Chapter 57
Since it was an S-rank dungeon, the amount of experience consumed to place the Guild Stone was significant, but they would earn far more once they defeated the boss, so it didn't matter.
"Haa…."
After placing the Guild Stone, they were supposed to move immediately to begin the raid, but no one moved. Instead, they stood there with heavy expressions.
A shield duration of 120 hours, if they returned here in a life-or-death situation and the time ran out, causing the land to collapse, they would inevitably die. The S-ranks remained relatively composed, confident they wouldn't die even in the worst-case scenario. However, Team 2, composed of A-rank hunters, had a much darker atmosphere. They had entered prepared for death, but now that their last hope had been shaken, despair was setting in even deeper.
"Yoon Seo hyung."
Kwon Jihan, who had been watching in silence, called out lightly.
"What are you thinking hyung?"
"..."
Yoon Seo didn't respond. All eyes turned to him.
Seo Chaeyoon, the candidate whose exact rank, S or B, was still uncertain, was staring down at the silver tower, his lips pressed tightly together. That Guild Stone, meant to be a lifesaver in desperate times, was something he was looking at with pure hatred.
"…Yoon Seo?"
Park Soobin cautiously called out to him. Only then did Yoon Seo realize he was being addressed and lifted his head.
"Ah."
He quickly adjusted his expression.
"My apologies. I got lost in thought for a moment. I'll create a shield."
[The
He activated the skill immediately. His brown eyes shone with a blue glow. A radiant blue light extended from his hands, enveloping the Rings of Fire, the quadruple-layered shields, the Island in the Sky, and the Guild Stone.
It was a breathtaking sight, and everyone watched with their mouths slightly open.
Yoon Seo ignored their gazes and, for the first time in a long while, drew out the full power of
He didn't think about the consequences.
There was no room to consider such things right now.
A translucent blue shield formed.
[The lava's heat cannot penetrate
[
"That solves it, then."
The one who spoke in an amused tone was Kwon Jihan. It should have been a notification visible only to Yoon Seo, yet Kwon Jihan spoke with certainty, as if he had seen the log himself.
"Let's go."
Without waiting for a response, Kwon Jihan took off into the air again, as if signaling that this matter was settled and it was time to prepare for battle.
"..."
Yoon Seo calmly followed him.
"Ah, wait—."
There was something strangely compelling about Yoon Seo at that moment, and no one could bring themselves to stop him. The Team 2 leader belatedly spoke up, but by then, the hot air balloon Yoon Seo was riding had already soared far away.
However, they were the only ones who had left. The rest remained at the Guild Stone's location.
"What's the shield duration?"
Alec asked. The guild members didn't bother hiding their curiosity.
Team 2's leader looked at the two protection-type hunters who would be able to answer. Since Yoon Seo's shield was enveloping theirs, they would know.
"…This… this can't be…."
Their faces turned pale with shock as they checked the status window. Team 2's leader gulped nervously. These were hunters who had been with Seokyoung for years, even before Perfect was formed. He had never seen them this astonished before.
How many hours had been added?
If Hunter Yoon Seo was an S-rank, would it be 100 hours? Or maybe 1,000?
He told himself not to get his hopes up too much and waited for their answer.
One of the protection-type hunters, looking utterly bewildered, finally spoke.
"12,140 hours…."
***
['Hwang Dabin' has activated the
[The monsters' defense decreases.]
['Oh Sunjoo' has activated the
[Allies' attack power slightly increases.]
['Lee Inseon' has used the 'Crow and Scarecrow' Item. A few monsters rush toward the scarecrow!]
['Gamira Orro' has activated the
Gamira wrapped lightning around an arrow and aimed at the monsters charging toward the scarecrow. With a powerful shout, she released the bowstring, and the arrow struck a monster's massive wing, sending it plummeting into the lava. The
Kraaak!
Kraaaah!
Some of the monsters fixated on the scarecrow turned their attention to Gamira, but Lee Jinbi swiftly cast a shield to block them, and another hunter slashed a longsword across the monster's back. Underneath its rapidly regenerating hide, a hunter quickly used a skill to inject poison. The monster went berserk, attacking indiscriminately before finally collapsing.
Two monsters were taken down in mere moments.
As soon as the scarecrow's effect wore off, Team Leader Lee Inseon immediately deployed another item to draw the monsters' attention.
