The Protagonist Doesn't Want to Leave the First Floor - Chapter 20

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: DereKimchi

◈ The Protagonist Doesn't Want to Leave the First Floor ◈

Chapter 20

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The Subspace was still expanding.

It had passed 50 Blocks two days ago and had now reached 55. If he had not taken a break from hunting after the rainy season began, it would have expanded even more.

‘If expanding it got more expensive each time, there would have been a limit. But the price stays the same, so it isn’t much of a burden.’

[Passive: Personal Subspace]

- Creates a dedicated space isolated from the real world

- Interior Area: 55 Blocks (expanding)

- Maximum Stay Time

- Stay Time gradually recovers while outside

He had also increased the Stay Time little by little. It had now reached 30 minutes. But since he had no reason to remain inside for long, it had been a lower priority than expanding the space.

Fifty-five Blocks.

Even after making a space three meters wide, three meters long, and six meters deep, he would still have one Block left.

He had wondered whether it was even possible to fill such a space. He had also worried there might be no reason to make it so large, or that expanding it too much would be inefficient.

But after experiencing the rainy season, he understood how necessary it was to stockpile supplies in advance.

‘If I hadn’t expanded it beforehand, I would’ve suffered quite a bit.’

Even now, most people who only had their inventories and no Subspace were struggling.

If items were left outside an inventory, especially without a user touching them, they quickly spoiled or vanished entirely after a certain amount of time.

The Storage Crates made by woodworking craftsmen prevented that from happening, but they did not preserve an item’s condition.

‘Buying crates is still better than nothing.’

They were not refrigerators, but they worked like storage bins.

Right now, even that was desperately needed.

‘When the rain is lighter, people can still hunt or gather. But when it really pours, even the prey hide somewhere and don’t come out.’

Non-aggressive Monsters like rabbits were especially bad.

At first, people had wondered whether they had stopped respawning because no one could find them.

They seemed to have found a few places where rabbits hid now, but hunting results still were not very good.

‘Other fields... people are slipping off the rocky mountain cliffs and falling to their deaths. I thought the higher ground would suffer less rain damage, but that place is dangerous too.’

The map of the Area was nearly complete.

It did not cover every detail of the terrain, but people had roughly figured out what was where.

‘This is the central north.’

If the northern forest where Seo Hajin was now was the far north, the rocky mountain region lay directly below it, in the center of the Area.

To the east lay valleys, basins, and countless trees. It was the “Bear Sighting Area,” and the main workplace of the lumberjacks.

To the west was a huge lake.

There were quite a few fishermen there. Catfish were the most common catch, but apparently, there were sharks too.

Freshwater sharks.

They were slightly smaller than an adult man, swift, and vicious.

Now that the lake’s water level had risen, the fishermen had to be especially careful. The sharks were apparently riding the swollen waters all the way to the outskirts.

‘The field with rabbits and wild dogs is south of the lake, right?’

It was southwest when looking at the whole Area.

Thinking about it, reaching the northern forest from there meant passing between the lake and the rocky mountain cliffs, then heading north. That alone was a considerable distance.

‘Were those villains from somewhere else? It seems too far.’

He had not thought deeply about it at the time, but if they had come from there, they had traveled a long way.

On foot, too.

‘They’re users, so they probably don’t tire as easily even if they run for a while... Still, they went through all that trouble for nothing.’

There were two more fields in the Area.

The far south and southeast.

They were a swamp and a wasteland, respectively.

There was little information about the swamp.

It was thick with fog and reeked of something musty. The creatures there were mostly snakes and large snakes, which made people uncomfortable.

There were even rumors of a giant snake like an anaconda. If that was true, it was probably the Boss Monster.

The wasteland was benefiting the most from the current rainy season.

Dry ground.

An environment close to barren land.

Hyenas and creatures resembling wild boars wandered around there. Hyenas were Aggressive Mobs, but they did not travel in packs.

They sometimes gathered together, but they did not roam in groups from the start. They only formed groups depending on the circumstances.

Wild boars also traveled in groups when they were family-type Monsters, but generally seemed to roam alone.

‘It feels the most like an ordinary hunting ground.’

The northern wolf forest was somewhere people should not go.

On the other hand, the southeastern wasteland was considered a place where people could hunt steadily without facing major danger.

Surprisingly, though, there was not much wild boar meat on the marketplace. That was because there were not many users active in that field.

‘There isn’t any water.’

People occasionally found water pooled on the ground, but it was obviously not sanitary. Since Aggressive Mobs dominated the field, it was difficult to establish a camp as well.

‘It’s a wasteland, so they can’t hide in trees like here. It’s inconvenient in every way.’

In the end, it had become a place people from other fields visited on expeditions rather than a permanent hunting ground.

If it had been closer to the rabbit field, it might have become more active. But getting there from that direction meant crossing the swamp, which was not easy.

