The Foolishness of Ambition

The hunt was surprisingly easy—so much so that the term "C-rank Gate" felt like a complete misnomer. Even Yu-shin found it absurd. 'Was the King Slime always this strong?' It was certainly a tricky opponent to deal with, especially for those who had to engage it in close-quarters combat. But he hadn't expected it to be this powerful.

Yu-shin fell into deep thought. 'Is it the power of the Green Magic Stone after all?' The scene unfolding before his eyes wasn't just simple growth; it was displaying a level of skill that belonged to a different dimension. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it an all-weather pet that could play the roles of both tanker and dealer simultaneously. Is it a pet? Or a familiar? Even I’m confused now. Well, whatever.

This place was a cave-type gate. In other words, it was a labyrinth. 'If there weren't eyes on me, I would’ve just let the Imp handle it.' But the Imp’s appearance was far too unique to bring ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠out carelessly. Besides, they were recording a video right now, which made it even more difficult. However, he already had an alternative in mind.

'No point in wasting time.' Yu-shin turned his gaze. He looked past the Japanese and Taiwanese hunters who were staring at him blankly, toward the spiders he had resurrected as summoned monsters earlier. These weren't revived for the sake of combat. They were the perfect tools to navigate this maze-like cave—a reconnaissance squad.

The resurrected spiders would now inform Yu-shin of the cave's complex structure in real-time, and tell him exactly where the boss was breathing. At Yu-shin’s gesture, the eight legs of the stationary spiders moved silently along the cave walls and vanished into the darkness, faithfully carrying out his special orders.

Once the spiders were gone, Yu-shin spoke to the Japanese hunters—specifically, to Seiko. "Hey, what ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠are you doing? Just going to keep watching? Not going? Then I’m going first, okay?"

Seiko curled his lip. "Acting all high and mighty just because you killed a few spider bastards! Hmph!"

What is this, is he a girl? Why is he being so prickly? Seiko cast a glance at the Taiwanese hunters. "We’re going this way. What are you guys going to do?"

The direction he pointed was a tunnel opening on the left. Tzuyu, the raid leader of the Taiwanese hunters, hesitated. Seeing that, Seiko sneered.

"Hmph! So you’ve chosen to walk the path to hell. Fine! Good luck. You’ll really need it, being as weak as you are."

With a sharp turn, he headed toward the left tunnel of the two. Yu-shin shook his head as he watched them disappear. There was still plenty of time. 'There’s absolutely no reason to rush.' It was likely out of greed to show off something that would surpass his own performance from earlier. 'How foolish.'

This wasn't a game. A gate was a place where a single wrong judgment could cost you your life. Yet, they were making rash decisions based on simple vanity. But that wasn't Yu-shin’s concern. They would have to bear the consequences of their own poor choices.

"Um, Hunter? Shouldn't we be moving quickly, too?" Tzuyu, the leader of the Taiwanese raid team, approached and asked cautiously. He looked a bit intimidated. That was only natural. With their current abilities, they couldn't clear this place.

"Is there a need to rush? We have plenty of time. We’ll move slowly. While doing a bit of magic stone farming, that is."

Even at this very moment, he was reading the information the spiders were sending back in detail. Even if his body was slower than theirs, his exploration was proceeding rapidly. Besides, since they had entered a C-rank gate, shouldn't they extract everything they could?

"Anyway, when am I supposed to pick all these up?"

The magic stones were emitting an orange glow. They were worth money if he sold them. He didn't have the Imp with him. He had to pick them up one by one. Should he make the Taiwanese hunters do it? Yu-shin shook his head. Even so, they were hunters representing Taiwan. He couldn't assign them the role of cleaners.

That was when it happened. Squish!

Hm? The giant, jelly-like body of the King Slime began to move slowly. It flowed toward the magic stones like water. What is it doing?

Yu-shin, and the Taiwanese hunters behind him, watched the slime intently. The slime approached the nearest magic stone. As if gelatin were swallowing an object, the magic stone was slowly sucked into the slime's body. And then, a message popped up.

Collected? Not absorbed? He immediately checked his inventory. Sure enough, one orange magic stone had been deposited. Even amidst that, the King Slime didn't stop. It kept moving, sucking up the orange magic stones scattered on the floor like a vacuum cleaner.

The messages kept coming endlessly. 'If it’s like this, this is a huge win, right?' Actually, from Yu-shin’s perspective, this was even more useful than the King Slime’s attack method from earlier. A porter? And at such an incredible speed, too. It had already collected all the orange magic stones scattered on the floor. It was faster than ten professional porters collecting magic stones. Perhaps it was even possible to hunt and collect magic stones simultaneously.

Meanwhile, one of the Taiwanese hunters muttered, "Wow... it looks just like space." Inside the slime's black body, the orange magic stones were emitting light like stars. It looked as if it were harboring a small universe.

A sharp scream echoed through the darkness. A swarm of giant spiders poured down from the ceiling and charged toward Seiko’s group.

