NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 38. Terrorism (5)
Thud!
“Are you okay? Uh, what should I do? I don’t have any recovery potions!”
Seonwoo-yeon carefully laid Kim Gi-ryeo down on the floor after safely receiving him.
Then, the blood-soaked man opened his squinted eyes and said, “…You used a skill.”
Seriously? You were about to die, and that’s what you say first?
“I told you I could do it. Why didn’t you believe me?”
Seonwoo-yeon quietly let her tears flow.
Reality was different from the nightmares she endured every day.
With this power, she could save someone.
Even in the midst of chaos, that fact strangely lingered in her heart.
“Mr. Hunter, do you happen to have any tools for first aid?”
A while later.
Seonwoo-yeon wiped her eyes and took a deep breath.
She thought she had to take responsibility since this whole situation stemmed from her panic.
“Uh, I don’t have any…”
Kim Gi-ryeo glanced around, assessing the situation, and quietly sat up.
“You shouldn’t move recklessly!”
“I’m fine.”
He shot her a cold glare before adjusting his collar and nodding.
“Everyone, step aside for a moment.”
“Pardon?”
“I’m going to take off my shirt and check the wounds. Then I’ll use a recovery potion.”
Isn’t being too calm a bit much when you have holes in your body?
It seemed his pain was so intense that he was becoming numb to it.
“Are you not going to move?”
Worriedly, Seonwoo-yeon looked at him and reluctantly stepped aside.
Phew~ That was close, I almost had to start my third life.
Of course, the whole “checking the wounds” business was a lie.
He immediately downed a bottle of Magic Power Booster and used Restoration Magic to repair Kim Gi-ryeo’s body.
“You’re okay now. Everyone come back. Let’s proceed with the Gate attack.”
“What? What did you just say?”
That such a large wound could disappear in an instant? Normally, a healing potion with that kind of efficacy would cost at least several million…
No, it would likely be in the tens of millions.
Is an F-Class carrying around potions?
As the adrenaline from the battle subsided, Seonwoo-yeon regained her composure.
Then the doubts she had forgotten began to resurface.
“The basic principle of the Gate is ‘When the boss is defeated, the exit appears.’ We need to defeat this place’s leader first.”
However, Kim Gi-ryeo didn’t give her any time to think.
Since the opponent had used a skill once, they had to push it all the way to the boss’s room before that sensation faded.
“Don’t worry. I will support you as much as I can.”
For the record, he wasn’t just bragging.
A little later.
Following the Shadow Appraiser’s directions, they headed down the southern path of the dungeon.
Kim Gi-ryeo reassured the nervous Seonwoo-yeon as he slowly guided her in practicing her skills.
“You’re doing well.”
She originally despised her ability.
The image of losing her family was imprinted fiercely in her mind, and she awakened with the same attributes as the avenging monster.
Even now, on windy days, she would freeze up and tremble.
“Ms. Seonwoo-yeon. This is your weapon. Swing it, don’t just wave it.”
However, as she attentively listened to the advice coming from beside her, strangely enough, her skills were coming out well today.
“See! What did I tell you? You can do it!”
As Kim predicted, Seonwoo-yeon’s innate ability was powerful.
Before long, she had taken down all the small monsters in this Gate.
Before they knew it, they were left with only one boss monster to deal with.
“Can we get out now…?”
The missing student watched with hopeful eyes from behind.
Seonwoo-yeon wanted to say, “Of course, we can,” but for some reason, her throat tightened, and no words came out.
I’m scared.
Even though she was a precious B-Class Awakened, she was someone who stayed cooped up in an office dealing with paperwork.
She had no experience in Gate raids.
Yet suddenly, she had to take down a boss monster of the same rank…
“Ms. Seonwoo-yeon, let’s take a short break.”
Watching from the side, Kim Gi-ryeo suddenly suggested a break.
“Huh? No, Hunter Teachers. The boss monster is right in front of us…”
“It’s better to take a moment here to sort things out.”
But a sorting time was just that; there wasn’t much they could do anyway.
