Chapter 46
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Wjin
Chapter: 46
Chapter Title: Delivery into the Dungeon
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The harpies froze in terror as their bodies refused to obey their wills.
-Impossible!
-W-We have to run...!
From the start, they'd assumed victory was certain in this undisclosed, sudden dungeon. In that sense, the monsters had already lost.
After all, they had no idea about the hidden secret weapon unknown even to most hunters and monsters alike: the Delivery Hunter.
"Oh man. With prices skyrocketing these days, I've been scrimping on ingredients left and right. Guess I don't have to worry about chicken for a while~"
One fried, one roasted...
"What should I do with the rest?"
Moon Chae-ryeon.
"K-Kiik."
A chill ran down their spines.
The harpies froze solid at the sight of Chae-ryeon eyeing them like stacks of cash.
'Th-This mad human. Kiik.'
Instead of their lives flashing before their eyes, they saw a near-future nightmare.
'Aaaah...'
"Hey, guys. I make killer fried chicken, you know? I'll cook you up nice and tasty and sell you like hotcakes."
A future where they were battered in flour and egg wash, sizzling away on the fryer.
-N-Nooo!
Chae-ryeon sprang into the air like a coiled spring. The monsters scrambled to flee, but the debuff slowed them to a clumsy crawl.
[Gathering has begun.]
[Target: Harpy]
[Punch until the visible HP bar is depleted ★Let’s Punch and Punch★]
"Come on, tenderize, tenderize. Get all soft and juicy with every hit~!"
Behind Chae-ryeon's manic humming came the monsters' agonized groans and the splatter of blood, echoing nonstop.
"K-Kieeeek—!"
"Haha, what's this about turning into mincemeat? Tenderizing the meat? Let's see you try it for real, just like you said."
"S-Sorry! We won't do it again, so... please...!"
"Yeah, no need. Get lost. You're all chicken-bound anyway."
That day, everyone gathered in that dungeon made a vow.
'Never mess with the Delivery Hunter.'
Unless they wanted to get beaten to a pulp like that.
She was pounding away with such fervor, even drumming a voluntary beat—it was the first time any hunter had seen such a thing.
Masking their pounding hearts, the hunters there resolved to show respect to all service workers from then on.
There might be more professions awakening like the Delivery Hunter, after all.
Like those pollsters who only ever heard "Nah, we're good" before their calls got hung up...
-Kiek! Kwek! Kek!
"...Don't get reborn as a monster next time."
Amen.
Someone silently prayed for the monsters.
It was that much of a one-sided slaughter.
After the bloody frenzy had passed.
Harpies' corpses piled up like a mountain atop the dense undergrowth of the tropical rainforest.
In the midst, the wounded Iris was vomiting blood from her mouth.
-Y-You insolent human... How dare you wield such power...
Unlike her initial grand entrance, Iris now looked utterly pathetic, trembling as she glared at Chae-ryeon.
-I... I'll curse you! For the grudge of my sisters...!
"What're you glaring at?"
At that, Sol-chan—who'd been meekly following Chae-ryeon—shot her a killing intent.
-Hiiik.
Even as a boss monster bearing the name of a fallen goddess, she was so battered that a single swing crumpled her. The hunters couldn't help feeling a pang of pity.
"It's because she still holds half a human form. Don't fall for it, everyone. Do that, and you'll get caught off-guard by similar monsters like sirens."
"Y-Yes, sir."
Despite Shin Ha-rang's stern warning, the guild members' gazes lingered on Iris.
She was a boss monster, and though her face was swollen from the beating... she possessed a rare beauty.
"P-P-Please spare me. I beg you..."
"Why should I? Weren't you the leader of the ones talking about turning people into meat chunks just a bit ago?"
-......
Chae-ryeon leisurely dropped harpy corpses from her inventory while holding a bloodstained iron flag, looking downright terrifying.
Iris and the unscathed surviving hunters alike eyed her warily.
'Doesn't her stomach turn at all?'
'Why's she picking that up?'
'Monster meat's supposed to be toxic waste no one eats, right?'
'Wait... Could it be? That insanely delicious monster meat from before. Did she sell it?'
'...For real?'
The mysterious hunter who'd introduced the wonders of premium monster meat on the black market...
