The Path of Glory guild left the temporary shelter and passed Ahyeon Station, entering Bukahyeon-dong.
They dealt with monsters along the way and informed any survivors they encountered about the location of the temporary shelter.
The destination for the Path of Glory guild was the defensive line near Ahyeon OO Church.
They had stalled for enough time, and since it was nearly time for the boss to appear, they intended to return to their originally assigned position to establish a defensive perimeter.
As they moved, they encountered another group of survivors.
“He-here!”
“It’s a Hunter! We’re saved!”
“Oh! Heaven is watching over us! I thought we were going to die here for sure!”
Several people spotted the Path of Glory guild and rushed out.
Seeing them, Yu Se-hyeon spoke.
“You must be survivors. Is anyone injured?”
Yu Se-hyeon checked for casualties first.
“Ah! There are a few people with minor scrapes, and one person has a broken leg.”
At the man’s words, Yu Se-hyeon quickly issued orders to the guild members.
“The second and third teams will scout the surrounding area just in case. The first team will standby here. And Kang Se-jeong, check on the patients and treat anyone who can be healed.”
As soon as Yu Se-hyeon’s orders were given, the second and third teams moved out quickly to scout.
Kang Se-jeong, a healer from the first team, entered the building with some of the survivors.
“Yes, sir.”
Once Kang Se-jeong went inside, Yu Se-hyeon turned back to the remaining survivors.
“Are there any other survivors nearby?”
He wanted to check if there were any other groups hidden away.
“We aren’t sure about that. But one thing is certain — we haven’t seen anyone else on our way here. Of course, it’s possible we just missed them.”
Yu Se-hyeon nodded at those words.
“I see. I understand. By the way, are you aware that there is a temporary shelter nearby?”
When asked about the shelter, the man shook his head with a puzzled expression.
“Pardon? A temporary shelter? Was there such a thing?”
In a way, it was a natural reaction.
The temporary shelter had been hastily set up for those who couldn’t evacuate to the second defense line after the Dungeon Break occurred and the first defense line collapsed.
“OO Elementary School is being operated as a temporary shelter. You should head there for the time being.”
“Ah! Yes. But… aren’t you Hunters going to take us there? It’s a bit of a distance to OO Elementary School, and if we run into monsters on the way…!!”
Given the distance to the school, it was a reasonable concern.
However, Yu Se-hyeon had to rejoin the defensive line urgently, so he didn’t have the luxury of time to escort them to the shelter.
“We’d like to, but we have to rejoin the defensive line immediately. We’ve cleared out the monsters along the path we took to get here, so there shouldn’t be any significant threats.”
As they traveled from the shelter to this point, they had eliminated every monster they encountered.
Furthermore, since they had conducted a thorough scout of the surroundings, he was confident there would be no major danger for them.
“Um… in that case, can’t we go to the defensive line with you Hunters?”
The survivors seemed extremely uneasy about moving on their own without Hunters.
“Hmm. I won’t stop you if you want to come with us. But keep this in mind. While there is a high probability of no monsters on the path to the temporary shelter, there will almost certainly be monsters on the way to the defensive line. And if a battle breaks out, I cannot guarantee your safety 100 percent.”
If only two or three monsters appeared, they could handle them while ensuring the safety of the civilians.
However, if five or six appeared at once, it would be difficult to guarantee everyone’s safety.
“…”
The survivors couldn’t answer easily.
They had to choose between a path that was relatively safe but lacked protection, or a path with Hunters that had a high probability of combat.
Whatever the choice, it was not an easy decision.
Just then.
“Guild Master!”
The third team, which had gone out to scout, returned in a hurry.
“What is it?”
“It’s the boss! A significant number of monsters, including elites, are moving with the boss!”
The boss?
If the boss had appeared, it meant the Dungeon Break was reaching its final stage.
At the same time, it meant that whichever defensive line faced the boss would inevitably suffer significant damage.
“What is the scale of the monster horde?”
“I’m not certain, but at a rough estimate, there appeared to be about 700 to 800 of them!”
