Chapter 116 (2/2)
“What do you choose? If any of the foreigners choose to remain in the first stage…”
He essentially suggested that they should remain behind to guard the Gate if they didn’t want to take the risk.
The SSS-Rank hunter, Klaus, snorted before speaking.
“It’s obvious there are more monsters in stage two than stage one, but you think I’m going stay here and let all the contributions be stolen? No thanks. I’ll proceed to stage two.”
Other foreigners seemed to feel the same way.
Since most of the Chinese people, including the exploration team leader, were moving to the next stage anyway, there was no possibility that the remaining people in the first stage would do any funny business. If ever they did so, China’s superior forces would be isolated and become dimensionally lost.
I looked at the three SSS-Class hunters, one after another, who declared that they would go to stage 2.
Apart from the consensus, there was another thing they shared in common.
The common factor that only Ray Chen and I could see.
‘Ray Chen gave them all one each.’
They were equipped with SS-Class and SSS-Class items each that weren’t there when they entered the dungeon.
The Chinese’s plan seemed to be more than just to recruit me.
‘But they didn’t give it to Nate and Hibiki. Does that mean that they don’t need to recruit the two S-Classes? They must be planning to make it seem like they died in the dungeon.’
Ray Chen signaled the move.
“We’re proceeding!”
Twenty others, excluding ten Chinese soldiers, entered the portal.
A message from the system emerged.
– You have entered the final stage of the dungeon!
– If you survive here for three days, the entire dungeon Clear will be completed.
– If an Awakened who entered stage two returns to stage one before the Clear, the timer will be reset.
The dungeon’s Clear condition was to survive in the final stage for three days.
What could be incurred from the word ‘survive’ was more terrifying monster waves than the first stage.
We surrounded the portal so that it wouldn’t disappear, creating a formation.
As we waited for a little while in that manner…
Rumbleeeee!
An earth-shaking sound reverberated.
We saw a group of fanatical monsters running over the horizon like waves.
“Initiate battle!”
*
Monsters attacked at irregular intervals for the next three days, and explorers, which were all of SS-Rank or higher, continued their defenses excellently without a single casualty.
Sometimes, when the cycle seemed to be prolonged, they took turns taking a rest, and whenever the foreigners rested, Ray Chen observed them while pretending not to look.
He thought quietly.
‘No matter how much you drink Mana potions regularly… it is impossible to maintain your Mana barrier 24 hours a day.’
Most of the items that Ray Chen distributed to Seo Jin-Wook and other hunters were recovery or defense types, and they were all easy to carry, so they didn’t have to be worn and taken off.
Of course, the reason for that was to buy time to come in contact with the body for a longer duration for them to be poisoned.
‘It doesn’t matter even if they are SSS-Class hunters. Three days is more than enough for them to be poisoned!’
Then the hunter, who was on guard, shouted sharply.
“Here comes the next wave!”
“Everybody, wake up!”
Hunters, mostly veterans, immediately got ready for battle.
The crowd rushing in was much more powerful werewolves than the first stage. Not only were they huge, but those who skills were mixed in their ranks, and the number of waves that came at once was overwhelming.
“… I can’t get used to that.”
Someone muttered while the battle was in full swing.
What he looked at was not a monster in the front.
Some of the hunters annihilated monsters faster than the others.
“Are they really… SS and S-Rank? Is the rating standard in Korea different from that in other countries?”
All of the invited SSS-Rank hunters belonged to the international top tier, and there were numerous instances where they joined forces with similar level partners. They wouldn’t be surprised by most things, but they exclaimed several times without them realizing after entering the dungeon.
“… How did they learn such skills that are optimized for genocide?”
What surprised them was the performance of three people from Celestial Dragon.
Their hunt from the first stage boasted overwhelming momentum.
“Rargh–!”
The undead group, which was charging through like a Cimmerian wave, wasn’t pushed back even if they collided with the brawny werewolves. No, they were rather unilaterally committing genocide.
The mass-produced artifacts wielded by zombies cut off the wolves’ fangs and claws, and the dragon’s aid, which rained down flames from the skies, was worthy of being called the ultimate finishing touch.
“They’re really… turning the monsters into rags.”
Someone murmured in a fed-up voice.
The scary thing about the wave was the overwhelming number of offensive forces that could make most formations collapse, yet what was collapsing at that moment wasn’t the defense formation made out of 20 hunters.
Instead, the attacking monsters were being turned into smithereens.
Hibiki’s spells also played a part in that.
[Gravitokinesis (Rank: SSS)]!
Flesh and blood rippled on the ground as she moved her hand. The gravitational magic, which utilized its maximum potential, repeatedly lifted the monster high into the sky and dropped it back on the ground. Wolves pouring down like meteor showers broke each other’s bodies and died.
However, the one killing more monsters than anyone else was…
“What in the world has the World Hunters Association been up to, not giving an SSS-Class rating to that man?”
A relinquished murmur.
The subject of their focus was Seo Jin-Wook, who conjured and fired sword energies as if he was bombarding in the distance.
The purple storm he unleashed crushed the battle formation of werewolves.
Paht!
It was finally past the promised time.
A welcoming message appeared in front of everyone’s eyes.
– You’ve satisfied the Clear conditions of the dungeon!
– Clear Condition: Survival in the final stage of the dungeon for three days.
– The boundaries have weakened at every stage of the dungeon.
“Done! It’s finished!”
“Oh, the three sickly days are finally over!”
Ray Chen smiled broadly at the cheering hunters. And he clapped his hands generously and gave a recommendation.
“Thank you all for your hard work! Please go and get the extra compensations!”
Paht! Pa-pa-paht!
The hunters disappeared as if they had teleported. They had gone to the dark space to get compensation.
On the other hand, Ray Chen wasn’t even eligible for additional compensation. Most Chinese hunters, including him, weren’t, but there was nothing to feel wasteful about.
‘The rewards that the foreigners have received…. Will be in our hands anyway.’
Even if it was a wholly imputed item, it was meaningless because they were all destined to be puppets.
‘If I knew they would perform that way, I would have poisoned those two S-Class Koreans as well.’
It was unfortunate, but he couldn’t help it because the items he prepared in advance were limited.
He smiled quietly and pulled up the red Mana in his body. The rest of the soldiers exchanged their glances and prepared something as well.
The foreigners who had received the system’s reward would compete in the next order to see who would receive the Chinese government’s compensation.
But that expectation was going to be shattered.
As soon as they got back, Ray Chen would make the toxins in their body run wild.
[Poison King’s Breath (Rank: SSS)!]
While preparing to cause extreme pain equal to having their internal organs torn apart, Ray Chen waited for the hunters to return in anticipation.