Infinite Competitive Dungeon Society Chapter 147-149

Chapter 147. What We Can Do (5)

It only took Lotte a few minutes to get from Gangwon-do to Seoul. When we arrived at the café we promised to meet, the guild members were all waiting around a big table.

… Furthermore, there was a circle of cameramen and Guardians surrounding them from a distance. Even the outside of the café was crowded with them. I nonchalantly walked into the café. The ones with power should be inside.

"You're here?"

"Yeah. Are you guys done warming up?"

"Son, get these things away. They're bothering me."

Because of the conversation we just had and the wyvern sitting outside the café, everyone turned their attention toward me. Just from a glance, it seemed all three of Korea's S rankers were in this café!

"Are you really the Dragon Knight?"

"Dragon Knight, why are you destroying Korea's gates?"

"Dragon Knight, are you really Korean?"

I raised my hand and lightly waved across the air. A small whirlpool appeared and pushed them back. Of course, the S rankers didn't get pushed back from just this, but I didn't care.

I brought my hand up to Otus' Secret. Then I changed my hair and eye colors. My eyes became black like it normally was, and my hair became grafy.

It was Yeon Hwawoo's appearance.

"Ah, you are!"

"Yeon Hwawoo, Korea's fourth S ranker!"

"Right, I'm Yeon Hwawoo. Just like you said, I'm also the Dragon Knight."

I replied calmly. Whistles rang and sighs were heard.

"Korea also had an SS ranker!"

"Why did you keep your identity hidden!?"

"What is your relationship with the Flame Witch, Hwaya Mastifo… Kuk!"

I decided to ignore the reporter that disappeared with a scream.

Although we were in a café, there were so many cameras that it was no different than a press conference. It simply meant that a lot of people were interested in us. Of course, I suspected that over half of them were angry at us, but when I glanced at Hwaya, she nodded and messaged me.

[It will spread to the whole world. I already confirmed it.] [Thanks for giving me the spotlight, Hwaya.] [I'm the one who should be thankful, Shin.]

I opened my mouth, looking at the people eyeing me.

"It is because I wasn't an SS ranker until just recently. Furthermore, I had no intention of joining Guardian or Freedom Wing."

"Are you saying the power of S ranker you showed as Yeon Hwawoo was real?"

"That's right."

Then, a man in his prime stepped forward. He was one of Korea's S rankers and a close-ranged type attacker. The man, who I couldn't remember the name of, asked.

"Do you still have no intention of joining Korea's Guardian now that you have become an SS ranker?"

"No. I believe I found my own place."

"Then why are you disturbing public order?"

People looked flustered by the S ranker suddenly diving into the core problem. I could see why. No matter how valuable Field Dungeons were, a single SS ranker was still much more valuable. Now that the truth that I was Korean was revealed, Korea's Guardian would be better off coaxing me to join them. In any case, I was thankful for his to-the-point question. I didn't want to talk to them for long.

"I want to ask why you think it is disturbing public order."

"Woo, Woo Youngha-ssi, you shouldn't…"

The S ranker, Woo Youngha, ignored the Guardian trying to stop him and shouted.

"If this isn't disturbing public order, then what is!? I do not obtain monster remains or Mana Stones by hunting such weak monsters. However, I know how important those things are to Korea's economy. Why is a Korean ranker trying to screw us over?"

"When gates naturally disappear after a certain period of time, Field Dungeons might appear like in America or Britain, but there's also a chance for strong monsters, like the one I fought before, to appear."

"That is something we should control. It is absurd to destroy all gates because of such a small risk. Furthermore, monsters might appear even when you break the gates!"

"Hm, it seems you do not know what my companions did for the past month."

For the past month, Guild Revival had destroyed Event Dungeons and cleared potential Event Raids without any outsider being hurt. With how famous the story was, there was no one who hadn't heard of it.

"Is that really it? You're destroying the gates to prevent uncontrollably strong monsters from running amok?"

