TOP 70

Chapter 70 

FLEX

KRAAAANG──!

TKWAAAANG──!!!

“W-what….”

Yu Seol-ah couldn’t even think about using magic and just stared at the scene before her.

Every time Yujin threw a punch, the split monsters exploded.

Frill, watching this, muttered as if intrigued:

【Yujin really brought something interesting.】

“…Huh?”

【That skill normally ends after one use. But now he can spam it.】

“Ah….”

Although the monsters were weakened by splitting, the fact that this skill could blow up a 7-star monster like that? Yu Seol-ah was dumbfounded.

‘What kind of 6-star hunter is that!’

Even 7-star would be believable.

Of course, Yujin really was a 6-star.

He was just overperforming thanks to one transcendental skill and several auxiliary items.

Once the mana stored in the Dwarf-Made Draupnir ran out, he would revert to an ordinary 6-star hunter.

Of course, having now gained Dragon Body (Stage 3), he could show powers beyond a 6-star.

‘I’m glad I made the Guardian contract.’

She had her reasons.

She had to survive, had to get stronger.

Nothing particularly special.

Born as the illegitimate child of a conglomerate family, she had to heal her mother—the only person who had ever sided with her. A cliché story, really.

She needed to get stronger to gain the chairman’s recognition.

The fortunate part was that she had talent in magic.

Becoming a 5-star magician at a young age meant she had plenty of talent.

But talent alone wasn’t enough to catch the chairman’s attention.

Then…

‘If I keep showing off my magic, he’ll support me more—and it’ll help my mother too…’

Meeting Frill had refined her magic, but more importantly, the Guardian contract had given her immense mana recovery speed.

She was still only 5-star, but if she could spam magic almost infinitely with it?

She wouldn’t be seen as just an ordinary 5-star magician.

‘Master seems like a good person.’

Yu Seol-ah watched Yujin clearing most of the Hellfire Jaws and thought.

Actually, she had asked earlier on the way here:

‘Master.’

‘Yes?’

‘What should I do now?’

As a Guardian, it was a natural question.

She had to follow orders, after all.

But…

‘Just live your life. Do as you usually do. Maybe help out if I ask sometimes.’

‘…Is that enough? Really?’

‘I’m busy growing too.’

‘Ah…! But I can still learn magic from Frill, right?’

‘Yes. I promised.’

He didn’t demand anything from her.

There was a restriction that she couldn’t betray her master, but with him, it wasn’t a limitation.

She had no reason to betray him in the first place.

For the first time, besides her mother, she thought of someone as a “good person.”

While Yu Seol-ah was staring blankly at Yujin, Frill spoke:

【Seol-ah, snap out of it. He’s not really a good person.】

“Why?”

【He’ll do anything for revenge. He won’t take a loss, and he doesn’t trust people easily.】

“That’s natural, isn’t it?”

【…Huh?】

“If he didn’t act that way, he’d be a pushover, right?”

【…….】

Frill realized.

Yu Seol-ah was in the same category as Yujin!

“Master won’t just go around killing innocent people like a Red Hunter, right?”

【That’s true, but…】

“Then it’s fine. He’s a good person.”

Yu Seol-ah seemed to have already given her heart to Yujin.

【Sigh. I’d better keep my head straight.】

Frill clicked her tongue and muttered.

Honestly, it was a meaningless resolution.

With the Spirit and Guardian contracts combined, if Yujin wanted, there was nothing she could do.

But she thought:

‘Whether human or dragon, I’ll never open my heart again!’

It was her pride.

‘One Punch.’

TKWAAAANG───!!

Another monster was obliterated.

Kk, kkkahkhah!

Was the Hellfire Jaw starting to look scared? Or was it just an illusion?

No, it seemed real.

Maybe sensing it would be individually destroyed, it started grouping together.

Kkkiaa─!

Screaming eerily, the Hellfire Jaw shot cursed bullets at me again.

It was much stronger when grouped.

“Hup!”

I rolled to the side to dodge.

‘The Eternal Frost Sword…’

I had dropped it earlier, so it wasn’t in my hand now.

If I had it, I could’ve used Aura Blade to deflect the difficult-to-dodge attacks.

‘Well, it’s fine.’

Swhee─

I nimbly dodged the raining cursed bullets.

At first, it was hard to discern the blurry attacks, but I had gotten used to it.

Step by step, I approached the Hellfire Jaw.

Fwhooo─

KWAANG! BANG!

From the rear, our magicians’ attacks created openings.

I slipped through those gaps.

‘Up to here.’

I got as close as possible.

Swheuu─

Huuu─

Sahaa─

Numerous cursed bullets were too close to dodge individually.

If this continued, I’d be shredded into pieces.

Kkki! Kki! Kkehkeh!

It seemed to sense it, laughing grotesquely, mocking me.

But…

‘This is enough.’

I had a plan.

From the moment the split monsters reunited, I had absorbed all the mana stored in Dwarf-Made Draupnir.

Now, I used it for One Punch.

[Using the skill ‘Divine Power: One Punch’.]

[230,119 mana consumed.]

Over 200,000 mana.

That immense mana exploded from my fingertips as destructive power.

Twu—KRAAAAANG───!!

