Chapter 23

Chapter 23

CRACK!

The axe split the cursed butler’s head.

THUD!

The cursed butler collapsed.

Next was a cursed knight.

Whoooosh!

CRAAACK!

The axe infused with Ether split the armor and cleaved even the knight’s chest apart in one piece.

“Ha ha.”

A laugh came out on its own.

Every time I felt an enemy’s skull split open for the first time, an indescribable thrill ran through me.

‘Combat is…… fun.’

I had experienced thousands of battles, but this was the first time I understood that this was what it meant to fight as an Awakened.

In my previous life, I had only watched from the back, hidden myself, or run minor errands.

But now, it was different.

I swung my Spirit Sword myself and brought enemies down.

Ether has been absorbed!

Ether has been absorbed!

Ether has been absorbed!

The fact that my Ether was rising rapidly did not even enter my mind.

What mattered to me now was not something like a fast growth rate.

The fact that I could fight.

The fact that I had the strength to protect myself and my family was enough.

***

In the eyes of a third party, Eunseong looked exactly like a fish in water.

He wove between the enemies while swinging his axe, as if he had been born to fight.

His movements themselves were extremely simple.

He merely cut with the axe, chopped with it, and sometimes used kicks. They were incredibly simple and primal movements.

But they were threatening and efficient.

Every time Eunseong swung the axe, enemies were split in a V-shape, their limbs went flying, or their heads were cleanly lopped off.

Eunseong’s performance was so remarkable that not only Captain Im’s group, but even Choi Yura had ended up with nothing to do.

It was because Eunseong was rampaging so wildly that there was nothing for Choi Yura and Captain Im to do.

“Team Leader? Is that really a rookie?”

“Hmm.”

At his subordinate’s question, Captain Im thought for a moment before speaking.

“Perhaps he is an unregistered Awakened who awakened long ago.”

“That is not it.”

Choi Yura said it flatly.

“I saw it. I saw him awaken.”

“Are you certain?”

“I am certain. I was right beside him. If you do not believe me, try reading the investigation report from back then.”

“If Hunter Choi saw it personally, what need is there to read the report? Still, it is true that this is hard to believe. How long has it even been since he awakened, yet he can show combat power like that?”

“He must have been born with it.”

“Pardon?”

“He was like that when I first met him too. He was not even an Awakened back then.”

“What do you mean?”

“He just fought well. Like someone who had rolled around on battlefields since birth.”

“So it is genetics after all.”

“Genetics?”

“Mr. Eunseong’s father is a legendary figure in the field of special warfare. Until very recently, Mr. Eunseong himself was scheduled to enlist as a naval special warfare officer.”

“Then it really is genetics.”

Choi Yura nodded as if she understood.

“Is being half-crazy genetic too?”

“……Colonel Cha is also known for having an excellent character.”

Captain Im tightly shut his eyes.

Honestly, he could not bring himself to deny Choi Yura’s words that Eunseong seemed a little insane.

“Look. I told you, he really is not in his right mind. He is crying while smiling.”

Choi Yura pointed at Eunseong.

To anyone’s eyes, Eunseong was brightly smiling as he swept through the enemies, but at the same time, his eyes had reddened.

It looked bizarre enough that it was impossible to tell whether he was laughing or crying.

“Hmm. Perhaps we may need to request a psychiatric evaluation.”

“What psychiatric evaluation?”

Choi Yura snorted.

“Captain Im, you know it too, do you not? How many people in this business are actually sane? You are an active-duty soldier, so you are probably a little better, though.”

“Ha ha…….”

“But you know.”

“Yes?”

“I am genuinely curious. What exactly is that guy?”

“……?”

“At first, I thought he was a Supporter, you know? But he is not. Look at him. What kind of Supporter can slice up 4-Star monsters like that? And there is also the matter of him absorbing Spirit Swords.”

“I agree. However…….”

“You want me to keep my mouth shut?”

“Yes.”

“You do not have to worry. I have no intention of going around blabbing about it.”

“Thank you.”

“It is over.”

Choi Yura retrieved her Spirit Sword, in other words, her iron chain.

***

I felt relieved.

After sweeping away enemies for the first time, an indescribable elation filled me, and my excitement would not easily settle.

Was this what they called an excess secretion of adrenaline or dopamine?

Or both.

“You look like you are in a good mood.”

“It is not bad.”

“How is your body?”

“At its best.”

“Then that is good.”

Choi Yura did not particularly ask me anything.

Captain Im’s group also seemed quite surprised, but everyone seemed to be holding back their words.

They probably had many questions.

Not that I had even the slightest intention of answering them.

“Let us keep going straight to the ninth floor.”

“Understood.”

We continued moving toward the ninth floor, where the boss was located.

We had rested enough inside the Rift, so there was no need to stop.

Crash!

Along the way, I did not forget to break jars whenever we had the chance and farm Etherium too.

We passed the seventh floor and arrived on the eighth floor, but there was not a single monster in sight.

The ninth floor was the same.

As if they had all vanished, not even the shadow of a monster could be seen.

“It seems there is a Strike Team that has entered the boss room.”

“It does.”

I agreed with Captain Im’s opinion.

Judging by the traces of battle left everywhere, there seemed to be a party that had gone ahead of us.

Just because an Eruption occurred did not mean all Awakened returned to the starting point.

They merely moved to Dungeon No. 0, which was the same as their current location, so there was nothing strange about a Strike Team that had been close to the boss room being faster than us.

Perhaps they had already begun the raid.

