#53 Dungeon Companion (2)
#53 Dungeon Companion (2)
A horde of monsters surged toward them—an unnatural situation. Lee Eun-ha's face drained of color.
"Ten... no, twenty... they're all—all of them—coming!"
Even without her warning, the thunder of countless footsteps was already reverberating through the cave. The archer raised his voice.
"Fall back, fall back!"
The horde charged. The spearman hurled a smoke bomb, but that alone was never going to stop them. The monsters ripped through the smoke and kept coming. Lee Eun-ha had already pulled a lantern from her pack and was sprinting at the head of the retreat. She glanced behind her and stretched out a hand.
"β-Sheet!"
The narrow choke point—the exact spot where they had fallen back earlier while holding off the spiders—and she manifested the skill exactly as planned. A web like spider silk unfurled, tangling the monsters that had been right on their heels. The spearman let out a whistle at her quick thinking.
"Nicely done!"
He flung his torch at the fallen creatures. The road ahead was already lit by the lantern anyway. The web was made of mana, not protein, so it wouldn't burn—but monster fur and flesh were another matter. The creatures rolled and thrashed against the cave floor, tangling with one another as they smothered the flames. The damage was minimal, but they'd bought time—and that was the goal.
"You're not going to help?"
The two of them had kept a comfortable distance from the retreating hunters. Kang Tae-ho asked. The Wolf shook his head. For now, the hunters were holding the line with quick improvisation—he intended to observe a little longer.
They still had consumables left, so getting out of the dungeon wouldn't be difficult. Just as the Wolf had predicted, as the hunters were making their escape—the surging mass of monsters tore through the web. The tangled creatures thrashed and fought their way forward. The Wolf's gaze pierced past them.
[High Raihon]
[Body Length 4.69m] [Shoulder Height 1.78m] [Weight 632kg]
[STR 398] [AGI 379] [VIT 374]
[Skill List]
[Weak Gigantification (D)] [Weak Stealth (E)] [Predation (F)]
"......!"
For an instant, the Raihon sensed a chilling stare and halted. The kind of stare that said: move, and you die right here. Dismissing it as a mistake, the Raihon resumed its charge a heartbeat later.
'A Raihon...'
A large feline-type creature. It looked like a cross between a saber-toothed tiger and a lion. No mana to speak of, but its base stats were rock-solid. It might be on par with a Prodigal Sons' tail... If you pitted it against an Aranea, it would probably come out slightly behind, but it'd still put up a good fight.
By the time the creature reached the spot where the web had been spread, the Wolf and Kang Tae-ho had already slipped out of the cave. As the lantern light drew near, a handful of fleet-footed monsters were already snapping at the hunters' heels.
"......!"
The spearman must have decided the situation was untenable. He pulled the spear from his back and took the rear. He thrust forward, driving the tip clean through a monster's brow, but it didn't stop. Worse, the others used its corpse as a shield and charged. Just before the destructive rush could sweep him under, a cluster of light coalesced around him and wrenched him backward.
The timing of the scroll was good, but the distance it bought was short. Just as he thought he'd be caught again, a pull of mana yanked him away. Dragged back at a terrifying speed, he managed to keep his life by a hair.
"Haaah..."
The moment he caught his breath, light finally began to show. They were close to the dungeon entrance, and the pounding of the horde swelled louder. The terror of predators right at their backs. The hunters spilled out of the dungeon, but nothing had fundamentally changed.
"This is..."
Because in the darkness, the monsters' eyes had begun to glow. It meant they were that close.
"Hey, you bastard. You still ain't gonna help?"
The hunters must have thought the situation was hopeless—their eyes darted toward Kang Tae-ho. He scratched under his chin. But Alpha showed no sign of moving. If anything, Kang Tae-ho was the one growing impatient. He wasn't unsympathetic to the situation. He was dying to help, but his position wouldn't allow him to act recklessly. He'd come along as a supervisor—Alpha was the one being supervised, and Kang Tae-ho had only followed to keep an eye on Alpha. If he moved first, it would signal that he had never trusted Alpha to begin with, and that would render this entire expedition meaningless.
