“Ao… are they seriously blocking the entrance now?”
Fifteen paladins stood in front of the stairs leading underground, chatting among themselves.
It’s not uncommon to see hunters with paladin traits, but such a horde gathered like this is a rare sight, making other hunters stare at them curiously.
Given they’ve made it this far already, it seems they entered the dungeon pretty early.
Is it that becoming a paladin means losing the ability to sleep?
“If they’re heading underground, they’re going to make a ruckus all day trying to catch me again.”
I was already feeling exasperated, debating whether to rush past the stairs before they sensed me or just come back later.
– I ran here at dawn; it’d be a bit disappointing if that monster wasn’t here.
But one of them said something that grabbed my attention.
“Monster? Are they talking about me?”
For the past two days, the titles they used for me were mostly the cursed orc or damn orc, so it struck me as odd.
– It seems the net we brought might be too small to catch a 5-6 meter giant.
– Don’t worry; it expands if you infuse it with magic.
– Really?
– I haven’t used it myself, but that’s what my seniors told me, so let’s trust them.
“5-meter giant… no way?”
I hoped it wasn’t true, but as I listened closely to their conversation, my bad feeling turned out to be correct.
– It might be better to hope that monster isn’t around. If the guide is right, that is.
– Heh, no matter how messed up dungeons are these days, there shouldn’t be a monster we can’t handle. They say it can’t even move, right? It might just end after a one-sided attack.
– That could be the case. But then again, if it’s too weak, we’re in trouble. We brought the seniors who were going around the ogre dungeon, after all.
– Hey, juniors. Let’s get going. Northeast direction, right?
– Yes, that’s correct.
– Alright then, let’s go see those handsome faces.
“Northeast direction? Sounds like they’re heading to catch a chimera. Did they follow me to the place I was at yesterday?”
I wanted to tell them not to cross the river, but considering they had gathered a party of fifteen and even brought a magical net, they didn’t seem to be in a relaxed state of mind.
“Hmm… Looks like I need to revise my plan. Just testing meteor might not cut it.”
Though that thing has a high chance of defeat or self-destruction when I face it alone, it’s a different story with paladins around.
The only thing that bothered me was their deity who opposes me.
“Damn Areina. Just keep your mouth shut, please.”
With that small hope, I cautiously followed behind them.
It had been thirty minutes since we descended underground.
The paladins, absorbed in the chimera 2, hadn’t detected me yet.
“A bit more distance would be better.”
Keeping the same distance as the day before with chimera 2, I carefully observed the gentle golden aura radiating from them.
“Wow… Now this is something. There’s no force better than this against orcs.”
Their full set of armor looked reassuring just by looking at it, and with the abundance of divine power surrounding their shields and weapons, they seemed capable of pushing back any opponent.
Especially since they could conduct effective group combat against humanoid monsters like orcs, that was a big plus.
After asking Yeon-hee for information yesterday, I found out that the guild the paladins belonged to was called “Arena,” and interestingly, it was based in the US.
So they are hunters affiliated with the Korean branch of the US “Arena” guild.
In a time when international exchanges were not smooth, it’s perplexing to see a branch of a guild open in a foreign country.
Moreover, they were a powerful group ranking among the top ten in the US, which made me wonder if they had some ulterior motivations.
Like the goblin species trait where more deities mean some form of buff, they were actively expanding their forces, and it seemed worth checking out later.
“Considering they have quite a few expensive stealth detection items, they seem well supported. But… will that be enough against that guy? I’m not so sure.”
Chimera 2 is the evolved form of “tooth,” so it must be able to use [Stealth].
Even if they detect stealth through equipment or items, they won’t be able to react as quickly as my senses, which made me a bit uneasy.
Of course, if my initial attack goes through, I won’t have to worry about stealth or anything, but it’s always wise to have a plan B and C in mind.
“If variables come into play, won’t Areina block it for me again? If she’s that passionate about catching me, then undoubtedly she would if it were a stronger chimera…”
If Areina doesn’t help the paladins against the chimera, that would make no sense to me. It would mean she considers me more of an enemy than that horrific chimera 2.
Flap-!
Boom-!
The paladins charged forward, slashing through any monsters they encountered without a care.
“At this distance, they should be reacting, but… has my mark really vanished?”
Until yesterday, they had been sticking to me like leeches, yet now they moved steadily without a hint of awareness, causing a little hope to bubble up.
But then.
“Damn orc, is it following us?”
“Is it the target mentioned by the juniors?”
“Yes, it’s a peculiar orc that uses stealth, presumed to be a troublesome sword mage.”
“Orc sword mage… it’s not pursuing us now, but it looks like it might be pursuing us? Does that mean we share the same mark?”
“Perhaps…”
“Having fought it once, it should know it can’t defeat us.”
“It might just be toying with us. That sinister grin when it gets caught in a giant palm doesn’t leave my mind.”
“A giant palm… like a divine being protecting the orc… I’ve heard that more and more orcs in the upper dungeons lately scream ‘Por Rashida’ as they die. That might be the name of the god they worship.”
“Por Rashida… has it really come to this already?”
From what I know, “Por” refers to the orc legion commander who will invade our world in the future. Rashida might mean something unknown, but it’s likely a cry to praise Por or request revenge.
What’s clear is that orcs from the upper dungeon connected to our world are increasingly submitting to the orc named “Por.”
