Chapter 7

7. The Taste of Money! Manticore (2)

The feeling of the dungeon interior was vastly different from the ones I usually frequented.

If the previous dungeons had a feeling of a basement, then this dungeon was like a desert.

The floor was entirely made of fine sand, and there were no tunnels or walls we could use as a guide.

While I looked around Sang-Min started to speak.

“Chang-Hyuk will go in the 9 o’clock direction and I’ll go in the 12 o’clock, and we’ll all meet back here. You know all this but I’ll say it one more time.”

Han Sang-Min’s plan was as follows:

They would split into two teams.

Lee Chang-Hyuk, the main tanker, and Jo Yong-Hyun, the necromancer, were in one, while Han Sang-Min, the sub-tanker, and Lee In-Ah, the healer, were in the other.

These two teams would drive the monsters to the starting location, so we could hunt them.

He said this around the same time I was thinking ‘How, in this wide dungeon, are you going to lure the monsters here?’

“Min-Cheol ssi needs to say here, and get buffed by In-Ah and Yong-Hyun. On my signal fire Greater Magic, understand?”

Why do we need a strategy for a manticore? Can’t we just go on a rampage?

“I understand. I’ll standby.”

“Then let’s go.”

After Sung-Min finished talking he led the party away, and they quickly set off.

I started to worry about whether we could clear the dungeon in the 1 hour time limit.

“Ah, I feel like I came here in vain…”

My thoughts naturally leaked out after the party members were out of my sight.

Well, I can solo level 6 dungeons in 25 minutes.

Loot, experience, it was all mine.

I came for the manticore’s soul stone but now I feel a bit of regret.

Has 5 minutes gone by?

“Let it go~ Let it go~ Hmhmhmhm and sky~”

I had just finished drawing on the sand, using the Frost Orb as paint, when I saw Lee Chang-Hyuk and Yong-Hyun rushing towards me at an amazing speed.

“The hell!? Are you luring the monsters, or running away from them?”

He came up to me and lifted his 2 meter high shield.

I felt an unknown strength from the shield that was firmly strapped to his shoulder and arm.

The big axe on his other hand had it’s grip double-layered to protect his hand and wrist, as if to prove that he was a tanker.

‘Are they playing a war game?’ A black silhouette approached us, like a fog, from the way they came.

Lee Chang-Hyuk turned his head around, and smiled a fishy smile. With a thick voice, he said:

“Hey, rookie-young master! Don’t freak out and randomly spam skills. Just stick to the back.

Jjigeureok woodukwooduk.

I could clearly hear the sound of my pride cracking.

I wanted to show him the justice of team-killing, but I barely restrained myself.

He probably dislikes me, because I look like a gold spoon Awakened, with no worries in the world. 1

I hit the sarcastic remark back at him, “Just block well. You’re probably going to get sore muscles after this.”

Chang-Hyuk laughed at my reply, and gathered strength in his two hands.

“They’re coming.”

Hang Sang-Min and Lee In-Ah were running here quickly.

With the black crowd that Lee Chang-Hyuk attracted slowly becoming clearer, Han Sang-Min joined us and started to make a plan.

“In-Ah, attack, attack speed, and defense buffs, please. Also, cast ‘Barrier’ around Young-Hyun and Min-Cheol ssi, as they’ll be supporting us at the back.

Without replying she nodded, and gave everyone buffs. Then she casted ‘Barrier around Young-Hyun and me.

The barrier, that looked like light blue glass, surrounded me.

If someone did a close-range attack inside the barrier, the barrier would instantly disappear.

It was a shield only suitable for ranged damage dealers.

“Young Hyun, keep casting ‘Spirit Armour’ on Chang-Hyuk and me, okay?”

“Don’t worry, Hyung-nim, I will.”

Shades kept coming out of Sang-Min and Chang-Hyuk’s surroundings and surrounded them.

It was probably a defense system for tankers and close-range damage dealers.

Now it looked like we were finally going to do something.

I wasn’t afraid, but I felt a bit anxious.

I trusted in my infinitely producing mana.

Of course, the well-trained party members had a part in it too.

The manticore herd was coming at an amazing speed, leaving a trail of sand behind them.

Their numbers were approximately 800-1000.

And, they were only around half of the monsters in the dungeon.

The monsters weren’t too big, only 2 metres, but it let out an overwhelming pressure.

I contributed the pressure to its outward appearance.

It had a wavy lion’s face, wings on its back, that could be compared to a bat or a dragon’s, and a scorpion’s tail that was most likely full of deadly poison.

‘Wow… I just lost a bit of confidence. Was it just the atmosphere?’

The manticore crowds were in groups of 4-5.

The leading manticore pack arrived at tanker Chang-Hyuk.

The manticores spread into a fan position and used their sharp claws to rain attacks on him.

Jjigeureureu caen! Caen!

Chang-Hyuk used his shield and axe to block the claws, while Sang-Min used the swords in his hands.

A sound like a blacksmith hammering steel came out.

Herd after herd kept coming, but Sang-MIn didn’t give out the attack signal.

In-Ah and Yong-Hyun were continuing to buff and heal.

The end of the long line of manticores was now visible.

“Charging!”

At Sang-Min’s shout, Chang-Hyuk lifted his right foot, which was his center of gravity, and stepped forward, pushing his shield into the herd of manticores.

“Woaaahhh!”

Ku guung!

With Chang-Hyuk’s short shout, many of the tens of manticores that were surrounding the party were pushed back, as if there was an invisible wall pushing them away.

This was the tanking skill ‘Charging’.

It was a main skill for tankers, which utilized shields or weapons to push enemies away.

The manticores that were pushed away collided with the other manticores, and became a single mass of tens of manticores put together.

“Yong-Hyun, lower resist!”

Yong-Hyun, who was casting ‘Spirit Armour’, busily started to debuff the monsters that were bunched up.

It was a skill that decreased a monster’s physical and magical resistance.

The monsters that were successfully affected had a triangle shape glowing red on their chests.

I could hear Sang Min

“Min-Cheol ssi, now!”

It was time.

Time for ‘Lightning Spray’ to appear.

The party members and the monsters were quite a bit apart due to the skill ‘Charging’.

I could use ‘Lightning Spray’ with both hands, but to avoid suspicion I grabbed my staff with both hands and casted it.

“Eurya!”

Jjirik! Gigigigik!

Electrical currents, that emitted a blue light, poured out of the end of the staff and started to stretch around.

The attack, much like rain during a storm, had no set patterns or directions, and mercilessly crashed onto the herd.

Their bodies started to explode due to the impact.

The ones that were instantly done by the Lightning Spray’s destructive power started to shake all at once.

The currents that had pierced through the monster’s bodies went straight down into the ground, as if they still had strength left.

[120 experience gained.]

[120 experience gained.]

[120 experience gained.]