Chapter 64
"I'm Chloe."
"I'm Hyun."
I exchanged names with the woman named Chloe and had a sporadic conversation while waiting.
There were about 30 or 40 people gathered to hunt the Zone 1 Boss.
The weapons they held varied from swords to maces and axes, but most of them carried a shield as armor.
I didn't necessarily need a weapon, but I brought one so I wouldn't stand out.
As expected, a one-handed weapon plus a shield was the most reliable.
It was the best combination for a beginner.
No matter how much Climbers leveled up and became superhumans, it didn't mean they suddenly became good at handling weapons.
But let's set that aside.
Looking around, I could see the people were slightly divided into two groups, keeping some distance from each other...
The people on the opposite side were probably Climbers from the China Faction.
"That must be the Black Star Society over there. Right?"
Chloe said, looking at them.
"Seems like it."
The Climbers of the Faction centered around the United States and the Climbers' Association were on the Public Order Squad's side.
Conversely, the Climbers centered around China formed a group named the Black Star Society.
Simply put, it was the United States versus China. The power dynamic on the 5th Floor was like that.
I roughly knew how the Boss Expedition worked.
The people gathered here to hunt the boss naturally aimed to get the First-time Reward like me.
In other words, they were Low-level Climbers who had never hunted the boss before.
At most, they were around level 20? Chloe here also said she was level 15.
Exiting the 5th Floor was only possible within the portal range of Zone 0.
It wasn't like a Repeat Clear where you could make an Emergency Escape out of the tower if things got dangerous while hunting the boss.
So a Boss Raid was naturally a perilous task where you had to risk your life, but it was said the Zone 1 Boss wasn't extremely dangerous because...
High-level Climbers from the Public Order Squad and the Black Star Society accompanied them to supervise the Boss Raid.
Soon, a few people wearing something like armbands stood at the front. It was the Public Order Squad.
"...?"
I was surprised to see one of them.
It was a familiar face: the Section Chief of the Climber Bureau.
...Why is she here?
Then again, since she works for the nation, it makes sense she'd also handle Public Order Squad duties on the 5th Floor.
Section Chief Shin Sujin spotted me too.
I saw her stare intently in this direction, then her eyes widened in surprise.
Oops, did she recognize me?
Ignoring her didn't seem polite, so I just gave her a subtle nod of acknowledgment.
At that, Section Chief Shin Sujin also gave a slight nod in return and looked away from me.
A person from the Public Order Squad shouted loudly.
"I am warning you in advance! Climbers below level 15, step out! A Boss Raid is an extremely dangerous task, and we will not take responsibility for your lives! One person died during the last expedition!
If you aren't at least level 15, it will be hard to fill the Reward Contribution anyway! Do not even think about trying to just ride along!"
It was an advance warning for Climbers who weren't up to the task to drop out.
A person from the Black Star Society was also shouting a similar warning.
At that, about a fifth of the gathered people exchanged glances and stepped out.
Chloe spoke in a slightly tense voice.
"Hyun, it seems the Public Order Squad doesn't intervene in the Boss Raid, seeing as one person died..."
I replied.
"It would be meaningless if they intervened. We're the ones who have to make the contribution."
"T-That's true. Still, I thought they would step in if it got dangerous."
"They would probably step in if it got really dangerous, right?"
Still, their response couldn't be perfect, which was probably why there were deceased persons.
"We are moving out now!"
After waiting a bit longer, they shouted from the front again.
The Expedition Team left Zone 0 and began to enter the Forest of Zone 1.
---
Between the Public Order Squad and the Black Star Society, the side that Climbers from the Republic of Korea belonged to was naturally the Public Order Squad.
Therefore, the work that Shin Sujin, a public official of the Climber Bureau, did in the 5th Floor common area was primarily Public Order Squad duty.
The Public Order Squad, composed of Climbers from the Association's side—that is, Climbers from the United States and Western Bloc nations—included people like her who were handling their nation's official duties, as well as people who just volunteered regardless of their nation.
In any case, it was an organization that joined forces for maintaining order on this 5th Floor at a minimum, where there were no laws or anything else.
Since Shin Sujin was a high-level Climber over level 30, she was an executive-level person even within the Public Order Squad.
She had decided to take on the role of Supervisor for this Zone 1 Boss Expedition.
The Supervisor had two purposes.
One was to protect the Climbers.
They didn't directly intervene in the Boss Raid. That would end up stealing their contribution.
Their role was to step in and rescue only when someone's life was truly in danger.
The other was to keep the Black Star Society Climbers in check to ensure they didn't try any funny business.
Of course, the Black Star Society side also had a Supervisor tagging along for the same reason.
The Zone 1 Boss Expedition was being conducted like this under mutual agreement.
