The Spore Snails

The hunters who had already become hosts staggered in place. The pale yellow monster resembled an elongated, streamlined snail. Its back was covered in clusters of round, egg-like sacs. The moment it slithered onto the ground, it expelled every single one of those sacs into the air.

They floated like dandelion seeds, drifting lazily before bursting with soft pops directly above the hunters who could barely stand because of the sonic attack. A cloud of pure white powder drifted down like snow. The hunters froze without realizing it—until someone screamed.

In that instant, every hunter in the area erupted with mana at once, desperately trying to escape. Of course, they couldn't suddenly break free from the sonic attack just because they tried harder. Still, when humans realize they're in mortal danger, they find strength they never knew they had.

The hunters who had been farther from the gate, those who reacted quickly to the shout about poison, and those who hadn't been fighting the goblins managed to avoid the toxic cloud. But the others inevitably inhaled the mist-like poison or let it touch their skin.

A few hunters quickly equipped Ent Masks to prevent direct inhalation, but there was no avoiding skin exposure unless they left the area entirely. Those without masks who had breathed it in, or whose skin had been exposed, began moving noticeably slower. As time passed, they could do nothing but cover their ears and curl into themselves.

Such hunters became easy prey for goblins, kobolds, and slimes.

Thud. Thud. Thud!!

"Krrraaaaagh!!"

More and more hunters were being clubbed to death by groups of goblins or having their heads engulfed by slimes, slowly suffocating in bubbling, gurgling agony.

'Damn it!! We don't have any antidotes!!'

Helen equipped her mask while inwardly cursing the lack of antidotes. In truth, D- and E-rank hunters rarely carried spare antidotes. The only low-grade dungeon where they were truly necessary was the Ent Forest, and even that wasn't considered a mandatory clear.

Burrrrrk. Burrk—

As the poisoning dragged on, other sinister effects began manifesting in the hunters' bodies beyond simple paralysis. On the back of one man who had inhaled a massive dose without a mask, something bubbled up like foam. Inside the bubbles, dozens of wriggling worm-like creatures squirmed—identical in appearance to the monster that had spread the poison.

"Krrriiiik… It hurts… it hurts…!"

In the future, this monster would first be discovered in Korea and come to be known as the Spore Snail. The baby spore snails that sprouted on the hunters' backs rapidly grew to adulthood by feeding on their mana. The time required to reach maturity was roughly six hours. After six hours, the host hunter would be slowly devoured from the back, losing not only ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠their mana but their very flesh. Because of the paralyzing effect, they supposedly wouldn't even realize they were dying.

Meanwhile, the hunters who had quickly escaped the range of the sonic attack numbered around a hundred. More than four hundred others were still locked in a desperate struggle near the gate.

The hundred who had escaped immediately called for backup, but they faced a dilemma.

'Even if we can resist the poison somehow, the sound is the real problem.'

No Hayun, a D-rank hunter from one of the Three Great Guilds—the Bijeon Guild—was among them. Though she normally possessed an unusually strong sense of justice, her hesitation didn't last long. After making the report, she inserted her usual earphones and headed back inside.

'I don't need to overdo it. I'll start from the outskirts and clear them methodically.'

No Hayun had made a relatively calm judgment. The other hunters who had fallen into chaos from the sudden situation soon recovered from their status ailments. Seeing her bravely re-enter, roughly thirty more hunters followed her lead.

And five minutes later, ten C-rank hunters and a large number of D-rank hunters arrived as additional reinforcements.

The C-rank hunters immediately began assessing the situation upon arrival. They first verified whether the information about the spore snails was accurate. Most monsters that used poison weren't particularly frightening if the poisoning could be cured. However, the sonic attack was something even they had never encountered before, so they had no choice but to advance and see for themselves. Naturally, they had all brought earplugs.

The second wave of reinforcements, centered around the C-rank hunters, entered the poison-filled space. Lee Yeonhee arrived ten minutes after that. Even though she had taken a taxi after the sudden chaos in the city, she was still slightly late.

"That must be it, Ilwol. It's incredibly hazy… The range looks like it's over a hundred meters?"

"Clack clack clack!!"

'It's already reached its peak stage.'

Clinging to the outer wall of a three-story building beyond the reach of the spores while holding Yeonhee, I used my sensory abilities to examine the hunters trapped inside the toxic mist spread by the spore snails.

'Ten C-ranks and more than twenty people at the upper end of D-rank. With that kind of lineup, they shouldn't be getting pushed back by the monsters inside at all. So why?'

