Chapter 19: The Gondola’s Birth

The boss’s lair was an enormous grand cavern.

After opening the massive stone gate and stepping inside, they found themselves in a dome-shaped cavern where a mid-to-large-sized monster well over 4 meters tall was waiting for the party.

Its appearance was similar to a Burk.

However, its size was overwhelmingly large, and it had two additional arms protruding from its shoulders, making it a four-armed monster.

Moreover, it had three eyes.

Around the monster, gleaming gold was scattered, along with numerous artifacts exuding strange energy, strewn about the place.

As a boss, it seemed to have the habit of gathering all sorts of loot here for safekeeping.

Staring at the boss, Lee Hansoo’s eyes glowed golden.

“Judging by the heart’s vivid green color, the estimated maximum mana is about 91. Of course, there’s a mana stone. And that thing… its entire body is wrapped in blue mana.”

“If the mana is blue, does that mean it’s a special-grade among the special species?”

When Lee Hyungdo asked, Lee Hansoo nodded.

“And there’s a 50% chance of that happening.”

“Good. Let’s begin immediately.”

For Kim Seo-jun, this conversation was nothing short of astonishing.

‘The effect of Clairvoyance is this strong? Just by looking, they can figure everything out?’

They could distinguish how much mana it had, whether a mana stone was present, and even that it was a special-grade special species.

‘But what does that 50% chance mean?’

Curious as he was, it didn’t seem like they would tell him even if he asked.

As Lee Hyungmo and the other hunters advanced toward the boss, Kim Seo-jun stayed right where he was.

Shim Jae-deok, lost in his own thoughts, had retreated further back than Kim Seo-jun, nervously chewing his fingernails while rolling his eyes.

Kim Seo-jun glanced at Shim Jae-deok briefly and then fell into his own thoughts.

‘Everyone except Shin Woo-jin Hunter is in cahoots. They deliberately leaked the Burk’s position toward me in sync with Lee Hyungmo’s signal. But it’s strange. If Shim Jae-deok orchestrated this, they should have coordinated to corner me further. Yet, it feels like Lee Hyungmo is ignoring Shim Jae-deok. Why is that?’

Kim Seo-jun had already figured out that Lee Hyungmo and Shim Jae-deok had struck a deal behind his back.

How much money changed hands was unknown, but there was no doubt that Go Tae-hwan was behind Shim Jae-deok.

However, judging by Shim Jae-deok’s reluctant actions after being dragged here, it seemed clear that Go Tae-hwan hadn’t ordered him to kill Kim Seo-jun.

‘Anyway, everyone who’s messed with me will pay the price.’

Kim Seo-jun watched from a distance as Lee Hyungmo’s raid team began to take on the massive Burk in a well-organized formation.

*****

Was it because the team had only one B-rank hunter and two C-rank hunters?

The giant Burk collapsed onto the cold ground in less than five minutes.

With only two lightly injured members, the boss raid was over, and everyone erupted in joyous cheers.

Kim Seo-jun had expected some movement aimed at him during the boss raid, but since no problems arose, he found it rather puzzling.

—The boss within the barrier zone has been defeated. The barrier will close shortly. [00:59:56]

The moment the boss died, this message appeared before everyone’s eyes.

This message not only informed them that the boss had fallen but also served as a warning that they must pass through the rift again within an hour.

Despite this, the hunters remained quite relaxed.

That was because a magic circle had appeared on one wall of the grand cavern.

This magic circle was a kind of portal, allowing instantaneous teleportation straight to the rift’s entrance, marked by a position marker.

Therefore, the hunters had no need to worry about having to return all the way to the rift.

Most hunters slumped down on the floor to rest briefly, while Lee Hyungmo cut open the Burk’s chest and took the green mana stone.

But then, Kim Seo-jun noticed something strange.

Lee Hyungmo discreetly took out another mana stone from the heart.

Though it was done very secretly, Kim Seo-jun caught it clearly.

