#23
The Hunters, except for those on watch, had finished their preparations for sleep. At first, there were sounds of tossing and turning as if they couldn’t fall asleep, but even those sounds stopped at some point. Seo Yi-young also lay down to sleep but couldn’t fall asleep easily.
The next day. The combat Hunters seemed to have adapted somewhat.
Compared to yesterday, they hesitated less when attacking the monsters.
The monsters’ ranks were between B and C, and weren’t particularly high. For monsters of this level, it seemed unnecessary to have two S-Class Hunters enter the dungeon.
If things continued like this, he thought they could successfully clear the dungeon without any problems. He wondered if a raid could really be this easy. He felt anxious that something unexpected might happen.
Eventually, what he had been worried about occurred.
As they advanced further, the monsters began to look more and more like humans. The monsters that appeared in the beginning had sagging skin or exposed muscles, which at least gave them room to think of them as zombies. But after spending several days in the dungeon, the monsters appearing now, near the end, looked almost indistinguishable from humans.
Only…
“Kieek…!”
The sole difference from real humans was their inability to speak.
A monster defeated by a combat Hunter collapsed weakly to the floor.
That wasn’t all. The number of monsters began to gradually increase.
As they got closer to the boss monster, the number of regular monsters increased exponentially.
And then they arrived at the boss monster area.
Standing on high ground, the party could only open their mouths in silence at the sight before their eyes.
“…My goodness.”
Someone’s soft voice was heard.
They had found the boss monster. The boss monster had a human form, but it wasn’t human.
On top of a huge egg sac, which appeared to be about 5 meters tall, was the upper body of a mummified, emaciated man.
Regular monsters densely surrounded it, swarming around. The scene looked like worker ants crowding around a massive queen ant.
Seeeek- Seeeek!
The boss monster noticed the Hunters first and let out a sharp sound.
Then, revealing a hole that opened and closed like a mouth at the front of the egg sac, it began spewing out humanoid monsters recklessly. As if there weren’t already a nauseating number of them, it kept producing more.
They seemed to stagger for a moment, covered in viscous liquid as if newly born. But soon they were able to walk properly. The boss monster wailed sharply once more. At that moment, the swarming creatures seemed to move.
One Hunter shouted loudly:
“They’re approaching this way!”
“One thousand, no, two thousand creatures, no, the number is still growing!”
Seo Yi-young saw Choi Do-jun straighten his posture.
“Three minutes. Hold out until then.”
“What? Uh, H-Hunter-nim?!”
After giving instructions in a low voice, Choi Do-jun leaped into the sky. And suddenly he disappeared. There was just a flash of light that stretched out like the tail of a meteor. Seo Yi-young stood with his mouth open, unable to comprehend what he was seeing.
Choi Do-jun appeared about 50 meters ahead.
Despite the overwhelming number of monsters, Choi Do-jun’s position was immediately identifiable. He was where monsters were exploding one after another.
Watching Choi Do-jun move swiftly like that left Seo Yi-young’s mouth agape.
At that level, it seemed reasonable to wonder if it was possible to clear a dungeon alone.
And then, as if Choi Do-jun’s attack was a catalyst, monsters began rushing toward them at a rapid pace.
The protective barrier they activated for the boss monster only held for a moment. The barrier began to rupture bit by bit due to monsters that frantically rushed in and dissolved their own bodies against it. Before long, the barrier shattered completely.
“Reform the front line!”
“Don’t let your guard down!”
“Aim for the head or heart…!”
Under the leadership of the most experienced Hunter, the combat Hunters moved forward to position themselves as if protecting the party. At first, it seemed manageable. But no matter how low-ranked they were, when there are hundreds or thousands of creatures, the numerically disadvantaged side inevitably gets pushed back.
Soon surrounded by monsters, they began to be pushed back little by little. No matter how many they knocked down, there was no end to the incoming monsters. They began to reach their physical limits.
The Hunters who were positioning the non-combat, support Hunters behind them while facing the monsters visibly grew tired. An unknown fishy smell from the monsters stimulated their sense of smell.
The rear support Hunters also used their abilities to help the front-line combat Hunters, but they were no match in close-quarters combat. Even if they had brought items just in case, in a world where low-ranked Hunters couldn’t afford good items with their income, these weren’t much help. Of course, they were better than nothing.
But Seo Yi-young. Only Seo Yi-young was doing absolutely nothing, to the point where it wouldn’t be wrong to say he was completely useless. Only Seo Yi-young.
What on earth was he here for?
Surrounded by a large crowd, confidently giving interviews. While in reality, he wasn’t doing anything.
