Chapter 53
Chapter 53
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 53
Chapter Title: Cockroach Essence
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Chapter 53
'These people are impressive in a whole different way.'
The cockroach hunting grounds.
Jeonghyeon felt an emotion he couldn't quite put into words as he watched.
A hunting machine?
A wheel bug butcher shop?
There wasn't even casual chit-chat between party members like you'd expect in a normal hunt. No cheers or battle cries either.
Roar—
Crunch—Crunch—
They simply unleashed their combat skills on instinct whenever a cockroach approached.
'As expected, disgust and fear are all in the mind. Lesson learned.'
Like Wonhyo who drank skull water and attained enlightenment with "all things arise from the mind."
Jeonghyeon had his revelation right there in the sewer.
But enlightenment or not, this sewer gate was truly hellish.
He never wanted to come back, even if they paid him.
First, the stench.
Normally, repeated exposure to the same smell desensitizes your nose, reducing the irritation. But here, every step brought a fresh wave no weaker than the last, assaulting his olfactory nerves.
It meant enduring the full brunt nonstop. Without the gas mask from Daehun, he couldn't have lasted a moment.
Second, the cockroaches themselves.
The first battle in the sewer had been a fresh shock even for Jeonghyeon.
Scrape—Scrape—
'Ugh, what the hell is that sound?'
The moment they entered the gate, his ears were filled with it from all directions.
In the narrow sewer, the echoes off the walls made it hard even for his senses to pinpoint each one precisely.
Then suddenly, the sounds intensified, sending chills down his spine.
Scrape-scrape-scrape-scrape—
No deep thought needed; instinct told him what it meant.
A swarm of cockroach beaks charging at them.
And roughly twenty or more, just a quick glance!
"Left passage! Over twenty!"
In the 'ㅓ'-shaped fork, Jeonghyeon urgently pointed left.
Normally he'd wait until the others sensed it, but not now.
Who could afford to in a situation where dozens of half-human-sized black cockroaches were swarming from the pitch darkness?
"······?"
"······!"
At first, they seemed surprised by his detection, but they adapted in moments.
No, they sensed the cockroaches far quicker than he'd expected.
In the sewer, they were specialists whose abilities outstripped even his traits.
Faces hidden by gas masks, expressions unreadable, but the team silently formed up toward the direction he indicated.
The moment the cockroaches crossed their line, battle began.
It started, of course, with fire magic.
D-rank level 3 and 2 hunters unleashed Fire Wave and Fire Strike, spreading through the sewer.
The brilliant flames lit up the darkness, advancing rapidly.
Then the hidden cockroach swarm finally emerged.
Scrape—Scrape—
Insect monsters were vulnerable to temperature-altering attacks.
Like fire or ice magic.
Cockroaches were tenacious, but they couldn't overcome their species' innate weakness.
The lead cockroaches charging along the walls collapsed outright.
But some broke through the flames' gaps.
Each a meter long, glossy black-brown bodies.
Cockroaches armed with blade-like jaws and equally menacing claws.
Next came Jeonghyeon's daggers, poured onto those shoving heads into the fire.
Whish—
His Throwing Skill, now level 2 with noticeably faster speed, fired daggers in near-rapid succession.
"Jeonghyeon, the daggers—"
Meanwhile, as he threw, Daehun turned to stop him.
His team was optimized solely for efficient cockroach kills.
Simple reason no archers or other physical projectile users.
His Throwing Skill had always one-shot monsters without fail, betraying expectations.
But not against cockroaches.
Scrape-scrape-scrape—
'These creepy bastards!'
Even deeply embedded in their heads, the cockroaches slowed only slightly, pressing on undeterred.
They lacked clear vital spots by human standards.
Even headshots didn't work; independent motor nerves were distributed throughout.
Wasted throw?
The thought flashed through Jeonghyeon's mind.
Throwing Skill aimed for one-hit kills.
Miss the kill, and effectiveness plummeted.
"Jeonghyeon...?"
But Daehun—and the whole team—watching were astonished in their own way.
How does he throw daggers that fast without a single miss?
Most hits precisely on the head.
'This level...'
He'd started with low expectations for Throwing Skill, but this was usable.
Of course, oblivious Jeonghyeon could only curse internally.
