#45 Dark Clouds (暗雲)
#45 Dark Clouds (暗雲)
I took in my surroundings. A rough jungle. I cast Detection, and the instant I sensed a presence nearby, I used Stealth.
"Kyoo-weet!"
The moment the Executioner vanished from sight, Perry—who'd been shaking in terror—spread her wings and chirped with delight, as if the last few minutes had never happened.
That thing had been hunting us. Crossing the dimensional rift was our only option. Refuse, and death was a hundred percent certain. I'd been terrified we'd land somewhere wrong—or that we wouldn't make it through the boundary at all.
'...A relief.'
As far as I knew, there was only one place in Neverland with jungle like this: the 2nd Sector. We'd landed exactly where we were supposed to. This was Zone 2 Monstopia. But there was one problem.
'Doesn't feel like the entry point.'
If we'd landed at the entrance, the assault team would've already cleared it and set up a base camp. I was certain it was the 2nd Sector, but...
'......?'
I caught the scent of water and tilted my head. Then it clicked.
'...Looks like it's Area 2.'
Area 2 meant the far side of the river that cut through the enormous jungle. I was supposed to have landed at the entrance to Area 1, not here.
'Did the dimensional rift get split?'
Maybe the Executioner's last slash had sliced the rift open wrong and caused a malfunction. Honestly, that worked in my favor.
'...Landing at the entrance would've been a disaster.'
Stealth or not, dropping straight into the rear unit's base camp and slipping past every single one of them—that was hard to imagine. I'd considered the worst-case scenario, and it definitely would've led to conflict. Landing in Area 2 was a stroke of luck.
'Though my appearance is known.'
Hunters inside a dungeon aren't known for giving monsters the benefit of the doubt, and there's no guarantee they'd try talking first. Watching them from a safe distance was the right call for now—who knew when or why the assault team might get wiped out again.
'To do that.'
Judging by the monster presences I could still sense in Area 2, they hadn't pushed past Area 1 yet. I followed the scent and ran toward the river.
***
"......Hoo."
Baek Gun-tae drew a long breath and let it out. They'd cleared most of Area 1—not all of it, but enough. Most of the assault team was seriously hurt, but aside from the rookies, fatalities had been surprisingly low.
'That Kang Tae-ho bastard.'
The title Swordmaster wasn't something he'd won in a gamble. One absurdly massive paetae sword, and he'd beaten every living swordsman except his own brother to earn that name. His skill hadn't rusted—it had been honed sharper than ever.
'Guess he wasn't just running his mouth.'
If a man who was already a monster had gotten even stronger, maybe now he really had cultivated the strength to stand among the Seven Heroes. —Not that that would be anywhere near enough.
'...Yeah. Switching to a blockade was absolutely the right call.'
The thought didn't sit well, but Baek Gun-tae was glad Hong Yuri had been injured. Even with their numbers finally reinforced near the end, clearing the 2nd Sector was hell. If they'd pushed into the 3rd Sector, the whole assault team might have been annihilated.
'That place is truly horrifying.'
Baek Gun-tae shuddered, old memories surfacing. A place where a single step off the path meant bracing for death. Pain that burrowed into the mind, not the flesh. Hong Yuri's injury, though, had given them justification to shift objectives.
'If we only have to clear up to the 2nd Sector...'
Advancing from one sector to the next required meeting a condition, but moving backward had no such restriction. Simply put, crossing from Sector 1 into Sector 2 required performing a ritual in the plaza, but returning from Sector 2 to Sector 1 was free. They could step back through a dimensional rift whenever they wanted.
'And then there's Frenzy.'
Frenzy—the phenomenon where every monster in Neverland went berserk. Monsters consumed by Frenzy hunted intruders and assault team alike with mindless aggression.
'...I got torn apart by that once.'
Baek Gun-tae had been there. He hadn't held command back then, not like now—they'd just been trying to scout as many sectors as possible for information. Then Frenzy hit, most of the assault team died, and after that the entire framework of Neverland raids changed.
'Every single monster has to be dealt with.'
Maybe if the opening and closing cycles were predictable, things would be different. But Neverland's schedule was random—impossible to forecast. So the strategy had naturally shifted to extermination.
They still hadn't finished Area 1. Baek Gun-tae glanced over at Lee Eun-ha, who was drenched in sweat but holding up admirably, and gave a nod.
"What? You interested?"
Kang Tae-ho had sidled up without him noticing, wearing a greasy smirk.
"Hey now, ain't that a bit much for a man your age? She's what, one year out of school? Two?"
"You crazy bastard?!"
Baek Gun-tae's eyes blazed as Kang Tae-ho caught his swung fist with a snicker. There were lines even among criminals. The age gap was nearly three full zodiac cycles.
"......Whatever. So what the hell is she, anyway?"
"What's what?"
"It's not magic. But she's definitely using mana."
Any mage channels raw mana like a blunt weapon when they're desperate, sure. That kind of brute flailing has no art to it, no technique. But Lee Eun-ha was different. Magic and mana—it was like she had one foot planted on each side of the coin.
In all Baek Gun-tae's years as a hunter, he'd never seen that approach before. Mana is a near-omnipotent force—true enough—but that doesn't make it truly omnipotent.
