“Can you guess the intention of the system, Gyu-ha-ssi?”
“Your question implies the system is sentient. But why all of a sudden?”
“Well, I just can’t understand why it would force such a ridiculous idea—saying a bat is a rat—and pair a great hunter like Gyu-ha-ssi with someone like me, a lowly awakener.”
“I’m not a great hunter.”
Hearing the words of humility from Hyeon Gyu-ha’s mouth, In Yoo-shin was taken aback. What? Was there still such a thing as monsters that deceived people by whispering nonsense?
“Why is your expression like that?”
“No. I didn’t make any expression.”
“It’s as if you’re surprised that I don’t know how to say humble things.”
“That’s not it. I know very well how humble you are, but that can’t be true.”
“Hmm.”
Hyeon Gyu-ha narrowed his eyes with a doubtful expression, but In Yoo-shin tried to endure with a calm face. Fortunately, he took a step back.
“Anyway, it’s true. It’s because of my hunter lineage.”
“Ah, Gyu-ha-ssi’s mother was also a hunter, right?”
Even so, I knew that Hyeon Gyu-ha’s mother was a hunter with a certain name. However, she disappeared at a young age, leaving behind her only son, and she never ranked higher.
Gyu-ha didn’t respond to that and just rubbed his shoulders with a sigh.
“It’s time for the dungeon boss to appear, so get ready.”
Just in time, the system’s notifications were also updated.
[The boss of the dungeon, ‘The Slayer of Distorted Oblivion’ appears.]
In Yoo-shin also got ready—to admire and support Hyeon Gyu-ha’s battle.
Boss monsters form over a somewhat longer period compared to ordinary magic beasts.
“Khaaaagh!”
As soon as the monsters let out wild cries, they wriggled and reformed themselves from the shadow of the ‘Distorted Slayer.’
As expected, to a certain extent the ‘Distorted Slayer’ was a human body dressed as a fifteenth century European. Its face looked similar to the portrait of Columbus that remained today. However, it had six legs and three arms, as well as being the size of a three-story building.
The ‘Distorted Slayer’ had a telescope in one hand, a native’s blood-soaked neck in another, and gold in the other hand. In Yoo-shin’s face turned pale at the gigantic appearance that seemed as though it could swallow him.
‘I have a bad feeling about this.’
Like the monsters, that bizarre figure must be proof that the world inside the gate was twisted.
He swallowed dry saliva with nervousness. It would be difficult to deal with the dungeon boss alone, no matter how smart Hyeon Gyu-ha was. Buffing was…… I left it as a last resort and focused on not mistiming my healing.
Thud!
When one of the six legs moved, the land shook as if an earthquake had occurred. The monsters cheered and bounced around.
In Yoo-shin whispered behind the back of Hyeon Gyu-ha, who just stood there.
“How do you beat something that big?”
“With more firepower, more weapons, and more bullets.”
With those words, Hyeon Gyu-ha pulled out his weapon from his inventory. It was a heavy machine gun. More firepower than a rifle that could shoot dozens of rounds in a single burst…… Huh?
Hyeon Gyu-ha pulled out another heavy machine gun. He pulled out another heavy machine gun. He pulled out another heavy machine gun. He pulled out another heavy machine gun……
Countless heavy machine guns, which Yoo-shin gave up counting after the tenth one, were levitated into the air by Gyu-ha’s ability. The target was ‘the Slayer of Distorted Delusion.’
And Hyeon Gyu-ha just shot at it.
He used mana in a simple and radical way, such as coating mana on all bullets, which numbered in the thousands or even tens of thousands.
Fireworks and bullets rained down from the heavy machine guns, filling the air with the thundering sound of the sky tearing and the ground splitting. Yoo-shin didn’t know if it was an illusion, but Hyeon Gyu-ha was still standing right before his eyes.
[The boss of the dungeon, ‘The Slayer of Distorted Oblivion,’ has died.]
[The dungeon has been cleared.]
It had six legs, but it died without being able to take six steps.
“……”
Hyeon Gyu-ha leisurely walked towards In Yoo-shin, whose mouth was hanging open in shock. Even though he had just brute-forced his mana in such a simplistic and ignorant way, his face was annoyingly unscathed.
“As expected, hunting is best when done solo.”
“……”
“I know. You don’t have to make that face since you know that I’m not just a good-looking guy but also a capable man. However, any praise from my Master is always welcome.”
Hyeon Gyu-ha quickly lowered his head for him to pet, but In Yoo-shin screamed instead.
“No! How does this make any sense? That boss was so easy for you to beat!”
“Praise your able-bodied pet rodent for its lovability.”
“Ugack.”
“Won’t you praise me?”
“Praising you now, right after the fight, is the same as giving a buff!”
“Sheesh.”
His eyes must be playing tricks on him, making him think that Hyeon Gyu-ha clicked his tongue with the expression ‘You got me.’
