“Dana”
“Dana”
With the urgent cries of their names, the Four Heavenly Kings and Yeon Ha-yeon burst into the meeting room.
Behind them, a Sudden Gate had appeared, expanding toward the conference room.
“Gyaaah!”
Cheon Yeon-ju, terrified, tried to leave the meeting room.
But the Sudden Gate, which had started right outside the door, gave no chance for escape.
In an instant, the Sudden Gate swallowed up all seven of us.
A Sudden Gate at the Hunter Association—up until now, it had been dismissed as a rumor with people saying, “If a Sudden Gate opens here, it’ll be really dangerous”…
‘Damn it, why does a Sudden Gate open at a time like this?’
I was in the middle of mentally lecturing Cheon Yeon-ju not to like Ban Eun-hyeol, and if she did, not to show up in front of him. I had nearly brainwashed myself into thinking I was his girlfriend.
I turned my head to see how Cheon Yeon-ju was doing, caught up in the gate with us.
She was irritating, yes, but she was the only non-augmented among us here, so I had no choice but to keep an eye on her.
Cheon Yeon-ju was clearly terrified, crouching down and wrapping her arms around her head, trembling violently.
I wrapped a shield around her and gently shook her shoulder.
“Gyaah! Get away!”
She must have thought I was a monster.
“Cheon Yeon-ju. Is this your first time being caught in a gate?”
At my calm question, Cheon Yeon-ju shook her head left and right.
Still, her face was buried in her knees, and her arms tightly wrapped around her head.
“How did you get out last time?”
“Some augmented person saved me…”
“Were you like this then, too?”
“…I don’t know! Shouldn’t we find and kill the boss monster quickly and get out? Eun-hyeol oppa is the top rank, right? If you’re rank 5, you can get out of this dungeon pretty easily!”
We exchanged worried glances after hearing Cheon Yeon-ju’s words.
Of course, the party Cheon Yeon-ju was with last time consisted of very strong augments, so the chances of survival were high.
But if she thought Ban Eun-hyeol could just sweep through the gate on his own, that was mistaken.
“This is a ^-rank gate.”
If we combined our strength, we could get out, but it wouldn’t be that easy.
Cheon Yeon-ju seemed to think that being rank 5 meant she could kill a boss monster in a dungeon like this, but it also depended on the dungeon’s rank.
In the last gate, which was also rank 5, the non-boss monsters were incredibly difficult to kill.
But if I told Cheon Yeon-ju this, she might panic and do something reckless.
‘Maybe it’s better to keep this to ourselves.’
And after we got out of the dungeon, we’d tell her the gate we were caught in was actually /\ rank.
We silently exchanged looks and agreed without saying a word to keep quiet to Cheon Yeon-ju.
At times like this, a terrified non-augmented person might suddenly try to escape or interfere with our battle, which would be a big problem.
“I just put a shield around you. Even if monsters attack, it won’t break, so stay right here. If you wander off, it’ll be hard for us to find you.”
“Okay, so let’s take care of the boss monster quickly!”
Eun Ba-da pulled Yeon Ha-yeon forward as she was about to shout, “Who do you think you are giving orders?”
This was a typical cave-type dungeon, so the plan was simple: walk forward, kill monsters, and when the boss monster appeared, kill it and get out.
“Sigh… really…”
Han Ji-bin gave Cheon Yeon-ju a cold look, clearly annoyed, then followed Eun Ba-da. Ji Kang-han and Ban Eun-hyeol also looked equally frustrated.
We first found a crevice in the cave’s rocks to hide Cheon Yeon-ju, then walked in a line along the cave path.
Since it was better to leave her behind than to have her tagging along, I had no intention of traveling with Cheon Yeon-ju.
With the shield, she should be safe.
‘I even doubled up the shield just in case, so there’s no way a monster’s attack can get through.’
I did it once, Yeon Ha-yeon did it once.
If a member of the Four Heavenly Kings were to do it, maybe it would stick, so Yeon Ha-yeon and I took it upon ourselves to shield her.
Eun Ba-da and Yeon Ha-yeon, walking at the front, killed bat-like monsters that suddenly popped out from the cave.
We followed, dispatching bats with red glowing eyes that lurked in the shadows.
