Chapter 99 : The Hungry Temple (2)
Chapter 99: The Hungry Temple (2)
With a single swing of Ryuhei's blade, an equivalent exchange was made.
The deaths of two people guaranteed the safety of the remaining seventy-six.
“W-What do you think you're doing?”
“Damn it... you insane murderer....”
Naturally, outrage and disgust exploded at the fact that he had attacked his own allies.
More than fifty Hunters cursed at Ryuhei.
“Stop!”
“Take one more step and I'll cut you down.”
The members of Horobi Guild immediately surrounded Ryuhei.
The atmosphere became so tense it was like walking across thin ice.
“Sigh. That's your problem. You keep worrying about morality, dignity, and all that nonsense... so you throw away the most efficient solution.”
Ryuhei added another remark, as though he found their hypocrisy disgusting.
“Cheer up. Deep down, aren't you all thinking, 'Thanks to him, we survived'?”
The dice had already been cast.
The outcome had already been decided.
What was the point of arguing over right and wrong now?
Well... even after hearing all that, if anyone still wanted to pick a fight...
“Anyone with a problem can settle it with a sword instead of wasting words. If possible, come at me in groups of four.”
Crackle.
A terrifying killing intent seeped from the blade.
To the point that the Lizard they had fought earlier seemed preferable.
[Yohan used the Eye of the Prophet.]
[Ryuhei Ito]
Class: Samurai
Divine Rank: February 9-Star
Unique Ability: Death Spirit Draw
Strength: 25 Agility: 45 Mana: 22
Physical Defense: 70
Magic Defense: 85
Traits: [Intermediate Acceleration] [Lightweight Body] [Sword Aura]
His Agility was an astonishing 45.
Even his Traits specialized in ambushes and rapidly closing distances.
'His growth potential is even higher in this playthrough.'
Yohan narrowed his eyes.
The sword Ryuhei carried.
His boots.
And the wooden ring on his right hand.
A complete equipment set.
One entirely focused on increasing attack speed and movement speed.
His weak defensive setup simply meant...
He intended to kill his enemies before they ever had a chance to hit him.
“......”
“......”
As Ryuhei released his mana...
The Hunters slowly began stepping backward.
The confidence they had shown moments ago disappeared.
After all...
No matter how many of them united, there was no way they could deal with the Guild Master of a major Guild.
Especially in a place this dangerous.
Whether they liked it or not...
They had to remain under his protection.
To survive.
To stay alive.
Reality had to come first.
Of course—
Step.
Not everyone chose to flee before the approaching storm.
“I cannot travel alongside someone who knows nothing of honor.”
Seo Changhee walked over to the opposite side of Ryuhei.
'A world overflowing with evil. Therefore, someone must walk the righteous path.'
Yeah.
As expected.
He responded exactly like that.
Even if the results were always disastrous...
His intentions were invariably aimed toward justice.
“What are you supposed to be?”
“The one and only protagonist of this world. The hero destined to lead humanity toward salvation.”
Hiss...
Yohan had been about to walk over beside Seo Changhee.
Instead...
He instinctively took a step back.
It would have been perfect...
if only he hadn't said that.
Joining him right now would guarantee everyone thought they were both suffering from terminal eighth-grader syndrome.
Even Ryuhei looked at him as though he were completely insane.
“If you want to die alongside that idiot, I won't stop you.”
Fortunately...
Another fork in the road appeared just beyond the bridge.
The Hunters cautiously exchanged glances...
before one after another moving toward Horobi Guild.
Just then—
“I saw your magic earlier. It's impressive. How about it? With your abilities, you could reach the end of this dungeon alongside us. If you want... I could even make you an official member of Horobi.”
Ryuhei spoke directly to Yohan.
“An official member of Horobi?”
“They're famous for having ridiculously strict recruitment standards....”
“Well... that ice spear earlier really was incredible.”
The surroundings immediately erupted into another wave of commotion.
“Hm. It's true that I don't particularly enjoy staying aboard a sinking ship.”
“Wise choice. You clearly have good judg—... huh?”
The satisfied smile on Ryuhei's face vanished instantly.
Because...
Yohan wasn't walking toward him.
Instead...
He naturally stopped beside Seo Changhee.
“Hello, Titanic.”
Be careful.
There are quite a few icebergs waiting in your future.
And plenty of villains carrying sweet potatoes in both hands.
Honestly...
If possible, he'd have preferred getting along with that guy.
But what could he do?
If he had to choose between the two...
The protagonist was the obvious choice.
Besides...
There were about ten times more ways to exploit him.
“You little....”
Ryuhei's expression turned ice cold.
Then...
Almost simultaneously—
Shing.
Ghostly energy exploded from Ryuhei's sword.
