead the guild members! If we hold out a little longer, support from other guilds will…”

“There is no support.”

“Pardon…?”

“I said there is no support.”

The guild member’s face contorted in confusion at Han Si-hwan’s words.

“Then why the flare…?”

He wanted to ask why he had been ordered to fire the flare, but he didn’t even have the presence of mind to properly articulate it.

“That was just to boost the morale of the guild members. There won’t be any support.”

In a world where everyone preys on each other, where the weak are trampled in pursuit of higher positions, Han Si-hwan wasn’t naive enough to believe in such promises.

“We’re finished.”

At Han Si-hwan’s declaration, despair settled on the faces of all the guild members.

“Even if I die, I’ll die fighting.”

“Mom… Sob sob…”

“Don’t cry! We are the Guardian Guild!”

At the end of their lives, some burned brightly, while others called for their families.

As everyone was marking the end of their lives in their own way, it happened.

“Let me get some sleep! You bastards!”

Suddenly, a roar so loud it made the forest trees tremble and echoed.

[Roar of the Lion has been activated]

[All enemies’ morale and stats have decreased]

Kang Hyeon, running at full speed, jumped right into the middle of the monster horde.

-Crash!

“Die!”

Kang Hyeon rampaged as if trying to repay all the frustrations he had endured until now.

An Yu-seong and Shin Seong-a, who arrived shortly after, immediately joined the battle.

“Mr. Kang Hyeon. The Ogres first!”

“I know!”

At Shin Seong-a’s words, Kang Hyeon immediately rushed towards the Ogres.

“Uooooh!”

The three Ogres roared upon spotting Kang Hyeon.

“Sorry, but I can’t play with you for long right now!”

Using ‘Wayne’s Secret Technique’, Kang Hyeon flew straight towards the Ogre’s face.

-Squelch!

Bilgein’s longsword pierced the Ogre’s eye in one go.

“Magic Explosion!”

Kang Hyeon fired a magic sphere into the Ogre’s eye and immediately rushed towards another one.

This was based on his trust that An Yu-seong would handle the aftermath.

“S-Support! Support has arrived!”

“Waaah!”

The Guardian Guild members cheered at the sight of Kang Hyeon rampaging among the monsters.

‘Is that really the Ogre I know?’

While hope was rekindling in everyone, Han Si-hwan’s face wasn’t so bright.

‘The Guardian Guild needs several people to barely take down one, and yet…’

The Badass Guild had taken down three Ogres in barely a minute.

“Uaaaah!”

That’s when it happened.

Suddenly, another battle cry was heard from somewhere.

“Vice Guild Master! It’s Dangun!”

“What?”

“The Dangun Guild has arrived!”

Looking in the direction the guild member urgently pointed, he saw about twenty people running at high speed.

At their forefront was a woman with long black hair flowing behind her. It was Han Se-yeon.

“It’s support!”

“We’re saved! It’s Dangun!”

Everyone’s faces brightened with the hope that they could survive.

But Han Si-hwan felt even more despair.

‘What… What have I been doing all this time…’

Half of his guild members had already been massacred.

In contrast, the Dangun Guild and the Badass Guild had maintained their initial numbers.

‘Is the difference really this severe?’

‘What were all my efforts for?’

‘Is our Guardian Guild this incompetent?’

He was confused.

The feats these others were showing would be impossible even if the deceased Guild Master Park Se-hyeon were to come back to life.

‘No… We did our best.’

It was because they had done their best that they had achieved the glory of being the fifth-ranked guild in Korea.

‘They must just be special.’

Badass, who survived with only 3 members.

Dangun, with all twenty guild members still alive.

“They’re complete monsters.”

Both were monsters that the Guardian Guild couldn’t even approach.

The situation quickly resolved with the arrival of Badass and Dangun.

All monsters were defeated, and a brief moment of rest was given.

“Ugh…”

While everyone was busy collapsing and closing their eyes, there were some who couldn’t do so.

“A frontal breakthrough is our only answer.”

The three guild leaders gathered to devise a strategy.

“We need to move right now before our strength depletes further.”

Han Se-yeon was the first to offer her opinion.

“Our guild members have reached their physical limits. Wouldn’t it be better to rest a bit more before moving?”

