Episode 57: A Lucky Day (7)
-Gulp-
As I looked at the reddened Soldier Ant with shaking eyes, I unconsciously swallowed dry saliva at the overwhelming atmosphere I felt from him.
And just like me, Yeo Ji-hye, who had been wary of the Soldier Ant in front of her with a tense expression, opened her mouth with a voice filled with some kind of confidence.
“You know, Kim Baram. Could that be⋯.”
“I think what you’re thinking is probably right.”
Before Yeo Ji-hye could finish speaking, I nodded in agreement.
I’m not sure though.
Judging from the Ant Queen’s abilities mentioned in the work and Soldier Ant’s body that turned red, I expected that ability to be
An ability that is used quite frequently by several demons that appear in the novel Muhoeple.
It was an ability that explosively increased physical abilities for a short period of time, while also maximizing the wildness and aggression of the demon.
Moon Wolf’s ‘Howling’ and the Goblin Shaman’s ‘Frenzy Spell’ that I saw at the Sindorim Station gate a while ago.
And just like now, each of them had a different way of initiating
It was just that one part of the body would inevitably turn red.
Because of this singularity, Yeo Ji-hye and I could tell that Soldier Ant had gone berserk just by looking at his reddened armor.
‘Soldier Ant was originally a D-rank demon, but now that he has gone berserk, he is at least a C-rank… .’
Of course, even within the C grade, there were slight differences as it was divided into lowest, lower, middle, upper, and highest.
Generally, you can think of it as being similar to the level of 5 C-class players or 1 B-class player.
‘If it’s at the level of the original Yeo Ji-hye, I think I can deal with it somehow⋯⋯.’
However, currently, Yeo Ji-hye has injured her ankle.
Moreover, even if I help Yeo Ji-hye and deal with the guy together, I expected it wouldn’t be easy.
Still, it wasn’t without hope.
As much as Berserk showed fraudulent abilities, it also had a ‘fatal weakness’.
That weakness is.
Instead of rapidly increasing your physical abilities, you quickly deplete your stamina in return.
So, usually, after a certain amount of time, the berserk demons would lose all their stamina and enter a state of ‘exhaustion’ where they would be unable to move.
That is, if we can hold out without being attacked by the guy, there will come a time when we will have the advantage.
‘Then⋯⋯.’
-Sigh-
I decided to hold on no matter what and walked towards Yeo Ji-hye.
Immediately afterwards, I used Aegis’
Just like at the Sindorim Station gate.
I was thinking of taking a defensive stance and protecting the injured Yeo Ji-hye.
And to begin with, the black one was thrown at the guy, so he had no way to attack.
If anything, Aegis’
Having decided to defend, I positioned the Aegis forward and prepared for the attack of the Soldier Ants who were spewing hostility at us.
Meanwhile, Yeo Ji-hye, who had been observing my actions, noticed what I was thinking and quietly hid behind me, holding her breath and being wary of Soldier Ant.
A little while later.
“⋯Coming.”
“What are you talking about⋯⋯!”
-Tiring-
[Aegis’s special ability
-BANG!!!!-
“Crazy⋯⋯.”
I couldn’t help but look at Aegis’
Because, as soon as Yeo Ji-hye’s muttering ended, the attack by Soldier Ant that attacked me in the blink of an eye was completely invisible to my eyes.
“Kim Baram! Stop me!”
-bang!!!-
“Ugh⋯!”
I was panicking at the unseen attack, and upon hearing Yeo Ji-hye’s urgent shout, I immediately turned Aegis to the side.
Immediately after that, the enraged Soldier Ant’s claws collided with the Aegis I was holding, and unable to withstand the impact, I was thrown far to the side with a groan and rolled on the ground several times.
Ugh, what kind of power⋯⋯.
Besides, I couldn’t react to the guy’s movements at all in the first place.
Contrary to my expectations that even if he couldn’t be a match for him, he would be able to defend himself using Aegis.
There was a significant, unbridgeable gap in ability between me and the berserk Soldier Ant.
so.
I couldn’t even withstand the guy’s attacks⋯, no, I couldn’t even react in the first place.
But now was not the time to be so flustered.
Because the battle wasn’t over yet; rather, it was just beginning.
-Bam-
So, I, who was lying on the floor, got up immediately and looked ahead.
In the front, Yeo Ji-hye was desperately avoiding or barely blocking the indiscriminate attacks of Soldier Ants.
‘f*ck⋯.’
On the outside, it seemed like Yeo Ji-hye was holding up well.
Judging from the way she was backing away and being pushed back, I figured that if she continued like this, it wouldn’t be long before she was defeated by Soldier Ant.
