Chapter 119

Swoooosh! Papapapak!

The moment I came to my senses, a barrage of bolts was already pouring down.

With a sound that seemed to tear the air.

And the sound of them striking hard against the shield legion led by Bone Four.

Their eyes glowed red, and one by one, they began to approach and fire with precision.

The situation had already unfolded.

All that was left was to deal with it.

“Everyone, get behind me for now!”

‘Shing!’

I, too, transformed my weapon into a shield and joined Bone Four’s legion.

“Bone Four’s legion, form a single line! Position yourselves on either side of me!”

Creak!

Kugugugung!

As if in understanding, the skeletons slammed their shields hard into the ground.

“And!”

I shouted toward the back.

“Anyone who wants to run, run now!”

“Huh? What did you say?”

“We can run?”

“Hoon?”

“What do you mean by that?”

The team members tilted their heads.

However, my expression remained unchanged.

“Yes, I’ll be fine! Anyone who wants to go, go!”

To live as a Hunter in this world.

It was better to always be prepared to be stabbed in the back.

If you thought that way from the start, there was no need to feel wronged.

‘Besides.’

I had never solved dungeons said to be difficult ‘together’ with anyone in the first place.

When I passed the Elder’s test, when I cleared difficult dungeons, when I solved Theme 1.

I was always alone.

So, honestly.

It wasn’t as if being alone wasn’t comfortable.

I was starting to feel a bit used to these kinds of dangers now.

“Hmm, so you’re saying to betray you now rather than leaving later and causing chaos? How very Team leader-like.”

Vladimir nodded his head.

Then, he quickly shook his head.

“However, I will not run. I will hold out as long as I can. I don’t want to become a ranker by cowardly abandoning my team.”

He swung his staff.

Woooong!

A circular pattern that appeared in the air began to divert the approaching bolts in another direction.

An ability that utilized space!

As expected, he was smart.

“I’m not going either. Being separated from Hoon was enough during Theme 1.”

Olena reinforced Bone Four with a Water Shield.

“Huhu, if anyone gets hurt, tell me right away! I’ll heal you!”

Myoi Hana, emitting light from her hands.

Surprisingly.

Not a single person moved.

Me, Zhang Wei, Olena, Capu, Myoi Hana.

The middle-aged man, Vladimir.

A total of seven Hunters wanted to overcome this crisis with me.

They wanted to fight.

I nodded my head.

“Very well.”

Swoosh!

At that moment.

A stray bolt from afar grazed past a shield and came toward me.

I instinctively shook my head, but it lightly grazed my cheek, cutting it.

Drip!

Blood flowed.

‘As expected, this isn’t easy.’

The power of each and every bolt was beyond imagination.

If I let my guard down for even a moment, a hole would surely be pierced through my neck or heart.

“Are you okay?!”

Myoi Hana’s hand reached me immediately, but.

I raised my hand in a gesture to say I was fine.

A wound like this was nothing.

“First! While I’m blocking, everyone get outside the pattern!”

“Outside the pattern?”

“They don’t attack Hunters outside the pattern anyway, right?”

I sent the skeletons, except for Bone Four’s legion protecting me, outside.

“Ooh, that’s right! Is this a mechanism where we go out and take care of those guys while you hold them off alone?”

“But, can you hold them off alone?”

The team members asked.

I shouted.

“Can’t you see I’m holding them off alone right now?!”

Kwang! Kwaaang!

First of all, my shield was Godslayer-grade.

It would never break.

However, the impact of each bolt felt like a large boulder crashing into me.

It felt like my internal organs were being shaken.

“Keuk!”

But, I gritted my teeth and endured.

Despite how I look, I have S-rank Pain Resistance.

This much.

It was nothing compared to the extreme massage the Elder dished out.

“Everyone, run!”

“Got it!”

Zhang Wei immediately dashed out.

Sunny and Bone One stuck to his sides.

The other Hunters also took their positions and began to sprint.

Kkigik!

It was then that the kingdom soldiers’ eyes flashed.

Shreung! Shreung!

As the Hunters got closer, they put down their crossbows and began to draw the swords at their waists.

