Chapter 224. Thornbush Forest (2)
Why are they so shocked?
Crack!
The monster that was hit by the thrown shield meets its end with a scream. Gi-ryeo’s gaze is fixed on the black remnants dropped by the dead monster.
“Bro! Are you okay?!”
For the moment, Gi-ryeo understands why Ahn Yoon-seung is desperately checking on him.
From the outside, his palm is clean, without a single scratch.
But that protruding thorn from the flying tree held some kind of magic.
‘It’s similar to the Scream Stake. This is [Pain Infliction].’
Giant trees are positioned all around.
And the weaponry of those flying creatures, with their small, child-like bodies, is nothing but the stimulation of biological pain.
When an enemy enters a certain range, the thorns inscribed with [Pain Infliction] rapidly extend to make contact forcibly.
“I’m fine.”
“Fine?! If you get hit by that, it’ll hurt like crazy! Ugh, I’m sorry for making you worry, bro…!”
But what piques the alien’s interest is the bodily fluid dripping from Ahn Yoon-seung.
Even though he wasn’t attacked, he seems to be crying like a twisted deer, panicking uncontrollably.
It’s been noted before, but the Earthlings are incredibly sensitive to the injuries of their kind.
Some feel disgust at the torn flesh, while sages like Ahn Yoon-seung send deep empathy and sorrow.
He just can’t relate.
‘Hmm.’
Moreover, Gi-ryeo has resistance to these kinds of attacks, so the emerging sensations are automatically dismissed.
“Really, I’m okay! So just leave the potions alone.”
“Bro…!”
“You can’t waste painkillers in a situation like this. Are you planning to chew on willow branches when your stocks run out?”
Wiggle, wiggle.
Gi-ryeo waved his hand as if to say “stop” to Yoon-seung, who was trying to hand over the recovery potion.
And once more, he surveyed the surroundings.
He hadn’t realized it until grasping the monster’s magic, but if these things are using [Pain Infliction] to penetrate Yoon-seung’s defenses, things are starting to come together.
“Yoon-seung.”
“Yes, yes?”
“But are these trees’ attacks… are they working on all the hunters who come here?”
As expected.
Just then, an explanation flowed from the nearby defensive hunter.
“Yes! It doesn’t matter if they’re A-class or B-class. It hits them even if it just brushes against their clothing!”
“Just as I thought.”
“This time, it’s completely different from [Baron Hwa-won]. With that, if you called in hunters with mental manipulation skills, you could fend it off to some extent, right?”
“Because it’s the same type of mental attack.”
“But those thorns didn’t have any effect.”
So, the break hasn’t been processed yet.
It’s strange that these faces are unfamiliar; turns out the gate hidden underground was a new type of dungeon that had never appeared before.
And, simultaneously, those plant monsters were casting spells that made everyone equally experience pain, regardless of status…
“No, wait. So everyone was too scared of the pain to go inside that dome?”
When the S-Class hunter asked, Ahn Yoon-seung replied with a defeated look.
“Yes. Actually, we tried to force our way in earlier… A hunter almost died from shock after being turned into a hedgehog, so everyone retreated…”
With the illusion of Scream Stakes and a mechanism similar yet different, this new type of monster is causing various problems.
Animals tend to avoid pain; it’s common across the board.
So, when a monster that inflicts pain just by contact is found,
Intelligent beings usually try to resolve the situation while minimizing contact, which drastically decreases the efficiency of ‘feeding.’
Thus, the Ki-simche visiting Alphauri had been steadily reducing the use of [Pain Infliction].
‘Looks like a foolish Ki-simche is still around.’
It seems that since Earth is still in the early stages of occupation, rather outdated methods are rampant.
Of course, it wasn’t Gi-ryeo’s concern.
A thorny dome or whatever, he just wanted to grab a plate of katsu and go home.
‘I’m not dealing with this! If you’re mad, bring Ha-seong and set fire to it. Well, clearly he’s in some other dungeon right now.’
Not being able to eat and toiling away was something he truly wanted to avoid.
“Gi-ryeo hyung. What should we do? Everyone’s trying to get rid of that huge dome right now.”
“….”
“The speed at which the hunters are cutting the stems and the speed it regrows is totally the same. Seriously, if its recovery is that great, how can it be just B-Class…!”
