Chapter 12
In the Emergency Response Center Situation Room of the Hunter’s Bureau, Bureau Chief Jung Young-Chul watched the screen displaying the interior of the A-rank Great Fissure, the Swamp of the Dark Ogre, while reading the documents handed over by his aide.
“Upon confirmation, four Hunters have entered the Great Fissure: three A-rankers from the Mejai Guild and one F-ranker. According to the investigation, the F-rank Hunter, Kim Hyun-Woo, entered the Fissure at 07:40, followed by A-rank Hunters Han Dong-Hyun, Yoo Mi-Ra, and Yoo Jung-Ho at 07:42. Three minutes later, at 07:45, the Fissure distorted, and the boss monster appeared. It is a Monarch Ogre.”
Young-Chul placed the document on the desk and shifted his gaze to the screen displaying the emergency cam feed to see three familiar A-rank Hunters—they were top battle assets, including Han Dong-Hyun, the guild master of the major guild, Mejai.
They’re going to die.
Statistics showed that to survive a Fissure Distortion, there needed to be at least two Hunters, one rank or higher than the Fissure. In other words, at least two S-rank Hunters were needed in that Great Fissure to defeat the Monarch Ogre.
“What’s the status of the Hunter deployment?”
“Kang Min-Hyuk and Han Min-Ji were nearby and departed immediately.”
“Will two S-rankers be enough to handle it?”
“It should be possible.”
Young-Chul turned to his aide with a deeply furrowed face.
Realizing his mistake, the aide bowed his head. “I will deploy an additional S-rank Hunter. If we do that, we will definitely be able to handle it.”
“We cannot afford a single mistake. Do you understand?”
“Yes. My apologies, Chief.”
Young-Chul tapped his fingers on the armrest of his chair and thought to himself.
What is an F-rank doing there?
***
A holographic message stating that entry and exit were restricted during the Fissure Distortion appeared before their eyes.
This meant that no one could enter or leave.
“Drink all the potions we have. Mi-Ra, keep us updated with the Monarch Ogre’s location. If we get caught, we’re one hundred percent dead. Stay focused,” Dong-Hyun issued orders to his companions.
He was relieved that Yoo Mi-Ra was with them. Her skill, Hawk Eye, was a B-rank skill that allowed her to detect enemies within a kilometer by consuming mana.
In the current situation, where the surroundings were dark and hard to discern, Hawk Eye would be more useful than any other skill.
“Do you think we can make it out alive…?” Yoo Mi-Ra asked him.
“Well, don’t they tell us to keep our wits about even in a lion’s den? If we do just that, we will survive. Don’t think so negatively and focus on how we can get through this instead.”
Yoo Mi-Ra nodded, then gathered her mana and activated Hawk Eye. Her eyes glowed, and everything became clear.
“I don’t see the boss monster just yet.”
“Good, that’s a relief. If we lure and take down the Dark Ogres one by one, we’ll gain the upper hand. Jung-Ho, you make sure you conserve your mana. If it’s just a scratch, don’t heal it. And if all three of us get injured, prioritize yourself.”
Yoo Jung-Ho was a healer, often referred to as a noble. But that didn’t mean he lacked combat power.
He had the strength of a typical B-rank Hunter, but with his A-rank healing skill, Light, he was classified as an A-rank Hunter.
“The problem is this guy with the mask…” Dong-Hyun trailed off.
At first glance, the man in jeans and a hoodie looked like an ordinary person.
Dong-Hyun bit his lips and asked, “Let’s cut to the chase. Are you a Hunter?”
Do-Jun nodded.
After confirming that Do-Jun had nothing in his hands, Dong-Hyun scolded, “Fucking hell, you’re a Hunter, and you came in without any equipment? Into a Great Fissure?”
“Man, try not to get so worked up,” Do-Jun replied dismissively.
“Are you not grasping the magnitude of this situation? Be honest. What rank are you?”
When Do-Jun fished around in his pocket and showed his Hunter ID card, Dong-Hyun saw the large letter F.
Even the small glimmer of hope was crushed.
“You’re a liability. Just hide somewhere. We absolutely won’t have the luxury to protect you.”
Do-Jun pondered, realizing that just taking down one monster and leaving was not an option anymore. Judging by the message displayed in front of him, they would have to defeat the Monarch Ogre to exit.
Should I just observe them for now?
There were three pairs of eyes watching him.
If they managed to defeat the Monarch Ogre and leave the Great Fissure, he could stay until the end, kill a Dark Ogre, collect its mana stone, and leave without any issues.
Dong-Hyun and his group drank the three potions hanging from their belts. Each costing 100 million won per bottle, they temporarily amplified Strength, Agility, and Stamina stats. Normally, they would’ve carried out the hunt without them, but now wasn’t the time to spare any resources.
“Good thing it’s Dark Ogres. If we were somewhere else, we’d be dead for sure.”
Unlike goblins or trolls, ogres did not move in groups.
Though taking down one ogre was just as hard as taking down five trolls, it worked in their favor in the current situation.
“We’ll take them down one by one. One at a time…” Dong-Hyun muttered and Yoo Jung-Ho nodded in agreement.
Meanwhile, Yoo Mi-Ra was observing the surroundings with Hawk Eye. She felt puzzled as she detected three Dark Ogres four hundred meters ahead walking northward in unison as if they were possessed.
That’s strange, she thought.
Why were they walking together?
At that moment, Do-Jun approached Yoo Mi-Ra and said, “It seems unlikely we can take them down one by one.”
“I told you to stay hidden in a corner somewhere!” Dong-Hyun shouted in frustration.
Blocking Dong-Hyun, Yoo Mi-Ra calmly asked Do-Jun, “Why do you think that?”
