I Login Alone

Episode 130.

While Marina was facing an absolute crisis, Jung Si-woo just woke up and yawned like a lion. He scratched his head and came out to the living room after his drowsiness roughly disappeared. There was a fragrant smell all over the house.

“Oppa, did you sleep well?”

“How do you know to react like that whenever I wake up?”

“It’s a sense, a sense. Hehe.”

Soo Ah-rin, who woke up earlier and was in the kitchen, stuck out her head and greeted him with a good morning. She even wore a bright apron, giving off a newlywed vibe. Seeing her as if she had come out of a painting, Jung Si-woo briefly thought that he could forget about dungeons and monsters like this and live his life but shook his head.

“How about Se-ha?”

“He has been stuck in the training room since early on. If he had worked so hard since he became a player, he would have been much stronger than he is now. Oh, and the breakfast menu is Japanese miso soup and grilled salmon. I found something I bought before.”

“Okay, I’m energized.”

Korean food was good, but the neat Japanese food wasn’t bad either. Jung Si-woo nodded with satisfaction, went into the bathroom, took a quick shower, changed clothes, and came out to pick up his phone. There was a text from Marina that she was about to enter the 33rd level dungeon, which was shortly sent after he fell asleep.

“Other than that…hmm?”

Jung Si-woo, who clicked on the news on the main portal, had a truly strange look on his face.

“Did the Sky Castle dungeon die out?”

“It couldn’t be, right?”

“But they say it’s gone.”

“What…?”

Soo Ah-rin, who had just finished grilling the salmon, turned off the fire and took out her phone to check. It was real. Many of the dungeons over the world that satellites were observing went missing.

“How could this happen…”

“We don’t know. Players from the Sky Castle don’t know why this happened, too.”

Perhaps there were operational time limits in the Sky Castle dungeons, which they hadn’t known until now? It was possible enough. After all, the dungeon was only a quarantine station for monsters from the other world to Earth. It was quite natural to say that the capacity had been reached and disappeared.

“Oppa, your creation and elimination of the integrated dungeon may have affected it. I don’t know how it could have affected it.”

“If all the Sky Castle dungeons disappear, it would be troublesome for the players.”

“I don’t think that is the case. Originally, low-level difficulty dungeons were overwhelmingly a lot compared to high-level ones. But all that’s gone now seems to be the low-level difficulty dungeons…it’s just that it became balanced.”

Was it truly because of the integrated dungeon? Jung Si-woo tilted his head, but nobody could give him an answer. Could it be that the Sky Castle’s power to prevent monsters from entering the world had weakened…no, that wouldn’t be it?

“Have you seen it, Hyung-nim?!”

Then, Yong Se-ha popped out of the training room. Seeing the sweat splashing vividly, Jung Si-woo threw a nearby towel at him and replied.

“We saw it, too.”

“Did you see that! Players’ status may be shaken now!”

“…Huh?”

It seemed like they were talking about other news. When asked by Jung Si-woo, Yong Se-ha replied.

“They say the monsters don’t drop dollars anymore. They couldn’t check until the goods that come out of the high-level dungeons, but…that’s what’s causing a lot of fuss among the players!”

“…Oh.”

Perhaps that was just out of the ordinary so far? Jung Si-woo shrugged.

“I was rather expecting that to some extent.”

“Yes…?”

“Dollars were the most certain and most direct affirmations to motivate players.”

What dungeons gave players was physical strength and physical goods. Everything they get out of the dungeon was precious. Still, there was no denying that dollars were the way they directly accumulated their wealth.

“Most players must have seen the money and entered the dungeon. That’s how players were able to grow.”

“Right…?”

“But how about now?”

Monsters were no longer the only matter of Sky Castle and Ant Cave. With monsters appearing worldwide, players were designed to enter the dungeon too, most of all, protect their family and friends and their safety.

“Not only that. Government, businesses… many places need the power of the players. It means that they don’t have to motivate them with dollars.”

“So that’s why dollars aren’t dropped anymore…that’s definitely plausible.”

It was a more acceptable situation than the disappearance of the Sky Castle dungeons. And considering that these two phenomena had appeared together could result in an answer that it wasn’t that the Sky Castle’s power had weakened or something.

“Then…”

“That’s right. Maybe the U.S. government was in touch with the mystery of the Sky Castle from the beginning.”

Of course, they would pretend not to know. Jung Si-woo shrugged and stood up whistling. Even if money didn’t come out of the dungeon, the money he had already accumulated was enough. In fact, he didn’t necessarily have to dwell on money anymore.

“As things have become hard for players to acquire money on their own, their relationship with the company must become stronger.”

“That may be better for the protection and development of humankind…but not for the players. Come on, let’s just eat.”

“Yes.”

Jung Si-woo emptied four bowls of rice at the table, repeatedly saying that it was delicious. As a result, Soo Ah-rin became happy and had completely forgotten about the Sky Castle.

“Somehow, I feel very uneasy right now.”

“That’s not something to say after satisfyingly blowing that monster’s head off.”

She shot a Mana bullet through the head of the elite Lizardman, who appeared by calling Marina’s name with the monsters’ language. Still, she frowned as she retrieved the small gold pieces and beads it left. Seria calmly responded to her, but the people who looked at them couldn’t keep their cool at all.

“T-The Mana bullet just now…?”

“Let’s change the formation a little bit. Seria and I will take care of the elites. So, please divide some shields and focus on protecting both of us.”

