Chapter 177
“What in the world is…!”
Bong Jaeyoung hurriedly got into position.
No matter how much he chased women, or how strange his reactions were, he was without a doubt the world’s 101st-ranked hunter.
The red aura he conjured immediately enveloped his body.
“That damn bitch! Did you trick me?”
He shouted, looking around.
“Everyone, prepare for battle!”
“What are they?”
Asura Im Sujin muttered, her eyes turning black.
The hunters who had appeared at the Russian woman’s gesture looked, for some reason, like the test subjects trapped in those iron cages.
“That.”
The corners of the Russian woman’s mouth lifted into a smirk.
“You can find out for yourselves, starting now.”
Swish! Swish-swish!
At the same time, the figures began to spin at an incredible speed.
“Okay.”
I nodded.
‘Might as well feel it for myself.’
At the same time, I slammed my staff onto the ground.
[Using the skill, ‘Summon Skeleton Lord’ (S-Rank).]
[Using 60 Energy.]
This time, I summoned a total of six.
Bone One, Sunny, Kayden, Bone Five, Dana, and Bone Eight.
Rattle-rattle-rattle!
The Bones that shot up from the ground took up their formation, each holding their respective weapons.
– Kid.
The Elder spoke.
Floating in mid-air, he was examining the opponents with a serious expression.
– This is no longer a suspicion, but a certainty.
‘Pardon?’
– I mentioned Dokgo earlier, didn’t I? The one that guy named Dang Hwi-pyeong used.
‘You did.’
– This is undoubtedly the Vile Dokgo he created.
Vile Dokgo.
The name alone sounded heinous.
– Be careful, you brat. In the past, our world was almost destroyed because of that one Vile Dokgo, just to tell you how dangerous it is.
Shwoooong!
It was then, while the Elder was still speaking, that one of them came rushing forward.
Kwwaaaaang!
A tremendous explosion went off, and a shock so intense it made my skin tingle rippled through me.
Bone Eight, who had been blocking, was sent flying and tumbling.
The plants Kwon Soye had spread out in all directions were torn to shreds.
We were momentarily speechless at the incredible sight.
– Right, to put it in your world’s terms…
The Elder continued to mutter.
– It allows those who aren’t even C-Rank to wield such power in exchange for their life force.
Grrrrr!
The one who had successfully attacked made a strange noise and stared at us again.
Like a ghost from a horror movie.
– Do you know what’s even scarier?
‘What is it?’
– With just the Vile Dokgo, you can create thousands, even tens of thousands of monsters like that.
—
“Hyaaap!”
Bong Jaeyoung threw a steel fist at the monster.
Kwwaaaaaaang!
With a deafening roar, the monster’s abdomen was pierced.
However, they were relentless.
Even in death, they didn’t just die.
“Shit.”
Bong Jaeyoung spat out a curse, looking at the monster that was wrapping its hands and feet around him despite having its stomach pierced.
And then.
Woooong!
The monster’s skin turned a reddish color.
Kwwaaaaaaang!
It self-destructed, creating a massive explosion.
“Damn it.”
Bong Jaeyoung walked out from the billowing dust.
His skin was slightly scorched, but it was like cast iron.
“Annoying bastards, aren’t they?”
There were five monsters in total.
He tried to look for another, but.
Kwang! Kwaaang! Kwwaaaang!
The monsters Bong Jaeyoung could have handled had already exploded and were gone.
“My Lord, we have taken care of the remaining four.”
Fwooosh! Thud!
Sunny and the other Bones had already dealt with them.
Furthermore, the Russian woman, sensing the unfavorable situation, had already fled.
“……”
Bong Jaeyoung frowned.
‘Joo Donghoon…’
His combat power was quite respectable.
But honestly, he didn’t feel good about it.
‘Are you seriously calling that woman a mentally and physically weak survivor?’
‘Hmm, I thought a Ranker would have some situational awareness, but it seems you need to develop a better eye.’
Joo Donghoon’s words still echoed in his ears.
‘That insolent brat.’
No matter how strong he was, a kid who had just barely entered the ranks of Rankers.
Was that an appropriate way to speak to a sunbae in the field?
