The Way of Life for a Terminal S-Class Hunter - C59
$59
“An attack is coming!”
However, they couldn’t afford to be distracted by that. The A team at the front, especially Lee Han who was playing the tank role, defended against the incoming attack by distorting space.
“Ugh.”
But how much time had passed? Flames that broke through the space scattered in all directions. The attack of the pterosaurs moving in groups was fiercer than expected.
Boom.
Seo-heon’s ice wall blocked the flames. Additionally, ice that rose from the ground pierced through the stomachs of the two monsters at the very front. Defending and attacking simultaneously – it was efficient.
“Everyone, please watch your step!”
Park Gangui, who mainly uses skills to manipulate terrain, shouted. Not long after, the ceiling shook and the floor moved, and he herded the groups of pterosaur-type monsters into one place. Meanwhile, the pterosaurs fell to the ground one by one under Seo-heon’s ice blades.
Screech!
It was a sound that could have burst eardrums if not for the basic protective equipment. Realizing that group attacks wouldn’t work, the monsters that were about to fly at the team members with their claws raised crashed into walls and tumbled on the floor.
“Switching in three seconds.”
I, who had been slowly gathering magical power for my skill, also spoke up.
[A-rank skill, Rain of Fire is used. The blessing of flames dwells in the rain you bring down. This skill is explosively activated with the protection of magical power.]
It was good to be able to use skills with enough time when divided into teams. In other words,
Boom boom boom.
I could unleash the skill at maximum firepower. Fireballs closer to massive hailstones than rain fell incessantly, taking care of about half of the remaining monsters that were gathered in one place thanks to Park Gangui.
“No life signs detected.”
“Yes. There won’t be any monster appearances for the next minute or so.”
After hearing Halo’s confirmation, we dealt with the remains of the monsters. We chose to discard any items that weren’t immediately useful. Just as I thought we were done checking and was about to speak to Byun Gyeongju, who had been hanging back passively for a while, Seo-heon pulled my shoulder.
“Look at this.”
“Huh?”
Something shiny fell from the grotesquely distorted monster corpse.
“A core fragment…”
“This dungeon is not unrelated to the anomalies we’ve seen with cores so far.”
Seo-heon was certain. The eyes of the guild members also grew sharper.
“If we’re done with preparations, let’s move to the next location.”
I had a feeling that something bad would happen if we delayed. Seo-heon must have felt the same after seeing the core fragment, as he hurried his steps. After spending quite a long time like that, we arrived at the place where the first door should have appeared originally.
“It’s a fork in the road.”
We all brought up the predicted map in front of our eyes as if on cue. The predicted map, which usually boasted over 80% accuracy, already showed a discrepancy. It wasn’t a good sign. Seo-heon tapped the back of his other hand with his index finger three or four times, then spoke as if he had finished thinking.
“We have two attitudes we can take. One, optimistically think that the predicted map will match except for this part. Two, consider it an entirely new dungeon and regroup.”
Unexpected situations are bound to happen in high-level dungeons. How we resolve them is the key.
“Consider both options. For now, we’ll choose the right path that was on the original route, but in our minds, we’ll simultaneously imagine both the predicted map and a completely new dungeon.”
Even if a fork in the road appears, we won’t split up. This was a basic rule to follow.
“Let’s go in.”
Unfortunately, the unexpected events didn’t end there. The moment Team A entered the right path, the ground started to shake, and the floor where Team B, including myself, was standing began to collapse.
Seo-heon, who was at the front, sensed something was wrong and ran towards us.
Rumble.
“The ground isn’t responding to my control!” Park Gangui shouted.
In the brief moment of falling, my eyes met Seo-heon’s. As if we had practiced it, we both reached out our hands towards each other.
Tap.
However, there wasn’t enough time to clasp hands through the barrier that had formed between Seo-heon and me. Our hands that couldn’t intertwine in mid-air crossed paths, and we fell to the ground.
***
The fall lasted quite a long time. It was at a level where there was a risk of injury even with sturdy bodies.
[B-rank skill, Wind Speed is used. The blessing of the tailwind comes to you and your companions.]
Wind Speed is usually a skill used for running or increasing speed, but this time it was the opposite. By using the skill in the direction opposite to our fall, we gradually reduced the speed of our descent.
Tap.
So by the time we reached the ground, we were able to safely step down without any impact.
