Chapter 122: Siren (2)
Finally, we entered Mermaid’s Cove.
The interior was a scene I found quite familiar.
Blue water stretching to the horizon.
The humid air felt palpable against my skin.
At this rate, it seemed like I could bring an Alphauri here to live…
‘Is this the floor?’
But strangely enough,
The water here was structured in a way that felt like a transparent ground where one could step.
A type of water you can’t fall into.
Turns out, I got a little too excited for no reason.
‘Tsk.’
But hey,
Right now, whether I go into the water or not isn’t the important thing.
“Uh? Brother, wait a moment. I hear something strange…”
A few seconds later,
We listened closely to the noise coming from the north.
This place was a nest for some unidentified mermaids.
In other words, a space where Siren songs echoed.
‘Hmm.’
Normally, songs are soothing to the heart.
But the sounds resonating in this dungeon tended to confuse the human brain. Just like right now.
“Hey, uh, Gi-ryeo hyung! I know it’s weird, but… I just feel like there’s someone I need to help in that fog.”
But it’s fine.
Typically, such magic varies in intensity depending on the distance. As long as we don’t get too close through the fog, it shouldn’t get too intense.
“How are you doing, Kang Chang-ho?”
“Better than the person next to me.”
“But it still affects you, right?”
“Yeah.”
I checked the status of my fellow hunters and said,
“Well then, let’s proceed as I mentioned before entering. I tend to hold up well against this kind of attack.”
Honestly, if it weren’t for that nuisance called ‘Siren’, this would merely be an A-Class Gate.
Ahn Yoon-seung would struggle a bit on his own,
But with an S-Class Hunter present, there’s no need to worry about clearing the gate.
As long as I handle the Siren well, everything will go smoothly.
“Are you sure you’ll be okay alone?”
That owner of Dragon’s Eye seems worried about his human Skill Stone getting messed up.
“It’ll be safer than going with a Hunter.”
“What?”
“They say if you get affected by the [Confusion] status from the Siren, you might attack your allies.”
Upon hearing this explanation, Kang Chang-ho quickly understood.
With that agreed upon, it’s about time I stepped up to the plate.
‘Damn, what fog is this thick!’
Swish.
While my team members waited at the entrance, I walked into the fog from whence the sounds were emanating.
It was a bit scary not being able to see a foot ahead of me, but that didn’t last long.
Soon, the source of the sounds was found.
– Ah~ Aaaah~ ♩
They were a species related to fish, just as humanity expected, creating beautiful harmonies.
– La la la~…
However, unlike the mythological beings said to resemble beautiful women, they had quite a unique appearance.
More than resembling half-human, they were…
About 90% fish.
“??”
“…?”
“…!”
I scanned the chubby-looking goby-like monsters, and upon seeing a human in front of them, they were so surprised they stopped singing abruptly.
Gulp gulp.
They panicked and accidentally swallowed air.
And well, as you can see from their reactions…
– La, la la~ ♬
The Sirens began to sweat and sing even harder.
Of course, I was still perfectly fine.
No matter how powerful the Sirens were with their brainwashing, it was ultimately focused on primitive Earth.
‘For me, it’s just noise pollution.’
And just to clarify at this point—
Natural beings that mainly attack with mental damage are usually weak in close combat.
Scratch that, they might as well have no related abilities at all.
If they were capable of physical countermeasures, they wouldn’t need to rely on such petty tricks for survival.
‘Baron Hwa-won was just that kind of case.’
A classic cowardly evolutionist.
The Sirens didn’t even think about fighting back despite me inching closer.
Everything was proceeding as expected.
– Aaaaaaaaah~ ♬
Then there’s no worry about getting hit; I just need to stop their singing now…
But how am I supposed to stop it?
“Uh, hey, guys. Can you stop?”
La la~
“I said stop singing.”
La la~
“Oh dear, it seems talking won’t work… Gahk!”
Snap.
As I tried to stop them, my wrist snapped in the process.
These guys are A-Class monsters, and I’m just a measly F-Class weakling.
With this pathetic body, swinging my fists wouldn’t even leave a scratch on them.
“Ugh…”
I held my swollen knuckles and thought.
The song. How the hell am I going to stop that damn song?
For a moment, I considered using [Surprise Box!], but it has far too many usage restrictions.
I could only use it a maximum of one or two times a day.
“Looks like I have no choice but to go with that method?”
I closed my eyes and thought for a bit before finally pulling something from my possession.
A long dagger with an antiquated wooden handle.
[Scream Stake]
[Grade: Unique]
[Description: Inflicts the [Pain] status on the target.]
[Note: This special equipment cannot inflict physical damage.]
I now held the equipment I obtained from defeating the Unavoidable Malice.
A magic tool that maximizes pain for the target.
Originally intended for torture, of course…
But hey, there’s no other way right now.
“Hey.”
Twinkle.
I raised the dagger high in my hand.
“I clearly asked you to do it verbally.”
*
– Gaaaah!
– Kyaaaaah!
– Ugh! Gahhh!
What is Kim Gi-ryeo Hunter doing right now?
The A-Class Awakened waiting nearby flinched at the strange sounds coming from the other side.
If you listen closely, it sounded like some sort of scream.
Yeah, from earlier, a gravelly scream had been seeping from that fog.
“Giyeo hyung?”
Then, a few minutes later,
Kim Gi-ryeo pushed through the thinning fog and returned to this side.
