Chapter 155
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 155
Chapter Title: The Power of SSS-Grade (2)
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One SSS-grade hunter can change the flow of a dungeon.
Two SSS-grade hunters can change the dungeon's difficulty.
When three gather, they erase the presence of all other hunters.
The ghost story floating around the Hunter Gallery had never actually happened.
No dungeon information worth gathering three SSS-grade hunters had ever been revealed to the world.
So the rumor that circulated as a ghost story among hunters was something the Semi Guild members were truly feeling today.
"...This is SSS-grade?"
"I thought she was just a hunter who got lucky with an additional awakening..."
"Why is Sua doing so well? I heard it's been less than a month since her awakening and she started raiding dungeons."
"Even from range... what kind of talent is that..."
Right now, Im Hyeji, Lee Sua, and Kang Hana were fully buffed from my last-minute semen extraction doping.
With magic and stamina up one grade, Im Hyeji and Lee Sua were at SS-grade magic power.
Kang Hana was pumped up to S/S-grade stamina and magic.
In that state, the barrage of embers pouring out—even in an S-grade dungeon, the monsters couldn't handle it.
It wasn't like clearing B-grade or lower dungeons where monsters exploded in one hit.
But the extremely powerful ember attacks served as highly effective preemptive strikes, neutralizing monsters or whittling down their strength. The hunters charging in after could hunt them down with ease.
At first, their absurd performance naturally sparked murmurs.
"Anyone SSS-grade can do that much, right? She's just spamming skills."
"It's possible because only A-grade and below are showing up. S-grades are the real test."
Even A-grade monsters, which required extreme caution in normal raids and could lead to delayed responses if discovered mid-fight without prior scouting, and they were nitpicking over that.
"True skill shows in large-scale battles."
It was true, but...
Unfortunately, the SSS-grade hunters didn't even allow for such variables.
"Monsters incoming from the southeast—20 of them, including 2 S-grades and 5 A-grades. Three S-grades from the west too, so we'll pull back north, group them up, and hit them with a preemptive strike."
And there was one battle where even the Semi Guild hunters had no choice but to acknowledge it.
She caught the monsters charging from both sides early, shared the info, and moved to meet them from one direction.
She merged the two groups into a frontal clash.
She'd averted the worst pincer situation, but the 'big fight' with S-grade monsters that the hunters had muttered about became unavoidable.
Five S-grade monsters, plus over 20 from merging the A-grade groups.
At the dungeon's most critical and dangerous moment, Lee Sua showed what she could do.
Fwaaah!
Inside Im Hyeji's Heavenly Barrier, she recovered mana and formed a massive wave of embers.
The ember wave surged ahead of us, ahead of the tense tanks at the front facing the dozens of oncoming monsters, and rushed toward them.
Shwaaa—
The wave of fire raced across the ground, rippling swiftly.
The massive wave of flames engulfed the monsters in an instant.
It wasn't a wave they could dodge out of fear or instinct.
The SS-grade magic-powered ember wave swept up even the fleeing monsters and kept going endlessly.
The monsters swept out of the wave writhed in agony from the ongoing burn damage.
"I'll take out the S-grades before the embers die."
The battle, which allowed no room for complacency, began with absurd results.
With this much setup, there was no way we could lose.
And amid the dozens of burning monsters everywhere, Kang Hana's voice precisely classified which were A-grade and which S-grade, eliminating the need to recall monster info one by one even in the chaotic battlefield.
Of course, hunters try to memorize most monster info, but remembering every single one is nearly impossible, especially with many similar-looking monsters of different grades.
High A-grade and above have unique habits and skills, so the gap between vaguely knowing a name and knowing detailed habits and skills is huge.
"First party, watch out for the axe swing. It roars and goes berserk."
With info beyond basic scouting flowing in, the fights were too easy.
And the moment an accident injured a hunter...
Fwaaah!
Heavenly Waves immediately poured over the hunter's head, setting up a Heavenly Barrier to aid allies.
Finally, the moment an S-grade monster's last-ditch attack heavily injured a hunter...
Hana Semi appeared from somewhere, scooped up the wounded hunter, and instantly space-warped them to the rear.
It was a perfect battle.
Even reviewing the body cams yielded nothing but awe at the clean victory. The hunters dropped all doubts and cheered.
Honestly, talk of it being a tribute dungeon for Kang Jik Guild or whatever—S-grade dungeons are no joke.
Even going all-out as a warm-up for SS-grade dungeons, variables inside could cause clear casualties.
Considering it was a Mars-fluxed S-grade dungeon, and the number of S- and A-grades in that final battle...
Everyone had to admit it.
SSS-grade hunters.
Without Kang Jik Guild, could they have won? They'd confidently say yes.
But without a single casualty? No answer.
Semi Guild's SS-grade hunters barely made their presence felt in this fight.
At best, cleaning up after Lee Sua's half-wrecked ember wave and the still-burning monsters.
"We got sidelined."
Even they bitterly reflected with sighs.
No one disliked it, though.
More S-grade monsters meant a bigger cut from the already reduced shares thanks to SSS-grades.
The collection team moved swiftly.
And so did I.
"Someone's over there. Head a bit more to the outskirts. Yeah. Further. Dead monster on that side."
With my guildmates shining so hard, it was time for me to do my part.
@
Unless there's personal grudge...
Hunters speak with skill.
Hunter grade is law, and the glares at Im Hyeji and Kang Hana were just lingering resentment from "is that all?" memories.
Most hunters saw their skills and dropped the envy and jealousy.
"They're insane..."
"Jealous."
"Was Hana always that sharp on info?"
"Must've trained hard."
"Sua's the real monster. Non-target skills aren't easy to land. Skill usage too—does she have aptitude here too?"
Average hunters waste time envying others; top-10 guild members know they'll cross paths often and avoid pissing off SSS-grades.
Of course, occasional idiots like the F-team uncle clinging to Im Hyeji exist.
But in just one day, the dungeon mood loosened. They'd spend tomorrow and the day after mopping up monsters and checking key resources.
"All thanks to Jik and the crew. Never seen an S-grade cleared this easy, like a B-grade."
"Gotta earn our keep."
Frankly, SSS-grade feats are impressive, but coldly, this is table stakes.
By Semi Guild's cut agreement, hunters would say that's just one person's share.
Anyway, from my view, Lee Sua's first S-grade was worry-free. She even showed solid talent, easing my mind.
This level means she can perform as SSS anywhere, with a few more variables under her belt.
Plus, Lee Sua hasn't fully awakened her power yet.
What will she show with double SSS-grade attack magic aptitude and skills at first awakening?
Definitely more impact than healing or scouting first awakes.
"Rock, paper, scissors!!"
Excited, I entered the women's barracks. They were playing rock-paper-scissors.
"What're you doing?"
Despite my question, they seriously played a few rounds. Lee Sua won and cheered.
"...?"
She clung to me and explained.
"Gotta give Semi sister first turn, right? Alternating the last two felt off, so I went all-in."
"....Huh?"
"Kang Jik has work to do."
I thought my job was collecting mana stones in the dungeon.
Apparently not.