Seonwoo-yeon was just a salary worker affiliated with the Association.
What could she possibly tidy up with empty hands and no expensive equipment?
“Ms. Seonwoo-yeon, it looks like you can’t handle it.”
A little while later.
He approached Seonwoo-yeon, who was huddled in a corner.
And in a voice quiet enough not to be heard by the police or the missing students, he said, “You’re not doing anything wrong.”
“Huh?”
“It’s a trauma that’s completely understandable. Honestly, it’s the ones forcing you to stand up that are in the wrong here.”
“Um…”
“I’m sorry for earlier. It’s life or death; my words may have been a bit harsh. Yes, it’s not your fault, Seonwoo-yeon.”
That bastard terrorist who dropped us here is the real problem.
His tone was so smooth that she almost didn’t catch the curse word he threw in there.
“But given the situation, please give it one more shot.”
She tried not to show it, but did the unease show in her eyes to Gi-ryeo?
“If you endure this, you can survive in any Gate from now on.”
Hearing his encouragement, Seonwoo-yeon pondered for a moment and then stood up.
Her resolve solidified.
“I’m ready. Let’s enter the boss room.”
Upon hearing that, Gi-ryeo moved ahead towards the iron door.
Rumble…
From slightly cracked open iron doors, a low growl of a beast could be heard.
“It’s quite large. About 3 meters tall.”
“3 meters?”
“There doesn’t seem to be any weaknesses. We can only overwhelm it with firepower…”
Seonwoo-yeon swallowed her dry saliva as she entered the boss’s domain.
Following the faint glow of the magic stone with her eyes, she saw the leader of this place in the distance.
It lumbered through the cave on all fours like a lion.
Its face looked like a grotesque shape, half melted black candle.
“Phew.”
Seonwoo-yeon took a deep breath and initiated the battle.
Like a cautious hunter, she aimed for the monster’s neck as it turned its back.
Slash! The sound of wind rushing was loud.
Growl!
But it was shallow.
The skill she activated only grazed the beast’s flesh and didn’t deliver a fatal blow.
“Dodge to the right!”
The boss opened its mouth wide and exhaled roughly.
Kim Gi-ryeo had sensed the range of the magic and directed her.
“Ugh!”
Soon, the entire cave was covered in cold ice, and Seonwoo-yeon, barely escaping, regained her balance to aim her skill again.
Please die!
A fierce wave of wind surged.
Still, it was proving difficult to take its life.
No matter how superior the support of the Appraiser was, a single raider could hardly manage a B-Class Gate.
Hah, ha!
Before long, she was noticeably out of breath.
It was a sign that her mana was running low.
Just a bit more…!
Of course, she had reaped some rewards.
After a continuous fierce battle, the boss received severe damage and was on the brink of collapse.
I can kill it!
But then.
The nearly mortally wounded monster displayed a new pattern.
Kaaahhh!
“Huh?”
Was it thinking of taking a companion with it?
Suddenly, it spun around and charged towards the Appraiser, who had been hiding in the corner of the boss room.
“NO! Come back!”
In a panic, Seonwoo-yeon released a flurry of attacks without caring about her remaining mana.
However, the dark creature paid no heed to the wounds being torn away and focused on targeting Gi-ryeo.
“Look at me!”
With an F-Class’s physical abilities, dodging the charging B-Class beast was impossible.
Seonwoo-yeon, blessed with keen reflexes, instinctively understood.
It was too late.
“Ah…!”
Perhaps realizing this too, Kim Gi-ryeo abruptly stopped his meaningless galloping and stood still.
And sharp teeth loomed over him.
Kim Gi-ryeo stood in the shadow created by the beast’s jaw, quietly watching Seonwoo-yeon.
“Mr. Gi-ryeo!”
If she were to lose someone again right in front of her, she would completely crumble.
Was this the scene unfolding before her?
In an instant.
Seonwoo-yeon couldn’t believe the scene that unfolded.
Crack!
The moment the attack hit Gi-ryeo, the monster’s teeth shattered into pieces.
“…!”
