CH 19

A low growl of a beast echoed in the serene crystal cave.

A wolf, its red eyes gleaming ominously, was cautiously scanning its surroundings in search of its prey.

Given the name ‘Balrans’s Egg,’ one would naturally think of a bird or an insect. However, in this damned novel, where logical consistency seemed to have been thrown to the wind, Balrans was in fact, a wolf.

Moreover, it was a wolf the size of a house.

With a sigh, I pulled out my phone. No matter how softly I whispered, there was no way I could hide my voice from the wolf, so it was a risk I chose to take.

[Are you a Hunter?]

Kang Do-hoon looked at me with shaky eyes.

The look in his eyes was questioning whether we should fight or not. I nodded, typed in a reply, and handed it over to him.

[The hidden boss doesn’t disappear until it’s killed]

Originally, the only monsters in the crystal cave were cave hedgehogs and venomous bats, and the boss monster was an Arachne spider. But the appearance of a wolf, namely Balrans, implied that this wolf was a hidden boss in the dungeon.

In the novel, there was an episode where Seo Taeju nearly died when he encountered a hidden boss in a water dungeon. The hidden boss would chase after the hunter who had awoken it until it was killed.

If the hunter left the dungeon, the hidden boss would follow him out as well.

[Tell me quickly, are you a Hunter?]

Kang Do-hoon hesitated at my impatience and lowered his head. Whether it meant that he couldn’t speak or that he couldn’t help, I couldn’t tell. I frowned.

Kang Do-hoon bit his lip and took my phone. He typed something with a few taps and handed it back to me.

[I’m not a Hunter, I’m a civilian]

‘I knew it. He didn’t look like a Hunter at all.’ Leaving aside the claim of being a Hunter, I wondered what made him follow me into the dungeon in the first place.

I sighed inwardly. If Kang Do-hoon was a civilian, it meant that I had to catch Balrans alone.

‘I don’t know the weakness of a monster that wasn’t in the novel.’

Feeling anxious, I started to run my hand through my hair, but I stopped when I felt the touch of Salt, my pet. Perhaps understanding the gravity of the situation, Salt wasn’t making its usual beeping sounds and stayed quiet. As a gesture of reassurance, I patted Salt and then turned my attention back to Balrans.

Its gigantic body filling up the cave, its sharp teeth, and the drool dripping from its mouth seemed to be some kind of acid, as it sizzled and melted the floor every time it fell.

‘Can I identify it through Comprehension?’

Even though the skill description said ‘object,’ I used my Comprehension skill out of desperation.

[You used the Comprehension skill.]

[The use of Comprehension has failed.]

[The target is not eligible for Comprehension.]

I clicked my tongue in frustration.

I tried using the Truth skill, but just like Comprehension, the message indicated that the target was ineligible for Truth.

‘It seems like I have no choice but to tough it out.’

Each monster has its weaknesses, but most monsters die when their stomachs are pierced.

That’s why I used alchemy to create a cone to pierce through a monster’s stomach.

Before using the skill, I typed a message on my phone and handed it to Kang Do-hoon.

[When I signal, run to the entrance]

Kang Do-hoon looked at me, seemingly surprised by my words.

Then, he roughly took the phone from me and started typing.

[I’d rather die together]

[Are you crazy? Why die? Go call for help]

Seeing my flaring eyes, Kang Do-hoon awkwardly smiled and nodded.

‘Who’s going to die? I’m definitely not going to die. I’m definitely going back to my world.’

[When I count to three, run]

Without waiting for Kang Do-hoon’s response, I let go of my hand that was covering my mouth.

And instead of voicing out, I mouthed the words.

‘One, two.’

“Three! Refine!”

As Kang Do-hoon sprinted out, a cone sprouted from underneath Balrans. However, Balrans’s stomach wasn’t pierced. Instead, the cone I created with Refine shattered.

As I ran in the opposite direction of Kang Do-hoon to distract Balrans, I yelled out “Refine!”

Balrans, torn between two targets, started to run towards me.

“Refine!”

I created a hill to stop the charging Balrans, but Balrans easily jumped and landed in front of me.

“Refine!”

To slow down Balrans, I sprinted, constantly chanting Refine. Obstacles made of stone blocked Balrans’s way, but it didn’t stop. Rather, it was coming towards me, smashing through the obstacles.

‘Damn it, is his body made of steel or what?’

Quickly, I turned back and touched the ground.

“Refine!”

A massive stone wall sprung up from the ground.The thick stone wall was visibly unyielding.

Thud. Thud.

Listening to the sound of crashing into the stone wall, I checked my crossbag. I had brought very few things with me on this spontaneous dungeon run. A crystal fragment and pile of crystals I picked up earlier, and the magic stone given by Shin Sooha.

“I’m not sure if this will work.”

But it’s alchemy, so why wouldn’t it?

I took everything out of the bag, held it in my hand, and chanted Refine. Perhaps due to the magic stone, light burst from my hand. And the familiar feeling of a gun handle was caught in my grip. 

A .38 caliber handgun made of transparent crystal.

It looked just like the gun I used when I was a detective.

“You have no idea how much I missed this.”

Just as I was about to touch the gun with a choked-up feeling, the barrier shattered with a loud noise.

“Let’s have a proper fight!”

I fired the gun at Balrans. The gun that uses the magic stone’s power instead of my mana…

—Bang!!

“Wow.”

It had almost the power of a bomb. Despite the smoke billowing around, I maintained a tense posture, ready to fire again,

Balrans charged through the smoke.

“Why the hell is he still fine…”

In a state of panic, I fired a series of magic bullets. However, even after getting hit by the magic bullets, Balrans didn’t slow down.

“Damn it.”