A horde of 700 to 800 monsters meant roughly half of the remaining monsters were gathered together.
“The decisive battle with that group will likely determine the outcome of this Dungeon Break. So? Where is the boss group heading?”
The most important thing was the path of the boss and the monster horde.
Knowing their direction would allow them to predict which defensive line they would collide with.
“That… based on their path, it looked like they were heading toward the temporary shelter!”
Defying Yu Se-hyeon’s prediction that they would hit one of the defensive lines, the boss’s horde was heading for the temporary shelter.
“The temporary shelter? Dammit! Of all places, the temporary shelter.”
It wasn’t a completely unforeseeable situation.
Since the temporary shelter held the highest concentration of people in the vicinity, it was logical that a large horde would target it.
“What should we do? Should we contact the temporary shelter?”
Since they knew a boss was leading a massive horde toward the shelter, it was necessary to inform them.
“Yes. Contact Guild Master Kang Tae-ho at the temporary shelter immediately and inform him of the situation. If necessary, we might have to join the temporary defense line ourselves. I’ll contact the main defensive line.”
After saying that, Yu Se-hyeon dialed a number.
*Ring… ring…*
After a short wait, someone picked up.
— Ah!
Guild Master Yu Se-hyeon!
Where are you right now?
“I was on my way to rejoin you. However, we discovered a monster horde led by the boss. We confirmed they are heading toward the temporary shelter. Even if Hunter Kim Seong-jun’s party is there, I don’t think the current defensive force can handle it. Would it be alright if we headed to the shelter to help defend?”
In response to Yu Se-hyeon’s question, the Guild Master in charge of temporary command at the defensive line spoke in a calm voice.
— Hmm.
If the Path of Glory leaves, the defensive line itself will become very vulnerable.
If we try to hold out, we might manage somehow, though there will be some damage.
But if it’s the temporary shelter, the Path of Glory doesn’t necessarily need to go.
Originally, each sector of the defensive line was established around the top ten guilds.
A total of eight directions were connected to form a large circular defensive perimeter.
If Path of Glory left, the core of their sector would be missing, drastically reducing their defensive capabilities.
Meanwhile, hearing that they didn’t need to go to the shelter, Yu Se-hyeon asked in confusion.
“What do you mean by that? Why don’t we need to go to the temporary shelter?”
— Ah!
I just received a report a moment ago.
Changcheon, Genesis, and Holy Emperor are currently moving toward the temporary shelter.
They might have arrived already.
Once he heard that Changcheon, Genesis, and Holy Emperor were heading to the shelter, Yu Se-hyeon finally nodded.
“Is that so? If Changcheon, Genesis, and Holy Emperor are all there, there’s no need for us to go. With that kind of power, they won’t just defend; they could wipe them all out. I understand. We will return to the defensive line as scheduled.”
Even if it were just Changcheon and Genesis, there wouldn’t be much of a problem.
Seong-jun was there, after all.
He would be more than enough to handle a B-rank monster horde and its boss.
But now Holy Emperor was there as well.
With that kind of strength, there was no need to worry about the shelter.
The only thing left was what to do with the survivors.
‘If the boss’s horde is heading to the temporary shelter, sending them there might lead them right into the horde before they even reach it. I have no choice.’
Unless they could reach the shelter before the boss’s horde, encountering them midway would mean certain death.
“It seems going to the temporary shelter will be difficult. For now, you should move with us.”
Ultimately, Yu Se-hyeon decided to take them to the defensive line.
***
The temporary shelter, OO Elementary School.
Thanks to Seong-jun moving busily, there were no more injured people in the shelter.
From minor injuries to critical cases, almost everyone had been treated to a state near full recovery.
“I’ve only heard about you on TV, but seeing it in person makes it feel real. You’re truly amazing. You’ve worked hard.”
Watching Seong-jun heal everyone — from those on the brink of death to those with limbs snapped and twisted at bizarre angles — Lee Seon-jae realized once again how incredible Seong-jun was.
What other healer in the world could perform such miracles?
“Haha, it was nothing. Anyway, Uncle, your shop must be a mess. What are you going to do now?”
