Chapter 8 - Hidden Named Hunting Preparation (2)

The guild had canceled everything they'd planned for the day and had a meeting.

They talked about how they'd discovered the hidden named enemy, if it was trustworthy information, how feasible it was them defeating it, etc.

The conclusion was that there was a real possibility of them killing the hidden named monster, but it was hard to guarantee that the raid would be a success.

Even if they failed in killing the boss, getting to know its weakness or patterns would be useful information for the future.

With that goal in mind, they selected a group of 20 players.

Arneng and Hell Dust were among the people that the guild had chosen.

The main goal was information gathering, but if they concluded that they could hunt it down during the combat, they were allowed to do it.

Arneng talked about the realistic probabilities of them hunting the named monster down.

"The place where the hidden named monster is said to appear is in the Dark Forest. Most monsters around that area are at level 20, so a hidden named one should be at level 25 or 30 at most."

The group formed for the expedition was composed only of elite players.

Among the 20 members, there wasn't a single player under level 25.

The ratio of Knights, Thieves, Priests, and Magicians was also perfect.

Every single one of them was an elite player that was really skillful.

Even if it was a level 30 named boss, they didn't think it would be a one-sided fight.

"What do you think?"

"About what?"

"Us. We originally planned to gather information and then back off as soon as possible, but what if we could beat the boss?"

Haha- Hell Dust answered while laughing.

"Well, it's possible. With our skills, a level 30 named boss could be easier than we originally thought."

"What do you think, TarrTarr?" Arneng asked the boy that was next to him.

TarrTarr was also among the players selected by the guild.

He was a new member of the guild. Since he was in 9th grade in real life, he was the youngest member.

"I think that Mr. Arneng may have a point."

"May have?! If you're a boy, you should talk with more self-confidence!"

"R... Really? Haha..."

Arneng patted TarrTarr's back, who was laughing awkwardly. He felt happy but pressured since he thought he was the weakest among the guild members.

'Everyone here except for me is amazing.'

TarrTarr thought that it was by pure luck that we had passed the test to join the guild.

At first, the fact that he was able to join a famous guild made him happy, but as time went on, he began worrying.

'There are a lot of good players in the world.'

That's what he thought while hunting with them.

He was always amazed by the other guild members' gaming sense and skills.

He didn't even dare to copy their movements.

Every day he could see things he had only seen on YouTube and in crazy gameplay compilations.

Arneng, Hell Dust, and all the other guild members were his role models.

'I also have to do my best if I don't want to put others out.'

He wasn't confident enough, but if he kept doing his best, he would probably get better as time went on. TarrTarr told himself that he needed to be more self-confident.

"Everyone, stop."

While walking through the Dark Forest, the team leader suddenly raised his hand.

"It seems to be around here."

They'd found a road that led to an empty plot of land. In the middle of it, there was a strange-looking temple.

"Is this the 'Blue Temple'? It really looks like where a named monster would appear," the leader of the raid nervously said.

"Doesn't it feel colder here?"

Everyone nodded at the question.

The wind that reminded them of an autumn night had suddenly turned cold.

…A place covered by ice.

That place, where you could even see frost in the grass, was the Temple of Frost.

Everything they were seeing was exactly like the information they'd gotten from the guild.

That meant that the possibility of them finding a hidden named monster there was really high.

"It was true."

"Is a hidden named monster really going to appear?"

"I'm shaking with excitement. We're probably the first ones to engage with a hidden named monster. This also means we will be able to get to the top!"

"Everyone, silence!"

After the leader, Guy's, order, everyone became silent.

"Don't talk as if we've already finished the raid. A hidden named monster probably has better skills than the average named monster; that means they're probably going to be stronger and more dangerous."

He didn't forget to warn everybody once again.

"The moment we engage in combat with the hidden named monster, you have to follow my orders. If you die while moving by yourself, you won't be compensated accordingly. If you die, it's going to be your loss."

"I'll be careful."

"Either way, I'm not going to die."

At Guy's order, everyone got closer to the temple.

Nex they needed to discover how to call the hidden named monster.

The atmosphere was starting to get denser.

Every particle of the air became sharp as a blade made of ice. All the ones present there could feel it.

The cold fog started to swirl around the temple.

Swosh- The cold fog started to form a vortex that constantly grew in size.

It was an ice vortex so big that it seemed to connect land and sky appeared in front of the group.

[The cold weather makes your movements slower!]

They were so intimidated by the sight that they couldn't read the message in front of them.

It was hard to remember that they were in the middle of a virtual reality game.

ZOOM- Suddenly, ice pillars rose from the ground and locked them up.

The ice pillars blocked the sun. It was as if it was saying that there was no way out once you were there.

