Trait Hoarder Chapter 25

Nectar -3- [End of Volume 1]

In front of the dagger faction’s headquarters.

An ordinary looking villa building.

There is also a small cafe and a noodle restaurant on the first floor.

But don’t judge by appearance alone.

I took in the sights of the buildings next to the villa, almost connecting the walls.

‘This was a dungeon too.’

It was embarrassing to even call it a dungeon; it was just a gym with sections divided into sections.

Slowly recall the memories.

I’ve been through a lot of Dagger Sect dungeons. It’s necessary for the personal quest of Kim Cheol-kwon, the second character to join the Arcane Seoul tutorial.

Because the production team was so worried that they were worn out, we often encountered the same or surprisingly similar dungeons in other places.

‘There are two entrances.’

The main gate is an illusion.

The real one was the building on the right.

In fact, the Dagger Sect’s headquarters was a complex dungeon made up of six villa buildings connected together. On the outside, it was built to look like a residential villa and accepted residents, but in reality, it was an illegal gambling house being operated in a secret space.

It wasn’t just a gambling house. It also operated prostitution, drugs, and an underground fighting ring. That’s why they made this their base.

If even this becomes known, even the Dagger Faction will feel uncomfortable.

‘where······’

I climbed up to the roof of a nearby goshiwon building and took out my rifle.

A model identical to the one that broke the deer’s gun in two.

Equip the underbarrel grenade launcher at the bottom.

As I pushed the grenade in, there was a clicking sound.

Lean against the railing and aim for the main entrance of the villa building.

There was no one coming or going because it was night. The only sounds were the loud singing of someone who had been drinking heavily, and the shouting of a couple fighting.

Internally, it would be different.

In a secret, soundproof space, the flames of pleasure, debauchery, and sin will burn brightly.

To enter that space, the real dagger faction stronghold, you have to go through a different place than the main gate.

But I chose the front gate, which was a dummy gate, and pulled the trigger.

Boom!

A grenade fired with a deafening sound.

Kwaaaaang!

But the explosion never let up.

There was a loud bang as shards of iron tore through the air.

The old, worn-out iron gate of a villa can’t stop a grenade explosion.

It was shattered in an instant, and smoke rose up.

A loud alarm sounds along with it.

Why, why!

“Huh?”

“Eww!”

“It’s terrorism! It’s terrorism!”

“Save the people!”

A quiet back alley with no people.

Screams are deafening and fires start to burn in every house.

In particular, the reaction of the building hit by the grenade was immediate.

The residents came out in panic as if a beehive had been poked.

This was true not only for the building in question, but also for the buildings connected to it.

Among them, there were people who were practically naked, and others who were so high on drugs that they couldn’t control their bodies properly.

“joy.”

I didn’t just watch.

Instead of feeding him a new grenade, he hugged the gun and threw himself at it.

Jump between the rooftops of nearby buildings as if doing parkour.

This was possible because the area around here is full of one-room apartments, villas, and goshiwon buildings.

The heights of the buildings were similar and they were placed very close together.

Knock knock knock!

I came down to the ground using the emergency staircase protruding outside.

Right behind the Dagger Sect’s headquarters building.

I heard the sound of busy footsteps running around.

“Damn it! Where are you! Where did you shoot from!”

“We need to kill that kid who was on guard! Wasn’t that kid asleep? It wasn’t a rocket, but a grenade or a hand grenade. It doesn’t make sense that he didn’t see the grenade flying!”

“A full-body. If you suddenly get shot from hundreds of meters away, how would you see it at this time of night? If that happens, you’d be a superhuman, you idiot.”

“You damn Iron Fist bastards! How dare you hit me in the back of the head like this!”

“Just try to catch me. I’ll make you some great tripe!”

I hid in the alley and observed them.

All heavily armed.

He was wearing a bulletproof vest and a rifle, although not as much as me. His goggles were the same. Clearly, the infrared or laser detectors were working.

I also lowered my hood and put on my folding helmet.

It is an integrated helmet that combines goggles and a gas mask.

At first the world seemed black, but soon the lights came on and it turned natural color, and a gas mask was stuck to my nose and mouth, supplying me with stifling air.

“Brother! There’s no one around!”

“Does that make sense? Search thoroughly! Don’t go too far! Those Iron Fist bastards might be after Big Brother!”

“yep!”

Tata tak!

A few gang members run into the alley where I’m hiding.

It’s okay.

I leaned against the wall of the building and activated the Play Dead trait.

Your heart slows down, your body temperature drops, and the color drains from your face.

