Chapter 72 – Battle Of Bases (1)

The world turned upside down due to the sudden declaration of attack on the 4th floor.

“W-what is this!?”

“He wants to start now? Is this for real?”

“Insane! Call all the rankers right now! This is an emergency. I am telling you to stop acting out and come!”

“Have you drawn up the list of candidates for the place? Bring it! All the data on the 4th floor we have been collecting so far!”

All of the executives of the large guilds shouted at their subordinates.

It was necessary for each team to pre-emptively choose a good location on the 4th floor. This was due to the nature of the wave of attacks on said floor.

Every minute and every second was precious for humanity.

They had to lead the raid on the 4th floor in just eight hours. Additionally, they had to finish planning all possible routes in the remaining time.

While everyone was rushing around until the morning.

“Yawn!”

Jin-hyuk woke up from the soft bed.

Crack!

His joints felt a little stiff, but his body felt refreshed, as if he was reborn.

‘It seemed that all the fatigue I accumulated over the years was relieved all at once.’

In order to start on this new fight, he needed that much stamina, at least.

The rest probably didn’t have this.

‘They must be in the worst condition.’

As he had deliberately declared the attack at such a late hour, the big guilds must have been mentally and physically exhausted after trying to use their heads.

But what else could be done?

This isn’t a sport being played in a stadium. There was no fair play.

This was the 4th floor, where fewer challengers meant greater rewards.

[Time remaining before the first wave 1h: 37m: 51s]
Now was the time to head to the 4th floor.

4th floor of the Tower of Trials

This was the first hurdle that caused many players to quit the game.

Right, it was inevitable.

There were 100 waves of normal, special, and combination-type zombies on this floor of the Tower. Challengers also had to play defensive by placing defense towers and securing food, clothing, and shelter within their chosen base.

Above all, the ridiculous penalty that their entire account would get reset if the player didn’t clear all 100 waves made many players curse the game.

The [Tower of Trials] wasn’t a hated game for no reason.

And right now…

Woong!

A player appeared on the 4th floor.

‘Every time I see it, it looks like shit.’

Jin-hyuk looked around.

In keeping with the theme of zombies, the 4th floor was made to look like a place that had faced an apocalyptic end.

Burned-out buildings and abandoned cars, a city that civilization had abandoned.

One couldn’t help but feel sad. Perhaps because this was a sight that reflected the future of mankind.

It was then.

Tring!

A status window popped up.

[You entered the 4th floor of the Tower of Trials. You are the first]
[Other players will be able to enter the 4th floor after 20 minutes]
He had a 20-minute bonus for being the person who cleared the 3rd-floor boss.

This would be the time to decide on success or failure.

‘I need to hurry,’

Jin-hyuk looked towards the north, but his speed wasn’t good, considering the rough path.

It was a road that disappeared due to sinkholes and was blocked by vein-covered walls. A path that was full of obstacles.

‘Hurry…. Faster!’

Jin-hyuk settled his breathing and increased his speed further. There were less than 10 minutes left.

Kwakwakwang!

How long did he spend running while cutting down the obstacles on the path using Sword Grave and repairing broken floors using Glacier Formation.

Finally, he stopped as he arrived at a huge stadium.

‘I was almost too late.’

Because he needed to secure the base he wanted before the other players came in, he had to move quickly, even if it was difficult. That was because some other players had the ability to accelerate quickly or even move through space.

‘Where here now….’

Found it.

Jin-hyuk placed his palm on the pillar at the entrance of the stadium. And at that moment.

[Using ‘Priority Point Designation Ticket’!]
[‘Sangam World Cup Stadium’ has been selected as the base!]
A red flag was placed on the stadium.

This was a warning.

It indicated that the owner of this place was fixed, so others should look for another site.

‘Great!’

Jin-hyuk nodded his head satisfactorily and entered the stadium. The green pitch where 22 players once sweated to win was now gone. All that was left was a dry and dusty field.

Right.

‘This was the condition I wanted.’

Dirt and dust.

It was a symbol of lost life. At the same time, it was a symbol that also symbolized new life.

[Spraying ‘Softy Soft Grain’ 1kg]
[Planting ‘Solar Seeds’ x5.]
[Preparing ‘Natural Water’ 50L.]
Jin-hyuk took the rewards he had gotten after defeating Soulless.

The grains, the seed, and the soil.

Jin-hyuk chose plants among the countless defense options available on the 4th floor.

‘You can place one plant at each entrance to the stadium and place the last one in the center.’

[Time left until ‘Solar Seeds’ hatch: 55m: 33s]
[Time remaining until ‘Softy Soft Grains’ hatch: 5h:19m:10s]
By the time the first wave arrived, these plants would be ready to do their job and make this place a stronghold.

The grains would be useful as food that will sprout up.

It was then.

Tring! Tring!

Blue status windows appear one after another in front of him.