A creepy monster survives a head-piercing dagger and keeps coming?
Undead-level resilience.
Objective info confirmed: dagger-hit ones were definitely slower.
'No, is this even slower?!'
Subjectively, though, they felt just as fast.
Not orc-level, but six legs moving frantically were quick.
Plus, some even—
Flutter—
Spread wings and flew.
Instinct overrode disgust tolerance and courage; it made you shrink.
Relentless charges brought them to the tanks and melee dealers.
Battle line shifted instantly to close quarters.
Thwack—Thud—
'Oof.'
Jeonghyeon's honest impression.
The two melee dealers smashed cockroaches expressionlessly, unflinching.
Especially Daehun's axe: each swing bisected them.
Tanks shone too.
Not just blocking charges with shields—they crushed them against walls.
Even stomped crawling ones flat with shields, exhausting every shield tactic.
Jeonghyeon drew his mace comparatively late, mesmerized.
Thud—
He short-thrust into a cockroach's head reaching Daehun, then pulverized it.
"—!"
Daehun shot a surprised glance.
But cockroaches don't die from one mace hit.
Or rather, didn't seem like it.
Now fully in the fray, Jeonghyeon hammered downed, twitching cockroaches mercilessly.
No hesitation in his strikes.
Proof humans adapt.
'This is a log. A log this size.'
Slight self-hypnosis required, of course.
Anyway, magic-daggers-melee sequence cleared the twenty quickly.
"Alright, first wave done. Short break."
Daehun's words brought rest time.
"Whew."
Jeonghyeon started to slump to the floor.
Cockroach corpses everywhere made his legs weak.
But Daehun's thick arm caught him.
"Don't sit carelessly; you'll get poison on you, no antidote here. Careful."
This was a gate sewer, not normal.
Dark, but Daehun explained lethal toxins coated ceiling, walls, floor.
Rest meant standing, no leaning or sitting.
Glancing around, Jeonghyeon slung his bag forward.
Pulled out a plastic container and scraper.
Daehun watching asked,
"What're you doing?"
"Oh, nothing much. Rest easy."
Waving it off, Jeonghyeon squatted by a cockroach corpse.
Many mangled beyond recognition, but some intact.
He scraped the gland atop its head.
"N-No, Jeonghyeon!"
Daehun gaped.
Others flinched subtly, eyes fixed—same sentiment.
Cockroaches were creepy enough visually.
Many reasons, but the glossy head gland undeniable.
And that gland was the workshop's secret sauce Jeonghyeon learned.
"Uh... what's that for?"
"Worked at the workshop long; it's potion material."
"Pardon?"
Daehun tilted his head.
He'd hunted here long enough to know cockroach bodies weren't total waste.
But never delved deeper.
Hunters' job ended at killing; after was someone else's.
Jeonghyeon only learned the gland's use recently too.
- Scrape their heads with this; collect the essence in this.
Workshop foreman showed tools, explained.
- Huh? Essence? Why?
- Dunno. Makes some potent medicine.
- Medicine?
- Knowing more hurts.
No clue what medicine, but foreman said so.
Didn't matter what for.
Price did.
"Fills one container for three hundred."
"Th-Three hundred?"
Daehun's eyes bulged at the unimaginable sum.
One cockroach yields little—maybe 50ml.
Jeonghyeon's 1L container: twenty per fill.
Bad corpses harder to scrape.
But if they'd killed tens of thousands?
Daehun's mind reeled.
'Three hundred... who'd scrape sober?'
Knowing value ≠ doing it.
Takes iron will.
Just approach the head, and those eerie legs twitch like alive.
Jeonghyeon wouldn't if his bank was fuller.
Meanwhile, Daehun exchanged looks with his team.
They'd killed cockroaches daily—now this twist.
Hunting here meant desperation.
Daehun nodded, approached Jeonghyeon.
"Jeonghyeon."
"Ungh... Yes?"
"How many more scrapers you got?"
"Pardon?"
For the first time, Jeonghyeon read madness in others' eyes mirroring his.
Seven pairs worth.
"Brought three extras, just in case."
"Lend us some!"
Daehun.
He and his team, long-timers in the nightmare 'Cockroach Sewer' others feared dreaming of, were no pushovers.