Chapter 240. The Gluttony Incident (Part 4)
Seonwoo-yeon felt as if the blood in her body had frozen.
It was horrifying.
The phrase about one’s mind turning blank perfectly described this situation.
In front of her, Kim Gi-ryeo lay collapsed, covered in wounds as if he had just emerged from an Iron Maiden.
Next to the door by the corridor, a thorny plate was drenched in what looked like human blood.
Could it be that Kim Gi-ryeo had been pierced by something like that?
Traps in dungeons usually had toxins like that.
Even strong hunters who entered the nests tailored to the monsters’ levels could be pierce-resistant to be killed by traps.
“…Huh!”
Seonwoo-yeon gasped for breath.
“Huh! G-Gi, Kim… Hunter Kim Gi-ryeo.”
With a pale complexion, she rushed towards the Hunter in front of her.
But even while calling his name and shaking him by the shoulders, he didn’t respond.
Finally, tears began to form in her almond-shaped eyes, showing a uniquely Earthling emotional expression.
“W-What is this…?”
Her eyes were wet as she looked around at the awakened who had come with her.
Yet they did not react any differently either.
Esther’s skin was ashen, covering her mouth in shock.
Jeong Ha-seong showed no change in expression, but the chaotic magic power within him surged uncontrollably in response.
“Huh.”
Someone’s trembling vocal cords.
Among them, Seo Esther, who was the closest to thinking like an Alphauri, managed to regain her composure and poured the medicine she had prepared onto the injured one.
But maybe it was too long since the injury occurred?
Or perhaps the man lying there was no longer a living being, rendering it ineffective?
Whatever the case, it looked as if the wounds were not healing in the least.
Tears that had collected in Seonwoo-yeon’s eyes couldn’t hold their weight any longer, dropping to the ground.
“Huh…”
She cried.
But this was more a reflexive reaction to shock rather than true sorrow.
Despite going through so many incidents, perhaps due to their intrinsic personalities, Seonwoo-yeon and Kim Gi-ryeo still had a relatively formal relationship.
Thus, to Seonwoo-yeon, this scene felt akin to the death of an acquaintance from another department she happened to bump into occasionally.
Yet, despite that, she suffered such an enormous shock.
She was gripped by fear to the point where her complexion drastically changed.
Kim Gi-ryeo, a man who had trembled in front of a carnivorous fairy that could speak, had subdued a raging Imugi. He was knowledgeable and a great hunter with no particular interest in strength.
Thus, seeing someone she admired suddenly like this, how could a human not feel scared?
Not to mention, the injuries on his body were so severe that one would find it hard to look at them straight-on.
“……”
Seonwoo-yeon held back her tears.
Even though her brain and nerves weren’t particularly connected, she felt the pain of another’s injury and shared it inefficiently.
The association staff recalled the time when the blond hunter had once helped her and shook her hands violently.
Then it happened.
– Hah…
An even more shocking turn of events unfolded.
While Seonwoo-yeon was buried in tears and looking down,
…The man, resembling a corpse, slowly began to take a deep breath.
“Gah!”
“W-What’s wrong…?”
“Ms. Seonwoo-yeon! Look over there! Look! Hunter Kim’s eyes are open!”
“Huh!”
The surroundings erupted in an instant.
It seemed that the recovery potion Esther had just used was starting to take effect, as wounds were swiftly closing up.
The rescue team, having confirmed that Kim Gi-ryeo was alive, rushed forward shouting.
“Gi-ryeo! Gi-ryeo!”
“Hunter Kim Gi-ryeo!”
“Are you, are you okay? Are you conscious?”
The blond hunter turned his gaze towards the loud sounds that pierced his ears.
‘Wow, what a shock.’
Having successfully regained consciousness, Gi-ryeo was surprised by the faces of the hunters who had come close.
Having stopped controlling the monster due to the noise, he never expected S-Class hunters would cause such a ruckus.
Gurk, cough.
It seemed the broken rib he got caught in the trap had punctured his lung.
He hastily spat out the blood that had clogged his throat and uttered his first words.
“Looks like you all came quickly.”
“Is now really the time to say that?!”
Seo Esther raised her voice, and Gi-ryeo reflexively raised his eyebrows.
Due to his innate traits, he often had trouble understanding expressions that implied someone was not joking.
This upset expression contorted on his reddened face looked as if it were interpreted by an alien as a sign of concern or relief, rather than anger.
‘He’s angry?’
But at least Gi-ryeo had the intelligence to infer that the curse mage might have a reason to be angry.
Thus, he hastily voiced an assumption that had quickly formed in his mind.
It wasn’t the right answer.
“Ah, I’m sorry. I figured I’d endure as long as I could inside, but I see you must have been surprised with this condition.”
