Chapter 110: This Damned Astaroth (2)
The chat room was in a state of chaos and utter confusion.
The regular viewers who had tuned in just to enjoy Han-Yeol’s dazzling performance were amazed once again at the surprising sight, but the viewers who possessed a bit of knowledge about Hunters were greatly confused by what they were seeing. That was because they had watched numerous Hunter channels to know quite a bit about how things worked.
The viewers were stunned and confused by what they were witnessing on the screen, but that only further fueled the sales of the V Tickets.
The V Tickets were selling like hotcakes because of Han-Yeol’s fighting style. He did not fight with a preset formation like what other raid parties did, but he went all around the battlefield. For example, if he started fighting on the left side of the battlefield, he would suddenly move to the right side to keep on fighting.
This only made the viewers of the live stream want to purchase the V Ticket that allowed them to switch screens and follow him. They became less keen to only rely on the main monitor, which only showed the battle from a single angle.
In other words, Han-Yeol was so entertaining to watch that the viewers could not help but spend money on him.
It went without saying that the Labyrinth Spiders dropped Angel’s Fragments as well.
Han-Yeol had already gathered hundreds of the fragments, but Astaroth still showed no reactions whatsoever. He wondered, ‘Do I have to make the first move…?’
He could not help but feel uncomfortable as his blood rushed into his nether region at the thought of having to summon the Devil of Seduction once again. It was the result of having two of mankind’s strongest instincts—the instincts of sexual desire as well as survival—clashing together.
However, he had to meet the demon sometime in the future regardless of how his instincts screamed within him. After all, he had to give Astaroth the Angel’s Fragments.
The party ventured forward without a hiccup as no Labyrinth Spiders appeared anymore.
“Ah… It’s such a waste, oppa…” Yoo-Bi grumbled.
“Yeah, I guess,” Han-Yeol replied.
“It is! Just the thought of having to leave behind all of those precious Labyrinth Spider corpses…”
Unlike the monsters above ground, the Labyrinth Spiders here in the secret dungeon remained as corpses after dying. Simply put, it was possible for the party to dismember them for their useful body parts.
Well, they could not immediately sell the corpses off anyway. They had to bring the whole monster corpse to the Hunters’ Association to first get them tested before being able to determine which part of the monster was valuable. Nevertheless, it was clear as day that the monster’s remains were quite valuable.
However, they were going to need a truck to transport the monster corpses that were rather big and heavy. It was unfortunate that they had left their trucks above ground, so it was going to be impossible for them to collect these valuable corpses.
In the end, they could only swallow their tears and collect the mana stones dropped by the monsters to console themselves.
All of a sudden…
Ziiing!
[Hoho! Finally!]
Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!?
“Oppa!”
“Yeah, I sense it too.”
Han-Yeol’s Demon Eyes, Balrog’s instinct, and Yoo-Bi’s mana detection device all started ringing at the same time.
‘This mana is…?’
[It seems to belong to the owner of this place.]
‘The boss monster?!’
[The boss, you say? I guess that is indeed the most fitting description for what lies ahead.]
‘It came much sooner than I expected…’?Han-Yeol thought.
In video games, a boss monster was an arrogant creature that usually appeared only after a player had hunted quite a lot of monsters.
In this case, the party had only hunted around fifteen Labyrinth Spiders so far. But the boss monster was already going to appear?
Han-Yeol could see his surroundings within a ten kilometers radius through his mana. It was something like a 3D map usually found in video games or something like that.
‘The boss monster seems to be in a strange room. It feels like a Queen Labyrinth Spider waiting for its prey to venture into its territory…’?Han-Yeol said.
[Keke! An arrogant queen? The thought of ripping that arrogant creature apart is already making me feel ecstatic!]
‘You are indeed a demon.’
[Of course! I am the proud and honorable shield of Baal-nim!]
Balrog was still an intermediate demon no matter how he acted. He was a demon who found honor in ripping apart the bodies of his enemy and bathing in their blood.
“Yoo-Bi,” Han-Yeol called out after making sense of the situation they were in.
“Yes, oppa?” Yoo-Bi replied.
She was Han-Yeol’s personal Porter and the main manager of his solo party, so he had the responsibility of sharing whatever information he found relating to the hunt they were in.
“The Labyrinth Spider boss will be up ahead. We are heading over there now.”
“That sounds quite dangerous.”
“Yes, relay this information to the Mulan crew and make sure you tell them to be extra vigilant.”
“Yes, oppa.”
Yoo-Bi went to warn the Mulan film crew to be careful now that they were going to enter the boss room.
Well, not that they had to do anything different than what they were doing so far. Their survival game plan was quite simple for now. They were going to survive if Han-Yeol won, but they were going to get annihilated if he lost.
