Chapter 46

Chapter 46.

 

RIIING—!

A pleasant ringing brushed past his ears.

And an enormous amount of Abyss Energy transferred into Ha-kyung.

SSSSSSSS!

Before he knew it, his blade had extended to a length exceeding ten meters.

Soon, it gradually began changing into the shape of a disc.

Was that not the very form Soul-Sever took when honed to the Extreme?

With his trembling arm, Ha-kyung raised his karambit high.

“Haaaaaaah!”

He brought it down with a shout.

A heavy force fell in a straight line.

The instant the enormous Gray-White disc touched the ground,a phenomenon far beyond imagination occurred.

BOOOOOOOOM—!

A disc fifteen meters in diameter shot forward, scraping across the ground.

Soul-Sever grew even larger than when it had been held by Ha-kyung’s karambit.

Soon, an immense shockwave struck the surrounding area.

Even Ha-kyung, the caster of the skill, could not stand properly.

RUMBLEEEEE!

“Urgh!”

The tremendous force nearly shoved Ha-kyung straight backward.

[Crosswind activated]
[Two-Stage Midair Leap is now available]

PAT! THUD!

After forcefully kicking off the air, he grabbed the Resonance Pillar.

Perhaps because he had driven it so deeply into the ground, he could endure now.

Ha-kyung quickly raised his head.

It was to check the situation ahead.

Soul-Sever, maximized by Kin-Eater, had devastated the forest.

Everything in the path of the Gray-White disc had been utterly pulverized.

A long trench had been carved all the way to the front of Ryu Jae-wook’s Team 2.

Naturally, the tree monsters nearby had all been reduced to tatters.

After witnessing Ha-kyung’s astounding performance, the Great Sage hurriedly shouted.

—Now! Hurry and run this way!

—...Yes!

Perhaps they had finally gained some breathing room, as Ryu Jae-wook’s answer came through.

A short while later,

Team 2 barely managed to regroup with the main force.

However, Do Hyun-ah’s Team 3 was still isolated.

Ha-kyung looked to the right with a troubled expression.

‘I still have some remaining power from Kin-Eater. I can use Heaven-Shattering Fist, but...’

It would be difficult to expect the same power as before.

Of course, it was worth trying.

The problem was whether Ha-kyung’s body could endure it.

‘If I make one wrong move, I might fall straight into Mana Exhaustion.’

Even so, he had to do it.

Ha-kyung collapsing alone was better than Team 3 being wiped out.

He quickly put away his karambit.

Since he intended to stake everything on Heaven-Shattering Fist, he did not need a weapon.

When Ha-kyung gripped his right wrist, a Gray-White light bloomed.

Soon, the sphere gathered around his fist began swelling rapidly.

“Haaaap!”

BOOOOM—!

A blow struck the air with his shout.

Heaven-Shattering Fist forced its way into the gaps between the tree monsters.

Jagged Gray-White energies crushed everything in front of them.

RUMBLE-RUMBLE-RUMBLE!

A path opened in an instant, just as it had when he had activated Transformed Soul-Sever.

However, it did not create a perfect escape route like before.

The power had been slightly lacking.

As he was thrown backward by the recoil, Ha-kyung wore a regretful expression.

‘If only I had been a little stronger...’

He would have been able to save Team 3 with ease as well.

For some reason, the incident from five years ago seemed to come to mind.

Back then, too, had he not merely watched his comrades die because he lacked strength?

Thud!

Then, suddenly, something solid supported Ha-kyung’s back.

Thanks to it, he stopped instead of being pushed farther back.

When he turned his head without thinking, he saw John’s grinning face.

“Hey, Bro. That was seriously insane.”

“But Team 3 is still in danger. At this rate, they will be annihilated.”

“Do not worry too much. We are not going to just stand here either.”

The moment John finished speaking,

the Great Sage’s voice came through.

—Advance the front line. We will simply break through to them ourselves.

At that, several Awakened charged forward.

It felt as though a light had gone on inside Ha-kyung’s head.

