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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Hestia]
[Proofreader - Kaya]
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Chapter 29: Crimson Ambush (2)
"Damn you!"
Jo Seungchul shouted with rage.
Despite his harsh words, he analyzed the strength of Yoojin's group based on years of experience.
Fafnir's power, with Dark Aura imbued in his fists.
Yoojin's magic skills, which neutralized the Fireball launched with full force by manipulating bones.
Two melee Hunters were already down as soon as the engagement began.
And the magic-user Hunters needed time to rearrange their mana before they could launch their next attack.
'It seems he has a Summoning attribute.'
He hadn't heard any rumors about a Hunter who could control undead familiars.
However, Jo Seungchul didn't dismiss the possibility.
There were hundreds of thousands of known Hunter attributes; it wouldn't be strange if one of them allowed for the control of undead.
'To turn this situation around, I need to take him down.'
He quickly assessed the situation and immediately gave orders.
"Minwoo, hold that undead. The rest of you, get that bastard!"
The Hunter with the large shield charged.
[Enhanced Grip]
He positioned the shield vertically and pressed it against Fafnir's forearm.
Bound by the viscous green mana, Fafnir swung his arm, but the firmly attached shield swayed and hindered his movement.
【I commend your courage, but this level of restraint...】
[Quick Reload]
[Red Bind]
Jo Seungchul activated his unique trait once again.
A rope made of flames shot out and bound Fafnir.
【...I can't shake it off.】
Dismay was mixed in Fafnir's voice.
While one tank held him back, the remaining melee Hunters ran towards Yoojin.
'That's a good judgment.'
〔(Cackle) It seems your warrior is struggling.〕
Yoojin didn't take his eyes off the approaching melee Hunters.
It would have been nice if things were easy.
The Hunter who appeared to be in charge, Jo Seungchul, had sharper judgment than he expected.
'Well, I anticipated this much.'
[Using Unholy Blessing.]
He quickly switched between Spirit Power and Holy Power using the Midnight Sun attribute.
After buffing himself, he immediately converted the Holy Power back to Spirit Power.
Yoojin unleashed the remaining Specters he had hidden behind him.
- Hee hee hee!
The whitish fog seeped into the melee Hunters charging across the ground.
Their movements dulled under the rapidly stacking debuffs.
Black bone fragments sprang from Yoojin's waist and soared into the air.
He repeatedly rotated Spirit Power within the [Cursed Fang], maximizing their penetrating power.
[Using Bone Spear.]
The bone, launched through the air, drew a single line in the space.
The sharp tip of the bone aimed for the Hunter with the sword and shield.
He angled his shield, attempting to deflect the Cursed Tooth.
"Uh, huh?"
Crack!
As soon as it touched the shield, the Spirit Power within the bone rotated, refusing to be deflected, and dragged the Hunter into its trajectory.
The man, who tried to parry it, ended up taking the Bone Spear head-on.
His steel shield, engraved with Enhancement Circuits, crumpled, and he was pushed back several meters from the sheer impact.
Although his shield wasn't pierced, the Hunter stood frozen, his whole body numb.
"Die, you bastard!"
Yoojin couldn't stop the Hunter charging from the side from closing in.
At his current 1 Star level, he couldn't simultaneously control multiple bones like with the lower-level Bone Control spell.
For a Hunter who surpassed the limits of ordinary humans, a distance of 100 meters could be closed in the blink of an eye.
[Using Bone Control.]
The remaining three Cursed Fang, excluding the one he had already launched, sprang up.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The magic weapons shot down diagonally.
"It seems you can only use that attack one at a time."
The melee Hunter's arm swung wide.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The Cursed Fang, caught in the trajectory of the heavy mace, were flung into the air.
"Tsk."
Clicking his tongue, Yoojin sent the Skeleton Guard forward.
Although the bone shield was half melted and cracks ran throughout its body, it hadn't been destroyed yet.
The melee Hunter's eyes turned cold.
"You half-dead thing. Get lost."
[Smash]
The mace swung down in a straightforward arc.
The Skeleton, its posture fixed with [Iron Wall], raised its remaining shield to block, but...
Crack!
A sharp sound rang out, and its entire body crumbled.
[Skeleton Guard destroyed.]
Ignoring the system message that echoed in his ears, Yoojin immediately drew upon his Spirit Power.
He used Bone Control once again.
