Chapter 322: Dawn (3)
Jeong Ha-seong and Seo Esther.
And the clash between the revealed beast and the others.
Who would’ve thought the hunters, facing two fake beasts, would make it all the way up to this altered level?
The bewilderment was mutual.
— ‘What the heck were those idiots doing?’
Enzo was momentarily surprised to see the Korean behind him.
Blood-soaked shoulders.
And torn-up equipment here and there.
The signs of serious injury on the bodies of these Koreans were evident enough for him to grasp the situation.
— ‘They must have rushed their recovery with potions. They can’t be in good condition at all.’
It was clear his companions hadn’t simply let them go.
Yet.
— ‘Huh.’
Having understood the situation, everything seemed oddly unfamiliar to Enzo.
— ‘Geez…….’
Predicting the emergence of a never-before-seen, break-transforming monster in this world.
His employers had even known exactly where the gate would appear.
— ‘And despite having the full support of such remarkable beings, they’re getting pushed back here?’
Huh-huh!
— ‘Against hunters from a country that’s hard to even locate on this globe?’
Enzo laughed heartily, blood still trickling down his neck.
The absurdity of the situation left him in awe.
*
So how had the Korean hunters defied Enzo’s expectations and reached that place?
“Ugh……!”
Five minutes prior.
When the gate’s ceiling was still deep in the night.
“Eugh.”
At that moment, Jeong Ha-seong was making constant sounds like an injured beast.
Of course, it was because his clavicle was broken.
But even though he was in so much pain he could hardly breathe, he couldn’t elegantly take a potion during the fight.
“Se, Seo Hunter!”
“…….”
“Seo Esther Hunter! Can you hear me?”
Esther, who had been providing support from behind, now had a beast’s claws embedded in her side, causing severe internal injuries.
And unless her body was altered by alien technology, ordinary beings feel pain.
The guild master of the magic tower was now in a severe state of shock from the intense pain, and Jeong Ha-seong had to hold off two beasts on behalf of his incapacitated companion, leaving him little time to tend to her.
Fwooosh!
Jeong Ha-seong conjured flames around Esther’s fallen body to prevent the bone-masked group from getting closer.
But then.
Hee, hee, hee.
From beyond the flames, a chuckling sound echoed faintly in his mind.
‘No matter how I think about it, this isn’t just my imagination…’
Stamina and magic can’t be infinite.
And they shouldn’t be.
So why weren’t they tiring out?
Crash!
Now their flames had noticeably diminished in power.
Just before fainting, Esther focused all her remaining energy to cast a nearly impossible curse on the enemies.
Of course, the effects should still be influencing the battle.
Yet the beasts in front of them had shown no signs of slowing down, acting strangely as if they were immune to the hero’s intentions.
They jumped around like rabbits to avoid Jeong Ha-seong’s flames and even borrowed those astonishing powers to counter the occasional slash from the Sword of Sunset.
‘Is it the item’s effect?’
The beasts performed impressively, as if drawing on an infinite well of strength.
They weren’t tiring, and they were unleashing skills like there was no tomorrow.
— This is how it should’ve been from the start.
— Nice job!
— Do you think this is just pure talent? I had no idea that man would be this strong!
Jeong Ha-seong was an excellent superhuman.
Along with his innate talent and rigorous training, he had momentarily pushed the beasts back.
One of the bone-masked thieves even had one of his arms completely charred beyond use.
But unfortunately, Jeong Ha-seong had chosen the wrong strategy.
— Waiting for them to tire out might take too long.
They were just wearing unspoiled leather.
Thanks to an item, they were already like walking corpses, regaining their strength while the opponents hesitated about their moves.
Crack!
The beast that had lost an arm due to Jeong Ha-seong’s skill slyly began to regenerate.
And at the moment the man with black hair focused on his comrade, it sprang up like a spring.
“-!!”
In that split second, the Korean gave ground.
“Ha-seong.”
“Don’t be so scared of the flames.”
“I’ve said this a million times, the attribute that made humanity what it is today will now be your limbs! Isn’t that enticing? What an excellent talent of your own…”
But this time was different.
Having already fought a body enhancement type earlier at the seaside—
Or perhaps it was because of the trial they had recently overcome on the 10th floor of the White Tower.
Drawing on his past experiences, Jeong Ha-seong didn’t panic as the enemy approached; instead, he activated his skill without hesitation.
Boom!
The fierce fire attack rivaled a dragon’s final blow.
As the young man engulfed himself in flames, the beast that had tried to seize his head was caught off-guard and roasted alive without a chance to evade.
“Graaaaaah!”
Calm. Calm. Calm.
Jeong Ha-seong tried to suppress any pity for the screaming enemy.
