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[Translator - Prøks]
[Proofreader - Prøks]
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Chapter 9: D-Rank Dungeon, The Withered Garden (3)
Park Yeri.
The woman he thought was the only one who hadn't chosen an item.
That murderer was now looking at the survivors.
As if she were looking at delicious prey.
[The A-Rank item 'Vintage Girl Doll' desires a new sacrifice.]
[If there are no additional sacrifices, the item will be annihilated.]
An ability that could fake death and drastically increase one's existing power through sacrifices.
Park Yeri wasn't simply a psychopath who wanted hearts.
She had acted that way because she had to offer hearts to her item to maintain its effect.
"Y-You were alive? Thank goodness. I was so worried..."
Yoo Youngho slowly approached Park Yeri.
'How can he react like that even after seeing that spectacle?'
'They say love is blind, but still...'
'A male dominated by his chromosomes is hopeless, regardless of time or place.'
"Ah... that's right. I still have my Youngho, don't I? I'm so sorry. Were you very worried?"
"It's okay now. Haha. It's all over, so let's hurry up and get out of this cursed place. I don't need any treasure or anything."
"Mhm. Okay. I think I've gotten everything I need now, too. Except for just one thing."
Park Yeri hugged Yoo Youngho tightly in her arms.
"One... thing? What is it?"
Yoo Youngho asked back with dazed eyes.
And at that moment.
Thwack!
A hole appeared in the center of Yoo Youngho's chest.
"Your heart."
"Kkeo... euhhh...?"
He looked back and forth between Park Yeri and his own heart, as if in disbelief.
A moment later, Yoo Youngho's body fell backward.
Lick.
Park Yeri licked the blood from her hand.
"I'm getting used to this the more I eat it. It's somehow... a stimulating and addictive taste."
A terrifying killing intent and mana.
It was absolutely not the level of a mere D-Rank.
She must have been a Hunter of considerable skill even before obtaining the item.
Only now, she had become a murderous fiend, intoxicated by her rise in power and craving hearts.
"Sorry to interrupt your meal, but can I ask just one thing?"
"Hmm. Fine. Even though you were the last one, you figured out my identity, so I'll answer as a reward."
"With that level of skill, you could have wiped everyone out on the first day without having to put in so much effort for several days. Why did you go to all this trouble?"
Unless she was a horror movie enthusiast.
He was curious about the reason for driving the victims into a state of extreme panic.
"Wow. What a sharp question. Hmmm. Oh, whatever. I'm not supposed to tell you, but I did say I'd answer your question as a reward. And it should be fine since I'm going to kill you anyway."
Park Yeri showed him a piece of paper.
On it.
-Rampage spectacularly and prove your worth. If you do, you shall obtain the greatest glory this dungeon has to offer.
That was the phrase written on it.
"Something like this came out of the chamber pot that the girl I met in the Mystery Room picked. It said it would give a greater reward than killing the boss, so I just thought I'd have to put on a fun show befitting of it."
The B-Rank item, 'Chamber Pot of a Great Noble'.
He knew of this item.
It had the effect of revealing special fortuitous encounters in the dungeon when a liquid containing a certain amount of ammonia was injected into it.
'Hmm, well.'
'The Mystery Room was pure horror in and of itself.'
'I'll let it slide.'
In any case, that wasn't what was important right now.
The key point was that Park Yeri, just like him, had set foot in the most secret place within this dungeon.
Naturally, there couldn't be two protagonists on one stage.
One of them had to make their exit here.
"Now then. I will avenge the Old Seoul Kindergarten Fabre who was abandoned by his lover, the pro-golfer, the South African vuvuzela, and the extra with anger management issues."
Yohan stepped forward dramatically.
On behalf of all the dead.
Declaring that he would punish evil and establish justice.
＊＊＊
"Are you serious? You see this and you still think of fighting me?"
Park Yeri scoffed as if she found it absurd.
She was likely quite confident in her skills.
After all, she must have greatly increased her stats by plucking out all those hearts.
