I Entered a Gacha Game That Had Been Abandoned for 10 Years

33 – Layer 2 (1)

“…With such a pattern, if you manage to successfully attack the spine, it will be quite easy to practically kill the second-tier boss.”

“I see.”

“Of course, it goes without saying, but as I mentioned, you should still be cautious because the second-tier boss is slightly larger in size than the first-tier boss.”

Immediately after that, as Kim Hyun-woo mentioned that he would move to another room to clear up, he gave Elena a comprehensive explanation about the second tier.

“Firstly, the information about the second tier is unusual. Is there anything you’re curious about or don’t understand?”

“The information is well provided, so I don’t have any misunderstandings… May I ask another question, if I may?”

In response to Kim Hyun-woo’s following words, Elena cautiously spoke.

“Another question?”

“Yes.”

“What would it be this time?”

With curiosity in his question, Kim Hyun-woo, Elena replied carefully.

“Um, have you ever entered the labyrinth, my lord?”

“Ah.”

In response to her question, Kim Hyun-woo quickly grasped the intention behind her question, pondered for a moment, and then answered.

Strictly speaking, he did enter the labyrinth and strategized to conquer it alongside heroes.

‘To be more precise, I didn’t physically enter the labyrinth but controlled the heroes in battles through the screens of my smartphone or PC.’

Realizing that telling Elena this fact would only confuse her without any benefit, Kim Hyun-woo answered accordingly.

“Did you personally enter the labyrinth?”

“Yes, even though I’m quite good at commanding. Well, there’s currently no reason for me to go in, so I haven’t.”

Kim Hyun-woo suddenly thought.

‘Come to think of it, I might need to go with them from around the fourth tier.’

Naturally, after penetrating the third tier and creating the Labyrinth City, Kim Hyun-woo continued to plan on conquering more tiers.

Conquering the third tier was merely the minimum condition to create the Labyrinth City. To activate the Labyrinth City, it was crucial to conquer as many tiers as possible.

Moreover, to conquer the lower tiers below the third tier, Kim Hyun-woo needed to personally descend into the labyrinth.

Unlike the game where he could reach the Boss Zone by simply letting the heroes engage in automatic battles up to the third tier.

The fourth tier required a strategy of its own as it involved defeating regular mobs and progressing forward.

‘Actually, it would be better if I could control it with a smartphone screen like before.’

Unfortunately, it seemed that Loria couldn’t provide that level of assistance. Therefore, Kim Hyun-woo was mentally preparing for the time when he would have to give instructions from outside when the time to descend to the fourth tier came.

“To protect my lord, I must become stronger.”

In the midst of his thoughts, Kim Hyun-woo responded belatedly to Elena’s voice that reached him. He then recalled that he was in the midst of a conversation with her and replied.

“Being strong is good. If Elena becomes strong, I can go down into the maze without much worry. But don’t push yourself too hard. Elena is gradually getting stronger, and by then, other heroes will also-“

“…I’ll definitely become stronger. So that I can protect on my own.”

Elena declared as if making a proclamation in response to Kim Hyun-woo’s words.

“Well, if you do that, I appreciate it. As I mentioned, if Elena becomes stronger, I can go down into the maze with a little less concern.”

Kim Hyun-woo, realizing that the flow of the conversation was oddly mismatched, made a subtle expression but soon nodded.

Shortly after deciding to go down to the second floor through the conversation, Kim Hyun-woo, who was looking at Elena leaving for the office, opened her information window.

—–

Hero

Name: Elena

Title: X

Star: 2 stars ★★

Affection: (Measuring)

Stats

Strength: 32↑ Agility: 42↑

Intelligence: 22↑ Luck: 19↑

Magic Power: 15

※ The hero trusts you.

—–

Comparing the stats that had risen rapidly once again from two weeks ago, Kim Hyun-woo thought that with this level of ability, he could easily clear the second floor.

‘Huh?’

Suddenly, he realized that her luck had risen again.

‘…Why did luck increase again?’

Kim Hyun-woo made a puzzled expression.

‘I never gave her a difficult mission. I even assigned soldiers immediately if it seemed a little dangerous.’

Thinking that there might have been a situation where luck rose because he took various precautions to prevent her from falling into danger, Kim Hyun-woo contemplated.

‘I need to investigate this a bit.’

He thought that he should look into this aspect a bit more.

While the increase in luck itself was a good thing, the fact that luck continued to rise meant that Elena was constantly facing fatal dangers.

So, as Kim Hyun-woo was pondering about luck,

Elena said.

Heading to the training ground for practice, Elena recalled the words Kim Hyun-woo had spoken earlier.

