Chapter 105
Choi Yeonseung was dumbfounded. There was no reason for them to show him respect now, was there? However, most of the hunters around Choi Yeonseung looked at him with respect in their eyes. All the hunters here were selfish, ignorant, and capitalistic bastards, but...
As long as they were human, they would respect anyone who had healed a hunter from a different clan. Hence, they couldn’t help being amazed!
With everyone in deep silence, Arenas spoke triumphantly. “Do you believe me now? Hunter Choi Yeonseung healed me, a hunter from a clan that has nothing to do with him!”
Not wanting to listen to this, Choi Yeonseung interrupted, “Stop it.”
He only treated Arenas because he came across him, yet the bastard was making a big deal out of it. Arenas was the type to make a fuss and say something like, ‘You are a saint who has devoted your whole life to the weak’ if he were to see someone pick up an old lady’s luggage on the street.
“Stay still! I think this needs to be properly addressed. They don’t believe me!”
“I don’t care. Stop it.”
“Do you see now? This is humility. Even though you’re all selfish bastards who only think about yourselves, there is still a ray of hope in this desolate world—”
“This bastard really doesn’t listen.”
The ray of hope—no, Choi Yeonseung immediately punched Arenas. The unexpected attack knocked the latter down.
Bam!
“Didn’t I tell you to stop? If your lifesaver tells you to stop, you should listen.”
Choi Yeonseung kicked Arenas with every word.
Bam! Bam! Bam!
Arenas curled up in a ball and fended off the attacks.
“No, I meant it in a good way…”
“You’re still repeating the same nonsense as last time, you bastard. Nobody cares about what you meant. Listen to others. Understood?”
“I-I do.”
“If you go around speaking nonsense one more time, I will re-inflict the wounds I healed.”
Choi Yeonseung raised his hands. Despite all the blows, Arenas didn’t suffer any injuries. Such was a martial artist’s self-control!
“......”
“......”
The jaws of the hunters around them dropped open, this time for a completely different reason. No...
What was this...
‘Did he really just hit a hunter of another clan with so many people watching? Is he crazy?’
Hitting someone in front of so many prying eyes?
This situation could escalate if the other clan made a fuss. However, Choi Yeonseung didn’t care. He just kept excitedly hitting him.
One of the hunters clapped as if he understood, having seen the video from Las Vegas. “Ah. That hunter is Choi Yeonseung. I saw the video of him behaving the same way in Las Vegas.”
“He healed and hit other hunters there as well?”
“No... It isn’t like that. A reporter praised him for saving the citizens, so he punched the reporter.”
“Anyone can punch reporters. Even you can do that.”
“Is that important right now? The main point here is the reason why he punched the reporter when they praised him.”
“I don’t know. Maybe it’s because Koreans are humble.”
“I’ve met Korean hunters before. They don’t do that.”
The hunters got into thinking again. What type of person was Choi Yeonseung?
“He did use healing magic. He is incredibly kind.”
“But he also beat up a hunter from a different clan while people were watching. Not even crazy people would do that, considering that could spark a fight,” one of the hunters who was listening murmured without much thought.
“I guess he is kind, but he’s also a madman with a dirty personality.”
“......!”
It sounded nonsensical, but it was quite plausible.
***
“Hey, Izidor. I’m okay. Please don’t be angry.”
Despite having been hit, Arenas still stepped up to defend Choi Yeonseung. Saving his life when he was already at the doorstep of death’s door had an extraordinary effect. He remained blind no matter how many times he was hit.
Izidor thought to himself, ‘I wasn’t angry anyway.’
Of course, he would be angry if a hunter from another clan beat up his colleague. However, one’s responses varied depending on the time and situation. Arenas didn’t seem to have any complaints, and Izidor did see the situation for himself...
“Why are there so many people here?” Choi Yeonseung asked, puzzled.
Hunters raiding dungeons avoided gathering in one place in large numbers since the monsters’ aggro exponentially increased in accordance with the number of hunters together. Hence, they formed a team of six. However, the hunters here were still quite close together despite being a short distance apart. They seemed to be in relatively good condition, so why were they here?
“You’ll probably immediately understand when you look over there.”
Izidor pointed to the middle of the clearing, where temple pillars, which looked like traces of ruins, were arranged in a circle. In the middle of it was a summoning circle with a magic hourglass floating above it. The top part of the hourglass only had a third left!
‘The magic power coming from it is quite strong.’
“Do you know what that is?”
“Summoning magic?”
“Yes. It’s been there since we got here.”
The hunters who entered before the Icarus clan were skilled in their own right. Some collapsed after getting scattered like Arenas, but the rest quickly came to their senses and proceeded to raid the dungeon.
-I couldn’t find the boss monster.
-Looking at this dungeon’s structure, I doubt it’s wandering around outside. It must be around here.
-Wait. This...
Along the way, they discovered this temple ruins in the middle of the clearing. The summoning circle and magic hourglass between the pillars surprised the hunters.
-Could that be summoning magic?
-It seems like it’ll bring in a summon once the top part of the hourglass is empty.
