Among the numerous tattoos, the one in the center of his chest seemed most significant. It explicitly read "Swift." What could this mean? Surely, it didn’t mean swift in the literal sense. In English, swift wasn’t as commonly used for speed as fast or quick.
More likely, it referred to something like a developer's app or a famous singer's surname. Most notably, this was Flashy Blade - Swift's story mode. Swift undoubtedly referred to the champion who wielded the flashy blades.
"Does Swift refer to that guy?" Almond pondered and looked at the nearby boy who had introduced himself as Swift.
— Maybe
— Definitely
— Right?
Was the tattoo referring to that boy? If so, that raised even more questions.
"But we just met? People don't usually tattoo the names of those they've just met on them. Let alone a boy's..."
[Sunah has donated 10,000 won.]
[Looks like someone falls in love fast lol]
— lol
— Just tattooing someone’s name after you just met~
— So fast lol
— That kind of speed could enable space travel lol
The viewers joked that it was because he fell in love fast. Did it make sense to instantly fall in love with someone so fast after meeting?
"No. Even if I fall in love fast, how could I have done this before we even met…?"
[Sang-Hyeonssibecameafan has donated 10,000 won.]
[It's a prediction arrow from Cupid~]
— Lol, do you only predict movements and skills? Predict love too~~
— Wow, to tattoo predictions. That's manly
— Predict your marriage next lol
— The physicality of romance
All kinds of crazy comments appeared. Clearly, they were teasing Almond.
"Thank you for your opinion, Sang-Hyeonssi. It could be."
— Sang-Hyeonssi lol
— Lol
— They were targeting that lol
— Crazy lol
— Lol
Almond turned his attention away from the chat.
"I'll have to figure this out on my own."
He thought carefully. He had just met Swift for the first time. If it wasn't some absurd theory of falling in love at first sight, then it was impossible to have tattooed Swift's name after such an encounter.
"It might be a case similar to Demian."
In Raina's story mode, Demian continuously lost his memories upon death.
"The original owner of this body must have known Swift. Maybe..."
— Crazy deduction
— That makes sense
— Demian…
This body most likely had prior memories. Its true owner could have already been acquainted with Swift.
"But Swift seemed unaware."
The problem was that Swift also didn’t seem to recognize him. It appeared as though they were meeting for the first time. Did both of them lose their memories?
"It seems like both of them lost their memories... Oh, is this a minion?"
— Ding!
— Really??
— Maybe~
Perhaps both Swift and the body Almond inhabited had been revived without their memories. As far as Almond knew, only minions experienced such a phenomenon.
"It was odd that they were all kids," Almond mused.
Most of the expedition members appeared quite young and resembled adolescents who were not yet adults. If they were minions, this anomaly somewhat made sense. Minions were strangely always depicted as children.
"But what are minions doing here unaware of their own minion identity…?"
Despite the numerous differences from previous story modes, which were too embarrassing even to list, one thing stood out. These minions were unaware of their minion status.
"It doesn't make sense in a siege context."
In a siege scenario, the current situation would be inexplicable. Minions were supposed to blindly charge forward under a contractor's command to destroy the opponent's sanctuary.
"What about another mode…?"
LIL had various modes like escort and survival. Could one of these be the mode he was currently playing? Almond felt like he knew which one it was.
"Is this a survival map?"
Ding.
Another notification sounded.
[You have moved a step closer to Memory (★★).]
He didn’t need to check the viewers' reactions. This message confirmed that his speculation was correct.
— Wow, nice
— lol, if you played Survival, you'd know right away
— Did the nut come in place of him today???
— Nut machine129
— Wow
— Nut: Ah… I just went somewhere for a moment.
Almond took longer to figure it out because he had never played survival mode before.
Someone congratulated him on his successful guess with a donation.
[Conan has donated 30,000 won.]
[Ah, the sleeping dart didn't hit well, so it was tough.]
— ?? lol
— Is that what Conan was talking about? lol
— The famous detective lol
— Detective Sang-Hyeon lol lol
— Ah, no wonder
"Thank you Conan for the 30,000 won."
— If it's not a compliment, they grit their teeth and pay lol
— lol
— lol
— Lol "Co" lol
Feeling pleased that his deduction seemed accurate, Almond continued on.
"If this is survival mode, as far as I know, we have to keep going down to the lowest level and be the last one standing to win. Right?"
— Yes
— Correct
— This isn't a spoiler, right? lol
— It's like Battle Royale in LIL
— Yep
Although there was no guarantee that the story mode's battlefield followed the exact rules of the actual game, the concept at least had to be shared to serve as a proper reference.
"Got it. Still, it doesn't resolve my questions."
The lingering question of why Swift's name was tattooed on him remained a mystery.
"Let's collect more runes to find out."
He needed more runes as samples and the only way was to obtain them from the boxes.
