Guangzhou Defense Line
As dawn began to break, the green waves were gradually receding.
“Haah, haah.”
“Hoo….”
The number of goblins pouring out from the dungeon was increasing by the day. It had already been three weeks since the break occurred.
“We held them off again today.”
“…….”
The expressions of the awakened ones who had fended off the attack during the dawn were grim. No matter how many goblins they defeated, their numbers only increased, while the number of awakened ones dwindled due to the poison.
Thanks to the antidote from Korea, they managed to hold out to some extent. Without the antidote, the defense line would have been breached long ago.
Moreover, the awakened ones from various places, including overseas, who came to support over the past three weeks were a significant help.
Tap! Tap! Tap! Tap!
Hurried footsteps.
A man rushed towards someone.
“Team Leader Jeong So-yeon! Are you alright?”
These were the awakened ones from Ara Hongryeon, deployed to support the defense line. They had completed all preparations and arrived a week after the break occurred.
Leaning against cover, Jeong So-yeon faintly smiled and nodded.
“I’m fine.”
“I saw you got hit by a poisoned dart! I should have been more careful…!”
At the guild member’s remorseful words, Jeong So-yeon casually rolled up her sleeve. There, a resplendent piece of armor was revealed.
“That, that’s…?”
“My lucky gear.”
“But, the poison….”
Even if the poisoned dart was initially blocked, the poison would silently infiltrate the body. This was why the awakened ones struggled against low-rank monsters like goblins.
However, Jeong So-yeon smiled calmly.
Buzz!
“Wha-?!”
As Jeong So-yeon infused mana into her gauntlet, a thin mana coating enveloped her body. The guild member stared at her with wide eyes.
“While it can’t block physical impact, it can prevent poison from infiltrating.”
“Is it an item?”
“No.”
Expecting an affirmative answer, the guild member was momentarily confused, then received a clear reply.
“It’s crafted gear. Not an item.”
“Gasp!”
The guild member looked at the gauntlet again.
No matter how he looked, it didn’t seem to have any embedded mana stones. This meant the gear operated without mana stones.
“When did our guild develop such technology…?”
“It’s not from the guild; it’s a personal piece of equipment I borrowed for a while.”
While the mana coating couldn’t block physical attacks, making it less helpful in dungeon raids, it was incredibly useful in poison-prone situations like this.
Jeong So-yeon suddenly thought of Kyu-seong and Ara in Korea.
‘I need to resolve this quickly and return it.’
Just then, someone else urgently called for Jeong So-yeon. She pulled her tired body up and approached the person, who said,
“Team 1 Leader, the attack squad that left yesterday….”
“!!”
Bad news had arrived.
* * *
Thud!
A mysterious hoe smoothly pierced the ground.
As it drew a line, a straight furrow formed.
Today was the planned day to expand the field.
They had been gradually expanding it, but recently, with the increase in slimes, there were more spare hands.
‘No, no. It’s not spare hands; I’m just creating a playground for the slimes.’
Ha, where could you find a slime welfare officer who cares for slimes as much as I do? This was all for the slimes.
As I was having such noble, no, kind thoughts, Ara approached.
“Hmm?”
“Food.”
Ara was munching on something.
In her hand was an unidentified beetle.
“…….”
“Not eating?”
“Ara, you eat a lot. Just watching you eat makes me full.”
“Ooh!”
Her giggly smile was cute.
However, Ara’s persistent offer didn’t end there.
“Let’s share and eat!”
“Ara, eat a lot.”
“Eating together brings happiness!”
Where did she find that beetle?
The longer I stayed in the Dungeon of Gluttony, the more I realized there were more insects and plants than I initially thought.
At first, I didn’t notice, but as I got used to the place, these things started to catch my eye.
Thanks to that, Ara often caught unknown insects, plants, or fish to feed me.
Other things were manageable, but dealing with insects was physiologically challenging. Is this the hardship of raising a child?
“Uum.”
Ara puffed her cheeks and offered the beetle to Bokkeum, who was hovering around me. Bokkeum quickly gobbled up the beetle.
“Is it delicious?”
Gulp!
“You’re amazing, Kyu-seong, to give up something this delicious.”
Honestly, her words sparked my curiosity… but eating it as it was felt too uncomfortable. I decided that if she brought it again, I’d try roasting it first.
Taking a breath, I looked around. It seemed I had plowed about 200 pyeong of land.
‘Is everyone safe?’
Suddenly, thinking of the peaceful place I was plowing, my guild members came to mind. Since the departure of Ara Hongryeon, recent news and media were filled with stories about the Dungeon of Avarice.
Thanks to that, I went out four times a day to check for any contact or news from the guild.
“Ara, do you think everyone is safe?”
“Hmm?”
Ara tilted her head in curiosity.
Actually, I hadn’t told Ara about the situation with Avarice or Ara Hongryeon. I didn’t want to make her worry unnecessarily.