"What are you talking about? It's also to prevent Field Dungeons from appearing."

"Why is that, Dragon Knight?"

The reporters jumped in once again. I replied to them with a question of my own.

"Do you think this will be the last time that gates will appear?"

"When gates appear again, will you protect the low-ranked gates again to turn them into dungeons?"

"Of course not. We will only maintain a manageable number!"

"Who said the number of gates that will appear will be within your control? Once they escape your control even once, it is all over. The number of dungeons on Earth will only increase, and humans' territory will disappear."

"That's why we should create dungeons now! To control that exact situation! Dungeons give everything an Awakened needs!"

"Don't bullshit me. Even before the gates appeared, the Awakened were free to earn money and buy equipment they wanted. Furthermore, the equipment that can come from dungeons you can manage is easy to see, so you're still saying that? If Guardian manages the dungeons, do you think they will invest the money they earn into all Awakened?"

Looking at Woo Youngha, I continued.

"It will be too late if we don't start getting rid of them now. Monsters did not emerge for the prosperity of humans. They are invaders trying to chase us out and replace us. This, I can guarantee. Even if we don't increase the number of monsters by leaving the gates alone, there are still countless monsters threatening our land. You should have caught a glimpse of that through the monster called Flame Drake."

Woo Youngha's eyes shook. I see, so he was there. No, he wasn't there while we were fighting the Flame Drake. Did he run away? In any case, he shut his mouth. I continued, not just to him, but to everyone watching.

"In terms of ability, we are confident that we are second to none. You should think carefully about why we are destroying the gates when we have nothing to gain from them."

"Isn't it to prevent other Awakened from getting stronger?"

"If we didn't act and let you all do as you wanted, they would get eaten by the monsters before they could get stronger."

"Why Korea?"

"I'm Korean, and I also grew up in Korea. Shouldn't I protect my country first?"

Then, I lightly smiled.

"But I don't understand why you're limiting us to just Korea."

My words made them freeze for a second.

"You mean…"

"Danger doesn't go away just because all of Korea's gates disappear. My companions spent the past month destroying the gates of weak countries. Do you not understand what this means?"

"You're thinking of destroying other countries' gates too!?"

"Dragon Knight, you are Korea's ranker! As a ranker, if you break the laws of other countries, you will also bring harm to Korea!"

As a Korean, there was a clear difference between clearing Korea's Event Dungeons and other countries' Event Dungeons. The former could be justified, while the latter was a crime. At least, that's what the reporters were saying. It was laughable.

"I won't trouble countries that plan on destroying their gates on their own. But I will not allow countries to selfishly turn gates into dungeons."

"What you are saying is a crime!"

"That's fine. If any country dares to regard my actions as representative of Korea, I will make sure they come to regret it. Then, Korea will not receive much backlash."

"M-My god…!"

I was done joking. It was now time to say what I came to say.

"Hwaya."

"Yeah."

What I took from Hwaya was a piece of paper recording all the locations of Event Dungeons ranked S or above. I was still surprised four of them had been in Korea, but that wasn't the important thing right now.

"In the past, it took two months before the gates turned into dungeons. If the gates all take the same amount of time, we have exactly one month left."

"R-Right."

"I heard that Guardian, Freedom Wing, and some rogues were trying to destroy these S rank dungeons. In truth, other than the fact that everyone is trying to ignore dungeons ranked A or below, I think it is an excellent plan."

"The Guardian headquarters and we also agree. For that, we—"

I cut him off and continued.

"And in the past month, exactly 12 gates were destroyed. They were all S rank dungeons, and in the process, over 40 rankers got killed or injured. Plus, not once did more than 3 SS rankers come together."

"Getting the project started was a pain. However, from now on, the number of injured or deceased should decrease, while the number of destroyed gates should increase."

"You mean you can destroy 34 remaining gates until the next month?"

I grinned. Everyone should have understood already.

That it was impossible.

