Chapter 241: The Overeating Incident (5)
The approach of a monster with the characteristics of strength and weakness.
No, to be precise, the S-Class Hunters present here were ambiguous strong individuals who were not greatly affected by the abilities of that magical creature.
The sandy-colored lizard, the boss of this place, usually increased its powers proportional to the gap between itself and a being with a large amount of magic when facing such opponents.
Since there were no S-Class higher tiers on Earth yet, the monster’s enhancements were minuscule.
– Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
Thus, the handicap they had to endure was solely due to the creature’s hypersensitive nature, as hinted at by a certain Great Mage.
– Kyaaaaaaaah…
Before the A-Class team, which was of lower rank than itself, and the corpses of compatriots under control, the dungeon boss had quite a meek appearance.
However, as the owner of the dungeon reappeared in the corridor, its face was truly hideous.
With its skin colored like champagne gold, red blisters erupted all over the Kp, and it roared like an exploding volcano.
“Kaaahhhhhh!”
The S-Class boss monster finally fully revealed itself before the hunters.
The reptile shuddered as it recognized that an equal strength had entered its den.
“Huh!”
“Ugh.”
The weaker ones who moved to the southern corridor stiffened their shoulders under the boss’s might.
The sensitivity of that sandy-colored reptile was activated only by the rich magic of true strong individuals.
Had they known this would happen, it would have been better for a certain scam Appraiser to tackle it alone and quietly guide the A-Class team to the entrance.
However, the Appraiser in question was in a state of exhaustion after dealing with the weakest creature in the dungeon.
Knock!
In the end, an unavoidable battle.
Jeong Ha-seong stared at the approaching monster and adjusted his grip on the red sword.
– Fwaaarrrrr!
What followed was the casting magic of the S-Class Fire Mage, known as the pinnacle of the flame lineage.
He raised a wall of fire to intimidate the boss and slow its rush.
Rather than flickering, the strong, upward surging blue wave quickly blocked the monster’s path.
“Grrr!”
But how strong was the enemy’s spatial awareness in this otherworld?
Whoosh! Soon after, the hideous monster broke through the risen wall of fire with its body.
And it swung its forelimb towards the Korean Hero, turning away from the targets it was supposed to protect.
– Kwahhh!
The transcendent roar was not something one would think was caused by a mere clash of blades and claws.
“……?!”
But at that moment.
Kikikikik, the black-haired mage physically blocking the approaching monster suddenly sensed the disparity.
A smell quite different from that of quality food cooking, an unpleasant burning smell lingered somewhere.
Wait, a burning smell?
‘Huh?’
Kwaaaaang!
Jeong Ha-seong, using his monstrous strength, pressed against the sword to push the enemy back.
But even after increasing the distance, there was no change in the delicate picture before his eyes.
The six-limbed reptile was writhing in pain, with soot covering its entire face.
Did the enemy’s skin get burned just by grazing that wall of fire?
‘The attack power…’
The National Hero finally realized his own change.
Up until now, he had only faced A-Class prey, so he hadn’t had a reason to feel the maximum extent of his powers except for the speed of dungeon exploration.
For Ha-seong, who hadn’t participated in events like the Unavoidable Malice and the Kagoshima Gate, this was the first equal-level enemy he was facing.
However, since even S-Class monsters had his skills functioning normally and very threateningly, the mage couldn’t help but notice.
‘It’s different.’
This was exactly the result Kim Gi-ryeo intended.
Jeong Ha-seong’s skills had undergone tremendous strength. Having been trained on foreign entities, they reached a level that was incomparable to before.
The series of efficiencies not only realized the fire mage’s dream of protecting his compatriots but also progressed his abilities to near the next stage.
– Fwooosh…
An elusive heat gusted through the air like a whirlwind.
And around that small swirling motion, a cyan explosion occurred right above the left eye of the sandy-colored reptile.
“Kaaahhh!”
Whoosh!
Although still immature, struggling to shake off its incompleteness, it couldn’t maintain its blue hue.
But that alone was enough.
Jeong Ha-seong inhaled the hot heat like his own breath and passed it on to his fellow hunters.
“The defense is weaker than expected.”
“Huh? What did you say?”
“Even though it’s an S-Class boss monster, its body is weaker than we anticipated.”
The precise judgment of value built through thousands of dungeon raids, the No. 1 ranked hunter proclaimed.
“Indeed, the S-Class monsters here seem to be weaker lower-tier versions within the same rank! Let’s first try to intercept the boss’s advance, and if we succeed, we’ll move immediately to incapacitate it!”
