TOP 14

Chapter 14 – Dungeon Break Defense Battle

Gate.

One of the strange phenomena that began appearing after the Great Cataclysm.

They appear in random locations, and their occurrence patterns remain unknown.

The general consensus among scholars is that they are essentially unpredictable.

These gates can be broadly classified into three types:

Dungeon type, Eruption type, and Special type.

The most common is the Dungeon type.

Usually just called “dungeons,” they can be entered to hunt monsters inside.

The magic stones obtained here are also the main source of income for hunters.

Then, there’s the relatively rarer Eruption type.

Often called “Eruption Gates,” or simply “Eruptions,” these gates immediately spew out monsters upon appearing.

Because the time to prepare is extremely short, they are considered the most dangerous type.

The goblins I had encountered in the slums earlier had come from one such Eruption Gate.

It was only because they were 1-star monsters that they were dealt with easily. If it had been something else, the whole area might have been reduced to ashes.

Lastly, there’s the Special type.

On rare occasions, gates appear that don’t fit into either of the two previous categories. These are called Special Gates.

While they’re grouped together in one category, they don’t actually share any real common features.

The insides are often highly unusual, and their clearing methods vary widely.

And right now—

Arrrooo-oo-oo!

The gate before me was spewing out dozens of Blade Wolves—a Dungeon-type gate.

Why were monsters pouring out if it wasn’t an Eruption type?

This was the gate’s collapse process.

A gate disappears either when all the monsters inside are killed, or when a certain amount of time passes.

If that time runs out before all monsters are defeated, the remaining monsters burst out.

It might look similar to an Eruption, but since the cause is different, this is called a Dungeon Break.

And a Dungeon Break usually happens when a Dungeon-type gate isn’t cleared in time.

‘So basically, this dungeon wasn’t cleared.’

Blade Wolves are 3-star monsters.

With a party of 3-star hunters, they could be cleared without much trouble.

I looked around.

Dozens of hunters from the Hyunwoong Clan stood with weapons and shields.

‘Most of them are 2-star.’

Most were 2-star, with the occasional 1-star. 3-stars were scarce.

And 4-stars…

“Hold your ground! Don’t overextend—just block them!”

The Hyunwoong Clan’s guild leader, Ji Hyunwoong, was the only one.

‘Definitely weaker than the Ironsteel Clan.’

Compared to the Ironsteel Clan I had been part of before, they were clearly smaller in scale.

But that wasn’t a bad thing.

It meant my value here would be evaluated even higher.

Growl! Bark!

Arrooo!

Bang! Crunch!

“Block them!”

“Uaaaaah!”

The Blade Wolves crashed into the hunters’ defensive line.

Most hunters held shields.

The lower-ranked ones acted as tanks, doing their best to block the wolves’ charges.

The damage dealers were the 3-star hunters—and Ji Hyunwoong himself.

“We… we blocked it…!”

“Well done. Hyaaah!”

Ji Hyunwoong stabbed a wolf in the chest with his spear after it was stopped by a shield.

One hit, one kill.

The power of a 4-star hunter was clear.

The wolves in his area dropped dead one after another.

But elsewhere, the situation wasn’t as good.

The other 3-stars couldn’t kill the wolves as quickly, which meant the tanks—mostly 1- and 2-stars—were taking heavier pressure.

“They’re too strong!”

“Hold on! Just hold somehow!”

“Urgh…!”

Even though Hyunwoong was fighting all over the place, one man couldn’t be everywhere at once.

If this kept up, casualties would mount.

“…Guess I’ll help out too.”

I gripped the Everfrost Sword and rushed to the most desperate part of the battlefield.

“They’re breaking through!”

“No—!!”

One hunter was sent tumbling, his shield flying from the impact of a wolf’s brutal charge.

If left like this, not only would he die, but the line would collapse, leading to a chain of deaths.

In chaotic close-quarters fighting, humans were always at a disadvantage.

Taat!

Kicking off the ground, I leaped over the fallen hunter.

Grragh!

The Everfrost Sword thrust upward into the wolf’s upper palate, piercing through its skull.

“You alright?”

“Huh? Y-Yes!”

“Then get your shield up again.”

Once the tank was back on his feet, I stepped forward past the shield wall.

The wolves lunged to break through the formation.

I slipped in among them.

‘Gotta buy time for the formation to recover.’

Risky, but the best way to minimize casualties.

Naturally, I became the wolves’ primary target.

Unlike the others hiding behind shields, I was exposed out front.

“Well… let’s do this.”

Roaaar!

A wolf lunged from the right, swinging its claws.

Slash!

The Everfrost Sword cleaved its foreleg clean off.

A unique-grade weapon was worth every bit of its value.

Another wolf came from the left, snapping at me—only to get kicked in the snout by my right leg.

