Creak. 

The thick chain on the handles of the eastern gate was unwound for the first time in months. This gate had a large moat, which was something that couldn't be seen from the other gates

“Man, I don’t know how long it has been since I last went through the eastern gate.”

“I think it has been at least half a year. It was used really often because it’s directly connected to the Hainal Mountains.”

“Well, people will be able to use it again once we get rid of all those kobolds.”

It seemed strange to have a moat on only one side of the city walls, but the city lord of Gilleon had ordered it to be built because there had been many monster attacks from the Hainal Mountains throughout history. After the moat was built around the eastern gate, it became completely shut off from the northern and southern gates. Thanks to his bold decision, the monsters weren’t able to harm the city even when they came down the mountain. All Gilleon needed to do was to lock the gate. 

“I heard that the kobolds’ army came all the way down to the hill over there a few months ago.”

“Damn, that’s scary. So what happened?”

“What do you mean what happened? The knights killed dozens of them and chased them away.”

“Well… Kobolds are kobolds.”

The Players were in high spirits. Kobolds were often compared to the likes of goblins, and they were popular prey on the 1st floor as well. 

“Listen up!” Phivir yelled from the turret as he looked at the men gathered below.

Bam bam! 

“This campaign may end up taking days and may seem like a journey without an end. But if you kill those vicious kobolds and return with your heads held high, Gilleon will never forget your service!” He thumped the shoulders of the two knights next to him. “These knights of Gilleon, Weaver, and Rhodi, will lead you in this conquest.” 

Most of the participants already knew of the two knights’ skills. They had been tested by them merely a few days ago. Unsurprisingly, no one protested their leadership. 

‘The city of Gilleon is the one hosting this event in the first place.’

‘It wouldn’t make sense for Players or Adventurers to take positions of power.’

‘I already expected a knight or two to be coming with us.’

The sound of welcoming applause filled the eastern side. Phivir nodded heavily and said one final sentence. “Godspeed. I pray that you will all return safely.”

Weaver and Rhodi came down from the turret and took the lead. 

“Let’s go!”

“We’ll leave you behind if you’re not fast enough, so keep up!”

At the same time, a message appeared in front of all the Players. 

[You have been registered for Gilleon’s event - Kobold Hunting Competition.]

[You can check your progress with the command “check Contribution.”]

***

Thirty minutes after crossing the wide moat bridge, they reached the hill that they saw from within the city. 

“Is this the entrance to the Hainal Mountains?”

“Dammit, I hate hiking.”

“Just hold out for a little longer. Hainal Mountain beer is the best, but the prices have shot up since the eastern entrance was blocked.”

“...Really? I should hold out for the sake of the beer. Only the beer, though.”

It wasn’t a surprise that none of the participants were tired after a mere half-hour of walking. In fact, their postures and expressions exuded confidence. 

‘Of course, they would be like this...’

Those gathered here were veterans who were confident in their abilities. After all, they had proved themselves with a duel. Not only that, but the target of their conquest were the kobolds, which were low-ranking monsters that they had fought many times before. It would be stranger if they were nervous instead of confident. 

‘But if the kobolds in the mountains are as strong as the blood kobolds from last time…’

Things wouldn’t be easy, no, it would be difficult. As far as they knew, there were at least one thousand kobolds in the Hainal Mountains. 

‘If there are that many of them, there will also be many higher-ranking kobolds.’ 

Such as the Kobold Champion that Seo Jun-Ho himself had killed. He was starting to worry about the lighthearted atmosphere that had developed among the participants. 

“Everyone here is much too carefree. Even though the formation was improvised, it does not look like a proper army in any stretch of the imagination,” the Frost Queen said disapprovingly. 

Seo Jun-Ho smiled bitterly, but only because she was correct. “Well, we’ll see once the battle starts.”

He covered his body with Black Armor. Perhaps it was because the power he exuded was so immense, but the people around him took a step back. 

“Halt!” 

Weaver finally gave his first command two hours after they left Gilleon. The formation was starting to fall apart, and they stopped in the middle of a steep hill. He looked up at the top of the mountain, which was covered with thickets and trees. He unsheathed his sword with a shing. 

Seeing that, the Players and Adventurers realized what was going on and quickly started to get ready for combat. 

“I smell them.”

“That’s the stench of kobolds.”

“The knights’ senses are so much sharper than ours.”

Seo Jun-Ho had actually been the first one to notice the presence of kobolds. He dug through his inventory. 

‘What should I do?’ 

This was his first time participating in a campaign like this. As such, he had spent the past few days researching similar events while resting. 

‘I could go all-out from the very beginning and gather as much Contribution as fast as possible. Or… I could start slow so I can avoid the lower-ranking ones holding us in check?’ 

He couldn’t decide which one was better than the other. After all, when it came to these events, the higher-ranking monsters always came out later on. That was why stronger participants often wouldn’t bother wasting much energy in the beginning. They didn’t want to potentially lose out on points by putting their energy into the lower-ranking monsters, which would hold their Contribution points back.

‘Okay. I’ll just see how things unfold.’ 

There was someone he wanted to observe in battle anyways. Seo Jun-Ho made up his mind and pulled out a small shield and dagger. He fastened the shield onto his left wrist, like a watch. 

“The kobold horde is approaching! Maintain formation!”

“Here they come!”

The knights’ angry voices boomed from the vanguard. At that moment, the kobolds hiding in the trees and bushes started to come down the hill. There were so many of them that they looked like ants from a distance. 

“Just how many are they?”

“Did all the kobolds in the mountains come all at once?”

The Players’ faces fell as they started to prepare for battle. Seo Jun-Ho glanced over the hill, checking the kobolds. 

‘They’re not blood kobolds.’ 

