Chapter 164
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Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 164
Chapter Title: Omen
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"Hello?"
A woman who had just gotten off the bus stared at Minguk for a moment before greeting him in a friendly voice.
Minguk's eyes quickly scanned her. Mid to late twenties? It was hard to guess her age precisely since she was a hero whose body had been reconstructed upon mana awakening. Even Kang Chaeyoung looked like she was in her early twenties.
In any case, the woman equipped with gear marked with a Gear Score appeared to be a hero from France's Empire Guard. And a fairly renowned one at that.
He could tell just from the way his teammates gasped in admiration at the sight of her greeting them.
'But who is she?'
However, Minguk had no idea who she was. He had never seen her before, and he hadn't worked with French heroes during the Vietnam diffusion event either.
It was just as Minguk turned to Hyun-ah with a puzzled look, wondering about the identity of this woman who had greeted them so casually.
"Ch-Chloé Castel!"
Hyun-ah blinked for a second before raising her voice. It was the kind of reaction a fan might have upon spotting a celebrity in person.
Chloé Castel.
The top-ranked dealer in France and a member of the Empire Guard's assault team. The name flashed through Minguk's mind— a war hero who had racked up countless achievements in battles against darkness monsters.
It had been a while since he last experienced the original owner's memories. In short, she was France's Kang Chaeyoung.
"Whoo.... See? That's why I said I should've been a dealer. Everyone knows Chloé's name, even heroes from other countries, right?"
"You have to deal damage like Chloé to make a name for yourself."
"What, you don't know her? There's this one called Brigitte?"
He could hear the Empire Guard heroes chatting and bantering behind him.
Minguk chuckled inwardly as he listened to their conversation. Even in a top-tier assault team, their casual talk was full of teasing—just like his own team.
And then a woman's hand extended toward him. It was Chloé's.
"I've heard a lot about the male hero fighting on the front lines. Kang Chaeyoung was singing your praises nonstop.... Han Minguk, right?"
She even threw in a quick wink.
"Kang Chaeyoung?"
"Oh, she's got a bit of a special relationship with Korea's tough one. I heard you do too?"
"Hmm...."
Minguk's expression turned serious for a moment.
How much had Kang Chaeyoung told her? But given her personality, it probably wasn't much. If anything, it felt like the woman in front of him was using Chaeyoung as an excuse to make a move.
"Anyway, my hand's gonna fall off here.... Don't wanna shake?"
"No, it's not that."
He had expected a war hero to carry a heavy aura, but she turned out to be surprisingly chatty.
Still, there was no reason to refuse a handshake from an 8th-grade hero—and a senior one at that. It was just a simple greeting anyone could do anytime. And as Minguk grasped Chloé's hand—
'Huh?'
He suddenly felt a strong pull dragging him in.
As he quickly shifted his gaze, he saw Chloé looking at him with a sly smile. Then, a soft, castella-cake-like sensation enveloped his face. It was Chloé's ample bosom.
"Wh-what?!"
"Eek!"
Shocked exclamations erupted from the Team GGW members at the sight.
Chloé had yanked his arm, pulling him right into her chest to sit him down. And that wasn't all. She wrapped her arms around him as if cradling something precious.
"Whiiistle!"
"What the hell?! Chloé! You can't hog him all to yourself!"
The Empire Guard heroes whistled and made a fuss at Chloé's shocking behavior.
Minguk stifled a laugh at the French heroes' antics. They all looked like supermodels, yet their behavior was no different from rough mercenaries toying with women. In fact, Chloé's actions right now were exactly that—a woman teasing a man.
"What do you think you're doing?"
Hyun-ah, who had been momentarily dumbfounded by the sudden situation, glared fiercely and spoke up. Her tone was aggressive enough to ignore the fact that the other was a senior hero.
"Why? Hugging a guy with these big ol' boobs is just our French culture, sweetie."
"Wh-what did you say?!"
Chloé replied to Hyun-ah's sharp retort with a smooth, slippery voice.
It was the poise of an adult woman—a seasoned veteran. Chloé and Hyun-ah locked eyes in midair, lips pressed tight. If this were a movie scene, sparks or lightning would surely fly from their gazes.
And Chloé's provocation didn't end there.
"Jealous? Want a hug too?"
Still holding Minguk's face with one arm, Chloé extended the other invitingly, as if beckoning her into her embrace.
Hyun-ah froze, veins bulging in her neck at the offer. She seemed to be pondering how to respond.
But it wasn't just Hyun-ah; the others' faces soured too. They looked like dogs growling over their food bowl being stolen.
Seeing his teammates' expressions, Minguk figured it was time to extricate himself from those voluptuous breasts.
He wanted to savor the moment longer, but staying put might really create bad blood between them.
Burying his face in a stranger's chest was a nice experience, but he had no desire to hurt Hyun-ah's feelings—the woman he'd shared so much time with—just to enjoy it.
