Chapter 135: Growth (2)
They finished their meal and continued the attack on [The Deepest Place].
The second floor of the dungeon had a few more monsters, but the overall composition of enemies remained the same, allowing them to pass without issue.
“Ahhh!”
“Stick together, hurry!”
But on the following day, they arrived at the third floor.
In the center of this dungeon, they faced an unprecedented crisis.
[Red Necromancer]
[Rank: A]
[Description: A named monster of the dark attribute. Continuously summons ghouls that are weak to physical attacks.]
This monster, with its decaying body, could not be defeated without a set strategy.
Like a ghost, no matter how many times you tried to cut it, it would regenerate.
“Sorry, I’m so sorry…”
“This isn’t the time for apologies. Focus!”
The strategy to defeat the Red Necromancer involved destroying a hidden soul container nearby.
However, the newbie caused a massive accident.
The soul container perched on a high rock was hit by a skill she used and fell into the deep lake.
‘I thought they said it was a weak item and could break with one hit.’
Splash.
The soul container sank into the endless water.
‘I shouldn’t have done that. Aaaah, I should have definitely used Binding to pull the box over…!’
They attempted to retrieve the soul container from the lake immediately, but that also ended in failure.
And that’s how the situation spiraled out of control.
“%&@#!@%~!”
Strange incantations of the Red Necromancer echoed from across the lake.
This was the sound of the monster creating new minions, and upon hearing it, the team leader shouted as if he was fed up.
“Newbie! Quickly crawl up! Get outside the gate and call for backup!”
But the monsters wouldn’t allow that.
Soon, the new ghouls summoned by the Necromancer crawled out from the walls.
“We’re completely surrounded…”
Things had gotten messy.
They wasted too much time looking for the soul container that fell in the lake, and in the meantime, the monster activated its minion-summoning skill four times in a row.
“Tsk, it usually doesn’t use that pattern so often. Why is today a disaster?”
Whoosh.
The woman with the crossbow threw a magic tool that ignited the enemy, taking some out.
But the numbers showed no signs of decreasing.
The horde of monsters was all around, blocking their escape. When surrounded like this, both the front and back no longer mattered.
“Ugh!”
The formation was crumbling. The hunters were agitated.
This was a sign that the assault force was about to collapse.
“… brother….”
Whispering.
Only the awakened tank of the team, focused, repeated a short sentence.
“If it were brother…”
That was the signal.
Having mentally prepared himself, Yoon-seung shouted to his teammates in the back.
“Let’s clear a path straight ahead!”
“What?”
“We’ll ignore the monsters and just run straight to the boss room! Let’s kill the leader as quickly as possible and get out of the dungeon!”
Is he suggesting a speedrun?
Skipping the minions and going straight for the boss, a move referred to as a speedrun in the industry, but honestly, it was rarely attempted.
“Crazy.”
There were so many guards deployed along the path to the boss that if they dragged them all into battle, it would be a 100% wipe unless they ended it quickly.
“It’s too far to climb up to the surface from here!”
“Right, we’d be too exhausted before we even start.”
“I’ll try to hold off the minions as much as I can when we reach the boss. Hurry!”
What was needed now was quick thinking.
The team leader made his decision swiftly.
“After counting to three, me and Ahn Yoon-seung will clear the path. The rest of you, grit your teeth and run!”
One, two, three.
On cue, the high-ranking hunters unleashed their awakening skills.
[Magic Strike], [Judgment], again [Magic Strike]…
And Yoon-seung took this opportunity to cast defensive buffs on his teammates.
‘Slowly from the inside, not the skin. Slowly from the inside, not the skin…!’
Stone Skin.
That was the magic that, after advice from Kim Gi-ryeo, held several times the power of a regular Stone Skin.
-Yoon-seung, if the skill is called Stone Skin, do you apply the magic on the outside?
-Of course?
-Think of it as filling the body from the blood vessels. Your magic is acting as the blood.
