-Three hours later-
Thud.
Clang.
Crash.
Thump.
In one corner of the massive crimson swamp, a disembodied echo of water droplets resounded loudly in the emptiness. The ominous-colored Blood Swamp rippled, announcing the presence of an intruder.
Occasionally, the silence was shattered by distant explosions and the clashing of metal. Hunters, dispersed through the region via the Hunter Train, were likely battling monsters, struggling to confirm the characteristics of the so-called dangerous mutated Slime.
The hunters engaging in battle were mostly A-grade or higher, granted distinguished titles, so they shouldn’t fall easily. Still, in an enormous dungeon where danger levels couldn’t even be measured, being careless could lead straight to death.
One couldn’t predict what might occur, which was why they needed to be prepared.
And as the hunters braced themselves, the Slime in this area was far from ordinary.
“Slime horde detected!”
“It’s already the fourth wave!”
“Acid type confirmed. Engage from long-range!”
“Ahh, it’s stuck to me!!!”
“Chop off my arm! I’ll stick it back on later!”
These hunters were the forefront of the ‘vanguard’ assigned from the Hunter Train.
All were B-grade or higher, yet the situation was far from comfortable. While ordinary Slimes generally showed little aggression regardless of human presence, the Slimes in the Blood Swamp charged madly at the sight of them.
Explosion!
Undead Rising!
Lightning Bolt!
Frost, lightning, and specially developed bullets for monsters pierced through the Slimes. A Necromancer dispatched corpses from a brought coffin to intercept the Slimes.
One, two…
Before long, hundreds of Slimes were either penetrated and slain or vaporized by the abilities of hunters wielding fire or lightning.
But it didn’t end there.
From the nameless trees in the swamp, mutated Slimes continued to surge toward the vanguard, coming in waves.
“Haah, haah…”
A hunter on the frontlines felt the beads of sweat trickling down his cheeks. The air was cool like early spring, but the humidity was solely due to the swamp’s nature.
No, to be precise…
Chiiiik…!
‘Crazy, it’s steam created from evaporated blood…!’
As befitted the nickname “Blood Swamp,” the damp environment here was solely created by ‘blood.’
It wasn’t just one or two ponds.
It was a dungeon so vast that one could confuse the horizon with the sky, covered entirely by a sea of red liquid, with Slimes bursting forth from everywhere.
‘Whose blood is this? Is everything here made of blood?!’
“Hold on! Reloading!”
“First vanguard, wounded!! Fall back!”
“Nekromancer, lead with the undead. The first vanguard needs more time to retreat so the second vanguard can step in!”
The hunters had no way of knowing whether the blood belonged to beasts or humans.
The Blood Swamp, which enveloped the entire dungeon, smelled of iron, and even the dew clinging to the leaves was viscous and red like blood.
It seemed that since this was quite the inviting environment for Slimes, goblin colonies, which were usually present in one or two, were nowhere to be found.
‘Other native monsters or beasts likely got eaten by those mutated Slimes…’
“Watch out!!”
“Ahh!?”
Thud!
At that moment, a hunter in the vanguard, momentarily distracted by the blood vapor, realized a gigantic Slime was barreling towards him.
He glanced around but knew that if he turned to flee, it would breach the frontlines and the Slimes would overwhelm the rear.
‘But when did this happen? I was keeping a lookout ahead the entire time…?’
The Slime moved faster than he imagined.
So much so that even an A-grade frontline hunter couldn’t react.
In that slow passage of time, he instinctively sensed he wouldn’t be able to dodge the approaching Slime.
Although other parts were protected by the suit, his face remained vulnerable. If even a drop touched him, he would suffer a fatal injury.
‘I don’t want to die like this…! I joined the Hunter Train with high hopes…!’
There was no room for regret or thought.
In actual combat, a moment of negligence could cost one’s life.
However, it wasn’t just his death that mattered; this hunter was responsible for the frontlines.
His role as the vanguard was to protect the attacking line from oncoming waves.
If he fell now, the rear would be obliterated.
The hunter gritted his teeth.
‘At this point, even if my face melts, I must protect my eyes and brain…!’
He must not fall.
