Right now, it seemed that the only sound inside the Dungeon was the crackling of flames devouring their prey.
‘Six?’
A suspicious movement was felt.
When I closed my eyes and focused my mind, I heard footsteps—other than Kim Taeyang, Kim Inho, and Seohyeonji.
The footsteps were so subtle that if I didn’t concentrate, I wouldn’t have noticed them at all.
If they had good intentions, there’d be no need to sneak up like this.
I drew my Longsword from the Inventory. The sharp blade gleamed for a split second. When I blocked the entrance to the Hatchery, the hidden enemies froze in place.
-Olivier.
-Synchronizing with the enemy detection system. Synchronization complete. Now targeting hidden enemies.
With Olivier’s message, the figures of the Assassins stuck to the wall became visible. I immediately drew my Dagger and threw it.
The Assassin, startled, reflexively blocked with a Dagger. But he didn’t expect me to charge at him right away.
Slash!
I cut the Assassin’s thigh.
“Are we playing hide and seek?”
I asked, but only a scream came in response. If someone asks you a question, you should answer.
Apparently, their comrades couldn’t stand by and watch such rudeness, so the other hidden Assassins rushed out all at once.
-Close Combat is being activated.
The more enemies there are, the more my attack, defense, and reflexes increase dramatically.
I pushed the captured Assassin forward and toppled him.
Maybe they couldn’t cut down their suddenly airborne comrade, so the others dodged to the side.
I picked off those who dodged, slicing their arms and legs one by one.
The Assassins screamed in turn.
Soprano, alto, tenor, bass.
They should each have their own distinctive tone, but unfortunately, all I’m hearing is soprano.
I asked if anyone could make a different sound.
They only grimaced in pain, refusing to answer.
-They’re from the Mercenary Guild.
Mercenaries.
Just as the name suggests, those without a Guild affiliation who take on Dungeon jobs as a minimal form of belonging.
The only thing forced upon affiliated Hunters was the payment of union dues.
Weren’t these guys banned from entering the Dungeon?
-Only Winners Guild received a six-month suspension order. Not the Mercenary Guild.
The Assassins hadn’t given up the fight yet. The wounded ones gulped down Potions and stood up.
Ha, using those expensive Potions?
One Potion costs, on average, a hundred million won.
Five of them used one, so that’s half a billion gone.
For Mercenaries who follow nothing but the logic of money to waste cash chasing me—there must be a reason.
‘A grudge, I guess.’
I twisted my lips into a grin.
Is this happening because I’ve always behaved badly?
No, that’s not it. I swept out all the dirty connections tied to Kim Kimon and his ilk, like harvesting bad crops.
These guys in front of me might be a message sent from the end of that thread.
‘I knew it wouldn’t end that easily.’
Did I mess with something I shouldn’t have?
No, I don’t think so. Watching these filthy types gather to lick each other’s wounds is sickening.
Cautiously, they tightened their encirclement around me, gripping their weapons with white knuckles.
This time, they didn’t recklessly charge. I waited, relaxed, until the balance broke.
At that moment, a woman’s voice shattered the tension.
“Huh, what are you all doing?”
‘Of all times, she shows up now.’
It might have been fine if it was Kim Taeyang or Kim Inho. But Seohyeonji was different.
Her attack power using Spirit Arts was overwhelmingly strong, but it would be hard to withstand a swift Assassin ambush.
One of them lunged toward Seohyeonji.
“Dodge!”
“Uh, how?”
Why is she asking that now, of all times?
Seohyeonji froze, looking flustered, even though a man was rushing her with a blade.
With no other choice, I threw a freshly generated belt Knife. Fortunately, my Dagger struck the Assassin’s shoulder.
The guy’s body faltered for a moment.
During that opening, I broke through the encirclement and ran toward Seohyeonji.
Of course, blades targeting me flew in from every direction.
-Phantom Step Activation.
Suddenly, everything around me slowed down.
The approaching footsteps and the trajectories of incoming attacks were all laid out before me.
-Close Combat is being activated.
A blade crept toward my neck in slow motion. I dodged and cut at the same time.
Spinning, I slashed the abdomen of the Assassin coming from the side, then rotated again to cut the closest enemy.