[Oppa, I called you because you told me to call when I come to the 4th floor. Taemin is with me.]
[Jin-hyuk hyung, we have arrived, it is the 4th-floor entrance, right?]
Yoo Yeon-hwa and Lee Taemin, his co-workers and fellow veterans, and Teresa, the saintess, were people he had been in touch with first.

“I will be there soon.”

Jin-hyuk sprinkled the water on the seeds.

[Growth speed of plants increased by 20%.]
Within about 10 minutes, Jin-hyuk arrived back at the place where he had entered the floor on. The 4th floor had begun to become crowded.

‘Almost all of the famous guilds are participating.’

Despite the tight schedule, they had managed to gather in large numbers, making their desire for the rewards obvious.

But.

The opportunity to pick up an A-grade random box didn’t come around often.

No matter how early it was in the Tower of Trials, even those who had completed the Tower would have known that an A-grade box was in the top 5% of most covered items.

And the next step for each player would be different depending on the item that came out.

As Jin-hyuk looked over at the players.

“Hyung!”

“Oppa!”

Yoo Yeon-hwa and Lee Taemin found him and waved their hands.

“Mr. Jin-hyuk!”

Teresa, too smiled brightly as she came up to him. Jin-hyuk had met Yoo Yeon-hwa only the day before, but it wasn’t for a long time.

“I am sorry for calling you all so suddenly. I didn’t have time to explain as things went faster than I thought.”

“No, no. We had to come since hyung called us.”

“I don’t care where it is. It is better to take the side of Mr. Jin-hyuk,”

Hm…

That phrasing was a little sad.

From now on, all three of them would be his companions.

He would be the vicious shop owner who violated the Employment and Labor Act while they were his faithful part-timers.

This was the ideal position that Jin-hyuk wanted.

“Look at that. Yoo Yeon-hwa and Lee Taemin. You two attacked the B class labyrinth on the second floor alone, right?”

“Teresa… that. You said you left the meeting, but was it to stick with the potential benefits from here?”

“Wait! Is that Kang Jin-hyuk? This time it’s a super special divine player from Korea!”

“Is that person Kang Jin-hyuk? The one who got a reawakening which made his magic increase immensely?”

“Right. They said that it was much higher than a normal S-rank. Because of him, people said that ranks should be further subdivided.”

“It seems like there’s a lot of amazing players here, as well as that Unknown player.”

“Every member there is terrifying. Won’t they be stronger than any other raid group?”

Since there were such hot topic players here, the attention of the people around them was concentrated.

Of course, Jin-hyuk wasn’t the type to care about that.

“Did everyone prepare well?”

“We prepared diligently! But oppa, are we okay with just us?”

“Uh?”

“The zombie waves here are numerous.”

Yoo Yeon-hwa shivered slightly. Terrible memories of the past where she was assailed with the smell of blood and flesh.

“I do have the ability to summon pets, but it is still difficult to use since I am low level. In particular, it would be difficult to use it to block waves of zombies…”

Lee Taemin also said something similar.

It would be burdensome to face the waves without proper preparation, but…

“Isn’t it more fun like this?”

Jin-hyuk gave them an innocent smile.

It was as if he was gleefully expecting the chance to experience a higher-level difficulty.

“F-fun? Oppa. This isn’t a game. We might die if we get bitten by zombies.”

“Sigh. Hyung still hasn’t given up on his old habit. Isn’t this like a top-level abuse?”

“Mr. Jin-hyuk is… a pervert.”

The three sighed at the same time.

How could they be so frustrated right from the start?

“Did you deliberately choose the stadium?”

“Uh? Stadium? Sangam Stadium? Please tell me it isn’t true.”

“It is true.”

“Hyung! Have you lost it? That is the toughest one out of all the bases! It is a large base that must be defended by at least 100 people.”

Jin-hyuk knew that.

At the same time, it was the most rewarding place.

“Still, everyone went all the way to the 20th floor, so don’t be sick of it already. It is said that we need to collect as much as possible of the skills from the start. It will become comfortable as we go up. Right?”

“True…”

“Ahhh! I don’t know. It is possible for oppa, but hard for us.”

Not all of the undead were the same. There were rotting warts, oil, and flesh on them.

Yoo Yeon-hwa and Lee Taemin acted like this because they were terrified.

They were holding their heads from the stress.

“That, Mr. Jin-hyuk, may I ask one thing?”

Teresa, who was silent, raised her hand.

“Yes, ask.”

“As far as I know, we need to have a minimum number of people to carry out the defensive battle, but I think we are lacking in numbers.”

“Uh? Come to think of it…”

“Right. I didn’t pay attention to it as I was too preoccupied with the stadium.”

Yoo Yeon-hwa and Lee Taemin were surprised.

The minimum required number for a team on this floor was five people, but only four had gathered. This meant that they needed another person to officially start.

“The last one is coming soon.”

Jin-hyuk spoke without worry and, just in time…

Kwang!

A roar from a distance.

‘Tch tch.’

Well, he wasn’t the kind to appear quietly.