Chapter 33: Seeds Sown by the Rocket Store (4)

On Saturday afternoon, the Miracle Department Store, located in the heart of Seoul, was bustling with people as usual.

Yun Tae-seong, holding a shopping bag, was among the crowd. He had come out for the weekend to buy some necessary household items.

However…

*Crash!*

Suddenly, the ground shook.

The chandeliers on the ceiling swayed violently, and the products on display came tumbling down. The heart of Seoul, Miracle Department Store, instantly turned into a scene of absolute carnage.

Yun Tae-seong, who had come shopping for the weekend, was no exception.

“W-what is this? Is it an earthquake?”

“Where is my child? Where is my baby!”

“Agh! What’s happening!”

“Mom!”

The space itself began to distort.

Large cracks formed on the walls, and a black aura began to leak through the gaps.

‘Could that be… an anomaly fissure?’

Soon after, a translucent barrier formed, enveloping the entire department store.

With the sudden fissure, the entire department store transformed into a massive dungeon, and countless citizens were trapped within the chaos of screams and cries. People rushed toward the exits, but they were blocked by the transparent wall and could not get out.

Fear spread like a contagion, and the department store was filled with sobbing and desperate shouts.

It was at that moment.

“Everyone, calm down! I am Yun Tae-seong, a hunter with the Hunter Association! Please follow my instructions!”

A voice infused with mana echoed through the confusion.

Yun Tae-seong climbed onto a table to get everyone’s attention while holding up his Association ID in his other hand. Seeing his calm demeanor, the agitated people gradually began to gather around him.

“First, I need any hunters trapped here to come to me!”

“Wouldn’t it be better to just wait quietly for the Association’s support?”

“It’s the weekend, and the roads will be blocked, so it will take time for them to arrive.”

“But still…”

“Will we… will we really be okay?”

To a middle-aged woman asking in a trembling voice, Yun Tae-seong replied with confidence.

“Yes. I will take responsibility.”

Only then did the other hunters find the courage to step forward. Yun Tae-seong organized them into a temporary team to hold out until the support team arrived.

“First, please evacuate the citizens to the central plaza. I will go check the fissure.”

As Yun Tae-seong approached the fissure, he saw something squirming inside.

*Chirp-chirp-chirp!*

The first thing to emerge from the fissure was a monster resembling an ant with a crystal exoskeleton, called a Crystal Walker Ant.

‘If those are Crystal Walkers… is the boss monster a Crystal Ant Queen? That’s not good.’

The next creatures to emerge were Crystal Guard Ants, which were larger and had even tougher crystal exoskeletons than the Walkers.

Yun Tae-seong quickly backed away and gathered the hunters who had finished guiding the evacuation.

“I will report on the scouting situation.”

About ten low-rank hunters watched Yun Tae-seong with nervous expressions.

“Crystal Ant-type monsters have appeared. I have confirmed Walkers and Guards, so there is a high probability that the boss, the Queen, is also present.”

“Then… can’t we just do the bare minimum and wait for the Association?”

Yun Tae-seong hesitated for a moment. He hadn’t said it earlier for fear of terrifying the civilians, but it was time for the hunters to know the truth.

“To be honest, it is not a normal situation for a Dungeon Break to occur as soon as a fissure opens.”

“Then what is it?”

“It’s an anomaly fissure. Furthermore, you’ve all seen that the entire department store is isolated by a barrier, right? Even when the Association arrives on the scene, they won’t be able to enter immediately. It will take a considerable amount of time to break through that barrier.”

The hunters’ faces turned pale.

“Then… what should we do?”

“First, we must reduce the number of Crystal Ants. Even if it’s just us.”

“C-can we really do it?”

One of the terrified low-rank hunters asked in a trembling voice.

Yun Tae-seong answered with conviction.

“My trait is **Chain of Bond**. I take a portion of the damage dealt to my party members. As long as I am protecting you, none of you will suffer fatal wounds.”

“Is that true?”

