Chapter 21

B-rank Dungeon, D-14.

As they stepped inside, a dry, arid air greeted them.

It was a wasteland covered entirely in red gravel and dirt.

Tall rock formations jutted out in places, but the rest was an open, unobstructed wasteland.

The terrain wasn’t bad.

Having a clear line of sight meant they could prepare for monster attacks in advance.

However, it also meant they had to be careful when positioning themselves, as there was nowhere to hide.

Kang Yuseong surveyed the wasteland.

Then, his gaze fixed on one spot.

‘The Red Giant Soldier Ant Tower.’

It was a sight very familiar to him.

A tower roughly three stories tall.

Inside, countless Level 3 Red Giant Soldier Ants would be swarming.

But Kang Yuseong wasn’t just observing it for that reason.

He was recalling the catastrophe these creatures would unleash.

The pheromones of the Red Giant Soldier Ants attracted a terrifying predator.

It was probably hiding somewhere nearby.

The worst monster, known as Greedy Garnag.

It was nearly Level 8, and its venom made it exceptionally difficult to hunt.

What’s more, it employed invisibility.

It blended so perfectly with its surroundings that parties often suffered surprise attacks and were wiped out before they could even spot it.

This was no easy dungeon.

The examiners, including Kang Gi-han, who stood behind them, exchanged glances.

In truth, they already knew about Kang Yuseong.

They knew he was an SS-rank Hunter, and that his skill was exceptional.

However, he had rejected Immortal Guild’s offer.

In that case, he was merely an enemy.

‘Garnag from the start… what a pity.’

Experienced Hunters knew.

The moment they disturbed the Red Giant Soldier Ants, they would become food for Garnag.

Of course, the examiners would intervene and resolve the situation before that happened, but the certification test would immediately be a failure.

Either way, it was a very unfavorable situation for Kang Yuseong’s party.

At that moment, Kang Yuseong moved.

He walked unhesitatingly towards the Red Giant Soldier Ant Tower.

The examiners’ eyes narrowed.

“It seems he’ll end up drinking from the poisoned chalice.”

Jung Tae-hyeon, one of the examiners, murmured.

Their demise was vividly clear in his mind.

“It can’t be helped. We can only see it as the price for coveting what shouldn’t be coveted.”

Kang Gi-han slowly replied.

“Well, it’s a bit anticlimactic, but an early end seems good. No need to waste time, after all.”

The examiners chatted amongst themselves, as if the test had already concluded.

In fact, it was natural for them to think so.

Because even as they spoke, Kang Yuseong was still heading towards the Red Giant Soldier Ant Tower.

“Hmph, I had some interest, but this is disappointing.”

Kang Gi-han muttered, casting an indifferent gaze.

Jung Tae-hyeon chuckled and said,

“Well, it’s not over yet. Who knows… perhaps the reason that man swayed Deputy Director Kim Ji-hyeok of Immortal Guild will be revealed here.”

Kang Gi-han shook his head. Then he pointed straight ahead.

“It seems it’s already too late.”

The other examiners looked forward.

There, Kang Yuseong could be seen striking the Red Giant Soldier Ant Tower with his sword.

Jung Tae-hyeon gave a bitter laugh.

“Well… it might be over then.”

In the early days, how many Hunters had fallen into that trap and died?

The monster Garnag was that fearsome of an entity.

“Hmm…?”

But then, Kim Yeong-seok, one of the examiners, frowned.

“No way…!”

A look of surprise dawned on his face.

The other examiners looked at him with puzzled expressions, then simultaneously turned their gazes.

And they, too, wore expressions of shock.

There, something they hadn’t anticipated was unfolding.

*****

Clang!

Kang Yuseong, having approached the Red Giant Soldier Ant Tower, imbued his sword with Chakra Force and struck the tower.

Crunch!

Crumble!

The solidly hardened tower shook violently, and an unpleasant sound emanated from within.

Rustle-rustle-rustle—

The sound of countless insects crawling.

Then, giant soldier ants poured out from numerous holes.

“Chirrrk!”

They were enormous, creatures the size of large dogs swarming out in endless numbers.

These were the Level 3 Red Giant Soldier Ants.

While their defense was abysmal, their powerful mandibles possessed the strongest offensive power, capable of snapping even steel in two.

And they were extremely enraged at the humans who had attacked their home.

Hiss-hiss-hiss!

The creatures adopted a battle stance and charged at the Hunter party.

“Form a circle!”

Kang Yuseong shouted instantly.

It was a command to form a circular formation.

The Hunters quickly moved to create a circular formation.

“Kill any that approach, and if body fluid gets on you, absolutely do not wipe it off!”

Kang Yuseong gave quick instructions.

However, the Hunters had no time to ponder his words.

“Screee!”

Ants were already swarming and attacking from all directions.

“You bastards!”

Whoosh—

A Hunter named Park Man-sam, a man of immense strength who wielded a giant battle-axe as his main weapon, swung his axe.

CRACK!

An ant struck by his axe split in half.

Body fluid splattered, covering the Hunters in a mess.

“Don’t wipe it off!”

It was sticky and reeked, but the Hunters remembered Kang Yuseong’s words, left the fluid as it was, and fought like madmen.

“Haaat!”

CRASH!

The Hunter Kim Seong-cheol raised his heavy battle hammer above his head and brought it down.

SPLAT!

The ant’s head was crushed by the hammer.

He had no time to check if it was dead, as another ant charged at him from the side.

SPLAT!

Kim Seong-cheol, also a natural powerhouse, swung his hammer upwards, smashing the body of the charging ant.

Gush!

