The Player Hides His Past - Chapter 278: Starting from Zero (2)

System messages didn’t lie.

It was a player’s common sense.

So it was hard to believe that Lee Hoyeol could see through [Stealth].

[Stealth (Master): Hide yourself in the surrounding environment. The farther away you are from the other party, the less likely you are to be discovered.]

The stealth skill proficiency had reached mastery.

Not only that, the description clearly stated ‘less likely’?

Even if it was a dragon that lived at the top of the Zero Mountain. Unless they signaled their presence first, it would not be able to recognize their existence from a distance of several hundred meters or more.

‘Because the aggro system is a different field.’

Their purpose was to gather information.

It wasn’t a surprise attack or anything.

Of course, there was no hostility between them.

‘He shouldn’t be able to notice…’

He had a lot of experience, so he couldn’t understand it even more.

Then, a thought suddenly came to him.

Maybe it was natural that he couldn’t understand…?

‘…Dark Dragon.’

Even the dragons wouldn’t have noticed his presence.

Then if it was a greater being than a dragon.

If it was the Dark Dragon.

‘It’s possible for him to see through Stealth…!’

And that Dark Dragon was right in front of him.

The moment he made that judgment.

The man became aware of what he was doing.

“!”

To think that he was following the Dark Dragon…!

This was an unplanned development.

Furthermore, it was also a judgment for the sake of the monarch.

If he faced Hoyeol like this.

‘The arrow will be directed to the Master, not to me.’

Nod–

So the man signaled to the special force.

At this moment, they would make an operational retreat. Ignoring the Dark Dragon’s warning just to get information about the Great Alliance? It was not worth it.

Sss!

The man stepped back and sighed in relief.

And then he realized once again.

At this moment, it was not that he had saved his own life.

It was all thanks to the Dark Dragon’s generous mercy.

‘If it wasn’t for him.’

He would have been in the same situation as the members he had lost contact with.

When he thought of them, he wondered of the possibility.

‘It’s possible that Lee Hoyeol is involved in their disappearances…’

If it was Lee Hoyeol.

He would be able to overcome the powerful people of Union in a short period of time.

But the man immediately shook his head.

Of course.

Weren’t his moves being broadcast to the world live?

Even just a little while ago.

‘He was surrounded by reporters and cameras.’

Even if Hoyeol manifested a portal and moved through it, the time frame was not right.

Above all, Lee Hoyeol had no reason to contact the powerful figures of Union. It was easy tell just by looking at the decisive mercy shown to them.

‘He is not a person with ordinary abilities.’

In other words, he was not someone who would carry out a behind-the-scenes operation.

“…Then who the hell is it?”

He was suspicious of the Great Alliance when he saw that they had summoned troops.

But it was understandable if the reason was because of Lee Hoyeol.

It would be the natural duty of the retainers to greet the monarch with a grand welcome.

Thanks to this, his thought process was left in limbo.

A vibration snapped the man to his senses.

Bzz!

“…!”

Those who went missing.

As if nothing had happened.

They had calmly returned to the gathering place.

“What the hell?”

Rather than feeling disappointed because his efforts were useless, he just didn’t understand.

Master had been away from Zero Mountain for the connector.

Even though they disobeyed Master’s orders, they returned as if nothing happened.

“As a Five Star, their behavior is inexcusable.”

He wouldn’t be able to completely fill Master’s absence.

But, even if just a little bit.

On Master’s behalf, he should hold them accountable for breaking the rules.

“Move quickly.”

The man and the special force headed to the gathering place.

Without knowing that the Shadow Mercenary Corp was the culprit that they had been searching for so long.

*

Squeak!

A rat hurriedly disappeared into the grass.

To bring back my initial intention.

It doesn’t mean that your speaking style has to go back to that time.

Through the surrounding reactions, I realized the ripple effect of my big mouth.

“You will give an eternal night, that’s truly an impressive expression.”

Don’t nod your head like you’re thrilled, Hisagi.

Hey, who is the person taking notes over there?!

Damn it, I was already starting to regret choosing this cave.

“WIth Grandfel’s personality, he would just left a compliment about being good at writing.’

I’d rather not say that.

Let’s turn a blind eye.