Their target was Zhang Wei.

He blocked the thrusting spear with the flat of his sword, then immediately twisted his waist and pushed him back.

Simultaneously, he used that force as a rebound to aim for the lower abdomen.

Speed beyond imagination!

“Heup?”

Startled, Zhang Wei stepped back.

“Be careful!”

Vladimir shouted from behind.

“It seems they attack regardless of the pattern if you get close!”

“Damn it, this won’t be easy.”

“Still, they’re not shooting crossbows here! It’s better to be outside!”

Even though the Aranvalon Kingdom soldiers had drawn their swords.

It was at least better than being a target for bolts inside the pattern.

That was the team members’ judgment.

Zhang Wei readjusted his stance and bit his lip.

“We just have to attack together. Everyone, get in position.”

“Yes!”

With distance from the Team leader, controlling the battle here was the vice-leader’s role.

The team members naturally followed Zhang Wei’s command.

“We’re targeting only one.”

“Roger!”

Hwoong!

One of the soldiers at the very front rushed at Zhang Wei.

Zhang Wei, narrowing his eyes, read its trajectory perfectly.

After deflecting the sword with his spear, he stabbed at the heart.

Kaaang!

A harsh metallic sound rang out.

The spear vibrated.

A pain that felt like it would tear his grip apart twisted his expression.

“Keep pouring it on!”

Next to him.

Flash!

Sun Spear’s strikes poured down.

And Eldrin’s arrows and Olena’s magic covered it.

A crack formed in the sturdy soldier’s body.

Eldrin did not miss that opening.

[‘Eldrin’ uses the skill, Advanced Rapid Fire (Lv.3).]

Pagagagak!

A volley of arrows struck precisely into the crack.

Kkiiiiiik!

As if its body was overloaded, its movements began to slow.

Puk!

With a cold expression, Zhang Wei plunged his spear into the gap.

The creature that had been struggling violently.

Soon lost its strength and collapsed.

It was dead.

“One down!”

“Woooah! Nice!”

“So we can actually kill these things?”

The team members cheered.

However, that cheer was short-lived.

“Hey, you lot, quiet down.”

Vladimir threw cold water on them.

“Look around you before you celebrate. Is this the time to be happy after taking down just one? If you have the energy to cheer, go kill one more of those things!”

He was right.

There were too many soldiers to be happy about killing just one.

Gulp!

So, the team members stopped cheering and got back into their stances.

Still, the flow of the mood had clearly changed.

Because they had confirmed that the seemingly impossible foe could be killed.

The team members moved in perfect sync.

Courage acted as a lubricant, loosening their tense muscles.

And allowed for a more organic hunt.

“The Space Mage is right! Don’t let your guard down and focus! We’ll keep luring them one by one and taking them down! Everyone, move!”

“Hey, I’m keeping the non-targeted ones moving back, so don’t worry!”

The Space Mage, Vladimir Rodygin shouted.

“Everyone’s so cool! Our teamwork is really clicking, isn’t it?”

Olena admired everyone while swinging her staff.

Everyone moved without a single gap.

Faithful to their respective roles, they took down the soldiers one by one.

The problem was.

“Haah, haah!”

How long could I, who was taking on the pouring bolts, last?

No matter how many soldiers the team members took down.

Their main target was me.

Was that all?

Even now, they were continuously flooding in from the distance.

To be precise, the rate at which their numbers were increasing was faster than the rate at which the team members were taking them down.

‘If this goes on.’

I couldn’t see a solution.

‘Should I use it?’

Suddenly, an item I had purchased from the shop came to mind.

[Item: Wish-Granting Scroll]

[Grade: S]

[Type: Scroll]

[Description: Use it in a moment of crisis. The very thing you need most will appear.]

[Effect 1: In a moment of crisis. Ancient magic will aid you.]

A scroll I had exactly two of.

It said to use it in a moment of crisis.

Honestly, isn’t this a moment of crisis?

‘No.’

Let’s save it.

I can still hold on.

Thanks to my weapon, I have plenty of mana, and Bone Four’s shields are surprisingly sturdy.

Shushushushung!

The bolts continued to fly and strike.

