“I’m sure of it. I guarantee it.”
“Trust me, I say!”
My companions are trying to prove my abilities by pulling out the Pact of Oath. When did they start believing in me so much? Grateful.
“Even if Noh Ha-yoon the Hunter guarantees it… I don’t trust it that much. But I trust the other friends, so I understand.”
“Wait, what did I even do? Why am I the only one being blamed?”
“Heh…”
Shin Young-ah smiled at the pouting Noh Ha-yoon, then grabbed a map and headed to where the other party leaders had gathered to share information.
The situation demanded quick judgment. The conversation flowed rapidly.
“Whoa…?! How did we not get this? It’s way more detailed than the info distributed in advance!”
“This info seems accurate though? The area that’s heavily sunk is where we passed.”
“There were indeed a lot of Creeper Guards there. Ridiculously, there were four grouped together, so we avoided that area.”
“I didn’t think Escalon would exert this level of dominance over the Creeper Guards…”
“This is updated information… It’s reliable, so please share it with the Hunters on duty. It’s better to plan an escape route. We’ll lead the way, of course.”
“Thank you!”
“What do we owe you for that…?”
“The reward will come… after everything is over.”
Leaders of other parties kept bowing to Shin Young-ah. Understandably, the value of such information soared in this situation. They had to be grateful since she handed it over without any conditions.
‘… The Creeper Guards following Number 29 are turning back toward us. I definitely turned their line of sight to the other side, but they’re narrowing their angle too quickly? Something… feels off.’
Is it just my imagination that all the monsters within my detection range seem to be looking at our location?
‘It can’t just be my imagination… Could this be a trait of the Devouring Creeper’s main body ability? A detection ability that can pinpoint where Awakened Ones are clustered?’
Well, considering Escalon can send itself anywhere within its domain, it’s likely it can also confirm and share the location of intruders entering its territory.
Not recognizing that such abilities existed in advance was a painfully foolish mistake.
‘No… we can’t underestimate the information-gathering abilities of our Hunters. This isn’t something we overlooked…’
Could it be that as we invaded, they felt a crisis, and the main body manifested new abilities?
If that’s the case, it’s unavoidable. We must respond quickly.
‘Let’s retreat.’
No matter how I think about it, it doesn’t seem like our current strength could overcome Escalon and hundreds of Creeper Guards we met earlier.
If Maeng Seong-yong and the top forces of Team 3 joined, it might be feasible… but I had only distracted him with my petty abilities and hadn’t inflicted meaningful damage.
‘To defeat him, we’d have to make heavy sacrifices. That can’t happen. I can’t waste these talented individuals on taking down a single troublesome guy.’
I conveyed my thoughts to Yeon-hee.
After finishing our conversation, Yeon-hee refined the information before passing it on to Shin Young-ah, who returned after sharing information with the leaders.
“… The main body is aware of our location… in this vast area? Only Transcendents like Shayna can do such a thing. You expect me to believe that?”
“I don’t know who Shayna is, but it’s highly likely. Il-wol’s detection ability is top-notch.”
“What does that have to do with detection ability? Isn’t that just speculation?”
“It’s a product of thinking based on detection.”
Shin Young-ah, showing disbelief, closed her eyes and fell into thought. Could she decide to retreat without the orders of Team 3 leader, Maeng Seong-yong?
“Hmm… Signal flare number 4… Creeper Guards have exited the area… the main body and Escalon are aware of us…”
‘I feel like I have to decide soon… They’re getting ready to come over slowly.’
If I wait any longer, I’ll have to escape with just my companions, but the other Hunters seemed unfazed, as they distanced themselves from the signal flare due to the urgency.
“Clap, clap, clap…”
“Don’t rush me, Skeleton.”
“Clap…”
These senses that I can feel sometimes torment me like this. Shin Young-ah, who had been staring at me while chewing on the collected information, surprisingly came to a quick decision.
“We’ll retreat, everyone retreat!”
“?!”
