30. Attack Squad
Those who gathered to subdue a crack were called subjugation teams. There, the lower and upper subjugation teams had quite different nuances.
There were no such things as a role group in the lower world since one person did the same thing as the other.
The C and F-class were similar, and they knew how to do things similarly.
On the other hand, role groups were standardized in the upper world: dealer, healer, and tank.
Each of the three roles above had different personalities, and of course, they did different things.
Furthermore, each role group also had several branches.
Dealers were basically divided into melee dealers and ranged dealers. From there, they were again divided into an assassin type, a warrior type, and a wizard type.
Tanks were divided into crowd tanks, dedicated tanks, and aggro tanks that attracted the attention of monsters.
Healers were classified as either combat-type healers who directly participated in battle or support-type healers who supported the rear.
Therefore, in the upper world, the unique name of ‘Attack Squad’ was used instead of the word subjugation.
He brought that up out of the blue since Ko Byeong-gap planned to have his own attack squad.
‘Hmmm… This should be enough.’
Ko Byeong-gap planned the special force that he wanted to subjugate with in the future. It consisted of five dealers and two tanks. With himself as the main dealer, he added two Beast Goblins to fill the gap.
Kiriyan and Dorma were ranged dealers and were entrusted as support attackers. Turka and another Giant Goblin were given the role of tanks. Their mission was to assist the ranged dealers so that they could perform stable attacks.
‘It’s perfect if we had a healer.’
It was a pity that they had no healers. Among the related to healing.
“Come out to the front, you nameless children.”
“Yes!”
It was inconvenient to call them ‘You, hey!’ so he decided to name them.
The two Beast Goblins and one Giant Goblin walked bravely. Among the new Goblins, only the biggest and strongest ones were selected.
‘What would be good?’
Ko Byeong-gap groaned. He didn’t know that giving a name was so difficult.
‘Ah. I can just make up anything.’
“You are Changsik from now on. You’re Taesik.”
The Beast Goblins were given the names Changsik and Taesik, respectively. It was a Korean name, but what about it? It wasn’t as if anybody else were going to point it out.
“Thank you!”
Fortunately, both Changsik and Taesik liked it. At least, that was how it looked in Ko Byeong-gap’s eyes.
“Hmm. What would be good for you?”
It was the Giant Goblin’s turn, but he couldn’t get any inspiration. After all, they didn’t even have names, so it was a headache.
“Oh, I don’t know. You can just be Orca.”
“Orca?”
“Yes. Turka, Orca. I think you’re good to go.”
“Yes! I like it! Thank you!!”
“Okay.”
Now that he had named them all, it was time to refine them. Ko Byeong-gap handed out the prepared items to the attack squad. It was a growth potion textbooks.
“Kiriyan.”
“Yes, Lord.”
“Make the children drink potions and teach them how to engrave textbooks. Do you know how to do it?”
“No problem!”
“Here’s the potion. I bought you and Turka some too, so drink two bottles each. I’ll be at the warehouse, so come over there when you’re done.”
“Yep!”
Ko Byeong-gap left the Goblins and headed for piled up in the warehouse, from the junk he picked up to the by-products they got from the monsters. And next to the warehouse, two alchemy devices, the Combustion Unit, were installed.
“Oh, Lord. You’re here!!”
“Oh, Gobung. How’s everything going?”
Gobung shook his head sullenly.
He spoke while he held up one of the bulkheads, “It doesn’t work well. It’s difficult.”
Ko Byeong-gap worked hard to make Gobung a perfect leader. Sooner, if Gobung could do everything skillfully, he might have to train him as his successor.
Ko Byeong-gap compared the work made by Gobung to what he had hung as a sample. The only resemblance it had was that they used the same material.
Even though he produced a sample to make it easier to conceive, the achievement rate was low. However, he wasn’t disappointed since he didn’t expect him to do it in one evening.
“It’s alright, dude. It’s supposed to be hard. And this is pretty good.”
“I… Really?”
“Would I lie to you?”
“Oh, no!”
“Okay, so keep practicing.”
“Yep!”
“And drink this.”
“Ah! Thank you!”
Ko Byeong-gap handed him the two bottles of potions he had in his arms. Gobung accepted the potion and said he liked it.
