Chapter 225. Thornbush Forest (3)

Clap clap clap!

Someone who had stepped on the broken glass shards and entered the room suddenly raised their hands and began clapping.

!!

Then, the monstrous creature flying in the sky recognized the enemy and extended its thorns. However, this was all part of the person's plan and guidance.

"As expected, the vibration detection method is correct."

This was the first words of the visitor. And the small monster that had attacked the man met a futile death shortly after.

Swish.

In the visitor's hand was a powerful magical artifact called [Hydra], and the thorny trees simply couldn't withstand its poison.

"Everyone, don't raise your heads yet."

Wait, but why does this voice sound so familiar...? The female employee, who had been holding her mouth shut to suppress the urge to vomit under the desk, suddenly felt a sense of déjà vu.

Today, they live in the era of Dungeon Shock. Ten years ago, idols, actors, and others with high artistic talents were the main idols of the public. But now, with all sorts of monsters walking around in reality, the awakened ones who fight against these dangers have taken their place as the focus of public attention.

"Don't raise your heads~ It'll be over soon."

The bank employee, a user of the Hunter Love café, soon realizes the source of the déjà vu he had been feeling. It was the interview video of the person he had often watched late at night when she couldn't sleep. And in that video, she had heard that distinct vocal sound from someone over and over again.

"No way..."

It was then.

Tuk, tuk, tuk.

Suddenly, something begins to tap rhythmically on the desk where she is hiding.

"Aaaack!"

The bank employee, startled by the sudden stimulus, lets out a loud scream. However, for some reason, despite hearing this piercing scream, the monster doesn't react at all.

"Oh my, I'm sorry."

Finally, a familiar scene unfolds in front of the chaotic bank desk. A man in a navy linen suit, leaning against a partition, begins to speak.

"I didn't mean to startle you."

"Heuk!"

"Well, anyway. Hello. I noticed the building had some cracks when I came in..."

The young bank employee, who had been hiding under the desk, saw his face and burst into a tear of relief.

"There must be a high risk of collapse. Everyone, come out with me."

It was the appearance of Kim Giryeo, an S-rank Hunter from South Korea.

***

From there, everything proceeded smoothly. I led all the survivors who were still inside the building out onto the streets.

The dark-colored thorned trees. They were originally monsters that caused intense pain regardless of their defense, making them quite troublesome. However, the [Hydra], an epic-grade magical tool, was far too threatening to them.

"To take down such a terrifying monster so easily!"

"They were no match."

"That's why he's an S-rank Hunter!"

On this side, he was actually weaker than the pitiful C-rank thief who had been attempting the bank robbery, but as seen, by utilizing rare equipment, the gap in strength wasn't very noticeable.

"Hmm."

A troublesome witness. No, in order to safely send these precious citizens of South Korea outside, I'll have to deal with all the monsters in front of me first.

Sreung.

I skillfully wielded the sword in my hand, cutting down the surrounding thorny trees. The trees, which had been spreading sharp thorns with venom, suddenly wilted as if they had never been active, and fell to the ground. But the problem was the flying thorn trees in the sky.

Dududududu...

No matter how much they were just plants, these B-grade entities couldn't be defeated by low-level magical tools like the Pyromancer's Necklace. Normally, I would have tried to lower their altitude with telekinetic magic or something similar. But today, I had a special reason to conserve mana, so every time those flying creatures appeared, it became quite bothersome.

!!

But as I kept hunting, I started to notice a flaw in its behavior. The little tree's attack pattern was simple. Once it detected an enemy, it would always sway in place for a moment before shooting spikes at the same angle.

Shot!

Soon after, with the sound of the wind being cut, the young tree's arm extends. It aimed for the chest of the elderly and weaker members of the group. However, the monster's attack was once again futilely blocked.

"Heuk!"

The hardness comparable to an S-rank defensive Awakener. On top of that, with superior body manipulation skills that allow me to completely block pain-related signals, what is there to fear?

