Chapter 13
After traveling for quite some time, their vehicle came to a stop in the playground of an elementary school building. Though calling it a school building was generous - it had long been reduced to ruins by monsters.
By the time Sang-jin's party arrived, other parties were already present. "Hey there, Yoo Sang-jin. Late again today like yesterday? About to undergo your second awakening and still slacking off?" A man who appeared to be another party's tank approached with a chuckle.
Sang-jin scratched his head awkwardly. "Ah, come on bro. I'm not late - you and the others just arrived early. Anyway, have we located our targets?"
"Our mapper already checked. But have your mapper verify too just in case. We'll launch drones soon to confirm the species."
Nodding, Sang-jin replied, "Got it. We'll prepare then. Let us know when you ID them."
After brief pleasantries, Sang-jin hurried his preparations. "Alright everyone! Dae-jin! Use Mapping to locate the monsters!"
The mapper Jang Dae-jin immediately activated his skill. "Mapping!" A hologram of the area materialized, dotted with red markers indicating monster positions.
"Hmm... most are spaced out, but these two are dangerously close," Sang-jin observed.
Dae-jin voiced concern: "Is this safe? The distance is too narrow. If one party fails, the other could get overrun before they realize what's happening. At this range, the monsters would swarm us before we even noticed the other team was in trouble."
"True," Sang-jin conceded. "The other parties probably noticed too. They'll likely assign our party and Seung-nam's veteran team here."
Among the eight assembled parties, only Sang-jin's (preparing for second awakening) and Seung-nam's had sufficient experience for this high-risk zone.
"We can try luring them apart, but there's a limit to how far we can separate them," Dae-jin noted.
"No choice," Sang-jin said. "But we're all veterans here. Stick to standard procedure and we'll be fine."
As members prepped gear, porter Jun-hyeok observed carefully - he had little to prepare himself.
Suddenly: "Ji-cheol!" Sang-jin called their trapper. "Got any spare M7s? Give one to Jun-hyeok."
The Jeremy M7 - resembling the scouter equipment from an old Japanese anime - displayed real-time HP and force percentages for allies and monsters through integrated headphones functioning as radios.
"You're here to analyze our hunting methods for the third test," Sang-jin explained. "Just watching won't help - monitor the numbers properly."
Handing over the device, Ji-cheol warned: "Return it undamaged." Jun-hyeok laughed: "Ha ha, will do. Thanks!"
Seung-nam then approached grimly: "Drone recon's done... complicated situation."
Sang-jin nodded: "Our mapper spotted two unusually close targets - probably assigned to us?"
"Worse," Seung-nam said darkly. "They're a Mantis and True Decker pair - worst possible combo."
The Mantis' devastating speed and attack power terrified tanks despite its low defense, while True Deckers' extreme durability exhausted DPS teams despite being slow.
Sang-jin paled: "A Mantis AND True Decker?! How... what's our plan?"
"Unless we abort, we're fighting both," Seung-nam said. "Question is who takes which."
After consideration, Sang-jin deferred: "You choose first - I'll take the other."
"I'll handle the Mantis then," Seung-nam decided. "Our DPS can't burn down a True Decker efficiently like yours can."
Sang-jin worried: "You sure? Its attacks are brutally fast..."
"I've fought them before," Seung-nam assured him. "Scary as hell but manageable if I focus hard enough."
Respecting his decision, Sang-jin agreed: "Alright... we'll take the True Decker then."
The older hunter smiled gratefully: "Drinks on me after this mission succeeds! Now let's move out!"
The parties set off on foot toward their targets - vehicles might attract unwanted attention from nearby monsters.