“The orc legion invading us might just be our karmic debt…”
If I think about it, aside from the first wave, we are the ones who’ve invaded the orcs’ territory first.
“Anyway, the timing is much quicker than it was in my previous life. How can I not feel anxious?”
Amidst various thoughts swirling in my mind, I smoothly followed the paladins.
In fact, I started closing the distance between us.
Even if they recognized me, their lack of response indicated they wanted to catch the chimera first, which means I could get even closer.
Hours later, the paladins reached the spot where chimera 2 was located.
Now, being only 200 meters away from the paladins, I eavesdropped on their conversation with my [Well-Hearing Ear].
“It’s definitely… the guide’s words were right.”
“Yes, I’ve heard that the guide is quite skilled. It’s a pity they didn’t come today.”
“When I suggested the guide join us, they actually advised us not to.”
“That makes sense. Honestly, I’m worried right now. I didn’t expect it to be this powerful. We’ve exceeded the range we calculated based on the guide’s opinions.”
“Is it really that strong?”
“If we get a bit closer, the junior will understand what I mean.”
Among the fifteen paladins, five were close to A-rank level.
The remaining ten weren’t much different from the ones I had faced.
– Grgrgggh…
As I had gotten much closer, chimera 2 revealed itself clearly.
Its immense aura was so violent it could make even divine beings tremble in fear.
“This…”
“It’s a real monster. It hasn’t turned its head toward us yet.”
“It’s probably pretending not to notice. There’s no way that monster wouldn’t know we’ve detected it.”
“It’s just been standing still; maybe it’s waiting for something?”
“Surely… it won’t summon another monster, will it?”
“Don’t jinx it…”
The paladins began to slow their pace, and once we reached within 100 meters, they came to a halt.
“…”
“Phew—”
“I need to move forward…”
“Everyone, calm your minds. The lord is watching over us.”
The paladin party spread into a double line formation, steadily pressing toward the monster. As they readied themselves, a dazzling light began to emanate from their bodies.
“Ooooh… It’s definitely Areina…”
“I told you, didn’t I? Senior!”
“Is this really… something to report back to headquarters? They’ll be so pleased.”
Whether it was because I had gotten closer or due to the presence of the chimera, it was clear that “Areina” was imparting her power to them.
“I’ve been waiting for this. I’ll hit it with a meteor, so let’s catch it together.”
Judging by the current strength, we were slightly ahead.
But this skill I was about to activate would show destruction powerful enough to negate the dynamics of strength.
I rose into the left space in the direction they were heading, gently closing my eyes in concentration.
[Meteor]
Boom—
At the moment the skill was activated, a pitch-black darkness descended.
Soon, I could feel my consciousness being sucked into an unknown space.
“Ugh…! My head…!”
The pain that felt like my head was splitting apart was brief.
Endless emptiness stretched out, and before long, my consciousness shifted into a mysterious realm filled with countless small piles of rocks.
As my vision narrowed and I realized those small piles of rocks were colossal boulders capable of crushing a chimera in one blow.
Ting—
A spark jumped from a rock.
Ting—
The “magical stone” began to emit a strange melody as if it was trying to communicate with me, a being it had never seen before.
“…”
Suddenly, thousands and thousands of stones around me conveyed their intentions in the same way.
Ting-titit— Ting!
“…Do you wish to be free?”
That’s how I heard the stones voice me.
Since I needed these stones anyway, there was no reason to reject their request.
Hooosh—
My consciousness, which had temporarily strayed, returned to my main body, and the enormous magic energy that had been swirling around me was already gone.
Following the trail of the vanished magic, I turned my gaze to the high sky, where a dimensional rift was forming, and through that gap, a gigantic stone began to make its appearance.
Though it had shrunk significantly since I last saw it, each stone was still large enough to crush the chimera in one go.
Whuuummm—
Soon, the “magical stones” were engulfed in blazing flames and began to plummet toward the chimera at a speed far faster than my flying.
There were twenty in total.
As the twenty flaming boulders revealed themselves from the sky, they shone like a small sun in the vicinity.
“Ah…”
“What is that…?!”
“Oh, my god…!”
“Divine power guides us…”
The fifteen paladins gaped in astonishment as they dropped their weapons to the ground, eagerly tracking the falling meteors with their eyes.
“Keyeaek?!”
But the chimera was the first to notice [Meteor], quickly hurling itself away from its spot.
However…
Bam-bam-bam—!!!
With a sound that could overturn the very area, the gigantic boulders stomped violently on the spot where it had been, and soon after, its agonizing scream echoed out clearly.
KABOOM!!
As the meteors crashed down, causing a second explosion upon impact, the chimera’s screech grew even sharper.
– Kieeeeeaaaahhh!!
“Got it. It definitely hit!”
Ziiing—
That elation of successfully executing high-tier magic was quickly overshadowed by an overwhelming fatigue that dragged me to the ground.
Thud!
It was tough to rise from the spot where I had plummeted from dozens of meters up.
“Ugh… damn it. Even if I met the minimum requirements, was it still too much?”
It was understandable, considering it was an ability uncharacteristic of my capacity.
However, since it was no time to be foolishly lying down, I equipped the ‘Ruin Rune’ to elevate my body and soared back into the skies with [High-speed Flight].
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