If it had been Kim Gi-ryeo…
Right. He would have adjusted every variable to prevent such a crisis from occurring in the first place. But I’m not that great of a person.
So, at the very least, someone like me must put in the effort of bone-deep struggles.
“Haa.”
After a deep breath,
Ahn Yoon-seung charged forward with the magically shielded front.
Bang! His blue magic pulverized and ripped apart the decaying monsters.
Through the blood and guts, a path was cleared.
*
Rumble…
“Haha.”
An A-Class Hunter dropped the crossbow in her hand and plopped down.
“Hahaha.”
It wasn’t just her; the man holding the staff and the young healer soon lay sprawled on the ground as well.
“We did it!”
As evidenced by the buzzing passage beside them, they had succeeded in this life-or-death gamble.
They had killed the leader of the monsters and escaped from the collapsing dungeon.
“That was close to crossing the Jordan River…”
Moreover, the most surprising part of this ordeal was one hunter’s contribution.
“Hey, Ahn Yoon-seung!”
“Yes?”
He had held off the oncoming monsters for an incredible 4 minutes and 58 seconds alone, even chipping in to assist in taking down the leader while his mana was running low…
Snap!
The team leader silently gave a thumbs-up.
It was clear that the MVP of this assault was Ahn Yoon-seung.
No, it was almost as if this hunter had dragged the dead party along. Ahn Yoon-seung’s contribution was that significant.
‘Unbelievable, how does someone with just a year of experience demonstrate such skills?’
The team leader sighed as he picked up the crossbow he had dropped. At that moment, a tearful voice broke the silence.
“E-excuse me… I’m so sorry.”
It was the newbie guild member’s voice.
“I’m really, really sorry… uh, snif…”
The newbie began to cry, realizing that her mistake almost led everyone to their doom.
The team leader tried to calm her down.
Of course, they would have to address her rushing to the soul container later, but it wouldn’t be good for her to feel too wounded from this experience.
She slowly approached the newbie.
However, a teammate standing next to the newbie broke the silence first.
“It’s fine.”
Ahn Yoon-seung said with a bright expression.
“You have nothing to apologize for. It’s completely natural for a hunter to make mistakes! Right?”
But somehow, despite his gentle tone, the word choices felt off-putting.
“It’s natural?”
She wondered if he predicted she would make a mistake just because she was a newbie, but Ahn Yoon-seung shook his head and corrected himself.
“Actually, before I joined this regular team, I had worked with many people for rehabilitation. At first, I was annoyed wondering why they made such mistakes, but now I’ve gained some enlightenment.”
The man with piercings closed his eyes, recalling the past.
Then, he spoke with a firm tone.
“In this world, hunters are divided into two types: those like Kim Gi-ryeo and those who are not.”
Tap. Ahn Yoon-seung grabbed the newbie and murmured quickly.
“Compared to brother, it’s natural for other hunters to be clumsy. Of course, that includes me.”
“Yes, yes?”
“So don’t feel discouraged! We’re not Kim Gi-ryeo hunters, so it’s bound to happen that we make foolish mistakes sometimes, right?”
“Y-yeah?”
“Just think of it as a natural law!”
Clearly, his focus was sharp, but why did his eyes seem so intimidating?
At Yoon-seung’s words, Neo’s newbie hesitated, when the team’s leader discreetly came to her rescue.
He then said,
“He’s just tired.”
“Ah.”
“He used to smoke a little during these moments, but ever since he suddenly quit, he gets stressed and does that.”
Upon hearing this, the newbie made a resolution.
So, withdrawal symptoms are that horrifying. I must never start smoking!
*
Yoon-seung had accompanied Kim Gi-ryeo quite often until now.
The anomaly gate.
Fire bats.
Golden Fragrance.
And numerous others…
Although he hadn’t always seen him fight, he had certainly learned one important thing from observing.
‘Composure.’
