Chapter 132: Attraction (2)
The beast lay crouched, still as stone. No suitable prey existed in this area. Drawn only to magic stones rather than warm blood and flesh, it had chosen to sleep rather than waste energy.
After several months, something finally edible appeared. Though not entirely satisfying, it was enough to quell its hunger, so the beast slowly opened its eyes. As its stiff body gradually regained vitality,
— Grrrr.
A satisfied growl escaped as it sensed something. New prey. A magic stone, dense with magical power, incomparable to the scattered lesser ones around. Usually, a creature carrying such a stone would turn the hunter into the hunted, but this time was different.
An appetizing yet ridiculously weak prey.
The beast couldn’t contain its excitement as it bared its fangs.
Dungeon breaks occur in stages. Monsters don’t pour out all at once, but appear in order, divided by floor and type. However, the order is random — the last floor or boss monster could emerge first.
The residential area lay quiet. All lights were dark. The evacuation had been swift, leaving no sounds or lights to provoke the monsters. Instead,
Boom, Bang!
Explosions and flashes of light erupted continuously within the barricaded area. I didn’t know which Hunter had engaged the swarming monsters, but I hoped they were safe. With luck, it was an A-rank Hunter who happened to be nearby.
“Red Pix Bees, between A~B rank, seems more B-rank.”
Several of the large, wolf-sized bees patrolling the perimeter approached us. They lunged with their spear-like stingers, but
Crack.
Song Taewon’s hand caught a bee’s stinger and snapped it off. Almost simultaneously, his other hand tore away its wings and twisted its segmented body before throwing it aside.
Thwack!
The forcefully thrown bee collided with an approaching companion, and both exploded. The broken stinger flew like a projectile, piercing another bee. Without using any particular skills or weapons, he had dispatched three in an instant.
His lower body barely moved. He handled the monsters, which could easily bisect and dissolve a low-rank Hunter, with casual ease.
“Judging by the normal monster ranks, it does seem like an A-rank dungeon break.”
Studying the cloud-like swarm of bees with narrowed eyes, I continued.
“Based on the numbers, it’s at least mid-rank, possibly even high-rank. Whether it’s the first or second floor, I don’t know, but the boss will be a Queen Bee. She’ll appear with several drones. The main source of income from this dungeon would be honey and honeycombs. They’re expensive materials. If we backtrack, we can find the dungeon owner.”
The quantity wouldn’t have been large. They had triggered something quite valuable. If we manage to clean this up and restore the broken gate, it’s a dungeon worth enough to quickly cover the damage compensation.
“Then, the skill?”
[The other party has refused.]
That message again. Song Taewon had declined the power empowering skill. He spoke bluntly.
“It’s not necessary in this situation.”
He wasn’t wrong, but any high-rank Hunter, even an ordinary person, would have accepted out of curiosity if told it would strengthen their power. They’d want to know how much more powerful their skills could become… This person wouldn’t be interested, I suppose.
“Still, accept this. You don’t have a flight skill.”
We don’t know when a Hunter with a flight skill will arrive. I cast the Teacher skill on Noah and Song Taewon. At the same time, I felt slight resistance from Song Taewon. Compared to Seong Hyunjae, his presence was smaller, but the burden felt greater. He seemed to dislike accepting sensory sharing and was subconsciously resisting it.
“Noah, I’ll leave it to you.”
— Yes. It would be faster if I used poison.
True, but since these were flying poisonous insects, if they didn’t die instantly from the poison and escaped to the residential area, it would be disastrous. I emphasized again that he shouldn’t use it unless absolutely necessary.
Noah, circling the perimeter, turned. Song Taewon drew a dagger and positioned his arm like drawing a bowstring. His muscles tensed, bulging as if they would tear his clothes, then he launched the dagger toward the swarm of bees.
The dagger, wrapped in a faint blue light, cut through dozens of bees in a straight line. Like a laser beam from a sci-fi movie, it pierced and tore through the bees before finally embedding itself in the hard jaw of an insect.
Thud, thud, like swatted mosquitoes, the corpses rained down. Meanwhile, Noah reached the swarm.
— Woooong.
A buzzing chorus struck my ears. Watching the bees swarm instantly, Song Taewon slightly bent his knees.
“I’m going.”