Not only does he play dead, he also has stealth equipped.

The goggled gangsters passed me by without noticing me.

After a long time, he stopped pretending to be dead and got up.

There was no one in the alley in front of me anymore.

But that doesn’t mean you can let your guard down.

I approached the main building while being very cautious of my surroundings.

‘Ah, CCTV.’

There were several small brick-shaped CCTV cameras installed on the walls of the building.

They even planted trees and grew vines in front of it to block the CCTV.

It’s a place you wouldn’t find unless you predicted what would be there in advance.

CCTV is showing a secret passageway entrance that looks like a trash can.

If you go in without thinking, you’ll get caught right away.

It was a little bitter.

‘Should I have opened up the hacking feature?’

Hey, what kind of hacking is this?

Hacking is the domain of reinforcements and wizards.

If you are a warrior, act like a warrior.

I put a silencer on my rifle.

Using a silencer does not mean there is no gunfire at all, but the surrounding area is filled with chaos and fear.

A riot sparked by a single grenade was spreading in all directions.

This should drown out the noise from a few silencers.

Push swoosh! Push swoosh! Push swoosh!

Three shots fired in quick succession.

All the CCTVs that looked like bricks were broken.

And then it moves immediately.

Quickly open the trash can lid, squeeze your body in, open the sliding door and go in to start.

“What are you?”

“Tch, intruder!”

“Where the hell do you think this is!”

“Press emergency button!”

Behind the sliding door is a long passageway.

CCTV cameras were installed in a row on the ceiling, and security rooms were located on both sides of the hallway.

So that in an emergency, the iron gate can be closed and bullets can be poured out.

The problem was that I jumped in too quickly and had a pretty good idea of what the terrain looked like from my experience playing Arcane Seoul.

Push! Push! Push! Push! Push!

Four bullets fired with the shooting characteristic.

I thought it was a neat pose.

He shot a gang member who was just getting up through the wide open iron gate that hadn’t even closed yet.

Now, the gangsters who were wielding machine guns and the gangsters who were reaching for the red emergency button were equally hit between the eyebrows or fell to the ground with bullets.

The two letters [Death] appeared on my goggles.

“Phew.”

Something felt a bit strange.

I killed four people and I still feel nothing.

Rather, it just makes your head feel cold, as if you’ve been doused with cold water.

‘I······ am worn out too.’

They say that when you look into an abyss, the abyss also looks into you.

When you deal with monsters, you become a monster yourself.

I think I’ve become absorbed in this crazy world without even realizing it.

What can I do?

You have to live like that. You have to survive.

Clink, clink.

I walked down the hallway, trampling on the blood that was spreading like wildfire.

Behind me, long, clear bloody footprints remained.

Aaaah!

An alarm that rings throughout the building at exactly the right time.

[Emergency! Emergency!]

[It’s an attack! It’s an enemy raid!]

[All brothers, arm yourself and gather at the designated assembly point!]

[Warning! Warning!]

[All personnel except the Dagger Sect must immediately disarm and lie down on your feet with your hands up! Any disobedient person will be shot immediately!]

It’s noisy.

Push! Push!

I shot the gun and destroyed all the CCTV cameras and speakers.

Standing at the end of the passage, in front of a sturdy iron door, I take a moment to catch my breath.

The terrain behind this was clearly pictured in my mind.

There will be a large space in front of the L-shaped hallway, like a hotel lobby. Normally, it serves as a lobby and waiting room, but when attacked like today, it becomes a defensive line with barricades.

If you just go out, you’ll immediately become a beehive.

But, superhumans have superhuman fighting methods, and warriors have warrior fighting methods.

I opened the door by shooting the lock with my rifle, then quickly rushed in and leaned out into the curved hallway.

The scene unfolded exactly as expected.

Barricades are set up in layers, and gang members are aiming their guns at us with only their muzzles exposed.

An eerie murderous aura licks coldly through my carotid artery.

“Take it away!”

Tutata tata!

Dozens of rifles fire simultaneously.

But my actions were faster than theirs.

Boom!

A second, muffled gunshot sound.

Without even seeing the grenade flying, I quickly pulled away and returned behind the iron door.

Kkwarreung!

“Eww!”

“Cough!”

“Ugh!”

A terrible scream erupted along with the sound of an explosion.

As expected, grenades are the best.

But one shot wouldn’t be enough. He took a few grenades out of his golf bag and threw them across the hallway. After a few blasts, even the groans that had been heard suddenly stopped.

The preliminary battle was a victory.