The Ahyeon and Bukahyeon areas had been turned into ruins by the Giant Mantises.
The building where Lee Seon-jae’s chicken shop was located would likely not be intact.
“I know. First, I’ll have to see the state of the building. If it’s damaged beyond repair, I’ll just have to terminate the contract and look for another place, right?”
A Dungeon Break was treated as a natural disaster.
And when a tenant’s space is damaged to the point of destruction by a natural disaster, they can terminate the contract and receive their deposit back.
Therefore, Lee Seon-jae intended to check the building first and terminate the contract immediately if it was determined that he could no longer do business there.
“Instead of that, why don’t you just move? Actually, I bought a building recently. It’s a five-story building, and I was going to use the whole thing as our party’s hideout, but I’ll give the first floor to you, Uncle.”
Originally, he had intended to keep it exclusively for their use.
He didn’t know what kind of problems might arise if he let in strangers.
However, it was different for his uncle and his wife.
Seong-jun felt he could control the situation, and even if the secret space on the second basement floor were discovered, he was certain they would keep the secret.
Above all, if another Dungeon Break occurred like this time, he could tell them about the second basement floor and have them evacuate there.
Meanwhile, Lee Seon-jae looked shocked to hear that Seong-jun had bought a building.
“Whoa! What? You bought a building?”
“Yes. Most of the remaining tenants will probably leave within a few days. Then I’m planning to start remodeling immediately. If you’re okay with it, I’ll remodel the first floor to fit a chicken shop.”
Lee Seon-jae seemed flustered by Seong-jun’s words.
“Huh? Uh, that…”
He seemed momentarily confused by the unexpected situation.
Seeing him like that, Seong-jun smiled.
“Just do it. It’ll make me feel better. And there’s no deposit or monthly rent, so just move in and start your business once the remodeling is done. In exchange, just fry us a chicken when we visit. Haha.”
“…”
Lee Seon-jae was speechless, looking stunned.
Looking at him, Seong-jun continued.
“Uncle, I’m what they call a noble healer. An A-Rank Healer, at that. If you knew how much I make every time I clear a Dungeon, you’d probably be shocked. So don’t worry about unnecessary things and just do as I say.”
To put it bluntly, an ordinary A-Rank Healer would earn at least tens of millions of won from a single Dungeon run.
If they were lucky, they could even earn hundreds of millions.
Not to mention Seong-jun.
He already had tens of billions of won in his bank account.
As Seong-jun was persuading his uncle…
*Slide!*
Gwang-taek suddenly burst through the door.
“Seong-jun! We have a problem!”
At Gwang-taek’s sudden announcement, Seong-jun asked curiously.
“Huh? A problem? What is it?”
“It’s the boss! We just got word from the Path of Glory guild that a boss is heading this way with a horde of monsters!”
Since this was the place with the highest concentration of people in the danger zone, it was expected that a significant number of monsters would attack again.
However, he hadn’t expected a boss to come along with the horde.
“Hmm, a boss is coming here? I didn’t expect that. Well, it should be fine regardless.”
A boss coming here was unexpected, but he didn’t see it as a major problem.
“The scale is larger than I thought. According to what Path of Glory confirmed, it looks to be between 600 and 700. Plus, there are elites included.”
It meant a horde of 600 to 700 monsters, including elites, was being led directly here by a boss.
“It doesn’t matter how many come. All my skill cooldowns are finished. Of course, for the same reason as before, it’ll be hard to cast Dark Attribute Infusion, but with my AOE skills and Yuseon’s area-of-effect skills, plus the other damage dealers’ skills, the normal monsters will be wiped out in the beginning. So the size of the small fry doesn’t really matter.”
With the increase in his skill levels and title levels, along with the addition of new Artifacts, the power of Seong-jun’s skills had significantly increased compared to the B-rank Dungeon Break in Taean.
Therefore, even if he didn’t turn the enemies into the dark attribute with Dark Attribute Infusion, he was confident he could deal at least the same level of damage as he had in Taean.
