Chapter 46
Chapter 46
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 46
Chapter Title: A Proud Member of a First-Class Raid Team
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"Whoa..."
They call me an A-rank Hunter, but it's not like I can fight myself. The moment I stepped inside the Desert Mausoleum, a shiver ran down my spine, and I got goosebumps.
"For about 1.5 kilometers from the entrance, our route overlaps with Team B's. After the fork in the road, it's uncharted territory. Let's take it slow and warm up."
As soon as the Nova Guild's raid team entered the dungeon, they synthesized the available information and established a plan of action. There were no monsters with magic-based attacks, and the interior was mostly a pale yellow structure, giving off a distinct desert vibe.
Should I call it a sand temple? Come to think of it, "desert" means desert.
"They say Mummy Dog-type monsters appear, so we should be mindful of infection."
"There are apparently mummies, but they're said to be far less aggressive than the beast-type monsters. Let's prioritize the four-legged beasts."
"Vultures are seen occasionally, a mix of those that can fly and those that can't. It depends on the decay of their wings, but it seems no one has encountered any that were already flying. The energy consumption must be high, so even the ones that can fly probably only take off when they spot people."
The briefing on the monsters inside proceeded step by step. For now, we walked slowly along Team C's route, which still overlapped with another team's, surveying our surroundings and acclimatizing our bodies to the flow of mana, which was slightly different from outside.
"Eve, are you okay?"
"Ah, yes! I'm fine so far."
"Princess, if walking becomes difficult, I will carry you."
"Ehehe... I'll walk a little more."
There was no way I'd be tired after just a few minutes of walking. In fact, if we're just talking about walking distance, I think I can walk farther now than I could in the past. Is this the energy of a child?
"Mecha-Doggo, you can come down and walk now."
Beep!
I had Mecha-Doggo, who had been sitting on my head, get down and walk with me. The clothes Ophelia made looked uncomfortable, but they were surprisingly easy to move in, light, and warm.
I thought it might be a little chilly since it was an underground structure, but the temperature inside seemed to be higher than outside. The floor was made of shiny, golden tiles. Could they be actual gold?
"Hmm..."
"It does not appear to be gold."
"Gasp, how did you know...?"
"What are you referring to? The material of the flooring? Or your innermost thoughts, Princess?"
"Uh... my innermost thoughts...?"
"You said it out loud."
"Ah."
I must have said it without realizing while I was staring at the floor... It's a little disappointing that it's not gold. I'd love to see a golem made of gold. Though, I wouldn't be able to make one anyway, since I don't own the material.
Whoosh—
The entrance to the Desert Mausoleum was partially buried in the ground, so heavy machinery like excavators had been brought in to dig it out. It was rare for the entrances of these structures to be in a proper, accessible location.
Our route started from an entrance about two stories underground and led up a slope, so a slight breeze blew from various directions. They said the structure might have cracked in places when it was generated, creating holes.
Thump! Thump!
"Eek... what's that sound...?"
"Team B should be right below us. It's probably the sound of them fighting."
"Aha... I see."
After walking for about another 15 minutes from the entrance, we reached the fork where our route split from Team B's. In a chamber with a spiral staircase, we would head up, while Team B would go down.
We'd only had three or four battles on the way here. Our rear-guard team was about 30 meters behind the front-line team, and since most monsters came from the front, we barely even saw them before they were gone.
"We're heading up. We'll go first, so follow when we give the signal."
The front-line team tapped the spiral staircase a few times with their fists, nodded to each other, and then started climbing. The ceiling seemed to be at least 10 meters high. I think they said our route was toward the top.
'So we'll be climbing stairs the whole time... I hate stairs.'
About three minutes after the five members of the front line went up the stairs, a voice came from the upper floor.
"It's clear up here! You can come on up—!"
"Eve, let's go."
"Ah, yes!"
"Princess, may I carry you? The steps are quite high, and it may be difficult for you to navigate them at your height."
"Oh, you're right. The stairs are high."
In the end, Ophelia carried me in her arms, and I slowly followed behind Chae-rin. Mecha-Doggo had also fallen into despair upon seeing stairs taller than itself, so Chae-rin was carrying it tucked under her arm.
I had Minium's core in my arms, so unfortunately, I'd have to hold it next time.
"Suri, are you okay? Should I summon you with a skill?"
Kiiit—
Suri was following us well from a distance. It would occasionally disappear from view, but when I turned back a few seconds later, it would be there again.
Because the stairs were high and the entrance to the upper floor was narrow, I used the Summon skill to call Suri up.
"Whoa... it's huge."
"Alright, everyone, let's stay on our toes from here on out. Monsters are going to start popping up."
And so, the real battle began. It wasn't just a matter of the front-line team swinging their weapons to clean up the stragglers; a massive number of monsters was about to appear.
"Ahead, at the end of the T-junction corridor, 21 four-legged beasts on one side, 33 on the other."
"Confirmed."
At the end of the quiet corridor, as soon as the scout from the front line reported his findings, the mage in the rear-guard cast and fired a spell, hitting the end of the hall precisely.
Fwaaa!
It was a type of illusion magic designed to draw the aggro of nearby monsters—a dummy effect in the shape of a scarecrow that made a loud noise.
In an instant, a horde of bandage-wrapped hyenas swarmed in to tear at the magical dummy. Then, the dummy exploded. About half the hyenas caught in the blast were sent flying, tumbling across the floor.
"Here they come. Get ready."
"Yup."
There were no powerful monsters, but loud noises would awaken sleeping monsters nearby, triggering a battle of numbers. The information that they were numerous but individually weak seemed to be accurate.