Kim Gi-ryeo never displayed large fluctuations of emotions in front of monsters.
And not panicking was a significant strength for a hunter.
They had to fight strange beings that breathed fire and flew through the sky.
“If it were brother…”
Ahn Yoon-seung’s rapid improvement could be said to stem from this mindset.
If it were Kim Gi-ryeo, he would not waver and would keep muttering this sentence to maintain composure during shaky moments.
“Wow! Clearing an A-Class Red Gate in just 14 minutes? Guys, isn’t this possibly a new guild record…”
Ahn Yoon-seung worked hard to approach his idol. It took significant practice to raise his skills to this level.
“Damn, this isn’t it!”
However, the issue was that this person’s goal setting was somewhat off.
“If it were brother Gi-ryeo, he would have dealt with the boss in a cleaner way! Why am I so foolish? I made three small mistakes today…!”
“Why is he like this again?”
“Leave him be.”
An A-Class hunter had overestimated Kim Gi-ryeo, and the image in his mind kept pushing him forward.
It was like a stork ripping its own legs trying to follow after a heron — a paradoxical situation.
‘I must do better since my brother personally took the time to teach me!’
But looking solely at the outcomes, it wasn’t entirely a bad scenario.
Unlike some F-Class hunter scamming the entire country, at the very least, effort does not betray the individual.
“Everyone, go on ahead! I’ll stay at the gate and practice my skills a bit longer.”
“I was hoping we’d grab some pork belly afterwards…”
“Sorry, seniors!”
Ahn Yoon-seung increasingly became a great sorcerer, and as his skills improved, he naturally gained notoriety as well.
[New Message]
[Hello. I’m Kim ○○, the producer in charge of the program ‘Hunter Review.’ I’d like to extend an invitation to A-Class Hunter Ahn Yoon-seung to appear on the show…]
A rising star of a large guild.
There could hardly be a better figure for boosting ratings.
Ahn Yoon-seung decided to participate in a few interviews, as it wouldn’t look good to continuously refuse broadcast offers, following the advice from the director.
Of course, he diligently adhered to the precautions he was cautioned by Kim Gi-ryeo.
‘Brother said not to spread how he corrected my skills at all. And, of course, the strategy for the golem as well.’
…That part being the only thorough issue.
*
At the airport.
Having received his luggage, Gi-ryeo finished the procedures and exited through the gate for incoming travelers.
Now that he was safely back in Korea, all he needed to do was take a taxi home.
However, having been on the airplane for over 10 hours without being able to use his phone, he figured he might check the internet for a moment.
‘Let’s see. What’s the weather like today…?’
Tap, tap.
Gi-ryeo placed his suitcase down at a suitable spot and accessed the portal site.
[A-Class Awakened Ahn Yoon-seung Appears on ‘Hunter Review’]
[“What’s the secret to strength? Learn from Kim Gi-ryeo” – Rising star interview]
[Ahn Yoon-seung Hunter’s A-Class Gate speedrun clear. However, he shakes his head at the MC’s praises, claiming he is still far from being comparable to any hunter…]
[Someone who makes even the top 3% feel insignificant.]
Tap.
And upon seeing the site’s home screen, Gi-ryeo promptly shut it down.
But closing his eyes and opening them wouldn’t change reality.
While he had been away at the foundation anniversary party, Korea had heated up through someone’s interview.
“……”
Ahn Yoon-seung had recently become a figure quite noted in the hunter industry.
Having awakened not long ago and, through painstaking effort, had acquired excellent skills.
Yet, such a person expresses infinite respect for someone else?
Naturally, the other’s reputation skyrocketed along with it.
If an A-Class bows that respectfully, just how incredible is Kim Gi-ryeo, everyone whispered.
“No way.”
Slap.
A certain alien didn’t touch its tentacles but rather slapped its palm against its forehead.
“I was keeping quiet this time.”
It’s hard to live quietly.