"Still, if things get genuinely dangerous, I'm jumping in right away. Got it?"
The Wolf gave a rough nod at Kang Tae-ho's threatening tone. Where his gaze fell—the Wolf still did not judge this situation as dangerous. He was utterly certain they could break through. And with good reason, because his eyes were fixed on Lee Eun-ha, who was in the middle of an incantation.
"—Explosion!"
The blast collapsed the ceiling at the dungeon entrance. The monsters lunged faster to escape, but in the end, they were either buried under the rubble or cut off from the hunters on the other side. Still, Kang Tae-ho shook his head. It would buy time, but it was only a stopgap. The monsters would get through eventually—that much wouldn't change. As they began ramming the debris, the wreckage heaved. Thud— thud—! Before long, light began filtering back into the cave. The spearman stabbed through the gaps. The horde didn't stop. No—as if they refused to stop, their frenzy only sharpened.
"......!"
When the monsters finally burst out of the dungeon, Kang Tae-ho gritted his teeth. But the horde never actually attacked the hunters. A roar thundered from behind them, and in blind panic the monsters scattered in every direction. In the hunters' moment of confusion, the collapsed wreckage was blasted apart by monstrous strength and shotgunned outward, forcing the spearman to roll across the ground. What revealed itself from the dust was—the boss the Wolf had identified earlier: the Raihon.
"A superior species..."
"...Ugh."
A superior species far larger than any Raihon they knew. The archer and the warrior both let out grim murmurs—this was already a difficult monster, and no matter how they looked at it, their odds seemed faint. A thick stench of blood seeped from inside the cave. Some of the monsters had been crushed by the collapsing ceiling, but even those that survived had likely been devoured by the Raihon.
"―――!"
A threatening roar. Lee Eun-ha's gaze flicked toward the Wolf. She didn't think they could win this, but Alpha didn't budge an inch. Team Leader 2 was the same. His expression was grim, but he stood with his arms crossed, apparently content to watch. The Raihon, its muzzle wet with blood, took a single step forward. The spearman and warrior raised their mana, and a flicker of interest crossed the Raihon's eyes.
"Hold formation!"
At the archer's order, the spearman and warrior stepped forward to block the Raihon's path. They didn't retreat. Not out of some sense of duty as hunters—but because they had backup behind them. Even if not now, when things got truly dangerous, someone would step in. In fact, this struck them as a good opportunity. How many chances would they get to fight a powerful monster without truly risking their lives? A chance that might never come again. The archer nocked an arrow to his bowstring and spoke.
"If we take it head-on...!"
Take it head-on and we're dead—he'd been about to say that when the Raihon leaped. Getting out of the dungeon had given the massive creature far more room to maneuver. It soared high, and its target was the archer. The archer widened the distance while ripping a scroll from his pouch.
The overwhelming stat gap. The Raihon cleared the two in the front rank in a single bound, landed, and charged the archer. The spearman threw his spear, but the Raihon dodged it without effort. A single monster had shattered their formation in the blink of an eye. The spearman and warrior chased after it, but the Raihon had already struck the archer down. A crushing impact—like his spine was caving in under the weight of the forepaw pinning him. The Raihon opened its jaws to finish him off. A cluster of light was gathering around the archer, but at this rate, only a corpse would be teleported away.
"Why you—!"
Kang Tae-ho couldn't hold back any longer. He threw a punch, but before the terrifying blast of pressure could land, a gust of wind canceled it out. He didn't need to see who had done it. Kang Tae-ho turned a furious glare on the Wolf.
"What the hell do you think you're doing!"
The Raihon's jaws were an instant from tearing out the archer's throat—a foot was about to crush his skull first. At this rate, he'd be dead before the scroll's effect even triggered.
"Distort!"
She managed to block it by a hair's breadth. The archer scrambled free and slipped back into the formation, but he already sensed there was no winning this.
"Don't tell me you're gonna stop him again?"