You can’t let your guard down. If I get shot, I’ll die anyway. Even if you use a magic shield and protective clothing to block rifle bullets, you won’t be able to stop a large-caliber sniper rifle or machine gun.

Also, the dagger boss and action leader are level 2 superhumans.

He is also an assassin among the warrior class.

If you snipe or stab me in the back when I let my guard down, I can get knocked out too.

Push! Push!

“Snap!”

“Khuuuk!”

He passes by, confirming that he has killed any surviving gang members.

A dungeon that is normally used as a business location, so there are no traps or anything like that.

It went surprisingly smoothly.

Because the gang members showed up in places I knew and started shooting in a predictable manner.

In modern warfare, if you know where your opponent is, there is nothing easier to deal with.

First, I threw down a grenade or a flashbang and charged in. I used grenades without sparing anything. That’s how I made my way up to the third floor.

I was hit a few times, but they only went as far as sticking into my hazmat suit.

At that moment, a strange sensation licked my skin as my hair stood on end.

[Sensitive] Acquire trait.

Replaced the Bright Eyes trait with the Sensitive trait.

‘It’s almost time.’

In the game, enemies do not leave their positions.

But this is reality.

If the dagger boss and the action leader weren’t single-celled organisms, they wouldn’t just be watching.

I went up the stairs very nervously.

I even changed my gun to a shotgun. I’ve used up all the grenades and the silencer is no longer useful, so I’d better increase the firepower a little.

“uh?”

But it’s strange.

The 4th floor is essentially the last line of defense.

There was no place to fight on the secret space on the 5th floor, other than the main office and conference room.

Naturally, the 4th floor VIP gambling room should be filled with gangsters, but it’s empty.

All you can see is the casino floor, scattered cards and chips, and blood on the floor for some unknown reason.

“what?”

It heightens your senses.

He lowers his body, hides behind the casino table, and creeps forward.

At that time, I was on guard in all directions.

Boooow!

A small drone descended through the vent and dropped something like a small stick.

Flashbang.

The swear words came out on their own.

“Damn it!”

It’s already too late to do anything.

Phew!

A pure white light raced as if it would burn my retina, and a loud noise cut through my eardrums like an axe.

Me staggering for a moment.

Chorus.

It was fortunate that the goggles reacted to the flash grenade and closed the aperture tightly. Otherwise, I would have lost vision for several seconds.

Jieeeeing.

However, the tinnitus still remained. It was difficult to control my body, perhaps because I had problems with my sense of balance.

I grabbed the shotgun and screamed inwardly.

‘Wake up! Junsu Kim, no, Warrior Kim! Wake up!’

Push. Push.

Even a few more drones flew in and dropped smoke bombs.

A puff of white smoke rose from the casino, and a warning message appeared inside my goggles along with a red light.

[Gas mask in operation]

It’s poison gas!

You crazy kids.

Release poison gas in their own base?

But it doesn’t end here.

Even though they broke the CCTV as soon as I saw them, I think they at least saved my picture.

A photo of a helmet with integrated goggles and gas mask.

What’s the next number?

Siege?

Sniping? Ambush?

I already knew the answer.

A chain attack that begins when you enter the Dagger Sect’s main base boss room.

That must be it.

I just switched the trait.

[Magic Shield][Defense][Sensitivity]

[Magic Heart][Patience][Matthew]

I just stare out the window.

I know exactly which part it will target and what trajectory it will take.

If you concentrate your magic shield on your arm shield and use defense, it will be difficult to penetrate with the sniper rifle that the action leader uses.

In the worst case scenario, you end up losing an arm.

In this world, it’s not difficult to regenerate arms or make prosthetic hands, so it’s definitely a win-win.

‘When?’

The goggle field of view is reduced.

The rooftop of the building where the action leader is hiding is approaching.

The muzzle of a gun slowly but clearly extends over the rooftop railing······

Huh?

It’s not a gun.

What emerged from the railing was something entirely different from the sharp, flashing sniper rifle.

Dark green bullet.

Compared to a sniper rifle, it is much thicker and heavier.

The RPG-7 of the original world, a rocket launcher that looked exactly like Allah’s magic wand, was aimed at me.

“Hey, you crazy bastard!”

There was no time to even be surprised.

A flame that has already been lit.

A rocket accelerating from it.

It’s not slow like in the game.

A rocket easily traveling at hundreds of meters per second rushes in like a flash of lightning!

Kkwarreung!

And then it explodes.

The world was suddenly swallowed up in pure white light.

[End of Volume 1]