Three fell in an instant, and the Assassins’ eyes blazed with agitation.
Fwoosh!
Seohyeonji fired Egnir at the Assassin charging her.
Thank goodness. There was still distance left, but if she’d been frozen in shock, the Assassin’s blade would’ve reached her throat.
“Gaaaaaah!”
But seeing the Assassin’s flesh melting away in Egnir’s flames, Seohyeonji’s face hardened.
Her face turned pale.
It felt as if all her nerves had gone numb, a suffocating sensation enveloping her.
To have inflicted overwhelming violence on someone with her own hands.
If she found joy in that, she’d be mentally unstable.
Seohyeonji was showing a normal reaction. As for me—
“Duck!”
I cut down an Assassin clinging to me, and rushed at the one aiming for Seohyeonji’s back.
Stab!
Blood spattered.
Seohyeonji’s trembling eyes looked up at me.
I shielded Seohyeonji and swung my blade.
The Assassin, startled by how quickly I closed the distance, barely reacted before coughing up blood in a single strike.
“Uh, uh. Huh?”
Seohyeonji touched the blood splattered on her cheek and hair, then looked at me.
If I’d made a mistake, her shoulder could’ve been slashed. But I protected her with a coating of magic.
Thanks to that, she didn’t suffer major injuries. Instead, my HP dropped sharply from the Assassin’s attack, and my Power Suit was torn apart.
“Ah…”
Only then did Seohyeonji realize I was hurt while protecting her, and she chewed her lips.
Not knowing what to say.
Anyway, we were attacked because of me. Maybe she feels guilty that I got hurt because of her?
Maybe I could use this to tease her a bit. Get her to listen to me more.
Inside, I was amused, but I faked being hurt without showing it.
“Uh, a-are you okay? Wh-what should we do… Shouldn’t you go to a hospital? Quickly?”
I saw Seohyeonji’s pupils trembling.
I furrowed my brows and bit my lips, trying not to laugh.
“Taeyang! Inho! H-hurry and come here!”
“It’s fine.”
“Huh?”
“Don’t say anything.”
With that, I took out disinfectant from the Inventory, applied it to my wound, and wrapped it with a bandage.
Seohyeonji flinched, wanting to help, but I told her I’d do it myself.
“We haven’t taken down the Boss yet. If everyone finds out I’ve been ‘seriously’ injured, it could shake them up.”
“Ah…”
If Kim Taeyang or Kim Inho saw, they’d realize it was just a lot of blood, not a severe wound.
But Seohyeonji wouldn’t know that.
Do not announce my death.
Seohyeonji seemed to interpret it that way.
It seems to be working. Seeing her terribly guilty and confused face, teasing her was starting to be fun.
“Huh, what’s going on?”
Right then, Kim Taeyang rushed out from the entrance, having noticed the battle. Kim Inho, too.
“We’ve been ambushed. Looks like Mercenary Guild members.”
“They’re nuts. I mean, there’s more than one Guild in this Dungeon right now, and they try a sneak attack? Hey, are you hurt, Team Leader?”
I curled my lips into a smile at Kim Taeyang’s words.
“A bit?”
“Team Leader, you’re slipping. Even if I begged you to take a hit, that’s just my afterimage. All you do is make jokes lately.”
“Th-that’s…”
Swish.
Seohyeonji was about to admit I was hurt because of her, but I cut her off.
“They all attacked at once with Stealth, what else could I do? If you’re upset, get six people to rush me next time.”
“Oh, really? Is that okay?”
“If we’re using real blades, that might be fair?”
“Ah…”
I put all the Assassins into the Inventory. Honestly, the Inventory skill is really handy at times like this.
For them, it’s literally a prison without bars.
Until now, I’d only ever put unconscious enemies inside. I wonder how it feels for the conscious ones? I’m curious.
I leveled up from 16 to 18. Kim Inho and Kim Taeyang each gained 4 levels, and Seohyeonji’s level went up by a whopping 8.
After clearing out a few more Caterpillar Hatcheries, the experience points flowed in. Even better, we’d suffered zero casualties.
“But Team Leader, are there usually this many eggs in a Dungeon…?”
