Chapter 30

[Special Unit Contribution Guide]

[1. Special Unit Contribution only reflects the contribution points earned by special unit members after the special unit has been created.]

[2. Special Unit Contribution can be used to purchase Special Unit Level and buff effects.]

The special unit system was the same as the personal Raid Contribution system.

When you belonged to a special unit and hunted Monsters, your personal contribution increased, and that contribution was duplicated, raising the special unit’s contribution as well.

In other words, separate from the personal Raid Contribution he could actually spend, the special unit leader was given a separate pool of Special Unit Contribution.

Of course, there were not many things he could buy with Special Unit Contribution that would satisfy his personal greed.

Most of it was for raising the Special Unit Level to increase the number of members, or upgrading the purchasable buff effects.

That alone was enough.

“It’s my own unit.”

What was certain was that the more members he had, the more advantageous it would be.

Because even if they were hunting somewhere else, as long as they belonged to the special unit, the special unit’s contribution would rise too.

If enough small hands gathered to pile up sand, the sandcastle would become just a little bigger and more splendid.

“I need to get maximum efficiency with the minimum number of people.”

The problem was that the more members he gathered, the less Gold he would get.

Was there any user who would willingly let him take all 500 Gold for taking first place?

That was close to 100 million won.

He knew all too well that if the money was not yours from the start, nothing turned uglier and filthier than a fight over it.

“It would be best if I could take first place alone.”

In his current state, that seemed possible.

Since he had received the Quest before anyone else, even if he did not know where the contribution cutoff lay, if he assumed it was 50,000, it would still take time for the latecomers to catch up.

But as the Quest, whose duration was unknown, went on, two people were better than one, and four were better than two.

Eventually, his contribution would be overtaken by the steadily increasing numbers.

“A Level 1 special unit is four people, and Level 2 is six. It doesn’t increase that much…”

What would be the most efficient number?

But if he could not take first place, it would all be meaningless, so finding people from the beginning might also be an option.

He left the castle with a troubled mind.

Today was the day he was supposed to scout the unexplored area requested by the temple.

He planned to clear his head by doing what he could for now.

“Oppa!”

“Huh?”

“Your Title is gone.”

“Ah, I took it off because it was a hassle.”

It seemed the decision would not come easily.

The moment he thought that, a familiar voice and face appeared, and his worries vanished completely.

“We run into each other a lot, don’t we?”

“You must play games all day.”

“…That’s not something a person who logs in at seven in the morning should say. Don’t you go to school?”

“Nope. I don’t.”

“……”

At most, she looked like she should be in her early twenties.

Seeing her smile and shake her head with a face that should have been in high school or university left him speechless.

Maybe it was a sense of kinship.

Wasn’t he also living a life of playing games instead of going to university?

He quickly changed the subject.

“By any chance, how much contribution have you gathered?”

He knew it was a rude question.

This was a competitive Quest, and each person had to earn more contribution than the others.

There was no way she would answer honestly.

But he was too curious.

Back in Moina Forest, there had been no standard for comparison.

There had been no indicator showing how many Corrupted Monsters someone had hunted.

Here, the contribution score said everything.

Who hunted more, and who hunted stronger Monsters.

“What about you, Oppa?”

Thankfully, Sword God did not seem offended.

Instead, she looked at him with even greater curiosity and asked right back.

“Ladies first.”

“…How old are you, Oppa?”

“No, I asked first.”

“I’ll tell you if you fight me one more time.”

“That’s a bit…”

Sword God had not reported the PK to the temple when she used Resurrection, so he had not received a murder Penalty, but killing users was not helpful if he wanted to play virtuously in Fantasia.

Once or twice might not lead to a murderer Penalty, but if it piled up, it would eventually stick like a criminal record.

And more than that, killing Sword God just felt wrong.

“I’m about to have my Class Change soon, so please fight me! I think I can win this time.”

“I’m about to get stronger soon too, you know?”

Even so, he could not help talking back when he faced that pure competitive spirit.

A scarecrow, perhaps, to confirm just how strong the Lucky Hero would become against someone as strong as Sword God.

500,000 contribution.

In a situation where he was aiming for Unique-grade Equipment, it was true that he was curious just how much stronger he would become once he obtained it.

So he set a condition.

“Let’s fight later. How about joining my special unit? I’ll tell you then.”

“Special unit?”

“Yes. A special unit is…”

“I’ll do it.”

“……”

“And my contribution is 38,000.”

At the word ‘fight,’ Sword God’s eyes sparkled as she answered.

There was no falsehood in them.

“That’s incredibly high.”

Even though he had been hunting elite bosses and diligently hunting undead Monsters, the difference between them was not that great.

In one sense, it could be considered a large gap, but it was still smaller than he had expected.

As expected, the moment he saw Sword God, he had been right to think of pulling her into his special unit.

[‘Sword God’ has joined the special unit.]

When it came to competing for personal contribution, she was, above all else, a tense and dangerous enemy.

On the other hand, when it came to special unit contribution, she was the best companion, someone with whom he could build a win-win relationship through mutual support.

Most of all, by watching how much she raised the special unit’s contribution, he would also be able to infer her personal contribution.

“……So that’s why it’s good to join a special unit.”

“A Quest popped up.”

Sword God’s eyes sparkled again.

“First place.”

“We have to get first place.”

She seemed just as interested in first place.

“Then go hunt hard and…”

The Gold distribution issue could be handled later, once things became more certain.

Relieved to have recruited at least one trustworthy person in Fantasia, he was just about to say goodbye and head off to do his own work for the day when Sword God followed after him.

“Where are you going today?”

“…Pardon?”

“Scouting!”

