Their movements were as stealthy as lions stalking their prey.
Seug!
They did not even touch the corpses of hobgoblins that were scattered along puddles of blood.
What made this possible was a skill called "Night Vision." It was a skill only available to those with the Silent Hunter as their halo.
This skill, which had similar effects as night goggles, granted vision to Park Yi-yeon and her men in the dark.
It didn't mean that it was as easy to see as during the day.
Their vision was tinted in green and their perception wasn't as sharp as usual.
It was similar to the difference between someone with glasses walking without their glasses.
'Stop!'
That was why Park Yi-yeon stopped her men in front of a hobgoblin's corpse.
Park Yi-yeon lowered her posture near the hobgoblin's corpse and began her inspection.
After looking around briefly, she saw a few spears that were rising up like bamboo shoots.
It was a trap.
A trap meant for someone who decided not to avoid the hobgoblin corpses.
Park Yi-yeon was not surprised to see this.
'He's rather careful.'
She smiled instead.
'This guy has something to hide.'
They already knew that Kim Woo-jin was not an ordinary person.
The evidence was that Park Yi-yeon and her men were sent here.
They weren't ordinary player hunters.
They were the type of professionals who cleaned up after the mistakes of player hunters associated with the Skull Guild.
Of course, their level of skill was incomparable to mediocre player hunters.
"I will definitely obtain the information from him."
The was a large skill gap between them and normal hunters, and an even greater gap in their resolution.
After finding the traps hiding between the hobgoblin corpses, she sent a signal to the men behind her.
'There's a trap, so be more careful.'
'Yes.'
The men replied with signals of their own.
Then they proceeded even more stealthily.
They moved, searching for small traps hidden between the clumps of hobgoblin corpses, one at a time.
It was a boring and tedious task, but no one complained.
Eventually, they found what they were looking for.
A torchlight appeared in the dim green world.
'Stop!'
Park Yi-yeon stopped her men. At the same time, everyone carefully reached for their arrows.
Then they grabbed and held their arrows.
All their actions were carried out slowly.
The movement of knocking their arrows on their bowstrings and pulling their bows were carried out as if it were a slow motion video.
In this aspect, that was an advantage of using a bow.
There was no point in swinging a sword slowly. But on the other hand, however slow a bow is drawn, had no difference in power once the bowstring is released.
Silent Hunter. That was why he imposed the use of bows to people who believe and follow him. 'He's moving.'
Then the light moved further away.
This change did not cause Park Yi-yeon and her men to be flustered.
There was no need to share a signal.
They slowly moved with their bows pulled; gradually narrowing the distance from the light. Compared to what they've endured so far, being a little bit more patient wasn't too difficult.
Even at this moment, Park Yi-yeon was not easily distracted.
'Get in battle formation.'
One by one, she placed her men ahead of her.
It was a measure to keep everyone out of trouble even if something were to happen.
Three people slowly moved in such a way.
Puuhoo!
Then, the men in front of Park Yi-yeon started to lose their footing followed by the sound of wind escaping.
"Uh, uh?"
Two of her men, who had been holding back their breath up to this point, were frightened out of their wits and could not help but yell.
"Aah!"
"Ugh!"
Their sounds instantly turned into a scream.
It was the sound signifying that their bodies were pierced by spears that rose from five meters below the ground like a bamboo tree.
"Wha, what the hell?"
Park Yi-yeon's eyes opened remarkably wide open in surprise.
Because she never imagined something like that could happened to her and her subordinates.
Wouldn't it be less surprising to see a trap from an Indiana Jones movie?
'Ha... how?'
However, Park Yi-yeon did not have the opportunity to ask such questions.
Puk!
'Ugh!'
An arrow pierced Park Yi-yeon's shoulder.
In the year 2020, when the world turned into a game, the common sense used to make sense of the world crumbled.
The laws of society, which kept the world functioning, also collapsed around that time.
Kim Woo-jin knew that better than anyone else.
While it was unusual for someone to dig 5 meters under the ground to build a trap, that was not so for Kim Woo-jin.
There was no reason for him not to do it.
All it needed was time.
Park Yi-yeon and her men gave Kim Woo-jin all the time he need.
Of course, besides that, Kim Woo-jin had a lot of bait scattered around.
Using multiple small traps, Kim Woo-jin slowed Park Yi-yeon and her men's movements, gradually chipping away at their concentration and stamina, and gave them a false impression of their situation.
It made them believe that they were flawlessly moving through the traps he placed. He made them think they were hunting perfectly.
In the end, the hunters were caught in a trap.
All that was left to do was to hunt down his prey!
Kim Woo-jin drew his bow at the prey who didn't fall into his trap.
Ting!
The arrow left Kim Woo-jin's bow precisely and rammed deep inside Park Yi-yeon's left shoulder.
