Sitting as a group in the woods, Woohyuk thought back to the events in the last two weeks.

He hadn’t missed out on anything important. There had been several unforeseeable events, but the end result had been quite positive.

With regards to the underwater ruins, he had been quite lucky being able to find the treasure rather rapidly.

Overall it had been a satisfactory performance, but the next battlefield would be many times more fierce. As he watched the wild boar grill on the fire, Woohyuk examined the day’s spoils.

 [Basilisk Scale Armor Set]

Category:     Armor (growth}

Grade:     D (0%)

Durability:    7200

Effect:         Vitality +30, Agility +30. 30% chance to inflict poison damage, proportional to your attack power.

[Basilisk’s Curse]

Category:     Jewelry (growth}

Grade:     D (0%)

Durability:    2600

Effect:         Can be used to apply lethal poison to equipment, as well as increase Poison resistance and Petrification resistance.

[Basilisk’s Essence]

Category:     Personal Item

Effect:         Alchemist and crafting material. Simply possessing it will keep Vipers at bay.

They were all items that were sure to be of great use in the future. Especially the Basilisk Scale Armor Set because it had excellent Physical and Magic resistance and was light weight. It was a good candidate for his main armor.

Actually he had been hesitant as to whether or not he should have tamed the Basilisk, but seeing the items, he had made the right choice since they were simply more valuable. Not to mention that the Basilisk would usually be stronger, but suffered from a debuff in order to make it a suitable level for such an early stage, making it even less valuable to tame.

He didn’t need to worry about the pile of items he had been accumulating. Even if it was a bit rare, an Organizational scroll would allow him to automatically sort items according to their category.

“Tonight might be tough, since we don't have many left in the camp.”

“I’m sure that they’ll make a move, we’ve spotted them eyeing us from a distance during the daytime.”

There were several messages being posted on their Adventurer Watches. There were many topics being discussed, but one thing for sure was that there were no longer any recruitment messages.

Using the Megaphone to attract others at this point, when the battle for camps was at its peak, would basically be suicide. When sending a message through the watch, it would reveal your location to all those near you, which was too risky since people might decide to attack and rob you.

“You don’t need to worry, I’ll take care of them as soon as they approach.”

The Cocatrices that had survived the battle were now deployed around the camp’s perimeter. As soon as any players approached, it would crow loudly like a rooster.

Any Black Machetes that had been obtained from the loot were distributed among the team, and they were more than ready for any night invasion.

“You just need to follow my instructions.”

Those that had been given a Black Machete would help Woohyuk out, while the rest stayed and guarded the campfire. If they were to encounter any danger, they should either drink their Hermit’s Elixir or ask Woohyuk to summon them to his side.

Those were his instructions for tonight.

“Boss, the meat seems to be ready….”

Before Lee Jaesung could finish speaking, Woohyuk had already reached out with his pair of chopsticks and placed a slice of meat in his mouth. After seeing he had started eating, the rest of the party soon followed suit.

“Eat as much as you can, we will be busy again tomorrow.”

As it was more or less their last day, it was important to take a break and prepare for the next stage. Of course they still had to protect the camp from any wandering bandits, but could spend some time bonding as a team as well.

“It seems like a dinner night out with some friends. ”

“That’s right, If only there was some soju it would be perfect….”

Hearing Kim Dogyun bring it up, Huang Donghwan also had a sad expression. In fact, except for Song Anna and Yoo Kayoung, they all nodded solemnly in agreement.

“If we succeed in the upcoming Canyon Battle, we will all get a chance to drink some alcohol.”

The night before leaving for the Eeth continent would be a festival as a reward for them surviving so far. It was the only time that they would be able to safely drink alcohol since players wouldn’t be able to harm one another.

Hearing Woohyuk’s explanation, Huang Dongwhan murmured to himself, “I have to survive no matter what. When I was in college, I was the student president and would go out drinking a lot.”

“I’m confident in my drinking ability as well. No matter how much I drink, I never get drunk.”

Nam Kiryang said as he took a bite of his meat. Sanghoon who was sitting next to him asked.

“Nam Kiryang didn’t you say you were a movie star? Even Ma Gwangpil was completely tricked, your acting must have been pretty good.”

“I was basically an unknown actor, I regret not becoming a soldier like Jung Sanghoon.”

Jung Sanghoon was part of the special forces unit, and knew many survival techniques. He wielded two short swords, appearing very much like an assassin.

“By the way Park Taesoo, didn’t you say that you competed in archery?”

“Right, I took silver in an inter-university competition.”