On top of that.
[The 'Man-Eating Longhorn Beetle' gazes at its new prey!]
[The 5-star 'Corrupted Phantom Tree' summons 'Rotten Thornvines'!]
Even that ferocious Man-Eating Longhorn Beetle had become surprisingly calm and composed once it was under the control of a strong master.
The 5-star Phantom Tree was no pushover, either.
It was a force that could crush an average 7-man raid party, so naturally, a single person like Yohan must have seemed like incredibly easy prey.
However, there was one thing Park Yeri was mistaken about.
[Taking out 'Aesop's Bestiary'.]
That the real predator here was not her.
Kwaang!
[The 'Stag of the Blue and White Tree Forest' activates 'Bone Shield'!]
[Bloodline Ability 'Blood Enhancement' is activated!]
[Physical Defense +4, Magical Defense +2!]
A faint red light seeped into the thick antlers of the stag.
No matter how the Man-Eating Longhorn Beetle or the Phantom Tree attacked with all their might, he now had a shield that could withstand at least three hits.
Hiding his body behind it, Yohan kicked off the ground.
'Her close and mid-range attack power seems outstanding, but what about her defense?'
Even if she had 'specced up' by eating hearts, there was a limit to the fortuitous encounters an A-Rank item could provide.
Kagagagak!
Crack!
The tree branches immediately hammered the bone shield.
But aside from a few cracks appearing on the surface.
The shield still stood firm, protecting Yohan's body.
The iron content in his blood was particularly effective against physical attacks.
[The Bone Shield's durability has decreased by 27%!]
And then.
"What...?"
The smile vanished from Park Yeri's face.
Her main attack, which could lightly pierce through even armor, had been blocked.
"Kieeeek!"
This time, the Man-Eating Longhorn Beetle charged, letting out a monstrous scream.
Its sharp jaws could lightly slice through even solid bone.
Right at that moment.
Fwip.
The pages of the book flipped.
[The 'Polar Bear of the Arctic' activates 'Guardian of the Glacier'!]
A pure white mane.
A giant body reaching 5 meters.
The front paw of the polar bear, radiating an overwhelming fighting spirit, soared high into the air.
From above...
...to below.
TUKWAAAANG!
"Keeeek!"
The carapace of the Man-Eating Longhorn Beetle caved in.
Its body fluids gushed out like a waterfall for a moment.
Kwaaang!
The polar bear's paw completely crushed the Man-Eating Longhorn Beetle's body.
CRUNCH!
A corpse, smashed so badly it was hard to recognize its shape.
Its legs, bent at a 180-degree angle, pointed toward the sky.
"Krooooooar!!!"
The air around them froze at the deafening roar that reverberated all around.
"N-No way. Don't tell me, you chose an S-Rank... item?"
Park Yeri's eyes widened as if she couldn't believe it.
The things that had been her pride and joy were being smashed so futilely.
To be reduced from the one who always led the hunt to the one being hunted was an unfamiliar and strange experience.
"Wait! R-Right. I see you're incredibly skilled, so how about it? Why don't you join hands with me? If it's the two of us, taking over this place would be no problem at all."
Park Yeri's voice grew urgent.
"I'll pass. Seeing what happened to your ex-lover, it doesn't seem like a very good option."
They say the pain of a breakup feels like your heart is being torn to shreds.
But this woman had a disposition to literally tear hearts to shreds as the price of a breakup.
Unless one was carrying around a few spare hearts, it was unlikely to work out.
Riding in the same boat would be a foolish act.
Besides.
"I don't think teaming up with just you would be very helpful."
This place...
...was not to be underestimated.
Throughout all 999 playthroughs, there wasn't a single case where this dungeon was cleared on the first attempt.
[The 'Ebony Eagle' of the 'Arid Highlands' uses 'High-Speed Movement'!]
A pair of black wings formed on Yohan's back.
Paaang!
The eagle, having shot up high into the sky in an instant, began to glide down.
"Aaargh! D-Don't come near me!"
Park Yeri screamed.
Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa!
The thorn vines and branches writhed madly.
Everything inside the insect collecting kit poured out.
Whether she could control them or not was a problem for later.
Right now, stopping the monster's approach was the priority.
"Keeeeeek!"
"Chwireureut!"
A vampire mosquito over a meter long and a butterfly that scattered flesh-melting dust.
On top of those, even centipedes and scorpions.
Countless insects, each with their own weapons, moved toward a single target.
However.
[Bloodline Ability 'Blood Fog' is activated!]
A very faint mist of blood scattered.
Due to his low mana, its range and density were lacking, but it was enough to cause some confusion in their vision.
Papapapang!
The eagle, riding the flow of the wind, broke through the swarm of bugs with incredible smoothness.
The distance between the two was now less than 3 meters.
"Damn it!"
A black energy seeped into Park Yeri's hands.
It was the same power she had used to pull out Yoo Youngho's heart whole.
Left and right.
With her fingernails sharpened, Park Yeri aimed for Yohan's neck and heart simultaneously.
A red flash gleamed.
To match that timing...
The Blood Spear that had appeared in Yohan's hand cut across horizontally.
Slice!
Fast and concise.
The spearhead, cutting across in a trajectory the enemy could hardly perceive, dug into soft flesh.
Park Yeri's head shot up into the sky.
Roll... roll...
The severed head came to a stop near Yohan.
Instant death.
Yes.
She should have been dead.
"Ha! What a merciless man. Still, isn't that a bit too brutal? You should treat a beautiful woman more preciously."
A sharp voice flowed out of Park Yeri's head, which should have, by all rights, been dead.
[The 'Vintage Girl Doll' devours the heart of the sacrifice 'Yoo Youngho'.]
An ability that could temporarily deceive death.
'So she had already prepared a way to preserve her life.'
"I prepared a corpse doll beforehand, just in case. I never thought I'd run into a monster like you, but haa, what a relief. It was worth having insurance."
"That's a fascinating ability. Are you transplanting your consciousness entirely into a new body?"
"That's right. I can talk for about another 5 minutes."
Park Yeri answered with a fresh smile.
"The fact that you can run your mouth like that must mean your sense of touch is still alive, right?"
"Well, I guess so. And now that you mention it, the spot where my neck was cut still hurts like hell. Ouch, ouch. By any chance, do you have any healing ointment?"
'Hmm.'
'So that's how it is.'
Yohan let out a small whistle to his side.
Then, with a scurry.
The 'Winter Squirrel of the Reed Hill' approached.
It had the ability to collect mana from corpses.
He was going to make use of that.
"Chik?"
The squirrel looked at Park Yeri's head and fell into deep thought.
It was round on the outside and full on the inside; it must have looked exactly like a nut.
As a bonus, it began to perform its own test to see if it was properly ripe.
Bonk!
It tapped her head with a small pebble it was holding.
"Ack!"
A sharp scream burst from Park Yeri's mouth.
"Wh-What do you think you're doing?"
"Chik! Chichik!"
"Answer me! What are you doing right now?"
"Hmm. It says it's gone bad."
"Gone bad? Don't tell me, are you talking about my head?"
"Shh! I'm talking with my little squirrel right now. Hmm? Ah... it's true it might be a little rotten. But just in case, could you do a more detailed examination?"
"Chiiik!"
The squirrel clenched its small fists with a resolute expression.
Bonk! Bonk! Bonk!
When it didn't get the sound it wanted, the squirrel began to swing the pebble even more fiercely.
BONK! BONK! BONK! KAAANG!
"Kyaaaah! I swear, the next time we meet, I'll definitely... Ack! Th-The crown of my head. You hit the crown of my head. Wait! You hit the bone!"
Yohan didn't stop it.
Instead, he leisurely made himself comfortable in front of her and popped a piece of fruit he had procured here into his mouth.
'It's a shame I don't have any popcorn and soda.'
'That would have been way more fun.'
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[Translator - Prøks]
[Proofreader - Prøks]
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