Chapter 27

Solo Clear – Chapter 27: Fourth Stage #1

Posted on September 16, 2017 by kuhaku — 4 Comments ↓

After leaving the building, I got into a taxi and headed somewhere .
It was the small tunnel in the back of the village where I first entered the stage .
I expected there to be a lot of people here, but unlike my expectations, there wasn’t anyone here .
It seemed like a lot of entrances have been discovered by the public, but .
Not that many people knew about this place .

“The fourth stage should be easy . ”

There were rumors that the fourth stage took place in one location, unlike the previous stages where they placed the survivors in different locations .
It was a stage where people that have been separated from the previous stage gather here and meet .
Taking down a monster was the way to clear the stage, but it was different .
The stage had 10 different monsters and the survivors were required to take them down and gather the cards that they dropped .
It was like finishing a puzzle .

They said that it’s an issue because there were too many people .

There’s no proof of it, but there are rumors saying that there were thousands of people within the fourth stage .
The survivors that already cleared the stage said that it was a pretty easy stage to clear .
The biggest stress was getting along with the others since there were so many people and everyone was trying to clear the stage .

They should have them fight over territory or over the cards that are used in the stage .

“I won’t know unless I enter the stage . ”

I scratched my head and carefully walked through the tunnel .
Unlike before, I wasn’t easily scared of the gloomy atmosphere .

“You’ve come back . ”

As a white smoke enveloped me, I heard the voice of the manager that I met before .
It definitely belonged to the woman that got me out .

“Are you here to take me down?”

“That is part of my plan . But, since I couldn’t even scratch you, I’ll need more time . ”
“Should I send you back to that stage? If it’s 10 years, then you might have a chance at taking me down . ”
“I’ll decline . Honestly, it was weird since I was by myself the entire time . ”
“Wow, are you actually saying that you felt lonely?”


“Ha ha, well humans do feel loneliness . That place was just beyond crazy . When I returned to Seoul, there were people around me, so it was nice . ”

The manager seemed to be enjoying the conversation she was having with me because she kept on scoffing in the middle of the conversation .

“Then, did you come back in order to form a party with the other survivors?”
“Nice joke, but if they wanted to work under me, I might consider it . Under the condition that I get all the experience points and dropped items . ”
“Looks like you’ll be all alone for the rest of your life . I feel bad for you . ”
“That’s possible . But, just because I’m alone doesn’t mean I can’t complete it . I might…actually do better?”
“Well, it’s not going to be as easy as you think . In a lot of ways . ”

As soon as she said that, I lost consciousness and was on my way to the stage .

***

When I opened my eyes, I was in a forest .
Unlike the information that said that there would be a lot of people, there wasn’t a single person around me .

“Am I at a remote location?”

[Sense Detection – S Rank]
It’s a skill that detected a presence around me .
Once it’s above Rank A, it allows me to hear sounds even through a soundproof wall .
It lowers the effectiveness of skills related to hiding and can catch any that are B ranks and below .

Through Sense Detection, I could only hear sounds from a couple of places .
I decided to walk towards one of those places .
I kicked the trees around me and walked through the forest like a ninja .

“It’s there . ”

This forest seemed to be the Forest Trolls’ territory because I discovered their village .
I fought against them before during the third stage .
They had a strong regenerative power and were stubborn too, so they wouldn’t go down with a simple attack .
Despite of the time when their arms and legs were cut off due to a trap, they continued coming after me and to this day, I could never forget their faces .

But this was different from then .
It meant that I didn’t have to make another shabby trap using sticks and bushes .
With a bow and arrow, I can quietly take out those guys .

Through Sense Detection, I was able to detect eight trolls .


There were also two guards around the area, so in total, there were 10 trolls .

In order to hunt, I got into position and slowly pulled the arrow back .

Swoosh!!

The arrow pierced through the neck of a guard that passed the front gate and was about to go in through the back gate .
Trolls and orcs use the horn flute that’s tied around their waist to notify the others that an enemy appeared .
However, when their neck is injured, it’s impossible for them to blow it .
While I was thinking that .

