Ordinary Art Factor [EN]: Chapter 63

[Ding! Summons 120 Zealots (Attack Power +100%) with Speed Upgrade.]

The surroundings filled with Zealots amidst a flash of white light.

“Kkaaaa!”

“W-what is it! Ji, Jiwon!”

“Hey! What the hell are you doing now!”

“Where did these guys suddenly come from!”

Ahem.

I feel a bit sorry for the two ordinary women, but it’s quite amusing to watch my seniors yelling and panicking….

“Calm down, everyone! They’re allies!”

“They’re units summoned by the party leader. They’re on our side!”

Jihye and Kim Eunhee stepped forward to explain the situation. The seniors and women, who had been jumping up and down, seemed to calm down, but then they began to question the facts.

“Th-those Zealots are on our side? Really? Seriously? For real?”

“Where did they come from? Earlier, Jiwon summoned something… Huh, really?”

“…I’ve heard rumors. That the party leader of Jiwon’s party can summon Zealots. And that there’s also a… Draconian.”

“Wow… I thought he was just a liar….”

Just how did they see me usually… Ahem. Never mind.

Let’s not worry about trivial things.

Instead,

“Move quickly to that hill. The Zealots will protect us in groups of 30, above, below, left, and right. Establish a rapid movement formation!”

“Yes. Oppas [term of endearment used by younger women to address older men], move towards the party leader!”

“You ladies over there, come this way too.”

“Move quickly. Does this look like a joke to you?”

At my command, Jihye, Kim Eunhee, and even Mihee began to push the ordinary people.

We successfully moved to the hill in formation, but we couldn’t advance any further.

The 10th and 9th grades were fine, and we could even try to challenge an 8th grade dungeon, but now….

“Oh my….”

“O-oppa. It’s, it’s stacked!”

“Sob, what do we do, party leader?”

As we climbed the hill, we could see the dungeon’s main base in the distance. It seemed to be a crystal, judging by the sparkling light.

In other words, the dungeon type is a mechanized dungeon.

The problem was that the defense tower buildings seemed to be connected in a straight line here and there, which meant the defense towers were stacked.

Originally, even up to the 7th grade, which I haven’t cleared, the defense tower structure wasn’t like this.

One cannon per tower.

Until now, my method of dealing with defense towers was a no-questions-asked focus fire by numerous Zealots.

If I broke the supports at the bottom of the defense tower, the cannon at the top would be useless, but… I’m screwed. Damn it!

“Why? What’s wrong with that? Is there, is there a problem?”

Sangjun hyung [older brother or male friend] asked, not understanding the atmosphere.

“Ugh! Can’t you see! Those defense towers are connected, that’s called stacking. Stacking is at least 6th grade. A 6th grade mechanized dungeon! We’re all dead now. Sniffle. Waaah….”

Jihye started to get hysterical with Sangjun hyung and sat down on the floor, crying.

“Ji, Jiwon. What are you saying? Is what Jihye is saying true? Really?”

“We can clear it with these many Zealots, right? You’re the Jeju Island defense party, aren’t you? But you can’t clear it? Really?”

“A-ahjussi [middle-aged man]. You said you’d let us out of the dungeon. Please, I beg you. Please~.”

Watching Jihye sobbing on the floor, the atmosphere flowed strangely, as if infected by a contagious disease.

At this rate, we’ll lose the will to clear the dungeon itself.

I need to come up with a solution, but I’m just as frustrated.

I need to be able to clear the defense towers, gateways, and dungeon units with a large number of Zealots, but those stacked defense towers alone are too much for the Zealots.

The stacked defense towers are firmly embedded in the dungeon floor.

Attacking the defense tower supports is useless, so I have to target the cannons directly, but the problem is that the Zealots can’t fly.

If only I could get the Zealots up on those defense towers… Wait, up? Transport?

“Everyone, be quiet. Status window!”

[Artifact User: Han Jiwon (Lv-4)

Nationality/Affiliation: South Korea/Jiwon Party,

Age: 40, Height/Weight: 178cm/78kg,

Agility: 6, Endurance: 3, Strength: 4,

Health: 6, Intelligence: 2, Luck: 13,

Enchantment: 7, Inventory: 8/9

(Awakened Boots, Gloves, Cloak,

Zealot (Speed Upgrade+100%) (0), Draconian (32),

Dark Assassin (1),

Minerals (4.903kg), Idea Awl (2)),

Buildings: 11

(Forge, Battery, Gateway, Draconian Core,

Gas Extractor, Speed Upgrade Core, Land Core, Stargate,

Black Core, Light Core, Land Spore Core),

Crystal: 0/40, Personal Stats: 0,

Summon Target Stats: 251 (Probe),

Zealot’s Top Armor 1,

Possessed Artifacts: Mineral Shard (Absorption) 260,

Gas Shard (Absorption): 2, Idea Pouch (Absorption) 1,

Idea Awl (Absorption) 2]

Hmm… Land Core.

