Chapter 26
Chapter 26
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 26
Chapter Title: Dungeon Reconnaissance
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S-rank gates are usually designed as open spaces to disperse their immense power.
This is because if the power is concentrated in one place, it could cause cracks in the artificially created space.
‘They’ve put a lot of effort into this.’
This wasn't just any S-rank.
For the Azelan Continent, this was the first time a gate of a higher order was being put into practical use.
“We need to scout first.”
Gregory nodded, about to give the order.
The reconnaissance team had already been formed before entering the gate. It was composed of people who were fast and had stealth skills.
“No. I'll go.”
“You're going yourself?”
“We don't know what's in there. This isn't a normal situation.”
Until now, gates rarely had complex structures. The few that were complex were usually dominated by creatures that built special nests, like giant ants or moles.
“We need to go with a minimal crew. Moving with a large group will only increase the number of casualties.”
“Alright.”
Gregory accepted Wang-sik's decision.
“I'll pick the team myself.”
Without delay, Wang-sik selected the reconnaissance team.
The first person called was, of course, Min Ha-na. Next, he selected five people from Russia.
The five, including Sara, were all people Wang-sik was acquainted with, individuals with whom he had already established trust.
“This looks more like a combat team than a recon team. Are you going with seven people?”
“No. There are three more.”
“Who?”
Wang-sik said the three names.
“The three from Korea.”
Shin Myeong-sik, Jang Jong-oh, and Lee Myeong-jin.
They were the last to join the team.
Originally, they had planned to give up on the subjugation and flee, but they couldn't get a flight. After much effort, they found a way to cross the border by land, but when they heard news of the Chinese Awakeners joining, they sneakily participated in the subjugation.
Looking at the ten people gathered, the other Awakeners showed some confusion. While the five members from Russia were quite famous, the five from Korea were almost completely unknown.
The only reason they didn't voice their complaints was that this was the reconnaissance team.
“We'll go through the center. Station troops at both entrances. There could be a surprise attack.”
“Got it. We'll seal them off tight.”
Wang-sik gave his instructions and looked at the elite team he had chosen.
“Fire Bear. To the rear.”
Kiriyan, the tanker representing Russia.
He was a man standing two meters tall with a monstrous amount of muscle.
He was famous for having a special skill that boosted the team's morale, and his nickname, Fire Bear, came from the bear-like actions he performed when using the skill.
“I'll cover the rear, no problem.”
Wang-sik took the lead, positioning Min Ha-na and the dealers behind him, followed by the healer, Sara, and the Korean trio.
It was a formation that protected the team by placing tankers at both ends.
“What's our role?”
Shin Myeong-sik asked just before they set off.
The three of them were all dealers, but their position was ambiguous.
“Grab the communication crystal. You're the communications officer.”
Wang-sik then gave an order to Jang Jong-oh.
“You're the medic.”
Potions, antidotes, and other emergency medical supplies were placed before him. Finally, Wang-sik tossed a water bottle to Lee Myeong-jin.
“You're the water boy.”
When everyone stared at him in disbelief, Wang-sik corrected himself.
“Ah, right. Quartermaster, is that what you call it? I've never served in the military.”
In any case, purified water and emergency rations made from monster meat were placed before Lee Myeong-jin.
In truth, these were items that could have easily fit into their individual inventories.
But this wasn't the time to argue about it.
“We're going in.”
With Bae Wang-sik's quiet command, the dungeon raid began.
***
The path narrowed and the light grew faint.
As the light from the entrance vanished, complete darkness fell.
“Sara.”
The healer, Sara, conjured a light, and the area brightened as if a fluorescent lamp had been switched on.
“Halt.”
As Wang-sik raised his hand, everyone held their breath.
‘There's something here.’
The passage had narrowed to about seven meters wide and ten meters high. No monsters had appeared yet.
But an unusual sound reached Wang-sik's ears.
A low hum.
It was the sound of the air vibrating.
“Medic, forward.”
At Wang-sik's command, Jang Jong-oh stepped forward.
“Close your eyes.”
“What?”
Clang!
Wang-sik's chains wrapped around him. Then, the chains extended, stretching out ten meters.
The moment Jang Jong-oh landed, a red magic circle appeared on the floor, and an immense flame erupted from it.
