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Chapter 52
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To change the situation, Kang Do-jun shouted loudly.
The rogues began to disappear one by one, activating their stealth skills.
As a result, the remaining people started reacting differently.
“Damn it, where did they go?!”
“I, I can’t sense anything!”
Some looked around, scanning their surroundings.
“Here!”
“Stop hiding and fight fair!”
Others swung their spears or swords into the air, wasting their energy.
But for all the commotion caused by the rogue leader’s shout, nothing had yet happened.
“Professor! W-what should we do?!”
Areum cried out in a trembling voice.
Just moments ago, she had been thrilled to see her allies suddenly become invigorated.
Although the professor’s skill usage hadn’t been outwardly apparent, its effects were undeniable.
It was as if everyone’s rank had risen a level, their fierce combat leaving no doubt.
But now, with the rogues hidden, the situation shifted once again.
The two C-rank men maintained their composure and took their stances.
However, the D-rank men were panicking, their anxious gazes darting around helplessly.
“Areum, do you know what usually happens in moments like this?”
“Huh? W-what?”
Finally, the professor’s calm voice reached her ears.
Areum turned her gaze back to Si-hyun.
At that very moment—
“Guhhh!”
“They really think we’re easy targets, don’t they?”
Si-hyun extended her hand into the air, gripping something firmly.
It was as if she was holding onto something invisible.
‘W-what is she…?’
Areum widened her eyes, watching the professor’s actions.
Si-hyun forcefully threw the unseen object to the ground.
“Ughhh!”
With a loud thud, one of the rogues appeared.
He bounced off the ground violently.
Thud, thud, thud—
He rolled across the floor several times before collapsing.
He no longer showed any signs of movement.
Areum clasped her hands over her mouth, staring at the scene.
But it wasn’t over yet.
Swish—!
A sudden sound of something slicing through the air.
Startled, Areum turned her head.
“Hmph.”
“Wow….”
The professor had caught the blade of a dagger with her two fingers.
Areum was at a loss for words, staring in awe.
“You’ve got to be kidding!”
A panicked voice of a man echoed from the invisible space.
At the same time, Si-hyun leapt forward.
She lightly jumped, leading with her knee.
Thud!
“Gahhh!”
The rogue who was struck in the abdomen bent over like a folded chair, revealing himself.
Drooling at the corners of his mouth, his body tilted and—
Thump!
He collapsed, unconscious.
Areum blinked her wide eyes repeatedly.
“Let’s see.”
Si-hyun flicked the dagger lightly with her fingers.
The dagger spun in the air, soaring upward.
Moments later, as it fell, she caught its hilt perfectly.
She then loosened her wrist slightly and—
Swish—!
She hurled the dagger backward with force.
“Ughhh!”
Startled, Areum turned to look behind her.
Not far away, a C-rank rogue was rolling on the ground.
The dagger was embedded deeply in his calf.
“P-professor! You’re amazing!”
“Heh.”
“You’re the best—so, so cool!”
“Hmm.”
Areum unknowingly jumped up and down, cheering.
Honestly, she hadn’t even seen the dagger flying through the air.
She only realized it had been thrown because she had been watching the professor.
‘How did she manage to hit someone she couldn’t even see?!’
The direction the man had been heading made it clear he had intended to lure monsters.
If he had been left unchecked, the open area would have descended into chaos.
Areum looked at the professor with eyes full of admiration.
Her buffs were flawless, her combat skills unmatched.
The professor was the epitome of a perfect all-rounder, excelling in every position.
“Areum, this is the standard for a true one-person support. Got it?”
“…Ah! Yes, I understand!”
Areum nodded fervently.
Whether or not she could ever achieve such a level didn’t matter.
Right now, the professor seemed to radiate all the light in the world.
She literally seemed to shine.
‘I need to dream big…!’
In Areum’s mind, the image of an ideal support hunter was freshly engraved.
Her emotions were written all over her face and gestures.
Seeing this, Si-hyun nodded with satisfaction.
Though a group of villains had appeared today, the results had been worth it.
Thanks to this, all the irritation caused by that rogue leader had vanished completely.
“I’ll take care of that leader. Can you gather the unconscious ones in one spot?”
“Y-yes, ma’am!”
Straightening her posture, Areum answered loudly.
She approached the man who had rolled away earlier.
