Chapter 99: Japan (7)
Chapter 99: Japan (7)
Han Shin leveled his spear once more and charged toward the Great Sandworm, which was trailing blood across the desert sand.
When dealing with such massive monsters, it was best to inflict a wound and then relentlessly gouge away at it.
Thwack!
Gwaaaaah—!!
Blood poured out, staining the sand a deep crimson. Han Shin thrust his spear back into the opening he and Grace had created moments ago, aiming to widen the gash.
The second thrust went in much easier than the first. He was piercing directly into the raw flesh beneath the thick hide, and with the monstrous strength granted by the Power of the Dragon, he tore through the Great Sandworm’s tough muscle fibers and burrowed deep inside.
The colossal insect writhed in agony. Han Shin, who had been clinging to its side, was flung backward by the violent thrashing.
He regained his balance mid-air and landed on the sandy floor in a smooth slide. From that position, he watched Laysia leap toward the Great Sandworm to follow up his attack.
Her target was the butt of the spear Han Shin had just driven in.
With flawless movement, she channeled the full weight of her power into a single-direction palm strike. The moment her palm collided with the end of the spear—
Boom!
With a thunderous roar that sounded like an explosion, the spear vanished completely into the beast’s body.
Pang!
The Great Sandworm died instantly, unable to even let out a final scream. The massive, sand-colored insect went limp, its heart—its only weakness—having been utterly obliterated.
For a monster known to be a significant threat in A-Rank dungeons, it had been handled with surprising ease.
Laysia had experience hunting Great Sandworms back in Bürg, and this specific maneuver had been born from a discussion with Han Shin on how to inflict internal damage on giant monsters. It was an attack made possible only because Tiamat’s weapons possessed incredible durability; a weapon consecrated by the Dragon God could withstand the sheer force of Laysia’s palm strike without breaking.
This was the first time she had actually used the technique on a monster of this scale, and Laysia felt a deep sense of pride. It was a simple concept, but one she hadn't been able to realize in Bürg because no weapon there could endure her raw strength.
As Han Shin approached the carcass to harvest the mana from the Dungeon Core, Laysia spoke, her face bright with excitement.
"Han Shin, it works quite well in actual combat."
"Yeah. I'm glad."
Han Shin also felt a sense of relief that his simple idea had proven effective.
Normally, taking down a massive monster like a Great Sandworm required an immense expenditure of energy due to its thick hide and natural resistance to external force. This applied to Laysia and Grace as well; both would typically have to expend Tiamat’s Holy Power. While they could normally use that power without much concern, their strength was currently being suppressed.
Since they had to clear the dungeon by defeating many more monsters within this A-Rank Portal, they had to manage their resources carefully. They couldn't afford to exhaust themselves early on.
That was why the three of them had opted for a more methodical approach, even if it took a bit longer—attacking near the heart and widening the wound. Normally, they would have had to repeat this process several times to make the opening deep enough to destroy the heart with an attack infused with Sword Energy or Fist Qi. However, by using Tiamat’s weapon as a makeshift projectile, they had ended the fight prematurely.
The battle had lasted barely ten minutes.
Laysia was thrilled because she had never taken down a Great Sandworm so easily, and Grace felt the same.
Han Shin immediately gathered the mana leaking from the Great Sandworm’s shattered heart. The white dragon crest symbolizing Tiamat glowed on the back of his left hand.
As expected, the mana density is high. I might be able to level up quite a bit today...
Having cleared dungeons diligently in Nepal recently, Han Shin, Grace, and Laysia had all surpassed Level 20, and their growth had begun to slow. Since the mana requirements increased significantly after Level 20, hunting the D-Rank and C-Rank monsters prevalent in Nepal provided limited returns.
Han Shin had noticed this during their previous encounter with an A-Rank monster, but the difference in mana yield was staggering. Thanks to the efficient kill, they still had plenty of energy left to move on to the next battle immediately.
However, a small problem arose.
Because the second spear Han Shin thrust had been driven entirely into the Sandworm’s torso, retrieving it was no simple task.
"Ah... how are we going to get the spear back?"
Neither Laysia nor Grace had much experience with weapons getting stuck inside a monster like this. Even if it had happened before, they usually wouldn't have bothered to retrieve them.
In the end, Han Shin and Grace had to spend extra time butchering the Great Sandworm’s corpse to recover the weapon. As a result, Han Shin’s silver armor was now dripping with blood.
Fortunately, the armor was perfectly waterproof, so it didn't bother him much, but it wasn't a pleasant sight for Grace or Laysia.
Grace cast a simple Cleanse spell to tidy him up.
Feeling the mana wrap around his body and watching the Great Sandworm’s fluids evaporate from his arms, Han Shin realized Grace had used magic.
"Thanks, Grace."
Han Shin gave a slight nod of gratitude, to which Grace replied.
"I will look into a way to retrieve weapons more easily later."
