Chapter 183
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 183
“Meow.”
“...”
“Meow.”
“...Hunter.”
Sa Na-rae, his tall frame folded into a tight crouch, looked up at Seo Gio.
“Could you please do something about this pet cat of yours?”
“Dana seems to really like you, Hunter Sa Na-rae. How fascinating.”
“It’s fascinating, sure, but it’s also terrifying…”
“You must be joking.”
“You think everything I say is a lie, don’t you?”
“Ahaha!”
Gio burst into laughter and pulled Dana toward him.
“Of course not. I’m sorry, was she really that scary?”
“Well, not that scary, but I find this friend of yours a bit… uncomfortable.”
“I’ll take Dana with me, then.”
“Mreeeeew…”
Dana let out a disgruntled whine but allowed Gio to drag her away. The other Hunters stared in awe at her massive size and immense fluffiness.
“You said this is what an Anti-Cat looks like when it grows up?”
“Yes. We first met in the Vein of Jewels.”
“Setting aside how surprising it is that a monster can grow this much, she’s surprisingly cute.”
“I’m not just saying this because she’s my daughter, but she really is a very cute and well-mannered child.”
“You really care for her like your own child. That’s amazing.”
In a world where even caring for a normal pet required immense affection, raising a monster that could bite a person’s head off at any moment was considered practically impossible.
“I guess you need this level of dedication to tame an Anti-Cat.”
“Honestly, I think this is a world first.”
“That’s some serious national prestige. Hunter, can I brag to people that I know you?”
“Get a grip, you idiot. Why are you sucking up to him?”
One of the Hunters, who had been joking to ease the tension, then asked awkwardly, “Um, by the way… can this friend really drive away the heat?”
“To be precise, she will call the ones who will drive away the heat.”
“Oh…”
The Hunters fell strangely quiet. One of them muttered, “...The Sunlight Spirit Hunter…”
“Shut your trap.”
“Okay.”
They knew perfectly well how Hunter Seo Gio had become famous. Hadn’t there been a massive uproar about him summoning the ghosts of children into reality?
Skills related to souls were uncommon to begin with. The most representative class was the Necromancer, but no matter how they analyzed it, that wasn’t what had happened back then.
‘…Even if it’s summoning, what does it actually feel like?’
‘I heard skills that manipulate souls place a heavy burden on the user.’
‘Since it’s the pet monster’s ability, is the Tamer’s own burden relatively light?’
‘Well, since no one has ever tamed an Anti-Cat before, who knows…’
Ignoring the Hunters’ stares, Gio dragged Dana along and asked Kang Seo-dam, “Shall we begin?”
“...”
He nodded slowly.
“...Please.”
At that, the cat cried out.
“Meow.”
“...”
“Meow.”
The cry spread.
*
Sa Na-rae was still pressed against a tree trunk, keeping his distance.
“Leader, what are you doing over here?”
“That cat is too scary.”
“Seriously, stop being such a baby.”
“I’ve never felt so wronged.” It was true; he didn’t find it pleasant at all. “No one believes me…”
That cat summons the dead.
‘But that isn’t its own ability.’
The Anti-Cat merely acted as a bell, rung at its master’s command. And the master who had crafted that bell was Hunter Seo Gio. Sa Na-rae watched the situation unfold, feeling inwardly appalled.
The cat’s meow wasn’t loud. It was a neat, modest sound, almost like a human mimicking a cat. Yet, it spread with perfect clarity, like jade beads rolling across a silent room.
“Meow.”
It was at that moment.
“...”
“...”
“...”
From the shadows cast by the rainforest’s trees, several human figures emerged.
“...U-Um…”
“...Excuse us.”
Clad in white priestly robes, they spoke hesitantly to Seo Gio.
“May we join you for a moment?”
Their eyes were red-rimmed.
“...Ah.”
Kang Seo-dam’s face contorted.
As the situation unfolded, the Hunters’ expressions began to stiffen one by one.
