93
CH.93 Stained Rock Pile (5)
The hunting style of a party and a solo player are different from the start.
Party hunting mainly involves exploring and hunting monsters in a traditional way through a balance of damage and tanking, but solo players value efficiency.
They hunt the monsters they need to hunt and avoid unnecessary ones.
That was the battle style of solo Holders.
"......"
Yoo Eun-seol was no exception.
She is an assassin, optimized for solo play.
Among them, she is a high-ranking Holder who is considered to be at the top.
Her nearly max level [Stealth] and top-level martial arts runes allowed her to reach the top of the Seoraksan field without much effort.
She killed only 10 monsters on her way up to the top of the mountain.
All were A-grade monsters.
"Fenrir is... not here today."
Yoo Eun-seol muttered as if she was disappointed.
The S-grade monster, also known as the boss of the field, does not always appear.
Because the number of individuals is so small, the regeneration probability is too low.
This is a lucky event for ordinary Holders hunting in the field, but for Yoo Eun-seol, who considers S-grade monsters as a decent source of income, it was somewhat unfortunate.
"It doesn't seem like there were any useful Holders either."
Even though it was a walk, it wasn't just a hike.
On the way up to the top...
She often observed Holders hunting in parties.
The result was, as expected, nothing.
Not even a Holder with useful skills that could qualify for what she was looking for was visible.
Maybe it's because Seoraksan Field is so far from the mainstream.
Lately, she had a feeling that high-ranking Holders were not visible.
'I guess I'll have to go today...'
After briefly watching the Holders hunting in the middle...
Yoo Eun-seol, who was about to descend as it was, suddenly stopped for a moment.
While using [Stealth] to roam around the middle of Seoraksan Field...
She spotted a slightly peculiar sight.
"Explode!"
At the edge of the middle part.
A two-person party was battling a wolf-like monster in a certain area of the field where bushes were thick...
A man with a shield and sword hugged a woman and hunted down a fiercely charging wolf.
There were countless corpses of wolves around them, as if they had already finished one round of battle.
'Hide Wolf....'
Yoo Eun-seol recognized the identity of the opposing monster at once.
B-grade monster Hide Wolf.
One of the monsters possessing [Stealth] rune, it's a vicious monster that hides in various terrains and waits for an opportunity to attack.
It seems that as soon as the battle ended, it targeted a female Holder who seemed to be a magician.
And fortunately, they seemed to have blocked even that ambush well.
"This damn wolf. Explode, explode."
...Although the man's language seemed a bit rough...
'...They fight well.'
Yoo Eun-seol, who was going to help if it was dangerous, turned her steps again.
A two-person party with only warrior and magician classes.
Considering the level of Seoraksan Field, it's quite an ambitious composition, but it wasn't powerful enough to catch Yoo Eun-seol's eye.
At most B-grade 2-person party.
That was all.
'......?'
But Yoo Eun-seol had to stop again.
Something felt strange.
Strange yet familiar.
Tiresome yet long-awaited.
That peculiar and mysterious energy...
It was coming from that man ahead.
'......'
It was hard to believe easily.
Without releasing [Stealth], Yoo Eun-seol cautiously moved closer to them.
And as she got closer...
The energy became clearer and deeper.
It was certain.
What she had been looking for all this time.
The one she had been tempted by Tak Won-ho's words and even tried to go to the academy...
A special Holder.
Someone who qualifies was in those bushes.
At this sudden discovery...
Yoo Eun-seol couldn't hide her bewildered emotions.
'Suddenly in such a place....'
She did look at Holders while climbing and descending...
Honestly, she didn't have high expectations.
Even though she had formed temporary parties herself before and couldn't find them, she didn't think she would find them in such an ordinary hunting situation.
But it's certain.
The energy resonating with her body told her that that Holder had enough qualifications.
"Chae-eun. Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?"
The young Holder looked at his colleague with a worried face...
He was the first 'Dragon Energy' Holder she encountered after Song Do-hyuk of <Dragon Light Sword>.
***
Ippotranslation
***
The hunt in Seoraksan Field went smoothly.
From entering the middle part, the level of the monsters was quite high, and Kim Chae-eun was in danger during the battle, so I used [Sky-Shattering Heavenly Sword] without hesitation...
Anyway, there was no obstacle on the way to the dungeon.
'I should start entering the dungeon soon.'
The Stained Rock Pile is a dungeon that Park Jin-woo cleared in the middle and later part of the original work.
The level of the monsters in the dungeon is mostly B-grade, and the A-grade monster 'Barg' is the boss of this medium-high level dungeon.
There are no special gimmicks, and the way to the boss room is not difficult, so it's not an impregnable level of dungeon.
Plus...
'I know this dungeon well.'
So far, I've cleared three dungeons: Academy Underground Dungeon, Goblin Lair, and Forest Covered by Snakes.
Among them, there was no dungeon that I knew how to clear.
I only saw the initial clearing of the Academy Underground Dungeon, and I only knew about the entrance medium and general monster level of Goblin Lair.