This was their limit. That group had no chance of seizing victory against a superior Raihon. In the tight confines of a cave, fighting with composure, maybe—but on open ground, they had no path to win. Unlike Kang Tae-ho, who was convinced they had to help, the Wolf was calmly observing the situation.
"...Not yet."
At those words, Kang Tae-ho gritted his teeth. A head-on defense was impossible. Gaining any advantage in speed was equally out of the question. This fight could only end one way—it was just a matter of time. They'd accumulate experience, sure, but one misstep and there'd be no coming back from it.......
The archer moved to draw his bow and frowned—the string had snapped. He pulled a new string from his inner pocket and tied it, but in that brief window, the spatial distortion shattered. Lee Eun-ha cradled her numb hand and grimaced. The Raihon's eyes were on her. It must have judged that eliminating her first was the smarter play than dealing with the other three. She was positioned in the center of the formation, but whether that would mean anything was questionable.
But if Team Leader 2 and Alpha weren't going to move anyway...!
"Ten seconds. Buy me ten seconds."
The hunters gave cautious nods. They'd hoped the stalemate would drag on, but the Raihon had no reason to hesitate, even if they did. It coiled momentum into its body and raised a forepaw as if to pounce. Seeing that, the warrior instead charged forward. He dove beneath the massive lion with his shield raised—and was flung away almost instantly. But the Raihon's advance came to a halt. A blade was lodged deep in its armpit.
Even with the spearman bracing him, the warrior was driven back a long, long way. The Raihon snarled and yanked the sword free. Blood streamed from the wound, but the creature paid it no mind. It stomped down, and the sword shattered between blade and hilt. By the time the two hunters had lost their weapons, the archer had already loosed his arrow. The mana-infused missile flew right up to the Raihon's snout—but it simply turned its head and evaded. The arrow grazed its hide, leaving a shallow scratch, and nothing more.
"......."
They stood dumbstruck before the overwhelming gap. And then—the moment the Raihon lunged for Lee Eun-ha.
"Embiggen!"
A massive stake, floating above her head at some unnoticed moment, shot toward the Raihon. It was fast—but everyone knew there was no way something like that was going to hit.
"Distort—!"
So she had prepared two incantations. With instinctive precision, Lee Eun-ha felt the direction the Raihon would dodge and warped space—the giant stake was caught in the distortion too. The creature tore through the mana with its monstrous strength, and just as it was about to slip free, the archer's arrow pierced its eye. In that split second, pain clouded the Raihon's judgment, and the massive stake connected. But Lee Eun-ha had to bite her lip. The creature twisted its body and batted the stake away with its foreleg—only one front leg was torn off. Blood poured from its dislocated, ripped-out shoulder, but the killing intent in its remaining eye was fiercer than ever.
"......."
In the meantime, the spearman retrieved his thrown spear and rejoined the formation. The Raihon had lost a leg and an eye, but nobody could guarantee victory over it. The warrior, having lost both shield and sword, readied a dagger to throw instead. Dragging this out would clearly favor the hunters.
"Keh-hem."
As the situation shifted abruptly, Kang Tae-ho let out an awkward cough. A faint hope of maybe had loosened his rigid expression.
'They might actually pull this off...'
The snarling Raihon advanced on the hunters, then stumbled as its balance failed. The hunters regrouped into formation. Locking eyes with the Raihon's chilling stare, Lee Eun-ha swallowed hard.
'We can do this.'
Recalling the conversation she'd shared on the rooftop last night, she pressed her lips together. She couldn't give up easily here. Not after receiving the elixir. If something was expected of her, she had to show it....... As the standoff continued, a rustling noise stirred from inside the dungeon. —The horde that had fled from the Raihon earlier had scattered in panic, but the monsters that had slipped down the left fork of the three-way path were now emerging.
"Hey, you bastard...?"
No matter how you looked at it, this was impossible. Kang Tae-ho tried to prod the Wolf—and in that moment, a shadow swept over the monsters bursting from the dungeon and swallowed them whole. They vanished without a trace.
"...Well, now I feel awkward."
Kang Tae-ho scratched the side of his head. Whatever the case, the fact remained: only the hunters and the Raihon were left.