Chapter 57: To the Snowfield (2)
Sa-hyeok was bitten.
At least, the Ice Armor Bear thought so.
It felt its teeth pierce through Sa-hyeok’s coat.
Yes, his ‘coat’.
“Ugh, damn it, biting me the moment I come in.”
Sa-hyeok wasn’t bitten.
The moment it bit, he took off his coat and quickly escaped.
Sa-hyeok caught his coat, which the Ice Armor Bear was biting, with his telekinesis.
The coat moved.
Whirr!
Thud!
The coat wrapped around the monster’s snout.
“Muzzle with this.”
“Krr…”
Rustle!
Sa-hyeok first deployed the Iron Arms of the Bone King on both arms.
Clang!
Then he immediately drew out the Mubuchamdos and floated them in the air.
But Sa-hyeok couldn’t even use them properly.
The moment its biting attack was blocked, the bear swung its front paw towards Sa-hyeok without a moment’s hesitation.
Whoosh!
Crack!
It happened in a split second.
Sa-hyeok narrowly dodged the bear’s attack, but at the same time, he lost control of the Mubuchamdos.
Clang!
Thud!
The four Mubuchamdos fell helplessly onto the ground.
‘What’s with this speed?!’
The ground crumbled like a cookie from a single, light front paw swipe.
Power, speed, accuracy, and aggression were all terrifyingly high.
“Krr!!”
Bang!
Crash!
The bear rushed towards Sa-hyeok, frantically swinging its claws.
Along with a terrifying wind pressure and a chill that spread like a blade.
Sa-hyeok hurriedly backed away without even retrieving the Mubuchamdos.
The bear’s attack didn’t give Sa-hyeok a chance to do anything.
Indeed, a 4-star monster.
It was damn strong.
‘Instant kill is the best option, but that’s difficult…’
Sa-hyeok quickly racked his brains.
How to subdue this monster.
How to create the situation to subdue it.
What factors need to be considered for the subjugation.
Sa-hyeok first quickly scanned the surroundings.
The surroundings were just an empty snowfield, not even a single rock was visible.
Then, he saw the Silver Boxes placed near the gate.
The moment he saw them, a strategy formed in Sa-hyeok’s mind.
The first thing to do was…
‘Dodge.’
To retreat.
Crack!
The bear persistently chased after Sa-hyeok, who was backing away.
But Sa-hyeok didn’t prepare any counterattack, nor did he attack.
He just kept running away.
The moment he finally got far enough away from the gate after running away.
The Ice Armor Bear saw it.
Sa-hyeok’s movements momentarily slowed down.
An opening.
It instinctively realized that now was the chance.
Whoosh!
The bear swung down its raised front paw vertically.
A full-powered blow that struck down like lightning.
But that attack didn’t reach Sa-hyeok.
Bang!!
The bear’s front paw only smashed the ground in vain.
Sa-hyeok had dodged by slightly twisting his body.
“You fall for it so easily just because I pretended to falter.”
Sa-hyeok had been calculating the bear’s attack patterns while dodging its attacks countless times.
Based on that calculation, he boldly showed an opening to induce a big attack.
And due to the after-delay of this big attack, the bear’s movement momentarily stopped.
It was time to counterattack.
Kwonmu Fist Technique 3rd Form, Siege.
Crack!!
Sa-hyeok’s fist landed on the bear’s jaw.
Bang!!
The bear’s heavy body collapsed onto the ground.
“Do you know why I lured you all this way?”
Sa-hyeok glanced at the Silver Boxes piled up in the distance and said.
“Because here, I can fight freely without worrying about breaking those.”
The retreat so far wasn’t just running away.
It was a lure.
A lure to get the bear far enough away from the Silver Boxes.
He couldn’t let the equipment, which was clearly worth billions, get broken.
Moreover, he had been analyzing the bear’s attack patterns while running away.
Fast, sharp, and heavy, but beastly simple.
There was no reason to fear this monster anymore.
Thud!
Crack!
Sa-hyeok pummeled the bear with his arms wrapped in metallic bandages.
The bear, having lost its momentum, couldn’t easily recover its form and was helplessly beaten.
In the midst of that barrage, Sa-hyeok saw it.
‘The armor is regenerating…?’
The thick ice armor covering the Ice Armor Bear’s skin.
