Woooooow—
The barrier that started from the abandoned building quickly expanded across Lee Yeon-hee and Cha Jin-hyuk, reaching the end of the alley in an instant.
“Damn…! Hurry!”
“Ugh…!”
Cha Jin-hyuk tried to find a way to get Lee Yeon-hee out.
“Oh~ I was wondering what you were up to, summoner girl, but it looks like you had Cha Jin-hyuk behind you? This is a bit irritating, isn’t it?”
“Oh my! This is such an unexpected combination~”
They were already surrounded from the front and back.
“It seems they prepared in advance…”
“……”
It was clear that they had set this up to catch Lee Yeon-hee from the very beginning, with wide-area soundproofing added on top.
“Choi Seong-woong! What the hell are you doing?!”
At Cha Jin-hyuk’s cautious shout, Choi Seong-woong let out a chuckle.
“Hehe, that damn toad kid. Now he’s spilling the beans, huh?”
He smacked his palm against his forehead as if in disbelief, then grinned with a sardonic smile.
“I don’t know what you two are planning by tailing us, but I can clearly sense you following us.”
In truth, Choi Seong-woong wasn’t fully aware that Cha Jin-hyuk was trailing them, but he was just putting on a show.
Cha Jin-hyuk narrowed his eyes and glared at him.
‘Definitely… the overall power feels elevated. It can’t be possible with just a bit of rest.’
While chasing after Lee Yeon-hee, Cha Jin-hyuk had been puzzled by this, as it was clear that Choi Seong-woong and his trio had done something.
‘… I guess I have no choice.’
What more was there to say?
Cha Jin-hyuk began to prepare for the activation of his ability when the two female hunters, who were approaching from the alley on the other side, halted and locked their gaze on him.
They knew how dangerous his gravity ability was, which made them hesitant to attack recklessly.
However, it was due to their cautious nature that they were being careful.
With a numerical advantage of 3 to 2, and being encircled from both sides, there was no reason to fear a duo with a D-rank hunter among them.
Whack—!
With the boost from the ‘Evolved Creature’, their movements were already beyond what Cha Jin-hyuk had known.
[Gravity Suppression]
As attacks came from all sides, Cha Jin-hyuk immediately unleashed the maximum extent of his ability.
“Cough! Damn it!”
As soon as his ability activated, it felt as if he was shouldering the weight of two orcs as it began to press down on the trio.
However, since he had to cover a wide area including Lee Yeon-hee rather than a specific target, the power was considerably weaker than usual.
When the gravity suppressed their movements, Lee Yeon-hee activated preset 1 and summoned 30 summoned creatures at once.
– Kwoooorrrr!!
– Chuuuurrubb-!
The elite orcs and lizardmen already understood what they had to do and charged directly at the trio.
“These damn bugs!”
Lee Yeon-hee had already gauged the level of strength of her summoned creatures during the battle with Tarantula.
Thus, despite the huge constraints in their movements, Choi Seong-woong and his trio weren’t overly worried; in fact, they had hidden cards up their sleeves.
Boom— Pafafafafang—!
The skills of the trio exploded against the charging summoned creatures, leaving only Lizardman 1 and Dotti 1 & 2 standing, with the rest rendered incapable of fighting.
Gulp—
Lee Yeon-hee thought she could hold out well with Cha Jin-hyuk, but the power of their foes was far beyond her expectations.
Moreover—
“Oh no…?! Yeon-hee, I’m sorry. We should have escaped sooner. More of them are coming.”
“How many?!”
“About three. All of them are at least C-rank or higher. That’s about all I can ascertain.”
“Ugh…”
Both Lee Yeon-hee and Cha Jin-hyuk blamed themselves, feeling the guilt of putting others in danger because of them.
But their judgment hadn’t been entirely wrong.
They simply hadn’t anticipated the variable of ‘Evolved Creatures’. Otherwise, the trio wouldn’t have been able to notice their tailing.
As they noticed Lee Yeon-hee and Cha Jin-hyuk’s distinct panic, the trio laughed uproariously while dealing with the remaining summoned creatures.
However, they too were taken aback internally while fighting the summoned creatures.
