Chapter 44
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 44
Chapter Title: King of the Hunter
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Dion smiled faintly.
‘Just as planned.’
The Gwemok Manor tragedy.
He had many reasons for joining the hunt, despite knowing about the tragedy that would befall Gwemok Manor—the death of Lord Ras during the festival.
One was because of the domino effect this incident would cause.
Another was because there was much to gain.
But the biggest reason of all was that he had a way to escape Gwemok Manor at any time.
Orr Kai had awakened her talent as a Driver and formed a ‘contract.’
Thanks to her trait, Synchronization, she could communicate with her contracted divine beast from afar, regardless of the distance.
It was a measure made possible above all because Gwemok Manor had drawn the aggro of countless monsters, essentially clearing a path.
The insurance policy of having the Waryong Manor secretly follow them.
‘It was a bit of a close call, though…’
Of course, it hadn't been easy.
They had to maintain a sufficient distance, as getting too close would have drawn monsters to the Waryong Manor as well.
A single misstep could have dragged the Waryong Manor into the disaster.
This was especially true since Rashanta's use of mutants to target Gwemok Manor had tightened the schedule more than planned.
‘Well, as long as we weren't late, it's fine.’
Still, Dion was satisfied.
The result of taking that risk was now right before them.
With the giant, dinosaur-like divine beast carrying the Waryong Manor on its back—the Basilisk.
“KRAAAAW!”
And the beastfolk girl standing atop Gwemok Manor.
Responding to the roar of Orr Kai, its contracted Driver, the Basilisk immediately took action.
It turned its body diagonally and swung its tail.
A massive tail with a sharp horn at its tip, looking less like a part of its body and more like a weapon.
The result of it being swung with full force was devastating.
KABOOOOM!
Flesh burst.
Bones shattered.
Blood sprayed.
Not just 1-star, but even decent 2-star monsters were blasted and crushed by a mere graze.
Some large monsters barely endured, but that was all.
Before its overwhelming mass, they were ultimately flung from the branches like paper and fell.
It was more like a tidal wave.
No matter their numbers, mere monsters could not stop it.
It was only to be expected.
A divine beast was an animal blessed by the goddess.
Its size alone allowed it to rival Named monsters. Had Daedalus been awake, Gwemok Manor would never have been in such peril.
Of course, even divine beasts weren't invincible.
Some monsters, dodging the tail like fish swimming against a current, tried to cling to the Basilisk.
They were driven by the instinct that its massive size made it safer to get closer, and by a gluttonous desire for the divine beast's spiritual flesh.
No matter how large the divine beast, if surrounded like this, it would fall like an elephant swarmed by ants.
But thankfully.
And indeed, as expected.
The Basilisk was not alone.
“All archers, fire!”
FWIP-FWIP-FWIP!
The moment Arsha shouted the command.
From the Waryong Manor on the Basilisk's back.
Hundreds of arrows poured out from the arrow slits of the magnificent mansion.
The dark elves. As a result of honing all sorts of skills to survive in Odobaekryeong, the elves, all of whom were skilled archers, had fired in unison.
Of course, due to their naturally weak strength, their arrows struggled to inflict fatal wounds even on a direct hit.
They merely inflicted minor injuries on the monsters, holding them back for a moment.
But that brief halt to the charge was enough for the Basilisk to stomp on the monsters and sweep them away with its tail.
This was the purpose of a divine beast contracting with a Driver and creating a domain on its back.
The reason intelligent species could coexist with them, rather than simply being parasites.
“Naru, a marching tune. We will drive the monsters toward the Waryong Manor.”
“Ugh… My fingers are already at their limit.”
“Everyone, push the familiars forward!”
“Squeak! Forward, forward!”
The moment the Waryong Manor appeared as reinforcements and halted the monster offensive, Gwemok Manor launched a counterattack.
Rea and Chavera, advancing the remaining spiders with the Queen Forest Spider at the center.
The slave soldiers, supporting the familiars from behind and filling the gaps.
Naru, playing his lute with a grimace, replenishing their stamina and courage.
The Basilisk, crushing hordes of monsters with its tail.
The dark elves, covering the Basilisk with arrows from the Waryong Manor.
And above all, Arsha, commanding them all based on her [Lord] talent.
Caught between the two manors, the monsters were wiped out at a terrifying speed by the coordinated onslaught.
*Crunch.*
‘Now, what will you do?’
Perhaps displeased by the situation unfolding far below.
Dion smiled meaningfully as he saw Rashanta, who had been dealing with the Blood Wasp Queen's swarm, turn its head.
With this, the tables had turned.