"Oh, they're moving."
Swift's party picked up their weapons and moved forward again.
Almond continued to follow them. Now, he had even more reason to join their party.
***
Following Swift's party wasn’t difficult. They hardly paid any attention to being followed and considerably underestimated Almond. They stopped walking abruptly when Swift pointed at something.
"Here."
A huge fruit emitting a strange light lay on the ground instead of hanging from a tree. Swift announced, "This fruit is the entrance. It leads to the next level."
Although Almond found this puzzling, he waited to see what would happen next. However, things didn't go so smoothly.
With a heavy rumble, the fruit shattered.
[Gatekeeper Golem]
[Lv.5]
A monster at a level previously unseen emerged, crushing the fruit under its foot. Its appearance looked crude as it was made of dozens of huge rocks stuck together. One would not have recognized it as a golem if not for the glowing core in the middle. Such a massive creature suddenly appearing out of thin air was baffling.
"Is the entrance gone now?"
The huge fruit was supposed to be the entrance to the dungeon's next level, but it was just pink mush now. Whether it could still function as an entrance was doubtful. It hadn't looked much like an entrance to begin with.
"A gatekeeper golem. I knew it! Scatter into formation!" Swift commanded the kids with no hint of panic.
Whether through practice or something else, the kids quickly surrounded the golem. However, as if finding them laughable, the gigantic golem lowered its posture and swept its arms at them.
The violent sweep sent several kids flying without even giving them a chance to scream. Several of them coughed up blood.
The surviving kids charged at the golem and thrust their spears. Their efforts seemed futile against the creature’s rocky hide.
Watching from a distance, Almond felt sorry for them. Despite their relentless attacks, the golem continued its assault without any pause.
Another sweep sent more kids flying.
"Damn it! Attack its core!"
Swift stepped forward while shouting. The core he was referring to was located near the golem's chest. It was too high to reach by just jumping and was seemingly as high as the second floor of a building.
Swift readied his spear, bending like a bowstring, and unleashed it as he leaped toward the golem's core. Possibly endowed with some mana effect, the spear burst into white flames as it flew.
The golem wasn't dumb. It deflected the attack with its arm. The attack failed, but it confirmed the core was the golem’s weakness.
"The shining part in the middle!"
They charged at the golem, undeterred by its daunting presence despite knowing direct hits would be reflected. Climbing onto the golem, they aimed to stab directly at it. However, the golem began to shake violently.
The boulders forming the golem suddenly exploded, sending rocks flying everywhere. Naturally, the kids who climbed on top were also thrown off. Observing this, the other kids raised their hands in victory.
"We won!"
"It's dead!"
They thought the golem had been defeated. However…
"Huh?"
The golem's core began to hover in the air, attracting the rocks back to itself. The rocks reassembled into the giant golem again.
"Ah..."
The shadow of the golem's fist loomed over them.
With a massive thud, a child who had been gaping in shock was instantly crushed and disappeared as if to signal that the real battle was only just beginning. The golem’s core flickered and rocks began to levitate.
The rocks dispersed, each targeting an individual like a meteor spell. The impact was much faster and more powerful than when the golem had been sweeping its arms with its bulky body, causing significant damage to the kids.
At that moment…
"Out of the way!"
Swift ran forward, hurling a spear with all his might at the golem's floating core. The spear flew straight toward the core, which had flying rocks blocking it.
"Is it going to block again?"
However…
"Winferestin," someone chanted and their silhouette interrupted the battle.
The spear stopped in mid-air.
"!?"
A figure intervened and caught Swift's spear in mid-flight, landing on the floating rocks.
Swift's pupils dilated in shock. It was beyond human capability to jump that high, catch a flying spear, and land on the rocks.
"Who... Who are you!?"
The figure didn't respond, but rushed toward the core instead with incredible speed while leaving afterimages.
The golem couldn't react in time and the spear was thrust perfectly into its core. With a loud noise, the core erupted and split the spear in two with its explosive power. Despite the loud explosion and shockwave, the figure who pierced the core landed back down successfully.
"Hoo," he exhaled and lifted his familiar face.
Swift's eyes wavered.
"You... You are..."
The figure was still faintly glowing from the rune's power.
"Didn't I tell you runes are useful?"
It was Almond. He had been waiting for this opportunity to prove his worth and join the party.
— He did it just like that;
— Wow, so cool!
— Just throw the weapon they give you;
— Using the acceleration rune to this extent?
— It's too fast to control;
— Did he really just do that?
— Solo killing the golem like a boss;
— He’s seriously skilled.
***
[Beginner Tip: The Gatekeeper Golem is an ancient guardian of the sanctuary. While it may not be as powerful as in ancient times, it can unleash its old strength in the deepest layers near the sanctuary where its influence is strongest.]
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