Chapter 177
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 177
Chapter Title: The Goddess's Power
"Should I call you... Lady Eurabia...?"
- Do so.
Ji-yoon was somewhat bewildered by the solemn voice resounding in her head.
‘I can't believe this is happening to me...’
After Do-jae’s return and a small party, she had been about to head out of town for a postponed dungeon raid.
Dungeons were cropping up all over the country, their numbers far exceeding what the hunters could handle, leading to a surge in dungeon breaks.
Because of this, the system had gradually changed from how it was in the past. Now, whenever a dungeon was discovered, the Association would share its location with every guild in the nation, and any guild with the available resources would proceed with the raid.
But then, Do-jae had suddenly stopped her.
Her body had become intensely hot in an instant, and then she heard the voice.
- You are a body most compatible with me. Not even the Titans, in whom my blood flows, were this suitable. How curious.
"Is... is that so?"
Ji-yoon had no idea how she should act around Eurabia.
She’d never been religious and wasn't the type to believe in gods.
Having lived as an orphan since she was a baby with no memory of her parents, she was especially unlikely to believe in a god. In fact, she had often cursed the very gods who had dealt her such a miserable life.
‘What an irreverent thought...’
- It is fine. I am magnanimous.
"Oh! Are you perhaps reading my thoughts...?"
- I am. If you think of speaking to me, I can hear it.
Ji-yoon started, her face flushing red.
Even if it was a god, the idea of her thoughts being read made her face burn.
"Then how can I hide my thoughts...?"
- Are there thoughts you wish to hide? I am a being who can understand whatever you may think.
"Still, there are some things you just can't say. Since you're a goddess, Lady Eurabia, I'm sure you can understand a woman's heart."
- Ho... I am a god before I am a woman. But it is not as if I cannot comprehend the heart of a human female. It is not difficult. You need only possess the will for me not to hear.
"Really?"
Ji-yoon carefully brought Do-jae to mind.
Her feelings of longing, the hardships she'd faced, everything that had happened while Do-jae was gone.
Ji-yoon thought of the countless things she had wanted to say to him.
But there was no reply from Eurabia.
‘What a relief!’
It seemed that as long as she wasn't tense and just thought as she normally would, she couldn't be heard.
Ji-yoon felt a great sense of ease.
However, Eurabia’s next question caught her completely off guard.
- What is a relief? Who is this Young-jin? Are you fond of that human male?
"What?"
She had only thought of Young-jin for a fleeting moment.
Ji-yoon shook her head vehemently, denying it strongly.
"No! Not at all!"
- Is that so? The Titans were much the same, but humans are a race even less honest with their emotions. There are feelings you yourself are unaware of.
"No! It's really not like that!"
Ji-yoon hurriedly packed her things.
Her thinking of Young-jin that way?
She desperately wanted to deny it.
Childish, clueless, and loved to brag.
Well, he did seem to have matured a lot recently.
But still, no.
"Uh... more importantly! I want to try using the power you mentioned earlier, Lady Eurabia!"
Ji-yoon changed the subject and ran toward the car where her guildmates were waiting.
***
A short while later.
At the dungeon entrance, which they reached after about an hour.
"Chief, we're all ready. Should I tell them to go in?"
Heo So-jin asked Ji-yoon, a large backpack the size of her own torso strapped to her back.
As the weakest of the assembled guild members, she was in charge of the miscellaneous chores.
"Let's go in. But what is Mr. Tae-geon doing?"
"Ah, Assistant Manager An Tae-geon is doing warm-up exercises with the guild members. I came to report as soon as the briefing was over, so they should be done soon."
The second-in-command for this raid was An Tae-geon.
Thanks to Do-jun's influence, An Tae-geon and a few of his followers displayed a discipline that rivaled the Suppression Corps.
While things like briefings and warm-ups were standard procedure, they weren't often practiced within the guild.
"Then tell Mr. Tae-geon to proceed with the raid under his lead."
