âI will go too. It looks like the Guardian headquarter wonât approve of you, but I want to see with my own eyes the skills you are so confident of.â
A young woman popped out from the crowd and asked to join us. She was another one of Koreaâs S rankers⊠But, of course, I couldnât remember her name. Feeling her glare, I nodded.
âSure. You can follow us if you can.â
âHuh?â
âOur Lotte wonât let non-guild members ride her, you see.â
[If you asked me to let that whore ride on me, I would have eaten her whole.]
Lotte muttered. I scratched her neck to calm her down and shouted.
âLetâs go!â
âW-Wait! Yeon Hwawoo-ssi, Yeon Hwawoo-ssi!â
Lotte flapped her wings. Not even the S rankers could resist the wind pressure. Lotte kicked off the ground and leaped up. The concrete ground crumbled, but Lotte was already flying.
âWait, Yeon Hwawoo-ssi! I said, take me with you!â
âMy god.â
She was a wind ability user!? That S ranker flew slightly slower than Lotte as she shouted at the top of her lungs. Plene, who was still stuck to my back, complained.
âI donât like that womanâs voice.â
âNow women are going after him even though heâs wearing a mask. What do we do about this man? Should we just wrap his head around with a boxing tape?â
âThatâs it!â
âDonât turn me into a mummy!â
[Iâm going to go faster.]
âSure, Lotte.â
[Mm.]
When Lotte raised her speed, the woman fell behind for a moment, but soon, she sped up and continued to follow us. Looking at her, I realized she was holding the hands of the other two S rankers. I could see Woo Younghaâs pale face clearly, as she grabbed him by his neck like she would to a cat. Seeing me show interest in the rankers, Hwaya introduced them.
âTheyâre all in Guardian, which is why A+ rank is the highest in Koreaâs Freedom Wing.â
âYou really know everything, Hwaya.â
âN-Not everything. I just know what I have to⊠You need to know your enemy so you can prepare for them.â
âEnemy, huh⊠It sure is getting crazy, damn it.â
âHumans biggest enemy is themselves, Kang Shin. You should have felt it in Britain. If you think everyone will come to your side after listening to you, youâll only be badly hurt.â
Walker said with a snort. Seeing him crossing his arms and gazing at the clouds, I felt that he looked a bit lonely. Then, I considered why he said that. Was he⊠worrying about me?
I muttered.
â⊠Are you actually a good guy?â
âThatâs disgusting. Screw off.â
I was certain Walker was changing. Perhaps one day, quicker than I would have thought, the contract might become unnecessary.
âThe important thing is that weâre doing the right thing, son. Event Raids that break out when you least expect it, and Field Dungeons that resets a few months after being cleared. Didnât you experience them both with your own body? Event Dungeons cause too much harm. No matter how big the potential gain is, our work must continue.â
âOf course, father. I wonât hesitate. I already made up my mind a month ago. Plus, I knew from the very beginning that what we were doing was right.â
I lightly smiled and retorted. I wasnât troubled about that at all. What I did today⊠although I couldnât be sure, I felt like it would go the way I wanted.
Our first target was the S+ rank Event Dungeon. Coincidentally, it appeared in Yeungdeungpo. I was surprised Hwaya lasted until today with how stressed out she must have been.
âReally, Iâm going to have to tell Mom to move. Shin, is there a house up for sale near yours?â
âSorry, but my mother will jump for joy, so please donât.â
This time, the Event Dungeon appeared in the middle of a park. The park, of course, became off limits, and countless Guardian forces were protecting it. It was to prevent meaningless deaths.
âItâs Dragon Knight!â
âHis wyvern sure is huge!â
âI-Is he really trying to enter this gate? Isnât he crazy?â
Lotte flapped her wings midair and glared at the gate. Frightened by Lotte, they panicked.
âDo not enter! This place is under Guardianâs jurisdiction and is not open to the public! If you want to enter, you must form a party and get approved by the government!â
âI see!â
I politely responded to the voice coming from below.
âBut I donât care!â
Lotte immediately charged into the gate.
[You entered the S+ rank Event Dungeon, Forest of Rage.]
âItâs another forest.â
âDonât tell me there are more spidersâŠ?â
âSo this place isâŠâ
âWe came inâŠâ
Eh? I turned around at the unfamiliar voices. Lo and behold, Koreaâs three S rankers were there! I didnât think theyâd really follow us into the gate!
âI canât believe you went ahead without caring about us⊠It was hard catching up to you!â
âUh⊠Good job, but you know this place is an S+ ranked dungeon, right?â
âAh, now that you mention it!â
There were no S+ rank Awakened in Korea. These three were all S rank Awakened. I wondered what gave them the confidence to march into this dungeon. At that moment, a roar rang out across the entire dungeon.
[Kuaaaaaang!]
The S rankers became stiff. For the record, Walker also went stiff.
âDamn it, if I die here, Iâll reveal your evil deeds in my will, Kuuk!â
âYou wonât die, so donât worry, Walker.â
I grinned and took out my spear. Although Yeon Hwawoo was known to use his fists, he was just revealed to be the same person as Dragon Knight, who already fought against the drake with a spear. As such, it didnât matter even if I used a spear.
Spinning the spear in my hand, I dispersed my mana into the surroundings. Then, I stopped not long after.
âI found it.â
At the same time, a great breaking sound rang out from the forest.
[Hero! I can feel the Heroâs presence!]
