Chapter 19
Chapter 19
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: uly
Chapter: 19
Chapter Title: How the No.1 Ranked Hero Protects the World
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"I'm not worried about my own survival."
Lee Woo-yeon stared at the system message with heavy eyes. I could hear the people's agitation in my ears too, but how much more despair must be flooding into Lee Woo-yeon's senses?
"It's a stationary dungeon, and boss monsters often appear once it reaches A-rank or higher, but this... A boss monster appearing in a sudden dungeon break like this is a first. It wouldn't be strange if everyone in this area died before it's cleared."
As I listened to Lee Woo-yeon, I pulled out a Strength Enhancer and a Stamina Enhancer from my inventory and swallowed them.
Even if I forcibly boosted my strength and stamina like this, swinging my sword once would probably trigger another warning message, and there might be side effects once the effects wore off, but right now, there was no choice.
I had no option but to accept a certain level of risk.
"As I said earlier, this isn't specifically your fault, Woo-yeon-ssi."
"I don't need your... comfort."
"Even if you get caught up in guilt like that, it won't help us get through this situation at all."
Lee Woo-yeon's eyebrows twitched at the cold words.
I hadn't lived a particularly long life, but there was one thing I'd learned while surviving in Tartarus over the past ten years.
No matter how much you dwell on and regret something that's already happened, nothing changes.
I prepared to use Nymph's Wind. Hunting down a few monsters from the air was no longer sufficient.
"Instead of that, take down one more monster. That'll make things that much safer."
Lee Woo-yeon tried to say something, but I didn't listen. Time was precious.
I kicked off the building's railing hard with my foot and launched myself over it. I felt the sensation of gravity pulling my body downward.
Lee Woo-yeon swooped down after my falling form. Our eyes met briefly. He looked baffled.
"You're the type who just throws your body around like that normally?"
It was a protesting remark, but the wind made it impossible to open my mouth. Instead of answering, I kicked off the building's wall.
Unlike climbing up a building, going down used comparatively less strength, which was nice.
In just a few seconds, I'd descended to a sufficient height, and before my body could fully crash into the ground, I activated Nymph's Wind.
The wind slammed against the ground, lifting my falling body upward.
The hunters, seeing Lee Woo-yeon land on the ground at a similar speed, rushed over.
"L-Lee Woo-yeon Hunter-nim!"
"What should we do?"
"Is there no plan?"
Their voices were all urgent.
That urgency was desperate, and understandably so—the gap from which monsters had poured out like mad during the second wave had vanished.
No monsters had appeared on this street yet, but everyone knew that wasn't a good sign.
- Third Monster Wave Activation Time: 00:00:00
Because the message floating in the air showed no change whatsoever.
"Wait, doesn't this mean the third wave spawns simultaneously across the area? The environment inside is similar to a stationary dungeon."
Someone said that. Lee Woo-yeon nodded.
"Probably."
In a sudden dungeon break, monsters usually spawned at the center of the area.
But when the difficulty spiked exponentially like this, that rule vanished, and monsters could spawn simultaneously throughout the area. The entire zone transformed into something like a stationary dungeon.
In other words, there was no telling where the monsters would appear.
This was a truly unlucky case. Even I had only experienced it twice in ten years.
One of the hunters said with a pale face,
"Th-then what about evacuating the civilians? If it's like a stationary dungeon, monsters could suddenly appear inside buildings..."
"You're right. So we need to find and eliminate the boss monster as quickly as possible."
"But how do we find that boss monster? This is basically a first clear. No information or anything..."
"Has anyone here ever participated in clearing an S-rank dungeon or higher?"
Lee Woo-yeon asked, but none of the dozens of hunters raised their hands.
I clicked my tongue.
Seriously, a dungeon break happening right next to the Eternal Guild and the Hunter Store headquarters, and this is the situation? Talk about rotten luck.
Lee Woo-yeon seemed to share the sentiment, his expression darkening. He turned to me.
"You seem like you have some experience. Got any good ideas?"
"Well..."
I looked around at the hunters. They gazed back at me with little expectation.
Some eyed me suspiciously.
Like, *What's this guy that Woo-yeon-ssi is asking for input?* I shrugged.
"How would I know? It's not like I caused this break."
"Then..."
"So ask the one who triggered the break. That's who you'd ask about stuff like this."
I pointed into the air. One of those who'd been eyeing me suspiciously spoke up irritably.
"Hey, who doesn't know that right now..."
"I want a detailed query on the boss monster."
- A 'boss monster' appears in the third monster wave.
- As a first-appearance reward, strategy tips for the boss monster are provided.
- Detailed queries on the relevant rules are possible.
The words didn't continue. A golden announcement appeared.
I looked at the other hunters' dazed faces. They seemed stunned.
"D-Does this kind of thing even happen?"
"They never give info on boss monsters normally!"
Amid the bewildered crowd, Lee Woo-yeon let out a low chuckle.
"You're good at using the system. This is a first for me too."
"I was just trying it out. No harm in asking, right?"
I replied nonchalantly.
It had been just five years since the system and dungeons appeared in this world, or so I'd heard.
They hadn't even thought to change their player names, and they were still too busy surviving to research the system itself.
It wasn't incomprehensible. A shift in thinking is easy once you do it, but hard before because you don't even realize it's possible.
If I hadn't paid a steep price to learn how to use it in Tartarus, I wouldn't have even considered that the system could be utilized.