She groaned as she dragged the man along, struggling to move him.
After placing him down next to the filthy man drooling on the ground,
“Huff—!”
She exhaled lightly and turned her gaze toward the C-rank rogue.
The dagger seemed to have been lodged quite deeply.
He couldn’t stand and was crawling desperately across the ground, trying to escape.
‘W-what should I do about that…?’
Though he looked pitiful, he was still a C-rank Hunter.
Meanwhile, she was just a weak E-rank Support-type Hunter.
Areum hesitated for a moment.
Considering the professor had specifically referred to “the unconscious ones,” it seemed safe to leave him.
But watching him crawl away in such a pathetic manner didn’t sit well with her.
Resolving herself, Areum’s eyes became firm as she quietly approached the rogue.
The rogue, consumed by his desperation to escape, failed to notice her drawing closer.
‘Damn it, I’m screwed! I just need to find a place to hide and drink a potion!’
Focused entirely on crawling, he didn’t sense her presence.
But then, a killing intent made him raise his head.
“Eek?!”
A woman holding a long wooden staff was staring down at him coldly.
It was a weapon she hadn’t used yet since she hadn’t participated in combat directly until now.
Though called a staff, it was essentially just a club.
Areum used all her strength to beat the man.
Whack! Whack! Whack!
“Stop! Aghhh!”
The rogue tried to resist.
Despite his leg injury, he attempted to block her strikes with his hands.
However—
‘W-what? Why isn’t my body moving?!’
It felt as though he was bound by something, his body refusing to respond.
In the end, unable to even resist, he was mercilessly beaten.
At this moment, the endurance advantage from their rank difference turned into his curse, prolonging his torment.
“Ughhh! Stop, please stop!”
“Haaah… Why won’t you pass out? Take this!”
“Aghhh! P-please! Stop!”
The rogue screamed, wishing he could just lose consciousness.
Meanwhile, Si-hyun—
Having subtly assisted Areum to handle things as she wished—
Turned her gaze back toward Ji-han and Kang Do-jun while walking over.
Kang Do-jun, still in stealth mode, was sneaking behind Ji-han.
Just as he was about to strike with cowardly intent, Ji-han swiftly turned and blocked his attack.
“So predictable!”
“Ugh…!”
Ji-han sneered at Kang Do-jun.
As a Hunter’s rank increases, their senses become sharper.
And right now, Ji-han’s senses were more honed than usual.
If the rogue had been running away, it might have been different, but a surprise attack was easy to counter.
‘Damn it….’
Kang Do-jun took a step back, furrowing his brow as he assessed the situation.
In this brief moment, everything seemed to have changed.
All his comrades had been taken down and were lying unconscious.
At the edge of his vision, he saw a foolish woman dragging one of his allies toward him.
He quickly changed his target.
‘I’ll take her hostage first…!’
Though his allies were defeated, he was still a B-rank Hunter.
It was time to show that he was different.
“Idiot!”
“Huh?!”
Feigning an attack toward Ji-han, Kang Do-jun spun around and bolted toward Si-hyun, activating his stealth skill again.
Caught off guard, Ji-han shouted in alarm.
“N-Noona! Watch out!”
“…‘Noona,’ really?”
Si-hyun sighed softly and turned her body lightly.
Extending her hand swiftly into the air—
“You’ve got to be kidding me!”
She grabbed Kang Do-jun’s invisible wrist with pinpoint accuracy.
Whoosh—!
Without a moment’s hesitation, she spun 360 degrees with immense speed.
Bang!
Using momentum, she slammed him headfirst into the ground.
“Aghhh!”
The tremendous impact caused Kang Do-jun to drop his dagger.
Unable to bear the pain, he rolled on the ground, clutching his face.
Blood pooled on the floor, along with a few broken teeth scattered nearby.
The entire scene had unfolded in an instant.
Ji-han stood frozen, his mouth hanging open.
“T-that was insane…. So damn cool….”
The words escaped his mouth before he realized it.
Her flawless, fluid movements followed by her nonchalant demeanour.
Even the way she coolly turned her head afterward was mesmerizing.
Ji-han watched Si-hyun in awe, momentarily forgetting to breathe.
Meanwhile, Si-hyun surveyed her surroundings.
The Wings Guild members, realizing the situation had been resolved, began regrouping.