Because the Red Giant Soldier Ant’s carapace was very thin, its body burst open from the hammer’s attack, scattering body fluid.

“Kill them all!”

The Hunters gritted their teeth and swung their weapons wildly.

Forming a circle, they indiscriminately stabbed, slashed, and struck down the ants swarming from all sides.

The circular formation was specialized for defense.

Even if it was a swarm of Level 3 ants, breaking through that formation seemed incredibly difficult.

Thump-thump-

Swish-

Kang Yuseong separated himself from the formation and massacred the ants, swinging his sword.

Swish!

His sword, sometimes moving in a straight line, sometimes spinning, precisely found the ants’ vital points, severing their life.

He didn’t care if body fluids splattered on him either, not at this moment.

What was important, for now, was Garnag.

Kang Yuseong glanced over and saw that the Hunters were already covered in fluid.

He nodded inwardly.

Now, that much would be enough to deceive Garnag’s sense of smell.

It was as good as being drenched in the pheromones of Red Giant Soldier Ants.

Garnag was not an enemy of the Red Giant Soldier Ants.

It appeared, drawn by the scent of pheromones emitted by the Red Giant Soldier Ants during fierce battles, and attacked their enemies.

In other words, it had a symbiotic relationship with the Red Giant Soldier Ants.

This was a fact discovered later: research had revealed that Garnag, which primarily fed on ant eggs, intervened in battles because it would be troubled if the ants disappeared.

Therefore, being thoroughly covered in their body fluid was the only way to deceive it.

However, Kang Yuseong was deliberately avoiding the splattering fluids.

He intended to become the bait himself.

Since it used invisibility, if he couldn’t lure it out, he would surely be ambushed.

There was only one way to figure out its location.

Its smell.

‘…!’

A pungent, sulfur-like smell!

The creature emitted a special liquid to blend its body with the surrounding landscape, which produced this faint odor.

‘It’s here!’

As soon as Kang Yuseong caught the scent of sulfur, he scanned his surroundings.

It had approached to within striking distance.

It was a formidable creature, nearly Level 8.

Moreover, if it started using its venom, the Hunters’ annihilation would only be a matter of time.

Kang Yuseong immediately dashed in the opposite direction from where the Hunters were.

He intended to lure the creature away from the Hunters.

As he ran, he deliberately kept killing ants and scattering their bodies on the ground.

Crack!

Thump-thump-thump!

Suddenly, ant corpses began to burst open, one after another.

And the speed was incredibly fast.

At that moment, Kang Yuseong’s eyes flashed brightly.

The creature was chasing him.

Kang Yuseong twisted his body, gripping his sword tightly.

And he immediately dashed towards where the ant corpses were bursting.

The creature was there!

Swish-

Slash!

He ducked his head, sliding forward, then angled his sword and slashed.

Clang!

A jarring pain shot through his grip, and sparks flew from the blade.

His sword had struck the creature’s leg carapace.

‘There it is.’

Getting body fluid on it was useless.

It assimilated even that.

The first step to revealing its form was to make its body fluids gush out!

But as he’d just seen, the creature’s leg carapace was incredibly tough.

Suddenly, Kang Yuseong smirked.

Shriiiing—

Chakra Force began to gather on his sword.

Hadn’t he leveled up a Chakra skill specifically for moments like this!

Chakra, Carapace Melt.

For initially breaking carapaces, there was no better Chakra skill.

Rustle-rustle-rustle—

At that moment, he heard the creature move.

It was moving much faster than before.

WHOOSH!

And from the seemingly empty air, something tore through with a ripping sound and came flying at him.

Kang Yuseong knew what it was.

Its long tail.

A strike from that whip-like tail would immediately cause poisoning, and as it was a neurotoxin, movement would quickly slow. Then, one would be torn to shreds by the creature.

Whoosh-whoosh-

The instant he felt a sharp force descending, Kang Yuseong’s body slid away from the spot.

This was Wind Flow.

A physical technique that read the flow of air around him and allowed him to slip through it.

The moment Kang Yuseong evaded the creature’s attack, he lunged forward, extending his sword.

Crack!

Unlike before, no sparks flew even as his sword sliced through the creature’s leg carapace.

Instead, something strange occurred.

Sizzle-sizzle-sizzle—

A burning smoke rose.

The acidic power of Chakra, Carapace Melt was dissolving its carapace.

WHOOSH!

But the creature was not to be underestimated.

Thwack!

As soon as it was attacked, it struck down with its tail once more.

But Kang Yuseong had already anticipated that attack.

Thump-

Instead of retreating, he leaped forward, thrusting his sword.

WHOOSH!

Chakra, Meteor Stab!

The Meteor Stab, imbued with the power of Chakra, Carapace Melt, pierced through the air at an invisible speed.

Crack!

CRUNCH!

A heavy sensation registered in his hand.

Kang Yuseong gave it no quarter, immediately following up with Chakra, Blade Twist.

“Haaat!”

Rumble!

Chakra Force erupted from the sword in his hand, rotating furiously.

CRACKLE!

“Screeeech!”

GUSH!

Suddenly, a tremendous amount of body fluid erupted from the seemingly empty air.

Thump-thump-

Kang Yuseong lightly launched himself backward.

The fluid gushing from the air was clearly visible to his eyes.

Now, he could pinpoint the creature’s location with certainty.

There was still work to be done to fully dispel its invisibility, but knowing its location was already a significant gain.

Swish-

Kang Yuseong shook his sword clean and stood tall.

“Alright, shall we start having some real fun?”

A cold smile played on his lips.

Thump-

And he dashed forward.