At least, he had to protect the rear.
Surely the sensation of his flesh melting would be so horrific he couldn’t even express it, but he could not collapse here.
He understood that his mistake could directly lead to the deaths of countless others, so he steeled himself to endure the pain that approached.
He wouldn’t last long due to the injuries but he still had to hold on.
“Well done, Hunter.”
Fortunately, he was not fated to die yet.
Boom!
As the hunter felt death approaching, a black shadow emerged behind him.
Yet, that shadow was enormous and surprisingly agile for its size.
The hunter, who was about to have his face engulfed by the Slime, saw the shadow push him aside faster than sound and crush the Slime with one hand.
No, it wasn’t a hand.
It appeared as though the roots of a tree were coating his skin to protect him.
“It seems this dungeon is more peculiar than I thought.”
The man enveloped in wood glanced back at the vanguard hunter who had not retreated.
“……”
“Hunter, are you okay?”
The dark, massive body hidden behind the tree bark was the second-ranked Wooden Blackhand from America.
Though it was a mutated Slime with acidic properties strong enough to dissolve a human body in less than a second, it couldn’t even scratch the protective black bark surrounding him.
“…….Thank you…”
“Get it together, Hunter. You’re not here just to sightsee. Stand up and lead your party.”
“Ah, yes. Yup…!”
“You’ve held on well until we arrived. It was impressive not to retreat, Hunter.”
“Yes, thank you! Wooden Blackhand!”
Small vacuum sounds echoed through the space.
“Ah, sorry for being late.”
“The Hunter Train has also been delayed, right?”
Commence Hunt!
Commence Hunt!
Dungeon Entry Confirmed!
Hunter Support Mode Activated!
Queen’s Drones Activated!
Stealth Mode Active!
Dungeon Lighting Mode Activated!
Dungeon Invasion Commencing!
“This sound…?”
“S-grade, the S-grades have arrived!”
“All vanguard members fall back at once!”
“Hunting begins!”
Dungeon Invasion Commencing!
Dungeon Invasion Commencing!
Dungeon Invasion Commencing!
“The S-grades are starting to hunt!!”
Numerous support drones floated into the sky, initiating processes to assist the hunters.
They weren’t just ordinary drones for hunters.
They were high-performance drones suitable for S-grades, appearing simultaneously as the door of the Hunter Train opened, having completed its spatial jump.
The wheels creaked loudly, producing a raucous noise, and from inside, distinct beings began to emerge one by one.
“Hah, this place isn’t the best for a first expedition. What is this dreary place?”
Nearby Elizaveta IV elegantly held out a fan, its blue light flickering with magical energy. Following closely behind was Zeus, flipping his blonde hair while wearing a dazzling smile.
In total, 21 S-grade hunters from various countries stepped out onto the dungeon’s land.
Clack clack
“Hah! Wooden Blackhand, are you tearing off the door and fleeing ahead?”
“People are in danger. S-grades should set an example, Zeus.”
“Why would I go?”
Following Wooden Blackhand, other hunters—clear standout figures among their peers—began stepping out of the train that had fractured space.
The Hunter Train could only infiltrate ‘one carriage’ of the dungeon at a time, which meant all hunters couldn’t disembark at once.
And the foremost figure, Yeonhwa, drew her Ice Sword from her waist and swung it toward the swamp.
“Let’s start by securing our territory.”
CRACKLE!!
As Yeonhwa struck her sword, the wide expanse of Blood Swamp froze solid in an instant.
Hunters who had struggled with the sticky swamp regained their mobility, while the Slimes, made of liquid, began to slow their movements dramatically.
The sight excited the observing hunters, with the S-grades behind nodding as they acknowledged Yeonhwa, granddaughter of Yeonseo.
“Oho…”
“This is something.”
“Wow, I think she might be stronger than me?”
“I heard she was the youngest S-grade, but her skill is beyond that.”
“I’ll gratefully accept the compliments.”
“Good, now we can move around more easily.”
“Zeus, like I said last time, let’s do the operation properly…”
“I got it, don’t worry so much, my Aphrodite.”
Crack!
Lightning crackled in Zeus’s hand.