Kk, kah-?!

The colossal shock engulfed the Hellfire Jaw.

Its presence vanished in an instant.

“…Stop messing around.”

Whether split or regrouped, I could handle it.

As long as there was enough mana stored in Dwarf-Made Draupnir, at least.

“…We won.”

I had fought a 7-star monster and won.

Before the trial, I had worried about facing just one 6-star Red Hunter.

Now, I truly felt stronger.

【Yujin!】

“Ma-master!”

Frill and Yu Seol-ah hurried to me from behind.

“You both did well… ugh.”

After the battle, the tension released, and pain flooded my body.

Why?

I couldn’t fully dodge the final attack, only the vital spots.

There were too many cursed bullets for One Punch to offset completely.

Thanks to that, I had killed the Hellfire Jaw cleanly, but my body was like a sieve.

【You crazy! How could you take that like that!?】

“C-can I survive this?”

Frill and Yu Seol-ah shouted, full of concern.

“Master! F-first, at least this…”

Yu Seol-ah hastily poured her potions onto me.

Chiiiii—

“Wh-what do I do!”

Several potions poured in succession, but recovery was minimal.

It was the cursed bullets’ cruel effect.

Not only did they wound, but they also drastically reduced healing.

Plus, there was the intense pain.

“Kk…ugh…”

Clenching my teeth, I endured, but the pain was beyond imagination.

This…

‘Even worse than the burning pain before.’

Greater than when I fell into lava in the special training grounds, or when I took a Flame Wave from a mage of the 광철파.

【Seol-ah, no more potions!?】

“No. This is the last one…!”

Yu Seol-ah had used all her potions, but the effect was weak.

I couldn’t cut away the wounded area like before.

This time, I was hit in difficult-to-defend areas.

However…

‘Not completely useless.’

The potion’s effect was weakened, but it gradually improved with each dose.

Then…

‘Dragon Rare.’

I opened Dragon Rare and took out all the stored potions.

Over a hundred potions stored since gaining the power.

Clatter—

They poured out in heaps.

“Th-this is all…!”

【When did you store all these!?】

“All… just pour them on me…”

I didn’t even have the energy to respond.

Just staying conscious was a struggle.

Yu Seol-ah and Frill poured all the potions onto me.

Chiiiii—

Chiiiiiiii—

Over a hundred potions.

Converted to money… at least 500 million.

Regretful, but unavoidable.

Healing came first.

‘Potions can be made one per day anyway.’

No reason to hesitate.

After pouring potions for a while…

“Phew… I’ll live.”

Even the cursed bullets couldn’t withstand the sheer volume of potions.

My body was now fine.

My clothes were torn, riddled with holes, a total mess.

‘I really need proper armor.’

It was time to get the armor I had postponed for various reasons.

‘And the money problem will be solved too.’

I looked at Yu Seol-ah.

A wealthy Baron with at least 5 billion in assets.

I had the Guardian contract and saved her life; I could get some support.

Then, Yu Seol-ah shouted with a worried face:

“Master, that was reckless!”

【Yes, Yujin. You went crazy, didn’t you?】

The two women scolded me.

But I had my defense:

“That was the most certain method.”

The Hellfire Jaw was formidable.

It was strong enough that victory wasn’t guaranteed without doing my best.

“Was there a more certain method?”

“…….”

【…….】

Neither could answer.

“If not, don’t complain. Just grab that.”

I pointed to where the Hellfire Jaw had vanished.

A mana crystal, the size of a human head, lay there.

Loot from a 7-star monster.

“…Yes…”

Once we left the dungeon, it would solve many problems.

【Yujin. You really…】

Ignoring Frill, I continued with the next plan.

“And dungeon escape… hmm.”

Looking up, a rift had opened.

A path to the surface had opened by killing the Hellfire Jaw.

But…

“Let’s rest a bit. We’ll leave after.”

I declared a rest first.

Even I, with my strong mental endurance, needed a break.

‘This better not happen often.’

No matter how you looked at it, rest was necessary.

We stood at the dungeon exit.

Having rested enough inside, it was time to return to reality.

“Master. Are you really okay?”

【Yes. Wouldn’t it be better to rest a little more?】

The others seemed to think rest wasn’t enough…

“There’s no time. And really, I’m fine.”

“Hmmm… understood, Master.”

Personally, I thought leaving now was the right choice.

“And Seol-ah, if you can’t fix your tone, just don’t use titles. Okay?”

“…Yes!”

So I decided to drop formalities with Yu Seol-ah.

Unbeknownst to me, she had already relaxed them while I was busy with battle and injuries.

Not a big deal.

“Frill, hide your appearance again.”

【Got it.】

“Then let’s go.”

After checking nothing was left behind, we concluded our long dungeon exploration.

Crossing the portal, we arrived in reality.

Waiting for us was…

“Sir! You can’t! If you enter without permission─”

“No, don’t you know me? I’m Geum Yu-gang!”

“I know. But…!”

A middle-aged man with neatly combed white hair argued with the dungeon official.

I looked at him, curious.

“Ar-are you Kim Yujin?”

Then he suddenly approached me.

“…Yes, that’s me.”

Who are you?