—
Chapter 61
—
After the rear guard’s crisis was resolved,
Kang Chul-min was yelling harsh curses at the frontline hunters a short distance away.
“You bastards, can’t you do it properly?!”
“S-Sorry…”
“What the hell are you doing when you should be doing it right? Huh?!”
Kang Chul-min pointed his finger and jabbed at the guild members.
His reprimands, disguised as scoldings, were filled with endless profanity.
A male rogue watching from nearby shook his head.
“Like boss, like right-hand man. Their tempers are equally fiery.”
It was clear that if they left that hot-tempered leader unchecked, the group would be delayed.
Although he didn’t want to intervene, he had no choice.
With a friendly smile, the rogue spoke.
“Now, now, everyone. Let’s all calm down a bit.”
He waved his hands lightly, trying to diffuse the tense atmosphere.
“If we waste time like this, it could affect the strategy. For the sake of the vanguard, let’s move quickly.”
“…Hah!”
At the rogue’s mediation, Kang Chul-min glared at the guild members one last time.
Though his anger hadn’t completely subsided, the rogue’s words were reasonable.
The most important thing now was to safely conquer the dungeon.
They had to restore the guild’s tarnished honour.
“Move out!”
With Kang Chul-min’s resounding shout, the rear guard began to move again.
***
Meanwhile, the vanguard had reached the doorstep of the boss room,
where the gate to the double dungeon would be located.
They took a brief rest and conversed.
“Hah…, this is definitely an S-rank dungeon.”
“Indeed. Based on the monsters’ levels, we thought about entering first, but it seems we should stick to the plan.”
“Agreed. Let’s just clear up to the boss room and join the rear guard.”
Three men of S-rank spoke one after another.
They had established two pre-emptive strategies in advance.
If the Blue Forest Guild’s incident turned out to be just an accident and the special dungeon was A-rank,
the vanguard would proceed without stopping to conquer it.
But if it turned out to be a double dungeon with an S-rank dungeon included,
they would progress cautiously and finish it safely after regrouping.
It was confirmed to be the latter.
Ji-a, along with the female supporter, listened to their conversation from the side.
At that moment, the female supporter spoke up.
“W-What kind of boss do you think will appear?”
The men turned their gazes toward her.
The supporter, trembling slightly, seemed to be overcome with fear.
The men exchanged glances, and Yeo Do-hyung of the Dawn Guild answered.
“Who knows? S-rank dungeons are so rare that there aren’t enough cases to reference.”
“Still, we can make a guess, right?”
“We should assume something above a lich will appear.”
Yeo Do-hyung frowned as he replied.
In the past, they had encountered an undead necromancer, a lich, as the boss of an A-rank dungeon.
It had only been once, but it was an incredibly tricky boss.
Skeletons that revived almost instantly no matter how many times you killed them.
Powerful elite monsters under its command.
Even the lich itself wasn’t weak,
using numerous spells to protect itself while commanding its monster army.
Today, they would face something worse.
As he listened, the master of the Knight Guild stroked his beard and spoke.
“Haha! Miss, you don’t need to be so scared. Aren’t you part of the best party in the country?”
“I-I’m not scared, okay?!”
When the supporter retorted with a stern expression, he chuckled and said,
“I’ll clear the path! Don’t worry too much, and just fight confidently.”
“Haha! Of course, we trust you, Elder.”
“With the Knight Guild’s master here, what could possibly scare us?”
The men responded boldly.
They encouraged each other, lifting the mood.
Maintaining an appropriate level of tension, they continued to rest.
Ji-a quietly observed the members of the vanguard.
The master of the Knight Guild, despite his age, was known as the best swordsman in Korea.
Each individual was undoubtedly strong, but as a party, the elite team of the Dawn Guild was considered the strongest in Korea.
Each of them was a top-tier hunter recognized worldwide.
In addition, elite teams from mid-sized guilds had joined the vanguard.
‘They’re certainly reassuring…’
So why did she feel this ominous foreboding?
Ji-a clenched her fists tightly.
The eerie sensations clung to her, no matter how much she tried to shake them off.
It wasn’t fear or terror.
Rather, it felt as if some unseen hand was choking her neck.
An indescribable discomfort continued to gnaw at her senses.
Was it because this was her first time in an S-rank dungeon?
Or was there truly some unknown entity waiting for them?
“Let’s move out!”
Once again, the group adjusted their battle formation and prepared to advance.
Following the supporter woman, Ji-a moved to the rear guard’s position.
‘I’ll find out soon enough.’
Ji-a tightened her grip on her spear.
She took a deep breath and started moving forward.
The aura of death leaking from the surroundings grew thicker and thicker.
But Ji-a pressed on with unwavering determination, her eyes gleaming as she moved forward.
The vanguard entered the boss room.
Immediately, the hunters frowned at the scene before them, unlike anything they had seen before.
“It’s definitely a double dungeon.”
Someone muttered.
Normally, defeating the boss would generate a return portal, and the dungeon would collapse within an hour or two as the gate disappeared.
