[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
Chapter 740: White Rank (4)
Shweeeek!
With another fierce sound of tearing air, this time, the blue-haired knight from Sinual lost another arm.
-Still, your movements aren't too bad.
As Ban spoke while letting his spear blade trail on the ground, the blue-haired man opened his mouth with an indignant expression.
-Then why are you here with that level of movement...?
While saying so, he glared at the 11 white marks hovering above Ban's head.
It meant that, whether judging by his skill or the number of marks, Ban was not someone who should remain in the Epic Dungeon.
At this, Ban stared at his opponent quietly and said.
-Have you been there?
-...What?
-Up above here, have you ever been there?
-That's...
-Just what kind of people do you think are in the Legendary Dungeon?
Ban spoke as if he had met the inhabitants of the Legendary Dungeon himself.
Then, the blue-haired man shook his head as if he didn't know.
-I wouldn't know. Do you know, then? What kind of people are up there.
-Of course.
-...What?
-At the very least, they are people you cannot handle.
With those final words, Ban swung the shaft of his spear in a wide arc, and the moment the blue-haired man realized this and tried to pull his body back.
Shweeeek!
Along with a rough ripping sound, a massive trajectory cleaved through the empty air.
-...
Splat.
It was at this moment that the head with the blue hair slammed into the ground.
He had severed the opponent's neck in a single blow.
-Still boring.
Looking down at the two corpses sprawled on the floor, Ban muttered a brief sentiment.
And soon, the number of tokens displayed above his head increased tremendously.
Flash!
The tokens, which were previously 4, swelled to a staggering 14.
'So it was a game where you just gather a bunch of tokens like this and find the exit to finish. The progression method itself is incredibly simple.'
Seeing the opponent hide his spear again, Yeongwoo quickly scanned his surroundings once and asked.
“Is that true?”
-What are you talking about?
“The Legendary Dungeon. Do you know what kind of people are there? Have you seen them yourself?”
At that, Ban turned around and gave a peculiar answer.
-You could say that.
“You could say that...? What does that mean. Have you actually been to the Legendary Dungeon, or what?”
-I know I wouldn't make it out alive if I went, so is there really a need to go?
“What?”
When Yeongwoo tilted his head as if he didn't understand what he meant, Ban pointed at the two corpses on the ground with his finger.
-These guys were participants in the Epic Dungeon just the same. But how did they end up?
“...They died.”
-Right. The Legendary Dungeon is the same. Just because you can enter doesn't mean you can keep staying there.
“Are you trying to say that unless you're strong enough to survive repeatedly, it's better not to step foot in there at all?”
-Exactly. I am simply waiting for the right time.
“But... if you just keep staying here, you can't know how strong the guys further up are, can you?”
-That is merely your situation. I am different.
“What?”
Of course, Ban said this without knowing his partner's identity was a Planetary Ship Captain, but Yeongwoo was also ignorant of his opponent's identity.
-...
Following that, Ban collected the equipment left by the deceased, and as if out of habit, he glanced at Bastard in Yeongwoo's hand.
-I don't think I've seen you use that sword yet.
“That's because you said earlier you could handle it all by yourself, so I just stood still.”
-Are you really able to swing Bastard properly?
“You shouldn't be ignorant of how to find that out.”
As Yeongwoo said this and changed his stance ever so slightly, Ban, who was staring intently at him, chuckled beneath his mask.
-Not bad for a greenhorn.
Yet he didn't actually summon his weapon.
Though he called him a 'greenhorn' in words, he knew full well that someone carrying around Bastard couldn't possibly be a greenhorn.
That was why he kept engaging in a sort of probing war.
'The moment I get pushed back in this battle of wills, it's a catastrophe. He's the type to pounce immediately if I show even the slightest opening.'
However, even if they were to actually clash, he didn't feel like he would unconditionally lose.
If the opponent's grade was higher than his, Bastard's Challenger effect would activate, and above all, didn't he have the newly acquired Mythic Swordsmanship, 'Suagosa'?
Therefore, Yeongwoo's confidence was by no means empty bravado.
Because Ban had seen right through this, he too was in a situation where he couldn't recklessly initiate a fight.
“Well then, what do you plan to do now? You're the veteran here. Tell me your plan.”
When Yeongwoo asked this while crossing his arms, Ban lifted his head to the empty air.
-That engagement was probably the first occurrence of a kill... but there's no announcement.
Then he pointed to the large path stretching forward and continued.
-In a little while, only three types of teams will be left.
“Three types?”
-The first is the winner's group that won their first engagement. Either at least one of them is extremely strong, or both are of a decent caliber.
“Then what's the second?”
-The case where they avoided the first engagement and formed an alliance. The head count would be four.
“True, you often see cases like that even in lower dungeons.”
-But if either side of the allied team is aiming for a high spot, they are bound to collapse eventually. Regardless, right now, they are dangerous opponents.
“Then the final third is... could it be someone traveling alone?”
At Yeongwoo's words, Ban turned back to look at Yeongwoo.
-You know exactly right.
“Right. Someone must have killed their partner as soon as they entered the dungeon. Assuming they have the skill to easily handle two on their own, that is. After all, what you need to escape the dungeon isn't a partner, but a 'surviving participant'.”
It was practically a remark taking a shot at Ban, who was right in front of him.
-Therefore, you must be most wary of a guy who is alone. There is always someone stronger than me, after all.
Finally, Ban took a step forward while exposing his back to Yeongwoo, and around this time, Obstruction of Justice, which was stuck flat against Yeongwoo's shoulder, began to wiggle its finger.
