Chapter 3
Chapter 3
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 3
Chapter Title: Porter (3)
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Kang-hyuk had noticed the stares from Sung-ho's group.
He'd simply been ignoring them as best he could, pretending not to notice.
They wouldn't dare mess with him right now.
There were first- and second-string Hunters nearby, on top of the S2-rank Hunter Yoo Chan-seok.
With all these eyes on them, they wouldn't act recklessly.
"Huu..."
Just traveling with Sung-ho's crew was enough to ramp up his stress levels.
Only after they'd sorted the luggage and finished eating did they finally start moving again.
While they were taking down skeletons and ghouls, Yoo Chan-seok frowned and checked the map.
"This is weird..."
"Something wrong?"
Chan-seok showed the map in response to Sung-ho's question.
"According to this, there should be a fork splitting into three paths right up ahead. But..."
"Two forks... yeah."
"For now, let's fall back and double-check the path..."
Rumble...!
A massive earthquake hit before Chan-seok could even finish.
"Wh-what?!"
"An earthquake?!"
"What dungeon has earthquakes...!"
"B-boss!"
Chan-seok whipped his head around at the Hunters' shouts.
The two paths were rotating sideways.
And a new path appeared.
"This is..."
"Isn't the dungeon layout changing?!"
Chan-seok's face twisted at Sung-ho's yell.
"...Looks like we'll have to focus on getting out of this dungeon."
Clearing the dungeon boss would close the Dungeon Gate within 24 hours.
If they didn't escape in time, they'd be stuck here forever.
Or could they even survive that long?
If the dungeon vanished... they might disappear with it.
No one had ever returned from a dungeon that closed while they were still inside.
'Ugh...'
Sung-ho gritted his teeth.
Of all places, they had to run a field test in a dungeon like this.
The Hunters didn't fall into total chaos.
There were two S-rank Hunters right here.
No way they'd die in a B-grade dungeon.
"More than that, how the hell did the guild even make this map...?"
"Maybe it changes on a cycle. The survey team probably got lucky and hit a stable phase."
Even the clearing where they'd camped until morning was gone now.
Boom!
The Hunters flinched and halted.
A massive surge of magic power pulsed from ahead.
"B-boss room?"
"..."
Even the S-rank Hunters Yoo Chan-seok and Lee Sung-ho gripped their weapons with tense expressions.
"We'll retreat slowly."
The Hunters nodded quietly at Chan-seok's command.
As they backed away, a chill ran down their spines from the energy building behind them.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Skeletons emerged from the rear.
Along with a Dullahan.
"What the...?"
"B-boss, there's more than one!"
Chan-seok's face darkened at Kim Jun-su's voice.
The porters hurriedly plastered themselves against the walls.
To give the Hunters room to fight freely.
"...We'll take out the Dullahans and get the hell out of here fast. Lee Sung-ho, cover the rear!"
"Got it!"
The moment Yoo Chan-seok charged the Dullahans, Sung-ho's group kept watch on the opposite side, clutching their weapons tight.
Boom! Boom boom boom!
The porters watched Chan-seok's fight and quietly patted their chests in relief.
While the first- and second-string Hunters handled the skeletons, Chan-seok soloed multiple Dullahans.
Sung-ho glanced over and marveled at the display.
'That's S2-rank power...'
Overwhelming for sure.
Several times stronger than him, an S3-rank Hunter.
Feeling reassured, Sung-ho turned back—
Slash!
"Huh...?"
Kim Jun-su's head, right in front of him, vanished.
Splat!
"Urk...!"
A massive gust whipped past Sung-ho as something streaked by.
"What the...!"
When he urgently looked down, all he saw was Jun-su collapsed on the ground.
"Kyaaah!"
Screams from Kang Ji-hye and the female Hunters echoed, followed by chaos erupting behind them.
"B-boss!"
Sung-ho's group whipped around at the shout.
A skeleton clad in jet-black armor, wielding a greatsword.
Unlike the headless Dullahans.
'N-no way...'
Sung-ho broke out in cold sweat and staggered back.
Chan-seok, his heart impaled by the greatsword, vomited blood and convulsed.
"R-run...!"
Splatter!
Chan-seok breathed his last without finishing the word.
"U-uaaaagh!"
The Hunters bolted in terror.
"Run!"
"D-Death Knight!"
As the panicked first- and second-string Hunters fled, the bewildered porters started running too.
Even Sung-ho's group scrambled to escape.
Right now, they just had to run.
Kang-hyuk chased after Sung-ho's group while dumping his entire backpack.
Then he hopped onto the back of a skeleton he'd summoned himself.
"R-run...! Keep running!"
The terror-stricken Kang-hyuk's shout spurred the skeleton into a frantic sprint.
Meanwhile, massive roars echoed from behind.
Boom! Boom boom!
"Kaaaagh!"
"S-save...!"
"Uwaaaagh!"
Roars and screams mingled.
The gap to Sung-ho's group stretched to hundreds of meters.
"Huff... huff... huff..."
The porters running with Kang-hyuk heaved ragged breaths, their pace slowing.
No matter how high their strength or agility, without stamina, it was pointless.
That's why most Hunters prioritized stamina investments.
The porters had built up some too, in their own way.
But sprinting all-out after a 2-3 hour march was brutally exhausting.
"M-me... too..."
A voice came from behind—one of the porters.
The young one he'd chatted with yesterday.
"Fuck!"
Kang-hyuk cursed and leaped off the skeleton.
"Carry that guy!"
The skeleton scooped up the young porter and ran alongside Kang-hyuk.
