Chapter 178
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 178
Chapter Title: Eurabia's Power
KABOOM-!
With each flash of light and thunderous roar, the swarming Cunning Bugs collapsed lifelessly.
Most were fried to a crisp by the high-voltage lightning, their insides scorched, but some with tenacious life force still twitched.
Fwoosh-!
Ahn Tae-geon incinerated those stragglers, cleaning them up neatly.
"Was Captain Song always that strong?"
"I know, right? Taking out eight Grade 5 monsters in one shot... isn't that at least A-Rank Hunter level?"
"Man, I'm glad I joined Guardian. You won't find a small-to-medium guild this solid anywhere else."
"Hey, we might be small in number, but we're just as good as any major guild, you know?"
The guild members watched Ji-yoon's assault, their voices filled with awe.
They found her sudden, overnight surge in power strange, but no one harbored any ill thoughts. Ji-yoon had always conducted herself well, and they trusted her completely.
Besides, having a stronger member in the raid party meant faster and safer clears.
"How much farther?"
"We're almost there. Another twenty minutes or so and we'll be at the boss room."
Ji-yoon thought the time had finally come.
If she used the Authority to deal with the boss quickly, it would be beneficial both physically and financially.
"Good. We're pushing through!"
The Guardian Guild raid party advanced, with Ji-yoon at the lead.
Her sword was cleaner and shone sharper than ever before.
BOOM-!
In the wake of her Judgment, charred Cunning Bugs lay scattered. The guild members pressed on toward the boss room at a speed they had never achieved before.
In less than ten minutes,
the raid party arrived at the boss room.
"We don't need a break, do we?"
"No, ma'am! Ever since you joined us, Captain, there's been nothing for us to do!"
"Alright! Let's head right in."
Creeeak-
Opening the door revealed the boss monster: the Giant Cunning Bug.
It stood in the center of the room on a thick web that resembled a tightrope.
"Krrk-krrk!"
It let out an unintelligible cry and shot webs in every direction.
Cunning Bugs climbed onto the webs and attacked the guild members from above.
"Judgment!"
Ji-yoon called down lightning upon the Cunning Bugs.
But aside from a few that were electrocuted and now twitched on the ground, the ones farther away were unscathed.
"So a boss room is still a boss room, huh?"
"Those aren't just Cunning Bugs! They're Low Cunning Bugs! Be careful!"
Ahn Tae-geon pointed at the Low Cunning Bugs with a short staff, about two hand-spans long.
The guild members prepared to charge.
But Ji-yoon aimed her sword and shouted.
"Everyone, stop! I'll handle this!"
KRAKOOM-!
Crackle-
Crackle-crackle-
She unleashed Judgment once more.
This time, she imbued it with far more mana, and the scorched Low Cunning Bugs fell from the webs, scattering ashes as they dropped.
Still, it wasn't quite enough to kill all of them.
"Captain, we'll join in."
"Ji-yoon, we can at least help with the Cunning Bugs..."
"Just a moment!"
Ji-yoon walked toward the Giant Cunning Bug.
The guild members watched her with worried eyes, but Ji-yoon was full of confidence.
*'Lady Eurabia. I will use your power!'*
Ji-yoon stepped into the Giant Cunning Bug's range.
Now was the moment to use Eurabia's Authority.
- Good. Accept my stature.
***
Eurabia's Authority.
Attraction and Repulsion.
The ability to pull and push anything with a magnetic charge.
Its range and power extended as far as her stature reached.
Bzzzt-!
Ji-yoon slammed Judgment's Point into the floor. Electricity spread from the tip of the sword, filling the entire boss room.
The guild members waiting behind her felt a faint current, and their hair stood on end from the static electricity.
The electricity filling the room created an electronic imbalance, causing small sparks to fly everywhere.
And in that moment.
Swoosh-!
"Ah! My sword!"
"Ugh, my staff is being pulled away!"
The weapons held by the guild members flew toward Ji-yoon.
Whirrr-
Swords, staves, and spears spun in a circle above Ji-yoon's head.
The weapons stopped spinning for a moment, then all pointed toward the Giant Cunning Bug.
"Come."
Ji-yoon's unfamiliar, deep voice resonated through the room.
The Giant Cunning Bug's entire body began to be dragged forward.
"Krrk!"
Fwip-!
The Giant Cunning Bug firmly anchored its eight legs to the web and shot a yellowish fluid at Ji-yoon.
But with a wave of Ji-yoon's arm, the fast-approaching fluid abruptly changed direction and fell to the floor.
Pssss-!
The Giant Cunning Bug's fluid immediately began to boil, melting the stones on the ground.
It was the bug's potent, acidic venom.
Whoosh-! Snap-
Snap-snap-
Meanwhile, the weapons circling Ji-yoon sliced through the Giant Cunning Bug's webbing.
Having lost its footing, the Giant Cunning Bug fell to the floor and struggled to resist being pulled.
"Krrk-krrrk!"
"Krrrk!"
The Low Cunning Bugs that had been targeting the guild members sensed their queen was in danger and rushed toward Ji-yoon.
But that was the worst possible move.
Zzzzzzt-!
Sparks began to fly from the Low Cunning Bugs as they were pulled together, clumping into a single mass.
Soon, the Low Cunning Bugs, now a giant, writhing ball, were unable to move freely.
"Vanish."
Ji-yoon's 'Judgment's Point' pointed at the clump of Low Cunning Bugs.
An immense energy, incomparable to before, shot forth.
The Low Cunning Bugs vanished without a trace, not even leaving corpses behind.
"Krrrrk!"
The Giant Cunning Bug seemed to give up resisting and charged straight at Ji-yoon with its massive body.
