Chapter 48
Despite 30 minutes passing since entering the Gate, there had been no significant crisis.
To be precise, Lee Seong-jun hadn't lifted a finger and had only been walking.
'I didn't expect to not even have a chance to step in.'
As a result, he hadn't gained a single contribution point so far, but there was no need to worry about it.
After all, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that the rankings in a Raid Gate are determined by the contribution to hunting elite and boss monsters.
It could be seen as a good thing to be able to replenish stamina.
'Still, this is easier than I thought.'
Given that the party was composed of rookies carrying the future of each guild, this could be seen as a natural result.
However, if asked whether it was simply because of the party's exceptional abilities, he would immediately shake his head.
From the start, the monsters that had appeared so far weren't very threatening.
"Keeeeek-!"
Even the monster they were currently fighting was a Giant Rabbit. It was merely a C-rank monster.
There was no way it could stand in the way of Hunters called rookies even within the top 5 guilds.
Kwagwang-!
Indeed, the Giant Rabbits rushing towards the flames Kim Hye-young had created were falling helplessly.
Although they were easily and continuously gaining the upper hand, the expression of Kim Hye-young, who could be considered the hero of these victories, wasn't very bright.
"No matter how I think about it, this situation doesn't make sense."
No, it wasn't just Kim Hye-young who was questioning this.
Jung Yun-ho and Lee Dong-ju were also frowning.
"It's certainly very different from what was predicted."
"...This is why I can't trust those information team guys."
A cavern where darkness had settled.
To be precise, it was more like a city than a cavern, but since it could be considered a similar environment, the terrain itself wasn't a problem at all.
However, the fact that the appearing monsters were completely different was bound to be an issue.
"Considering the size of the city we confirmed when we entered, it seems we've cleared about half... but the highest rank of monsters that have appeared is C."
When initially ranking a Raid Gate, the amount of magical power flowing out from the outside is used as a criterion.
This means that, just like ordinary Gates, it's the sum of the magical power values that the inhabiting monsters unconsciously emit.
However, the strongest monster among those that had appeared so far was merely C-rank.
Considering the difficulty of an A-rank Gate, this could be said to be absurdly weak.
This implied that the elite monsters or boss monsters that would appear later would be overwhelmingly strong.
It meant that the difficulty of the Raid Gate, which was already hard to clear due to the strength of the elite and boss monsters, had increased even further.
Even for rookies representing the top 5 guilds, it wasn't a situation where they could afford to be complacent.
"Tsk, this seems to have gone wrong somehow. Let's retreat for now and come up with a plan."
"Rather than retreating blindly, I think we should gather as much information as possible from the vicinity first."
"No need to make a fuss. After all, it's just a green Gate. There shouldn't be any problem."
While Lee Dong-ju, Kim Hye-young, and Jung Yun-ho were each presenting their opinions, Lee Seong-jun narrowed his eyes and surveyed the surroundings.
'This is strange...'
In his senses, which had become sharper as he reached the pinnacle of his abilities, he could feel faint movements of living beings.
But what he could see right in front of him were only empty houses.
'...There are too many to check one by one.'
Houses were densely packed everywhere, much like a medieval city.
It would have been quite a headache-inducing situation normally, but fortunately, he didn't have to check the entire area alone.
Song Seung-jun, who had also narrowed his eyes like Lee Seong-jun, was surveying the surroundings and maintaining vigilance.
Their gazes met in mid-air.
"..."
Without any words, the two nodded at each other and divided their areas to maintain vigilance.
Meanwhile, the Hunters who had been asserting their own opinions began to clash due to their differing thoughts.
"No, I'm suggesting the best strategy possible in the current situation, so why on earth are you opposing it?!"
"I simply don't want to waste attack time on futile efforts and erode the reputation I've worked so hard to build."
Given that everyone had their own circumstances, even ordinary Hunters would have had difficulty narrowing down their opinions.
Moreover, the Hunters gathered here now were rookies who had grown up receiving only preferential treatment in their respective guilds. There was no way they could coordinate their opinions.
Very naturally, their voices raised towards each other, and emotions were becoming heated.
Tak.
Lee Seong-jun's body suddenly moved, reaching out his hand towards Kim Hye-young.
"W-What are you doing?"
For a moment, Kim Hye-young, with her eyes wide open, let out an irritated voice.
However, it didn't take long for her to realize how rude her attitude had been.
This was because she could see with her own eyes the arrow caught in Lee Seong-jun's outstretched hand.
"...This is."
Anyone who wasn't a fool could understand.
Originally, it was an arrow that had been aimed precisely at her head.
"A, a surprise attack..."
Just as Kim Hye-young, who had finally grasped the situation, was hurriedly preparing to engage in battle.
A scream erupted from Lee Dong-ju right next to her.
"Argh-!"
Fortunately, he seemed to have detected it at the last moment before the arrow hit, avoiding the misfortune of it piercing his head.
However, he didn't escape unscathed.
An arrow was lodged in his shoulder blade, injuring the muscle that could be said to be the most important when an archer draws a bowstring.
"Damn it!"
Lee Dong-ju, frowning, looked around to locate the position of the enemy who had shot the arrow.
Then, his gaze stopped on the rooftop of a particularly large mansion.
"There! They're there!"
Although he had made what he thought was the best judgment, even before Lee Dong-ju pointed out the location, Song Seung-jun and Jung Yun-ho were already heading towards the rooftop of the large mansion.
"What's that?"
With the distance closed in an instant, they could now see the monsters standing at the top with their naked eyes.
