Chapter 94: There's No Such Thing as a Bad Trait (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 94: There's No Such Thing as a Bad Trait (3)
The backlash was fierce, but it didn't last long.
They knew it, too.
Whining about it now wouldn't change a thing.
The only valid reasons to give up on a dungeon you’ve already registered for are if some or all of the party members become too sick to continue, or in the event of a natural disaster or something of similar gravity.
“Come on, cheer up. In the end, you all trusted me enough to let me choose the dungeon, right?”
I clapped my hands, trying to lighten the mood, but Shin Yu-jeong just snorted.
“Yeah, we trusted you. Because we never imagined you’d actually pick the Ant Nest.”
Ugh, what a pain.
“You’ll understand why I chose this dungeon once we’re inside. So just trust me, and let’s get this over with quickly. Okay?”
Still, what could I do?
They were just kids, barely twenty years old. I had to be the one to coax and comfort them.
Besides, this would be the last of their complaining.
The moment they stepped inside the dungeon, they would immediately understand why I chose it.
“Sigh, fine. We can’t back out now anyway, so let’s just get it over with.”
Having quickly resigned herself to it, Shin Yu-jeong raised her weapon.
Seo-yeon did the same.
She pushed herself off the wall she was leaning against and drew her sword.
“Ugh… I really hate bugs.”
Im Na-eun, however, seemed unable to move.
Judging by her expression, she truly despised insects.
I took her by the arm, patting her back to get her to stand.
“Na-eun, don’t worry. Not a single ant will get near you.”
“…Really?”
“I promise.”
My promise seemed to finally ease the tension in Na-eun’s face.
“Hoo…”
We hadn’t even entered the dungeon yet, but I already felt exhausted.
It felt like I still had a long way to go before I could turn these kids into proper Hunters.
Still, they were all exceptionally talented, so I had to nurture them carefully.
If these kids grew up the way I envisioned, they could even surpass Son Si-woo's party, considered the strongest in all of South Korea.
Though that was a long way off, of course.
“Alright, Tankers enter first.”
“Mm!”
“Going in.”
Shin Yu-jeong and Elena placed their hands on the rift in sequence and headed into the dungeon.
“Seo-yeon Sunbae, you’re next.”
“Okay.”
I sent Seo-yeon in, as her position allowed her to double as a melee dealer.
“Na-eun.”
“Uh, okay…”
Following her, Na-eun, still unable to hide her reluctant expression, barely managed to reach out her hand.
Then, I reached out and entered the dungeon myself.
For a moment, my vision went black before gradually returning.
The dark, damp interior of a cave.
At the same time, a message appeared.
[You have entered the Ant Nest.]
Damp, sticky air flowed into my nose.
Honestly, I disliked the damp, sticky air here more than the ants.
“Gather around, I’ll explain the plan.”
I called over my team members, who were warily scanning our surroundings for a surprise attack.
First, I needed to create a light source for better shared visibility.
「Light.」
I created a sphere of light, carefully controlling its intensity, and floated one above each team member’s head.
If it was too bright, we’d be easily spotted by distant enemies, so this level was just right.
Now, it was time to explain the strategy.
“Does anyone know what makes the Ant Nest so dangerous?”
“Their numbers,” Shin Yu-jeong answered with a bored expression.
“That’s right, their sheer numbers.”
The official name for the ant monsters here is ‘Big Ant’.
They are a colony-type monster, moving in swarms of at least ten, and sometimes as many as twenty or thirty.
Their key features are a hard carapace and small but sharp teeth.
Their specialty is to block attacks with their hard bodies while slowly nibbling away at their target with those sharp teeth.
The position that suffers the most from this is the Tanker.
Dozens of them swarm and bite all over your body, and each bite is surprisingly sharp and painful.
Pain breaks your posture.
After being bitten countless times, a Tanker’s stance will falter, and in that instant, they’re reduced to nothing more than a hearty meal.
The outcome after that is also set in stone.
A party whose Tanker has fallen is like a line of dominos that has already started to topple.
It means the party will be wiped out even faster than the time it took for the ant-bitten Tanker’s posture to collapse.
“The main Tanker for this raid will be Elena.”
The moment I finished speaking, Shin Yu-jeong’s eyebrow twitched.
She looked like she was about to yell at me, but surprisingly, she didn’t.
She simply asked for a reason.
“Why.”
It seems the Kim Jeong-hun effect is still working.
“It’s the difference in your shields.”
Shin Yu-jeong and Elena.
If I were to further specialize their Tanker roles, they would be a Tank Dealer and a pure Tanker, respectively.
You could tell just by looking at their weapons.
Shin Yu-jeong wields a pentagonal kite shield and a shortsword.
Elena, on the other hand, has only a tower shield that covers her entire body.
“Elena will block the front with her tower shield, and you, Yu-jeong, will stay behind her and pick off any ants that latch onto her.”
No matter how much Shin Yu-jeong crouched, her shield could only cover her upper body at best.
That meant more openings for the ants to bite.
Elena, however, could perfectly defend the area directly in front of her.
With Shin Yu-jeong covering her sides and back, it would be even easier.