If I create a Land Core, I can produce Shuttles… but the problem is that I don’t have any gas.

Since I haven’t cleared the dungeon, I can’t absorb gas shards either.

If I can get close to the Nexus, can I secretly build a Gas Extractor and absorb gas shards?

No, can I even get close to the Nexus?

If I can’t approach, should I send a Probe? Can I perceive the Probe’s movements and commands from a distance?

What if there are defense towers or dungeon units around the Nexus?

Can the Probe move without being attacked… Ah! Until now, the dungeon units haven’t attacked the Probes!

Then… Various problems and assumptions filled my head, and I tried to find a method with even a slightly higher probability, going through them one by one.

I must have been so focused that I didn’t even know when I was sitting on the floor.

My head feels like it’s about to explode.

But I’ve seen a slight possibility, so now it’s time to check it out.

I got up from my seat and looked at the dungeon’s main base, which I couldn’t even see well, but something felt strange. It was as quiet as a graveyard.

When I glanced back, everyone was staring at me with eyes and expressions like a baby kitten begging for food.

Kyunghwan hyung asked in a tense expression with a cracked voice.

“Is there a way?”

Gulp.

I could almost hear Seungchan hyung and Sangjun hyung swallowing.

“A little….”

50 minutes after entering the dungeon.

“Heehee… I’m going to die. Can’t we rest for a bit?”

“Huff, slowly… let’s go slowly.”

“You weak ahjussis [older men] over there. Can’t you see our oppa? And those ladies over there? Stop with the useless talk and get up, okay? Or do you want to be carried by a Zealot? You can wait here if you want.”

At Jihye’s words, Kyunghwan hyung and Seungchan hyung pouted and started to hurry through the branches.

A 6th grade mechanized dungeon.

Even though I had cleared the Seongpanak 8th grade dungeon several times, the 6th grade was different.

Each time the dungeon grade goes up by one, the size of the dungeon doubles.

In other words, the 7th grade is twice the size of the 8th grade, and the 6th grade is twice the size of the 7th grade. So, you might simply think that the 6th grade is four times larger than the 8th grade, but numbers and reality are clearly different.

Even in the 8th grade, the distance from the dungeon entrance to the Nexus is roughly 1km.

However, you’ll be in big trouble if you simply calculate that the 6th grade is 4km to the Nexus.

That’s just the straight-line distance, and as the distance increases, the surrounding space also widens.

The number of dungeon units also doubles, the number of dungeon buildings also doubles, and new dungeon units are added.

The 6th grade has the added characteristic of stacking, and from the 5th grade onwards, Dark Assassins also make surprise attacks, and Lightning Shamans and Lightning Spirit Thorkans also appear frequently.

Should I be glad that it’s only the 6th grade?

What if it were the 5th or 4th grade?

I rubbed my goosebump-covered elbows and hurried on.

Just thinking about it makes me shudder.

Anyway, the group, including me, started to bypass the dungeon’s main base.

1 hour and 20 minutes after entering the dungeon.

Kim Eunhee, who was moving ahead as a scout, discovered something and ran towards me with a slightly excited look.

“Party leader. There’s a multi [multi-mineral site] ahead, 200m away.”

“A multi?”

“Yes.”

As expected, it’s the 6th grade, and since the dungeon is large, there must be a multi-mineral site.

Maybe, just maybe,

“I-is there gas too?”

“I can’t see that far.”

“Okay. A multi, a multi, you say.”

I approached the boundary where the dense forest ended and looked towards the multi.

I could vaguely see four non-stacked defense towers, two gateways, a crystal, a Nexus, and several Zealots and Draconians, which are dungeon units, wandering around.

At this level!….

* * *

‘Kwaaang… Kwaaaang.’

‘Kuuwoowoo… Kuuwoo.’

“The wrath of the Idea Goddess, Fire Wall!”

“The lament of the Idea Goddess! Sea of Despair!”

“The tears of the Idea Goddess, Ice Wall!”

“Idea….”

‘Kwagwaang… Kwaang.’