“We have a member in our guild with a skill that can alleviate fatigue. It won’t be a complete recovery, but it should serve as a temporary measure.”

Despite Han Se-yeon’s answer, Han Si-hwan’s expression remained troubled.

“Even so, we don’t know the location of the core… If we move aimlessly, we’ll all end up dead.”

“The enemy’s defense is getting fiercer. It’s clear evidence that our current direction is correct.”

“That’s not definitive proof!”

“Then do you have any other solution for our current situation?”

“…”

Struck by the pointed question, Han Si-hwan couldn’t say anything.

“Excuse me.”

At that moment, Kang Hyeon, who had been silently listening to their conversation, raised his hand.

“I know the approximate location of the core.”

“What? What do you mean?”

“I can’t explain in detail, but I can sense the core.”

“How is that possible…”

“Moreover, considering that the enemy’s resistance is intensifying as Han Se-yeon said, it’s almost certain.”

At Kang Hyeon’s words, Han Se-yeon’s expression was noticeably brightened.

“Then, do you also know how far we are from the core?”

Kang Hyeon nodded at Han Se-yeon’s question.

“Yes. At most, a day. If we run without rest, we might arrive within half a day.”

Han Si-hwan nodded at Kang Hyeon’s words.

“If that’s the case, we’re really not far. But do we have that kind of stamina left?”

Normally, running for half a day would just be a bit tiring, but now it was absolutely not the case.

“Our guild members haven’t had a proper wink of sleep for two days.”

“…”

“Moreover, it’s not even flat ground, but a treacherous mountain range, isn’t it?”

Han Si-hwan turned his head to look at the guild members collapsed on the ground.

“Look at them.”

“…”

“Telling them to run through that terrible forest is just asking them to die.”

“We still have to run.”

Han Se-yeon said firmly.

“There will be numerous dropouts!”

“Even so, if we move slowly like this, a new horde of monsters will attack us again.”

“…”

“Then, all the Guardian Guild members will die.”

“…”

“If you want to save even one more person, we have no choice but to run.”

At these harsh words, Han Si-hwan lowered his head and sighed.

“I’ve already abandoned them once. Are you telling me to make another decision that will kill someone?”

“…”

“I don’t know about you, but our guild, I, we’re really at our limit…”

“Han Si-hwan, was it?”

Han Si-hwan looked at Kang Hyeon as he heard his name called.

“This is so frustrating I can’t stand it. Why are you whining like this?”

“Pardon..?”

“So what if you’re at your limit? Do you have any other solutions?”

“…”

“Should we carry you all on our backs and run?”

“No, you shouldn’t say it like that…”

“Han Si-hwan. Get your act together.”

Kang Hyeon’s eyes glimmered with an indescribable madness.

“In a dungeon, the weak die. No, you all have already died once because you were weak. You’re only alive because we came. Am I wrong?”

“…”

“The reason I came here, at least, was to find a solution, not to take responsibility for useless crybabies.”

Han Si-hwan’s face turned red at these insulting words.

“Crybabies… Even if you helped us, isn’t that going too far?!”

Han Si-hwan shouted, flaring up.

However, Kang Hyeon was already at his limit with fatigue and irritation.

He wasn’t mature enough to consider others’ feelings at a time like this.

“Listen to me carefully.”

“Ugh..!”

Kang Hyeon lunged forward and grabbed Han Si-hwan’s collar tightly.

“This isn’t just about your guild. If we’re not careful, everyone else will die too.”

“Huff…!”

“So shut up and follow, or just get lost. Make up your mind.”

“Huff, huff…”

Han Si-hwan, thrown to the ground, breathed heavily.

“And…”

“…”

“If you’ve taken a position to lead others, if you’re really their leader.”

“…”

“Take responsibility until the end like a true leader. Don’t be the first to crumble.”

There was nothing wrong with Kang Hyeon’s words.

In fact, Han Si-hwan knew he was being unreasonable.

“You’re right…”

Han Si-hwan looked at his guild members.

‘That’s right. I shouldn’t be the first to give up. To save as many guild members as possible, we need to run.’

Having made his decision, Han Si-hwan raised his head. Unlike before, his eyes were no longer wavering and were filled with strong determination.

“I’m sorry. I showed an unsightly side of myself.”

He nodded with a solemn face.

“Let’s give it a try.”