NOVEL NEXT Chapter 56
Crash!
Kwahh-kwahh-kwahh—!
Chae Hwa In, with a dazed expression, silently slaughtered the Lich’s Undead.
The whole process was dreadfully numb and peaceful.
Was it because she had just been resurrected? She seemed not to clearly possess her cognitive abilities.
“Wh-where did such powerful Undead come from…?”
The Lich muttered, shocked, as it watched its forces being swept away.
To be honest, I felt the same way. I thought if I could resurrect Chae Hwa In through the body of a Death Knight, it would be a feasible plan, but I never anticipated her being this strong after coming back to life.
‘Does being an S Rank Hunter mean she naturally excels that much?’
Or perhaps Chae Hwa In is just a special case.
Regardless, I wasn’t in a bad situation.
[Screech!]
Crash!
Chae Hwa In unleashed Death Energy like a whirlwind, cutting down her opponents, possibly using some of the strength and skills she had in her previous life.
Faced with such terrifying power, the Lich opened its mouth, its face hardening.
“…This is quite unexpected. I never thought I would have to resort to this here.”
Crash!
With its staff planted into the ground, the Lich began chanting a spell while releasing Death Energy.
It seemed it was preparing its last resort.
Crunch.
Crunch.
Swoosh.
Roots sprouted from the staff, piercing through the ground and slithering like snakes.
And those roots targeted the Hunters who had moved behind the Lich.
“Uh? Wait, what?”
“AAAH!”
Boom!
In an instant, life was drained from the Hunters pierced by the roots.
Their bodies looked like those of people who had starved for a long time, and as they deposited all their life energy into the staff, the Lich revealed its trump card.
“Rise.”
Creeeeak.
From the staff, blackened tendrils rose, forming a colossal shape.
What emerged was a monstrous black tree, emitting ominous Death Energy and curses all around.
“Curse Ent, Morgan.”
It appeared to be a powerful plant-type monster that had been turned Undead. It certainly possessed a strength worthy of being called a trump card.
“Kill them all.”
Swish!
At the Lich’s command, numerous tree stalks reached out toward me and the Hunters.
However, with her sword swung while rooted in place, Chae Hwa In instantly cut down most of them.
Crash!
Snap!
Thud.
It was a striking display of swordsmanship, beautiful enough to be praised. Even for someone who had seen the talents of renowned swordsmen from afar, Chae Hwa In’s skills were surely at a high level.
“That one. Take care of her first!”
[GRRRR!]
As the furious Lich commanded, Curse Ent let out a cursed cry.
“KYAAH!”
“Cough!”
“I-I can’t move my body!”
Even Chae Hwa In flinched at that attack, and in that moment of hesitation, significantly more stalks surged toward her.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
With those all-out attacks, Chae Hwa In was slammed into the wall of the Boss Room, and a portion of her exoskeleton shattered, causing considerable damage.
However, that was as far as it went.
“Can’t you tell just by looking?”
“…What do you mean?”
“Simply that the ranks are different.”
Crunch!
Not concealing her annoyance, Chae Hwa In spat as she grabbed the stalk protruding from her shoulder and regained her stance.
“…Ah, the Sword of Cataclysm.”
And once again, a tempest surged.
Kwahh-kwahh-kwahh!
Crash!
With a tremendous boom, not a single Hunter could keep their posture steady, and only after a while did they raise their heads to assess the situation.
The massive Curse Ent was left thoroughly hacked to pieces, no longer possessing any will.
Watching that scene, I couldn’t help but smile subtly as I turned to the completely dumbfounded Lich.
“I have a lot of questions to ask.”
“D-Don’t be so arrogant! You punks can never kill me…”
“Life Vessel? That thing buried under that throne?”
“How do you know that!”
Having long been able to see through a typical Lich’s mind, I was certain it was concealed in the Boss Room, so I had been searching for the Lich’s Life Vessel since entering.
And I had my certainty when I summoned Curse Ent.
The roots wandering underground had oddly shown no aggressive movements near the throne.
