Chapter 468
Chapter 468. Unusual (5)
Of course. Step even slightly off this heaven-like ground, and you’d be plunged into the lava below that cliff—so the threat wasn’t entirely absent.
'If a rookie investigator had entered, they might’ve fainted from being startled by such a brutal environnt.'
Bubble... bubble...
No matter how many tis I glanced over it, the Sea of Lava was overwhelmingly intimidating. Still, the ones gathered here were genuine hunters—creatures whose kill counts had reached four digits.
“Regular monsters up ahead.”
For reference, the one who just spoke is an African-Arican and also possesses the [Clairvoyance] skill. From the entrance we just ca through, the boss wasn’t visible at all, so it was probably thanks to that person’s skill that they reported the appearance of the Sea Devil.
'Maybe I should try using it too?'
trance we just ca through, the boss wasn't visible at all, so it was probably thanks to that person's skill that they reported the appearance of the Sea Devil.
'Maybe I should try using it too?'
The observational power to see a thousand miles. But after all, it's still a primitive skill, so I casually copied it to enhance my vision—easier than even taking a breath.
'That's it.'
Then, through the stalactites on the dungeon ceiling, this afterimage appeared.
'On its round torso, there's an ornant that could be mistaken for a burnt human.'
The demon was lurking near the far end of the dungeon.
'What's that back there?'
But within the makeshift clairvoyance, this object was also detected. In the space where the Nuckelavee road, there was a massive rock clearly scorched by the creature's hand.
'The report definitely described it as an ordinary ornant with no particular features...'
e was a massive rock clearly scorched by the creature's hand.
'The report definitely described it as an ordinary ornant with no particular features...'
Of course, it wasn't entirely unknown information. I blinked my eyelids. Then, after carefully observing the structure of the rock, I imdiately deactivated the vision-enhancing magic.
'First, I need to take care of the monsters around here.'
While I was surveying the dungeon, the first battle had already begun. The creatures that mainly appeared from this gate were [Blackmailers], each possessing mid-level S-rank mana.
'Haha, it looks just like a beast made out of clay.'
The reason it has such a ridiculous na is that even if you slice it in half, it shows no internal organs at all.
“Just one person use [Binding]!”
Srrrk.
“And while it’s restrained, I’ll take the hunt.”
A quadrupedal creature approached, dragging its sticky feet along the ground. And since it could split its body like liquid, it kept popping out from the cracks in the dungeon floor.
Srrrk.
“One more from the right!”
Judging by the lack of teeth or anything of the sort, these creatures seem to be the type of monsters that engulf hunters with their bodies, suffocating them to death.
‘Oh~ they’re handling themselves better than I expected.’
And finally, the abilities of the blunt-talking Arican hunter were revealed. The forr sports star at the forefront had a talent... for projection. Crossbows, bows, even spears—any weapon he held could channel an imnse amount of magical power. Truly, where else could one find a mage more skilled with equipnt than him?
“Hop!”
Holding a dagger for close combat would be a skill a hundred tis weaker than his physical enhancent attribute. T
“Hop!”
Holding a dagger for close combat would be a skill a hundred tis weaker than his physical enhancent attribute. Therefore, mages of that type typically relied on ranged weapons.
Shot!
“Beautiful shot!”
“If he hadn’t landed that hit...”
“He would’ve needed an eye exam. Still, he managed to take down a high-defense monster cleanly.”
The forr soccer player successfully threw the spear with pinpoint accuracy.
The Arican gathered up the thrown weapons and gave his teammates an encouraging gesture.
‘A very Earth-style ceremony.’
Up to this point, the flow wasn’t too bad.
A very Earth-style ceremony.
Up to this point, the flow wasn't too bad.
“Keung...”
A few seconds later, a groan ca from beside . One of the telekinetic users drafted into the raid team was drenched in cold sweat, struggling to bind a newly appeared normal monster.
‘I should help.’
And anyway, I can just claim that the power of such a support skill is amplified thanks to my awakening rank.
‘Here you go, [Binding].’
I helped him without giving it much thought.
“Wait!”
“Huh?”
However, the Arican, who wielded both a spear and a crossbow, suddenly reacted to the skill and dashed over like
“Huh?”
However, the Arican, who wielded both a spear and a crossbow, suddenly reacted to the skill and dashed over like lightning.
