Chapter 204: An Opportunity (2)

Landing atop one of the cables, Yoo Seh-Eun gasped for breath as she lifted her head to look up at the First. "Ah, geez! Do we have to cut all the cables in this room before we can finally kill it?"

A lot of time had passed since the battle began. The First, capable of perfectly controlling thirty-five cables at once, seemed to be analyzing the S-Class Hunters mid-battle, blocking their attacks with increasing skill and exploiting any openings in their forms.

Fortunately, the Hunters from Team Two had finished off the three hundred mechanical monsters that the First had kept hidden below the keep before joining Team One in battle, so the Gate raid team still had the advantage of numbers. However, it was clear this situation could change the longer the fight dragged on.

Yoo Seh-Eun took a deep breath, exhaled slowly, and leaped off the cable once again. The moment she moved, the First seemed to reassess her as a threat and activated the nearest cable.

As the almost lifelike black tentacle descended from above, she shifted her sword to her left hand, reached into her subspace pocket, drew a mace, and swung it at the cable in one fluid motion. The cable was long and thick, too tough to cut through with her sword. Her mace knocked it back upward, but the recoil still sent her plummeting.

She clicked her tongue in annoyance as she fell. Discarding her mace, she gripped her sword in a reverse hold with both hands and vocally activated an artifact imbued with a useful 1st-Circle spell. "Wind."

The spell sharply slowed her fall. Using the remaining momentum, she drove her sword down into the First's body. She kept the thrust more vertical than horizontal, anchoring the blade to halt her descent. As the sudden stop jolted her, Yoo Seh-Eun noticed a dark shadow looming overhead and lifted both feet to kick at the First.

Her kick wasn't meant to damage the First, so she hadn't infused her legs with mana. The shadow overhead had filled her with a sense of foreboding, prompting her to kick off with both feet and propel herself away from the monster.

As she began to fall again, she spotted a cable whipping down toward where she had just been. She exhaled in relief at the narrow escape. The sense of danger had struck the moment the shadow brushed her head. Had she ignored it, the cable's impact would have left her gravely injured.

"Wind," Yoo Seh-Eun said, activating her artifact once more to slow her descent. She twisted her body midair to adjust her posture, landing safely on her feet.

She turned her head to scan for movement, and her gaze quickly settled on Kim Ki-Rok. He stood still, watching the First as if waiting for something. For a moment, she looked back and forth between him and the First.

Then, she ran over to stand beside him. "What are you doing?"

"I'm waiting for an opportunity," he replied.

"An opportunity?"

"Yes."

Yoo Seh-Eun frowned in thought. "Guildmaster?"

"Yes," Kim Ki-Rok said, turning toward her.

"Should I make you an opening?" she offered.

He shook his head. "You can't."

Yoo Seh-Eun drew a new sword from her subspace pocket, then turned to face him with a challenging look. "You really think I can't?"

"It needs to be reduced to thirteen or fewer," Kim Ki-Rok explained.

"Thirteen?" she echoed in surprise. "You mean thirteen cables?"

Kim Ki-Rok nodded. "That's right, or until we can completely expose the center of its chest."

She turned her head again, examining the room. Out of the thirty-five cables it controlled, twenty-three were connected to the walls and the remaining twelve sprouting from its shoulders. Thanks to the Hunters' constant exchange of information during the battle, she knew there had originally been a hundred wall-mounted cables when the fight began.

"Down to thirteen..." she muttered, pondering how long that would take.

"It'll probably be faster to expose its chest," Kim Ki-Rok said.

Given that Team Two had joined the fight thirty minutes ago and fifty-eight cables still remained, his suggestion that exposing the chest would be faster than cutting the number down to thirteen or fewer was likely correct.

"If we can expose its chest, will that really make that much of a difference?" she asked skeptically.

"Of course it will."

"How so?"

"If we're lucky, we should be able to defeat the First instantly."

"And if we're not lucky?"

"Then all I'll have done is expose its core."

"Does the Team Leader of Team One know about this?"

"He doesn't."

"What about the other Hunters from Team One?"

"They don't either," Kim Ki-Rok said, shaking his head.