Honestly, it was his own mistake that the woman he thought was a pitiful survivor turned out to be a Tricker.
He admitted that part.
‘But.’
If he hadn’t taken the lead and gone there, would they have ever found a place like this?
All roads lead to Rome, don’t they?
‘Damn it.’
Bong Jaeyoung felt displeased, as if things had been going wrong for a while now.
Even Kwon Soye and Im Sujin, who had followed him respectfully before coming here, now seemed to be looking down on him slightly.
‘Just you wait.’
Bong Jaeyoung clenched his fists.
In any case, a Dungeon shouldn’t be judged based on a single phase.
A Dungeon was a place where countless judgments came together to produce results.
And he was confident.
Confident that he could make better judgments than the brat before him.
—
“Donghoon-ssi, I lost her.”
Swish!
Ki Soyul appeared from the darkness, panting for breath.
The speed of the Russian woman who had revealed her power was beyond imagination.
“Her Shadow Art isn’t that great, but she’s just too fast. I was worried there might be a secondary trap, so I just got a general sense of her direction and pulled back.”
“Good job.”
I nodded.
Of course, it would have been great if we could have caught her.
– Do not chase. Following blindly is what they want.
– If my guess is correct… it’s definitely the same method Dang Hwi-pyeong used. He’s a dangerous one.
– Of course, he turned into a handful of ash at my hands. But even I had to exert quite a bit of effort in the process. Rather than handling this recklessly like before, we must proceed with experience.
The Elder, who seemed to know something, stopped me.
“Hmm.”
Ki Soyul stroked her chin.
“A Russian Ranker who can evade my speed, now that I’m ranked 151st… only one person comes to mind.”
“Tima.”
When I answered, she nodded.
“That’s right. You know your stuff, huh?”
“Studying Rankers is something I’ve been doing to death for a long time. Thunder Step Tima.
Currently the 110th-ranked Russian Ranker.
I heard her title, Thunder Step, was given because her steps were as fast as lightning.
She was also said to be the younger sister of the 79th-ranked Ranker, the Ruthless Zima.”
“This makes it certain.”
The Ruthless Zima and Bug King Andrey were Rankers from the Russian mafia, [Gotham].
In other words, it was the moment the suspicion that this Dungeon might be related to Gotham turned into certainty.
“Gotham.”
I could somewhat picture what they were doing.
Iron cages.
Test subjects trapped inside them.
And even the Vile Dokgo the Elder mentioned.
“This is it. They’re capturing people right before they become adults and locking them up.”
“……”
Ki Soyul frowned at the gruesome thought.
“Don’t tell me… because they awaken a Unique Ability when they become adults?”
“Yes. If a useful ability emerges, they recruit and raise them for the mafia. If not, they turn them into combat weapons like that.”
“Crazy.”
It was truly something only villains in movies would do.
But sometimes.
Reality was where things more unrealistic than movies happened.
It was at that moment.
“Damn it!”
Kwwaaang!
Bong Jaeyoung, unable to contain his anger, slammed his fist into the ground.
“That bitch. The more I think about it, the more I feel like I have to tear her to pieces to feel better.”
Bong Jaeyoung seethed, his face flushed red.
Unable to watch any longer, Im Sujin stepped forward.
“What do you think you’re doing right now?”
“What?”
“No matter how angry you are, you shouldn’t act so violently when you’re with your allies.”
“What did you say?”
Steam puffed from Bong Jaeyoung’s nose.
“And you’ve been treating me and Soye like your subordinates from the start, but we are officially part of the Association. The reason we volunteered for this expedition was because we were curious about the new high-ranker who appeared.”
Hoh.
I thought it was going to blow up at any moment.
I watched with an interested gaze as the conflict erupted at this very moment.
‘Makes sense.’
Asura Im Sujin was a Ranker too.
A National Treasure-level hunter within the world’s top 1,000.
No matter how much higher Bong Jaeyoung’s rank was, there was no reason for her to endure being treated like a porter.
‘She’s refreshingly blunt.’
Why did Im Sujin’s verbal beatdown feel so invigorating?
Of course, for the target, Bong Jaeyoung, it must feel suffocating.
“What the hell did you just blabber?”
