Chapter 141. Kagoshima Raid (4)

An awakened being who willingly came to conquer the calamity of an S-rank gate without hesitation. And that man turned out to be a freelance hunter?

"Could it be that the Korean guilds didn't treat him properly?"

"But why hasn't he established his own guild?"

"Could it be that he's dissatisfied with his own country?"

"That's right. He willingly came to assist with this deathtrap of an S-rank gate—he must have some interest in our country!"

In the blink of an eye, the Japanese hunters gathered their opinions in silence.

"As soon as this raid is over, we'll recruit him!"

"We'll contact the government immediately to prepare his permanent residency."

"What do Koreans like...?"

Their eyes gleamed like those of predators spotting their prey.

***

One hour later, we set out on the dungeon raid without delay. As time passed, the number of monsters here would only increase.

"The Japanese hunter industry commonly uses the term 'raid.'"

Boom! Whoosh.

Soon after, Hunter Ito's flames wrapped around the enemies. The firepower was enough to instantly boil even the poison pits in the dungeon. The Japanese hunters didn't stop there and continued to pour out their skills on the dragon.

Lightning strikes down, and high-pressure winds carve through the enemies, tearing them apart from within.

In Japan, I wondered how S-rank hunters cooperated, but the method itself was simple. They kept as much distance as possible to avoid affecting each other, then unleashed their skills on the central monster, relying on sheer burst damage to win the fight.

"That hunter stands out the most. As expected, the top rank is still the top rank."

When Ito placed his hand on the ground, a large circle appeared at the dragon's feet.

And then, the interior of the circle gradually began to fill with a red glow...

"Wow, it's hot up here."

Grrr...

A fierce blaze erupted from below. The skill Ito activated seemed as if a giant ethereal being was ascending to the heavens. However, where the brightly shining flames passed, only the unpleasant smell of burning protein and the dragon's hideous skin bubbling with blisters remained.

"------!"

At that moment, a sharp, high-pitched sound, like glass shattering, suddenly filled the air.

"Ugh!"

"Keugh."

This is the special ability of the dragon species, [Fear]. And as you can see, its effect is to cause paralysis to nearby enemies with a high probability. Hunter Moritake Ito fell into an immobile state due to the recent use of Fear.

'Most low-ranked hunters would have a heart attack just from the [Fear].'

The power and toughness of the dragon were truly beyond imagination. The S-rank dragon didn't miss this opportunity and swung its tail, launching a series of attacks. Do you know what happened to the Earthlings after that one tail swipe? I clicked my tongue as I watched hunters whose skin had been torn off and turned red from being scraped by the dragon's tail scales.

'I wonder if this will end without anyone dying...'

But the result was much better than I expected. Soon after, Ito, who had been released from paralysis, used his skill to finish off the dying dragon.

"Gasp, gasp, gasp!"

"Potion, potion!"

"Healers, come here!"

I followed the AI voice coming from Piny's translator with my ears. Wait a minute, they're going through all that hard work, and yet, why am I so at peace?

"When will we meet the boss?"

It can't be helped. Over here, I have a fragile body that could die from just a dragon's breath.

I had declared before coming to Japan that I would never take the front lines. To be precise, I made an excuse saying that I needed to save my strength until the dungeon's boss appeared, at which point I would pour all my abilities into using [Blinding].

But I don't know if I can just sit still.

"Hunter Kang Changho."

I said something to the S-rank standing behind me.

"Given your Hunter Skills, don't you think you could help out a bit?"

But Kang Changho just made a voice that showed no interest at all.

"It's already been decided."

Well, as you can see, this S-rank is only here to protect his own assets. Kang Changho had also made it clear before entering the country that he had no intention of fighting the dragon, and that we should consider ourselves as if there was no reward or anything...

"I thought I'd see something entertaining from challenging an S-rank gate, but to think that all you'd use is [Blinding]."

He clearly showed disappointment after seeing the skill I used. Of course, it was understandable for him to feel that way. Blinding was a typical low-level skill, and as such, skill stones for it were always readily available in the market.

'Skill stones are expensive, but they're not worth stealing just for the sake of improvement.'

Well, there's nothing else to do. If I'm bored, I might as well go help the others.

I looked around the ruins where the battle was over.

"K, keugh."

The Japanese hunters were in a situation where it was hard to admit they had been defeated by mere underlings. External wounds could easily be healed with a healer's regeneration magic or recovery potions, but...

"Ahhhh!"

The problem was the poison breath used by the poisonous dragons. The enemies here had truly terrifying toxicity, befitting their S-class reputation. For now, they were managing to hold on with antidotes, but some of the hunters had already started to complain of shortness of breath.

"Poisonous dragon."

Before we reached the boss, about five people would probably fall unconscious. But we had no choice but to keep pushing forward, even as the number of our raid team shrank. If we gave up halfway and left, the enemies we had worked so hard to thin out would just multiply again.

"How many are left before we reach the boss?"

I closed my eyes and estimated the number of remaining enemies. And at that moment...

Boom, boom, boom-

The heavy footsteps of a quadruped resonated far away, beyond the cave.

"Damn it, another dragon's on our tail."

But running away was ambiguous. There are still many hunters who haven't recovered from the poison, so some will definitely fall behind.

"Everyone, get up. If there's any residue on your weapons, wipe it off immediately!"

Moritake Ito commanded the hunters in a rough voice as the enemy approached. What followed was a battle scene no different from the high-level combat I had seen earlier.

"Ugh, it's blinding."

Fire and poison.

Thunder and roars.

And the shifting terrain of the dungeon with every passing skill.

I was 80m away from the scene where they were fighting in case sparks flew. But something unusual caught my eye on the battlefield.

"Heuk, ugh..."

