NOVEL NEXT Chapter 62
All the Hunters stared at the Chimera with cautious expressions.
Since it was a special case of a dual dungeon.
It was a situation where that gigantic monster couldn’t simply be judged as an A-rank monster.
In a dungeon, anything happening is not out of the ordinary.
There was even a possibility that it could be the boss of a dual dungeon.
For that reason, the Hunters did not let their guard down.
The Chimera’s body completely emerged from the gate, including its tail.
A bizarre body with the torso of a giant lion and the head of a goat.
Its swaying tail resembled that of a snake.
But what was most bizarre was.
“There’s two heads in front?”
“It looks similar to a human, which is disgusting.”
One head was that of a lion.
But next to it, on an abnormally long neck, was a human head.
The gigantic mouth, big enough to tear ears off, exuded an intense presence with its sharp teeth.
Even Hunters who had encountered various monsters instinctively grimaced at its appearance.
“But the human side looks kind of familiar…?”
“Don’t be ridiculous! Where would you have seen something like that?”
“Is that so? Haha… Well, I guess you’re right.”
A few Hunters exchanged nervous voices.
Meanwhile.
The Chimera’s goat head began to glimmer with a purplish hue in its eyes.
It was preparing a large-scale spell, emitting an ominous aura.
At the same time, the snake-like tail sprayed poisonous mist around the Chimera.
“Is the defensive magic ready!”
“Yes, it’s ready to go!”
“We are prepared!”
At Ye Do-hyeong’s shout, the rear-line Hunters responded vigorously.
At that moment.
“Meh——!”
The Chimera’s goat head looked up at the sky and let out a loud wail.
Simultaneously, dazzling lightning aimed to tear everyone apart fell upon the Hunters.
Bam! Bam!
But the Hunters didn’t plan on going down easily.
They unfolded their defensive magic at the exact right moment.
A blue protective shield formed, dampening the power of the lightning and scattering it into the air.
However, it wasn’t perfect.
Szzzz!
The last thunder split as the shield shattered.
It meant they narrowly held their ground.
Ye Do-hyeong frowned.
The defensive magic was not his specialty, and he had been conserving mana.
But the shield was too precarious.
Moreover, as warned by Kim Ji-a Hunter, the Chimera’s methods of attack were not over yet.
Szzz——
“Cough, cough!”
The snake head continued to spray poisonous mist.
As a result, the melee Hunters began to get poisoned.
If they delayed taking the monster down, all Hunters would become poisoned.
The mist was spreading significantly.
“On the bright side…”
The lion and human heads were straightforward.
They only aimed to bite with their sharp teeth.
Of course, getting bitten would be dangerous, but it was better than the goat or snake heads.
Watching the situation, Ye Do-hyeong made a quick decision.
“I’ll take out the snake head first, then the goat head!”
“Understood!”
“Ga-eul! Focus on purifying the poison!”
“Okay, got it!”
He clearly directed the priorities to the Hunters.
Then, he communicated what needed to be done to the Female Supporter from the Dawn Guild.
Ye Do-hyeong turned his gaze back at the monster ahead.
It was a formidable opponent, but he judged it to be a monster they could definitely take down.
Having survived as a Hunter for so long, he was confident his judgment wouldn’t be wrong.
But there was one issue.
“I still haven’t even entered the dual dungeon.”
If that thing wasn’t the boss, he’d have to face an entity even stronger than it.
Therefore, the exhaustion here shouldn’t be too excessive.
He hoped the Later Group would arrive soon and focused on the battle.
* * *
Ji-a, who was firmly guarding the rear-line Hunters, calmly surveyed the situation.
Indeed, it wasn’t just anyone in the vanguard.
Everyone was focused on taking down the monster with calmness.
But even after some time, they hadn’t managed to cut off even the snake head’s tail.
Concluding her thoughts, Ji-a approached Ye Do-hyeong and said.
“Do-hyeong.”
“Yes?”
“I don’t see a reason for me to waste my time here. I’ll stick with the tail.”
“Hm…”
Do-hyeong glanced back at the Female Supporter.
Though she was trembling as the escort pulled away, he didn’t stop her.
She often whined and acted childish.
But still, being the elite of the Dawn Guild, she must have made a decision on her own.
“There’s no time to waste on the escort anymore.”
“Please take care of it. But if anything changes, come back immediately.”
“Understood.”
Ji-a nodded.
Thud!
She immediately dashed forward, kicking the ground.