But from the general atmosphere, she seemed to sense that something was happening. It was natural since she was always with me.
Once the thoughts started, it became hard to concentrate on work. I decided to put down the hoe and go out for a while.
“I’ll go with you.”
“Alright.”
I picked up Ara and went outside.
Seeing the Slime Dungeon functioning diligently, I stepped out completely when my phone started buzzing intensely.
‘What’s this?’
I usually only got calls on scheduled delivery dates, and most other contacts were with family…
Checking my phone, I saw a pile of messages and missed calls.
“……!”
“What’s wrong?”
Seeing the message content, I was momentarily speechless.
‘The Guild Leader…’
The message informed me that the attack team had encountered Mammon. It also mentioned that most of the attack team members, including the Guild Leader, had been poisoned.
My antidote supply was already depleted. No matter how hard I worked, I could only make three antidotes a day, but the number of those getting poisoned exceeded that.
Moreover, even if I made the antidote here, transporting it to Guangzhou took time, making immediate treatment impossible.
“The Guild Leader has been poisoned.”
“Han Seok-jun?!”
Ara exclaimed in surprise.
I nodded and decided to tell Ara everything.
“A goblin named Mammon from Avarice is outside the dungeon, spreading poison. The Guild Leader, Han-ul, and So-yeon are there.”
“Mammon!”
Ara’s expression turned fierce, like a hissing cat.
“Do you know who Mammon is?”
“I know! A fat, red goblin!”
As expected, she knew Mammon well, likely because they were both from the Seven Deadly Sins.
“Kyu-seong Kyu-seong.”
“Yeah?”
“Let’s go punish Mammon!”
“…What?”
Ara, striking her palm with her fist, was fired up.
“Let’s go save Han Seok-jun, Kang Han-ul, and Jeong So-yeon!”
“No, Ara. It’s dangerous there.”
“It’s okay! I’m stronger than Mammon!”
Hold on a second. I suddenly thought to check Ara’s status window again.
[Ara (Gluttony)]
[Abilities: Gluttony, Breath, Physical Enhancement, Mental Enhancement, Magic Increase, Affinity, Clairvoyance, Insight, Invulnerability, Poison Immunity, Debuff Resistance, Mana Recovery, Self-Healing, Beautiful Skin, Close Combat Immunity, Magic Circulation]
“……”
Her ability window was still outrageous.
Moreover, a new ability called Magic Circulation had appeared, which wasn’t there before.
But that wasn’t the important part now.
‘When did this get upgraded again?’
The ability that was previously Thousand Poison Immunity had now changed to Ten Thousand Poison Immunity. Was this the result of consistently feeding her the leftover tomatoes from making antidotes?
Anyway, Ara’s current state made her a natural enemy to Mammon.
Ordinary goblins couldn’t match Ara in physical abilities, and poisons didn’t affect her?
“You are invincible.”
“I am invincible!”
With the Invulnerability ability, even poison darts or arrows were meaningless. Looking at her again, her abilities were truly astonishing.
To think this cute little girl was actually an overpowered character with all these abilities.
Recently, it seemed even her physical abilities had increased, so I planned to have her tested again at the guild when we had the time.
“Hm!”
I was deep in thought. Rationally, I believed that with Ara’s abilities, she could defeat Mammon. However, my heart disagreed.
No matter how remarkable Ara was, she was like a daughter to me. Taking her to a dangerous place was not an easy decision.
“Kyu-seong Kyu-seong!”
“Hm?”
“While you’re hesitating, everyone is in danger!”
Ara was right.
Besides, I had already been considering going to the field myself.
It took more than a full day for my antidote to reach Guangzhou. Since it was classified as an item, customs took a long time. This was already the fastest possible time in an emergency situation, which otherwise would have taken over a month.
But if I went there directly to make the antidote, I could save that time.
As for the ingredients, I could use the Master of Gluttony to travel to and from the dungeon.
“Let’s go.”
“Yes!”
I made up my mind. I would go, not just because of Ara, but to provide the antidote on site.
Some might say it wasn’t necessary, but my loved ones were there. If I just watched from here and someone reached an irreparable state…
‘I’d probably regret it for the rest of my life.’
Even if there wasn’t much I could do there, I wanted to help with any trivial tasks.
World peace? It wasn’t such a grand sense of mission. It was simply for the sake of the people dear to me.
I immediately called Young-seong, who was temporarily handling Team Leader Jeong So-yeon’s duties.
Ring-ring—click!
“Yes, Kyu-seong. You heard the news, right? Mammon has finally appeared. Not only the Guild Leader but also prominent awakened ones from China and others…”
“Yes, Young-seong. I heard. That’s why I have a favor to ask.”
“A favor?”
I took a deep breath.
Ara, standing next to me, grabbed my hand tightly.
“I’m going to Guangzhou too.”
Cliche Novel 