"Jin-Woo oppa!"
Han Song-Hee's eyes glistened with tears as she lit up with joy.
"Raid Leader!"
Not quite as much as Han Song-Hee, but the two male hunters' faces brightened too, and Park Hee-Jin only let out a sigh of relief after confirming Jin-Woo's face. But Jin-Woo had no leisure to respond to the team's warm welcome.
"Shh."
Jin-Woo pressed his index finger to his lips. The four of them, who had looked ready to throw themselves into his arms at any moment, all froze like ice at once. Park Hee-Jin spoke.
"W-Why?"
The guy deserved to be beaten to death and then some. Jin-Woo glared at the unconscious Kim Cheol, then turned around.
"Kim Cheol brought a tagalong."
Countless presences could be felt from the forest. Now was not the time to worry about whether it was Kim Cheol or Go Chul. The real problem was over there. *Srrrr—* The white ghosts, sensing Jin-Woo's gaze, released their 'stealth' and revealed themselves. Roughly twenty or so. Among them, one—Jin-Woo's eyes locked onto a long-haired white ghost mounted on a mount.
'...That one's the boss.'
Ice Bear—or even compared to the surrounding white ghosts—an overwhelming aura radiated from the creature. If a thing like that wasn't the dungeon's boss, then who could be? For the first time in a while, his flesh crept with a chill. While Jin-Woo was trembling at the boss's strength, the boss too recognized Jin-Woo at a glance.
"So there really is one. Among the trash, a usable one after all." "What did you say?" "...?"
Jin-Woo's casually muttered words drew a surprised reaction from the boss.
"You—you understand our language?"
Jin-Woo was no less astonished.
'How is conversation possible?'
He could understand the beast's words. Not only that, but he could speak them too. A language he had no memory of flowed out of his mouth like a mother tongue.
"You... you can speak the beasts' language too?"
Park Hee-Jin's expression was one of such shock that she no longer knew how to be shocked further. Seeing that, Jin-Woo realized that he was the only one here who could currently understand the boss.
'Is this also the System's doing?'
Something like auto-translation. Jin-Woo's gaze returned to the boss. The boss sent him an intrigued look.
"Conversation is possible... Good. There's someone I'd like to introduce you to."
The boss pointed a palm at one of the white ghosts behind him.
"Surely you've met before."
Jin-Woo's eyes sharpened. The face was certainly familiar.
'That one is...'
The one who had fired an arrow at Han Song-Hee and sneered when they first entered the Red Gate. How could he forget that smug face? The creature was still wearing a smile.
"A friend who told us that among humans there were strong ones. This friend wants to settle things with you."
Before the sentence was even finished, the 'Night Killer' that Jin-Woo had flung shot forward in a straight line. *Thok!* The dagger embedded itself dead center in the grinning white ghost's face.
"Urgh!"
The scream came from the hunters. Yoon Ki-Jung clamped a hand over his mouth—he hadn't even realized he'd cried out. *Thud.* The white ghost collapsed on the spot. When Jin-Woo extended his hand, the 'Night Killer' embedded in the creature's skull began to wiggle before being yanked free and returning to him. Jin-Woo gripped the 'Night Killer' in a reverse hold and lowered his stance.
"Anything else to say?"
The boss let out an exclamation of admiration.
"...Truly strong."
Then he dismounted. But with no intent to fight yet, he neither drew a weapon nor showed hostility.
"However, you know this as well."
Maintaining his composed expression, the boss continued to steer the conversation.
"That you cannot win against these numbers."
Over twenty Ice Elves. Numbers weren't the real issue. The danger lay in the boss being among them. The remaining white ghosts were no match for Jin-Woo, who had been leveling up by killing Ice Bears to his heart's content. Like the one who had just taken a dagger to the face.
'How do I deal with the boss?'
While Jin-Woo was turning the idea over in his head, the boss went on.
"Let me make you a proposal." "A proposal?" "Yes. It wouldn't be a bad deal for you either." "..."