Some drew dark mana, others curses, some wielded blades from their arms, and others wrapped themselves in cold air.
“Now! Let the hunting commence!!!”
Thus, the Hunter Train’s first dungeon invasion heralded a fairly smooth start.
“Shia Unnie, I leave the injured teams to you… Unnie?”
“……..”
As Yeonhwa called for Shia, she turned to Menelapie and Yoonjeong.
‘They’re here but… where did Unnie Shia go?’
“……..”
“Um, Mother. Where did Unnie Shia go…?”
“Haah…”
“Huhuhuh, that’s a good question.”
Yoonjeong sighed deeply at Yeonhwa’s gaze, while Menelapie merely shrugged awkwardly.
“This damn pesticide-like gas… really….”
○○○○○
Waaah!
And Shia had become lost.
Her cries echoed somewhere within the Blood Swamp, yet sadly, no one was there to respond.
Waaah!! Menelapie, Mom, and Yeonhwa have all become lost!!
To be exact, only Shia became lost.
The others were perfectly fine.
Uu…
Like a child who lost everyone while holding her mother’s hand at an amusement park because she wasn’t paying attention for a moment, Shia cried sorrowfully.
Yet, it was just for a moment…
“…Hah, is there nobody?”
Shia, realizing that her voice echoed nearby yet no one came, abruptly ceased her weeping. She cast a blank stare around.
“Since no one’s coming, it seems I’ve wandered far away.”
The circumstances that led Shia to this point were simple.
Five minutes prior, she had wanted to witness the dungeon invasion process vividly for the first time.
When the space shattered like glass, it must have looked fascinating to her.
Wow! So high! So high!
Shia, be careful leaning out the window. Warnings are written there, so come back.
I’m fine. I may be strong, but my sense of balance is also superb…
Bang!
SHIAA!!
…Eh…?
In a bid to see the Hunter Train invade through the gate, Shia had opened the train’s window and leaned her head outside. As the train collided with the gate’s boundary, her head got caught between the massive mass of the train and the gate.
Uwaaaaah!!
Of course, Shia sensed the danger and hurried to pull herself back inside the train, but due to leaning out, her significant figure got wedged against the window’s ledge, causing her to be physically flung from the train.
If any other human had been caught between a Hunter Train and a spatial crack, their body would have been shattered. However, aside from several spins of her neck, Shia was perfectly fine.
“…Teresa is definitely going to tease me…”
An accident on the very first day of dungeon invasion… Shia let out a deep sigh as she picked herself up.
Then…
BANG!
Shia, without turning her head, caught the Slime hurtling towards her with one hand.
Though it was dark and hard to see, it was a bright red like blood.
Chiiik…
‘It dissolves flesh and starts digestion upon contact?’
This mutated Slime would give close-combat hunters a serious headache.
Thud!
Shia concentrated her strength and crushed the Slime effortlessly. Due to her might, the Slime’s core was destroyed, leaving it unable to return to its original form as it splattered everywhere.
Shia glanced at her hand, which had melted from the Slime.
Her skin was peeling away, revealing the underlying red muscle and bone, but before a second passed, the melted part began to reconstruct itself.
While she wasn’t employing Seongnyeok for protection, this strength of the Mangja Seongnyeo’s body was incomparably greater than that of other hunters, indicating how dangerous that Slime was.
Moreover, if that was the kind of Slime that melted beings on contact, it couldn’t be classified as anything less than B-grade.
Slimes typically exist in groups.
With darkness all around, visibility was poor, so Shia closed her eyes and extended her sensory abilities.
Sticky liquid.
Humid air.
Ground soaked in blood.
Iron smell.
And that unbelievably sweet scent of malice.
For that level of malice to be present, it meant more than a couple of people must have died.
‘Wait, wasn’t this area known as Geumgangsan?’
Since the dungeon’s range was unknown, it was possible that civilians or hunters had also fallen prey here.
While assessing her surroundings, Shia sensed numerous movements.
They weren’t approaching her.
Rather, they were entities that had lived here, awakening from their slumber in response to her presence.
One, two…
Ten.
Hundred.
