Chapter 27

[The new permanent editor + a better proofreader already started working on this series. The quality is much better from Chapter 49+]

Accompanying The Enemy (2)

After taking the Lorto's dagger and a few items that the snake had been storing, I hid it in my battle uniform.

Then, I picked up an item that Secretary Kim and I had bought when we snuck away.

[Clarice's Red Stone]

-Item Description: This small stone, made up in pairs, confirms the holder's safety. The other stone glows red and guides the way under the following conditions.

In dungeons, where radio wave communication was impossible, we had no choice but to rely on artifacts. Still, there were only such inconvenient and basic types of objects that were available.

There was another one as well.

[Mirage's Shield]

-Item Description: Creates a powerful shield surrounding the caster for 3 minutes after activation. As long as the shield is maintained, the user's movement is also limited.

※ Please note that it cannot be recast once activated.

I bought this for a pretty high price.

I didn't have enough cash that I could divert, so I gave incomplete information about the source and sold some of the items I collected in the dungeon.

Secretary Kim reminded me.

'Do you understand? When he reveals his true color, break the stone immediately, and open the shield.'

We agreed to stay at a distance that he could run up in 3 minutes, considering that he was a B-Class hunter in the dungeon, which was about 2 km in radius.

It was an artifact I bought because Secretary Kim nagged that I would have to be ready with something like this, or I could never go with Park Chang-hee.

"Are you done?"

I came back as I pretended to be clueless while hiding items all over my body. I did not forget to hand over one of the red stones to Secretary Kim, avoiding Park Chang-hee's eyes.

"Let's continue."

*

The clear condition for the Okcheon Dungeon was the destruction of the Hive.

Park Chang-hee did not speed up because he was being considerate of me, so we got there after spending a night in the dungeon.

"This is the Hive."

I nodded my head lightly. The walls and floors of this enormous room were covered in organic matter, much like scarlet flesh.

I could see the veins that ran across the organic skin that spread like a carpet, body fluids that had accumulated and wrinkled holes that spewed

'It's been a while, so it's even more disgusting.'

In the center was a vast mass connected to the ceiling and floor by a mucous membrane. The lump kind that looked like a pocket and the several tubes connected to it made it seem similar to a heart.

"Can you see that big lump? A monster is born through a long gap in the middle."

Unlike the field-type, in this closed-type dungeon, monsters were respawned through the Hive.

"Hmm, your contribution rate is mediocre."

He frowned at the estimates on the terminal.

"You take care of the Hive, please, Mr. Min Seok-Gi."

A member of the guild called by name stepped forward and activated a magic skill.

[Sonic Wave!]

A magic circle was created, and violent atmospheric vibrations spread out.

Whoosh!

The vibration wave struck and started tearing the soft tissue in front.

Pa-pa-pakk!

Soon, the remnants of ripped flesh, blood lumps, and strange things room. At the same time, a message that everyone could hear resonated.

-You have satisfied the dungeon clear conditions!

-Clear condition: Hive destruction.

-The boundaries of the dungeon are weakened.

Rumble!

The air in the dungeon vibrated.

The movement of Mana that was connecting all over the space like the pulse became rowdy. I felt that the overall Mana composition had changed.

-The user's ranking on clear contribution is 5th (contribution: 2%).

I was the 5th.

And the number one was probably...

Weeing!

A light flashed in front of Park Chang-hee, and the key to the dungeon appeared.

'The first place is, of course, Park Chang-hee.'

After that, Park Chang-hee and Secretary Kim disappeared simultaneously, and both reappeared with something in their hands.

Even though Park Chang-hee only gave directions at the end, the system judged that only those two had filled the contribution needed in order to receive additional rewards.

Seeing that it took less than a second for them to disappear and return, it was clear that they picked arbitrarily as soon as they entered without thinking too deeply about it.

'Well, it's random from their standpoint anyway.'

It was such a waste.

"Compensation is rather worth nothing."

Park Chang-hee shrugged at the card and immediately put it into the battle backpack. Secretary Kim also got a crappy item.

"There is no jackpot."

Park Chang-hee looked around the expedition team as he talked.

"Now we just have to go back the way we came. As you can see, the dungeon clear does not mean that the monsters have disappeared. It's likely that the combat noises we've made as we got here have made them more sensitive and packed around the path we passed. Monsters that have lost the Hive go into a frantic state by chance, so be more on guard from now on."

On the outside, it was the appearance of the impeccable expedition leader.

*

On our way back, we passed by huge caves, and those became our hunting ground. It was to lure goblins hiding in the path ahead of us and deal with them in a wide area.

Secretary Kim, who had been on reconnaissance, reported to Park Chang-hee while looking at the movement information recorded on the terminal.

"1.4km ahead, and the number is about 70."

Park Chang-hee frowned. "A lot had flocked. Let's use bombs."

Knowing that no crew had mastered Earth Mastery, he took the scroll out of his arms, infused Mana, and tore it. The spell was completed in an instant, and the magic circle shone in the air.