Since the First Clear Reward had already been claimed for this boss, there was no need to cause unnecessary conflict with each other.
"...?"
As Shin Sujin looked around at the people gathered for the expedition, her gaze suddenly stopped on one person, and she tilted her head.
He had a somewhat familiar aura...? Where had she seen him?
She made eye contact with the man.
Intuitively realizing his identity, Shin Sujin widened her eyes.
“...Person123!”
Confirming her intuition, he looked this way and gave a nod of acknowledgment.
Shin Sujin also nodded unconsciously and looked away.
“He entered the 5th Floor...”
This was the first time she had seen his face properly like this.
She immediately understood why Person123 was here.
If it were he, he could naturally hunt the Zone 1 Boss alone.
But he must have been considerate since other people needed to get the reward too.
He probably intended to blend in with the Expedition Team and just build up enough contribution to appropriately claim the reward.
He really is a kind person, Shin Sujin thought.
Thinking he might feel uncomfortable if she showed she was conscious of him, she tried not to look in Person123's direction.
However, she couldn't help but focus her hearing in that direction.
Person123 was having a trivial conversation with the person next to him, whom he seemed to have just met...
Shin Sujin felt somewhat envious.
...I want to have a direct conversation with him too, not just through the communication window.
Still, she had newly learned that Person123's name was Hyun.
---
The Expedition Team crossed the Forest Path and moved toward the location where the Zone 1 Boss had spawned.
Monsters occasionally popped out along the way.
Starting with Goblins, Orcs, Horned Deer, wolf packs, and so on...
The Normal Monsters that appeared in Zone 1 were at most level 10.
The Expedition Team easily dealt with the monsters and steadily advanced to where the boss was.
"We will arrive soon. Please prepare yourselves."
The Zone 1 Boss's name was Forest Giant.
It wasn't like a system message popped up; people just named it that.
As for why it was a Forest Giant...
As soon as I saw it myself, I also thought it was a perfectly fitting name.
Guuu—
A massive tree, a monster that somewhat resembled an inchworm.
The Zone 1 Boss, the Forest Giant, was moving sluggishly in the middle of the Forest.
‘It's bigger than I thought.’
It seemed everyone else had the same thought, as I saw their faces stiffen with tension.
Section Chief Shin Sujin stepped forward and spoke to the people.
"This is probably information you are already familiar with, but I will explain it once more.
The Forest Giant's main attack method is swinging its arms. It can attack in all directions with its four arms, so please be careful. If you are a level 15 Climber or higher, the impact is one you can sufficiently absorb using a shield, so please actively utilize your shields.
...Therefore, it will be easier if you make a role assignment between those who focus on blocking the arm attacks and those who attack. Please take on a role that suits your skills."
Section Chief Shin Sujin's brief explanation of the boss ended.
The Supervisors from the Public Order Squad and the Black Star Society stepped aside.
The remaining Climbers looked at each other and slowly approached the boss.
As they entered a certain range, the Forest Giant reacted and approached.
Geueoeo—
*At that moment, a few Climbers from the Black Star Society charged toward the Forest Giant with a shout.*
Taking that as a signal, the other Climbers also rushed in.
In the end, if you couldn't fill the contribution, there was no reward. You had to secure your share yourself.
I also ran along moderately and approached the Forest Giant.
"Keugh...!"
"A-Attack now!"
The Climbers fought well in their own way.
When a few blocked the swinging arms with their shields, the rest of the Climbers attacked those arms or stuck close to the torso to attack the legs.
Bang!
I also blocked an arm with my shield.
A light impact, like styrofoam.
I continued to block the attacks moderately so the surrounding Climbers could attack.
Chloe was also sticking to the boss's legs, swinging her mace diligently.
There was also someone far away who spent a long time on mental concentration before firing off a Magic Skill.
Wow... seeing it like this, Magic-type Skills really were absolute garbage.
The battle continued smoothly.
They said a characteristic of a Zone Boss was that its vitality was incredibly tenacious compared to its strength.
In short, it had a huge health pool, just like a boss in a real game.
True to those words, even though the Climbers were diligently pounding away while using Skills, the Forest Giant showed no signs of falling.
“Should I attack a bit too?”
Originally, I was only going to defend.
Since blocking attacks was naturally included in the contribution, I hadn't really thought about attacking.
But I got slightly anxious that I might not meet the contribution needed for the reward.
After all, the contribution wasn't being displayed as a real-time stat.
Thinking I should just hit it lightly, I also moved toward the boss's legs.
This kind of half-hearted strength control was always the hardest.
If I were told to do it very weakly at the level of the general public, that wouldn't be a problem since I did that in my daily life.