Her eyes were sparkling.

He could strongly feel that she was looking forward to it, as if she had enjoyed the trip to the Garden of Life a few days ago.

“Uh…”

How was he supposed to refuse?

He was more comfortable going alone.

Even if the other person was Sword God, who was like a cute, pretty younger sister.

But he could not.

“Leader-nim!”

“……”

They did not look alike.

Both were pretty, but Han Yeri and Sword God gave off completely different impressions.

So why did she keep feeling like a younger sister?

There was something fragile about her that made him want to look after her.

Even though, whenever he saw her fighting Monsters, it was Han Youngwoong who looked like the one who needed protecting from behind.

He let out a sigh and asked.

“It might be a little dangerous, but do you want to come with me?”

“Yes!”

Because he was the special unit leader.

He could not be so cold as to turn away a new special unit member who wanted this so badly.

He was worried his first special unit member might leave less than five minutes after joining.

And because the Flowers of Life he had swallowed a few days ago were still fresh in his inventory.

They walked out of the castle side by side and fumbled around as they put on the orc and goblin skins.

The first official expedition of the Five Hundred Special Unit had begun.

Though that had not been his intention, he had ended up coming this far with a new special unit member to patrol an unexplored area, and now they stood before a region that looked sinister at a glance.

[Ruins of an Old Temple]

[A land that was once filled with the energy of life. Now, it is a land where death, having grown larger by feeding on life, is in full bloom.]

[● Recommended Level: 24 ~ 27]

Amid the desolate atmosphere, like a graveyard, if one followed the garden and path that had once been carefully maintained, a huge temple appeared.

Though shabby and rusted, its solidly built frame and pillars looked as if they had remained unchanged for hundreds, even thousands, of years.

“Wow.”

It was so saturated with the aura of death that it was hard to believe it had once been a temple.

But as if to prove that description true, knights in armor emerged from outside the temple with clattering steps.

Armor that must once have belonged to pure white knights had become old, worn, rusted, and corroded, turning them into knights of death.

And the rusted swords they held were sharp.

Faced with their will to show no mercy to intruders, even if they were merely an orc and a goblin, they had to make a choice.

“What should we do?”

Shing-

The new special unit member answered with action instead of words.

She drew her sword and faced the three undead temple knights.

[Lv28 Undead Temple Knight]

It definitely felt like a dungeon, but was this really the right choice?

[Quest Complete!]

The temple’s request had been successfully completed.

Perhaps it had been enough to simply confirm the unexplored area. The request was complete, so there was no real problem with running away now.

But Han Youngwoong followed his special unit member’s opinion.

[Sub Quest]

[Ruins of an Old Temple]

[● Grade: Legendary]

[● You have discovered traces of what was once an ancient temple of Luck. Purify the site, which is covered in the aura of death, and create a foothold for its restoration.]

[● Reward: 1 Gold, Key to the Shrine of Luck, 20,000 Raid Contribution]

A Legendary-grade dungeon Sub Quest, no less!

And deep inside the temple, which was even larger than the one in Hanimo Castle, a brilliant and radiant Golden Light was leaking out.

That was temptation.

The kind of temptation Han Youngwoong could never resist.

“I can’t resist this.”

He took out the Boing Hammer.

Whatever happened, he would just keep trying until it worked.

Clang!

Sword God had already stepped forward and was clashing swords with the three temple knights.

Dodge and thrust.

Dodge and slash.

It was astonishing how she dodged swords coming from three directions with a single movement.

The faint smile on her lips even showed a hint of leisure, as if she found the temple knights’ fast and powerful attacks pleasing.

Training.

It was a scene that proved what she had said while fighting seven against one at the entrance to the Lizardman village had not been an empty boast.

Thanks to her, Han Youngwoong was able to comfortably play a supporting role.

Boing!

The temple knights did not even bother paying attention to the Boing Hammer, which looked weak.

They were clad in armor, and Sword God was already drawing all the Aggro.

Boing! Boing! Boing!

A low probability could be overcome through a large number of attempts.

[Lucky Chance!]

[Protection Effect Activated!]

A thin film formed around Sword God’s body.

“A dud.”

It was a good effect, but he thought it would be useless for Sword God, who was dodging every attack anyway.

Swoosh.

But that was not necessarily true.

Sword God was not invincible either.

Dodging every single attack was impossible, and above all, the temple knights were high-Level enemies.

The protective shield tore apart under a slashing strike.

The shield had done its job.

As it blocked a few more attacks like that, the Boing Hammer, which had been playing its supporting role, seemed to grow tired of waiting and changed its purpose.

Boing-CRACK!

A louder sound.

With greater Damage, one of the temple knights collapsed with its neck broken.

“……”

“……”

Awkward eye contact with Sword God lasted for about a second.

After obtaining the holy relic and raising his Luck by +100%, it felt as if Lucky Strike had become stronger.

In many ways, it felt as though Luck was triggering more often.

With an urgent look, Sword God swung her sword.

An expression that said she could not lose.

Han Youngwoong swung his hammer too.

Boing-boing-boing-boing!

By the time all three temple knights had fallen, Sword God was pouting.

“I lost.”

“I wasn’t trying to turn this into a competition.”

“…Why are you smiling?”

“Me? I’m not.”

“……”

The cutely sulking Sword God ignited her competitive spirit in her own way.

“Huh?”

She charged into the temple with her sword drawn.

“W-Wait!”

It was a place he had to enter anyway, but he had not even finished preparing himself mentally.

But Sword God flung the doors open.

The temple, which had not been opened in a very long time, welcomed its guests.

Inside the dark temple.

The flames of the small, burning candles flickered like Golden Light.