Among the leaders, there was an unspoken hierarchy, but Shin Young-ah, being the highest ranked in ability, didn’t receive much opposition from the other leaders and instantly moved into action.
‘So they really do lean on stronger individuals in situations like this…’
After that, we pushed down for over an hour without resting before we could finally take a break.
It was essentially a full retreat, and as we descended, other party members joined in, boosting our numbers to more than 70.
Setting up a temporary gathering point, the leaders quickly held a meeting, but instead of coming up with a follow-up plan, they mostly just sat there pulling their hair out in despair.
“Damn…! I thought we were doing well.”
“It appears that Team 3’s captain, Maeng Seong-yong, is still up front…”
“Of course! We came down as soon as the signal flare went off.”
“A subordinate who abandoned their captain…”
“Our efforts to save the civilians have gone to waste!”
“That’s not entirely true. We did significantly reduce the number of Creeper Guards. The number of civilians sent back to Korea by rescue units should be considerable. There’s no need to undermine our own achievements.”
“Those creatures breed like cockroaches, and if we don’t recover immediately, history will repeat itself.”
“Moreover, evidence that we retreated based on uncertain information will leave us bearing the brunt of the backlash later. Shin Young-ah, are you really okay with this?”
“Running away when it’s advantageous and shifting the blame to Shin Young-ah? Your intentions couldn’t be clearer.”
“I don’t understand what you’re saying. If you slander me one more time, I’ll rip your mouth off and connect it to your ears.”
“Before that, your head will fly off.”
“Alright, everyone… enough!”
There’s a joke that even with just five Hunters gathered, three will fight, one will mediate, and one will sneak a hit. But reality was often worse than that…
Ultimately, even after meeting for a conference with dozens of leaders, a clear solution didn’t arise.
In a way, I had spread information and come down trusting only one signal flare, so it was no surprise that everyone was uneasy. Of course, that signal flare was shot up by me, but everyone else believed it originated from Maeng Seong-yong’s side.
“Sigh- how long are we going to keep wrestling with words?”
Noh Ha-yoon’s patience was starting to wear thin.
“Hey, just wait a bit. What are you getting so worked up about?”
“We need to stock up on Mana Stones.”
“Ugh, it’s just a bit of fun playing around.”
It wasn’t just Noh Ha-yoon who was irritated; small disputes between the Hunters spread like an epidemic, creating a grim atmosphere.
Just as the darker sides of the Hunters began to reveal themselves…
A message from the commander, ‘Choi Gang-han,’ was delivered to the leaders.
Despite the chaos, the main points of his lengthy letter read as follows:
[… The main body. That dreadful being has awakened the ability to transfer ‘Escalon’ into the domain of erosion.
I pay my respects to the swift decision made by Team 3 to retreat based on just the smallest clues.
The governing body will analyze and organize all information as quickly as possible to issue guidance. Please endure just a little longer.
Lastly, it has been confirmed that Hunter Maeng Seong-yong, leading Team 3, is safe…]
“Whoa…!”
The Hunters belonging to Team 3, who had been confused, couldn’t help but exclaim in awe upon hearing Commander Choi Gang-han’s message through a loudspeaker.
– Truly, it’s Young-ah!
– They said that person was the cause of our misfortune. How funny.
– In any case, it turned out well, so let’s focus on that.
That’s what they call a turnaround.
Shin Young-ah, who had been receiving the cold stares, instantly became the object of cheers.
‘Don’t just talk; show some sincerity too.’
Shin Young-ah didn’t seem to have any intentions to demand anything initially, and naturally, we weren’t expecting much either.
Her only wish was that when the top brass decides on rewards, they would reflect this scenario.
“Did you see? Hear? I told you! Il-wol’s abilities are for real!”
“Er, yes…”
Noh Ha-yoon seemed to bother Shin Young-ah, who was showing off, and after being hassled by other leaders, returned with a somewhat puzzled expression before suddenly turning to look at Yeon-hee and me.
