“Yikes…!”
Cha Jin-hyuk glared at them for a moment before he started to run frantically toward the school.
If he thought it through calmly, he probably wouldn’t completely misunderstand them.
But seeing a companion from the same party, responding so coldly, must have been a bit much for him. One woman even snickered at him.
The three of them stood around, staring at Cha Jin-hyuk and whispering, before they gradually moved toward the school.
If hunters active in the area received a text and did not respond adequately to a disaster situation, they could face consequences from the Hunter Management Bureau or the association later on.
So, they planned to stay close to the accident scene for now.
And they likely figured they might be able to pick up some leftovers if things went south.
But if that was the case, why didn’t they just stick with Cha Jin-hyuk in the first place?
‘You guys want to keep the party together but don’t want to be with him? You all live pretty exhausting lives, huh?’
“Il-wol, let’s go. Okay? Let’s help them out. I’m not sure it’ll be any help, but…”
“Clap, Clap, Clap.”
I didn’t have the desire to help like Yeon-hee did.
But if we could take down even one of them, it would help us gain experience points, and if things went well, we could level up.
However, when we arrived at the gym attached to the high school, I realized the situation was more serious than I expected.
“Whew… This is dangerous. They’re all clustered together, aren’t they?”
Yeon-hee shook her head in disbelief as she saw eleven tarantulas jumping off the roof of the high school gym.
‘Are they actually cooperating…? They usually play solo.’
Boom, bang, crash─!
Every time they synchronized their strikes, a tremendous sound shook the area, and the people inside the gym screamed in terror, covering their heads.
But the problem was that they weren’t just jumping.
‘They’re focusing on spewing out acid balls in one spot, aren’t they?’
Upon closer inspection, they were running in a circle while concentrating their attacks on the center of the gym ceiling.
‘Uh… This is dangerous.’
I hadn’t expected them to have such intelligence, but the same thing had happened with the Dire Wolves at the wolf den.
Now it was clear that monsters were improving not just in combat power but in every aspect.
’30 minutes… They might not even last that long.’
And the hunters watching knew there was a crisis brewing.
The smoke billowing from the ceiling of the gym added to that sense of imminent danger.
There were over six hundred people trapped inside.
It was a terrifying situation where massive casualties could occur.
That was why Cha Jin-hyuk, persuading hunters on the opposite side, looked extremely anxious.
The highest-ranked dungeon in the area was B-rank, and since there were no base guilds, there was no reason for an A-rank hunter to be stationed there.
Thus, the fifty-odd hunters surrounding the gym were mostly C and B-rank.
Even the B-rank hunters present weren’t much different from Cha Jin-hyuk.
Recalling the time when Cha Jin-hyuk and the trio suppressed one tarantula, I couldn’t judge whether they could confidently take on multiple tarantulas.
No, it was clearly dangerous.
‘Even if we help out, we probably won’t succeed.’
At that moment, amidst my thoughts, Cha Jin-hyuk and several brave hunters started walking toward the gym.
‘Oh…’
– Kieeeh?
As the hunters appeared, several tarantulas on the roof reacted and jumped down toward the gym.
– Everyone watching! If we all join together and fight, we can definitely resolve this! If we give them time, they’ll harm those inside! So please─!
Cha Jin-hyuk shouted, hoarse, as he moved toward the gym, rallying the hunters.
But aside from the initial group of ten hunters, no one else stepped forward.
Everyone simply stayed where they were, planning to observe and assess how things would unfold.
Hunters capable of long-range attacks were preparing to use their skills, but more than half were ready to take off if things went south.
‘…… They’re going to get themselves killed……’
Had Cha Jin-hyuk experienced something like this in his past life?
I couldn’t tell, but it surely wouldn’t have been identical.
However, assuming that the main trajectory of the future would remain the same, Cha Jin-hyuk would survive this battle.
But I couldn’t help but doubt if the children would survive.
The thick outer walls on the roof were already deeply dented, and the acid was eating away at the roof on its own.
Even assuming all hunters present could jump into combat, they were rapidly running out of time to deal with the monsters before the roof gave way.
‘We need to draw the acid balls in before they can spit them out any more.’
The acid they expelled was extremely potent; just inhaling the residue in the air could cause serious harm to an ordinary person.
Yeon-hee recognized this and already looked antsy, tugging at my sleeve to get down to the ground.
‘B-rank top-class…’
It was a dilemma, but there was a way to change the situation.
Yeon-hee’s will was resolute, and even though it felt a bit forced, I figured we could activate the earrings we got from the hidden dungeon if necessary.
For now, I planned to take on one of them with just our strength.
‘I hope this straightforward method works.’
Eventually, we landed on the ground, and Yeon-hee immediately began summoning her creatures.
It took her less than two minutes to summon all her creatures.
– ……?!
Cha Jin-hyuk and the hunters watching us looked surprised when they saw us heading toward the gym with the summoned creatures.
