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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Wjin
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Despite 30 minutes having passed since entering the gate, there hadn’t been any real danger.
To be precise, Lee Seong-joon hadn’t lifted a finger, only walking.
‘I didn’t expect to not even have a chance to step up.’
Because of this, he hadn’t earned a single contribution point so far, but there was no need to worry.
The raid gate rankings were largely determined by the contribution points earned from hunting elite and boss monsters.
It was actually better to conserve his energy.
‘…Still, it’s too easy.’
As a party composed of rookies shouldering the future of each guild, it could be considered a natural result.
However, if asked if it was simply due to the party’s exceptional abilities, he would immediately shake his head.
The monsters that had appeared so far weren’t that threatening.
“Squeak-!”
The monster they were currently fighting was a Giant Rabbit, a mere C-rank monster. It was no match for the hunters called rookies from the five major guilds.
-Boom!
Indeed, the Giant Rabbits charging towards the flames conjured by Kim Hye-young fell helplessly. They were easily securing consecutive victories, but Kim Hye-young, the architect of their success, didn’t look pleased.
“No matter how I think about it, this situation doesn’t make sense.”
She wasn’t the only one with doubts. Jung Yoon-ho and Lee Dong-joo were also frowning.
“It’s certainly very different from what was predicted.”
“…This is why I can’t trust the information team.”
It was a dimly lit cavity. To be precise, it resembled a city more than a cavity, but since the environment was similar, the terrain itself wasn’t a problem.
However, the fact that the appearing monsters were completely different was definitely a problem.
“Considering the size of the city we confirmed upon entering, we should be about halfway through… but the highest-ranked monster we’ve encountered is C-rank.”
The initial ranking of a raid gate was also based on the amount of magical energy emanating from it.
This meant that, just like ordinary gates, it was the sum of the magical energy passively emitted by the monsters residing within.
Yet, the strongest monster they had encountered so far was only C-rank. Considering the difficulty of an A-rank gate, it was absurdly weak.
This implied that the elite or boss monster that would appear later would be overwhelmingly powerful. In other words, the difficulty of the raid gate, already challenging due to the strength of elite and boss monsters, had increased further.
Even the rookies representing the five major guilds couldn’t afford to be complacent.
“Tsk, I think we’ve stumbled into something troublesome. Let’s retreat and come up with a plan.”
“Rather than retreating blindly, I think we should gather as much information as possible in the vicinity first.”
“No need to fuss. It’s just a Green Gate. There won’t be any real problems.”
While Lee Dong-joo, Kim Hye-young, and Jung Yoon-ho each presented their opinions, Lee Seong-joon narrowed his eyes and observed his surroundings.
‘Strange…’
With his senses heightened after reaching the peak level, he detected faint signs of life, though weak.
However, all he could see were empty houses.
‘…There are too many to examine one by one.’
Houses were densely packed everywhere, like a medieval city. Normally, it would be a headache-inducing situation, but fortunately, he didn’t have to check the entire area alone.
Song Seung-joon, also narrowing his eyes, was observing the surroundings cautiously.
Their gazes met in the air.
“……”
Without a word, they nodded at each other and began their surveillance, dividing the area between them.
Meanwhile, the hunters who had been voicing their opinions began to clash due to their differing views.
“I’m suggesting the best strategy in the current situation, so why are you objecting?!”
“I just don’t want to waste time on futile efforts and tarnish the reputation I’ve painstakingly built.”
Given their individual circumstances, even ordinary hunters would have difficulty reaching an agreement.
Moreover, the hunters gathered here were rookies who had grown up pampered in their respective guilds; there was no way they could easily coordinate their opinions.
Just as their voices were rising and their emotions intensifying…
Tap
Lee Seong-joon suddenly moved and reached out towards Kim Hye-young.
“W-What are you doing?”
Kim Hye-young widened her eyes and let out an annoyed voice. However, she quickly realized how rude she had been.
Because she saw, with her own eyes, the arrow caught in Lee Seong-joon’s outstretched hand.
“…This is…”
Anyone who wasn’t a fool could tell. It was an arrow originally aimed precisely at her head.
“A-An ambush…”
Just as Kim Hye-young, finally grasping the situation, hurriedly prepared for battle, Lee Dong-joo’s scream erupted from beside her.
“Aagh-!”
Fortunately, he had sensed it just before the arrow struck, narrowly avoiding a fatal blow to the head. However, he wasn’t unharmed.
An arrow was lodged in his shoulder, injuring the muscles crucial for drawing a bowstring.
“Damn it!”
Lee Dong-joo frowned and looked around, trying to locate the enemy who had fired the arrow. His gaze stopped at the rooftop of a particularly large mansion.
“There! Over there!”
Although it was a reasonable judgment on his part, Song Seung-joon and Jung Yoon-ho were already heading towards the rooftop of the mansion before Lee Dong-joo even pointed it out.
“What’s that?”
As they quickly closed the distance, they could clearly see the monsters standing on the roof. Bipedal creatures with black hair and skin. At first glance, they seemed to resemble humans, but there was a clear difference.