Yelp!

As good as the sword was, I was still more comfortable using my body.

Then—

【Yujin! Duck!】

I ducked instantly at Prill’s warning.

A wolf’s head just barely grazed past.

It had tried to take me from behind while I was kicking, but no chance.

“Prill.”

【Hehe, I did good, right!? Ice cream—】

“Next time, warn me faster.”

【Huh? Why!】

“You were a little slow.”

On the way here, I’d been thinking about how to actively use Prill in combat.

One idea was a battle warning sensor, using her ability to see where I couldn’t.

She wasn’t perfect yet, but if she could give quicker warnings, it’d be huge.

Shhk!

I finished off a wolf pinned against the shield wall.

The hunter I’d saved earlier was back in position.

I gave him a thumbs-up.

He nodded slightly.

Turning again, I faced the still-numerous wolves.

Grrr…

They hesitated now, unlike before.

If our formation had collapsed, it would have been bad—but we’d held.

The momentum had shifted in our favor.

“If you’d broken through, maybe… but now? Too bad.”

Of course, they couldn’t understand me.

【Yujin.】

“Yeah?”

【They say they’re scared of you.】

“…You can translate monsters?”

【Not all of them, just some.】

“Huh.”

I remembered she’d said she could read “will.”

Apparently it applied to non-humans too.

But then she added:

【So they say they’ll just kill you first.】

“…What?”

【Yeah, you’re screwed.】

Sure enough, more and more wolves began converging on me.

“Why me? Ji Hyunwoong’s right over there!”

Honestly, he’d killed way more than I had.

But there was no time to wonder why.

Arrroooo!

They charged.

“Prill! Support me!”

【Got it! Ice Arrow!】

Leaving one side to Prill, I swung the Everfrost Sword at the oncoming wolves.

Rather than killing in one blow, I focused on wounding and slowing them.

The sword’s frost effect froze injured wolves, limiting their movements.

At the same time, I wove through them.

‘Can’t stay in one spot.’

Against many foes, you had to keep moving, forcing them to trip over each other.

【Ugh! My attacks aren’t working well!】

‘Just slow them down.’

【Uuugh…】

Prill was still weakened from sacrificing her power for our contract.

She couldn’t even kill a 3-star Blade Wolf now.

Still, slowing them was good enough.

And so, together we kept freezing and stalling the wolves.

They attacked from all sides, but I dodged and deflected without much trouble.

In fact—

‘This isn’t so bad.’

I even had some leeway.

If I could keep up with a 4-star like Yong Taesu before, I could certainly handle 3-star monsters.

Their coordination wasn’t great either, so there were plenty of openings.

And I only needed to buy time.

“Encircle and annihilate the monsters!”

Having cleared his own area, Ji Hyunwoong arrived with the hunters.

They cut down the frozen wolves easily.

‘It’s over.’

I could see victory.

Once they were surrounded, it would be done.

“Are you alright over there?”

“No problems! Let’s finish them!”

“Why are there so many corpses here?”

“Don’t tell me… that hunter killed them all himself?”

“That’s impossible!”

The hunters murmured in surprise.

The mood loosened—dangerously so.

Hyunwoong smiled at me.

“You’re better than I thought. I owe you—”

“Beside you! Watch out!”

“—!!”

But you could never relax before the end.

A small wolf suddenly lunged at Hyunwoong, biting his left arm.

“Grrh! You damned—!”

He tried to stab it, but the wolf let go and retreated.

I muttered grimly:

“…Boss monster.”

I’d thought it was just hanging back uselessly—but no.

It had been waiting for the right moment, and successfully crippled one of our strongest fighters.

Hyunwoong’s left arm was now useless.

Arrroooo!

The boss wolf howled, locking eyes with me.

Dash!

Then, far quicker than a normal wolf, it charged straight at me.

“Hoo… guess I’ve got no choice.”

I let out a quiet sigh—and dropped the Everfrost Sword.

“What are you doing!? Don’t throw your weapon away!”

Hyunwoong thought I was giving up.

But no.

I’d just made a quick decision.

‘Half-baked swordplay won’t cut it.’

Instead of a weapon I wasn’t yet used to, I’d use my strongest one.

Roar!

The boss wolf leapt at me, its movement sharp.

If I’d tried to counter with a blade, I would’ve missed the timing.

But—

‘If it’s just bringing its head to me…’

I didn’t need to match its speed.

It opened its jaws, aiming to bite my outstretched fist.

I smiled.

“Bye.”

Because this wasn’t an ordinary punch.

[Activating skill: Authority – One Punch.]

[A small amount of mana will be consumed.]

“Noooooooo!!”

Hyunwoong’s scream became the background noise.

THUUUUUUUUD!

The destructive force of One Punch tore the boss wolf’s body apart.