Like an egg shell colliding with granite.
The hardened weapon the monster had boasted about crumbled effortlessly.
Kim Gi-ryeo wasn’t scratched by the boss monster’s attack at all.
Instead, he simply gazed with indifference at the fragments scattering around as if this was the most natural thing.
Then, the man’s voice rang out.
“Stop dawdling and shoot your skill!”
“Huh? Oh, okay.”
As the toothless boss writhed in pain, Seonwoo-yeon concentrated her remaining mana, summoning a piercing wind.
Thud.
Finally, the boss monster’s head fell off.
Before them appeared the long-awaited blue light.
Woooo…
Like always, according to the rules.
“The… Gate has opened.”
“An exit has appeared!”
The police watching the situation behind the iron door yelled loudly.
The hidden missing students began to rush toward the Gate one by one, but Seonwoo-yeon was blankly staring in one direction.
“Why are you looking over there? The passage is open. Let’s hurry out.”
Hunter Kim Gi-ryeo approached with a brazen expression.
Thank goodness I put the bracelet in my pocket.
For the record, the reason he was fine was clearly due to the Twin Guardian Angel from the EX-Class Gate reward.
I wanted to save it since I could only use it twice.
In fact, if that earlier attack had hit directly, it would have been a 100% instant death.
Gi-ryeo knew this, which is why he used the magic tool he had been saving.
If it gets found out that I have the bracelet, a thief might come after me again. I need to hide it well this time.
Phew!
Gi-ryeo hid the item deep in his pocket and headed towards the Gate.
“You…”
But from Seonwoo-yeon’s point of view, who was unaware of the entire situation…
This was the most ridiculous thing.
“Officer Cha! Our Team 1 just returned from the Gate. Uh, we’re… in Jin-gwan-dong…”
“Whaaa! Mother!”
“Ah, we’re also protecting the missing students!”
As the police called for support from their colleagues.
Seonwoo-yeon glared at Kim Gi-ryeo, who was fixing his clothes with furious eyes.
That bastard!
If she could, she would have loved to grab him by the collar.
No, isn’t this grounds for a lawsuit at this point?
Seonwoo-yeon thought the breaking of the boss’s teeth was due to a difference in mana density.
After all, Kim Gi-ryeo appeared to be wearing no equipment at all.
Then, this ultimately meant that he had been hiding the strength to not even take a scratch from a B-Class all along.
Just to get me to use my skills!
That man must have deliberately gotten himself hurt and coaxed the B-Class Hunter to use her skills throughout the dungeon progress.
Thus, his intentions were starting to become clearer.
He went through all that trouble just to draw out her power.
But how could she just be happy about this?
“Hey!”
“What?”
In the end, Seonwoo-yeon couldn’t hold back her frustration.
“I kinda understand your intentions, but I will never be grateful for this kind of thing. Are you crazy? Why are you doing this…?”
Then Kim Gi-ryeo tilted his head.
“What do you mean? I’m the one who should be grateful here, not you.”
He said it as if it was the most natural thing in the world.
“Ms. Seonwoo-yeon, you saved us.”
Seonwoo-yeon tried to argue, but she couldn’t speak in response to his actions that followed.
Kim Gi-ryeo—
At that moment, his eyes, which had been still, crinkled into some sort of expression.
“Thanks to you, we all survived.”
Could he… express emotions?
He spoke with a faint smile.
“Really, thank you.”
Once he started, the missing students and the police nearby also began to express their gratitude one by one.
“That’s right! If it wasn’t for Ms. Seonwoo-yeon, we would be…”
“Thank you, Hunter!”
Her first ever Gate close.
And the first time she received thanks for saving lives.
Seonwoo-yeon felt her heart flutter.
“…….”
Why did Kim Gi-ryeo go through such lengths to make her use her skills?
Why was he thanking her?
What could he possibly gain from this?
I really, truly don’t understand what he’s thinking…
She couldn’t grasp the intentions of that Awakened and soon sealed her lips with a strange expression.
It was five minutes later when her fellow police officers arrived.