He didn't think that he would miss.
Although Kim Woo-jin did not have the ability to see in the darkness like Night Vision, he had his ears.
Kim Woo-jin learned how to determine the location of the target by sound from the second best archer he knew, and he sharpened his skill through countless life-and-death hunts.
Naturally, it could only be used once.
Unless his enemies were fools, they would move as soon as they were hit by an arrow, making it almost impossible to track down the target relying on sound alone.
Therefore, Kim Woo-jin stuck a very expensive spider web at the end of the arrow.
The same spider web he used to catch the transforming slime in the past!
Kkwaag!
Kim Woo-jin immediately pulled the spider web.
Ting!
The spider web grew taut, and Park Yi-yeon's body was pulled toward Kim Woo-jin. 'Kuk!'
The unexpected situation made Park Yi-yeon disconcerted.
Moreover, there was a hole in front of her that already devoured two of her men.
There was only one thing in her mind at this moment.
'There's no way out.'
There is no way to live!
I would rather die together!
The determined woman ran forward and jumped over the hole where her men had died. Instead of being dragged around by Kim Woo-jin's thread, she ran toward him.
'I will kill him.'
All of a sudden, there was a kukri knife in her hand.
It was impossible to shoot her bow properly while her shoulder was injured. It was also meaningless to fire an arrow at close range.
Kim Woo-jin, who predicted her actions through the slackened thread, let go of the thread.
'I don't see any arrows. Did he switch to a knife? She must have studied under a true expert.'
Throwing away one's life and switching to a knife instead of engaging in a tug-of-war was something one could not do without proper training and education.
'Although I prepared for that as well.'
In other words, it was within his predictions.
Puk!
Park' Yi-yeon's feet suddenly stuck to the ground.
"Kuk!"
He prepared for situations where the other side decided to jump over the trap.
Park Yi-yeon's ankles were caught in one of the holes that Kim Woo-jin had dug up with such a scenario in mind.
At the same time, the trap accurately conveyed Park Yi-yeon's position to Kim Woo-jin.
Kim Woo-jin narrowed the distance between himself and Park Yi-yeon in an instant.
Puk!
Soon, Kim Woo-jin's scimitar pierced deeply into Park Yi-yeon's chest.
Then, Kim Woo-jin's eyes turned black.
[Eyes of Anubis is Opened]
The man taught Park Yi-yeon like so.
'Is not being hunted yourself.'
And he was also the one who taught Kim Woo-jin.
'Noda.'
God Archer Hijiro Noda.
He was a man who had all the qualification to be called Kim Woo-jin's master.
It was the reason why Kim Woo-jin willingly showed his back to him.
He believed in his teacher's determination to end the game with him in order to save the world, believed in his beliefs, and believed in his skills.
'So you were with him all along.'
But now, Kim Woo-jin finally realized that it was all a lie.
'Since he joined the Messiah Guild a year after it was founded... I guess it's not too unexpected.'
Kim Woo-jin actually had some inkling of how it happened.
Hijiro Noda awakened as a player in 2020 and soon became the best player in Japan, charging ahead with his legendary item, Achilles' Bow. He always ranked in the top 5 in terms of levels in Japan.
When he joined the Messiah Guild in 2021, the world applauded his choice, but some also questioned it.
Why did he wait to join the Messiah Guild until 2021?
If he really agreed with the values of the Messiah Guild, why didn't he join when he became a player? Why did he join after waiting for a whole year?
'It wasn't surprising.'
Kim Woo-jin was also suspicious of him for that reason.
'But I can't help but feel dirty.'
The moment he saw it with my own eyes, he couldn't prevent his emotions from escaping. Furthermore, Hijiro Noda and Park Shin-hye were different.
Frankly speaking, he didn't have much of a connection with her. He hardly ever fought with her while putting his life on the line.
However, he had cleared countless dungeons with the God Archer.
In the Messiah Guild, the combination of the Hunting Dog and the God Archer was considered the strongest combination.
He received a lot of help.
Kim Woo-jin was especially impressed with his determination when he decided to fight on the side of the Messiah Guild, even when Japan expressed their ambition toward the Korean Peninsula.
When Kim Woo-jin saw that, he could assure himself that the God Archer would be willing to lay down his life with him.
'Damn it.'
But that was only Kim Woo-jin's delusion. To the God Archer, Kim Woo-jin was just a hunting dog that he would dine on after all the hunting was finally over.
What did he think of when he saw a hunting dog that he could eat at anytime risking its life to hunt for him?
Just imagining it made Kim Woo-jin want to go shoot him with a gun right away.
But Kim Woo-jin restrained himself.
'The most important thing in hunt is not to be hunted.'