The cold air streaming from her spear left a blue trail behind her.
It was a new weapon made from the dragon stone they had captured with Si-hyun before.
The bizarre human head of the Chimera turned to gaze at Ji-a, rushing towards it.
As if it intended to swallow the new intruder whole.
Its long tongue flicked as it opened its massive mouth wide.
“Caw!”
Thud!
Ji-a deftly twisted her body to evade the Chimera’s teeth.
A loud sound echoed from the teeth that bit into thin air.
Ji-a did not slow her pace and lowered her body to sprint faster.
Her legs tensed, gradually picking up speed.
The chilly air flowing from the spear froze the air and drew a blue trajectory.
In a nimble movement, she swiftly passed the Chimera’s enormous body.
In an instant, reaching the tail, she kicked the ground and leaped high.
‘Here!’
In mid-air, she swung the spear above her head, aiming directly for the snake’s head.
The moment the frosty spear tip radiated light!
“Kyah—!”
With a deep cut, blood gushed forth as the snake head let out a painful scream.
As Ji-a gradually landed on the ground, ice shards started to scatter around her.
Just like how the snake poisoned the Hunters, Ji-a’s spear began to slow down the serpent’s movements.
Thud!
Ji-a landed smoothly on the ground and composed herself.
“Wow! Young lady, that was excellent!”
“Thank you!”
The Master of the Knight Guild smiled contentedly as he praised Ji-a.
Immediately afterward, as if he couldn’t lose to the youngsters, he lightly sprang up from the ground.
Once again landing squarely on the tormented snake head, he carved numerous wounds.
With Ji-a joining in the attack.
The Hunters accelerated their efforts against the snake head.
The two heads and front legs were taken care of by the S-rank tanker of the Dawn Guild.
Most remained at the tail through appropriate support from the rear-line Hunters.
As a result.
“Grrrrr!”
“Kyah!”
“Kyiiik—!”
The remaining heads of the Chimera emitted horrific sounds, as if metal were splitting.
It was because the Master of the Knight Guild had severed the snake head at the tail.
In that moment, all hunters unified their voices to shout.
“Nice—!”
“Haha! Serves you right!”
“You’re splendid, elder!”
The spreading poisonous mist gradually settled down.
The Hunters taking care of the tail coughed but adjusted their stance and formation.
Having removed the most troublesome head, a sense of relief spread among the Hunters.
But at that moment.
The Chimera, which had only been targeting the opponent in front, exhibited unexpected behavior.
“Meh——!”
The goat head yet again filled its eyes with a purplish hue.
Simultaneously, the Chimera’s body scratched the ground with its legs, assuming a charging position.
“Defensive magic! Get it ready quickly!”
The melee Hunters hastily moved as they joined the main group.
Ye Do-hyeong, who had given the order, began preparing the defensive magic skill.
He felt something was off.
“Can we block the charge?”
“Leave it to me!”
The S-rank tanker from the Dawn Guild stepped forward.
Steadfastly positioning himself at the edge of the shield’s range, he held his large shield forward.
‘I must minimize the impact of the charge…!’
At that moment, just as the Hunters were finishing preparations with a narrow margin.
Rumble———!
A tremendous roar shook the air.
Boom! Bang!
Powerful pillars of lightning began to strike the shield.
The force was far greater than before.
Even with Ye Do-hyeong covering the shield, it still felt precarious.
The lightning didn’t stop at just one strike and continued smashing down onto the shield.
With each hit, cracks began to form, peeling away the shield.
“We can’t hold much longer!”
“I’m running low on mana!”
“Is it going to break through?!”
Under the pressure of the large-scale magic, some Hunters screamed.
Ye Do-hyeong clenched his teeth, pouring more mana into sustaining the shield.
If it weren’t for him, the shield would have shattered by now.
Rumble—!
Bang! Bang!
The relentless lightning crashed into the shield.
Now, the only thing holding them together was Ye Do-hyeong’s barrier.
Among the Hunters, a creeping fear began to spread.
Some even lost their balance and fell.
Amidst the chaos, Ji-a tightened her grip around the spear.
She looked up, ready to leap at any moment.
The instant the shield broke, she planned to take the lightning head-on.
‘If I use my skill, I might be able to deflect some of it.’
Ji-a steeled her resolve.
Just then, someone placed a heavy hand on her shoulder.
“…?”
Ji-a turned her head to see who it was.
It was the Master of the Knight Guild.
