Chapter 79: In The Jungle, The Strong Have Priority

The fact that the safety on my heavy rifle might have been set to semi-auto instead of safe was something I chose to ignore for the moment.

Lately, notions of shame and dignity had been fading away.  

But I couldn’t bring myself to say, “I wish you’d do it while I’m awake,” out loud.  

And interrogating her now would only cause errors in the sticky, delusional circuits spinning in Ryua’s head.  

So.  

For now, nothing happened.  

“……Now you’ll cooperate with us.”  

“Oh my. Of course. But wow, you’re really firm. I thought you’d be much softer.”  

I decided to pretend I didn’t hear the last part.  

The cooperation we secured was as follows:  

**A dedicated radio with a private line.**  

Essential for smooth communication, given that Party 1 and Party 2 were physically separated.  

Renatelle claimed to know the general geography and could track us by scent, so she’d be fine.  

**Partial CCTV surveillance network.**  

Fitting for a megacorp that would only exist in a cyberpunk world.  

Neo-Hanyang was subtly littered with CCTV cameras, even secretly installed in places the royal palace wasn’t aware of.  

At this point, I was starting to wonder if these guys were actually a rebel faction.  

“What if I report this to Her Highness?”  

“Hehe. Feel free to try.”  

“Hmm……”  

There was no point in a battle of wills—I’d be the one left unsatisfied.  

*If I ever pull her from the gacha…*  

*I’ll make her kneel and beg, calling me ‘Master.’*  

I made that vicious vow deep in my heart.  

Of course, if that happened, Rumi would be the first to step up and establish dominance with a fierce *nya-nyan* bite.  

And finally.  

“You must not use these unless it’s a real emergency. I trust you understand that much.”  

“Of course.”  

We also acquired a few small EMP bombs.  

Ryua had frowned and asked if we were planning to fight the government.  

I had no such intentions.  

But I *was* planning to fight soon.  

**Floor 24, Section 5.**  

I didn’t remember the story details well, but I knew for certain that in that section, we’d be fighting hacked Byeolgi troops controlled by the dinosaurs.  

It was known among players as the *”camping section.”*  

A point in the stage where the difficulty spikes unreasonably, forcing players to farm for extended periods before progressing.  

I didn’t understand why the developers inserted such walls—I wasn’t one, after all.  

But whenever I hit such a section, a quick search in the forums would reveal friendly guides on how to break through.  

And most of those guides…  

Included **premium characters.**  

Naturally, the conclusion was almost always *opening your wallet.*  

It was practically a business tactic.  

Of course, I stubbornly held out for about a week and managed to push through, but I didn’t need to do that now that I was *inside* the game.  

So.  

These EMP bombs would let us cheese our way through that section.  

Lastly.  

They provided us with a fully secured safe house—free of charge.  

“Well, call us if anything comes up. We’re busy, so I’ll leave it at that.”  

“Thank you, Ryua.”  

As long as Ryua didn’t betray me, I’d effectively neutralized most of the threats against me.  

With that weight off my shoulders…  

Part of me wanted to storm the dinosaurs’ hideout right away and give them a taste of Korea’s traditional *jwifire-play*—just like they did to us.  

Unfortunately, Floor 23’s missions didn’t involve playing with fire.  

Small-scale battles.  

Evidence gathering.  

Backroom dealings.  

We carried out these tedious missions—unfitting for a true man—and steadily collected proof of our dinosaur friends’ treasonous plots.  

Of course.  

“Why not just grab one and force-feed them a bowl of *seolleongtang*? Wouldn’t that make them talk?”  

《Affirmative. Dungeon #38 agrees with that opinion. However, denied. Unjustified violence violates the judicial system.》  

Talking about the law to someone who lives fine without it.  

These otherworlders don’t even know the most basic common sense—like how water already knows the answer. *Tsk tsk.*  

Anyway, the exciting *dinosaur-leather handbag crafting session* would have to wait until Floor 25.  

“Renatelle, turn left up ahead. There’s an abandoned building. Secure the basement.”  

《Roger.》  

I savored the fruits of my training—getting her to shorten *”Understood”* to just two syllables—as I marked an X on a stronghold on the map.  

If there was one thing I liked about this…  

It was that even while hiding in a cozy safe house and just *clicking* orders—  

[★★★ : Locate and destroy 10 enemy weapon stockpiles. (Complete)]  

—the clear conditions would magically *ding* into completion.  

