Chapter 53
ED: Cheerycheri
A stick...?
No, isn’t that weapon called a mace?
I watched in bewilderment as Han Yeo-reum hit the ground with a huge stick.
Kwaaaang!
“Ugh...!”
A sudden sandstorm blocked my vision for a moment. When I could finally see, there was a loud explosion and an excited voice echoed around me.
“Ahahaha!”
“...”
Han Yeo-reum looked like a human bomb. I knew she also had fire ability like Sung Yoo-bin, but it was a little different. Her ability seemed closer to an explosive power than a simple firepower ability. Furthermore, her firepower seemed to be amplified by a stick that was bigger than her body. Is that weapon special equipment? I wanted to take a closer look, but my eyes couldn’t follow Han Yeo-reum, who was moving as fast as Hae Song-yeon, or even faster.
“Huck, huck....”
“Yi-jin-ah, are you okay?”
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“Yeah, she’s crazy, really...”
I had a hard time chasing Han Yeo-reum. It seems that she can easily surpass Hae Song-yeon’s speed as she promised before starting.
“These monsters...”
Could this really be due to my auxiliary skill? Was it because the Valkyrie members were already monsters in the first place? I gradually became more overwhelmed to the point of having such doubts.
“Stop!”
“Gasp. Gasp...”
By the time I reached the end of Area 1, I was completely exhausted. Kang Yoo-hyun and Eden each held me as if I was about to collapse like a mollusk.
“Thank you for your hard work. Hunter Han Yi-jin.”
“Gasp, haa... It’s... nothing...”
“...”
Song Cha-hyun looked at me with pity in her eyes. Why, what’s wrong? Why is she looking at me like that?Fịndd new updates on n(o)v/e/lbin(.)com
When I looked up, I saw a huge cave entrance, it greeted us with its mouth wide open. It was the territory of the Nagas, the second area of the Sæ dungeon.
“...This is the first time that we have broken through Area 1 in half a day.”
“Haa, I see.”
“That’s also because of the dungeon anomaly, the increase in difficulty is about the same as Area 3’s. Who would believe that this was accomplished by only two hunters?”
“...? Is that... so?”
Song Cha-hyun’s words sounded a bit ambiguous to me. She seemed a little excited, but also somewhat angry. I could only look at her with a questioning look.
“Do you know what I mean by this? Hunter Han Yi-jin.”
“Well, I...?”
“With Han Yi-jin’s auxiliary skills, it is possible to clear a higher-level dungeon with only a few S-class and A-class hunters, and at an incredible speed. There is no need to carry cumbersome personnel, just the minimum number of people would be enough. For example...”
Song Cha-hyun’s eyes shifted to Kang Yoo-hyun next to me. Kang Yoo-hyun looked at Song Cha-hyun with an indifferent expression.
“For example, if Hunter Kang Yoo-hyun here had Hunter Han Yi-jin’s auxiliary skill applied onto himself, he could take down the boss monster by himself, just like how he cleared an SS-class dungeon on his own.”
“...”
At Song Cha-hyun’s words, I felt the atmosphere change subtly around me. Since it took only two hunters with my auxiliary skill applied to clear Area 1, we should be able to clear Area 2 with ease. If we utilize this strategy as we push forward, we should be able to clear the second area effortlessly as well.
If we carefully divide the personnel to deal with the mid-boss and final boss monsters during the cooldown period, how much time could we save compared to the previous strategy?
‘This skill is more awesome than I thought...?’
“Who says I’m ugly, you cotton candy hair?”
“What’s the big deal, cotton candy is delicious!”
“...”
Is he a grade schooler?
‘No, even today’s grade schoolers wouldn’t get into such childish arguments,’ I thought to myself, shaking my head.
I turned to look at the ominous cave entrance, it seemed like we were going to rest for a bit before heading into the second area. Reaching the second area in less than a day is definitely an impressive feat.
“Kkyau!”
“Hm?”
Yong-sik, who had landed on the ground, sniffed the air and started running off somewhere. I was startled and followed behind him.
“Yong-sik, where are you going!”
“Kkya!”
Yong-sik, who was running extremely fast with his short legs, cried loudly when he found someone and stopped right where he was.
“Krrr...”
“What’s wrong?”
I looked down at Yong-sik with my head tilted, then I looked up to see who he ran to. As I looked up, I met the gaze of an unexpected person, they opened their eyes wide in surprise.
“Hunter Han Yi-jin-nim?”
“Ah, Hunter Hae Song-ha.”
Hae Song-ha’s gaze traveled back and forth between me and Yong-sik, a puzzled expression was plastered on his face, then something popped out of his shoulder.
“Jjuu, jjyu!”
“Oh, the squirrel I saw then...”
Was her name Lati? The squirrel-like summon that seemed to have a bad relationship with Yong-sik when they first met glared at Yong-sik and shouted at him.
“Lati, shhh, what’s wrong with you again?”
“Yong-sik, don’t do that. It’s a friend, friend.”
“Krr... Krung.”
“Jjuuu...”
As Hae Song-ha and I calmed down our summons, Yong-sik and Lati’s fierce energy died down a bit. I caressed Yong-sik until he calmed down, then I approached Hae Song-ha.
“Are you having a hard time finding the path?”
“Ah, no. I’m fine.”
“Is Soo-hyun doing well?”
“Yes, he’s an S-class, unlike me, so maybe he won’t need me and Lati next time.”
“Oh, no way.”
I thought he was joking, but there was a bitter expression on Hae Song-ha’s face. He stared at the entrance of the second area with a gloomy face.
“Excuse me, Hunter Han Yi-jin-nim.”
“Yes?”
“That...”
Hae Song-ha, who was evidently hesitant to speak, bit his lips. Seeing his serious face, I also asked in a subdued tone.
“What’s the matter?”
“...”
Immediately, Hae Song-ha turned his head and opened his mouth.
“...I think there’s something wrong.”