In the distance, she saw Areum struggling to drag a rogue.
“Hm….”
While organizing her thoughts, Han-gyeol approached her from the side.
Si-hyun, still staring at the writhing Kang Do-jun, spoke.
“Han-gyeol, you can handle the boss without me, right?”
“…Yes, of course! Thanks to you, I’m feeling great!”
“Then take Areum and head to the boss room. I’ll take care of things here.”
“Huh?”
Han-gyeol’s response was tinged with confusion, prompting Si-hyun to gesture toward the path they had come from.
“A group of monsters is on its way. I’ll hold them off and join you shortly, so take down the boss in the meantime.”
Han-gyeol glanced between Si-hyun, the rogues, and Areum.
After a brief pause for thought, he nodded.
“Understood!”
The other men, who had also been listening to Si-hyun’s instructions, hurriedly began to move.
As they guided Areum in the direction of the boss room,
Si-hyun grabbed the rogue by his hair and lifted him.
“Agh…! I-I was wrong, so p-please stop!”
Ignoring his screams, she dragged him along.
Arriving where the other three rogues were gathered, she used her divine power.
Soon, the unconscious men began to regain consciousness one by one.
“Eek?!”
“Urgh!”
As they came to, the first thing they saw was their broken leader, blood dripping from his nose and mouth.
Grasping the situation immediately, they panicked and dropped to their knees.
Instinctively, they pressed their foreheads to the ground, gauging Si-hyun’s reaction.
Si-hyun crouched down and gave them a command.
“…Hand over everything you’ve got.”
“What?”
“You’ve been collecting loot all this time, haven’t you? Now you’re going to experience the same.”
“T-that is….”
“Tsk.”
Though their posture was submissive, they didn’t seem to fully grasp the situation.
Clicking her tongue lightly, Si-hyun lifted the boss’s face for them to see clearly.
Then, without hesitation—
Bang!
She slammed his face into the ground again.
Blood splattered, and another fragment of teeth was added to the dungeon floor.
“Urgh!”
“W-we’ll hand it over!”
“P-please, just spare us!”
Terrified, the rogues began manipulating their status windows.
One by one, they pulled out items and handed them to Si-hyun.
Having already dealt with the situation, there wasn’t much besides potions.
The idea of threatening them further to reveal hidden items felt tedious.
Si-hyun took only a few daggers and potions, storing them in her bracelet.
She then spoke in a low voice.
“Time to face the consequences of your actions.”
“Huh?”
The men looked confused, but Si-hyun ignored them and stood up.
Using magic, she tightly bound the rogues and began walking toward where the monster horde was located.
Realizing what was happening, the men started screaming, trying to resist being dragged.
But their bodies wouldn’t move at all.
In the end, all they could do was cry out in despair.
“P-please spare us!”
“J-just our lives, please!”
Si-hyun ignored their pleas.
When she arrived at the edge of the undead horde,
She turned to the men and spoke with a detached expression.
“The things you’ve done to other parties.”
“You’ll experience them in the exact same way.”
She grabbed each man by his clothing and tossed them into the monster horde.
“Kreeek?”
“Heehee?”
The monsters in this dungeon weren’t just skeletons.
There were many undead monsters, such as zombies.
The undead, catching the scent of the living, let out grotesque and chilling laughter.
“Kihihihi—!”
“Kekekeke!”
Overcome with instinctual joy, the undead rushed at the rogues.
They sank their teeth into their living flesh without pause,
Tearing through skin and internal organs with their grip strength.
“Aaaaagh!”
“N-no—!”
Si-hyun’s restraining magic wore off, but by then it was meaningless for the hunters surrounded by undead.
They were devoured alive.
Si-hyun frowned slightly and turned away.
She didn’t want Areum to see such a scene, which was why she had sent her along with the Wings Guild members.
To ensure their safety, she planned to join them soon.
Without a second thought, she left the gruesome scene behind.
Meanwhile, Areum—
“Wow….”
Watching the Wings Guild men fight in the boss room,
She uttered yet another exclamation, one of many that day.
“A S-skeleton Mage….”
The monster that the professor had mentioned at the start of the dungeon finally appeared.
It was a perfect match with the professor’s prediction.
‘As expected of Professor Si-hyun!’
Areum’s eyes sparkled as she eagerly awaited the professor’s return.
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