I averted my gaze as the message appeared.

[Small Champion’s Sanctuary Under the Mountain]

[Recommended level: 850]

[Collapse rate: 100%]

Someone would ask.

Why did I suddenly talk about rats?

The reason was clear and simple.

The small champion of the message was referring to the rats.

“Its shape is similar to a labyrinth.”

Where Hisagi pointed, there was a rat hole in the grass.

It was not a metaphor, there was really a rat hole where rats came in and out.

I was wondering how he discovered something like this.

But I was convinced when I saw Hisagi’s snake eyes.

‘Indeed, snakes are also the natural enemies of rats.’

Hisagi was not a real snake, though.

By the way, this body stopped even if only for a moment.

Grandfel took a pause.

It wasn’t a common occurrence.

‘Of course, it’s not because I’m scared.’

Level 850.

Although it was a fairly high level, instead of feeling intimidated in the face of ruptures and monsters, I became more upright.

‘His obsession with dress-up.’

Wouldn’t these clothes crumple when entering the small rat hole?

Grandfel must be concerned about that.

Yes, it had been a while since I felt his humanity and it felt nice…

But isn’t your direction of worries too different from other people’s?

Hisagi, who had no way of knowing what I was thinking, continued speaking.

“However, as a cave, it has a unique system. The moment you enter, your body will shrink in size. Even a small rat would look like a monster several meters tall.”

I had felt it in the [Sea of Lava] where I encountered the sirens, but the caves of Zero Mountain definitely had some tricky elements. In each cave, there was ‘something’ that couldn’t be conquered with levels alone.

‘That’s why experience is important.’

My level was only the size of a drawing paper.

Depending on what you draw on the drawing paper through the experience, the result would also vary.

In that case.

“It won’t be a bad challenge for you.”

Zero Mountain.

In particular, the experience in the cave would be a great nourishment for the players. Of course, that included Lee Hoyeol. By the way, I couldn’t believe I was able to quickly shake off hesitation because of Hisagi’s words.

‘If my body gets smaller, I won’t have to whine about the rat hole.’

There was no more fear for Granfel, who no longer had to worry about his clothes getting wrinkled.

Without hesitation, I headed towards the rat hole.

I stepped towards the entrance of the cave.

Hisagi followed and continued.

“Thank you for trusting and choosing me.”

…No, if anyone heard it, they would think I made an important choice.

The reason I chose Hisagi’s cave was simple.

Simply because the recommended level was the highest.

But perhaps because he was infected with pride.

He gave great meaning to every action.

It’s like watching Grandfel, Hisagi…

‘Sincerely, I would like to decline any more alter egos.’

I swallowed my lament and stepped forward.

[You’ve entered the ‘Small Champion’s Sanctuary Under the Mountain’.]

.

.

.

Squeak!

The rat’s cry was deafeningly loud.

As soon as I received the entry message, I realized that my body had become smaller.

‘By the way.’

It was not called a sanctuary for nothing. Perhaps because it was a sanctuary built up by rats. It was somewhat sloppy, but it definitely overflowed with a reverent atmosphere.

‘I guess the Holy Land of the Goddess Church, Muon, has this exact atmosphere.’

How could I compare the rats’ sanctuary with the shrine of the Goddess Church?

Talim might feel upset if he heard it.

But it really had that atmosphere, so I couldn’t help it.

“That’s magnificent.”

Above all, the huge scale overwhelmed the sloppiness.

The actual size was probably nothing special.

In my small field of vision, it looked much bigger.

Hisagi was ready to attack.

Leaving me behind, who was busy evaluating the aesthetic.

Setting up a base camp and differentiating the roles of the first and second forces.

This was a systematic strategy.

‘As expected, I still lack a lot of things.’

If I was just going to stick to playing solo like before, this knowledge would be unnecessary, but I ended up taking on the burden of not just a guild but also the Holy War Allied Force. As this experience accumulated, the day would come when I would be able to use it.

Having finished his preparations, Hisagi said.

“Then I will begin to take action. If you see anything lacking, please feel free to scold me, Commander Lee Hoyeol.”

I’ll scold you if I have the right to scold you.