Was it this Delivery Hunter? As the guild members buzzed, Shin Ha-rang clutched his head.
'That's why I told them to back off...'
Now that the debt was paid, he couldn't stop the suspicions about the Delivery Hunter's identity from spreading.
After all, Wing Guild and their ally Mir Guild hunters were pretty famous on SNS.
Word of mouth was impossible to contain completely.
Meanwhile, Iris swallowed her humiliation and pleaded with Chae-ryeon.
"At least for this child's sake... Please."
"...An egg."
What Iris cradled so preciously was an egg.
The massive, rainbow-hued egg—big as an ostrich's—trembled faintly, on the verge of hatching.
"Th-This young one hasn't even seen the world yet. Please, spare at least this child. I beg you."
"...And you?"
"...I know I don't deserve to beg for my life. So please... just this child."
Chae-ryeon stared intently at the egg, and a status window appeared.
[‘Fallen Rainbow Goddess Iris’s Egg]
[Phase 3 Boss of Dungeon, [Harpyia's Tropical Rainforest]]
[Help: Recommended to shatter before it hatches.]
Even after reading the description, Chae-ryeon just examined the egg from every angle, without attacking.
'Something's off.'
It differed from the [Mirage Quest] she'd cleared with Shin Ha-rang.
The dungeon phases had progressed faster than expected, the harpies muttering about errors, and...
'If the System Administrator's attempts to thwart whatever ■■ it's trying to achieve through me affected this dungeon too?'
Then it warranted a deeper investigation.
[Σ(・Д・)!?]
[No way?]
[Duk dduk duk dduk]
[system: Overwhelmed with emotion, asks if Chae-ryeon herself is planning to investigate the dungeon directly.]
[+ㅅ+)9]
"What're you talking about? I'm too busy running my business to have time for that."
[Ugh...]
[I was hoping...]
[SystemSadT_T]
No amount of drawn-out ellipses would change facts.
I tapped Iris's egg and asked her.
"This Phase 3 boss monster was originally scheduled to hatch right away, right?"
She flinched.
Her rainbow eyes swirled, as if caught off-guard by my question.
"H-How did you..."
"Your mouth begs for mercy, but your eyes say just wait a bit and it'll rip us apart."
'I felt the killing intent on my back the whole time I was picking up those harpy corpses.'
Since becoming S-Rank, trivial info zoomed in sharply or slowed down crystal-clear.
Her eyes feigned maternal love with teary pleading, but her smirking lips twitching in amusement had been infuriating.
"Makes sense. Even a monster would hate and resent me for killing all your harpy sisters."
"......"
"I don't know what 'error' you were talking about. But you mid-boss jumped into the fight early, so I figured this egg could hatch sooner too."
If so, an even greater disaster would've struck.
"What did you say?"
"Is that true?"
The Mir Guild members listening nearby erupted in fury. Wing Guild was the same.
The faces of those briefly swayed by Iris's beauty turned ice-cold.
"Monsters are monsters, after all."
"Let's kill her now. And smash that egg before it causes more trouble."
"Who knows when it'll hatch? Do it right now!"
The hunters growled, crowding around the cowering Iris. A shadow fell over my head too.
They politely asked me.
"Delivery Hunter, step aside. We need to take out that mid-boss and the egg."
"It's the only way to clear this dungeon."
"......"
I said nothing, just stared at the egg.
A new status window had appeared above it.
[‘Fallen Goddess Iris’s Egg]
[Could have hatched early due to some error, but overwhelming defeat halted its growth. Now in an uncertain state.]
[No longer this dungeon's final boss. Just a common beast egg.]
[Unknown what will emerge, but it desperately wishes to be taken in.]
The unh hatched egg was screaming to be spared.
'How can a beast egg have a sense of self?'
Intriguing. Reminded me of Mimi and Sol-chan, special summons with egos—maybe their origins were similar.
If so...
I couldn't just let this egg die.
Not out of pity. Pure curiosity.
[system: An error-affected beast egg has research value.]
[(=ↀωↀ=)✧]
[system: Keep it close and observe.]
The assembled hunters formed ranks, weapons drawn, urging me on.
"Delivery Hunter? Step aside, or monster blood might splatter..."
"Hand these monsters' custody over to me."