novelraw Chapter 72 : Dungeon (2)
Chapter 72 : Dungeon (2)
"Damn it, hide behind me!"
"Here they come again!"
Park Chang-jun's massive Mana Shield and Hwang Ji-su's ice wall created a thick barricade.
Bang! Crash!
But the arrow barrage fired with superhuman strength by dozens of centaur archers tore through the Mana Shield and broke the ice wall.
"How can arrows be this powerful!"
Park Chang-jun groaned.
Du-du-du-du-du!
The centaurs, splitting into two groups to bypass the ice wall, ran along the walls and fired arrows again at the cadets hiding behind them.
"What the hell, since when do horses run on walls in this world?"
Was this how settled infantry felt when first encountering the dazzling horsemanship of nomadic cavalry?
The cadets could only maintain a defensive posture, not knowing what to do against the small-scale cavalry's brilliant mobility and archers who forced damage from afar without allowing approach.
'Too elaborate for demonic beasts yet too instinctive for Ma-in. Like a hunt by sophisticated pack animals.'
Hwang Ji-su clicked her tongue.
But even in the midst of this, there were those who managed brilliant counterattacks.
Clang-clang-clang!
After deflecting arrows with power reminiscent of ballista bolts rather than bows with his sword, Su-hyeon leapt out from behind his comrades and slashed the legs of a centaur who was swinging a flail.
"Kyaaaak!"
Even a cavalry of horse and human as one is useless with its legs cut off.
'But at this rate, we'll be the ones to fall first.'
Su-hyeon had to admit that this situation was quite challenging.
'Centaurs will always be the ultimate cavalry.'
"Piiiiiiii!"
"Here they come again!"
"Damn it!"
What made their response particularly difficult was the interference from cave bats flying across the dungeon ceiling and emitting ultrasonic waves.
"Damn it! We need to catch those things first!"
Park Chang-jun, covering his throbbing ears, fired fireballs toward the sky, but the bats mocked him by dodging nimbly while descending to scratch his arm with their sharp claws.
"Ow!"
Yoon Ga-ram, who shot down one bat that had tasted blood, groaned.
"The deeper we go, this is really no joke!"
"How long will these things keep coming?"
To Kwon Seung-yeon's complaint, Su-hyeon answered.
"If my memory is correct, this dungeon's name is probably the 'Brimstone Cave' that occurred 10 years ago."
"Ah!"
"I've heard that name before."
Nam Tae-hoon and Hwang Ji-su each reacted.
"I heard it was a dungeon where many casualties occurred."
Su-hyeon nodded at Hwang Ji-su's words.
"That's right. The demonic beasts that appear are all recorded as either troublesome mutants or considerably powerful individuals."
"Ugh, that's too much."
"I heard that the guardian right before the dungeon lord was particularly strong."
"Right. What was that demonic beast's name again?"
Nam Tae-hoon frowned, trying to recall the memory, but Su-hyeon dismissed it.
"Before that, let's deal with the obstacles right in front of us first?"
"Right. Let's leave the bats alone for now. They're annoying, but not particularly powerful in attack."
Su-hyeon supplemented Hwang Ji-su's words.
"And what makes these centaurs tricky is that they're utilizing the battlefield in various dimensions by running on walls."
Therefore.
"First, let's stop them from being able to run on the walls."
"How?"
Sung Do-kyung asked.
"Ah. I see."
Hwang Ji-su immediately understood Su-hyeon's intention.
"Alright. Let's try it."
'Her quick understanding makes things convenient.'
Su-hyeon smiled slightly.
Crack!
The cold energy that Hwang Ji-su shot to the left and right made the walls freeze.
"This will make them too slippery to run on the walls."
"Oh, that's right!"
"That's good!"
Su-hyeon's anti-centaur battle tactics could be summarized in two main points.
First, prevent them from maneuvering left and right.
"Park Chang-jun and Hwang Ji-su, you two bombard the sides! Narrow the path so they can only charge in a straight line!"
Narrow the passage to induce a head-on collision.
"Okay!"
Hwang Ji-su with ice walls and ice spikes, and Park Chang-jun with concentrated energy bullet rapid-fire, forced a single path for the centaurs, and.
Du-du-du-du-du.
"Here they come!"
It was the rest of the cadets' job to handle their charge from the front.
Sring!
The centaurs put their bows on their backs and drew cavalry curved swords, or sabers.
"Sung Do-kyung."
"Mm."
"Blow them away."
"Mm!"
Creeak.
Sung Do-kyung's arm, investing all his body's mana into muscles and bones, swelled enormously.
"Hmph!"
His giant fist blew away the centaurs' formation.
"Let's go!"
Following the disrupted formation, Su-hyeon and Kwon Seung-yeon jumped onto the centaurs, stepping on their shoulders and kicking at their faces.