There was no need to deploy all 120 Zealots.

After focusing fire on three Draconians first, the four female battle mages rushed in as soon as the defense towers were destroyed.

As each of them cast a fire spell and an ice spell, dozens of Zealots destroyed the Nexus and Gateways.

As soon as things were roughly cleared up, I ran towards the Nexus.

Hoping that there would be gas.

Around the Nexus, there were about 7-8 large mineral chunks buried in the dungeon floor, and steam was intermittently rising from the crevices in the rocks behind it.

“I-it’s there!”

In my delight, I quickly ran over and summoned a Probe to create a Gas Extractor.

[Ding! Gas Extractor has been created. Total amount 85.219L]

85 liters?

85 liters is roughly… 280 shards!

“As expected! 6th grade!”

As expected, it’s the 6th grade.

Such a deposit amount at the multi!

Minerals are minerals, but what I need right now is gas.

I clenched my right fist tightly and summoned 50 more Probes.

“Quickly. Quickly, mine gas.”

Dozens of Probes struggled to enter the Gas Extractor first.

As I watched them shoving their large heads into the extractor entrance, a strange thought came to mind.

‘If I use these guys well… Hmm….’

I organized my thoughts and continued to absorb gas shards, but then an alert popped up that I couldn’t absorb any more.

The maximum number of gas shards I can absorb at my level, 4, is 260 shards.

I can still mine about 20 more shards, what should I do?

Should I make a Draconian with the remaining gas?

No.

I have to use 50 gas shards to create a Draconian Core, which is a waste.

Reluctantly giving up, I tried to move to the destroyed Nexus, but an interesting situation unfolded.

“Ugh! Grrr.”

“What are you doing? You said you work in construction, can’t you mine even one of these?”

“Huff, this is really hard. I think I need to use equipment….”

“Look for equipment in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms [classic Chinese novel], you said you could mine faster than us women!”

“When did I say that!”

“Just now, you clearly saw us mining and said you’d help us, right? When did you tell us to rest….”

“Hehe, Team Leader 3, stop it. Ahjussis, they’re ordinary people.”

Choi Eunji, who was mining minerals on one side, smiled and dissuaded them.

“Ah~ Gilsoo oppa and the other warriors seemed to be mining easily, though.”

“Strength and stamina are different. Are the stats of warriors and mages the same?”

“That’s true, but our physical stat is much higher than yours, oppa [term of endearment used by younger women to address older men]. So, what should we do about this?”

“Why don’t we just blow up the floor with magic?”

Kim Eunhee says, sounding tired from mining minerals.

“What are you talking about? Won’t the minerals break? We need to bring them back intact to get paid.”

“Who doesn’t know that? I’m just saying it feels like it’ll take all day to mine like this.”

“Ah~ I never thought I’d be desperate for a warrior-type Awakener… Hehe.”

“Hehe… Still, it’s comforting to have the party leader here.”

“Right? I was so flustered at first, but seeing you destroy the multi, I think you can handle the main base too. It won’t be easy, though….”

“Oppa probably has it all planned out. We just need to watch the show and get the goodies….”

Where are these girls’ minds at?

What, a show? Goodies?

I was watching them because there were two ordinary women and my seniors, and I was worried they’d be anxious, but it’s getting worse.

I walked towards the destroyed Nexus and said,

“From now on, all company dinners will be at the rice cake shop. Especially Jihye, you only get rice cakes.”

“Oppa~.”

“Party leader, did you mine all the gas? But mining minerals is really hard.”

“Oh, really? Are you all on the same side? Look at you changing the subject.”

“Hehe, just kidding. You know that.”

Jihye looks at me and glances at my seniors and the two women.

She’s quick on the uptake… Well, this kind of atmosphere isn’t bad.

It’s better than being trapped in a sudden Rank 6 dungeon, filled with fear, dread, and despair, hating each other and slowly thinking about death.

But the dungeon clear is still in progress.

It’s not over until it’s over.

“I’ll mine it.”

I summoned two Idea Awls, grabbed one in each hand, and approached the mineral chunk.

“Oppa, it’s a good try, but it’s impossible with your physical stats….”

‘Stab, stab… stab.’

“Dig the floor like this… and like this… Heave-ho. Well, that was easy~.”

I deeply stabbed the Idea Awls into the dungeon floor where the mineral chunk was embedded and swung them around.

Once there’s enough space on the floor, I grab the top of the mineral chunk and shake it left and right, and after shaking it around, the mineral comes off the floor.

