Chapter 10: Bone Explosion

Description

Gaon team vice leader No Youngjin.

He had tripped and was now suffering horrific attacks from over a hundred Killer Bees.

BUZZZZZZZZ!

BUZZZZZZZZ!

BUZZZZZZZZ!

Killer Bees stabbed from all sides, their lance-like stingers tearing through his body.

Not only that, he had been stung countless times by their venomous needles, causing paralyzing poison to flood his entire body.

Because of that, he couldn’t even twitch a finger.

Damn it…

Lying sprawled, continuously stabbed and poisoned by the Killer Bees, he cursed inwardly.

Even as his consciousness blurred, he kept muttering curses.

Because this damn situation made him furious.

I just wanted to look cool in front of the team…

The reason No Youngjin had touched the Killer Bee nest was simple.

He wanted to show off in front of the team leader and members.

Especially in front of that bastard Seo Juwon…

And the one he most wanted to impress was Seo Juwon.

That attention-seeking bastard who got into Myth Guild just because he appeared on TV.

He wanted to teach a lesson to Seo Juwon, who entered through popularity rather than skill.

Fuck, this is hell…

But the situation had completely fallen apart.

He thought at most thirty would come out of the Killer Bee nest.

But over a hundred Killer Bees had poured out.

Because of that, he got scared, tried to run, tripped, and ended up like this.

“Don’t retreat! Absolutely do not retreat!”

Of course, Ju Namgyu and the team members had rushed over to fight, but it was not enough.

No matter how much they were Myth Guild members, they couldn’t win against over a hundred Killer Bees.

“Keuk, heuk!”

“H-Help!”

“Anyone have antidote? Antidote!”

“Gaaaaah!”

The team members’ screams kept ringing out.

They were fighting hard, but they couldn’t overcome the overwhelming numerical disadvantage.

Damn it…

No Youngjin gritted his teeth while sprawled.

Because of his rash action, he was about to die.

The situation tilted further and further, and the Gaon team faced annihilation.

That was when it happened.

“Everyone, fall back!”

Someone’s voice rang out, and No Youngjin rolled his eyes while lying down.

And he could see.

Seo Juwon shouting urgently.

“Fall back! I’ll handle this!”

Handle?

Handle it?

What are you going to handle, Seo Juwon?

Even I, the vice team leader, couldn’t do it—what can a newbie like you do?

“Seo Juwon! Do you have a way?”

“Yes, Team Leader! I have a way, so take the team and escape! Leave this to me!”

Team leader Ju Namgyu hesitated for a moment, then shouted to retreat.

Then he hoisted the sprawled No Youngjin onto his shoulder and really started running.

No Youngjin, draped over Ju Namgyu’s shoulder like luggage.

He looked limply at Seo Juwon left alone on the battlefield.

Seo Juwon growing farther away.

Seo Juwon, what the hell are you trying to do…

No Youngjin felt doubt even as his consciousness faded.

He couldn’t understand what that idiot newbie was trying to do.

That was when it happened.

Clatter! Clatter!

One Skeleton Soldier quickly dashed between the Killer Bees.

What was he trying to do with just one?

No Youngjin couldn’t understand at all.

Then, Seo Juwon quietly muttered something.

At that moment.

BOOOOOOM!

A massive explosion centered on the skeleton occurred.

It was an enormous explosion, as if the skeleton had been carrying a powerful bomb.

And that wasn’t all.

Skeleton Soldiers kept rushing out and exploding one after another.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOOOOOM!

Consecutive explosions engulfed the Killer Bees.

Was the explosive power too strong?

Thud! Thud! Thud!

The Killer Bees floating in the air turned into black charcoal and rained down.

Those once-mighty Killer Bees, that massive number of Killer Bees, were falling helplessly.

Yet Seo Juwon didn’t stop attacking.

He revived the fallen Killer Bees as Skeleton Soldiers again and exploded them once more.

BOOOOOOM! BOOM! BANG! BOOOOOOM!

Skeleton Soldiers exploded, revived, exploded again, and revived.

Explosions shaking the mountain, tremendous wind pressure, thick smoke, and the ever-growing pile of Killer Bee corpses.

Shocked by this overwhelming scene, Ju Namgyu and the team members stopped retreating and stood blankly watching Seo Juwon’s battle.

That’s Bone Explosion…?

No Youngjin knew the name of that skill.

It was definitely ‘Bone Explosion.’

A Necromancer skill that explodes their summons to damage enemies.

The scale of the explosion is on another level…

But it was different from the Bone Explosion No Youngjin knew.

Normal Bone Explosion was indeed strong.

It was actually a main skill for Necromancers.

But the Bone Explosion Seo Juwon was using was on another dimension.

The power, range, and speed of the explosion were all on another level.

How should I put it.

If normal Bone Explosion was just a bomb, this felt like a nuclear bomb.

About five minutes passed while watching the continuous explosions.

No Youngjin could see.

Hiss…

Through the rising smoke, over a hundred Killer Bee corpses piled high.

The black smoke was blown away by the wind.

The deafening explosions that had ruptured eardrums disappeared.

The ground shaking like an earthquake stopped.

And what remained there was.

Hiss…

The corpses of the Killer Bees.

The corpses of over a hundred Killer Bees.

This makes no sense…

I was shocked looking at the piled-up Killer Bee corpses.

Of course, this was a scene I had created.

Yet I couldn’t escape the shock.

Because the fact that I had caused this was too astonishing.

