The Wild Forest (5)

Four people were running through the dark forest. Considering that they were running through uneven ground, they were moving very fast.

…He’s truly amazing, Cha Min-woo thought as he watched Seo Jun-ho’s back; the latter was in the lead. It’s a dark forest, and the ground isn’t even flat. Yet his form is stable. 

That wasn’t all. Seo Jun-ho was choosing easier paths so that the three others could follow. Assessing the environment was an important virtue for a player, and he proved to be exceptional.

Cha Min-woo thought that he was like an onion. Every time I think I understand him, he shows me a new side… 

Suddenly, his Vita lit up with a notification. Seo Jun-ho stopped.

“Is it an SOS?”

“Let me check.” Cha Min-woo’s eyes flickered as he checked the message. He looked up at Seo Jun-ho and nodded firmly. “It’s an SOS. It came from 2km to the east.”

“It isn’t far. Let’s go there first.”

Seo Jun-ho thought to himself as he looked for a path. We have to save as many players as possible. 

Of course, this wasn’t because he saw himself as some hero. Saving as many players as possible meant that clearing the Gate would be easier; it was the conclusion he had come to after objectively weighing the factors.

There are one thousand dark elves in the Black Moss tribe. Their numbers were too large for him to handle on his own.

I’m still human after all. He needed to sleep, rest, and eat like any other person. He would need at least ten days to kill a thousand dark elves on his own.

And that’s only if I can use my full power. It only applied if he could use Watchguard of Darkness and Frost. Of course, he couldn’t use those skills when he was with Cha Min-woo’s party, like right now.

So the best way to clear the Gate with that handicap… Was using the other players. That’s why Seo Jun-ho was running so fast through the forest at dawn.

Tonight will be the turning point. He thought that the dark elves’ night attack was a double-edged sword. At least ten elves were sent to attack each of the 52 parties. So if we kill them all…

They’d be able to halve the enemy’s manpower in one night. If they could do that, the dark elves would no longer be able to use guerilla tactics like they had tonight. And if they could halve the remaining number even further, the forest would no longer be safe for the elves.

Clang, clang!

The sound of weapons clashing came from in front of them. Perhaps it was because it was the early morning, but it was especially loud.

“Jun-ho-nim!”

“I heard it. I’ll go ahead!” As Seo Jun-ho accelerated, he seemed to stretch like taffy. Leaving the three people behind him, he took out a javelin from his inventory.

“Ah, s-save me!”

The first thing he saw as he entered the clearing was a player pinned beneath a Wolfdog. The dark elf on top of it raised its sword high.

Good timing. He used his running speed to propel his javelin and threw it. It whistled through the air with a rough sound like a cannonball.

Stab! It pierced through the dark elf’s head, causing it to fall. The Wolfdog turned around in confusion as it lost its owner, only to see the javelin hurling toward it. There was a flash of moonlight—that was the last thing it saw.

Seo Jun-ho pulled the javelin out of the Wolfdog’s neck and took in his surroundings.

“There are five dark elves and three Woldogs left.”

“Uh… uhh?” The player was covered in the dark elf and Wolfdog’s blood, unable to process the situation. Seo Jun-ho glanced down at them and wordlessly ran toward where the other players were fighting.

“Huh? A-a player!”

“Backup! They must’ve come after seeing the SOS signal from another party!”

The players were on the defensive, but their faces brightened.

– “Kyaaaak!” 

On the other hand, the dark elves’ expressions grew more sinister as their hunt was interrupted. They all turned to Seo Jun-ho, ignoring the other players. They wanted to take care of the most bothersome one first.

– “Kreek!” Gripping its weapon, the leader threw the spear at Seo Jun-ho’s heart with all its strength. It was much faster than most players could throw.

“The spear’s speed, aim, and power are all good… The only problem is the target.”

Seo Jun-ho didn’t move and slowly raised one hand. Right before the spear hit him, he brought his hand down like lightning, breaking the weapon.

Clatter! 

The dark elf’s eyes widened as it watched its weapon break. Seo Jun-ho snatched one half of the spear from the air and stabbed it through his opponent’s torso.

“Your spear is nice.”

– “Kak… kaak…!” It couldn’t even breathe.

Seo Jun-ho’s sword hung at his side as he walked forward. The dark elves instinctively took a step back, intimidated by his strength and confidence.

“Don’t forget about us!”

“This is revenge for our comrades, fuckers!” The surviving players attacked the dark elves’ open backs. The battle ended anticlimactically, and Seo Jun-ho sheathed his sword.

“Party Leader Son?”

“Oh, that’s me.” The man standing in front of the others raised his hand politely.

“What do your casualties look like?”

“…Our members that were on watch died. We woke up because of their screams… Guh, we just ran away because we were still half-asleep. We lost three more teammates.” A tear spilled over and he bit his lower lip hard enough to draw blood. He looked angry.