“That role is mine to take.”
“Hmm…”
Ji-a paused for a moment, pondering.
This person was stronger than anyone in the vanguard.
Yet at the same time, he was a Hunter who had stepped back from the frontlines due to age.
He was only participating in this operation because of a request from the management during an emergency.
Uncertain about what to do, Ji-a looked back up.
The intense lightning continued to urgently strike the shield.
It seemed it would break through in a matter of seconds.
Since she was in a support role, she thought it might be better for her to step up first, given her relatively good condition.
As she quickly organized her thoughts.
Ji-a made a firm decision amidst her resolute heart.
Still, the lightning was slamming down fiercely, pressing down on Ye Do-hyeong’s shield.
Right then.
Boom———!
The ground began to tremble without warning.
The earth roared and a great noise echoed.
All gazes turned to the ground in an instant.
The dirt outside the shield began to ripple.
And.
Rumbling!
A gigantic mound of dirt shot up at an incredible speed!
The extending dirt mound solidly covered the top of the shield.
The earth wall formed demonstrated an impressive resilience, leaving marks with each lightning strike but standing firm.
“Whoa, that’s insane.”
“W-What the hell…?”
The earthen wall suddenly created amid the crisis.
The Hunters held their breaths, all staring at the wall.
It was a level of protection unlike anything they had seen before.
Moreover, the earthen wall’s performance didn’t stop there.
As soon as the lightning magic ended, the Chimera charged forward, attempting to ram into the massive wall.
Boom—!
A tremendous roar resonated, shaking the ground.
However, the massive earthen wall stood strong, deflecting the blow.
There was no need for the S-rank tanker of the Dawn Guild to step in.
‘Could it be…?’
Ji-a felt her heart race and turned around.
The only person she knew who could perform such a feat was one.
“Wahaha! Everyone! Kang Cheol-min, I’ve arrived, so you needn’t worry now!”
A gigantic man shouted vibrantly.
This signaled the arrival of the Later Group.
The Hunters rushed into the boss room.
Moreover, behind them.
There was a familiar figure to Ji-a.
A person dressed in a black nun’s robe.
The direction the veil was facing met Ji-a’s gaze.
Ji-a brightened her smile like the sunshine.
* * *
With the participation of the Later Group, the defeat of the Chimera was smoothly completed.
Some members of the Later Group, who still had some stamina, began monitoring the gate of the dual dungeon.
The remaining Hunters began to take a breather.
“Everyone, grab the supplies!”
“Don’t forget your potions!”
The Hunters from the Later Group distributed items prepared by the management to the vanguard.
Meanwhile, the S-rank Hunters gathered in one place to share information.
“So, it came from that portal and wasn’t the original boss?”
“Hmm, the original boss was a Lich.”
In response to Kang Cheol-min’s question, the Master of the Knight Guild answered.
Then the tanker from the Dawn Guild sighed heavily.
“Phew… We had hoped that thing would be the final boss, but I guess there’s more to come.”
“Well, with the four of us, it’s more than enough. I, Kang Cheol-min, will stand strong in front! Hahaha!”
Kang Cheol-min placed his hands on his hips and laughed boisterously.
The other Hunters, including Ye Do-hyeong, wore wry smiles.
It was a familiar sight to those acquainted with Kang Cheol-min.
“By the way, whose skill was that earthen wall earlier?”
“Hmm? I’m not sure. No one in the Later Group specializes in that, right? Must have been from the vanguard Hunters?”
“…Really? Hmm.”
In response to Ye Do-hyeong’s question, Kang Cheol-min shrugged as if it didn’t matter.
What mattered most was that he had made his impressive entrance.
After having already taken down a monster stylishly, an earthen wall was not an essential detail.
From now on, he had only to shine and raise the guild’s honor.
Feeling Kang Cheol-min’s inner thoughts, Ye Do-hyeong let out a light sigh.
He didn’t speak again and instead glanced around at others who had participated in the Later Group.
Then, all of a sudden.
Feeling a subtle danger, Ye Do-hyeong instinctively looked in that direction.
A person cloaked in a nun’s robe and veil was staring at him.
Although the face wasn’t visible, it was evident that they were glaring at him.
‘…Why are they looking at me like that?’
Ye Do-hyeong tilted his head momentarily.
But then.
“I’ll be taking command from now on! Hahaha!”
The loud shout of Kang Cheol-min snapped him back, refocusing the meeting.