Chapter 225. Thornbush Forest (3)
Clap clap clap!
As someone appeared inside, stepping on shattered glass pieces, they suddenly raised their hands and started clapping.
-!!
At that, a bizarre creature flying in the sky recognized the enemy and extended its thorns.
But this was all part of the visitor’s intention and lure.
“Indeed, it’s the vibration detection method.”
This was the visitor’s first remark.
And the small monster that had attacked the man met a futile death shortly after.
Swish.
In the visitor’s hand was a powerful magic tool known as [Hydra], and the thornbushes couldn’t withstand its poison.
“Everyone, don’t lift your heads yet.”
Wait a minute, but somehow… that voice sounds too familiar…?
The female staff member hiding under the desk, trying to stifle the feeling of nausea, suddenly felt a sense of déjà vu.
These days, we’re in the era of Dungeon Shock.
Ten years ago, talents like idols and actors were the public’s main idols.
Now, with various monsters rampant in reality, it’s the awakened ones who fight off dangers and have taken their place in the spotlight.
“Don’t lift your heads~ It’ll be over soon.”
The bank employee, a user of the Hunter’s Love cafe, soon realized the identity of the déjà vu she felt.
It was the interview video of that man he would leave on at night when he couldn’t sleep.
And the unique voice he had repeated multiple times there.
‘Could it be…?’
At that moment.
Knock knock knock.
Something suddenly began to tap regularly on the desk she was hiding under.
“Ahhhh!”
The bank employee screamed in shock from the sudden stimulus.
But oddly enough, even after hearing such an ear-piercing scream, the monster didn’t react.
“Oh, I’m so sorry.”
Finally, a familiar sight reflected in front of the panicking bank desk.
A man in a navy linen suit was leaning on the partition and speaking.
“I didn’t mean to scare you.”
“Huh!”
“Well, anyway. Hello. I noticed the building has cracks…”
The young bank employee hiding under the desk saw his face and burst into tears of relief.
“The risk of collapse is high; everyone should slowly come out with me.”
It was the arrival of Kim Gi-ryeo, S-Class Hunter of South Korea.
*
After that, everything went smoothly.
I led all the survivors still inside the building out to the street.
Dark thornbushes.
They were monsters that dealt intense pain regardless of their defensive capabilities, causing significant hassle.
But the epic-grade magic tool [Hydra] was far too threatening to them.
“How could such a terrifying monster be taken down so easily!”
“They’re no match at all.”
“This is why he’s an S-Class Hunter!”
These monsters were actually weaker than that pitiful C-Class robber who’d tried to rob the bank, but as you can see, thanks to those precious tools, the gap didn’t seem too obvious.
‘Hmph.’
Annoying witnesses.
No, I needed to eliminate all the monsters in front of me first to ensure the safety of these precious citizens of South Korea.
Swish.
I swirled the longsword in my hand diligently, dispatching the surrounding thornbushes.
The venomous trees that had been vigorously extending their thorns drooped down dead, as if it was a lie.
But the problem was the flying thornbush in the sky.
Thud thud thud…
Even if they were plants, being a B-Class entity meant I couldn’t kill it with low-grade magic tools like the [Pyromancer Necklace].
Normally, I would’ve lowered its altitude with a simple telekinesis spell.
But today was special; I had a reason to conserve mana, so the appearance of the flying entities was quite bothersome.
-!!
However, as I continued hunting, I began to notice its flaws.
The baby trees had a simple attack pattern: whenever they recognized an enemy, they wobbled slightly in place before shooting thorns at the same angle.
Whoosh!
Soon, a sound cutting through the wind followed as the baby tree’s arm extended.
It aimed for the ribcage of the elderly weakling among the group.
But the monster’s attack was once again easily blocked.
“Huh!”
With hardness rivaling an S-Class defensive awakened one.
Plus, with my superior body control skills that perfectly blocked pain signals, what was there to fear?
Thud.
Since the shooting angle was constant, it was easy to position myself at the right time.
I reached out beside the elderly citizen and nullified the tree’s [Inflict Pain].
Then I swung my sword, leaving a venomous wound on the dark trunk.
At this rate, the rescue was progressing smoother than pulling weeds from the garden.
“Th-thank you. Thank you for protecting us.”
“Wow, you did that with just your arm….”
“The robber was foaming at the mouth with even a brush against those thorns, but that Hunter seems unfazed!”
Whispers.
The shock from seeing the corpses hadn’t worn off, as some bank employees were still staring blankly, as if they were about to vomit.
But after a few seconds, even that minority started to regain their color.
Flash!
A bright source of light, shining like a carbide lamp illuminating deep mines.
This was a makeshift light set up by the South Korean government for nighttime operations to rescue citizens.
Additionally, it was a signal that we had reached a hole leading to the outside.
“Is that the exit? But what’s that blue part attached to the exit?”
“It’s a tunnel made of barriers.”
“A tunnel?”
“Monsters that make up the dome have particularly high regeneration. But outside, with buildings and roads all cracked, it’s basically a war zone. There’s simply no manpower to remove this dome, so it’s set up as a temporary measure.”
“Ahh.”
“It’s to ensure the hole that was made before you all arrived doesn’t close.”
“Ah, I see.”
“But there’s no need to be overly worried. Once Jeong Ha-seong arrives, this will be handled quickly.”
The employees, seeing the exit before them, rejoiced.
In a situation where a robbery had occurred right before the end of work hours, and on top of that, with an explosion causing a new type of dungeon monster to appear, it was no wonder everyone had thought today was their funeral day.
“Haha, oh my. I guess I’m getting old. My tear ducts just start flowing at the slightest…”
I’ll be able to go home.