‘These bastards? They’re completely different from before!’
The surprise was due to the fact that they were unaware that Lee Yeon-hee had reached level 60 and that her summoned creatures had also significantly increased in combat power.
Additionally, the elite Dotti 1, 2 and Lizardman 1 of the orc and lizard squads had undergone another evolution, boasting even larger and sturdier bodies.
Of course, they were still no match for the elevated B-rank hunters, but they had enough vitality to withstand considerably longer, leaving the trio awestruck.
Especially when they hit the summoned creatures, it felt strangely like their attacks weren’t landing effectively, which only added to their discomfort.
“What feels so mushy?”
“Those bastards have something on them!”
Strangely, it took even longer to deal with the three elite creatures than to manage the 27 summoned creatures.
However, it didn’t matter how long it took; from the perspective of the B-rank hunters with superior physical capabilities, the movements of the summoned creatures merely looked like slugs. This was still true even while Cha Jin-hyuk was under the debuff.
The worst situation came when the three C-rank hunters arrived to support.
“We’ve arrived! Looks like you’ve already stirred up quite a ruckus.”
“Shut up and provide support!”
“Gladly!”
Since the newly joined hunters comprised two ranged types— a dagger thrower and an archer— the situation’s complexity became even more treacherous.
Eventually, as the tides gradually turned against them, Cha Jin-hyuk and Lee Yeon-hee found themselves cornered.
“Huff— huff—”
“Hah—”
Exhausted to the point that they could barely stand without leaning against each other, Cha Jin-hyuk and Lee Yeon-hee.
Despite the power difference, the fact they could hold out for nearly 20 minutes was solely because their talents ranked within the top 0.1%.
“Ah— thanks for the hard work. I won’t shortchange you, so look forward to it.”
“Oh man— yeah. They were tougher than I expected, wasting more time than planned.”
“They’re like cockroaches. Go grab a coffee or something. I’ll call you when it’s over.”
“Understood, hyung!”
Choi Seong-woong assured the three newly arrived C-rank hunters that they would get their share after arriving late.
“Alright— how shall we deal with this, huh?”
From among the trio, Ji-yeon and Eun-bi began to stomp on the exhausted Cha Jin-hyuk, who was suffering from mana depletion. In contrast, Lee Yeon-hee wasn’t touched because Choi Seong-woong had said to leave her alone.
Choi Seong-woong leaned against the wall, gazing at Lee Yeon-hee’s body wrapped in an orb with a sticky gaze.
“Wow— Lee Yeon-hee? I’ve heard some things, but this is really something else. Hehe—”
“Ugh…!”
Choi Seong-woong, who had used a dagger to pull back Lee Yeon-hee’s hood, licked his lips in anticipation.
Lee Yeon-hee felt nauseated just looking at the glint of desire in Choi Seong-woong’s eyes. But she lacked the strength even to hold onto the orb.
Though her mana was slowly recovering, the recovery rate was drastically slowing down.
“Ah, oppa! Seriously. You know we don’t have time for this? Let’s just throw her away and grab the cash!”
Ji-yeon, who had been harboring feelings for Choi Seong-woong, couldn’t stand the sight of him showing interest in Lee Yeon-hee and yelled out.
Choi Seong-woong, annoyed, dug at his ears and gave a disgruntled look before reaching out to Lee Yeon-hee.
“But I have to at least have a taste. Outdoor experiences have a special flavor—”
As Lee Yeon-hee tried to activate her earring artifact, aiming to drive the approaching hand away, it was regrettably the case that the artifact obtained from the hidden dungeon could only be used when the wearer was within a certain distance of the one who equipped it.
‘It’s only 2 minutes left until Il-wol’s summoning! I have to do something.’
“You guys! What’s your connection to the organization that makes Evolution Stones?”
With little time left until the re-summoning of Il-wol, Lee Yeon-hee aimed to buy time.
At her sudden shout, Choi Seong-woong shook his head vigorously.
“Evolution Stones? That’s an outdated trend by far. You’re falling behind the times, summoner girl. We’ve never done it the dumb way, like eating people alive.”
