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“Wow….”
As we crossed the hill following the alluring scent of the Aurum Bloom, I heard Bisu exclaim behind me.
Sparkle.
A floor made of shimmering, multicolored luminous material stretched out before us endlessly.
Just looking at the scene before us, it was hard to believe that this was indeed a Poison Dungeon, with the grounds all sparking it looked like we were in a dream, a beautiful dream.
"Clan Leader! Look at this! Isn't it so pretty?!"
"Hmm... It looks like a giant acupressure mat."
"...You really know how to ruin the moment.”
Bisu sighed and crouched down, attempting to mine the minerals.
The mining device she held in her hand was forged from high-strength material.
However, no matter how hard she pounded it, the minerals on the floor remained unscathed.
“Damn it. Why is this stuff so hard?”
She switched the mode to ‘Auto’ and tried at maximum output, but the device's drill just kept spinning in place without making any progress.
"Let me give it a try."
After asking us to step back, Yuk Cheolwan slammed his equipment onto the floor, making it tremble.
Clang!!!
With a loud, ear ringing sound, a large object bounced up.
Bisu's face, which had been delighted at the prospect of a mineral being mined, was soon filled with shock then to curiosity.
What bounced up wasn't the gemstone embedded in the floor, but the blade of the equipment Yuk Cheolwan had struck down with.
"It actually broke... I've never seen one as strong as this before.”
For the Cleanup Clan and other ‘cleaners’ the most important piece of equipment is the ‘mining device’.
To continuously mine minerals, a durable blade is essential, so their equipment is made from the strongest alloy currently available.
Although the office may be shabby, the mining equipment owned by the Cleanup Clan was top-notch.
For such a product to be shattered during the mining process.
Yuk Cheolwan seemed more shocked by the hardness of the minerals covering the floor than by the fact that his expensive equipment had just been broken.
"Let's find a way to mine this a bit later.”
"Huh?"
"The most important item is nearby."
The scent tickling the tip of my nose, it was coming from somewhere beyond that.
Although the floor was completely covered in a chaotic array of colors, following this scent should make it easy to find the rare herb.
While walking across the uneven ground, I suddenly felt a prickling sensation.
“Hold on a moment.”
"!!!"
At my words, Yuk Cheolwan and Bisu’s faces also became alert.
There was no doubt that somewhere on this ground was the Aurum Bloom.
We frantically scanned our surroundings, and soon a gasp of astonishment came from Yuk Cheolwan.
"Hey, over here!!!!"
Sparkle.
All this time, I unconsciously had a prejudice.
Since the Cuprum Bloom and the Silver Bloom represented their names, I naturally assumed the Aurum Bloom would also be golden in color, just like its name.
That’s why, even after coming so close, I hadn’t been able to spot it right away.
The Aurum Bloom I was seeing in person held a bouquet of radiant lights, just like the colors of this land.
“It’s… so beautiful.”
I found myself nodding naturally at Yuk Cheolwan’s words.
It was as if a glass-crafted ornament had been painted with every possible color.
As if embracing all the brilliant colors of this world, the single flower, no larger than a hands width, was filled with countless shades of beauty.
This must be what they mean, feeling awed just by looking at something.
For a while, we could do nothing but stare at the Aurum Bloom in awe.
"Wait a moment..."
Just as we were admiring the beauty of the Aurum Bloom.
I was suddenly seized by doubt.
The fact that the Aurum Bloom was in such good condition meant that the boss monster was intact.
Since we entered the dungeon before the Association even conducted an investigation, it was impossible for anyone to have already defeated the boss monster.
Considering how the boss monster used to appear as if to protect the rare herbs whenever they were discovered, this was an extremely unusual situation.
The sound of something huge splitting apart can be heard.
This wasn't just any dungeon, this was a 7-star dungeon.
Where the hell was the boss monster?
Crack.
A massive dissonance.
The sound of something large splitting apart could be heard.
“An earthquake?”
There was no other way to explain it.
The ground was shaking, and tearing sounds echoed from all directions.
“It’s not that!”
Bisu shouted in a sharp voice.