But is strength control enough to deal an appropriate hit to a level 20 boss?
Hmm... it was hard to get a feel for it.
Having approached the boss's leg, I swung my sword with moderate power.
“This should be enough.”
CRACK—!
I guess it wasn't.
As soon as I hit its leg, the boss's entire body staggered.
"Oh! It's collapsing!"
"Launch a concentrated attack on its legs!"
The Climbers got excited and clung to the boss more aggressively to attack.
Sweating profusely, I backed away from the boss instead.
I mean, what am I supposed to do if it can't even withstand this?
I almost completely shattered its leg.
Anyway, after that, the Climbers gleefully ganged up on the boss who couldn't keep their balance...
Thud.
Soon, the boss fell.
\[The Zone 1 Boss has been defeated.\]
A message popped up as the boss fell.
\[You have acquired the Zone 1 Boss Defeat Reward.\]
Having sufficiently completed my contribution, I naturally received the reward.
Most of the Climbers were rejoicing, seemingly having received their rewards.
Only a few with expressions like they'd chewed on a bug seemed not to have received the reward.
"Wow! Thank goodness!"
Chloe was also rejoicing, having succeeded in getting the reward.
"Hyun! How about you, Hyun?"
"I got it too."
"Congratulations! Thankfully, we both got it."
Chloe rejoiced as if it were her own business, grabbing my shoulders and jumping up and down.
Concerned about what happened earlier, I subtly glanced toward where the Supervisors were.
No one seemed to be paying particular attention to me.
I wasn't the only one attacking the legs, and it was a chaotic melee, so there was no way they noticed it.
Anyway, the Zone 1 Boss Expedition ended safely like that.
There seemed to be a few injured persons, but there were no deceased persons.
"Ah, I wonder what reward I got."
"Please, just let it not be Magic-type...!"
Since the boss was hunted, the Expedition Team disbanded right there.
The received rewards could be checked in the Reward Room, just like when one does a Floor Clear.
And since the Reward Room on the 5th Floor could also be accessed via the portal, I saw people returning hurriedly to Zone 0.
"Hyun!"
I was also about to return to Zone 0 when Chloe stopped me.
"How about we go back and have a drink together at the Drake Restaurant to celebrate hunting the boss!"
Hmm...
I declined with a slightly apologetic tone.
"I'm sorry. I have to head right out."
"Ah... is that so? That's a shame."
Chloe didn't press the matter further.
It hadn't been long since we met, but she seemed like a good person.
Still, getting close to other people on the 5th Floor was a bit much.
If it led to a situation where we even exchanged communication window nicknames... phew.
On the 5th Floor, it was right to just focus on my own business.
I waved to Chloe as she left first and looked around.
Then I made eye contact with Section Chief Shin Sujin.
We awkwardly exchanged nods again, and I also moved on.
Now... what reward did I get?
It would be a Normal+ Grade at best, so I had no expectations. Still, I had to check.
I returned to Zone 0 and took the portal to the Reward Room.
\[Skill: Lesser Freeze Resistance (Normal+)\]
It grants weak resistance against freezing.
Category: Physical (Passive)
Willpower Cost: None
Cooldown: None
"Oh."
This wasn't a bad drop, was it?
An Ice Resistance Skill Stone dropped, so I learned it immediately.
With this, I now had three lesser resistance Skills: poison, burn, and freeze.
It was trivial, but no one knew when this triviality would play an important role.
\[Zone 1 (0%)\]
\[Zone 2 (10.5%)\]
\[Zone 3 (90.9%)\]
I checked the Boss Gauge.
I had secured the Zone 1 Boss reward.
Now, Zone 2 and Zone 3 were what remained.
But Zone 2 still had a long way to go on its gauge... , and Zone 3 didn't have much left.
It worked out well. The main dish was Zone 3 anyway.
The Zone 3 Boss had never been defeated yet, and if its gauge filled up completely and it appeared, this would be its First Appearance.
And just like a Floor Clear, the bosses on the 5th Floor also had a First Clear Reward.
A reward is given only to the first person to defeat the boss, or if multiple people were involved in the kill, to the person with the highest contribution among them.
The First Clear Reward was naturally of a much higher tier than the First-time Clear Reward given to each individual.
In short, it was the biggest reward one could get on the 5th Floor before challenging the 6th Floor.
"I'll be taking that."
Naturally, I had no intention of yielding that to anyone else.
---
"The Zone 3 Boss is coming up soon too, right?"
Wang Kai, having received the report from the Black Star Society Officer, flicked his finger.
"Increase the Hunting Speed even more. Don't worry about those Public Order Squad bastards."
"Understood."
"I should slowly head in as well."
A sinister smile spread across Wang Kai's lips.