The instant Jang Jong-oh saw the red light, he thought he was dead.
There wasn't even time for regret or anger.
Just as his life flashed before his eyes, he heard the scraping of metal.
Screech!
The chains, wrapped around his body like a mummy's bandages, blocked the flames.
But they couldn't completely block out the heat.
Just as he felt he was about to be burned by the suffocating heat, the flames stopped.
Screech.
The chains retracted, and Jang Jong-oh was back with the group.
“Back to your position.”
Jang Jong-oh, forgetting he should be angry, dazedly returned to his spot. A beat later, fury surged through him, but the atmosphere of the group forced him to suppress it.
The expressions on his teammates' faces were that grim.
“Traps in a gate.”
“It's become a dungeon. This confirms it.”
“A dungeon?”
“It means they can now create artificial environments.”
“They?”
“The ones who made this gate.”
Wang-sik said, gripping his shield.
“Communications. From now on, report everything you see and hear to Gregory.”
“Huh? Yes...”
Shin Myeong-sik didn't even realize he had used formal speech.
Tense, he reported the current situation in a whisper, his voice trembling with nervousness.
“Wait here.”
Wang-sik went to the trap alone and destroyed the magic circle.
“Advance.”
More traps followed.
From classic, old-fashioned traps like poison arrows and collapsing floors to modern explosive traps, the variety was extensive.
It was after they had advanced for about another twenty minutes.
“Hold.”
Bae Wang-sik stopped the team, looking down the passage that had narrowed to five meters.
“Fire Bear, step forward.”
Kiriyan shot forward.
“Whatever comes, don't let a single thing past you. Block it all.”
“Understood.”
Wang-sik took out his chains and scraped them mercilessly against the wall ahead. Green smoke then poured from the ceiling.
Wang-sik reflexively created a shield to block the poison mist. Kiriyan also began to disperse the approaching mist.
“Be careful. It's not just smoke.”
The shield was being scratched by something. Sensing something hidden in the poison mist, Wang-sik's eyes widened.
“Min Ha-na, Fire Blast! Sara, Cure Fog! Ailee, Great Wind!”
As he lowered the shield, the three who had been ready unleashed their magic.
As the wind sent the poison mist soaring toward the ceiling, a red fog remained. But this fog seemed to be alive, lunging at them.
Just then, an oval-shaped flame created by Min Ha-na shot forward.
The flame burned the approaching fog, and black ash began to fall to the floor.
Only then did the group realize the fog's true identity.
“Blood Nest...”
Shin Myeong-sik muttered in astonishment.
The fog was actually a swarm of insects.
They were insects so small they looked like fog, gathered in an enormous swarm.
Blocked by the flames, the insects stopped advancing and retreated five meters.
A red orb floated there, and the insects swarmed together around it as if returning to a nest, forming a humanoid shape of fog.
The S-rank monster, Blood Nest.
It was classified as one of the most dangerous among S-rank monsters.
“Captain! One appeared behind us, too!”
They were now facing Blood Nests from both the front and rear.
“Ailee, keep the wind up.”
Wang-sik's command was as calm as if this crisis were a training exercise.
“Min Ha-na, prepare Fire Burst. Okant, follow me. Fire Bear, just hold your ground.”
Okant was a man of small but solid build who wielded a spear.
“Advance.”
As Wang-sik raised his shield and ran, Okant followed right behind him.
“Min Ha-na!”
The moment the prepared Min Ha-na moved, Wang-sik's armor radiated light.
Unholy Strike.
At that moment, the clustered Blood Nest flinched briefly before turning to swarm Wang-sik.
Wang-sik swung his shield wide.
The Blood Nest scattered briefly upon impact with the shield. Through the gap, the red core was visible.
“Min Ha—!”
Before Wang-sik could even finish her name, Min Ha-na launched her Fire Burst. Fire Burst was a spell that concentrated the power of flame at a single point and detonated it.
That was why Wang-sik had created the opening.
Boom!
The clustered insects were blasted away by the force of the explosion. The red orb that formed its core was revealed.
Whoosh!
Without needing a command from Wang-sik, Okant's silver spear pierced the air and stabbed the orb.
“Damn it! Too weak.”
