"The assault team plans to observe the situation inside a bit more before being deployed. Currently, Cedric Hunter is inside with them."
Although it was said to reassure, Kwon Ji-won shook her head.
"That doesn't matter. The situation is urgent; please deploy us immediately. I will go as well."
"……! If you, Hunter, provide support, it will be a great help. We will prepare for immediate deployment."
"Ah…… No!"
Lee Chorok hastily blocked them.
"Step back."
The official pulled her back.
Kwon Ji-won looked at her with a cold gaze. Goosebumps rose on the back of her neck. Still, she moved her trembling lips.
"The Monster Hell sets up a barrier when it settles down to eat."
"Huh?"
"A protective barrier has already been activated around the crack. If we break it by force……. If the complex flow of ether is disrupted, we will never be able to get out!"
Startled, the silver-haired healer looked at Lee Chorok.
"……It's not a naturally occurring crack. Why is such a dangerous thing here?"
"That's……. I don't really…… Ahaha……."
A hefty fine and an additional 72-hour dungeon safety training were decided.
Now, Lee Chorok, a part-time fruit store worker and a debtor, looked at the crack emitting a blue light.
She was sure it wouldn't awaken.
The Monster Hell, which received the starlight from the blue Serano flower, shimmered ominously.
The prayer she repeated in her heart was filled with desperate sincerity.
'Please be safe, customer.'
The sharp gaze of the hunter known as the Silver Wave was directed at her. It seemed he wouldn't stand idly by if anything happened inside.
'Please come back alive quickly.'
If only that gaze could save me……
* * *
A plant-type monster that shoots digestive fluid to dissolve and consume organic matter.
Its digestive fluid is stronger than hydrochloric acid, capable of dissolving even the tough outer skin of a monster.
A terrifying being that uses agile vines to catch prey and slowly dissolve it.
By Ether-Wiki.
The confusion at the sight of the Monster Hell in front of her was brief.
Because the second-ranked swordsman was here.
A speed-type dealer who charges into the enemy with swift movements, unmatched in ability among swordsmen.
He stepped forward with his sword, as tall as himself, held diagonally. "Wait a moment," he added, like a typical overpowered character.
Swish. The sword blade drew a circle.
In an instant, he plunged into the Monster Hell and slashed it diagonally. Without a pause, he severed the roots.
Swoosh, Bang!
The Monster Hell was cleanly split in two. The branches that spewed digestive fluid lost their strength and drooped.
"Done!"
Now it was time for the escape gate to open……
"……Huh?"
Roar!
The Monster Hell, which seemed dead, rose again. The wounds from the sword had already healed without a trace.
This is impossible. It was clearly dead just now!
Chae Cedric adjusted his grip on the sword. He took a running start and shouted.
"Hmph, even if it revives, it's the same. I'll just cut it again!"
Wow, he's really reliable. The comfort of the overpowered bus.
Chae Cedric, running swiftly, jumped up. His body soared through the air.
In front of him were the lush branches of the revived Monster Hell. But Chae Cedric's sword was faster.
Swish, Boom!
The sword, swung with great force, cleanly cut through the Monster Hell. A lightning skill followed, striking down.
Boom! A charred, blackened tree stump. This time, he was confident of success.
But……
New branches sprouted from the charred tree stump, and it quickly revived.
This situation was unexpected even by Chae Cedric, who frowned and muttered.
"This is impossible. A B-rank monster reviving without a cooldown? I've never heard of such a thing."
At that moment, something caught my eye.
"Hey, look! That!"
"Why, I told you to stay behind the barrier……. Huh?"
A blue flower, containing starlight, hanging from the top of the Monster Hell's branches.
There was no mistaking it. It was the blue Serano flower I had struggled to revive.
Chae Cedric's face instantly turned cold.
"That……. No, we need to take that flower to our Rona."
The flower seemed to have been sucked into the crack with us. And the Monster Hell had swallowed it.
Let's think this through.
The power of the blue Serano flower is regeneration. Since the Monster Hell has swallowed it, it naturally regenerates.
To stop the regeneration, we need to eliminate the source of power, the blue Serano flower.
Yes, the conclusion.
We need to pull out the flower first to get out of here.
"……"
"……"
Chae Cedric also reached the same conclusion.
But instead of removing the flower, he took a defensive stance.
Sizzle!
He only dodged the renewed attacks from the Monster Hell, showing no intention of counterattacking.
"Cedric, why? If we keep this up, it will just keep reviving!"
He shook his head with a stern expression. His voice was low and urgent.
"We need that flower to save our Rona. We can't destroy it."