“W-What! Just a while ago, we defeated a hunter who had swallowed one! Is there a more advanced form than that?”
Haha—
Choi Seong-woong and the two hunters who had been beating on Cha Jin-hyuk all laughed in unison.
“You can’t even compare to those crappy lower organizations. By the way, you sure say some pretty disrespectful things, huh? Your ID doesn’t even have its ink dry, yet you’re so rude.”
Just as Choi Seong-woong tightened his fist to smash it into Lee Yeon-hee’s face.
A bright light burst forth from the half-dead Cha Jin-hyuk’s body.
“Ugh! What’s this?!”
Boom—!
In an instant, Choi Seong-woong was sent flying several meters away.
Seeing this, Ji-yeon and Eun-bi also recoiled in surprise for a moment.
Choi Seong-woong, who had been flung away, saw something enveloping Lee Yeon-hee’s body manifesting and quickly threw a dagger to see what it was.
Swish—!
However, the dagger that flew through the air astonishingly did not hit Lee Yeon-hee; it whirled around the barrier for a moment, changed its direction, and rushed back toward Choi Seong-woong at the same pace.
Choi Seong-woong lightly caught the dagger that was flying straight at his face with his hand.
But his expression was twisted in disbelief.
And the two watching beside him, Eun-bi and Ji-yeon, gasped.
“What— what is this? Reflection? Is it the ability to return the attack itself?!”
“Whoa… That damn toad kid is insane.”
“… It came back at the same speed I threw it. This is a superior version of the typical ‘Reflection’.”
While ‘Reflection’ merely returned a portion of the attack power, this ability was incredible as it returned the entire attack without a loss of power.
The trio, even as they deeply loathed Cha Jin-hyuk, couldn’t help but drop their jaws at the remarkable ability that had just awakened within him.
Moreover, his body was shining, showing obvious signs of health recovery.
The trio, who had envied his talent, hastily drew out their weapons.
“I need to tear him apart to feel better.”
“Just standing still is letting me receive those abilities? This is really infuriating.”
“We worked our butts off to barely reach this point. That toad and this kid? They’ve lived life far too easily.”
Seeing his ability manifest right in front of them made their insides churn. In fact, their dislike for Cha Jin-hyuk wasn’t solely due to his unfortunate appearance.
Still, reflecting back, it was odd that they had let him join their party.
Bang—!
“Oh no! Why can’t I get out of here?!”
Lee Yeon-hee was safe thanks to the barrier but ironically found it impossible not to watch Cha Jin-hyuk face danger.
“Haha, what a pathetic ability. A half-baked trap for teammates, huh?”
“This ability will disappear soon. It can’t even be recorded anywhere.”
Whoosh—! Poof!
The trio momentarily ignored Lee Yeon-hee and started jabbing at Cha Jin-hyuk’s abdomen and thighs playfully.
“Ugh-! Aaaaah!!”
“Jin-hyuk!! You bastards! Don’t do that!”
“Where’s that dog barking from~”
“Don’t kill him right away. And don’t touch his heart— it’s an important material.”
“Ah, oppa! Seriously, how many times are you going to say the same thing?”
Lee Yeon-hee trembled at the cruelty of the trio, who intentionally avoided hitting Cha Jin-hyuk’s vital spots.
“Provocation!”
Fortunately, the summoned creatures could still be called outside the barrier, and Lee Yeon-hee squeezed out her remaining mana to summon a Screaming Mushroom behind them.
– Kiyaaaaaaah!
“Ugh! Shut up, you useless mushroom!”
However, it exploded from a single dagger thrown by Choi Seong-woong and disappeared.
Lee Yeon-hee summoned as many creatures as her mana would allow, but it was still inadequate to stop them.
Pew—
She shot arrows from within the barrier, but they still bounced off the shield and fell right at her feet.
“Sniff, please don’t… just… stop…”
Lee Yeon-hee felt crushing guilt, thinking it was her fault that Cha Jin-hyuk was in this state.
Amidst the boiling emotions, she almost forgot the time until the re-summoning, but fortunately, a message from the system snapped her back to reality.
– [Flame Blade Wizard Il-wol – Lv. 60] summon is activating.
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