"Team Leader Yoo! Is the rear guard okay?"
"Don't worry! We can handle ten times this number!"
When Chae-rin touched her fingertips to the floor, thorny vines instantly sprouted from the cracks between the tiles and began to encircle the area. The hyenas shoved their snouts against the sturdy vines, and I could see them being neutralized in real-time as their bandages got tangled or their bodies were torn.
"Unni, clear this side for me!"
"Okay!"
At the mage's signal, Chae-rin compressed the thorny vines on one side. Then, an arrow made of mana shot forward, skewering the swarming hyenas like a kebab.
I had wondered why there didn't seem to be a tank in the raid team, but with Chae-rin's abilities, a tank was practically unnecessary.
Swiiiiiish!!
In the distance, Suri spread its wide wings and swept across the ground like a broom, slicing through dozens of oncoming hyenas. They called it a front line, but each member was an A-rank bruiser, skillfully fanning out to defend their designated areas.
Beep!! Beep-beep!!
Mecha-Doggo was busy sticking its butt out, growling and yapping. It wasn't particularly effective, but it was funny to watch.
Creeaak...!
Kwaang—!!
Chae-rin's thorny vines, pulled taut like a bowstring, lashed out like a whip, sweeping away dozens of Mummy Dogs like the parting of the Red Sea. This was the true might of an S-rank Hunter.
"Hoek."
Unlike other mages who become vulnerable while casting, Chae-rin had no such weakness. While protecting the rear-guard members with her vines, she intermittently launched wide-range attacks, never giving up her top spot in damage output.
"Unni! The corpses are piling up here! They're climbing over them!"
"Got it!"
"I will go."
"I'm counting on you, Ophelia!"
The Mummy Dogs clung to the thorny vines that encircled the rear guard, and as mounds of bandages piled up, the thorns that had been holding them back began to lose their effectiveness.
Ophelia briefly left my side and ran to where the corpses were piling up. She skillfully sliced through the bodies and tangled bandages with optical fibers, even blowing the bandages away with a gust of wind like a hairdryer.
"Thanks! That helps a lot!"
"You are welcome."
"It feels like it's getting cramped! Should we move to another room?"
"Let's go!"
As corpses piled up and the floor became cluttered, the chance of error for the fast-moving melee team increased. With less room to maneuver due to the bandages and bodies, the raid team carefully led the rear guard forward to the next room.
"Is there a bigger chamber anywhere?! There are too many of them; we can't go to the spot we originally picked out!"
For the same reason, several of the so-called 'fortress spots' we had marked before entering the dungeon were now out of the question. It was time to re-evaluate our route.
"Ah! I'll take a look!"
"Eve, can you do it?"
"Yes!"
I summoned Suri, who was in the middle of fighting, back inside the thorny barrier, attached a camera that emerged from Mecha-Doggo's back, and sent it flying.
"Suri! Find a place as big as this! When you find one, spin in circles! I'll call you back!"
Kiiit!
With the camera attached to its leg, Suri flew around at incredible speed, exploring everywhere, until it encountered a flock of mummy vultures.
"Gasp...! What do I do...?!"
But contrary to my worries, the camera spun once, and in an instant, the mummy vultures' wings were severed, sending them plummeting to the ground. Through Suri's eyes, displayed on Mecha-Doggo's monitor which had widened like a tablet, I saw it had found a spacious chamber. Suri began to spin.
"I think it found one!"
"Really?! Can you guide us?!"
"Yes! Suri, come back!"
Fwaaa!
After finding the large chamber, Suri returned to me, dropped the camera from its leg, and soared back into the sky.
"Suri will guide us!"
"Everyone, you heard her—!! Follow that white eagle—!!!"
"Yes—!!!"
The tangled thorny barrier was instantly pulled taut and spread outwards like a blooming flower. It swept through a massive area in a single breath, momentarily halting the Mummy Dogs' assault.
"Princess, I will carry you."
"Whoa—?!"
Held in Ophelia's arms, I began moving toward the next fortress spot, keeping pace with the superhuman speed of those who had surpassed the limits of ordinary humans.
Thump! Thump!!
Up ahead, the front-line members displayed incredible skill, running along the walls as if they were the ground. In the rear, Chae-rin's thorny vines surrounded us in a circle, spinning at a tremendous speed like a tumbleweed. It felt like we were riding in a hamster wheel made of thorns.
There were no thorns on the inside, and the vines were woven tightly enough to run on, so there was nothing to worry about.
"This is it!? It's spacious and nice!"
Kiiit!
The chamber Suri found received a positive reaction. It was wider and more open than the previous location, with fewer openings for monsters to emerge from.
"Mummies! Be careful!"
This was an area where large mummies, slower than the Mummy Dogs, began to appear. Mummy vultures followed, as did mummies wielding things like flaming poles.
Chwaaak...!
But to these elite warriors, they were no different from the Mummy Dogs. The back-and-forth battle continued, and within 30 minutes of starting, the number of monsters killed had reached the thousands.
"Princess, I will also go out and join the fray. I can trust in Hunter Chae-rin's defensive capabilities."
"Ah, okay, Ophelia!"
"Ophelia! I'll open a path for you!"
"Yes."
It seemed Ophelia was going out to fight too. But then...
Fwaaa!
"Hoeeek!!!!!!!"
"The long skirt hinders combat, so I have temporarily deactivated it."
Suddenly, Ophelia's body flashed, and her skirt vanished. Then, she immediately super-jumped and charged into the monster horde.
Slice...!
"That was a real skirt...?"
First time I've heard of it. I thought it was part of her body.