NOVPUBSu-ho immediately left for Jeju Island.
This time, neither Bae Dong-hyeok nor Kim I-gang accompanied him. It was Su-ho's request.
Su-ho took the fastest flight from Gimpo Airport, and before long, he arrived at Jeju Airport.
‘It’s been a while since I’ve been to Jeju Island.’
He had been meaning to visit Jeju at some point, but it was now. Maybe it was for the best.
According to Su-ho's memories, there were plenty of things he could obtain from Jeju if he looked for them.
‘And by the way, there’s a sealed gate here too.’
After focusing on clearing sealed gates for a while, there were only a few left in the country.
One of them was in Jeju, and the only reason it hadn’t been cleared yet was because of its distance. But since he happened to be in Jeju, he thought it would be a good idea to clear the sealed gate while he was here.
Su-ho stopped by the restroom and used Reverse Magic to change his appearance.
Then, he went to the departure hall and called the person in charge of Jeju Island for Nexus, whom Kim I-gang had given him the contact for.
– Hello?
“I’m the mercenary commissioned by Representative Bae. Where are you?”
– Ah, I’m here!
Su-ho, hearing the response, saw the person in charge of Jeju Island, Ahn Hyun-do, waving his hand in the departure hall.
After meeting with Ahn Hyun-do, Su-ho shook his hand.
“I’m Kim Su-ho, a mercenary commissioned by Representative Bae.”
“I’m Ahn Hyun-do. I’ll be in charge of supporting ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) you while you’re in Jeju, including clearing the gate. How about it? If you haven’t eaten yet, should we eat first and then head out?”
“No, it’s fine. Let’s go right now.”
“Then I’ll guide you by car.”
For this mission, Su-ho had already coordinated with Kim I-gang beforehand.
The plan for today was that he was an external mercenary hired by Representative Bae.
Since he was now a public servant, it was a necessary step to conceal his identity.
Su-ho got into the car prepared by Ahn Hyun-do and headed to the location of Nexus's sealed gate.
During the ride, Ahn Hyun-do explained.
“Have you heard anything about the gate?”
“I’ve just heard it’s in Seopjikoji.”
“Yes, as you’ve heard, the gate we acquired is located in Seopjikoji, so we call it the Seopjikoji Gate. But if you don’t mind me asking, what’s your class, Hunter?”
“My main class is Sword Master.”
“A Sword Master...”
At the mention of "Sword Master," Ahn Hyun-do furrowed his brow.
Su-ho, noticing his reaction, asked, “What’s wrong?”
“I’m just a little worried. Of course, Representative Bae trusts you completely, so I’m sure he entrusted the clearing to you, but the main monsters in the Seopjikoji Gate are Golems.”
“Golems... Oh, are they Basalt Golems?”
“Yes, exactly. How did you know?”
Hearing the word “Golem,” Su-ho immediately recalled what the Seopjikoji Gate was like.
‘Seopjikoji, no wonder it feels familiar.’
In his past life, Nexus never cleared the Seopjikoji Gate and had to go through the sealing process.
And the Seopjikoji Gate was cleared by another guild, not by Su-ho himself, so he hadn’t immediately recalled it.
‘If this is the one I know, it should be easier to clear than I thought.’
And maybe there was something to gain from it, he thought.
Su-ho replied, “I think I heard about it from Representative Bae.”
“I see. In that case, let me explain the precautions for the Seopjikoji Gate.”
Su-ho received a briefing from Ahn Hyun-do about the Seopjikoji Gate throughout the ride.
The more he listened, the more confident he became that there would be more to gain from this Seopjikoji Gate than he had originally expected.
Eventually, the car arrived at Seopjikoji, where Nexus Guild members were controlling the area.
“That’s the Seopjikoji Gate portal,” Ahn Hyun-do said.
Su-ho got out of the car and looked in the direction Ahn Hyun-do pointed to.
The gate portal had appeared at the site of a lighthouse at the edge of a coastal cliff. Due to the impact of the gate shock, the lighthouse, once a symbol of Seopjikoji, and the museum were destroyed and abandoned.
‘Tsk, how much did all that cost?’
It costs more to repair than to build something new.
Su-ho clicked his tongue and walked toward the gate portal.
As he approached, the guild members managing the area stopped him.
“Who’s this?”
“Ah, this is the mercenary invited directly by Representative Bae.”
“Ah...”
After Ahn Hyun-do’s introduction, the guild members nodded.
However, despite nodding, their eyes scanned Su-ho from head to toe, and there was no trust in their gaze.
Su-ho said, “If you’re done scanning, can you step aside now?”
“Ah, yes.”
“Then, I’ll see you later.”
After Su-ho lightly nodded, he stepped into the portal.
[Entering Gate.] [Loading Gate Information.] [Wailing Cliff] – Entry Conditions: Level 130-160, Red Stats: 2 or more.
– Maximum Entry Players: 11.
Wailing Cliff.
That was the real name of the Seopjikoji Gate.
[Entering Wailing Cliff.]
The notification popped up, and at the same time, the surroundings changed.
Rumble!
The first thing to change was the sky, which went from clear and blue to ashen gray.
The sky rumbled as if it would pour rain at any moment, and the once calm sea was now fiercely throwing waves.
“The terrain hasn’t changed,” Su-ho muttered.
Indeed, it was true.
The ground where Su-ho was standing remained the same as Seopjikoji’s unique terrain. The lighthouse and museum were completely gone, as if they had never existed.