“……”

Seo Jun-ho understood those feelings all too well. The guilt of being unable to save his teammates would now become shackles.

Seo Jun-ho wordlessly patted him on the shoulder. After letting it out, the man wiped away his tears with his sleeve.

“I didn’t say this earlier, but thank you for helping us.”

“No need.”

At that moment, Cha Min-woo and the others arrived at the clearing. They saw that it was over, and their faces became grim.

“We were too late.”

“Huff, huff… I ran as hard as I could…” Seo Mirae muttered, disappointed.

“We’re going east,” Seo Jun-ho replied.

“East…?” The party leader asked.

“Yes. We’re gonna head east, save other players, and hunt the dark elves.” The reason was simple. The Black Moss tribe’s stronghold was there. “If you’re willing, we can take down the enemy together. What will you do?”

“……”

They couldn’t even dream of avenging their teammates with only half the party left, but Seo Jun-ho was offering to avenge them together. The party leader made his choice.

He didn’t need to say anything. He thumped his fist against his chest twice, eyes full of venom.

“Good.” That was enough for Seo Jun-ho. “Then you guys should go north.”

“North? We’re splitting up?”

“Yes.” No matter how fast Seo Jun-ho could move, it would be impossible for him to cover the whole forest. That’s how big the Wild Forest was.

I need parties that will become my hands and feet. He needed people to cover the north and west while he went east. Seo Jun-ho planned to give that role to his newly acquired players.

The party leader finally spoke. “…We’ve received great assistance from the new star of Korea.” He picked up his fallen helm from the dirt, put it back on, and nodded. “So we will follow you. The Blue Whale party will head north.”

They became Seo Jun-ho’s first hand.

“Huff… huff…”

A man collapsed down onto the forest floor. The hot sun beat down through the trees. There was a burning smell coming from his mouth.

I can’t… I can’t keep going, even if I die…

He’d been running for two days. Hunger and thirst were getting to him, and his trembling legs refused to move any longer; he was poisoned.

Those fucking dark elves. They put poison on their arrowheads. He lifted his shirt, checking the flesh at his side that had gone black. Death was right before him. In his poisoned state, it was impossible to outrun the Wolfdogs, which were quick and had sharp noses.

“Dammit…” Tears started to spill over. He was scared.

His team had been composed of players that averaged around level 28. If the dark elves had made a frontal attack in broad daylight, he wouldn’t have been injured.

“Those dirty, cursed monsters!”

But the enemy was crafty. They’d used the cover of darkness to attack their camp at night. If it weren’t for his sunbae’s quick reaction, their entire party would’ve been annihilated.

At that moment, he heard the cries of Wolfdogs.

I don’t want to die! I’m too young to die… But he didn’t have the strength to run away. Tears streamed down his face as death approached. With shaky hands, he loaded a bullet into a handgun.

“If I have to die now…” As the proud maknae of the Bravo party, he would take a few mutts down with him.

As he finished loading the bullet, a Wolfdog came bounding out of the thicket and bit into his left arm. He raised the gun in his right hand and pulled the trigger.

Bang! The sound of a gunshot rang through the forest.

“Yes! Guh…” The Wolfdog fell. But as he was about to celebrate, the sound of dozens of Wolfdogs made him go pale. The bite he received was also deep.

So this is how I die. The hope drained from him, as if he were the last survivor in the last act of a play.

But the Wolfdogs had started to sound more frantic.

“Wh-what?” He craned his neck, trying to see what was going on. He could hear people nearby.

“The gunshot came from here…”

“The Wolfdogs were chasing… Maybe it’s the one we were looking…”

“Should be around here…”

People…! His eyes went wide, but he couldn’t make a sound. He opted to shoot another bullet into the air.

Bang! A moment later, the dense bushes were cut down, and a familiar face appeared.

“I found him! It’s him! He’s our party’s maknae!”

“S-sunbae…” As the man saw the face of his supposedly dead sunbae, he started to sob. “Sniff… How did you… I thought you were dead… Kuh…” 

“Why the hell would I die? And…” The sunbae turned, looking at the people who were approaching. It was the sound of dozens of players’ footsteps. His eyes were fixed on the leader. “The person you should thank is him, not me.”

“That person… Who…?” It was the first time the hubae had seen one person lead so many people inside a Gate.

“Player Seo Jun-ho. But soon enough, people will be calling him by a sobriquet.”

“A sobriquet…? Players on the 1st floor can have one?”

“Most don’t, but outstanding players like him have superb titles.”

“What do they call him?”

In only two days, 152 players had been saved and 436 dark elves had been killed under Seo Jun-ho’s command. The players that directly witnessed his achievements had started calling him by another name.

“He saves allies and beheads his enemies in his black armor.”

The Black Knight.