The explorers’ gazes poured down relentlessly.
All of them had advanced beyond the 10th Floor, their skills already proven.
Most of those gazes were filled with curiosity, some with a bit of favor, and a few with outright hostility.
The favor came from those who knew Yuseong through the media, while the hostility stemmed from the disbelief that “How could a mere C-rank hunter be the Serpent Subjugation Captain?”
Of course, Yuseong was not the type to be intimidated by such stares.
As Park Mi Sun urged Yuseong to step up and the crowd fixed their eyes on him, the doors to the auditorium swung wide open right behind him.
“Hyung! I came to rescue—”
Jang Dojin, entering excitedly, immediately shut his mouth upon sensing the atmosphere.
For some unknown reason, the entire auditorium was deathly silent, and everyone was staring directly at them.
“Is that it?”
“Yes, it’s from the Blue Flame Support Room… But why is everyone staring at us like that?”
“There’s something like that. Let’s go up.”
Yuseong stepped onto the stage, and Jang Dojin hurriedly followed.
The explorers in front of them backed away, making way.
Yuseong and Jang Dojin confidently strode forward.
“They’re really staring hard. Maybe I’m just too aware…”
“Write it down.”
Jang Dojin said, and Yuseong nodded.
The explorers’ expressions varied, but they all shared one thing—they were staring intently at Yuseong and Jang Dojin.
There was a specific reason behind their murmurs.
“What’s that he’s holding…?”
“Is that a Tom?”
It was the massive saw that Jang Dojin carried in his arms.
Yuseong had rescued it from the depths of his heart; the grand scale of the original saw was immense.
Nearly touching the ceiling, it was a colossal weapon over four meters long.
Jang Dojin’s grim appearance, following Yuseong while carrying that fearsome weapon, was threatening enough to make even the explorers uneasy.
Park Mi Sun, who had been waiting on the stage, asked in disbelief,
“You brought the Original Saw?”
“This one? When we catch the Serpent, we have to disassemble it. I figured my kitchen knife wouldn’t be enough.”
Park Mi Sun was dumbfounded.
They hadn’t even caught the Serpent yet, and Yuseong was already thinking about dissection.
It was an incredible confidence.
“…Anyway. As the Serpent Subjugation Captain, please say a few words.”
It was the explorers who had made Yuseong the captain as the Plan Executor.
In a way, Yuseong’s confident attitude might be a good sign.
Yuseong nodded and took the microphone.
“I’m Baek Yuseong. Since all 50 of you are here, I’ll explain the plan. It’s nothing special.”
His low voice resonated throughout the auditorium.
“Find the Serpent, lure it with bait, pull it to the shore, and kill it.”
Park Mi Sun was impressed at how Yuseong summarized what she had just explained in a single line.
“Any questions?”
A brief silence followed.
It wasn’t that there truly were no questions; rather, the silence felt more like a hesitation to respond to Yuseong.
When Yuseong was about to put down the microphone, someone raised a hand and asked,
“How will the roles be divided?”
“As I said earlier, the roles will be decided when we reach the Seventh Isle of the 10th Floor: Pullers to drag the Serpent up, Stingers who spear and directly attack the Serpent, and Guards to protect both Pullers and Stingers.”
“What are the criteria…?”
“I’ll explain after all questions are done.”
Yuseong answered, prompting the explorers to start whispering among themselves.
Role assignments were one of the things the explorers cared about most.
If they managed to subjugate the Serpent, it would definitely be a tremendous achievement.
And such an achievement would bring substantial rewards.
To receive those rewards, one must contribute significantly to the achievement.
So the roles and how well each was performed would determine the shares.
According to Yuseong, Guards would contribute less than Pullers or Stingers.
Especially the Stingers who directly attacked the Serpent would be favored for higher contributions.
“I have a question too.”
At that moment, an explorer covered head to toe in muscle raised his hand.
Whether his face was naturally fierce or he was just in a bad mood, his expression was deeply creased.
“Yes, you with the beard.”
“The beard… hmm, it’s strange no one has asked you yet. Aren’t you rank 0?”
“That’s right.”
“Well, no matter how good your skills are, you’re still rank 0.”
What followed was a predictable rant.
“So, there are famous and experienced explorers here, too. Shouldn’t one of them be the Serpent Subjugation Captain instead?”