The main force simply had to move and regroup with Team 3.

Thanks to the Great Sage’s swift judgment, the Raid Party was able to come together tightly.

Soon, Ryu Jae-wook and Do Hyun-ah approached Ha-kyung.

“Whew! We survived thanks to you, Mr. Ha-kyung.”

Ryu Jae-wook expressed his sincere gratitude.

If it had not been for Ha-kyung’s Transformed Soul-Sever, they would most likely have been wiped out.

Soon, Do Hyun-ah also lowered her head.

“We nearly ended up in serious danger. Thank you very much. How is your body?”

“I think I will need a little time. It does not feel good.”

“After using skills with that much power, it would only be natural for Mana Exhaustion to set in. Please leave the rest to us.”

“I will.”

They were surrounded by enemies, but the Raid Party was holding out well.

It was because the tree monsters’ movement speed was extremely slow.

Even so, they could not be taken lightly.

Their offensive ability alone was tremendous.

Ha-kyung watched the fight from a safe position.

‘Holding out for the time being will not be a problem. The key issue is the boss...’

[Remaining Time: 35 minutes 27 seconds]
[As time passes, the Green Warden hides deeper within the forest]

Every tree monster in this forest was gathering around the Raid Party.

In a situation like this, how were they supposed to find the boss?

Moreover, Ha-kyung did not even know what the Green Warden looked like.

‘Should I trust Soul Brand?’

The thermal imaging function that had allowed him to discover the true nature of the tree monsters.

With that, he might be able to find the Green Warden.

Ha-kyung immediately focused his mind.

[‘Soul Brand’ detects a strange presence]

Then his vision naturally changed.

In a black-and-white world, red light writhed.

However, there were so many enemies that he could not tell what was what.

At this rate, it would not mean much.

Even so, Ha-kyung maintained Soul Brand.

Since it was not a skill that consumed much energy, he simply left it active.

Meanwhile, the energy boiling inside Ha-kyung’s body gradually stabilized.

‘So this much is acceptable. It is definitely easier to handle Abyss Energy than before.’

If Mana was a calm power, Abyss Energy was quite different.

It was like savagery compressed to a high concentration.

Its power was outstanding to that degree, but it was not easy to control.

Even for Ha-kyung, who had adapted to Abyss Energy for over five years.

‘It seems things changed after my Refinement Rank reached Stage 4.’

Since then, Ha-kyung had been experiencing a whole new world.

He could even use powerful skills consecutively like this and still be fine.

The problem was that even after all that, they still had not overcome the dungeon’s gimmick.

Ha-kyung looked into the forest, where the tree monsters swarmed.

‘The boss is definitely hiding in there. If we can just find it somehow, our chances are not nonexistent.’

The Chang-un Guild and the Thousand Crimson Guild.

On top of that, the Great Sage’s party.

Ha-kyung’s Raid Party was composed of formidable experts.

They should be able to defeat an Unknown Grade boss monster.

Ha-kyung maintained his concentration until his head throbbed.

However, his efforts seemed as though they would come to nothing.

[Remaining Time: 15 minutes 42 seconds]

While they fought a desperate battle against the tree monsters,

time had slipped away mercilessly.

Then, the moment Ha-kyung’s vision began to blur, something violet stirred within his crimson-stained sight.

Ha-kyung’s eyes flew open.

‘What is that?’

Its form was also quite different from the tree monsters.

It was surely a hint that would help them find the boss.

The reason he thought so was simple.

Its body was fairly small.

It stood only half as tall as an adult man.

Its body was scrawny.

There was no way a thing like that could be the boss monster.

Even so, there was a need to confirm it.

Ha-kyung immediately rose to his feet.

‘My insides have calmed down, and my Mana has recovered to some extent. Ordinary Abyss Refinement should be possible.’

If necessary, he could also use an artifact to escape.

Ha-kyung went to the Great Sage’s side and reported first.

“There is something over there. I need to investigate it.”

