Chapter 180
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 180
An anomaly occurred in the pitch-black night.
"Huh? What is that?"
"Undead… Is that an undead?"
"…Wait a minute."
The eyes of a hunter scanning the surroundings went wide.
"Why are there so many of them?"
It was a monster rampage.
"Wake up! It’s a rampage!"
"A rampage phenomenon has occurred! Everyone, grab your gear!"
"It’s the undead! They’ll be here any second!"
At the sentries' shouts, the sleeping hunters, those checking their gear, and even the healers treating the wounded all sprang to their feet. Despite the sudden crisis, the hunters handpicked by the Sun Cult moved in perfect, orderly unison.
Gio, who hadn’t been asleep, muttered, "A rampage phenomenon?"
"It literally refers to a phenomenon where monsters go wild and run amok," Garasani explained beside him.
"Ah, is that hunter slang too?"
"Yes. It’s something that happens from time to time." Garasani continued as he checked his firearms, "Though it’s not exactly common, either."
He turned to Priest Kang Seo-dam, who was organizing his team. "What do you think caused it?"
"I’m not sure."
It seemed Kang Seo-dam would leave it at that, but when his eyes met Gio’s, his mouth worked for a moment. He let out a low groan before squeezing out an answer.
"…First of all, our side didn’t trigger it. No such phenomenon has been reported in the Sun Cult’s records, and since there are so many participants in this raid, it’s likely another team triggered something artificially. Of course, I can’t say for certain."
A rampage phenomenon was triggered either by a dungeon’s natural cycle or when a hunter’s actions tripped a major trigger. The former was extremely rare, so for now, they had to assume the latter.
"Since it’s come to this, it would be best to hold our ground here until the rampage ends."
"Securing this space beforehand has paid off. I’ll pass the word to my team as well."
As Garasani walked away, Gio asked Kang Seo-dam, "Should I send Honey?"
"…Please do."
"Do you need light?"
"It might agitate the monsters."
"But it’s dark. Securing a line of sight will be difficult."
"Too broad a light would…"
"I can adjust it."
"In that case, I’ll leave that to you as well."
"No problem."
When Gio reached toward his neck, Honey, who had been hiding inside his hood, crawled onto his hand. With a gentle wave, Gio sent him flying. Honey’s small body quickly vanished from sight.
After sending Honey off to search for and assist other hunters, Gio grabbed the hem of his cloak and lifted it.
"Dana."
From the pitch-black shadow of the cloak, a jewel cat the color of the night sky emerged.
"Meow."
"Go help your brother."
"Meow."
The fairly large cat immediately vanished into the underbrush. A nearby hunter, who had been frantically preparing her gear, gasped. She turned to Gio, her voice laced with worry.
"Will you be alright? The monsters will be swarming us soon. Without any tamed beasts to protect you, it’ll be hard to survive. We’ll do our best to defend you, so if you could just stay in the back and cast heals…!"
Gio shook his head.
"I’ll be fine."
"Pardon? But…!"
"It’s a prejudice."
Thud!
Gio snatched a flying sphere out of the air.
"Thinking that healers or tamers are weak."
Crunch!
Shards sprayed through the air.
With a smile, he crushed the spherical object in his hand.
"..."
"It has a peculiar shape," he mused.
"Uh…"
"It’s quite small, brown, with a pair of wings as large as its body."
"Y-Yeah."
"A silent, flying-type monster."
Clatter, thud!
He shook his hand, scattering the monster’s remains to the ground.
"The monsters are here."
"…Right."
"See you later."
Once the flustered hunter scurried away, Gio, his hand dripping with black blood, went to find Garasani. He had a thoughtful question to ask.
Pulling up his hood, Gio asked, "Mr. Garasani."
"Yes, Hunter Seo Gio?"
"Would people be startled if I suddenly turned red?"
"They might be a little surprised, but that’s actually a relief." Garasani, holding a gun in each hand, continued, "It’s dark out."