After all the monsters were defeated, taking down Rashanta would be easy if the others lent a hand.
And in this situation, Rashanta's choices were limited.
It could turn tail and run now…
FWWWWSSSH!
The root of this entire incident.
As the boss protecting the Labyrinth.
To annihilate all intelligent species.
Or it could fight a life-or-death battle with Dion, the target it had to eliminate.
“Hmm, so you're determined to catch me even if it means your death. Your resolve is impressive, but what a shame.”
Perhaps due to its instincts as a dungeon boss protecting the Labyrinth.
Rashanta abandoned its defense and explosively shot out all its vines even as it was pierced by the Blood Wasps.
Its momentum was truly a do-or-die, kill-or-be-killed attack.
Blocking all escape routes.
Imbued with enough power to shatter boulders.
It was an all-out strike that even Dion, who had been leaping between branches with [Black Spider's Demonic Hand], could not evade.
But Dion was neither surprised nor flustered.
Instead, he just snickered.
And…
“—You're too late.”
KABOOM!!!
A black flash flared.
A blue haze exploded.
Amidst the countless vines reaching for Dion being torn to shreds.
What echoed softly was a voice as cold as ice.
“You should be rolling on the ground to dodge, and yet you're standing there with your hands behind your back. Are you mad with a death wish?”
“No, I was just trusting my reliable escort.”
Dion said leisurely.
The arrival of the Waryong Manor meant that its strongest fighting force, left behind to protect the domain, had also arrived.
The doll-like, expressionless dark elf maid.
“With Parsha here, there's no way a bug like that could harm me, right?”
“If you have time to spout such idiotic nonsense, do your job properly.”
“I'd like to, but that thing is too persistent. Can you hold it off for about three minutes?”
“What a moronic question.”
Despite their reunion, Parsha spat out venomous words without hesitation and slightly bent one knee.
Then, shifting her center of gravity forward, the moment she kicked off the ground with her steel boots.
“—Who do you think I am?”
*CRACK!*
A deep footprint was formed.
The branch shook violently.
Parsha, who had vanished into a streak of light, reappeared right in front of Rashanta.
Simultaneously, her long, slender leg, carrying all the force of her charge, swung like a mace.
Compared to the mantis monster as large as a mansion, the attack seemed truly laughable, but…
KRRRAAAASH!
After the impact.
It was Rashanta that was sent sliding back with a hole punched through its abdomen.
A strike capable of toppling a mansion, its power amplified hundreds of times by the force of aura—the blue energy shimmering on her steel boots.
But even with a hole in its belly large enough for a person to pass through, Rashanta did not fall.
Instead, it swung its foreleg like lightning, launching a counterattack at Parsha.
*FWASH! THUD, KRAAANG!!!*
That was when it began.
An earth-shattering brawl.
Parsha, weaving around the massive scythes like the wind, unleashing iron-clad kicks and fists.
The swarm of Blood Wasps, following their queen, piercing, burrowing, and clinging to Rashanta from all sides to suck it dry.
And the giant mantis, swinging its scythes and vines even as its body was torn to shreds.
It was truly a battle of giants.
Watching the fierce clash between the Master-rank Awakened One and the Named bosses, Dion slowly caught his breath.
‘As expected, it's tenacious.’
At a glance, the battle seemed one-sided.
But Dion knew. Rashanta was not as cornered as it seemed, and a single mistake could put Parsha in danger.
As enormous as the giant snake Ka.
As cunning as the stone monkey Moru.
As ruthless as the Blood Wasp Queen Heda.
The strongest monster in this Labyrinth.
That was the king of the hunter, Rashanta.
The way it thrashed about more violently no matter how many holes were punched in its body proved this fact. If it were to escape like this…
And lure another horde of monsters to cause a second dungeon break, then even the Waryong Manor would be in peril.
In the end, there was only one way.
‘I just have to finish it in one blow, so it can't even think of escaping.’
To blow away a monster the size of a small domain—a dungeon boss, no less—in a single shot.
It was a feat nigh impossible even for a high-ranking caster who boasted the strongest single attack.
But…
—[Transmigrator]'s special effect activated.
1. [Black Mage] ☆☆☆ → [Thug] ☆☆
2. [Swordsman] ☆☆ → [Murderer] ☆☆
As he replaced Black Mage, his only 3-star class and the core of his power, his magical talent vanished.
In its place, along with the flashy status window that appeared, a completely different talent and sense filled the void.
