Chapter 178
Chapter 178
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 178
Chapter Title: Centaur Plains
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Chapter 178
The interior of the "Centaur Plains" lived up to its name, consisting entirely of vast grasslands.
Grass barely tall enough to cover one's ankles blanketed the gently rolling plains.
A perfect breeze swept through the weather as well.
'Gate interiors really are great places if you ignore the monsters.'
In a world where environmental destruction had reached such extremes that natural landscapes like this were increasingly rare, the scenery felt all the more precious.
But this was an extremely dangerous plain where half-human, half-horse monsters known as centaurs galloped freely.
Since these pack-dwelling creatures left nowhere to hide from their gaze, one could say this beautiful grassland was a kind of trap laid by the system.
Of course, none of that mattered to Jeong-hyeon right now.
Crack, crack.
Ye-rin cracked her knuckles in her gauntleted hands and rolled her neck.
'You too, huh?'
Not to be outdone, Jeong-hyeon swung his pickaxe around and shook out his legs.
To any onlooker, they looked like an enthusiastic couple warming up before a fight.
"So, shall we form up and head in now?"
Oblivious to it all, Kim Du-yeol was eager to lure the party deeper into the gate by any means necessary.
Completely unaware that he was the one being lured.
As the highest rank and level in the group, he seemed to have tacitly assumed the role of party leader.
And with A-Rank Level 6, he had the skills to back it up.
Jeong-hyeon and Ye-rin, however, ignored him and continued stretching.
Only the healer, Yun Ji-man, glanced cautiously at the two.
"Warming up can't hurt. Don't mind us—take your time, haha."
Since Ye-rin had stayed in the rear to stretch, Kim Jong-han—the fire magic trait holder—naturally ended up closer to her and smiled as he spoke.
But he had no idea.
That he was the one lacking awareness.
Thwack.
"Gah!"
"W-what the—!"
'Oh.'
Kim Jong-han suddenly traced a beautiful arc through the clear air of the plains.
Among those watching, only Jeong-hyeon grinned broadly at the sight.
Finally, this hellish operation was over.
"Let's start with a few hits."
Ye-rin flashed a savage smile that made him instinctively shrink back.
Still not grasping the situation, Kim Du-yeol grabbed his sword and shield, retreating a step as he yelled.
"What the fuck? Who the hell are you? A villain?"
"Look who's talking."
Ye-rin shook her head with a hollow laugh.
As if he had any room to talk.
Though, if someone unaware of the context saw it, they'd have no trouble believing she was the villain.
"Ugh, ahh! Ahh!"
Especially Kim Jong-han, whose jaw seemed unhinged as he spewed garbled screams—his state was utterly pathetic.
Meanwhile, Jeong-hyeon decided.
'Whatever... the boss will handle the responsibility.'
Not to overthink it.
He wasn't the one in charge anyway.
That was Ye-rin, who had brought him along.
With her stress on the verge of exploding anyway, having an outlet like this was actually convenient for Jeong-hyeon.
Slash.
"W-what? You with her too?"
"Think so?"
As Jeong-hyeon gripped his mace and approached, a flustered Seok-jun hastily aimed his sword at him.
He must have been pretty shocked.
To think the couple from moments ago weren't together, after all.
Thud.
Even amid the chaos, another spine-chilling impact echoed from Ye-rin's direction.
She had likely fully neutralized Kim Jong-han.
As if on cue, Jeong-hyeon charged straight at Seok-jun.
Clang.
Seok-jun managed to block Jeong-hyeon's first strike, showing he had some skill.
"You fucking bastards think you can get away with this!"
Finally, Kim Du-yeol roared in fury and turned toward the nearby Jeong-hyeon.
He planned to finish him quickly with a pincer attack while Jeong-hyeon dealt with Seok-jun.
Jeong-hyeon's profile was Park Jeong-hu: A-Rank Level 5 with Combat Sense.
Tough for Seok-jun alone, but with him joining, they could take him down fast—or so he calculated.
But that plan remained just a thought.
Boom.
"Eek!"
Ye-rin suddenly burst from Kim Du-yeol's side at impossible speed, delivering a flying kick.
The terrified Kim Du-yeol hastily twisted his shield to block.
The thunderous clash—unbelievable for foot meeting shield—made it clear her power far exceeded such a sloppy defense.
Kim Du-yeol stumbled back a couple steps before shaking off the shock.
'His reaction speed's pretty good, huh?'
For simple strength enhancement, reacting to that speed would be tough.
Still, judging from the first clash, Ye-rin could handle him, so Jeong-hyeon focused on Seok-jun.
"You... fuckers from the Association...?"
"Nope."
"Then why the hell...?"
Seok-jun gritted his teeth, struggling to withstand Jeong-hyeon's power.
But when Jeong-hyeon calmly shook his head, he looked utterly baffled.
