#032
“Oh Seongeun!”
Han Cheolyong called out as if summoning him. Oh Seongeun, who had been quietly following until now, finally raised his stick. As Eunseok focused on him, he could feel the energy that had been quietly dormant within Oh Seongeun’s body beginning to stir. Eunseok immediately spread area Guiding towards him. A moment later, a bright light shot out from Oh Seongeun’s stick, piercing through the shield barrier.
Crackle–….
The cave walls, ceiling, and floor beyond the opaque shield barrier began to freeze rapidly as if encountering an ice age. The spider-like monsters that had been spitting liquid stopped moving as a thin layer of ice formed on their surfaces. A chilly cold could be felt even beyond the opaque shield barrier.
As everything outside the shield barrier froze, Oh Seongeun gripped his stick tightly as if wringing it.
Crack-!
The bodies of the spiders, which had been frozen like ice statues, made a splitting sound before bursting with a loud noise. No, “bursting” wasn’t the right expression. They had completely frozen to their core and literally crumbled into ice fragments.
Small ice pieces fell from the walls, ceiling, and floor with a rustle. Eunseok inwardly marveled while continuing to Guide Oh Seongeun, who had consumed a large amount of energy. He had thought Oh Seongeun was simply a fire-type ability user, but this was surprisingly different.
Despite the incredible scene that surpassed human imagination, the team members seemed unfazed. This level of spectacle was apparently part of their daily lives.
‘I’ll need to stay sharp if I don’t want to hold them back.’
Eunseok felt a slight sense of crisis. With team members possessing such abilities, he would be lucky if he could avoid being a burden, let alone becoming a combat asset.
Han Cheolyong again pushed forward, using his shield to clear the corpse fragments on the floor. The ice pieces that hadn’t been fully cleared screamed under his military boots.
After advancing about two hundred meters, they encountered a cave entrance that split into two paths.
“What should we do?” Han Cheolyong asked without taking his eyes off the front.
“Should we split into two teams?” Moon Bora suggested, glancing back.
Her gaze landed on Ji Taeuk and Eunseok’s backs. Eunseok turned around then, noticing Choi Hanseo, whom he had completely forgotten about while focusing on the situation ahead. He was standing with a relaxed posture as if he was out for a solitary stroll.
“Well, what do you think we should do?” Choi Hanseo asked. His eyes were fixed on Eunseok, not on Moon Bora or Han Cheolyong. Eunseok took this as a kind of test. He had no intention of being stubborn in a situation where the team members’ lives were at stake. But he also didn’t want to pass up the opportunity being given to him.
“Given our current strength, I think we could split into two teams without much problem,” Eunseok answered. Choi Hanseo nodded slightly.
“How?” Choi Hanseo asked again.
Eunseok turned his head and scanned the team members. Knowing each member’s position, the choice wasn’t difficult.
“I think it would be appropriate for Hunter Han Cheolyong, Hunter Shin Jeongho, and myself to form one team. The other team would consist of Hunter Moon Bora, Hunter Oh Seongeun, and Hunter Ji Taeuk.”
Eunseok had formed one team with a tank, an agile close-range dealer, and himself as a support ranged dealer. The other team with Moon Bora, who could act as both a close-range dealer and tank, along with a ranged dealer and a healer, seemed the most appropriate. Of course, he didn’t mention Choi Hanseo, who was there to look after Eunseok.
“Any objections?” Choi Hanseo asked, looking at the team members.
“Agreed,” Moon Bora was the first to approve, and the others, including Ji Taeuk, nodded in agreement.
“Then I’ll take the right side,” Moon Bora said, stepping forward while swinging her longsword in the air. Oh Seongeun and Ji Taeuk followed closely behind her. Eunseok stood behind Han Cheolyong alongside Shin Jeongho.
“See you later,” Moon Bora winked at Eunseok before entering the right cave entrance. As Moon Bora’s team disappeared into the cave, the light created by Oh Seongeun also vanished.
As the light disappeared, pitch-black darkness immediately engulfed the cave. Not bringing the flashlight he always carried on missions in the military was a big oversight. Fortunately, he had one item that could help.
