Chapter 8
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 8
Chapter Title: Boss Room Bait
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“Park Woo-yun?”
“Aaack!”
The moment I rounded the corner, something came flying at me. I twisted my body to dodge it.
“Uh… ah… ugh…….”
“It’s me.”
“Why… why are you here…….”
“Can you stand?”
Park Woo-yun nodded slightly at my words, then shakily got to his feet.
“Let’s get out of here first.”
“No…….”
“Did something happen?”
“…Mon, monster…….”
“There were no monsters.”
All I’d seen on the way in was sticky liquid and hazy smoke. Nothing else. I glanced down at the squelching floor beneath my feet, and Park Woo-yun flinched, speaking in a trembling sob.
“Ah. Control… I couldn’t…….”
“You handled it all by yourself? Impressive.”
“…I can’t even control… my own power, I’m wor—"
“You seem better now, so let’s go?”
Park Woo-yun was B-Rank. A strong one at that… but after suddenly gaining immense power without preparation, he’d failed to control it while raiding the dungeon, leaving him with trauma. That’s why the maze’s illusions had appeared as monsters to him, but there was no need to point out they were hallucinations.
I smiled as warmly as I could, and Park Woo-yun finally spoke.
“The entrance……. It. Disappeared.”
His words kept breaking off, but I got the meaning. The entrance we’d come through had vanished the instant we entered. A maze with no way back. That was it exactly.
“Oh, I found the exit instead of the entrance.”
“…Huh?”
I smiled and lifted one foot slightly. It would’ve been stupid not to know the exit. I’d walked this path countless times, after all. Of course I knew it.
“Right below us.”
“…What are you talking about?”
I grinned and slammed my foot down—bam!—against the floor.
Even clearing the maze would lead to the exit eventually, but faster was better. That’s why shortcuts exist.
“Gyaah?!”
The floor collapsed in an instant, and Park Woo-yun and I plummeted straight down.
♧♣♧
“You okay?”
“What the hel—"
Only now taking in the surroundings, Park Woo-yun freaked out and started trembling again.
“Looks like the boss room.”
“How do you not know that…….”
Sand crunching underfoot. Statues carved from sandstone. Scenery like ancient ruins.
No monsters in sight. But the massive statue ahead had such an overwhelming presence, you could guess it was the boss.
“We, we need to call the others…….”
“You’d really just end up as bait and die this time.”
“…Pardon?”
“Better to die honestly to a monster than have it spread that you died to people.”
“What does that…….”
I walked toward the statue, and I caught sight of Park Woo-yun flailing his arms in panic, telling me not to go. But it was a boss that would activate anyway if we waited, so better to move than waste time. We had to deal with it before the others arrived.
My hand touched the statue. It looked utterly still, like a real statue, but definitely.
“Here it is.”
Click. I pressed the red gem near the navel on the human-shaped statue, and it sank in. Then, right away.
“Gah!”
Flash. The statue’s eyes snapped open, its eyeballs rolling around before fixing on me. At the sight, Park Woo-yun—who I’d just barely gotten back on his feet—screamed and collapsed again, muttering.
“R, run…….”
Park Woo-yun’s choked voice reached my ears. He staggered to his feet, approached me, grabbed my sleeve, and barely managed to speak.
“I-I’m B-Rank, so somehow… we can escape…….”
“In that state?”
“You’re… C-Rank.”
“Hmm.”
His bravery was admirable, but.
I pulled off the stuffy mask and stuffed it in my pocket, then removed my glasses.
Right after getting my temporary hunter license from the association, my face and temp rank went up on their site, and news outlets plastered my name and photo everywhere—but Park Woo-yun hadn’t had time to check the news, so no way he’d recognize me.
“Hold these glasses for me.”
“H-Huh?”
They were my parents’, and breaking them would be trouble.
I shook off the stuffy hood and ruffled my hair. And soon after.
Thud.
The floor beneath the statue cracked, and cracks began spiderwebbing across it. At the same moment, whoosh—I activated my Pattern, and my ordinary clothes instantly turned into a black combat uniform.
“Run…….”
Crash! The statue split completely, and a monster with grotesquely long arms burst out in a bizarre form. The air shifted, making Park Woo-yun gag mid-sentence.
“Park Woo-yun.”
“Y-Yes.”
“Step back a bit.”
“Huh?”
I flashed a grin at his puzzled expression, and his face grew even more confused.
—Grraaaaaah.
Creeeak. The monster’s mouth yawned open unnaturally, spewing a fierce sandstorm from within. It only stung my eyes a little, but Park Woo-yun went tumbling head over heels. He finally stopped after rolling to the far end of the boss room.
‘Weak point: inside.’
No need for full power—just fast and precise.