Do-Jun looked beyond and saw an ogre over twenty meters tall. The distance was too great for normal eyes to see, but it wasn't a long distance for Do-Jun, who could see a thousand miles by using just a bit of his internal energy.
“The ogres are gathering.”
Do-Jun could see it—dozens of Dark Ogres converging toward their master, the Monarch Ogre.
“Gathering? That’s nonsense! Ogres don’t form groups!” Dong-Hyun growled.
His group was already anxious, and Do-Jun was spouting words that were ominous enough to lower the morale.
“Calm down, Guild Master,” Yoo Mi-Ra said as she tapped Dong-Hyun on the shoulder. He was glaring at Do-Jun as if he would devour him.
“Sorry, I got worked up. But still…”
“Masked Hunter, please explain in detail,” Yoo Mi-Ra said.
Do-Jun smirked and continued his explanation, “Unlike the others, there’s an ogre about four times taller. That must be the Monarch Ogre. And the Dark Ogres are gathering around it. In total... there are about fifty of them.”
Everyone fell into despair at Do-Jun’s words.
If what he said was true, there was no way they could survive.
It was relatively easy to take down one, but anything more than that was going to be impossible.
“Can you take them down with your powers?” Do-Jun asked the three Mejai Hunters. It wasn’t a taunt; he was genuinely curious.
If there was even a slight chance that they could handle it on their own, Do-Jun had no intention of stepping in.
“Even an S-rank Hunter wouldn’t be able to handle that,” Yoo Jung-Ho answered with a bitter smile.
Rooooaaar!
Rrrrrrumble.
The entire swamp shook.
Do-Jun spotted the Monarch Ogre letting out a roar as it walked toward them, followed by the Dark Ogres marching in a line.
“They’re coming,” Do-Jun muttered, and the group tensed up.
“Tell me it’s a lie,” Dong-Hyun pleaded.
“Well, I’m not really fond of lying.”
“At this point, we have no choice but to fight. Even if we can take down just one, it would make things easier for the others,” Yoo Jung-Ho said, pulling out a mana gun from his waistband.
Seeing this, Dong-Hyun and Yoo Mi-Ra also drew their weapons. Dong-Hyun unsheathed a sword while Yoo Mi-Ra readied a bow.
Noticing the trio trembling with tension, Do-Jun clicked his tongue as he watched the approaching group of ogres.
If Dong-Hyun’s group were to die and he was the only survivor, it was obvious that Hunter Kim Hyun-Woo would receive all the attention in the world.
It’s better if we all make it out alive.
He thought that the scenario where F-rank Hunter Kim Hyun-Woo barely survived a Monarch Ogre with the help of other Hunters would let him get away without drawing any attention to himself.
But what he was unaware of was the fact that the emergency cam was running.
“They’re here! Everyone, stay sharp!”
“So that’s the Monarch Ogre.”
“Try not to get hit!”
Everyone saw the Monarch Ogre leading an army of dozens of ogres.
Deep down, Dong-Hyun knew that no matter how focused they were, they wouldn’t win this one.
Against all expectations, Do-Jun suddenly stepped forward, holding a stick the size of a forearm. He drew a circle on the ground around Dong-Hyun’s group.
“What are you doing…?”
After finishing the circle, Do-Jun threw the stick away.
Then something amazing happened.
Whoosh!
A faintly glowing blue barrier surrounded the group.
After confirming the activation of Barrier, Do-Jun pulled out a bladeless sword, basically a hilt.
“Don’t take a single step out of there.” Do-Jun turned to Dong-Hyun’s group and spoke as they stared blankly at the transparent circular barrier surrounding them.
Crackle, crack!
An ink-black blade revealed itself, and the ground began to shake far more violently than before.
Even the air grew heavy and oppressive.
“Hurrrrk!”
Yoo Mi-Ra felt like her mana was flowing in reverse and up her throat, making her nauseous.
At the same time, Dong-Hyun and Yoo Jung-Ho felt suffocating pressure, and they started to tremble, making them feel that if they lost focus for even a second, they would pass out.
Crack!
“Hurk!”
Yoo Mi-Ra continued to gag, unaware that the emergency cam hanging from her neck had cracked. Struggling to breathe, she barely managed to lift her head to see what was happening in front of her.
Do-Jun let go of the Heavenly Demon Sword from his hand, but it did not fall to the ground.
Instead, it began to rise into the air.
As Do-Jun gestured forward, the Heavenly Demon Sword soared toward the Monarch Ogre with a loud bang.
It was a sword technique called Sword Summon, where internal energy was infused into the sword for a strike.
Slash!
The Heavenly Demon Sword cleaved the Monarch Ogre’s body in half, then, like a boomerang, returned to Do-Jun’s hand.
Yoo Mi-Ra’s eyes widened at the sight.
Huh…?
The Dark Ogres didn’t move anymore. No, they couldn’t move.
They were overwhelmed by the immense demonic energy emanating from the Heavenly Demon Sword.
[The Monarch Ogre has been defeated.]
[The distorted Fissure will return to normal.]
Crackle!
As Do-Jun withdrew the internal energy he had infused into the sword, the blade of the Heavenly Demon Sword disappeared, returning to its original bladeless form.
Regaining their senses, the Dark Ogres hastily began to flee.
“Tsk.”
Do-Jun didn’t chase after them. Instead, he retrieved a mana stone from the Monarch Ogre’s corpse that was only as big as his palm despite the massive size of its source.
Then, he erased the lines drawn on the ground, lifting the Barrier.
“Let’s just say that you guys killed the Monarch Ogre. I’m sure that will be better for you as well.”
Poof.
Just like that, Do-Jun’s figure disappeared.
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