Will I End Up As a Hero or a Demon King (WN)

Chapter 221

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Chapter 221 – Member Selection Meeting

After advancing for about 30 minutes, I came to an area with a significantly higher ceiling than the previous caverns.

The rock connecting the ground and ceiling had seemingly disappeared, making it resemble a giant dome designed for large-scale combat.

It reminded me of the fantastical room where the King Ant had been.

This was clearly the boss’s appearance point.

Fortunately, the entrance wasn’t blocked off. As a precaution, I took up a position in an area where minor monsters were still spawning and used Far Sight to survey the space.

Then, there it was.

“A dragon… or maybe more like a dinosaur?”

The creature stood on two legs, supported by its large hind legs. Its front limbs weren’t short, either. Occasionally, it switched to a four-legged stance, stretching its thick, long tail upward into the sky.

The tip of its tail was shaped like a bud. If I wasn’t mistaken, fire seemed to leak from the red tip.

Without a point of reference, its size was hard to gauge, but even from a considerable distance, it looked fairly large.

It was probably equal to or larger than Lokish.

At this distance, I was sure it would be safe, so I used Insight without hesitation.

“I see. It might be a little tough for one person.”

It’s more manageable than I had imagined.

It feels similar to the old lady I saw before heading to the Kingdom of Waltz. I’m relieved that this is a realistic target for a raid.

However, that raises concerns about interference from stronger opponents.

Monsters don’t belong to anyone, so it doesn’t matter who takes them down if they’re just hanging around freely. However, since there’s a plan in place, I really want things to proceed as planned.

(I guess I’ll just have to rely on the skills of the A-rank hunter and the beastman…)

All I can do is watch out for suspicious or strong-looking groups heading deeper into the hunting grounds.

I took advantage of the fact that the hunting grounds didn’t get dark at night and kept watch like a gatekeeper. However, the hunting time kept getting longer and longer.

Then, three days later…

As promised, I went to the armor shop where the old dwarf was and received the finished equipment.

The full leather armor covered almost everything except my joints and looked like a thick leather suit with scales.

The vital areas were reinforced with extra layers. I could tell right away that it would be hot and stuffy, even without trying it on.

On the other hand, it would keep me warm in this winter weather.

“It’s designed to allow air to circulate, but make sure to take frequent breaks. Every year, people collapse and die from the heat, not from monsters.”

“I see. By the way, is this leather armor weak against water? I often get soaked while hunting.”

I don’t know much about leather products, but I think the leather boots I used for work were described as being susceptible to water damage.

If this armor is weak against water, it’ll be even harder to hunt for long periods of time.

“This one should be fine. It’ll fade and turn black with use, but I’ve never heard of it losing its protective properties. If you can’t wash it with water, it’ll get so smelly that you won’t be able to wear it.”

“Ah…”

Suddenly, I’m brought back to reality.

The sweat odor problem is definitely a real issue.

In that case, it would be risky to go unprepared on the day of the hunt. I should try it out first.

I returned to the remote hunting ground, where I had already reached level eight in the three main skills but still had a long way to go. I wanted to see how long I could hunt while wearing the equipment.

Three hours later, I was crawling on the floor, completely exhausted.

“Ugh… This is tough…”

I didn’t feel the heat of the fire, so the resistance effect must have been sufficient. However, I was extremely vulnerable to the heat, and the water couldn’t penetrate my armor.

This was the biggest problem.

As a result, I couldn’t release the heat from my body. After about three hours, I started to feel dizzy and disoriented.

Now I understood why the other parties had returned to the entrance after only one or two hours.

Unless I could cool the armor from the outside or use an ice magic spell to cool my body directly, there was no way I could continue.

(The time limit is three hours, including travel time, which means the actual time available for the boss battle is one hour—or maybe less if we have to move as a group.)

Having already been to the boss room once, I had a rough estimate of how long it would take. By working backward, I could see the reality of the situation.

(I see, I see…)

As I thought about the measures I should take, I decided that I couldn’t wear this sauna suit to hunt small monsters. I sealed my armor in the inn until the day of the raid.

Then, the day of the member selection arrived.

A man with a stern expression leaned against the wall with his arms crossed, seemingly meditating.

Another man boasted about his exploits in a different raid, accompanied by his entourage.

There were also many familiar faces from the hunting grounds gathered in groups talking.

This was the training ground inside the Hunter’s Guild in Lowenfort.

The space, about the same size as Malta’s, was crowded beyond imagination.

At the same time, I realize I’ve underestimated this. I’m overcome with anxiety about whether I can actually participate.

Large-scale raids in MMOs are appealing, but due to their nature, they select the participants.

Aside from having enough firepower to fight the boss, you must coordinate with others. That means understanding not only your role but also the roles of other classes and acting accordingly.

The required knowledge is extensive, and the more participants there are, the more difficult it is and the greater the potential for a single mistake to cause the entire operation to collapse. Consequently, many people with the necessary strength didn’t want to participate because they disliked the heavy responsibility.

I was more of this type, but I also remember quite a few people disliking the long hours required.

So, even though the recruitment post said around 50 people were needed, I didn’t think that many would actually show up.

In a game where failure or mistakes don’t result in death, it’s still hard to gather people, so in this world where mistakes can mean death, it must be even harder.

That’s what I thought, but it seems this world is different.

Clearly, more than the required fifty people had gathered to sign up.

“Thank you all for coming!”

The voice echoed from the back of the training ground.