Korean hunters treated the system like a natural disaster. It was hard to imagine questioning lightning or a typhoon and getting an answer.
Plus, it didn't answer everything you asked. The situation and precise wording both had to align for the system to respond.
Well, now that I'd opened the floodgates, maybe tips on system exploits would start popping up everywhere, true to this game-like world.
Assuming we survived, of course.
I spoke loudly enough for everyone to hear.
"I request a detailed query on the rules."
As if waiting, the system displayed a long message in the air.
I read the outputted message.
"The 'boss monster' has already been summoned into the field."
Since this message wasn't a full announcement, people who'd heard me read it began summoning detailed query windows one after another.
They were all reading the same message, no doubt.
- Players can learn the boss monster's location. An arrow indicates the direction.
- The boss monster concedes defeat when over 80% of the monsters it commands are killed. If you can't take on the boss monster, try targeting the others!
A tip written as kindly as a game guide.
Yeah, it didn't make sense for the system to arbitrarily change the rules mid-game without providing any info.
The system was a bastard, but it gave information if you commanded it with the exact words.
Of course, finding those exact words required countless trials and errors... but Tartarus had twenty years of accumulated knowledge, and I'd learned it over ten.
Once the message was fully read, Lee Woo-yeon looked at the red arrow hovering above his palm.
The arrow floated steadily, pointing forward. After staring at it briefly, Lee Woo-yeon gave orders to the hunters.
"Everyone... find and deal with the other monsters spawning in the area. Inform the civilians of the situation too."
"What about you, Lee Woo-yeon Hunter?"
"I'll proceed with taking down the boss monster like this."
"A-Alone?"
"Yes."
I'd told him earlier it wasn't his fault, but he was still shouldering the responsibility.
"Please minimize civilian casualties until I defeat the boss monster. Good luck."
With that, Lee Woo-yeon spread his wings. He departed without even glancing back at me, someone he'd briefly exchanged ideas with.
Perhaps because, separate from my veteran savvy, long-range marksmanship wasn't needed for bossing the boss monster.
A cold, rational judgment.
I looked at the arrow hovering before my eyes too. The spot Lee Woo-yeon had left buzzed with agitation from the hunters.
"S-So, what do we do?"
"We should go into the buildings, inform people, and evacuate them first."
"Should we form teams like before? In case monsters show up..."
"But that's weird."
One hunter said that. Everyone turned to him.
He hesitated but continued haltingly.
"I mean... isn't it strange? The third monster wave has started, but it's so quiet—no sounds at all..."
As his words spread, realization and confusion rippled across their faces like waves on water.
"Huh? Yeah."
"The people who evacuated inside the buildings are too quiet."
"W-What if they're already all...!"
"It's magic."
Everyone turned to me as I said that. I snapped my thumb and index finger together, producing a sound.
A chilling scrape like metal on metal rang out, and red and blue sparks flew from my fingertips.
Mana repelling each other.
The phenomenon that occurred when trying to shatter an already-cast spell.
The mages who knew what it meant went pale.
"No way... the monster is using magic? Over the entire area?"
"If it's using magic, that's at least A-rank..."
"For a spell this scale, it'd have to be S-rank or higher."
Spot-on assessment.
This boss monster that had just appeared wasn't just capable of magic—it knew that it would concede defeat if over 80% of its monsters died.
That's why it had cast a sound-blocking spell to keep the locations of its underlings hidden from the hunters.
Even if I had my original stats, a monster of this caliber would be tough to solo.
"Th-then can Lee Woo-yeon Hunter take it down alone?"
"Wouldn't it be better if we all went to help with the boss?"
"No."
I denied it immediately.
"Do as Lee Woo-yeon Hunter said and handle the other monsters. They've probably already started hunting humans."
Lee Woo-yeon's choice to go alone without drawing in the other hunters was correct.
The hunters here were a ragtag bunch who'd gathered by chance—sending them en masse would just mean dying en masse.
But leaving them be wasn't ideal either; without experience, they were likely to freeze up without grasping the situation.
That was why I was still here.
I drew my sword from its sheath. As I channeled mana into the transparent, faintly glowing blade, it turned red.
"Hup!"
The moment I swung down, a bizarre sound rang out as if space itself were tearing. The shock through my sword hand was incomparable to before.
But it worked.
- Apex Holy Sword exerts absolute effect against magic-attribute monsters!
- Boss monster's magic, 'Silent Darkness in the Tomb,' has been dispelled.
- Warning! Your body is in an unsuitable state to wield the Apex Holy Sword. Stamina will rapidly deplete!
Should've known.
But this time, it wasn't just simple fatigue.
I felt blood welling up in my throat with a gurgle.
To take this much damage from dispelling such a trivial spell. It pissed me off, but there was no time to vent.
I forcibly swallowed the blood.
The instant the magic broke, screams began echoing from all directions.
"Aaah, s-save me!"
"I can't shake it off, you monster bastard!"
It had been silent until now, but this street was already hell.
Monsters' roars and humans' agonized cries filled the air.
Resolve hardened on the hunters' faces.
Some had already grabbed their weapons and were sprinting toward the screams. Watching their backs, I sheathed my sword again.
I wanted to join them... but it was a bitter feeling. The taste of blood filled my mouth from my bitten lip.
I looked around at those still by my side and said,
"I've broken the magic. Take care of the people."
"Wh-what about you?"
Someone asked. I answered curtly.
"I'm going to take down the boss monster."