Jin-Woo was privately surprised. It was well known that humanoid beasts possessed intelligence, but he had never imagined they would go so far as to propose a deal with a human. Still, he figured he might as well hear it out.
"...Let's hear it."
The boss, as though expecting exactly that, smiled and began.
"Before that, may I ask one thing?" "...?" "Why are you among humans when you are not one?"
Jin-Woo's brow furrowed.
"What nonsense is that?" "Ha ha, you didn't know yourself?"
The boss chuckled and pointed to his own temple.
"A voice constantly rings in our heads. Kill the humans. But in front of you, that voice isn't there."
Ah. So that was it. That gave Jin-Woo one guess.
'By "humans," he probably means Hunters.'
After leaving the underground temple, the System had transformed him into a special constitution called a 'Player.' Strictly speaking, he was slightly different from Hunters—Awakened ones.
'That's why he thinks I'm not human.'
That made everything click into place perfectly. When Jin-Woo's expression showed understanding, the boss nodded.
"We don't need to fight. I'd rather not take pointless casualties either."
The boss stated his conclusion.
"Just hand over the humans behind you. Then I'll guarantee your life. What do you say to our proposal?"
Before answering, Jin-Woo threw the question back.
"Let me ask one thing too." "Very well." "Who are you all? Where did you come from, and why do you want to kill humans?" "We—"
It was then. The boss's face, which had held a smile all this while, froze in an instant. But only for a moment. Having recovered his original expression, the creature casually continued.
"We don't need to fight. I'd rather not take pointless casualties either."
'What?'
Jin-Woo narrowed his eyes. The boss was repeating himself, like a game NPC who had been asked an unauthorized question.
"Just hand over the humans behind you. Then I'll guarantee your life. What do you say to our proposal?"
The same relaxed face. He showed no awareness that anything was wrong with his behavior. The white ghosts behind him showed no reaction to the boss's strange conduct either.
'...'
As Jin-Woo watched the situation, the boss pressed him.
"Will you accept the proposal?"
Jin-Woo had tried to uncover the beasts' identity and intentions, but it was all for nothing.
'In that case...'
All that remained was a choice. His answer had been decided long ago.
"I refuse."
The corners of Jin-Woo's mouth turned upward.
'Because the shadow on you is too luscious to just let walk away.'
Kill him and take the shadow. From the very moment he first laid eyes on the boss, that had been the plan—and he had no intention of backing down now.
"You intend to fight against me and my soldiers? You think you alone can overcome this level of numerical disadvantage?"
Jin-Woo grinned. Soldiers?
'You're not the only one with those. I've got them too.'
Shadow Summon. At the caster's will, soldiers who had been trapped within Jin-Woo's shadow materialized behind him.
"U-Uaaah!"
The scream came from the hunters once again. Yoon Ki-Jung, seeing the shadow of an Ice Bear—the shadow beast soldier—summoned right beside him, fell flat on his rear in terror.
"A-Ah..."
Seeing the members' faces turn pale was pitiable, but this was a crisis. There was no time to explain one by one.
'Well, even if it weren't a crisis, I wouldn't have explained anyway.'
Twenty-nine shadow soldiers. Standing before them, Jin-Woo glared at the boss.
"Now who's more outnumbered?"
At last, the boss showed hostility.
"...Playing tricks, are we? Fine. If you wish it, I'll kill you."
The boss drew the two short swords at his waist. Exactly what Jin-Woo wanted. He gripped the 'Night Killer' in his right hand and 'Kasaka's Venom Fang' in his left, readying himself for battle.
'Tricks.'
True enough. Numerically he might have the upper hand, but he was a bit short on firepower to bring down the boss. Jin-Woo knew it too. That was probably where the boss's confidence came from. He needed a powerful ally.
'A powerful ally...'
There was one. Jin-Woo's gaze flicked to the side. Kim Cheol lay there, collapsed on the ground.
"Attack!"
At the boss's shout, the white ghosts drew their bowstrings.
