Chapter 22 - The Boss Is Too Weak (2)

After dropping the food off at the clearing and finishing our introductions, we followed Park Cheoljin into the forest.

'... Good thing I didn't regress, then.'

Granted, I'd only ever made it to day six once before. But back when I'd spent all my time lazing around the clearing, nothing like this had happened. This was also the first I'd heard of anyone finding the boss.

That meant this had to be a butterfly effect from my sending people to the clearing... but I couldn't figure out what had changed the future.

"..."

Park Cheoljin and Choi Jiwon simply walked in silence. The atmosphere was a little awkward, but I decided to ask what I'd been wondering anyway.

"How did you hear about us?"

Perhaps because I'd said "us," Choi Jiwon's eyebrow twitched slightly, but she didn't object.

For reference, Park Cheoljin had left the clearing in the early afternoon of day two. Choi Jiwon hadn't started distributing food until afterward.

In other words, there wasn't any particular connection between them.

"... Kim Gundo told me."

Park Cheoljin answered my question readily enough.

"Who was that, again?"

"Kim Gundo."

"..."

No clue. Who the hell was Kim Gundo?

It felt like having a complete stranger come up and say, "Huh? Junho? Good to see you!"

"He came over here from your group... I suppose you don't know his name."

"Anything distinctive about him?"

"He digs. A tremendous amount."

"Oh!"

Apparently, the digging guy's name was Kim Gundo.

"Apparently, he'd originally planned to take his time digging in the clearing for five days... but there were too many people, and he couldn't stand all the commotion. He's with our group now."

"... I see."

In my earlier runs, Kim Gundo had disappeared on the night of day five. It seemed all the people I'd dragged into the clearing had driven him out ahead of schedule. Then, somehow or other, he'd joined the firefighter's group.

Was this what they called the butterfly effect? It felt strange.

"We're here."

How long had we been walking? At last, Park Cheoljin stopped.

"... Wow."

There were three respectable-looking wooden houses here. They were a little small, but quite well built.

"Did you build these yourself?"

"No. There was a carpenter in our group whose trait let him work wood easily. These are his handiwork."

"Oh, could I get his name...?"

"... A mutant goblin killed him."

"Oh."

Come to think of it, when Park Cheoljin had left the clearing, he hadn't believed in the Status window or the tower at all. He'd been a stubborn old fart convinced this was all some kind of prank.

Now he used words like "trait" and "mutant goblin" without hesitation.

How much hardship had he been through before accepting all these unfamiliar things?

The thought left me feeling heavyhearted.

"But where is everyone?"

The log cabins were completely empty. There were signs of people living here, but not a soul in sight. It felt a little eerie.

"..."

The atmosphere suddenly turned chilly.

What was going on?

Had... the boss killed everyone except Park Cheoljin?

Had I just put my foot in it?

"... They're hiding some distance away."

So I hadn't blundered into a tragedy. Thank goodness.

But that was a little odd. Why were they hiding?

"... Whew."

Park Cheoljin sank heavily into a carved wooden chair, took a deep breath, and fixed us with a sharp gaze.

"... Before I show you the boss, I'd like to ask you something frankly."

"..."

Choi Jiwon had been silently staring off somewhere for a while now. In the end, I answered.

"Yes, go ahead."

Still keeping his eyes on us, Park Cheoljin asked cautiously,

"You two... how did you learn to use a sword?"

"..."

This time, I was speechless too. I'd realized why he was so wary.

Once again, this was only our sixth day in the tower. And Choi Jiwon and I were far too good with swords to have taught ourselves in six days.

Honestly, in the modern world, guns were one thing, but who ever had cause to use a sword?

"So where did you learn swordsmanship?" It was a perfectly reasonable question.

The same question I'd once had about Choi Jiwon now applied to me.

"... I'll go first."

Choi Jiwon was the first to speak.

"My father was a kumdo instructor."

"... An instructor?"

... That explained it.

There was a reason she was so good with a sword. With a kumdo master for a father, it made sense that she'd know how to handle a blade.

Thinking about it, she'd never actually shown off any flashy sword techniques. She'd never pulled out anything like "Choi Jiwon Style, First Form!"