And to make matters worse,
She seemed awkward and uncomfortable moving, perhaps because of her ankle injury.
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-Bang!-Bang!-Bang!-
“Huh⋯!”
As Soldier Ant’s attacks continued, Yeo Ji-hye’s clothes began to tear, and wounds began to appear on her skin.
Thinking back on what happened earlier, I felt like interfering would only be a nuisance.
-Ugh-
With no choice but to clench my teeth and watch helplessly as she was gradually being tormented.
‘What should I do? I just threw the black one at him, so I don’t have any way to attack him… Hmm, black one…?’
-slap!-
In the midst of this dire situation, a thought suddenly crossed my mind, and I turned my gaze away from the fierce battle between Yeo Ji-hye and Soldier Ant and looked towards the core of the dungeon.
Near the dungeon’s core, there was the black dragon I had shot at earlier, and the Ant Queen, who seemed to be just quietly watching us with no intention of leaving.
“⋯⋯.”
For a moment, I looked back and forth between the black bear and the Ant Queen rolling on the floor, then shook my head.
‘No, if I’m not careful, it could be me who gets hurt⋯.’
Now that Soldier Ant has his eyes set on Yeo Ji-hye.
I thought about picking up the black gourd that had fallen to the ground and attacking the Ant Queen during that gap, but I judged that it would fail.
because.
Because it seemed like the time it took for Soldier Ant to sense the Ant Queen’s danger, ignore Yeo Ji-hye, and stop me would be shorter than the time it took for me to pick up the black eagle and attack the Ant Queen.
If that happened, I couldn’t act rashly because I might get attacked by Soldier Ant in return.
We need to find another way quickly, or Yeo Ji-hye⋯⋯.
-Glance-
When I turned my gaze back to Yeo Ji-hye, who was just blocking the attack unilaterally, I saw that she was struggling with an exhausted expression, as if she was reaching her limit of holding out.
But on the contrary, Soldier Ant was relentlessly pushing Yeo Ji-hye without showing any sign of fatigue.
Watching Yeo Ji-hye’s precarious situation, I became anxious and used my brain to find a way out of this situation.
For now, it is impossible to defeat Soldier Ant in combat.
And given the circumstances.
It seemed difficult to even buy time until Soldier Ant, which was the original plan, was exhausted.
If so, then it’s just like I thought before.
It seemed best to either distract them by targeting the Ant Queen instead of the Soldier Ants to buy some time, or to target the Soldier Ants during that gap.
The problem, however, is that I have no means of inflicting a fatal blow to the Ant Queen.
The Black Sword had already been thrown away and was no longer in my possession, and even if I threw the shield, Aegis, at the Ant Queen, it didn’t seem like it would have much of an effect.
‘⋯⋯Wait a minute, you’re throwing it?’
Then suddenly.
Items I had that I could throw crossed my mind.
Even if I just threw that item and it hit the Ant Queen or the Soldier Ants protecting the Ant Queen instead, I was confident that it would have a significant effect.
-Kwaaang!!-
“Ugh⋯⋯.”
While I was worrying about what to do.
Yeo Ji-hye’s fist and Soldier Ant’s claw collided head-on, and in the aftermath, Yeo Ji-hye flew backwards with a painful groan, rolling on the ground several times like I had before.
“Keeeeeek!!!!”
But unlike Yeo Ji-hye, who suffered damage.
Soldier Ant, who was not pushed back by the collision, seemed to feel no pain, perhaps because he was in a berserk state, and then quickly charged towards Yeo Ji-hye, who flew away while letting out a creepy roar as if he was sure of his victory.
“Haa⋯ Haa⋯ Ugh⋯!”
At that moment, Yeo Ji-hye, who had collapsed and was breathing heavily, hurriedly tried to get up at the sight of the guy quickly closing the distance between them.
But perhaps because of the strain on her injured ankle from the collision just now, she was unable to get up, and so she could only helplessly watch the claws of the thing rushing toward her with wavering eyes.
“Damn it!
The situation where Yeo Ji-hye is one step away from being attacked.
I became anxious and shouted “Inventory” and quickly reached out to the bottom row where one of the items was.
-Tiring-
[Use skill
And then, without any hesitation.
I took the ‘item’ in question out of my inventory and threw it at the Ant Queen with all my might, even using
“Hey, Inma! Protect your queen!”
-Wheww!!-
With that shout of my whole heart.
The black object I threw flew towards the Ant Queen at a fierce speed.
Then, Soldier Ant, who was about to deliver the final blow to Yeo Ji-hye⋯.