"Where will you give up and where will you save? I can guarantee that you will waste more time deciding that, and let more gates become dungeons. Can you confidently say that won't be the case?"

"Neglecting the gates that you should be able to destroy for profit, while neglecting the gates you must destroy because you can't come to a consensus, because of conflict of interest, because of lack of ability… When the day comes where there are more monsters than humans on Earth, I wonder if you can still say we are disturbing public order."

I announced.

"We are Guild Revival. Our members aren't too different from the rest of you. Heavy and cumbersome things like humanity or nation have been put aside. We gathered to first protect our friends and family."

"Guild Revival."

"He said Revival."

"I heard of Team Revival before."

Ignoring their murmuring, I continued, declaring my intention to all those listening from beyond the camera.

"We will take care of all of the gates in Korea, starting with the two S+ rank gates and S rank gates. After that, you should have no doubt about our abilities. We can talk again then. All of you must compensate us for helping to destroy other countries' S rank or above gates."

If you wanted something, you have to pay for it. Give and take. It was the most basic principle that even children understood.

Between safety and resources, what would they choose? To be honest, it didn't matter how they reacted, so I maintained my nonchalant expression. Why?

It was obvious. We would destroy all Event Dungeons regardless! This was just a proclamation. To tell them to crawl on their own!

I had no intention of letting even a single Event Dungeon escape. I would protect Earth, obtain stats, piss off Guardian, Freedom Wing, and Ciara, and get rewards from bosses! There was nothing so full of benefits! I already missed a month's worth of Event Dungeons to train, so I couldn't possibly miss any more!

"I hope everyone will watch over us. We will show you the power and will of Guild Revival."

With a composed expression, yet eager eyes, I glared at each of the cameras and shouted inwardly.

'Just you wait, Event Dungeon! I'm coming around to sweep you up!'

Author's note:

My, I took the whole chapter just talking (looking at a far away mountain)

I hope it wasn't too lengthy. It was pretty important so I put some spirit into it… T.T I hope you're happy with it.

Translator's note:

Clearly, the author has never read Chinese web novels…

Chapter 148. What We Can Do (6)

After my one-sided proclamation ended, we left the café and jumped on Lotte's back. When I first tamed her, she refused to let others ride on her, but after getting used to the guild members and getting more familiar with me, she allowed this much.

"I will go too. It looks like the Guardian headquarter won't approve of you, but I want to see with my own eyes the skills you are so confident of."

A young woman popped out from the crowd and asked to join us. She was another one of Korea's S rankers… But, of course, I couldn't remember her name. Feeling her glare, I nodded.

"Sure. You can follow us if you can."

"Huh?"

"Our Lotte won't let non-guild members ride her, you see."

[If you asked me to let that whore ride on me, I would have eaten her whole.]

Lotte muttered. I scratched her neck to calm her down and shouted.

"Let's go!'

"W-Wait! Yeon Hwawoo-ssi, Yeon Hwawoo-ssi!"

Lotte flapped her wings. Not even the S rankers could resist the wind pressure. Lotte kicked off the ground and leaped up. The concrete ground crumbled, but Lotte was already flying.

"Wait, Yeon Hwawoo-ssi! I said, take me with you!"

"My god."

She was a wind ability user!? That S ranker flew slightly slower than Lotte as she shouted at the top of her lungs. Plene, who was still stuck to my back, complained.

"I don't like that woman's voice."

"Now women are going after him even though he's wearing a mask. What do we do about this man? Should we just wrap his head around with a boxing tape?"

"That's it!"

"Don't turn me into a mummy!"

[I'm going to go faster.]

"Sure, Lotte."

[Mm.]

When Lotte raised her speed, the woman fell behind for a moment, but soon, she sped up and continued to follow us. Looking at her, I realized she was holding the hands of the other two S rankers. I could see Woo Youngha's pale face clearly, as she grabbed him by his neck like she would to a cat. Seeing me show interest in the rankers, Hwaya introduced them.

"They're all in Guardian, which is why A+ rank is the highest in Korea's Freedom Wing."