The only reason Han-Yeol had asked Yoo-Bi to warn them was so that they could prepare themselves for what they were about to encounter.
“Alright, listen up, everyone. We are now going to meet the owner of this labyrinth dungeon. It will be quite a suspenseful experience. Are we going to be able to kill the owner of this place and safely make it out, or is this going to be the end of the road for us?” Han-Yeol made a short speech for the viewers.
Nobody had said that this was a labyrinth dungeon, but this place was going to be known as the Spider Labyrinth now that Han-Yeol had named the monsters here as the Labyrinth Spiders. It was quite natural for the secret dungeon to be called a labyrinth since the monster that appeared here had the name labyrinth attached to them.
“Now, move out!”
“Yes, Hunter-nim!”
***
Thud!
‘This seems to be the place.’
[Yes, I can smell the presence of a powerful being.]
Gulp…!
[Everything is futile…]
Han-Yeol and Balrog were looking forward to the upcoming battle while the Void Devil was still feeling the same as it always did. As for the rest of the party members who gulped nervously, they were filled with anxiety and fear.
A large shut door stood imposingly in front of them.
‘Balrog-nim.’
[Ah, leave it to me.]
Tak!
Balrog walked toward the door. He placed both of his hands on its surface before pushing it with all of his might.
Creaking, the door slowly swung open to reveal a spacious common hall. There was a flight of stairs at the end of the hall that seemingly led up to a shrine, and the Queen Labyrinth Spider was waiting for them at the very top.
If the Labyrinth Spiders had delicate features, the Queen Labyrinth Spider had an imposing presence that suited its title of queen. Its body frame was much larger than the other Labyrinth Spiders and its chest was bustier than theirs.
Also, the Labyrinth Spiders used their sharp pointy arms as their main weapons, but the Queen Labyrinth Spider had human-like arms that held onto something similar to a magic staff.
‘This looks quite troublesome… I thought it was going to be a monster that depends on its size, but it seems to have some sort of special skills under its belt,’?Han-Yeol grumbled inwardly.
Most monsters at hunting grounds above the D Rank usually possessed some sort of a special skill. These monsters, including the boss, either depended on their physical abilities or their skills, but the Queen Labyrinth Spider seemed to be the type that used special skills.
[Hohoho! Are you scared, human?]
‘Not at all. I just think it is going to be quite troublesome.’
[That’s good. I thought the human I’m contracted to was a weak coward who can’t even face this much of a challenge. I would have pierced your heart with my spear and returned to the demon world if you were.]
‘Ehem…’
It might have sounded like dark humor, but the demons had a single common trait among them. The single common trait was that they did not lie. In other words, Balrog was serious when he said that he would have pierced Han-Yeol’s heart with his flaming spear.
‘That is quite a scary thing to say.’
[Well, it’s true that I was planning to, but I trust that you won’t give me a reason to go that far.]
‘Wow… I guess it feels good to be acknowledged by a demon…’
[I’m a proud warrior before I’m a demon. Don’t forget that.]
‘I will keep that in mind.’
Thud… Thud… Thud…
The Queen Labyrinth Spider had its eyes shut, slowly opening them only when Han-Yeol and Balrog walked toward it.
“Kyahk!?Kyaaaaahk! Kieeeek!”
Then, its face distorted with anger as it shrieked furiously.
However, Han-Yeol could not understand its shrieks. He did not speak the language the boss monster spoke.
“What the hell are you saying?” he grumbled in annoyance.
[To think that you dare venture into my house. I’m going to kill every single one of you.]
‘Do you understand what monsters say, Balrog-nim?’
[Why not? Don’t you know that we demons speak through our minds and spirit, unlike you humans who rely on your ears and brain?]
‘No, I wasn’t aware of that…’
[Well, now you know.]
‘Hahaha…’
It was quite amazing that the demons could understand what monsters were saying, and Han-Yeol thought that it was quite a handy skill to have.
The shrieking soon stopped. The Queen Labyrinth Spider raised its magic staff up high before slamming it into the ground.
Bam!
‘Hmm? What is she doing?’?Han-Yeol wondered.
Rumble… Rumble… Rumble…?
‘Huh…?’?Han-Yeol noticed that the ground started vibrating after the boss monster had hit it with its staff.
The vibration turned into tremors, like an earthquake, and the shaking shattered the statues located at the foot of the stairs to reveal the hundreds of eggs behind them.
Then, the Queen Labyrinth Spider waved its magic staff once again.
Woooong!
Crack… Crack… Crack…?
The eggs started to crack open.
‘Damn it!’?Han-Yeol exclaimed inwardly after finally realizing what was going on.
Kwachik…! Bam!
