Chapter 68

Bang—!
A loud sound echoed from upstairs once again. The party members were all terrified. Taehyeok Sa sent the Shire’s Guild Master to the back.

“From here, I’ll take the lead.”

“What?”

“It’s better that way from now on. Something unmanageable is coming.”

“What on earth is coming that you’re so tense?”

“…Cho-i Hyeon.”

“Cho-i Hyeon? She’s just your tank. More importantly, she’s alive?”

Then Dongju Kim said.

“The monstrous roar we just heard is Hunter Cho-i Hyeon’s skill. It doesn’t usually have this effect, but…”

Dongju Kim also looked at Taehyeok Sa as if more explanation was needed. Taehyeok Sa was staring at the stairs leading to the second floor. Then Gihyeon Park said.

“Hey, if you’re going to talk, be straightforward. We need to know what it is so we can prepare, right?”

Taehyeok Sa acted as if something was about to appear at any moment. He didn’t take his eyes off the second-floor stairs and began to explain in Korean. It was to preserve Cho-i Hyeon’s secret as much as possible. Taehyeok Sa spoke in a low voice to Gihyeon Park, Dongju Kim, Yeonhan Kim, and Suui Kim.

“Cho-i Hyeon has a strange skill.”

“A strange skill?”

Suui Kim asked.

“There’s something inside Cho-i Hyeon. A skill that awakens it.”

“What’s the big deal about that?”

Gihyeon Park, not yet sensing the danger, casually clasped his hands behind his head. Taehyeok Sa sighed inwardly. When he turned his head, the Spiders that had appeared on the second-floor stairs were doing their best to quickly escape to a corner of the first floor. The strange behavior naturally heightened the tension.

“And even I can’t defeat it.”

Everyone’s eyes widened at Taehyeok Sa’s somber voice.

“Then, when you went into the dungeon together last time and came back seriously injured…”

“That’s right. I was defeated.”

When Dongju Kim asked, Taehyeok Sa affirmed. Suui Kim was looking at Taehyeok Sa with a face that indicated she didn’t understand what she had just heard, and Gihyeon Park let out a hollow laugh before starting to chuckle.

“You son of a bitch, you were hiding something even more amazing than I thought?”

“This is not the time to laugh.”

“Why? If she’s strong, that’s a good thing, right?”

“She loses her reason.”

“…Wait, what?”

Taehyeok Sa said, pressing his temple.

“There’s no ‘your side’ and ‘my side’.”

“……”

The Guild Master of Shire seemed to have understood about half of what Taehyeok Sa said, his face serious. Suui Kim was still half dazed, and Dongju Kim and Yeonhan Kim had firm expressions, as if they had prepared themselves. Indeed, those siblings were the most adaptable ones in the guild. So, that leaves Gihyeon Park.

“Exactly how much stronger than you is he?”

“Even if there were two of me, I couldn’t win.”

“…Three?”

“Three is also impossible.”

Just then, the Guild Master of Shire raised his hand from beside them.

“Then what should we do?”

“……”

For a moment, Gihyeon Park looked at Kevin as if he had lost his words. Taehyeok Sa also watched him quietly before speaking.

“We’ll have to wait until his power is depleted. That’s our only chance.”

“What does it mean for his power to be depleted?”

“You just have to wait until he takes down the boss monster. That skill doesn’t last as long as you think.”

“Then shouldn’t we just wait until he fights the boss monster?”

“…Shire Guild Master. If I were to fight the boss monster here, who do you think would win?”

“Why, you, of course.”

“It probably wouldn’t even take Hunter Cho-i Hyeon a second to defeat the boss monster. He might have already defeated it.”

“…That means.”

“The exit might already be open.”

At those words, the faces of the Korea Hunters, including the Shire Guild Master, turned pale. No one knew what would happen to them if they couldn’t get out before that gate closed forever.

“It would be best to hide among the other monsters on the first floor as much as possible….”

CRUNCH. Just then, a sound came from the stairs on the floor above. People involuntarily stopped talking and looked at the stairs. THUMP, THUMP. It was the sound of something large coming down the stairs. Hearing that sound, people unconsciously began to back away. Gihyeon Park asked,

“I don’t know, but that sound isn’t from Hunter Cho-i Hyeon, is it? It’s not that I dislike women taller than me.”

“Stop talking nonsense and shut up.”

Even the USA guild members, who couldn’t understand Korean and thus couldn’t grasp the situation, felt uneasy and looked at their Guild Master. Shire Guild Master Kevin spoke to reassure his guild members. “Don’t worry. Hunter Cho-i Hyeon is safe. But there’s a problem. He might temporarily lose his reason and attack us, so it’s best to hide rather than fight as much as possible.”

“Wouldn’t it be better to subdue him with one S-Rank?”

“Uh, well. It seems a bit impossible. The details are his secret, so it’s best not to interfere too much.”

