Chapter 104
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 104
Chapter Title: Park Si-woo (1)
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Kim Kang-woo replied on Channel 1.
The first one created, the Black channel, was Channel 1. The general one was Channel 2.
All the raid participants were in Channel 2, while only a select few were gathered in Channel 1.
No matter how much of a black sheep Choi Jae-hyung was in the Raon Guild, inviting him to a secret chat channel seemed like excessive treatment.
—Hey, have you no conscience?
—Han-gyeol, who do you keep talking to?
—Who else? It's Choi Jae-hyung. If you're the last one in, you should at least say hello! You're the youngest one here. Huh?
—Are you some kind of boomer?
Kim Kang-woo, who was managing the other communication channel, finally chimed in.
Choi Jae-hyung was currently with the Raon Guild Hunters.
Even as their black sheep, it was natural for Choi Jae-hyung, a member of the Raon Guild, to be with his fellow guild Hunters.
I didn't know how many of them were on his side, but they weren't stupid enough not to notice something suspicious if his lips were moving without a sound.
Choi Jae-hyung turned around, and our eyes met.
I stuck the tip of my tongue out at him, and his face flushed red.
Hmph, if you don't like it, why don't you talk!
I could understand why Choi Jae-hyung couldn't say a word despite being invited.
—Still, we'll be discussing sensitive matters. Is it really okay for him to listen in? What if he runs and tells everything to that Kang Moon-guk guy?
From a short distance away, I thought I heard a voice insist that would never happen, but it must have been my imagination.
Yep, of course it was.
—It doesn't matter.
—Doesn't matter...? Are you planning to form an alliance with the Raon Guild or something?
—Director Kang, at least, isn't a blockhead who won't listen to reason, unlike someone else.
Wow.
A blockhead? I think I know who he's talking about, but isn't that a bit harsh?
“Do whatever you want.”
I left the channel and tore open my last Chocoemon, sticking the straw in my mouth.
Kim Kang-woo, standing next to Park Si-woo, looked out of it.
This whole ‘communication channel’ was Kim Kang-woo’s ability.
“It's starting.”
As Cho-ah spoke beside me, the sky darkened and storm clouds gathered.
Flash.
Ruumble-CRASH.
A bolt of lightning struck the large pavilion in the center.
The pavilion collapsed spectacularly.
Without a word, just under thirty Hunters drew their weapons and took their positions.
The atmosphere was completely different from the Cockatrice dungeon.
“You don't seem very tense, Han-gyeol.”
“I am tense.”
“That's not something you say while drinking chocolate milk.”
“The Chocoemon is innocent.”
If the Chocoemon was guilty of anything, it was of being in my pocket.
I crushed the empty carton in one hand.
“I really am tense. They always say to treat the real thing just like practice.”
“But this is your first raid, Han-gyeol. You've never even practiced.”
“Ah, that's true.”
I scratched my head, and Cho-ah let out a light laugh.
Not tense, huh.
While it was true I didn't feel tense, she wasn't one to talk.
Looking at the current situation, Cho-ah seemed even less tense than I was.
Although she wasn't in a dress like when we went to the Troll Forest, her clothes were still comfortably casual.
Standing there with her hands clasped behind her back and no other weapon in sight, Cho-ah looked more like she was out for a stroll than on a raid.
—What's the strategy?
A deep, dignified male voice came through Channel 2.
It was Jin Sang-hyuk, the vice-director of the Raon Guild.
The bosses in boss raids had no established strategies.
They were S-rank bosses at a minimum, and S-rank dungeons themselves were cleared infrequently. Even when they were, information was rarely shared, unlike with other dungeons.
A single, trivial piece of information could determine the success or failure of the raid.
That was the difference between A-rank and S-rank dungeons.
Others might see it as just one step up, but the height of that step was far greater than ordinary Hunters could imagine.
That's why the role of the raid leader was so important.
Unlike in a game, real-life Hunters all had different stats and traits, and crucially, the fact that they didn't reveal all their information was a problem in itself.
It was a position that required giving orders while considering all those uncertain factors.
—We observe the situation.
The sun vanished completely behind the dark storm clouds, and an eerie wind began to blow.
Fallen leaves were scattered in every direction by the wind.
KWWAAAAANG.
Lightning struck the four pavilions surrounding the one that had collapsed first.
The ground split open, and something enormous shot up from the fissure.
It rose endlessly, massive enough to swallow half the western sky.
That was a metaphor, of course; the creature didn't actually seem to be flying.
Part of its body, hidden by the pavilions, was touching the ground.
Thousands of iridescent scales covered its body.
The only differences between it and a dragon were its incredibly long philtrum and face, and its narrow, slitted eyes.
The relentlessly howling wind vanished in an instant.
The leaves that had been rustling and flying about dropped to the ground as if on cue.
“Is that a flute?”
Whatever it was, the sound wasn't pleasant.
As if the flute were a signal, the well-laid stone floor began to crack.
If demons had returned from hell, they would probably look just like that.
The problem wasn't the monsters that appeared.
Even a rookie Hunter could have predicted that guardians would appear besides the boss.
‘This is a bad position.’
Judging by its size, we were within Yeongno's attack range.