The people currently active there were hunters living in the Bear Sighting Area north of the wasteland.

They could make shelters in the trees of the forest where bears appeared, so they established a base camp there and traveled south on expeditions.

Hunting efficiency was decent enough, but not enough for wild boar meat to appear on the marketplace. Most of it was consumed locally.

‘I heard it tastes fine if you get rid of the gamey smell.’

Still, it was not impossible to get.

If someone posted an inquiry or request on the forum, a hunter there would sometimes sell from their stock.

But that had only been possible before the rainy season.

Now everyone was too busy feeding themselves.

‘Maybe I should’ve bought some in advance.’

It was a shame, but today would not last forever.

This insane rain would stop eventually.

‘Though it seems like it’s getting heavier.’

He sped up the drive hunt.

Before the blood spilled by the Crocodiles and Wolves could disappear, more blood covered it.

One side of the riverbank looked like a slaughterhouse.

Bright red blood pooled across the ground, and some of it flowed into the river.

There was no concern about contamination.

Monster remains vanished quickly anyway.

This was only happening because they were dying so quickly.

Was that the problem?

Seo Hajin was driving another group after confirming the Wolves had respawned. He was about to head beneath the trees when he suddenly stopped.

“...”

His gaze, looking down from above, stopped at one point.

Nothing looked especially different at first, but something about one side of the forest felt slightly strange.

It was almost like instinct.

But it was not precognition.

He had simply spent so much time looking down at the forest that he had become better at noticing when something moved below.

‘The Wolves are moving.’

It was not because of him.

They were outside his detection range, so they could not have been aggroed toward him. Was it another villain?

‘No.’

If a human had approached, the Wolves would have gathered toward them.

But the opposite was happening now. Small figures were scattering in every direction from a certain point.

Those small figures were probably packs of Wolves.

They were widening the distance to avoid something.

And he knew what the Wolves were avoiding.

Grrr.

It was a faint rumble.

But he heard it clearly.

The movement was definitely headed this way.

No. More precisely, it was headed toward the riverbank.

‘The smell of blood.’

Normally, it should have vanished quickly.

The blood had repeatedly pooled in one place, creating an unexpected variable. That was probably why.

Seo Hajin moved Vulcan’s head toward the source.

Nothing was visible at first, but something rose beyond the bushes a moment later.

“...”

A long yellow bar stretching sideways.

It was a health gauge.

But it differed from those of the Wolves. It was not red, and there was a number beside it.

‘A Stacked Gauge.’

He understood the moment he saw it.

The health gauge seemed to have several layers.

‘There were games like that.’

Some games displayed one extremely long gauge. Others had shorter gauges that decreased painfully slowly.

But there was another method.

The gauge remained in the same place, but when one layer was peeled away, another differently colored gauge appeared beneath it.

It showed the damage from each hit in a satisfying way while emphasizing just how much health the monster had.

‘The number beside it must be the number of stacks.’

The number currently visible was three.

It was the first time he had seen a Stacked Gauge since Vulcan gained the ability to see health gauges.

‘It really is a Boss Monster.’

Then the Tiger’s full body emerged beyond the bushes.

It let out a low growl as it headed toward the riverbank.

It was not moving quickly.

The creatures fleeing around it were faster.

“...”

As he watched from above, the Tiger soon approached the riverbank and flared its nostrils.

Several injured but still-living Wolves were there, along with a few Crocodiles in similar condition. The ones that could still move were fleeing.

Crunch!

The Tiger bit down and killed the nearest Wolf, which had been whimpering helplessly.

But it did not eat it.

It merely spat the corpse aside as though it were getting rid of something annoying.

‘It doesn’t seem to be in a good mood.’

He could not know what it was thinking, but it looked as though it was annoyed that someone had caused a commotion in its territory.

‘The blood will disappear soon. It already is.’

That had been inevitable from the moment the drive hunt stopped.

The blood there would soon vanish, and the Tiger would leave afterward.

‘Then is this my chance?’

The riverbank was not blocked by trees or bushes.

The Tiger was exposed there.

Opportunities like this would be rare.

‘No.’

But he shook his head.

He would take it down eventually, but there was no reason to rush in impulsively. There was something he needed to confirm first.

Vulcan tightened his grip on the Throwing Axe.

Having already descended beneath the tree, he gradually closed the distance to the Tiger.

‘I need to check where I am now.’

Then, at a certain moment, he threw the axe.

It was meant less for directly striking a target than for breaking legs and restraining movement, but its power was not negligible.

Perhaps he was lucky. His first axe struck the back of the Tiger’s head, so there was no need for a follow-up attempt.

Roar!

He had not expected major damage.

Even sharpened, it was still a stone axe. He had not thought it could pierce the back of a Boss Monster’s head and lodge inside.

And it did not.

The axe literally just hit the back of its head.

Like someone smacking another person with an open palm.

But that did not mean it had done no damage.