Park Taesoo answered Huang Dongwhan’s question a but shyly. His main weapon was a longbow and he was able to make full use of his skills.

“Yeah your skill with the bow is no joke. Especially when you were teaching Yoo Kayoung how to use the bow, you looked like a real expert.”

“Huang Dongwhan was good with his hands. I thought you were an architect when I saw you building those lookout towers and barricades with just that toolkit set.

“When I was young my father taught me a bit of woodworking, but it’s nothing to be proud of.”

Somehow it had become a game of praising each other. Woohyuk who had been silent this whole time, tried to bring in Shin Changkyu and Hong Jinpyo. 

“Why don’t you guys say anything?”

“Ah, there isn’t anything I’m good at….”

“Me neither.”

Shin Changkyu was just an ordinary University student. He had learned a bit of kendo, but not enough to make a difference in a live battle. The same held true for Hong Jinpyo.

“Don’t demean yourselves so much, even this nine year old girl is doing well.”

Woohyuk said and he patted Song Anna on the head, causing her to blush and hide her face.

“What about you boss, what did you do before coming here? There’s no way you were an ordinary office worker like….”

Lee Jaesung asked curiously, and the others all focused their attention on Woohyuk as well.

“I was a sergeant in the military, one day away from being discharged.”

“...”

An awkward silence ensued.

Flustered, Lee Jaesung hurried to apologize as he bowed his head.

“Sorry for asking such a silly question….”

“No, it’s nothing., we are all on the same boat now.”

Woohyuk didn’t want things to be so formal between them, as his current position was just that of a regular leader.

“If you were to return now, you might get in trouble and be court martialed for desertion.”

“Not to worry, by then everyone will have forgotten about me.”

His team didn’t know that the entirety of the human race had been summoned to this world. If he were to tell them it would only lead to confusion, so he held his tongue.

“It isn’t a problem that can be solved in the short term. For now we will just go to this new continent, get married and live our lives….”

“I will follow the boss until the very end. When he decides to establish his own country, that’s where I’ll settle down.”

“If you think about it, it’s a pretty good idea to help found a new country. I might also receive a small fiefdom.”

“Even if we don’t become the country’s founders, simply receiving a knight’s title we could eat well and live a comfortable life.

As he heard them all discussing, Woohyuk smiled as he thought back to the old days and those who had served under him.

“I can’t necessarily promise those that follow me any great wealth, but at the very least you will be closer to achieving your goals.”

“Don’t take us too seriously, we were just horsing around.”

“Don’t worry, even if you keep all the gold and silver to yourself, we will still follow you until the end.”

As they ran out of slices of meat on the wooden board, Lee Jaesung stood up placed some more meat on the fire. The party chatted happily among themselves as they watched the meat sizzle.

‘How many of them will survive?’

Six at the very most, no more than that.

Woohyuk raised his head as he thought back to the bloody Canyon war.

A crescent moon hung in the night sky, and for some reason he felt a bit lonely.

* * * 

Wake up! You will soon be going on a mission!”

The players slowly opened their eyes as they heard Eve shouting.

Confused, they looked at their surroundings.

“Where are we?”

“It feels like a castle.”

They were in a fortress surrounded by high cliffs. They had just been transported to a new stage, and were still disoriented.

“To all of you that survived the Primordial Forest until the last day, welcome to the Adventurer’s Canyon, the second stage.”

Even willed a page to appear explaining the basic rules.

[Adventurer’s Canyon Settings]

1. There are two fortresses on either side of the canyon valley, each with 1000 members.

2. The first to destroy the Guardian stone in the opponent’s castle is the victor, there isn’t any time limit.

3. If you are the first to strike an allied member, you receive a red marker for a full day and are unable to return to your fortress.

4. You can differentiate friend from foe by the light above your heads, and only those in the same camp can send messages to each other using the Megaphones. 

5. There are many Monster camps and hidden treasure to be found between the two camps. Even some Epic monsters that can bring benefits to your entire alliance.

“You can think of it as a territory game. Monster camps can be used as outposts once you've cleared them.”

The Canyon had several places with steep terrain next to major road intersections that held important strategic value. Also, if one were to activate the Guard Tower there, it would be possible to appear there using Teleport scroll.

“Are supplies still provided?”

“Of course, daily necessities such as combat rations and clothing will still be given daily.”

The fortress also contained several facilities like blacksmiths, inns, grocery stores, auction houses, taverns, chapels and monasteries.

Unfortunately the use of most of them required coins, so the daily supplies provided near the town square’s fountain were still crucial.