At this, Yoo Seh-Eun shot him a questioning frown.

He explained, "The Hunters in Team One are currently the focus of the First's observation and analysis. Because I haven't told them about this opportunity, they've prepared for a longer fight, and the First can see that in their behavior. Also, the mechanical monsters have probably finished analyzing the languages we've been using, so—"

"Ah! If you try to give them hints, the First might raise its guard," she realized.

Kim Ki-Rok nodded in satisfaction. "Exactly."

𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

"Hm..." She considered this for a moment, her thoughtful look shifting to a puzzled frown. "But isn't that bastard already on guard?"

"It might be aware of us, but it isn't as wary of us as it is of Team One," he corrected.

"Ah, so that's why you're able to tell me all this."

"Exactly."

"Well, in any case, if we can expose the center of its chest, you think you can kill it?"

"If we're lucky," he said with a shrug and a smile.

Annoyed, she tilted her head the other way, weighing the outcomes. If they were lucky, they could defeat the First in a single blow. If not, at least its weakness would be exposed.

"Either way, it seems fine," she decided. "So I just need to expose its chest, right?"

"That's right," he confirmed with a nod.

"So, Guildmaster, which Hunters are receiving the least attention from that bastard?"

"Miss Ji-Yeon and the other Hunters from Team Two."

The Hunters from the second team who had joined the battle against the First were all S-Class, but at a lower level than those in the first team. They might have had similar equipment, but they clearly lacked the veteran experience.

"Do you have a way to get this information to Team One without alerting the First?" she asked.

"I do have one method," Kim Ki-Rok admitted.

She turned to him in surprise. "What is it?"

"When the time comes, I'll have someone with a rapid movement skill leave the keep," he began.

"And then?" she pressed.

"I'll tell him to use his radio to contact the base."

"And after that?"

"He'll ask Ji-Hee to send reinforcements," he finished.

She looked puzzled at first, then her eyes widened in realization. "Ji-Hee... Ah! You need her spirits!"

"That's right," he said with a nod. "Unlike other mechanical monsters, the First can sense mana, so we couldn't use spirits to spy on it undetected, but things are different now."

Unlike ordinary mechanical monsters, the First could sense spirits. Though it couldn't

see

them physically, it could detect their presences at a close distance. This was evident in how it sent minions to investigate whenever a spirit entered the keep. After extensive testing, the raid team concluded it could sense mana, so they agreed not to send spirits to spy on it to avoid potential countermeasures.

"But things are different now?" she asked curiously.

"That's right. Look how preoccupied it is. If it's anything like the computers we know, we've hypothesized it has processing limits. By examining its performance in actual combat, we can prove that," said Kim Ki-Rok.

Yoo Seh-Eun analyzed the battle, searching for evidence of the First's limitations, and quickly found it.

"The cables."

"Correct."

The First could only control thirty-five cables at a time. If any were broken or cut, it could immediately take control of new ones to attack, but this still proved there was a hard limit to its capabilities.

"Guildmaster, if I leave the room, do you think that will alert the First?"

"No, I don't believe so."

"What if you make a move, Guildmaster?"

"That shouldn't alarm it either."

"But you're still not going to move unless you have to, right?"

"That's right."

"Why is that?"

Kim Ki-Rok always had a reason for his actions, and the DG Guild members knew this better than anyone. So even though Yoo Seh-Eun, Kang Seh-Hyuk, Jeong Man-Kook, and Lee Ji-Yeon saw him standing still, simply watching the First, they waited patiently for him to act.

"The First currently isn't conscious of me. So if one of our allies falls into danger, I can safely and securely rescue them without its interference," he explained.

She nodded. "And if an opening appears before then, you'll use the First's disregard to strike immediately."

"Yes."

"But can't you send someone to contact the base in advance while you're just standing here watching it?"

"That's true," Kim Ki-Rok agreed, but he didn't move.

Knowing the First didn't see her as a threat, Yoo Seh-Eun felt safe turning to him, wanting to know exactly what he meant. Kim Ki-Rok was still staring at the First, and the only change from earlier was the small smile on his face.

