Chapter 171

Cho-i Hyeon was writhing in the darkness. No matter how much she tried to move her limbs, nothing moved properly. She knew well that her body had been taken. The Entity no longer responded to her voice. It was probably true that since it had completely taken her body, it no longer had any use for her.

‘Damn bastard.’

Cho-i Hyeon muttered, as if chewing on the words. Still, there was no reply. Cho-i Hyeon writhed and wriggled inside. Not a single finger moved as she wished, but she struggled as if resisting countless times. But nothing changed, and nothing was heard. It felt as if she was left alone in complete darkness. Her whole body felt sticky, and something seemed to be holding her hands and feet.

‘Just you wait until I get out, once I’m out…’

Once I’m out, I’ll beat everyone up, damn it. Even as Cho-i Hyeon thought that, she felt the darkness slowly stealing her consciousness. Her eyes were already closed, but it felt as if her mind was also being submerged.

‘No, it can’t be… ‘

She tried and tried not to lose consciousness. Her guild members would arrive soon, so she had to stay alert. For them to defeat ‘the Entity,’ she had to be conscious.

‘If this thing falls… will I die with it?’

That thought filled her mind, but still, she couldn’t help it. Rather than becoming a monster that destroyed the world, it was better to be caught and killed by her party members. Whether she could die was the problem, though.

‘It’s obvious this bastard won’t die either,’

Cho-i Hyeon kept devising methods, trapped inside the Entity.

***

Taehyeok Sa and his companions were waiting for other Hunters in front of the dome where the boss monster was. All their faces were grim. This was due to losing Cho-i Hyeon, and the presence of the boss monster inside that looked like Cho-i Hyeon.

“How should we explain this?”

“…Somehow.”

Taeyang Kang said. Taehyeok Sa was still deep in thought, and Taeyang Kang looked at him and said,

“You’re going to tell them not to kill her, right?”

“…That’s impossible.”

“Taehyeok Sa!”

“We don’t have the option to kill or not kill! We don’t have that luxury! Even if we all attack, we could be wiped out.”

“But…!”

“I’m not completely giving up on Cho-i Hyeon. Since she told us to come save her, there’s probably not no way at all.”

“Then…”

“First, we’ll have to wait for the other Hunters to arrive. If we put our heads together and think about it with them, we’ll find a way. Like temporarily stopping the Entity…”

Suui Kim, who was listening nearby, spoke up.

“How about freezing it if we can? Hunter Taeyang Kang is of that type, so it shouldn’t be impossible.”

“If we’re going to freeze it, it would only be possible after making it as weak as possible.”

“Weak, you say…”

Yeonhan Kim looked at Nara Shim. Nara Shim nodded.

“I’ll try using a debuff.”

“Do you think a debuff will work?”

“…I don’t know. But for now, since Cho-i is in monster form, I think it might be possible.”

“…I see.”

Nara Shim clenched her hands. She couldn’t abandon her again like last time. No, she couldn’t tell her to die like that time.

‘I can’t let her go through that experience again.’

Nara Shim thought and thought.

‘A way to stop the Entity… ‘

There must be one. No, there had to be. As her anguish deepened, a rustling sound came from the distant forest. The party members, their nerves on edge, raised their weapons. But what emerged from the forest was not a monster, but a person.

“What, why are you stopped here?”

It was Gihyeon Park’s Guild. His clothes and body were covered in soot, so it seemed he had a rough journey. And…

“…one guild member is missing.”

Then Gihyeon Park frowned and laughed savagely.

“He died on the way. Can’t be helped. You can’t expect everyone to survive doing this kind of work. You, speaking of which… wait.”

Gihyeon Park’s brow furrowed even more. He looked around as if searching for someone.

“…Cho-i Hyeon, where did Cho-i Hyeon go?”

At those words, Taehyeok Sa’s face darkened.

“There’s no way she’s dead. Where is she?”

“…First, listen to me without being surprised.”

“Alright, just spit it out.”

Taehyeok Sa pointed to the dome.

“There’s a boss monster in there.”

“You’re not going to tell me you left her alone in there, are you?”

“Something like that.”

“You bastard!”

Gihyeon Park instantly approached and grabbed Taehyeok Sa by the collar. Those watching were startled and began to pull him away.

“That’s not it!”

“Guild Master, why are you confusing us?”

“Park Gi-hyun’s Guild Leader, please wait a moment!”

Then, Gihyeon Park’s guild members also tried to stop him for now.

“Let’s hear him out! What do you intend to achieve by fighting among ourselves here?”

“That’s right. There must have been a reason!”

“A reason for what?!”