[Dig!]

The hard rock floor wobbled like clay, then created a vast pit.

Following the instructions, a guild member pulled out a Mana core bomb from the battle backpack and placed it in the hole.

As could be seen from its characteristics replacing fuel, high-density energy was contained inside the core. This bomb was a weapon made for anti-monsters using the attributes of a core that exploded when given a severe impact.

"Of the weapons that can be made with science and technology, it is the most effective against monsters. Mana storms emanating from the explosion rips up their shields. A bomb contains only a few grams of the core, but it is difficult to manufacture and is quite expensive."

Park Chang-hee explained to me and added, "If we can make guns with this principle, there will be no hunters who use swords or that sort."

There were no races that possessed such a civilization, at least at the tutorial dimension, even in the future.

"Now, then."

After covering the ground again, he pulled an artifact out of his arms. It was a flute with five small crystals embedded in its body.

"You said 1.4km? One would be fine."

As Park Chang-hee infused Mana, one of the crystals lit up. In that state, he put his mouth on the flute.

"..."

He played the flute eagerly, but it was quiet without an audible sound. The two guild members whispered among themselves.

"It's my first time seeing that. Does it really make a sound?"

"I know, right. That's amazing."

Park Chang-hee spoke, taking his mouth off the flute as if he heard the whisper.

"It's outside the human audible frequency, but the goblins can hear it. Beyond just listening, they rush in wildly as they go frantic. Be prepared. They will come soon."

As everyone took out their weapons and waited, a group of goblins jumped out like a flock of dogs from a small burrow in the front.

"Kyaaah!"

"Roaar!"

Just in time, Park Chang-hee pressed the switch. Then, a loud blast that sounded like it would tear my ears apart resonated.

Boo-boo-boom!

In the place where the blue Mana storm swept away, the goblins' torn limbs and guts lay around.

"Squeeeal!"

Those who luckily survived rush blindly without giving a glance to their colleagues' remains as if they couldn't feel fear like a zombie. It didn't take long to finish everything.

Park Chang-hee spoke after the last one fell as it made a sound of being slaughtered.

"Please wait without letting your guard down. All the bastards that heard the blast within the range of the explosion will be rushing. We'll clean it up, then move on."

After that, crowds of goblins were pushed out of the narrow caves, and we took turns killing them.

*

"Phew, I think it's over now."

How long must it have been? No more goblins appeared even after we waited. Organizing the battlefield briefly took place after that.

"I have completed collecting the cores."

Collected Mana cores extracted from the corpse were placed in a separate backpack. In front of everyone, I thought it was a shame that I could not absorb it.

I glanced at my backpack and began to think.

'How much should it be if to absorb all those?'

Park Chang-hee looked at the terminal as if trying to input the amount collected.

And then, he frowned.

"Damn, I finished another one."

Guild members approached.

"Is the terminal broken again?"

He pushed it out as if to let them look at the jammed screen.

The terminal manufactured for the hunters records the user's battle and movement path to estimate the contribution and automatically generates a three-dimensional map.

It was designed to withstand strong impacts due to the characteristics of hunters who fight violently. Still, the damage rate was high because it was an industrial product, not an artifact. In the present age, the probability of being damaged when exploring dungeons would be well over 20%.

Park Chang-hee shrugged.

"It's a given that a close range is bound to damage a terminal. Mr. Min Seok-Gi, I'll request a spare terminal. Is it the last one?"

"Yes. This is the last of what I brought."

"If I break another again, I will have to roam around without a terminal."

Secretary Kim and I quietly exchanged glances.

Park Chang-hee, that bastard, was building up reasons very diligently. If I disappeared here without clear evidence, the guild and the constitution department would first check the survivor's terminal black box.

And at that time, Park Chang-hee's terminal would be broken with 100% probability.

They would suspect him, but no physical evidence would remain.

'He would make a move soon.'

*

On the way back, we resumed the move after staying for a night as well.

"We will arrive at the gate within the day."

The faces of the guild members who accompanied us were bright. They relaxed their faces as if they thought they could comfortably stretch their feet and sleep.

I began to think as I looked at them.

'Usually, they loosen a lot of tension at this point.'

At this time, when people thought that they could return to Earth and home within today.

'The only opportunity is today anyway.'

He must have waited deliberately for this moment when my alertness was lowest.

"Let's do mass hunting here before we go."

When the last big cave came out, Park Chang-hee spoke.

"After all, only two people, Mr. Kim Byeong-ho and Mr. Yoon Taek-soo, have been scouting until now, right?"

While the two went on reconnaissance, Park Chang-hee and I, and Min Seok-gi, who possessed magic skills, had a routine to rest and make traps in advance.

"This time, Seo Jin-wook and I will scout. He will also have to learn how to scout."

Secretary Kim then spoke up. "Then, I will go with you."

Park Chang-hee shook his head. "Then there will be only two D-class hunters left here. It's dangerous. The power distribution is right only when Mr. Kim Byeong-ho remains."

