The Darkening World

The world was growing darker. The people who had been in a hazy daze only moments earlier seemed to trigger some kind of awakening effect the instant crisis struck. Not bad fire in their eyes. I had sent my companions to safety out of concern for unpredictable variables, but sensing their fierce determination to overcome even the unexpected eased my mind considerably.

"I mean it! I'm going out there to fight too!"

"Hey, calm down! You really think Ilwol would act like this for no reason?"

Ha-yoon fidgeted as though she might bolt at any second, but Joo-ah wrapped her arms tightly around her from behind and held her in place.

Never underestimate an ogre... They were the worst possible matchup for mages. Even A-rank mages avoided confronting them recklessly, yet here she was trying to rush out. Ogres were known to agitate more easily than orcs and possessed lower intelligence, but they weren't so stupid that they charged in blindly like werewolves. They looked sluggish, yet their agility was surprisingly high and their raw strength ranked among the highest of all monsters. Their grip strength was monstrous—once they seized you, even elite hunters struggled to break free. What made them especially dangerous to mages and support hunters was their ability to dispel status ailments almost instantly by making their three horns glow.

Thud. Thud.

After emerging from the gate, the creatures took their time surveying the area. It was the relaxed confidence typical of humanoid monsters who knew they stood at the top of the food chain.

"GROOOAAAAAAR—!"

"Ugh—!"

As if on signal, the ogres unleashed deep, earth-shaking roars. Even from several hundred meters away the sound was so thunderous that my companions instinctively clapped their hands over their ears.

They're still increasing in number...

They must have heard their kin's call, because they immediately began moving toward a single point. Ogres normally preferred solitude, but they didn't reject their own kind. On the contrary, they were known to respect one another's territories through simple communication and willingly throw themselves into danger to protect comrades.

Having been suddenly thrust into another world, they seemed to have judged the situation as a crisis.

Are they grouping up?

Two more had already joined, swelling the pack to five. It was as if they shared some pheromone—their numbers kept growing by one with every step. They were converging with eerie precision on the central point.

Luring them with provocation looks too risky now.

Drawing aggro to protect the other hunters in the dungeon was only feasible when we had breathing room. At the rate their numbers were growing, we had to prioritize our own survival first.

Damn it... If these gates are connected to other dungeons too, ranks become completely meaningless.

On the way here my companions had told me the government and association were debating new dungeon-entry rules. The leading proposal was to require every party to include at least one hunter one rank higher than the dungeon itself. After two whole weeks of meetings, that was the best they could come up with. Most reactions had been pure frustration.

Even adding one higher-rank hunter won't be nearly enough.

When ogres roamed in packs like this, not even an extra B-rank hunter would make the fight easy.

Still, if the entry criteria change that way... maybe I should reach out to Cha Jin-hyeok. It would be easier to steer things the way we want with someone we know rather than strangers.

If incidents like this kept repeating inside dungeons, the outcome was obvious.

Either party sizes would have to increase, or people would simply give up.

Awakened individuals could earn a living anywhere even without becoming hunters. Manual labor on construction sites would pay several times the normal wage. Many would gladly postpone the sweet profits of subjugation for a while. When the money stopped being worth the risk, there would be no reason to enter dungeons. When the danger grew too great, there would be no reason to enter dungeons. The number of F-rank hunters who risked everything while dreaming of becoming billionaires would plummet. No matter how exhilarating it was to explore a new world and grow stronger step by step, life itself mattered more. If the people capable of standing against the orc legions that would one day cover the globe failed to grow, it meant this world's future was darkening by the day. No matter how powerful I became, the area I could protect was limited. In the end, we would simply walk the path to ruin one careful step at a time.

Even as those thoughts ran through my mind, my body had already finished preparing. Leaving my companions behind, I began moving toward the point where the creatures were gathering.

"Ah— Ilwol!"

Yeonhee's voice calling my name grew fainter and fainter.

The three ogres I had first discovered had now increased to seven. The initial gate hadn't been the only one; more creatures were suddenly appearing within my detection range. In this situation, moving alone was far more efficient than dragging Yeonhee along.

Still, quite a few hunters are fleeing toward the exit.

Firing the flare early had been worth it. The people scattering in every direction without looking back were making the truly wise choice.

This looks like the perfect meeting point.

I intended to detonate bombs where they converged. Using timed explosives would be far more effective than dropping bombs from the sky and giving them time to prepare.

I dug down into the earth and began burying all one hundred pre-made skeleton bombs underground.

While I hurried through the work, I sensed a party of seven walking straight toward an ogre coming from my direction.

...They just happened to be at the gate's spawn point.

