Chapter 58
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 58
Chapter Title: Dragon Knight (8)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Pushing through the blue barrier, the hunters looked around.
Just as expected, a vast plain stretched out. The Seoul cityscape was nowhere to be seen, replaced by the scent of earth and fresh grass.
A thin mist hung in the air.
Under the dungeon's characteristically artificial sky, the hunters dispersed according to plan.
The strategy was to split into three groups and sweep the dungeon thoroughly. Though the dungeon's rank was low, its sheer size meant it had to be cleared early—otherwise, a break could lead to heavy civilian casualties.
Especially since semi-intelligent creatures like goblins posed a major threat in urban areas.
"Why the hell did they even bring a guy like that...?"
Kim Min-jun muttered with a scowl. His eyes flicked briefly toward Yoo So-jeong before dropping downward the moment their gazes met, as if nothing had happened.
Only after her gaze passed did he turn to First.
'Tsk, not a kid, but what can that little body do?'
Her voice was husky enough to mark her as no child, but her small frame wouldn't be much help in a dungeon.
Armored with a spear, she was clearly a frontline warrior—but history had no record of short heavy-armored fighters ever being useful.
"Can't figure out what the Vice Guild Master's thinking, dragging in a dwarf like that."
A mage beside Kim Min-jun muttered in disbelief. It was phrased like a soliloquy, but anyone could tell it was blatant mockery.
It was a grave insult not just to First, but to Vice Guild Master Lee Ji-young for bringing her along. With Seol Yu-hee assigned to another group, any respect for Lee Ji-young had long vanished.
Heo Young-cheol clicked his tongue at the sight.
'Youngsters these days have no eye for talent or manners.'
Tasked with rear guard, he watched Yoo So-jeong's expression. He wondered if the "mad dog" would bare her fangs again now that a comrade had been insulted.
But Yoo So-jeong's face remained utterly unchanged.
'...She's changed a lot.'
Whether it was because she saw them as beneath her notice or due to personal growth, he couldn't say—but at least she'd be helpful for this dungeon clear.
Step, step.
As the hunters pressed on, heavy footsteps began echoing from the far side of the plain.
"Halt. Orc pack one kilometer ahead. Everyone, prepare for combat."
Lee Ji-young brought the group to a stop with a curt order. Her party consisted entirely of rookies except for herself, the front tank, and the rear guard Heo Young-cheol.
Assembled to let the damage dealers grow, she proceeded with caution, prioritizing safety to build their skills.
"Engage when orcs enter fifty meters. Prepare hit-and-run tactics."
Tension rippled across the rookie hunters' faces. Following her command, the mages began chanting spells while the archers nocked arrows.
Kim Min-jun, with a few dungeons under his belt, simply waited leisurely for the fight.
Thud, thud, thud...
The earth-shaking footsteps drew closer. Finally within a hundred meters, the orc pack was visibly armed with thick hides and crude but massive clubs, drool spilling from their mouths like predators eyeing prey.
"Attack!"
At Lee Ji-young's shout, prepared spells and arrows rained down on the orcs en masse. Fireballs scorched one's head while ice spears pelted another.
"Grroooaaargh!"
But the orcs showed no sign of stopping. Relying on their infamous toughness, they charged headlong.
'...Something's off.'
Lee Ji-young sensed the orcs' behavior differed from the norm. She checked the round shield on her left arm and tightened her grip on her longsword, ready to intervene swiftly if needed.
"Hit and pull back!"
Kim Min-jun yelled as he channeled aura into his axe, nearly severing the arm of the largest orc. The other rookies unleashed their attacks in their own ways before swiftly retreating.
Per plan, the injured orcs would frenzy and charge, giving the tank and mages time to hold while the regrouped dealers followed up.
But things didn't go as intended.
The arm-slashed orc suddenly halted. Veins across its body writhed like worms, bulging grotesquely. Some even burst, staining the mist with the scent of blood.
"Grrruk, graaaak!!"
It rolled its eyes back, exposing whites, and unleashed a feral roar devoid of any reason. Ignoring its kin and the tank, it barreled straight at Kim Min-jun.
"Wh-what?!"
Caught off guard, Kim Min-jun stumbled back in panic. Backpedaling before a monster was suicidal, but having only experienced dungeons with predictable foes, the orc's actions sowed total confusion.
From that roar, the other orcs' veins began bulging too. Blood mist rose, twisting the battlefield's atmosphere.
"Damn it!"
Kim Min-jun raised his axe. Whatever was happening, he had to meet the incoming enemy.
Whoosh!
The club swung down. He poured all his strength into deflecting it, but the red-auraed weapon refused to break, its immense weight bearing down on him.
'What power...?!'
The shadow of death loomed over Kim Min-jun.
"Urgh...!"
In that instant,
Pop!
A faint sound, too subtle for most hunters to notice.
A black-and-gold afterimage streaked like lightning. First accelerated to impossible speeds despite her armor, then kicked off the ground.
Leaping at terrifying velocity, she flipped midair, hurtling toward the club-wielding orc's head.
Weight of Dragon Blood
Sudden mass increase + gravitational acceleration
Her body abruptly plummeted vertically from the air. The sudden mass surge amplified gravity, accelerating her downward.
Slice!
A light sound like cutting fruit echoed as First's spear blade cleaved the orc's head. Her momentum didn't stop; gravity propelled her body from crown to crotch, bisecting it entirely.
Splat!
Blood and flesh rained late onto the ground, drenching Kim Min-jun.
He stared blankly at the scene, too stunned even to wipe the hot blood from himself.
The berserk orcs, undeterred by their leader's death, glared with rage-filled eyes at various hunters.
But none reached their targets.
First kicked off again with footsteps impossibly light for her landing speed. Next target: the orc charging the tank.
She readjusted her spear midair, slicing horizontally through its waist as she passed. The orc collapsed, upper and lower body severed, without even a scream.
Before its corpse hit the ground, First leaped once more.
Piercing hearts, severing legs, splitting skulls. A slaughter with zero wasted seconds. And through it all, her speed only grew.
In mere five seconds, the chaotic plain had become a slaughterhouse strewn with crimson orc corpses.
Kim Min-jun slumped, gazing at the knight. The Dragon Knight in black and gold, untouched by a single drop of blood.
'That's... that's no human...'
"...Monster."
The unintended whisper escaped his lips. Half-right, though he'd never know it.
Meanwhile, Heo Young-cheol, guarding the rear, had just beheaded an orc charging him—via a quick linkup with Yoo So-jeong. She'd severed its legs; he'd taken the head for the kill.
Sheathing his bloody curved sword, he watched First.
'Those movements...'
Movements impossible without boundless hatred for monsters. Every action optimized for killing and massacre. Beyond mere combat talent or training.
Heo Young-cheol glimpsed his own distant past in her—a self aflame with vengeance. But he shook his head.
'...No, different.'
He'd always cared more about mangling monster bodies than killing them. Even called "Blood Ghost" once, though it was undeserved.
But this small knight was different. Pure efficiency, devoid of rage toward foes.
As if born solely to eradicate enemies.
"...So this is the 'prospect' you scouted? You've picked up a nasty hobby."
"I never called her a 'prospect'."