And the eyes of the tarantulas that had landed beneath the gym glinted sharply.
– Huh? Isn’t that the summoner Lee Yeon-hee? What’s she doing here?
– Isn’t she D-rank? Is she trying to get herself killed?
Many hunters recognized Yeon-hee, who had already gained some fame, and they all expressed concern.
‘We’re not fighting because we want to.’
It was understandable that the hunters were watching the situation carefully, but it was infuriating to see them just standing there doing nothing while talking.
Regardless, we had over forty summoned creatures leading the way, which made a flicker of hope show on Cha Jin-hyuk’s crew’s faces.
But.
– Kiyahhh─!
‘So fast!’
[Special Strong Acid]
Boom─!
One of the tarantulas charged straight at us, easily breaking through the formation of summoned creatures.
The hunters around Cha Jin-hyuk, seeing that, wore expressions of “I knew it,” and began activating their skills one by one.
Still, seeing a few raising their thumbs at us was likely because we managed to draw away at least one of the monsters.
I quickly dodged while holding Yeon-hee, but I couldn’t help but let out a deep sigh as I watched the newly summoned shield-wielding creatures getting flung around like toys.
‘The difference in levels is just too great.’
But even while dodging, I unleashed my newly gained skill and managed to strike its tail.
Chiing─
– Kieeerk?!
‘So it works.’
Generally, creatures with toxins tend to be immune to their own poison, but my [Special Strong Acid] seemed to be effective since it was a new skill combined with the slime’s skill.
As the tail bubbled and boiled, it severed its own tail and quickly retreated.
– Kieerrrrr…
‘Is it on guard? Its temperament has clearly changed.’
This wasn’t the creature I knew.
Regardless, one of them had now fixed its attention on us, allowing Cha Jin-hyuk’s team to catch a slight break.
‘Nonetheless, three of them were still on his side.’
Cha Jin-hyuk’s group was barely holding off against those three monsters, with only about ten hunters struggling to endure.
Fortunately, Cha Jin-hyuk’s gravity skill had significantly restricted the tarantulas’ movements, making the defense possible.
Drip, drip—
– ……!
However, Cha Jin-hyuk was clearly overexerting himself.
Blood began to trickle down his face from an open wound.
His gravity skill hadn’t fully blossomed yet, so he was only able to suppress them downwards to a degree, hence, he was playing a more supportive role than an offensive one.
‘At this rate, holding on is going to be his limit, huh?’
But that alone seemed to have been enough to sway the hesitant hunters watching, with about 30% of those observing jumping into support.
‘Good. That’s a relief. For now, let’s focus on our side.’
The tarantula, which had dashed towards our summoned creatures and broke their formation, was now struggling.
‘That one won’t be affected even by [Arcane Deflection].’
Since it literally spews out acid balls, it wouldn’t be something I could counter with magic-deflecting skills.
I entrusted Yeon-hee to Lizardman 1 and Dotti 1 before charging toward the monster first.
Unleashing all my skills related to speed, I broke through my limits and rammed into it with spikes concentrated on my shoulder.
Boom─!
As it leaned back to spit out acid balls, it was knocked back significantly by my body slam.
Ting ting—
‘Of course, the dagger isn’t going to work!’
I had tried to slice at it with my dagger since I was close, but it seemed its skin was thicker than my dagger; even with [Penetration] and [Flame Cut] activated, no marks were left.
‘To leave a mark, I’d have to stab from below.’
The monster was aware of its weaknesses, covering its vulnerable underside as I got closer.
So I needed a weapon that could quickly stab and retreat.
Swish—
I pulled out the great sword I had just purchased.
Vuuuuum—
The great sword, imbued with my magic power, vibrated as if it were responding to me.
‘It’s my first battle, so shine a bit.’
I conveyed my thoughts to the sword as if it had a mind of its own.
Yeon-hee seemed to have noticed my inconvenient situation.
She was distracting its attention with her [Provocation] combo so it wouldn’t focus on me.
In the air, the Specter ‘Chehwa’ and Neos Harpy ‘Nefie’ buzzed around its head like annoying mosquitoes.
Flap!
Of course, with just one step from the tarantula carrying the acid, both got crushed, but that little moment was enough to buy me time.
Wooosh─!
– ?!
I managed to stab the great sword into its lower abdomen. The feeling of piercing something new was entirely different.
– Trait [Penetration] activated.
The message confirming that [Penetration] would aid me each time I successfully bypassed its defenses appeared once again.
Currently, the damage I received through [Penetration] was at 7%.
A very minor figure, but if I could deal damage somehow to a creature with high defense that would typically deflect any potential harm, that was fine by me.
Splurt!
Blood spattered from its body.
Soon enough, a flaming mark appeared above the monster’s head.
Our coordinated strike with Yeon-hee was successful, at least for now.
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