I hadn’t seen him at the hunting grounds, but I spotted him a few times afterward in the guild’s reception lobby.

A Rank Hunter—I think his name was Fidel—climbed onto a pile of wooden boxes and began greeting everyone loudly.

He was a handsome, blond man with a heroic aura. He wore black leather armor that had been worn to a dull sheen.

Thinking his behavior was a bit unruly, I sat on the upper part of the outer wall of the training ground and watched him from above.

If I were down there, I would only be able to see the backsides and shoulders of the taller guys.

“This is the fourth time. To minimize casualties, I believe the appropriate number of participants this time should be around 50. Please understand that we cannot include everyone who gathered today. Those who fear death should leave this place immediately. “Not fearing death” is the most essential qualification for participating in this boss battle.”

I wasn’t the only one who reacted to these strong words.

Even so, no one left; everyone stared at Fidel.

“Okay, everyone’s ready. First, I’ll explain the planned formation and necessary abilities. Later, you’ll be divided according to your abilities, so stick together with those who have the same ones.”

As I listened to the coordinator’s explanation, I realized that the process was similar to raid recruitment in a game.

One party of tanks would take the aggro, actively taking attacks from the boss.

Three parties of melee attackers would form the main force but would also temporarily take damage when necessary.

There are three long-range, damage-dealing parties.

One or two ranged support parties are responsible for defense, such as heat countermeasures and shielding.

One or two parties are responsible for filling gaps in combat strength caused by serious injuries or deaths. These parties provide support, such as buffs, and command the entire party.

The overall strategy should be coordinated across all parties, with each five-member party filling in the details as needed.

The range of roles is quite broad, so it’s important to have someone who can use healing magic, ice magic, or another support skill.

With about ten roles announced so far, I’ll go with “someone who is confident in close-range firepower.”

Unfortunately, I can’t use magic in public.

If I could hide in the shadows, that might be okay, but I don’t think I’ll have that leeway in a boss battle.

So, I’ll just go with melee damage from the start.

I’ll combine Body Strengthening and Swordmanship to cut off that dinosaur’s tail!

That’s what I was thinking.

(Too many people are confident in their close-range firepower.)

This corner is so crowded that it’s about to swallow the “those who can use level 5 or higher fire magic” section next to it.

What the hell is this place?

It’s so crowded!

Then, the event coordinator, Fidel, and his sidekick tell us the real number of people they’re looking for.

“The limit here is twelve people, so first, how many A-rank hunters are here?”

A few hands go up.

It seems that some people who trained in Freyville are here, and with that, six slots are filled at once.

What should I do? This is already too much to laugh about.

“We’ll just have to narrow down the conditions. Anyone with a weapon skill level of 6 or higher?”

Here we go!

“Oh, and the weapon must have the ‘ice’ attribute.”

What—?

What the hell?

The hands that had been raised quickly dropped.

I’ve never added an attribute before.

I looked around desperately, but it was hopeless.

Even then, there were still many hands raised above mine.

“I’m sorry, but those who missed out will have to drop out. We’ll let you know when the next opportunity arises, so please prepare yourself to meet these conditions by then.”

“…”

Fidel wasn’t saying anything wrong.

It’s just that with so many people, it’s impossible to deal damage efficiently.

As a practical matter, if the weak ones die, their bodies will cause accidents, especially in a limited space.

Even if you don’t mention it, the more people who participate, the smaller the reward per person will be.

People only risk their lives to challenge the boss if the reward meets or exceeds their expectations, so it’s only natural to select the most useful combatants and those with the most useful skills.

If you have a problem with that approach, you should host the game yourself. That’s how it works in games.

However—

Unable to give up, I flew back to the top of the stone wall, surveyed the area, and used Insight.

Today, the host, Fidel, his beastman partner, who remained with the melee group, and another person, who seemed to be about as strong as them, were participating. Even so, there were only three of them.

The others were clearly weaker than me. Given how much progress I’d made collecting skills in Entonia’s Fire Rock Cave, I felt like I might even be stronger than Fidel now.

Maybe I’m just trying to convince myself out of frustration!

(Ugh… I went through all that trouble to make armor, adding a Level 2 “Magic Power Auto-Recovery Increase” buff.)

Unlike in games, you can’t compare people based on simple ability stats. This is the result.

I prepared for this day.

I took it upon myself to guard the entrance to the depth of the hunting ground so that no one would hunt the boss.

But my efforts were in vain. In this world, as in any other, hard work doesn’t always pay off.

I’m realizing something obvious now.

Sigh…

If my magic hadn’t turned black, I could have easily cleared it with Lightning Magic Level 7.

It’s frustrating, but there’s nothing I can do. I guess I’ll leave town.

As I was about to return to the inn, perhaps because there were fewer people around, I heard something that caught my attention.

“Since Miyon isn’t here this time, aren’t our support skills a little weak?”

I recognized the voice as belonging to the woman who had previously called Fidel.

I stopped in my tracks and quietly opened my status screen to look at my skills.

“Support skills that could be useful… Ah, this might work…”

Having always played solo, I had never used any support skills before.

That’s why I didn’t know if using them would cause magic to spill out.

Considering their nature, I guess they should be okay.

If I’m going to try them, I should do it now, while there are still a lot of people around, so it won’t be noticed.

If it causes a commotion, I’ll just have to make a quick escape.

With that in mind, I

—Encourage—

I whispered the name of the skill.

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