"Yes, but what about you, Chief Ji-yoon?"
"I'll be moving separately. That doesn't mean you'll be facing the boss alone, though. I'll join up with you a little later, so just be aware of that."
"Yes! I'll relay that to Assistant Manager An Tae-geon!"
Ji-yoon sent Heo So-jin on her way and clutched the Promontory of Judgment.
Unlike before, she could feel an immense amount of mana flowing through her body now that Eurabia had descended upon her.
It felt as though she could now use Retribution, the skill contained within the Promontory of Judgment, as much as she wanted without ever running out of mana.
"Well then, shall we go, Lady Eurabia?"
Listening to her own pounding heart, Ji-yoon cheerfully entered the dungeon.
Inside the dungeon, which twisted and turned like a maze.
Insectoid monsters, a type Ji-yoon particularly disliked, appeared.
"Cunning Bugs...!"
The target monster for this dungeon was the Cunning Bug.
It was an extremely repulsive monster with eight legs and thick fur.
Moreover, its appearance aside, it was a Grade 5 monster.
From Grade 5 and up, there were plenty of monsters that could withstand a blast from Retribution.
Crackle-.
Crackle-.
A fierce current began to flow through the Promontory of Judgment.
As she thrust it toward a Cunning Bug, a bolt of lightning shot out with a deafening roar.
CRASH-! Pssssh-.
A massive discharge of electricity swept over the Cunning Bug. Its thick fur turned to ash and scattered, while its bodily fluids evaporated, sending up puffs of steam.
Thud-.
The Cunning Bug collapsed in a single blow.
Ji-yoon was startled.
"Was... was it always this strong?"
It was a level of power incomparable to the past, when she could barely draw out the strength of the Promontory of Judgment.
Even after using Retribution, she didn't feel the slightest bit of fatigue.
"Krrrik, krrrik!"
The loud noise echoed, drawing nearby Cunning Bugs.
A shiver ran down Ji-yoon’s spine as the ox-sized Cunning Bugs swarmed toward her.
"Disgusting monsters!"
Crackle-! Fwish-!
The Promontory of Judgment was wreathed in lightning.
With each thrust from Ji-yoon, arcs of lightning chained from one target to the next.
Her swordsmanship had evolved to focus primarily on thrusts to maximize the rapier’s characteristics.
As a result, her style had shifted from powerful slashes to rapid, multiple thrusts.
Overall, her movements were faster than when she wielded a heavy sword, and she paid great attention to her footwork to remain agile.
However, this had been somewhat insufficient for inflicting fatal damage on monsters.
Unless she hit a weak spot, they would just regenerate quickly.
Fsh-fsh-fsh-fsh-fsh-fsh-fsh-!
KABOOM-!
In a flash, Ji-yoon thrust her sword seven times.
Seven streams of lightning annihilated the Cunning Bugs that had crowded the passage.
Honestly, she had often considered switching back from the rapier to a longsword.
She had even contemplated using an Eastern-style blade specialized for cutting.
But she couldn't abandon the rapier.
It was a gift from Do-jae, of all people.
To Ji-yoon, the Promontory of Judgment was her number one treasure.
Psssssh-.
Ji-yoon quickly left the area, driven away by the foul stench of the burning Cunning Bugs.
She had wiped out dozens of Grade 5 monsters in just a few minutes, yet she felt like she hadn't even warmed up.
- Ho ho. How does it feel to have accepted me? Are you satisfied?
"Yes! This overflowing power... it feels amazing!"
- This is not the full extent of my power. If you were to use my Authority, you would be able to display even greater strength.
"Authority..."
Ji-yoon smiled with satisfaction.
Just by communing with Eurabia, she had gained an incredible amount of mana.
But that wasn't the end of it.
Her true power lay elsewhere.
Eurabia's Authority.
Her heart swelled at the fact that she could unleash even more formidable power.