『[Berserker] ☆☆ + [Thug] ☆☆ + [Rogue] ☆☆ + [Beast Tamer] ☆☆ + [Murderer] ☆☆』
『5 classes of the same attribute and rank (☆☆) have been gathered. Class combination activated.』
Evil (惡☆☆) Flush
2nd Awakening
[Wicked Scion 惡種]
[Wicked Scion] ★★★
1. All evil-attribute class corrections +1 rank
2. Evil deeds correction ↑(Large)
3. Notoriety correction ↑(Medium)
4. Destruction correction ↑(Medium)
5. Trust correction ↓(Large)
6. Good deeds correction ↓(Medium)
7. Patience correction ↓(Medium)
8. Class Traits [Grudge Absorption (M)], [Instinct of Malice (SR)], [Temptation of Evil (R)], [Alien Horror (R)], [Intermediate Mental Corruption (R)],
9. Unique Authority [Dominion over Grudges]
—Like a child playing by tearing the legs off an insect, the purest evil lies in a seed yet to sprout.
It twisted.
His vision, the world, the laws.
And he began to see the grudges.
Fear, despair, regret, pain, hatred, killing intent, sorrow, rage, greed, desire.
All the lingering thoughts scattered by the countless intelligent beings and monsters who had died or were dying in Gwemok Manor.
He turned his eyes to follow the flow, powerless unlike mana or internal energy.
The giant mantis fighting against the dark elf maid and the Blood Wasp Queen's forces, exuding the thickest killing intent on this battlefield.
To be precise, he looked at the flower bud on its back and had a new thought.
As expected.
That thing was not right.
For the true body to be the flower, yet to fight by deceiving others into thinking the puppet mantis was the real one.
—That kind of deception and mockery was something he himself enjoyed.
So, with a smooth motion.
He extended his index finger.
And guided the grudges.
*Vwooom.*
A vast amount of grudge flowed in just from the stirring of his long, thin finger.
Formless fragments that normally required spells or magic circles to become power were processed automatically just by passing between his fingers, transforming into energy.
Like the rhythm of an orchestra falling into place under a conductor's lead.
Even faster, more naturally, and more efficiently than when he had the [Black Mage] class.
It was only natural.
He was now a [Wicked Scion].
A pure seed of evil that harbored all evil talents and was loved by all evil.
The problem was that he lacked the talent to handle the energy created from these grudges…
But that, too, was not a problem.
『[Transmigrator]'s special effect activated』
As he swapped classes, the [Wicked Scion] awakening faded, and the talent to see and control grudges disappeared.
But it didn't matter.
The immense energy left by the grudges remained intact at his fingertips.
And the returned talent of the [Black Mage] knew all too well how to use that power.
And so, Dion smiled faintly and cheerfully recited the incantation.
Just as he had when he blew away the starving giant snake Ka in one shot.
“Ait, emIt, aiM, Ite.”
Thus, Dion's chant ended.
And the moment the crow of flames left his fingertips, incinerated countless vines, and tore into Rashanta's flower bud.
KABOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!
—Rashanta's body exploded.
The forest that had covered the world collapsed.
And amidst the scenery of the 'Wandering Forest' re-emerging, with its earthen ground and the sky lit by magic stones.
The long, long tragedy of Gwemok Manor had finally come to an end.
『Achievement: Dungeon Boss Subjugated.』
『Achievement: Dungeon Break Resolved.』
『Achievement: Hunter's Forest Conquered.』
『Achievement: True King of the Hunter.』
『Achievement: Physical Mage.』
『Achievement: Gwemok Manor…』
…
…
『[Blood Fiend]'s special effect activated.』
『2-star class [Barbarian] plundered.』
『2-star class [Hunter] acquired.』
『[Black Mage] ☆☆☆ Lv6→Lv8』
『[Rogue] ☆☆ Lv9→ Lv10』
『[Pyromancer] ☆☆ Lv5→ Lv9』
『[Beast Tamer] ☆☆ Lv5→ Lv9』
『[Berserker] ☆☆ Lv4→ Lv8』
『Unique Traits [Life Share (SR)], [Puppet (R)] plundered.』
『Racial Trait [Monstrous Strength (R)] plundered.』
『Upon reaching Lv10, the mark of the [Rogue] class is engraved upon your soul.』
『As a Labyrinth conquest reward, you have acquired the unique trait [King of the Hunter (R)].』
『As a Labyrinth conquest reward, you have obtained [Rashanta's Seed (SR)], [Rashanta's Blade (R)], and [Rashanta's Essence (R)].』
—Fusion and advancement of certain classes has become possible.
[Murderer] ☆☆ + [Rogue] ☆☆
→[Ghostly Rogue] ☆☆☆