As I said, I was not familiar with parties or guild-level attacks. I couldn’t make use of Grandfel’s excellent setup because the player-style strategy was clearly different from Arcana’s tactics.

But again, I talked shamelessly.

“Then I’ll watch, Hisagi.”

Of course, that didn’t mean I would just stand back.

Even if I struggled, I must control my pace.

To put it bluntly, as long as I didn’t mind using cheap tricks, I could clear the recommended level 850 by myself. However, what I needed to look ahead was not the one inch ahead, but the near future.

‘Because there is no point in going forward alone.’

Experience point?

It was true that I needed to wear this jacket properly.

But it didn’t have to be in this cave.

There were plenty of ways for me to gain experience.

‘Because I can enter the Arcana Continent.’

So, I planned to step forward when I needed to and watch when I needed to. I spoke grandly, but as I said, just watching them benefited me.

However…

As expected, it was an underground place that was not recommended to anyone.

Starting with the dragons at the top.

Everything in the Zero Mountain couldn’t be judged by the level alone.

The same was true for the 100,000 caves.

Squeak!

Loud cries came from all directions.

Soon.

Giant rats appeared.

“Hisagi-san! At this rate, the formation will be meaningless!”

Of course, it was meaningless.

Rats the size of a house came from everywhere.

There would be no strategic benefit in distinguishing between the front line and the back line.

Hisagi shouted, raising his spear.

“One point breakthrough!”

It was a judgment that made sense.

Defense or a scuffle in such an open space?

It would be like a suicide.

But no matter how I looked at it, it was imbalanced.

Squeak!

Energy rose from all over the sanctuary.

This was probably the ability of ‘Small Champion’, the boss mob of this cave.

Thanks to the sanctuary, the giant rats’ morale seemed to have risen sharply.

‘Is this a home team buff?’

On the other hand, what was the situation on this side?

Hisagi’s current level was mid-500.

He was 300 levels behind the recommended level of the cave.

It was difficult even for Hisagi who was a ranker, so it must be harder for others.

Knowing that fact.

‘Neither Hisagi nor the other two were able to enter.’

In short, the Great Alliance entered the cave because they believed in my abilities.

In that case, in order to live up to their expectations.

I naturally had to give my all.

Of course, killing monsters wasn’t always the best option, right?

As I said, what I needed was moderate pace control.

My role was as a director.

My purpose was to raise the morale of the away team so that they didn’t lag behind the home team^[1]Home team in Korean refers to the team that is playing at their home venue, field, or stadium in a sports match or competition. The opposing side would be referred to as the away team or guest team. .

Then first of all.

‘What should I do with the annoying buffs?’

There were two methods.

Either destroy the sanctuary and pour cold water on the home team.

Or give the Great Alliance a buff as great as the sanctuary buff.

What option was the best?

I didn’t ponder it for long.

What players desperately needed.

It was not about catching fish.

It was a way to catch fish.

Small Champion, was it?

It seemed to reign like a god here.

We had a small but great being on our side too.

“Haiel.”

Yeah,

Now was the time.

It was a suitable battlefield for Haiel to unleash her abilities specialized in auxiliary skills.

Soon, Haiel appeared in the air, answering my call.

But, wait a minute…

Why are you so big, Haiel?!

I suddenly thought of something.

Not for the players, but for {unique spirit} Haiel.

The moment you entered, you became smaller.

Was the cave system not applied to Haiel?

“…!!!”

Thanks to this, Haiel’s already gorgeous and irregular appearance looked even more noble and majestic. A murmur was heard among the players.

However.

“W-Wait a minute… What is that?”

“The halo is so strong that I can’t see her face clearly.”

“But, that kind of existence in Arcana….”

“N-No way… Isn’t she the Goddess…?!”

Whaaat!?

No way, Haiel…

The Arcana Continent, the largest religion.

Are you mistaking her for the Goddess of the Church?

‘Even if you can’t see her face, saying she’s the Goddess is too much.’

By the way, why are you just listening, Haiel…?

Even if you’re Grandfel’s alter ego.

You don’t need to be overly shameless.

No, what is that goddess-like gentle smile?!

• 1. Home team in Korean refers to the team that is playing at their home venue, field, or stadium in a sports match or competition. The opposing side would be referred to as the away team or guest team.