“...What…”
“...Those people, could they be…”
“They’re priests.”
“I’ve seen those faces before.”
“Definitely in the report files…”
“...It’s the previous subjugation team.”
The dead spoke, their forms as whole and healthy as they were in life.
The Hunters, who had lost their composure in the harsh environment, began to realize the gravity of the situation. They were looking at the priests from the previous subjugation team—men who were already dead.
One Hunter muttered, “They even have shadows.”
It meant they possessed physical forms.
“So, this means…”
“...”
“...Ha…”
It meant the dead had returned to the realm of the living.
‘Just like that?’
With just a few meows?
There was no grand ritual. No long prayers. Without a shred of pain to fuel the miracle, Seo Gio had summoned the souls of the priests as casually as if he were calling over a passerby.
His nonchalant, calm demeanor sent a shiver down their spines.
“...”
“...”
The Hunters broke out in a cold sweat.
They didn’t dare turn their heads, acutely aware of Hunter Seo Gio standing among them. Their bodies tensed with an awe that bordered on terror.
Around then, Gio spoke.
“Welcome.”
Then he continued, “We need your help. I hear the Priests of the Sun are skilled at handling heat?”
“...That is correct.”
“We wish to dispel the heat here to make the dungeon’s environment more peaceful.”
“Just say the word.”
The priests bowed their heads.
“Even if our souls must melt away… we will stand with you.”
“We are only grateful to be able to follow the will of the Sun in this way.”
“Tell us what we must do, and when we must move.”
“W-We will do whatever it takes.”
“If you would only give us the chance…”
Gio smiled at their words. “There is no need for you to melt.”
Their role was simply to gather the heat.
“Containing the gathered heat is a task my son will handle.”
“...Then we…”
“I will send you to the place you wished for, so you need not worry.”
“...”
The priests in the shadows bowed their heads deeply.
“...Thank you.”
Soon after, the figures of the priests vanished.
“...”
“...W-Where did they…”
“Holy shit.”
Only then did the tightly shut mouths of the Hunters open.
“D-Did that really just…?”
They were all babbling incoherently, a natural reaction to their overwhelming confusion. They couldn’t believe what they had just witnessed, yet they didn’t dare gossip about it with others.
Seeing them not even daring to look in Seo Gio’s direction, Garasani approached with a smile.
“Shall we begin then?”
“Yes, let’s start with the heat first.”
“What will you do after that?”
“I think we need to draw out the water.”
“It would be best to gather as many priests and mages as possible.”
“There will be monsters that run wild as the heat subsides, so we must also prepare to suppress them.”
“We should be able to eliminate a significant number of threatening monsters in the process.”
Watching them talk, Hunter Yoo Ji-na of the Collector looked around at the raiders.
“What is everyone doing?”
“Uh, w-well… just now…”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“But…!”
“Hey.” She said with a smirk, “Get to work.”
It was a clear warning.
“...”
“...R-Right, of course.”
A warning not to pry into anything concerning Hunter Seo Gio.
At that, doubts began to sprout in the Hunters’ minds. Even after witnessing such an absurd miracle, the Collector was merely guarding the perimeter. They couldn’t help but think there was some secret.
‘This isn’t just a monster’s ability…’ they thought.
‘…Is he seriously a Saint?’
‘Isn’t this similar to the miracles the Moon Cult Saintess occasionally performs?’
‘Could he be a child born from that pervert Collector mating with some monster?’
‘He might be an S-Rank masquerading as an A-Rank…!’
Most of the Hunters guessed that Hunter Seo Gio was a high-ranking Saint or a hidden S-Rank. A few even thought he was a child Bisabeol had created through some insane method. The ghost stories and notoriety surrounding the Collector made such theories plausible.
And among them, not a single person thought Seo Gio might not be human.
“...Haha.”
Except for Sa Na-rae.
“This is too terrifying.”
“I would appreciate it if you kept your comments to yourself.”