Its eight legs moved independently, building momentum for a headbutt.
CRASH-!
But Ji-yoon blocked it simply by holding out her palm.
She wasn't pushed back, nor did the ground crater beneath her.
Instead, the Giant Cunning Bug simply collapsed on the spot, as if it had crashed into a massive wall.
"Die."
Ji-yoon's body floated into the air.
She brought her fist down on the Giant Cunning Bug's head.
SPLAT-!
"Hiek!"
"Ugh..."
The floor caved in, and fluid splattered toward the guild members from the completely crushed head.
"Captain Ji-yoon..."
"Ji-yoon..."
Ahn Tae-geon and Ha Tae-seong stared at Ji-yoon, their mouths agape.
Ji-yoon's performance just now was easily that of an S-Rank Hunter, or even higher.
She had defeated the boss monster with an overwhelming difference in power.
"Woooah! That was amazing! Insane, seriously!"
"Captain, when were you hiding skills like that? That was incredible..."
The Guardian Guild members cheered and ran toward Ji-yoon.
They wanted to thank her for her hard work.
But Ji-yoon kept her head down and held up a palm toward them.
"Stay back!"
Then, Ji-yoon wrapped her arms around herself.
She trembled, hugging herself tighter.
Rip-
Riiip-
The sound of tearing cloth.
The back of Ji-yoon's leather armor tore open, revealing her bronze skin.
"I'm fine! Stay back, all of you, get out!"
Thud-
As Ji-yoon fell to her knees, Ha Tae-seong led the other guild members out of the boss room.
Only Heo So-jin remained, taking off her coat and draping it over Ji-yoon's back.
"You... why didn't you leave?"
"I just felt like I should stay..."
RIP-!
Beneath Heo So-jin's coat, the rest of Ji-yoon's clothes tore apart.
Her forearms grew larger, her thighs continued to thicken.
Ji-yoon tried to hold her body tight, to stop it from growing, but her physique kept expanding.
"Move..."
"Huh? Yes...!"
Heo So-jin hurriedly backed away from Ji-yoon.
FWOOSH-!
Ji-yoon had now surpassed human size. She grew larger than a troll, stopping only when she was about the size of an ogre.
"Sob..."
"C-Captain?"
Heo So-jin picked up the fallen coat and slowly approached Ji-yoon.
"Are you okay?"
Drip-
Drip, drip-
Ji-yoon's teardrops fell to the floor.
If one hadn't seen them streaming down her chin, they might have thought a faucet had been left running.
"Sob... What am I going to do now?"
"Huh...?"
"What am I supposed to do with a body like this! Waaah!"
In the end, Ji-yoon burst into tears.
Heo So-jin didn't know what to do, simply pacing anxiously beside Ji-yoon's massive form.
***
"Oh! They're coming out!"
"What happened in there?"
About an hour had passed.
Ji-yoon and Heo So-jin walked out of the boss room.
"Ji-yoon! What happened?"
Ha Tae-seong ran to Ji-yoon and looked her over.
Ji-yoon was wearing Heo So-jin's long leather coat, buttoned all the way up.
Since it belonged to the smaller Heo So-jin, the coat only came down to Ji-yoon's upper thighs, leaving her bare legs exposed.
On top of that, her shoes were gone, and she was barefoot.
"Ah, it's nothing."
"Nothing? Ji-yoon, do you see the state you're in?"
"What about it? All sorts of things can happen in a dungeon. Hehe."
Ji-yoon avoided Ha Tae-seong's gaze.
Ha Tae-seong continued to stare before changing his target.
"Heo So-jin, what happened to Ji-yoon in there?"
"Huh? ...N-nothing happened..."
"Haa... I see you're not going to talk either. Then let me ask just one thing. Did something bad happen to her? Is she hurt?"
"It's nothing like that! Y-you don't have to worry...!"
"...I understand."
Ha Tae-seong looked at Ji-yoon.
She offered an awkward smile.
"Tae-seong, I'm really fine, so don't worry. And the weapons are still inside, so you'll need to go get them."
"Understood..."
Ha Tae-seong took off his own shoes and placed them in front of Ji-yoon.
Then he called to the other guild members.
"Everyone, let's go get our weapons. Ji-yoon, and you, Heo So-jin, go on ahead."
"Thanks."
Ji-yoon and Heo So-jin left the dungeon first.
Ha Tae-seong watched them for a long time before heading into the boss room to retrieve 'Sraka's Fang'.
*'Ji-yoon...'*
Ha Tae-seong recalled Ji-yoon's appearance.
She had displayed an incredible strength, completely different from yesterday.
He wondered what kind of change had come over her.
*'It's good that she's gotten stronger, but I can't help but worry.'*
To Ha Tae-seong, Ji-yoon was family.
They had been apart for a long time with no contact, but the moment he reunited with her, all the old memories and feelings came flooding back.
Ji-yoon had been the one who looked after him, Park Gyeong-min, and Gong So-eun, sometimes like a sister, sometimes like a mother.
For someone like her to obtain great power should have been a cause for celebration.
But there was bound to be a price.
There's no such thing as a free lunch.
*'She might have already lost something, or she might lose something in the future.'*
He didn't know what Ji-yoon had sacrificed to gain such power.
Perhaps she would have to sacrifice something more down the line.
Ha Tae-seong just wanted Ji-yoon to be unhurt, healthy, and smiling every day.
Ever since the Vice Guild Master left, Ji-yoon had rarely smiled.
*'This won't do. The Vice Guild Master will probably know. I have to ask him as soon as he returns.'*
Ha Tae-seong followed at the very back of the group leaving the dungeon, fiddling with Sraka's Fang.