“Oh.”
There are so many people!
Finally, on the day the third area’s elite dungeon opens, there were a lot of people gathered in front of the ‘Demon King’s Army Outpost’.
The number of people gathered at the entrance of the Demon King’s Army Outpost, located in a wide rocky mountain basin, seemed to exceed several hundred, even at a rough estimate.
Almost all the initial dungeon-clearing teams of Astria Online’s Korean server had gathered.
Surely this isn’t the end. People who formed parties on the spot will also gather one after another, and late users will flock in not long after.
That means the time to farm easily after the initial clear has become shorter.
But if it’s the same starting point, I, with a 100% synchronization rate, should have an advantage.
I had some doubts about whether it was okay to use my hero senses and combat experience in a place like this, but this was largely the gods’ fault.
I said I didn’t need anything because I was dumbfounded, but they should have taken care of me properly.
They could have at least sent me back with my body intact.
Shake shake.
I shook my head to erase the momentary thoughts that had surfaced.
It’s better not to think about the past. It would only make me depressed.
Still, since encountering Astria Online, I’ve been able to smile often.
I enjoyed this world as if I had returned to being a child.
Although it’s just the game’s setting, there’s a Demon King’s Army outpost trying to invade the Astria continent ahead.
As a former hero, I can’t just ignore this.
I didn’t reduce sleep to level up this time, and I rested sufficiently.
I won’t collapse right after clearing the dungeon.
Peek.
I carefully poked my head out from behind a pile of rocks and looked at the outpost entrance.
Currently, there are many people at that dungeon entrance.
If I, with my small body, wander around without companions, I might attract attention.
I should enter after almost all those people have gone in.
As I looked around like that, a tall woman with red hair entered my view.
“Ah.”
It’s Chris unnie.
She was standing confidently in front of the sealing magic circle with a smile full of confidence.
To Chris’s right was a pink-haired female mage.
That mage woman was short. Of course, she was still taller than me.
The person on the left was a brown-haired, large-bodied male elementalist.
I felt like I had seen his side profile somewhere, but it must be my imagination.
And slightly apart from the group at the back was standing a tall black-haired man.
Seeing him crossing his arms and closing his eyes intently, creating an atmosphere, he looked like a fighter.
Although his fighting gloves weren’t visible, fighters usually create atmosphere like that.
“It’s a 4-person party with an excellent composition.”
They must have cleared elite dungeons excellently as an advance party so far.
As I observed Chris’s party members, I briefly turned on the regional announcements that I had always turned off.
I had to check the time remaining until the elite dungeon opened.
[10 minutes until the opening of the level 30 elite dungeon, ‘Demon King’s Army Outpost’]
After checking the time, I turned off the announcements again. Only battle announcements were enough for me.
10 minutes passed slowly.
I was still hiding behind the pile of rocks, peeking out just my head to watch people.
And finally.
Woooong.
The magic circle at the entrance resonated loudly, and the sealing barrier dissipated.
“The dungeon is open!”
“Did you prepare thoroughly? Start right away!”
The parties of people gathered at the entrance started disappearing one by one. They were entering their own instance dungeons.
The figure of Chris, whom I had been watching until the end, soon disappeared from sight.
The many users disappeared in an instant, and now they were in front of the rocky mountain at the outpost entrance, where only a few users remained.
Pitter-patter.
I quickly approached the dungeon entrance and jumped in.
[Entry Level 30]
[Elite Dungeon (4-person party recommended)]
[Demon King’s Army Outpost]
* * *
After passing through the area where the magic circle’s seal was released, the figures of the few remaining users disappeared. I had entered the instance dungeon field.
Soon, the sight of a massive fortress unfolded before my eyes.
Thump thump.
I approached the fortress confidently and looked around. Then I tilted my head.
“Huh?”
It wasn’t unreasonable for me to voice my doubt out loud.
Despite being in front of a fortress named the Demon King’s Army Outpost, no one was visible.
Should I ask if anyone’s there?
“Hmm….”
I stroked my chin and went back and forth around the castle gate a few times.
The castle gate was wide open as if welcoming users challenging the dungeon clear.
I smiled slightly.
This is a trap.
If you enter straight on, a huge number of demons and monsters would welcome you grandly.
It’s the game company’s intention to drain users’ energy before fighting the named boss.
Surely, this structure must have a ‘shortcut’ that allows quick access to the named boss area.
As I walked along the castle wall for a while, I soon found a hole just big enough for one person to enter.
The castle wall was indeed built very shoddily.
It must be a hastily constructed wall befitting the name of an outpost.
