NOVEL NEXT Chapter 11
Chapter 11 Black Minotaur’s Charcoal-Grilled Tenderloin 2
“Hah, hah… ugh…!”
Yeonhwa immediately got up.
She didn’t know how many more monsters were lurking in the dungeon, and staying still just because she was tired was no different from giving up her life.
As if it wasn’t bad enough that the dungeon had undergone an Overbreak, the situation escalated further when the A-rank dungeon was upgraded to S-rank, throwing Yeonhwa into a panic.
Although her growth rate had been impressive, she was still only a newly promoted A-rank Hunter.
The only thing keeping her from losing her mind was the terrifying roar of the dungeon boss echoing from far away.
The cry, filled with killing intent, rage, and hatred for humans, rattled Yeonhwa’s mind, but it was also what drove her body to move, despite feeling like she could collapse at any moment.
“AI, request rescue… quickly!”
Yeonhwa, running, hastily called for a rescue signal from her AI assistant.
She had never requested a rescue before in her life.
[Your request has been received. Request approved. Estimated rescue wait time… 1 hour…]
“What!?”
[There are insufficient personnel available from the nearby Association. Multiple dungeon Overbreaks have occurred. It is recommended that you hide and remain in concealment.]
“…Cancel the rescue request.”
[This is not recommended. Your vital signs indicate…]
“I said cancel it!”
At those words, Yeonhwa gritted her teeth and climbed up a tree.
Fortunately, this dungeon was a forest.
There were many places to hide, and the thick, tall trees provided some cover, making her less likely to be spotted if she stayed up in one.
“Hah, hah… If… if I run into another Minokentaur like the one before, I’m done for…”
She truly hadn’t been sure if she would survive back then.
It wasn’t even the dungeon boss or a key monster, just one of the lower-tier monsters, yet it had crushed her right hand, and she barely managed to take it down.
If she had to face it head-on again in her current state, with her stamina and mental strength already drained, there was no guarantee of victory.
It had already been more than 24 hours since she last slept, and she had been pushing herself relentlessly, using up her strength.
Of course, even if Yeonhwa had been in peak condition, she couldn’t guarantee that she would have overcome the situation in an S-rank dungeon Overbreak. But still, the current mess she found herself in was largely of her own making.
If only she had done this, or if only she had done that…
‘Get a grip.’
No, there was no point in thinking about “what if.”
She had already tortured herself endlessly with “what if I had been stronger…” after her sister’s death.
How long had she been haunted by the guilt, believing that her weakness and helplessness had led to her sister’s death?
‘I have to conserve my strength…’
Yeonhwa gritted her teeth as she wrapped an emergency bandage around her right hand.
Her right hand was now practically unusable in combat.
Yeonhwa’s power, the ability to freeze things, typically emanated from her hands.
She favored fighting with ice in one hand, slicing through frozen enemies with her sword in the other, or spreading cold over the wounds caused by her sword, slowly eating away at the enemy.
If Yeonhwa were to rise to a higher Hunter rank and continuously train her abilities, she might eventually be able to gather ice in mid-air or use her power from other body parts instead of her hands.
But for now, she could only emit cold from her hands.
Not being able to use her right hand was a huge loss, cutting her combat power in half.
“My right hand is definitely out of commission. The bone isn’t just cracked… it’s completely broken…”
Yeonhwa didn’t even bother looking at her grotesquely twisted right hand.
The pain was excruciating, but she temporarily treated it by wrapping her hand in ice, preventing the wound from getting infected.
“Hah, hah… whoo…”
Yeonhwa took a deep breath, calming herself.
Now that she hadn’t been spotted, she needed to rest, even if only briefly, to recover both her mental and physical strength.
If the dungeon boss’s keen senses picked up on her, hiding in the tree would be pointless, and the situation would become dire.
She wasn’t sure if she could even run away from an S-rank dungeon boss, let alone fight it…
According to her AI, the dungeon Overbreak hadn’t just affected the Nafthar Great Forest dungeon; it had affected all the dungeons in Korea.
The mana concentration inside the dungeons had skyrocketed, causing all the monsters, including the dungeon bosses, to undergo rapid mutations.
This, in turn, had caused the dungeon ranks to rise dramatically.
Many Hunters were probably in life-threatening danger right now.
Some of these mutated dungeons might have even expanded and engulfed civilians, plunging countless people into peril.
“In comparison, I’m all alone…”
It wasn’t hard for Yeonhwa to guess where the Association’s rescue teams had been sent.
They had probably been dispatched to the more dangerous dungeons where more people were at risk.
C-D rank dungeons were usually tackled by parties of lower-ranked Hunters.
If those dungeons had suddenly transformed into B-rank or higher dungeons, there would be many more lives in danger than hers.
“It’s just like when Unnie…”
Come to think of it, Yeonhwa couldn’t help but feel that the current situation was eerily similar to when she and her sister had been trapped during the Second Great Rift.
The rescue team that was supposed to come for them had likely prioritized saving more people elsewhere… just like back then.
But back then, she had helplessly lost her sister.
Now, things were different.
The wall of the S-rank dungeon was obviously high, but Yeonhwa was no longer a child.
She had no intention of giving up her life.
Yeonhwa spoke to her sister, who was no longer with her.
Unnie, I’m sorry.
I promised I wouldn’t cry anymore.
I swore I wouldn’t let myself be helpless again…
And yet, here I am, on the verge of throwing my life away because I didn’t know my own limits…
[Wooooooaaaaaahhhhhhh!!!!!!]
“…Ugh…!”
At the sound of another deafening roar, Yeonhwa leaned against the tree, her body trembling.
What a powerful shockwave.
Even without fighting, just hearing that mana-infused roar made her feel drained of strength.
Was this the power of an S-rank dungeon boss?
This was the first time she had ever sensed defeat so keenly, just from the presence of something far away.
But even so, she couldn’t collapse.
She couldn’t give up.
Her sister, Yeona, even in her final moments, exhausted and covered in wounds, had never given up on protecting Yeonhwa.
‘I won’t die quietly.’
Though Yeonhwa knew she couldn’t hold a candle to her sister, she wouldn’t quietly meet a pointless death in this place—not when her sister had given her life for her.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Footsteps echoed.
Heavy, earth-shaking footsteps with every step.
Yeonhwa clenched her teeth, grabbing her sword with her throbbing right hand, encasing it in ice.
Doing so would likely destroy her right hand completely, but if she didn’t use both hands, her combat power would plummet. And if that happened, the only fate awaiting her was to be slaughtered by the dungeon boss.
[Moooooooaaaaahhhhh!!!!!!]
“It’s coming…!”
Yeonhwa felt the trees shaking, the tremors getting closer and closer.
She tensed her body, ready to jump down from the tree at any moment.
And then…
“Hahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
“Huh…?”
Contrary to what she expected, what appeared before Yeonhwa’s eyes was not the dungeon boss.
Instead, a woman, covered in blood from head to toe, was laughing maniacally as she tore apart a massive monster with her bare hands.
Yeonhwa blinked in disbelief at the sight, unsure if her eyes were playing tricks on her.
What… who is that?
○○○○
It’s okay.
Everything’s going to be okay.
Goodbye, Menelapie.
Goodbye, Teresa.
I’m fine.
Where are you?
Goodbye.
I can’t see you.
It’s dark.
Goodbye?
Ah, I’m hungry.
I’m alone.
Hungry.
I’m so hungry.
It hurts.
My stomach hurts.
I’m hungry.
So hungry.
I’m terribly hungry.
Disgustingly hungry.
Painfully hungry.