#54
That wasn’t the end of it. The amount of mana consumed for group recovery for those with depleting health varied, making calculations quite tricky. Seo Yi-young couldn’t catch a break.
Throughout all this, the letters continued to circle around Seo Yi-young without leaving, protecting him. Thanks to this, he could focus solely on recovery.
Alberto’s performance was brilliant against the waves of mob attacks. When he forcefully slammed his metal-transformed fists together, the resulting shockwave stunned the mobs. James seized that opportunity to focus his attacks on one mob at a time. The A-Class combat hunters also joined in, taking down one mob after another.
Initially, they seemed to struggle against the sheer number of mobs, but with Seo Yi-young’s presence, everyone could fully utilize their abilities and gradually gain the upper hand. Now only about ten mobs remained. Though progress was slow, the important thing was that victory was in sight.
“At this rate, I bet a lion will appear as the boss mob.”
“Ow. Watch your mouth.”
Was it an unfortunate coincidence? A howl that tore through the air was heard. They didn’t need any indicator to know.
It was the dungeon boss.
“Oh, damn it. Eric. I’m going to put a lock on your mouth.”
“I said a lion, though!”
“Shut up!”
What appeared was a tiger. And it looked to be at least 5 meters long. Its deep green fur color made it clear that this was no ordinary tiger. Even though it was a mob, the tiger form itself created an immense sense of pressure. It was intimidating. The creature’s bright yellow eyes seemed to survey the surroundings, assessing the situation.
“…Hey, this is no joke. Tigers are felines, right? Who was the one using water? Shouldn’t that guy have come in too?”
“Ignorant bastard. Tigers like water.”
“Give it to Eric. He’d like it with sauce on him.”
“Hahaha. Very funny, Dana.”
They seemed to be exchanging jokes casually, but the tension in their eyes couldn’t be hidden. Seo Yi-young was also busy examining the suddenly appeared boss mob. It was difficult to determine what abilities it had just by looking at its appearance. It would be nice if it only did simple attacks, but being a boss mob, it was bound to be tricky.
Fighting it along with other mobs would be more difficult, but not impossible. However, they hadn’t yet figured out what the finally appeared boss mob’s ability was. Everyone was carefully observing the situation.
KWAGWANG!
James’s attack signaled the start.
“Oh my, that impatient guy.”
A soft sigh was heard, but the tone suggested this was expected.
“We won’t get answers just by staring at it!”
James shouted as he unleashed a series of attacks. There was a tremendous noise, and the boss mob staggered. The attacked boss mob’s body looked tattered, as if it had been sliced open. James’s attack was impressive, but considering the boss was predicted to be at least SS-Class, it seemed almost disappointingly easy.
At this rate, they definitely had a chance of winning. As everyone was steeling their resolve and preparing to attack, something disconcerting happened.
“What the hell is this?”
A bewildered shout was heard at that moment.
“Good Lord…”
“…Didn’t Jimmy just attack…?”
The boss mob’s body was regenerating. It took less than 2 seconds to complete the perfect regeneration. The boss mob shook its head once and growled as if nothing had happened.
Even Seo Yi-young, who witnessed the situation firsthand, was equally perplexed. This was a variable they hadn’t encountered until now. Of course, the cause of this new variable was obviously the boss mob.
“Haha. Well. It’s okay if it just regenerates its own body. As long as it doesn’t restore the original number of mobs.”
Just as Eric finished speaking, the mobs they had previously defeated reappeared.
“Eric, you son of a bitch! I told you to lock your mouth!”
“Shit! How was I supposed to know?!”
Eric’s voice could be heard as he jumped up in indignation.
“…Haha. This is seriously no joke.”
As the boisterous hunters suddenly went quiet, a support hunter’s muttering could be heard. It reflected everyone’s feelings. This really wasn’t a joke.
The boss mob’s ability was on a cheating level. It was already difficult to deal with regeneration, but it even respawned mobs. That ability alone was enough to intimidate them. Fear spreads like mold. It didn’t take long for the word “defeat” to emerge in the hunters’ minds.
Everyone was silent. They seemed to be meticulously calculating how to conquer this dungeon.
“The boss comes first.”
All eyes turned to James at his words.
“We take down the boss first, then move on. Al and I will handle it. If we can damage it faster than it can heal, we can take it down.”
“That’s right.”
Alberto chimed in. James’s words were also directed at Seo Yi-young. Until now, they had been protecting him, but from now on, he would have to manage on his own. He couldn’t express dissatisfaction with that.