Gihyeon Park didn’t let go of Taehyeok Sa’s collar and snarled.

“You’re not going to say you escaped while he was holding them off, are you?”

“Do you think I’d say something so pathetic? You don’t even have any creativity. Well, right now, the situation far exceeds the creativity of an ordinary person, though.”

At his words, Gihyeon Park seemed to calm down a bit, loosening his grip on the collar.

“What do you mean?”

“Inside there’s a boss monster and…”

Taehyeok Sa said calmly and collectedly.

“That’s Cho-i Hyeon.”

Gihyeon Park, as expected, didn’t immediately understand his words.

“What do you mean? There’s a boss monster inside, and that’s Cho-i Hyeon?”

“Exactly as I said.”

Taehyeok Sa pushed Gihyeon Park’s hand away and straightened his collar. Then, he spoke again in a calm voice.

“The boss monster inside is Cho-i Hyeon mutated.”

“…That.”

Is that possible? In response to his question, Paehyeok’s Group had no choice but to nod. They had seen it with their own eyes. Gihyeon Park still looked at the dome’s entrance with a bewildered expression.

“I need to go in and see for myself.”

“Wait, we need a countermeasure. Let’s talk before we go in.”

“Do we have time for that now?!”

“If not, we’ll all die if we go in.”

“…”

Taehyeok Sa shot back sharply. Taehyeok Sa’s eyes flickered with strange emotions. The fact that he didn’t have the power to save Cho-i Hyeon now. And the fact that he didn’t have the power to defeat the Entity. As an SS-Rank, facing the reality of his own weakness for the first time, his mind was in turmoil, but he was doing his best to maintain his composure.

“If you’re going to save Cho-i Hyeon, you need to go in with at least a minimal plan.”

“…What are you going to do?”

“For now, I’m thinking of incapacitating Cho-i Hyeon, no, the boss monster, as much as possible and trapping it inside Taeyang Kang’s Ice. If that succeeds, we might be able to figure out some way to save Cho-i Hyeon.”

“…Damn it.”

Gihyeon Park ran his hands through his hair and sank to the ground. And Gihyeon Park’s companions, who had been listening to the conversation, murmured amongst themselves, looking at each other. Can humans be affected by a dungeon and turn into monsters? If so, then we… Such stories filled the air. Then Yeonhan Kim stepped forward and calmed them down.

“It seems that Hunter Cho-i Hyeon mutated due to being affected by visiting a hidden dungeon related to a boss monster. Therefore, there will be no such changes for other Hunters.”

At his words, they seemed somewhat reassured and slowly fell silent.

“So, we wait longer here?”

“Yes. We have no choice but to wait here until the Hunters from other Nations defeat the monsters and return.”

“How long do you think the Entities will take?”

“Still, they are the elite Hunters from each Nation. It won’t take too long.”}]}“`ப்பாக“`json{

While they were talking, a presence was felt from the opposite side of where Gihyeon Park had appeared. When Gihyeon Park had just appeared, his nerves were so sensitive that he couldn’t distinguish between a human presence and a monster’s presence, but now that he was calm enough, he could distinguish the Entity.

“What are you all doing here?”

And then, Jihan Kim’s party appeared.

“Indeed. What are you all doing gathered here?”

And Zhixuan, who was among Jihan Kim’s party, also showed his face. Fortunately, thanks to Zhixuan, it seemed no one had been left behind. But Jihan Kim and Zhixuan’s expressions were strange. They seemed to have immediately noticed the absence of someone they should have greeted boisterously as soon as they arrived. Zhixuan stepped forward and asked,

“But… where is Hunter Cho-i Hyeon?”

“I’ll explain once everyone is here.”

A strange uneasiness flickered across Zhixuan and Jihan Kim’s faces. Judging by the current atmosphere, they had a premonition that it wouldn’t be a minor matter, and that premonition was not wrong.

***

As time passed, more and more Hunters gathered. Fortunately, everyone had a translator device, so communication was not a problem. It seemed everyone had brought one because they needed everyone’s strength to defeat the boss monster. Taehyeok Sa began to explain about the boss monster from the center of the group.

“First, it’s a mantis-type monster, and its size isn’t very large. However, it seems to be fast and capable of flight, so it would be good to have Hunters who can fly.”

Then, one of the German hunters raised his hand.

“We have flight-type skills here.”

“Then the German side will handle the upper area.”

“How fast is it?”

“It’s so fast that even SS-Rank me and Taeyang Kang have difficulty perceiving it.”

“……”

A moment of silence followed those words. If it was fast enough to be difficult for an SS-Rank to perceive, it meant that everyone here wouldn’t be able to perceive it.