"Ah."
Like seeping blood, Arjio’s hair dyed itself crimson.
"Indeed."
The wicked divinity laughed in excitement.
*
Jeong Young-won was a textbook healer.
"Protect me this instant."
"Yes, ma’am…!"
Which meant she was fragile, precious cargo.
"You just stay right here, Healer!"
"We’ll protect you!"
"But if you could throw some heals our way…!"
Amidst the noisy surroundings, Jeong Young-won nodded solemnly.
"As long as you stay within five meters of me, I’ll make sure you don’t die."
The hunters were deeply moved.
"Thank you, Healer!"
"Protect Hunter Jeong Young-won! If the healer dies, we all die!"
Healers were fundamentally scarce. Not so rare that you’d never see one in your lifetime, but rare enough that you might go an entire career without having one on your team. As such, healers were highly valued, premium assets.
And healers capable of casting area-of-effect heals like Jeong Young-won were exceptionally rare.
"Three undead up front!"
"We’ve got a healer behind us! Shut up and block them with your bodies!"
"We believe in you, Healer…!"
Jeong Young-won cursed their reckless enthusiasm but kept a firm grip on the hunters' lifelines.
"You brain-dead hunters, watch your step if you don’t want to die!"
The reason healers were so scarce lay in how incredibly difficult it was to learn and utilize their skills. A skill wasn’t something that simply activated on command. Forcibly restoring a human body was one thing, but actual treatment required an immensely complex and delicate process. Very few healers could perform wide-range healing like Jeong Young-won.
"Stop getting hurt so damn much!"
"Ah, having a healer really makes a difference!"
"You birdbrains—!"
Just as Jeong Young-won’s blood pressure was about to burst, something rapidly approached from above.
"Ah, shit! Above! Flying monster above…!"
Just as one of the hunters frantically raised his weapon—
Crunch!
"…Huh?"
Splat!
Something massive snatched the monster mid-air and slammed it into a tree.
"..."
"…W-Who…?"
"Ah, dear."
Covered in black blood, someone laughed, their claws dug into the tree like a beast.
"You have to be careful."
His voice was like one coaxing a small, fragile creature.
"Monsters fly down from the sky."
"..."
"You’d better watch your step."
Golden eyes gleamed like a predator’s.
"Wouldn’t you agree?"
Jeong Young-won, who was being protected by the hunters, recognized him.
"…Hunter Seo Gio."
"See you later."
Scritch, scratch!
Scaling the tree, he quickly vanished from sight.
"..."
Jeong Young-won thought she might have heard the beast’s joyful purr.
In truth, Arjio was having the time of his life. It had been an incredibly long time since he had hunted mindless, rampaging beasts. Since they didn’t know their place, they were so adorable he wanted to pop them with both hands.
'This is nice.'
Thud!
He drove his leg down, and a head exploded.
'Very nice.'
Squish!
When he dug his claws in, dead veins popped like balloons, and flesh resembling the bark of an ancient tree peeled away.
'I especially like the ones up here.'
There were so many beasts in the trees.
His large frame leaped soundlessly through the dark, colossal trees. Having kicked off his stifling shoes, his bare feet landed on the branches without causing the slightest tremor, maintaining absolute silence. The swift, massive silhouette moved as if it possessed wings.
A rainforest like this was practically Arjio’s home. With trees this tall, the monsters gliding through the sky were easy prey. He swung from tree to tree, pinning down the airborne monsters.
And Sa Na-rae was watching him.
"..."
He kept his eyes on the man high in the canopy while turning the approaching monsters into mush.
'He’s not actually flying, is he?'
The way he leaped and bounded between the trees with his bare hands and feet truly made it look as though he had wings. Despite his substantial build, his elastic movements gave the illusion that he weighed no more than a feather.
A monster would fall into his massive grip. With a light squeeze, it popped cleanly like a water balloon. Even as the pitch-black blood splattered across his face, hair, and clothes, he laughed as if he couldn’t be happier. The golden gleam in his eyes, brimming with childish glee, was chilling.