‘A black mana stone? Was there such a thing as a black mana stone?’

As far as Kim Seo-jun knew, mana stones came in seven colors: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, navy, and purple.

So what was this black mana stone that Lee Hyungmo had just pulled out?

With deep suspicion, Kim Seo-jun watched Lee Hyungmo carefully.

At that moment, a hunter named Yoo Jin-oh appeared, carrying a military-green bag filled with artifacts and gold, approaching Lee Hyungmo.

“Today’s haul is pretty good.”

“Indeed. There’s a ton of loot, and we even got to take more mana stones.”

Hearing the mysterious remark, Yoo Jin-oh tilted his head in confusion, but Lee Hyungmo’s eyes glowed golden.

Watching this, Kim Seo-jun sensed that something was about to happen.

“Move!”

Kim Seo-jun shouted as he ran toward Yoo Jin-oh.

Then suddenly, Lee Hansoo pulled out a pistol nearby and fired at Kim Seo-jun.

Bang!

The bullet was fired from quite a close distance.

However, the bullet was instantly split in two by the Arondight Kim Seo-jun had drawn like a ghost.

“You bastard, you really were hiding your skill!”

Lee Hansoo gritted his teeth and quickly retreated from Kim Seo-jun, yet he didn’t stop firing.

Meanwhile, something unbelievable happened on Lee Hyungmo’s side.

Lee Hyungmo, who possessed the tanking-type mystic skill ‘Power Enhancement,’ gripped Yoo Jin-oh’s neck with immense force, then slammed the black mana stone he held in his right hand deep into Yoo Jin-oh’s forehead.

“Gyaaah!”

Yoo Jin-oh screamed in agonizing pain and struggled violently.

Hunters who realized what was happening a moment later were utterly shocked.

Their leader and raid party captain, Lee Hyungmo, suddenly ambushed a comrade.

Lee Hyungmo slung the bag filled with artifacts and gold over his shoulder and charged toward the west wall of the grand cavern, where the portal magic circle was located.

“What the hell is going on?”

The most shocked was Shin Woo-jin.

He knew Lee Hyungmo and Lee Hansoo were up to something, but he never imagined they would try to kill a teammate so blatantly.

While Kim Seo-jun chased after Lee Hansoo and Shin Woo-jin with the other hunters pursued Lee Hyungmo, Yoo Jin-oh, now with the black mana stone embedded in his forehead, let out a tremendous roar.

And his body began to change.

Crack. Smash.

His body swelled drastically, nearly doubling in size.

His clothes tore apart, revealing scaly lizard-like skin.

His two arms transformed into wide, bird-like wings.

His face elongated forward and backward, and instead of a mouth, a sharp, blood-red beak emerged.

Then, another message appeared before everyone’s eyes.

—A new boss (Gondola) has been born within the barrier zone. The barrier remains active.

“G-Gondola?”

The hunters were stunned by the name Gondola.

Monsters of this form had appeared before through rifts.

Humanity had named them Gondola.

Although classified as a C-rank monster, it possessed flight capabilities and incredible speed, earning a reputation exceeding that of typical C-rank creatures.

However, the Gondola Yoo Jin-oh transformed into was no ordinary Gondola.

With horns atop its head, it was a special species monster like the giant Burk.

Kiyooooooo!

The Gondola raised its head and let out an ear-piercing roar.

It quickly took flight and lunged at Shin Woo-jin and the hunters.

Pew pew pew pew

The hunters hastily fought back, but Gondola’s movements were astonishingly fast.

Their weapons barely grazed its thick skin, failing to leave a scratch.

The hunters couldn’t properly counter Gondola’s attacks and were knocked back, beginning to suffer injuries one by one.

Ignoring everything else, Kim Seo-jun dashed toward Lee Hansoo.

Just as he was about to activate Thunder Flash Step, a dark shadow appeared before his eyes and tried to bite Kim Seo-jun’s head with its sharp beak.