- However, using my Authority may put a strain on you. Authority is the act of wielding Status. That means it will consume your life force, your mana, all that you are.
"Hmm... I don't really understand what you mean, but I'll give it a try anyway!"
- You could collapse. That human, Lee Do-jae, gradually learned how to wield a higher Status under the guidance of the Ascetics. But you have neither the time to learn nor a divine being to teach you. I will control it as much as I can, but I cannot guarantee what kind of shock you will receive.
Ji-yoon twirled the end of her bobbed hair.
It used to be long, reaching her collarbones, but through her conversations with Eun-hee, she had learned about a hunter who, despite having a different last name, shared her first name.
Eun-hee had largely overcome the trauma of her death, but she still hesitated in front of monsters from time to time.
For Eun-hee's sake, Ji-yoon had silently cut her hair short. After cutting it, she worried Eun-hee might not like it, but as it turned out, Eun-hee absolutely loved it.
"Then I should probably regroup with the guild members first. If I do happen to collapse, they'll be there to help."
***
Somewhere inside the dungeon.
"Insect-type monsters are weak to fire! Burn the fallen Cunning Bugs to finish them off!"
At An Tae-geon's shout, a magic-type hunter in the rear launched a fire spell.
An Tae-geon then threw a ball of fire himself at a struggling Cunning Bug with severed legs.
Fwoosh-!
The acrid smell of burning filled the air.
The Guardian Guild's eight-member raid party had successfully hunted three Cunning Bugs without issue.
"Here, have some water!"
Once the hunt was over, Heo So-jin slung her backpack to her front and went around handing out water.
This was her role.
"Thanks."
Ha Tae-sung brushed the Cunning Bug fur from his body and drank the water.
Then, a question suddenly occurred to him, and he asked So-jin.
"By the way, why do you volunteer for a role like that?"
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"From what I can see, you're the one dealing the most effective attacks in this raid party. So why are you taking on menial tasks like this?"
"Well..."
This was Ha Tae-sung’s first time in a dungeon with Heo So-jin on the same raid team.
Although several months had passed since she joined Guardian, they had never once been assigned to the same party.
So, when they finally fought together for the first time, he found Heo So-jin's archery skills to be beyond his imagination.
"I know your skill. True Aim, wasn't it? It's an incredible ability. You pierced the Cunning Bugs' eyeballs and crippled their legs to throw them off balance. All while avoiding us in close combat."
"That's all I can really do..."
"I need to talk to Chief Ji-yoon. You should be participating more actively in combat."
"No! My stamina is weaker than others, so I get tired after just a few shots. And this is something I wanted to do anyway..."
"Really? You get tired from shooting just a few arrows? That bow. Let me see it for a second."
Heo So-jin quickly handed the bow she was carrying to Ha Tae-sung.
She seemed shy, having never received this kind of attention before.
"Hmm."
Ha Tae-sung fiddled with the bow, plucking the string and bending the limbs.
Then he suddenly stood up, took an arrow from So-jin's quiver, and shot it at the wall.
Thwack-!
A large hole was punched through the wall.
The startled guild members jumped to their feet, but they relaxed again when Ha Tae-sung waved a hand.
"Phew... this is one incredible bow. I'd say only someone like Chief Young-jin could handle it properly... Why on earth did the Vice Guild Master give you something like this?"
"Huh?"
"I've used a bow a few times myself. But this one... anyway, it's too much for you to be using right now."
"Is that so..."
Heo So-jin looked at her bow.
It was true that the bowstring felt heavy, and she got tired after shooting just a few arrows.
But since this was her first time using a bow as her weapon, she had naturally assumed it was just due to her lack of stamina.
"For now, once the raid is over, I'll find you something more suitable."
"Thank you."
"And how old are you?"
"Twenty-two..."
"We're the same age, then. You can speak casually with me."
Ha Tae-sung nonchalantly handed the bow back.
He then told An Tae-geon that they should resume the raid.
Heo So-jin could only stare blankly at his retreating back.