"You really know everything, Hwaya."

"N-Not everything. I just know what I have to… You need to know your enemy so you can prepare for them."

"Enemy, huh… It sure is getting crazy, damn it."

"Humans biggest enemy is themselves, Kang Shin. You should have felt it in Britain. If you think everyone will come to your side after listening to you, you'll only be badly hurt."

Walker said with a snort. Seeing him crossing his arms and gazing at the clouds, I felt that he looked a bit lonely. Then, I considered why he said that. Was he… worrying about me?

I muttered.

"… Are you actually a good guy?"

"That's disgusting. Screw off."

I was certain Walker was changing. Perhaps one day, quicker than I would have thought, the contract might become unnecessary.

"The important thing is that we're doing the right thing, son. Event Raids that break out when you least expect it, and Field Dungeons that resets a few months after being cleared. Didn't you experience them both with your own body? Event Dungeons cause too much harm. No matter how big the potential gain is, our work must continue."

"Of course, father. I won't hesitate. I already made up my mind a month ago. Plus, I knew from the very beginning that what we were doing was right."

I lightly smiled and retorted. I wasn't troubled about that at all. What I did today… although I couldn't be sure, I felt like it would go the way I wanted.

Our first target was the S+ rank Event Dungeon. Coincidentally, it appeared in Yeungdeungpo. I was surprised Hwaya lasted until today with how stressed out she must have been.

"Really, I'm going to have to tell Mom to move. Shin, is there a house up for sale near yours?"

"Sorry, but my mother will jump for joy, so please don't."

This time, the Event Dungeon appeared in the middle of a park. The park, of course, became off limits, and countless Guardian forces were protecting it. It was to prevent meaningless deaths.

"It's Dragon Knight!"

"His wyvern sure is huge!"

"I-Is he really trying to enter this gate? Isn't he crazy?"

Lotte flapped her wings midair and glared at the gate. Frightened by Lotte, they panicked.

"Do not enter! This place is under Guardian's jurisdiction and is not open to the public! If you want to enter, you must form a party and get approved by the government!"

"I see!"

I politely responded to the voice coming from below.

"But I don't care!"

Lotte immediately charged into the gate.

[You entered the S+ rank Event Dungeon, Forest of Rage.]

"It's another forest."

"Don't tell me there are more spiders…?"

"So this place is…"

"We came in…"

Eh? I turned around at the unfamiliar voices. Lo and behold, Korea's three S rankers were there! I didn't think they'd really follow us into the gate!

"I can't believe you went ahead without caring about us… It was hard catching up to you!"

"Uh… Good job, but you know this place is an S+ ranked dungeon, right?"

"Ah, now that you mention it!"

There were no S+ rank Awakened in Korea. These three were all S rank Awakened. I wondered what gave them the confidence to march into this dungeon. At that moment, a roar rang out across the entire dungeon.

[Kuaaaaaang!]

The S rankers became stiff. For the record, Walker also went stiff.

"Damn it, if I die here, I'll reveal your evil deeds in my will, Kuuk!"

"You won't die, so don't worry, Walker."

I grinned and took out my spear. Although Yeon Hwawoo was known to use his fists, he was just revealed to be the same person as Dragon Knight, who already fought against the drake with a spear. As such, it didn't matter even if I used a spear.

Spinning the spear in my hand, I dispersed my mana into the surroundings. Then, I stopped not long after.

"I found it."

At the same time, a great breaking sound rang out from the forest.

[Hero! I can feel the Hero's presence!]

"Everyone, get down and prepare. 11 o'clock, 5 meters tall. It's charging straight at us. It looks like a close-ranged type, but a part of its body has mana clumped together, so it might be hiding a trump card."

I concisely explained the information I gathered from mana detection, then began circulating Peruta Circuit. Ludia spread her arms out and cast Blessing on the party members. In an instant, the whirlpool around my spear became stronger.