“I’m telling you, I’m scared!”
“That is blasphemous, Hunter Sa Na-rae.”
“...”
And except for the Collector and the Gardeners.
“...This is driving me crazy.”
In the end, Sa Na-rae decided to shut his mouth once again.
*
“—Kieeeeeeeek!!!”
Whether the Tree of Life had bestowed another frenzy upon sensing the dungeon’s changes, or whether they had simply regained the will to move as the heat receded, the Night Monsters began to run wild.
“Cawww!! Cawwwww!!”
“Grrrrrr…!!”
“Kyeh, Kraaaaak!! Aaah!!”
They let out bizarre screeches and lunged at the humans.
“Protect the fragile mages, you muscleheads!”
“Damn it, you magic-users really know how to piss off a tank!”
The Hunters, who had prepared in advance, dealt with them skillfully.
A novice Hunter would have died long ago, but the Hunters gathered here were all veterans. With an abundance of recovery items and healers, no one was afraid to throw themselves into the fray.
“Healer, show some mercy!”
“Here’s your mercy!”
“I love you…!”
“The grace of our healer is boundless!”
“If you’re hurting, scream!”
“Aaagh…!”
“Ah, over here! Aaagh!”
“Scream louder! I can’t tell you apart from the monsters!”
“Kraaaaaaaaagh!!!”
Being a Hunter was fundamentally a profession where one risked life and limb. No Hunter here feared pain, and to top it off, there was a surplus of healers—the precious, high-class personnel often referred to as nobility.
Furthermore, the roles of the damage dealers and tanks were clear. While the mages and priests handled the heat, the tanks had to protect them from the rampaging monsters, keeping the healers safely in the back.
“You won’t touch a single hair on our healers’ heads before you kill me!”
“Hey, what about us?! What about the mages?!”
“You mages can survive on your own!”
“You bastards! Do you think we’re just freeloading?!”
Amidst the chaos, the priests and mages found the situation somewhat absurd.
“H-How is this even working right now?”
“What’s even more absurd is that it’s actually going smoothly…”
“Hey, this is actually working, right?”
They were currently working to gather the heat of this massive dungeon into a single point.
“Gurgle.”
“Look how pretty you are, eating so well.”
“Grumble, grumble.”
“Aw, good job. So pretty.”
“Gurrrrrgle!!”
“Our Honey is doing so well.”
Honey was gulping down the gathered heat as it came. For some reason, Honey seemed to be growing larger and larger, but the Hunters chose to ignore it.
If they had to contain the heat themselves, it would have been a heavy burden, but simply moving it to a single point was quite manageable.
“Argh, I’m dying of heat…!”
“I knew it the moment I started suffocating!”
“I’m never coming to a rainforest-type dungeon again!”
It was by no means an easy task, so the mages vented their frustration. Some mages gathered only the heat using skills, while others drew in the wind and moisture from the air to concentrate it.
Meanwhile, the Priests of the Sun silently and quietly focused on gathering the heat.
“...”
“...Inhale...”
Some of them even shed tears. They could feel an intangible force pulling along the heat that they themselves couldn’t draw out.
The priests, knowing their fallen comrades had been summoned, struggled to hold back their tears. Thinking of this as their final collaboration with their brothers, they couldn’t help but feel sorrowful.
“...Uh, doesn’t it feel a bit cooler?”
“Holy shit, this is actually working.”
“This is fucking insane…”
After about three hours, even the frontline Hunters could feel a significant change.
“It’s definitely easier to breathe.”
Perhaps it wasn’t just the Hunters who felt it, as the Fake Moon began to rise more frequently and for longer periods. According to records, raising this moon was a task performed by the Tree of Life, which sustained the dungeon.
And when a long evening, one that had seemed like it would never end, finally arrived…
“...”
“...A-Are there no more?”
“...I’m exhausted.”
There were no more monsters attacking them.
Their sweat cooled, and a slightly chilly air settled over them.