Especially Kwon Seung-yeon's characteristic of increasing weight at the moment of collision while coming down from above added destructive power to her kicks, showing the amazing efficiency of knocking down a centaur with a single kick.
"These things, close combat isn't much after all!"
Thanks to this, Kwon Seung-yeon gained confidence and became excited.
"Don't let your guard down!"
As soon as he spoke, two centaurs in the distance took out their bows and fired at her simultaneously.
"Tsk!"
Su-hyeon grabbed Kwon Seung-yeon's ankle exposed in midair, pulled her toward himself, and embraced her.
"Ah!"
"Be careful."
She grinned as she watched Su-hyeon nonchalantly put her down from his arms.
"Oh my, that was quite forceful!"
"Don't joke around."
"Hehe, sorry!"
Kwon Seung-yeon, who stuck her tongue out slightly, immediately made her expression serious.
"Then I'll go again!"
Just then.
"It's fine, everyone step aside!"
Hwang Ji-su fired intense cold energy toward where the two had been.
Crackle-crackle!
Two centaurs who couldn't avoid it turned into ice on the spot.
Meanwhile.
On the opposite side, Park Chang-jun's attempt to change tactics from precision shooting to creating a fire net to catch the cave bats was finally paying off.
Bang-bang-bang-bang!
Even the swiftest bird can't avoid raindrops.
As bats with damaged wings from Park Chang-jun's energy bullets fell, the cadets waiting below each took responsibility for handling them.
"Ha, haha. These insignificant things were acting up."
Park Chang-jun, bleeding from scratches all over his body, put on a pitiful show of bravado.
Two more floors to the dungeon lord.
'This really fucking hurts.'
The places scratched by claws stung.
'Why do they implement pain sensitivity so well for no reason?'
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"From here on, it's absolutely not going to be easy. Everyone stay alert."
The cadets nodded with tired expressions at my words.
"Let's go."
The 10 cadets and 5 injured hunters all descended to the lower floor together, and.
"Ah!"
We were startled by the high heat and pressure that could burn flesh.
"This is..."
In the distance.
A demonic beast with an enormous presence was crouching, staring in our direction.
"Hell Hound!"
Someone screamed.
"This is quite a high-profile demonic beast."
Hell Hound.
The infernal dog that gifts death to those who encounter it.
A dark red dog the size of a massive bull, or even larger, wrapped in brimstone fire, growled while spewing fire from its nostrils.
"This isn't the boss monster?"
"This is a bit much, don't you think..."
Nam Tae-hoon and Kwon Seung-yeon grumbled.
"But if it's wrapped in fire like that, how do we attack it?"
"That's the problem."
I said.
Hell Hound.
As it handles ultra-high-temperature brimstone fire and is equipped with tremendous durability and strength, it's quite a tricky demonic beast.
"Here it comes!"
Kuong!
The Hell Hound shook its head widely left and right and shot a flame breath.
"Uaaah!"
"Don't duck!"
Following my shout, everyone jumped upward.
"If you get wrapped in that fire, it's over. It doesn't go out easily."
"Hmph!"
Hwang Ji-su shot an ice lance, but.
Hissss!
When it met the brimstone fire surrounding the Hell Hound, it only melted away, creating massive steam.
"Quite hot."
Hwang Ji-su licked her lips.
"Hmmmm!"
This time, she tried to crush the Hell Hound by dropping a huge glacier from above, but.
Grrrr!
The Hell Hound shot a flame breath again to offset it.
"Tch."
"Stop the meaningless consumption. It's not an opponent you can catch alone."
I said.
"Those who have no way to attack, step back!"
After Nam Tae-hoon, Kwon Seung-yeon, and others withdrew, only I, Hwang Ji-su, Yoon Ga-ram, and Park Chang-jun remained.
"What, only the four of us?"
"It can't be helped. It's a beast that's completely wrapped in fire."
I gave a quick glare at Nam Tae-hoon, who was pretending to be busy elsewhere, then turned my head.
"The rest of you save your strength. There's a real boss we'll have to face after this anyway."
"Okay."
"Yoon Ga-ram, aim for the vital points around the Hell Hound's face with maximum output."
"Got it. Preferably?"
"The eyes would be best."
"It won't be easy."
"When you set your mind to it and shoot an arrow, it might be blocked or avoided, but the aim itself won't miss, right?"
That's what the 'Accuracy' characteristic was about.
"Don't flatter me too much. If my shoulders get tense, I don't hit well."
Yoon Ga-ram chuckled and left to take a sniping position.
"Avoid close combat with that thing! It's hard to handle!"
"Then how do we catch it?"
"First, we need to drain its power!"
"Grrr."
As if it knew what our plan was, the brimstone fire surrounding the Hell Hound's body intensified.
'It's a shrewd one.'
Another characteristic of the Hell Hound.
'It can't take curved paths and can only go straight.'
But in this case, it had honed that straightforwardness into its weapon.