In Yoo-shin collapsed on the floor in vain. There was no point in being nervous. It was so pointless to be able to clear the bosses and complete the dungeon raid……
‘If I were a hunter, I think I would’ve been frustrated after seeing Gyu-ha and never raid a dungeon ever again……’
Raiding dungeons alone was a noble task for the sake of protecting the mental health of hunters…
“Ah, by the way, when will the gate be closed once the boss is defeated?”
“When the reset is over. There’s still a long time left, so if you want to take the crystal stones, go ahead.”
There were countless monster corpses lying around to the point that the ground could not be seen, and each corpse contained one crystal stone. In a word, it was a goldmine.
“What about Gyu-ha-ssi? Will you come back later with the workers?”
“Well, I’ll just take the big one.”
Dismantling the force field, Hyeon Gyu-ha took the crystal stone from the corpse of the ‘Distorted Slayer,’ which had now become a piece of meat. Seeing the crystal stone the size of a child’s fist, In Yoo-shin was involuntarily amazed.
“Wow. Usually, crystal stones are about two fingers big, but the crystal stones of dungeon bosses are huge. This is S-class, right?”
“I can pay my taxes this year with this.”
In Yoo-shin wondered if it would be equal to his annual salary if he removed a single crumb from that large crystal stone.
Hyeon Gyu-ha, observing his admiring expression, tilted his head crookedly.
“If you want it, I’ll give it to you.”
“What? Gyu-ha-ssi’s taxes? Me?”
“It would be nice to convert it into money, but absorbing the mana of this crystal stone will help your abilities as well. Maybe you can make an army of tamed hamsters?”
In an instant, a paradise-like scene unfolded in my head, of being surrounded by an infinite number of small, cute hamsters munching with their little mouths. Warm, dense, cozy creatures. It was a very happy image, but……
‘Gasp! Wake up! It’s a trap.’
I hurriedly escaped my happy daydream.
“I decided not to take on any more younger brothers of Gyu-ha-ssi, so no other hamsters.”
Hyeon Gyu-ha’s lips went up in satisfaction. In Yoo-shin breathed a sigh of relief. If I decided to tame another hamster, Seoul would get destroyed. Another problem—if Seoul were destroyed, even the nearby Kaesong would be destroyed.
“It’s wonderful that you remembered.”
“But did you find the artifact you’re looking for?”
“An artifact?”
“You said there was something to be found in the dungeon. Wasn’t that an attribution artifact?”
“No. It would be convenient to have more attribution artifacts, but the two I have are good enough.”
“Then what were you looking for?”
“If I had to describe it, the word ‘artifact’ would be very wrong…… Wait a minute.”
Suddenly, Hyeon Gyu-ha’s gaze went up to the sky. At the same time, In Yoo-shin also looked up at the sky, but he, who had a smaller supply of mana than Hyeon Gyu-ha, detected the abnormality only after a new message was displayed on the system window.
[A dungeon break has occurred.]
In an instant, In Yoo-shin’s complexion turned pale.
A dungeon break—in which monsters many times as the number of people in a normal dungeon pour in at once. This is generally known as a phenomenon that occurs when a dungeon is reset repeatedly or when the mana in a dungeon is excessively concentrated— that is, when the dungeon is not cleared out.
There are also cases wherein the boss is left unattended, and the dungeon is artificially congested to generate a break. However, Yoo-shin had never heard of a case in which the break triggered at a gate that was already cleared by killing the dungeon boss.
“W-what should we do, Gyu-ha-ssi?”
Hyeon Gyu-ha’s skills were confirmed with his own eyes. He spent that much weapon and mana just for clearing the dungeon, but could he alone handle a break that was several times greater than the monsters he just experienced?
“Shouldn’t we hurry out and call for support?”
Even if Hyeon Gyu-ha had exhausted all his strength, wouldn’t it be possible for Hyeon Gyu-ha to hold out until other hunters arrived? It would help a little if I collected all my mana and gave him heals and buffs.
With tension, In Yoo-shin clenched both hands into fists. I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t scary. However, Hyeon Gyu-ha leisurely cleared the dungeon and saved me from bank robbers. If it were him by my side, I had faith that somehow this would be resolved.
“Gyu-ha-ssi, I can do anything to help……”
Resolutely raising his head, In Yoo-shin’s pupils expanded. Because Hyeon Gyu-ha’s gaze was positioned so much higher, he hadn’t been able to properly observe his expression until now.
Hyeon Gyu-ha was reflected in his eyes.
“In Yoo-shin. My ¦°ø¾sð. You really are the best. I’m glad I brought you here with me.”
He was smiling very cheerfully.
HM: Basically Yoo-shin got a front row seat while watching Gyu-ha fighting the monsters….. And also became a one-member audience.
PA: Gyu-ha is lowkey giving Gilgamesh vibes ….
Editor M: I’m really enjoying how HGH unabashedly leans into deranged pet/girlfriend behavior. If IYS looks at me with those big dewy eyes, I would also chain myself to him.
------
Credits:
Translator: Hoshi Miya
Editor/Proofreader: Editor M
Comments