The bearded explorer’s detailed argument held some reason.
Seeing explorers nodding suggested that many sympathized with him.
That’s when Park Mi Sun tried to intervene.
The reasons for making Yuseong captain were valid.
First, no one understood the plan as perfectly as Yuseong.
Second, his knowledge of the ecology and geography of the 10th Floor was astounding.
He was not a typical C-rank explorer; rather, he seemed like an expert using the 10th Floor as his hunting ground.
And due to the Serpent’s presence, there was no explorer in Korea who had stayed long on the 10th Floor.
In other words, very few people had such a deep understanding of the 10th Floor as Yuseong.
Lastly, there was no special benefit to being the Serpent Subjugation Captain.
In other words, Yuseong did not gain any unfair advantage.
Park Mi Sun was about to explain this thoroughly, but Yuseong stopped her with his hand.
Grabbing the microphone again, he simply said,
“If you don’t like it, you can go home.”
The echo of his words lingered faintly: “go home, go home, go ho—”
The bearded explorer’s face immediately flushed red.
“It’s not that I’m complaining. I’m just saying some rank C’s might be dissatisfied.”
He then pointed at Iron Fist Kang Tae-gun and Amanda Park.
But both of them just shrugged.
“I don’t care.”
“Me neither.”
With those words, the bearded explorer had no more complaints and only grumbled silently behind their backs.
Yuseong glanced around the room and wrapped up the discussion.
“Then, first, we’ll select the Pullers.”
He walked over to the metal chairs prepared behind the stage.
The long row of chairs could seat over ten people and looked exceptionally heavy.
“If you can lift this chair by holding it with one hand and gripping this armrest, you pass. Guards and Stingers will be picked later, so try lifting it once on your way out.”
Yuseong gripped the armrest attached to one end of the metal chair.
Without seeming to exert much force, the chair smoothly lifted off the ground.
Thud.
Yuseong put the chair down with a snap of his hand and looked at Jang Dojin.
“You try too.”
“Nell! Alright!”
Jang Dojin braced himself and lifted the metal chair before setting it down.
“Then I’ll go first. Mi Sun, please check.”
Yuseong said and stepped out of the auditorium with Jang Dojin.
Park Mi Sun sighed lightly, picked up the microphone, and said,
“Then, those who are ready, please come up.”
The moment her words fell, several people stepped onto the stage.
Seeing Yuseong and Jang Dojin pass so easily had boosted their confidence.
“I thought you’d make us do something harder, but this isn’t much!”
Among them was the bearded explorer who had spoken earlier.
Because he stepped forward first, he was the first to take the test.
The bearded explorer smiled slyly and firmly gripped the metal chair.
Even though it was long, it probably weighed just over 50 kilograms.
For an explorer, it was nothing.
“Hooya.”
“Hey, don’t lift it like that. Use one hand.”
However, Park Mi Sun immediately stopped him.
Using one hand was the rule.
The bearded explorer sheepishly complied and gripped the chair with one hand.
One hand was enough to lift it.
“No, not like that. Grab the part marked in red and lift it.”
“What, here?”
The explorer asked Park Mi Sun with a bewildered expression.
The chair was over five meters long.
The only part marked red was the armrest at one end.
Park Mi Sun answered with an annoyed expression.
In the end, the bearded explorer grabbed the armrest at the edge and strained with all his might.
“Ughhh!”
But he only managed to lift one side of the chair.
It was impossible to lift the chair fully, as if all the legs had been detached from the floor.
After struggling for a long time, the explorer finally threw the chair down harshly.
“How am I supposed to lift this?”
“Kwon Jung-oh, eliminated.”
“Is it even reasonable to lift the chair by grabbing here?”
His complaint was not unfounded.
50 kilograms was a weight any explorer could lift with one hand.
But the problem was how he was lifting it.
When lifting a long object, it’s easier to hold near its center of gravity.
But trying to lift a chair by grabbing the armrest far from the center naturally made it impossible.
In the most extreme analogy, it was like trying to lift a long iron bar by only one end.
“Failed. Step down.”
Park Mi Sun mercilessly erased Kwon Jung-oh’s name from the list on her wrist.
“This is ridiculous…”
“Yuseong and Jang Dojin just passed easily, though.”
The bearded explorer was left speechless by Park Mi Sun’s words.