Bipedal creatures with black hair and skin.
At first glance, they looked almost identical to humans, but there was a clear difference.
It was their pointy ears. Thanks to this, Jung Yun-ho could immediately guess the identity of the monsters.
"Dark Elves!"
The situation they had worried about earlier had become reality.
The reason why the ranks of the monsters that had appeared earlier were low was because Dark Elves, known to be the strongest among B+ rank elite monsters, were present.
"What are you doing?!"
It wasn't for nothing that Dark Elves were known as the strongest among B+ rank elite monsters.
They possessed excellent assassination and sniping abilities, along with agile and incredibly stealthy movements.
Moreover, this place was an underground city where light didn't penetrate well.
If the Dark Elves decided to flee in earnest, tracking them would be nearly impossible.
Of course, if it was simply impossible to track them, it wouldn't be a big deal.
The problem was that the subsequent situation would become so bad that it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it the worst-case scenario.
Since they wouldn't know when the Dark Elves might launch a surprise attack, they would have to move in a tense state at every moment.
Needless to say, the resulting fatigue and mental exhaustion would be tremendous.
Considering the upcoming battle with the boss monster, these were monsters that absolutely couldn't be allowed to escape.
"Hurry up and use your skill to set up an encirclement!"
That's why Jung Yun-ho urgently urged Kim Hye-young for support.
However, this turned out to be an unnecessary worry.
'At this distance...'
Perhaps for precise sniping, the two Dark Elves had positioned themselves not too far away.
In other words, they had positioned themselves in a spot that was conversely easy to attack.
'This should be enough.'
Lee Seong-jun immediately spread his legs shoulder-width apart, stretched out both arms, and wrapped his left hand around his right wrist.
At the same time, he curled his middle finger inside his thumb, creating a circular ring on his palm.
The motion was extremely concise, but its power would be far from light.
This was because he was about to unleash the martial arts of the Blood Demon, Lee Seong-jun, who was called the world's finest, no, the finest of all time, having taken the lives of numerous righteous experts.
Of course, having just entered the threshold of the pinnacle, he wouldn't be able to exert the power he had when he was praised as the finest of all time.
However, he could confidently say it would be enough to hunt the Dark Elves in front of him.
"Heuup..."
As he drew in a breath, the blood energy in his body began to circulate as if it had been waiting.
The blood energy, rushing at an incredible speed like a sports car running on a highway without speed limits, flowed along his shoulder and gathered at his fingertips in an instant.
In that moment, the aura of the Blood Demon, whom everyone had revered and looked up to, flashed in Lee Seong-jun's eyes.
'Thousand Transformations Blood Martial Art, Blood Martial First Transformation, Bullet.'
Finally, as a red sphere containing the blood energy from the middle and lower dantians formed at the tip of his finger.
Lee Seong-jun flicked his finger without hesitation.
Bang-! Bang-!
A series of loud noises, as if a gun had been fired, erupted, and two red lines cut through the air.
Simultaneously, the forms of the Dark Elves who had been drawing their bowstrings on the mansion rooftop collapsed and fell to the ground.
Thud-!
Ding-!
[You have eliminated 2 B+ rank elite monsters, Dark Elves.]
[Experience points increase.]
Faced with a reality they could hardly believe even with their own eyes, the Hunters' faces were filled with undisguisable bewilderment.
Given the unfavorable terrain and the surprise attack they had suffered, they had expected a fierce exchange of blows or a chase to ensue.
But the situation was resolved in an instant.
Moreover, it was resolved by a completely unexpected individual.
"What..."
Even Song Seung-jun's eyes, which had always been impassive, were shaking.
"W-What kind of skill did you just use?"
Kim Hye-young threw out the question on behalf of the stunned Hunters, but sadly, all she got from Lee Seong-jun was a curt reply.
"Don't you think there are more important things to do right now?"
It was a somewhat disorganized statement, but as talented individuals who had undergone extensive training as rookies of the top 5 guilds, they quickly grasped Lee Seong-jun's meaning.
Kim Hye-young quickly erased the confusion that had bloomed in her mind and began to assess the current situation.
'We've greatly reduced the risk of surprise attacks by taking out the two Dark Elves that could be considered scouts, but I can't say the situation is good.'
Kim Hye-young bit her lower lip hard.
"For now, rather than fixating on rankings, I think it would be best if we all worked together to clear the Gate."
There was a reason why Raid Gate clearing parties were composed of multiple groups.
It's because the difficulty is so high that it requires many people and cooperation between them.
Of course, as rookies representing each guild, they could have cleared an ordinary green Raid Gate to some extent even if they moved individually without much cooperation.
However, this was a Raid Gate where Dark Elves, the strongest among B+ rank elite monsters, appeared. Even for rookies of the top 5 guilds, it would be too much to handle with individual movements.
Therefore, Kim Hye-young's judgment could be considered excellent, but unfortunately, not everyone was making such wise decisions.
Lee Dong-ju, whose face had turned bright red at some point, stood in front of Lee Seong-jun and raised his voice.
"Hey, you! It seems like you knew from the start that a surprise attack was coming. Why the hell didn't you say anything?!"
To be precise, given how heated his emotions were, he probably wouldn't have listened even if he had been told.
However, there was no reason to go through the trouble of explaining everything one by one.
No, he didn't want to explain.
If one is walking the path of a warrior, shouldn't they handle matters of grudges and favors clearly?
A sneer spread across Lee Seong-jun's lips.
"Didn't you say you wouldn't need any help from the likes of me?"