“Ack!!”

The Forest Troll looked like they were going to die at any moment, but they still raised the horn flute .
I was shocked after seeing that and quickly climbed down the tree .
As I walked through the bushes, I ended up standing in front of that troll and decided to kill it with my sword .
The Forest Troll’s head rolled away .

But something was weird .
At my level, I should be able to take down one little troll without any issues .

‘Is it because I didn’t use any mana when I shot that arrow?’

I decided that it would still be strong enough even if I didn’t use any mana .
While feeling uneasy, I got into position again to shoot another arrow .
I targeted the guard that was patrolling the back gate .

I added a very small amount of mana to the arrow and a blue smoke started coming out from the tip of the arrow .
Swoosh!!

I aimed for their neck again .

Fwoosh!!

I was certain that their neck would blow up, but the arrow just passed through the center of their neck and landed on the ground .

“Ack!!”

I couldn’t finish it off this time either .
I climbed down the tree again and did the same thing that I did moments ago .

“Should I aim for their head?”

Honestly, the question about whether I should aim for the head or the neck wasn’t the issue .
It was the Forest Trolls that wouldn’t die even after being hit by an arrow .
When I thought about the previous battle, I remember them being helpless when they got hit above the neck .
But, this place was different .
The Forest Trolls became stronger during my absence .
Or maybe the trolls that I fought back then weren’t Forest Trolls .
Either way, I was pretty shocked by the situation .
In the end, in order to calm down my uneasiness, I walked through the back gate with confidence .

“Kyahh!! Human . ”

“It’s a human . ”

When the Forest Trolls saw me, they grabbed their lance and clubs and were about to get into position .
Before they could get into position, I quickly charged forward and attacked .
My sword extended out towards the enemy .

Fwoosh!!

The Forest Troll soldier blocked my attack .
I used my mana on my sword, but they were still able to block it?
The hand that was holding the sword loosened up a bit and it caused me to fall back .

“Hey, what is this?”
Even though I knew they weren’t listening to me, I started mumbling towards the troll .

“Are you really the monster for the fourth stage?”

If I’m not careful about how I fight them, I could be the one that could get killed here, not them .
Buff, environmental properties, or did they grow on their own?
Figuring out what happened was something I could think about later .

I used the skills that I had and fought the Forest Trolls, but it lasted a lot longer than I expected .
The fight ended when all of them fell to the ground .
I stabbed the sword to the ground and tried to catch my breath .

“…That was hard . ”

That came out naturally and the beads of sweat on my face started rolling down .
After training for 30,000 hours, I thought there wouldn’t be an enemy that could give me a hard time, but I was proven wrong in the fourth stage .
This was absurd .

“If they’re this difficult, how did the others take them down?”

Just now, I had an interview and even took down a member of the Miracle Clan before coming here .
He boasted about how he was in the 19th stage .

“That guy has been fighting in the 19th stage?”

I couldn’t understand .
There was something seriously wrong about this .

“I at least got the card . ”

Thankfully, while I was searching through the items that the soldiers dropped, I obtained a card .
My body was out of energy and I couldn’t think about going to the next hunting spot .
In the fourth stage, there’s a village where the survivors gather to exchange information and items, so I decided to head there .

“It’s already been designated . ”

According to the community, when the Return Amulet is used, it automatically returns the user back to the village .
And after testing it out, that information was true .
As soon as I used the Return Amulet, I was taken to the village .
And after arriving at the village, I was shocked again .
When I used Sense Detection, I couldn’t detect the people at all .
The ones that I detected in the forest were all Forest Trolls .
When I arrived at the village, my anxiety turned to assurance .
My surroundings was filled with silence .

I was the only challenger in the fourth stage .

“…Ha ha ha, what’s going on?”

<Fourth Stage #1>

Staff :
Jen (TL)
Kuhaku (PR)