Chapter 100. Unavoidable Malice
The terror of the Nachalsawon has finally erupted.
And the scale is beyond imagination. No matter how much a boss can grow, I never thought it would reach S-Class levels.
–Shhhhhhh…
I shut my eyes tight as I looked at the monster wrapped around the skyscraper.
…
Tap tap tap tap.
I confirmed the emergence of the grown Imugi and immediately left the Association.
I needed to get to a safe zone as quickly as possible.
‘I have to leave this city!’
But when I stepped outside, the main gate of the Association was already a total mess.
“Please maintain order!”
“No! Why can’t people get in?”
“What’s that S-Class monster?”
“Get the Association President out here!”
It appears nearby residents are thrown into chaos after hearing news of the S-Class monster’s appearance.
Seonwoo-yeon paused momentarily as she watched the gathering crowd at the main gate.
“Ah, it seems people are confused after seeing that monster and came to the Association first.”
“Why here of all places?”
“Because it’s a place hunters frequently visit. But we’ve announced multiple times that the Association is not an official refuge…!”
No matter how many rules are set, what good are they in front of an S-Class Dungeon Break?
Even now, residents were swarming over the Association’s walls.
To be honest, even if I somehow managed to get past them, there seemed to be no real solution.
–Boom! Boom!
–Honk honk!
–Bwooooom…!
In that kind of traffic situation, it would be difficult to even catch a vacant taxi.
‘This is ridiculous.’
I looked over at the noisy road filled with honking cars.
At this rate, wouldn’t it make more sense to stick close to the Association rather than make a pointless escape?
‘Right. With someone like Seonwoo-yeon, she’s a pretty high-ranking hunter! Possibly, just following her around could increase my chances of survival.’
However, this plan was shattered in no time.
“Uh?”
Five seconds later.
The Imugi in the distance started soaring through the sky toward us.
“…It can fly?”
Even the citizens blocked at the main gate were falling silent one by one at the sight.
The massive creature wriggling its body as it approached was akin to a living nightmare.
–Rumble…
Finally, small clouds began forming above our heads.
And just as the sun was obscured by those clouds, the Imugi opened its mouth and let out its first remark.
–Shahhh!
“AAAHHHH!”
“AHHHHH!”
“D-DON’T PUSH ME…!”
“Run away!”
The crowd.
The citizens gathered by the wall began to bolt in unison to escape the Imugi.
But the Imugi’s speed was incomparable to their frantic running.
With such a massive body, it reached the Association’s building in a mere 9 seconds.
“Ugh!”
Crashhhh!
The monster arriving at the Association nuzzled down onto the wide open space.
Then, debris flew around violently from the shockwave, and dust filled the air, obscuring vision.
“Cough, cough!”
“Mom! MOMMMM!”
“AAAHHHH!”
The front yard turned into complete chaos.
But Seonwoo-yeon remained calm and promptly did her job, not panicking even in this situation.
She hastily erected a wall to keep the debris from hitting the citizens as the Imugi landed.
“Everyone, calm down!”
Seonwoo-yeon used wind magic to sweep away the debris while helping the citizens evacuate.
However, this action was a poor choice for her own safety.
That black beast had come here, chasing the mana of the Awakened that it thirsted for.
Shhhhhhh…
The [Unavoidable Malice] that had been crouching responded to a hunter’s mana and suddenly sprang to life.
And it lunged at Seonwoo-yeon.
–Shahhh!
But it was alright.
It wasn’t just the Imugi that charged toward the black-haired Awakened.
“Hey!”
“Huh!”
Thwack!
I kicked off the ground and swiftly grabbed her arm.
Thanks to that, the Imugi’s jaws narrowly missed Seonwoo-yeon.
“Are you okay?”
“T-Thank you!”
Caught in an F-Class situation, I managed to evade an S-Class attack.
At this point, my investment of 300 million was starting to show its effect.
[Hermes’ Shoes]
[Rank: Unique]
[Description: Shoes infused with wind attribute magic. When worn, movement speed drastically increases.]
Indeed, there’s no better magic tool for evasion.
“Helping others is good, but be careful of your surroundings too.”
“Ah, yes…!”
Seonwoo-yeon wiped her startled heart.
And during the time she took to catch her breath, other Awakened had already joined in.
“What’s with this size!”
“Does anyone have barrier skills?”
“Let’s try to faint it first!”
The hunters at the Association began to rush to respond to the sudden appearance of the boss.
But unfortunately.
Against the Imugi transformed into an S-Class, even regular attacks no longer worked.
In fact, most of the attacks from the A-Class elite hunters bounced off completely.
“Hmm, not even a scratch?”
Clang!
Around the time an A-Class hunter’s spear shattered against the serpent’s scales.
I quickly judged that they had no chance and planned to make a run for it, when an unexpected event occurred.
Swish…
“What is this again?”
Look up at the purple symbol hovering over the A-Class hunter’s head.
“Is it some kind of curse?”
“Someone, purge it please!”
“I’ll give it a try.”
While the other hunters seemed clueless about what that symbol meant, I understood the situation perfectly.
That [Unavoidable Malice] was originally the boss of the A-Class gate at the reservoir dungeon.
“No, that’s not a purge!”
The Imugi’s main pattern.
It marks certain prey.
Commonly referred to as a ‘ding,’ this purple mark couldn’t be erased by any skill.
That’s because it had no harmful effect.
So then, why would the Imugi use a marking spell that doesn’t cause any damage?
Its function was different.
“It’s a marking for focused attacks!”