They debuffed the monsters' defense, buffed the allies' attack power, taunted them with items, and then unleashed powerful attack skills. Protection-type hunters in the rear covered those engaging in close combat, and healers quickly cast recovery skills if anyone got injured.
For a team that had only been together for a year, Team 2's coordination was incredibly refined. Even though they had only a rough idea of the monsters they'd face from the briefing, their execution was flawless.
Meanwhile….
"Everyone, move aside! I'll take care of this!"
['Soo Jaehee' has activated the
[1 Demon, 33 Lesser Demons, and 70 Minor Demons are summoned.]
"I'll lend a hand."
['Alec Switch' has activated the
[
[The attack power of
"Ah, ahjussi!"
"…Damn."
Alec quickly deactivated
Soo Jaehee went into a frenzy, only to be gently consoled by a fairy from
Grrrr!
Kraaaah!
The eight celestial maidens attacked the monsters charging toward the two. Their once-white robes were now completely drenched in red. Of course, it was all monster blood.
Unlike Team 2, whose coordination was seamless, Team 1 had absolutely no teamwork. It seemed like they would be better off fighting individually.
Like Kwon Jihan.
['Kwon Jihan' has activated the
[The monsters' defense and attack power decrease significantly.]
Kwon Jihan was separated from his teammates, swinging his longsword and slaughtering monsters. Since they were flying-type monsters, taking out their wings would have been enough, but he was needlessly turning them into a complete mess, probably to gain experience for his skill.
'Ruthless….'
His actions were so brutal that even the massive monsters, five times larger than humans, breathing fire from their mouths, and blowing people away with a flap of their wings, almost seemed pitiful. Hunters didn't even dare to approach for fear of getting caught in his attacks.
['Lawrence Mille' has activated the
['Rio Deli' has activated the
Even the couple wasn't in sync with the rest of the team, but the two of them worked perfectly together.
Whenever Lawrence Mille's skill froze a monster, Rio Deli, taking advantage of his vampire nature, would rush in and use a blood-sucking skill. The monster would then drop into the lava, reduced to nothing but a husk.
['Lawrence Mille' has activated the
['Rio Deli' has activated the
No, but seriously, why are their skill names like that?
['Hwashim' has activated the
As a melee hunter, Hwashim was also doing his best to fight the monsters. He attacked them with a sword wrapped in sunlight, but even when his blade landed, his raw attack power was lacking, leaving only shallow scratches on the monsters' hides. The monsters barely seemed to notice, healing instantly before swinging their long, spiked tails at him.
[
Thanks to Yoon Seo's shield, the attack probably felt like nothing more than an itch to Hwashim.
"Huff!"
Kraaaak!
Undeterred, Hwashim lunged at the monster again.
A C-rank against an A-rank. A truly valiant sight.
[The God of Death scolds you for being a coward.]
[The God of Death yells at you to be more courageous.]
[The God of Death tempts you with good items if you defeat the monsters.]
[The God of Life warns you not to be deceived.]
Is there no way to turn off these messages?
As Yoon Seo checked his status window with a serious expression, Park Soobin spoke up.
"For now, it looks like A-rank monsters are no match for us. It must be thanks to Hunter Kwon Jihan."
"We would have been fine without him."
"Haha…."
Park Soobin laughed awkwardly, because Kwon Jihan was currently handling 70% of the monsters alone.
While the combat hunters engaged in battle, Yoon Seo and the other protection and healing hunters observed the battlefield safely from within the shield.
"Soon, the battle will be over. The next monsters are 30 km away, so we can rest for a moment."
['Park Soobin' has activated the
Park Soobin might have seemed like he was casually chatting, but his sharp eyes were constantly observing the hunters, and the moment he noticed an injury, he used his skill immediately.
"By the way, we need to find solid ground quickly… At this rate, the item's durability will wear out, and we'll crash."
"For now, we need to head to where the monsters are concentrated."
"That's right. Even if they're flying types, they must have nests somewhere. What percentage of the dungeon map is complete?"
"Barely 3%."
"We still have a long way to go."
The monsters weren't much of a threat, but the terrain was proving to be a major headache. The durability of the flying item Yoon Seo was using had already dropped below 50%. And the dungeon map? Only 3% complete.
'…We're really spoiled.'
Yoon Seo let out a small sigh.