Chapter 25 - The Boss Is Too Weak (5)

“... I had no idea that goblin could talk.”

Those were Firefighter Park Cheoljin’s first words.

“Krrk... I am blind, and I can barely hear... Only my sense of smell remains keen. Krrk. I did not even know you lot were there. Krrk.”

“...”

So it had noticed me because I smelled?

There wasn’t a river to bathe in, but I’d been diligently wiping myself down with water...

“So you want to roll the Minotaur into the swamp?” Choi Jiwon asked, her arms crossed.

I gave a small nod.

“Normally, of course that would be impossible... But we’re superhuman. We can’t think in ordinary terms.”

“It might work if we do it right...” She shrugged. “But let me make this clear: everyone at the clearing either has a low level or no level at all. They won’t be any help.”

Her words were blunt, though I already knew that.

“Objectively speaking, it’s a gamble. I wouldn’t say it has much chance of working,” Firefighter Park Cheoljin said with a grin. “But... I like it.”

He seemed to like the part about saving everyone without any sacrifices.

“Let’s see... I’ll try recruiting people from my group too, but not many of them invested heavily in Strength.”

“How many do you think you can get?”

“... Five. No more than that.”

That gave us Choi Jiwon, Park Cheoljin, and five people from his group. We needed at least three more.

Why wasn’t I counting myself? Because I’d regress if I went near the swamp.

“First, let’s gather the people who aren’t part of either the clearing or Mr. Park’s group.”

If our plan succeeded, we couldn’t leave anyone starving to death somewhere without even knowing the portal existed.

Gathering everyone roaming around on their own was a necessary step.

“Then, once everyone’s together, why don’t we ask for volunteers?”

Getting some strong people among them to cooperate would be a bonus.

“... Hmm. I think we can gather the others in the forest. One of my companions has a search-type trait.”

Firefighter Park Cheoljin nodded.

Again, the greatest advantage of this plan was that it required no sacrifices.

As long as it worked, no one had to die. Everyone could survive, and we could defeat the Minotaur at the same time.

“All right, I’ll guard the Goblin Shaman, so the rest of you can split up and...”

“Krrk... Human. There is a problem with doing that.”

“What?”

The Goblin Shaman, with barely any life left in it, suddenly hit me with a sliding tackle worthy of soccer player Kim Minjae.

“If you roll the outer barrier around like that, you will ruin the seal’s mana structure. Krrk.”

“... Ruin it?”

“To be precise, it will explode. Krrk. About half the island will be blown away.”

“...”

Then... this plan was pointless.

But the Goblin Shaman wasn’t finished.

“But there is a solution. Cough. Cough. We need only reinforce the outer seal’s mana structure. Krrk.”

TAP.

The Goblin Shaman laboriously brought its staff down.

“I know the humans are searching for little pieces of gold imbued with mysterious power. Krrk. I need those.”

“... Golden orbs?”

The Goblin Shaman was asking for “pieces of gold imbued with mysterious power.”

Apparently, it meant golden orbs.

“Cough, cough... As you can see, I am dying. I lack the strength. I must borrow the power of the gold. Krrk.”

“How many do you need?”

“The more, the better. Cough... There is no time, human. I will die soon...”

“...”

Now that we needed golden orbs, it felt like the risk involved in this operation had skyrocketed.

“... Hey. Isn’t there another way? You said earlier you had a good idea.”

Reluctant to give up on that possibility, I tried asking the Goblin Shaman for another option, but...

“I can release the outer seal about three seconds early while maintaining the inner seal binding the monster. Krrk. You can beat the monster as much as you like for those three seconds. Krrk.”

“... And that doesn’t need golden orbs?”

“No. Krrk. Both methods require the gold.”

The method the Goblin Shaman had originally intended to suggest needed golden orbs too.

Firefighter Park Cheoljin turned to look at me.

“Junho... What will you do?”

We stood at a crossroads.

Sacrificing Choi Jiwon was off the table from the outset.

Assuming we gave the Goblin Shaman the golden orbs...

Would we take on the Minotaur with a three-second advantage?

Or would we gamble on rolling it into the swamp?

“The golden orbs are our last resort. Can you trust the goblin?” Firefighter Park Cheoljin asked.

“...”

Could I trust this goblin?

My deliberation was brief, and my decision swift.

They say the enemy of your enemy is your friend.

“Let’s trust it. Let’s roll it.”

And I was a born gambler.

The people staying at the clearing.

The people accompanying Firefighter Park Cheoljin.

And the people roaming around in their own groups, who joined us after hearing our plan.

Once we gathered them all together, there seemed to be around ninety to a hundred people.

Considering that two hundred people had originally been summoned to the clearing, our numbers had fallen by roughly half.

Those who had died must have vastly outnumbered those who had escaped by swallowing an orb.

“The orbs have dried up anyway. This is our only hope.”

“Rather than kill my friend to survive... I’ll bet on the chance that we can all live.”

What I hadn’t expected was how many people would support our plan.

There were some considerably strong people among them, most of whom had been summoned to the tower with friends or romantic partners.