“…Understood for now.”

S-Rank Healer Jane nodded as their representative. And in the meantime, the thumping and crunching sounds grew louder. The party slowly backed away and finally saw the entity that appeared on the second floor.

[Eight-Legged Red Eyes (SS Rank)]

“Boss monster…!”

Suui Kim gasped in a low voice. A spider monster large enough to fill the hallway was coming down the stairs. CRUNCH, CRACKLE, GROAN. It was forcing its large body into the narrow staircase, trying to escape somewhere. The entity was certainly a shocking sight.

‘An SS-Rank monster trying to escape?’

Everyone recoiled in fear and started to back away further. Taehyeok Sa frowned. A red aura emanated from the boss monster’s eyes, illuminating the surroundings in red, but the boss monster’s eyes were not looking at them. That gaze, solely observing the path ahead. It was clearly the look of an animal being pursued by a predator.

“There was a separate room on the way here, wasn’t there?”

“Yes, yes!”

“It would be best to go there and hide.”

“Ah, I understand.”

CRUNCH. The boss monster’s escape was still not over. Stuck in the passage between the stairs, its eight legs pressed against the wall, forcibly pulling its body out, it looked quite pathetic. The guild members didn’t have time to pity the monster, so they immediately turned around to run. And then. SPLASH! A tremendous amount of liquid hit them from behind. Red, sticky liquid instantly covered them, and they were pushed back down the hallway by the water pressure. And then a small sound followed. STEP, STEP. It was the sound of a normal person’s footsteps. But Taehyeok Sa instantly felt goosebumps.

“Everyone, hide anywhere…!”

“It’s too late.”

Taehyeok Sa stopped breathing. It was a voice he had heard before. A fierce, scratchy voice, as if buzzing with noise. It was based on Cho-i Hyeon’s voice, but it was an utterly unpleasant, screeching sound. The party members stiffened at the sound. Tension instantly gripped their entire bodies. Their muscles became rigid. There was no other way to describe it.

“……That male from back then.”

People watched. Cho-i Hyeon walked out, splitting the SS-Rank boss monster in half and creating a path through it. Cho-i Hyeon’s eyes were rolled back, and he was covered in blood from walking on the path made of the spider’s blood and organs. People unconsciously swallowed dryly. Taehyeok Sa was the first to step forward.

“Hide in another room or anywhere. I’ll hold them off.”

“Guild Master.”

“No matter how strong he is, there are five S-Ranks here. It would be better if we were all together…”

Yeonhan Kim spoke, trying to present a logical argument. But Taehyeok Sa said,

“It’s meaningless.”

“Huh?”

“It’s meaningless. No matter how many of us there are.”

He replied.

“I’m the only one who can handle that.”

A cold sweat ran down his forehead. Dongju Kim and Yeonhan Kim had never seen Taehyeok Sa this tense in their lives. He was a man who always showed a confident and powerful demeanor. But for him to be like this…

“Today is not a good day.”

And then, the noisy voice cut in. That unpleasant sound, like sticking a finger into one’s ear and scratching the eardrum with a very long fingernail.

“To think that all the males here are like this…”

Cho-i Hyeon, no. The Entity seemed somewhat sad. The Entity looked at Taehyeok Sa, Dongju Kim, Shire Guild Master Kevin, and Gihyeon Park in turn. The A+ Ranks didn’t even seem to register in its eyes.

“The egg needs more energy to awaken…”

The Entity tilted its head as if to snap its neck to the left. Its pale, rolled-back eyes were like those of a dead person.

“If I devour all the males here, will my hunger be satisfied?”

And with those words, Taehyeok Sa shouted,

“Run! Everyone, back!”

Sensing the gravity of the situation, people followed Taehyeok Sa’s command and began to run in the direction the spiders had fled. The sound of multiple footsteps echoed intermittently. But then,

“Where are you going?”

Gulp. They slammed on the brakes. The Entity, which had clearly been in front of Taehyeok Sa, was now in front of them on the opposite side.

“As it is, we’re short on prey.”

Everyone slowly looked up. The Entity’s mouth, which was open, was completely crimson. With the monster’s blood.

“Do you think I’ll just let you go…?”

Taehyeok Sa urgently used Telekinesis to push back the Entity. He thought he had pushed it back. But his Telekinesis had no effect whatsoever. Telekinesis was clearly pushing the Entity backward, but the Entity seemed to feel no hindrance from the pressure, taking one step after another, beginning to approach them.

“One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine…”

The Entity rolled its non-existent eyes and began to count heads.

“I’ll just eat them all, won’t I?” “Damn it!”

Everyone drew their respective weapons. Taehyeok Sa maximized his output. And he put all his strength into binding the Entity’s limbs. But the Entity merely took another step, as if a single feather had been attached to it.

“It’s alright.”

The Entity’s lips stretched long, forming a chilling smile.

“The pain won’t last long.”