‘Over there, it’s another party made up entirely of Beastmen. And wouldn’t you know it, they’re sporting some pretty good gear.’
It’s common for hunters of the same kin to form parties, but the diverse ears, tails, and patterns of the Beastmen always draw the eye with their appeal.
‘Is it a zodiac concept with a cow, rabbit, tiger, and horse…?’
Among them, the rabbit Beastman who seemed to be the leader reminded me of Ah-rin, towering about 15 cm taller, with a solid physique exuding healthiness that must catch the attention of many men.
Anyway, they navigated to avoid the mines hidden in the mud and approached the Dwarf Party.
They gestured an apology about this, but instead, it caught the Dwarves’ interest.
At that moment, my target, ‘Jang Sun-cheol’, had a gleam in his eye.
– “Whoa… that’s the ‘Swift Hellacne Warplate’… mm – I was trying to hold back.”
His tongue quickly swept over his thick lips.
It was undoubtedly a gaze filled with greed.
Soon, he stood up and unleashed a wave of malicious magical power around him.
The flow of magic was subtle, so I had to move in closer to them from a distance.
‘What is it? A wide-area buff…? What’s he planning…?’
The unfamiliar aura of magic puzzled me for a moment, but seeing other Dwarves gradually raising their magic after inhaling it, I nodded.
– “Great equipment with plenty of Swift Hellacne leather… and there’s even four of them wearing it. They must be from wealthy families.”
– “The materials seem top-notch, but the finish is a bit rough. If I rework it, I could make much better armor.”
– “Wouldn’t it be better for me to do it instead?”
– “Ha ha, you’re hilarious. You who couldn’t even pass the 2nd exam to enter Vulcanus?”
– “I’m planning on passing this year. Just you watch.”
– “For sure… if they have that, it’d be perfect for practice.”
– “Exactly. The essential quest to complete armor using Hellacne leather you caught yourself. If I can just get some feel of the texture before that…”
– “When I complete the first Hellacne armor, the bonuses I’ll get will be significant.”
– “……..”
Before I knew it, the Dwarves were starting to stir upright one by one.
Their gazes kept tracking the hunters donned in the Warplate.
– “Since I became A-rank, exploring dungeons hasn’t earned me any money. Earning a net profit of 2 billion a year from expeditions is tough, so how much would I need to do to personally buy that gear?”
– “Right? The upkeep costs just keep rising as you delve deeper into dungeons.”
– “A Dwarf afraid of hammering due to material costs? What a disgrace!”
– “Still, we can’t just lower ourselves to dive into dungeons.”
– “This pathetic system has made us like this.”
– “Exactly, exactly. We’re not at fault.”
– “Everyone, shut up… let’s start working.”
‘Whoa… they’re really doing it.’
All thirteen hunters stood up with sly grins and, at Jang Sun-cheol’s signal, charged towards the Beastman party en masse.
‘Those crazy guys?! They’re going straight for it?! There aren’t any hunters around, but still.’
It was clear that the ability Jang Sun-cheol used was powerful enough to make other hunters act like this.
Ding—
Ding – Ding—
In an instant, a signal sound rang in my head, and the list of twelve villains was updated.
Was it Jang Sun-cheol’s ability that triggered the hidden murderous instinct?
‘So, it was indeed a mental-type ability?’
Now, it became a hardcore mode where I needed to take down thirteen villains.
– “KYAHAHAHA!!”
– “I don’t care! Charge!!”
– “Leather! Protect the leather at all costs!!”
‘This is absolute madness. They’ve all lost their minds together.’
I quickly threw my body forward.
But I didn’t intend to block them all by myself.
If I used the fight between the Dwarves and the Beastman party wisely, things impossible to do alone could become achievable.
Despite it being 13 against 8, looking at their equipment and stats, I figured the Beastman party would hold their own quite well.
– “W-Who?! An ambush!!”
– “Those crazy Dwarf bastards?!”
– “Charge! We can’t get caught off-guard! Avoid direct collisions as much as possible! Everyone scatter!!”
As expected, the response from the Beastman party was neat.
Especially the rabbit Beastman leader’s judgement was sharp.
– “GYAHAHAHA!! Where do you think you’re running to!”
– “Leather! Hand over my leather!!”
– “Should I try to grab some Beastman leather too? KYAHAHAHA!!”
Villain Jang Sun-cheol, alongside the other psychos, was already drooling with bloodshot eyes.
‘Their physical abilities aren’t rising, but they’ve lost their fear. They’re being true to their instincts… that’s a pretty scary ability.’
Soon, they clashed head-on.
BAM BAM BAM—
With metal clanging and scratching sounds, soon screams began to erupt.
When a group of five or more engages in combat, the most crucial factor is the initial clash.
Dozens of skills packed with power collided, creating sounds like the world was splitting apart.
For now, things seemed fine, but if the battle drags on, other hunters scattered around the hunting grounds might gather.
‘I need to finish this quickly. Still, the Beastmen’s defense held up pretty well! Alright, I’ll wait a bit longer and then take out that Jang Sun-cheol guy first.’
I didn’t rush in but prepared [Flame Shot] from a distance.