While shooting magic bullets and avoiding Balrans, I stopped in my tracks at the sight of the yellow-eyed gaze.

“Damn… it.”

Just my luck that the fork in the road I chose leads to the boss room.

‘Can my luck be any worse than this?’

I bit my lip. If I took another step, the venomous bats that had suddenly appeared and were watching me would obviously rush me.

But if I hesitated here…

“Grrr.”

“You’re really testing me.”

The sound of a beast growling behind me made cold sweat trickle down my back. I couldn’t move forward, nor could I retreat. I was trapped.

“Salt.”

“Ppi?”

Balrans’s snout flinched. It seemed like it was considering when to attack me.

“Fly!”

“Ppi!”

As Salt flew up, I touched the ground and chanted Refine. But even before the barrier could be fully activated, Balrans jumped over it.

I squeezed my eyes shut.

—Swish.

‘…Did I die?’

No matter how long I waited, the pain that should naturally follow wasn’t there. Slowly opening my eyes, I saw Balrans’s face rolling on the ground. And next to it, a man wiping off the blood on his sword.

[The passive ‘Diagnosis’ is activated.]

[Shin Sooha – Contamination 54%]

“Shin Sooha… -ssi?”

‘Why are you here again?;

While the Forest Dungeon was a public dungeon, the Crystal Dungeon belonged to the Sunset Guild. As the guild master of another guild, there was no way Shin Sooha could be here.

“It’s been a long time.”

“No…”

At the overly calm greeting, I was at a loss for words. ‘How could you casually stroll into someone else’s guild-owned dungeon, defeat the hidden boss, and act as if nothing happened?’

While I was fumbling over where and how to start my words, Salt, who was buzzing around, rushed toward me.

“Salt, didn’t I tell you not to do this?”

I caught Salt, who was heading straight for my vital spot. Salt, with teary eyes like small beans, continued to buzz in distress. Although I didn’t understand, it seemed like he was expressing his worry for me.

I stroked Salt’s head with my finger and said, “It’s because it’s dangerous. You’re so small that you could get hurt easily.”

“That seems to be the case for Hunter Seo Go-woon as well.”

At the heavy voice, I lifted my head. When did he approach? Shin Sooha was standing in front of me.

Salt, resembling a sparrow, was smaller than an adult’s fist, even smaller than a five-year-old’s fist. Even if Seo Go-woon is smaller than other hunters, comparing him to Salt is nonsense.

With a puzzled expression, I asked Shin Sooha, “But why are you here?”

“I was just passing by.”

That sounded like Salt’s bark.

“This is the Sunset Guild’s dungeon, you know?”

“I am aware.”

“Isn’t it wrong for Guild Master Shin Sooha to be here?”

Shin Sooha tilted his head. It seemed like he didn’t understand what I meant.

I was too bothered to explain. Shin Sooha defeating the hidden boss is something for the Sunset Guild Master to deal with.

“Are you planning to leave?”

“No.”

“Are you planning to defeat the boss?”

“Yes.”

Of course.

Although Kang Do-hoon came as an observer, I came here to clear this dungeon. The hidden boss was merely a bonus. It had nothing to do with the actual dungeon raid.

“I will help you.”

“No, this is my job. I’ll handle it.”

“You will have a hard time on your own.”

Instead of replying, I fired a magic bullet from my crystal-made barrel at the venomous bats that were glaring at me. With a bang, the magic bullet that was shot pierced their chests.

[You have gained EXP.]

“I’m good at shooting, as you can see.”

Suddenly, the venomous bats simultaneously flew up.

“Just watch.”

—Bang

There was no hesitation in the hand shooting at the soaring venomous bat. The act of firing magic bullets at the monsters was so steady that it seemed like a lie that he was once scared of them.

Shin Sooha crossed his arms and leaned against the wall, staring intently at Seo Go-woon.

‘The more I watch, the more amazing it is.’

Shin Sooha didn’t know about Seo Go-woon, who became widely known as a crazy character. Caring about someone’s reputation or rumors was a worthless task for the busy Shin Sooha. But Shin Sooha became interested in Seo Go-woon after conquering the 7th floor tower. 

Other hunters thought that Shin Sooha went to conquer the 7th floor first, but Shin Sooha and his close associates thought it would be his grave. Shin Sooha knew his body was decaying due to contamination, unlike other hunters.

From one day, Shin Sooha suffered from inexplicable pain every time he defeated a monster or returned from a dungeon.

At first, it was a mild headache and indigestion.

The pain, which was trivial at first, began to gradually intensify every time Shin Sooha returned from the dungeon or stopped a monster wave. Shin Sooha’s parents tried to find out the reason by assigning a research team that studied hunters and monsters instead of incompetent medical staff to cure their beloved youngest son.

And the result was very shocking.

Every time Shin Sooha killed a monster, his ability became entangled like a lump of thread and wouldn’t unravel. The research team called this phenomenon ‘contamination’ of the ability, and Shin Sooha pushed the research forward by offering himself as a test subject.

However, no matter what method they used, the contamination did not improve, and they only found out that the end of the contamination was a rampage of ability.

The family wanted Shin Sooha to quit being a hunter, but Shin Sooha raided dungeons and responded to monster waves more fervently. He thought it was better to die sooner than to live on addictive painkillers in pain.

And so, the final destination of Shin Sooha was the 7th floor of the tower.

After killing the boss monster Sphinx, Shin Sooha, feeling the pain of his whole body falling apart, took a drug that paralyzed all his nerves and lay in the boss room as if asleep.

Because the tower would be intact even in the rampage of an SSS-class hunter, he could meet a death that wouldn’t harm anyone.

As Shin Sooha lay in the boss room, waiting for his death, Seo Go-woon appeared out of nowhere.