Who Designed This Underworld Dungeon?

[Clergy Beast]

It is said to be a mutation of a clergy member who underwent excessive beastification and is often the first formidable foe encountered by hunters newly arrived in Yarn.

Its enormous size and twisted, fur-covered body perfectly fit every stereotype people have about beasts, as if this is exactly how beast-type Monsters should look.

Its warped skull, from which twisted horns grow, adds a demonic feel to it, making it utterly unassociated with the word "Clergy".

The terror is, despite its already immense size, its left hand is even more swollen, capable of smashing a sturdy carriage with a single claw.

If its body could catch fire, it would seem even more powerful.

"The bad premonition came true..."

Fanen's instincts led him to suspect that something unusual must be hidden on the bridge when he noticed the Wolfman dared not approach. It could be a Monster-repelling potion, a defensive structure, surely not the cliché of an even stronger Monster?

It turned out to indeed be an even stronger Monster!

He thought this Dungeon wouldn't play such a trick!

"Even though I'm not afraid, there's no way I can take down such a Monster alone."

Fortunately, the Clergy Beast had fallen to the other end of the bridge, seemingly guarding it from anyone passing through. The distance between them was quite far, and it would take some time for it to rush over, enough for him to escape!

This thought sprang up, and as it did, Fanen swiftly turned and looked behind, even taking the first step.

And then, he saw the white fog.

"Hey, what's this?"

At some point, the white fog had appeared and blocked the gate he had entered through?

Upon closer inspection, it seemed that the exit of the opposite bridge was also blocked by similar white fog. Is this some kind of magic?

His body shot out like an arrow, unable to stop, so with a hardened heart, Fanen accelerated towards the white fog, gripping the Saw Meat Blade with his right hand to face the lurking Wolfman outside.

"Bang!"

A strangely satisfying collision sound rang out.

Fanen's vision went dark; he felt dizzy, as if the world were spinning, all because he had gone headfirst into it.

It was at this moment he realized that this fog was actually solid!

The Fog Gate looked passable, yet it constituted an indestructible, sturdy wall!

Why had a Fog Gate appeared on his escape route? Undoubtedly, it was there to prevent him from running away.

Realizing this fact caused Fanen to twitch all over, not from fear but from rage.

"Is it necessary to go to such lengths!!"

If some of the first adventurers of the Sain Dungeon were here, they would likely enjoy seeing his various embarrassments, almost as if watching themselves in the past.

Stepping into every pitfall there was!

"They anticipated I would run away."

He gritted his teeth, displaying a fierce expression, bravely turned to face the Clergy Beast, and shouted to bolster his courage:

"Then I'll show this Dungeon how I slaughter Monsters!"

Yes, that's the spirit, don't lose face! Gong Qiying watched amusedly.

Whatever this Dungeon's intentions were, Fanen now found himself backed into a corner, forcing him to make a gamble. His eyes swiftly searched the bridge for anything usable; being adept at utilizing the terrain to perform seemingly impossible feats is a mandatory course for Hunters.

The position of the Clergy Beast didn't seem to have moved much, granting him a few seconds to think!

The bridge wasn't especially wide, and the Clergy Beast blocking it almost entirely. Not to mention the scattered debris like broken carriages, statues with odd poses, and gnawed corpses, which, if anything, were more of a hindrance in battle than a help.

Could he use a broken carriage to block an attack, was there a spot under the bridge to hold onto, and if he could dodge attacks by jumping off the bridge and then spring back to attack in cycles...

His brain raced with thoughts, but before Fanen could derive anything concrete, he noticed the Clergy Beast in the distance making an obvious move.

The way it advanced was peculiar, using its abnormally large left hand to grip the ground, as if it was the strongest part of its body—hold on, why did it stop, why is its left arm bent, is it gathering strength—

"Boom!"

The Clergy Beast's left arm suddenly exerted force, launching itself skyward, transforming into a vast shadow looming over Fanen's head, closing the distance between them in the blink of an eye, closing in to strike!

"Is there such a way to jump!?"

In a panic, Fanen lunged forward, narrowly avoiding the sudden impact, feeling the intense vibrations through the bridge as he lay flat on the ground, further comprehending the Clergy Beast's terrifying strength.

Time didn't grant him a moment to pause; just as he began to rise, his movements lagged. Suddenly, the Clergy Beast's other, "normal" arm grabbed hold of him, hurling him across the bridge, slamming him into the wall.

"Oomph—"

A mouthful of fresh blood spewed forth; without a second thought, he jabbed the Blood Collection Bottle into himself, not daring to confirm the extent of his internal injuries, injecting twice in succession!

"Howl!"

The Clergy Beast lunged forward, both hands gripping the ground, its bloodthirsty gaze almost overwhelming. Its desire to attack was as fierce and unyielding as a genuine beast, leaving no chance for respite.

In Fanen's eyes, the oncoming Monster was far more terrifying than the whale Monster he saw during his sea voyages as a child!

He hurriedly darted behind the nearest statue, hearing the rumbling crash and feeling countless shards of stone pelting him, making his muscles ache. Thank goodness for Yarn's sturdy statues!

