Chapter 35

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Translator: 8uhl

Chapter: 35

Chapter Title: Rio de Janeiro (4)

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Tentacles covered the entire ceiling.

Zombies clinging to them were howling in unison.

Tentacles snaked out from between the zombies, threatening us.

"Uuuuugh... ugh...!!!"

"Groooar...!"

These things had intelligence.

They hadn't made a sound until we'd spotted them.

Sssshk-! Shk-!

Thin, swift tentacles whipped through the air.

Level 5 Monster Hell.

A plant-type monster that devoured nearby monsters to grow its body.

Its attack power varied wildly depending on what it had swallowed.

I shouted to my subordinates.

"Hammered! Fire the cluster rounds. Everyone else, move!"

"Y-yes, sir!"

A commander couldn't afford to panic upon encountering the enemy.

Quick judgment and swift decisions.

That was what decided the battle.

Boom-boom! Boom!

The cluster rounds detonated from the ceiling.

Chunks of flesh and corpses rained down onto the floor.

"Kieeeek-!"

The Monster Hell writhed in agony.

It was effective, but not a fatal blow.

The severed tentacles regenerated almost instantly.

"Agh!"

"Eek!!"

The tentacles rampaged even more fiercely, binding the squad members' limbs.

"Damn it."

Slash! Slash!

I dodged the tentacles swiftly while slicing through the ones binding my men.

'Awakening Skill unlocked.'

The enemy had countless attack routes.

But my defensive options were limited.

Fighting while protecting my subordinates was a handicap for me.

I yelled at Hammered.

"Hammered! Take the men and head to the forward position first. Maintain vigilance up front, and if I'm not back in 20 minutes, you're the next commander."

Whoosh-.

I tossed the radio to Hammered.

He caught it and shouted,

"No way! We stay with you, Commander...!"

"That's an order."

"Understood... sir!"

Now, just the word "order" was enough to get an instant response from them.

Thud!

Another tentacle strike.

I barely rolled out of the way.

I couldn't afford to worry about my men anymore.

"Go, now!"

"...Yes, sir!"

Hammered led the remaining squad toward the front as ordered.

"Kieeeek! Kieek!"

The Monster Hell extended tentacles toward them.

I rushed in and blocked them with my slime weapon.

Thanks to that, the squad escaped unharmed.

'Damn. First time facing a Monster Hell.'

I'd only heard rumors and read reports before. This was my first time up close.

I knew its weakness, but not exactly where it was.

One thing was clear: I had to destroy the brain controlling the tentacles.

A sword form made it hard to strike directly.

I drew the bowstring.

First, target the zombies' heads.

I nocked a light arrow onto the bow.

"Shining Arrow."

Sssshk-! Thunk!

Direct hit.

"Kieeeek-!!!"

As one zombie crumpled with a headshot, the Monster Hell screamed.

It was working.

I nocked four arrows onto the bow.

Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh-whoosh!!!

Four glowing arrows struck the zombies' heads.

Two hit their marks perfectly.

With stationary targets, it wasn't hard to land shots.

One head left.

"Kieeeek-!"

It wrapped tentacles around the remaining head to protect it.

A decent attempt to guard its weak point.

But that just confirmed it for me.

"Stupid bastard."

Dual casting.

I infused lightning into the spear.

And gathered light in my other hand simultaneously.

A tentacle lunged at me.

Each time one slammed into the ground, it rang out like clanging metal.

Bang! Bang!!

But with fewer tentacles now, dodging was easy.

I evaded toward the wrapped head.

"Lightning...!"

I enveloped the spear in electricity.

Then hurled it at the tentacles with all my strength.

The lightning bolt streaked toward them.

It tried wrapping more tentacles to shield the head, but no chance.

Krzzzzzzt!

The tentacles burned and melted, slumping limply.

Another batch wrapped around immediately.

'Not getting away.'

I unleashed the pre-cast light.

The light pillar smashed straight into the zombie head.

Zzzzzzt...

The light melted the zombie head on contact.

"Kieeeek-! Kieeeek!"

It tried blocking the light with tentacles, but lightning struck them each time.

The power of dual casting.

Without it, I'd have been toyed with by its defenses.

"Kieeeek!!!"

The Monster Hell thrashed in pain before collapsing.

Monster death cries were always hard on the ears.

But they never got old, either.

A sound close to the 'pleasure' of killing monsters.

...Zzzzzzt.

The light faded.

The Monster Hell sagged, and the clinging zombie corpses tumbled to the ground.

Plop-plop-plop!

"Haa... haa..."

Light-attribute skills guzzled mana.

Especially sustained ones like this, not single-shot bursts. My body was screaming.

Good thing it wasn't a fully mature adult specimen.

Sweat beaded on my forehead and trickled down my cheek.

'...Disgusting freak. Whew... Already this tired.'

Yoon Ji-yeon cast skills like this like it was nothing.

Five or more at once, even.

...I wiped the sweat from my cheek.

'Still a long way to go.'

Exhausted from just this.

I wasn't even close to S-Rank.

Training was the answer.

Insane, relentless training would make me a 'true powerhouse.'

Only then could I beat the black mask.

I picked up the switch weapon from the pile of corpses.

At that moment, it vibrated.

"Hm?"

Rrrrrumble...

The vibration started from the spear tip.

The switch weapon was leading me somewhere.

Inside the Monster Hell's corpse.

I dug into the body.

Sticky blood coated my hands.

"...!!!"

There, an unidentified object was glowing.

Boom! Thud!

Allied shells obliterated the rubble blocking a building.

The Eastern Army huddled in cover, waiting out the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠barrage.

"Ah, damn. My ears are gonna burst. Should've brought earplugs."

"...Here. Take these."

