Chapter 59

With this, both Angramels were rendered completely incapacitated.

Reduced to mangled wreckage, they would need considerable time to regenerate.

Now was the perfect opportunity to destroy their Cores.

The problem, however, was that things wouldn’t be that easy.

Hwirik!

Roots erupted from the ground, binding their legs tightly.

Naturally, only the party members fell victim to this.

Siyoon, possessing heightened senses, had perceived the danger well in advance and evaded it.

“Still throwing a tantrum until the very end, I see.”

Visibly irritated, Jin Baekseon spat out a string of profanities.

He shook his head as he focused on severing the roots.

“They regenerate so fast it doesn’t even seem to matter.”

“Tsk! We’ll handle things down here. Think you can go smash the Core?”

It might have seemed like he was simply dumping the task on Siyoon, but that wasn’t the case.

They genuinely needed people to keep the regenerating Angramels in check.

The creatures’ regenerative abilities were simply beyond imagination.

Kkik…

Case in point: the half-destroyed Angramel was already beginning to twitch.

Its recovery speed was far faster than anticipated.

“I’ll join the Core destruction team.”

Seo Eunhyun, who had also escaped the roots’ bindings, approached them.

For a climb that high, it was far better to have someone agile.

This allowed for a stable distribution of their forces.

“Then I’ll leave things down here to you.”

With that, their roles were set.

A team to destroy the Core, and a team to hold off the Angramels.

Given the urgency of ending this quickly, it was the optimal balance.

* * *

The Core was suspended in midair within this space.

Estimating roughly, it hung at a height of about 100 meters.

A considerable height by any measure.

Tang.

Unsurprisingly, Siyoon’s first attempt was a sniper shot.

If it worked, there would be no need to climb all the way up.

However, several tendrils shot out from the side, intercepting the bullet.

Peok, peok, peok, peok!

“Mmm.”

Siyoon furrowed his brow slightly.

He had even activated the Wind of Horus, yet it was blocked with such ease.

‘Is a single shot not enough?’

Tu, tu, tu, tung!

This time, he fired in rapid succession to prevent them from blocking.

Yet, the result was much the same.

Far more tendrils than before erupted and completely enveloped the Core.

The intertwined tendrils remained unbroken, even under Siyoon’s relentless sniping.

This held true even after he unloaded at least twenty rounds into it.

“This isn’t working. Sniping it down is impossible.”

“Then it looks like we’ll have to climb up after all.”

Seo Eunhyun remarked, swiping his daggers through the air.

While Siyoon had been sniping, Eunhyun was busy severing any roots that sprang out at them.

“Is it even possible?”

Seo Eunhyun cast a sidelong glance at the Core.

No matter how he looked at it, the Core was positioned far too high.

Siyoon offered a faint smirk.

“Of course. Just hold on a moment while I find a path.”

In truth, scaling such a height through conventional means was impossible.

There were no stairs, nor were there any ropes to climb.

But for Siyoon, it was entirely possible.

Syararak.

‘This way.’

Siyoon’s skill, Path Finder, would instinctively guide him along the correct route.

In fact, merely glancing at the terrain was enough for an optimal path to map itself out in his mind.

It was an incredibly convenient skill.

“I’ll go first. Watch closely and follow my lead.”

“Will do.”

Siyoon Enhanced his entire body before leaping toward the wall.

His first foothold was a slight gap between protruding tendrils.

The Heart of the Rainforest was an ancient tree formed by countless tangled trunks and branches.

Consequently, there were countless crevices to use as footholds.

Tat!

The two men skillfully ascended, springing from crevice to crevice along the wall.

A B-Rank hunter possessed a correspondingly impressive physique.

Leaping between such narrow footholds in rapid succession was child’s play to them.

However, Angramel wasn’t about to sit back and watch them ascend.

Swaeaek!

The tendrils enveloping the Core writhed before shooting toward them.

Seo Eunhyun crossed his daggers in midair with an acrobatic finesse, slicing through the onslaught.

Even upon a second viewing, his reflexes were astonishing.

“What do we do about that?”