Han-Yeol instinctively kicked off the ground and rushed toward the Queen Labyrinth Spider. He swung his sword that had activated Sword Breath while crushing two of the mana stones he had kept just in case they were needed.
‘Enhance! Flash Strike!’?he activated two additional skills.
He had originally planned to use the mana stones to take the initiative. However, due to the sudden turn of events, he did not have the luxury to reach for his gun and make ample preparations.
He aimed for the Queen Labyrinth Spider’s head with his most powerful attack as the head was the greatest weakness regardless of whether it was a human or a monster. If he could cut its head off, he could kill it in a single strike.
‘It’s over if I fail to kill it in one hit. We are surely going to be annihilated if all of these eggs hatch into Labyrinth Spiders! I have to end this now!’?Han-Yeol desperately thought.
That explained his lack of hesitation when using the mana stones right then and there even though they were so expensive. After all, the lives of his party members and his own were much more precious than money.
However, the Queen Labyrinth Spider was not going to be so easily killed. It waved its magic staff once again and blocked Han-Yeol.
Shwaaak! Chwak!
‘Spider webs!’?
Han-Yeol expected the Queen Labyrinth Spider to shoot webs, so he instantly turned to the side and avoided it. At the same time, he successfully managed to close the distance between the two.
‘She’s huge…’?he thought.
The boss monster was already large from a distance, but it was even larger now that he was getting nearer and nearer.
However, Han-Yeol was not the type to feel intimidated from his opponent’s humongous size alone. He twisted his body once again before kicking off the ground and jumping toward the Queen Labyrinth Spider.
“Kyahk! Kieeeek! Kieeeek!”?The Queen Labyrinth Spider threateningly shrieked.
Whoosh!
Noticing that the boss monster was only swinging its magic staff at him, Han-Yeol guessed that it was probably out of other skills. With a smile, he crushed another mana stone. ‘This is my chance! Enhance!’
Of course, the effect of the Enhance he had used a while ago still remained.
Chwak!
Han-Yeol was using Enhance once again, even if it meant that he had to crush another expensive mana stone, because he wanted to enhance the claw attached to the end of his chain. It was a weapon he had not used for quite a while.
‘This is no different from me dual-wielding!’?he exclaimed while recalling the hellish training he had gone through under Kajikar just to master dual-wielding.
Han-Yeol was going to launch a dual attack that carried the weight of the expensive mana stones he had just used.
Every single muscle in his entire body contracted as he prepared to launch his attack.
Kwachik!
The tiles around Han-Yeol broke at the force he was emitting, and even his own body started to feel the burden of the overwhelming power.
‘Keuk…!’?
However, he was not going to simply give up no matter how painful it was, and he could easily tolerate this much pain. He was used to being in pain after having been drilled by the Demon Instructor, after all.
Han-Yeol gritted his teeth while withstanding the pain spreading all over his body.
‘Head… Cutter…!’?
Then, he unleashed the destructive power he channeled toward the Queen Labyrinth Spider’s neck.
“Kieeeeek!”?The Queen Labyrinth Spider shrieked and tried to block the incoming attack as it instinctively felt threatened by it.
Knowing that its children were going to be able to take care of the intruders as long as it managed to block this attack, it swung the magic staff with the full knowledge that it was going to be destroyed by the attack.
However, the Queen Labyrinth Spider had grossly misunderstood one fact. No, it was more accurate to say that it had overlooked it.
Shwaaak…! Kwachik!
“Kieeeeek!”?The Queen Labyrinth Spider shrieked in pain.
The boss monster might have been depending on its children to hatch from the eggs, but Han-Yeol already had comrades. Although his party was small in number, everyone was ready to support him without having to hatch from eggs.
The Void Devil was mentally connected to Han-Yeol, so it was privy to his plans right from the start. It did not need Han-Yeol to relay it through telepathy. It immediately shot out a Void Storm to block the Queen Labyrinth Spider’s magic staff.
‘Keeuk…!’?Han-Yeol groaned in pain after being exposed to the aftershock of the Void Storm as he was quite near to the Queen Labyrinth Spider.
However, he had expected that aftershock to a certain extent. Gritting his teeth, he toughened out the pain from the Void Storm. He then swung his sword and cut off the Queen Labyrinth Spider’s head.
Sukeok!
‘Alright!’?Han-Yeol rejoiced after successfully beheading the boss monster.
Thrown to the ground as gravity kicked in, he then moaned in pain, “Ouch… Everything hurts…”
It was quite normal for every single muscle in his body to ache as he had used quite a lot of mana in a short period of time.
“But I still won!” he exclaimed from the ground.
Thud!
Han-Yeol laid down on his back and looked up at the ceiling. ‘I can’t see anything…’
It was only natural that he was not going to be able to see anything without his mana, since the dungeon was still dark…
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