It was being restored to its original state at a considerably fast speed every time it was broken and shattered.
In this state, he could inflict damage, but he couldn’t land a fatal blow.
He needed a means to pierce through that ice armor and strike the flesh beneath in one go.
‘Should I use the Flame Ring?’
The most effective means against snowfield monsters, a flame attack.
But Sa-hyeok shook his head.
It was too close to use flames.
And if he tried to create distance to use flames, there was a high chance he would lose the initiative he had gained.
Then, other means…
[Here you go, hyung-nim.]
The drone Bang-ul-i was riding flew next to Sa-hyeok with a whirr.
The drone’s claw was holding one of the Mubuchamdos that Sa-hyeok had dropped earlier.
Sa-hyeok’s eyes lit up when he saw that.
“Thanks!”
Clack!
Whizz!
Sa-hyeok snatched the Mubuchamdo and grasped it in his hand.
If he had held it with his bare hand, his palm would have been shattered, but since the Iron Arms of the Bone King were wrapped around his hand, there was no damage.
Then he immediately jumped behind the Ice Armor Bear.
Sa-hyeok was aiming for the back of the bear’s neck, the gap between the skull and the spine.
If this monster had a similar body structure to Earth creatures, there would definitely be a ‘medulla oblongata’ there.
The organ that controls a living being’s breathing and circulation, the medulla oblongata.
If it was destroyed, the creature would definitely die instantly.
Crack!
Sa-hyeok stabbed the Mubuchamdo as it was in his hand.
Crackle!
The furiously vibrating blade ground through the ice armor and dug in.
But the regeneration speed of the armor was also terrifyingly fast.
The ice armor regenerated as fast as it was dug into.
Sa-hyeok increased the vibration frequency of the blade.
Crackle…!
‘Just a little more, just a little more…!’
Half a step to the kill.
If he could just break through this deadlock, the situation would be over.
Sa-hyeok raised his left arm, which wasn’t holding the Mubuchamdo.
‘Kwonmu Palm Technique 1st Form, Direct Strike.’
Thud!
Sa-hyeok struck the back of the Mubuchamdo with a powerful blow.
Crack!
The tip of the blade, gaining momentum, pierced through the armor and dug into the skin in one go.
Once the hard armor was pierced, the rest was simple.
The Mubuchamdo dug in and ground the medulla oblongata.
Splatter!
In the process, blood gushed out like a fountain and covered Sa-hyeok.
Sa-hyeok didn’t care.
He had taken down the monster’s head, so what was the problem with getting covered in a little blood?
Thump!
The Ice Armor Bear finally died completely and collapsed onto the ground.
“Huff, huff…”
He was out of breath, and the pungent smell of blood scratched his nostrils.
But at the same time, he felt refreshed.
Was seeing a dying monster this exhilarating?
A faint smile appeared on Sa-hyeok’s lips.
He smiled like that and unconsciously turned his head towards the gate…
“Uh.”
There stood nineteen raid members with shocked expressions.
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For the other raid members besides Sa-hyeok, it was truly a horrifying sight.
The raid member who entered first was covered in blood, holding a sword, and grinning in the snowfield.
Moreover, a giant monster was lying dead next to him.
His very existence was a horror.
Meanwhile, the raid leader, Ui-jun, was in turmoil.
‘I heard he was a Sorcerer…?’
Why on earth was a Sorcerer fighting with fists and swords?
But why was he so good at it?!
And this monster…
“Isn’t that an Ice Armor Bear?”
“Yes.”
“Did you perhaps… catch the Ice Armor Bear alone? That near-mid-boss level monster?!”
“Yes. It attacked me as soon as I entered the gate.”
Ui-jun couldn’t help but be astonished.
The Ice Armor Bear was one of the stronger monsters that appeared in the snowfield.
It wasn’t something that could be caught alone like this.
No, more importantly…
“You’re saying an Ice Armor Bear was there as soon as you entered the dungeon?”
“Yes.”
“That’s strange. They usually appear when you go deeper into the dungeon. Why was it loitering near the gate?”
“That’s something we need to investigate. In the first place, from the point when the monsters escaped, this dungeon isn’t in a normal state, is it?”
Both Sa-hyeok, who spoke, and Ui-jun, who listened, had the same thought at that moment.
This dungeon was a place where common sense didn’t apply.