And as a result of this effort, he could raise his sword without trembling.
That’s when it happened.
A crushing blow that solidified the situation occurred.
“Ahhh!”
“Huh……!”
A gigantic silver crescent blade pierced right through the massive beast that blocked his path, protruding from its abdomen.
The curved weapon, with its crescent shape, completely pierced through both the beast and Jeong Ha-seong’s waist.
— What a dn……!!!
The beast that once acted as a shield shouted all kinds of curses at its comrade.
But the attacker merely shrugged with an unreadable expression.
— Besides, you still have ‘one more’ chance, right? I’ve already exhausted myself dealing with those things.
Jeong Ha-seong didn’t have the time to digest the English he had just caught.
The coldness spread through his entire body as the blade swept through near his intestines.
He understood why various legends depicted the grim reaper as someone wielding a sickle.
“Huh, huh.”
The sensation of metal slicing through his organs was indeed a clear harbinger of death.
Slash!
While Jeong Ha-seong was stunned by the shock, a bone-masked enemy who was lodged in his comrade pulled out the crescent blade with great force.
Naturally, it caused a massive amount of bleeding.
The nameless fake beast intended to finish off the Korean who was stumbling and overwhelmed by his loss of blood……
But in reality.
The situation had tipped in a direction he never would have expected.
Ding!
With a sound similar to a parking sensor alerting a disturbance, a system message echoed.
[Body damage exceeded 80%.]
[According to settings, automatic counterattack will commence.]
Although the expression was somewhat stiff.
There was still a notable vibration emanating from the crimson blade.
“Huh?”
“Wait, what’s that…?”
And with that single word that no Earthling could hear, the battle came to an end.
Kaboom!
“Ugh!”
“Huh!?”
The Sword of Sunset, recognizing Jeong Ha-seong as its true master, swiftly subdued its enemies.
If the ego sword had conversational functions activated, it would’ve boasted about itself by now.
The power of the legendary item quickly transformed into the high magic of Alphauri due to the accumulation of its master’s mana.
[[Auto Notification] Master!
The amount of stored mana in the cylinder is too low.
If this condition is left unaddressed, it may result in a failure to activate key features and cause inconvenience.
Would you like to quickly replenish the mana?
→ (Highly Recommended) Search for Sponsorship now.]
… Compared to the Mimic City point, the storage was significantly lacking, resulting in a relatively weak outcome.
Ugh… cough.
Jeong Ha-seong hurriedly took out a potion, utterly bewildered.
Cough, cough…! No, what the…
He had no idea what was going on.
It was as if he was about to face his end, and he briefly closed his eyes.
“Why did the sword suddenly…?”
Enemies that clung to him were suddenly engulfed in light, turning into unidentifiable stone-like objects.
“What on earth is this?”
The crimson glow radiated.
The beasts that had been thrashing moments ago found themselves trapped in some unwanted transformation state.
With a texture resembling frozen pomegranate jam.
Or perhaps, like watery rubies, the transformed enemies stood awkwardly, frozen in place.
“Is this petrification…?”
While it’s known that some dungeon monsters can turn people to stone,
‘I’ve never heard of such a color for petrification. And more importantly, the light definitely came from my sword.’
Thud.
Jeong Ha-seong hesitated to touch the petrified enemies while attempting to heal Seo Esther with a recovery potion.
If this was the same mechanism of petrification, physical shock from outside could reverse the state immediately.
“Hmm!”
“Seo Esther! Are you with us?”
Soon, Seo Esther awoke.
“Huh! What is this?”
Awakened curses had questions swirling in her mind the moment she opened her eyes.
But Jeong Ha-seong had no explanations either.
[^_^ {Status Update: No repairs needed at this time.}]
The magical sword from beyond the universe had regained its strength to protect its master. How would a primitive human comprehend such a background?
“…….”
However, Ha-seong understood one thing.
‘All of this is thanks to that Hunter.’
The sudden function of his legendary item was all influenced by a certain hunter who thrived in the Mimic City.
Did his sword awaken and “see” the monstrous strength of that blond hunter?
‘When my chest burst open by that fraudulent healer, such petrification didn’t occur. That’s the only conclusion I can come to.’
In an instant, the back of his eyelids flashed with the image of the hunter he had seen before.
But it wasn’t the time for sentiment.
“Whooo.”
Jeong Ha-seong took a deep breath and stood up.
“This isn’t the time. Seo Esther, we need to move.”
“Move?”
“Mr. Kim Hunter hasn’t returned yet. The fight on their end might be more intense than we anticipated…!”
At first, he foolishly hoped that the Fourth S-Class would join them, but
thinking back, it was like waiting under a persimmon tree for a ripe fruit to drop.
“Meow!”