“Yes. However, the effect disappears if my shield gauge runs out, so we have to deal with them quickly before that happens. But we can definitely do it.”

Encouraged by Yun Tae-seong’s confident attitude, the hunters slowly began to regain their confidence.

“If that’s the case, let’s try.”

“All right. Let’s do it, everyone.”

“We’re dead either way, so we might as well bet on the hopeful side.”

“Let’s go!”

After forming the party, the first engagement with the Crystal Ants began.

*Clang! Clatter!*

The Crystal Walkers, about 60 centimeters in size, rushed in quickly. Their bodies, made of clear, transparent crystal, sparkled with rainbow colors as they caught the light, but their sharp mandibles and thin legs were threatening.

Yun Tae-seong’s shield stood in the front.

“Now! Attack!”

The hunters’ swords and arrows flew toward the Walkers. The transparent crystal shells shattered, and the Walkers began to fall one by one.

*Crash! Tinkle!*

“Oh? They’re weaker than I thought!”

“The damage we’re taking is also less than expected!”

After confirming that the damage they were receiving was minimal, the hunters began to act more aggressively.

**[Shield Gauge: 95% → 89% → 82%]**

In their place, Yun Tae-seong’s shield gauge was steadily being chipped away, but it was within the expected range. Once they cleared out the Walkers, the Crystal Guard Ants appeared.

Over 1.2 meters tall, their heavy bodies covered in deep bluish-green crystal shells were intimidating. Their two front legs were wide and thick like shields, and large crystal thorns were densely embedded in their backs and flanks.

*Thump! Thump!*

Every time the Guards moved, there was a dull sound of crystal clashing against crystal.

“We have to be more careful this time!”

A Guard’s massive pincers flew toward Yun Tae-seong.

*Bang!*

Yun Tae-seong blocked it with his shield, but the impact was significant.

“Attack!”

However, the Guard’s crystal shell was on a completely different level than the Walkers’. The blades of the low-rank hunters bounced off, failing to deal any real damage.

“Mr. Yun! Look out!”

Another Guard attempted a surprise attack from the side. Yun Tae-seong quickly turned his body and activated a skill.

**[Taunt]**

The aggro of all the Guards focused on Yun Tae-seong.

“Now! Break them down one by one!”

**[Shield Bash]**

When Yun Tae-seong’s shield struck the Guard’s head hard, cracks appeared in the bluish-green crystal shell, and the Guard was momentarily stunned.

“There! Aim for the cracks!”

The hunters attacked the cracked area all at once, and finally, the first Guard’s crystal shell shattered into pieces as it collapsed.

“We did it!”

But their joy was short-lived, as Yun Tae-seong’s shield gauge was dropping at a rapid pace.

**[Shield Gauge: 66% → 53% → 48%]**

“Please hurry! My shield gauge is decreasing fast!”

By the time they finished off all the Guards, a massive shadow loomed from the fissure.

*Stomp. Stomp. Stomp.*

Emerging with heavy footsteps was the Crystal Ant Queen.

She had a massive body over 2.5 meters tall. Her body was made of translucent crystal, allowing them to see the mana flowing inside her, and her presence was on an entirely different level than anything they had faced so far.

“T-that’s the boss…”

“Let’s try attacking first!”

The low-rank hunters desperately poured out their attacks.

*Ping! Clang! Tink!*

Every attack bounced off the Queen’s crystal shell. They couldn’t even leave a scratch.

“This is bad! It’s not working at all!”

Yun Tae-seong also tried a Shield Bash, but the result was the same.

**[Shield Gauge: 38% → 25% → 18%]**

To make matters worse, the Queen’s attack power was incomparable to the Walkers or Guards. A single strike from her massive front leg significantly chipped away at the shield.

“I’ll take the rear, so everyone retreat! It’s too dangerous at this rate!”

After securing an escape route for the hunters, Yun Tae-seong distracted the enraged Queen and put some distance between them.

“What should we do? Our attacks aren’t working at all!”

‘We either need overwhelming firepower or to target a weakness.’