With a THUD, he kicked off Noah’s back and plunged into the bee swarm. The mere impact of his body shattered the bees like leaves in a typhoon. Both then and now, the scene would appear utterly surreal to ordinary eyes.
— Yujin, I’ll catch you!
Noah spun his body. His scaled arms gently caught me as I fell without resistance. Spreading his wings wide, he crossed the bee swarm at frightening speed.
Crack, crunch.
Each impact with Noah’s wings tore apart the mottled red bodies. They tried to bite with their jaws and sting with their stingers, but for A~B rank poisonous insects, especially those weak in physical strength compared to their rank, penetrating an S-rank dragon’s scales was impossible.
Both Noah and Song Taewon’s bodies served as excellent weapons. The almost delicate-looking bees fell continuously.
The golden wings suddenly angled, changing direction. Descending then soaring upward, Song Taewon landed precisely on the dragon’s back before jumping again. Crushing bees underfoot, he soared into the middle of the agitated swarm, creating a circular ripple around him.
Gu-gu-guk
With a heavy rumble, the bees within a ten-meter radius were instantly shredded. Noah swiftly flew toward Song Taewon, who had lost his footing. Thanks to the Teacher skill, they worked together seamlessly.
‘…I’m going to die.’
And I was getting motion sick. The damage nullification item blocked the gravitational load from high-speed movement, but it didn’t prevent motion sickness. Naturally.
— Are you alright, Yujin?
“…I’m okay because it’s before dinner.”
At least only stomach acid would come up if I threw up. Next time, I should take motion sickness medicine beforehand. …Does poison resistance prevent it? Someone please develop a motion sickness medicine that poison resistance doesn’t work on.
Meanwhile, the black swarming bees rapidly decreased in number. Since they were flying types, I had worried most about them escaping beyond the barricade, but strangely, none tried to leave the swarm. Did they have a strong sense of camaraderie?
— I think the bees keep following me.
Noah said, smashing bees with his tail. Is that so? Ugh.
Then, the distorted gate glowed. The boss was about to appear.
Sure enough, giant bees emerged from the gate. Drones with bodies as large as a bear’s belly and hard shells like armor. Among them was the Queen Bee, covered in sharp poisonous thorns.
I quickly used the Promising Talent skill. They were all A-rank. One of the Queen Bee’s skills caught my eye. Swarm’s Trust, S-rank. It looked like a multi-target buff skill.
“The Queen Bee has a group buff skill, take her out first! Also, they can’t fly.”
Song Taewon jumped, using the few remaining bees as footholds. Reaching above the Queen Bee, he fell straight down.
KWA-GWA-GWANG!
Under the onslaught that crushed even the poisonous thorns and red carapace, a large hole was gouged in the Queen Bee’s body. Even an S-rank Hunter would suffer some damage from the poisonous thorns if bare-skinned, but Song Taewon emerged without a scratch.
Before colliding with the Queen Bee, a faint black shadow had appeared, providing protection. It was as if he had absorbed the opponent’s skill.
‘Is it a damage nullification skill?’
Almost nothing was known about Song Taewon’s skills. Not only did he avoid the ranking battles, but he also stayed away from Hunter-related programs except for official business. He was definitely combat-oriented, though.
— Groooan.
Seeing their queen brutally torn apart in an instant, the drones trembled their small, flightless wings. The Queen Bee’s poisonous stinger answered them. Song Taewon’s toes swept up the broken stingers scattered on the ground. The thorns floated in a line in the air before he kicked them away with smoothly connected strikes.
Thwack, crack
The drones, pierced by multiple thorns, collapsed, and the remaining ones lunged at the relatively small human.
Song Taewon could handle them alone, but Noah also descended. Then, the dozen or so remaining bees swarmed after Noah.
“Are they really following him?”
Why? Because they’re the same flying type? Noah, having set me down, turned to face the charging bees.
— Please wait a moment. I’ll take care of them quickly.
His wide-spread wings beat powerfully. The bees, with their thin wings, lost control in the fierce wind and flipped over. Skillfully manipulating the created wind, Noah gathered the bees in one place and swung his claws at the prepared meal.
Perhaps concerned they might come toward me, he neatly gathered and disposed of them all at once. He had become quite proficient at fighting in dragon form.