“We smash through. What other choice do we have?”

Seo Eunhyun seemed to be looking to Siyoon for an answer.

But this time, there truly was no brilliant alternative.

‘It would be easy if I could just set this whole place on fire.’

At that moment, a brilliant idea flashed through Siyoon’s mind.

‘When I Enhanced the skill book before, I was able to gain additional attributes by consuming enhancement materials.’

It was an application of Enhancement that even Siyoon hadn’t fully grasped.

By using enhancement materials, the Detector skill had been enhanced into the Epic-Rank Path Finder.

That had only been possible because it inherited some of the key’s effects.

In that case, what would happen if he used a fire-related item as an enhancement material?

“Do you happen to have anything on you that can start a fire?”

“What?”

“It’s important.”

At Siyoon’s words, Seo Eunhyun pondered for a moment before nodding.

“Now that you mention it, I do have a spare Fire Stick left.”

“That’ll be more than enough.”

Tak.

Siyoon caught the Fire Stick as Eunhyun tossed it to him.

‘First step: acquiring a fire-related item. Success.’

Enhancing and using the Fire Stick on its own would lack punch.

He had been able to commit arson in the jungle earlier because it was dense with trees and grass.

But the branches here were magical beasts with potent regeneration.

Even if they caught fire, the flames wouldn’t spread easily.

Therefore, Siyoon planned to use it as enhancement material, just as he had intended.

[ Using ‘Skill: Enhancement’ to enhance ‘Fire Stick’. ]

Siyoon first rapidly Enhanced the Fire Stick.

Equipment that had already been enhanced could still be used as material.

He raised it to the safe threshold of +6, then immediately drew his sniper rifle.

‘There’s a risk of explosion from +7 onward, but this time is a little different.’

It wouldn’t matter even if it failed.

He was planning to replace the RTB-201 soon anyway.

Besides, this was merely a shortcut to conveniently destroy the Core.

Even without it, destroying the Core wouldn’t be an issue.

It would just be a bit more tedious.

[ Will you consume ‘Fire Stick +6’ as enhancement material? ]

[ Using ‘Fire Stick +6’ as material will grant a special effect. ]

‘Consume.’

Siyoon answered without a moment’s hesitation.

The Fire Stick in his hand dissolved, beginning to absorb into the sniper rifle.

[ Consuming ‘Fire Stick +6’ as enhancement material for ‘RTB-201 +6’. ]

[ Congratulations! ]

[ Enhancement successful! ]

[ You have acquired ‘RTB-201 +7’! ]

[ First successful enhancement to +7… ]

Along with the successful enhancement notification, a string of messages scrolled into view.

‘The rest can wait.’

Siyoon brought up only the item information from among them.

+

【 RTB-201 +7 】

◇Imbued with the fire attribute.

― Attacks can imbue bullets with fire attributes.

― However, consecutive use accumulates significant damage to the weapon.

▶Aiming is fully corrected.

▶Fires completely silently.

▶Recoil is completely eliminated.

▶Reload speed increases significantly.

▶Damage increases substantially.

+

A smile crept onto Siyoon’s lips.

As expected, the options were highly satisfactory.

Auto-aim coupled with perfect silence.

A substantial boost in damage, plus the fire attribute.

But perhaps because it was so absurdly overpowered.

This time, there was a caveat: using it would inflict damage upon the weapon itself.

‘Well, it doesn’t matter if it breaks.’

Now that he knew he could simply craft another one with Enhancement, there was no need to hold back.

Siyoon leaped toward another crevice and sniped the Core.

Even while adjusting his posture mid-air, the barrel smoothly tracked the target.

Swaeaek!

As he pulled the trigger, a bullet discharged without a single sound.

Its surface glowed red, brimming with the fire attribute.

Siyoon then channeled the wind into it as well.

Peok, hwarareuk!

-…!!!

The blazing bullet pierced through the branches and embedded itself directly into the Core.

Flames erupted from both the entry wound and the embedded bullet.

The fire had merged with the wind, amplifying its intensity.

Hwirik.

Having clearly identified Siyoon as a threat, the creature extended its branches to attack.