She pointed her finger toward a spot, and only then did Yuk Cheolwan and I grasp the situation we were in.
Crack.
The angle of the ground was gradually tilting.
No, at this point, calling it ‘the ground’ was no longer appropriate.
What we thought was the vast expanse of earth was actually its ‘body’.
The creature, connected to the Gemstone Plains, raised its upper body with a thunderous roar.
“Oh wow…”
A monster twice the size of the Gray Golem we’d encountered earlier finally revealed itself.
[Giant Treasure (BOSS)
Type – Poison, Combat
Difficulty Level: 8-star (★★★★★★★★)
Physical Level: ‘S’-rank
Other Levels: ‘B’-rank
Unique Ability – Hard Shell: Its body, made of Pranium, completely nullifies physical attacks. Non-composite attacks cannot inflict wounds on the target.
Unique Skill - Fragment: Detonates part of its body to launch an omni-directional attack. Ordinary protective gear cannot block fragments made of Pranium.]
—Grrrrrrrr!
The Giant Treasure, awakened from its long slumber, opened its mouth wide and roared.
Its brightly colored body and massive size created an absurd contrast.
‘Truly a stat befitting an 8-star creature.’
Physical Level 'S'.
It was a rank I had never faced before.
The fact that its other levels were merely average provided little comfort.
And on top of that already tough-looking body, it had a unique ability called Hard Shell.
Since I was checking the info anyway, I might as well find out what Pranium is.
“V1. What is Pranium?”
[Pranium: An anomalous substance formed in extremely rare Poison-type dungeons. Only a handful of powerful nations, including the United States, possess limited quantities of it. It possesses the highest rigidity among all known otherworldly materials discovered to date. Ordinary physical force cannot deform this substance.]
Gulp.
Just reading the information on ‘Giant Treasure’ and ‘Pranium’ made me swallow dryly.
Until now, I had been confident that I could defeat any monster that appeared.
With the potent poison of Black Aether, even a tiny wound would have been enough.
But the ‘Giant Treasure’ before me seemed to allow not even the slightest scratch.
“Step back!”
After warning Yuk Cheolwan and Bisu, I used 'Poison Step' and leaped onto the Giant Treasure's body.
I transformed Exa into the ‘White Dream’ state, then slashed the creature's neck with all my might as a demonstration.
Ting.
Is this the sound a sword makes when swung? No it was one of a knife rolling backwards.
With a light, cheerful sound reminiscent of a music box, Exa was sent flying back.
Exa’s blade was fundamentally a substance condensed from my Black Aether.
Whether it’s the black blade for killing or the white blade of White Dream, there was no difference in strength.
However...
This blade, which could slice through any monster as if cutting tofu, had no effect.
What’s more, ‘damage’, something that had never occurred before, was detected.
“H-Hunter Chun Haesun. The blade…!!”
Yuk Cheolwan shouted, his face stiff with tension.
A small white fragment lay quietly on the glimmering surface.
The blade in its 'White Dream' state had cracked.
—Grrooooooo.
The Giant Treasure, having been struck on the nape, suddenly raised its arm.
It was overly sensitive for something without a single scratch.
I quickly moved out of the creature's attack range.
Or at least, I thought I had moved out of it.
Whoosh.
The fist it had raised detached from its wrist.
It wasn't a rocket, so why would it detach its own fist...?
For a moment, I froze.
The information V1 had given me came flooding back.
[Unique Skill - Fragment: Detonates part of its body to launch an omni-directional attack. Ordinary protective gear cannot block fragments made of Pranium.]
"Danger!!"
I focused all the activated Aether toward my legs and used Poison Steps in the direction where Yuk Cheolwan and Bisu were.
Whoosh.
Yuk Cheolwan and Bisu didn't even realize they were being dragged along by my force as I ran with full speed.
"Kyahk!”
Under normal circumstances, it would be impossible to leap while holding people under both arms, but with a D-rank body, even Yuk Cheolwan’s weight was easy to manage.
The problem was that we were completely defenseless against its 'Fragment' skill.
Swoosh.
"Ugh..."
“Hey! Are you okay?!"