[Ryuhei activates his Unique Ability 'Death Spirit Draw'!]
A ghostly slash.
A mournful wail echoed as the distorted blade left its sheath.
It was such a fast draw that only a handful of people could even react.
Clang!
The one who blocked it...
was Seo Changhee.
Sparks flew where the two blades met, just inches from Yohan's neck.
“Move... before I kill you too.”
“I refuse.”
Neck.
Waist.
Shoulder.
Clang... Clang!
The swords danced.
One sought to steal life.
The other sought to protect it.
Two blades with opposing purposes sang completely different melodies.
They exchanged only a handful of strikes.
Barely ten seconds had passed.
Yet...
Ryuhei instinctively realized something.
This fight wasn't worth the cost.
“You should stop, Master. They're dead men anyway. With only that many people... they won't survive more than a few hours.”
One of the women from Horobi Guild persuaded Ryuhei to stand down.
“Tch. Fine. They're not worth wasting my energy on.”
Click.
Ryuhei sheathed his sword.
And just like that...
The brief conflict came to an end.
Yohan and Seo Changhee walked side by side.
“I owe you an apology. It seems I misunderstood you.”
“What did you think of me?”
“I believed that for the sake of profit, you would sell not only everyone around you... but even your own soul. Ah! Of course, that was merely my misunderstanding.”
“Wow. That's creepy. You were completely ri— Aaagh!”
Park Yeri suddenly reached over from behind and grabbed the top of Yohan's head.
Adults were talking.
Know your place.
“I'm hurt. I even tried to be considerate, and to think that's how you saw me.”
“I apologize once more. If there's anything you wish to say as well, speak freely. I'll listen to whatever it is.”
Oh?
Whatever, huh?
“Then before we really begin exploring the dungeon... shall we settle the loot distribution first?”
“Hmm. Certainly. It's better to establish those things beforehand. Usually it's divided according to contribution or numbers. Which do you prefer?”
“I'd like to divide it based on headcount. What do you think?”
“Reasonable. I agree.”
He had said it himself.
He agreed.
“So, on our side there's me and Evelyn. On your side there's the Viking duo, Park Yeri, Scarlet, you... and the blacksmith. Six people?”
“No. Hold on.”
Yohan opened his subspace.
“Hoeee! What a beautiful night it is!”
“Hoe!”
The Otter Squad waddled out of the dimensional space.
“Offer dog treats, human.”
“Pant! Pant! Jungbok only needs two!”
“We are one... but also three. Yep.”
Sambok also split into Chobok, Jungbok, and Malbok.
That added another six.
“Our side has quite a few dependents, right? So the split will be twelve to two.”
This was simply the result of following the Hunters' perfectly fair tradition.
He had agreed to it himself.
“......”
A look of contempt slowly resurfaced on Seo Changhee's face.
How much time had passed after parting ways with Ryuhei?
Rumble!
Without warning...
The entire passage shook violently.
Only for a moment.
RUMBLE!!
The noise rapidly grew closer.
Something was approaching.
At incredible speed.
“It's a Rock Eater!”
Yohan shouted.
The Rock Eater devoured everything in its path—
earth, stone, blood, flesh—
creating tunnels as it charged.
Its defining characteristics were its enormous size...
and terrifying speed.
Vwooom!
An Ice Prison materialized in an instant directly ahead.
Stopping it was impossible.
But—
'I can slow it down slightly.'
Killing it wasn't the objective.
As long as they avoided its path...
That was enough.
Moments later...
The source of the thunderous noise revealed itself.
“GROOOOOAR!”
Its mouth alone measured nearly four meters across.
Its total length exceeded thirty-five meters.
It looked like a runaway subway train with no brakes.
RUMBLEEEEE!!!
A gigantic monster charged forward...
devouring absolutely everything with its enormous mouth lined with razor-sharp teeth.
Direction.
Speed.
Timing.
Every variable had to be calculated perfectly.
“Kuhahaha! Come! I shall personally measure your strength!”
Rodbrock leaped high into the air, gripping both axes.
That lunatic was actually planning to confront the Rock Eater head-on?
Unless he'd somehow grown unbelievably stronger while Yohan wasn't looking—
BOOM!
“Guaaaargh!”
Rodbrock bounced away the instant he collided with the Rock Eater.
Not that Yohan had expected anything else.
Taking advantage of his idiot companion's sacrifice...
Yohan immediately cast Light.
Rock Eaters instinctively chased powerful sources of light.
RUMBLE!!
The Rock Eater changed direction...
and charged toward the glowing spell.
The gigantic monster rushed past the group and disappeared down another passage.
The ground beneath them radiated scorching heat.
“Hmph. Victory was decided by the narrowest of margins. Rock Eater... I shall remember your name.”