Who wouldn’t be overwhelmed by Marina’s calm speech after seeing her fire that destructive Mana? Watching Marina take out a tube containing a specially made Mana potion gel and apply it to the ceiling of her mouth, Lee Kang-hoo gulped before asking her a question.

“Is it possible?”

“We’ve fought a lot with the descendants of the thunder god Laia. I can at least handle them.”

“Indeed…it’s trustworthy.”

Laia’s subordinates, handling a combination of powerful physical strength and no less potent lightning power, were one of the monster types that every player avoided. It was quite the coincidence to come across a losing draw in a dungeon that they meticulously picked. At first, Lee Kang-hoo acknowledged the lack of information and thought of retreating. Still, he nodded when he heard that it was Marina’s specialty.

“So far, we’ve been proceeding through the dungeon under the leadership of the Yongseong Guild, but there’s been a lot of evidence that’s different from the expedition team’s reports, making the safe attack of the dungeon unclear. However, as miss Marina Bissett is saying this, I would like to decide whether to move forward or not after hearing other people’s opinions.”

He was a really nice guy. He would have been better if he hadn’t possessed wicked intent for Marina. Marina sighed and licked the gel outside the tip of the tube. Opinions were soon settled. Marina and Seria were the mainstays of the dungeon clear in the first place. Everyone who thought it was possible if she said it was voted in favor and proceeded with the dungeon.

[Marinaaaaaaaaaa!]

“Hut-cha.”

[I will cut your throat-agh!]

“Hmph, it’s only those noisy ones.”

Laia’s subordinates were quickly cleared up by Marina and Seria, who acquired par with hers after having been through that unfortunate event. Of course, the dungeon was large enough that it was impossible to proceed with only their power, but it was enough for the rest of the party to take care of it.

“Master, A32 is cleared. The hidden lightning force traps were all cleared by miss Marina Bissett.”

“Master, B32 is also cleared. Miss Seria…”

“They are truly, very strong women…they surely suit me.”

Lee Kang-hoo realized that Marina and Seria hadn’t shown their power properly. As the dungeon clearing proceeded with the Yongseong Guild’s lead, they were only pacing at a similar level to others as the other players’ experience was important. Still, their power was overwhelming enough for them to be sorry to dare to compare with them. If this weren’t a series of scenes that would ridicule him for deciding to withdraw after seeing a single elite lizard man!

“As expected…I should have both of them for myself. It’s such a waste for them to be taken away by him.”

“Master? The proceed…”

“Yes, we’re moving on!”

Lee Kang-hoo’s wicked intention was burning even more as he saw the two goddesses sweeping the battlefield with bright red blondes fluttering. Regardless of him, the two were only excitedly wiping out Laia’s subordinates.

“Seria, so I’ve been thinking about it.”

“What is it?”

Marina took out a new Mana Potion tube and handed it to Seria.

“No matter how hard I think about it, these guys aren’t the ones who were in this dungeon from the beginning.”

“…Is it indeed so?”

Seria, who was pondering Marina’s words earlier about “the Mana being divided,” had reached the same conclusion as her.

“Yeah, it couldn’t be that two dungeons were combined…perhaps these punks, they had broken in.”

Marina nodded and held up her pistol. Mana gathered, became a Mana bullet faster and more powerful than a bolt of lightning, and shot dead the crusty snake that appeared from the ceiling. It might look feeble, but it was a monster that reached level 240.

“I’ve heard that she’s been devastated by me gifting the rifle to Si-woo that I received from her and that she’s been burning her vengeance against me ever since. Couldn’t it be that’s the reason why she has thrown her subordinates into this dungeon?”

“In real-time? Is that possible?”

“We probably must be experiencing this first. These days, may it be the Earth or Sky Castle, it’s weird.”

The Sky Castle was changing with those occurring on Earth. Perhaps, this was a natural flow. One couldn’t play house in a dungeon protected by rules forever.

“If that happens…maybe we won’t be able to rely on the expedition team or the dungeon’s clear manual from now on.”

“That’s right. A full-fledged war has begun.”

However, Marina’s eyes were filled with joy as she was saying so. Seria also thought that she was properly mad, but she didn’t necessarily speak it out. Since then, the 33rd stage dungeon continued smoothly with the performance of the two Valkyrie.

“It’s soon the boss room…Keuk!?”

“The iron door is broken! Master, please take caution!”

Sure enough, the 33rd stage dungeon, which lasted for a week, was until the end. The huge iron gate that strictly separated the boss’s room from the regular dungeon was broken into pieces!

“Hah, jeez. Laia, this girl really is determined.”

Although she was falling behind Jung Si-woo these days, Marina, who originally wouldn’t lose to anyone in terms of Mana’s senses, sensitively identified Mana in the boss room and clicked her tongue. Seria also stiffened with a grim look on her face.

“The fragment…I can feel the god’s power.”

“Miss Bissett! I’d like to hear your opinion!”

Lee Kang-hoo, protected by five guild members, approached and asked. What would happen if he found out about the fragments’ existence? Marina thought it was clear as a Blu-ray without having to look at it, and unlike her inner thoughts, she smiled endlessly radiant.

“Let’s only recruit volunteers and try to clear it!”

On that day, the 33rd level dungeon was first cleared under China’s Yongseong Guild leadership. Only two casualties occurred in the Yongseong Guild.

Of course, the MVP was Marina Bissett.