Bisu asked me, blood trickling down her forehead.
She also couldn’t come out unscathed from the ‘Fragment’ attack, but at least it wasn’t a fatal wound.
While I, who had been pierced by three forearm-sized fragments straight through my body, breathed in.
“Hunter Chun Haesun!!!!!”
I waved my arm at the shocked Yuk Cheolwan, then raised both hands and placed them on their bodies.
Sharrrrr….
The sharp wounds on Bisu and Yuk Cheolwan instantly healed up.
At the same time, the Pranium fragments embedded in their bodies were gradually being pushed out.
“S-rank heal is on another level, truly incredible,”
Yuk Cheolwan exclaimed.
His grief-stricken face brightened as if nothing ever happened.
Honestly, it was convenient that he was so simple-minded.
"Stay put and don't move. I'll handle that bastard."
"It's too much for you alone. If I could just lend some strength….."
"No. You’ll just be in the way.”
I shook my head firmly.
I could try to persuade him gently, but I didn’t have the luxury of that right now.
"Fighting while simultaneously healing both of you will only lowers our chances of winning."
It might be close to an insult for Yuk Cheolwan, even if not for Bisu, but there was no other choice.
There was no telling when another 'fragment' might come flying at any moment.
There was no time to worry about anyone's feelings.
"I've made myself clear!"
".....!!"
With those final words, I leapt to the other side of the group.
***
An 'S' rank healing ability can mean several things.
For instance, it can mean being capable of healing multiple people at the same time, or being able to heal hundreds without running out of power.
It also means being capable of self-healing without actively using any special abilities.
In that sense, I truly deserve to be rated as an 'S' rank.
"Gasp... gasp."
After all, I was still standing despite having sustained fatal wounds hundreds of times.
Shrrrr.
The speed at which my wounds were healing had noticeably slowed. It means the healing energy remaining in my body was nearly depleted.
-Gooooooooo.
Perhaps it was my illusion but that Giant Treasure's roar was mixed with irritation.
It's understandable that it was irritated. Despite being turned into a sieve countless times by the 'fragments' I failed to dodge, I kept healing myself.
While using up the remaining healing energy in my body, I've managed to gain some insights of my own.
The first was that those damn 'fragments' could activate from any part of its body.
Even without physically separating parts of its body, it could launch 'fragments' from any part whenever I got within close enough range. To learn that I had to endure the pain of my body being pierced countless times.
The second thing I learned was that there were components even that remarkable 'Pranium' couldn't block.
That was none other than my blood, the source of the Black Aether.
The surface coated with my blood momentarily showed some cracks.
The problem was that the creature tore off that part as if shedding its skin.
V1's briefing, which emphasized the need for attacks beyond physical force, was accurate.
By causing cracks through special means, like using psychokinesis, and then applying strong physical force to thrust Exa into them, a possibility would arise.
The problem lay in the standard for what constituted 'strong physical force'.
Could my physical strength, barely at the 'D' rank level, pierce that incredibly hard Pranium?
No, I had to.
Those two fools weren't running away, instead, they were approaching me.
"It's no use trying to stop us any longer...!"
Yuk Cheolwan raised his voice, sounding resolute.
"Clan Leader.”
"Well, I told you it's no use trying to stop me!!"
"Then let's do it together."
"There's absolutely no way, we're doing it together...??"
Yuk Cheolwan's eyes widened in shock at the sudden shift in the situation.
Why.
What.
I guess he expected me to keep trying to dissuade him, but I had no intention of doing it alone anymore.
Because there was no way for me to defeat that glittering monster alone.
"I'll heal you, but your bodies will be torn to shreds. It's going to hurt.”
It was a plan that couldn't be carried out without considerable resolve.
But Yuk Cheolwan gave me a look that seemed almost disappointed.
"I've lost count of how many times I've watched Hunter Chun Haesun turn into a chicken skewer. Please don't insult me, a tanker, any further."
Is it alright to turn a perfectly fine person into a chicken, then?
I chuckled and told Yuk Cheolwan the plan.
"I have no healing power or Aether left. The next attack will be the last, our fates lies on it whether we live or die.”