Chapter 64: To the Snowfield (9)
Ui-jun couldn’t follow the flow of this conversation.
Footprints in a white snowfield with no traces?
What?
“Um, Sa-hyeok-ssi.”
“Yes?”
“I can’t see any footprints at all……”
“Ah.”
He lacked consideration.
Sa-hyeok could detect even the faintest footprints left on the snow with his telekinesis, but others couldn’t.
Sa-hyeok took Ui-jun to where the footprints were.
“Get your face close to the ground and look like this. See?”
“Ah……!”
Seeing it up close, Ui-jun could also see the footprints.
On the surface of the thick, flat snowfield, very shallow footprints were visible.
Traces of at least three people moving.
And those footprints all led towards the white giant tree in the center of the dungeon, the boss room.
Ui-jun said.
“Seeing as they moved across the snowfield leaving only such faint traces, they probably used a lightweight artifact.”
“Lightweight artifact……”
Sa-hyeok scanned the footprints in the snow again and said.
“There’s one person who used a method other than a lightweight artifact.”
“What?!”
“There are footprints of three people in the snowfield right now, but the shape of one person’s footprints is different.”
“Different, you say……”
“It’s half the size of a normal footprint. Meaning they moved using only the front part of their feet.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means they used Light Footwork.”
“Light Footwork……!”
A martial art that amplifies speed and reduces body weight, Light Footwork.
“There’s a level of mastery in Light Footwork called ‘Treading Snow Without a Trace’. It refers to the state where no traces are left even when stepping on snow. It seems like they used that.”
“But there are still traces left, aren’t there?”
“They’re unskilled. But even this much means they’re a considerably strong individual.”
Sa-hyeok thought.
‘The level of Treading Snow Without a Trace, they must be a considerably skilled Leg Technique user.’
Sa-hyeok recalled the practice sparring sessions he had with Sam-gu.
The most outstanding disciple in Leg Techniques under Jeong-kwon, Yoon Sam-gu.
He reminisced about the days he sweated profusely trying to decipher Sam-gu’s versatile Leg Techniques.
Ui-jun asked.
“Then, Hunter-nim Min, how should we move now?”
“Hmm……”
Originally, the investigation was only scheduled to go this far.
But somehow, the portal disappeared before they could properly investigate.
Just as they were about to give up, they discovered the traces leading to the white giant tree, the boss room.
In this situation, there were two options.
Turn back from here.
Or go to the boss room and conduct further investigation.
Both fell into a brief contemplation.
And the first to make a decision was Ui-jun.
“Let’s just go as far as the boss room, Sa-hyeok-ssi.”
“To the white giant tree?”
“Yes.”
It was Ui-jun who first expressed his desire for further investigation.
Sa-hyeok asked.
“Are you sure?”
“It’s an investigation, not a raid. We’re not going to kill the boss and come back. More importantly, if we just turn back here, it’ll only be a half-assed investigation. I don’t want to end it there.”
Sa-hyeok nodded.
“Then let’s go to the boss room. Don’t touch the boss, don’t hunt monsters, don’t engage in combat. We’ll just quickly grasp the situation and come back.”
“Alright.”
The two took out a potion each, clinked them as if in a toast, and drank them down.
Ui-jun’s was a Health Potion, Sa-hyeok’s was a stimulant (Mandrake’s Bile).
After emptying the potion bottles, Sa-hyeok extended his hand to Ui-jun.
Ui-jun said with an anxious look.
“……We can’t walk, can we?”
“You don’t want to stay in this dungeon for several more days, do you?”
Sa-hyeok wrapped Ui-jun with metallic bandages and carried him on his shoulder.
“Let’s go.”
Whoosh!
Sa-hyeok started running towards the white giant tree, the boss room, in the center of the snowy field.
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Sa-hyeok put Ui-jun down a short distance from the white giant tree.
“Let’s move quietly on foot from here. The guys who came through the portal might still be around.”
Saying so, Sa-hyeok expanded his telekinetic detection range to the maximum.
He intended to move as cautiously as possible while searching the surroundings thoroughly.
Anyway, that tree where the boss room was located was truly enormous.
It was like looking at a high-rise building without windows.