But in this boss room,
a portal leading to a new dungeon already existed.
And standing guard in front of it was a sentinel, waiting for the hunters.
“…I guess words really do become reality.”
“…It really appeared.”
The sentinel stared at the vanguard hunters.
It was a necromancer-type monster in the form of a skeleton draped in a robe.
Commonly known as a lich.
The dark red mist seeping into the air spread around as if gnawing away at vitality.
Its presence cast an oppressive atmosphere that made it difficult for anyone to breathe.
The lower-ranked hunters felt as though their entire bodies were being crushed by the weight.
“That robe looks pretty tattered, doesn’t it?”
“Could it be the work of Hunter Yoo Byung-joon?”
This wasn’t the first time such a monster had been observed.
Though tricky, it wasn’t an opponent that Korea’s elite vanguard couldn’t handle.
The hunters calmly prepared for battle under Yeo Do-hyung’s instructions.
At the same time,
shadows around the lich wriggled,
and small undead monsters began to emerge in swarms.
“They seem weaker than the one we defeated in the past.”
“Is that so? Then we can take them on without worry.”
As Yeo Do-hyung spoke, the elder chuckled and responded.
The undead horde approached, threatening the hunters.
Yeo Do-hyung moved to a position between the vanguard and rear guard.
In response, the master of the Knight Guild stepped forward with leisurely steps.
Standing with his hands behind his back, he straightened his hunched posture.
At that moment,
the aura of the elderly man, who seemed like a kindly neighbourhood grandfather, underwent a drastic transformation.
The overwhelming presence of a swordsman, honed to the extreme, filled the surrounding space.
The elder placed his hand on the hilt of his sword and assumed a stance.
He bent forward slightly, preparing to charge.
Boom!
With a massive noise, the ground was torn apart, and the elder vanished.
Ka-ga-ga-gak——!
In an instant, the undead horde was sliced apart.
The neatly severed corpses of monsters rolled across the ground.
As if they had always been that way.
“Hmm…”
By the time the elder had reached the centre of the boss room, he was staring at the boss, the lich.
The lich also turned its gaze toward the elder.
With an eerie growl of displeasure, it began casting magic again.
New undead monsters were summoned in droves,
and the severed remains of monsters began to twitch and move.
The full-scale battle had begun.
“The elder will take care of the lich! Clear out the interfering monsters!”
“Understood!”
Following Yeo Do-hyung’s command, he immediately activated his skill.
With a dazzling flash, lightning struck, sweeping away the nearby undead.
Another S-rank hunter from the Dawn Guild stepped forward and firmly took a defensive position.
The remaining hunters focused their attacks on the monsters.
The battle to defeat the lich, an A-rank boss, didn’t take long.
The vanguard demonstrated the strength expected of Korea’s best.
However, the fight wasn’t over yet.
“E-Everyone! Look at the portal!”
Just as the elder’s sword shredded the lich and everyone cheered,
someone in the rear guard shouted loudly.
All the hunters turned their gaze toward the portal in the corner.
Boom. Boom. Boom.
With each step, a massive monster began to emerge, causing loud reverberations.
The sudden appearance of a new enemy.
The hunters, who had been jubilant moments before, all froze and stared at the monster.
“Well, that’s one ugly beast.”
The master of the Knight Guild muttered quietly.
It was a grotesque creature that seemed to be a fusion of various life forms.
Even the seasoned veterans who had experienced countless battles were seeing such a monster for the first time.
‘Hmm…’
Ji-a, who was with the rear guard, frowned as she observed the monster.
She had never seen anything like it before.
But a memory flashed through her mind.
[Fusing familiars together… Those weirdos sure have unique methods.]
At the time, the topic had shifted when Si-yoon started whining.
But later, Ji-a’s curiosity got the better of her, and she had asked Si-hyun for more details.
What were the characteristics of such beings?
Who would have thought that curiosity would prove helpful here?
Ji-a raised her voice loud enough for everyone to hear.
“It’s a chimera! Each head has a distinct role!”
“What? Different roles?”
“That’s right! You need to eliminate the most troublesome heads first and then aim for the heart!”
“Aha, I see!”
Ji-a hadn’t gone into deep detail when she asked Si-hyun,
so this was the limit of the information she could provide.
But it was enough.
Since the source of the information was the renowned dungeon tactician, Hunter Kim Ji-a,
no one doubted her words.
All the hunters here were elites.
Even with limited information, they could skilfully proceed with the strategy.
“I’ll first analyze its patterns! Focus on defense for now, identify the danger levels of the heads, and target them one by one!”
Having made his decision, Yeo Do-hyung shouted firmly for everyone to hear.
The hunters, who had been scattered while dealing with the lich, began to reform their ranks.
—
Read More at – GENZNOVEL.COM!!
PLEASE JOIN OUR DISCORD AND SUBSCRIBE THE ROLE TO RECEIVE LATEST NOTIFICATIONS!!
Click here -> https://discord.gg/S8c2kGVr2g
Comment