Became a Swordsman Genius in a Pretty Girl Game - Chapter 354



354. Operator (3)

The Cave of the Rage Howler.

Though it was called a cave.

The actual interior of the gate was a maze of solid gray stone walls.

And the Lazy Howler, which makes this place its home, is a monster that looks like a mix between a monkey and an ape, characterized by its great strength, high intelligence, and deep sense of camaraderie.

‘It was once known as a rather notorious gate.’

This place is perfect for shady characters to run wild.

The Lazy Howler acquires equipment from hunters and uses those weapons with its high intelligence.

Especially the older the Lazy Howler, the more experience it has, and it can employ a variety of attacks.

Almost as delicate as the skills of hunters.

So, why was it notorious?

A monster that uses the weapons of hunters.

That means a hunter who enters the gate can secretly kill another hunter, frame it as the work of the Lazy Howler,

and strip the equipment off that hunter to take it out as loot.

So, at one time, this place was the favorite dungeon of trash and devilish people who specialized in hunting hunters.

Of course, despite such dangers, it was still a popular gate.

Because if you hunted the Lazy Howler, you could obtain not only magic stones but also the hunter equipment they had.

There was no way money-hungry hunters would stay still with such a natural honey farming spot.

Anyway, so people kept flocking in, falling into traps, hunters with their eyes on equipment backstabbing each other, and then hunters specializing in hunting those backstabbing trash appeared.

It became a gate of chaos and confusion.

As the casualties here grew uncontrollably day by day,

to prevent further misfortunes, eventually, the mage stepped in.

She cast a spell on the gate and applied one rule.

《Rule》

【 Those who attack humans other than the Lazy Howler shall be branded. 】

– If you attack another human within this gate, a mark of a murderer will be engraved above your head.

– A human branded with the mark becomes an exception to the dungeon’s rules.

All the hunters inside the dungeon become enemies,

and hundreds of hunters are waiting outside the gate.

In other words, a person who attacks another human becomes a treasure goblin, shining golden all over.

‘Well, you could survive by living like a dead mouse, avoiding the Lazy Howler and other hunters for 30 days in the dungeon.’

But how easy would that be?

Under the rules of the Majé, the mansion of the Rage Howler paradoxically became the safest hunting ground.

‘But the unknown, where Lina’s rules don’t apply, is quite dangerous.’

There, demons with shady pasts and murderers often hide, as killing a person doesn’t particularly leave a mark.

The Rage Howlers, whose strength is incomparable to humans but whose intelligence is almost the same, reside there.

Also, their reproductive power is strong, so if one is attacked, they swarm madly.

We were stepping into the shadows of such chaos.

*

Step.

Step.

The performance of the restraints modified by Lina was considerable.

Not only does it limit magical power, but it also suppresses physical performance.

Compared to usual, it feels like moving in a dense liquid?

“Hey. Jin Yuha, this reminds me of that time. Right?”

Yuri, who was walking ahead, spoke to me.

“When? Ah. When we went to the Sword Master’s residence.”

Right.

It felt just like this when we visited the Sword Master’s forest.

“…It’s a nostalgic feeling.”

Alice also nodded, as if the feeling of being constrained in body and mana wasn’t bad.

It was then.

– From now on, Operator Shin Sehee. I will start the command.

Shin Sehee’s clear voice came from the artifact in my ear.

– First, since there’s no particular training here. We will aim for the shortest breakthrough to the unknown.

– Formation D. Wedge formation.

As soon as her command fell.

We changed our formation to a wedge.

Kang Dohee

Alice ┃ Jin Yuha

Ichika ┃ Sophia ┃ Lim Gaeul

Yuri

The formation was solely focused on charging forward, completely disregarding defense.

– Entry route. Projecting now.

Whirr─

Then, a pure white light shot out from the jewel, creating a path on the ground.

‘Ha, really.’

A clean line, as if drawing the solution to a maze.

It was a method befitting Shin Se-hee, the epitome of thoroughness.

– A group of Rage Howlers has appeared 500 meters ahead. Fifteen of them.

Shin Se-hee kindly guided us with arrows made of light.

I smiled slightly as I watched.

‘Hmm, now I roughly understand why she was so troubled…’

I had something to say to Shin Se-hee, but for now, I decided to quietly follow her instructions.

One must experience proper failure to clearly correct mistakes.

* * *

Crash─!

Led by Kang Do-hee, Utopia quickly navigated through the maze.

Occasionally, Rage Howlers wearing hunters’ equipment blocked the path.

But Utopia continued to move forward without stopping for a single moment.

‘…Good. Next.’

The first step was taken well.

A dungeon composed of a complex maze.

I heard that other hunters usually carry paper maps and record their routes as they go.

But Utopia had no need for that.

A drone camera dedicated to the gate floated in the air, illuminating the inside of the dungeon.

Shin Se-hee’s eyes moved busily.

The entire map stored in her mind and Utopia’s current location.

She updated these two in real-time.

Then, she found the correct route and intuitively showed it with the camera’s light.