Swish.
Concentration began.
Gi-ryeo focused on his own objective, ignoring whatever Ahn Yoon-seung was babbling about.
What he wanted to know was the number of monstrous creatures in front of a certain apartment.
Currently, the nearby apartment was obstructed by monsters that popped up due to the dungeon break, trapping the residents inside.
So, if he could take care of those few monsters and grab food from the delivery person, his work for the day would be done.
‘Hmm?’
…He thought so until just a moment ago.
‘Wait, this is…’
In an instant, as Gi-ryeo expanded his senses to search for the number of entities, his eyebrow twitched upward.
The hunter who had been silent while resting his forehead suddenly showed a change in his expression, leaving Ahn Yoon-seung perplexed.
But the Blond Hunter remained quiet, simply moving his hands.
He pulled out the cherished Hydra from his item box, unsheathing it and steadying his breath.
“Whew…”
Drones, helicopters…
A tightly-packed black thorny dome, to the extent that it was hard to observe with modern artifacts.
The unfortunate trapped staff of Sunhwa Bank.
And within it, there was the presence of some super-powered thief coexisting with the bank tellers.
Thief.
A creature who attempted to extort money by threatening people… trash of the living world.
Swallow. The one organizing his thoughts soon cleared his throat loudly.
“Uh.”
A sudden shift in attitude from an S-Class hunter.
This can truly be summarized in one line.
“Gi-ryeo hyung?”
Kim Gi-ryeo learned from his recent scan that there was a dead Awakened inside that thornbush forest.
“—Oh no.”
Shortly after, Gi-ryeo clutched the Hydra tightly and shouted.
“Yeah. Anyway, it’s really a big problem that good citizens find themselves in danger. Alright, it can’t be helped. All hunters back off. I’ll be going in that dome right away.”
“Huh?”
Rush!
Gi-ryeo shamelessly declared and started moving toward the center of the crisis.
“Yoon-seung, don’t follow me. There are survivors in the nearby △△ Apartment, so go rescue them!”
Erasing witnesses for a perfect crime.
Changing schedules at the drop of a hat for profit.
It’s a move with absolutely no conscience, but either way, it wasn’t like it showed on the outside.
“Uh, okay!”
Even after suffering (or not suffering) the pain of the thorns, without a moment’s hesitation, he chose to head to the scene.
Moreover, his astounding information-gathering ability was impressive, as he got ahead of others to assess the situation!
“Understood!”
As expected, Gi-ryeo hyung!
In that way, Ahn Yoon-seung looked at him with an increased level of respect as he complied with the orders given.
*
< 5 Minutes Later, Inside the Thornbush Dome >
Whoosh.
Somewhere, a sharp wind sound resonates.
It’s the sound of the pointed organs of plants rapidly growing and extending to a fine point.
Crack!
Thud.
Crunch!
Speaking of which, it’s like this… the outside couldn’t make a move because it was in such a state…
“Ah.”
I stopped my steps, casting my eyes around.
“This is a bit much.”
Enemies that shoot thorns from all directions upon recognizing an intruder.
Just as Ahn Yoon-seung said, the inside of the black dome was occupied by numerous monsters taking on the form of a forest.
Of course, the damage was all ignored thanks to the cooperation of Epic-Class Items and pain-related body modifications.
The problem was the beauty of the thorns.
I wasn’t tripping, but it felt like I was firmly anchored to this spot like a pinned insect specimen.
“Damn.”
But it’s not a huge concern.
Fortunately, I had a dependable tool to counter the thorns.
I twisted my wrist and brushed the tip of the Hydra against the surrounding thorns.
*!!
Then, the vigorous stems quickly fell over, unable to withstand even a few seconds.
That’s right.
Hydra. The toxicity of this Epic-Class weapon was effective even against plant types.
‘Who told you to block the way?’
Plus, the hunting method using Hydra came with another utility.
All thorns here displayed exceptional regenerative abilities, meaning they would quickly restore themselves once cut.
To stop the healing process, traditionally you’d need to find and pop the squishy organs randomly hidden in its body, but…
By utilizing poison, that cumbersome process is conveniently skipped.
The poisonous gas spreads into the canopy, and the core dies off on its own.
‘Got it!’
Now that the hindrances have been cleared, shall we head towards that bank?