The moment the party saw the creature they shifted into combat stance. With only one ogre, they apparently believed they could overwhelm it with numbers. A massive miscalculation.

The ogre staggered briefly under the barrage of seven skills, then quickly regained its balance and began displaying its monstrous strength.

"F-fast!"

Even after hearing explanations until my ears nearly bled, facing the monster in reality was an entirely different matter.

"Aaaargh!!"

Thanks to Keen Ears, even sounds I had no desire to hear came through with painful clarity.

An ogre's running speed nearly matches a direwolf. Escaping won't be easy. Damn...

Unfortunately one man was caught by the leg. The ogre immediately began using him as a club to smash the others.

Splat—!

The hunter who collided with the swung body had his head explode like a watermelon. The torso was ripped apart like wet paper. The two mages who fled while frantically casting spells failed to leave even a scratch on the ogre. Its magic resistance was exceptionally high.

If they can't concentrate, their magic will never exert its full power.

Even though the world had become a game, a skill with 100 damage didn't always deal 100 damage. That was why my trait, Composure, was such a precious ability.

The hunters who had launched the first attack realized their mistake and began to flee. Because they scattered in different directions, a few managed to survive. Only three survivors. Four hunters had lost their lives in mere minutes. And such tragedies were surely occurring all across the dungeon.

Sigh...

I emerged from the ground again, replenishing my skeleton bombs while growing a fireball in one hand.

As the clustered creatures entered my domain, both my strength and agility rose by twenty. Power surged through my entire body, and a wild excitement that made me want to charge forward and roar nearly overwhelmed me.

Composure.

Whoosh— Come.

I never dreamed I could finish them with the first strike. This was a completely different situation from slicing a direwolf in one cut. Even if I used the swordsmanship from back then perfectly, nothing as flashy as that scene would occur. My swordsmanship was still incomplete, and long training had taught me exactly where my limits lay. I might be able to sever a wrist, but these were monsters that could regenerate even after losing body parts.

The Revolving Flame Blast would have a hard time piercing their defense.

That technique was highly effective against multiple enemies. For single-target destructive power, Flame Slash was still better. My plan was to shave away as much of their stamina as possible, then lure them toward my companions for a coordinated assault.

"Grrrrr—"

"Brooo?"

"Brooo."

After meeting up, the creatures spent a while exchanging ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠what passed for conversation among them.

Eleven... In this life I actually get to see more than ten ogres gathered in one place.

Even while talking they kept scratching their heads, clearly confused about what was happening. When you thought about it, their situation was even more absurd than what the people from that other world had faced. After all, there was no way back for them.

Oh no...

One of them was holding something horribly familiar in its hand. What looked ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠like a woman's lower body was clutched in its massive grip, blood still spurting. The ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠creature was using the leg like a toothpick to clean between its enormous fangs. And when it shoved the rest of the woman into its mouth—

"Clack clack clack."

I rose into the air and hurled a fireball I had enlarged to the size of a compact car. The chained explosions combined with the fireball left even these magic-resistant monsters writhing in agony. Their health must have dropped significantly. I could only hope so.

Seizing the moment while they suffered from the bombs, I activated Flame Chains in rapid succession, binding all eleven creatures at once.

Ugh... Using them back-to-back like this is pretty rough.

My head felt like it was about to boil over. I hurled every dagger I had collected at the bound monsters.

Swooosh—!

Even while restrained, they twisted desperately to keep the rain of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠daggers from striking vital points. Thud. Thud-thud. Most of the blades still sank into arms and torsos. A few even managed to leave flame marks.

The creatures who had been marked together tilted their heads in confusion when flames they had never seen before rose from their comrades' shoulders.

As expected, using it just to apply marks isn't very efficient.

The one with the most marks only had two. Everyone else had just one. After my class change I had gained the ability for bone-based attacks to occasionally leave marks, but the probability seemed lower than I hoped.

The extremely brief binding effect ended. The creatures roared and shattered their restraints.

"GRAAAOO—!"

Their eyes burned bright red with boiling rage.

Time to retreat.

Still floating in the air, I continued scattering Special Strong Acid over their heads, hoping to keep their attention fixed on me.

Sizzle—

"GROOOAAAR!!"

They hated having their horns attacked more than anything. Spotting the creature harassing them from above, they roared continuously.

Oh, how scary. Too bad they can't do anything while I'm floating in the sky.

Srrrk—

New flesh rapidly sprouted across bodies whose skin had peeled away and blistered from the acid burns.

Those monstrous bastards even have excellent regeneration.

I flew away slowly, and the creatures, gazes locked onto me, began to follow as though hypnotized.