At that moment, Seo Eunhyun rushed in and sliced them all away.

“I’ll cover you.”

He had judged that covering Siyoon was a more rational choice than engaging the boss directly.

His tactical instincts were incredibly sharp.

Thanks to that, Siyoon could fight with ease.

Peok, peok, peok, peok, peok!

Stepping from foothold to foothold, Siyoon and Seo Eunhyun steadily closed the distance to the Core.

Under the relentless hail of bullets, the Core was soon entirely engulfed in flames.

In response, the creature thrashed its branches ever more violently.

However, Siyoon’s weapon wasn’t faring well either.

Jjeok…

Rifts began to form along the barrel of his painstakingly Enhanced sniper rifle.

He had forced continuous fire to ensure the creature’s death.

Observing the rapidly spreading rifts, Siyoon estimated his remaining shots.

‘I’ve got three shots left at most.’

More than enough to destroy the Core.

“Seo Eunhyun, climb up and strip away its branches. I’ll handle the rest.”

“You ask for the impossible as casually as if you were picking up groceries at a convenience store.”

Seo Eunhyun let out a dry chuckle and bent his knees.

“I’m going up first.”

In that instant, his figure blurred.

He had used bodily recoil and sheer muscle power to generate a burst of instantaneous acceleration.

Siyoon fired a shot just over Eunhyun’s shoulder.

Hwaak!

The bullet, flying like lightning, incinerated all the branches surging toward Eunhyun.

Through the scattering debris, Eunhyun propelled himself toward his target.

The moment Eunhyun reached the Core.

Siyoon embedded another bullet dead center.

Kuhwak!

The bullet, imbued with the Wind of Horus and its own intrinsic flames, spewed a torrent of intense fire.

Charred branches crumbled and fell away, revealing the withered, twisted wood beneath.

Seo Eunhyun swung his daggers at the exposed area.

The surging flames clung to the severed branches as they plummeted.

His crossing daggers successfully carved out deep gashes.

Peok.

“Ugh…!”

Suddenly, a branch swung by the Core struck Seo Eunhyun, sending him plummeting.

But Siyoon didn’t react in the slightest.

Even if he fell from this height, it wouldn’t kill Seo Eunhyun.

Right now, sniping the Core was far more important.

‘This should be enough.’

Through the scope, he could see a minute gap exposed between the gashes.

The Core’s crimson light pulsed like a heartbeat, blazing as it radiated heat.

Seeing this, Siyoon’s eyes locked onto it.

Kkik…

He stopped breathing.

He halted his thoughts, and his body went completely still.

With even his gaze locked in place, the only thing he moved was his index finger resting on the trigger.

It was the result of extreme concentration, eliminating every unnecessary movement for the shot.

Tang.

Fired without a single tremor, the bullet shot forth in a straight line.

Flames coursed over its glowing red surface.

The wind enveloped the flames, amplifying their power.

The straight arrow of fire forced its way into the minute gap, ultimately piercing right through.

Peogeok.

The bullet exited the other side and embedded itself in the wall.

A sickening, fleshy squelch echoed out.

The branches enveloping the Core swelled grotesquely before shriveling up.

In that very moment.

Pakang!

[ ‘RTB-201 +7’ has been destroyed due to excessive firepower output. ]

He had anticipated this, so he didn’t bat an eye.

Hadn’t he roughly estimated his remaining uses the moment the cracks formed?

‘I’ve definitely gotten my money’s worth out of you.’

This was a rifle he had received during a commission involving Haind, a company that was now defunct.

Considering how roughly he treated it, surviving for several months was a good run.

Siyoon tossed the ruined sniper rifle downward.

Just then, a new message materialized before them.

[ You have destroyed the Core of the Heart of the Rainforest. ]

[ You have defeated the boss Angramel. ]

[ You have cleared the Hidden Route of ‘Enseodotar’s Rainforest’! ]

Siyoon flashed a wide grin.

He had busted his ass for the better half of the day crawling through this dungeon.

Now, he had finally cleared Enseodotar’s Rainforest.