Pupupuk!

This time, too, one of Bone Four’s subordinates became an arrow cushion and fell.

The skeleton, with bolts stuck all over its body, disintegrated into sand.

When its subordinates were about to all die?

[Using the skill, ‘Skeleton Knight Summon’ (A-Grade).]

[Consuming 10 Energy.]

[‘Bone Four’ appears.]

Creak!

I resummon Bone Four.

Strangely, when resummoned, its energy is also fully charged!

Ten subordinates appear again.

[Hunter: Joo Donghoon]

[Title: Skeleton King]

[Energy: 1,020/1,220]

Thanks to the absurd energy pump I got from the Godslayer-grade weapon this time, I could summon Bone Four over 100 more times.

[Item: Sealed Spirit of Seven Essences (1/7)]

[Grade: Godslayer]

[Type: Weapon]

[Description: A fragment of the seven essences that even the primordial gods feared. The seal will be released when all elemental essences are collected. Currently contains the Essence of Fire.]

[Effect 1: Transforms into any shape the user desires.]

[Effect 2: Is never destroyed.]

[Effect 3: Uses the power of the collected essences.]

[Effect 4: Energy +1,000.]

If it weren’t for this.

I would never have been able to hold out, right?

It was just as I was diligently deflecting bolts.

“Master.”

Eldrin, who had been participating in the hunt, approached me.

“What, what is it!”

Kwang!

I shouted as I blocked an incoming bolt.

What was up with Eldrin all of a sudden?

“May I dare to offer a conjecture?”

“A conjecture?”

“Umm… this dungeon. Something about it feels familiar.”

“Familiar?”

“I’m not sure. It’s more like… it doesn’t feel ‘unfamiliar,’ if that makes sense.”

Eldrin muttered under his breath.

“In a bad way, of course.”

“Can you explain more?”

“I think there’s a dragon here.”

“Hmm?”

“A dragon. The same species as the Great Demon Dragon that conquered our world…”

I frowned.

What was she talking about all of a sudden?

A dragon, when we were doing Theme 2.

“Did you know? Dragons like to collect rare treasures in their own space.”

“Treasures…?”

Sparkle, sparkle!

Even now, the place was filled with glittering things everywhere.

“Besides, just as the Great Demon Dragon of the past pretended to be a dwarven chairman or a high elf, they are a species that can change their bodies at any time using a technique called Polymorph.”

“So, are you saying the great castle of the Aranvalon Kingdom is actually a Dragon’s Lair?”

“Yes, and there’s one more thing.”

“Another?”

Kwang!

I endured another bolt slamming into me.

“Those kingdom soldiers. They seem like Dragon Tooth Soldiers. My senses tell me so. Those aren’t human bones, but dragon teeth. The dragon teeth that Dmir and I had to fight for decades… I know because I’ve experienced it so terribly.”

“Ha, really?”

I was dumbfounded.

No wonder they were ridiculously strong.

Could it be that this was a Dragon’s Lair?

And those soldiers were the Dragon Tooth Soldiers guarding the Treasure in that lair?

“Master, is there any reason for a palace where humans supposedly live to be this ridiculously large? Besides, it just said it was a royal palace, there was no text explaining that it belonged to humans or similar species.”

“Huh, you’re right.”

I blinked my eyes.

“You’re right, that’s true.”

Putting everything else aside.

If a royal palace was this huge, there was no way it could function properly as one.

Even if it was an ancient kingdom.

“But… then what should we do?”

Whether the master of the dungeon was a dragon or a king.

We first had to get rid of those damn soldiers.

“Hey!”

It was then.

Capu, who had only been muttering to himself and doing nothing until now, shouted from outside the pattern.

“Hoon! I have something to show you!”

Capu?

What’s with him now?

His voice was so loud.

The gazes of the other members who were hunting also turned to him.

“Actually, when James ran away earlier, I attached a video tracking device to him! The 5th Law of Pathfinding! If someone runs away, use them for reconnaissance!”

He shouted, flinging his arm out.

“And there, I was able to confirm a shocking scene!”

A shocking scene?

Woooong!

At the same time, a hologram video began to appear in the air.