What kind of mysterious beings are these? That expression.
“Seriously… how.”
“Hehe… thank goodness.”
“You, Lee Yeon-hee… and what on earth is that Summoned Creature…”
Taken aback by Shin Young-ah’s reaction, Yeon-hee blushed and scratched her head, while Shin Young-ah, staring at me with her mouth slightly open in disbelief, was soon dragged off to another meeting with the leaders before she could gather her thoughts.
“What? 57? You did that? Is that even possible?”
“Oh ho ho ho! It’s absolutely possible, you little rascal. Just wait. Once the hunt is over, I’ll teach you properly.”
“Ugh, it’s not over yet!! I’m going to be the one laughing at the end! Damn, it’s all because of those idiots!”
Next to me, Noh Ha-yoon was erupting in laughter while Hwa-ryeon held her head in despair.
It seemed the numbers they had acquired from the Mana Stones were drastically different, as Hwa-ryeon quickly returned to her party members, insisting on something powerfully.
Shin Hee-won looked at the excited Hwa-ryeon with a somewhat exasperated expression before shrugging towards us.
‘Only Hee-won is having a tough time.’
In all fairness, if it were purely a one-on-one battle, the outcome could have been uncertain.
Still, since we were moving as a party, receiving help from those around us was inevitable. In that regard, Hwa-ryeon had taken on an unwinnable challenge.
Besides, until now, Noh Ha-yoon had refrained from using potion-type items, including Irmana’s water, while taking on dungeon hunts, but this time she was actively using items, possibly because of the wager.
With the support of Shin Young-ah’s binding ability, it’s not surprising that she ended up obtaining more Mana Stones than me right after Yeon-hee.
Even after the message from the Association Head was delivered, a chaotic atmosphere remained, and hours passed in that manner.
We finally managed to get a proper meal after moving a bit outside the gathering point.
It was time to enjoy the Big Boar and Hanjaring we had stored in the Space.
“Wow—”
“As you dig into Hanjaring, the juices become richer, it’s a treat.”
We had a meal while casually enjoying some drinks. For Awakened Ones, alcohol is a great companion that warms them up and relaxes them.
Even though we were still on duty, not even Shin Young-ah spoke out against it.
This sweet moment of relaxation, letting our guard down after such a long time, felt oh so delightful.
“This is seriously delicious. Yum—”
“I wonder if Escalon will come running upon smelling this.”
“There’s no way it would come all the way here.”
“Oh, having a drink feels just like camping! This is nice!”
Come to think of it, we’ve never had a trip together; the kids began discussing going on a trip to Jeju Island next time.
An unknown island that ordinary people wouldn’t even dare to step onto, but with the Sword Dragon, we could go whenever we wanted.
“When can we go to Jeju Island?”
“I want to visit ‘Nando’ while we’re at it.”
“That’s essentially a pit stop for Hunters… just thinking about it gives me chills.”
“Clap, clap, clap.”
The top dungeon dubbed as one of the ‘World’s Eight Great Dungeons.’ Among those, besides the giant dungeon that resides in our country, the most challenging dungeon for Hunters to challenge is ‘Nando’ located in Jeju Island.
Putting others aside, for someone like me, the day to challenge that dungeon doesn’t feel far off.
‘Hmm… it’s coming.’
Beeeeep—
At last, the welcoming sound calling the Hunters ended our sweet relaxation, and people instinctively rose from their seats.
– They’ve arrived.
– Huh? When did they come?
– Maeng Seong-yong… looks fine!
– That man wouldn’t die easily.
– Even S-rank Hunters are with him… were they that formidable?
Maeng Seong-yong, leading Team 3, entered our gathering point with unfamiliar faces in tow.
‘Impressive that he managed to find his way here. But why does the crowd seem so sparse?’
Given that the Hunters belonging to Team 3 make up about 60% of our side, I expected the remaining would be sticking with Maeng Seong-yong, but it didn’t even reach half of what I anticipated.
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