Of course, some missions required on-site command, but most could be easily solved just by *clicking* Party 2 into action.  

The heroes got to showcase their skills to their heart’s content.  

And I could safely *click* my way to victory.  

*Now this* is gaming.  

I’d been playing too hardcore until now.  

***      

“Whew, that’s so satisfying.” 

Saha, who had beaten the lizardman into near-extinction until the fire in his tail was barely flickering, smiled refreshingly.  

How dare they target Ark.  

Part of her wanted to skin them alive and hang their hides outside, but…  

Ark was too soft-hearted.  

He told her not to kill them—just *peel their scales a little.*  

What a kind, beautiful soul.  

She’d believe it if someone told her an angel had descended.  

“Here, this’ll sting, sting!”  

“Grrrraaarrgh……!”  

Glancing at Ari, who was gleefully plucking scales, Saha also started tearing into the lizardman’s bloodied hide.  

“—!”  

She felt no sympathy, even as she listened to his screams.  

There *were* decent lizardmen, but these were direct subordinates of those who targeted Ark.  

Some had even tried to burn down the guildhouse.  

There was no reason for mercy.  

《*Bzzt*, everything okay? *Bzzt.*》  

Everyone’s ears perked up.  

No one was tactless enough to ask why she made the *bzzt* sound with her mouth, so they all quietly focused on Ark’s words.  

《A group of lizardmen will head your way in 20 minutes. Handle them well. *Bzzt.*》  

“Roger. ……You heard him, right? Everyone, get ready.”  

“Yahoo!”  

“Understood.”  

“Mh-hmm……”  

Everyone was grinning at the chance for more revenge—except for one person who responded with a strange noise.  

Johanna.  

Unfortunately, today’s Johanna wasn’t the *saintess*—but the *slut.*  

The intense image she’d seen early yesterday morning had been spinning in her head all day, conjuring up *mushroom parties.*  

The blanket had fluttered and quickly been wrapped in spider silk, so her observation time was extremely brief, but…  

Johanna had engraved that moment into her brain.  

“Haa……”  

This was blasphemous.  

Why couldn’t she stop thinking about it?  

As she tried to calm her chaotic mind…  

Johanna unknowingly placed her palm on her lower abdomen.  

“Would… that even fit…?”  

“Huh? Johanna, did you say something?”  

“Eek, hehk…!”  

She must’ve muttered too loudly, because Ari, who was “working” beside her, called out—startling her.  

“N-Nothing, nothing at all…….”  

Her torment would likely continue for a while.  

***  

[Floor 23 of the Tower of Wishes – Neo-Hanyang District 10 Cleared!]  

This was our first full-scale boss fight with all nine heroes united, but…  

“EASY.”  

It was so easy I almost yawned.  

Originally, this was a section where slightly underdeveloped party members would become a liability, but…    

In our hero party, there *were* no “slightly underdeveloped” members.  

If not for the level cap, we could’ve steamrolled them effortlessly, but this was more than enough.  

The only odd thing was…  

The heroes had been acting strange since this morning.  

Occasionally, I’d offhandedly say something like, *”Rumi’s MVP today,”* and…  

Back then, they’d just been vaguely unsettled by the idea of their performance being quantified and evaluated.  

“Ark! Who’s in first place?”  

“Tell us, quick!”  

But now, the moment the battle ended, they came scurrying over, eyes sparkling.  

What’s going on?  

Should I make some *”Good Job!”* stickers and hand them out?  

“Let’s see… Party 1 is Rumi, Party 2 is Saha.”  

“Nyaa!!!”  

“Hahahaha!”  

Rumi’s tail wagged three times faster.  

Saha laughed heartily, her chest bouncing.  

“H-H-Healing is important too, you know…….”  

Johanna, now a *bocchi,* timidly voiced her opinion.  

“That’s true too.”  

It didn’t seem wrong, so I casually agreed—only for the saintess to turn into a *carrot.*  

Something felt off.  

I had the nagging feeling I was missing something, but…  

“Good work today. Let’s head back.”  

I’d rest and think later.  

Trying to understand the heroes would just give me a headache.  

***  

“……So right now, Rumi’s in first, followed by Ellis?”  

“Hehehe, that’s right~?”  

“Nyaa~ nyaa~”  

“Tch. Being MVP wasn’t enough…?”  

“Why is Tina last? This is rigged!”  

“……Tina might… actually explode……”  

“Huh? Saintess, did you call me?”  

“Ghk, hik, eek…!”