Since the space was narrow to move while riding the dragon, I summoned my spirits to kill the monsters, but had no intention to reveal Bisharp or Raid.
[They’re serious about mass attacks.]
[Just kill them all.]
Sahin and Stone used completely different combat styles to kill the bats.
Stone grabbed the bats and pierced their wings, taking their attacks with his tough body while Sahin elegantly shot arrows.
Thanks to the Four Heavenly Kings summoning high-level spirits and Yeon Ha-yeon engaging in close combat, the bats, overwhelmed by numbers, began to fall to the ground.
It was while we were advancing over the pile of bat corpses that a piercing scream came from behind.
“Gyaaaak! Save me! Aaah!”
Cheon Yeon-ju’s shrill scream echoed as she ran toward us, and the sight made us all sigh.
“I told you to stay still…”
“Guess she was too scared to sit still alone over there. We might as well take her with us.”
I hesitated, but Eun Ba-da, thinking of Cheon Yeon-ju, suggested bringing her along.
Though no one was happy about it, if we left her behind, she would probably follow anyway, so we agreed to move together.
Cheon Yeon-ju stuck close to us, reading the atmosphere well.
Fortunately, she didn’t interfere with the battle.
If she had, Ban Eun-hyeol or Han Ji-bin would be annoyed, but Yeon Ha-yeon wouldn’t stand for it.
“When’s the boss monster coming… Gyaaak!”
Cheon Yeon-ju tried to urge us on but was startled when a bat suddenly flew at her. Though she had a shield, she instinctively dodged.
I jumped, kicking off the ground, and pierced the bat’s wing with my spear.
The bat, unable to fly after one wing was pierced, revealed sharp fangs.
Its body suddenly ignited in strong flames.
Ban Eun-hyeol took over and swiftly ended its life.
“Uh… sorry.”
“For what?”
We adjusted our battle formation, feeling the boss monster’s nest drawing closer. Ban Eun-hyeol plunged his blazing sword into the bat’s neck.
“I hate getting tangled up with things like these.”
He called her “things like that,” refusing even to say Cheon Yeon-ju’s name.
His expression was genuinely apologetic as he ruffled his hair.
It would have been better if Cheon Yeon-ju had heard this.
Then she might see the situation objectively. Instead, she was paralyzed with fear, unable to do anything because bats were swarming around her shield.
Then—
“Found it.”
We fought through the overwhelming numbers and finally came upon a wide space that looked like the boss monster’s lair.
The boss monster was nowhere to be seen here.
We cautiously searched the area near the nest.
“Chirp chirp chirp—!”
At that moment, a bat much larger than the others dropped down from above.
It had been hanging upside down on the cave ceiling and seemed to have noticed us.
The boss monster’s cry was even more unsettling than before.
The repetitive chirping wasn’t like a regular rat’s squeak and was disturbingly unpleasant.
We quickly decided to finish off the boss monster through coordinated attacks, launching relentless assaults.
With fire, water, wind, earth, countless spirits, and Yeon Ha-yeon’s skills combined, the boss monster couldn’t keep its composure.
“Kiiiiiik!”
Breaking free from the assault, the boss monster spread its large wings, emitting a terrifying sound unlike any ordinary rat screech—a monstrous roar.
Shaking its head wildly and flapping its wings, the boss monster seemed to select a target.
“Gyaaak!”
It chose Cheon Yeon-ju.
It had picked her because she was the only one unable to fight back.
Cheon Yeon-ju screamed and ran toward Ban Eun-hyeol.
When she noticed me standing beside him, her eyes flickered strangely before suddenly grabbing my wrist.
Losing my balance, I was pulled forward into her.
Cheon Yeon-ju quickly slipped behind me and hid her body.
She was using me as a human shield.
Seeing this, the Four Heavenly Kings and Yeon Ha-yeon attacked the boss monster, trying in vain to change its direction.
As a last desperate move, the boss monster opened its grotesque mouth wide and lunged to bite.
Only a few seconds had passed since Cheon Yeon-ju pulled me in front of her. But in that moment, time seemed to slow down.
This was instinct.
After using a skill without even realizing it, it was already too late.
Unconsciously, I had used the skill I employed when raiding dungeons as “Nada.”
[“Caution: Blade Edge” skill activated.]