For he directly learned how stupid it was to have attachments to his prey by being angry. Charging into his prey without a plan was something he learned not to do, from the one who was currently making him feel abjectly sick.
Because of this, Kim Woo-jin's personal feelings cooled down.
He quenched the anger inside his heart.
Instead of getting angry, he thought about what he just learned.
'At least I gained some information.'
The value of the information he earned this time outweighed his anger.
The God Archer himself confirmed that there was a link between the Skull Guild and the Yamato Federation.
Park Yi-yeon was quite the big catch.
A big enough fish to make not only the Skull Guild move but also the Yamato Federation as well!
'If she had this kind of career, they wouldn't be able to just cover it up.'
There was no chance that the Skull Guild or the Yamato Federation would remain silent when such a giant fish lost her life.
'Park Yong-wan will also be interested in this big fish as well.'
And Park Yong-wan, who secured such evidence, would not stay still either.
Likewise, Kim Woo-jin didn't plan on remaining quiet.
'Then I'll just have to set them up on a blind date.'
The happiest moment for a member of the dungeon support staff was when players came out of the dungeon gates they were assigned to.
The support staff members were given time off as well as bonuses for their performance when players came out after clearing the dungeon.
That's why Park Hyun-moo, a dungeon support team employee, was not feeling too happy. 'Damn it, there's no sign of clearing the dungeon today either.'
It was 4 days after players entered the dungeon.
Staring at the still atmosphere around the dungeon gate, Park Hyun-moo felt a sense of déjà vu.
The same feeling as when the previous players failed to clear the dungeon.
'I knew this would happen.'
To be honest, he wasn't expecting much.
'I was stupid to expect a group of rejects from multiple guilds to succeed when people from the same guild with decent character already failed to clear it.'
It would be strange to have high expectations when the ones trying to clear the dungeon, which people failed twice already, were a group of nuisances from their respective guilds.
'Fucking degenerates, don't attempt it in the first place.'
He was even annoyed they even attempted it.
'Who would try to clear a dungeon that players failed to clear 3 times?'
It was too obvious how a dungeon, which players failed three times, would be treated.
"Kahak!"
Park Hyun-moo looked at the dungeon, then gathered his phlegm as if he were about to spit it out.
It was then.
'Huh?'
A man came out of the dungeon gate.
Gulp!
Park Hyun-moo swallowed the phlegm without even realizing it and ran toward the player who came out of the dungeon gate.
"Oh, congratulations on clearing the dungeon."
First of all, he congratulated him.
The player told him.
"... Please inform the guild."
"Huh? What do you... Uhh!"
Only then, Park Hyun-moo could see that the player's thighs, shoulders, and belly were pierced with arrows.
"Trea, you have to receive treatment... ."
Surprised, Park Hyun-moo demanded the player to get treated.
The player told him.
"Please send my words to the guild rather than worrying about the treatment. That the Skull Guild hunted the players."
"Kim Woo-jin came out alone?"
The secretary nodded and answered 'yes' to Park Yong-wan's question.
"And he said that the Skull Guild attacked him?"
The secretary responded the same way this time as well.
"So what's the reaction of the Skull Guild?"
"We haven't informed the Skull Guild yet. The Guild Master will convene an emergency meeting soon. However, no matter what the Phoenix Guild does, there's no possibility that the Skull Guild will confirm this."
"After the fake excuses?"
"They'll be very cautious. Since there's no reason to act when everyone's attention is focused on them." Park Yong-wan thought with his eyes closed after hearing her opinion.
"How many people know of this?
"The head of the support team Jeong Woo-suk who received the report from the dungeon support team staff, as well as the Guild Master, and Kim Woo-jin."
Park Yong-wan said while opening one of his eyes.
"Can you cover it up?"
The secretary nodded at Park Yong-wan's reply.
"Though it can't be covered up forever, it could be done for about three or four months. But what's the point of covering it up?"
"If you keep it covered, the Skull Guild kids will send out even bigger fish to kill Kim Woo-jin. And the bigger the fish that moves, the bigger the trails they leave behind."
Park Yong-wan, who was saying that, closed his eye again.
"How many skills do I have on my storage list of skills that are dedicated to Emissary of the Underworld?"
The secretary immediately searched using the iPad in her hand.
"There are 54 of them."
"How many of them are of the unique rank?"
"Three."
"What are the skill names?"
"They are fire golem, skeleton wizard, and blood sucking."
"What are the skill level requirements?"
"Higher than level 60 for fire golem, higher than level 80 for skeleton wizard, and higher than level 20 for blood sucking."
"Then blood sucking would be good. Wrap it nicely and get it ready."
"Wrap it?"
Park Yong-wan told the surprised secretary with a wry smile.
"It's a hospital gift. Wouldn't it look nicer to wrap it up than just handing it to him?"