The Siren Event (2)
Following the path the Vietnam Hunter Association had laid out for them, Park Jihun’s party soon spotted the gate where the association staff were already waiting.
“Welcome.”
The staff greeted them in English. “I’ll go over the contract terms one more time.”
It was the same procedure as verifying registered party members back in Korea before entry. They reconfirmed the mercenary contract details.
Of course, neither Park Jihun nor Shin Jiyeon gave a single fuck about the staff member’s diligent English explanation. Their minds were completely occupied by one thought.
Siren. Siren! Mermaid!
A beautiful voice and the legendary appearance that drove sailors mad. Jihun was beyond excited at the mere idea of it.
‘Wait, if it’s like the legends, maybe it’s actually a bird form.’
It might be a harpy instead of a mermaid—half-human, half-bird. Wings sprouting from the arms, a mostly human torso that somehow looked lighter than it should, and feet ending in razor-sharp raptorial talons.
“That’d be fucking perfect.”
Mermaid or harpy, either one was fine with him. He was so deep in his fantasies that the words slipped right out of his mouth.
“?”
The association staff member tilted his head at the sudden Korean muttering.
“Ah, never mind. Can we head in now?”
“Ah, yes. You may enter. Good luck.”
After a short exchange in slightly broken English, Park Jihun’s party finally stepped into the siren’s wharf.
This was his first time entering a B-rank gate since getting dragged into Sira’s territory. He had been nervous at the start back then, but the fact that it was full of succubi had actually worked in his favor. If it had been a normal B-rank gate, he probably would have struggled badly. Or maybe even died if his luck had been shit.
But this time is different.
His stats had skyrocketed since then. Even without the Alpha Male multiplier, he was sitting right at the edge of B-rank. On top of that, Shin Jiyeon was now A-rank with an average stat total of around 305—roughly one and a half times that of a typical B-rank hunter. Add in Sira and her subordinate lesser succubi, plus the C-rank familiars. Their combat force was so overwhelming there wasn’t even a reason to feel nervous.
Hehehe, I wanna slaughter these things fast and fuck a mermaid hottie.
With that thought in mind, Park Jihun strode forward quickly.
True to its name, the area around them looked exactly like a beach. A makeshift pier built from wooden planks. Crashing waves and pure white sand.
“Hmm. Sand, huh.”
It reminded him of yesterday’s private beach where he had rolled around with his familiars. That place had been incredibly clear and exotic too, but this was beyond exotic—it felt alien. The seawater was too blue, the sand too white. The lonely makeshift pier only added to the eerie atmosphere. Maybe that was just how beaches looked in another world.
“The beach seems to stretch on forever. I guess we follow the shoreline,” Shin Jiyeon said.
“Looks that way.”
Since they had no idea what might happen, Jihun sent all the familiars into his subspace and walked along the beach with only Shin Jiyeon. If something suddenly attacked from the side, the C-rank familiars might be in danger even if Sira would probably be fine.
Suddenly—
Splash—!
The sea began to churn violently. Waves had been rolling before, but now something felt like it was rising up from beneath them.
It’s coming.
Both Jihun and Jiyeon instinctively sensed the siren’s arrival. Since it was emerging from the sea, it was probably in mermaid form.
Mermaid! Mermaid!
Haaah… haaah… Mermaid! A real mermaid!
Their hearts were pounding so hard they could barely contain themselves.
Then it started.
~♬~~♪
“…Is that singing?”
A voice of breathtaking beauty drifted across the water. Just listening to it made their heads feel fuzzy in the most pleasant way. This was the song that lured sailors to their doom and sank their ships—the siren’s song.
Seduction effect applied.
All stats decreased by 10%.
Persistent erection status applied.
As expected, the song triggered a charm effect. It really was an insanely overpowered ability. Sound carried whether you wanted it to or not, meaning any enemy that came close would automatically fall under its spell. You could try covering your ears, but then you wouldn’t be able to fight properly. Either way, you were forced into a disadvantageous battle.
Of course—
Alpha Male completely negates the seduction effect.
Debuffs removed.
High resistance overcomes the charm.
Debuffs removed.
Unfortunately for the two perverts, the effect was completely useless. Because the skill had such a wide area of effect, the actual charm placed on each individual wasn’t that strong.
“Hehehe, what a fucking beautiful voice.”
“I wonder how pretty she is? Haaa…”
…For some reason, even after the debuff was gone, they still looked like they were under its spell.
Splash!
Whoosh!
The moment the eagerly anticipated siren burst from the water—
“Kiiiieeeeek!”
“Kyaaaaack!”
Siren / ♀
Siren / ♀
Siren / ♀
“……”
Both Park Jihun’s and Shin Jiyeon’s faces went ice cold.