“Yes, turn left there. Then turn right 300 meters ahead, and then make a U-turn. Six suspicious individuals. Hmm, regular hunters. Confirmed.”

Thus, Utopia raced along the shortest route to the edge of the territory.

It took only an hour to reach the entrance of the unknown.

It was a new record.

Considering that it usually takes an ordinary high-level party more than nine hours to reach the edge of the territory,

a record of one hour was unbelievable.

Nevertheless, Shin Se-hee’s face hardened.

‘This is just the beginning.’

The unknown (未知)

Yes, from here on, the true test of the commander’s abilities begins.

A labyrinth with no information, hunters and demons who have no qualms about killing, and the endless calls of the Rage Howlers living in packs.

The dangers are everywhere.

Of course, even so, if Utopia were to get serious, it wouldn’t be a problem at all.

But right now, the party members are under various restrictions, including mana restraints.

‘…This is the only way. To test my command abilities.’

Shin Se-hee took this as a sign of trust and instead lifted the corners of her mouth.

* * *

“Kieeeek!!”

“Kieeek!”

“Kik, kik! Kikikik!!”

A battle with the Rage Howlers broke out in the unknown.

A horde of monkeys, madly charging, blocked Utopia’s path and went berserk.

– Miss Lee Yuri.

At the clear voice in her ear, Lee Yuri frowned.

From noble mtl dot com

To be honest, when Shin Se-hee took over the party’s command,

Lee Yuri wasn’t too worried.

After all, Shin Se-hee had already proven her abilities more than enough.

She easily accomplished difficult and complex tasks that Lee Yuri could never have done if she were in that position.

Therefore, she believed that Shin Se-hee would do well in this command as well.

However, the command she received from Shin Se-hee felt somewhat stifling.

– Tilt the shield up 45 degrees. And take two steps back. Yes, that’s good.

Swaeak!

As soon as he stepped, sharp thorns shot up in front of his feet.

It was a trap set by the Lazy Howler.

“I know.”

– “Sophia, an arrow is coming from the 2 o’clock direction. Tilt your shield to the right and deflect it.”

Ting!

Yuri tilted her shield and deflected the incoming arrow.

The arrow lodged itself between the eyebrows of the Lazy Howler behind her.

“I know too…”

A command style similar to Jin Yuha.

No, a bit more meticulous.

It’s not particularly difficult as it demands just the right amount.

But why does it feel so suffocating?

Yuri glanced sideways at the other party members.

Like her, everyone’s expressions were not good.

“Kkieek!”

Kwaaang!

Especially, Kang Dohee seemed to be suppressing a boiling feeling.

Her swinging fists were full of emotion.

And then a brief pause.

“…Did she say something?”

Shin Sehee is a monster.

That’s for sure.

She’s giving such detailed instructions to herself while simultaneously giving similar instructions to other party members.

“I’ve taken command a few times as the vice party leader, but I couldn’t even imitate Jin Yuha.”

But somehow…

“…Puppet?”

Yeah. That’s right.

It feels like being a puppet controlled by Shin Sehee, like becoming her personal guard.

“Hmm, I didn’t want to compare her to Jin Yuha, but it’s inevitable…”

Jin Yuha and Shin Sehee.

What makes the two of them so different, to the point where there’s such a disparity?

On the surface, they seem similar.

The way they meticulously plan their actions, the broad vision that sees several steps ahead.

You can clearly feel that Shin Sehee has deeply studied and referenced Jin Yuha’s command methods in the way she suggests movements and skill timings.

However, when Jin Yuha held the command, not once did I ever feel like a puppet.

‘…Jin Yuha lets me make my own judgments, and if they’re correct, he doesn’t interfere.’

I don’t know how it’s possible, but Jin Yuha only speaks concisely about the parts I hadn’t thought of.

It’s like scratching an itch?

In fact, recently, the amount of instructions has significantly decreased.

When you look back, you can see Jin Yuha smiling broadly.

‘It feels like my judgment is being acknowledged.’

– Miss Lee Yuri, front direction. It’s a combined attack. Step on Ichika’s shadow and dodge.

Following Shin Sehee’s instructions, Lee Yuri thought as she stepped on the shadow.

‘And sometimes, Jin Yuha makes reckless demands that make me wonder if I can really do it.’

When I move without hesitation at that moment, I find myself surpassing my limits.

The immense sense of achievement that follows.

The certainty that I can become better with this person.

Those things naturally made me recognize Jin Yuha as the leader.

Even when I think back to when we first formed the Utopia party and Jin Yuha became the party leader.

‘At that time, Kang Dohee was the strongest.’

The proud Kang Dohee didn’t object to Jin Yuha sitting in the leader’s seat.

But now…

“Flower bed, stop chattering noisily. Shut up!”

Bang─!

In the end, Kang Dohee couldn’t hold it in and exploded.

‘Is this… really okay?’

Lee Yuri turned her eyes to Jin Yuha, who had an indifferent expression, not knowing what he was thinking.