Crack.
As a bonus, the normal monster I had bound was swiftly eliminated.
“Don’t use your skills recklessly before I give the order!”
“Are you talking to ?”
“Yes! You, the one from Asia.”
I wondered what on earth made him rush over like that.
‘Do you want to die?’
A lowly primitive sorcerer started barking orders, telling not to lift a single spell. Naturally, the mage’s soul reacted with a surge of resentnt—but—
'Do you want to die?'
A lowly primitive sorcerer started barking orders, telling not to lift a single spell. Naturally, the mage's soul reacted with a surge of resentnt—but—
“I heard that Artificially Awakened people feel a strain on their bodies every ti they use a skill. So, you stay still.”
“Yes?”
“Honestly, nothing’s going to change just because you’re not active. Don’t go overboard trying to improve relations between the U.S. and Korea... just don’t!”
“What...”
“Especially if you try to act tough and your condition flares up again—then I’ll put my na on it and have you sent straight back to your ho country. Got it?”
After hearing the explanation, my anger quickly subsided.
'Still doubting my skills, huh.'
Co to think of it, that hunter hasn't shown any aggression at all with his physical mana since the mont we t.
'But instead of targeting my weakness, he's actually taking the lead to keep out of the fight?'
My thoughts continued.
'His words are harsh, but it seems he's genuinely cautious about an artificial awakener dying.'
I gave a positive evaluation of the forr soccer player. Co to think of it, the rumors about him being sickly or weak were just an image created because of my own unnecessary assumptions. So, I calmly let go of the misunderstanding about his abilities.
"Yes. Then I'll assist again according to the signal you give."
"The fact that soone who looks like that is actually so polite... it's kind of terrifying..."
"Soone like that?"
"No, wait. T, t, that was a translation error. What I just said was wrong."
“Soone like that?”
“No, wait. T, t, that was a translation error. What I just said was wrong.”
The raid proceeded smoothly.
‘This gate has a surprisingly large number of traps.’
Monsters that looked like lumps of clay charged at us, and occasionally spikes of molten lava would suddenly shoot up from the ground.
Ting!
In the end, all threats were blocked by the characteristic strong defenses of the S-rank hunters. Since the ordinary monsters' behavior was so simple, there didn't seem to be anything to worry about for the ti being.
“Hmm.”
For now...
But as I mingled among the primitive spellcasters and observed my surroundings, a thought suddenly crossed my mind.
'The feeding box is basically like a textile mill that extracts pain, so why did they bother to regulate the temperature properly?'
I rolled my mammalian eyes back and forth.
'Moreover, it must take quite a lot of magical power to regulate the temperature—so where on earth is the energy source?'
But what kind of twist of fate is this now?
Ahhhh...
"Huh?"
"What?"
"Sound...."
What?
Sound....
Suddenly, a sound erupted, as if soone were furiously scraping the strings of a violin.
Ahhhh...
The sound was coming from the direction where the leader, [Nuckelavee], was located.
'Is the monster crying?'
Moreover, the noise—resembling the sound of a broken musical instrunt—didn't stop; it grew louder and louder.
[Gaaaaaaaaaaah!]
At the signal of the leader’s roar, the entire dungeon suddenly reacted. All 18 mbers of the Arican raid team simultaneously emitted cries of pain, as if critical weak points had been pierced by spears, unable to regulate their breathing properly. This was a mana overflow phenonon. The dungeon we stood in was, astonishingly, a completely insane environnt where the temperature was maintained using human mana.
'A magic circle has ford underground, burning mana for recycling...'
environnt where the temperature was maintained using human mana.
‘A magic circle has ford underground, burning mana for recycling...!’
Damn it. No wonder sothing’s felt off this whole ti.
I quickly scanned my surroundings, as if I’d known this would happen all along. After all, I was an archmage—this body wouldn’t have its resources siphoned off so easily.
“It’s a soul strike!”
It’s not them.
“The boss of the Paradise Lost Gate has a skill active across the entire dungeon! Everyone, fall back for now!”
“Re, retreat?”
I translated the spell’s na into Earth’s terminology to warn them of the danger. And there was a reason I was acting this urgently.
“[Nuckelavee] isn't done causing havoc yet. If we stay in the dungeon, we'll be caught in the second wave!”
this urgently.
