41
A thrill ran through him. After joining Yeoun, Doun had barely experienced any truly satisfying coordinated attacks with the guild members.
Floor 45 had been his first time coordinating with the Yeoun Guild members, and he’d been so tense from his long-awaited return that the conquest had left Doun feeling nothing but regret. On floor 46, he’d acted too hastily, coughed up blood, and had to fall back entirely.
While he deeply empathized with the backup support that Samin boasted about, when it came to coordinated attacks, Doun hadn’t been able to feel it enough to even tilt his head in understanding.
‘The skill combinations are clicking together perfectly, it’s so exhilarating…’
With hunters like these, it felt like they could conquer even difficult floors with smiles on their faces. As the hazy steam cleared and his teammates approached with their various weapons in hand, Doun grinned brightly.
* * *
The conquest afterwards was also extremely smooth. They’d dealt with the mid-boss, and with little time left before the floor boss conquest, Doun’s mana was still so abundant it was practically overflowing.
‘Even on a high floor, I can breathe so easily…’
If there had been guild members who squandered his mana like before, he’d be pouring mana potions down his throat by now. He’d be catching his breath and desperately waiting for his mana to recover while watching others’ reactions.
‘Let’s stop thinking strange thoughts.’
Now was completely different from before. He didn’t need to drink potions while watching others’ faces, and he didn’t have to directly control everything one by one because he couldn’t trust the conquest team. It was fine if there were monsters he couldn’t pay attention to for a moment. Rather, his reliable guild members would handle them as if they’d been waiting for it.
This was exactly the backup that Samin had so confidently promised. The veteran hunters who hunted magical beasts in the early 50s floors, higher than here, to maintain their rankings were still standing behind Doun.
Usually Samin acted sluggish about everything and behaved as if he’d give Doun his liver and gallbladder. But Doun knew that if push came to shove, Samin could stop the conquest right now and exclude him.
‘I guess it means it’s still okay for me to be in front?’
Doun gripped his staff tighter for no reason. When he glanced over, Samin was staring at him with an expression of satisfaction he didn’t even try to hide. When their eyes met, his grinning face only served to drop the tension Doun had forced himself to build up.
‘It’s about time for magical beasts to appear, but he’s quiet. I guess he’s finally showing signs of having studied…’
Swallowing a sigh of relief, Doun felt proud inside.
For the Yeoun Guild members who had run floor 47’s snowy mountains until they were sick of it, this place was completely unfamiliar to him. Even though he’d watched the videos multiple times, there was a considerable gap between that and experiencing it firsthand.
Moreover, since Doun was alone at the front, Samin would stealthily inform him about magical beast appearance timings and patterns from time to time. But even though the time was approaching when a large magical beast would pop out, Samin, who had been chattering away, was quiet.
It was just as Doun expected – Samin had realized. That constantly responding to his words was actually distracting Doun’s attention.
‘There’s one last creature here… I have plenty of mana, but its movement range is large, so just in case…’
Blinking his bright blue eyes, Doun made his decision without hesitation. After walking a few steps, as expected, a large creature lifted its body that had been crouched in the snowfield.
Snow that had been thickly piled on its body scattered in all directions as whoosh, a black sphere shot out from the tip of the staff that lightly cut through the air.
Graaaaar!
It was a threatening roar that made his ears ring. The magical beast that had been charging at Doun while roaring collided with the black sphere and crack, opened its massive maw. But there was no sign of it stopping. Rather, it gained acceleration.
The collision was instantaneous, but Doun, who stood before it, didn’t move an inch. Only the hunters behind him showed faint signs of anxiety.
When the pattern that bloomed from where the black sphere and fur touched was completed, the magical beast rolled its eyes back.
Kkeok!
It died without even being able to take its last breath. It was the price for taking Stigma defensively – the instant death skill that killed the moment the mark was carved.
Saliva it couldn’t swallow dripped down teeth as thick as an adult’s forearm. It was the only trace the magical beast left before dying.
However, the body that had lost control couldn’t overcome the speed it had been rushing at before death and collapsed rapidly as if to crush Doun. But Doun showed no signs of dodging. Samin, who was anxious, began calling out to Doun urgently.
“Hyung!”
Thwack!
As if responding to the call, a violent crash immediately echoed around them. It was the sound of a hard skull surrounded by flesh being crushed.
“What…”
Samin could only utter a brief word full of bewilderment. Contrary to Samin’s expectation that Doun would collide with the magical beast, Doun had struck the corpse falling head-first with the blade-like end of his staff. And with very light arm movements, leaving only a faint afterimage.
Kwagagagagak!