No, more precisely: unless the wielder is omnipotent, it can't be. And the way Lee Eun-ha handled mana was the closest thing to omnipotence Baek Gun-tae had ever witnessed.
"Dunno. Yuri was teaching her, I didn't pay much attention. Not my team to begin with."
"What? You're not interested?"
"Why? You thinking of making a move?"
Baek Gun-tae shook his head at the sly question.
"...It's not that I have no interest. ......Tch."
If he gave in to that kind of greed, he'd only waste a precious talent. When it came to mana, if you set aside Square, no one surpassed Crimson. Shaking his head, Baek Gun-tae raised his voice.
"How long are you going to lay around?! We're pulling back!"
The brief rest ended. The assault team began its retreat to the rear unit's base camp. —They couldn't push the assault any further in this exhausted state. It would slow things down, but Baek Gun-tae had experienced Neverland enough times to be sick of it. He prioritized safety.
***
[Inferno Hound]
[Length 1.64m] [Height 82.2cm] [Weight 78kg]
[STR 243] [AGI 328] [VIT 298] [MP 299]
[Skill List]
[Superior Olfactory Sense (D)] [Sprint (E)] [Weak Regeneration (F)]
By the time I reached the river, a pack of things roughly matching those stats had surrounded me.
'I'm in Stealth, but.'
Same trick as before—they'd tracked me by scent. Green flames smoldered inside their mouths, and their fur, if they'd ever had any, was burned away. No eyes, either. One thing was certain: each of these creatures far outstripped the monster wolf I'd fought back in Jirisan.
I couldn't stop myself from swallowing hard when I saw them. ...I was salivating.
'Is this a goddamn gold mine...?'
I could barely believe it. Neverland, of all places. And not even Sector 1—the 2nd Sector had these things? Sure, they were in a pack, but all I saw was prey.
I stood still, and they must have taken it for fear, because they lunged all at once. Jaws like steel clamped down on me—and then they thrashed in panic.
'...This is actually easy?'
[Hardening (D) Lv.9 proficiency at maximum. Hardening (D) Lv.9 → Hardening (D) Lv.10]
[Hardening (D) Lv.10 has reached its maximum level. Hardening (D) Lv.10 → Superior Hardening (C)]
They gnashed their teeth, raked with their claws, flailed—nothing sank in. Not with Hardening and Relaxation active. The green fire smoldering inside them flared up, spreading—but moments later, black flame surged and devoured the hellfire whole.
"————!"
The ones that panicked went up in flames and collapsed. I shot spines at the ones trying to flee, mana-laced projectiles chasing them down and punching through. A hit to a vital spot killed them, but I couldn't wipe out the whole pack.
'No point anyway.'
I wasn't inclined to chase. Getting to Area 1 and stopping the assault team's annihilation was more urgent. Still.
'...Be a waste to just leave the kills.'
[Inferno Hound consumed. Experience Points and Satiety increase.]
After devouring them, my remaining EXP sat around 100,000. Not much left until my next level. I was just about to cross the river into Area 1 when the hounds that had fled earlier came charging back, teeth bared.
"......?"
I was baffled—prey crawling back on its own—and then a dry laugh slipped out. The reason they'd returned so cocky was the two-headed pack leader they'd brought with them.
The leader—the two-headed hound—snorted confidently and lunged. Its stats hovered near 400. Nothing too strange for Monstopia.
"......."
My spiritual field spread beneath my feet. Shadow punched through its heart in an instant. It still charged, as if it could endure—
"————!"
It got close enough to collapse at my feet—and then it collapsed. I set a paw on its fallen body.
[Inferno Two-headed Hound consumed. Experience Points and Satiety increase.]
—The pack tried to flee again. This time, not one of them got away.
'Calling these things hounds is generous.'
[EXP 524397 / 530232]
And with that, the Wolf began swimming toward Area 1.
***
"......Khk!"
The electric shock had seared his lungs and covered his entire body in burns—but Woo-taek wasn't dead. At the last instant, he'd poured every drop of mana he had into defense. His head throbbed like it was about to split open because of it. He reached for his phone, thumb going for the emergency call button, then let out a bitter laugh. In this state, there was no way the phone still worked.
He still couldn't move. Normally his vitality would carry him through most injuries, but this—this was beyond him. The fact that he still had breath in his body at all felt like a miracle.
With enormous effort he turned his head. The entire blockade squad lay charred black. ...They hadn't even managed a real counterattack. No—there hadn't been time.
Dark clouds had massed without warning, drifting overhead, and then a colossal lightning bolt had struck. The moment thunder and lightning hit, all of Yongin City lost power. When he opened his eyes again, this was what he saw.
'Rescue...'
It would come soon. Most people had evacuated because of Neverland, but an incident this large would bring help fast. Woo-taek, barely able to move a finger, coughed up more dead blood.
"......!"
Before the lightning fell, he'd sensed it—faintly. Three presences approaching. Only three, but...
......If they had crossed the boundary, then maybe, just maybe, those three alone would be enough to force the entire assault team to brace for annihilation.
'Please be safe...'
That was the last thought he had before losing consciousness again.