“Right now, we are in a state of perfect balance. If even one person leaves, it may collapse in an instant.”

“I do not need support. I will go alone.”

“Pardon? There are that many enemies. Will you be all right?”

“I can pass over the encirclement without fighting.”

“Understood for now. Please be careful.”

The Great Sage nodded with a worried expression.

Ha-kyung began running toward the front line of the circular defensive formation.

At the same time, he called his reliable Foreign Worker friend.

“John! Boost!”

“Go-o-o-o! Unkillable God Bro!” 

“Is that not Japanese? Where did you learn that one?”

“I have been watching a lot of anime lately... No, that is not important right now. Just go already.”

“Yes, sir!”

BOOOOM!

When Ha-kyung kicked off the Bright Blue shining shield, John pushed him upward with all his might.

Ha-kyung shot into the air at tremendous speed, as though he had stepped on a springboard.

WHOOOOOSH!

His figure vanished from sight in an instant.

At that, several team members shouted in bewildered voices.

“Huh? Mr. Ha-kyung?”

“Where is he going alone?”

“Is that all right? Is it not dangerous?”

It was a natural reaction.

Acting alone in the middle of a siege.

Was that not practically the same as making a “grave decision”?

However, the team members did not waver and fulfilled their roles.

It was thanks to the Great Sage maintaining the center well.

—Mr. Lee Ha-kyung is carrying out a special mission. It is an operation to save everyone, so please focus on the battle.

Meanwhile, Ha-kyung was flying in a parabola.

WHOOOOOO—!

The vines of the tree monsters could not catch him.

That was because he was too close to the ground for them to do so.

Thanks to that, Ha-kyung was able to slip out of the encirclement with ease.

The problem was the landing.

Unlike the first time he had coordinated a boost with John,

there was no suitable way to slow himself down now.

He could not unleash a powerful skill toward the ground.

However, Ha-kyung felt no fear at all.

[Crosswind activated]
[Two-Stage Midair Leap is now available]

PAT! TAP-TAP-TAP!

By forcefully kicking off the air, he changed direction.

Then he used Wall-Walking Steps to lightly run down a thick tree.

After landing on the ground, Ha-kyung quickly scanned his surroundings.

‘Perhaps because they have all gathered toward the Raid Party, there is only this one monster here.’

FWOOSH! CRUNCH!

Ha-kyung drove Abyss Refinement into the tree monster’s trunk.

The creature, which had only just been about to open its eyes, met its end from the unexpected blow.

“SKREEEE—.”

Soon, Ha-kyung raised Soul Brand.

Then a violet form shimmered within the black-and-white world.

It was hiding inside the vines of the dead monster tree.

Ha-kyung slowly approached it.

‘Let me see what kind of bastard you are.’

When he thrust his hand into the vines, he caught it with absurd ease.

The violet figure that had wandered through the Dark Forest.

Once he turned off the thermal imaging function, its body was pale green.

It looked somewhat like a ginseng root.

And it was much smaller than he had expected.

No wonder it could not be found with the naked eye.

“Kiiik!”

With its head caught in Ha-kyung’s grip, the creature thrashed madly.

After thinking for a moment, he adjusted his grip on the karambit.

“If I beat it a little first, something should come out.”

He did not feel any reluctance just because it was small.

After all, it was a monster hiding inside a dungeon.

However, the moment he brought the Gray-White blade closer,

a voice flowed into Ha-kyung’s mind.

—You fool.

“What?”

—If you had not discovered us in the first place, the Divine Trees would never have awakened. Your companions were killed by you!

“......”

At the little tree monster’s venomous words, Ha-kyung stopped moving.

Perhaps pleased by his reaction,

the creature shrieked even more fiercely.

—It is because of you. You killed them!

Then, suddenly, strength filled Ha-kyung’s grip.

Crunch!

—Ugh! Keck, keck!

While the little tree monster struggled, Ha-kyung smiled coldly and murmured, “That is some impressive gaslighting. You need a beating.”