Sure enough... there were plenty of bad people, but the world still had plenty of good ones too.

“How about a cheer before we start?”

“Sounds good. One, two, three!”

“Let’s do this!!!”

A united front had formed around a shared goal.

God might have desperately wanted us divided, but humanity had banded together anyway.

“Krrk... Still not enough. Give me more of your orbs. Krrk.”

“... Control yourself, Whoosh. You can’t kill it.”

The golden orbs Firefighter Park Cheoljin and Choi Jiwon had kept amounted to over twenty, yet the Goblin Shaman kept whining that it wasn’t enough.

Only after I handed over the two golden orbs I’d stashed away did it finally give a small nod.

“... This will suffice. Cough, cough... Everyone, stand back. Krrk.”

Holding a pouch full of golden orbs in one hand, it waved the staff in its other hand through the air.

“KUL, NAL, TAR, AR, AIS...”

As it murmured in that bizarre language, the spherical barrier surrounding the Minotaur slowly began to glow.

“Humans, now! There is no time! Krrk... Cough, cough, gwaaack...”

Perhaps it had overexerted itself; the Goblin Shaman spewed a bucketful of blood mixed with bits of its innards.

“... Everyone, check your masks.”

“Ready.”

“Whew. That fucker looks scary as hell.”

“Let’s all make it out alive. I fucking hated that whole orb business from the start anyway.”

The tutorial’s Avengers rolled their shoulders, warming up.

I’d warned them beforehand that the air coming off the swamp was mildly toxic, so everyone had crude scraps of cloth wrapped around their mouths as makeshift masks.

They wouldn’t do much, but they had to be better than nothing.

For the record, since breathing the swamp air would make me regress, I’d volunteered to protect the Goblin Shaman.

If someone suddenly lost their shit and killed the shaman, we’d all be fucked.

“All right, push on my count.”

Looking thoroughly tense, Firefighter Park Cheoljin took his place at the very center in front of the sphere.

His trait was Iron Man.

It hardened his body and dramatically increased his stamina.

“Grrrrrgh!”

The Minotaur thrashed, apparently realizing that the humans were about to try something.

“Krrk... I will hold it back! Now!”

The Goblin Shaman’s staff blazed with light.

“Here we go! One!”

“One!!!”

On Park Cheoljin’s count, everyone began pushing the barrier together.

Veins bulged along their arms, and their feet dug deep into the ground.

“Grrrrgh...”

Choi Jiwon’s face was bright red with exertion. I’d never seen her like that before.

It rocked.

“... Damn it.”

The barrier around the Minotaur had wobbled slightly, but it hadn’t moved from its spot.

Were they still not strong enough, even though we’d handpicked people with high Strength stats?

“Whew. Everyone, relax. We’ll take a short break and try again.”

“The dirt keeps sinking under us... It’s hard to get any leverage.”

One man spoke while rubbing his burning palms. As he said, the ground was giving way, keeping them from properly applying their strength to the barrier.

“... I think I can fix that.”

A skinny young man stepped out from among the people cheering on the pushers.

“I’ve been hiding my trait until now... But my trait is Hardening. I can firm up the ground beneath your feet.”

When he touched the dirt, the relatively soft ground hardened.

“I’ll... I’ll help too!”

This time, it was Baek Dahye, the bob-haired woman, who stepped forward.

“I... have a buff ability! It’s low-ranked, but... I’ll do my best!”

“Oh, oooh...”

Energy flowed from her hands and enveloped the others. The people who had been panting for breath looked noticeably more comfortable.

“Me too...!”

“I have a trait that might help too...!”

Those with useful traits directly supported the people pushing the barrier.

“I don’t have any abilities... But I’ll cheer you on!”

“You can do it! You can do it!”

“We’re... going to survive! We’re going to survive this goddamn tower!”

“You’ve got this! You’re amazing! Let’s go!”

Those who couldn’t help shouted encouragement until their throats were raw.

Not everyone was pushing the barrier, but everyone shared one heart and one purpose.

“Everyone... Thank you so much.”

Firefighter Park Cheoljin sniffled slightly, apparently overcome with emotion.

“We will... We will survive! Let’s survive together! Here we go again! Oooone!!!!”

“One!”

It rocked!

“Two!”

“Two!!!”

It rocked again!

“Three!!!”

“Threeee!!!!!!”

CRRRUNCH!!!

Was it because everyone’s hearts had come together?

The spherical barrier, firmly embedded in the dirt, began to move with a thunderous noise.

“... Whew. Whew. Whew.”

“Hah... Hah... Hah...”

Everyone was breathing hard.

One person had clenched their teeth so fiercely that a trickle of blood ran from their gums.

But this was only the beginning. The swamp was still about fifty meters away.

“... Hey, goblin. How much longer can you hold on?”

The shaman’s arms, holding the golden orbs and staff, were trembling violently.

“Cough... Cough... Hrrk... I think I can hold on until I die. Human. How long do you think I have left?”

“...”

Time was running out.

A Word from the Author (Author’s Afterword)

I, Junho Kim...

Am a man of my word...

Today, you’re getting back-to-back chapters...

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