The ones rushing toward them were just normal ones; the kind that Players and Adventurers could easily kill. 

The first people they clashed with were the two knights at the front. 

“And to think you were so quick to run away a few months ago!”

“I’ll teach you a lesson!”

Every time the knights swung their swords, they would take out multiple kobolds. They started to climb up the hill, vigorously slaughtering the kobolds on their way. 

“H-hey, the knights are gonna steal all the Contribution points!”

“Attack!”

“Shit! The kobolds aren’t coming to the back!”

No one seemed to be intimidated by the prospect of battling the kobolds. Once they saw the opportunity to gain Contribution points, they started to wave their weapons excitedly. 

“Hahahaha! This is easy!”

“Only 1 point per kobold? That’s so cheap!”

“Damn, long-range attackers have an advantage here!”

While the vanguard fought with the kobolds, Seo Jun-Ho and others in the rearguard were on standby. But soon enough, the kobolds climbed the trees to surround them and attacked them from the side. 

“Nice!”

“I thought I wouldn’t be able to get any Contribution points, but they came here themselves.”

“Kieeeek!” A kobold swung from a tree and swung a stone ax toward Seo Jun-Ho’s head. He blocked swiftly with his shield and swung his dagger. 

Crack! 

The blade tore through the kobold’s chin and skull, killing it instantly.

‘Something’s up.’ 

Seo Jun-Ho’s eyes narrowed as he scanned the battlefield. Kobolds weren’t exactly known for their bravery and valor. In fact, most people debated whether or not they were more cowardly than goblins. 

“Aren’t these kobolds acting a little weird? Why are they coming here when they know that they’re gonna get killed?”

“I don’t know. Seeing how boney they look… I don’t think they’ve eaten for days.”

“Hmph, so they thought we’d be easy prey because we’re in the back? That disgusts me.”

The participants started to suspect that something was up, but they quickly lost interest. The kobolds were too weak to draw necessary suspicion. After all, if ants were acting a little strangely, humans wouldn’t concern themselves with them. 

‘Oh, right…’ 

Seo Jun-Ho remembered where Baek Geon-Woo was. He turned toward him.

Bam! 

Baek Geon-Woo’s fists cut swiftly through the air. Perhaps it was because his opponents were kobolds, but he seemed much more powerful than he had been during his fight with Weaver. 

‘Really, not bad...’ 

Of course, the path he had walked on hadn’t been pretty. But he was pretty good even when compared to the Players whom Seo Jun-Ho had met on the 2nd Floor. Though, it became more complicated once you considered the fact that it had taken him sixteen years to reach this level. 

“Kyaaak!”

Seo Jun-Ho stabbed the throat of an incoming kobold without even turning away from Baek Geon-Woo. His eyes were glued to him. 

“He has a good foundation.” Seo un-Ho could tell how much training he went through in sixteen years just from his punches. 

“...Those fists carry the burden of time,” the Frost Queen observed.

“They’re slow and unsophisticated, but he puts his heart into every punch. If you got hit, you’d feel it all the way through your bones.”

Above all, he liked Baek Geon-Woo’s attitude. Even though the kobolds were much weaker than him, he was still putting his full strength into every punch. 

‘He did the same thing during his fight with Weaver. He always uses his full power.’ 

That was something he could improve on… Seo Jun-Ho grinned and started to swing his dagger even harder. Even if he didn’t help him, Baek Geon-Woo would eventually break down the wall in front of him. Seo Jun-Ho could see in him the same fighting spirit that he had seen in Gilberto long ago. 

‘If I just give him some advice, I’m sure it’ll be beneficial…’ 

But he would decide whether or not he would help him after watching for a bit longer. Seo Jun-Ho bashed the last kobold’s head with his shield. 

“...Wait, they’re all dead?”

“Shit! I only got five of them!”

“Tsk. I should go to the front and seize the opportunity. The people there are in a much bigger advantage.”

“I’ll go with you. We won’t get any Contribution points in the rearguard.”

The battle was over. While everyone was laughing and drinking water, Seo Jun-Ho looked concerned as he looked up the mountain. He noticed that there were a few kobolds standing there with their backs to the sun.

“Are those… blood kobolds?”

They were even properly armed, like Players. They looked down on the battlefield, then turned around and left. A few other Players started to whisper as they watched those figures leave. 

“Hey, did you see that? I didn’t get a good look because of the sun, but there was something up there…”

“Didn’t Seo Jun-Ho just say that they were blood kobolds?”

“Come on, you probably misunderstood. I’ve never heard of blood kobolds being spotted in this area.”

“Aren’t blood kobolds the ones that have been appearing in the Outlands?”

“Ugh, I have a bad feeling about this. If they really are blood kobolds, I’m dropping out.”

The two knights watched the mountain, then turned back to the fighters and tried to calm them down. 

“You all fought well. It was an overwhelming victory!”

“At this rate, it will only take us a few days… No, we might even be able to kill all the kobold soldiers by tomorrow.”

They killed 500 kobolds in the first battle without a single casualty. It really was an overwhelming victory. 

“Contractor,” the Frost Queen said in a low voice. “I think something is strange. I get the feeling that they were merely testing our battle capabilities.”

“...I think so too.”

The kobolds of this mountain were strange. The blood kobolds he had fought with Hakan a few days ago weren’t nearly this organized. 

‘But just now, they seemed like they were acting on orders…’ 

He suddenly thought of the leader of the dark elves he had encountered on Earth, Rodomir. If the kobolds were being led like a powerful general like him, it would be a possible explanation for the kobolds’ strange movements. 

‘Just who is it?’ 

Who could possibly organize the unintelligent, cowardly kobolds?

He felt like his instincts were whispering to him—Don’t let your guard down.