It’s simple, just like digging up sweet potatoes and clearing away the surrounding soil.

Okay~ next,

‘Stab, stab… crack. Crack, crack.’

“Oppa! What are you doing breaking it! Do you know how much that’s worth!”

Of course, sometimes it doesn’t work out.

2 hours and 40 minutes after entering the dungeon.

I found and destroyed another multi.

There’s gas here too, adding a plus alpha to my planned clear.

Moreover, it’s about 1km away from the mech dungeon’s main base. If I don’t hurry, dungeon units might pour out from the main base.

Of course, I’d like that to happen.

While the seniors, the two ordinary women, Jihye, Mihee, Kim Eunhee, and Choi Eunji bicker and mine minerals, I created a gas mining station, not worrying about the main base units.

[Ding! Gas mining station created. Total amount: 82.704L]

82 liters… roughly 260 shards.

But I can’t absorb gas shards right now.

I’ve absorbed the maximum amount of gas possible, so I need to use it up first….

Dracan? Shuttle?

Which would be more effective against the stacked defense towers?

Of course, the dungeon clear isn’t achieved just by destroying the defense towers.

I need to destroy the currently produced dungeon units, gateways, and even the Nexus… considering all that.

I created the Crystal, Gateways, and Dracan Core in a flash and fell into thought.

I’ve used 50 gas shards up to this point for Dracan Core, and I don’t know how much gas the Land Core needs since I’ve never created one before, and the same goes for the Shuttle.

First, the Land Core.

“Create Land Core!”

The Prolob scurrying around next to the Crystal burns its body blue.

‘Poo… chi…chijik’

[Ding! Land Core created. Shuttles (150 mineral shards per unit) can be produced from the Land Core.]

“That’s right! It doesn’t need gas. This changes things. Status window!”

[Artifact: Han Jiwon (Lv-4)

Nationality/Affiliation: South Korea/Jiwon Party,

Age: 40, Height/Weight: 178cm/78kg,

Agility: 6, Endurance: 3, Strength: 4,

Stamina: 6, Intelligence: 2, Luck: 13,

Enchant: 7, Inventory: 8/9

(Awakener Boots, Gloves, Cloak,

Zhulut (Speed Up +100%) (0), Dracan (32),

Dark Assassin (1),

Minerals (38.538kg), Idea Awl (2)),

Buildings: 11

(Force, Battery, Gateway, Dracan Core,

Gas Mining Station, Speed Up Core, Land Core, Stargate,

Black Core, Light Core, Land Spore Core),

Crystal: 3/40, Personal Stats: 0,

Summon Target Stats: 250 (Prolob),

Zhulut’s Top Armor 1,

Possessed Artifacts: Mineral Shard (Absorb) 10,

Gas Shard (Absorb): 110, Idea Pouch (Absorb) 1,

Idea Awl (Absorb) 2]

There are 110 gas shards left.

I used 50 on the Dracan Core, so I consumed 100 on the Land Core, and if I combine that with the 270 gas shards I can mine here, that’s a total of 380 shards.

Minerals shards are also running out.

“Summon 50 Prolob units! Summon minerals! Summon Idea Awls!”

Let’s absorb the maximum amount of mineral shards and gas first and then think again.

I ordered 50 Prolob units to mine gas and started stabbing minerals with the Idea Awls.

After a while.

“Create Land Spore Core!”

[Ding! Land Spore Core created. Grub Tanks (120 mineral shards, 20 gas shards per unit) can be produced from the Land Core.]

Checking the status window, 80 gas shards were consumed for the Land Spore Core.

That leaves 300.

“Nice! Wipe them out with Shuttles and Grub Tanks… Oops. Grub Tanks are also produced from the Land Core. Tsk.”

The Land Core building costs 150 mineral shards and 100 gas shards, and I can’t create them indefinitely.

For now,

“Produce Shuttle!”

[Ding! Producing Shuttle from the Land Core. Estimated time: 3 minutes 59 seconds, 58 seconds, 57 seconds…]

“Hmm, do I have to keep waiting like this?”

After 4 minutes, a Shuttle floating in front of the Land Core was produced.

About 8m long and 3m wide, the exterior is a black, chubby boat with geometric patterns engraved on it.

The difference is that it can fly? Something like that?

“Produce Grub Tank!”

[Ding! Producing Grub Tank from the Land Core. Estimated time: 4 minutes 59 seconds, 58 seconds, 57 seconds…]

I produced one Grub Tank and climbed into the Shuttle.