"……"
He stood firm, defending against the attacks.
At first, Chae Cedric held his ground. He dodged attacks, cut the stems, and when it revived, he cut them again.
"……Grr!"
But as time passed, he gradually began to lose ground.
"Ugh……"
His skin burned with a pungent smell. Despite the considerable pain, Chae Cedric did not move.
"Step back."
While blocking the Monster Hell's attacks, Chae Cedric cut the vines attacking me.
But this was not the end. The cut vines quickly regrew, and the monster tree stump showed no signs of giving up its main dish.
"Are you planning to die here?!"
"That's not it. But……"
His gaze was fixed on the flower containing starlight far away.
I understand. Now that the flower has fused with the monster, separating them is difficult. The rational choice would be to defeat the boss, escape the dungeon, and then find the flower seeds again.
Chae Cedric must know this too.
But……
He wouldn't want to give up the medicine to save his sister, even if it means getting hurt. He can't bring himself to cut the flower that could save his sister.
Swoosh!
Taking advantage of a momentary lapse in attention, vines shot up from the ground.
"Yaaaah!"
At that moment, Chae Cedric leaped up with his sword. His movement was as light as if he were flying.
He jumped off the branches of the Monster Hell and re-leaped. He approached the blue Serano flower, dodging the attacks and reaching out his hand.
10 meters, 5 meters, 1 meter…… Is it done?!
"……! Gah!"
Just as his hand was about to touch the flower, the Monster Hell violently shook its body.
His hand only grasped empty air and slipped down.
It's difficult to pluck a flower unharmed from the top of a large, violently moving tree. Especially one that spews digestive fluid.
Vines wrapped around Chae Cedric's body as he tried to re-leap.
Swoosh, Bang!
He immediately cut them off, but this time, digestive fluid was shot at his landing spot.
"Ugh……!"
His unprotected feet touched the digestive fluid on the ground. However, Chae Cedric took a defensive stance instead of attacking the Monster Hell.
This will never end. If we keep this up, we'll end up as the brunch of the monster tree stump.
We needed a plan. I thought anxiously.
"……That's it!"
'A cup of coffee's connection.'
[Target: 'Chae I-chan' selected.]
Chae I-chan's S-rank skill would be helpful. But……
"……"
"Ugh……."
I closed the system window without using Chae I-chan's skill. All the useful skills were for enhancing, and a 20 strength, 2 attack power seedling spade, even if enhanced several times, would still be weaker than Chae Cedric's single sword strike.
It's not like Chae Cedric is weak and struggling against the Monster Hell.
The cooldown for 'A cup of coffee's connection' is 24 hours, and it can only be used once, so I had to be careful.
'What other options……. Oh?'
[Coffee Connection (B)
Details: (Lv.1) Can copy the skill of the target who drinks the ultimate coffee. (00:05:00)
Cooldown: 24:00:00
Usable targets: Chae I-chan, Kim Tae-won]
I was about to close the skill window, which wouldn't help immediately, but a familiar name caught my eye.
Kim Tae-won? Who is that? Was there such a person?
"……Ah."
Right, the journalist from <Hunter Scope>. I had forgotten amidst all the events of the past day.
Thinking he might be helpful, I quickly opened his skills.
[Explosive Views (F)
(Lv.1) Can write an article containing information about the target.
There is no guarantee that the article will be true.]
[Paparazzi (E)
(Lv.1) Can stalk the target without being noticed for a certain period of time. (01:00:00)]
…….
…….
These are truly the skills of a malicious journalist…….
Optimized for fake news. No wonder fake news is rampant in the world.
As I inwardly complained, the side dish (me) was targeted by the side dishes (the bugs) while the main dish (Chae Cedric) was being persistently attacked by the Monster Hell.
Swoosh!
"Ah!"
They were insect-type monsters.
Individually, they weren't that strong. But a swarm of insects was visually intimidating.
"Ah! E, E F Killah!"
But I didn't have such a skill in my inventory.
Whirr-
"Get lost! Ah!"
Instead, I took out a seedling spade and hit the ground, but it was no match for the agile swarm of insects.
Then……
I used a skill on the swarm of insects approaching to tear my flesh.
'Ah! The ground is sparkling!'
Swoosh!
"……Huh?"
The ground was overturned by misshapen ether, and the insects disappeared from around me in an instant.
It didn't stop there. The skill extended to make the entire ground sparkle.
Roar!
The Monster Hell roared. Its roots on the ground were all cut off.
It tried to regrow its roots immediately, but the ground was left with not a speck of dust.