To inflict more damage than the boss could regenerate, there was no other choice. It was the obvious decision if conquering the dungeon was the top priority.
James took out a new book from his bag, placed his hand on the top, and lifted it. An enormous number of letters floated into the air—an incredible amount, more than had been seen before.
James threw the book he was holding onto the ground. The sprawled-out book had turned completely blank. He seemed to have extracted all the letters from the entire volume. The attack preparation didn’t stop there. James took out another book and began tearing out pages one by one, and those papers also floated into the air. This was a method that hadn’t been seen before.
Though he was smiling, it looked like he was planning to put everything into this attack.
“Leave the recovery to me.”
Had their mood infected him? Seo Yi-young spoke as if saying something trivial. He decided to push aside complicated thoughts. Thinking alone wouldn’t solve the problem. Regardless, he had to face the immediate challenge before him.
“Reliable.”
“I’m counting on you.”
“I’ll buy you a drink when we get out of the dungeon.”
KWOOWAAANG!
The boss mob’s roar vibrated through the air. As if they had just held a strategy meeting, the other mobs also took on attack stances. With another roar from the boss mob, the attack began.
Alberto slammed his fist into the ground toward the charging mobs, causing the earth to split from the impact. The mobs spread out to the sides to avoid it, and using that gap, James rushed toward the boss mob.
A support hunter quickly cast a momentary speed buff on James as he ran. He tore through the mobs at an incredibly fast speed. It looked like a small ball bouncing after a spring had been pulled.
Though James moved quickly, the mobs didn’t stand still and tried to attack him. However, they couldn’t even touch him due to the letters surrounding him. Upon reaching right in front of the boss mob, James launched the letters that had been surrounding him like a shield.
KWANG! GWAKWANG! KWANG!
When the papers made contact, loud explosions were heard. The power was dozens of times greater than when just the letters had made contact. Mobs caught in the explosion burst out with horrific screams. It was tremendous firepower.
Following that, Alberto rushed in and pummeled the boss mob with his fists. A series of impact sounds that were hard to believe came from a human reverberated.
Seo Yi-young didn’t have the luxury to just watch. With two main dealers absent from the situation, Seo Yi-young had a significant role to ensure the team functioned properly. He frantically healed and assisted the other hunters. The support hunters also didn’t hang back but participated in the battle, doing their part.
But.
KYAWUUUNG!
The ability to regenerate and respawn simultaneously was more troublesome than expected. They thought they might be able to handle one creature somehow, but it wasn’t as easy as they thought. Just when they thought they had inflicted significant damage, it would revert to its original state. Continuously being thwarted at the point where completion seemed possible dealt a heavy mental blow and completely destroyed motivation.
If there were hunters with different abilities, it might be different, but with the current personnel in the dungeon, the only option was to attack. They just needed to defeat the boss mob with overwhelming firepower before it could recover.
The hunters gradually became silent. The battle dragged on for a tediously long time, and it was inevitable that concentration would wane. A hunter protecting Seo Yi-young nearby had a momentary lapse in attention, and the mob didn’t miss that split second. Sharp claws deeply penetrated his chest.
“Derek!”
Someone shouted the name of the hunter who had collapsed, bleeding. Seo Yi-young quickly reached out to heal him, but a tremendous force pushed from behind, causing him to tumble to the ground.
“…Ugh, kuk.”
This wasn’t a problem. No matter how injured, recovery would fix it. Seo Yi-young tried to get up immediately, but his body wouldn’t respond. It seemed his arm had been broken by the mob’s attack. It was twisted in a way that couldn’t possibly be described as normal.
Suddenly, he felt something heavy pressing down on his body, and the back of his neck felt cold.
“Young!”
“Mr. Seo!”
Only when he heard other hunters calling his name did he realize. Something had climbed on top of Seo Yi-young’s body.
Grrrr.
The growl of a beast was heard from very close by. Seo Yi-young turned his head slightly and froze when he confirmed the mob on top of him.
It was the boss mob.
It seemed to have evaded Alberto and James’s encirclement to attack Seo Yi-young. Seeing his own reflection in those bright yellow eyes sent a chill down his spine.
“Yi-young…!”
Someone called Seo Yi-young’s name from afar.
Kkuguguk.
Seo Yi-young snapped back to reality when he felt the pressure on his body increase slightly. From up close, he could clearly see the snout twitching.
It’s going to bite.
Seo Yi-young instinctively realized.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