At that moment.
“Ugh!”
“Help me!”
The sound of screams.
Su-ho turned his head toward the direction of the screams.
On the coastline, small, black creatures, about the size of kindergarteners, were being chased by large, dark figures.
The large, dark figures were the main monsters of this place, the Basalt Golems.
– Fallen Rock Golem Lv. 149
Of course, its real name wasn’t “Basalt Golem.”
Its real name was Fallen Rock Golem.
It was about 2 meters tall, and not just its height but also its girth seemed to match that size.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Every time the Fallen Rock Golem moved, it seemed like the entire coast was shaking.
Although it was smaller than the average golem, it was a testament to the power packed inside.
And the creatures being chased, the kindergarten-sized beings, were the natives of Seopjikoji Gate, called “Rock Fairies.”
‘If the Rock Golem destroys the Rock Fairies, both the Golem and the boss monsters will get stronger, right?’
Looking around, the chase between the dark Golem and the Rock Fairies, accompanied by the screams, was relentless.
So, the Seopjikoji Gate could easily be seen as a speed-based dungeon.
Su-ho nodded to himself, deep in thought.
‘No wonder it’s difficult. The maximum entry capacity is only eleven, yet there are dozens, if not hundreds, of Dark Golems and Rock Sprites scattered everywhere.’
If it were the Su-ho of his past life, he would have attempted to strategize an attack in coordination with other Nexus hunters.
However, the Su-ho of the present was vastly different from his past self.
Su-ho summoned his Blood Sword and gripped it in his hand.
Then, he activated an additional skill.
[ Army Tactics has been activated. ]
The skill he used was Army Tactics.
As soon as the skill was activated, Su-ho’s figures began to multiply.
It wasn’t just one or two.
Su-ho didn’t stop expanding the use of Army Tactics.
His mana drained rapidly, but he only halted the skill after increasing his clones to a total of thirty.
“Hoo.”
This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.
This was his first time creating so many at once, yet it still felt manageable.
Su-ho, having stopped expanding, commanded his clone soldiers.
“Wipe them out.”
Upon receiving the command, the clones scattered in all directions and began swinging their swords.
Crash! Crack! Boom!
The sound of rocks shattering echoed everywhere.
So what if the number of Corrupted Rock Golems reached the hundreds?
Then all he had to do was match their numbers.
There was no need to precisely equal their count.
With the level difference, each of his clones could easily handle four or five golems at a time.
Su-ho rested his Blood Sword on his shoulder and slowly moved toward the edge of Seopjikoj.
[ Level up! ]
[ All stats increased by 1. ]
[ You have gained 1 bonus stat. ]
As he moved forward, his level increased.
Convenient.
No wonder everyone automates their hunts.
Su-ho leisurely strolled forward.
And the closer he got to the edge of Seopjikoj, the faster the number of Corrupted Rock Golems multiplied.
“Right, if I keep going like this, I’ll end up meeting your boss too soon. Isn’t that right?”
But so what?
Su-ho slowly removed the sword from his shoulder and held it firmly.
Then, he stepped out of the range of his clones and personally swung his sword at the enemies charging toward him.
[ Steel Slash has been activated. ]
Swish!
A sword capable of cutting through steel.
Would creatures made of rock really pose that much of a problem?
Su-ho sliced through the charging boulders as easily as cutting tofu.
And so, the path he walked was soon littered with jet-black garden stones, forming a road paved by the bodies of reckless Rock Golems.
After advancing for a while, he finally reached the farthest edge of Seopjikoj, and a familiar message appeared before his eyes.
[ You have entered the Boss Room. ]
Room?
Was there even such a thing as a "room" here?
All he had done was step into a particular zone, yet the system designated it as a Boss Room.
Well.
If the system said so, then it must be.
Just as Su-ho was thinking this, his vision suddenly shifted.
“So this is why it’s called a room.”
His vision changed abruptly.
At the same time, the surrounding landscape transformed.
The terrain remained the same as when he first entered the gate, but now, all other figures had disappeared.
And then.
[ The Boss Monster is appearing. ]
An alert popped up before his eyes.
At that exact moment—
Rumble!!
The once-ashen sky let out a deafening thunderclap, and rain began to pour.
The previously wild waves now raged like a monstrous beast, endlessly crashing against the land, breaking apart as they smashed down.
And at the farthest edge of Seopjikoj, the ruler of this gate finally began to reveal itself.
Rumble—
It formed its body like a villain from an old hero movie, whose entire form was made of sand.
Except, unlike that villain, this creature wasn’t composed of sand.
It was made of jet-black stone dust.
Gathering the fine dust, the creature molded a massive body—one twice the size of any Corrupted Rock Golem.
– Corrupted Cliff Golem Lv.161
The ruler of the Seopjikoj Gate.
Its name was Cliff Golem.
Though it had a massive, pitch-black body similar to a Rock Golem, its composition of fine stone dust made its structure far more compact.
And its head was embedded in the center of its chest.
At last, the moment it opened its eyes—
Flash!
A pair of distinct crimson pupils gleamed fiercely.
As soon as the Cliff Golem’s eyes locked onto Su-ho, it clapped its massive hands together.
Clap!
And then.
Rumble, rumble, rumble!!
The moment it clapped, a pair of enormous hands emerged from the darkened shoreline on both sides, rushing toward Su-ho.