"Fire!"
Jin-Woo stepped his beast soldiers to the front. *Fok! Fok! Fok! Fok!* A volley of arrows struck the beast soldiers, and they howled in pain. Before the white ghosts could loose their next volley, the soldiers charged. The mage soldiers also began casting. Jin-Woo's eyes glinted.
'My target is you!'
Jin-Woo kicked Kim Cheol's longsword off the ground and slid it toward him, then burst forward. His eyes were fixed on the white ghosts' boss. The boss was waiting for him to come as well. The four short swords the two wielded sparked without cease as they clashed. *Clang! Clang! Kaclang!* The melee between the shadow soldiers and the white ghosts had also begun. Go Myung-Hwan turned to Park Hee-Jin.
"Um... shouldn't we help too?"
Park Hee-Jin shook her head.
"This isn't a fight we can join."
A colossal black monster swinging its claws, broken black soldiers restoring themselves in an instant, the swords and arrows of high-ranking beasts like the white ghosts filling the battlefield.
'What can we, B- and C-rank, do in a place like this?'
All that was permitted was prayer. Park Hee-Jin watched, heart in throat, as Jin-Woo fought tooth and nail against the long-haired white ghost.
"Kuh!"
A groan escaped Jin-Woo's mouth. Truly the boss of a high-level dungeon! The fight looked evenly matched on the surface, but only Jin-Woo was being torn and cut across his body. Could he hold out like this for even three more minutes? With the soldiers' regeneration ongoing, his mana was draining rapidly. Before long, the mage soldiers' spell was complete. A fireball far larger than a volleyball dropped into the midst of the white ghosts. *Kuaaaang—!* The power of a Leveled-Up mage soldier. The deafening explosion shook eardrums and jolted Kim Cheol back to consciousness.
"Mm..."
Kim Cheol raised his head. *Clang! Clang!* ***FWOOM—!*** Through his hazy vision, he saw fearsome white ghosts and black soldiers fighting against them.
'What... is this?'
He wasn't sure what had happened, but he knew exactly why he was lying here. The hand that had struck the back of his head! The voice he had heard from behind!
'That voice was Sung Jin-Woo!'
Now that he had come to, shame and hatred made his fingertips tremble violently. By chance his fingers found the hilt of the longsword at his side. Surrounded by white ghosts, there was no way out anyway. If that was the case, then at the very least.
'I'll wring Sung Jin-Woo's brat's neck myself.'
A vicious gleam shone in his eyes, and Jin-Woo's back came into view. ...Found him! The bastard was fighting a white ghost and wasn't watching his back at all. This was his chance. Kim Cheol shot to his feet. And charged.
"Uwaaah—!"
Sensing Kim Cheol bearing down on him, Jin-Woo rejoiced inwardly.
'Yes, you would.'
Jin-Woo had trusted Kim Cheol. Charging at full sprint, Kim Cheol swung his longsword at Jin-Woo's neck with every ounce of strength.
"Die!"
The boss in front, Kim Cheol behind. Pinned with no room to move, Jin-Woo shouted.
"Igrit!"
As if waiting for exactly that command, Igrit burst from the shadow and knocked Kim Cheol's sword aside. *Clang!*
"No!"
Kim Cheol's eyes went wide. Bloodshot eyes! But before he could finish another word, Igrit's blade plunged deep into his chest. *Puk!* The sword entered through his chest and came out through his back.
"Guhk!"
Jin-Woo quickly retreated.
'I believed you'd do exactly this, Kim Cheol.'
A person who moved on impulse without thinking of the consequences. It had been a short time, but it was more than enough to figure Kim Cheol out. Kim Cheol stared at Jin-Woo.
"You... you..."
Those were his last words. While Igrit held the boss at bay, Jin-Woo stepped back and gave the command to Kim Cheol's fallen shadow.
"Rise!"
And so. *Uwaaah—* With a heavy roar, a massive hand burst forth from the shadow.