Sa-hyeok asked.
“Is the boss at the top of that tree?”
“Yes. I heard the inside of the tree is structured like a building with multiple floors. You have to defeat the monsters on each floor to go up to the next.”
“Aha……”
“By the way, Hunter-nim Min, are there footprints here too?”
“Ah, yes. They continue all the way to the giant tree.”
Indeed, the footprints of the three continued all the way to the entrance leading into the giant tree.
Sa-hyeok asked.
“Shall we go inside the tree?”
“Well, if they’ve set up traps at the entrance……”
“I can disarm traps.”
“Ah, well then……”
Saying so absentmindedly, Ui-jun stepped forward.
Ui-jun stepped out of the shadow of the forest without thinking.
That was a mistake.
An irreversible, fatal mistake.
Whoosh!
Thud!
Ui-jun’s left arm disappeared.
A beam of light that flew down from above severed Ui-jun’s left arm.
“Aaaargh!!”
“Squad Leader!!”
Sa-hyeok ran towards Ui-jun.
At that moment, a second beam of light flew towards Ui-jun.
But this time was different.
Clang!!
Sa-hyeok blocked the beam with his hand, which was enveloped in the Iron Arms of the Bone King.
‘The attack came from outside my detection range……!’
That was why Sa-hyeok couldn’t predict this attack.
Sa-hyeok raised his head and looked at where the beam came from.
A large hole pierced through the surface of the white giant tree’s top.
He could see the silhouette of a human standing inside that hole.
The beam came from there.
“There……!”
Sa-hyeok first dragged Ui-jun into the shadow of the forest.
Counterattack or whatever, treatment came first.
“Are you alright?!”
“Where…… Where’s my arm……?”
Only Ui-jun’s wrist remained, his arm having been burned off.
But he couldn’t tell him the truth.
Treatment was more important.
Sa-hyeok rummaged through his remaining bag and found something.
A small glass bottle filled with a black liquid.
It was an emergency antiseptic and hemostatic potion.
It rapidly restores the skin of the wound and stops bleeding, but it also causes excruciating pain.
But in the face of life and death, pain wasn’t a big issue.
Sa-hyeok poured the potion onto the wound without hesitation.
Sizzle-
“Ugh……!”
The skin rapidly regenerated.
They had overcome the dangerous hurdle.
The flowing blood quickly stopped, and instead, sweat poured down like rain.
Looking at the sweat-drenched Ui-jun, Sa-hyeok thought.
‘Sweating this much in the snowy field could be dangerous due to hypothermia……’
Flap-
Sa-hyeok took off his coat and put it on Ui-jun.
He was already wearing the special thermal underwear he received from the Guild Support Team underneath.
A very thin but special thermal underwear that generates heat when mana is injected into it.
Meanwhile, Ui-jun barely managed to control his pain.
And he checked his left shoulder, where something should have been.
“……My arm?”
“Squad Leader.”
“Damn it, my arm…… Damn…… Heh, hehehe……”
Ui-jun clutched the place where his arm had been severed, continuously cursing and laughing.
Sa-hyeok couldn’t stop him.
It would be stranger if he was sane after losing an arm.
Leaving the muttering Ui-jun beside him, Sa-hyeok thought.
‘It must have been an attack from the guys who came through that black portal.’
For now, he couldn’t understand their intentions or purpose.
But it didn’t matter.
Since they showed hostility towards him and his comrade, Sa-hyeok didn’t want to leave them alive.
At that moment.
Whoosh-
Bang!!
Another beam struck less than a meter away.
Ui-jun came to his senses.
“Hunter-nim Min, we need to get out of here quickly……”
“You bastards.”
Crack.
Sa-hyeok gritted his teeth and stood up.
A chilling murderous intent surged in Sa-hyeok’s eyes.
Ui-jun realized what Sa-hyeok was thinking.
“Sa-hyeok-ssi, we need to retreat for now……!”
Sa-hyeok didn’t listen to Ui-jun.
Clatter-
Sa-hyeok deployed the metallic bandages from both hands in the form of springs.
And he used his telekinesis to fix and compress the springs, accumulating elasticity.