I kicked off the ground and launched toward the monster. I spun to dodge its incoming attack, then swung the freshly formed scythe hard. Its long arm blocked, clanging like metal on metal. And at the same time.
—Grraaah?
Thud. The scythe dropped limply to the floor. As the monster turned to locate me, I reached from behind and clamped its mouth shut hard.
—Grraaack!
White Stars poured into the monster’s mouth, which refused to close. Moments later—boom boom boom!—they exploded inside, leaving only its face dangling as the body vanished.
Thud. I released my grip. The head fell limply, and potions and items scattered nearby. I picked up my target item.
‘Sand Relic Fruit.’
It was listed in the ledger from an illegal hunter operation that got raided after expanding too much.
‘Doesn’t look very edible.’
A transparent glassy shell packed with sand. Who’d think to eat this? But I did.
Gulp. I popped the Sand Relic Fruit in my mouth and chewed. Park Woo-yun, approaching, stared in horror.
It looked bad enough, but the texture was worse—like chewing deflated bubblegum mixed with sand.
“Why… are you eating that?”
“…….”
I chewed and swallowed the Sand Relic Fruit roughly. I heard Park Woo-yun’s faint “Eugh.” Ignoring it, I picked up a Magic Stone and crushed it lightly in my fist.
“It’s an edible item.”
“You don’t even know the effects—safe to eat?”
“You won’t die.”
“But you could—”
Clunk! Something opened behind us. I whipped around to see the guys who’d finally made it in, looking exhausted as they entered the boss room.
“You… you bastards!”
Yeah, you probably looped the maze forever.
“The boss, where’s the boss?”
One brute swiveled his head around, then froze spotting the shiny items behind me. He opened his mouth, voice suddenly clear and different.
“Oh! Wow, what a great part-timer! You solved that puzzle earlier too!”
He strode toward me, continuing.
“Sorry about this. This was our job, after all. Since we’re sorry, we’ll…….”
He closed the gap to one step.
“I’ll kill you painlessly.”
A massive hammer materialized, swinging fiercely at my head. In that instant, a white rod appeared in my hand, blocking it.
“What the…….”
The thin white rod easily stopped the hammer—no one would’ve thought it could—and the illegal hunter panicked, pulling back his weapon and glaring. Ignoring him, I spun the rod a few times, forming a scythe blade at the end.
“Thanks to you, we saved a ton of time.”
“What bullshit…….”
“Not enough for partial release, but.”
The guy standing awkwardly in front narrowed his eyes. He stared hard, then his eyes bulged like he’d realized something, blurting urgently.
“Hey! That guy…….”
“What! Shut up and loot the items!”
“No, fuck! Listen! That bastard’s the new S-Rank from today!”
“What? What cra—”
Before he finished, countless White Stars formed in the air and shot toward them. Boom boom boom! They exploded on impact. I’d toned down the force—they wouldn’t die, obviously. As the smoke cleared, they spat curses, full of bravado.
“…Fuck, figures. No way a C-Rank punk and a B-Rank take down the boss.”
They staggered to their feet from where they’d collapsed, grinning nastily at me. Like they’d caught their prey. They seemed to think my attack was my best shot—a warning of sorts.
Fair enough. An S-Rank awakened less than a week ago, no hunter experience. Yeah. And they were mighty B-Rank hunters—maybe a bit overconfident.
The problem? Their prey was me. Too bad.
“Hey, kids.”
Not me, of course.
“Grab him!”
Them.
With that, they charged at me. I shook out my numb right wrist a few times, then parried their attacks.
Strength? Important, sure. Skill? Also key. But in a fight, the most crucial thing is probably knowing your enemy.
In a game, new bosses are tough at first sight, but glance at a guide once, and you can manage. Memorize it? It’s just a matter of control.
And I had the guide memorized, plus the control. Bottom line: these clowns weren’t my match. Even a fresh S-Rank with a new Pattern outclasses B-Ranks—talking big was just stupid.
“Fuck, this is cheating!”
Their bodies shredded, they kept cursing. I sighed, blocking their sloppy attacks. Try something new—hit a weak spot. I was so used to them now, I could dodge blindfolded.
‘No, I actually could back then.’
Recalling my past antics, I sidestepped their awkward strikes and snatched the E-Rank hunter—worse off than last I’d seen—dragging him to Park Woo-yun’s side.
“Get out first.”
“…….”
Leaving the dazed pair, I scanned around, grabbed something bigger than a person, and faced the goons again.
“Damn it. Hey! Grab those bastards firs—”
“Think you can?”
Bam! I hefted the ruin pillar like a club, charged, and smashed it down on him. Just ordinary sandstone, but the bottom end that hit him?
Boom! Boom boom!
Infused with my power. Hit wrong, and you’re dead—no need for finesse with these, so rough and crude.