“Did I say anything wrong? A moment ago you were grinning like an idiot next to that Russian bitch. And now what? You have to tear her to pieces to feel better? I don’t think even a lower-grade elementary schooler’s thought process is that simple. Kids these days are so smart.”
“You, you damn bitch!”
Just as Bong Jaeyoung, his face red and purple, finally lost his temper and was about to throw a punch.
“Excuse me, is anyone there…?”
Rustle!
The sound of footsteps on leaves came from a distance.
“What is it?”
Bong Jaeyoung withdrew his fist and frowned.
“We are survivors! We came after hearing the noise!”
“Over here! We’re over here too!”
One by one.
People began to appear.
Hmm.
The Elder did another 360-degree spin in the air, then nodded.
– Looks like I missed a fun show. It seems these guys are real survivors.
If they’re survivors…?
– Right.
The Elder grinned.
– The Toxin Mist you released earlier is feasting on that Dokgo fart, isn’t it? It seems the survivors who were wandering in it have come to their senses and are gathering here one by one.
The survivors who had been adrift in the Dungeon.
They were gathering.
—
“Lulu.”
Peach Blossom Land, on a high hill.
Kim Jina hummed a tune as she gazed at the framework of the magnificent building being constructed with a thump-thump.
“This is practically on the level of a new city development project.”
Originally, establishing a new city development plan involved many complicated procedures.
The developer had to propose the designation of a development zone to the city or provincial governor, the mayor of a major city, or the Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.
If that request was accepted, the urban development zone would be designated and a development plan established.
In that process, the consent of landowners and others had to be met.
A cooperative had to be formed, an implementation plan drawn up, and so on.
Because many complex interests were intertwined, it was bound to take a long time.
However.
There was no need for that now.
“Because it’s all~ our land~”
A magnificent new city being built by a single workshop.
And a project overseen by the dwarf, Dmir, who was once an authority in his own world.
“Heh, this is fun.”
She was so happy with her life these days.
Ever since President Joo Donghoon had returned.
How could she not be happy, seeing her dreams come true one by one?
Of course, as the workshop grew.
And as the number of things to handle increased.
She was so busy that even ten bodies wouldn’t be enough.
“Let’s see now.”
She hummed, pulling out a smart-note from her pocket.
A recruitment notice had already been posted to hire high-quality personnel.
Dmir’s Workshop’s recruitment notice had naturally become a hot topic in the hunter world.
[Dmir’s Workshop, Founded by Rank 78, Is It About to Take Flight?]
[Dmir’s Workshop Personnel Recruitment! Vice-President, Kim Jina, “We promise the best treatment in the industry!” Fierce competition expected!]
[Currently, two Rankers belong to the workshop. The Rank 78 President and the Rank 151 Shadow Empress Ki Soyul. The Shadow Empress’s popularity is also expected to contribute to the competition rate.]
The notice was turned into news articles, providing natural publicity.
It would be strange if people didn’t flock to it.
“Hmm.”
Kim Jina listed the countless application documents through a program.
First, by rank.
‘Surely a Ranker didn’t apply, right?’
No matter how hot the workshop was.
A Ranker was a Ranker.
They had very high standards.
That was why the only known way to acquire a Ranker was to scout them from other organizations with overwhelming conditions.
This explained why Ki Parang had thrown such a fit when the Shadow Empress announced she was joining the workshop.
“Let’s see.”
Kim Jina slowly scrolled through the documents from her high vantage point.
Then.
“Huh?”
Her eyes went wide.
[List of Applicants]
[#1. Rank 80, Thunderstrike Floa] Rank 905, Absolute Matchless Maximilian Rank 908, The Guide Capu S-Rank Hunter, Park Sung-tae]
[#5. S-Rank Hunter, Kang Ji-hoon]
(T/N: Yesss! Capu and Maxiiiii! )
…….
Putting aside the countless S-Rank hunters who had applied.
‘A Ranker?’
It was because no less than three Rankers had applied.
‘And what? Rank 80?’
Wasn’t Thunderstrike Floa someone hailed as a hero of Germany?
“Uwaah? What is this?”
In the end, Kim Jina let out a strange sound.