Chapter 115
Chapter 115
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 115
Chapter Title: The Apostate, Havik
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"They're ready."
After a little over the three hours Bang Han-soo had mentioned, he spoke, his face etched with exhaustion.
Wiping away a nosebleed, he neatly arranged a total of ten vials—five containing a red liquid and five a blue one.
"Thanks to Vice Guild Master Lee Do-jae having water, I was able to make these in liquid form. Drink the red one first; it aids mana circulation and provides various enhancement effects. Keep the blue one for emergencies."
*Clink-!*
Potions crafted by a top-tier healer.
And made with such effort that it caused him to bleed.
Their value was beyond measure, and their effects were sure to be extraordinary.
"I won't be able to use any proper healing magic for a while. I can still manage minor wounds and stop bleeding, so please, use the blue potion only in a true emergency."
"Thank you. Traveling with the Division Commander sure has its perks."
"It's surprising to find someone like you in the Suppression Corps. Great Tiger will not forget this debt."
Gwak Ji-hyeok and Kim Se-hoon downed the red potions on the spot, not leaving a single drop.
Park Kang-ju and Song Jeong-eun also drank theirs cleanly after offering their thanks.
Do-jae, however, still held his vial.
*Gulp.*
'I wonder how much I could get for this...'
The information on the red potion, confirmed by the Eye of the Golem.
It possessed an effect almost as incredible as the blessing he had once received from Elatra.
In particular, a line under 'Special Effects' was making him hesitate to open his lips.
[Item Information]
...
Special Effect: When consumed by a non-awakened individual, induces rejuvenation (by 1/10th of current age).
'Should I drink this, or not?'
An incredible elixir that would make a 90-year-old nine years younger, and a 60-year-old six years younger.
What an amazing potion it was.
No one had realized it due to Bang Han-soo's blunt tone, but it was no exaggeration to say he had staked his entire life as a hunter on creating these ten incredible potions.
Although he said "for a while," he had been so wary of the Grade 1 monster they were about to face that he wouldn't be able to cast high-level healing magic for at least several years.
But Do-jae, oblivious to this, was reluctant to just gulp down such an amazing potion.
"Vice Guild Master Lee Do-jae. Is something not to your liking?"
Bang Han-soo, unaware of Do-jae's thoughts, simply assumed he was wary of a drink given by a stranger.
"No, it's not that..."
All eyes turned to Do-jae, and he reluctantly drank it.
He considered pretending to drink it while slipping it into his Subspace, but the thought of the Grade 1 monster ruling the 7th floor made him push aside his regret and let the liquid flow down his throat.
*Whoosh.*
As the liquid settled in his stomach, a warmth spread through him, invigorating his body and clearing his mind.
"The effects should last for about a day. Let's get moving."
As Bang Han-soo spoke in a weak voice, Gwak Ji-hyeok placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Division Commander, you should head back up. We'll handle things down here."
"No. I can still manage the healing magic of a C-Rank healer. I will accompany you."
"I agree with Guild Master Gwak. Master Park Kang-ju, could you escort the Division Commander?"
"Yes, I can do that. 7th Division Commander, I'll take you up..."
Bang Han-soo shook his head.
"Let me be frank. If I go back up alone, I will tarnish the honor of our Suppression Corps. Especially since this is a suppression zone, not a dungeon, there are many eyes watching me. I can take care of myself, so I will go with you."
"Heh, Division Commander! You're a real man."
"Very well. I, Kim Se-hoon, will take responsibility for the Division Commander's safety."
Gwak Ji-hyeok and Kim Se-hoon yielded to Bang Han-soo's will. Once they agreed, Do-jae, Song Jeong-eun, and Park Kang-ju naturally followed suit without objection.
"Then I'll store the golems now."
As Do-jae finished speaking, the golems began to move, starting from the ceiling, and entered his Subspace one by one.
Afterward, the six-person suppression team headed toward the pit leading to the 7th floor.
*****
The 7th basement floor.
*Ruuuumble-!*
A blizzard raged, and dozens of monsters moved with sluggish motions.
The magic of Gwak Ji-hyeok, the foremost master of ice magic, froze even the large Grade 2 monsters solid.
But what about the smaller ones?
Being small, agile, and capable of using magic themselves, they easily escaped Gwak Ji-hyeok's spells and even launched their own in retaliation.
*Fwoosh-!*
However, before their spells could reach their targets, Kim Se-hoon intercepted them.
No, it was more like the magic vanished without a trace just before reaching him, as if it had evaporated.
That was the ability of Kim Se-hoon, who bore the title 'Void'.
His power was to erase all mana in his vicinity.
*Shunk-!*
Kim Se-hoon's sword pierced through the torso of the monster that had cast the spell.
His sword had no special options, crafted only for maximum durability, but combined with his superhuman strength and his skill to erase all external mana, it was the perfect weapon for him.
*Slice-!*
Not to be outdone, Do-jae, clad in his Golem Armor, swung the Black Scale amidst a horde of monsters.
Drawing on his abundant mana, he infused the Black Scale until it shimmered before unleashing a sword strike.
"Director. There's nothing for us to do...?"
"Where else can we watch S-Ranks fight? Let's just observe..."
Park Kang-ju and Song Jeong-eun didn't dare to intervene.
Though they were hunters who prided themselves on being A-Ranks, the sheer prowess of the S-Ranks before them was astounding.
