A few days later.
[Forming Party.]
[Drag and drop heroes!]
['Dika (★)' joins 'Party 1'!]
Dika joined the main party.
"I'll do my best!"
Dika bowed stiffly to me.
He had been gloomy for a while after Zid and Hanson died, but seemed to have recovered somehow. Lately, he had been joining me and Aaron in training.
The sky was shining.
Meaning the Master was logged in.
"It's not the Daily Dungeon today." Aaron readjusted his grip on his spear, looking tense.
The members called by Isel were me, Jena, Aaron, and Dika. The current main combatants of the waiting room, so to speak.
Dika was much weaker compared to me, but better than the other members. They were mostly staying on the 1st floor.
Since sub-members are mixed in when going to the Daily Dungeon, even these guys could figure out the Master's intention.
[Open, Rift of Time and Spaaaace!]
The central gate of the plaza clanked open.
Tension surfaced on the group's faces. Even Jena, who always seemed relaxed, had a stiff expression.
"What are you so scared of?"
"Floor 5 was so hard. I thought I was going to die." Aaron looked miserable.
"Don't worry. Nothing special this time."
"Really?"
"...Really."
"There seems to be a pause in your answer!"
The chances of getting a high-difficulty mission on a sub-stage are almost nil, but I couldn't guarantee it 100%. That was the rule of Pick Me Up.
I strode inside.
Soon, the three followed.
Not filling the designated party size didn't matter.
I took a light, deep breath.
[Climb the Tower, Save the World!]
[Main Dungeon: Current Floor – 5]
The left mirror in the Rift of Time and Space began to glow.
The signal for entering the main dungeon. Tension reappeared on the party members' faces. Dika, especially, trembled violently, clutching his sword and shield.
I hadn't told them how Zid and Hanson died.
Soon, the light faded, and we stepped into an unfamiliar place.
[Floor 6.]
[Mission Type - Exploration]
[Objective - Search the unfamiliar location!]
'Field is forest.'
Exploration, huh.
Another rare mission type appeared.
First, I scanned the vicinity.
No enemies in sight. Only a grassy field swayed by the wind stretched out forlornly.
"H-Hyungnim. No enemies in sight. Is this... like Floor 5?!"
"Quiet."
Aaron became silent as a clam and nodded.
"Don't raise your voices. Everyone, heads down, keep low."
"..."
"I said keep low, not lie flat."
The party members awkwardly stood up halfway.
"Nothing special here, so relax. Just meet the conditions, and we can clear it safely."
"Yes."
"Wait here a moment. I'll be right back."
Leaving the three hidden in the grass, I stepped aside onto the path.
After moving a short distance, I felt like I hit a wall. An impassable point.
'Linear map.'
Following the path through the middle of the field should lead to the event point. Returning, I instructed the party to proceed off the path.
"Are we infiltrating somewhere?" Jena asked, pulling a leaf off her head.
We moved forward, hidden in the tall grass beside the path.
Jena, with the best eyesight, took the lead, and I followed behind her.
"Similar."
"This isn't really my style." Jena grumbled, pushing through the grass.
Before long, guests appeared.
On the path ahead, three goblins stood in a circle.
"Ker, kyarrak!"
"Kira, kiraroro!"
The goblins were chattering amongst themselves.
'What are they saying.'
These goblins were different from the ones we fought so far.
Their thin forearms now had muscle, and their stature was larger. Their attire, previously practically naked, had changed too. They wore crude leather armor and held reasonably sharp swords and shields.
[Goblin Lv.8 X 3]
"Should we kill those guys, Hyungnim?" Aaron gripped his spear tightly.
"Hold on."
I examined the goblins' attire again.
A small horn bugle hung from the leather belt at their waists.
Pointing to a tree beside the bushes, I said.
"Jena. See that tree there?"
"Yes, I see it."
"Climb to the top and see what's there."
Jena nimbly climbed the tree.
Returning shortly after, Jena reported.
"Looks like there's a goblin settlement. Buildings inside a palisade, and lots of them gathered inside."
"How many?"
"Hmm. About a hundred?"
Figured out the setup.
A type of trap pattern.
Unsuspecting heroes follow the path, encounter goblins, and immediately initiate combat. Because it had always been like that in previous stages.
"Jena, the goblin on the far right. When I signal, shoot it dead in one go."
"Yes."
"Aaron, when I lure one, plant your spear in its head."
"Understood."
"You..."
Dika looked at me with expectant eyes.
"...assist us if an emergency arises."
"Yes..."
Wanted to give him a role, but nothing was left.
Exploration missions hardly give any experience anyway.
Lying prone, I picked up a small pebble lying in the grass.
Thwack.
The pebble hit the back of the head of a goblin standing idly.
"Ki?" The goblin hit by the stone turned towards the bushes with a puzzled expression and walked over.
Tap tap.
I lightly tapped the dirt floor with my sheath.
Detecting the sound, the goblin approached closer. Just as the familiar stench of goblin reached my nostrils.
"Now!"
Jena's arrow pierced the forehead of the goblin on the far right.
Aaron's spear penetrated the face of the goblin leaning into the bushes from the front.
The remaining goblin, startled, fumbled for its horn bugle.
Bursting out of the bushes, I ran forward and slammed my shield into the goblin's face. Despite scattering broken teeth, the goblin desperately tried to grab the horn bugle and blow.
"Pwe..."
I kicked the horn bugle away, then plunged my sword into its left chest. The goblin collapsed limply without even screaming.
Blood clung stickily as I withdrew the sword.
"I-is it over?" Dika emerged from the bushes.
Utter bewilderment was plain on his face.
"Mostly." I replied, flicking the blood from my blade.
All three goblins were now corpses. None had succeeded in blowing the horn bugle. Kicking the horn bugle lying discarded on the ground, I said.
