Chapter 66

Everyone was relieved because there was a difference between having only one L-class and two L-classes in clearing a Level 1 Dungeon.

“Come to think of it, didn’t you say you were an omniscient mage? If all attributes are available, can’t you use movement magic?”

Joo Eun asked, but Kang Sejun shook his head with a sad face.

“But that doesn’t mean I can use it in any L-class. Besides, Sung Jarim is currently in a place other than Seoul, so it will take at least tens of minutes. If we wait until then…”

“We will surely die. Then I guess we’ll have to hold on until she gets to a distance where you can go back and forth at least once.”

“The goal is to weaken him as much as possible.”

“Okay.”

Eun Injae, wearing red armor, slammed a body-sized shield into the ground. On the front of the shield, the monster’s reflection gleamed wildly.

[Activates ‘Title—Descendant of Totem Pole Maker’.]

“General of the Eastern Cheongje, General of the Western Baekje, General of the Southern Jekje, General of the Northern Hukje.”

Four ranchers rose up in all four directions. As the reddish light emanated from the totem, the morale of all allies rose. It was the power of protection and blessing that the totem pole possessed.

“Can we hold out with this?”

“It should be enough.”

Yoon Jaehun smiled and supported Eun Injae with Do Junyoung.

Following the power of the totem, the magic of the water attribute, Han Suwon, slowed down the lava flow. The heat clearly subsided, and Joo Eun could properly aim at the monster.

“Aish. I don’t know anymore! You won’t die because I’ll protect you. So just kill it!”

Yoo Soo-eun, the core of the raid, screamed from behind Kang Sejun.

Gwaaaa! The battle began with the cry of the huge monster.

***

[The system administrator informs you that Cheorwon’s dungeon gate has been opened.]

Seora sighed at the administrator’s message. Unlike usual, he didn’t send a playful emoticon, so the situation seemed serious.

“Cheorwon dungeon opened.”

“Has there been any contact from the Association?”

As soon as Jarim asked, Seora’s cell phone rang. The caller was the aunt, whose call she was afraid to receive.

“… Can I take this?”

“If you don’t answer, I think that scary older sister will go berserk.”

Well, that won’t work. Hooo, haaaah. After catching her breath several times, Seora cautiously answered the phone.

—Yoon Seora! Where are you now?!

At the same time, the voice that poured out was so terrifying that she slipped the phone away from her ear and switched it to loudspeaker mode. Wouldn’t it be a little better if I got scolded with Jarim?

—Where did you and Sung Jarim go?!

The effect was sufficient. Jarim’s face turned pale.

“Why? Did something happen?”

As she pretended to know nothing, a fearful voice was heard.

—… The dungeon opened.

“It finally opened.”

— So come to my house from now on. Is Sung Jarim next to you?

“Yes.” Seora glanced at Jarim while answering. Their eyes met, and she asked what she was going to do.

Right. What should I say?

— By the way, where are you now? Where do you take my call? Why is the wind so noisy?

She got it right. Now, the two were heading to Cheorwon.

It would take well over four hours by car, but with their legs, it would take two hours. But she couldn’t tell her the truth.

“It’s because I’m driving with the window open. I came to the countryside for a while, but I’m returning now, so don’t worry.”

— Countryside? Where?

“Mt. Taebek. I have something to do with the shaman that Guild Leader Jung Hoyoung introduced me to before.”

She was not completely lying, but her words were better than when she acted.

— Then go straight to my house. And can you put me through to Sung Jarim?

“I’m listening too. Please speak.”

— I’m sorry, but could you go to Cheorwon right now?

“It’s all right. But why? Isn’t the strength of the people there alone enough?”

— I got a call from the support unit. That’s…

“Why? What’s going on? I need to know to prepare for the situation in advance.”

— … Are you listening now?

Seora and Jarim looked at each other for a while. It seemed that the situation was serious.

“Just tell me.”

— Hah. The dungeon level has risen by one level.

Seora’s eyes widened. The Cheorwon dungeon is Level 2, but the fact that it has risen by one level…

— It’s now a Level 1. So, Sung Jarim, I beg you, please go there.

“I really must go.”

— Seora may be bothering you, but don’t go anywhere else and come to Seoul right away. Go to my house.

Now Seora realized why Song Hanna had been repeating those words ever since.

— Please.

But she couldn’t answer. She had already heard Baek Heewon say that she must go to Cheorwon.

Since it had turned into a Level 1, she wondered how useful she would be, but she had a peculiarity that was clearly different from the others, so she decided to believe only in that.

“I will contact you when I arrive.”

Song Hanna, not noticing that Seora deliberately omitted the subject, hung up the phone with a sigh of relief.

“Seora, you’re going to Cheorwon, right?”

“Of course. I didn’t lie, did I? I started from Mt. Taebek, and it’s true that I am currently on my way back. It’s just that I’m not driving.”

“If you get caught later, it won’t end with nagging.”

“But if my brother, or anyone else there, dies, the nagging will turn into sighs and tears. I’d rather get nagged.”

“Mm, yes. That’s true. Then one more thing.”

“What is it?”

“You know that if you go there and fight right now, your true identity will be exposed, right?”

It was an unexpected serious statement. Jarim was looking at Seora with a serious face like never before. She knew because they’d been close for two months. Now she was worried about her.

When did we get so close to each other? Seora smiled and asked, “Do you know why I don’t reveal my identity?”

“Huh? Because you don’t want to break the peaceful daily life? Because you don’t like being bothered?”

“That’s right. Then why would I want that?”