"Hunter Sa Na-rae, pay attention!"
"Ah, sorry."
Crunch, thud!
Sa Na-rae gave a half-hearted reply while dealing with a monster.
'What is he, really?'
He deftly targeted the blind spots where the hunters couldn’t easily see, moving as fluidly as a stretching cat.
'He’s completely covered in blood.'
He ran along the trees, occasionally dropping to the ground to trample monsters, gently baiting them with his fingertips before passing swiftly and lightly through the swarming horde to explode their heads, necks, hearts, and legs.
'At this rate, he looks just like…'
Like he was dancing a joyful dance.
His smile, radiating pure delight, was particularly mesmerizing.
*
"Kyaaa!"
Once the rampage ended, a hunter shrieked.
"H-H-H-Hunter Seo Gio! No, healer! Healer!"
"I’m not hurt."
"Heal…! Ah, what? Yes? You’re… not hurt?"
"It’s not my blood."
Gio, covered from head to toe in dark red blood, turned to Garasani.
"My clothes are dirty."
"Oh dear, I don’t have any spare clothes." Garasani smiled and asked, "Would you like to use this guy’s?"
"What? What kind of disaster is this, Floor Manager?"
"Yoo Ji-na, you need to learn the joy of sharing."
"That’s not sharing, that’s extortion." Yoo Ji-na, who was passing by, glanced at Gio. "But if you really need my clothes, I’ll give them to you."
"No, they probably won’t fit, so it’s fine."
"I was only planning on giving you my cloak anyway…?" Yoo Ji-na then grabbed the Collector’s field employee next to her. "I think we can give you this punk’s clothes. Doesn’t his build look similar to yours?"
"Ah, why me again?"
"Can’t you do at least that much for our Mr. Seo Gio?"
"I mean, I can, but isn’t this… what do you call it? Downward bullying?"
"It’s only bullying if you let it get to you."
Gio was touched by the warm hearts of the Collector’s employees.
"I appreciate the kind thought, but I’m really fine."
He didn’t particularly want to wear someone else’s clothes anyway.
"I was just wondering if I could throw away this soaked cloak."
"You can throw it away as much as you like. Even if it weren’t soaked in blood, you could throw it away if you wanted to."
"I’m not a wasteful person."
"What a shame. If you threw it away, I was going to pick it up and keep it as a family heirloom."
"No, please don’t."
"But you do need to wash up. It must feel uncomfortable like this."
"I’m not sure if that’s possible."
Just then, Honey, who had been circling in the sky, landed on Gio’s shoulder.
"Kkoorook."
"Honey, did you have fun watching?"
"Kkooroorooroo…"
Honey blinked and looked at his dad.
"..."
"Honey?"
"Kkoong-kkoong-kkoong-kkoong-kkoong-kkoong!!!"
Upon seeing his dad drenched in blood, Gio’s son threw a massive tantrum.
"Kkoong-kkoong-kkoong!!! Kkoong-kkoong-kkoong-kkoong-kkoong-kkoong!!!"
"W-Why is Honey acting like this?"
"Kkoorooroorooroorooroorooroorook…!!"
Gulp!
A giant-sized Honey swallowed Gio whole.
"Honey!!!"
"Kyaaa!"
"Mr. Gio!"
Ignoring the hunters' horror, Honey, having swallowed his dad, promptly spat him back out. Ptooey!
"Ah."
"Kkoorooroo."
"Honey, you shouldn’t spit your dad out so roughly."
"Kkoong."
"I fell in such a pitiful way…"
Gio, who had collapsed in a modest pose like an exhausted princess, dusted himself off and stood up.
"Did I startle everyone?"
"H-H-Honey…! Honey just…!"
"It’s alright. He was just washing me."
Thanks to that, his face and body, which had been stained with dark red blood, were restored to their original, clean state. Inside Honey’s enlarged body, the dark red blood he had absorbed from Gio was gathering together.
