Chapter 77: Awakening (8)
Chapter 77: Awakening (8)
Fortunately, the giant-shaped Stone Beast—its arms gone and a hole pierced through its chest—did not crumble and collapse.
As expected of a boss monster, its presence had been the glue holding the others together. The once-disciplined movements of the ordinary Stone Beasts vanished, and they began to fight like a disorganized rabble.
Though the three of them had exhausted much of their strength, dealing with the now-uncoordinated Stone Beasts was far easier, allowing them to wipe out the remainder.
Grace and Laysia were merely disheveled, covered in layers of dust, but Han Shin had a visible injury. During the heat of the battle, a stone shard had grazed his face, leaving a trail of blood down his cheek.
Thanks to the natural healing factor he possessed as a Dragon Knight, the wound had already begun to close, and the blood was coagulating rather than flowing.
Grace wanted to check on his injury immediately, but she held back as Han Shin was currently focused on absorbing the mana from the dungeon core.
Han Shin felt a flicker of confusion as he realized just how much mana was being harvested from this core. They had confirmed this as an E-Rank dungeon before entering, yet the sheer volume of mana was staggering.
"I’ve absorbed way more mana from the core than I expected."
Considering the strength and tenacity of the Stone Beasts they had just faced, Laysia and Grace had somewhat anticipated this.
"Han Shin, I think it would be best if we left the dungeon for now," Grace suggested.
"Yeah, alright."
Following Grace’s advice, Han Shin operated the Manager App and immediately returned them to the villa.
Kang Yujin, who had just finished packing and was on the phone arranging a private jet for their return to Korea, saw the three of them reappear. Her eyes widened the moment she spotted the streak of blood on Han Shin’s left cheek.
"Yes, please have it ready and text me the details."
Ending the call abruptly, Kang Yujin rushed toward Han Shin in a panic.
"Shin! Are you okay?!"
Only then did Han Shin remember the long gash on his left cheek where the stone shard had torn the skin. He had been too focused on the battle to care, and since the Power of the Dragon had already started knitting the flesh back together, it had slipped his mind.
"Ah... I’m fine, Noona. Don't get too close, I'm filthy."
Han Shin tried to wave her off, mindful of the mess he was in after the battle, but there was no way Kang Yujin was going to listen.
She immediately pinned his body in place with her psychokinesis and began inspecting the wound with a worried expression.
"Ugh, Noona, let me go."
Grace watched the scene, feeling a bit awkward. She knew Han Shin was immobilized by Kang Yujin’s psychokinesis and wasn't sure if she should intervene. She understood why Yujin was making such a fuss.
As Awakeners who constantly threw themselves into life-or-death battles, such a minor scratch was usually considered trivial. However, since she loved Han Shin, she couldn't help but worry whenever he got hurt.
That was when Laysia stepped forward.
"One moment. I will heal him."
"Ah... yes, please!"
Remembering that Laysia was a Priest capable of casting healing spells, Kang Yujin immediately stepped back.
Laysia still had enough of Tiamat’s holy power left to mend a wound of this size. Casting a recovery spell, she brought her hand—now glowing with a silver light—to Han Shin’s left cheek.
Han Shin felt a tickling sensation spread across his face. In an instant, the wound closed completely, leaving his skin smooth and scarless.
Now that he was an Awakener, he could receive healing spells, and because he possessed the power of Tiamat himself, the effects were even more potent. The spell synergized perfectly with his natural recovery, leaving nothing behind but a small patch of dried blood.
"It is finished."
As Laysia stepped back with a gentle smile, Kang Yujin rushed in to inspect the result. Seeing that the wound had vanished without a trace, she finally let out a sigh of relief.
Releasing her psychokinetic grip on Han Shin, she turned to Laysia with a grateful expression.
"Thank you, Laysia."
"It was nothing. It is my duty, after all."
Laysia responded with humility, believing that caring for and healing Han Shin was her primary role as a Priest.
Part of Kang Yujin’s shock came from the fact that this was the first time she had seen Han Shin injured. Although he had been entering dungeons since becoming an Awakener, he had never been hurt while accompanied by Grace.
