Chapter 242: The First (2)

Kim Ki-Rok had just advanced to SS-Class Hunter, yet his stats still lagged behind those of his peers. His weapon was top-tier, but so were those wielded by the other Hunters.

Breaking through or piercing Aspera's scales was impossible. Should I aim for the wounds the others already opened?

Kim Ki-Rok pondered.

No. The more it was wounded, the warier Poison Duke Aspera grew of any Hunter approaching. Even if Kim Ki-Rok was the weakest it had faced, Aspera wasn't about to risk further injury. It would do everything it could to keep him at bay.

"As for our positioning..." Kim Ki-Rok murmured.

He braced himself, then dashed forward, stopping in front of Aspera just as its jaws parted wide. The moment the jaw muscles tensed, he lightly pushed off and leaped back.

Again, Aspera's jaws snapped shut on empty air. Its gaze was fixed on Kim Ki-Rok, with curiosity and a trace of irritation flickering in its eyes for only a heartbeat. Then, it whipped its body around and surged toward Kang Seh-Hyuk.

"Five steps back the instant its jaw muscles move." Kim Ki-Rok relayed the instruction to Kang Seh-Hyuk, once more darting into Aspera's path.

Just before its mouth closed, Kim Ki-Rok acted. He didn't thrust his trident or hurl a dagger. As he hit his mark, he stepped back and flicked a pebble-sized stone. Right before throwing, he focused his mana into his fingers and crushed the stone.

Why did Aspera swallow the stone? No one knew. Maybe it gulped it down without noticing, or perhaps the pebble was just too small to be wary of. It could even be that the thrower was clearly the weakest prey.

While Kang Seh-Hyuk pulled back to gain distance, Kim Ki-Rok sidestepped, widening the gap while watching Aspera quietly. The monster seemed ready to ignore him and charge Kang Seh-Hyuk again, but it suddenly paused as if sensing something odd, then gazed up at the sky and let out a breath.

True to its title, Poison Duke of the North, Aspera's breath carried numerous toxins: corrosive poison that ate through matter, paralytic venom that numbed and immobilized, and even a hallucinogen.

Hunters retreated hastily, tearing open scrolls imbued with detoxification skills and holy edicts. They rested at the same time Aspera did, mutually withdrawing to secure the battlefield. An unspoken truce emerged, both sides glaring at one another as they regrouped and prepared anew.

"Hmm? It looks like..." Yoo Seh-Eun muttered, tearing a detoxification scroll to help clear the area. Her words drew a glance from Lee Ji-Yeon, the fire Elementalist, who was busy burning away poison with flame.

Where normally Aspera would be scanning for the most dangerous Hunter, now its attention was riveted on Kim Ki-Rok, who stood grinning impishly.

"Ji-Yeon, any idea what he did to draw all the aggro at once?" Yoo Seh-Eun asked.

"

Ha, haha...

" Lee Ji-Yeon could only let out an awkward laugh.

Kim Ki-Rok's voice came through the earpiece.

—Mr. Seh-Hyuk will support me. Everyone else, keep Aspera in check from a distance.

Anyone could tell from Aspera's fixated glare that Kim Ki-Rok had fed it something highly harmful.

Once the battlefield was secure again, Aspera moved.

***

—Skills use Hunters' mana. Unlike ordinary magic, Hell monsters are especially vulnerable to such attacks.

Kim Ki-Rok didn't bother regaining his stance after dodging a sweeping tail. He used his teleportation artifact to pull away from Aspera.

As the fight dragged on, the Hunters grew more accustomed to Aspera's tactics, but Aspera adapted to theirs as well. Before Kim Ki-Rok even revealed himself again, Aspera lunged to close the distance, jaws wide, preparing another toxic breath.

Spinning to face it, Kim Ki-Rok flung another stone from his pocket into its open mouth. Its toxin-laden breath would dissolve it, which was fine. He wanted the stone to dissolve inside.

He activated the artifact again. Since the Hunters had Aspera surrounded in a wide ring, Kim Ki-Rok teleported above the monster's head. As soon as it tilted its head to release its breath, he conjured a translucent Magic Shield platform midair and sprinted across it.

—So, after negotiations with the government and Association, we acquired S-Class mana stones and some unstable, SS-Class synthetic mana stones made with current tech. With help from Saintess Elena from France and Miss Cha Min-Ji, who's gone from top DG Guild high schooler to one of the five great artisans, we imbued the mana stones with detoxification skills.

"Wow... So it's a multi-billion-won bomb," Lee Ji-Yeon muttered to herself.

The stone Kim Ki-Rok threw was a bomb crafted from mana stones, a next-generation alternative energy.

"Uh, Guildmaster?" Lee Ji-Yeon called.

—Yes, Miss Ji-Yeon.

"Did you know one of the Four Dukes had poison skills?"

—I did not.

"Then how did you...?"

Kim Ki-Rok had prepared S-Class mana stones with Detoxification Skills in advance.