"Haa... haa... th-thanks."
"Shut it! I don't have high stamina either! Rest up a bit, then get down and run!"
The young porter nodded.
"Uh... I'm Jeong Su-chan, by the way."
"So?!"
"Haha... figured I'd at least share my name before we die."
"Shut up! We have to survive somehow...!"
Kang-hyuk froze at the sight of the vast clearing ahead.
"...Fuck, we're screwed."
This wasn't just any clearing.
Hundreds of meters ahead stood a throne.
Flanked by countless Dullahans and Liches standing guard.
Sung-ho's group up front was already clashing with them.
What now?
Run back?
Death Knight behind.
Dullahans everywhere ahead.
Absolute despair for an E-rank Hunter like Kang-hyuk.
"All of you, scatter!"
Sung-ho's blazing beam of flame slammed into the barrier the Liches had erected.
Flash!
"Damn it...!"
As the Dullahans moved, B-rank Hunters Sung Soo-hyun and Yoo Ah-yeon swung their swords in terror.
"Uwaaaah!"
Slash!
"Guhk...!"
Soo-hyun and Ah-yeon lost their heads and crumpled to the ground.
Ji-hye and Yu-jin rushed desperately to Sung-ho's side.
"S-Sung-ho! P-please... save us...!"
"Fight if you wanna live! You think I can take all these fuckers alone?!"
Terror paralyzed them; they couldn't mount a proper defense.
That's when Kang-hyuk entered Sung-ho's view.
"You fucking piece of shit! Help out somehow! At least play bait!"
Kang-hyuk quietly backed away.
No way in hell he'd volunteer for bait duty.
The other porters were putting distance between themselves and Sung-ho too.
"Those fucking bastards!"
A few Dullahans turned, spotting the porters.
"Damn...!"
"S-scatter!"
"U-uaaaagh!"
Some porters doubled back down the path they'd just run.
If the Death Knight had chased the other Hunters the opposite way...
This might be their chance to escape.
'Right now...!'
Boom!
A massive explosion rocked the entrance.
"Fuck..."
Terror washed over Kang-hyuk's face.
Su-chan hopped off the skeleton and staggered back.
The Death Knight had stationed some Dullahans at the entrance.
Blocking their retreat.
It slowly advanced toward the throne.
"M-Magic Beast... talking...?"
A Magic Beast that could speak?
Did that mean they could communicate with the Death Knight?
Everyone stared at the Death Knight in shock.
By now, the Liches and Dullahans had halted their attacks and fallen back.
[—To dare enter my territory and stir up trouble as you please... I will not let you die an easy death.]
Hunters and porters alike stared at the Death Knight in horror.
[—Tear them limb from limb!]
At the Death Knight’s command, the Dullahans threw themselves forward in unison.
Slash—!
"Aaaagh!"
Even the porters were left sprawling on the ground with their limbs severed. Sung-ho, who had resisted until the end, trembled violently, eventually wetting his pants. Death had come right before their noses. How could they not be afraid? Likewise, the skeleton protecting Kang-hyuk was destroyed in an instant.
Wham!
"Hiek!?"
Su-chan collapsed to the ground, shedding tears.
Slash—!
"Aaaagh...!"
Kang-hyuk, having lost his left arm, rolled on the ground. Su-chan, whose limbs were also severed, begged the Dullahan for mercy.
"S-save me. P-please..."
Tears flowed from Kang-hyuk’s eyes as well. It was the first time in his life he had felt such pain. Why did he have to suffer like this? He had even saved up allowance money to give to his parents, wanting to repay them even a little for raising him. His younger sister was about to enter university, too.
'Not yet... I can't die yet!'
Kang-hyuk quickly struggled up and started to run. Another Dullahan appeared in front of him. As he turned, he crashed into a barrier erected by a Lich.
Bang!
"Ack...!"
Seeing the struggling figures of the Hunters and porters, the Death Knight felt satisfied. These were things that had stepped into his territory and attacked his subordinates. Naturally, they had to be killed painfully. Kang-hyuk, who had fallen to the ground, gritted his teeth as he looked at the Dullahan standing before him. This was the end. His family’s faces flashed through his mind like a lantern. He had just barely become independent and started adapting to social life. Perhaps, as his parents had said, it would have been better to get a job at a regular company. If he had done that, he wouldn't be dying like this.
Clatter.
Something touched Kang-hyuk’s right hand. It was the sword of a Hunter who had lost his life moments ago.
"Ugh..."
Right, if I'm going to die, let's go down fighting! The Dullahan looked down at Kang-hyuk with a look of ridicule.
"Uwaaaaah!"
As Kang-hyuk swung the sword, the Dullahan lightly lifted its own straight sword.
Clang—!
It didn't budge. His strike, delivered with all his might, was blocked far too easily.
Thwack!
The Dullahan’s toe slammed into Kang-hyuk’s abdomen.
"...?!"
Pain so intense it felt like his eyeballs would pop out washed over him. Flying tens of meters, Kang-hyuk sprawled out on the ground. Did his organs rupture? Kang-hyuk let out a hollow laugh with a dazed face.
'This is... really fucked up...'
The Dullahan was slowly walking toward him. It felt like the grim reaper of hell was approaching.
'I'm going to die soon.'
Emotions of fear and futility stormed through his mind.
Ding!
A notification sound lingered in his ears. Kang-hyuk slowly lifted his eyelids.
[Soul Memory Data No. 297,381,421,234 has been restored.]
[Status is being automatically adjusted.]
[The reward for the ‘Reincarnation’ Quest is processed as ‘Given’.]