“That's right, Brother. It was close.”
Yohan had no idea by what standard that had been considered close.
Personally...
He would've preferred if that fool had disappeared forever.
That aside...
It had been roughly thirty seconds since the Rock Eater passed.
Which meant...
It was about time.
“Everyone. Prepare for battle.”
“Huh? Didn't that giant worm leave?”
“The Rock Eater's charge is certainly dangerous, but it's not the real threat. The strategy for dealing with it is already well known.”
The real problem...
was what always came afterward.
Just as Yohan had predicted—
“Kirik.”
“Kirik.”
Countless glowing eyes appeared within the tunnel the Rock Eater had carved.
Corpse Beetles.
Each measured about one meter long.
Even if they lost their heads...
they retained over seventy percent of their combat ability.
They resembled giant spiders.
Except they possessed wings...
and were controlled by a single female.
Judging by the saliva dripping from their mouths...
They were starving.
These creatures could reduce even an elephant to bones within ten minutes.
“What are the female's distinguishing characteristics?”
Seo Changhee drew his sword.
“That's the annoying part.”
“There aren't any.”
They all looked exactly the same.
Among hundreds...
There was no way to identify the female.
Whoosh!
The Corpse Beetles charged all at once.
BOOOOOOM!!
Boom!
The six Blood Fireballs Yohan summoned swept through the front ranks.
Their bodies were scorched black...
but even so...
An Inferior Spell couldn't inflict fatal damage.
Apparently deciding their prey's resistance wasn't much of a threat...
The Corpse Beetles became even more aggressive.
Which...
was exactly what Yohan wanted.
[Intermediate Magic 'Frozen Orb' is activated!]
Crackle!
A dazzling white sphere appeared above the Corpse Beetles.
Cracks slowly spread across its surface.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
It shattered into hundreds of ice shards that scattered in every direction.
Like blades slicing through a winter night...
The fragments pierced deep into the insects' exoskeletons.
“Kiiiii!”
“Kirik!”
The Corpse Beetles screamed as they scattered.
The power truly lived up to its reputation as an area-of-effect spell.
'If I combine this with Bloodline Magic...'
'And create synergy with Void Magic...'
Just how much stronger could it become?
Thump.
Yohan's heart pounded pleasantly.
He was growing.
More and more.
The front cover of the book had long since become worn and tattered after countless repetitions.
Yet every single step he had taken...
was steadily building toward a future that had never been reached before.
Proof...
that everything he had done until now had not been in vain.
“I'll take the right side!”
Scarlet spread a dense web of Blood Threads, stopping the Corpse Beetles' charge.
Slash! Slash!
The insects that approached carelessly had their limbs severed.
“AAAAH! Why am I the one protecting this idiot blacksmith?! I've already burned through two lives!”
Park Yeri shook off the Corpse Beetles clinging to her body after reviving through the Hearts she had stored.
“Kuhahaha! A warrior's heart longs for a blazing voyage!”
“Everyone! Don't let them get through!”
Rodbrock swung his axes wildly.
Lagersa fought beside the Spirit Beast she had brought from the Fifth World.
As for Seo Changhee...
There was no need to mention his performance.
However...
The person who stood out the most was someone else.
“You know? Evelyn's finally going to start too.”
Bubble...
A surging blue tidal wave filled the air.
Within it—
A gigantic shark began swimming.
Crunch!
The tyrant of the sea bit an entire Corpse Beetle in half...
before vanishing back into the deep waters.
Killed in a single strike.
One of the monsters that could keep fighting even after losing its head.
'That's no ordinary Spirit Beast.'
Yohan narrowed his eyes.
Like Sambok...
The shark Evelyn commanded was something close to an Ancient Species.
'She's definitely hiding something too...'
'For now, I'll keep her close and observe.'
Just then—
Tap.
Someone leaned back against him.
“Huff... Huff... Are we really going to keep fighting until every last one of them is dead?”
Seo Changhee approached after cutting down well over a dozen Corpse Beetles.
Although they had already slaughtered more than fifty...
Fresh waves of insects continued pouring in.
Unless they found the female...
There was no escaping this situation.
“Well...”
Yohan deliberately trailed off.
“If you know a way, tell me. If we're completely surrounded, we're finished!”
“If we had a Rune... there would be a way to use it to locate the female. But Runes are so incredibly rare! Realistically... there's basically no solution. Damn it!”
“So...
If we had that Rune...
we could find the female?”
“Exactly.”
Yohan lowered his head as though all hope had been lost.
“I understand. Then I'll give you the one I have.”
Seo Changhee could only see the back of Yohan's head.
But hidden beneath that lowered face...
A radiant smile had already bloomed.