Then, one of the drones suddenly rushed at me. Not Noah, but precisely at me, extending its sharply hooked forelegs.
— How dare you!
With a fierce growl, a long, golden tail whipped out like a lash. The hook, which had almost reached my nose, was sliced and crushed, and sharp claws pierced the bee’s head. The carapace, thicker than iron plates, tore like paper.
Noah looked at me while pinning down the drone, which trembled with its three remaining legs.
— Are you alright?
“Yes, but…”
Why had it attacked me, ignoring Song Taewon who had killed the queen? To eliminate the weaker one first? Noah, having finished off the drone completely, stood close beside me. His faintly glowing eyes curved reassuringly. As one wing spread protectively,
Crack!
— Kugh!
Blood splattered. A large beast suddenly appeared and raked Noah’s chest, and my body was firmly seized in its jaws. I caught a glimpse of the golden dragon tumbling, spraying blood.
“Noah! Ugh.”
The saw-like teeth couldn’t pierce my skin, not even my clothes, but there was no way to escape from its maw. The unidentified beast leaped with me in its mouth, quickly creating distance. As the Fear Resistance message popped up, I thought, “This is a bit troublesome,” when…
— Kang! Kyaaaang!
The beast screamed pathetically and tumbled. Released from its mouth, I rolled on the ground as well. A little blood welled up where my skin scraped against the asphalt. This level of impact wasn’t nullified? I should use a potion before Yuhyun notices.
‘He used Silent Scream.’
Noah’s skill, which doubles the pain of an injury to the opponent. As I got up, I used Promising Talent on the writhing beast, a giant wolf.
[Rank 1 Lycanthrope — King of the Black Rock
Current Stat Rank: S
Awakening Potential Stat Rank: S
Optimized Initial Skills
Black Mist (SS) acquired
Severing Claws (S) acquired
Gigantification (A) acquired]
‘…Why is this guy appearing now?’
He definitely appeared over a year later. It was a monster that had suddenly intruded while we were dealing with an undiscovered B-rank dungeon that erupted near here. I still vividly remember the entire A~B rank extermination team being wiped out because of it.
‘Was it drawn out by the A-rank dungeon break?’
Nicknamed the Voracious Wolf. It was a difficult target due to its speed and resilience, but easy to lure because it went crazy for high-grade magic stones, resulting in minimal civilian casualties.
But why had this beast, who had no interest in weak humans, targeted me?
— Grrrr!
Despite drooling from pain, the wolf got up again. Its dark blue eyes seemed to burn. The rabid dog lunged at me in an instant. Its forepaws pinned down my legs, and its snout touched my chest, precisely near my heart.
At that moment, something came to mind.
‘The Dragonkin’s magic stone!’
Had it sensed the SS-rank magic stone embedded in my chest? Damn it. Even though it’s broken, Diarma’s magic stone, which is at least L-rank or higher, is mixed in.
‘An F-rank with an SS-rank or higher magic stone…’
What a deliciously easy feast. I understand why your eyes flipped, you mutt. Were the bees also chasing me for the magic stone? Crap, I never dreamed there would be such a side effect. It wasn’t in my memories. Diarma, that bastard, would have only embedded magic stones weaker than his own, so he naturally wouldn’t have experienced this.
— Grrr.
Its chillingly sharp fangs scraped my chest, but to no avail. My clothes, unfortunately caught by its claws, tore. Still, its hot breath, dripping saliva, and the look in its eyes like I was a hard-to-crack nut made me feel incredibly disgusted, but I didn’t have to endure it for long.
Thwack!
— Kruk!
The fiercely kicked mutt was pushed aside. Then, Song Taewon’s hand grabbed my arm and pulled me up in one swift motion. His gaze quickly scanned my body.
“I’m fine. How about Noah?”
“He’s alright. I asked him to take care of the gate.”
Since only one floor had emerged, we needed someone to block the gate. The wolf, which seemed unharmed unlike the bees that were instantly wiped out, glared at Song Taewon, bristling its fur. The black fur hardened, taking on a dull sheen.
“That’s an SS-rank skill, it’s hard to penetrate. Don’t refuse this time.”
Instead of replying, Song Taewon pulled me close. The skill was shared, and the wolf, whose meal was interrupted, roared ferociously.
–TL Notes–
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