Grace had a faint memory of seeing a retrieval spell in one of the books she had read back at the Sanctuary. Since she wasn't certain yet, she only told him she would investigate.
"Right. Thanks."
Han Shin stored the second spear back into his subspace and turned to the others.
"Are you both okay?"
"Yes."
"I'm fine too."
Since both confirmed they were ready for the next round, Han Shin pulled his smartphone out of his subspace.
"Then let's head to the next one right away."
Using the Manager App, he selected a nearby portal where an A-Rank monster had been sighted and moved out.
★ ★ ★
The Japan Branch of the Awakener Association was well aware that Wolyeong was an incredibly powerful S-Rank Psychokinetic.
Japanese Awakeners who had entered dungeons with her were unanimous in their praise, expressing awe at her power. They were particularly impressed by how she always seemed to be holding back, yet managed to preemptively neutralize threats to the Japanese teams and create a perfect environment for them to excavate artifacts. Her value was immense.
Consequently, even if they couldn't make a direct offer, they always treated her with the utmost hospitality, hoping to win her favor. Their plan was to encourage her to naturalize in Japan should she ever have a falling out with the Korean side.
Of course, there were those who disagreed with this high appraisal.
Some ultra-nationalists held onto prejudices, arguing that she was only being overvalued because she was the only S-Rank Psychokinetic, or that a woman and a Korean couldn't possibly be that strong.
However, if those people could see Wolyeong clearing dungeons now, they would have no choice but to acknowledge her abilities.
How could anyone underestimate Lady Wolyeong?
Is she even human?
Wolyeong was currently repeating a cycle of entering a dungeon and emerging ten minutes later after slaying powerful A-Rank monsters.
The dungeon she had just exited was one identified to contain Manticores. These monsters—with the body of a giant lion, leathery bat wings, and a scorpion-like tail tipped with a venomous stinger—were notoriously dangerous. Known for their man-eating tendencies, they were monsters that Awakeners were taught to fear above all else.
In fact, the presence of Manticores had only been confirmed after several victims managed to send word outside. Their cunning intelligence, extreme agility, and flight capabilities struck terror into any Awakener who wasn't equipped to handle them. Furthermore, much like lions, they hunted in prides. Since they never appeared alone, they were classified as A-Rank threats.
They were naturally lethal, but as Dungeon Cores, these Manticores were twice as strong as their natural counterparts. Without a properly coordinated party, most wouldn't even dream of attempting a subjugation.
In Japan's case, dealing with them was even more difficult because, compared to Korea and other nations, they had fewer top-tier Awakeners. Most were stationed in the Kanto region, leaving them with little surplus power to send to Hokkaido.
The Japan Branch had assumed that even Wolyeong might find a Manticore pride dangerous. They had prepared a team of volunteers willing to risk their lives to fight alongside her and urged her to enter the dungeon with them.
However, Wolyeong had flatly refused.
"I'm enough on my own."
"Please, reconsider..."
"That's right, Lady Wolyeong."
"It's fine. Honestly, it's easier for me if I'm alone."
"But..."
The Japanese officials were stunned. They had expected that the mention of Manticores would make Wolyeong accept their help, but her insistence on going in solo left them appalled. They tried their best to persuade her, genuinely worried that even an S-Rank couldn't handle a whole pride of Manticores alone.
But Wolyeong rejected their offer to the very end and stepped into the portal by herself.
Everyone watched the portal with bated breath, debating whether they should follow her in anyway.
"Lady Wolyeong could be in danger."
"She said she'd handle it. Let's wait a bit longer."
"It's dangerous for us to move prematurely, too."
Just as they were agreeing to wait at least thirty minutes, Wolyeong emerged from the dungeon after only ten minutes, looking completely unscathed.
Shortly after her exit, the blue portal vanished.
The fact that she had soloed a Manticore dungeon in ten minutes was enough to make even her harshest critics gape in shock.
Kang Yujin understood exactly what the looks and reactions directed at her meant. In truth, though hidden by her black robe, she had pushed herself quite a bit.
Psychokinesis seemed like an all-purpose power at first glance, but compared to other abilities, it was inefficient in terms of energy consumption and slightly disadvantaged against agile, fast-moving opponents. One had to perceive the target and then move the psychokinetic force to attack or defend; a fast opponent could cause a lot of wasted energy.
Furthermore, maintaining enough force to handle the mass of a giant monster required significant concentration. This was why most Psychokinetics, unlike Wolyeong, failed to reach S-Rank.
While the Japan Branch was still reeling from Wolyeong’s rapid clearing of the difficult Manticore dungeon, they received news that other A-Rank portals under surveillance were also vanishing at high speed.
At first, they were baffled, but then they remembered Wolyeong mentioning that the Knight who came with her would be clearing dungeons separately. They realized this was the Knight’s doing.
Wolyeong was amazing enough, but the Knight was clearing A-Rank dungeons just as fast. The Japan Branch was left utterly dumbfounded by the sheer unreality of the situation.