“Let us go there first.”

We moved straight to the boss room.

The boss of the [Cursed Citadel] was in a place on the ninth floor called the [Lord’s Hall].

The closer we got to the [Lord’s Hall], the more we could hear noises both loud and small.

When we approached a little closer, the boss battle was already in full swing inside.

“Uwaaaagh!”

“You son of a biiitch!”

“Kugh!”

The situation was not good.

Nearly twenty Hunters were in the middle of being practically massacred.

“It is the Boramae Clan.”

Choi Yura recognized the Hunters fighting the boss and spoke.

Ah, them.

Most Hunters organized and operated in [Clans] because they hunted in groups.

Of course, they could personally form Strike Teams as needed and operate that way, but the Hunter profession itself was so dangerous that they could not help but prefer comrades they could trust.

As that continued, groups naturally formed, and they began operating with fixed members by establishing Clans.

The Boramae Clan was one of those groups too.

There was nothing particularly impressive about them.

Their Clan Master was a fairly outstanding figure, but the Clan itself was ordinary.

They had many Clan members, but most of them were 1-Star to 3-Star Hunters, and they had never really formed a power base to do anything in particular.

Instead, they had become an issue because of various incidents, but nothing too serious.

As for why the Clan’s name was Boramae, apparently they had named it that because the Clan was formed when a Transference phenomenon occurred at Boramae Park in Seoul.

“The Boramae Clan is a Clan that has an agreement with the Defense Strategy Department. I think we can help them.”

“I absolutely cannot stand disgusting bastards.”

Unlike Captain Im, Choi Yura was negative about helping the Boramae Clan.

Choi Yura’s reaction was understandable.

The Boramae Clan was a Clan that had often become the subject of gossip because of issues involving the opposite sex.

For example, the Clan old-timers had bombarded female rookie Hunters with confessions.

I remembered them becoming a laughingstock because of various incidents, such as male Hunters fighting over female Hunters.

“That is that, and this is this. We cannot just let them all die. There are female Hunters over there too.”

“That is true.”

Choi Yura did not seem to like it very much, but after seeing that female Hunters were also mixed in, she seemed to have decided to step in.

“Let us go.”

As soon as we agreed to help the Boramae Clan, we immediately launched ourselves forward.

“I am Captain Im Museong of the Defense Strategy Department! Fall back!”

“Get out of the way and stop being a nuisance!”

We stepped forward so the Boramae Clan members could retreat, and faced the boss.

“How dare you enter this place?”

An old nobleman in a red robe showed hostility toward us.

His dull white hair, corpse-pale dead skin, and his utterly eerie eyes and mouth were truly grotesque.

[Count]

Boss

★★★★

The lord of the Cursed Citadel.

He is currently strengthened due to the dungeon’s Eruption.

“Smack, smack.”

The Count glared at us while tearing off and eating human flesh stuck beneath his long fingernails.

“Lowly commoners, how dare you invade the lord’s citadel? I shall tear you limb from limb, drink your blood, and chew your flesh.”

We ignored everything the Count was spouting.

Nine times out of ten, a monster’s words were not worth listening to.

They did not perceive who we were ‘at all,’ and they themselves often rambled without understanding what situation they were in.

They were simply enemies.

Enemies with whom conversation was meaningless.

Grip!

I gripped the [Butcher of Madness] and closed the distance with the Count.

RATTLE-RATTLE-RATTLE!

Clench!

The bladed iron chain wrapped around the Count.

This was why Choi Yura was highly evaluated as a Damage Dealer.

Choi Yura was a Damage Dealer who could bind an enemy.

And allowing allies to pour firepower freely at their target was an enormous advantage.

“Now!”

At Choi Yura’s signal, Captain Im’s group and I unleashed a fierce assault on the Count.

“Y-You wretches!”

The more the Count struggled, the deeper the blades dug in, and the tighter the iron chain constricted.

“Kraaaaaaaaaagh!”

A scream of pain burst from the Count’s mouth.

BOOM!

A shock wave erupted from the Count and swept over us.

“Argh!”

Captain Im’s group and I were blown nearly ten meters away and slammed into the wall.

“Ugh!”

I barely managed to get up while wiping away the blood flowing from the corner of my mouth.

It felt as if my internal organs had been shaken up.

Judging by the sensation, it felt like my liver or pancreas had been damaged, but to think that one shock wave could do this. As expected, a boss was still a boss.

In truth, the Count was not easy prey.

The Count was a boss that even 4-Star Damage Dealers like Choi Yura struggled against.

The Boramae Clan had nearly been annihilated just now, so there was no way he would be an easy opponent.

‘Our attack power is lacking.’

Even the [Butcher of Madness], a 4-Star Spirit Sword, only managed to scratch the Count, without inflicting any notable damage.

“Get up and hit him! Quickly!”

As expected of a 4-Star Hunter, Choi Yura was holding onto the Count without being pushed back by the shock wave.

‘First, treatment.’

Whirl!

I took the [Healing] card out of the Deck of Infinity, used it, and sent cards flying toward Captain Im’s group as well.

Whoooosh!

While the [Healing] cards healed Captain Im’s group and me.

Slide.

The [Luck] and [Full Moon] cards slipped out of the Deck on their own and seeped into the [Butcher of Madness].

[Luck] Critical Hit Chance increases by 120%!

[Full Moon] The Spirit Sword’s Slashing Effect increases by 50%!

Huh?

It seemed as if the attack power we had been lacking had just been filled in.