For a moment, there was tension.

As I watched, I interrupted the conversation.

"Okay. Only both of us will go."

As I talked, I slipped my hand into his chest pocket. This is where [Clarice's Red Stone] was placed. He looked at me with an anxious look. I nodded slightly, as if to say that he should be relieved.

I made a discreet gesture that I would open my shield and break the stone if I feel any abnormality. Park Chang-hee, who settled the situation, looked at me and spoke.

"Then, let's go."

*

Park Chang-hee and I moved while looking through the narrow passage. I looked closely at the path he was taking.

'He avoids the goblin trail amazingly well.'

One could notice the monsters' traces as they passed by, but he avoided those places on purpose.

'He is sure that I won't notice.'

Moving on, we arrived in a small empty room. Park Chang-hee paused to see if he was far enough away from the group.

I got tense.

'It's now!'

He turned his gaze toward me.

'He reveals his true color.'

Park Chang-hee did not explain why he brought me to this place without goblins, as he only held a knife in his hand.

Swoosh!

He swung his sword and ran into me. His shadows poured out before my eyes.

'This is bad.'

Bad was not enough to describe the sword flying towards me as a threat.

'Damn, I tried to dig up some information while pretending to be scared.'

It was because of the situation where I had no choice but to show my actual color right away.

-Clang!

Park Chang-hee's eyes widened.

In the room where we are alone, terrible murderousness, the reverberation of the metal crackling, and the bloody silence flowed together.

"You···"

His gaze was fixated on my longsword that parried his blade that burned with Mana.

I sensed the rush and prepared myself for defense. The two blades taunted against each other without being leaned to either side.

The confrontation was close enough to hear each other's breath. His expression was distorted over the crossed blades.

"Did you just block it?"

Considering the Mana on the sword, it was a blow that could not be blocked by an E-class hunter unless it were to be avoided.

He started attacking, but I had no intention of calling Secretary Kim by breaking the stone in my arms. I couldn't show him what would happen from now on.

"Haab!"

He tried to press me with more power, but I shed his sword.

-Cling!

We both kicked the ground and fell at a distance. Park Chang-hee, who regained his posture, did not run right away as he aimed the sword.

He muttered at me.

"I was right."

The murderousness, like a pointed needle, poured out.

"E-class cannot parry my sword like this. I knew you had Awakened way back before."

I stared at him silently, yet let him keep talking.

His harsh words continued.

"How did you trick the Constitutional Department? Did Seo Gyu-cheol offer another bribe? That's why the report didn't work, and even on the day of Awakening, you passed it safely."

"···"

He glared at me and threw every word as if he was spitting each one out.

"How long have you been Awakened? One year? Five years? Seo Gyu-cheol, when did that greedy piece of trash prepare you? That unworthy bastard that does not have anything, aside from the ego that he was the first in this country to receive S-rank, must have planned to crown you as the youngest to receive an S-rank. Idiot! If this were to be heard by 'That Person,' they would surely be angry, so you must have kept this to yourselves!"

It was clear who he referred to as 'That Person.' However, there were still things that I didn't understand.

I looked at Park Chang-hee and asked as I was aware of the terminal on his wrist.

"Why the hell do you assume so? For what reason do you point out that I Awakened early?"

In Park Chang-hee's eyes, there was a terrible murderous intention. He shouted as he was filled with angst.

"The day you attacked me... because you survived my counterattack!"

'Because I had survived?'

The moment I heard that shout, I remembered what Secretary Kim said to Park Chang-hee before. Protests poured out, accusing Park Chang-hee of attacking me.

'I heard that you hit our Team Leader? Witnesses say that it was an impossible move without using Mana... Whatever it may be, a hunter using Mana against civilians? What if he dies? Wasn't it intentional?'

The day that Seo Jin-sook attempted to fly-kick Park Chang-hee. Park Chang-hee said that he had retaliated by using Mana.

However, everyone thought it was Park Chang-hee who controlled his strength so that I would not die.

Seo Gyu-cheol also thought so.

'If Park Chang-hee responded sincerely in the first place, this guy couldn't have woken up again. Even if he used Mana, it wasn't a fatal attack. It is thanks to the brilliance that he controlled Mana output even at that moment.'

I even thought so.

Seo Jin-wook of the previous life survived the incident and died a year later for another reason.

If Park Chang-hee sincerely attacked, the non-Awakened Seo Jin-wook would have died on the spot.

However, he survived. That was why I...

"Yes, you survived! How the hell?" Park Chang-hee burst into anger.

"When I went to see you for an apology as an excuse, I realized the moment I saw you walking around in good shape. The fact that you were already Awakened! Not at the moment that you got attacked, but even before that!"

He gritted his teeth and continued his words.

"Because that day, when you ran into me, I was determined to be impulsive for a short moment. To give up my career and position as a hunter, and all of that for the rest of my life..."

He burst into anger and shouted at me.

"I attacked you with the determination to kill you, who was a non-Awakened!"