With Aspera's stamina and powers steadily waning, Kim Ki-Rok glanced at Lee Ji-Yeon, answering calmly.

—Mana stones imbued with Detoxification Skills aren't all we have. The DG Guild bought a total of fifteen S-Class and SS-Class synthetic mana stones.

Lee Ji-Yeon put the pieces together. "So you prepared fifteen mana stones, each with different attribute skills."

"That's right. We knew Hell monsters were weak to Hunter mana. We didn't know which attributes would be effective, but we knew mana from a Hunter would be a weakness."

A foreign Hunter's voice entered the earpiece.

—Guildmaster Kim Ki-Rok.

—Yes, Hunter Maral.

—Couldn't you have used those at the start?

The mana stones were astronomically expensive, but knowing Kim Ki-Rok, he wouldn't have held back over cost alone.

—That's correct.

—Could you explain further?

—The mana inside an S-Class or SS-Class synthetic mana stone is still less than what Aspera contains.

—Ah... so the relationship between Hell's mana and Hunter mana is like sacred power versus Demon Realm mana.

—Exactly. If we'd used the bomb at the start, Aspera would have unleashed its full power and immediately neutralized the bomb's effect.

Only after Aspera's stamina and mana had been chipped away did the mana stone bomb take effect.

—Preparations are complete.

Kim Ki-Rok moved nimbly through the air, dodging breath, tail, and snapping jaws, using Magic Shield to summon translucent blue platforms and teleporting away with his artifact when needed.

For once, Aspera failed to anticipate where he would reappear.

—Its abilities and senses are dulled. It swallowed five mana stones total, two of which were SS-Class synthetic mana stones and three with detoxification and flame skills.

As Kim Ki-Rok gave the status update with an even tone, Aspera's six eyes darted nervously, scanning for any avenue of escape.

—We'll subdue Aspera and return within five minutes.

***

Aspera's wounds piled up.

Maral, the SS-Class Hunter from Mongolia, had just pulled back after driving a longsword deep into Aspera's torso. He paused instead of charging again, casting a wary eye at Kim Ki-Rok.

He knew Kim Ki-Rok's abilities well from video footage as well as having cleared S-Class Gates beside him. That was why Maral worried. Kim Ki-Rok always prioritized minimizing ally casualties, even if it meant using the Guardian and having the lowest stats among the current team. Some Hunters doubted him, but despite his stats, Kim Ki-Rok had found a way to excel.

"He prepared fifteen mana stones," Maral muttered.

With five already used, ten remained. But supply was not the real issue. If this method worked, the Association and government would surely supply all the stones needed to clear the Hell Gate. If the Hell Gate went berserk, Earth would be doomed anyway, so it was either spend big or die.

Just then, Kim Ki-Rok called out a few Hunters by name.

—Yoo Seh-Eun, Lee Ji-Yeon, Maral, Chris, and Astian. Get ready.

Regaining focus, Maral drew his weapon once more from his subspace pocket.

***

Lee Ji-Yeon's longsword pierced Aspera's body.

"Ine."

Her swordplay, honed by training with sword spirits, merged seamlessly with elemental magic refined by the Queen of the Elementals.

𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

Aspera reared back and, for the first time, let out a cry. Lee Ji-Yeon couldn't understand its words, but the pain was evident. She withdrew her blade and stepped aside, allowing Chris, the French Hunter, to rush in.

Unlike Kang Seh-Hyuk, Chris fought with a huge shield and spear. He cast aside the shield, leaped high, and hurled his mana-charged spear into Aspera's open mouth, where it exploded.

Next, Astian from Spain and Maral rushed forward. They hadn't coordinated before, but their swords swung in unison, severing Aspera's tail and legs.

—Oh! Is Ms. Seh-Eun going to finish it off?

Kim Ki-Rok's voice crackled over the earpiece.

"The last strike is always reserved for the beauty," Yoo Seh-Eun quipped.

—Then shouldn't you swap with Miss Ji-Yeon?

Laughter rippled through the earpiece.

Yoo Seh-Eun also laughed as she raced toward the battered Aspera, now tailless and face mangled from the mana explosion.

But as she sprinted forward, her Mana Blade Skill forming dozens of sharp blades, she called out in a chillingly sweet voice, "You all know there's a recording function on these radios, right?"

She stopped before Aspera and gripped her blade with both hands.

"Maybe it's the new system, or maybe it's just for quick reporting?"

With a single upward swing, she split Aspera's face in two, then spun to its right side.

Bringing her sword down from above, she said with a voice bright, "But you can always check the logs to see who said what."

Her first swing split the monster's head and the next severed it completely.

As she stepped back, dozens of blue swords hovered in the air and flew forward, tearing Aspera apart with a cacophony of thuds and slashes. Yoo Seh-Eun turned away, resting her bloodied sword on her shoulder, a bright smile on her face.

"You'd better be ready when I come looking for you later."

—Cough!

—Damn it...