Tuk.

The shooting angle was consistent, so it was easy to position my body at the right timing. I extended my arm beside the elderly citizen and nullified the tree's [pain infliction]. Then, I swiftly swung my sword, leaving a toxic wound on the black stem. At this point, the rescue operation was progressing more smoothly than pulling weeds from the yard.

"Th, thank you. Thank you for protecting us."

"Wow, you just blocked that with your arm...?"

"The robber was foaming at the mouth just from grazing those thorns, but this hunter doesn't seem bothered at all?"

Murmur.

The shock from seeing the corpses still hadn't worn off, and some of the bank employees remained silent, with faces that looked like they were about to vomit. However, after a few seconds, even that small group gradually began to regain their composure.

Flash!

The bright light, like the carbide lamps illuminating a deep mine, was a temporary light set up by the South Korean government for night operations in the effort to rescue citizens. It also signaled that we had reached the hole in the dome leading to the outside.

"I, is that the entrance? But what's the blue part attached to the exit?"

"It's a tunnel created by a barrier."

"Tunnel?"

"The monsters that make up the dome have particularly high regenerative abilities. But outside, the buildings and roads are all cracked, and with everything in chaos from the war, there's no manpower available to remove the dome immediately. That's why they've set up that temporary measure."

"Aah."

"They've made sure the hole remains open until you all arrive, so it doesn't close."

"Aha."

"But honestly, there's no need to worry about this. Once Jung Haseong arrives, this will probably be taken care of quickly."

The office workers, who were right in front of the escape route, let out a cheer. It was during the time just before the workday ended when suddenly a group of robbers barged in. To make matters worse, a dungeon filled with newly emerged monsters exploded, and in reality, everyone must have thought that today was going to be their funeral.

"Haha, oh my. I guess I'm getting old. Now, whenever I get a little spare moment, my tear ducts just start acting up..."

They could go home. Soon after, one relieved bank employee couldn't hold back and her eyes welled up with tears. A few more tears, sparked by a few words from a certain hunter, began to spread explosively, infecting everyone around her.

"Yes? What did you say?"

A moment later, hunters of various ranks, who had been waiting outside the tunnel, widened their eyes in surprise at my words.

"I'm going in to take down the boss by myself from here on out. You all should avoid entering the dome."

"No, but the boss is..."

"Although I cleared out some monsters around the entrance to bring in the survivors, the heart of the nest is still too densely packed with trees. To be honest, any hunters who try to go in and hunt there won't have any way to avoid the attacks."

"Hmm."

"But what I realized after taking the attacks meant for the bank employees earlier is that the thorn trees here cause such a huge mental shock to people."

"Heuk!"

"Yes?"

"To put it simply, it means it hurts like hell."

It was a hastily made excuse, but it was enough to justify entering the thorny forest alone.

What follows is a minor change in the facial muscles of the deceased, a subtle furrow—slightly troubled, with a hint of concern.

"But for me, the discomfort from the awakening injury is relatively less. If other hunters are going to feel this kind of pain... I'd rather just handle it myself and come back quickly."

Faintly... To willingly endure pain for industry workers you don't even know, aside from the common trait of being hunters! How noble and righteous a statement this is!

"Hunter Kim! But how can you be the only one who has to go through all this trouble...?"

Sobbing.

The rescued bank employees, unaware of anyone's schemes, began to show expressions of admiration on their own. Especially one employee, who had been found under the desk, reacted so strongly that they started shedding a large amount of bodily fluids from their eyes.

"It's okay. Don't worry about me, just focus on getting out. I'll take care of the boss quickly. And don't bother sending any healers if necessary. I'll use my awakening ability, and if there are people around, they'll get hurt. They'll get hurt."

But I ignored their tears and shouted out. Then, the association's representative, unable to withstand the firm attitude of the S-rank hunter, allowed me to take full control of the thorny forest.

"Hunter-nim!"

"Oh my god."

"Be careful on your way back...!"