Furthermore, Grace had reported that Han Shin possessed incredible talent. Since they were taking things one step at a time by entering low-rank portals, the risk had been minimal.
Even with the recent anomalies producing stronger monsters, Yujin had assumed he would be fine, especially now that Laysia had joined the group. Of course, as an Awakener herself, she knew he couldn't stay uninjured forever, but seeing it happen in reality made her anxiety spike.
Seeing how much she had worried, Han Shin felt a pang of guilt. To him, the injury was nothing, but he could see how much she cherished him by how seriously she took it.
"Noona, I'll be more careful from now on."
Knowing full well that he would likely get hurt again in the future, Kang Yujin simply smiled and nodded.
"Yes, you have to be careful, Shin."
Grace felt a slight twinge of jealousy at the warm atmosphere between the two, but she decided not to interfere. She felt a sense of responsibility for Han Shin getting hurt under her watch.
I need to train him harder.
She resolved to make him stronger so that he would never have to bleed again.
Once she was sure Han Shin was alright, Yujin became curious about what kind of monsters could have caused them to return so early and leave Han Shin with even a minor injury.
"By the way, did you enter a difficult portal?"
"No. We weren't sure what to expect, so we went into an E-Rank portal, but a massive swarm of stone monsters called Stone Beasts appeared."
"Stone monsters?"
"Yeah."
Yujin was taken aback; she had never heard of such a monster type being reported before. If this was true, the situation was far more serious than they thought.
The fact that monsters were no longer appearing according to their assigned ranks was bad enough, but the emergence of entirely new species was a significant threat to all Awakeners.
"Can you explain in more detail?"
"I'll explain," Grace offered.
She wanted Han Shin to rest, and she had already reviewed the data regarding Stone Beasts.
"Yes, please do."
Normally, they would have showered and relaxed before talking, but the gravity of the situation demanded an immediate explanation.
Grace detailed the nature of the Stone Beasts—non-biological monsters of various forms that could only be killed by destroying the core inside their bodies. She went on to describe the specific types they encountered and how the battle unfolded.
As she listened, Kang Yujin became certain of one thing: the Stone Beasts Han Shin had just fought were absolutely not monsters that should appear in an E-Rank dungeon. Based on their scale and strength, they were at least C-Rank or higher.
The situation was even more dire than she had imagined.
Typically, a portal's rank was determined by the magnitude of mana detected from it. This system was based on thirty years of data collected by Earth's Awakeners, and Tiamat had used this same standard when creating the Manager App for Han Shin's convenience.
In short, it was now confirmed that the traditional method of measuring a dungeon's rank could no longer predict what monsters lurked inside.
And the discrepancy was massive.
When Han Shin's group first started, a D-Rank anomaly meant facing Dire Wolves. But now, a C-Rank threat appearing in an E-Rank portal meant that ordinary Awakeners could easily be slaughtered.
"Shin, wait a moment. I need to report this to the Association, even if it's just a brief summary."
"Yeah. I think that's for the best, Noona."
"Go wash up in the meantime. This call might take a while."
Since Han Shin had just come back from the most grueling battle yet, Yujin urged him to rest. It felt a bit strange to shower again so soon after his previous trip, but Han Shin agreed.
Grace and Laysia concurred; pushing through consecutive battles without a break could be counterproductive. Even with a Dragon Knight's recovery, it was better to recharge before heading out again.
While the three of them went to wash up, Kang Yujin contacted the Association. She told a small lie, claiming she had personally witnessed the Stone Beasts in a dungeon to protect the identities of Han Shin, Grace, and Laysia.
Though she had been operating anonymously, her track record with the Association was impeccable, so they didn't doubt her information for a second.
The Association was already aware of the portal anomalies and had been preparing for the worst, so they weren't entirely shocked by the discovery of a new monster type.
More than anything, reports of new monsters were already flooding in from other Awakeners besides Kang Yujin. The situation was spiraling out of control at a frantic pace.