It was a mermaid, technically. The lower half had fish scales and fins. The upper half had a human torso, arms, and face. But…
“Fuck, this isn’t it!!!”
It looked grotesquely ugly. If he had to describe it, it was like a water-attribute goblin with gills and webbed hands. Sorry Briana, but that was the honest impression.
“Uwaaaah! My mermaid hottie doesn’t look like this!”
Alpha Male activated against female monster.
Stats greatly increased.
Strength: 184 → 441
Agility: 188 → 451
Stamina: 184 → 441
Mana: 176 → 422
Effect persists as long as the target remains alive during battle.
Enemy is temporarily stiffened and intimidated.
His stats instantly shot up into the 440 range. Park Jihun swung his sword in pure rage.
Kwa-ga-ga-gak!
Thanks to his insane strength and mana, the sword aura he released tore across the white sand and blue sea alike, splitting everything in its path.
“…!”
The siren hit by his slash couldn’t even let out a death cry before it was sliced in half and vanished.
Female monster defeated.
Strength permanently increased by 1.
“Ugh… you ruined my dream. I’m killing every last one of you.”
“Sunbae, I’ll help.”
The two perverts, burning with a sense of deep betrayal, mercilessly carved through the sirens.
“Association President, regarding the list we gave Hunter Park Jihun, it looks like the Iron Golem Temple can be handled by our own hunters. There happens to be a B-rank raid team with some free time in their schedule.”
“Really? That’s good news…”
Upon hearing his subordinate’s report, Chien Bao let out a sigh of relief. Even though Park Jihun was offering his mercenary services at a relatively cheap price, it still meant a decrease in Vietnam’s own mana stone income and additional expenses. If possible, it was better to handle things with domestic hunters.
But the problem was the A-rank gate.
“…An A-rank gate with no information. Are there still no volunteers among the information hunters?”
“No, sir… And even if there were, there aren’t any C-rank or higher hunters currently available…”
“I see.”
The A-rank gate would have to be left entirely to foreign mercenaries. But handing it to a regular A-rank team would cost even more than hiring Park Jihun.
I’d love to just reserve it, but…
In the case of mercenaries, the first one to enter a gate—unless a domestic hunter had already reserved it—became its owner. The first-come, first-served system had been implemented because fights kept breaking out over reservations, and Vietnam couldn’t handle the chaos. In other words, if Park Jihun’s party didn’t enter first, another A-rank team might claim the unknown A-rank gate.
‘That’s why I wanted him to start with the A-rank gate from the beginning…’
But Park Jihun himself had chosen the B-rank gate ‘Siren’s Wharf,’ so there was nothing Chien Bao could say about it.
“Association President! The American Scarlet Guild’s raid teams… have requested entry into the Danang A-rank gate.”
“…!!”
The Danang A-rank gate. If it was currently unoccupied, it could only be the unknown A-rank gate from the list they had given Park Jihun.
In the end…
On top of that, it was the Scarlet Guild from the United States. An A-rank team from there would include an A-rank leader who was practically S-rank in power—a truly formidable force.
Looks like we’re going to end up spending even more money…
Chien Bao let out a deep sigh and nodded. After all, he couldn’t exactly turn away mercenaries who had come to clear the gates.
Huu… Can’t be helped. If any more B-rank or A-rank gates appear before Hunter Park Jihun finishes, we’ll just have to ask him then.
Or better yet, he hoped this damned gate outbreak phenomenon would just end already. That was what the association president thought.
“Haa…”
“Haa…”
Park Jihun and Shin Jiyeon stepped out of the gate, both sighing heavily at the same time.
What the hell? Had something unexpected happened that prevented them from clearing it?
Of course not.
“Fuck, I had a bad feeling… but even the boss…”
“It was humanoid at least. And it was pretty handsome.”
“Then why the fuck was it a guy! It’s called a siren! Why was it a man?!”
“Aaaargh! Don’t talk about it, Sunbae! That disgusting crotch is trying to pop back into my head again!”
They had obviously reached the boss with ease. But the siren boss had turned out to be a male-type monster. Burning with rage and shedding tears of blood, the two of them had massacred the boss alongside their familiars so thoroughly it couldn’t even draw a breath. They had wanted to erase that hideous thing from their sight as fast as humanly possible.
“Ughhh… My mermaid… my mermaid hottie…”
“Sob sob… Next time… next time for sure…”
They wailed like men who had lost their country.
“M-Master. The association staff member…”
While the two of them were crying their hearts out, Briana spoke up urgently. An association staff member was running toward them at full speed. Briana quickly helped Jihun to his feet, and the staff member spoke to him in a panic.
“H-Hunter Park Jihun! Could you come with me right away?!”
“…?”
Whatever it was, it seemed like a very urgent matter.