Episode 48
The interior was a perfect wasteland.
There was no sun or moon in the sky, but thick clouds glowed with an orange hue. The ground was split and torn, twisted as if an earthquake had struck, and a few withered, dead trees could be seen between the cracks.
'A typical Chimera dungeon.'
Chimeras basically resembled the Grim Reaper in form. They didn't carry scythes, but their enormous claws and skin made separate weapons unnecessary.
And Chimera bosses were mostly slightly smaller in stature, but instead were so agile they couldn't be compared to normal Chimeras.
Since bosses varied greatly by dungeon and rank, Jonghyeon had already looked up information on A-rank Chimeras.
"A flock of Chimeras is flying in from over there!"
Perhaps because this was everyone's first A-rank dungeon, they were all in a state of slight tension. And at Cha Jiwon's shout in that state, everyone quickly took their positions.
The flock of flying Chimeras numbered about fifteen.
For an A-rank dungeon, the flock's size was a bit small, but A-rank Chimeras were unimaginably dangerous.
Their flying speed was tremendous as well, but basically, unless it was sword qi or a strong magic attack, their skin wouldn't be injured.
Less than three minutes after Cha Jiwon spotted them, the flock of Chimeras had circled the seven of them.
'Tch. As expected. Since it's come to this, I should see what they're capable of.'
To clear the hidden boss, these people needed to have some level of ability. If they were ones who would die to these lower-level monsters, it would be better to turn off the watch early.
They probably didn't properly know that there was a hidden boss, and could never imagine it was the watch's function.
Still, clearing the hidden boss would definitely increase the profits earned. In truth, it didn't matter if some of them died. Because the profit distribution would increase depending on the number of deaths.
But Jonghyeon was human too, so he wasn't very fond of seeing fellow humans die, and if it really seemed like it would be a problem, he had intended to turn off the watch from the start.
The Chimeras approaching at high speed paused briefly, observing the party.
No one knew how humans appeared in their eyes, but they were sizing them up, so to speak.
"Kwiik—!"
As their breathing grew rougher, Jonghyeon's eyes clearly distinguished between those who were nervous and those who were already responding.
The Solver team showed obvious signs of tension, while the three from the Dangun Guild were already each preparing something.
Lee Seokcheon checked behind him briefly and, rather than waiting for the enemy to pounce, initiated a preemptive attack.
"Kwieeeek!"
The speed of the Chimeras' gliding attacks as they met him was like a swarm of bees.
There was no such thing as taunting like in a game system, but tanks always had their own ways of drawing their attention.
Lee Seokcheon skillfully rushed at them first with his sword and shield, and seeing that, Cha Jiwon, who had run out a beat later, defended Lee Seokcheon's back.
But despite their provocation, several Chimeras didn't attack and instead kept them in check.
'As expected. My prediction was right.'
Every time he entered a higher-rank dungeon, Jonghyeon had been feeling it since long ago.
That monsters grew in the intellectual aspect as well.
Knowledge was ultimately humanity's exclusive property. If a dog runs errands, you call it a smart dog, not a dog with knowledge.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that knowledge was the biggest reason humans could achieve civilization.
Jonghyeon could clearly feel that, and any A-rank hunter with even a little bit of brains would immediately sense it.
That they grew in intelligence and knowledge as well. And that was a very important factor when devising strategies.
While Jonghyeon stood leisurely making such speculations, the remaining members were quite busy.
'I don't need to step in yet.'
That didn't mean he could just stand still, but he planned to perform only his own role.
If he displayed his abilities to their fullest, he could have handled about half of the flying Chimeras right now.
But he didn't feel the need to go that far, and besides, this was basically a test. He had to judge whether these people had the ability to take down the hidden boss.
While Jonghyeon was thinking such thoughts, the supporter Lee Hwiseok muttered something and threw several talismans, scattering them in a circle.
Ziiiiing—!
The talismans scattered as if drawing a circle, as if they knew their proper positions, and soon began creating chains in a circular form.
"This should protect our supporter and magician to some extent."
The moment Lee Hwiseok finished speaking, one of the Chimeras keeping the remaining members in check threw a fireball.
The rapidly flying fireball looked like about five Fire Balls that magicians used clumped together.
Pang—!
But the fireball disappeared into the barrier Lee Hwiseok had set up, and Jonghyeon sheathed the short sword he had reflexively drawn. He had intended to deflect that fireball if necessary.
"This Anti-Magic Field has a certain degree of immunity to magic. But it's hard to withstand physical force."
"Then, Jeongu-nim..."
The magician Kim Hyeonseok opened his mouth as if to ask something, but Gang Jeongu was already gone.
At some point he had charged out and was fighting the Chimeras mixed in with the tanks.
"This messes up the positioning."
Kim Hyeonseok prepared his magic with a bitter expression.
The Chimeras were definitely aware of the magician's presence.
The monsters' magic resistance was quite high, but they seemed instinctively sensitive to the flow of mana.
This seemed especially true for A-rank dungeons, and this was something Jonghyeon had already known when he entered the Poggwi's dungeon.
That was why, while the magician was preparing his magic, Gang Jeongu should have been protecting the magician.
But having grown greedy for something, Gang Jeongu was fighting mixed in with the tanks, having abandoned the magician.
'It can't be helped.'
Jonghyeon intuitively felt that he had to protect the magician himself.
And just as Jonghyeon had sensed, when Kim Hyeonseok reached the process of preparing his magic, three Chimeras witnessed the scene and began charging rapidly.
Not to be outdone, Jonghyeon sprang up, channeling qi into his feet.