“Oh and of course the supplies will only be provided so long as the fountain isn’t destroyed. There are no guards, so you will have to distribute your personnel accordingly.”

The Adventurers looking at each other. There were several groups, so reaching a consensus didn’t seem easy.

At that moment, a huge white man wearing a shiny Plate Armor stepped forward and asked.

“Is there no commander? I believe I spotted a Barracks back there. Is there anyone else here besides us?”

“You will have to create your own command structure, but just as you pointed out Isaac, that is indeed a barracks.”

By spending coins it was possible to continuously recruit soldiers.

Ghost soldiers that moved in formations according to the system.

They couldn’t be considered as full fledged soldiers, but could still be useful to put pressure on the enemy side.

“For any further details, you can visit the barracks and an explanation page for you to peruse will appear. The same is true for any other facility.”

All the buildings, just like the barracks were unmanned.

The only exception was the Labor camp, which would house any captured enemies and force them to do hard labor, producing coins as a result.

“Then I’ll continue with the explanation. The gates will open in one hour’s time, so you can have a meeting before that to organise yourselves. Oh and by the way, don’t even think about escaping.”

The entire battlefield was flanked on either side by steep and rugged canyon walls. Even if you managed to climb to the top, an invisible and indestructible barrier would block your path.

As Eve disappeared, the players all looked at each other warily. Although they were all on the same side, due to their experiences in the Primordial Forest, they were simply unable to trust each other so easily.

“First let’s gather all the leaders and have a meeting. We can’t gain anything if there is any infighting.”

Isaac sat on the edge of the stone fountain, above his head appeared a Tier 2 Silver Crown.

“I agree with Isaac, we can think of this as our new Base Camp, so let’s all get along.

Samuel, a dark skinned man wielding a huge two handed axe as well as also having a Silver Crown, made his way to the fountain.

A total of 23 people, it was a pretty small meeting.

“Oh, I didn’t expect that we would meet here.”

Hong Yuri elbowed him playfully on his side. She also had a Tier 1 Silver Crown.

“It’s only natural.”

Any players that had a Master/Slave relationship were bound to be sent to the same camp. Woohyuk had purposely sent her away to develop her own force since he knew they’d meet up again.

“Yes, yes. Can’t you see all my subordinates? I grew my forces faster than expected.”

There were currently too many people so Hong Yuri was keeping her fangs hidden.

Looking at her pale face, Woohyuk simply nodded back.

“It was definitely worth sparing you.”

“But I won’t be aging anymore? When I was in university I used to drink a lot, so I had some trouble maintaining my skin’s complexion.”

“Yes, by constantly drinking blood you won’t age or get any gray hair.”

The life expectancy of a player in this world was triple that of back on Earth.

As a vampire however, as long as she wasn’t staked in the heart, she was basically immortal due to the race’s characteristics.

Of course there were also other methods to rejuvenate oneself, but it wasn’t anything he had to worry about just yet.

“Can I have a child as a vampire? It has always been my dream to raise my children as a housewife.”

Hong Yuri sneakily brought Woohyuk’s hand to her chest, but Woohyuk simply pulled himself from her grasp, given her an irritated look.

“It’s not impossible, but not something you should focus on right now.”

Woohyuk examined the other leaders behind Hong Yuri. There were four Silver Crowns at the meeting, the rest being Bronze one’s of different Tiers. 

Nothing had changed compared to the past. The only thing was that due to the arrival of Hong Yuri, one of the past Silver Crown leaders was now missing.

‘I think his name was Inoue’

It was a guy that always carried around a katana, trying to embody the spirit of the samurai.

He couldn’t remember his full name, but it didn’t matter much anyway.

“Let’s start by introducing ourselves and the amount of people we lead. My name’s Isaac William and I have 99 subordinates.

Isaac had the ability to command 21 more people, but the maximum number per base camp was only 100. Therefore, usually Silver Crown leaders only had 99 people with them on arrival.

“Samuel Martin, 99 people.”

“Hong Yuri, 99 people.”

“ Chun Woohyuk, 10.”

“...wait, just ten people?”

Isaac interrupted.

Samuel that was standing next to him also stared disbelievingly.

“Yes.”

“There must have been a tough fight during you last night. Maybe you had some infighting within your camp.”

The other leaders were staring at the equipment Woohyuk had on him and it all appeared to be of the highest quality. As they looked at him suspiciously, Hong Yuri spoke up.

“My boyfriend isn’t a bad guy, he just happened to encounter mostly strange people, right babe?”

“...”

Woohyuk didn’t bother responding.