With a boom, the trees in front of us fell and it made its appearance. As I said before, it was 5 meters tall. Although it was shaped like a human, its skin was green and unnaturally muscular, while it had only one eye.

"Cyclops!"

[Hero, I will have the Herooo, kyakuk!]

The Gluttony Spear I threw out easily turned the cyclops' head to dust. I hadn't even used Heroic Strike, so it really died in vain. I retrieved the Gluttony Spear by pulling on its mana and spoke to my companions.

"I'll support you guys from above. They shouldn't be that hard from what I see."

"Not that hard!? They weaken others by casting the fear status effect!"

"Honestly, you should block something like fearing."

"Y-You…!"

Leaving the raging Walker be, I ordered Plene."

"When the cyclopes appear, sing your weakening song, okay?"

"Un, okay! The song where we all have fun together, right!?"

"Y-Yeah."

"Wait, Dragon Knight! What should we do?"

She's asking me? What a smart woman!

"I won't tell you to fight, but since you decided to observe us, do it while you run away."

"Y-You want us to run?"

"Lotte, let's go!"

With just me on her back, Lotte flew up. Although the rankers probably wanted to ride on Lotte, I didn't even turn around as I flew forward. If I could fly in the dungeon, I was clearly better off fighting on Lotte. If I got into a serious fight on Lotte, not only would they vomit and get motion sickness, but they would also get thrown off.

[What will you do, Hero?]

"My guild members are strong. They should be able to take on two of them at once."

[Then we should find groups of three or more.]

"Exactly."

Lotte raised her flying speed. This dungeon was contained the one-eyed giants, cyclopes. Befitting the title of S+ rank, they had powerful strength, resistance against mana, and ability to weaken magic and aura. However, Mad Typhoon was greatly effective against such special traits.

The endlessly spinning whirlpool of aura broke down their resistance and dealt special blows that were impossible to regenerate from. Peruta, who created this, was indeed worthy of being called a god.

[Kuaaaaang!]

"Gale Track!"

[Kraaaaaaa!]

Lotte roared and charged. No matter how big the cyclopes were, Dark Wing Lotte was the biggest and strongest of all wyverns. Not even the cyclopes could block her charge. Imbued with a gale, the Gluttony Spear pierced through the cyclopes. The trees in Lotte's path all fell and marked our track.

"Lotte, go there, where five of the mare gathered! I'm using the final blow!"

[Understood, Hero!]

After sending twenty cyclopes flying, a strong wind energy gathered around the Gluttony Spear, which had been strengthened by 140%. Even as Lotte charged forward, the energy flowing in from all sides transferred to the whirlpool of aura. The whirlpool almost looked like it was enveloping both Lotte and me.

"Peika!"

[Yeah!]

Looking at the cyclopes that got up from their rest and prepared to throw trees at us, I shouted my elemental's name. Peika instantly gathered golden lightning to the tip of my spear. It was a Thunder Bomb, which had all of her power concentrated.

"Thunder Tempest!"

Unable to hold in my excitement, I shouted out the skill name. Immediately afterwards, I strongly clashed with the group of cyclopes. The force of the whirlpool mixed with the lightning and a violent explosion broke out.

[Kiaaaaa…!] [It was… the Hero…!]

The cyclopes standing in the front instantly died, and the ones behind them were also swept away by the explosion. Although the ground tremored loudly from their collapse, they were like music to my ears.

I had become strong. Even an S+ rank dungeon was a playground for me. Delighted, I made a big smile, when suddenly…

"What are we supposed to do if you kill them all? We're practically just spectators!"

Hwaya's voice rang out from far away. When I turned around, there were cyclopes in the path Lotte and I crossed. After using Gale Track, I had killed all the cyclopes I could see, so I forgot to leave some for the others.

[S-Sorry. I went a bit too wild.] [No, you did well. It's better the more overwhelming you appear to them. You were cool.] [Scary basta… Kuuk!]

