NOVEL NEXT Chapter 143
Chapter 143: The Shocking Revelation
From across the clearing, the edge of the forest was visible.
Upon seeing it, the Sun Guild members all came to a sudden halt as if they had made a pact to do so.
They sensed something had changed.
With their experience, they knew exactly what that meant.
It indicated the presence of the boss.
“Just play it as usual.”
Nam Woo-sik said, trying to ease the tension among the guild members.
Under normal circumstances, such words wouldn’t have been spoken.
But this was a situation where he couldn’t afford to remain silent.
After a series of exhausting battles, the morale and condition of the guild members were far from normal.
They looked like soldiers who had barely survived a long and brutal fight.
Their bodies were soaked in blood and sweat, and the fatigue on their faces was unmistakable.
Even if they had been in consecutive A-Class raids, they shouldn’t have reached this state.
When tense, both mind and body fatigue more easily.
The high-risk monsters they had faced until now couldn’t be approached without complete focus.
That’s why they had ended up in this condition.
Even though they had taken some breaks along the way.
It meant the fatigue was such that resting in the gate was not enough to recover fully.
The most concerning issue was the excessive depletion of magic power.
Once magic power was expended, there was no way to recover it inside the gate.
Because of this, experienced hunters carefully controlled their magic power expenditure by using skills wisely while tackling the gate.
That was the difference between a seasoned hunter and a novice hunter who recklessly spammed skills.
Yet even the most experienced hunters had failed to manage their pace.
This meant that unexpectedly powerful monsters had been pouring out.
In that urgency, they simply had no time to think about the future.
“Let’s not hold back on the items against the boss.”
Following Nam Woo-sik, Heo Gi-taek chimed in.
Although the consumption of items was more severe than usual, they still knew there were expensive life-saving items left.
High-ranking B-Class hunters had more than enough money, but that didn’t mean the value of items decreased.
If a B-Class item was used for survival, it indicated that it was of considerable grade, and such items did not drop easily in gates.
With high demand and low supply, these items couldn’t be acquired just because one had money.
Therefore, they usually wouldn’t use them unless they felt genuinely threatened.
However, this situation was different.
Without Gi-taek saying it, they all felt intensely that now was not the time to save items calmly.
Looking at the faces of the guild members, Gi-taek realized he didn’t need to say anything further.
“Be careful, sis.”
Han Ji-ho, showing signs of fatigue, spoke to Su-jin.
“Yeah, you too.”
Su-jin’s eyes looked tired as well.
She continued with an edge in her voice.
“Water.”
As soon as she finished speaking, a porters behind handed a small water bottle with both hands in a respectful manner.
Gulp.
Moistening her dry throat and mouth, Su-jin thought.
‘Is this guy dead or something?’
She wanted to smash him down nicely but didn’t wish for his death.
Death was boring.
‘No, he shouldn’t be dead.’
Su-jin shook her head.
Porters got paid very little, received poor treatment, and bore no responsibility for gate conquests.
They could stay as far back as possible from monsters, and it wouldn’t matter at all.
Moreover, monsters had a tendency to attack strong humans with hostile intents while instinctively avoiding those who seemed non-threatening.
So even in this lousy gate, he probably survived.
Of course, the appearance of their raid team would definitely be quite disheveled.
Even if they barely came out of the forest path, they must have looked like half-dead corpses.
Probably, they hadn’t even reached the middle of the forest path yet.
“Let’s go.”
Seeing that the guild members were somewhat prepared, Nam Woo-sik said shortly.
Yeah, for now, just think about the boss.
No matter how much trouble they had, as long as they could deal with the boss, that was all that mattered.
In a joint raid, taking out the boss alone would be humiliating for the opponents.
If that happened, it would be like broadcasting to the hunters that they were inferior.
Su-jin threw the water bottle to the porter and grabbed her magic staff.
◈ ◈ ◈
With a heavy and tense atmosphere, the Sun Guild members cautiously moved their feet.
On the other side, a vast open ground appeared, distinctly different from the previous forest.
The boss was likely there.
They approached it slowly.
But then.
“…Huh?”
Nam Woo-sik, the first to step onto the open ground, wore an utterly incredulous expression.
“What… What is that?!”
“What the heck is that?!”
The Sun Guild members behind him were left dumbfounded, as if they had been hit by a hammer, staring wide-eyed at the scene before them.
It was a humongous black unicorn lying there.
And surrounding it were the hunters from the Yangji Guild, sprawled out without a care.
Some lazily gazed at the sky, while others read books laid out in the grass.
There were those who had fallen asleep, and even some, unbelievably, seemed to be cooking something over a bonfire.