The corpse that seemed like it couldn’t be stopped easily instantly rolled around, creating a snow pit. The heavy mass collided with the softly piled snow, creating white snow fog. The surroundings became quiet in an instant.
“…Hyung. What skill was that just now?”
Samin muttered with a dumbfounded expression. Only after confirming the magical beast’s death did Doun relax, turning around a beat late to answer.
“It wasn’t a skill. I just swung it.”
Crazy. Samin swallowed the curse. Since it was such a clean movement, he’d naturally assumed it was a skill. But he was saying he’d sent that massive corpse flying with simple arm strength.
‘Has hyung really been going easy on me this whole time?’
The moment he realized the truth, goosebumps rose on Samin’s spine.
The sight of urgently striking the magical beast directly with his staff and creating distance before regrouping was a scene that appeared frequently in Magnetic’s conquest videos that he’d watched until he was sick of them. It was still vividly etched in the mind of Samin, a self-proclaimed Magnetic otaku.
The only difference was that the hunter Magnetic he’d met in person was much thinner, smaller-looking, and gave the impression of being delicate compared to what he’d seen in videos. Doun had even been complaining that he couldn’t breathe when Samin hugged him, turning pale and pushing him away weakly before giving up.
Naturally, he could only think that perhaps his physical strength wasn’t what it used to be after a year-long gap, or that like other magic-type hunters, his basic physical strength might not be that strong.
‘Ah… If this is the case, my plan to coax hyung into going to the gym together in the mornings or evenings after becoming roommates…’
Samin squeezed his eyes shut. What gym? With arm strength that could strike a massive magical beast with teeth as thick as an adult’s forearm and send it flying far away with a staff. He’d be lucky if he didn’t break the equipment.
“Hyung, oof. You’re all covered in snow and blood and stuff, what a mess. I’ll quickly wipe it off for you. Ah, no. Would you prefer to wipe it off yourself, hyung?”
Samin, who had been trying to sneakily touch Doun’s shoulder or face as usual, hesitated and changed his words, flustering about. Doun found it strange but didn’t think much of it since it was right after battle, shaking off his hair.
“…Yeah. I’ll do it myself.”
Kim Chansol’s eyes grew narrower as he watched the standoff between the two. He had stuck a long sword into the snow instead of his usual dual swords and was leaning against it like a cane, muttering with a puzzled expression.
“Hmm… Something seems different about our guild master than usual?”
Since Samin was notorious among the Yeoun Guild members as a Magnetic otaku, his excessive skinship and shocking fawning were still there. However…
‘He’s being more awkward than usual? What’s this? Ah. Is he a bit scared that Doun-ssi might smash his head in with that staff too?’
Kim Chansol didn’t think long before reaching a clear conclusion. That Kyung Samin was scared of Lee Doun. No matter how he thought about it, there seemed to be no other reason.
‘I was also shocked seeing him smash a head with a staff…’
Even trying not to have prejudices, since visual information takes up such a large portion, it was inevitable that he sometimes forgot Doun was an S-class hunter. Honestly, his face would suit a gymnastics arena or a music broadcast recording stage at a broadcasting station better than a tower splattered with blood and flesh.
Even on the anonymous bulletin board of the Veritas System, which could be called a product of human sordidness and lowliness, Magnetic’s face was acknowledged – that said it all.
He shrugged and lightly gripped the long sword in his hand. He had a skill that allowed him to freely use any type of weapon, so he was thinking of trying to fix his habit of changing weapons as he pleased.
‘I thought that if Chansol-ssi could just reduce the delay that occurs when changing weapons, he’d be much more stable.’
That day when Doun had spilled a lot of blood. It was valuable feedback he’d carefully offered while watching the Yeoun Guild members’ battle from behind. If some nobody hunter had said such a thing, he would have told them to stop talking nonsense and cracked their head, but if it was the #1 ranker, that was different.
‘It’s feedback you can’t get even by paying money, so I need to absorb it well.’
It was welcome criticism since he’d been thinking he had too many unnecessary movements anyway. Kim Chansol grinned as he looked at Doun.
‘Oof. My interest totem is handsome today too.’
If he’d said it to his face, his pretty face would definitely turn bright red. He, who tactfully acted appropriately in front of Doun, swallowed his fawning and lightly swung his sword.
He was confident that at this rate, they could defeat floor 55 more easily than expected.
‘When we steal the guild solo conquest title, my account followers will naturally increase too, right?’
Thinking about the attention that would pour on him, he was already humming to himself. If anyone bullies our Magnetic-nim, I’ll smash them to pieces. His face was bright as he made this promise to himself.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