Contrary to what she just shouted, Hwaya had a very satisfied tone in the guild communication channel. Although I hadn't planned on it, I had ended up showing the S rankers an effective show of force.

Of course, not all cyclopes were dead. Other than the five cyclopes that ate the brunt of my final blow, others were collapsed on the ground with their limbs or chunks of their bodies torn apart. I then traced Gale Track's path and took care of the cyclopes left alive.

"D-Dragon Knight…"

"He killed these monstrous creatures in one blow…"

"Kuk."

After joining the others, I couldn't help but laugh, seeing the three rankers' change in expression. Although they were the only ones with that expression, once we finished cleaning up Korea's dungeons…

[Kuaaaa!] [Kill the Heroooo!]

Because of the ruckus I caused, more and more cyclopes were gathering. I spun my spear around again as I turned around.

"Alright, let's finish within 3 hours. I want to get rid of the other three before the day breaks."

"Taking care of Korea in just one night. …That sounds fun!"

Father grinned.

"Damn, you know, I have to guard your sister tomorrow, too…"

"Do your best, Walker!"

"You devil! Kuaak!"

Walker screamed. Startled, the S rankers backed off from Walker.

I slightly pitied Walker, but only just a little.

Chapter 149. What We Can Do (7)

For the past month, my companions had joined hands to clear all sorts of Event Dungeons. Although those dungeons were below A rank, I didn't feel that the time was wasted. They had gotten more accustomed to fighting with each other.

"Ha!"

With a spirited shout, father thrust his spear forward. A chunk of a cyclops' leg blew up, making it fall on top of two of its friends. Of course, incapacitating the two of them didn't do much to help the current situation. Ever since a while ago, piles of cyclopes were coming at us.

"Just one of them is annoying enough. Where are they all coming from?"

"It's all thanks to our cute leader. They must have realized that they have no chance of winning unless they all joined forces."

Hwaya leisurely retorted, reaching her hand out and burning the cyclopes in that direction. Sumire and Shuna were blocking the cyclopes from the front, while Hwaya burned them with long-ranged attacks. As for us close-ranged attackers, we ran around killing incoming cyclopes on our own. One thing for sure, we had too many close-ranged attackers compared to the one long-ranged attacker we had.

"Shin-nim, help the right side!"

"Got it."

Responding to Sumire's call, I kicked off the ground, while a whirlpool surged around my spear using Peruta Circuit. The two cyclopes attacking Sumire were sent flying by the spear I thrust out.

"Plene!"

"Lalala~!"

When five new cyclopes appeared, Plene began to sing energetically. Every time she sang with a delightful expression, it looked like strength were leaving the cyclopes' bodies.

"Kuk, I'm losing strength…"

"Damn… it…"

The S rankers, who weren't considered to be in our party, were also affected, but it was fine since they didn't need to fight. Without caring about them, I continued hunting.

"Lotte!"

[I know!]

As I decided to fight with the party members on the ground, Lotte and I were moving separately. Lotte harassed the cyclopes while freely flying in the sky. The black flames she breathed out could heavily injure them, and even cast curses.

[Kuaaaa! A bird with wings keeps blocking us!] [That bird is a harmful bird!]

The cyclopes tried to attack Lotte, but without any long-ranged attacks, it was impossible. As Lotte also knew this, she jumped in and out, drawing as much of their aggro as possible. Meanwhile, we used the openings she created to attack them.

"Eit! Eit! Die!"

Ye-Eun made cute shouts as she tenaciously focused on the cyclopes weak points. In her hands were one black and one white pair of daggers, the reward she got from the Flame Drake raid. Her shouts and expression didn't match at all, so I wished she'd stop.

"What are we doing with their corpses?"

Hwaya asked, as she endlessly generated flames to burn the cyclopes. She gave me a small wink. Although we already talked about it, it seemed she said it for the S rankers to hear. I also replied casually.

"We'll sell them. I'm sure many people will want S+ rank monster corpses. Ah, we'll keep a few as souvenir… I wonder if they taste any good."

