Chapter 51
Jonghyeon used the wooden puppet's leaf as a method to catch the Chimera.
He summoned his clone to fight the Chimera, and tried to strike from behind while the Chimera was fighting the clone.
Nevertheless, just like when it broke the chains, the Chimera resisted by filling its body with heat.
"Hoo. It's getting damn hot."
Jonghyeon glared at the Chimera, wiping the sweat from his forehead. The clone also retreated from the Chimera's heat and watched the situation.
Suddenly, Jonghyeon grew curious. His wooden clone wasn't being controlled separately, yet it was smarter than he thought.
The method by which Jonghyeon moved the clone was truly simple. If it was in sight, he just had to give simple commands; if it wasn't in sight, it seemed to move based on thoughts similar to Jonghyeon's.
"Well, that's not the problem."
The problem was the Chimera. He was reluctant to approach due to the continuous burst of heat. Heat that would roast an ordinary person in an instant.
Jonghyeon hadn't paid much attention to temperature before, but he thought that even at minimum, it was far hotter than any sauna in the world.
He wondered if the heat really meant much, yet the reason his breath was chokingly ragged and he couldn't put strength in properly was because his breathing was disturbed.
Jonghyeon reluctantly decided to release the darkness of his earring.
"I was planning to save up a bit more."
The more darkness he stored in the earring, the more advantageous it was for him. He had to use it once when in grave danger; if used continuously, it lost much of its meaning.
Moreover, the night outside didn't seem to help the earring's darkness much. The dungeon's darkness reacted with the earring the fastest.
"Release!"
He desperately wanted to change this childish line so he wouldn't have to shout it, but it was unavoidable to activate the earring.
When Jonghyeon activated the earring, quite a lot of darkness began pouring out from his ear.
Jonghyeon immediately used that darkness to completely surround the Chimera.
"Kieeeek-! Kieeeeeek!"
The Chimera struggled to escape from Jonghyeon's skill, but no matter how red its body turned, the darkness wouldn't peel away.
'Still, this is quite difficult.'
Jonghyeon was barely holding the Chimera down, but the amount of darkness wasn't the issue.
The Chimera's thrashing kept trying to unravel the darkness he had bound it with.
'Since this could be dangerous.'
Jonghyeon ordered his clone to approach the Chimera and cut its throat; usually, ominous premonitions proved true.
The Chimera, more than half its body covered in darkness, used its last strength to release heat toward Jonghyeon's clone.
The heat was so intense that a human could barely withstand it; the clone was roasted red and sent flying a considerable distance.
'Now.'
Jonghyeon took advantage of the opening created when his clone was sent flying, approached the Chimera, and cut its throat with his short katana.
The Chimera's head fell to the ground; some of the darkness was recovered into the earring, but most of it scattered.
'For the big fight ahead, I should refrain from using the earring even more.'
The decisive reasons Jonghyeon had actually used the earring were partly a safety issue, and partly a bit of greed.
First, the safety-related issue.
The interior was a perfect wasteland with no sun or moon, simply illuminated by an orange light.
Without light, no shadows are born. The faint shadows cast by the orange light could not bind a boss-level Chimera.
And if attacked by shadows even once, it would naturally be on guard, making sneak attacks difficult even if he brought out stronger shadows or darkness.
The second was Jonghyeon's greed.
Since there were two bosses, Jonghyeon's expectations had grown. Bosses usually dropped various items containing their abilities.
For example, the staff the Orc Mage had possessed amplified earth-attribute magic.
Of course, if he cut the staff during battle, the item would be destroyed as is.
Because of this, famous guilds would bring skilled appraisers along.
To identify items beforehand and attack while avoiding them as much as possible. Of course, if a ranker was in danger, surviving by any means was the best strategy, items be damned.
But Jonghyeon was certain he would win, so he took a gamble.
Though Jonghyeon hadn't intended it, he had had the opportunity to observe the bosses' items while the Solver team was fighting.
First, Hound had a necklace.
It was hard to tell because of its fur color, but the small crystal on its neck proved it.
And the Chimera had a ring.
So Jonghyeon even released his darkness buff and cut the Chimera's throat. If Jonghyeon had not been greedy for items, he would have used a different strategy sacrificing his clone instead of releasing the darkness.
But coincidentally, upon discovering both items were accessories, Jonghyeon had no choice but to make a dangerous move.
Accessories were highly sought after because they were portable, and their prices were high.
So he endured the loss and used the earring's ability.
Still, the cautious Jonghyeon had thrown his clone at it just in case.
As expected, it didn't vanish, but the clone's entire body was clearly marked with what appeared to be third-degree burns.
'I need to be more careful.'
Setting aside the penalty of having to fill the earring with darkness temporarily after releasing it, it was quite profitable, but he had clearly nearly suffered a major injury due to his miscalculation.
Of course, he thought that for this instance, buying and drinking a potion could solve it to some extent.
But a dungeon was ultimately a place where one wagered their life. In a more serious situation than now, a moment of misjudgment like now meant instant death.
Another reason for bringing an appraiser was to appraise items' abilities.