‘Another hero…’

Of course, Elena didn’t think that Kim Hyun-woo would only recruit one hero. In Lartania alone, she had recruited the auxiliary hero, Rani, besides herself. Besides, it was rare for a lord to employ only one hero among the lord’s heroes.

However, Elena felt uneasy nonetheless. It was a strange sensation, as if something unresolved was stuck in her throat.

‘How about recruiting me instead of Elena?’

Alta’s voice passed through her mind as if it echoed in her ears.

“…I need to become stronger.”

… Elena murmured quietly.

—

Gyral, a cluster of water creatures and one of the Four Kings, had left the cluster that had never been abandoned since the formation of the Red Eyes.

The reason was the sudden disappearance of Merilda, the leader of the Red Eyes, a few months ago.

Of course, the water creatures didn’t pay much attention to such matters. The disappearance of the leader might have caused a significant problem and confusion within the group, but in a group of water creatures that functioned based on the logic of power, confusion didn’t last long.

If the head disappeared, the next strongest person would naturally become the new head.

Although there were some who aimed for the position of the head during the process of changing leadership, such disputes were not a significant concern.

In other words, in the original group of water creatures, there might have been a bit of confusion when Merilda disappeared, but once the new leader took over, nothing noteworthy would happen.

However, the reason Gyral left the group and ventured south to search for Merilda was that the characteristics of the group formed by the Red Eyes, created by her, were different from other groups of water creatures.

The water creatures that entered the Red Eyes, to begin with, were all fascinated by the overwhelmingly irresistible power that she possessed.

She could fight on par with the best warriors in the north, known as the Great Snow Leopard, and her overwhelming strength was unparalleled even when compared to several great heroes making a name for themselves on this continent.

That’s why the Red Eyes were different from other groups, and hoping that this group would continue to exist, Gyral entrusted the rest of the group to the other Three Kings and came all the way here.

Near the Laratania territory, where rumors of the appearance of the Red Eyes had spread.

And as soon as she arrived near that area, Gyral unknowingly smiled.

It was because, apart from worrying if the rumors were false, she felt Merilda’s presence more keenly than other water creatures, even though her sensitivity was quite shallow.

So Gyral immediately moved towards the place where she could feel Merilda’s presence.

After some time had passed, when Gyral arrived at the cliffs with craters scattered around.

“…”

Gyral could see Merilda.

“…?”

I could see Merilda…?

“??”

Giral stared at Merilda, who was showing her back in front of him, with a face full of questioning, or to be exact, a face full of astonishment.

Despite not seeing her face directly, the reason he was astonished was because…

“Her tail, is it wagging?”

Swoosh- Swoosh-

It was because Merilda’s tail was gently swaying from side to side.

“…”

In general, a werewolf’s tail reflects the emotions of its owner.

And the fact that her tail was wagging like that usually indicated that she was feeling very happy.

… No, it was beyond feeling happy; it was practically equivalent to saying, “I’m teasing you.”

Giral expressed an expression of disbelief.

It was no wonder, as he had never seen Merilda’s tail move even once, and except for when her tail was dragging on the ground while soaked in blood, he had only seen it constantly curled up on the ground.

Plus, the tail of the boss, who always showed indifference to everything in the world with sharp eyes that revealed no inner thoughts, waving like that made Giral’s jaw drop.

In that moment.

Whoosh-

“…”

Giral looked into Merilda’s turned head.

There, instead of the always dull and unresponsive pupils that were numb from fatigue, he saw her slightly rejuvenated red eyes, though they were still sharp.

In that appearance, just as Giral was surprised once again.

“You’re here?”

“Gasp.”

In Merilda’s calm, yet slightly revitalized voice, he unintentionally let out a gasp.

… It had been quite a long time since Giral had joined the ranks of the red-eyed, but he had never greeted her even once.

No, in the first place, apart from telling her to “fill your ranks” when she was recruited as one of the red-eyed, Giral had hardly had any conversations with her.

But now, she greeted him?

And not with an emotionless voice, but rather with a hint of friendliness?

Of course, Merilda had simply accepted it without any thought, but seeing her like that for the first time, Giral froze, thinking that the person in front of him might not be Merilda, but someone else.

Meanwhile, Merilda, who had turned her gaze back, looked at the territory in a very pleasant state.

Already, the arrogant hero who had intruded into her mind a few days ago and arrogantly talked about the absolute ruler of darkness or herself had disappeared.

Instead, the wolf looked at Kim Hyun-woo, recalling the words he had spit out earlier.

‘Yes, he was quite a reliable guy. Perhaps because he’s the first hero, there’s a slight attachment to him,’

And.

‘Maybe, really maybe—now—’

In Merilda’s mind, a hope that was hard to control began to grow little by little.

‘Really—’

…Little by little.