One of the hunters suddenly stopped moving and staggered in place. At first glance, he looked like a young teenager due to his youthful appearance.

"What are you doing?"

He was the S-rank hunter who had introduced himself as Iori. After observing for a moment, the Japanese hunter clutched his chest and soon collapsed to his knees on the ground.

"Did he inhale too much poison and have some kind of seizure?"

Something feels off. The other teammates are all focused on fighting the dragon, and of all places, that guy collapses right where the dragon's head is.

Waaaaaagh!

I knew this would happen. I had a feeling the timing was right, but that reptile really fired off its Poison Breath.

Boom!

Now that the raid team has gained experience, they used all kinds of magic while the dragon's mouth was open, and the dragon's life ended at the same time.

"Iori!"

"Gasp."

"Damn it!"

They only realized their teammate's situation when the dragon's head finally fell off. Iori had been caught in the dragon's breath and thrown into the distant poison pit. If left as is, the unconscious hunter would be submerged beneath the pit.

"Is, someone, please use a skill...?"

The awakened ones from Japan were flustered and panicked by the sudden accident. Among those gathered there, the one with the ability to carry rescue someone was the wind-elemental mage, but unfortunately, the one who fell into the pit was that very high-ranking wizard. So, this had to be solved physically.

"Huh?"

Splash.

I ran forward from the moment Dragon Breath started and jumped into the puddle. And then, using my experience from my past life, I used my excellent swimming skills to rescue the fallen hunter. That was the end of it.

'It's been a while since I swam.'

Well, now it's time to hear the gratitude from the Earthlings for their comrade...

"Huh."

As I wiped the liquid from my eyes, I finally saw the expressions of the others. They were staring at me with wide eyes, clearly shocked. The reason for their reaction was...

"To dive into a poison pit with your bare body...?"

Come to think of it, didn't I mention that I have poison resistance?

'Wait, now that I think about it, there's no need to reveal this ability to the world, right?'

I didn't think it about it for long. I was a wizard who was quick to look out for my own interests. Without delay, I made a subtle adjustment to my body.

Smirk.

Thud.

Like other S-class people who were poisoned, I pretended to faint after draining the blood from my skin.

"Oyaaaah!"

"Hi, healers! Come over here right now!"

"Where's the antidote potion!"

But this couldn't last long. It wasn't just the antidote that went up my nose, someone with a sense of superiority was coldly looking down at me.

"Just a moment, calm down."

I opened my eyes while lying down straight and tried to stop him. After stopping Kang Changho for a while, Hunter Iori also regained consciousness after finishing his treatment.

***

"— No, Changho-ssi, please don't do that. Just hear me out first. I'm also S-rank, so won't I die from falling into this for a moment, but what are you thinking right now...

"Iori, are you okay?"

"Are you awake?"

The Japanese hunter slowly raised his upper body. Even at this moment, the Koreans were loudly talking, but he couldn't understand a word of what they were saying.

"It's broken."

Iori threw the earpiece he was wearing onto the ground. It seemed like he had briefly lost consciousness while fighting the dragon.

"Say hello to Geyeo. He's the one who helped you."

At this moment, Iori learned what had happened while he was unconscious and immediately turned toward the Korean hunter.

"Are you saying he fell into the poison puddle to save me?"

Since the other person's translator is working fine, there shouldn't be any problem hearing his words.

"I'm, I'm sorry! And... really, thank you."

Kim Geyeo started to say something after hearing this, but a guild member next to him translated it for him.

"If you're that grateful, just focus on the raid. They say you were the main source of firepower that helped us out."

"Yes!"

The man lying on the ground added a few more words.

"He said it seemed like it would have been hard to clear without you."

"Oh..."

"He just said that there's not much left until the boss, so do your best and win."

Looking back now, the appearance of the hunter Kim Geyeo resembled a sharp, pointed kitchen knife. So, the cold-hearted words of "I saved you because you were useful" somehow felt natural.

Mumbling.

Iori looked surprised for a moment after hearing the opponent's last sentence.

"Once we reach the boss, I'll make sure you win."

At the end of this fight, there will surely be victory. That was the best encouragement he had been longing to hear.

Kim Geyeo didn't lie.

Grrr!

After defeating the soldiers guarding the emperor's residence, we finally encountered the ruler of this place. The blonde envoy cast [Binding], which had been seen before, completely immobilizing the boss.

Its snout, neck, strong hands, and wings that cut through the sky—all were entangled in threads of light, rendering even a single muscle immobile. The captured dragon had only one fate.

Kiling?

Boom, boom, boom!

Then came the barrage of skills from the hunters. Thanks to Kim Geyeo's binding, they were able to easily bring down the boss. They had conquered the worst gate, known as a disaster, before a dungeon break could even occur.

"Did it... work?"

"Th, the exit. It's the exit!"

There were zero deaths in the process! Of course, more than half of the raiders were seriously injured beyond recovery, but even considering that, isn't this a record that will go down in world history?

"Ugh! We really did it, we really cleared it!"

"Yes, we did it!"

"Waaaaah!"

Kang Changho, who had been standing in the corner, muttered that the monster was weaker than he had expected. However, no one paid attention to such words. Soon after, rewards for the heroes who had defeated the catastrophe began to be handed out.

"Boss defeat reward!"

A glowing sphere descended beside the top five hunters who had contributed to the dragon's defeat.

"Please, lungi! Please, lungi!"

Geyeo clasped his hands together and began praying urgently, but it was all in vain. In the end, not even a glimpse of the dragon's treasure appeared.

"Damn it!"

Kim Geyeo was in despair. At that moment, a magnificent greatsword descended beside Ito, the top-ranked hunter here...

"..."

Someone may have failed alone, but in reality, this raid had great results. Not a single hunter died, and the rewards given by the gate were excellent as well.