‘I hope they’ll be safe…’
Rustle! Swoosh, Crack!
I silently prayed while swiftly eliminating the thornbush entities around me.
The previously thick and undeveloped forest scenery gradually opened up to reveal a path, and as I hunted a bit more cautiously in preparation for unforeseen events, the lost cityscape finally started to appear.
‘Please, may our bodies stay intact and undamaged!’
Just then.
Thud!
As I eliminated a tree rooted in the middle of the road, a blue-glowing building sign suddenly popped into view.
[Sunhwa Bank Sinsoo-dong Branch]
The lower building where the bank tellers had been isolated.
And indeed, upon concentrating my senses, I felt the familiar yet strange sensation of magical energy within.
‘Unlike a living magician, the flow of magical energy inside is halted.’
In other words, a magician’s corpse.
I couldn’t help but smile.
As I had thought before, this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
‘What a windfall!’
After all, the outside was in chaos trying to manage the collapsing buildings.
So, the Earthlings would be too busy attending to their surviving kind to worry about the dead inside the dome for a while.
‘That thief’s body is now mine!’
Of course, I had already thought through how to hide the corpse.
Alright, now all that remains is only…
*
“AAAAAAAAAH!”
“AAAAAAH.”
“Junwoo, under the desk! Get down. Quickly!”
Thud.
On the spot where the tiles had been sparklingly clean since early morning, a mass weighing 76kg crashes down with a thud.
But until just moments ago, that was no mere object.
There had been a clear life within.
In fact, it had been so full of energy that the indoor echoes rang with “Bring me the money, you bastards!”
A certain hunter, forced to retire due to a severe ankle injury sustained while working.
He resorted to plotting a bank heist to cover living and entertainment expenses after losing his entire fortune trying to buy the top-tier potion to treat lifelong aftereffects.
However, as you can see, the spell-casting thief’s crime was unsuccessful.
What a pathetic end, like a tortured corpse, with blood vessels ruptured in his wide-open eyes.
“Uhhhhh, uhhhhh…!”
“Sh- shhh! Be quiet! Don’t make a sound; it’ll hear us.”
Drip.
The blood bursting from the man saturates the grout between the tiles.
When he first pressed the emergency bell, the bank tellers thought they were about to be saved by police responding to the two-man robbery.
However, their malicious acts were unexpectedly interrupted by an unforeseen presence.
After all, buried beneath the bank, there was a hidden gate, and little did they know it would burst open at this moment.
GRAAAAH!
What terrible luck.
If the former bank employee, who wanted to see a complete human corpse after freezing the security officer solid, didn’t produce immediate cash…
He was ambushed by the tree monster that showed up in the bank, fought for a while, then ultimately bled to death.
Meanwhile, in a swift escape, the twenty-something named Choi managed to exit the bank but stumbled straight into the police coming in.
And subsequently, entwined trees rapidly multiplied, forming the black dome.
‘Grrr, ugh….’
【 Sunhwa Bank 🙂 】
A shadow flashes across the little transparent window of Sunhwa Bank adorned with a comical emoji.
Even now, something continuously twists and thrashes around inside, a large creature of a terrifying size, hunting the small flying creatures.
Ugh.
Not to mention, within here, another monster of the same type had smashed through all the customer sections and claimed the back office.
This left the bank staff with no choice but to stay low and not carelessly move to the upper floors.
That monster had been like a predator relishing hide-and-seek, killing any humans that made noticeable movements.
Shiver, shiver.
The bank tellers shrank down below the desk, trying not to anger the monster.
But even after being so careful, calamity soon struck them.
Hooosh…
The sound of something thin spinning rapidly.
As soon as the male bank teller at the coin sorter recognized its form, his breath hitched.
‘A- a monster! It’s a monster!’
That small flying creature that attacked Ahn Yoon-seung had now slipped in through the broken entrance.
It was over.
Once that thing started rampaging inside, the non-Awakened would be ripped apart before they even had time to suffer from pain.
‘Aah, aah. Mother, father….’
But then.
In the extreme horror, had his mind finally gone mad to the point of hearing hallucinations?
The bank tellers suddenly began hearing a familiar noise.
Thud, thud, thud.
The sound of polished leather shoes one would expect when a neatly dressed office worker walks into a bank.