Irina Delebayne handed earplugs to the crouched Mitsuda.

He took them in bewilderment.

He popped them into his ears.

"Whoa, what are these? No shelling noise, but voices come through clear."

"...Hunter earplugs from my company. Filters out everything but human voices... Here, you all take some too."

Irina pulled earplugs from her tactical vest and distributed them to the Eastern Army.

"...Whoa, for real. My ears were killing me. Feels better now."

"Yeah, awesome. Why'd you have so ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠many?"

Irina bowed her head slightly.

"To share with everyone... Specially made ones. But I couldn't before."

"..."

Ah-young, earplugs in, stared at Irina.

She approached and took Irina's hand.

"Why so down?"

"...N-no. Just wondering if I helped..."

"...Irina."

Ah-young clenched her fist.

"We pay back Class V ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠in this drill. My little sister's in V too. I can't lose to her ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠this time. So let's fight together."

"Uh... y-yeah."

Irina nodded, looking at Ah-young's fist.

Ah-young, facing an unofficial duel with Seo-hyun, was determined not to lose to her sister this time.

Kaboom!!!

One shell reduced a collapsed building to dust.

The path was finally clear.

Mitsuda scanned ahead and shouted,

"Path open! Tanks and melee DPS, prepare to charge."

He radioed to halt the bombardment.

The shells stopped soon after.

But the path wasn't the issue.

Zombies poured out from the building rubble.

"Grrr..."

"Ughhh..."

Mitsuda cracked his knuckles.

"Ah, finally some action. You guys ready?"

"...Zip up. It's distracting."

Lucy eyed Mitsuda's pants.

"Wh-what? Hey, Lucy. Whisper that stuff."

Their bickering made Irina smile.

'...This class really has great teamwork.'

Mitsuda charged solo into the zombie horde.

Warriors with swords and shields followed.

"Ranged, hit from the rear. Target enemies flying far enough not to hit friendlies."

Under Ah-young's command, the Eastern Army's ranged dealers unleashed arrows and bullets.

"Irina. Get ready."

"Huh...? I can fight too?"

Ah-young yelled as Irina hesitated,

"Of course! What kinda nonsense is that? Show us that skill from the papers."

Ah-young cast Fireball.

Hers sailed past the vanguard, incinerating the rear enemy lines.

Irina nocked an arrow.

She stared at the arrowhead, lost in thought.

'...'

Fear lingered, but more than that, she lacked confidence.

The thought that she wasn't helping the team was eating her alive.

But now she had teammates who believed in her.

No need to be scared.

Irina drew the bowstring.

"Commander! Don't push too hard!"

"These zombie punks? Worth the strain!"

Mitsuda, hyped up, mowed down zombies left and right.

But he missed the ones leaping from the building above.

Zombies pounced toward him.

"Graaaaah!!!"

"Groooar!!!"

Three arrows flew in that instant.

Sssshk-! Boom! Boom! Boom!

All three struck zombie throats precisely.

The limp bodies hit the ground.

"...Whoa... Thought I was done. Thanks! Who was that?"

Mitsuda looked back at the main group.

Irina held her bow there.

'...Over 400 meters, mid-air targets... And throats only...'

Ah-young couldn't hide her shock at Irina.

Irina kept drawing without pause.

"...Thanks! Gave me courage."

Irina beamed.

She was enjoying the fight more than anyone right now.

"This showdown, not sure if I'll help win, but let's take it. You and me."

"Y-yeah! We will."

Ah-young smirked.

No one in Class C could match Yoon Ah-young in precision or power.

But she knew deep down.

She couldn't win this bet...

Mitsuda, having smashed all the zombies, yelled,

"Alright! Charge! We'll meet Jesus before those Class V losers!"

"Word it better. Sounds like we're dying first."

"Hey! Don't pick fights."

Led by Mitsuda, the Eastern Army pressed forward.

B-C Class Alliance Command Post.

'Eastern Army's putting up a better fight than expected... Good. Smooth sailing.'

Jae-yeol eyed the map, planning his next move.

This was the in-dungeon command center.

Here, squad leaders and the overall commander issued orders.

Hunter dungeon raids varied widely.

Depending on shape, size, difficulty—strategies shifted accordingly.

Cave dungeons used small teams.

Unknown ones: scout with small expeditions, then full-scale.

For massive cities like this, a full division deployed.

Not just hunter cadets—NCOs too.

Combat forms diverse: artillery, mechs, fighters. Every attack route utilized.

Yet the core was the 'elite' raiders and above.

Human tech could hold enemies, not annihilate.

Monsters required mana.

Hunter officers filled that role.

Mana-wielding 'shields of humanity.'

"Commander."

"Ah. Destroyer! Overall Commander, sir."

The top commander was on rounds.

Training within training— with evaluators.

The commander scrutinized Jae-yeol's ops plan.

"Huh, first-year with a thorough, meticulous plan?"

"Thank you, sir. Still room for improvement."

The second-year top commander set down the plan and eyed Lee Jae-yeol.

"So, what results do you expect from this drill?"

Jae-yeol read the intent instantly.

Overall commander role tied to graduation scores.

More successes from classes, better his grades.

A test question.

How much can you deliver for me?

Not just for himself—for all of Class C. No need to look bad.

Lee Jae-yeol grinned.

"The absolute best results, sir. Overall Commander."

A red crystal.

Buried inside the Monster Hell's body.

'...Mana crystal? No, something else.'

I picked it up.

The crystal glowed brightly.

'Ugh...!'

I squeezed my eyes shut.

The flash faded quickly.

When I opened them again.

A status window appeared.

'...H-hidden quest?'

I swallowed hard.

Then nodded slowly.

"View."

(To be continued in the next chapter)