“Get lost!”

Kim Seo-jun swung Arondight like lightning.

Pakang!

The sword struck the beak, sending the Gondola’s head flying to one side.

Unable to resist the force, the hulking 3.5-meter beast stumbled backward with heavy footsteps.

Kim Seo-jun prioritized capturing Lee Hansoo over defeating the Gondola and immediately activated Thunder Flash Step.

Boom.

The ground beneath Kim Seo-jun caved in as he vanished from the spot.

Crackle. Crackle.

Blue lightning bolts struck the path Kim Seo-jun had passed, spaced about ten meters apart.

Though Kim Seo-jun chased at incredible speed, Lee Hyungmo and Lee Hansoo had already reached the portal magic circle.

They laughed scornfully at the rapidly approaching Kim Seo-jun, and Lee Hansoo casually tossed a heavy object toward him.

“I’ll come back for your mana stone someday.”

With those words, the two brothers leapt into the magic circle.

Swoooosh.

As the magic circle emitted bright light, their figures vanished completely.

At that moment, Kim Seo-jun realized what the heavy object Lee Hansoo had thrown was.

‘A bomb?’

It was a time bomb with only three seconds left before detonation.

Kim Seo-jun paused briefly, facing the portal magic circle.

If he ignored the bomb and rushed through, he could teleport instantly to the rift.

But if he did, the bomb would explode here, possibly collapsing the grand cavern.

It was obvious that any hunters remaining here would be wiped out.

He wanted to throw the bomb into the portal magic circle, but it was impossible to pass through the barrier without a human carrying mana.

Kim Seo-jun glanced back.

It would take the hunters at least ten seconds to reach here.

On top of that, the Gondola was roaring and flying in behind him.

The choice was clear: survive alone or save everyone and risk being trapped here.

In the past, Kim Seo-jun would have sacrificed himself without hesitation for others.

But now, things were different.

He had something to protect and happiness he wanted to enjoy.

He wanted to live selfishly for himself, not as a hero.

Yet, his heart wasn’t cold enough for that just yet.

“Damn it.”

Kim Seo-jun cursed harshly and used Thunder Flash Step right in front of the time bomb.

Swoooosh.

The tremendous inertia dug into the ground as Kim Seo-jun slid forward.

Reaching out toward the bomb, he invoked his mystic.

Flash.

As Kim Seo-jun’s eyes glowed golden, time outside him seemed to slow to a crawl.

He abandoned the safe path of survival and chose the dangerous route to handle both the bomb and the Gondola.

Just then, the timer hit zero and the explosion occurred.

Kwahhh—Boom!

A dazzling light mixed with deafening noise and scorching heat engulfed Kim Seo-jun’s vision.

But the destructive force of the explosion was completely absorbed by Kim Seo-jun’s outstretched palm.

The side of the grand cavern where the portal magic circle was located took the full brunt of the blast, but the destructive power unleashed in the opposite direction was sucked into Kim Seo-jun’s hand.

Swaaaaaap.

His left hand, which had absorbed the force, glowed bright red.

The two seconds of Reverse Radiation Energy Burst ended just then, and the Gondola flying to attack Kim Seo-jun vibrated its horns above its head, releasing a powerful wave of energy.

But Kim Seo-jun had already factored everything in.

He turned his body and stretched out his left hand toward the Gondola.

A circular magic circle formed on his palm.

It was the crystallized form of destructive power, condensing the absorbed energy into an even stronger force.

“Daaaaamn—!”

Kim Seo-jun unleashed the condensed power with a voice angrier than ever before.

Zzuuuuuaang!

A pillar of blazing red light shot out from his palm.

The laser-like beam swallowed the vibrating wave released by the Gondola and instantly enveloped its upper body.

Then, bang.

Hit by the shockwave of light, the Gondola’s upper body was blown off and its lifeless corpse fell limply to the ground.