Jeong-hyeon hadn't lied, of course.
'Not me.'
He wasn't with the Association.
And he had no reason to explain the details.
Boom—boom—boom.
"Urk!"
Jeong-hyeon eased the force in his mace to break the deadlock, then hammered down repeatedly.
His A-Rank Level 3 Blunt Technique instinctively suggested optimal paths, but he ignored them.
Just casually repeating simple overhead strikes.
Even that drew groans from Seok-jun as he desperately blocked.
He was B-Rank Level 5 Swordsmanship, but the rank gap was there, and swordplay versus blunt weapons differed greatly in strength multipliers.
Plus Jeong-hyeon's various buffs made even basic attacks feel heavy.
'He's blocking pretty well, though.'
His skill was decent, judging purely by the blocks.
Pure strength would have shattered his sword against the mace already.
He was precisely targeting just below the guard and deflecting the force—that's how he held on.
'Time to wrap this up?'
He had tested how powerfully Blunt Technique affected fellow hunters.
Enough data now.
Time for something else.
Even Seok-jun, deftly defending so far, couldn't withstand this.
Jeong-hyeon enchanted his mace with magic.
Swoosh.
A faint sound accompanied a translucent aura around the mace.
"Oh."
Harad's effect?
Definitely different from before.
Previously, the enchantment flickered like flames; now it felt solidly coalesced around the mace.
Seok-jun sensed the change and yelled.
"W-what's that?!"
In such cases, no words—just action.
Jeong-hyeon swung indifferently.
Seok-jun tried deflecting amid panic, but deflection requires matching the opponent.
Like water bursting a dam—it wouldn't flow away on command.
Dodging outright would have been better.
Crack.
The overwhelming gap made his sword shatter without fanfare.
The amplified neutral magic exceeded Jeong-hyeon's expectations, altering its form entirely.
With Seok-jun's sword—his last bastion—broken, smashing his skull would be easy if desired.
But
Drip.
Jeong-hyeon halted the mace just before.
Seok-jun stared at it hovering near his face, eyes wide to the limit, then collapsed as his legs gave out.
As a B-Rank Level 5, this was probably his first brush so close to death.
In real combat, he wouldn't be alive.
"Ugh, smells."
The shock was immense—urine trickled from between his legs.
No fight left in him now.
'Wonder if over there's wrapping up too?'
Jeong-hyeon turned leisurely from Seok-jun toward Ye-rin and Kim Du-yeol.
Similar traits and levels, with her seizing the offensive from the start—should be decided by now.
But the situation was completely different from expected.
Clang—boom.
Explosions echoed relentlessly; the fight raged on.
One side relentlessly pressed the other—but the problem was,
'The boss is on the defensive?'
The one desperately dodging was Ye-rin, not Kim Du-yeol.
"You goddamn rats... You think I'd come back to this shithole Korea without a backup plan!"
Realizing it was an Association sting, Kim Du-yeol exploded in rage, unleashing attacks.
Jeong-hyeon instantly grasped why Ye-rin was pushed back.
'Two traits?'
Sword and shield suggested strength enhancement—confirmed.
Otherwise, no way melee specialist Ye-rin would be evenly matched.
Crackle.
The issue: Kim Du-yeol also wielded lightning magic.
Not an artifact effect.
If so, mana would flow from one gear; clearly, he was casting.
In other words, Kim Du-yeol was Jeong-hyeon's first re-awakener encounter.
Ye-rin's late-run greaves had basic lightning attribute, but couldn't match a true trait lightning spell.
Without that, it would have ended already.
'Roughly C-Rank...'
C-Rank lightning in an A-Rank fight might seem minor, but in a stalemate, one variable could spiral uncontrollably.
Lightning magic was tricky to handle, so Ye-rin struggling made sense.
Of course, he couldn't just watch.
Judging the situation, Jeong-hyeon intervened.
Swoosh.
First, his signature throwing knife.
Not his usual Black or Onyx, but a borrowed Association item—B-Rank Throwing Skill's power unchanged.
He had deliberately hidden it under his armor, so Kim Du-yeol didn't know he used daggers.
Perfect ambush.
"Hss!"
Pressing Ye-rin, Kim Du-yeol sucked in breath at the sudden killing intent.
Twisting his shield toward the knife was pure survival instinct.
Boom.
Packed with neutral magic, the impact was no joke.
"What kind of dagger is that...!"
Shaking his shield arm from the shock, Kim Du-yeol was stunned.
Jeong-hyeon's knife had dented part of the shield like a blunt weapon before hitting the ground.
Ye-rin, surprised by the variable, glanced that way.
But Jeong-hyeon was long gone.
Boom.
With a deafening roar incomparable to before, he smashed down on Kim Du-yeol's shield.
"Kim Du-yeol, keep that guard up nice and tight."
Kim Du-yeol's eyes twitched—not just from the man appearing before him.