In this utterly baffling situation, the Sun Guild members stood frozen like statues.
“Huh? Why did you arrive so late? I was about to die of boredom waiting.”
A man sitting by the bonfire spotted them and shouted.
It was Baek Dong-il.
“Really now, in a joint raid, is it okay to show up like this? Some of us are sweating buckets while others are just leisurely… Did you come out for a vacation or something?”
Baek Dong-il openly voiced his annoyance with a tone that got under their skin.
“….”
Yet the Sun Guild members stood there, wide-eyed and at a loss for words.
This indicated just how chaotic their minds were.
They couldn’t fathom how things had turned out this way and couldn’t stabilize their thoughts.
This gate had been incredibly difficult.
Having experienced it firsthand, there was no doubting it.
…Yet, how did those people arrive here first through the forest path?
How?
Their overall strength was supposed to give them a significant advantage.
They themselves had struggled tremendously.
Yet those who came first…?
It was a situation that made no logical sense whatsoever.
“Why the fatigue makeup? Why look like you’ve been through a fierce battle? What a hassle. Would it have killed you to arrive a bit earlier with some conscience instead of wasting time on such pointless disguises?”
Baek Dong-il kept attacking relentlessly.
Saying things he would never normally say felt like a weight lifting off his chest.
Not only Baek Dong-il but all the Yangji Guild members.
“…What did you say? Have you finished your tirade?”
Through the confusion, Han Ji-ho finally managed to regain his composure and shouted with a boiling face.
Baek Dong-il looked surprised at his intense reaction.
“Huh? Don’t tell me… did you guys actually have a tough battle and fight hard? If that’s true, I’m honestly sorry. Really. I didn’t imagine such acclaimed figures would struggle against a mere gate like this….”
Baek Dong-il’s acting was nothing short of impressive.
The Yangji Guild members were barely able to stifle their laughter.
“Hyung, I get your feelings, but can you stop this already?”
Guild Leader Cheol-hyung stepped in to halt Baek Dong-il. Then he turned to Nam Woo-sik.
“While you said that, since it was a joint raid, we waited quite a while for you. You took so long that we took the liberty to defeat the boss first. I trust you’ll understand.”
“…You beat the boss first?”
Nam Woo-sik asked incredulously.
“Yes, over there.”
Cheol-hyung pointed to the enormous black unicorn collapsed in the middle of the clearing.
It felt too absurd to believe, yet that indeed seemed to be the boss.
It looked at least ten times larger than an ordinary unicorn, a monster that radiated immense power.
…Did they really take that down all on their own?
Words failed him in disbelief.
Cheol-hyung continued.
“This gate was surprisingly easy. The boss was likewise….”
“Easy? What the hell are you talking about?!”
Han Ji-ho interjected, his face flushed with anger.
They had endured every kind of hardship to break through.
But hearing that was too much for his young blood to tolerate.
“Oh, by the way… you guys don’t look too good. Did something happen on your side?”
Cheol-hyung queried with a puzzled expression.
“What? Something happened? Right now, that’s….”
Han Ji-ho scowled but swallowed his words.
Nam Woo-sik gestured for him to stop.
“The forest path we traversed had many strong monsters. So it took us a while.”
Nam Woo-sik said in a calm voice again.
Indeed, being a leader of a large guild wasn’t a position just anyone could hold.
“Oh, is that so? How unfortunate. We encountered mostly easy monsters here.”
“Is that so?”
Nam Woo-sik scrutinized Cheol-hyung with a discerning gaze.
However, it didn’t seem like he was lying.
He had seen there were two paths.
There were no alternate routes.
If the monsters had been equally strong, they wouldn’t have made it through without significant trouble.
Eventually, it meant he had taken the wrong path.
Nam Woo-sik clenched his fist tightly.
Yet, there was still one more thing that sparked doubt.
“Was the boss weak too?”
“Yes.”
“That’s strange.”
Nam Woo-sik furrowed his brow.
It was common knowledge that the strength of a boss correlated with that of regular monsters.
How could it be weak?
However, if the boss had truly been strong, the Yangji Guild wouldn’t look so unharmed.
But just looking at the corpse showed that it was a powerful boss.
Or was it possible for a boss to be deceptively weak despite its appearance?
Unresolved questions swirled relentlessly in his mind.
“We simply thought it was natural, but hearing the raid leader’s words, it really is curious.”
Cheol-hyung remarked in agreement.
His attitude was far too casual.
There was nothing suspicious about it.
Cheol-hyung continued.
“I believe we should report this separately to the association.”
Without detecting any hint of suspicion in Cheol-hyung’s demeanor, Nam Woo-sik eventually nodded.