Among item abilities, many penalized humans when worn; because of this, appraisers sometimes lost their lives.
Things like dying because one's whole body burned after wearing a Salamander Ring without magical fire resistance.
But Jonghyeon had no need for that.
Because information came out when he held items to his watch.
It was truly an amazing application ability.
The two accessories turned out to be set items upon appraisal.
The ring was an item that strengthened the skin. And the necklace was an item that emitted tremendous heat from one's skin.
Unlike the Chimera's skin, if he used only the necklace, he would melt too.
But if he wore the ring, it looked like he could use the necklace.
Of course, they weren't items Jonghyeon particularly needed.
But now, when he couldn't use his darkness ability recklessly, these items' value was more important than money to Jonghyeon.
At the same time, a brief concern arose.
Gim Hyeonseok and I Seokcheon.
These two were still alive. If he took them out, they could claim a share of the items.
But since the dungeon was cleared, saying items didn't come out would arouse suspicion.
'Hmm. What to do.'
Jonghyeon thought for a moment, then moved his feet as if having finished thinking.
★ ★ ★
Flame Master's popularity was growing hotter by the day.
Because another clear video had been uploaded after the previous dungeon clear video.
The martial arts he displayed were like a character from a game. One could say he was like a cartoon character.
Covering his entire body in fire and beating monsters with martial arts was something unlikely to happen in reality.
"Did Korea turn into some kind of talent garden?"
Someone might have burst into laughter at the chairman's question, but no one could laugh given the atmosphere.
A considerable portion of the reason this meeting was convened was because Flame Master was presumed to be Korean.
"Already the second after Black Ghost."
The chairman's mention of "the second" meant a subject of vigilance.
The World Dungeon Management Committee classified rankers or ability users not belonging to any guild or nation as high-risk groups.
Jonghyeon at least had unofficial ties to the state, but there wasn't even information that Flame Master belonged anywhere.
They couldn't catch him even with a warrant out.
Since the IP address uploading the video was Korean, they had issued a warrant in Korea, but his face wasn't even known.
"We can let it slide once, but twice is intolerable."
What Flame Master had done could play a role in shaking up the guilds and rankers they had barely managed to rein in.
When dungeons broke out worldwide, the world became a paradise for lawless ones.
This committee was barely created to set such things straight.
Their job was to ultimately make guilds and rankers move under the concept of order, so that there would be no chaos in the world.
"If things go on like this, the committee's authority will fall, and then all sorts of oddballs lying low will start stirring up trouble."
"That's right. Dungeons are already on the rise these days."
In fact, the number of dungeons had been continuously increasing recently.
Of course, the increase in dungeons was welcome news for capitalists, but it was like despair for small nations or regions where influence wasn't properly established.
For example, Egypt was currently on the brink of destruction.
As the country most lacking in talent after the dungeons' appearance, all industry had immediately halted.
With monsters popping up at any moment, the citizens were busy fleeing.
The committee had persuaded some guilds to send defense forces, but it was obvious that monsters would spawn infinitely if dungeons weren't fundamentally cleared.
But those busy handling their own nation's dungeons rarely went on business trips to foreign dungeons.
Especially with dungeons increasing like now.
"We need to establish more certain countermeasures now. I wish to resubmit the previous opinion."
There are always opportunists wherever you go.
And now, a man with sharp eyes wearing horn-rimmed glasses had shot up from his seat, shouting with an intense gaze.
"But that plan is difficult to execute. Even among those A-grades who are like stars in the sky, there aren't many mercenaries to begin with."
"There have been quite a few among them who have caused problems. Check the documents I gave you last time."
Of course, no one had brought those documents here.
It was actually an occasion and time where timing mattered more than objective data.
"Hmm. Let's hear opinions."
The chairman spoke, clasping his hands together and looking around.
But no one offered a clear opinion. If one misspoke here, one's position would fall.
People always strive not to fall from their positions.
"No opinions?"
The chairman looked around once more, but again, there was silence.
"Then we will proceed immediately with another aye-nay vote."
The same matter had been put to an aye-nay vote at the last meeting, but the nay votes had won by about 2 votes, barely tipping the scales to opposition.
But the situation was different now. Those words the opportunist had shouted, eyeing his chance, must have swayed quite a few people.
Shortly after.
The result of the anonymous vote was that the ayes took the lead by one vote.
"Then. Prepare the bill proposal. Ms. Kate, please prepare to disclose this content to each nation's government. We will now enter a bill meeting."
The chairman spoke to the woman who had been taking notes after announcing the result.
"Y-yes... I understand..."
The woman answered in a trembling voice, but she seemed more concerned with the result than the order given to her.
Not just the woman, but everyone gathered here was agitated by the result.
Had there been lobbying? Had his words really swayed them?
Most committee members wore expressions riddled with countless doubts.
And the only one smiling among them was the opportunist from earlier.
"Then let's see about proposing it. The Special Guild Act."
The chairman spoke in a tired voice, and soon the committee members began presenting their opinions and crafting the bill.
---------= Author's Afterword ---------=
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