“[Nuckelavee] isn’t done causing havoc yet. If we stay in the dungeon, we’ll be caught in the second wave!”
After just the first mana burn, most A-rank hunters were already rendered unable to fight. If energy were drained one more ti at the sa intensity... well.
‘Phew.’
The hunters wearing translation devices all hesitated at once. After all, I was just a dispatched outsider, so they weren’t inclined to follow my orders outright. Still, even if we couldn’t make it back to the gate, there was one thing we absolutely had to avoid.
“Everyone in front, get down!”
As I said just now, this place was a hellish cavern where spikes of lava would sotis erupt without warning.
“Huh?”
In that split second when I thought, Damn it—, the hunters representing the United States were caught in a trap at so distance from .
In that split second when I thought, Damn it—the hunters representing the United States, positioned so distance away from , were caught in a trap.
In that split second when I thought, Damn it—, the hunters representing the United States were caught in a trap at so distance from .
In that split second when I thought, Damn it—the hunters representing the United States, positioned so distance away from , were caught in a trap
"fu*k!"
It was the kind of pain that would make curses burst out uncontrollably. After all, sothing far worse than a soldering iron had partially pierced straight through a person's arm.
'They must have trusted their S-class bodies and didn't dodge properly. But once you get hit by [Mana Burn], of course there isn't enough mana left to maintain a barrier to protect your skin....'
I silently gestured forward. The trap spikes were still erupting in real ti, after all. I used magic to help one hunter who had been thrown into shock and couldn't steady himself.
Swoosh—!
"Ugh!"
I raised a wave and pushed the person aside.
Swept along by the current, the forr soccer player was carried over to , and only then did I manage to rescue the flailing man with ease.
'It feels just like receiving a food delivery.'
Of course, the rescue of the mammals didn't end there.
Srrk.Srrrrk.
More monsters appeared as well. With the surroundings full of hunters whose mana had evaporated after being hit by [Mana Burn], I was the only one still able to move freely—so I launched another attack.
"Is that... the Korean's water skill...?"
He summoned pure liquid—sothing that could be drunk right here—forcefully from above to below, crushing the monster to death. It was killed outright, flattened under the pressure.
"Water skill?"
At this, several Arican hunters voiced their doubts. It seed they were taken aback, since his fighting style was very different from that of people like India's Sonakshi or the Chinese hunter Zhan.
'I've seen it before, in footage from an international tournant.
Ordinary water-attribute primitives usually fight by blocking their opponent's airways as much as possible.'
But with no ti to spare, was there really any need to go about it the long way? I killed the monster that appeared beside it in much the sa manner. I used very little water, instead heavily reinforcing the spell with speed, and simply crushed the beast with sheer force.
'The roar mixed into the air was growing increasingly bizarre.'
It ant that the dungeon's master had been crying this whole ti. In another thirty seconds, the gate's snowflake-like particles would once again extract their cooling toll from humans.
"Is everyone alright?"
“Is everyone alright?”
So I first offered a routine remark to the hunters I had rescued. I knew full well they wouldn’t actually be fine, but I spoke anyway—just to check whether the shock from the [Mana Burn] had begun to subside.
‘Hmm?’
He kept his eyes on the entire ti, even as he poured a potion over the wound where the lava spike had pierced him.
“....”
“....”
And then the Arican awakened stared straight into my sambaegan eyes with an intensely moved expression. His gaze was so moist that for a mont I almost wondered if I’d accidentally used a water spell on his eyeballs.
‘Did he get mad because I suddenly splashed him with water?’
And then the Arican awakened stared straight into my sambacyan eyes with an intensely moved expression. His gaze was so moist that for a mont I almost wondered if I’d accidentally used a water spell on his eyeballs.
'Did he get mad because I suddenly splashed him with water?'
However, it wasn’t an appropriate place to ask about a mammal’s true thoughts.
“Retreat!”
As befits an S-rank hunter, he had already realized that [Nuckelavee] was still howling. The forr soccer player, who held command authority over the raid team, made a swift decision.
“Before the dungeon starts moving again, everyone get yourselves together and fall back imdiately!”
Author's Thoughts
Hi, from now on, I will update this novel 3 chapters/week. Thank you for all your support so far:)
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