“What about Elena’s area-of-effect crowd control?”
“Don’t worry about that. You guys probably won’t have to move much at all.”
I had come up with a very easy way to deal with these ants.
“Seo-yeon Sunbae, you’ll be acting as a mage this time, too. You probably won’t have much of a chance to swing your sword.”
“…Alright.”
Seo-yeon showed a hint of dissatisfaction.
The way she fiddled with the hilt of her sword suggested she was disappointed she wouldn’t get to use it.
That’s strange.
Since when did she like swords so much?
“That’s the gist of it. Let’s have Na-eun store her magic, and then we’ll move out.”
“Okay, just a second…”
A bubble of energy formed in Na-eun’s palm.
Magic began to stack neatly inside it.
A total of six spells were prepared.
With that many, as long as she picked her targets well, she could probably melt an entire squad.
“Alright, let’s go.”
“Hmph…! I will take the lead.”
Elena confidently gripped her tower shield and marched forward.
Shin Yu-jeong followed close behind, while the three of us maintained a safe distance of about three meters.
“Hmm…”
As I walked, watching the two of them up ahead, I could feel the gap between the rich and the poor.
Unlike Shin Yu-jeong, who was covered in sturdy armor at all the vital points, Elena’s gear looked a bit sparse.
A Tanker’s equipment is second only to a mage’s in cost.
Because they use such thick, durable materials, the price is naturally high.
She must have spent so much on her tower shield that she couldn’t afford to worry about other pieces of armor.
Getting bitten in those exposed spots would hurt a lot…
“Everyone, get ready!”
Kwang!
While I was lost in thought, Elena slammed her shield into the ground, sending us a warning signal.
Beyond the faint light, dozens of pairs of eyes glinted.
A swarm of ants had appeared.
“How many?”
“Fifteen!”
“Then, try tanking like we discussed.”
“Hmph…!”
Elena let out a snort and collided with the charging ants.
At the same time, a dark, murky mana flowed from her body, spreading across the ground.
The manifestation of an Area of Effect Slow Zone.
“Ugh…!”
Standing next to her, Shin Yu-jeong stomped her feet a few times and frowned.
Their movements must have been slowed by at least thirty percent. Even if she wasn’t moving, it couldn’t have felt good.
“Shin Yu-jeong! Protect Elena!”
“I know!”
A fierce battle erupted at the front.
The ants swarmed from all directions, baring their teeth, but Elena didn’t retreat a single step, shaking her shield to knock them away.
Shin Yu-jeong did the same.
She bashed an ant targeting her in the head with her shield, then swung her shortsword at another aiming for Elena’s back to create distance.
“This is easier than I thought.”
This was thanks to two factors.
First, the two of them had surprisingly good teamwork.
Second, Elena’s trait was weighing down the ants, who relied on relentless, fast-paced attacks to be effective.
Thanks to that, openings were appearing in their wave of attacks, making it much easier to defend.
“Na-eun, prepare to fire.”
“Okay…!”
If there’s one thing that’s crucial for a mage in a real battle, it’s choosing where to aim their spells.
In other words, picking the point of impact.
The time it takes to create a spell is bought with the Tankers’ blood.
So, it was only natural that every single shot had to be used for maximum efficiency.
“Firing…!”
Finally, six spells were unleashed.
All of them were the basic magic, Fireball.
Fwoooosh-!
Boom!
The six fireballs flew out in succession, landing in the middle of the ants and causing a powerful explosion.
Kri-rik!
Krik…!
Body parts torn from the ants by the explosion scattered through the air.
“Seo-yeon Sunbae.”
“Yes.”
“If you don’t mind being slowed down, you can go in and finish them off.”
“Got it…!”
She didn’t show it much, but I could tell she was happy just by how quickly she dashed forward.
It was an unnecessary order, but in a dungeon, even the smallest complaint can fester into a real problem.
It wouldn’t hurt to let her move her body when we had the chance.
Seo-yeon dove into the swarm of ants like an arrow and swung her sword.
Thwack!
Crunch!
The sharp blade moved with a single purpose, striking the seams between the hard carapace plates.
I hadn’t even told her where to aim, yet she was already targeting their weakest points.
The gaps were so narrow they were hard to hit even if you tried… I guess that’s my daughter for you.
“Hmph…”
Watching her swordsmanship, which so strongly bore my mark, always gave me a strange feeling.
In any case, thanks to Seo-yeon’s enthusiastic rampage, the cleanup was finished easily.
Now, to collect the loot.
With a dagger in hand, I began to dismantle the backs of the dead ants scattered on the ground.
It wasn’t as hard as it looked.
You just stick the dagger into a seam, then apply pressure and lift…
Crrrack-!
And it peels right off.
“See? You just have to peel off the carapace like this.”
“Ugh…”
“Hic!”
Dry heaving and hiccups.
Have these kids gotten soft?
“Hey, this is all money. We need to earn money to buy better gear, right?”
“Ugh…”
One by one, the team members began to peel the carapaces off the ants.
Better gear.
I was reminded once again that nothing motivates Hunters more than that.