‘You’ve gotten pretty big.’
Gobung, who used to be a sleazy Hob Goblin, had become more reliable. It wasn’t just Gobung because all goblins in Ashvilam had improved in color.
“Wow…”
Gobung drank two bottles of potion at once and frowned. He seemed to be suffering from growing pains.
However, Gobung’s growing pains didn’t last long, as he had already suffered a lot of pain once.
“By the way, what are you doing here?”
“I’m going to make some weapons for the kids.”
“Aha!”
Ko Byeong-gap went into the warehouse and collected the materials. He came out with the coarse claws used by the Beast Goblins and the tail reclaimed from the Rake Wolves.
Gobung worked on his alchemy for a long time. Ko Byeong-gap went to the spot next to him and stood there. He put the prepared ingredients into the barrel and put his palms on the flexible plate.
Ko Byeong-gap conceived the shape of the finished product in his head. He soon started his alchemy work without hesitation.
Doo doo doo doo doo!
The mechanical devices of the combustion unit interlocked and rotated, which emitted noise. Ko Byeong-gap didn’t let go of his concentration until the last moment.
After a while, the combustor shut down. Ko Byeong-gap opened the barrel and took out the finished product.
‘Wow, you look pretty good.’
It was an armored claw with a steel cover. It was a quality item that was excellent in both offensive and defensive properties. It would be a perfect weapon for a Beast Goblin who fought in the same way as a wild beast.
‘These are good gifts for Changsik and Taesik. Kiriyan and Dorma don’t really need weapons, so should I make shields?’
Ko Byeong-gap never stopped and came up with the next work. That time, it was a large shield for the Giant Goblin.
‘What would be good to use as materials? Oh, there was that, right?’
Ko Byeong-gap quickly returned to the warehouse. There was a pile of white objects on the side of a spacious warehouse. Those were the skull of the D-class monster, the Horned Gabri.
The Horned Gabri’s skull was very hard and was strong enough to withstand the slash of Ko Byeong-gap.
Ko Byeong-gap came out carrying the skulls. He shoved it all into the combustor material slot. He was already excited to make something new. Still, he had to calm down. If he lost his composure, he was more likely to fail his alchemy.
He put his hand on the soft plate and took a deep breath. After that, he drew the finished version in his head.
Shields were rather easy because their form was simple.
‘Good armrests and handles are the key.’
He started the combustion unit. Immediately, the alchemy system went into operation.
Doo doo doo doo doo. Push…
The Alchemy didn’t take long. Ko Byeong-gap opened the barrel with a nervous heart. There was a shield large enough to be a door.
“Wah… As expected of you, Lord.”
“Whew, this is basic.”
Gobung was mesmerized. Ko Byeong-gap shrugged his shoulders and admired the finished shape of the shield that was quite excellent. It was worthwhile to train alchemy despite hundreds of failures.
‘The handle and the armrest are perfect.’
Ko Byeong-gap lifted the shield and inspected it. It wasn’t that heavy either since it was made of bones, not steel.
‘It’s a little big for me, too.’
Ko Byeong-gap’s muscular strength handled it easily without uneasiness, but there was an inconvenience in terms of size.
It was unreasonable for him to carry a shield 180cm in length. Only a Giant Goblin with a height of more than 2 meters and long arms seemed to be able to use it properly.
Ko Byeong-gap made one more of the same shape. Around that time, his attack squad came to the warehouse.
“Oh, what? Are you done already?”
“That’s right.”
Ko Byeong-gap skimmed at his attack squad. By the looks of it, they still seemed to be hung up from the aftereffects of what they drank.
“What do you think? What do you think has changed?”
“Lord, this is a real answer.”
Dorma answered immediately. Ko Byeong-gap blinked to indicate that he should keep talking.
“I was surprised when I accepted the magic textbook with my body. It contained the spells that our ancestors used.”
“Oh, really?”
“Yes, if I master them well, I think it will help Lord more.”
“Your attitude is great, but you don’t have to be too impatient. We have a lot of time anyway. What about the others?”
“My head. It hurts, but I’m full of power!”
“I want to fight right now!”
“Good, good.” Ko Byeong-gap nodded with satisfaction. He then distributed the items he made with alchemy.
“Now, Changsik. Taesik. Take it. It’s yours.”