Even though Jang Dojin was big, Baek Yuseong lifted the metal chair with ease.
“I-it’s not fair…”
The moment he muttered that pitiful complaint,
Someone gently pushed the bearded explorer aside.
“Oh.”
“Step aside if you’ve dropped it.”
The bearded explorer, about to lash out, realized who the other was and immediately shut up.
“Interesting.”
It was Iron Fist Kang Tae-gun.
Among the physically enhanced explorers gathered here, he was the most famous and strongest.
He examined the chair and asked Park Mi Sun,
“Who came up with this idea?”
“Baek Yuseong.”
“I see.”
Saying that, Kang Tae-gun grabbed the armrest marked in red.
His bulging muscles flexed.
Screeech.
The chair easily lifted off the ground.
“Hm, this isn’t just about strength but a grip test.”
If it was only a test of strength, they could have just brought a rock.
Kang Tae-gun realized the efficiency of the test Yuseong had planned.
“If you lose grip on the cable connected to the spear, both the kill and the meal go to waste.”
“Certainly a well-thought-out test.”
“Kang Tae-gun, you passed.”
He released the chair’s armrest.
Thud!
“Then, I’ll be going.”
One of the strongest and most prestigious explorers fully accepted Yuseong’s test.
At this point, no one could raise objections.
A smile hung on Kang Tae-gun’s lips as he left.
There was no resentment for being tested by someone less skilled.
“Definitely not just hype.”
That was his impression of Yuseong.
Kang Tae-gun carefully observed the participants joining the Subjugation Party.
Among them, especially two other C-rank hunters, Amanda Park and Seong Jihoo.
Their gaze toward Yuseong matched his own.
“Did Red Eye really defeat Seven Stars?”
Rumors were spreading.
Red Eye had suddenly started gaining strength and defeated Seven Stars.
Behind it all was a rookie explorer named Baek Yuseong.
At least the two C-ranks Kang Tae-gun had been watching knew the truth.
“This Subjugation is looking promising.”
Other C-rank explorers, watching the test with indifferent expressions, thought the same.
***
Yuseong and Jang Dojin were the first to enter the Gate.
It had already been weeks since they discovered the Parama Camellia Colony on the 9th Floor and annihilated Seven Stars.
Similarly, a considerable time had passed since they cleared the 9th Floor.
The clearing condition for the 9th Floor was simple.
Throughout the dark layers, black monsters were often found.
Killing over ten of these monsters fulfilled the clearing requirement.
The reason it was difficult was because the 9th Floor was very dark.
Trying to catch black monsters in a shadowy layer was no easy task.
But hunters had their methods, and Yuseong, blessed with the Sun Sanctuary’s protection for four weeks, had no problem.
Still, the 9th Floor was not a comfortable place to operate.
Thus, the environmental change on the 10th Floor was somewhat surprising.
“Wow… the sea can actually be this color?”
Jang Dojin exclaimed in amazement.
The Gate leading down to the 10th Floor connected to the center of an island.
It was no ordinary island, and whichever direction you went, you would soon reach the shore.
The beach that appeared stretched out with fine white sand.
Emerald waters glistened as they gently rolled in.
It was truly a paradise on earth.
If only the Serpent weren’t there.
Jang Dojin wandered along the shore.
“Wow, there’s even fish… hah!”
Then as the waves pushed in, he played around, running back and forth.
Yuseong frowned at the sight.
“That guy’s making a big fuss.”
“…It’s my first time seeing the ocean. Haha…”
Jang Dojin blushed at Yuseong’s scolding.
“But staying on this island seems pretty nice. It’s warm.”
“Didn’t you listen properly earlier?”
“Huh? I… was just running errands.”
“Ah, right. We’re not going to stay on this island, but another one.”
Yuseong raised his finger and pointed to the horizon.
Far away, an island was visible.
Though small and hard to see clearly, it was unmistakably gray.
A very barren place.
“Th-that place…?”
“That’s where the Serpent is easier to catch, because the water is deep.”
“Go there by boat?”
“We’ll take a boat.”
“Where’s the boat?”
Jang Dojin’s face darkened instantly.
There was no boat to be seen anywhere around.
Only forest and trees.
His expression momentarily darkened.
“N-no way…”
“That’s why we have to make a boat and ride it.”
Yuseong pointed to the forest.
A forest where huge palm trees stood thick and tall.