Its charge of rushing in a straight line while wrapped in brimstone fire, melting everything in sight, was well-known to be very dangerous.
"What, you want to try it?"
Hwang Ji-su created a huge ice wall, but.
"Everyone get out of the way! You can't face this head-on!"
I carried her on my shoulder and quickly departed from its trajectory.
"Kheung!"
Crash!
The Hell Hound's charge melted through both the ice wall Hwang Ji-su had created and the rock wall behind us in one go.
"Insane!"
Even Hwang Ji-su couldn't hide her shock at the sight.
"See? Mediocre ice won't work against the Hell Hound's brimstone fire!"
"Oh, right. I got it. Is that so?"
Turning my head, I saw Hwang Ji-su with a face thoroughly riled up.
"Buy me some time."
Her intention would be to freeze it with maximum output.
"Will do."
"Now let go of this hand."
"...Will do."
"Well, thanks."
"?"
"Why are you looking at me like you heard something you shouldn't have?"
"Surely not."
I changed the subject and moved far away from Hwang Ji-su.
"Hwang Ji-su is preparing a big attack! Everyone stall for as much time as possible!"
"Damn it! That's easier said than done!"
Though Park Chang-jun groaned, he tried to disrupt the Hell Hound's nerves with energy bullets and energy bolts.
Bang-bang-bang!
But his attacks couldn't penetrate the thick hide.
Swoosh!
Even the Hell Hound showed an annoyed reaction, twisting its head when Yoon Ga-ram's powerful arrows flew in.
'It's wary of getting hit in the eye.'
In a way, that was only natural.
"I'm going in too!"
I momentarily created multiple Mana Shields in midair, then approached the Hell Hound by stepping between them for aerial maneuvers.
"Grr?"
The Hell Hound's eyes, which had been turning quickly to follow my movements, momentarily lost track of my position, and.
"Hmph!"
From outside its field of vision, I struck its neck with my hwando coated in sword energy.
'It can't even cut through the hide.'
This was the first time I'd felt such a sensation.
Hisss!
Moreover, the brimstone fire was so hot that the heat rising through the sword energy made the sword instantly heat up as if it were being tempered.
"Kyarrung!"
It seemed quite painful, but its reaction was more like being hit by a blunt weapon rather than a sword.
'This is what's annoying about demonic beasts.'
It's just hide, yet it's difficult to penetrate even with a sword coated in sword energy.
This was a difference from Ma-in, who were mostly humanoid.
But.
'If the blade is insufficient, just strengthen the output.'
I moved again by zigzagging between Mana Shields, avoided the Hell Hound's maw, then grabbed my sword with both hands and forcefully sliced off its ear.
"Keeeek!"
The Hell Hound howled as one of its ears flew off.
"It's going to shoot another breath! Avoid it!"
Fwoosh!
A massive flame breath engulfed me.
"Shield!"
But while the massive shield created by Park Chang-jun temporarily blocked it, I was able to safely escape from its range.
"Park Chang-jun! What's gotten into you?"
"Hmph! Would it kill you to just say thanks?"
"Is that what you should be saying?"
I stuck out my tongue as I watched the shield beneath my feet melt away in less than 3 seconds.
'If I had been swallowed, it would have been an immediate retirement.'
But.
We had now bought enough time.
"Hwang Ji-su!"
"Yeah! Everyone get back!"
Fwoosh!
An ice breath reminiscent of a dragon's breath, drawn out at maximum output, was fired from Hwang Ji-su's hands.
"Grrrrr!"
The Hell Hound also tried to spew brimstone fire to counter it, but.
"Excuse me."
I activated 'Liberation,' approached the Hell Hound with superhuman speed, and kicked its jaw to force its mouth shut.
"Kyeng!"
Quickly retreating after making the Hell Hound finally emit a dog-like yelp.
Fwoosh!
Having missed the timing for a counterattack, the Hell Hound was engulfed by the ice breath.
Shhhhh!
The brimstone fire surrounding it gradually lost its power, and.
Crackle-crackle-crackle.
Eventually, it froze solid.
"Haa. Haa."
Hwang Ji-su felt dizzy, and both I and Kwon Seung-yeon supported her from each side.
"What? Don't let those go?"
"You're just so not cute."
Kwon Seung-yeon giggled.
"You all did well. You fought well?"
"You guys who are going next will have to work even harder."
"Ugh, I don't like that."
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The cadets, who had finally reached the final floor where the dungeon lord was waiting, all had to swallow dryly.
Not only because of the enormous magical energy emanated by the crystal, but.
Rumble-rumble-rumble!
Because the pure murderous intent of a ferocious and intimidating demonic beast was overwhelming the cadets.
"...Would this be B+ rank at this level?"
"No way."
"It's at least B rank, right?"
"This is crazy."
"Is this really a boss we're supposed to defeat?"
"I don't know."
Kwon Seung-yeon sighed.
"The instructors are really going too far."