“…Agreed.”
“Regardless, this abnormal gate raid ended successfully. Good job, everyone.”
Cheol-hyung said with a smile.
He had intentionally put on the brightest smile possible.
However, it was crystal clear to a child who benefitted from this raid and who faced hardship.
It was a humiliating situation, but there was no room to say anything.
“Good job… everyone.”
Nam Woo-sik said, doing his best to keep his expression from souring.
‘So frustrating, so infuriating, so irritating.’
Su-jin, standing behind, felt her annoyance climbing to its peak.
The situation had completely flipped from what she had expected.
Rather, her own guild had ended up in the worst position.
Showing their disheveled state covered in blood, sweat, and dirt certainly didn’t help her mood.
She shot a furious look at Si-hyun.
Then.
“Huh?”
Si-hyun flashed a smile her way while holding something.
It was an enormous, shiny black magic stone.
Only bosses dropped black magic stones, so it had to have come from the boss.
Si-hyun held it up triumphantly, mouthing something to her.
Though at a distance, with her S-Class Awakened Being senses, Su-jin deciphered his words.
“How good.”
It was exactly the words she never wanted to hear him say.
Su-jin bit her lip, quivering with rage.
Then she shouted with a piercing voice.
“This is suspicious! Oppa, this is fishy! How can a weak boss drop such a huge magic stone?!”
“What magic stone?”
Nam Woo-sik questioned in confusion.
“Over there, over there! That guy is holding it!”
Worried he might stuff it away, Su-jin hurriedly pointed at Si-hyun.
Fortunately, Si-hyun was still looking at her with a grin, holding the magic stone.
“What are you even talking about?”
Nam Woo-sik wore a perplexed expression.
“Yes? The magic stone over there.”
“Where’s the magic stone?”
“…How can you not see that enormous one? It’s right there!”
Su-jin pointed again to Si-hyun, but Nam Woo-sik still looked completely bewildered.
“Su-jin, I think you need a break. You’ve clearly had a tough day.”
Heo Gi-taek, standing next to Nam Woo-sik, said.
Su-jin felt utterly amazed at their responses.
“No, no. What on earth are you all saying? Ji-ho, don’t you see that magic stone?”
“…Sister, I think you’re not in the best state. Let’s calm down.”
Even Han Ji-ho gently placed a hand on Su-jin’s shoulder, trying to soothe her.
“What? No… what is this? This is all wrong! It’s weird!”
Su-jin shook her head, shouting, but the other guild members merely looked at her as if she were insane.
Seeing everyone else with the same expression led her to wonder if she was truly hallucinating.
Yet no matter how she looked at it, Si-hyun was holding the boss’s magic stone and laughing at her mockingly.
“I’m sorry. She’s not usually like this.”
Nam Woo-sik apologized on behalf of the Yangji Guild.
Before Cheol-hyung could respond, Si-hyun spoke up.
“It’s all good. I know Su-jin well enough to know she’s not that kind of person. It seems this raid was quite exhausting for her. Maybe she should get some IV fluids or something.”
He stared at Su-jin with a pitying gaze.
That blatant look made Su-jin’s face burn with humiliation.
“What? I… this is infuriating!”
As Su-jin tried to reach Si-hyun, Ji-ho hurriedly held her back.
He then shouted firmly.
“Stop it! What kind of ridiculous behavior is this! This is embarrassing with everyone watching.”
“What? What did you say? Embarrassing? You think that’s something you should say?!”
Su-jin stammered in disbelief at Ji-ho’s words.
“Really! This can’t keep happening! Just calm down!”
Nam Woo-sik frowned at the sight.
He turned to Cheol-hyung and said.
“We’ll take our leave.”
“Yes, please do.”
Cheol-hyung replied with a smile still plastered on his face.
Soon, the Sun Guild dragged the seething Su-jin away toward the entrance of the gate.
They returned through the opposite path, not the one they came from.
As if trying to see if there was anything suspicious happening.
They certainly weren’t simple individuals.
However, Si-hyun had already anticipated that much.
So, at Si-hyun’s request, Lin Xue cast an illusion spell on the bodies of the monsters.
The remains of the Manticore, Twin-Headed Ogre, and the mutated Troll would appear as those of trivial monsters.
Her illusion magic had just been confirmed to work effectively even on A-Class Awakened Beings.
Earlier, this little incident had been triggered by Lin Xue’s playful illusion magic.
“Thanks.”
Si-hyun said.
Lin Xue shimmered into view from thin air.
She had canceled her invisibility spell.
“It’s nothing significant.”
She shrugged her shoulders.
“Today’s raid is genuinely a good one.”
Si-hyun smiled brightly.