Conversely, we didn't have many Hunters who could attack from such a long distance.
If it would just swing its tail over here, we could consider climbing up its body, but...
“That thing isn't going to move, is it?”
I scratched my cheek, gauging Cho-ah's reaction.
“Probably not.”
It made no sense for the king to move when its guardians were still present.
“It looks like it'll take forever to get over there.”
It would be great if the boss just dropped on our heads. What kind of boss raid is this, huh? Making things so annoying!
The lack of anything but low buildings around us distorted the sense of distance; that thing was actually quite far away.
We were elite Hunters, so it wasn't impossible to force our way through, but it was best to minimize wasting energy before even reaching the boss.
I held up my finger toward Yeongno, trying to gauge the distance.
“This terrain is absolute trash.”
Rather tall wooden towers were positioned between the pavilions.
And that wasn't all. Serpent-like monsters were blocking the path on the towers.
A straight path, my ass.
—We go in a straight line.
Did I just hear that right?
Currently, everyone on Channel 2 was muted except for a few people Park Si-woo had permitted.
In the end, I switched to Channel 1 and complained to Park Si-woo.
—Hey, are you blind? How is that a straight line?
Park Si-woo ignored my grumbling.
A voice came through Channel 2 again. This time it was Yoo Se-yeon.
—How are you going to make a path?
—I'll make it.
—Shouldn't be a problem, then.
Not a problem?
Seeing even her agree with it made me feel like I was the only one left out.
KUUUAAAAANG.
The atmosphere trembled from the roar of the Yeongno in the distance.
The creature seemed to be angry at us for waking it.
‘So, no rookies here, huh.’
Yeongno's roar wasn't just a simple cry.
For an ordinary person or a mediocre Hunter, it might have caused demoralization, fainting, or nausea.
At least, no one here seemed to be affected by Yeongno's roar.
Taking that as their cue, the nearby dokkaebi-shaped monsters charged.
Their numbers weren't that great yet, so the Hunters at the front could handle them easily enough.
I placed my hand on the hilt of the Sky Sword and looked at Park Si-woo, who was at the very back.
Come to think of it.
“I've never seen Park Si-woo fight before.”
Both his public image and his dungeon-clearing methods were almost completely unknown.
Not even on the wiki.
How can there be nothing on the wiki?
It was a sudden realization, but Park Si-woo really was like a mirage.
He couldn't be a guild director just for show.
Compared to the other Hunters who showed up heavily armed and equipped, Si-woo looked no different from usual.
All he wore was a greyish shirt, dress pants, and a dark navy coat that fell just over his knees.
If I had to force a difference, it would be that his fingers were a bit more adorned, and he was wearing earrings and a necklace, which he usually didn't.
But that was true for the other Hunters as well, so it wasn't particularly unique.
‘I heard he uses a sword, though.’
No matter how I looked, I couldn't see anything like a sword.
“Si-woo is a light sword user.”
“A what sword?”
“A Gwanggeom. A sword made of light.”
“You mean an insane sword?”
“No, a sword made of *light*.”
It was a joke.
As the number of dokkaebi increased, Si-woo took something out of his pocket.
It was a gray cylinder, slightly larger than his palm.
“He's a user of the 7th generation Light Saber made by ACKO, one of only five in the entire world.”
“Wait, ACKO? Isn't that a super famous magitech engineering company?”
The multinational magitech manufacturing company, ACKO.
I seemed to recall hearing they were a brand whose grenades cost over ten million won each.
A light sword made by them, and one of only five in the world at that, meant it was a premium item you couldn't get with money, expensive or not.
There's a limit to being carried by your gear. Go too far, and you just make everyone else feel pathetic.
“How did Park Si-woo get a sword like that?”
“Si-woo is a major shareholder in ACKO.”
Cho-ah lowered her voice and gave me a look, as if telling me a secret.
No wonder he'd handed over those grenades so casually. There was a reason for it.
“Did Park Si-woo save the country in a past life or something?”
Dammit, I'm so jealous!
If I was going to be isekai'd, I wish it had been as a diamond spoon like Park Si-woo.
This life seems to be a lost cause, so I guess I should just stay on his good side.
Park Si-woo pressed a button, and a soft light emanated from the top.
The light grew, quickly taking the shape of a proper sword.
‘It's beautiful.’
Regardless of its power, it was a weapon that made you want to swing it at least once.
Si-woo gripped the light sword with both hands.
All the Hunters, including those who had just finished clearing out the nearby dokkaebi, held their breath and watched Si-woo.
The light sword, which had been pointing below his knees, rose above his head.
He twisted his body slightly, settling into a stance.
For a moment, Yeongno, sensing something amiss, met Park Si-woo's eyes.
Park Si-woo's hands, gripping the sword, sliced through the air.
KWWAAAAANG.
The scene looked as if a beam of laser light had been shot across the ground.
The light shot forward without resistance, stopping precisely in front of Yeongno.
I couldn't tell if he had controlled his power or if that was its limit.
Si-woo twirled the hilt of the Light Saber in the air, its blade now gone.
Park Si-woo's voice came through Channel 2, crisp and clear.
—The hunt begins.