Yun Tae-seong clutched his head. He knew that the Crystal Ant Queen’s weakness was either burst damage that could break the crystal shell or toxic attacks that could deal damage to her internal systems, but there were no hunters with such abilities here.

‘At this rate…’

While taking a moment to catch his breath, Yun Tae-seong realized that a message had arrived from the Rocket Store.

**[A message has arrived from the Rocket Store.]**

‘How… is this possible?’

It was the only message getting through in this space that was completely cut off from the outside world. But more importantly, it was a lifeline that could overcome the current situation.

***

After receiving the urgent report from Yun Tae-seong, I immediately headed to the living room.

“Aria, turn on the news.”

Aria, who had been looking at the tea, tilted her head and changed the channel.

“What is it, Guardian?”

Immediately appearing on the screen was a live broadcast of a dome-shaped barrier surrounding the entire Miracle Department Store.

**[Emergency News] Anomaly Fissure at Seoul’s Miracle Department Store… Entry impossible due to large-scale barrier**

“Currently, the entire Miracle Department Store is covered by a massive barrier. The Hunter Association is doing its best to deactivate the barrier, but…”

On the screen was a translucent wall completely enclosing the department store. The Association’s personnel were using various pieces of equipment in front of the barrier, but they were helpless.

“The situation inside is completely unknown, and the number of trapped citizens and hunters has not yet been accurately tallied.”

“Mr. Yun is inside there?”

I quickly checked the messages from Yun Tae-seong again.

[The opponent is the Crystal Ant Queen! Mediocre physical attacks don’t work at all!]

Crystal Ant Queen.

Since it wasn’t a monster I knew well, I asked Yun Tae-seong for an additional explanation.

[It’s a monster characterized by an exoskeleton called a crystal shell. It is vulnerable to overwhelming firepower that can break the crystal shell or to lethal poison.]

‘Lethal poison?’

Coincidentally, as my affinity with Narcia the Lamia progressed, I was in a situation where I could add two new potions. I immediately added the Potion of Deadly Poison and the Potion of Stamina—which I had been contemplating because I had chosen the Snake Scale Potion—to the inventory list.

I sent word to Yun Tae-seong that I had secured the Potion of Deadly Poison.

—Are there any other problems?

[My shield gauge is almost empty. At this rate, I can’t even get close to the Queen.]

“This is a problem…”

No matter how much lethal poison I sent him, it would be meaningless if Yun Tae-seong couldn’t get close to the Queen.

“Guardian, can we watch too?”

Before I knew it, Aria had approached from behind me and was staring curiously at the hologram.

“Kuu?”

Mago was also floating around, staring intently at the screen.

“Ah, I need to concentrate right now, so…”

I was about to push the two of them away when I stopped after seeing Mago’s reaction.

“Gao?”

Mago was reacting strangely to the Crystal Ant Queen in the hologram.

‘Why is he acting like this? He usually doesn’t care about anything besides minerals.’

He wasn’t indifferent as usual; he seemed genuinely interested.

“Mago is reacting to a monster…?”

“Maybe it’s not the monster, but those shiny gems?”

“Gems? Ah! You mean the crystal shell that is the Crystal Ant Queen’s exoskeleton?”

“Gao!”

Mago made a sound, responding as if I were right.

‘Of course.’

As expected, it seemed Mago’s interest this time was also minerals. I wasn’t sure if a part of a monster’s body counted as a mineral, but maybe I should ask him to send it over if the subjugation was successful.

‘More importantly, Mr. Yun’s condition is the issue.’

While I was worrying because recovering the shield gauge was a problem I couldn’t solve, a system notification rang.

**[Rocket Delivery Alert!]**

**[Garnet the Steel Blacksmith has sent a completed item]**

“At this timing? I’m glad it’s finished, but I don’t have the luxury to worry about…”

Just in case, I opened the package sent by Garnet.

“This is…?”

And then I was certain.

“If it’s this item, he’ll be able to get close to the Ant Queen!”