#52
The private jet flight time was certainly half that of a regular airplane, but it still took 5 hours. Of course, I was a bit tired, but not enough to use my ability, and even if I had been that tired, I had no intention of using it. While it might be fine in Korea, using abilities recklessly in a foreign country could cause problems.
Especially in America. Besides, even if they’re smiling to your face, you can’t assume they feel the same way inside. They say you can know ten fathoms of water, but not one fathom of a person’s mind. I’d been betrayed like that many times in the previous dimension.
“Mr. Seo is quite old-fashioned.”
As if he’d seen through Seo Yi-young’s thoughts, James shrugged. His attention quickly moved elsewhere.
“By the way, doesn’t calling you ‘Mr. Seo’ feel too formal?”
He looked around as if seeking agreement from the other hunters. Some shrugged, others tilted their heads. Most didn’t seem particularly interested.
“I’m fine with Mr. Seo.”
“It’s hard to call out long names in the dungeon, you know. Ee-yon, Ee-yun… Oh, sorry. It’s difficult to pronounce. Ee-young, Young, hmm… How about Young? Is that okay? You can call me Jimmy instead of James.”
Young? What kind of tacky nickname is that? I wished he would actually listen to me. Young, seriously? I hope he would just stop.
“James.”
“No, no. Jimmy.”
Watching James shake his index finger to correct the name, Seo Yi-young maintained his smile. James kept insisting that he call him Jimmy, maintaining eye contact. The other man was an S-Class Hunter from America. If he deliberately tried to find fault, it could potentially become an international issue.
“Jimmy.”
“Oh, great. Then I’ll call you Young.”
Though Seo Yi-young didn’t remember giving permission for that, James made the decision on his own and smiled brightly. His perfect teeth made him look like a toothpaste commercial model.
Judging by how the other hunters seemed unbothered, this appeared to be James’s usual personality. Charitably speaking, he was sociable and liked to take care of others; less charitably, he was nosy. Seo Yi-young had heard Americans were extremely individualistic, but James seemed to be an exception.
Well, people are people everywhere, with all types of personalities. Things would probably change once they entered the dungeon, so Seo Yi-young decided to be patient for now.
Considering the expected dungeon rank, just dealing with the mobs would be quite challenging. That’s why they couldn’t resolve it with just American hunters and had called for Seo Yi-young.
“We’ve eaten enough, shall we go in now?”
“Sure. When we come out, make that pulled pork again.”
“I’ll invite you over for dinner.”
“Ah, me too. That pepperoni pizza was amazing.”
They moved to the dungeon entrance, chatting boisterously. The area near the entrance was packed with various broadcasting stations and civilians who had come to see the hunters. Hearing helicopter sounds, Seo Yi-young looked up to see a helicopter with a broadcasting station logo circling nearby. The scale was definitely much larger than in Korea.
“Alright. I’ll treat you all to plenty of delicious food when we get out, so let’s all return safely.”
At Alberto’s words, everyone present wore determined smiles.
With Alberto in the lead, they took their first step into the dungeon.
*
The dungeon interior displayed shifting purple and pink colors. Bare black trees stood here and there, creating an eerie atmosphere, and a slow music box melody playing made it feel like being in a horror movie. Nothing else was visible.
This was a dungeon where half of the previous conquest team had been sacrificed. There must be something dangerous here. They absolutely couldn’t let their guard down.
“Something’s coming from the 1 o’clock direction, ahead!”
At someone’s shout, the conquest team stopped in place. A dark cloud seemed to be approaching from the distance. But it wasn’t a cloud at all. Looking closely, mobs were flying toward them in swarms. It was a cluster of mobs.
According to the report, the mobs were animal-type. Even accounting for that, the number was extraordinary. Dealing with that many mobs would be troublesome even if they were C-rank, but if the report information was accurate, each one was A to B-rank. Tension instantly filled the air.
“Geez, what is this, a mosquito swarm?”
The silence was broken by a hunter with a shaved head and flashy piercings, shaking his head and muttering.
“The grunt work is always my job.”
“Don’t be like that, Cinderella.”
“Shut up, Rio.”
Thanks to a few hunters exchanging rough jokes with smiles, the atmosphere lightened considerably.