With that in mind, if Seong-jun’s AOE skills, **[God’s Wrath]** and **[Sword of Light]**, were followed by Yuseon’s area skills, **[Wind Spirit’s Bombardment]** and **[Spirit Magic Light Cannon]**, a large portion of the monsters would be cleared right from the start.
Any remaining monsters could then be easily handled by the other damage dealers.
Ultimately, the only thing they needed to focus on was the boss.
“Is that so? Well, I guess with your massive AOE skills… even if they aren’t dark attribute, most of them will barely be able to hold on.”
Since Gwang-taek knew exactly how much power Seong-jun’s **[God’s Wrath]** possessed, he thought Seong-jun’s words made sense.
But at that moment.
“Brother! Holy Emperor, Changcheon, and Genesis have just arrived!”
Chang-su ran in and spoke urgently.
“Huh? They’re here? They didn’t join the defensive line?”
Seong-jun had naturally assumed they would join the main defensive lines.
He was somewhat surprised to hear they had come here.
“It seems that because the defensive lines are already established around the other top ten guilds, they decided to come here!”
Of course, even if the defensive lines were perfectly established, they would have become even stronger if those three joined.
However, rather than reinforcing the lines, they chose to head to the temporary shelter.
This was likely because they judged that since hundreds of civilians were here, a large number of monsters might target this location.
Plus, Seong-jun was here.
On the other hand, Gwang-taek smiled brightly at the news of their arrival.
“Changcheon, Genesis, and even Holy Emperor? Then we don’t even have to worry about the boss horde anymore! That’s great.”
Even though he knew Seong-jun had AOE skills, he had been slightly worried.
But with the addition of Holy Emperor, Genesis, and Changcheon, there was no longer any need for concern.
At that, Seong-jun started walking and spoke.
“I don’t care what happens to the small fry, but we should be the ones to get the rewards for taking down the boss, right? Let’s head out.”
The boss was more important than the ordinary monsters.
In a Dungeon Break, the boss only gave rewards to the one person who dealt the most damage.
And Seong-jun had no intention of missing out on the boss rewards, even if he was competing with one of the world’s strongest guilds, Holy Emperor.
In front of the main gate of OO Elementary School, the temporary shelter.
Fortunately, the monster horde centered around the boss was advancing toward the main gate, allowing them to concentrate their defensive forces there.
“Yuseon. Let’s start by hitting the boss with a powerful snipe.”
Among the skills Yuseon possessed, the one that dealt the most damage to a single target was her sniping skill, **[Wind Snipe]**. Since **[Wind Snipe]** had a very long range, they could land a first strike before the actual battle began.
Coincidentally, since Seong-jun had only used **[Wind Spirit’s Bombardment]** when he first arrived, he was still in a position to borrow another one of Yuseon’s skills.
That was why he suggested damaging the boss with a snipe before the battle began in earnest.
“Shall we? Anyway, if Brother Gwang-taek uses **[Chain of Light]**, we won’t have to worry about aggro immediately. And if anything happens, we have your **[Absolute Shield]**. I think it’s a good idea.”
Even if they drew aggro, Gwang-taek could use **[Chain of Light]** to immobilize the boss, so they didn’t have to worry about it immediately.
And even if they did draw aggro, they had Seong-jun’s **[Absolute Shield]**.
“Once the actual battle starts, I’ll use **[God’s Wrath]** first. Then I’ll cast **[Sword of Light]** on the ones in our way. Immediately after that, use your **[Spirit Magic Light Cannon]** to clear the path to the boss.”
Yuseon smirked at Seong-jun’s words.
“Just like in Taean, let’s be the first ones to charge the boss.”
“The sooner we deal damage, the higher the chance we’ll get the boss rewards.”
While they were talking, the boss finally came within range of the sniping skill.
“KREEEEEEEEEE!”
A sharp roar echoed in all directions.
At that, Seong-jun raised his weapon, which he had transformed into a bow using **[Form Transformation]**.
“Let’s begin.”
At Seong-jun’s word, Yuseon also raised her bow and pulled the string back as far as it would go.