Their pointed ears allowed Jung Yoon-ho to immediately identify them.
“Dark Elves!”
Their earlier concerns had become reality. The reason the previous monsters had been low-ranked was because there were Dark Elves present, among the strongest of B+-rank elite monsters.
“What are you doing!?”
There was a reason why Dark Elves were known as the strongest among B+-rank elite monsters.
They possessed exceptional assassination and sniping skills, along with incredibly agile and stealthy movements. Moreover, this was an underground city where light barely penetrated.
If the Dark Elves decided to flee, tracking them would be nearly impossible.
Of course, if it were simply a matter of tracking being impossible, it wouldn’t be a major concern.
The problem was that the situation afterwards would become disastrous.
Since they wouldn’t know when the Dark Elves would ambush them, they would have to move cautiously every step of the way. Naturally, the resulting fatigue and mental strain would be tremendous.
They couldn’t afford to let these monsters escape, especially considering the upcoming battle with the boss monster.
“Quickly use your skills and set up a perimeter!”
Jung Yoon-ho urgently called for Kim Hye-young’s support. However, it was an unnecessary worry.
‘At this distance…’
Perhaps for a clear shot, the two Dark Elves weren’t positioned too far away. In other words, they had positioned themselves in a location that was easy to target in return.
‘This is enough.’
Lee Seong-joon spread his legs shoulder-width apart, extended both arms, and wrapped his left hand around his right wrist.
At the same time, he curled his middle finger against his thumb, forming a circular ring on his palm.
The movements were incredibly simple, but their power was anything but trivial.
This was because he was about to unleash the martial arts of Lee Seong-joon, the Blood Demon, the best martial artist of all time, who had claimed the lives of countless righteous masters.
Of course, since he had just entered the initial stage of the peak level, he couldn’t unleash the same power as when he was praised as the best.
However, he could guarantee that it would be enough to hunt the Dark Elves before him.
“Huu…”
As he inhaled deeply, the Blood Qi within his body began to circulate as if waiting for this moment.
The Blood Qi raced through his body at an incredible speed, like a sports car on a highway with no speed limit, flowing through his shoulders and converging at his fingertips.
For a moment, the aura of the Blood Demon, whom everyone had revered and feared, flashed in Lee Seong-joon’s eyes.
‘Thousand Transformations Blood Martial Arts, Blood Martial Arts Transformation One, Projectile.’
Finally, the moment a red sphere, imbued with the Blood Qi from his Middle and Lower Dantians, formed at his fingertip…
Lee Seong-joon flicked his finger without hesitation.
-Bang! Bang!
A loud noise, like gunshots, erupted consecutively, and two red lines streaked through the air. At the same time, the Dark Elves on the mansion’s rooftop, who were drawing their bows, collapsed and fell to the ground.
*Thud-! *
Ding-!
> You have defeated 2 B+-rank elite monsters, Dark Elves.
> Experience has increased
The hunters’ faces were filled with undisguised astonishment at the unbelievable sight. They had expected a fierce battle or a chase, considering the unfavorable terrain and the ambush.
But the situation was resolved in an instant.
Moreover, it was resolved by an unexpected individual.
“What…”
Even Song Seung-joon, who was always stoic, had a flicker of surprise in his eyes.
“J-Just what skill did you use?”
Kim Hye-young, on behalf of the bewildered hunters, asked the question, but all she received from Lee Seong-joon was a curt reply.
“Now’s not the time for questions.”
Although it was a somewhat disjointed remark, as prodigies who had undergone countless training sessions as rookies of the five major guilds, they quickly grasped Lee Seong-joon’s meaning.
Kim Hye-young quickly cleared her mind of the bewilderment and assessed the current situation.
‘We’ve dealt with the two Dark Elves, who were acting as scouts, so the risk of ambush has significantly decreased, but we can’t say the situation is good.’
Kim Hye-young bit her lower lip.
“For now, rather than focusing on the ranking, I think it would be best to join forces and clear the gate.”
There was a reason why raid gate strategy teams were composed of multiple parties. It was because the difficulty was so high that it required a large number of people and cooperation.
Of course, as rookies representing their respective guilds, if it were an ordinary Green Raid Gate, they would have been able to clear it even by moving individually with minimal cooperation.
However, this was a raid gate where Dark Elves, the strongest among B+-rank elite monsters, appeared. Even for the rookies of the five major guilds, it would be overwhelming to handle them individually.
Therefore, Kim Hye-young’s judgment was indeed excellent, but unfortunately, not everyone was making such wise decisions.
Lee Dong-joo, his face flushed red, stood in front of Lee Seong-joon and raised his voice.
“Hey, you! You seemed to have known there would be an ambush from the beginning. Why didn’t you say anything?!”
To be precise, even if he had told them, they wouldn’t have listened, given their heightened emotions. But there was no reason to waste his breath explaining it to them one by one.
No, he didn’t want to explain.
As someone walking the path of a martial artist, shouldn’t one settle scores decisively?
A sneer played on Lee Seong-joon’s lips.
“Didn’t you say you wouldn’t need my help?”
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