Chapter 193
Chapter 193
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 194
Chapter Title: Nayeo-ju Saves the World Part 2 Episode 14
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Dogs are cute.
Rats can be cute too, at least if they're not sewer rats—there are some adorable specimens out there.
But that horrific hybrid of the two?
"Ugh."
I'd always thought bigger TV screens were better.
But seeing something grotesque magnified just made it all the more grotesque.
"...Not creepy at all?"
Sama Young stood before the massive chimera—a grotesque mashup of dog and rat—with absolutely no change in his expression.
As always, that pretty but punchable face of his just floated in the air, gazing down at the chimera.
Somehow, it feels like he's smirking mockingly?
If so, that tracked.
It fit Sama Young perfectly to sneer at lesser creatures.
It suited him, anyway.
[ "Woof! Woof! Woof woof!" ]
At any rate, the chimera's dog-head portion started barking ferociously up at Sama Young, who hovered high above.
Its twisted, demonic face and threateningly bared fangs included.
As an A-rank dungeon boss, it was pretty intimidating.
If it looked this scary on screen, I definitely wouldn't want to face that giant dog-rat in person inside the dungeon.
Watching Sama Young swing his sword wide on screen and butcher the dog-rat, I clicked my tongue.
He's doing that on purpose.
A boss fight was supposed to be entertaining, after all—too easy, and it gets boring.
The guy had deliberately made raids harder in [Sejong Wall] just for kicks.
The hunters gathered in the break room watching the raid broadcast seemed to know Sama Young's nasty habit all too well.
"Every time I see Sama Young pull that, it reminds me of a cat."
"Kinda cat-like, yeah. But that's not why."
That was the conversation between Shin Danju and Shin Danbi up front.
"I once saw a cat hunting a rat on the street. But it didn't kill the rat right away."
"Then what?"
"It let it run, then clawed and bit it, let it run again. Played with it like that until the rat collapsed from exhaustion."
"...Brutal."
"Look at what Sama Young's doing right now. Exactly like that."
I found myself nodding along with Shin Danju's words without thinking.
What Sama Young was doing was no different from that cat.
Except the rat was way weaker than a cat.
The three pieces he'd painstakingly created weren't doing squat.
"Guild rankings number one?"
Camellia Guild had been in first just yesterday, hadn't they?
I quickly checked, and the caster was right.
Camellia Guild and Sama Guild's positions had swapped at some point.
I glared at Sama Young on screen, who looked bored as he sheathed his sword after finishing off the boss.
Sama Young was strong—and just as cunning.
Annoying as hell, but credit where it's due.
Something felt off, though.
A flicker crossed Sama Young's usually impassive face.
The camera whipped around, following his gaze as he turned.
And there it was.
"What the hell is that?"
"A gate? Connected to the outside?"
In the empty dungeon where the sludge slime and chimera had vanished into black ash, a black gate rippled into existence.
The caster sounded genuinely shocked, repeating "gate" over and over.
Smooth.
Kang Han, who'd been lounging comfortably while watching the broadcast, suddenly sat up straight.
Golden light swirled in his green eyes fixed on the screen—he'd unconsciously drawn up mana.
I followed his lead and turned back to the broadcast.
Unlike the commentator repeatedly warning of the danger, Sama Young was smiling.
Faced with this sudden twist, he wasn't panicking or scared—instead, he looked like a kid thrilled by the excitement, not knowing what to do with himself.
But that smile didn't last.
The black fissure Sama Young's hand had nearly touched began fading away bit by bit.
And soon enough, nothing remained where the gate had appeared.
No trace left behind—the rift vanished without a mark, leaving only Sama Young frozen in place like a statue, hand outstretched.
"What, it wasn't a big deal after... all?"
"A double dungeon, huh."
"Online's blowing up right now. Breaking news everywhere."
"It vanished this time, but who knows about next time."
Amid the Justice Guild hunters buzzing with shock, curiosity, and unease all mixed together, I quietly scooped up Na Baek-ho and stood.
Fallen leaves crunched underfoot with every step as I headed out toward the dorms.
I wrapped the little guy in my outer coat so the cold wind wouldn't wake him.
"In the end, it's started."
The gate mutation that would drag this world to ruin was surging forward like an unstoppable wave.
The next day.
We were at the Awakener Association.
To bid on raid dungeons.
Me, Kang Han, Yang Hwa-yeon from Team 2, and the Team 3 leader—just the four of us in a modest group.
"Not sure how the auction will go, but let's aim for at least one dungeon per team."
"Two's fine for us. Get too idle, and we rust."
Chatting with Yang Hwa-yeon, I pushed open the auction house doors along the now-familiar path.
And right there, we froze—we couldn't go any farther in.
"...What the...?"
The auction house, which should have been swarming with hunters eager to bid on dungeons, was eerily sparse.