Five C-rank Hunters each targeted the weak points of the monster they judged, activating their skills.
[Must Sever the Card]
[Ilseom – Second Step]
[Exploding Hammer]
[Fierce Piercing]
[Triple Smash]
First, dozens of cards flew through the air in a bizarre arc, slicing the monster’s hide as if hacking off its head.
Following that, the heavy skills packed with the magic power of the close-combat warriors exploded all at once.
KRAKOW!! WHOOSH–!! BAM! SCRATCH!!
KIEEEEKK–!!
The monster’s seemingly indestructible body shattered, crumbled, and was torn apart.
THUD- TAP-
The arms holding the corpse of the Lizardman were severed and fell to the ground by the card user and spearman’s attack.
Other skills concentrated on the dismembered parts due to the explosion obliterated more than half of the monster’s head.
GRRRR–
It would have been a splendid sight if the monster had died immediately from the skills, but it had a pest-like stubbornness in its life force.
TWITCH– RATATATATAT–
The Hunters, taken aback by the writhing creature’s movements like a flopping fish, struck recklessly with rough blows, reflecting their crumpled expressions.
“You annoying little shit!! Die! Just die!”
WHOOSH–
BAM–!
WHOOSH–
THWACK! THWACK!!
And Yeon-hee continued to shoot arrows into the monster’s head, which was now completely wrecked beyond recognition.
‘……’
Eventually, as the Hunters kept hacking and striking, a message popped up in her mind.
– Achievement [First Raid] achieved.
– As an achievement reward, all attributes increase by 5.
—!!!
“Crazy!! Was it a boss-level monster?!!”
“Wow hahaha!! Is it really this easy to clear?!”
“I guess it’s lucky to say that… it feels a bit cautious to say, considering the victims.”
A raid event occurs in dungeons with a low probability for C-rank or higher.
Another dungeon formed within the dungeon.
If you enter there and defeat the boss monster, you can drop artifacts with high probability.
As long as it’s not a ‘bum’ where artifacts don’t drop, all participating Hunters will receive one, making raid dungeons perceived like a lottery.
Even ‘bum’ that doesn’t drop artifacts will give you precious ‘crystals’ worth millions as a base.
But this monster was one that could only be seen during a raid? Then is there a reward?
“It’s a yesssss!!! Kya-ha-ha-ha!!”
A cheer that could erupt in the mountains resonated, and even though it wasn’t the right moment, the Hunters excitedly grasped the objects flying toward them.
=====
Ancient Crystal
– Has the power to gather and store mana from the atmosphere.
=====
“Crystal… Well, it’s a bit disappointing, but still, this is something!! Kya-ha-ha-ha!”
“Shh— you’re laughing too loudly.”
“Hehe, still, it feels good to have a windfall after coming out to serve.”
“In fact, I feel the same, but we should hold ourselves back amidst the gaze of others, ahem…”
The five C-rank Hunters, having received rewards amounting to over half a year’s worth of income, were in a state of great excitement.
‘Crystal…’
The Ancient Crystal is capable of gathering mana from the atmosphere as described, and it can be considered a superior version of the mana stone, which replaces electricity.
While mana stones can only use the energy contained within them, crystals are completely different.
They are closer to a semi-permanent energy supplier that self-sustains and supplies energy, thus being much more useful practically than artifacts.
Therefore, the price varies greatly depending on size, determined by contribution according to the dungeon rules.
And a crystal floating in front of Yeon-hee, about the size of a Lizardman’s fist, was worth at least 200 million. It was evident to anyone that she had the highest contribution, given the size compared to what others received.
Yet, Yeon-hee simply stoically placed that item into her inventory without showing any reaction.
‘… Il-wol…’
“Wow~ you hit the jackpot. Well, it’s only natural since you were the most active.”
“Was the initial explosion caused by the summoned creature? That would be amazing!”
“No way, I think the retreating Fire Sorcerer must have triggered it, right?”
“That would be it, right? But was there a Fire Sorcerer?”
“Anyway, thanks to the Summoner, we could take it down comfortably without any injuries, so how about finishing and grabbing a cup of tea?”
“We should have a meal together, but the time is like this, haha.”
“If we’re having coffee, let’s all go together! There’s a nice new place that just opened nearby!”
“……”
However, Yeon-hee’s unfocused and blank eyes indicated she had no intention of accepting their offers.
“Ahem- It seems you’re not feeling very responsive…”
“No, in that case, let’s just go among ourselves, right? It’s the sort of vibe that calls for something after finishing like this?”