Their bodies were tough enough, so targeting limbs like legs or arms would be the efficient way to go.
– “Shield up and brace yourselves!!”
– “[Cry of the Black Bull]!”
– “[Reflexive Kick Back]!”
– “I’ll bake up your back legs! KYAHAHAHA!!”
At the start, the Dwarves had such overwhelming momentum that the Beastmen had no choice but to be pushed back, but after a few minutes of intense fighting, it got to a point where breaths were being caught and the outcome still wasn’t leaning strongly one way.
This was likely thanks to the power of the Hellacne leather armor worn by key members of the Beastman party.
‘That armor can make one a thug in this dungeon.’
Of course, since we’re at the entrance, its effects are weak, but it seemed more than enough to make up for the difference in numbers.
But the Dwarves’ powerful physical capabilities began to shine as we crossed the halfway mark.
Trained from hammering away at magic-infused hammers day long in the tough environment of the forge, their stamina was hard to extinguish.
Eventually,
– “Captain! Shouldn’t we be looking for a chance to retreat soon!!”
It was the Beastmen who first began to lose their momentum.
They turned their backs repeatedly, growing more anxious.
– “Damn it!! If we run now, we are likely to be ambushed by other parties! We’ll settle this one way or another today!!”
– “Damn it…! This place isn’t in the graveyard list!”
– “Yes!! I’ll at least drag one of them down with me!”
– “That’s right! I was hoping to die in an open field, but damn it!!”
– “We won’t die! We won’t die! Just think about survival!!”
‘That rabbit Beastman leader. I like her. Plus, her pronunciation is much better compared to Ah-rin.’
Even in a situation where victory was impossible, she encouraged her teammates to keep their spirits up; that’s what a strong woman is all about.
‘If Ah-rin grows up, will she turn out like that?’
Thinking of that as I flicked my finger aimed at the Dwarves.
BAM ─────
Boom──!
The [Flame Shot] I fired pierced through three Dwarves, and they immediately crumbled to the ground.
“Eh…? AAAAAH!! My leg!! My leg…!”
“Aahhh! Ahhh, my foot! It hurts! It hurts!”
───?!!
The Flame Shot displayed insane destructive power, blowing off two Dwarves’ legs and hitting a third, sending them far away.
‘It’s the power of 2,500 mana. Ha-ha.’
The unexpected ambush attack was so surprising that even the other hunters who had approached to observe fled away in shock.
‘I’ll have to hold off on using Flame Shot for now.’
There were too many eyes on me, and using skills or minions that could identify me was burdensome.
Even without that, it wasn’t hard to make the exhausted Dwarves combat incapable by cutting their legs off.
[Throw Dagger]
[Skeleton Bomb]
PUFF!
BOOM!!
Using offensive skills in a loop, I focused on targeting their lower bodies with Skeleton Bombs and bone daggers.
“WHAT THE HECK?!”
“An assassin of the stealth type!!”
“Everyone stay alert!! When they attack, watch for when they reveal themselves!”
‘Do I have enough agility to seize that fleeting moment?’
And then,
[Swamp Affinity]
Sssswish─
“No way?! He disappeared into the swamp!!”
“What the hell is going on, damn it!!”
The stealth broke as I attacked, but thanks to the skill [Swamp Affinity] I had earned from the ‘Frog Folk Dungeon’, I could slip beneath the swamp, leaving me unharmed from those guys.
‘Too easy, way too easy.’
I felt a bit guilty for taking the easy route, but there was no reason not to utilize my specialized traits in that terrain.
Seeing me in my grotesque bone armor, the Beastman party instinctively took a step back.
“W-what should we do?”
“Don’t retreat recklessly, hold your ground. We’re not revealing any bloodthirst from our side yet.”
‘Bingo. That big Ah-rin has some good instincts.’
After leaving behind that bunny Beastman who kept reminding me of Ah-rin, I soon single-handedly wiped out the once crazed villains.
“Ugh… who the heck are you?!”
“Y-you think you can harm a Dwarf and walk away unharmed?! Our kin will hunt you down to the ends of the earth! The Celestial Hammer shall definitely…”
POW──!
“Ugh…”
‘Another babbling one.’
While the others were cowering and begging for their lives, this one thought he was high and mighty. Guess he needs a lesson.
THWACK THWACK THWACK!!
With my fists causing the state ‘Bleeding’ as a passive skill, blood gushed out from the seven holes I created in the arrogant Dwarf’s face.
Quite a terrifying performance, right? It’s a lesson I learned from Joo-ah that violence is the answer in this kind of timing.
“Ugh…!”
“P-please spare me. I beg you…”
Finally grasping the situation, the Dwarves flattened themselves down, trembling.
I lifted the thirteen diminished villains by their knees no longer intact, binding them with a broad [Chain of Flame] and floating them up into the sky.
“Good grief…”
“They say S-rank hunters have been appearing more frequently these days, haven’t I mentioned that repeatedly…”
“Shh! Hush! Just be quiet and stay still…! Do you want to die?”
The hunters from the Beastman party were rigid as bamboos, fearing they might offend my temper, only their eyes darting about.
I took a sweeping glance at their expressions before heading over to the cave where I’d dealt with Victor while carrying the villains.
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