They felt like gladiators locked up in a stadium made of ice.

"The quality of the production is just amazing."

"It looks like a scene from a movie."

A few of the members talked very calmly to hide their nervousness, but what they couldn't hide was the cold sweat dripping from behind their necks.

"Everyone, prepare yourselves! The named monster is about to appear!"

Guy shouted after seeing a white shadow that had appeared in the middle of the vortex.

That was definitely the hidden named monster.

They were trembling because of the pressure that characterized named monsters.

He was also trembling.

Guy bit his lips.

If he, the strongest one of the group, was trembling, the other people were probably in a worse state than him.

"This is a named... He makes you tremble regardless of your will."

It is clearly said on the page of Asrian Online.

The game can control human emotions.

It used your brain waves to make you feel fear or awe about something; researchers had concluded that the technology didn't have side effects.

Getting your senses and emotions manipulated…

He had previously thought that the feature was nothing noteworthy. But at that moment, when he was in front of the named monster, he had changed his opinion.

"Did you come here in search of me?"

At that moment, they heard a voice as cold as the ice.

Because of the echo, it was hard to grasp the direction from where the voice was coming.

They looked around in surprise.

…But there was no need for that.

The owner of the voice, just like a fog, had suddenly appeared in front of them.

The ice vortex disappeared. Instead, you could see an old Magician wearing a white robe standing there.

Magical runes covered his body. The old Magician was looking at them with ominous eyes.

[The forgotten Magician, 'Leopard', has appeared!]

- Leopard was a very famous Magician who was active in the war with the empire that happened 20 years ago. He used to say that he was a heavenly being. With the excuse of magical research, he has killed numerous people. His ways were so cruel that the royal family of Levia decided to sentence him to death.

Leopard's robe became stiff because of the cold energy emanating from him.

"You commoners from earth can't defy me, a heavenly being. I'm going to make sure you're not able to step inside this place ever again."

Along with his arrogant tone of voice, you could feel a very strong killing intent.

All the members present there flinched.

No one would've been able to guess what happened to them at that time.

One of the special effects of 'Sensory Synchronization' was the ability to cast hypnosis over the user.

It was able to force changes in what humans felt.

The signal sent from the capsule mixed with the brain waves and created a sensation called fear.

"Ugh...!"

For a moment, they really feared for their lives. They'd completely forgotten that it was a game.

"W... What's happening?"

Arneng was having trouble speaking; that's because he was having difficulties breathing.

He looked around. Everyone's reaction was the same.

Hell Dust was trying to breathe with his eyes wide open.

…He was barely standing. He really wanted to kneel down.

He didn't have time to think about how they were able to create such a terrifyingly realistic experience in virtual reality.

But Arneng was soon freed from the fear.

Leopard had ended his gaming session for the day.

"One down."

The moment Leopard raised his wand…!

Arneng, who had become rigid, turned into light and disappeared.

[You've lost more than 33% of your HP, so your body has stopped working properly!]

[You've lost your heart!]

[Since an important part of your body is missing, you died immediately!]

[You'll be able to log in again in 48 hours.]

With an influx of messages coming through one after the other, Arneng's consciousness returned to reality.

Arneng's corpse disappeared.

"A-Arneng!"

'Arneng, a Warrior, was killed with just one shot?'

Hell Dust was horrified.

He couldn't believe that a level 30 Warrior had been killed so easily.

Not only that, but even though Arneng was standing right next to him, he couldn't see what kind of magic he had been hit with.

The only thing he could sense was that something had pierced through him.

Leopard, who was standing far away in the distance, was smiling.

"This is just the beginning..."

Swish-

Another thing flew through the air.

It all happened in an instant.

Even though it was the second time Leopard had used the skill, no one was able to see through it.

The speed of his spell was so fast that it was hard to follow it with their eyes.

When everyone else noticed what was happening, Hell Dust had been killed already.

Even Hell Dust wasn't able to see how he was killed.

[You've lost more than 33% of your HP, so your body has stopped working properly!]

[Your neck has been severed!]

[Since an important part of your body is missing, you died immediately!]

[You'll be able to log in again in 48 hours.]

"Everyone, run! We must learn what the ability of the hidden named is first!"

The leader, Guy, screamed while raising his fist.

Arneng and Hell Dust had been defeated in just an instant, even though they were among the five strongest members of the group.

The fact that they didn't know anything about the attack showed the severity of the situation.

'It's too dangerous.'

Guy could feel the difference in power between them and the named monster.

This wasn't the moment to strategize a plan.

If they weren't careful, they would be wiped out!

"Another attack is coming! Everyone, please concentrate! Remember, our goal is to get as much information about this named monster as possible!"

Their main objective had shifted from clearing the quest to trying to return alive.

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