Even after he returned, unpleasant sounds echoed around us in the air.
“He’s still hanging on, and as such, the fog hasn’t completely cleared.”
“Yeah?”
“Hey everyone, grab your gear and follow me.”
Ahn Yoon-seung and Kang Chang-ho moved toward the center of the fog at the man’s call.
And there before us were monsters in a truly miserable state.
“Cough! Kaaah…”
“Keck.”
The monsters presumed to be Sirens were all coughing up the sound of metal, revealing the nature of what Gi-ryeo had done.
“Hyung, what on earth did you do?”
“Torture.”
“Excuse me?”
“While they are screaming, they can’t sing, right?”
Giyeo said that and adjusted his grip on the dagger in his hand.
He was ready to stab the Scream Stake into them the very moment they tried to hit a note.
“Kiyaaaaaaaah!”
Wham!
The torture dagger touched their bodies, causing the monsters to writhe in agony.
By this point, they’d be hoarse from screaming and unable to sing any longer.
Only after completely incapacitating the Sirens did Kim Gi-ryeo finally look back.
“Well, now that the singing’s stopped, everyone should be able to press forward, right?”
However, the response he received was cold.
Ahn Yoon-seung stood frozen in shock at the sight of the unheard-of situation of torturing a monster.
“Um… Gi-ryeo hyung.”
Flap flap.
Yoon-seung looked at the writhing monsters in pain and asked,
Why did you torture them, Sirens?
Why not just kill them?
Seemingly obvious questions.
“……”
But,
I couldn’t just say I was an F-Class who couldn’t do anything to the Sirens.
…Because it would only expose my weakness, so instead I uttered,
“That’s…”
As Gi-ryeo looked away, he finally spoke in a tiny voice.
“Why do you think I did that?”
Passing the buck!
A typical avoidance statement.
“Why do you think you did that?”
But, hearing this simple question from Gi-ryeo, Ahn Yoon-seung began to genuinely ponder.
“Hmm.”
Sirens and screams…
Ahn Yoon-seung stroked his chin and thought for a while. Gi-ryeo caught a glimpse of Yoon-seung’s deep concentration before turning his gaze back down.
“By the way, where do you think the Sirens’ weaknesses are?”
What followed was a brief contemplation about the monsters.
Truth be told, it held no greater purpose.
Gi-ryeo was merely trying to figure out how to work more comfortably, just like any other hunter.
“Is their neck weak?”
On the surface, it sounded like a pretty standard observation any hunter could make.
However, the scene carried one notable problem.
Giyeo had shown not a flicker of emotion even amidst the writhing creatures.
‘Huh!’
How could he be so calm in front of a struggling being?
At this thought, Ahn Yoon-seung had an epiphany.
Maybe, Kim Gi-ryeo had been doing this sort of thing every time he discovered a new monster.
‘…!’
Looking back, Gi-ryeo had known way too much about Golems.
They had weak points at their heart junctions. Stun them with a laser for a few seconds and they stop functioning.
These were all weaknesses that you could never ascertain through ordinary hunting.
‘Ah!’
So he must have been conducting various experiments to gather information on monsters all along.
With that premise, the current situation started to make sense.
For an S-Class, it would be trivial to kill a bunch of these lowly foes, yet Kim Gi-ryeo had deliberately provoked them with the Scream Stake…
‘Was this part of his information-gathering process?’
An experiment.
Yes. Kim Gi-ryeo was conducting experiments against the monsters.
Not just casually hunting them, but attempting various approaches while observing their reactions.
‘To analyze the enemy as much as possible.’
While others were struggling to survive in this cataclysm, this man was treating enemies like test subjects.
Yoon-seung was deeply impressed.
Yet, on another note, this was a secret he could never hope to emulate.
“Keck, kek.”
At this point, given the A-Class gate isn’t open, these A-Class monsters are the most dangerous beings around.
And yet, Kim Gi-ryeo treats these monsters like mere lab rats.
‘He’s definitely something else.’
Curiosity.
Absolute skill.
And a touch of… coldness.
Ahn Yoon-seung quietly noted the traits necessary for studying monsters and ultimately concluded.
Kim Gi-ryeo is an extraordinary hunter.
“Hey? Did you just try to sing again?”
“Gahhhhh!”
Splash!
Of course, seeing him treat the Sirens so ruthlessly was a bit frightening…
“Hmm.”
Let’s just pretend we’re oblivious to that.
Usually, the scarier a person is, the more reassuring they tend to be when they’re on your side.
‘Phew, I’m so glad he’s on our side.’
Ahn Yoon-seung quietly finished his thoughts.
Meanwhile, at the same time,
What was the protagonist of this whole speculation doing?
‘What the heck?’
On the other hand,
Kim Gi-ryeo, who was dealing with the Sirens with Kang Chang-ho’s help, kept glancing back this way.
Yoon-seung hadn’t said anything all of a sudden.
‘Why isn’t he answering? If you don’t speak up, I’ll have to explain myself no matter what!’
Kim Gi-ryeo continued waiting for an answer to his earlier question, “What do you think I did that for?”
But despite his patience, Yoon-seung remained unresponsive.
No matter how long he waited, Yoon-seung refused to share his half-formed thoughts.
‘What in the world is he imagining? I wish he’d just throw me any thought to ease my anxiety…’
Thus, Gi-ryeo battled an intangible fear while conjuring countless possibilities in his mind.