"Bang! Bang!"

Two gunshots sounded as he fired blindly into the dust stirred up by the Clergy Beast's impact, without looking back, running to widen the gap, seeking more tactical thinking space.

A shadow flickered from the sky, the gigantic Monster dropping once again right before him.

Seeing the Clergy Beast descend in the same way right in front of him, Fanen felt numb.

But he raised his hand and slashed at the opponent's bent legs twice, feeling as hard as cutting through steel, yet blood gushed out. He could inflict damage on this guy!

The next second, he was swatted away like a ragdoll, rolling on the ground twice before coming to a stop.

"Again!"

Fanen immediately climbed up from the ground, wiping away the blood seeping from the corner of his mouth, revealing a battle-addicted smile.

Being a hunter is a profession that requires courage and wisdom.

They need wisdom to find prey, set traps, track prey, and protect themselves, considering many things during the hunt.

However, when emergencies arise during the hunt, when prey breaks through all the traps, even threatening the hunter's life.

You have to use courage to fight the prey to the death.

Fanen was initially intimidated by the clergy beast's terrifying appearance, that wild form and heart-stabbing scream were indeed frightening, but when he realized he could harm the clergy beast, even if just drawing a bit of blood, he remembered his identity as a hunter.

After getting up, he acted as if to run, and the clergy beast indeed repeated the flying smash from the sky.

However, he swiftly turned his steps back, successfully dodging the smash this time, not even wobbling his body.

Two more slashes landed on the monster, its emaciated back immediately exploding with wounds.

But the bleeding on the back was even less, indicating it wasn't a weakness. Fanen silently noted this, and with a "clack", his Saw Meat Blade transformed, utilizing the distance advantage to avoid the clergy beast's backward swipe, whilst effortlessly hooking the blade onto its left arm.

The next thing he had to do was hold onto the Saw Meat Blade tightly because—

The clergy beast roared, lifting its massive left arm to smash down, but the Saw Meat Blade was hooked onto its left arm! Its movement instead helped in wounding itself!

Fanen was flung away, but he steadied himself with a mid-air roll, landing firmly, with an expression of surprise on his face, muttering:

"Unexpectedly, the most intimidating-looking left arm is actually a weak point."

The feeling of chopping the left arm was much better than other parts!

Quickly making battle preparations and finding the weak point within a short period, Fanen's combat talent might be higher than imagined.

He threw his last remaining burning bottle from his arms, exploding on the monster, flames scorching the hair, this burning bullet dealt more damage than the previous slashes combined.

"No wonder hunters all love to burn monsters with fire, this is the wisdom of predecessors."

Fanen watched the increasingly furious clergy beast charging, planning in his mind for the next hunt.

Why the next time?

Because he knew he couldn't win this time.

No matter how fancy his previous moves and techniques appeared, after all those actions, when assessing the damage...

Even if the clergy beast stood still, letting him slash, he couldn't necessarily finish it off completely.

Too hard, it's just too hard.

Blood therapy strengthened his body, and his strength improved, yet it still wasn't enough, far from enough!

Clearly, the Saw Meat Blade was sharp enough, but without sufficient strength to wield its sharpness, Fanen even felt like he was dishonoring this weapon.

"Still want more power..."

But he had no idea how to enhance it.

He sighed, charging towards the clergy beast, planning to gather some intel on the enemy this time, doing everything he could to prepare for the next hunt.

He wondered if after defeating the clergy beast, there would be an exit past the large bridge behind it that would allow him to leave the dungeon.

Battle, slaughter, whatever word used to describe this was fine, Fanen was giving it his all now.

Amidst the fierce battle, he suddenly recalled the small giant wielding a giant axe, that guy was like the clergy beast, completely unfazed by slashes.

Should he try a Gun Counter?

Watching the clergy beast lift its left arm high, ready to attack, Fanen thought this was a good opportunity, perfectly meeting all the criteria for a Gun Counter.

He instinctively slowed his fleeing pace, raising his hand to fire a shot at the enemy.

The gunshot and the smashing ground sound echoed simultaneously!

Not long later, in Hunter's Dream.

"Trying and just dying..."

Resurrected again, he scratched his head helplessly, the bullet hitting the clergy beast was like scratching an itch, without any Gun Counter reaction.

Was it his Gun Counter technique that wasn't up to par, or perhaps such a gigantic monster couldn't possibly be Gun Countered?

Fanen shook his head, unsure of the situation.

He suddenly felt that he had accumulated quite a few Blood Echoes on himself, and surprisingly, there were still a lot left after this resurrection.

"What if I exchange all of them for burning bottles?"

The flames should be extremely effective against the clergy beast, if he armed himself with burning bottles to fight, perhaps he could find a chance for victory?

Thinking this, Fanen walked towards the altar, glancing at the workshop on the way.

Then his steps froze because he saw that female puppet.

Puppets weren't unusual, he was used to them by now, but the problem was...

She stood up!

"Hello, kind hunter."

Meeting his gaze, the puppet nodded slightly.