-Shock-
Even though it was in a berserk state with its mind blown away, it sensed the danger facing its master, the Ant Queen, and moved in an instant to block her path. Then, it swung its claws and cut the black object I had thrown in half.
-Crunch-
-Thud!-
‘nice!’
As I watched that scene, I was secretly delighted that things were going according to plan.
The thing I threw was this.
A ‘bag containing food waste’ that was created by investing a whopping 23 VP points.
The ‘bag containing food waste’ flew away and split in half, and the food waste inside poured down on Soldier Ant as well as the Ant Queen behind him.
““Kkieek~~~~!!!!!!””
-Doo doo doo doo doo doo-
‘As expected… as expected.’
When the bag burst open with Soldier Ant’s claws and the food waste inside spilled out, a foul smell wafted up to us, who were quite a distance away.
And then, along with the loud cries of the giant ants, a tremendous shaking that made the ground shake was felt all around.
In the midst of the rapidly changing situation, Soldier Ant turns his head here and there to look around.
-Tadadak-
I quickly moved my body and lifted Yeo Ji-hye, who was lying there dazed, covered in dirt and wounds, into a princess-like embrace, and hid myself in a corner I had previously checked.
If it were original.
The ‘bag containing food waste’ that I had earned with the whopping 23VP points was literally a piece of trash, to the point where I could say it was a dud, but the current situation was different.
Now, it has become such an enormous item that it should be called a biochemical weapon rather than just trash.
As if to prove my thoughts.
It was so scary that Yeo Ji-hye and I hid in a corner.
Black waves burst out from the holes all around and started to madly devour the Soldier Ants and Ant Queen, who were covered in food waste.
***
-Gulp-
Im Si-hoon, an association agent who had been in charge of managing the dungeon that had occurred near Hyehwa Station since yesterday evening, looked at the person in front of him and the ID card that person had handed over with a nervous expression.
In fact, even without her ID, the person in front of her could tell who she was just by looking at the plain black mask she was wearing.
A secret special unit affiliated with the Korea Players Association.
It was a department shrouded in mystery, but as far as he knew, it was a department that secretly and cleanly dealt with all kinds of dirty and difficult things that happened in Korea.
Lim Si-hoon, who was just a low-level agent because there was so little information known, didn’t know much, but there was one thing.
The only piece of advice I had heard over and over again from my seniors while working at the Association was about becoming a secret special forces agent.
The secret special forces are a place where people with eccentric personalities gather, so if you meet them, don’t talk back to them and try to please them.
Therefore, Im Si-hoon asked her in a cautious tone so as not to upset the person with long, silky, dark blue hair in front of him.
“What brings the secret special forces agent here⋯⋯.”
Nam Ga-eun answered Im Si-hoon’s question in a clear but slightly stiff voice.
“Haven’t you heard the news?”
“⋯Huh? Oh, I heard that since this dungeon is an isolated dungeon, they send someone from the relevant department just in case⋯⋯.”
“That’s me. I’ll take care of this, so you can go home.”
“Yes⋯? Oh, that⋯, I also have a duty to guard this place⋯⋯.”
“Get off work, please.”
Im Si-hoon made a momentary embarrassed expression at Nam Ga-eun’s firm tone.
Of course, his seniors told him to unconditionally listen to what an agent from the secret special forces said, but given his personality, he couldn’t neglect the mission given to him.
Nam Ga-eun, who was looking at Im Si-hoon, who was silently keeping his seat instead of answering with the intention of refusing, frowned and let out a sigh mixed with annoyance, even though she couldn’t see it because it was covered by the mask.
“Haa… Then do whatever you want. However, it’s not my responsibility if you get hurt.”
“Huh? What is that⋯?”
-Slimy-
“⋯Huh?”
Im Si-hoon, who had been asking Nam Ga-eun, who was speaking incomprehensibly, what it meant, unconsciously raised his hand to his head at the sudden damp feeling he felt in his hair.
‘What is this? This⋯⋯.’
When I touched something in his hair with my hand, it felt slightly warm and clammy on my hand.
Finally, Im Si-hoon lowered his hand and looked at something in question, and he knew right away what it was.
The appearance of the thing that Im Si-hoon saw with his own eyes was entirely white with black dots here and there.
It was bird droppings, an unlucky bird flying by that happened to aim precisely at Im Si-Hoon’s head.
“⋯⋯.”
“Ugh, uhm… I don’t know about that~”
And Nam Ga-eun, who had been quietly watching the scene, suddenly coughed and turned around, ignoring Im Si-hoon, who was staring blankly at the bird droppings with unfocused eyes.