"Huh? Director, there's someone over there!"
Park Kang-ju said, spotting a man approaching from the far distance.
Song Jeong-eun also saw the man and replied with a quizzical look.
"What? There's no way another hunter could have made it this far down..."
During their break, Song Jeong-eun had gone up to the 2nd floor to contact the Association.
She had reported finding Do-jae and conveyed their plan to suppress the Grade 1 monster with three S-Rank hunters.
The Association had approved the elite team's operation and stated they would proceed with the suppression in stages from the outside, alongside the Suppression Corps.
So there was no way the main force could have cleared their way to the 7th floor already, and if there were a hunter skilled enough to get here alone, she would have been notified. But there had been no such report.
*KABOOM-!*
"Whoa!"
"Ugh!"
"Ngh..."
Do-jae, who had been more than 50 meters away, instantly appeared in front of Song Jeong-eun.
He moved so fast that the hat Bang Han-soo was wearing was blown off.
"Gongol, Bangol, Mangol, Magol!"
"What... is it...?"
Song Jeong-eun asked, frowning.
The immense energy radiating from Do-jae, now standing before her, gave her goosebumps, and the fine hairs on her skin stood on end.
"I can't read him..."
Do-jae muttered to himself, massaging his temples.
The man's information, which should have appeared, was not showing up.
It wasn't like when he was in the other world, where no status windows appeared at all.
He could still see the information of monsters and other hunters with the Eye of the Golem, and his skills were activating automatically.
But no matter how hard he looked at that man with the Eye of the Golem, nothing appeared.
Song Jeong-eun, Park Kang-ju, and Bang Han-soo gave Do-jae strange looks, but he had no time to pay them any mind or offer an explanation.
"Run..."
"What?"
"Vice Guild Master Lee Do-jae, what's gotten into you all of a sudden?"
Do-jae spoke, his face filled with a panic they had never seen before.
"Can't you feel it?"
"Feel what...?"
Park Kang-ju said, frustrated.
But it was Do-jae who was truly frustrated.
Not Kang Young-chan, not Salreuta, not even the skeletons from the Magic Kingdom had exuded such an aura.
What kind of being could emit such a bottomless swamp of mana?
It was as if Gellahan himself had appeared.
Then, instead of answering, Do-jae roared.
"Now!"
"But, telling us to run all of a sudden..."
*Flash-!*
At that moment, a light flashed from the approaching man.
*FWOOOSH-!*
"Hah... hah..."
"Kuh..."
Where Do-jae had been standing just moments before, the ground had erupted, and blue flames were now soaring.
Park Kang-ju, whose reflexes were sharp, grabbed Song Jeong-eun next to him and dodged. Do-jae had slung the remaining Bang Han-soo over his shoulder and escaped the point of impact.
"He's still coming...!"
Bang Han-soo, who was being carried on Do-jae's shoulder and looking back, shouted.
At first, he'd thought the man was quite far away, but he was approaching at an incredible speed, having already closed half the distance.
"Bangol!"
Do-jae summoned Bangol, his defense-specialized golem, to stop the man.
*CRASH-!*
But Bangol, which boasted immense defensive power, was shattered and sent flying by a light punch from the man.
"What the hell! What's going on?!"
"What is happening?"
Sensing trouble, Gwak Ji-hyeok and Kim Se-hoon moved toward Do-jae.
And when they saw the approaching man, their expressions changed completely.
"Is... that a person?"
"He does not look human to me at all..."
Gwak Ji-hyeok and Kim Se-hoon tensed up.
What they saw was clearly a handsome, blond foreigner, yet he didn't feel human in the slightest.
"Director, you know him?"
Gwak Ji-hyeok asked Song Jeong-eun.
As the Director of the Association's External Support Division, she often met with foreign hunters and had data on every S-Rank, so it was a reasonable question. But Song Jeong-eun shook her head.
"No. I don't recognize him."
"Kim Se-hoon, do you know him?"
"I do not. I have never seen him before."
Gwak Ji-hyeok looked at Park Kang-ju and Bang Han-soo in turn, but they both said they didn't know him either.
Finally, his gaze fell on Do-jae.
Meanwhile, Do-jae sent Gongol, Mangol, and Magol toward the man and spoke.
"I don't know him either. But one thing is certain—he's not human."
"What? Does that mean... could that be the Grade 1 monster?"
"Right? Must be the one we were lookin' for."
"No... that's not the Grade 1 monster... We should leave this place first..."
Do-jae said, biting his lip.
The man who had drawn so close could not possibly be the Grade 1 monster.
Because the monster's aura he had first sensed was still lingering over in the mountain range.
Just then, a sharp female voice echoed.
- Havik! One of the Apostates who forsook humanity to pledge loyalty to Gellahan!
It was Elatra, appearing after a long time.
She cried out in a voice filled with fury.
Her rage was so intense that the emotion flowed into Do-jae, making the back of his neck tingle.
Do-jae wondered who Havik was, and what an Apostate was.
But that was just a fleeting question in his mind.
*KABOOM-!*
*CRASH-!*
*CRUNCH-!*
As Gongol, Mangol, and Magol were shattered by a few gestures from the man, their mana stones flickering with a faint light, Do-jae poured his mana into them to save them.
Seeing this, the others stopped talking and prepared to fight.
Before they knew it, the man was right in front of them.