She pouted. "You've already sent someone, haven't you?"

"Of course," he admitted, still grinning.

"Then why all this?" she demanded with an exasperated sigh.

"You mean, why did I keep stringing you along, Miss Seh-Eun?"

"That's right."

"Because we've got time before the spirit arrives... and I was bored."

"

Haaaaaaah.

"

"Also, I needed someone who can link up with Team Two and relay the plan."

"Hmph!"

She shot him a skeptical look at his excuse, then suddenly glanced behind them, spotting a spirit appearing in front of the wide-open doors. It was Kan Cho-Woo, flying toward them at high speed.

"What an extremely large robot," he remarked.

"Yes, it certainly is," Kim Ki-Rok agreed. "Well then, we'll be counting on you for the next step."

"Understood."

Shrinking in size, Kan Cho-Woo began ascending into the air.

Kim Ki-Rok turned and said, "Miss Seh-Eun."

"What is it now?" she demanded impatiently.

"Allow me to explain what we should do in case our luck turns out to be bad."

"You're only bringing that up now?"

"There are fewer than ten Hunters from Team Two in this battle against the First. Furthermore, they're all on the ground, not up on the cables."

This gave Yoo Seh-Eun had plenty of time to share the plan with the rest of Team Two while Kan Cho-Woo searched for the scattered members of Team One. Without further protest, she waited for Kim Ki-Rok to continue.

"In case we run into some bad luck, here's what we will do..."

***

After Kan Cho-Woo relayed Kim Ki-Rok's plan, Ishimura acted quickly. Using prearranged hand signals instead of radio communication to avoid being overheard, he split his team into groups. Yoo Seh-Eun, standing beside Kim Ki-Rok, also moved into action once she had the full plan.

Five minutes after Kan Cho-Woo's arrival, the First was still attacking with thirty-five of the forty-three remaining cables, while the first two teams positioned themselves for a precisely timed assault to expose the center of its chest. Another five minutes later, after Ishimura Ken and Yoo Seh-Eun finished organizing their teams, they set the plan into motion.

"First! Third!" Yoo Seh-Eun shouted.

Jeong Man-Kook's name and the figure it belonged to were likely already recorded in the mechanical monsters' database. So instead, Yoo Seh-Eun covertly referred to him by his order of seniority in The Five Siblings of Mapogu when calling for support.

In response, he consumed a large amount of mana to enhance his already impressive physical abilities, then leaped forward with a loud boom. "

Hmph!

"

As Jeong Man-Kook reached the First, he swung his massive hammer at it. Sensing the attack, the First reactivated a cable it had previously discarded after being severed by a sharp blade. The short length of cable shot up from the ground with furious speed, but he paid it no mind.

Suddenly, Kang Seh-Hyuk shouted from afar, "Blink!"

The third sibling had been waiting for the perfect timing. Now behind Jeong Man-Kook, he gritted his teeth and met the cable head-on with his shield. Pain shot through his left arm on impact, but he held firm, allowing Jeong Man-Kook's hammer to complete its overhead swing and slam directly into the First.

Subjected to the full-force blow, the First was pushed backward. The distance it slid was short, but it was the first time it had lost ground to the Hunters.

"Now!" Ishimura shouted as he leaped forward.

The other S-Class Hunters, poised atop their respective cables and waiting for the signal, leaped after him. For this single opportunity, dozens of Hunters were risking their lives.

It lasted only a moment, but when the First was knocked backward by Jeong Man-Kook, it seemed to freeze, almost as if it had stopped functioning. Then, sensing something was wrong, it snapped back into motion, all thirty-five cables lashing out at the Hunters aiming for the center of its chest.

None of the Hunters cut the cables attacking them. Armed with bludgeons, they only deflected them aside, doing their best not to destroy them. Even those who lacked the strength or missed their timing focused on keeping the cables occupied, some even pinning them under their armpits.

Thanks to their efforts, the center of the First's chest was exposed, and in that instant, Kim Ki-Rok surged forward. Like the Hunters of Team Two who had fought desperately to create this opening, he closed the distance at incredible speed.