At the same time, one of the Chimeras swung its claws to keep Jonghyeon in check, but Jonghyeon quickly cut off the claws with his short sword.
"Kieeeek—!"
Aerial combat was a difficult fight for wingless humans. Because wingless humans couldn't change direction in mid-air.
But after cutting off the Chimera's claws, Jonghyeon grabbed the Chimera itself and then stepped on it to jump even higher.
Two Chimeras looked up to find Jonghyeon, who had escaped their line of sight, but Jonghyeon's speed was fast even in the air.
Two Chimeras were instantly cut by Jonghyeon's short sword imbued with sword qi; while they avoided fatal wounds, the Chimeras with injured wings began plummeting to the ground.
Tuk—
Jonghyeon landed quickly on the ground without giving them any time, nimbly dodging the Chimeras' attacks and immediately taking their lives.
Kim Hyeonseok used the time Jonghyeon had bought to use magic to drop many of the flying Chimeras from the sky, and taking that opportunity, the tanks and Gang Jeongu cleaned up the Chimeras.
'This isn't what I intended. I helped them too much compared to what I planned.'
From the beginning, Jonghyeon only needed to take care of the magic-using Chimeras among those that descended to the ground.
In a normal party, they would bring a defensive magician and an offensive magician, and the defensive magician would take the place of the shaman Lee Hwiseok's role.
The time until offensive magic brought the Chimeras down to the ground was something Gang Jeongu should have bought.
And that fact became quite a big problem.
"Mr. Gang Jeongu, what do you think you're doing right now?"
"Ah. I'm sorry. I got excited without realizing it. But from a results-oriented perspective, we caught them faster, didn't we?"
Kim Hyeonseok, who was somewhat angry, pressed him sharply, but Gang Jeongu retorted with a smile instead.
But it was Lee Seokcheon who exploded at those words.
"You. I don't know what you're thinking, but right now we are a team! Don't you know the basic rules of teamwork?"
It was exactly as Lee Seokcheon said.
Whether intentional or not, Gang Jeongu had undermined a fellow team member.
Kim Hyeonseok was the Dangun Guild's representative magician. If he died, the Dangun Guild itself would suffer a blow.
"Ah. I'm sorry. I usually play tank often, so instinctively..."
At Gang Jeongu's consistently sly answers, Lee Seokcheon looked like he had no intention of enduring any longer.
The two began closing in on each other to the point of almost fighting, and Cha Jiwon and Seon Jusik latched onto them to mediate.
"Ah, why are you all doing this."
"That's right. One can make mistakes. We need to combine our strength right now."
But at those words, Lee Seokcheon grew even more furious.
"A mistake? You call that a mistake? Does a B-rank ranker forget teamwork and run dungeons? Nonsense!"
In fact, everyone present would think so. But while it was a matter of circumstantial evidence, it was difficult to press further if the person themselves denied it.
'Anyway. I roughly know these people's abilities now.'
The three from the Dangun Guild certainly lived up to being the Dangun Guild's aces, responding quickly to the situation and having excellent skills.
Lee Hwiseok from the Solver team also had fairly good abilities. Cha Jiwon was not even on Jonghyeon's radar.
But Gang Jeongu.
He was a very selfish person. Jonghyeon didn't easily harbor ill will toward others to the extent that he didn't trust people in the first place. But Gang Jeongu alone came across as extremely unpleasant in Jonghyeon's eyes.
The atmosphere between the two calmed down to some extent, and they quickly began moving to find the next flock.
In fact, the time it took to take down one flock was very fast.
Since Chimeras mainly used the air, the magician's use of gravity magic to bring them down was very important.
And Kim Hyeonseok's magic that had sunk the flock of about ten at once earlier was considerable enough to be called amazing.
'Come to think of it, the people gathered here are definitely within the top 20 in Korea.'
It was indeed an elite team.
But the team's discord made a mockery of the word elite, to the extent that it was something that could easily collapse the team.
And Gang Jeongu, at the center of it, was grinning and exchanging jokes with Cha Jiwon as if he had never done such a thing.
But such jokes didn't last long. An enormous flock of Chimeras was flying in the sky, clearly visible. About twenty Chimeras.
But the Chimeras were manageable. If they just didn't make the same mistake as before, or even if Gang Jeongu intentionally did some trashy acts, it was a number they could sufficiently fight with their abilities.
But beneath them were about fifty dogs running with dust clouds rising.
They were the hounds, another guest of the Chimera dungeon.
Those hounds were completely different from the hounds Jonghyeon usually saw. They were about twice as large, and they had horns on their foreheads.
"D-Devil Hounds, fifty of them. And even twenty Chimeras on top of that."
Seon Jusik shouted in surprise, and everyone began assuming battle stances.
Chimeras and hounds showed surprisingly strong cooperative ability.
But places where Chimeras and hounds appeared together in one dungeon were rare unless it was B-rank or higher.
That information had not come out long ago, so such dungeons were rare, but precisely because they were rare dungeons, the danger level was enormous.
According to the information Jonghyeon had checked, it had been announced that the two monsters maximized their respective advantages of ground and air in combat.
Therefore, Jonghyeon couldn't remain calm any longer. If he joined in, it might be worth fighting with the goal of keeping everyone alive to some extent. Neither the hounds nor the Chimeras were a problem.
But the reason he had roamed dungeons alone all this time. And the reason he didn't trust people easily.
It was because he could clearly see.
Gang Jeongu smiling slyly.
---------= Author's Afterword ---------=
Uh... Jeongu, you shouldn't provoke him!