I Entered a Gacha Game That Had Been Abandoned for 10 Years

17 – Dungeon Conquest (2)

The first thing Kim Hyun-woo had to do was to hire a hero in order to conquer the dungeon.

Since only heroes who were hired by the Lord could enter the dungeon belonging to the territory.

‘If I had originally raised some heroes, it would have been easier to proceed.’

With that thought, Kim Hyun-woo’s expression showed a hint of regret, but he quickly erased that thought.

It was true that if he had previously raised heroes, the dungeon development could have been completed in an instant. However, the heroes Kim Hyun-woo raised were not here in the first place.

‘If I have a conversation with Melida and deal some damage before conquering the dungeon, it would be easier.’

Of course, Kim Hyun-woo noticed that there was still some level of affinity with Melida, but unfortunately, he had no intention of asking her for a favor.

‘That would be like catching a rabbit and burning the whole forest down.’

It was clear that it would be convenient to conquer the reset dungeon by dealing some damage with Melida.

Kim Hyun-woo had already witnessed her strength in front of his eyes.

However, the problem was that if he hired Melida, the dungeon city that needed to grow rapidly would simply crumble.

No, in fact, if he hired Melida, it was inevitable that the dungeon city would collapse.

And the relationship that should be gained when hiring Melida had such a huge penalty that it made it possible.

‘…If only the relationship was a bit better.’

Kim Hyunwoo couldn’t help but break into a cold sweat, unintentionally recalling the relationship that had endlessly looped through his mind when Mélida’s recruitment window opened—a connection laden with penalties he couldn’t fathom.

Even more so, the relationship, seemingly capable of surpassing a penalty of -70, one that might even incite a war, and the near -1200% increase in territorial development rates upon recruiting her.

…Anyway, in such circumstances, he had come to the tavern thinking it might be best to recruit a new hero and explore the labyrinth, but Kim Hyunwoo wasn’t overly optimistic.

Unless the building’s level was inherently high, the probability of a high-level hero appearing wasn’t particularly high.

Or, to be more precise, it was accurate to say that the gacha probability wasn’t high.

Considering Arteil’s fundamental essence as a gacha territory, the arrival of heroes was solely a gacha element. If luck favored, even at Tavern Level 1, one could draw a 5-star hero.

However, Kim Hyunwoo wasn’t hoping for such luck.

From the outset, as a middle schooler, he had experienced the bitterness of this world by spending a whopping 500,000 won without pulling a 5-star despite the tempting cost for a 10x gacha, which was merely 9,900 won.

…Moreover, he even had memories of shedding tears while self-indoctrinating, ‘It’s more fun to raise a 1-star hero to 5-star,’ after failing to draw a 5-star hero despite spending on 500 consecutive gachas, which were at a bargain price of only 9900 won for a 10x draw.

Therefore, with no particular expectations, Kim Hyunwoo headed to the tavern.

And there, he found her.

“Um, excuse me… If it’s okay with you, I’d like to join.”

A jackpot.

As Kim Hyunwoo shyly observed her greeting and glanced at the hero window in front of him.

—–

※ Information about the recruitment target is viewable in the tavern.

Hero

Name: Elena

Title: X

Star Rating: 1 star ★

Affection: 0

Stats

Strength: 19 Agility: 24

Intelligence: 17 Luck: 18

Magic Power: 15

-Traits-

Diligent: Strives to perform any task diligently, maintaining maximum efficiency in training and execution.

Penetration: When using a weapon possessing talents ‘beyond natural,’ there is a 50% chance that attacks are considered to bypass defense.

-Talents-

Possesses innate talent with a hand axe.

-Skills-

[Read]

—–

Kim Hyun-woo’s smile revealed his teeth, but unlike what he liked, her information window seemed to be a typical 1-star ability window that didn’t appear particularly special.

Yet, what he liked about her was…

“Determined effort, innate talent…!”

It was because Elena’s attribute window and talent window were in incredible harmony.

In Arteil, what fundamentally determined a hero’s performance were their attributes and talents.

Sure, for the 5-star heroes from the start, their basic abilities were outstanding, so it didn’t matter much. However, for other heroes, attributes and talents were crucial.

To illustrate their importance, depending on how well these attributes and talents harmonized, the number of stars one could earn by fully developing the hero was predetermined.

In that sense, the information window of Elena in front of him was such a good one that Kim Hyun-woo couldn’t help but applaud silently.

“How does this fit so perfectly?”

Of course, Kim Hyun-woo had seen many heroes with better attributes and talents than Elena around here.

Even among roughly seven heroes present here, there were heroes with either better abilities or superior compatibility of attributes and talents compared to Elena.