“Wow, Woo-hyun, your reflexes are no joke.”
Kim Juhee gave a thumbs up and joked. I was just the first to use a skill, but everyone had the ability to protect themselves.
“But this is the first time I’ve experienced something like this.”
If the dungeon’s control was enough to distort space to this extent, it was considerable.
“This hatchling is terrifying. I didn’t expect it to be this strong even though dragon offspring have strong authority over their nests.”
Probably no one expected this. I opened the guild communication device to try to send a message to Seo-heon to at least check on their situation.
[The other party is in an area where communication is impossible.]
But as I feared, the device was unresponsive. We could connect to the outside, but whenever we tried to connect to Team A, it kept showing that communication was impossible. The other team members must have been experiencing the same thing, as groans could be heard.
“The predicted map is useless now. This dungeon is likely to be a boss monster’s domain itself, that is, a subordinate of the Salamander Hatchling.”
This was a phenomenon I had only heard about but never experienced. It was ominous. As Ihye said earlier, I didn’t think a newly awakened hatchling would have this much power.
Missing or oversized cores, the occurrence of abnormal dungeons – as these ominous clues piled up, reality became increasingly anxious. The team members were confused, and among them, Byun Gyeongju’s condition was serious. I had wanted to talk to her earlier because something seemed off, but now she was shaking all over.
It was unlikely for Byun Gyeongju, who was in charge of exploration with her delicate skills and brave personality, to be like this.
I approached Byun Gyeongju slowly so as not to startle her.
“Gyeong-ju, are you alright?”
At my question, she jerked her shoulders greatly. She was like a child caught stealing.
“Yes…? I, I…”
Her face was drenched in sweat. She had been fine in the morning, and even when we first entered the dungeon, it wasn’t this bad. Something was off.
“Are you feeling sick?”
Unfortunately, we couldn’t leave the dungeon now. Generally, in places where a boss monster’s spatial dominance was strong, even magical transportation devices didn’t work, and we couldn’t leave the dungeon first when we couldn’t contact Seo-heon’s team.
“I’m, I’m fine. I can do it.”
“For now, go to the back and ask Ihye to cast a conditioning skill on you.”
“Alright.”
Watching Byun Gyeongju stagger away was worrying, but we couldn’t stay here forever.
“If separating us was the boss monster’s will, making contact with Team A won’t be easy either. It’s not ideal to move according to the monster’s will, but we’ll move forward as the terrain might change again at any moment.”
Without Seo-heon, I had to lead. I was the one with the most practical experience here.
“How should we form the frontline?”
“Please make it as defensive as possible. Halo, please continue to foresee the situation at least one minute ahead. You need to tell us if anything unusual occurs.”
“Understood, Woo-hyun.”
It was truly admirable that he was still maintaining that smile. It was much better than being consumed by vague fear in this situation.
“Let’s be prepared but not afraid.”
The situation was terrible in many ways, but we had no choice but to move forward.
Unlike the upper part that was soaked in lava, the continuing path looked like just an ordinary cave. However, it didn’t feel like the boss monster’s dominion was weak, but rather like it was being hidden. The constant chills despite the heat suggested this feeling wouldn’t end as just a feeling.
“In one minute, three B-rank lizardmen will appear. They’re not a big threat.”
As Halo predicted, lizardmen about 30 times the size of regular lizards appeared.
“They’re easy monsters, but let’s maintain our vigilance.”
Compared to our anxiety, they were easy enemies. The other team members also joined in, loosening their bodies that had been stiff with tension. The lizardmen flipped over and trembled after falling with just one attack.
“The state of the monsters is somewhat strange.”
The monsters were afraid of something, like animals before a natural disaster. It was certain that the object of their fear wasn’t us.
“In one minute and thirty seconds, the ceiling will collapse. And the boss monster of this dungeon isn’t the hatchling, but…”
Halo’s words stopped for a moment. Confusion and worry swirled on his face. As if his previous composure had been a lie.
Thump thump.
My heart was beating wildly as I waited for his next words. It was a sense that what was coming had arrived.
“It’s an adult Red Dragon. The hatchling we were expecting is the child it was taking care of. It should be on Team A’s side.”
Halo drew a conclusion by piecing together fragments of future information.
“A Red Dragon?”
“That’s impossible.”
The appearance of an adult dragon had only been recorded five times in history. And there was no record of one appearing without warning like this.