There was no need for a foreign Appraiser to point it all out.
The veterans present could accurately grasp the enemy’s rank with their accumulated data and instincts.
And once they determined they could kill the beast before them, the tasks for the hunters were simple.
“Survivors, please step aside for a moment. I need to get to work now.”
Yeah.
Well, a hunter wouldn’t look good if they just scampered away without doing anything.
Then the world’s only S-Class Curse Mage activated his inherent spells.
He focused his mind’s black magic, filled with heavy hatred, towards the foe that fed on the common folk.
*
– Woooooom…
A few minutes later.
Through the corridor adorned in gold, the familiar noise echoed.
As a gloomy wind swept through the punctured rock, it could seem somewhat unpleasant due to the unique vibrations.
Had this sound ever sounded so endearing until now?
“Ah, the exit! It’s the exit, right?”
“Awesome! Awesome!”
From Neo Sisters Guild’s regular third team.
Especially young Ahn Yoon-seung and the team’s youngest appeared gleeful as they welcomed the corridor that opened up.
“Wow, the future of Korea is looking bright…”
“Yeah, my friend at Hanshin Guild was just offered a job immigration from Canada or something, and he was talking about leaving our country. Did he worry I’d stop him?”
“Why don’t we have an S-Class in our guild… Speaking of which, isn’t Kim Hunter freelance? How come he hasn’t been scouted yet…?”
However, the atmosphere among the veteran hunters, including the team leader, was oddly different.
Whisper whisper.
They couldn’t stop chatting with the S-Class hunters right in front of them; the recent success had been shocking.
“Ha…”
To get to the point.
Korea’s Ranking No. 1 and No. 2 had, astonishingly, succeeded in hunting the S-Class boss together.
The six-limbed lizard here was a weak S-Class pull-up creature compared to Hawaii’s Nuckelavee or Japan’s Black Dragon King.
Not to mention, dealing with such a pull-up creature had left the industry’s top two battered and bruised.
“Ha-seong Hunter, do you have any painkillers lying around? One isn’t enough; I feel like I’m dying here.”
“Here you go.”
“Ah~ thank you, thank you.”
In any case, it was a significant victory worth recording.
Esther, whose arm was ripped apart by the monster’s claws, poured pain relief into her throat as she recalled the previous situation.
‘When my flesh was getting torn, I thought it was silly to join in. Wow, but how did we actually catch it?’
This battle was a remarkable display of Jeong Ha-seong’s prowess.
Inside that sandy-colored reptile was hidden some device spitting fire, and as you might know, Korea’s top Fire Mage was right there.
‘Was Jeong Ha-seong’s innate defense ability that high?’
What on earth had Kim Gi-ryeo taught that hero?
Seo Esther, observing the National Hero whose injuries were lesser than hers, pondered this.
Realizing that the gap with the top-ranked hunter, which was already hard to catch up with, had widened again, she playfully felt disgruntled.
Of course, this coincidence wouldn’t last long, and before long, someone’s bright voice completely shifted the topic.
“Um, excuse me. Korean Magic Tower Guild Master!”
Soon after, Neo Sisters Guild’s Ahn Yoon-seung approached politely.
The youth, approaching the industry’s seniors, clasped his hands together and inquired.
“Hello! Thank you so much for coming to help! But if it’s not too much trouble, where’s Kim Gi-ryeo Hunter? Did he not enter this dungeon at all?”
“Ah.”
“Why have I not seen my brother since earlier…?”
In reply, Esther answered.
With a gesture and a short sentence.
“If it’s Mr. Gi-ryeo, he’s just over there.”
Whoosh.
Ahn Yoon-seung, upon hearing Esther’s reply, reflexively turned his head.
Then, the distinctive hairstyle of someone who had been invisible before suddenly came into view.
“Ahn Yoon-seung.”
Limping awkwardly, the blond man slowly approached.
“What’s up? I’ve been right behind you all this time. Didn’t you notice?”
As his words implied, Gi-ryeo had been hiding at the rear column of the corridor with the comparatively weaker Seonwoo-yeon.
Only after all the skirmishes had ended did he finally show his face.
But why the S-Class hunter hadn’t taken the forefront in all this was something everyone present could automatically figure out without needing to ask.
– Thud, clang!
The sound of a shield worth billions rolling through the dungeon echoed.
There wasn’t even a chance to explain.
Ahn Yoon-seung soon opened his mouth, almost screaming.
“Brother!”
The once white collar, now stained red, enabled a guess of its original hue.
Still bandaged and peppered with various blood components, his abdomen looked messy.