"Kkoorook."
Clink.
The monster blood condensing inside Honey’s body soon solidified into gemstones and sank to the bottom of his form. As they mixed with the gems Honey collected day and night, it became impossible to tell what had once been blood.
Only then did the hunters grasp the situation, their expressions dazed.
"Ah, so… he washed you."
"For a second, I thought you were being eaten…"
"…Why did that turn into gems?"
Giovanni wore his trademark bright smile.
"Because Honey loves gems."
"Does that usually mean they turn into gems inside the body…?"
It wasn’t much of an explanation, but seeing that there was no real issue, the hunters let out sighs of relief. Once the atmosphere settled, those who had witnessed Gio during the rampage approached him.
"Um, the one who was running wild—no, catching monsters up in the trees, that was you, Hunter Seo Gio, right?"
"Since there weren’t many other hunters active in the trees, it was probably me."
"Wow… Wow…"
One of the hunters who had been protecting Jeong Young-won spoke, his face pale.
"I thought I was going to be eaten."
"I don’t eat people."
"No, I mean, your eyes were just, like… something… like… you know."
"What exactly does 'like… something… like… you know' mean?"
"You know, right? You know that feeling."
"I have no idea."
Playing dumb was Giovanni’s specialty.
"How can a healer be so agile?"
"It’s a prejudice."
"And you’re a tamer, but you sent all your tamed beasts away…"
"It’s a prejudice."
Gio nodded.
"Both tamers and healers can fight."
"Usually, when tamers and healers have to step up directly, it means the raid is already ruined."
It was hard enough mastering taming and healing; they had no time to develop combat skills. To this, Gio smiled and said, "I happen to be quite seasoned in combat."
"..."
The hunters' gazes turned to Garasani, the veteran of the Collector Guild.
"…Just how on earth did you train him…?"
"I didn’t think the Collector Guild was like this…"
"Didn’t they say the Collector cherishes his guild members?"
Garasani merely laughed.
"Haha."
Not his problem.
*
"It seems Team 6 was the cause." Holding a communication crystal developed specifically for dungeon exploration, Kang Seo-dam continued, "I’ve finished contacting them. They touched some small tree, and it caused this mess."
"What kind of small tree?"
"They said it’s a small tree, less than a meter tall. Its leaves and branches glow with a light purple light…"
"That sounds out of place."
"Especially since there are only giant trees here," Gio agreed.
This was a dungeon filled only with colossal trees, their trunks so wide it would take dozens of men to encircle them, their heights stretching beyond sight. It was only natural that a small, glowing, light-purple tree would look like the key to clearing the raid.
"So they attacked the tree first, but it was only scratched and didn’t even break. Just as they were trying to figure out what to do next, a rampage was inflicted on all the monsters in the dungeon."
Even monsters they had never seen before had appeared.
"Those spherical flying monsters… I’m not sure. They weren’t a species seen during the Cult’s previous raids, and it was too dark during the rampage to get a proper look."
"I know what they look like," Gio said.
"Thank you, Hunter Seo Gio. It seems those creatures only appear when the light-purple tree is attacked. Thanks to our quick response, we didn’t have any major injuries or deaths, but…"
"Did other teams suffer casualties?"
"Yes. Fortunately, we have a good number of healers, so the injured are being cared for, but the number of deaths is said to be significant. They say the monsters detonate upon close approach, attacking with heat and poison."
The heat and poison were so intense that despite entering with so many healers and items, a fair number of casualties had occurred. Currently, most teams were focused on treating the wounded.
"So, we need to get a clear grasp of the situation on our end."
Having said that, Kang Seo-dam suddenly stopped in his tracks.
"…As expected, there is one here."
"That’s a relief."
Gio nodded.
"It seems we’ve found a solid clue."
Delicate-looking branches and leaves as fluffy as cotton.
What they had found was the light-purple tree they had just been discussing.