That’s right, it selects its number one prey!
“Eh?”
At my shout, the A-Class hunter was startled and looked up, but it was already too late.
“AAAHHH!”
“Ugh! Everyone, back away!”
“How could this happen…!”
Soon enough, the giant monster swallowed the struggling A-Class hunter whole.
‘I can’t believe an A-Class hunter could get taken down that easily…!’
It was a truly overwhelming difference.
But this desperate situation wasn’t the end.
As mentioned before, that purple mark was the Imugi’s unique way of selecting its prey.
“…”
After finishing its first meal, the Imugi licked its lips and started marking its next target.
And that second target was none other than:
“No way.”
I glanced upward to check above my own head.
What I saw was an eye-searingly bright fluorescent purple symbol.
‘…’
I’m screwed.
Let me repeat, I’m screwed.
‘Kyaahhh!’
Of all things, a frail F-Class like me was selected as the next meal by that fierce serpent…
Shhhhh…
The black disaster known as Unavoidable Malice began lowering its posture, eyeing me.
And a suffocating silence set in.
Since an A-Class was taken down in one shot, other Awakened were also hesitant to make a move.
“Kim Gi-ryeo Hunter!”
Yet amidst it all, there was one person.
Only Seonwoo-yeon stepped in front of me, attempting to keep the Imugi at bay.
I was momentarily moved by the sight.
“Seonwoo-yeon…”
But well.
As touching as it was, I had to start acting realistically at this point.
I’m a scholar who values reason over emotion.
That’s right. I’m a Magic Scholar.
“Get out of the way.”
“What?”
I pushed the Association employee standing in front of me to the side and stated.
“Unless you want to die as well, move out of the Imugi’s path.”
“AAAHHH!”
And with that, the Imugi surged forward with rapid speed.
Feeling its jaws closing in, I swiftly activated an item from my pocket.
——————=
☆ pixywiki
Item Name: Twin Guardian Angel
Acquisition Location: Baek-ui Maze (EX)
Category: Equipment
Description: An item in bracelet form that defends against all damage two times.
——————=
Activating the Twin Guardian Angel.
And as I’ve seen before, the protective power of this item was so exceptional it created additional effects.
Ding!
Right away, it destroyed the boss’s weapon!
The Imugi, intending to stab me with its fangs, ended up being unwittingly harmed instead.
Its teeth struck the item’s sturdy barrier, causing damage to itself.
“Cawww!”
As soon as I confirmed that the left fang of the Imugi had broken, I dashed off with all my strength.
*
“Hah, hah!”
If I got swallowed by the Imugi, that one-time protective barrier wouldn’t be enough.
So I used the item for an early strike, taking this chance to widen the gap.
But what’s the use of widening the distance?
Of course, I had a target. It was quite close too.
‘Let’s go home!’
The barrier centered around the Infinite Power Core set up in Kim Gi-ryeo’s studio wasn’t installed for nothing.
‘If I get into the barrier, I can at least stall for a little, even against an S-Class. And while I do that, I can wait for Esther’s support…!’
For now, I was planning to return home and catch my breath.
However, one thing I overlooked in this plan was the Imugi’s tremendous tracking ability.
“Ugh!”
I gulped as I felt a chilling wave of magic behind me.
The fact that it quickly regained its composure and chased me, even after breaking a tooth, was no small feat.
‘F-Class, help!’
Shhhhh…
The [Unavoidable Malice] breathed down my neck with a chilling presence.
“Damn reptile!”
The only good news was that I had anticipated this situation and bought a speed-boosting item…
“Ugh!”
But there are limits to item buffs.
With a ruined body barely holding together, I couldn’t keep running for long.
Eventually, even before reaching home, my stamina ran out.
“Ugh!”
For heaven’s sake, why did Kim Gi-ryeo have to smoke?
No, more importantly, why did I end up in this worn-out body?
As I cursed under my breath and wheezed for air, the Imugi decided to make things worse.
I never expected that a snake would use such cunning intelligence to block its prey’s escape.
–Thud!
As it slammed its tail down onto the ground, the asphalt crumbled grotesquely.
Naturally, when the road was split in half, people couldn’t maintain their balance…
Thud!
As I touched the screen to call Esther with trembling hands, I suddenly stumbled and fell flat on the ground.
‘Damn it!’
Falling down in a situation like this?
Do you even understand how serious it is to stop moving with an S-Class monster behind you?
Cold sweat began pouring down my face in an instant; I had never felt such fear from simply tripping before.
This was genuine terror, the first sensation of true fear since the Beginner Killer incident.
‘I’m doomed.’
And as expected, when I managed to get back on my feet, the Imugi was already closing in rapidly.
“AAAHHH!”
The creature, darkening the sky, charged with a deafening roar.
‘Is this the end of my life…?’
But then.
Amidst the monster’s roar, an alien noise suddenly blended in.
Bwoooooom…
The faint vibration of this noise was none other than the sound of a motor?
‘What’s with the motor?’
Finding the source of the sound wasn’t difficult.
Suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, a motorcycle burst onto the scene.
The mysterious driver rode the motorcycle furiously and rushed straight at me, grabbing me from the main road.
“Ugh!”
Bwoooooom!
Thanks to this driver, I narrowly avoided the Imugi’s attack.
‘Huh?’
I widened my eyes as I checked the driver’s Awakening Level.
That immense internal mana belonged to none other than an S-Class hunter.
“Why were you roaming around outside during such chaos?”
Then I heard a relaxed voice from the front seat, it was Kang Chang-ho.