“Huh? Are you sure?”
“Try it on. I don’t know if it’ll fit.”
Changsik and Taesik accepted the glove-type claws and tested them on their hands. Fortunately, it fit perfectly as if it were custom-made.
“It’s great! I’ll use it well!”
“Thank you, Lord!”
“Come on, and… These are Turka’s and Orca’s.” Ko Byeong-gap handed over the shields and leaned on one side. The two Giant Goblins looked very happy.
“From now on, you two have to protect Kiriyan and Dorma with it. You can do it, right?”
“No problem!”
Ko Byeong-gap smiled and shook his hands. Suddenly, a gentle gaze shot from the side.
‘Hmm?’
When he turned his head to see something, Kiriyan looked at Ko Byeong-gap with his eyes wet with melancholy.
Ko Byeong-gap looked at him vaguely and said calmly, “I don’t have yours, Kiriyan.”
“…”
“Hey, you don’t need that because you fight from afar anyway. The same goes for Dorma.”
“Yes… That’s right.”
“Lord, I’m fine. You don’t have to work hard for me.”
Dorma was calm, but Kiriyan seemed a little disappointed, so Ko Byeong-gap thought he should make a dagger for self-defense later.
“You guys, take a good rest today. Tomorrow will be the first outing.”
“Yep!”
Ko Byeong-gap looked up at the western sky. The sun was setting slowly.
He also looked forward to tomorrow’s subjugation.
***
Ko Byeong-gap woke up early in the morning. After he washed his face, he quickly got ready.
He packed his weapons and equipment. There was less to prepare than before since he didn’t need guns and ammunition.
After he changed into his work clothes, he immediately got into the car. He then entered the coordinates of the cracks on the navigation system, which had been marked since last night.
His destination was Paju, and there was a C-rank crack.
‘Finally, a C-rank.’
Ko Byeong-gap slowly stepped into the C-rank crack. If the subjugation went smoothly, his target from that moment on would be C-rank cracks for a while.
If C were easy for them, he would go up to B.
If B went well, he would challenge an A.
If he went up one step at a time like that, he would reach S.
It was a short drive to Paju. Of course, he had to go a long way from the city. Tall buildings disappeared from view, and a quiet rural village greeted him.
It was a camping site with mountains behind it and valleys in the front where he stopped his car. Since it was summer, there were quite a few tents. He had to walk up the valley for an hour to reach the crack.
As he opened the trunk of his car to pick up his equipment, spectators flocked to the side.
“Wow, he must be a hunter. He’s wearing a sword around his waist!”
“There was a crack up there. I guess it’s real.”
“He’s in great shape. Should I ask them for their autograph?”
“Oh, I think I’ve seen him on Hunter TV.”
“Really? Who is it? Who is it? Is he famous?”
“I don’t know? I don’t think he’s that famous.”
‘You’re making me laugh.’
Ko Byeong-gap snorted inside. Who did they see on TV?
He deliberately turned a blind eye to the people and finished preparing. It wasn’t long before he passed their gaze and began walking along the valley.
The terrain grew rough because it was upstream of a river that people couldn’t reach. Ko Byeong-gap was able to spot the crack there. Fortunately, there seemed to be no occupiers. He immersed himself in the crack without hesitation, and the back world greeted him… also, monsters.
“Kurk! Kurk!”
“Summer valley, Frog? It’s like a theme park.”
It was a D-class monster, the Giant Frog, that blocked his way. It literally looked like a bullfrog that was hundreds of times bigger, but when it opened its mouth…
“Kuruk!”
He could see the thousands of teeth filling its mouth. Giant Frogs had tremendous jaw power. It was said that it would take less than three seconds for it to chew a whole person and swallow them.
Pot!
The Giant Frog shot its long tongue. It was as fast as an arrow, but being fast was a relative value.
Ko Byeong-gap pulled out the sword from his waist and threw it out at the same time. The pink tongue was cut and fluttered.
“Koo kuk?!” The Giant Frog faltered, perhaps embarrassed.
Ko Byeong-gap paused for a while from taking the life of the Giant Frog and opened the door to Ashvilam.
“Guys, come out. Today’s side dish is frog.”
In response to his call, his attack squad emerged.
Comments