The spear lodged itself in the orb, but it didn't break it. Wang-sik quickly took a step back and gathered power in his shield. Then, with all his might, he struck the end of the spear with his shield.
Bang!
Another explosion rocked the red orb.
But it wasn't enough to shatter the core of an S-rank Blood Nest. Instead, the recoil sent Okant staggering back.
“Get back!”
Okant tried to obey Wang-sik's command, but it wasn't easy to escape the explosive flow of mana.
Wang-sik grabbed Okant by the scruff of his neck.
Okant tried to use Wang-sik's strength to regain his balance, but at that moment, the Blood Nest charged.
In an instant, the two men were engulfed by tens of thousands of insects.
‘The team leader will handle it somehow.’
Min Ha-na watched the situation closely, staying tense and ready to cast a spell at any moment.
Clang!
A brief moment passed, and the familiar sound of chains was heard.
Just as a gap seemed to form in the swarm of insects, Okant, wrapped in the faint light of a shield, was pulled out by the chains.
“Shin Myeong-sik! Power Charging!”
“What?”
Even though his name was called, Shin Myeong-sik couldn't move.
“Shin Myeong-sik!”
Only after his name was called a second time did Shin Myeong-sik snap out of it. He quickly gathered his power but couldn't find a target.
“Ram the shield!”
Barely hearing the command over the buzzing of the insects' wings, Shin Myeong-sik charged toward the shield.
Shin Myeong-sik's signature move, Power Charging.
As a charge-type warrior, he slammed his full force into the upright shield.
CRASH!
The force transmitted through the shield traveled to the tip of the spear lodged in the orb.
Crack!
As the orb shattered, the insects clinging to Wang-sik's body lost their power and fell to the floor.
Wang-sik roughly brushed off the insect remains and spoke.
“There's still one left. No time to rest.”
Shin Myeong-sik stood there blankly for a moment before following Wang-sik.
“It's an intelligent one. We need to deal with it immediately.”
Give it time, and it will prepare itself. As Wang-sik stepped forward, the exhausted Fire Bear retreated.
“Good work.”
Wang-sik raised his shield and charged at the Blood Nest.
Having already experienced it once and without their attention divided, the team's attack timing became even more precise.
After just three coordinated attacks, the battered Blood Nest tried to flee, only to be caught by Min Ha-na's flame attack, and Okant's spear finally claimed its orb.
“Sara. You can neutralize the poison mist, right?”
“Of course.”
Sara purified the poison trapped by the wind.
If it wasn't neutralized here, given its contained state, it could drift anywhere and cause harm again, so purification was essential.
Once the situation was settled, Wang-sik looked around at his team members.
His gaze naturally fell on the three dazed Koreans.
“Agent Min Ha-na.”
“Yes.”
“Don't hold back. Feel free to say something.”
Min Ha-na let out a deep sigh before unleashing a torrent of curses in Korean.
“Hey, you stupid bastards! Stop embarrassing us and get your heads in the game! Before I roast you alive and feed you to the monsters!”
She had been feeling embarrassed the entire way here just by the fact that they were fellow Koreans.
Regardless of the internal circumstances, to outsiders, they would be seen as a single team from Korea.
The Russian hunters couldn't understand the Korean, but they could certainly feel the mood.
“Wow. I think I'm in love.”
“Why don't we have Awakeners like her in our country?”
“I want her more than the Super Tanker.”
“If I'd been at the meeting yesterday, I could have seen this live.”
“I'm definitely going to get that translated and watch it again.”
“She's charming. Korea has a lot of charming people. Maybe I should change my type.”
Feeling unnecessarily embarrassed, Min Ha-na stuck close behind Wang-sik.
“I-I'm sorry.”
In the end, Shin Myeong-sik was the first to apologize.
Because of his delay, Wang-sik was now bleeding. It was only for a brief moment, but his entire body had been shredded by the Blood Nest.
Anyone other than Wang-sik probably wouldn't have been able to withstand it. And if he hadn't held on, what would have happened?
‘We would have been annihilated.’
The thought sent a shiver down Shin Myeong-sik's spine.
Watching the situation, Wang-sik saw the guilt on the three men's faces and changed the mood.
“There's no such thing as a useless teammate. Pull yourselves together and follow me.”
Wang-sik once again took the lead.