“Right? Feels like we’ve already burned a few thousand. Maybe even tens of thousands?”
“Yeah.”
Usually, the number of monsters in a Dungeon is around 100 to 300.
We weren’t fighting an army, but if we’d been late clearing the Dungeon, Hunters could’ve ended up facing tens of thousands of Bugs.
“It’s nice to rack up all this experience, but aren’t we going to hunt the Boss?”
“No, we’re not. The Boss will come to us.”
Already, about three Hatcheries had been smashed. However many more there are, there’s no way the Queen wouldn’t notice.
Thud, thud, thud.
Just then, a faint sound could be heard. Something was heading toward us en masse.
“It’s finally here. Even insects have maternal instincts. Doesn’t it make your heart swell?”
I spoke cheerfully, oiling everything in sight.
With plenty of spare space in my Inventory, I could carry all the Oil I wanted.
Spreading Oil everywhere, I retreated toward the entrance we’d come through. If we burn them all and just handle whatever escapes the inferno, that’s ideal.
But things didn’t go as I’d expected.
“T-Team Leader…”
I’d prepared to face Bugs, but there was something troublesome mixed in with them.
“Well, this is new.”
Mixed among the Bugs were Hunters. I even recognized some familiar faces from the Martial God Guild.
“When did you get so friendly with the Bugs?”
At a glance, they looked normal. They weren’t shambling like zombies. But moving in unison with the Bugs—this was a headache.
-They seem to be conscious, but in a trance state.
With Olivier’s helpful analysis, I realized I needed to change my plan.
“Let’s put the Dungeon Firestorm Operation on hold.”
No matter what, I can’t burn people who are still conscious.
“Remember how we took down the Orc last time?”
“Huh?”
We’d once lured and defeated an Orc Champion.
“Let’s do that again.”
Behind the writhing Bugs, a giant, elegant Butterfly Queen appeared.
To break the hypnosis spell, the best way is to take the Boss’s head. And with the three people I’ve personally trained, we can hold out in this cramped space.
“Orc hunt? What’s that?”
Only Seohyeonji didn’t get it and asked again. I chuckled as I answered.
“There is such a crazy thing.”
“What is it? Why aren’t you telling me? If it’s crazy, let’s not do it, okay? Hey? What are you doing?”
With a deep breath in, I charged forward.
I drew my Number 2 two-handed sword and coated it with Ether.
Even grazing it would shatter the hard insect carapaces.
A path packed with monsters.
I charged in alone.
With every swing of my two-handed sword, the road widened around me. I walked atop a carpet of crushed insects.
Crack! Crunch!
Insect limbs and armor shattered, clinging to the cave ceiling and walls as they slid down.
“You bastard…!”
A clueless Hunter swung a sword at me, and I slammed him in the ribs with the flat of my blade.
Crack.
There was a breaking sound, but he shouldn’t die, right? The Power Suit has basic healing functions, so he’ll be fine.
The monsters all converged on me. Behind, I heard Seohyeonji yelling something, probably calling me a madman.
Kim Taeyang and Kim Inho had gained new abilities. Both were far stronger than before. On top of that, they’d each been equipped with cutting-edge personal gear developed by Hanul.
They wouldn’t fall easily to these Bugs.
Crunch! Crackle!
The sound of bones and shells shattering was satisfying. Even if they stabbed at my sides, the Power Suit’s defense bounced it right off.
I felt the Butterfly Queen’s gaze lock onto me.
She must have been surprised.
From her perspective, everyone looked the same, but one was abnormally strong. That bewilderment—that’s all she could feel.
The Elite Bugs guarding the Queen moved to block my advance.
She’d learned that ordinary Bugs couldn’t stop me, no matter how many times she tried.
The Elite Bugs charged at me, while the regular Bugs formed a blockade. It was truly a desperate stand to protect the Queen.
-I’m using Stealth.
The Bugs froze for a moment.
Because their target vanished from their sight.
I had snatched the Stealth skill from the Assassins I’d stored in my Inventory. I sprinted along the wall.
As soon as the Stealth skill wore off, the Butterfly Queen spotted me, now right in front of her.
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