Upon confirming the unusual condition of the once unremarkable hunter, Ahn Yoon-seung dropped his gear numbly to the ground.
This wasn’t a conscious act; he had genuinely been struck with shock to the point of fainting, his blood pressure dropping sharply, unable to strengthen his grip.
“What happened? No! Aaaah!”
His mind was spiraling, making coherent sentences elusive.
As Yoon-seung turned pale, Seonwoo-yeon spoke in his stead.
“He got caught in a dungeon trap.”
A momentary explanation by the civil servant ensued.
Kim Gi-ryeo, upon recognizing Ahn Yoon-seung’s team was in peril, had voluntarily entered the S-Class Gate and taken on the role of clearing the path.
While most traps had been successfully deactivated, he had misstepped in the final door-opening process, leading him to meet a mouse trap’s fate.
“Ah, so that’s why the rescue was so swift!”
“Yes. Kim Gi-ryeo Hunter took care of most of the monsters; therefore, our side didn’t have too many battles.”
At that moment.
The blond man, hydrating with his last mana potion, hurriedly corrected the misinformation upon hearing the staff’s comments.
“No, no. I didn’t take care of them; it was just that the monsters were weak from the beginning.”
“Ah, so the A-Class ones left behind were simply ignored? That explains why only weak enemies were left inside…”
“……”
For some reason, the fourth S-Class fell into a moment of silence.
During the conversation, Seonwoo-yeon couldn’t help but wonder how strong an enemy he had single-handedly dealt with that had resulted in his exhaustion leading him to err in trap deactivation.
Gi-ryeo decided to acknowledge that it was a weak individual that had posed no problems.
Yet the hunters didn’t believe him.
‘He must have faced S-Class directly while ignoring the A-Class.’
‘How could anyone handle an S-Class alone, even if they weren’t a boss?’
‘Was it a mid-boss-like special entity? It’s suspicious that none of them were found among the corpses.’
The collective skepticism from the hunters was ultimately a seed sown by Gi-ryeo himself, and complaining about it now would be useless.
Huh.
He let out a short breath and pulled something from his item box at his waist.
It was a round object with an indeterminate pale blue hue.
When he crushed it in his hand, astonishingly, the shredded and torn earthly clothing quickly restored to its original form.
“Huh?”
Swish.
Fiber strands appeared out of nowhere in the air and perfectly repaired the damaged suit.
Seeing Seonwoo-yeon’s astonished expression, Kim Gi-ryeo nonchalantly explained.
“Don’t be surprised! It’s a foreign item. An item.”
For reference, the object he had just crushed was a completely meaningless and hollow capsule like a gumball.
These primitive people would buy whatever convoluted dungeon artifact story he spun for them.
After the foreigner magically smartened up his appearance, he addressed the Awakened present.
“Everyone, before I leave, there’s one request I have for you…”
“A request?”
“Yeah. Especially Yoon-seung, there’s something you need to be careful about…”
.
.
.
A few minutes later.
In front of the exit of the unusual mutated gate.
– Oh my gosh.
– Something’s coming?
– The magic… it seems like an S-Class…
Whispers echoed.
As they stepped toward the noisy outside, familiar scenery gradually filled their sight.
The first to emerge from the gate was Esther.
The figure could be described as emaciated, carrying two corpses each weighing over 100kg on her shoulders.
What this new epoch superhuman had collected from the dungeon were the remains of one S-Class regular monster and one dungeon boss.
“Huh.”
Indeed, an impressive sight for a common killer.
The Magic Tower Guild Master placed down the meat chunks of the new monsters that would be handed over to university professors.
“Esther Hunter!”
“Did you really complete the conquest? No way, how?”
“Is this the dungeon boss?”
“Ugh~ it’s so hectic. Everyone, calm down. I’ll answer slowly.”
“What about Jeong Ha-seong Hunter?!”
“Our National Hero is inside taking soil samples, so please wait for that too…”
– Boooouuuummm!
But a moment later.
The crowd, which had been chattering away, suddenly silenced in unison, startled by a loud sound.
The dry engine noise echoing through the air corresponded with the revolutions of a machine.
Knock.
From atop a large-displacement bike emerged a rider who scanned the surroundings slowly, with a characteristic eerie gaze.
“Where’s Kim Gi-ryeo?”
With glimmering green eyes that seemed they could be taken for fluorescent lights and stark purple hair that seemed unlikely to be found in nature.
“Is he dead?”
The Third S-Class Hunter of Korea finally walked toward the crowd gathered in one direction.
And without nearly a change in expression, he casually asked about someone’s existence.