This time, instead of the Cursed Fang, he manipulated the shattered remains of the defensive Skeleton.
〔Contractor, isn't this really dangerous?〕
'I need to hold out until Fafnir wipes out the magic-user Hunters.'
There was a slight pause before the melee Hunter could recover his mace and launch another attack.
That was enough time.
Thanks to the Hunter destroying the Skeleton, it became easier for Yoojin to carry out his 'plan'.
Rattle!
Some of the shattered bones intertwined and stretched out, forming a rod a little under 3 meters long.
Using Bone Control, Yoojin brought the newly created rod into his hand.
"A magic-user trying to mimic close combat?"
The melee Hunter kicked off the ground and leaped.
Yes.
That was the right answer.
Yoojin had memorized the melee Hunter's movements, learned from being beaten by Fafnir.
[Verdian Basic Spear Technique]
[Fourth Form - Spear Strike]
The bone spear drew a large arc in the air.
Thwack!
A dull thud echoed through the cave.
＊ ＊ ＊
The melee Hunter was certain that he could smash Yoojin's head in with his mace.
'Even if that mage, who neutralized Jo Seungchul's Fireball, is holding a staff...'
Jo Seungchul, who possessed near 4 Star magic skills thanks to his items, specialized in Fireball, a spell that boasted maximum power in confined spaces like this cave.
'I see through your trick of trying to buy time with a bluff.'
Just as he was about to put strength into his mace-wielding hand, ignoring Yoojin's obvious counterattack...
Thwack!
A strong rebound force surged through his arm.
"Ugh."
With a short groan, the melee Hunter stumbled back.
The spear strike, imbued with the essence of the Verdian Basic Spear Technique, had struck his arm, draining his strength.
It was fortunate that he hadn't dropped his mace.
"Damn it."
"What's wrong? Having a bit of trouble there?"
Yoojin once again used Bone Control, manipulating the Cursed Teeth he had just deflected to target the melee Hunter.
"Don't fuck with me!"
With veins bulging in his neck, the Hunter ignored the Cursed Teeth and charged straight at Yoojin.
Thud! Thud!
The Cursed Teeth, aiming for the gaps in his armor, tore through his flesh and burrowed deep, but...
They couldn't stop him from abandoning all defense and charging towards Yoojin.
[Smash]
The same attack that had destroyed the Skeleton Guard in one blow.
Although Yoojin had the Verdian Spear Technique, honed by being beaten by Fafnir, it wasn't enough to withstand the full force of a 3 Star melee Hunter.
"It's okay. I expected this too."
Clank!
[Transforming the Dragon Scale Armor.]
The Dragon Scale Armor, which had taken the form of a shirt, reacted to Yoojin's thoughts.
In 0.1 seconds, white armor enveloped his entire body.
Clad in the Dragon Scale Armor, now transformed into a full plate, Yoojin once again executed the Fourth Form.
Crack—
The makeshift bone spear broke without much resistance.
Hastily made, it lacked the strength to withstand the melee Hunter's full power.
The mace shattered the bone spear and struck Yoojin's body head-on.
"Ugh!"
Unable to withstand the heavy impact, he was flung back several meters with a scream.
However...
"Ugh."
The melee Hunter, who had landed a solid blow on Yoojin, also collapsed.
The Specters' stacked curses and the Cursed Teeth had burrowed into his vital points.
His gamble had failed.
And the price for betting all his chips was harsh.
"(Cough) Damn it. Good thing I learned how to use a spear."
Yoojin muttered nonchalantly, even as he coughed.
With Fafnir, his main force, at the forefront, he couldn't have failed to predict this situation.
The Red Spider gang's trump card had been neutralized, and they had to pay the price for wasting precious manpower that could have held back Fafnir.
[Dark Aura]
The Aura manifested from Spirit Power mercilessly tore apart the flames that bound his arms.
"Gurk, ugh."
The melee Hunter, who had been holding Fafnir back with his aggro-fixing skill, quickly became a cold corpse.
"Damn it. Those Specters disrupted my spellcasting!"
The Specters Yoojin had initially sent out had disrupted the concentration of the magic-user Hunters who were trying to gather their mana.
They were now a step behind in preparing the magic to intercept Fafnir.
"F-Flame..."
【I'm getting bored waiting.】
Crack!
One with each blow.
