The blue-eyed organization member Jeong Hyeong-sik maintained a certain distance from the target ahead while recalling the list assigned to him.
‘Summoner Lee Yeon-hee and those undesirables.’
The Helen duo were recognized as skilled in this tier, but in Jeong Hyeong-sik’s mind, they were just undesirables.
However, when thinking of Summoner Lee Yeon-hee’s terrifying legion of summoned creatures, even Jeong Hyeong-sik felt a cold sweat trickling down his back.
‘Avoiding a direct confrontation while buying time… Is that even possible, Manager? Hehehe…’
The order he received from the branch manager yesterday only contained a simple line.
[Prevent Summoner Lee Yeon-hee from entering the Lizard Swamp.]
All powerful parties that entered this dungeon must have been assigned members like him.
The cult was busily preparing for a large-scale offering in the Lizard Swamp today, like roasting beans over a campfire. It was only natural for their approach to become rough and reckless.
‘I have the feeling things are getting urgent. Didn’t we always handle things quietly from the shadows? Why are we pushing so hard?’
Just a few weeks ago, it was normal to take time digging tunnels underground for small-scale offerings, so there must have been some change.
The scale of the offerings was growing, and they were occurring simultaneously across the country. Jeong Hyeong-sik finally realized that there were enough cult members to handle such extensive activities.
Despite these personal questions, Jeong Hyeong-sik was determined to do his best to complete the order given to him.
He had always disliked successful people since childhood. His own life was undeniably miserable, while everyone outside seemed to be smiling brightly.
‘If only they would all just die…’
He genuinely thought that way.
For someone with such a twisted personality, receiving an invitation from the blue-eyed organization was, in a way, a natural progression.
The orders handed down by the organization, like quests received in a game, were fun to solve one by one. And gradually overcoming them would allow him to live as a ruler over the bugs of this world. Just thinking about it was exhilarating.
Today should have been one of those processes. It should have been.
But, first of all, it was ridiculous to even clear the order itself, and a variable had unexpectedly emerged.
Noh Ha-yoon, who had not been registered until morning, had suddenly entered the dungeon, right next to Jeong Hyeong-sik’s target.
‘Damn it… What do I do? There’s no chance. Lee Yeon-hee and Noh Ha-yoon? Those guys are monsters.’
Once the registration list was fixed, there shouldn’t be any additional entrants, but knowing Noh Ha-yoon’s background, it wasn’t hard to see it as a trivial matter for her.
‘Complaining won’t help. I’ll just hit and run moderately to distract them. When’s the best timing?’
For now, Jeong Hyeong-sik trusted the competency of his companion moving alongside him.
His companion was a hunter with exceptionally developed eyesight. It was not just about seeing far.
Right now, he was predicting what Noh Ha-yoon would do next based on the movement of the muscles 80 meters ahead of her.
As long as those guys were within our sight, an initiative surely belonged to us, and he firmly believed that.
Except for Noh Ha-yoon, the other hunters were all E-rank. If things went wrong, there was no way they would catch us in chaos.
‘If it weren’t for that damn woman, this would have been much easier!’
But such rational judgments were pushed further away from consciousness, and a malignant anger began to swell.
Noh Ha-yoon.
Imagining the scene of the ‘witch’—who had inherited the blood of a witch and suddenly rose to become the next ace of the Vision Guild—being painfully pierced by thorns made him feel better.
She was just lucky to have been born into a good family. Nothing more, yet she acted as if she were the protagonist of the world.
‘Damn privileges. They even try to exploit their children. Pulling strings upfront and pushing from behind. Shit! Lee Yeon-hee also got into the White Knight Guild right after her second awakening? This world sucks! Should I really blow it all up?’
Dark smoke ominously flickered from his hands, transforming into a sharp thorn-like shape.
He had initially been a talentless individual as a hunter. But by joining the blue-eyed, he could obtain abilities guaranteed by trading half of his life.
‘If I polish this power a bit more, those guys…!’
Kaaak- Thwack-!
He glared at Noh Ha-yoon, spitting his bitter emotions out like thick phlegm.
Next to him, Il-wol, who was in a stealth state, was approaching stealthily.
‘Hey! That was close!’
As soon as he approached the man, he felt a sudden wave of spit, and his heart sank for a moment, worrying if he had a detection system.
‘This guy is the strongest. Aside from the black smoke in that hand, he didn’t seem to have any other risk factors.’
Moving slightly to the side, he scrutinized the faces of the nine people but recognized none.
‘Is there a barrier activated by nine people? Doesn’t seem like it… Are they really just throwaways? Unbelievable.’
Coming closer, they were indeed not the pushovers he expected.
‘Assuming I’m not here… Maybe two of the Helen duo were caught.’