“Hmm, the ride is not bad?”

Ride, really?

Is this a boat or a car?

While I was moving around inside the Shuttle, the Grub Tank appeared next to the Shuttle with a blue light, as if the time was up.

Wow… why does it look like this?

It looks exactly like a big grub.

A larva over 2m long, with wrinkled skin and geometric shapes and patterns.

While I was alternately producing Shuttles and Grub Tanks and looking around, the seniors and the ordinary women came over, having mined all the minerals.

I don’t know if it’s because of me or the Shuttle or the Grub Tank, but they’re yelling some pretty funny things.

“W, what is that!”

“J, Jiwon-ah!”

“Oppa! Th, this is!”

“Oh my god!”

What are you so surprised about?

Is this more surprising than entering a suddenly appearing, manifesting Rank 6 dungeon?

Seriously.

“Everyone, gather around here for now.”

Now that I have a certain framework, it’s time to proceed with the clear.

Producing the maximum number of units and rushing in all at once will increase the probability of clearing even a little bit.

I gave the seniors and ordinary women the excuse of looking at the Shuttle and Grub Tank, and I called only our Jiwon Party members separately.

I intend to tell them the plan to attack the dungeon’s main base.

“First, advance to the front of the stacked defense towers, the range of the cannon fire, and throw Zhuluts and Prolobs as bait. First, drop the Zhuluts in the Shuttle from the air, and then drop the Grub Tanks, also moved by Shuttle, around the defense towers. Meanwhile, all the Zhuluts that have been produced and the Dracans in the inventory all rush in at once. Use long-range magic from the area where the defense towers are destroyed….”

I explained the clear plan for a long time.

For 30 minutes, we discussed and negotiated the questions and revisions, attack directions, and unit matchups that they mentioned in the middle.

As the outline was somewhat established and the clear plan was secured, everyone’s faces began to show confidence that they could do it.

But, strangely, Mihee throws out a strange word.

“Oppa, this is a Rank 6, mech dungeon, right?”

“Yeah, but why?”

“What are you trying to say again?”

Jihye says something from the side.

“It’s not that, if possible, shouldn’t we destroy the Nexus last?”

“What do you mean? We need to destroy the Nexus first to prevent the dungeon units from being produced anymore.”

“Yes. That’s right. But this is Rank 6.”

“What does that mean?”

“From Rank 6, there’s ‘Mana Wave,’ right?”

“Huh? What wave?”

“Ah, that’s right! O, Oppa, this is Rank 6!”

Even Jihye is surprised as if she knows something.

Kim Eunhee and Choi Eunji don’t know what they’re talking about like me, and they’re just blinking their eyes.

I know it’s Rank 6!

But why?

“Oppa! Mana Wave!”

“So, what is that?”

“Are you really asking because you don’t know? Don’t joke around.”

“Yeah. I’m really asking because I don’t know.”

“Huh, this is really absurd. How can you not know that! Oppa, are you really an Awakener? Seriously….”

So what?

Is it wrong to say I don’t know what I don’t know?

“J, just a moment, Team Leader 3. Are you perhaps talking about S, Spell Shockwave?”

“That’s right. Mana Wave!”

“Ah!”

“Th, then….”

Kim Eunhee and Choi Eunji seem to have realized something, but I still don’t know.

It’s only been 6 months since I awakened.

How would I, who was an ordinary office worker, know everything about the world of Awakeners and dungeon clears?

Recently, rummaging through the data room on the Awakener Association’s website is all the knowledge I have.

As I was spacing out with a ‘So what?’ expression, Kim Eunhee kindly explains.

“Party leader. In dungeons of Rank 6 or higher, Spell Shockwave occurs with a certain probability when the Nexus or Mature Tower is destroyed. The spell accumulated in the main base Nexus or Mature Tower, which oversees the multi-minerals in the dungeon, explodes. Spell Shockwave, that is, Mana Wave, is like a blessing to mages. Of course, it also affects warrior-type Awakeners to some extent.

However, the most sensitive to mana and spells are, of course, mage types. The Mana Wave that Team Leader 4 mentioned at the beginning. That’s right. This is Rank 6! When attacking the main base, you must destroy the Nexus last! We need to be near it to be affected by the Spell Shockwave.”

I didn’t understand it exactly, but I roughly understood it.

The conclusion is to destroy the Nexus last and just be near it, right?

“Understood. I’ll keep that in mind when attacking the main base.”

“… Oppa! Are you sure you really understood?”