“…Indeed. Then let’s proceed quickly.”
Ui-jun rolled up his sleeves and revealed what was on his wrist.
It was the control pad for the Silver Box.
Beep, beep-
As he made a few adjustments on the pad, the Silver Boxes started to activate.
Clank-
Click!
The equipment, which had been nothing more than silver rectangular boxes, unfolded and combined in various ways, taking on a certain form.
The Silver Boxes soon transformed into three snowmobiles.
Moreover, they were equipped with trunks in the rear that could carry luggage and people.
After the Silver Box deployment was complete, Ui-jun took out a pen-like marker from his pocket and said.
“Combat-type Hunters, please hand over your weapons.”
Ui-jun firmly dotted the blades of the swords and spears with the pen.
“Why are you marking our weapons with a marker?”
“This isn’t ink. It’s my blood.”
“…”
Meanwhile, Sa-hyeok wiped off the blood and put his coat back on.
Now the preparations were complete.
“4-star Snowfield Dungeon raid, commencing.”
Ui-jun announced the start of the raid.
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The snowfield was vast.
But the direction to head towards was clear.
The forest situated widely in the center of the snowfield, and the white giant tree towering high in the middle of that forest.
That giant tree was the final destination.
And to get there, they had to cross this vast plain first.
The raid members walked with vigilance, and the snowmobiles followed them in autopilot mode.
After walking for about 20 minutes.
The raging wind subsided, and a snow fog began to obscure their vision.
“Tsk, I can’t see ahead…!”
Some wore night vision goggles, but it was useless.
Night vision goggles were for overcoming darkness, not for seeing through fog.
At that moment, something was detected by Sa-hyeok’s telekinetic detection.
A swarm of something approaching in a scattered formation.
Sa-hyeok spoke.
“Ten o’clock and two o’clock direction, detecting approaching entities!”
Things approaching the raid party from within the snow fog.
They were undoubtedly monsters.
“All members, prepare for battle! Healers and Sorcerers to the center, Combat-types to the perimeter!”
As seasoned Hunters, they quickly formed a formation.
Finally, the first encounter with the enemy.
The identity of the enemy was…
“Snow Wolves…!”
They weren’t difficult to deal with one-on-one, but when faced as a group, they became troublesome.
As soon as the enemy was identified, Ui-jun chanted a spell.
“Imbue the steel, Heat Edge.”
An enchantment that imbues weapons with high heat, Heat Edge.
Sizzle!
As soon as the chant ended, the weapons marked with Ui-jun’s blood began to heat up.
The enchantment was activated through Ui-jun’s blood, which he had marked with the pen earlier.
“Grrrr!”
“Attack!”
The battle began.
Heated weapons, lightning bolts and wind arrows cutting through the air, the chill and roars emitted by the wolves began to intertwine.
Crackle!
Crash!
The battle was generally in the Hunters’ favor, but there were casualties.
“Damn it, my feet are frozen…!”
Some had their feet frozen by the chill emitted by the wolves.
At that moment.
Poof!
A weak flame swept over their feet.
It was Ui-jun’s flame magic.
“Ice melting is my job! Don’t panic and fight!!”
It was the moment when the reason why flame magic was essential in dealing with snowfield monsters became apparent.
While a fierce battle was unfolding at the front.
Whoosh-
There was a detachment of wolves that had circled around to the rear of the raid party.
A pincer attack strategy.
To shake the front and focus the opponent’s attention, then strike the neglected rear.
Indeed, unlike the 10 o’clock and 2 o’clock directions where the fierce battle was taking place, the rear, the 6 o’clock direction, was relatively vulnerable.
The wolves tried to exploit that weakness.
Whoosh!
The detachment charged towards the backs of the Hunters.
It was a brilliant strategy.
…If only their movements hadn’t been read.
Poof!
Three wolves that were leading the detachment were instantly hit by fireballs and fell.
“Trying to backstab us, you bastards.”
It was Sa-hyeok.
Their stealthy movements had been detected by Sa-hyeok’s telekinetic detection from the beginning.
“Do you know why our rear is so vulnerable?”
Sa-hyeok said while holding out the Flame Ring.
“Because I told everyone to move away in case they got caught in the area-of-effect attack.”
Flash.
A red light flashed from the Flame Ring.
Boom!
A huge flame engulfed the wolves.