"If we let them blow this bugle, reinforcements would swarm out from that settlement back there. Would have been quite troublesome."
It's a setup where a trap triggers if you charge in blindly thinking it's an extermination mission.
The mission complete message appeared.
[Stage Clear!]
[Reward – 5,000G]
[MVP - 'Han (★)']
Gradually, light began to envelop my body.
"Huh, already over?" Jena blinked.
We were slowly being engulfed in light and disappearing.
"It's not over yet."
I started running down the path.
There's something I need to know before returning to the plaza.
The reason this mission is called Exploration.
'Gather information.'
Because hints about the very next stage are given.
Since Exploration appeared, it couldn't be a standalone mission.
Though randomly configured, it's not entirely unpredictable.
Based on the previous mission, the background, and the environment, one could indirectly deduce what kind of field and mission might appear.
To a novice, Exploration is just a trivial freebie mission, but for experts, it's different.
Running at full speed, I scanned the surroundings.
My body was gradually fading. I had to gather maximum hints within that time.
Indeed. No matter how far I ran, the path wasn't blocked.
Amidst the trees rising jaggedly on both sides of the path, a scene caught my eye.
It was a flimsy wooden palisade about 5m high, and between its gaps, shabby huts clustered together. Near the huts, dozens of goblins milled about.
'A goblin settlement.'
The village Jena saw.
Ignoring it, I continued running. Before long, a second goblin settlement appeared.
'A large goblin habitat?'
In this village, goblins were leading wolves around.
If goblins ride those wolves, they become Goblin Riders. Known for their distinct mobility, they were quite troublesome among the goblin series.
"Ki!"
Just then, my eyes met with a goblin's.
The goblin rushed towards me radiating killing intent but crashed into an invisible wall and collapsed.
I can't go over there, but neither can it come here.
Right now, that settlement is just background scenery that cannot be interfered with, but it won't be in the next mission.
Continued running along the path.
Soon, the forest receded, and a plain emerged.
With a clear view, it became certain. The entire forest formed a goblin settlement.
Perhaps closer to an outpost than a settlement. The goblins were busy preparing something – making weapons, wearing armor, taming wolves.
Dozens of goblins clung to the map's boundary line.
They shrieked strange noises at me on the inside of the wall.
Paid it no mind. Seen enough.
My body is about to disappear completely.
I increased my speed another notch.
Sprinting at full tilt, I soon spotted a city standing far off in the distance.
And, immediately,
Returned to the Rift of Time and Space.
"Why did you run off alone earlier?"
"Just looking around outside."
Got enough information.
Now, based on the scene I just witnessed, it's time to predict the theme of the linked quest and formulate a strategy.
Doing what's commonly called 'estimating the clear conditions'.
For special dungeons that pop up without warning, there's no choice but to send in a scouting party and clash, but main dungeons often provide hints.
This flow of linked quests starting from exploration is called a Stream.
Analyzing the Stream was also part of a Master's competence.
'Frustrating.'
Don't know if what I saw was properly conveyed to Amkena.
Even if they knew, there's not much they can do at this point with insufficient facilities and heroes.
Didn't think a Stream would appear at this timing; it came earlier than expected.
Returning to the plaza, Chloe ran over frantically.
She seemed oddly anxious.
"H-Han-ssi, something terrible happened!"
"What is it?"
Chloe, usually busy preparing meals for over 10 people, rarely came out to the plaza.
Her large brown eyes trembled.
"What's wrong, Chloe unni?" (Unni: term used by females for older sister/female friend)
"W-well... strange people came..."
"Strange people coming here isn't exactly rare, is it?"
Seems Amkena did some summoning while we were out on the mission.
Besides the 10-summon done previously, Amkena occasionally brought in one or two 1-star heroes.
Still, summoning while the main dungeon is in progress isn't right.
I frowned.
Getting distracted during the main dungeon. A bad habit.
"These people seem somewhat different. They have weapons, and their vibe is strange." Chloe said, looking distressed.
"Isel!"
"[What's up?]"
"Show me the system logs from while I was on the mission."
"[Okie, hold on!]"
Soon, system messages popped up.
Displaying past events.
Instructed the Workshop to process branches, dispatched a sub-party of 3 to Floor 2. And then.
I slowly read through the logs.
[Purchase what you desire right now!]
[Moebius supports the Master's choice!]
[You have selected the 'Newbie Potential Package!']
[Package Contents – 2,500 Gems, 50,000 Gold, Low-Grade Ore, Wood, Leather X 10]
[All this for just 50,000 Won!]
[This amount will be added to next month's phone bill. Really purchase?]
[Yes(Selected) / No]
Amkena's second purchase.
The 5,000 Gems from the previous package were blown on facility construction.
[Payment Complete!]
[Items sent via mail. Please check!]
'Here it comes.'
[Hero Summon!]
[Summon heroes with Gold or Gems. Try summoning the infinite heroes generated by Moebius Summon.]
[Master, starting High-Grade Summon! You have selected 5 consecutive High-Grade Summons. A total of 2,500 Gems will be consumed. Summon?]
[Yes(Selected) / No]
[Master, starting High-Grade Summon. Excited to see which heroes will appear!]
[Clack, Dururururu.]
[Crash!]
[Rare!]
[Master 'Amkena' has acquired the hero 'Avant (★★★)'!]
[Rare!]
[Master 'Amkena' has acquired the hero 'Zaken (★★★)'!]
[Rare!]
[Master 'Amkena' has acquired the hero 'Wayfe (★★★)'!]
[Rare!]
[Master 'Amkena' has acquired the hero 'Veignin (★★★)'!]
[Rare!]
[Master 'Amkena' has acquired the hero 'Edith (★★★)'!]