Just as he was digging himself into a deep pit of self-deprecation—
“Oh!”
He had let his guard down. The monsters weren’t just coming from the front.
Of course, they were also attacking from behind.
“Hunter Seo! -Aaagh!”
Jung Ui-jin, an A-Class combat Hunter who moved to protect Seo Yi-young, faltered for a moment and fell to the ground. The monsters didn’t miss that moment and swarmed him. There was no time to block them.
“Aaargh!”
They bit into Jung Ui-jin with their teeth and began to tear at his limbs with terrifying strength. There was a crunching sound of tearing.
By the time other Hunters had killed the monsters, Jung Ui-jin had already lost consciousness.
An enormous amount of blood was flowing out. One shoulder had been completely torn off, revealing broken bones, muscles, and dangling blood vessels. His torso was cut so deeply that his pulsating heart was almost visible. Seo Yi-young thought he had seen many animal carcasses while practicing healing, but the shock of seeing a prepared carcass versus an actually injured person was completely different.
“Ui-jin!”
“Hunter Jung!”
People called out Jung Ui-jin’s name and looked at Seo Yi-young.
Seo Yi-young felt a terrible pressure from their gazes.
This happened because of him. Someone was dying because they tried to protect him.
He had to do something. Somehow.
But could he heal this? When part of the body was missing? During practice, he had only assumed scenarios of cuts or stabs, not situations where parts of the body were lost.
“Use your ability!”
A Hunter who seemed to have a close relationship with Jung Ui-jin lost his self-control and shouted. Seo Yi-young flinched.
“After we’ve put our bodies on the line this much, shouldn’t you at least give us that much in return?!”
“Hey, stop it…!”
Thanks to that outcry, Seo Yi-young came to his senses.
A person was dying. He had to do something. There was no time for this.
Jung Ui-jin’s labored breathing began to slow down. At this rate, he would die. He had to do something before that happened.
Seo Yi-young recalled the practice he had done all this time. Don’t be intimidated in advance. Think of this as an extension of practice. Use the ability in the same way.
Biting his lip, he concentrated.
It’s because he thinks he can’t do it, because he’s afraid in advance, that he’s becoming inhibited. Doesn’t he already know how to heal? He had practiced plenty until now. What was the reason for that? Wasn’t it to properly use his ability in a real situation? So he had to succeed.
Otherwise, a person would die right before his eyes. A person who had thrown themselves in harm’s way to protect him.
Perhaps it was his desperate mindset that worked.
Just like when healing, he felt his fingertips grow hot at some point.
A light enveloped his hands and spread outward, growing larger.
When he came to his senses, Jung Ui-jin’s wounds had healed completely.
They had returned to their original state, true to the definition of “completely.” His upper body and limbs, which had been brutally torn apart, were all properly attached. Jung Ui-jin had merely fainted, unable to withstand the shock he had received moments ago.
…He was just unconscious, right?
Seo Yi-young placed his finger under Jung Ui-jin’s nose. He could feel his breath.
It would be good to leave him until he regained consciousness, but in this situation, surrounded by countless monsters, that wasn’t possible.
“Hunter Jung Ui-jin! Wake up!”
When Seo Yi-young patted his cheek, he regained consciousness immediately. Seeing the condition of his body, he had an expression of disbelief.
“This…”
Jung Ui-jin seemed to have guessed what had happened and wore an overwhelmed expression.
“Thank you!”
Then he got up and began to recompose himself.
Seo Yi-young watched with worried eyes, wondering if it was okay for someone who had just been unconscious to get up like that, when Jung Ui-jin looked at him and said:
“I’m fine. I feel like I did when I first entered the dungeon.”
Like when he first entered the dungeon?
If that’s the case…
Seo Yi-young, getting a hint from Jung Ui-jin’s words, extended his hand. If Seo Yi-young’s recovery ability wasn’t limited to just healing injuries, this might be possible.
“…Huh?”
“Huh?”
And that speculation proved correct.
The complexions of the Hunters, who had been exhausted from facing numerous monsters, began to change. So there was such a usage method. Seo Yi-young’s eyes widened.
“Heeyah!”
A Hunter with physical enhancement abilities shouted and struck the monsters in front, creating a shock wave that pushed them back several meters. Another Hunter who used slingshots blew off the heads of the fallen monsters.
Everyone had regained their vigor and was utilizing their abilities at 100%.
But even so, there were too many monsters. Although Seo Yi-young had restored the Hunters’ vitality with his ability, this was only an emergency measure.
They needed to eliminate the boss monster, the source, to end this long battle.
[Three minutes. Hold out until then.]
He recalled what Choi Do-jun had said.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