And escaping the situation was simple.
"Ngh?!"
He lifted his head slightly and nipped at Chloé's nipple with his lips, felt through the tip of his nose.
Then, staring at her wide-eyed surprise, he tensed his body and pulled away. Done. A female hero using mana might be too strong for an ordinary man, but Minguk was a hero too. Slipping out of Chloé's embrace wasn't hard.
"Ooh, wow...."
Chloé's eyes went wide, clearly shocked by what she'd just been subjected to.
If he wasn't mistaken, the guy had just bitten her breast first.
Minguk's gaze swept over Chloé. A new hero—and one interested in him, no less.... He didn't always welcome it, but it still felt good.
Plus, she was France's war hero. A little lip service seemed fine.
"Maybe next time?"
He murmured just loud enough for Chloé alone to hear.
"Mmm...."
A subtle moan escaped Chloé's lips at his provocation, her eyes sparkling. She looked thrilled and surprised by the offer.
And with that, the meeting with France's Empire Guard came to an end.
Given the circumstances, they didn't have time to linger. Not with a division-scale army on the move.
Apparently, Chloé stopping the bus had been her own impulsive decision. He'd later heard she'd slammed on the brakes and jumped out upon hearing Team GGW had a male hero.
Truly an impulsive hero, he thought.
"Tch. Thinks she's hot stuff just 'cause her boobs are big? Shape matters too, y'know."
Minguk chuckled at Hyun-ah's muttering as they entered the dungeon after the encounter. Hyun-ah, who had seemed like a fan of Chloé Castel, had apparently quit her fandom after today.
"Destruction Beam! Everyone, run right!!!"
"Flame Bomb! We have to tank it together to minimize damage! Target: Choi Yuna!"
Team GGW continued tackling temporary dungeons of 【A-8】 and 【A-9】 difficulty.
But pushing through 【A-9】 dungeons every day wasn't easy. After about four hours of raiding, their focus was plummeting.
"Jeong Yerin! Right side!!!"
"Ah, oops?! Kyaaah!!!"
Yerin screamed as flames engulfed her, and she died on the spot.
Minguk let out a small groan at the sight. As their ice magic specialist, Yerin had a crucial role against fire-using boss monsters.
But they couldn't abandon the fight because of it.
"Choi Yuna covers Jeong Yerin's role! Shin Nayeon assists!"
Minguk issued quick orders.
"Huh?!"
"Got it!"
The two heroes hesitated at the sudden command.
But having anticipated it from Yerin's death, they snapped to attention and jumped into their tasks.
Watching Yuna and Nayeon, Minguk felt a swell of pride. This was a far cry from their old selves. Countless raid practices had surely honed their raid IQ bit by bit.
But moments later.
Kim Sojeong and Kendall Budsen failed to withstand a monster's powerful attack and died. In the end, Minguk had to abandon the try and shatter a Revival Stone.
"Sorry, so sorry."
As all the heroes revived, Yerin—the first to fall—bowed deeply to her teammates.
She blamed herself for ruining the try, her face etched with guilt. But instead of anger, the team comforted her warmly.
And Minguk had no intention of scolding her either.
'Mistakes keep piling up. Fatigue taking its toll?'
It had been a week since they'd flown to China to stop the diffusion near Qingdao.
Team GGW had raided dungeons nonstop, destroying three a day without rest. The commander of their escort battalion had even hinted they should take a break.
And Minguk could feel they needed one now.
Continued raids in this state weren't efficient. They'd burn through Revival Stones, and repeated errors could fracture team unity.
"After this dungeon, we'll rest in Xinglong County tomorrow."
Xinglong County, garrisoned by army-group forces, was one of the few safe spots untainted by diffusion. Heroes tackling temporary dungeons operated out of there too.
"Eh? Really?"
No cheers erupted—probably too exhausted—but joy lit up their faces. They clearly craved the rest.
Minguk scanned each teammate's face in turn.
"Naturally, the sooner we clear this one, the sooner we rest."
Even so, their flagging stamina and focus meant Team GGW wiped a whopping 19 times before finally clearing.
The commander of the 3182 Patrol Battalion was thrilled at Team GGW's request to rest in Xinglong County.
Escorting the assault team meant the soldiers couldn't rest either while they raided.
Preparations to head there wrapped up in no time.
'Kinda disappointing, but....'
Riding the armored bus, Minguk checked his quests.
Only one dungeon today, so just one Green-grade crystal from the daily quest.
It felt like wasting a honey event reward, souring his mood a bit. But hearing the snores from behind, he knew there was no helping it.
It was just past 3 p.m., but most teammates were out cold from exhaustion.
"......"
En route to Xinglong County, Minguk gazed out the window.
In just over a week, Team GGW had destroyed over 25 dungeons. But even more temporary dungeons dotted the landscape outside.