However, what mattered in this game was the synergy between attributes and talents.

For instance, the hero sitting right beside Elena had a trait called “Eyes of Truth.”

The Eyes of Truth trait was as impressive as its name suggested; it was a cheat skill that, when there was a talent prefixed with ‘unbelievable’ among the ‘talents,’ judged all attacks as defense-ignoring attacks only against that particular talent.

Unfortunately, that hero didn’t possess any talent with the ‘unbelievable’ prefix.

All he had was decent swordsmanship.

So, no matter how good the trait was, in a situation like this, he’d just be a pretty ineffective player.

And considering how numerous and regrettable such talents and traits were in Arteil, Elena’s combination of attributes and talents was exceptionally excellent.

“Of course, growing like this, she might reach a limit of around 4 stars.”

Kim Hyun-woo, who had turned all 1-star heroes into 5-stars, had a wealth of knowledge in raising heroes.

In other words, he had confidence that he could surpass Elena’s innate limitations and elevate her to a 5-star level, which made him smile confidently.

[★Would you like to make an offer to recruit the hero ‘Elena’? Y/N]

“Please, I’ll take good care of her.”

“Uh, uh… Yes, please, I’ll take good care of her.”

Without hesitation, he reached out to Elena’s recruitment window with a smile.

“Shall we get started with work right away?”

####

Consisting of about ten members, not of very high rank but rather known for a considerable time in this area, Althaz, a mercenary group.

Among them, Colum, who could be considered the leader, had a round face as he gazed ahead.

What lay before them was a goblin stronghold in a forest not far from the Larthenia domain.

“But are we really supposed to just stand here like this?”

Colum, who had been gazing at the quite enlarged stronghold, replied to the voice of his subordinate coming from beside him.

“What?”

“I mean, are we supposed to just stand here like this?”

“If I said ‘gaze,’ then that’s what we’ll do, right?”

Colum’s response with a round face was met with a look of complete incomprehension from his subordinate.

“It’s strange. What could the lord possibly have in mind by hiring us?”

“Would you even know that?”

The reason why the mercenary band, including Colum, was here was because Kim Hyun-woo, the lord of Larthenia, had hired them, thinking there might be work for them in the newly formed domain.

Yet, they hadn’t approached the goblin stronghold beyond a certain distance because the mercenaries hadn’t been hired to exterminate the goblins.

‘…Watch the hero fight and if any unexpected situation arises, rescue and escape.’

While this thought echoed in Colum’s mind, he gazed at the subject of their contract ahead.

A figure with blue locks of hair, holding a small axe in both hands, standing in front of the goblin stronghold.

Sigh.

Looking at Elena, standing timidly in front of the goblin stronghold, Colum found himself chuckling involuntarily.

‘…The lord who created that Larthenia domain ten years ago sure seems to have no vision.’

Colum knew Elena.

To be more precise, he couldn’t help but know her.

She was a woman known in these parts as the ‘failed hero,’ a title that was clearly derogatory no matter who said it.

Despite being a hero, her abilities were so modest that mercenaries who had worked with Elena even once ridiculed her, unable to comprehend how she became a hero.

It was a mockery that sprang from the bitterness of mercenaries who couldn’t become heroes themselves, but it was a fact that she was weak.

That’s why the mercenaries, including Colum,

“Not even a war, but who knew heroes could die right in front of our eyes.”

“What nonsense? If she dies, we won’t get paid.”

“Oh, right. Well, even if she’s not a failed hero, there’s no way a nameless hero could single-handedly eliminate a goblin horde of over 200.”

The mercenaries’ conversation.

Indeed, as they said, it was practically impossible for even a nameless hero to single-handedly destroy a goblin horde without even a reputation.

“Doesn’t seem like she’ll catch a single one, huh?”

“Last time I saw her, she seemed to be catching about 3 to 4 in the crevices.”

“Wanna make a bet?”

The mercenaries started placing bets, speculating on how many goblins Elena could catch.

Amidst the conversation of the mercenaries, goblins suddenly sprang out from the ruins, rushing towards Elena with rusty weapons in hand. The mercenaries began to enjoy the spectacle of the fallen hero’s battle.

After about 10 minutes,

“…”

Silence spread among the mercenaries who were smiling.

Even the ones chuckling.

Even Column, who had mocked the lord’s lackluster perception.

All fell silent.

The reason was the countless goblin corpses surrounding Elena.

“What… What is this?”

“Does this make sense?”

Simultaneously covered in wounds but wielding a bloody axe in both hands, Elena was the reason for the silence.

“???”

Gasping for breath, she stood there with a bewildered expression, not understanding a word.

“Huh? What’s, what’s going on?”

I murmured unknowingly.