The hunter called Cinderella punched the ground, and walls higher than a person shot up. These artificially created walls were helpful in many ways, especially in a place with few natural hiding spots. Some were built to block two sides. Three or four of these structures served as cover for the support hunters to hide in.
James tried to send Seo Yi-young there too, but he refused.
“It would be difficult to use my ability that way.”
“Hmm. Okay. Then, Young, stay close to me.”
“Oh my, Jimmy. Don’t push yourself too hard. If Jimmy looks like he’s struggling, you can come to me, Mr. Seo.”
Alberto spoke lightly, as if teasing.
“That won’t happen, Al.”
James’s expression suddenly turned serious as he spoke with a smile. He took out a book from a small bag and quickly flipped through the pages.
“Do you know what condition Korea set when bringing Young here?”
Seo Yi-young’s eyes widened at the unexpected question. So there was something like that.
“I wonder.”
“That Young must not sustain any injuries whatsoever in the dungeon.”
It sounded plausible at first, but there was something ambiguous about it. What happens in a dungeon can only be known through hunters’ testimonies. Cross-verification of dungeon events is one of the main duties of support hunters. But couldn’t Seo Yi-young just pretend he hadn’t been injured if he healed himself?
There might be more details, but just hearing this much revealed many loopholes. James probably knew that too. Seo Yi-young waited for James to continue as various thoughts ran through his head.
“Even without such a condition, these things won’t be able to touch even a hair on Young’s body.”
As James stroked the open page, the printed letters began to glow and float into the air. The page he used turned completely white, as if it had been blank from the beginning. After repeating this a couple of times while turning pages, countless letters floated around them.
Each of these letters was a weapon. Seo Yi-young knew James was a ranged DPS type, but he hadn’t expected this kind of attack. The letters hovering in the air moved toward the mobs when James moved his hand, behaving like guided missiles.
Bang! Boom!
Things exploded with noise when struck by the letters. The mobs made screeching sounds that resembled screams. What appeared to be mob remains fell to the ground with thuds. As James had confidently stated, most of the approaching mobs were dealt with. The number remaining was practically nothing compared to the beginning.
But the flying mobs weren’t the only ones.
Tukwagagak!
The ground split as mobs charged at high speed. The rapidly approaching, uneven surface of the ground created a sense of terror. James attacked the ground with floating letters, but it didn’t stop.
“Damn it.”
James muttered softly. The mobs seemed to be coming from too deep for his ability to affect. With enough firepower to penetrate that depth, they could kill them instantly.
That’s when Alberto stepped forward.
“Can’t let the kid take all the glory.”
When he knocked his fists together, his already large build instantly grew even larger and transformed into metal. When Alberto knocked his fists together again forcefully, a loud clanging sound rang out. It sounded almost like a bell.
Bang! Crash!
When Alberto struck the ground hard with both fists, the shockwave seemed to take care of the mobs. The quickly approaching ground cracks stopped. And with another quick, powerful strike, the mobs hiding underground burst out.
Seo Yi-young’s mouth fell open at the incredible sight. Choi Do-jun was amazing, but these two men were just as impressive.
He thought this might have resolved the situation, but it was a vain hope. This wasn’t the end.
“Mobs appearing! 6 o’clock direction! 10 o’clock direction!”
Seo Yi-young was shocked. A similar number of mobs to those that had first appeared now covered the sky. The high predicted dungeon rank wasn’t for nothing. The sheer number of mobs was staggering. This was why they had included two S-Class combat hunters. Even an S-Class combat hunter couldn’t possibly handle this alone. That’s why they deployed two.
The other A-Class combat hunters who had been observing the situation also began to join the hunt. The mobs were animal-type. The ones flying from the sky were bat-like, and those charging from underground were mole-like. Of course, this was just a general classification—the detailed appearances differed.
“Aaargh!”
“Ugh!”
Even with James and Alberto’s attacks, some mobs were getting through, and A-Class hunters were taking damage. The enormous number of mobs was one barrier, but an even bigger problem was that they drained blood. They didn’t just harm hunters with blood-sucking—they also recovered themselves.
The support hunters also used their abilities, but it wasn’t enough. Hunters have limited potions. With so many mobs that could recover through blood-sucking, the situation was increasingly turning against the hunters as time passed.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