I really took down all the Killer Bees…

I looked at the Killer Bee corpses with a dazed expression.

Of course, it was true that I felt hope the moment I acquired the new skill.

But when it actually happened, I couldn’t escape the shock.

Was Bone Explosion this strong of a skill?

When the team was on the verge of annihilation, I had acquired a new skill along with a level-up.

The name of that skill was Bone Explosion.

Actually, I had roughly expected the effect and power of this skill.

Bone Explosion often appeared in games, and I had used it a lot too.

But its power far surpassed my imagination.

The scale of the explosion was several times larger than expected, and the power was tremendous.

The Killer Bee corpses turned into black charcoal and scattered everywhere were proof.

Is it because it’s EX grade again this time?

I roughly knew why Bone Explosion was so strong.

The EX grade attached next to the skill name Bone Explosion.

It must be strong because of that grade.

What exactly is EX grade?

The EX grade that turns matchstick-weak skeletons into swordmaster-level strength.

The EX grade that turns an already strong Bone Explosion overwhelmingly powerful.

What is this grade?

Could it be a grade that surpasses S-grade?

My heart pounded with a strange feeling as I wondered.

“…Seo Juwon.”

That was when it happened.

Still unable to escape the shock and standing blankly, a voice came from behind.

I barely regained my senses and turned around—there, Team Leader Ju Namgyu and the team members were slowly approaching.

“Good work, Seo Juwon.”

“Ah, yes. Good work, Team Leader.”

“Good work, my ass. What did we even do? That was really amazing, Seo Juwon. Taking down over a hundred Killer Bees alone. Truly incredible.”

“It was luck. I got the skill at the moment I was about to give up everything.”

“Is that so. Anyway, thanks to you, we survived. Thank you, Seo Juwon. If not for you, I, the team members, and this guy would all be dead.”

Ju Namgyu said that and dropped No Youngjin, whom he had been carrying on his shoulder, onto the ground with a thud.

No Youngjin, completely unconscious and limp.

I felt a slight anger looking at him, when the team members approached and said.

“Seo Juwon, thank you! We survived because of you!”

“Juwon, thank you. If not for you, we’d all be dead.”

“No, what was that Bone Explosion earlier? I thought a landmine went off!”

“A truly terrifying guy joined our Gaon team! That was cool, Seo Juwon! And thank you!”

“Juwon-ssi, we survived thanks to you. Ha, I was worried about making my wife a widow…”

“Hahaha, Seo Juwon. What’s your true identity? How did you take down over a hundred Killer Bees alone!”

The team members surrounded me, showering me with gratitude and praise.

Being recognized by others through my abilities.

It was truly thrilling to the point of goosebumps.

***  

The Killer Bee gate was successfully cleared.

In the process, I played a huge role.

Not only taking down the hundred Killer Bees caused by No Youngjin’s blunder, but also when catching the boss monster, my Bone Explosion boasted tremendous contribution.

Sorry to the team leader and members, but it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say I cleared it almost alone.

Having cleared the gate without any casualties, we were in a festive mood.

Ah, of course, excluding No Youngjin.

Because he touched the beehive, causing over a hundred Killer Bees to emerge and ending up unconscious.

As soon as we exited the gate, he was transported to the Hunter Hospital.

His whole body swollen from paralyzing poison.

Anyway, I didn’t care what happened to that pathetic guy and just went home.

Then I met my beloved daughter Eunbyeol at her pickup time and went to eat something delicious.

“Here, let’s eat. Eunbyeol.”

I placed a square tray on the table.

Then Eunbyeol started cheering.

“Wooowwww! Cheeseburger gonna be so yummy!”

“Haha, you like it that much?”

“Yeah! Cheeseburger is the best! Fries too! Cheese sticks too! Cola too!”

Eunbyeol clapped her hands clap clap in joy.

Haha, I said I’d buy her meat, and she chose a hamburger.

Well, it is meat, technically.

Anyway, we each picked up our hamburgers and started eating.

“Waaah!”

Eunbyeol opened her mouth as wide as possible and bit into the cheeseburger.

Chewing nom nom with sesame seeds on her lips.

Though her mouth was too small and she only took a bird-like bite, she ate the cheeseburger with the happiest expression in the world.

Hmm, guess I’ll eat too.

I also unwrapped my burger and took a big bite of the bulgogi burger.

Khh, this is the taste.

Savory, sweet, and pleasantly greasy.

Indeed, hamburgers are the perfect food, I thought.

While eating, one thought flashed through my mind.

“Ah, right. Eunbyeol. Daddy has something to tell you.”

“Hmm? Something to tell? What is it?”

Eunbyeol answered while nibbling on a cheese stick nom nom nom.

“Remember the song you made last time? The one recorded as a video on Daddy’s phone.”

“Yeah!”

“I uploaded it to the internet once. Is that okay?”

“Hmm? Yeah yeah! But why upload it? I recorded it to prank Daddy?”

“Ahh, because Daddy listened and the melody was so good, I was curious what others thought. So I uploaded it.”

“I see! Yeah! It’s fine! You can upload Eunbyeol’s picture too!”

Eunbyeol smiled brightly.

Anyway, having received belated permission, I opened my phone and entered the <Music Engine> website.

Because I was curious if any replies had come to the post I had uploaded and forgotten about.

Let’s see.

Where is my post…

“Huh?”

While looking for my post, I was shocked.

The reason I was so shocked was simple.

“T-This, why is it here…?”

The post I had uploaded last time.

It was proudly displayed at the very top of the <Music Engine> site.