It was a silent gesture indicating that it wanted to shoot the back of the opponent's head.
In response, Yeongwoo made a show of rubbing his shoulder and firmly pressed down on the anti-government pistol.
'You crazy bastard, it's not time yet. We at least have to wait for the moment that guy gets pushed on the defensive.'
Whether the words he conveyed in his mind were transmitted to the pistol was unknown, but coincidentally, the thing stopped its wiggling movements.
And right on cue, Ban spoke up.
-The very first thing we need to do is figure out how many exits there are.
“Figure out how many exits there are?”
-Usually, maze-type dungeons like this have a function that marks the exit's location. Of course, there's a high probability it will demand tokens as the price.
“Ah.”
Only then could Yeongwoo understand the reason why this partner was unconditionally trying to kill opponents.
This guy had run so many dungeons that he knew the value of the tokens well.
“Then... if there is only a single exit, do we go there and wait?”
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
-Correct. If we wait near the exit, there becomes no need to go through the hassle of hunting down other teams.
“What if there are two exits?”
-It's the same. Picking one exit and continuously waiting there is for the best. Normally, the distance between the exits is considerable, making it difficult to go back and forth between them.
“Then it just comes down to luck in the end. Both for the side guarding the exit, and for the side that just wants to save their lives and get out.”
-Isn't everything like that? If someone far stronger than me has entered this place today, meeting him and losing my life is ultimately my luck. And it would be fate as well.
“...Fate, huh.”
If the past, present, and future of all things in the universe were truly written on the Matrix, then Ban's words wouldn't be wrong either.
When they had advanced forward for about five more minutes while conversing like that, a familiar sound finally rang out from far away.
Claaaang!
The loud metallic roar of iron clashing against iron.
At this, Yeongwoo's eyes flashed open, and Ban also tensed his entire body and quickened his pace.
-It seems an engagement has already broken out.
Just as Ban said, the continuous sound of blades colliding came from beyond, and as the sound drew closer, the path even began to narrow rapidly.
He couldn't be sure, but the battlefield over there was probably not a very wide space.
“What will you do? Go and kill everyone in sight?”
-Isn't that a matter of course? Don't forget that the number of tokens equals your rank.
With those final words, Ban lunged his body forward at high speed and quickly widened the distance, causing Yeongwoo to ponder for a moment.
If there were more participants over there than expected, wouldn't he also have to jump into the fight?
And if he were to strike down even one participant in the process, he would immediately acquire tokens.
In other words, it would just add one more reason for Ban to inevitably target him in the late stages of the game.
'But... just because I don't have many tokens, would that guy give up on Bastard? I don't think that's the case either.'
Would a duel with Ban be unavoidable in the end?
As Yeongwoo was adjusting his pace moderately and thinking, the anti-government pistol finally raised its finger.
× Just what the hell are you doing? You should have shot the back of his head when you had the chance. Did you forge me just to survive in such a pathetic way?
“You might not understand, but you only have one life. Do you know what that means? It means you generally only have one chance to risk a challenge.”
In the event of a duel with Ban, there were only two outcomes.
Either die, or win.
× So let's hurry up and put that one chance into action. Why do I want to shoot that bastard so badly?
“This crazy son of a bitch.”
In the meantime, the path that had narrowed down to almost an alleyway suddenly widened drastically left and right to create a rather large space, and within it, he could see a staggering six participants tangled up in a fight.
And unlike the spaces they had passed through, some sort of mechanical device was erected in the center of this place, and he could see the number 1/3 floating above it.
“1/3, what does that mean?”
Muttering this, Yeongwoo quickly spotted a corpse collapsed behind the mechanical device.
“Ah.”
So, that meant something would happen once three participants died in this place.
× You know what? There's another machine underneath the floor.
“What did you say?”
× I don't know what it is, but once that gets completely filled, the machine underneath will pop out.
Obstruction of Justice waved its finger back and forth, aiming at the participants engaging in combat at the intersection.
× I think it'd be best to take out two guys quickly. If I had made this dungeon, I feel like I'd give benefits to the guy who contributed the most to operating the machine.
Then, without warning, it fired a shot at a participant fighting with their back to this side.
Baaaaang!
Immediately, a hole was blown through the back of the opponent's head as they collapsed to the floor, and soon the text 2/3 newly emerged above the mechanical device in question.
Sure enough, that thing was counting the deceased.
“What did you just do? If you do this...”
Flash!
The tokens hovering above Yeongwoo's head multiplied from 2 to 6.
At this, the participants in the area, who had been distracted fighting among themselves, turned their heads toward Yeongwoo in unison.
Rather than reacting to someone dying, they were startled by the sudden gunshot.
-What the hell, that guy? A gun... you say?
Ban, who was equally startled by the unexpected gunfire, let out a voice of bewilderment.
Because generally, a gun was a weapon used by petty criminals in the outer fringes of the galaxy.
-Wh-what was that just now?
-Is it really a gun...?
At that moment when silence suddenly descended upon the area, Obstruction of Justice fired a warning shot towards the wall and shouted.
Baaang!
× Everyone, freeze!
Then, before this line could even finish, the bullet that hit the far wall and ricocheted flew straight toward one of the participants.
Swiiiiish!
But where was this place.
Wasn't it the Epic Dungeon where only those of considerable skill could come.
The anti-government pistol's despicable attack was blocked without fail.
Piiiing!
As the atmosphere among the crowd turned undeniably hostile in response, Obstruction of Justice spread its hands wide and muttered.
× Now it's your turn.
“...What?”
× We just need to kill one more guy. Since everyone's going to rush at you now anyway, picking an opponent won't be difficult.
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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