She was simply incredibly strong because her fundamentals were solid and her physical abilities were overwhelming.

"... I have some connections in those circles myself. May I ask your father's name?"

Park Cheoljin spoke slowly, as though he had a hunch.

"... Choi. Cheol. Sun."

"... Ah."

Choi Cheolsun.

Apparently, Park Cheoljin recognized the name.

"About... what happened to your father..."

"It's all right."

Park Cheoljin suddenly looked apologetic, while Choi Jiwon calmly assured him it was all right.

What? What was with this atmosphere? Why were they talking about something only they knew about?

"... I suppose you already know without having to ask?"

"I can sense it."

After that incomprehensible exchange, a brief, awkward silence fell.

"Um... should I explain too?"

Now it was my turn.

"I... acquired swordsmanship after coming to the tower."

"... Acquired it?"

"It's a trait. Swordsmanship, rank B. Knowledge I never had before suddenly appeared in my head."

"..."

Operation "Dunno!" was a go.

The tower gave me swordsmanship. I don't know anything. Please direct all further inquiries to the tower!

Of course, the tower didn't operate a help desk. Faced with an airtight excuse that only worked inside the tower, Park Cheoljin was at a loss for words.

"... Miss Choi Jiwon. Can we rely on this man's skills?"

"... I'd place him among the better fighters."

"All right. If you say so, I'll take your word for it."

The firefighter nodded at her assessment.

"I'd dearly like to see your skills for myself, Junho, but..."

He leaned back in his chair and looked me in the eye.

"We don't have time. We're in quite a predicament."

"... A predicament?"

"You're familiar with the message window about the boss, I assume?"

"Yes, well..."

-Clear Condition 1: Swallow a ‘golden orb’ hidden somewhere in the forest to advance to the next stage. However, only 50 golden orbs exist.

-Clear Condition 2: Defeat the boss, the Goblin Shaman, to create a portal to the next stage.

"Aren't you curious why we didn't kill the boss as soon as we found it?"

Now that he mentioned it, I was.

All we had to do was kill the boss, and a portal to the next stage would open. And even at a glance, Park Cheoljin was clearly a formidable fighter. His huge axe, his muscles, the aura he gave off—all of it attested to his strength.

Why would someone that strong trek all the way out to find us instead of simply finishing off the boss?

"... You'll understand when you see it for yourselves. Follow me."

The firefighter rose from his chair and started walking somewhere.

"... Shall we?"

"Let's go."

Choi Jiwon and I followed him.

"Finding the boss was pure chance. Kim Gundo discovered a goblin tunnel while digging."

The farther we walked, the more I noticed a familiar smell.

Musty, foul, and sickeningly familiar... the smell of the swamp. Judging by the odor, we were heading toward the edge of the forest.

"While exploring the goblin tunnels... we found an exit leading aboveground. That's when we discovered this place."

Because I'd sent people to the clearing, Kim Gundo had fled it earlier than planned. Then he'd started digging here, which had led to Park Cheoljin finding the boss. What a mysterious butterfly effect.

"..."

But I was rapidly losing the mental space to think about that.

My skin prickled. The hair on the back of my neck stood on end.

I could feel a presence. It was furious.

"There. That's the boss, the Goblin Shaman."

WHEEZE. WHEEZE.

Just as he'd said, an elderly goblin was breathing raggedly before us. It wore the bones of some unidentifiable animal on its head and held an elaborately decorated staff. Anyone could tell it was the Goblin Shaman.

What stood out was how terrible a state the boss was in. Green blood dripped from its mouth, and it looked as though the slightest push would knock it over.

"... So if we kill that weak-looking thing, a portal opens?"

"That's right."

The Goblin Shaman stood atop an intricate pattern, muttering something incessantly.

"... This is a bit of a problem."

The Goblin Shaman wasn't the problem.

"Grrr... Grrrrrr."

Rippling muscles. Eyes filled with madness. An enormous axe clutched tightly in its hand.

Its body was humanoid, but its head was that of a bull.

The boss, the Goblin Shaman, was struggling to maintain a seal.

A seal binding the Minotaur—the monster that had wrecked me in a single hit.