“Uuh, well…”

“My mother died while dealing with the boss of Cheorwon Dungeon.” Seora calmly continued as if it were just a tragedy, “She was a hero. But you know what? The fact that she is a hero means that she receives a lot of expectations from people. Nothing is as good to swing as a hero.”

“…”

“Unlike the association’s president, my mother was swung around by the government, which prioritized the citizens’ safety, and in the end, she died while protecting everyone. I hate to live like that.”

That thought had not changed even now.

She didn’t want to die, and she didn’t like being swayed at will just because she had strong power.

She hated the life of being forced to do things she didn’t like to meet people’s expectations.

“But no matter how important that is to me, I can’t abandon my only brother.” Seora, who told the story nonchalantly, smiled at Jarim. It was a confident smile with no regrets about revealing her identity. “So it’s okay. And since it’s different now than it was 12 years ago, we won’t be treated like a pushover. Above all, the association’s president is there.”

Song Hanna worked tirelessly for 12 years to ensure that no Awakened, like her mother, was swayed by a greedy government and eventually murdered horribly.

It was a long enough time to come to fruition.

“So let’s not worry and rush. I’ve been prepared for the most, but I can’t let my brother or anyone die.”

“All right.”

The two started running faster.

This world had become a world of hunters where magic was prevalent, but they still had to run manually like this. There was no other way, for now, so they ran. But Seora couldn’t help but feel like she was losing steam.

I wish I could fall from the sky with abilities like teleportation.

***

Less than an hour after the battle started, the area around the dungeon was completely ruined because the beast in the form of a dog or something spewed fire from its mouth.

“Han Suwon!”

The moment the beast poured out fire again, the two Mages simultaneously unleashed their magic. Han Suwon’s water-based magic put some of the flames to rest, and Kang Sejun’s fire-based magic consumed most of them.

As his vision was cleared, Joo Eun drew a huge bow that glowed white. One fired arrow quickly split into hundreds in an instant and pierced the beast’s entire body. It was the unique ability of his weapon White Bow.

When the arrow created by Joo Eun’s magic inflicted pain, the beast burst cried out, and stumbled. Do Junyoung and Yoon Jaehun, who did not miss the chance, attacked the beast simultaneously.

Although it didn’t cause any obvious wound, they had the upper hand. It was clearly different from the Hunters 12 years ago, who had not fully realized their own abilities in less than a year after awakening.

“Here comes the attack again!”

As the beast radiated mana, five fireballs resembling meteorites rose in the air. The most annoying thing about this beast was that he knew how to use magic.

“Everybody, back off!”

Eun Injae, who was wearing red armor, rushed forward holding a shield. Yoo Soo-eun behind her supported her.

[Activate the skill ‘Final Barrier’. Depending on the user’s will, the barrier dwells on the Awakened ‘Eun Injae’!]

Yoo Soo-eun and Eun Injae’s strongest defense blocked the attack. However, it was still a first-class beast. Since it couldn’t be completely canceled out, it penetrated the armor’s defense and left burns on the skin.

“How annoying! A beast that uses magic! This is why I hate this kind of monster! We won’t know what they’re going to do!” Yoo Soo-eun screamed and flicked her fingers. The magical power of the shield healed Eun Injae’s wounds and restored her physical strength.

Eun Injae, who regained her strength, took out a new shield and shoved it into the mouth of the beast about to breathe fire again.

“It’s a shield with stun magic. It won’t be easy to use magic until it breaks it down.”

The beast’s body trembled at the stun magic transmitted through the mucous membrane. As Eun Injae stepped back, Han Suwon poured water onto the beast.

“The heat around us is so hot that it will dry quickly. Let’s go right away.”

The two Mages cast magic at the same time.

“Attribute transformation, full-scale activation.”

“The 7th Spell Order, Lightning.”

Under the beast’s feet, a blue magic circle bloomed, and above its head, a red magic circle bloomed like a flower. Kang Sejun crossed his fingers.

“The 8th Spell Order, Interlocking Magic Circles.”

At the same time as the casting was over, a tremendous electric shock struck between the interlocking magic circles. The beast, drenched with Han Suwon’s water-based magic, would receive a shock as if it had been hit by lighting.

“Wow. Han Suwon, who uses conflicting attributes, looks like a cheater, but with Kang Sejun, it’s even crazier.”

Yoo Soo-eun, watching the fight from the farthest, stuck out her tongue.

A kind of strengthening magic that interlocks two different magic circles and overlaps the effect.

It’s easy to say, but linking someone else’s magic with your own is really difficult and dangerous. How many wizards exist in the world who can do something like that so easily?

Kang Sejun’s ability to use all attributes really made him look like a cheater.

“But this won’t be the end, right?”

“I’m afraid so.”

Yoo Soo-eun swallowed. Joo Eun also sighed.

After the electric shock subsided, the exposed body of the beast was considerably tanned and was bleeding like lava as if the wounds had quite damaged it, but it was not serious.

The beast who had shattered the shield stuck in its mouth was still energetic. Its defense was no joke.

“How did they fight 12 years ago? Now there’s only the Boss Monster, but back then there were others too.”

In fact, dungeons normally consisted of a boss mob and numerous monsters it commanded. But now, in this Cheorwon dungeon, there was only one Boss Monster.

It was thanks to the Hunters risking their lives to annihilate most of the monsters in the past. If it wasn’t for that, it would have been much tougher than it is now.

“I will go to the forefront.” Kang Sejun took the lead for the first time. “If we dragged out more time, it would only be difficult for us.”