So they began to slay monsters en route to an exit.
“This is…”
“Yeah. No matter how I concentrate, I can’t feel their mana…!”
In the process, they realized the structure of the ant nest room had slightly changed due to the time shift.
“It’s just like the Hwaechun Labyrinth.”
“What was that again? Oh, could it be the original dungeon before the six-legged corridor appeared in the anomaly?”
“The internal structure changes following a specific rhythm. From the studies so far, it usually shifts in the same direction, one space at a time, like a revolver’s action.”
Thanks to the judgment of a veteran who was like a walking hunter’s encyclopedia, the confusion quickly subsided.
“The hunter, Kim Gi-ryeo, who was fighting in the corridor must definitely be on this upper floor.”
“Oh! There aren’t any stairs leading down!”
“With this phenomenon, it’s unlikely they would end up in different locations. As long as we don’t take too long with our strategy!”
They discovered stairs that led to another floor across the open field where they had originally been fighting.
From here, all they had to do was clear the space filled with the cyclopean dogs and join their comrades.
Growl!
Bang!
Just as the S-Class hunters unleashed a furious attack, splitting the path like the parting of the Red Sea,
Seo Esther, who had been running beside Jeong Ha-seong, suddenly voiced her concern.
“Hey… um, but you know…”
“Yes?”
“Maybe Mr. Kim Gi-ryeo isn’t quite in optimal condition right now…?”
Fwoosh!
In an instant, Jeong Ha-seong, who had just been about to gulp down a mana recovery potion, exchanged bewildered glances with her.
What did she mean by not being in decent shape?
“Oh, I really don’t know if I should say this, but…”
Seo Esther had known this information for quite some time but had kept quiet, thinking it might be a weakness he was trying to hide.
‘If it were any normal day, he would’ve already handled at least one S-Class hunter by now!’
Now, let’s clarify that all her subsequent thoughts would be misunderstandings.
‘A criminal who looks innocent like Su Ye-hwi executing ruthless judgments… he hasn’t returned to us yet. This is strange.’
A wild misunderstanding indeed.
‘…And I’m worried about him.’
But to Seo Esther, the current circumstance suggested something concerning Kim Gi-ryeo.
“Have you ever felt anything like that, Ha-seong?”
“What do you mean?”
“That Gi-ryeo might be avoiding active fights… Well, anyway, I can’t explain it in detail. From what I’ve heard, that hunter has suffered aftereffects while working in this industry…”
“What did you say?”
Kim Gi-ryeo sustained a serious injury in the dungeon, and thus he might occasionally struggle in battles?
‘That guy?’
Jeong Ha-seong pondered for a moment at Esther’s ramblings.
Of course, potions have their absolute limits, and it’s common for hunters to live with aftermaths.
‘Kim Gi-ryeo has some aftereffects?’
From Ha-seong’s perspective, it was hard to believe.
Recently, Kim Gi-ryeo had been negligent in dungeon runs due to fatigue, but that was purely because he had sustained a stomach injury days earlier.
‘That hunter is really handling a beast with just a sword…’
And then.
‘Moreover, didn’t he destroy the boss on the 10th floor of the White Tower with a single blow?’
Examining each of these instances, it didn’t seem like the achievements of someone in pain.
He was an awakened one who stood out among the new races, transcending ordinary physical abilities.
…S-Class battles are beyond me right now—.
If you sift through your memories, there were indeed some dubious statements,
but given the overwhelming performances he occasionally displayed,
the strong image of that individual had firmly lodged itself in his mind.
‘…Right.’
As he ran toward where his companions might be located, Jeong Ha-seong silently resolved.
‘Perhaps due to lessons or potential future teams, I’ve been cautious not to offend him, but…’
It was dangerous territory to ponder such thoughts during a crisis.
‘I can’t delay this any longer. Once this situation settles down, I must return home and have a serious talk with that hunter. I want to bravely ask him about the life he’s lived thus far…’
Then what unfolded next was—
“Hah, hah…!”
The mysterious bone-masked assailant, whose throat was half-slit.
‘What is that! Has another fake hidden itself in the dungeon? Who on earth is that!?’
As the bone-masked man attacked the fallen Korean comrade, Jeong Ha-seong intervened swiftly.
Boom!
From the massive cuts on the face of the crime-laden attacker, the two had a moment of realization as they closed the gap between each other.
‘As expected, it’s Kim Gi-ryeo Hunter!’
‘Just as I thought, the beast that slipped away didn’t return because that hunter was holding the line!’
But as they drew closer, more questions arose in both their minds.
‘But that bear-like figure, where the heck did it come from at such an odd time?’
‘Suddenly transforming from the lanky shape of Brooklyn into double the mass…’