Five of the nine were skilled, so even considering the powers of Yeon-hee and Ha-yoon, it would have taken considerable time and damage to subdue them.
Suddenly, the blue-eyed organization members he met at the grave while searching for artifacts flashed through his mind. The last remaining fellow had begged for his life.
‘These guys also know the value of their lives. They must have a reason for doing this, even knowing they’d lose if they fought, right?’
What could their purpose be?
‘Purpose…’
Up until now, he understood the blue-eyed’s purposes were largely twofold: gather ancient artifacts and kill hunters to offer to someone named Ashran.
Had they perhaps recognized the artifact that I had placed under perception impairment?
‘Even so, they lack the power to target our artifact. So, it doesn’t seem related to the artifact.’
Moreover, they surely wouldn’t have the power to suppress us for the offering.
‘…Could it be that we’re a hindrance to their offering?’
So is their aim to redirect our attention elsewhere?
Having come up with a somewhat plausible reason, he nodded but at the same time, a cold rationality urgently requested him to take action.
Yeah, whatever it is, there’s no reason to engage with these guys long-term.
‘Honestly, even interrogation feels annoying. Scum like you will just die if you come into my sight.’
And if I kill these guys, wouldn’t there be additional benefits for me?
Woooon—
Finishing his thoughts, he stepped back briefly and drew out 18 bombs he had been keeping.
‘One isn’t enough. Let’s make sure to use two each.’
Extending his mana wide to create a basket, he began throwing two bombs each at the creatures running from afar.
[Throw Dagger]
The bombs enhanced by the dagger-throwing skill flew toward their upper bodies with a fair chance of hitting.
The process was extremely agile, and calculating the time delay, the thrown bombs began to explode almost simultaneously.
KABOOOM—!!
– Kyaaaaaaah—!
Terrifying screams mixed with pain echoed from all directions, and some didn’t even have time to scream before their heads flew off.
Suddenly, my party members moving ahead and Noh Ha-yoon, who was desperately searching for me, both turned their heads simultaneously at the explosion.
“What the hell was that!!”
The man who had spat phlegm at me when I first approached was now watching the bomb explode closely beside him. He was left with a completely blown-off shoulder.
Something sharp filled with black magic writhed in his hand as it searched for prey.
‘That attack… I don’t know exactly what it is, but it looks stronger than my bomb attacks…?’
It wasn’t surprising. After all, he was a higher-ranked skilled individual. Plus, he was associated with an unknown cult. He might have stronger skills than me.
But what good is it if he can’t hit?
“Where are you!! Who the hell are you, you bastard!!”
Now that my mana quantity and recovery speed had reached a certain level, I could remain in a stealth state for as long as I wanted during battle.
Thus, the blind rage of the man scattered uselessly within the dungeon. Words nobody answered were no different from silence.
‘Even just once, I need to concentrate all my nerves…’
[Penetration]
Coating my dagger with my mana, I swiftly slashed at his neck without hesitation.
Thwop—
Blood gushed from his neck, and soon hot blood splattered everywhere.
‘It seems penetration also affects sharpness.’
The smoothly severed head whirled in the air a few times before locking eyes with me.
Even at the moment his head was flying away, he stared at me with disbelief, as if he couldn’t believe he was dying a pathetic death.
And as I withdrew the dagger back into my arms, shadows burst from his cloak, trailing the trajectory of my dagger to attack me.
Swoosh-!
Of course, having anticipated the shadow, I tilted my head and easily dodged it. Had it been Helen or Jin-kyung, they might have been pierced right through the forehead in an instant.
How many hunters would lose their lives to this shadow attack?
At that moment, the spirit Ran, who had been quietly perched on my shoulder, spoke up angrily.
(Argh! You jerk! Consider that I’m here when you act!)
(I keep forgetting you’re with me.)
(How can you forget the existence of someone like me?!)
A few days ago, Ran discovered that even though it was a living being, my stealth ability was shared with her.
So, there would likely be many instances in the future where we’d partner up.
[Acceleration]
– Your body becomes much nimbler.
– Reaction speed increases by 12%.
Ran’s [Acceleration] skill was truly… an amazing ability.
After all, the shadow cloak was a dangerous item, so action was needed.
‘It’s annoying, but I suppose I have to make its existence known.’
With that thought in mind, I began my work again.
With the shadow cloak in mind, I swung my weapon once, twice, three times—each time striving to mimic the best movements I knew in the most succinct way.
Pwoosh—
Gahk-!
“Ugh, wait a minute, just listen to me—”
Scrape—
Dae-gul…
‘Geez, are you the kind of person who listens when someone on the street asks you to hear them out?’
Shaking my head at the nameless man’s head rolling around while barely settling on the ground, another message popped up in my mind.
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