[Ku, Kuooooooo!] [T-The Hero is scary!]

After hundreds of cyclopes died, the situation changed, as black cyclopes began to appear. These cyclopes were bigger than the normal ones and were holding gigantic clubs in their hands. Since Hwaya's flames couldn't easily burn them, it seemed they also had higher resistance to elements.

"The boss is going to appear soon, Hwaya!"

"If you're tired, fall back to the defense line and rest until the boss comes!"

Hwaya shouted in response to my words and shot out white flames at all sides. It was a powerful attack, which made all of the cyclopes step back. Walker immediately ran to the back. It seemed father was tired from the constant fighting, as he also ran back after Walker.

"Huk huk, damn it, my attacks are barely effective…!"

[Walker, if you keep it up, you'll get stronger from the stat bonuses.]

"If you didn't force me into being your sister's bodyguard, I would have been much stronger right now!"

"Walker, you have to seize the opportunity when it arrives!"

"Like I said, you prevented me from doing that!"

Although I wanted to talk to him in the guild communication channel, it seemed Walker didn't want to. It probably didn't matter, since the S rankers were too focused on what was happening in front of them that they didn't pay attention to our conversation. I became seriously sorry for Walker. I hoped to reward him soon!

Chatting with Walker was fun, but it was about time to clean up the battlefield and prepare for the boss. First, I took out a highest-grade Mana Potion and put it in my mouth. I fixed my grip on my spear, bending down and leaping up.

"Shuna, Sumire! Get back!"

"Yes!"

"Shin-nim!?"

After instantly jumping over 10 meters in the air, I pulled my spear back and activated Peruta Circuit to its limit. A five-colored light then began to gather in my spear.

[Kyak! One-eyed giants!] [Are you teaching them a lesson? Prince-nim, are you teaching them a lesson?] [I can ride this! Strangely, I'm fine!] [Everyone come, it's a special spin spin!]

Countless elementals caused the whirlpool enveloping Gluttony Spear to take a rainbow hue. In the short moment where I stayed in the air, I thrust my spear toward the incoming cyclopes and shouted.

"Die!"

'Damn, I wonder when I'm going to fix my habit of shouting.'

[Critical Hit!]

From the sky to the ground, a violent elemental storm raged. The black cyclopes in the front were quickly swept through, as were the cyclopes behind them. Although not all of them were dead, they were incapacitated.

"Hwaya, let's clean up!"

"Y-Yeah!"

Hwaya, who was blankly staring at me for a moment, snapped out of her daze and began to quickly kill the cyclopes that managed to survive. She simply threw her white flames into their throat. If there was no response, they were dead. Otherwise, they choked on it and died. It was quite convenient.

After landing, I drank the Mana Potion I put in my mouth. After Elemental Tempest ended, countless elementals scattered, giving me blessings and blowing me kisses. I couldn't help but smile. I had heard that I would be able to see the elementals I wasn't connected to as I grew as an Elementalist. It seemed that was true. Although they were still a bit hazy, I could somewhat recognize them.

"Y-Yeon Hwawoo-ssi, what ability was that? Wasn't your ability lightning?"

"You don't really think I'll tell you that, right?"

I responded to the female ranker's question and gave her a wink. Then, I threw away the empty potion bottle. Although Elemental Tempest took 50% of my mana, if I prepared a potion beforehand and drank it in time, most of my mana would be restored by the time I was done! Since I could reduce the potion's cooldown time, it was quite smart.

"What an enviable ability. Mm….!"

"Shockwaves are good too."

"That's enough chattering. Get ready."

Hwaya shouted acutely. Since we would be going up against a S+ rank dungeon boss, it was understandable. Plus, she was likely preparing for the potential Event Raid as well.

[Shin, I'll use Blessing again.] [Yeah. Thanks, Ludia.]

"Plene, get ready to sing again."

"Okay!"