I then used the path laid out by the barrier wizards to re-enter the dome. From the outside, where people were, I could feel a faint warmth in the air.

However, just a few seconds later, the hunter, who had been wearing an emotional expression, suddenly stiffened his facial muscles. This is why it's important to study diligently. After some research on expressions, it became so much easier to deceive, didn't it?

"Whoo..."

Now that the obstacles are cleared, it's about time to start. The only reason I can pull off such tricks is because of that dark ceiling above me. Once the thorny tree dome disappears, curious Earthlings with drone cameras will rush in. I had to hurry before Jung Haseong or some stalker contractor arrived and the scene got cleaned up.

"Hmm."

Still, it's a relief the Association backed off with just that simple lie. If they'd insisted on assigning extra personnel, and somehow found out what I was about to do next to shake off Searcher's pursuit... those delicate Earthlings might've lost their appetite for days.

Thud!

I used the mana I'd been saving to discreetly disable the street's CCTV cameras as I walked.

It was time to finalize the plan.

.

.

.

28 minutes later. Jung Haseong, who had been inside a dungeon in Gangwon Province, finally responded to the Association's summons. South Korea's top-ranked hunter arrived on-site shortly after via his personal flying magic tool, and once he burned down the dome, the incident was more or less wrapped up.

Fortunately, there were no further complications. The boss monster inside, which had been expected to cause the most trouble, had already been dealt with by another S-rank hunter.

"Looks like you were already here ahead of us this time."

"Well, it just kind of happened that way."

In the distance, the blonde-haired hunter was speaking to Jeong Haseong, facing him directly. Seeing this, someone cautiously made their way through the crowd and approached them as soon as their conversation came to an end, ready to speak.

"Hello, Hunter-nim."

"Ah- Hello."

The one who approached was Seonwoo Yeon. Seonwoo Yeon, now seemingly quite familiar with Giryeo, briefly showed the bright expression one might have upon seeing an acquaintance, but soon returned to the weary face of a tired office worker. She soon asked.

"Sorry to bother you, but may I ask you something real quick? By any chance, have you seen someone who looks like this inside?"

What Seonwoo Yeon held up right in front of him was none other than an enlarged ID photo of an awakener.

"Yeah, I saw them. It was the corpse in the bank, right?"

"No, but the thing is, the police just checked, and they say this person's body isn't in the bank."

"Yes?"

"The monsters that showed up here were plant-type, so it's not like they could've dragged the body off somewhere. Somewhere on earth it could have gone..."

Could this robber have escaped alive? Seonwoo Yeon voiced her concern at the sudden thought, and seeing this, Giryeo casually said.

"He definitely isn't escape. I'm certain that person is dead, I remember it clearly."

With an expression that was no different from usual, he spoke kindly.

"Oh, now that I think about it—those flying types among the thornbush monsters. I remember they sometimes tried to move while keeping their thorns lodged in a person's body. Could it be that the body was moved because of that?"

"Aha."

"If I'd known this would happen, I would've at least moved the bodies out of the bank. I mean, it's a relief if the robber got dragged off, but... ah, I really didn't think through this..."

The blond S-rank hunter, who had been pressing his fingers to his forehead, spoke again.

"By the way, you've already tried using the [Searcher] skill, right?"

"Yes. But even then, we still haven't been able to find them."

"Then either the appearance is too damaged for it to register as the same person, or there's something going on that's throwing off the Searcher skill users' sense of direction."

He soon shifted into a stance with his hands clasped behind his back. And then, he quietly asked.

"Hunter Seonwoo Yeon. I'm only asking just in case, but... does it feel to you like there's more than one of those bank robbers in this world right now?"

"No."

"Okay."

"But what kind of question is that?"

"It's nothing really, I just thought it might be the case since I've seen something similar before. But based on the circumstances, it doesn't seem like it. They probably got carried by the tree and then fell from somewhere high."

"Ah."

"Anyway, I'm leaving work. Take care."

"Yes."