Every time Fafnir threw a punch, a magic-user Hunter's life was extinguished.
"To think I would be defeated by some nameless nobody...!"
Jo Seungchul, the mining supervisor of the [Crimson Lair], collapsed with his eyes wide open, seemingly filled with resentment.
＊ ＊ ＊
The cave fell silent.
Huff... huff…
Only Yoojin's ragged breathing broke the silence of the battlefield.
【Master, are you alright?】
"I thought I was going to die."
A deep dent marred his chest.
He had copied the style worn by Kim Youngsoo, the Hunter who wielded the Dragon Scale Armor in his past life, but he couldn't replicate its defensive capabilities yet.
Despite being an Epic grade artifact, it was a growth-type item, and it was far from reaching its full potential.
At its current level, it barely matched the efficiency of a Rare grade armor.
'Look at that dent in my chest, even after transforming it for maximum defense.'
【(Chuckle). Haven't you heard the saying that it's better to be alive, even if you're rolling in a pile of dung?】
"Pain is pain."
He drew on his stored life force to mitigate the impact and stood up.
【In any case, you've won.】
"Indeed."
【A 1 Star Hunter single-handedly defeating those at the peak of 3 Stars... anyone who hears that will dismiss it as a bad joke.】
"It's all thanks to my excellent minions."
Yoojin smiled faintly, his expression a bit twisted.
Most of the Specters were destroyed.
The Skeleton Guard was also destroyed.
And one of the Rare grade magic weapons was completely broken.
"I used all the cards I could. This is the best possible outcome."
【What were you going to do if I had fallen?】
"Run."
【What a loyal Master.】
"You have a Life Force Vessel, so I can revive you anytime."
'I, on the other hand, only have one life.'
Yoojin muttered nonchalantly and looked over the corpses of the Red Spider gang.
"Oh, I've heard that name before."
【Jo Seungchul?】
"Yeah, he was quite something."
【Saying it with such uncertainty isn't very convincing.】
Bloodstained Legs.
That was the nickname of Jo Seungchul, one of the executives of the Red Spider.
‘In my past life, he was a formidable 7 Star Hunter. It seems I've ended his career a bit prematurely this time around.’
〔He had some skill. If he had pushed a little harder, your life would have been in danger, Contractor.〕
'You seem to really want that to happen.'
〔(Cackle) Isn't a close victory more exciting to watch?〕
The Hunter put up a fight until the very end when the Red Spider was being cleaned up in Ground Zero.
He had just reduced the Madam's workload a bit.
"Come here."
He was a lower rank compared to the Mirror Hunter, but Jo Seungchul was still a decent minion.
'Even if I can't make him into a high-ranking undead like a Lich, I should be able to create a decent one if I synchronize his soul.'
It wasn't difficult to subjugate Jo Seungchul's soul by branding it with a curse.
He shouldn't forget to take his corpse as well.
After collecting the body with the Ring of Darkness, he also picked out the intact items.
【Master, are Rare items common in this era?】
"Is that a joke?"
Yoojin immediately retorted.
Even the [Grudge Staff], an unpopular item, had an estimated value of several million won.
If he collected everything here, it would be worth at least hundreds of millions of won, so what was he talking about?
"Stop talking nonsense and gather the equipment."
He urged Fafnir to collect all the items the Red Spider gang had been wearing.
【Master, what about this item?】
"Why are you recommending melee equipment? Just collect everything."
Most of the magic items were also useless to him, as they focused on amplifying fire magic.
Ah, but there were two he could use right away.
[Wisdom Earrings x2]
Rank: Rare [R]
Category: Earrings
Restriction: None
Durability: 37/50
Earrings that enhance the user's spirit.
*Mana +8
*Mana Consumption -2%
A simple description and options.
The increase was lower than that of the Grudge Staff, which was of the same rank, but accessories generally had lower efficiency than main weapons.
There were no restrictions on wearing them, and the amplification options were neat, so they had good versatility. What wasn't there to like?
Yoojin didn't hesitate and put the silver rings on both ears.
"Do they suit me?"
【Now I understand your aesthetic sense, Master.】
"What's that supposed to mean?"
【Leave the fashion to me from now on. Your sense is completely off.】
'This guy...'
His backhanded compliments were top-notch.
He missed the taciturn Park Haneul from his past life a little.
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Hestia
[Proofreader - Kaya]
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