Seeing that, Ui-jun realized what Sa-hyeok was trying to do.
“Hunter-nim Min! No!!”
But Sa-hyeok had no intention of stopping.
Whoosh!
Sa-hyeok released the elasticity of the springs.
Leaving behind an exploding snow mist, Sa-hyeok soared into the air.
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Meanwhile, at the top of the white giant tree.
There was a large hole.
Inside the hole, there was an internal space much larger than the hole itself.
Near the hole stood a young man with a golden bow.
A slender physique, sharp eyes reminiscent of a snake.
He was the archer who had blown off Ui-jun’s left arm with an arrow of light.
The archer said.
“Damn it, I only managed to take out one arm…… Anyway, how did those guys get here? They should have been dealt with by the Snowmen.”
Muttering to himself, he created a new arrow made of light on his hand.
Light-type magic, Light Arrow.
The moment he placed the light arrow on his bowstring.
“Hmm?”
Whoosh!
Something shot up from below.
It was Sa-hyeok.
“What? Is that a person?!”
He released the bowstring he had pulled towards Sa-hyeok.
With a sharp whistling sound, the light arrow flew towards Sa-hyeok.
Just before the arrow reached Sa-hyeok’s body.
Tssst-
Sa-hyeok used his telekinesis to pull on the side of the giant tree, abruptly changing his flight trajectory.
The arrow grazed past Sa-hyeok.
“What the hell? He changed direction in mid-air?!”
After dodging the arrow, Sa-hyeok immediately pulled on the top of the giant tree with his telekinesis.
Whoosh!
Sa-hyeok’s body bounced back up.
“Tsk……!”
Swish-
This time, the archer loaded multiple light arrows.
If he couldn’t hit him with one, he planned to shower him with a barrage.
“Take this and fall!”
Whoosh!
The bowstring was released, and the bow rained down a shower of light arrows like rain.
Swoosh!
Pouring down beams of light.
Sa-hyeok soaring upwards to meet them.
It looked suicidal from the side, but Sa-hyeok still had one more trick up his sleeve.
Crackle-
The Lightning Ring on his left hand emitted a blue light.
Crackle, Crackle!
Sa-hyeok unleashed an electric shock forward.
The light arrows and the electric shock clashed in mid-air.
Bzzzt!
Neutralization.
The scattered electricity completely erased the light arrows.
The remaining aftershocks of the electricity then engulfed the archer.
The archer momentarily crouched down.
“Ugh……!”
Crackle!
The archer felt as if static electricity was surging through his body for a moment.
It felt extremely unpleasant, but it wasn’t a fatal blow.
This was only an aftershock, after all.
“What is this guy, a Lightning Sorcerer……?”
The archer muttered as he straightened up.
At that moment.
Thud –
Footsteps from the side.
Just over 3 meters away, Sa-hyeok stood.
He had flown all the way from the ground below to the top of this giant tree.
“You’re the one who took out my Squad Leader’s arm.”
“You bastard……!”
The archer quickly pressed the jewel on his necklace.
Clang!
Then, armor deployed from the necklace, instantly covering his body.
Heavy metal armor that didn’t suit a sniper like the archer.
Moreover, despite being metal, it was enchanted with insulation, flame resistance, and waterproofing magic.
It was complete protective armor, focusing all its functions on defense.
“This armor is made of Daitonium alloy! You can’t break it unless you hit it with an even harder metal……!”
“Kwonmu Fist Technique 3rd Form, Siege.”
“What?”
Sa-hyeok’s right fist, enveloped in the Iron Arms of the Bone King, plunged into the center of the armor.
Crack!!
The Daitonium armor instantly shattered.
At the same time, the archer’s solar plexus caved in, and blood spurted from his mouth like a fountain.
“Gah……!”
Crash!
The archer was sent flying, scraping against the floor.
Armor destruction, comminuted fracture, internal organ rupture.
After turning the archer into a near-corpse, Sa-hyeok turned his gaze inside the hole.
This was the inside of the white giant tree, the top floor.
Sa-hyeok’s voice echoed ominously within this vast cavity.
“I know there are other bastards inside. Come out.”
It was the voice of someone prepared to kill.