Yeonhee's body twitched with the urge to rush in and help, but a single doubt kept me from moving. In my previous life's memories, I clearly remembered that a significant number of the dispatched C-rank hunters had died. Yet looking at the current battle, it didn't seem like they would be overwhelmed by the monsters at all.

'It's impossible without additional variables… What could it be? What is it?'

I held up a single finger to Yeonhee.

"Huh? One minute? No way, Ilwol!! People might all die!!"

I had signaled to wait one minute before entering, but Yeonhee firmly refused.

'Hmm… Guess I have no choice. Then we'll start from the very edge.'

In the end, I held Yeonhee and leaped down toward the area with the fewest monsters when viewed from above. As I jumped, I made sure the hunters were far enough away before hurling five of the skeleton bombs I had prepared throughout the night at the spots where the monsters were clustered.

Inventory: Skeleton Bombs — 45/50

Whiiiiiing—

The crudely shaped skeleton bombs, which looked like wadded-up newspaper rolled into balls, traced a parabola through the air and landed almost simultaneously at their targets.

Boom! Kwaaang! Boom! Kwakwang!! Kwaaaang—!!

The instant they touched down, massive explosions erupted with deafening roars. I had been worried they might react with the poisonous mist while flying, but that didn't happen.

Each skeleton bomb created a three-meter radius explosion, instantly annihilating five or six monsters apiece. The hunters, feeling the tremendous shockwave, fell into momentary confusion.

"Haha… That's insane…"

Even as she landed, Yeonhee managed to recognize the power of the skeleton bombs. The moment her feet touched the ground, her eyes sparkled as she looked at me in a way quite different from usual.

'Heh… Having outstanding talent really is exhausting sometimes.'

Every time Yeonhee looked at me with those eyes, I couldn't understand why it made me feel so childishly happy. In any case, a skill that allowed me to throw large quantities of bombs capable of erasing at least five goblins in a single strike was an ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠offensive power that even most C-rank hunters would have to respect.

Extremely satisfied, I found myself nodding unconsciously.

'This… isn't exactly the best place for a child's education.'

But my intoxication with the skill's power lasted only a moment. The place we had landed in presented a horrific scene so gruesome that even I, with all my accumulated experience, found it difficult to look at.

"Krrraaaagh!!"

"S-Save m—"

Crunch!!

Right as we landed, I witnessed a man's head being crushed by a goblin's club. As a bonus, I got to watch another goblin shove its face into the spilled brains and greedily devour them.

Several people who had collapsed on the ground were completely covered in writhing baby spore snails, slowly having their mana drained as they died.

"Ugh!!"

Yeonhee hurriedly chanted her summoning spell. Soon, the Lizardman appeared at the lead, followed by all her other summoned creatures.

'Her summoning speed is getting faster and faster…'

(Yohohohot! Master! It's been so lo—ng…)

Ran, who had appeared with her usual flair, immediately sensed the grim atmosphere. She quietly settled onto Yeonhee's shoulder and activated her ability.

Tadadadak—!!

Once we landed, words were unnecessary. We simply slaughtered every monster in sight.

Stab—! Crunch—!!

'As expected, there aren't any spore snails here.'

Although it wasn't the complete outskirts, we were still quite far from the center, so the only things visible were weaklings.

"H-Here! Please take this antidote!!"

Yeonhee left the fighting to us and began moving around, distributing antidotes to the fallen hunters. Surprisingly, the antidote seemed to work even on those who had already become hosts for the baby spore snails.

When one hunter covered in bubbles drank the antidote, the bubbles swelled up shortly after and burst, causing the baby snails to spill onto the ground where they wriggled helplessly.

I glared at the hunters who had received the antidote, sending them a look that clearly said they must repay this kindness with appropriate compensation. Of course, no one properly understood my gaze. They simply became terrified. A few even wet their pants.

'I keep forgetting that I'm still a skeleton…'

Thanks to the Lizardmen rampaging like fish in water, I didn't need to exert myself much. Instead, I began harvesting bones from the fallen goblins to craft more skeleton bombs.

"Hiiik!!"

Naturally, some hunters saw what I was doing and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠fled without looking back, but I understood why.

'I really have to scrape the flesh off completely to make the bombs. It's annoyingly picky at the strangest points!!'

Even while grumbling, I worked diligently. By the time Yeonhee had cleared the surrounding area, I had managed to recover two of the five skeleton bombs we had used.