Even Forest Covered by Snakes was a dungeon that was barely mentioned in the work, so there was no information at all.
Almost all were similar to experiencing unknown dungeons for the first time.
It was a miracle that I cleared all three dungeons with a boss.
On the other hand, the 'Stained Rock Pile' was an undiscovered dungeon that was detailed in the original work, from Park Jin-woo's strategy to the results. Since it took up an entire episode, I also knew how to clear it well. Therefore, even though the party members were Kim Chae-eun and me, just the two of us, it was possible to clear it.
'Today... it might be difficult.'
The damage seemed a bit lacking. Because I used [Sky-Shattering Heavenly Sword] too emotionally earlier, I might not have the firepower to defeat the boss monster 'Barg'. It seemed best to get a taste of the dungeon today and postpone clearing the boss room until tomorrow.
"Chae-eun, wait a minute."
While moving at the edge of the middle part...
As soon as I confirmed the two trees in my sight, I immediately raised my hand.
"Huh? Why?"
Two trees in front of her eyes.
They were stuck together as if they were a pair.
And a small space set up like a shelter inside them.
At first glance, they are just two trees located on an ordinary mountain, but these are the entrance to enter the 'Stained Rock Pile' dungeon.
If you step into the space between the two trees...
You can enter the dungeon right away.
I slowly raised my hand between the trees.
And then I gently touched the tree and said.
"The flow of the magical array is a bit peculiar. We can just pass by, but in my opinion..."
"Maybe?"
"I think it's an undiscovered dungeon."
A small space between trees.
I injected a very small amount of magic into it.
The condition for entering a dungeon is to inject magic into the medium.
When I injected a slightly less than adequate amount of magic, the flow of energy in the medium began to change rapidly.
"Huh? Jae-hyun, the flow of magic has gotten stronger!"
"Right?"
I smiled slightly and looked back at Kim Chae-eun.
"Shall we go in?"
And from such a proposal to do something together...
She never backed out.
Kim Chae-eun smiled brightly and nodded her head.
"Yes!"
[You have entered the dungeon.]
[The barbaric energy of the dungeon slightly slows down the Holder's speed.]
***
Ippotranslation
***
Undiscovered Dungeon, Stained Rock Pile.
This place is a mountain-shaped dungeon made up of rocks.
Although the terrain of rocks is a bit tricky, it's actually an easy dungeon to advance because it's open and there are no complicated structures.
The composition is a standard arrangement of entrance part, middle part, and boss room.
The appearing monsters are wolf-like monsters just like Seoraksan Field.
'The monster that appeared at the entrance was...'
From what I remember, probably B-grade Gray Wolf.
It's a physical monster with no special magic attacks but with rune support focused on physical enhancement.
Its abilities are also strong in speed, so its movements are sharp and fierce.
In particular, it has [Sturdy Fangs] rune like Poisonous Iguana... but its proficiency is much better than Poisonous Iguana's, so we need to be careful about their 'attack after defense reduction'.
Awoooo-!!
Awooo- Awoooo-!!
As soon as we entered this dungeon, the monsters welcomed us.
I quickly put the sword in my hand using the Art of Weapon Exchange and said.
“Chae-eun”
“Yes..!!”
Kim Chae-eun and my breathing are no longer pushed by any skilled attributes.
Hearing the signal, Kim Chae-eun quickly raised her willpower.
Our key point in combo fight was to control the monsters with the ice system and to create a composition for me to attack.
I also started preparing to use [Rage Rush].
Afterall, the most efficient thing to do when attacking first is to charge.
Grrrr, Grrrr-!!
Awoooooo, Awooooo-!!
"But...?"
But something strange happened.
The number of wolves appearing as soon as we entered...
Was large.
Too large.
Five, seven, ten, fifteen, twenty...
Twenty? Thirty?
The number was growing so much that it was hard to count with naked eyes.
And that's not all.
Among those countless Gray Wolves...
A huge wolf was guarding its place heavily.
Its large body and dark gray mane.
And its intimidating presence and demeanor that seemed to tear everything apart.
It was a wolf we had never seen before and looked like at least an A-grade monster.
"Jae-, Jae-hyun... That..."
Kim Chae-eun called me with a trembling voice.
I felt just as bewildered as she did.
'It's different from...the original.'
Different.
It was content that wasn't in the original work.
The Stained Rock Pile is a fairly high-level dungeon, but because there is an appropriate number of monsters appearing and no gimmicks, it's not a difficult dungeon to clear. Naturally, only four or five Gray Wolves appear at the entrance. But that formula was twisted.
The number of monsters close to dozens and a special monster in the center. The fact that they greeted us for hunting as soon as we entered… Was something I’d never imagined.
'What should I do?'
An unexpected situation. In this bewildering sight... I couldn't figure out what to do.
Awoooo-!!
Grrr- Grrr-
But there was no time to think. The pack of wolves that had already gathered... They were rushing towards Kim Chae-eun and me like crazy.