Two Hundred…
Thousand.
No, more than that.
Counting wasn’t meaningful here, and Shia opened her eyes.
“Hmm, surrounded then?”
She had cried out to call Menelapie or Teresa, but it seemed her cries attracted other entities instead.
Sloshy slosh.
Squelch.
Slurpy…
The disturbing sounds of mud moving echoed around her.
It wasn’t just one or two.
Currently, Shia had no drones to illuminate her surroundings, nor even standard dungeon exploration lights.
Thus, Shia gathered her Seongnyeok with one hand, soon manifesting a white light that illuminated the area around her.
Wriggle wriggle.
Slurp slurp slurp.
Thud.
Ugh! Ugh!
Ugh!
What she witnessed was a wave.
Or rather, an approaching tide.
If ordinary monster waves were akin to simple ripples, the entities now surrounding Shia were akin to tsunamis.
From the darkness, the Blood Slimes flooded in from all directions, gradually tightening the noose around her.
Tide.
Tide.
Tide.
A sticky ocean of blood flowed from all sides.
Thousands, or perhaps more, of Slimes approached her as if they were a single entity, a situation that would terrify anyone else into losing the will to fight.
‘But there’s definitely no one else around…’
Alright.
No need to hold back my strength.
Having concluded her thoughts, Shia charged directly toward the advancing mass of squirming liquid monsters.
Thud!!
Her foot crashing down on the Slime tide created a thunderous noise akin to a massive battering ram striking a gate.
The destroyed Slime wave exploded outwards in a chaotic display of power; Shia instinctively gathered her Seongnyeok with her other hand.
Miracle – Destruction of the Embryo!
Boom!!!
The heavy miracle of destruction swept through the vicinity.
‘Not as destructive as I thought? Did the sheer number of the tide lessen its impact?’
It should have swept away a wider area than this, yet the mass of Slimes rushing at her dampened its power significantly.
Each mutated Slime carried considerable mass, when combined into a massive tide, the destructive force dropped sharply.
‘Well, the solution is simple.’
Boom!
Without halting her onslaught, Shia launched another kick at the incoming sticky tide.
“I’ll smash all of you!”
SMACK!
BANG!
With Shia’s muttering, the Slimes quivered.
Whether the Slimes had an intelligence akin to a brain or understood human speech remained unknown, but if these mutated Slimes could think, the current turn of events must surely baffle them.
In close combat, they would likely think they had the upper hand by melting flesh, thus never anticipating Shia’s bold charge toward them.
Indeed, Shia’s body was dissolving on contact, yet she couldn’t care less about her body melting away.
After all, the rate at which Shia’s body reconstructed itself outpaced the rate at which the Slime tried to dissolve her.
Boom!
Boom!
THUD!
Shia didn’t wear her protective Seongnyeok for defense; she coated her skin with it to maximize her offensive power.
The Seongnyeok devoted to attack diligently smashed apart the Slime tide.
Crushed.
Smashed.
Blown apart.
And smashed again.
She wasn’t concerned with defense.
Of course, whether or not the Slimes had intelligence, they attempted to bind her movements by squeezing her arms with the mass of hundreds of Slimes.
Yet the point was that even if they managed to grab her with the wave, it couldn’t restrain her in the slightest.
Even if they did manage to catch one of her legs momentarily, Shia would forcefully erupt her Seongnyeok from her leg to blast herself free.
An arm melting?
A leg melting?
An eye melting?
A head melting?
‘It doesn’t matter.’
“I’m not backing down.”
The melting was irrelevant.
Regrowth happened faster than the melting.
Sure, the pain was real, but it was acceptable.
Such pain only made her stronger.
And Shia had graduated from this level of pain long ago.
Of course, she wouldn’t want to appear like this in front of others.
If Menelapie, Teresa, Yoonjeong, or Yeonhwa saw Shia battling without caring for her own body, they would probably faint from shock.
In the meantime, Shia delightedly punched apart the last remaining wave of Slimes, pulverizing their form, she clenched her hand once more.
‘This should be enough?’
Miracle – Destruction of the Embryo!
The splattered Slime waves dissolved into a gooey mess.