“By the way, fighting while throwing summoned creatures, that’s so enviable… If you join our guild! We can treat you just like the White Knight! Would you consider it?”
Startled—
“Oh come on, just accept this business card!”
A woman handed a business card to Yeon-hee, who hesitated for a moment.
“Seriously, a new class is certainly overpowered. What’s up with you fiddling with those cards, Kyuta? Is the Card User class now a relic of the past? Haha!”
“What are you talking about!! It’s still a rare class!!”
As they quickly brushed off the dirt stuck to their weapons, there were words shared in their conversation that made Yeon-hee shiver, reminiscing about the battle.
Fighting by throwing summoned creatures…
Yeon-hee briefly closed her eyes, dismissed all summoned creatures, and then tried summoning Il-wol again.
– Summoned creatures are regenerating.
– Summoned creatures are regenerating.
‘Tch…!’
In the end, she only managed to call back Lizardman 1 and Slime. Feelings of magic power quickly surged through her body as the summoned creatures were dismissed.
She tried hard to focus on that flow, but her heart kept pounding, making it impossible to concentrate.
’97 lives… Okay, it’s okay… I still have plenty left, so I need to raise my dominance quickly and….’
Desperately holding her trembling hands, Yeon-hee reflected on her combat style.
It seemed that the recent battle had looked pretty good even from the point of view of the C-rank Hunters. She could differentiate between flattery and genuine praise.
The summons, including Il-wol, threw their bodies to block while the dealers concentrated solely on the attacks from behind.
It seemed there wouldn’t be a better way than this approach moving forward. If that’s the case…
‘If I make it so Il-wol doesn’t need to sacrifice himself, that would work! If I summon a bunch of creatures! Yeah, if I had about a hundred Lizardmen, Il-wol wouldn’t have to do anything!’
While still dizzy, she hadn’t thought about how difficult summoning a hundred Lizardmen would be.
Yeon-hee reached level 30 from this battle and had four gray summoning scrolls stocked up.
Assuming she opened all four and had eleven Lizardmen, she then simulated fighting against that monster in her mind.
‘……’
The results were utterly grim.
Even though Il-wol was pinpointing the monster’s position and blocking the path, it couldn’t stop the monster moving with incredible speed and strength, eliminating the summoned creatures one by one.
In the end, the image of Il-wol rushing in while hidden and self-destructing with the monster formed in her mind. An even less efficient situation than this battle.
‘No!! This isn’t it…’
She needed to find some other way. But no brilliant ideas seemed to come up. Eventually, it seemed she would have to achieve over level 40 to obtain higher-grade summoning scrolls.
‘How can I quickly and maximally gain experience?… Yes! What if I just stay overnight in the dungeon?’
Still unsettled, she found herself spiraling into bizarre thoughts when a hulking man displaying a powerful hammer attack approached her.
“Let’s finish off the rest too. Of course, if there’s time.”
“… I’ll do it.”
She needed to defeat at least one more to get stronger quickly. That thought consumed her.
In fact, if she quit being a Hunter, her current worries wouldn’t necessarily need to be concerning, but it seemed that thought never crossed her mind.
She wrapped the Slime around her arm like a protective sleeve and, along with the five Hunters, they took down the remaining ‘Speaker’ monster.
“That annoying little bastard really!”
The ‘Speaker’ had a bizarre weapon, was short with multiple limbs, and resembled an ugly fish. It had been the most troublesome role in this incident.
WHOOSH-!
KIEK!!
“Look how it looks, wow…”
Other than its sonic attacks, its physical body was incredibly weak. However, surrounded by persistent monsters defending it, her ears had struggled till the very end.
“I’ve never seen them actually support other monsters before… Do monsters that burst out of dungeons typically have this sense of teamwork?”
A female Hunter with a rapier tilted her head, while the surrounding Hunters merely shrugged.
Experiencing a dungeon break is not something even C-rank Hunters can do often.
And when all visible monsters were dispatched, four strong Hunters radiating powerful magic approached as if waiting for this moment.
“They sure came quickly, damn…”
“Ah, the precious High-Rank Hunters have arrived! But why does the atmosphere seem tense?”
“It seems the second alert has been activated. Looking at the badges, all four are B-rank… We’ll have to assess the situation; it’s going to be tiring…”
Typically, F and E ranks are considered low-rank
D and C ranks are middle rank
B and A ranks are high-rank Hunters.
Of course, S rank is just called S rank without any distinctions.
Among the approaching High-Rank Hunters, one held the corpse of a monster wrapped in a massive orb.
“Is this the one you all defeated?”
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