âEveryone, get down and prepare. 11 oâclock, 5 meters tall. Itâs charging straight at us. It looks like a close-ranged type, but a part of its body has mana clumped together, so it might be hiding a trump card.â
I concisely explained the information I gathered from mana detection, then began circulating Peruta Circuit. Ludia spread her arms out and cast Blessing on the party members. In an instant, the whirlpool around my spear became stronger.
With a boom, the trees in front of us fell and it made its appearance. As I said before, it was 5 meters tall. Although it was shaped like a human, its skin was green and unnaturally muscular, while it had only one eye.
âCyclops!â
[Hero, I will have the Herooo, kyakuk!]
The Gluttony Spear I threw out easily turned the cyclopsâ head to dust. I hadnât even used Heroic Strike, so it really died in vain. I retrieved the Gluttony Spear by pulling on its mana and spoke to my companions.
âIâll support you guys from above. They shouldnât be that hard from what I see.â
âNot that hard!? They weaken others by casting the fear status effect!â
âHonestly, you should block something like fearing.â
âY-YouâŠ!â
Leaving the raging Walker be, I ordered Plene.â
âWhen the cyclopes appear, sing your weakening song, okay?â
âUn, okay! The song where we all have fun together, right!?â
âY-Yeah.â
âWait, Dragon Knight! What should we do?â
Sheâs asking me? What a smart woman!
âI wonât tell you to fight, but since you decided to observe us, do it while you run away.â
âY-You want us to run?â
âLotte, letâs go!â
With just me on her back, Lotte flew up. Although the rankers probably wanted to ride on Lotte, I didnât even turn around as I flew forward. If I could fly in the dungeon, I was clearly better off fighting on Lotte. If I got into a serious fight on Lotte, not only would they vomit and get motion sickness, but they would also get thrown off.
[What will you do, Hero?]
âMy guild members are strong. They should be able to take on two of them at once.â
[Then we should find groups of three or more.]
âExactly.â
Lotte raised her flying speed. This dungeon was contained the one-eyed giants, cyclopes. Befitting the title of S+ rank, they had powerful strength, resistance against mana, and ability to weaken magic and aura. However, Mad Typhoon was greatly effective against such special traits.
The endlessly spinning whirlpool of aura broke down their resistance and dealt special blows that were impossible to regenerate from. Peruta, who created this, was indeed worthy of being called a god.
[Kuaaaaang!]
âGale Track!â
[Kraaaaaaa!]
Lotte roared and charged. No matter how big the cyclopes were, Dark Wing Lotte was the biggest and strongest of all wyverns. Not even the cyclopes could block her charge. Imbued with a gale, the Gluttony Spear pierced through the cyclopes. The trees in Lotteâs path all fell and marked our track.
âLotte, go there, where five of the mare gathered! Iâm using the final blow!â
[Understood, Hero!]
After sending twenty cyclopes flying, a strong wind energy gathered around the Gluttony Spear, which had been strengthened by 140%. Even as Lotte charged forward, the energy flowing in from all sides transferred to the whirlpool of aura. The whirlpool almost looked like it was enveloping both Lotte and me.
âPeika!â
[Yeah!]
Looking at the cyclopes that got up from their rest and prepared to throw trees at us, I shouted my elementalâs name. Peika instantly gathered golden lightning to the tip of my spear. It was a Thunder Bomb, which had all of her power concentrated.
âThunder Tempest!â
Unable to hold in my excitement, I shouted out the skill name. Immediately afterwards, I strongly clashed with the group of cyclopes. The force of the whirlpool mixed with the lightning and a violent explosion broke out.
[KiaaaaaâŠ!] [It was⊠the HeroâŠ!]
The cyclopes standing in the front instantly died, and the ones behind them were also swept away by the explosion. Although the ground tremored loudly from their collapse, they were like music to my ears.
I had become strong. Even an S+ rank dungeon was a playground for me. Delighted, I made a big smile, when suddenlyâŠ
âWhat are we supposed to do if you kill them all? Weâre practically just spectators!â
Hwayaâs voice rang out from far away. When I turned around, there were cyclopes in the path Lotte and I crossed. After using Gale Track, I had killed all the cyclopes I could see, so I forgot to leave some for the others.
[S-Sorry. I went a bit too wild.] [No, you did well. Itâs better the more overwhelming you appear to them. You were cool.] [Scary basta⊠Kuuk!]
Contrary to what she just shouted, Hwaya had a very satisfied tone in the guild communication channel. Although I hadnât planned on it, I had ended up showing the S rankers an effective show of force.
Of course, not all cyclopes were dead. Other than the five cyclopes that ate the brunt of my final blow, others were collapsed on the ground with their limbs or chunks of their bodies torn apart. I then traced Gale Trackâs path and took care of the cyclopes left alive.
âD-Dragon KnightâŠâ
âHe killed these monstrous creatures in one blowâŠâ
âKuk.â
After joining the others, I couldnât help but laugh, seeing the three rankersâ change in expression. Although they were the only ones with that expression, once we finished cleaning up Koreaâs dungeonsâŠ
[Kuaaaa!] [Kill the Heroooo!]
Because of the ruckus I caused, more and more cyclopes were gathering. I spun my spear around again as I turned around.
âAlright, letâs finish within 3 hours. I want to get rid of the other three before the day breaks.â
âTaking care of Korea in just one night. âŠThat sounds fun!â
Father grinned.
âDamn, you know, I have to guard your sister tomorrow, tooâŠâ
âDo your best, Walker!â
âYou devil! Kuaak!â
Walker screamed. Startled, the S rankers backed off from Walker.