“What did you say?”
“I was in a hurry to open the door and made a slight mistake…”
After checking his forearm could move without issue, he gestured a point to one side.
“As you can see, I got caught in a trap. But, you know, it can’t be helped that hunters specializing in unlocking traps have a higher chance of falling for traps…”
Mumbling.
Gi-ryeo sincerely apologized for not fulfilling his role as a prevention measure.
Since he had known how many monsters were in this dungeon from the very beginning, he wasn’t truly remorseful.
He simply wanted to avoid the backlash from monsters like S-Class Hunters and shifted the blame as much as possible.
‘Crazy.’
However, Kim Gi-ryeo’s actions and words had mostly adverse effects.
Every time a new sentence flowed from his mouth, the cortisol levels of the rescue team spiked, meaning their blood pressure was rising.
In other words, the fourth S-Class hunter of Korea appeared in a battered fashion that looked as if he were riddled with holes.
Was there anyone who could question such a display of self-discipline at this time? What was wrong with that guy’s brain?
“……”
“……”
This was a typical reaction from planetary inhabitants when a Ki-simche was possessed.
Kim Gi-ryeo’s rational demeanor felt too disconnected for them.
And while Jeong Ha-seong had felt this emotional gap acutely during the [13th Month’s Maze] incident, the other two companions only finally understood the gravity of their situation.
“Why is everyone like this? Did any of you get hurt on the way here?”
That hunter, something was definitely off from a fundamental standpoint.
It was now impossible to hide behind the facade of strength or coping ability. Everyone recognized he was a foreign presence.
However, this didn’t mean they had uncovered that the soul in front of them was from a binary star system.
Earthlings simply digested the current alienation in their own way.
The first to retrieve from the shock was the second-ranked Seo Esther.
“Gi-ryeo. For now, just don’t talk. I hear something stuck in your throat… Haven’t you injured your insides badly?”
“Not to that degree…”
During the conversation between S-Class hunters, Seonwoo-yeon pulled out a handkerchief and carefully wiped the blood flowing from Kim Gi-ryeo’s chin.
That action caused Gi-ryeo to momentarily turn his head, and he belatedly noticed something in the Earthling’s eyes.
‘Tears? Did I hurt her…?’
Just that much?
With one injury, it often feels like two people are in pain. Truly, there are no mammals more wasteful than this, the Alphauri briefly pondered.
The unique sensitivity exhibited by the Earthlings was certainly a curious phenomenon he’d love to analyze further, but unfortunately, this wasn’t the time.
Gi-ryeo stopped observing Seonwoo-yeon’s face and, once confirming that his connection with the six-legged amphibian (temporary golem) had fully severed, urgently addressed his arriving comrades.
“Either way, this isn’t the time for us to be standing around.”
He requested that they go help Ahn Yoon-seung immediately.
“There’s a fork coming up if we go inside this door. If you turn left there, you’ll soon feel Hunter Ahn Yoon-seung’s magic. Please rescue from that direction.”
“No, look at the state of the person right in front of us! How can we go?!”
When Esther shouted, Gi-ryeo immediately retorted.
“It’s okay. It wasn’t a wound that was going to kill me anyway. Thanks to you using that expensive potion, I’ll be able to walk on my own soon.”
“Gi-ryeo.”
“No, wait. I never asked anyone to leave me behind! Just have Ms. Seonwoo-yeon carry me, while the other two S-Class hunters handle the monsters in front!”
With this method, they could tackle all sorts of unexpected situations.
Kim Gi-ryeo was currently a seriously injured person who would take quite a while to become mobile, even with medication.
Logically speaking, the blond hunter’s argument had no flaws.
But the problem was this was a statement made by a man with a battered body and a remarkably calm demeanor.
“Come on, let’s hurry. Quickly.”
Coldly calm chills ran down her spine.
Seonwoo-yeon was left with a look that seemed like ‘Me?’ regarding Gi-ryeo’s suggestion to transport him.
But the confusion didn’t last long. The psychic abilities present here were all heroes who had faced various disaster scenes.
Thus, they knew from experience that saving lives was a race against time.
“Understood. Then I’ll move towards the Neo Team 3 right away.”
“Ms. Seonwoo-yeon, the tracking skill’s effect has ended, right? Please reactivate it immediately.”
They hurriedly made the decision while still bewildered.
They began to rush towards the dungeon survivors, who were eagerly waiting for help at this very moment.
And at this time.
From deep within the corridor on the other side of the door, a loud thud echoed as if it had been waiting for them…
*
It was a familiar tension.
The overwhelming pressure that felt like Earthlings alone and isolated in space made it hard to breathe.
– Thud!
