To the Ancient Dungeon (3)
The surroundings were already dark because of the setting sun. And that darkness was crossed by a blue crescent moon.
“Be careful! The Pale Rider is moving!”
Yuri seemed to sense just how dangerous this reaper’s attack was. A massive conglomeration of mana. It was right before it slammed into the group.
As if trying to shield me, she hurried in front of me.
That Pale Rider… No matter how you look at it, it’s on the level of an S-rank dungeon boss.
From S-rank dungeons onward, the strength of the boss was on an entirely different scale.
SS-rank hunters. Top-tier hunters could even fight those bosses one-on-one, but victory could never be guaranteed.
At that moment, the thought flashed through my mind that Yuri and I had no way of blocking that attack.
Then came the violent explosion.
The surroundings blazed with light. In the center of the blast stood Zerfield.
“Damn it. No time to even greet you, straight to the attack. Its personality is as filthy as its ugly mug?”
Zerfield gripped a pickaxe. It glowed with mana, but beyond that, a terribly refined radiance emanated from the weapon.
He had blocked the Pale Rider’s strike.
Aura…
A special technique born from top-tier melee dealers. Simply manifesting aura already marked the user’s level.
It was far more solid than a mana sword and possessed terrifying cutting power. Of course, the first time anyone had ever seen aura channeled through a pickaxe instead of a sword.
At that instant, Zerfield shouted.
“I’ll handle this corpse-scented bastard! You two, run to the obelisk right now! If this setting sun is some kind of ancient dungeon quest, the time limit runs until the sun rises again! Hurry!”
His words hit us instantly.
“Guild Master! Let’s move!”
I took off running with Yuri toward the opposite side of Zerfield.
Kyaaaaak—
The Pale Rider noticed our movement and unleashed a mana-charged howl, but
“You’ve got time to spare? Death guy.”
Immediately, Zerfield pressed the Pale Rider with ferocious momentum.
“What a monster. Zerfield-ssi.”
Even Yuri, who rarely showed emotion, whispered it. The shockwave from the two weapons colliding shook the dungeon’s air like an earthquake.
“I heard about Zerfield-ssi during successor training. If he’d cared more about the hunter world’s turf, maybe we’d have seen Six Great Heavenly Saints or a Demon God.”
I understood the sentiment. The Pale Rider was one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Facing that thing head-on was already difficult.
Yet Zerfield was holding his own against it.
Of course, monsters in ancient dungeons were not real like those in regular dungeons. They were merely story elements existing only inside the dungeon.
Instead, inside an ancient dungeon, they were far stronger than regular monsters.
It’s a million times fortunate the dungeon doesn’t collapse.
If that Pale Rider had appeared beyond Seoraksan, the upcoming S-rank dungeon raid would have been abandoned because of it.
But ancient dungeons never collapsed like regular ones. That meant the Pale Rider from the story would never appear in reality.
So if the raid became impossible, I could just use the return stone and run…
Of course, that was out of the question. With Zerfield, the highest-ranking hunter, and his willingness to cooperate, this ancient dungeon had to be cleared.
Maybe I’ll find a clue to approaching the Red Lake.
Probably the altered causality of the novel had steered Zerfield and Yuri here. So I had to claim that legacy.
Right now, while Zerfield is buying us time, we need to move fast.
Me and Yuri hurried toward the obelisk.
***
Jijijij—
With Yuri’s freezing spell, dozens of monsters froze solid in place. The black mist that appeared with the setting sun hardened instantly.
As expected. Yuri.
It wasn’t for nothing that she was the youngest S-rank hunter. Like an ancient dungeon, there were all kinds of monsters. Among them were many close-combat types that were natural enemies of mages.
Papa papapang—
Before any of them could close the distance, Yuri’s freezing magic wiped them out. Even the ranged attackers had their heads pierced by ice spears and fell in droves.
While Yuri poured everything into the fight, I found the shortest route to the obelisk.
Damn ancient dungeon. The boss mob is already this bad, and the traps are filthy on top of it.
Already-spawned monsters filled the area, but the black mist created by the setting sun was spawning even more.
If I got caught in a trap, surprise attacks or mass respawns would follow.
A normal hunter could never reach the obelisk in time.
But the hunter with me was the Snow Maiden—<|eos|>