"These spider bastards!" Seiko’s eyes flashed. The sword in his hand began to draw silver trajectories. As the sharp blade sliced through the spiders' bodies, their blood splattered into the air. But there were still more left. The spiders were still aiming for him and rushing in.

"I'll burn you all to ash!" Red energy surged from Seiko’s left hand. It was flame. He shot the flame he had created in an instant toward the spiders, like a flamethrower. The smell of burning spiders filled the cave. It had only taken a few seconds to deal with the dozen or so spiders.

Confirming there were no more spiders, Seiko scanned his surroundings. The raid members were still in battle with the spiders. However, they weren't being taken down helplessly like before. Precise attacks and defenses, as if measured by a ruler, were taking place. The tankers drew the spiders' attention, and the dealers seized the gaps to take the spiders' lives. There was even support fire from the magic hunters in between.

In the end, it didn't take long for dozens of spiders to become cold corpses. 'Now this is a proper hunt.' But he was still hungry. Seiko’s eyes glinted. 'This clear video will be released to the whole world. So, I have to show an overwhelming performance.' He had already signed a contract with the public broadcaster NHK for a massive fee. As soon as the clear was finished, the footage would be handed over to NHK, and it was scheduled to be aired as soon as it was edited. So, this was the perfect opportunity to imprint on the world just how powerful Japan—no, his raid team—was.

'Clear a C-rank gate in the shortest time possible.'

"Everyone, hurry!" Seiko began to run toward the darkness.

The moment the King Slime sprayed acid at the spiders.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

As the spiders melted, they fell to the floor. 'Is it the fourth day now?' His level had gone up by one in the meantime. He was currently level 28. It was only because it was a C-rank that his level had risen like this; if it had been a D-rank, it would have been impossible.

Yu-shin briefly admired the scene he had created. Countless corpses, orange magic stones piled on top of them. And the King Slime, crawling along, beginning to absorb the orange magic stones. 'It’s about time to head to the boss room.' He had already grasped where the boss was dwelling through the spiders he had sent for reconnaissance. There were no monsters left in the vicinity. It meant there was no longer any need to drag things out.

Watching the slime suck up the magic stones, Yu-shin took a step forward. Behind him, the Taiwanese hunters were holding cameras and filming him.

Deep inside the cave, in the space where the darkness was deepest, a giant form was crouching. It was hanging upside down, wrapping its entire body with its legs like a cloak. Grrr... Only the faint sound of breathing indicated that it was a living creature.

'Finally, they’ve come.'

Seiko hid his body behind a giant rock, watching this scene, and raised his right hand. The gazes of the raid members behind him focused on his hand. As his fingers moved, the raid members began to disperse silently like shadows. Each headed to their designated position, surrounding the boss monster that was sleeping soundly.

Now, as soon as the raid leader Seiko gave the signal, a concentrated barrage would begin toward the beast. It was just when a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠satisfied smile was spreading across Seiko’s lips.

The legs that had been surrounding its body spread wide open. And at the sight of the beast that was revealed, everyone’s breath stopped.

"W-what is that?" Seiko’s voice trembled.

It was a spider, but it wasn't a spider. On the body of a giant spider was a human face. The face was grotesquely distorted, and a chilling smile was plastered on its lips.

"Welcome... foolish..."

'I-it talks?' Seiko took a step back without realizing it. It wasn't proper speech, but it was enough to guess the meaning. 'It was waiting for us!'

It was a trap. He realized that they weren't the hunters, but the prey. Cold sweat ran down his spine. Seiko shouted reflexively. "Everyone, attack! Everyone, attack!"

The other hunters also seemed to wake up from Seiko’s command and reflexively poured out attacks. Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom!

Splendid flame magic with overflowing sparks. Cold ice magic that seemed like it would freeze everything. Sharp arrow attacks that looked like they would pierce through anything—all of them blended together and hit the human-faced spider’s face.

"Kuaaaargh!" The human-faced spider’s body staggered, writhing in pain.

'It worked!'

Seiko’s eyes shone in the darkness. He had been scared for nothing. He had actually been scared because it was a monster that could talk. The pressure it had been exuding was also immense. But look at that appearance, staggering repeatedly from their attacks as if it were about to collapse at any moment. This was actually for the best.

Seiko stared at the hunters holding the cameras. They were filming him and that human-faced spider with a steadfast appearance. He would finish off a C-rank boss monster with an overwhelming performance. Seiko spoke in a voice with more weight than before.

"Victory is ours! Everyone, focus and keep attacking! Pour it on without sparing your mana!"

At his command, the hunters’ attacks became even fiercer. Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom! And every time an attack landed, he could see the human-faced spider staggering. A smile spread across Seiko’s lips. Now, there really wasn't much left. Its leg was broken. Black blood was flowing from the broken spot.

It was just when a satisfied smile was spreading across Seiko’s lips.

"What are you doing, you idiots? You're completely wasting your time."

A voice came along with the sound of clicking his tongue. '...What did you say?' Seiko’s gaze turned quickly. There, Cheon Yu-shin was walking toward them slowly.