He clearly saw the Tiger’s health gauge decrease.

Around 5 percent.

It was even less when considering that the gauge had three stacks, but he had achieved his purpose by learning what that amount of damage meant.

The problem was that the moment it was hit, the Tiger launched itself at him on instinct.

He had needed to approach to check the health gauge, so he was less than 20 meters from it.

The rain and smell of blood had kept him hidden until then.

But not anymore.

“Yikes.”

Without hesitation, he hid himself.

Fortunately, he managed to jump into the Subspace before the Tiger could pounce.

Whoosh, whoosh.

Having lost its target, the Tiger kept turning and looking around.

It seemed incredibly angry. It sniffed the air repeatedly as well.

‘Did my scent remain?’

If it had, he might be tracked afterward.

But after watching, that did not seem to be the case.

The Tiger did not pursue Vulcan when he immediately returned to the tree, and the smell of blood at the scene had not completely faded yet.

‘The Wolves avoid Tigers, so driving them over and throwing them at it would be pointless.’

The Crocodiles seemed a little different, but driving Crocodiles toward the Tiger would be much more difficult than herding Wolves.

‘I would need to control the distance down to the meter. One might be possible, but it would be hard with more.’

What about another method?

He could draw the Tiger to where the Crocodiles had gathered in the first place.

‘For example, by making it fall into that river.’

But how would he get the Tiger there?

And even if he succeeded, even if the Crocodiles somehow killed it afterward... the drops would float away downriver.

‘It would be hard to go in among those Crocodiles and pick them up. Making No. 1 do it would be a little questionable too.’

If he set a trap, it should be farther inland instead of in the river.

After thinking for a while, he considered the rainy-season environment.

‘I don’t know when the next rainy season will come, but it might help if I prepare in advance.’

He could prepare a trap beforehand, then let it fill with water when the rainy season came and the river rose.

Naturally, he could drive Crocodiles into it. Luring the Tiger there would be easier than luring it into the river.

‘There’s too much to prepare.’

That was the problem.

The simplest option would be to forget traps and hunt it through direct combat.

‘The problem is that even after I hit the back of its head with an axe, that was all the damage I dealt.’

Vulcan’s level was still low, but even if Juggernaut had thrown it, the difference probably would not have been several times greater.

‘Let’s look for different methods. I shouldn’t get stuck on just one.’

Using poison would be good if possible.

Now that he thought about it, he had several options.

‘It isn’t impossible.’

After hitting it once, he knew.

He could hunt it.

He just needed to prepare properly.

‘For now, I’m not prepared enough. That’s certain.’

He had no intention of showing pointless bravado.

If dying meant losing nothing, trying it would not have been so bad. But this was not a world where a good loss existed.

‘If I could retrieve my Personal Effects afterward, it might not be bad to try... But there’s no reason to go out of my way to die.’

Meanwhile, the blood on the riverbank vanished as cleanly as though it had never been there.

The Wolves and Crocodiles killed when the angry Tiger rampaged after getting struck on the head had also disappeared long ago.

The rain was gradually getting heavier.

The Tiger shook its head irritably, then ambled away.

“...”

But Seo Hajin remained in the tree afterward.

The direction the Tiger left in differed from the direction it had come from.

‘It’s circling around.’

It was a natural hunter.

It seemed to instinctively know that whatever had struck it was nearby.

But perhaps because it could not find him, it only began moving properly away after completing one circle.

Watching its movements from above, he sent No. 1 to collect the drops scattered along the riverbank.

‘Need to get them before they vanish.’

Looking at the rain, he thought he could probably drive another two groups or so. But the problem was that the Crocodiles were no longer out on the riverbank.

‘The ones that were out either died or ran away.’

Crocodiles were unpredictable.

Some had fought the Tiger desperately, while others had fled in a hurry.

He had thought they would definitely attack if the conditions were right, but that plan needed revision too.

‘A Crocodile trap probably won’t be worth the time and effort.’

It would be better to focus on poison instead.

He nodded, then only cautiously sent Juggernaut down from the tree after confirming that the Tiger-like movement had gone far enough to leave even his aerial view.

Until he judged somewhere safe, he would absolutely move only one person at a time.

If things went wrong, he needed to escape into the Subspace. If both entered, there would be no one left to let them out elsewhere.

“Still, today was pretty productive.”

By the time he returned to the waterfall cliff, the rain had become properly heavy.

The rock wall was quite slippery. It would have been dangerous if he had not prepared footholds throughout it beforehand.

“With what I got today, from now on... Hm?”

When he climbed halfway up the cliff, in front of the hollow, he stopped after seeing something through Vulcan’s eyes.

Juggernaut was already holding his club.

Vulcan gripped his Throwing Axe as well.

At their side, No. 1 had nocked an arrow. All their gazes were fixed inside the hollow in the rock wall.

“What is that?”

He spoke through Juggernaut.