Soon after, one relieved bank employee couldn’t hold back and teared up.
And this tear began to spread explosively thanks to a few comments from a Hunter.
“Huh? What did you say?”
A moment later.
Hunters of various ranks waiting outside the tunnel looked at me with surprised rabbit eyes at my words.
“I’m going in to take out the boss by myself from now on, so don’t enter the dome.”
“No, but to the boss—”
“While I’ve cleared the area around the entrance to bring survivors back, the center of the nest is still densely packed with trees. To be frank, Hunters who enter will have no way of avoiding attacks while hunting.”
“Hmph.”
“But I learned from taking that attack meant for the bank employees. The thornbushes here impose a tremendous psychological shock on a person.”
“Huh!”
“Excuse me?”
“To put it simply, it hurts like hell.”
Though this was an impromptu excuse, it was sufficient reasoning for entering the Thornbush Forest alone.
Then came the minor changes that manipulated the facial muscles of the dead.
A subtle scowl, an expression tinged with worry.
“But I have less discomfort coming from the awakening level. If that’s how it feels for other Hunters… I’d rather just deal with it myself and come back.”
Serene…
To willingly endure pain for industry colleagues one barely knew, apart from the commonality of being Hunters! How noble!
“Mr. Kim Hunter! But how can you take on such hardship alone…!”
Sniffle sniffle.
The rescued bank employees, oblivious to any malicious intent, began to wear impressed expressions.
Especially one employee discovered under the desk was so moved that she was shedding a tremendous amount of liquid from her eyes.
“It’s fine. You all just focus on the outside. I’ll take down the boss quickly. Don’t waste time sending a healer! If need be, I’ll use my awakening ability, and people nearby will get hurt. They’ll get hurt.”
But I shouted, pretending not to see their tears.
As a result, the association personnel, unable to withstand the firm attitude of the S-Class Hunter, permitted him to monopolize the Thornbush Forest.
“Hunter!”
“Oh my.”
“Be careful…!”
Then I used the path laid by the barrier mages to re-enter the dome. I felt a warm atmosphere emanating from the outside where people were gathering.
But just seconds later.
The Hunter, who had been wearing an emotional face, suddenly stiffened his facial muscles.
This is why people need to study diligently. Having done some research on expression, it became so easy to deceive, didn’t it?
“Huh.”
Now that the meddling nuisances were cleared, shall we finally begin?
The reason I can pull off such tricks is that the ominous black ceiling is still in place.
Once the thornbush dome disappeared, curious Earthlings’ drone cameras would come rushing in. I had to hurry before the summoned Jeong Ha-seong and some stalker contractor arrived and cleaned up the situation.
“Hmph.”
Good thing the association backed down just for this simple lie.
If they stubbornly insisted on sending additional personnel and they learned about the actions I planned to take to evade Seocher’s tracking, those frail Earthlings would have gone for a long time without eating or drinking.
–Thud!
I casually damaged the street’s CCTV with the mana I had been saving and began to move.
It was time to execute the plan.
.
.
.
Twenty-eight minutes later.
Jeong Ha-seong, who was in a dungeon in Gangwon-do, finally noticed the association’s call.
The number one ranked Hunter in South Korea arrived on the scene shortly after with his flying magic tool, and he wrapped up the situation by burning down the dome.
Luckily, there were no further complications. The boss monster expected to be a problem inside had already been dealt with by another S-Class Hunter.
“You were here first this time too.”
“Well, it just happened that way.”
From a distance, the blond Hunter faced Jeong Ha-seong as they spoke.
Somebody, seeing that, carefully approached through the crowd and, seizing the moment their conversation ended, spoke.
“Hello, Hunter.”
“Ah~ Hello.”
The one who approached was Seonwoo-yeon.
Seonwoo-yeon seemed to feel quite familiar with Gi-ryeo now, wearing a light smile as if seeing an acquaintance before her expression returned to that of a tired office worker.
She soon asked.
“I’m sorry, but may I ask you something? Have you happened to see someone who looks like this inside?”
What Seonwoo-yeon presented was an enlarged ID photo of some awakened person.
“I did. It was the corpse from the bank.”
“But now the police say they can’t find this person’s body in the bank?”
“Excuse me?”
“The monsters that came out here are plants, so they can’t just disappear anywhere. Where on earth could he have gone…?”
Could it be that this robber escaped alive?
Seonwoo-yeon expressed her worry at that moment with the thought that had crossed her mind, and that’s when Gi-ryeo bluntly responded.
“He definitely didn’t escape. I clearly remember that man is dead.”
With an expression that looked just like any other day, he spoke kindly.
“By the way, now that I think about it, those flying thornbushes… It feels like they occasionally tried to move with their thorns fixed on a person’s body. Could it have been moved because of that?”
“Ahh.”
“If I had known, I would’ve moved the corpses outside when you all arrived. It’s a relief he took the robber, but ah… I should’ve thought more carefully…”
The blond S-Class Hunter, holding his forehead, spoke next.
“By the way, you must have already used the [Seocher] skill, right?”
“Yes. But I still can’t find anything.”
“Well then, maybe the appearance was too damaged for a matching individual identification. Or it could be that the Seocher owners are facing enough issues to lose their sense of direction.”
He then stood with his arms crossed.
And quietly asked.
“Ms. Seonwoo-yeon Hunter. I’m asking this as a slight speculation, but do you feel like there are multiple bank robbers in this world?”
“No, I don’t.”
“Got it.”
“But why that question?”
“Just a thought because I’ve seen similar cases before. But looking at the circumstances, it doesn’t seem like that’s the case. He probably got carried away by a tree and fell from somewhere high.”
“Ah.”
“Anyway, I’m off work now. Take care.”
“Okay.”