I lay flat on the ground and carefully entered the hole in the gap of the castle wall.
As I came out of there, I grumbled quietly.
“It reminds me of old times.”
In reality, the role of the hero party wasn’t frontline fighting either.
When going to take down commander-level demons in demon-occupied territories, we sometimes infiltrated like this.
A route I could recognize because it was familiar.
And finally, the scene that unfolded before my eyes as I raised my body was.
An army’s encampment?
“Oh.”
The castle’s interior looked like a wide army encampment surrounded by shoddy walls.
Perhaps trusting the magic circle surrounding the entire outpost, there was no external guard at all.
But the internal guard where the barracks were concentrated was certain.
Demon sentries were patrolling here and there, standing guard.
It was somehow a bit funny.
There’s no one on top of the castle walls; what’s the point of guarding against people who have already entered the castle?
If it hadn’t had the setting of an instance dungeon, it might have been quickly swept away by users, such a shoddy outpost.
“Well, it might not be that strange.”
The demons of the Astria continent also tended to be reckless, trusting their own bodies and strength.
No tactics or strategies, they used to attack just relying on the firepower of the commanding demons.
From here on, it’s infiltration action.
Although they’re called sentries, they looked human-shaped with horns, so they seemed to be one of the important forces capable of using magic. They wouldn’t have entrusted guard duty to just anyone.
I just need to escape the recognition range of those sentries. If discovered, tiresome additional battles would ensue.
The boxes of military supplies piled up around thankfully served as my cover.
Tiptoe tiptoe.
Swish.
A demon sentry passed by with just one box between us. Fortunately, I wasn’t discovered.
This, if it’s a 4-person party, it wouldn’t be easy to use the shortcut.
I carefully moved between boxes and approached a large tent.
After a certain point, the sentries were no longer visible.
I raised my lowered body and looked at the tent in front of me.
“Oh.”
A large tent that stood out compared to other tents, as if shouting ‘Boss here!’.
The 1st named must be here.
No sentries were visible near the large tent surrounded by small tents.
Well, when playing games where you clear a castle from the 1st floor, I did wonder, ‘There’s a commotion on the 1st floor. Why doesn’t the friend on the 2nd floor come down?’
That was all game allowance.
Anyway, it was fortunate that I could focus only on the named boss. Although adds might join during the battle.
Step step.
I entered the tent with timid steps.
Immediately visible in front of me, sitting on a chair, was a male demon with large horns on his head.
About the size of an adult human male.
Blue skin.
A body covered in strong muscles.
An expression as if deep in thought with his chin resting on his hand.
Compared to the ‘Sealed Demon’ of the previous elite dungeon, he looks unimpressive at first glance in terms of appearance.
But the overwhelming power inherent in him was clearly revealed through his HP figure.
That figure was 3 million.
Beep.
As I entered the tent, I naturally came into his recognition range.
The demon, who had been sitting in the chair with his eyes closed, opened his eyes and looked straight at me.
The corners of his mouth lifted as his voice flowed out.
“What are the guards doing? A human rat has sneaked in. Are there still those who dare to oppose the Demon King’s Army in this era when the hero’s lineage has been cut off?”
Wow, the AI technology is amazing.
It even recognizes that I came in alone.
Plus, it’s a named boss capable of conversation.
What should I say?
Would it be good to say something like, ‘If you hand over the accessories obediently, I won’t take your life’?
Woong.
The demon, seemingly unwilling to wait for me who had fallen into contemplation about how to break the ice, began gathering powerful energy.
“I was bored, so this is perfect. Starting with your life, I’ll widely announce the fact that the Demon King’s Army has arrived in this land.”
Rumble rumble.
The tent shook. The boss battle is starting.
I quickly drew my sword.
Whoosh!
“Ugh!”
Suddenly, a strong wind blew. I lowered my body and resisted the gust.
Thwack thwack thwack thwack!
A powerful shockwave spread out from him, and the entire tent was torn away.
The sky was clearly visible.
I looked up at the wide-open tent with a dumbfounded expression.
If you’re going to do this as soon as the boss battle starts, why did you make the tent structure in the first place?
Pitter-patter!
Elite demon soldiers rushed out from the surrounding small tents and joined the named boss.
Their number was four.
“Eek!”
I jumped up and down on the spot.
It’s another named boss with adds from the start.
“Kekekekek!”
His body, with ominous demonic energy wrapped around both hands, shot towards me at high speed.
[1st Named]
[Level 33 Outpost Deputy Commander Kraxas]
[HP 3,000,000/3,000,000]