Ludia stuck her staff into the ground and began to chant a holy scripture with a silvery voice. The fatigue that had unknowingly built up disappeared and my body brimmed with strength. It was truly mysterious. Even after her world fell and Ludia moved to Earth, she still maintained the power of the god she believed in. Although I didn't think too deeply, I thought about the existences called gods once again.

"The boss is probably going to be a cyclops. After Lotte breathes her black flame to decrease its resistance, we'll each use our strongest attack. The boss fight will start from there."

"Got it."

"Understood."

"The cyclopes' boss… I can't even imagine what it would be."

The party members began to prepare their attacks. Father's spear was vibrating since a while ago. I suspected that it was the new path of martial arts he created.

Then, it finally appeared, seemingly out of nowhere. It just suddenly appeared in front of our eyes.

[Guoooooooo!]

It was over 10 meters tall, and its red skin and ghastly eyes exuded an oppressive aura. As if just two arms weren't enough, it had an additional two for a total of four. It held a club in each hand. At the same time, Gluttony Spear began to vibrate. Eh? Wait, could it be…? As a thought crossed my mind, it opened its mouth. Since it probably wasn't going to breathe flames, it was probably going to shout.

[Black Curse Breath!]

What a cool name!

Before it attempted to fear the entire party, Lotte's poured black flames on it. The word 'pour' was extremely suitable for her attack. Like tar, her flames stuck to its body, unpleasantly squirming around and burning its body. If she wasn't on our side, I would have been frightened out of my wits.

[Guooooook!] [It won't last long. It'll reduce its attack power, movement speed, and resistance to everything.] [Why didn't you use that against the drake?] [I couldn't back then. I acquired it after being with Hero… Mm.]

It seemed like Lotte was embarrassed, but I didn't have the time to think about that right now. Hwaya was the first one to attack. Her flames were so white that they could be mistaken as light.

"Die!"

Was that a universal shout!? Her flames struck the cyclops' chest, scorching it until its bones could be seen. Even more shocking was the fact that Lotte's tar was preventing it from regenerating. Father's spear attack then struck the same place. An explosion boomed and it trembled from the shock, coughing out a large amount of a blood. Father dodged its club swing and fell back, all the while shooting a condensed shockwave aura.

"Die!"

"Really! It just sounds lame!"

We don't need to all say the same thing!

"Eit, die!"

"Kuk!"

"Huu… Spear Charge!"

"I, I'm going too! Shield Rush!"

The other members exploded out with their attacks. The cyclops let out an enraged scream and tried to swing its clubs at them. Lotte's tar was slowly losing its effectiveness.

"O power of the earth, stop the sword of the mobs!"

[Guoook!]

Ludia's silvery chant rang out, and the cyclops' clubs halted in midair. Its wounded chest was wide open.

"Now!"

Ludia shouted. Her staff was radiating incandescence.

I aimed my spear at its chest. I had long since finished turning it into a white lightning bolt. The chest wound burned by Hwaya and dug by father! I could even see its beating heart.

"Dieeeee!"

"E-Embarrassing…"

Almost as if my spear was being sucked in, it pierced its chest with a huge explosion of aura. The whirlpool of aura devoured its regenerative power and successfully blew up its heart.

[You defeated the Event Dungeon boss monster, Cyclops Lord!] [2,000,000 gold is distributed evenly amongst party members. You received 250,000 gold.] [Kang Shin-nim's contribution is the highest. Choose your reward.] 1

"Shin killed it, now's our chance, everyone atta… Eh!? It died!?"

Just like that, we perfectly cleared the Forest of Rage.

Author's note:
For the other 3 dungeons in Korea, they won't take so much of the chapter, and will mostly be skipped over. The important thing is the characters' accomplishments, not the process of conquering the dungeons… The dungeon will have to at least be SS rank to be exciting, right? ^^

Cyclops Lord's Broadsword

3. Half Elixir

5. Cyprus Dagger

7. Lump of Refined Blue Iron
8. Deathblood Ring ↩

Chapter end