“Damn it! To think I would be dealing with such lowly creatures…!”
I approached the Lich, with Chae Hwa In by my side.
“What do you know about dungeons?”
This Lich’s behavior was anything but ordinary. It was hiding in a low-rank dungeon and had plans to use Hunters as hostages to fight against external forces.
At the very least, it indicated that it had some awareness of the relationship between dungeons and the Earth.
“Tell me everything you know.”
“I-I can’t say anything.”
“Then you’ll die.”
At my threat, the Lich shook its head in panic, finally starting to spill the truth.
“I-I’m not refusing; I just can’t! I barely remember anything related to that.”
That was quite an intriguing statement. At least, it suggested that there was someone behind the scenes who could manipulate this Lich without much consequence.
“Then you’re useless.”
“Wait, just a moment!”
The Lich cried out urgently, as if trying to concentrate on recalling something.
What it finally said was somewhat shocking.
“I can’t tell for sure if it’s something I heard from someone or if it was my own deduction. My memory is vague. However, there’s something faintly left in a corner of my mind.”
“…”
“It’s all part of a process, and this is only the beginning.”
That sounded highly significant and perplexing.
Yet at least, it wasn’t encouraging.
In a brief moment of contemplation, I looked at the Lich with cold eyes and lowered my voice.
“Should I spare you?”
“…You’re not going to kill me?”
The situation had entirely flipped.
At my sweet suggestion, the Lich waited for an answer with a confused expression.
Boom!
I took out the Book of Death and pointed at it with one hand while continuing.
“If I destroy the Vessel, this dungeon will likely clear, and a portal will open.”
“…”
“However, using this as a medium, I can preserve your soul separately. You can see it’s definitely not an ordinary artifact. Since you’re a Lich, as long as there’s a suitable body, you can resurrect, right?”
Originally, I had no intention of going this far. The Lich was powerful, but it wasn’t at a level that would warrant admiration, and it wasn’t worth using the empty pages of the Book of Death.
However, my mind changed.
It became worthy to put in some effort and take it out of here.
“I need to revive your memory.”
I smiled knowingly.
#
Afterward, I made a pact with the Lich, Gordon, and transferred him to the Book of Death. Simultaneously, I did not forget to destroy the Life Vessel.
Whooooooosh.
“A portal!”
“I’m alive!”
“…This time, it really is correct, right?”
“…Whatever it is, I just want to go home now.”
The Hunters showed mixed emotions of joy and gloom. There had been too many sacrifices to fully celebrate their survival.
“Here! Call the healing team!”
“Is Leader Yoon Byung Ho here?”
“What happened? What about the others?”
Outside, preparations were being made for the Break due to the extended clear period.
Therefore, chaotic times persisted for a while.
The next day, the world was literally in uproar.
【A Double Dungeon now? We can no longer trust rank assessments.】
【Out of thirty-four members, only eleven survived. A tragedy unfolded in a B Rank Large Dungeon.】
【Hunter Association pledges to do its utmost to care for survivors and assess the situation.】
The Double Dungeon. Along with the previously condition-based dungeon, a dungeon that completely destroyed all previous common sense had emerged, hence awareness of the situation reached an extreme level.
Each country dispatched researchers to elucidate the phenomenon, frantically seeking information from survivors.
And at the center of it all was none other than me.
【Condition-based dungeon survivor Baek Eun Ha participated as a member of the strategy team in this Double Dungeon as well.】
【She has faced two tragedies, and netizens continue to offer their support.】
It seemed that ever since I had been caught up in extraordinary events, I had drawn public interest in that regard.
And there I was, at the center of the commotion.
“I-it’s really fine.”
“Absolutely not. You’re staying here quietly until the day after tomorrow. You’ve been hurt a lot too.”
“Ah, but….”
“…If you keep this up, I’ll just smash the computer.”
“Ugh.”
Having just cleared the dungeon, I was being thoroughly examined and hospitalized for treatment thanks to Seo Ha’s swift arrival.
Even now, I was swallowing my tears as I thought of the account that was continuously losing points in real-time.