Amidst the sound of the massive thud from somewhere, a young man with almond-shaped eyes tightened his grip on his shield.
This place was an unknown paradise.
The Neo Sisters’ regular Team 3 was originally challenging an A-Class Gate called the [Return to Heaven Maze], where the methods had become simplified due to its low difficulty, but it had suddenly transformed into this disastrous scenario.
– Tick.
[Unknown Gate]
[Description: No information on the gate.]
[Grade: S]
“I checked it several times, and it’s still the same.”
In a setting reminiscent of Inca civilization—old and classic, the atmosphere filled with golden threats.
Ahn Yoon-seung echoed while looking up at the inverted dungeon ceiling.
The team leader standing behind him scratched his head and replied.
“Yeah. I usually don’t want to speak negatively, but it looks like we’re doomed.”
No matter how elite the A-Class hunters were, survival was hardly guaranteed in front of the top-tier gate’s enemies.
“Everyone, let’s go a bit further inside the corridor. The monster we saw earlier is still following us.”
“C’mon.”
Fortunately, they had a teammate with stealth skills, allowing them to manage dodging monsters somehow.
But would taking time help their situation any more?
They were in an S-Class nest; if help from outside took more than a day, what would they do?
Grr…
One of the team members couldn’t withstand the burden and let out a pained groan.
The atmosphere of fear quickly spread to those around.
But at that moment.
A young man at the front maintained his posture and turned his head toward them.
Given the nature of the defense hunter, he often found himself with his back to his comrades due to the traits of the awakening attribute.
So it was surprisingly unusual to see their faces in a dungeon, but the expression on the young man’s face remained entirely unchanged.
“Everyone, don’t worry.”
Ahn Yoon-seung smiled.
Of course, this wasn’t a blind faith in his defensive capabilities.
Whether this was luck or misfortune, by chance, Team 3 had just managed to arrange a rare rendezvous before entering this place.
“We will definitely be rescued.”
“Yoon Seung-ah…”
“We were the team that had lunch with Hunter Kim Gi-ryeo, remember? Right?”
They would definitely be desperately searching for them due to the cancellation fee for the restaurant reservation.
Yoon Seung, while drenched in sweat from anxiety and tension coursing down his face, offered a hopeful joke.
“Let’s just hold on a little longer.”
He placed his trust in his only mentor.
At the same time, he emulated the calm demeanor that the fourth S-Class of Korea would typically exhibit in a dungeon.
– Thud!
Despite having done his best to conceal himself, at some point, the scent of human flesh had unwittingly alerted the otherworldly monsters.
As long as they didn’t die and just endured, surely ‘that’ hunter would come to their aid.
“Seems like since they’re not heading straight for us, those monsters probably don’t have too keen a sense of smell.”
“Should we use ice skills to lower the temperature around?”
“No, don’t. If the enemy is a magic-sensitive monster, it will backfire…”
Thus, Neo Sisters’ regular Team 3 persevered in their calm escape with steadfast faith, like tapping on a stone bridge.
And soon, their patience bore meaningful fruit.
– Thud!
‘Hmm? What’s that? The sound is a bit closer…?’
As the earthshaking noise from the S-Class boss monster marked its territory — headbutt sounds grew nearer.
Tat tat tat.
From the other side of the corridor came the sound of human footsteps, likely made by heels.
“Huh?”
As they turned towards the sound, the awakened hunters appeared, radiant lights even in this savage lair.
“Oh!”
“Wow!”
“Huh! My goodness, oh my god…! I almost shouted without realizing!”
Caught in a long white coat was a hunter, simultaneously accompanied by a shadowy figure.
The legendary powerhouse duo of the industry was charging towards them. The Neo Sisters’ hunters gaped in amazement.
This was a top-tier anomalous variance gate. Honestly, they never dreamed that rescue operations would occur this quickly!
‘My brother must have taken some measures for us!’
Certainly, Gi-ryeo was on his way!
Sparkle sparkle.
Yoon Seung was thrilled by the appearance of the S-Class hunters, and he reflexively turned his gaze to find that figure.
Yet somehow, the golden-haired figure was nowhere to be seen, and the rescue team approached with stiff faces instead of expressions of relief.
“Ah! Oh my god, everyone step back!”
“Everyone, move to this side of the corridor, stay at least two blocks away, and only those awakeners with healing skills should remain in range to apply their skills! Now!”
“Sorry! But it seems that our position has been recognized already!”
Uh-oh?
Just as the stranded hunters wore blank faces,
Suddenly, ferocious footsteps echoed down the right corridor, linked to the room.
– Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
The trait of the boss in this lair was [Giant Killing].
In summary, that sandy-colored reptile especially despised anything equal or stronger that dared to enter its territory.