Eunseok took out a Zippo lighter from his pocket and lit it. While it couldn’t compare to Oh Seongeun’s bright light, it provided enough illumination to secure their vision. Since he habitually kept the lighter full of fuel, they wouldn’t have to worry about light for a while.
“Let’s move out,” Han Cheolyong said quietly and began to enter the left cave. Eunseok followed behind, holding the Zippo lighter. Glancing back, he saw Choi Hanseo sticking close. Despite being an uncomfortable man, having him watch their backs was reassuring.
After walking about a hundred meters inside…
“The ceiling is getting higher,” Eunseok said softly. Indeed, the cave’s ceiling was gradually rising. Not only that, but the width of the cave was also noticeably expanding. This level of space expansion likely meant an increase in the number or size of monsters lurking in the darkness ahead.
“They’re coming,” Han Cheolyong announced, raising his shield and longsword. Shin Jeongho stepped up beside Han Cheolyong, taking an offensive stance.
Eunseok holstered his pistol, tore off one sleeve, bundled it up, and placed it on the ground. He put the Zippo lighter on top of it and shouldered his automatic rifle, taking a firing position.
“I’ll provide covering fire,” Eunseok said. Han Cheolyong and Shin Jeongho nodded lightly. A moment later, a swarm of spiders, much larger than before, came rushing in with a rustling sound.
“Haaah-!” Han Cheolyong let out a battle cry as he began swinging his shield and longsword as if possessed. On the other side, Shin Jeongho moved as if flying through the air, kicking off walls and ceilings while wielding weapons in both hands. After observing their combat patterns for a moment, Eunseok decided to target the relatively vulnerable space above Han Cheolyong. Given the large size and number of targets, there was no need to look through the scope.
Ratatata-! Ratatata-!
Eunseok relentlessly pulled the trigger, aiming at the spiders rushing into the empty space above Han Cheolyong. To conserve ammunition, he fired three-round bursts at each monster’s crown. Significant recoil transferred to his shoulder, but his trained body easily absorbed and deflected it. A sense of exhilaration and thrill swept through his entire body as he freely sprayed bullets and dispatched enemies.
Several times, monsters that Han Cheolyong and Shin Jeongho couldn’t handle rushed right up to Eunseok’s face. But instead of panicking, Eunseok calmly took them out one by one. Each time a bullet shattered a monster’s crown, blood and flesh splattered everywhere.
Eunseok found himself smiling slightly, immersed in the pungent, nauseating smell of monster blood and the gunpowder scent he was inhaling freely after a long time. He felt elated with a sense of liberation and achievement, as if he was finally exacting the revenge for his family that he had dreamed of since childhood.
“We’re pushing forward!” Han Cheolyong shouted as if making a declaration. Instead of waiting for a response, he began to advance, crushing and clearing monsters with his shield and longsword. A soft yellow light emanated from his shield, dimly illuminating the way ahead.
Eunseok used this brief moment to change magazines and followed, maintaining his firing stance. The light from the Zippo lighter grew more distant, and only the faint light from Han Cheolyong’s shield made it possible to discern their surroundings.
Ratatata-! Ratatata-!
Even while advancing and firing continuous bursts, Eunseok didn’t forget to maintain area Guiding for the two in front of him.
Time passed without a moment to catch their breath. After completely depleting the last magazine of his automatic rifle, Eunseok immediately drew his pistol from the holster and continued firing. When he was down to the last magazine of his pistol, he switched to his dagger.
Sweat dripped from his damp bangs. The muscles of his entire body, which had been moving non-stop, ached pleasantly.
Thud-! Thwack-!
Eunseok engaged in hand-to-hand combat with the rushing spiders, careful not to stray from his position. He kicked and blocked with his military boots and split their crowns with his dagger. His body, rigorously trained for years, responded naturally like flowing water as he faced the spiders.
“Are you alright, Guide Lee Eunseok?!” Han Cheolyong shouted while ruthlessly destroying the spiders rushing at him. It seemed Han Cheolyong had used a skill to draw aggro, as most of the spiders were converging on him. Even in this situation, he was worried about Eunseok. In response, Eunseok answered by intensifying his Guiding towards Han Cheolyong.