-What will it summon?
-It’ll most likely be the boss monster.
After hearing the explanation, Choi Yeonseung curiously asked, “Are you sure it’ll summon the boss monster?”
“Not completely, but... Are there any other possibilities besides that?”
‘That’s a fair point.’
When it came to summons like this inside dungeons...
It was hard to think of anything other than the boss monster. Moreover, the hunters here said they hadn’t seen the boss monster despite searching around. The monsters in the dungeon were trying to attack the hunters who had entered, but the boss monster was still nowhere to be found...
“Is that why you’re all gathering here?”
“Yes.”
He thought he had finally understood why everyone was watching each other.
‘They’re all trying to be the ones to kill the boss monster.’
These hunters weren’t volunteers. They hunted monsters to try and get rewards. The boss monster was every dungeon’s main attraction since they gave the greatest rewards. The hunters couldn’t let others kill that type of creature. They had to be the ones to slay it. Hence, they planned to attack it before anyone else could the moment it came out! That was why they had gathered like this.
They were initially worried that a large group of monsters would attack them. However, that worry disappeared to some extent upon realizing the attacks weren’t as severe.
‘Hmm. Should I just wait here?’
Now that he had thought about it, Odaigon was bringing the other Icarus clan hunters anyway. With his household member among them, Choi Yeonseung didn’t have to worry about them getting hurt. He would rather stay here until the boss monster appeared...
‘Ah. Wait.’
Choi Yeonseung came to a realization. Wasn’t it likely that the hunter who signed with the evil god constellation was also here?
‘I see. They would’ve received a special skill if they signed with an evil god constellation. They probably wouldn’t have died if they were sent somewhere alone.’
Choi Yeonseung looked around. Hunters gathered in twos or threes. On the surface, nothing seemed strange.
‘I can’t even find them using my constellation eyes...’
Choi Yeonseung examined the hunters with his constellation eyes. Aside from their current level and stats, nothing else appeared. The evil god constellations were good at concealing their household members’ identities. Unlike other constellations’ household members, those found to be in a contract with an evil god constellation were immediately taken to prison. Hence, evil god constellations played tricks to keep their followers from being caught once the contract had been signed.
‘... Well, they’ll reveal themselves sooner or later.’
Choi Yeonseung leisurely concluded. If the other constellations saw his current behavior, they would’ve thought he was too complacent, but...
Choi Yeonseung was confident he would win even if his opponent made the first move! Even if the enemy proudly used the power of an evil god constellation, they wouldn’t know a constellation was right here in this dungeon.
***
Traitor with a Poisoned Dagger was the name of the evil god constellation Jules, an Ambitus clan hunter, had contracted with. The traitor constellation wasn’t that strong, but despite how weak it was, the opportunity it presented was still huge for a hunter. After all, even the weakest constellation was extremely strong compared to mortals. In addition, it was difficult for Jules to know how weak or strong his master was.
He knew that the constellations famous among the people were great, but there were just as many constellations in the Abyss who weren’t famous. Due to that, Jules mistakenly thought that his master was one of the strongest in the Abyss.
‘I will definitely catch a constellation’s attention.’
His personality matched well with the constellation as well. He was narrow-minded, filled with envy, and willing to rise to the top even if it meant stepping on others! Hence, he caught the eye of the Traitor with a Poisoned Dagger.
-Jules. Jules.
-Yes, Master!
-The Sanctuary of Defeat and Sloth will appear soon. Once inside, kill as many of the people present as possible!
-How?
Traitor with a Poisoned Dagger smiled with satisfaction when Jules asked ‘how?’ instead of ‘why?’
-I will give you a weapon containing my power. With it, you can easily deal with the other hunters and the monsters inside.
-Thank you! Thank you!
-Your power will grow depending on how many you kill. If your power satisfies me once you’ve left the dungeon, I will grant you even more strength.
-T-Thank you! I will do my best!
The evil god constellations were enthusiastic. They gave great rewards to attract household members and believers. Jules was a C+ grade hunter, but he was confident he could deal with B-grade hunters with the help of Traitor with a Poisoned Dagger. If he did well in this dungeon, he could even become a B-grade hunter.
‘Once this hourglass timer runs out, a monster will appear. That would be my chance.’
All eyes would be on the monster that would appear. That was his chance. Jules made a step-by-step plan to decide whom to attack first.
Fortunately, while Jules knew most of the hunters here, they didn’t know Jules’ abilities that well. They were all famous in their own right! Many strong hunters were in this area. Half of them were even B-grade hunters. Considering everyone reached this place despite being scattered, they had to be strong.
‘That martial artist, though… He makes me feel uncomfortable for some reason.’
Jules stared at Choi Yeonseung. Among those present, Choi Yeonseung was quite different. He was the 1st-generation hunter who had been the talk of the town lately. Above all else, he was strangely irritating. Jules didn’t know the reason, but his instincts were warning him.
-Don’t touch this person!
... However, Jules was so blinded by greed that he ignored the warning signals his instincts were sending him.
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