A Dangerous Invitation (3)
General Ray Chen was a man who appeared to be in his early 30s, making his youthful appearance compared to the stars completing his rank badge seemed out of place.
No matter how one could be Awakened, it wasn’t easy to climb up to the position he sat on. The secret was wriggling in Ray Chen’s heart.
‘42,000 Active Mana, huh… a little under Hibiki’s prime.’
He was one of the many Awakened that I wasn’t aware of in my previous life. In the course of China’s collapse, his life probably ended and disappeared without being adequately documented in history.
“Guild Master, don’t you have a lack of ration or water?”
He asked me that question in a calm tone as he walked with me. Like us, foreign hunters were eating meals with the supplies they had brought themselves instead of food rationed by the Chinese military.
“We got enough. You don’t have to worry.”
“If you ever have a lack of supplies, please let me know anytime. We’ll be more than willing to provide.”
“Yes, I’ll do that.”
Of course, that would never happen.
“Hmm… I think we’re far enough to escape the ears and eyes of others at this point.”
Ray Chen stopped walking and looked at me dead in the eye.
“I know that there are bad rumors about why we invited foreign hunters to China. That seems to be especially the case about Guild Master Seo Jin-Wook.”
It was an unexpectedly direct approach.
“I heard that they’re spouting such rumors about China and its government trying to commit something mischievous and malicious against Seo Jin-Wook. They even stated that inviting other hunters is just a smokescreen operation to hide our real intentions since it would seem weird no matter what anyone thought for us to invite you alone, Guild Master.”
“…”
It was true that such a story was circulating, but I didn’t expect to hear it from one of the Chinese Awakened himself.
Ray Chen continued talking with a smile on his lips.
“I’m a soldier, and I don’t know much about diplomacy. But I can be reasonable. Those who spread such rumors insult not only my country but also you, Guild Master, who came to help us in good faith. If it’s true, you would be doing nothing short of a stupid act wherein you’re placing your feet in an obvious trap.”
He spoke in a manner that wanted to tell me his country would never plan such a despicable thing.
“It doesn’t make sense. If the Guild Master goes missing here, the whole world will blame China. I don’t know much about diplomacy, but there are countless competent and intelligent diplomats in my country. Would they approve of such a foolish plan?”
“Did you bring me here to reassure me?”
He shook his head.
“I simply wanted to thank you in a much more peaceful and quieter manner and environment. Thank you for trusting my country despite all of the speculations and slander circulating about us.”
He then took out a small box and a clump of paper in his pockets.
The Mana that fluttered around the small item was unusual.
“It’s a little sincerity that I prepared for the Guild Master who willingly came here despite the difficult situations.”
He passed the item box and the [Analysis] scroll to me.
I opened it without saying anything and checked the contents. The moment I touched it, the item description came up due to the effect of my unique skill, but I also tore the scroll to prevent him from being suspicious of me.
A message that I had already read and confirmed then appeared once again.
[Recharging Booster Ring (Rank: SSS)]
– Item description: 25% increase in physical recovery speed, 50% increase in Mana recovery potion effects when passively equipped.
I already knew what it was because of the Mana pattern, but I pretended to be shocked beyond measure to, again, avoid raising suspicions.
“… Woah! This is also an SSS-Class item!”
I didn’t forget to add a gentle tremor to the tail of my words.
When I looked at him with my jaw dropped wide enough to hurt my chin, Ray Chen gave me a satisfied smile.
“This is a special gift prepared for the Guild Master. Please, I would appreciate it if you would use this throughout the expedition. Of course, we won’t ask you to return it after the Clear.”
“… I will accept it with my deepest gratitude. This is definitely a pleasant surprise.”
“Of course, if you make into the top three contributions among foreign hunters, you will still be able to take other items as well. I look forward to your performance.”
All of the products, including the [Scepter of Ishad], which would be offered to the top contributor, were currently equipped by Ray Chen.
“… Thank you. That sounds very desirable.”
My eyes were stuck to the ring while I replied like that.
On top of the blue-Mana-layered item, which would only seem like an ordinary item, there was another layer of blood-colored Mana.
It was the trace of a unique skill.
‘Nobody would’ve been able to tell since using the [Analysis] scroll only reveals the identity of the item itself.’
The identity of the skill was unknown. At least that was the case without [The Successor’s Eyes]!
The moment I touched the ring, one more message besides the item description came up.
[Poison King’s Breath (Rank: SSS)]
– Skill Description: Creates a potent poison with no material form, no color, no fragrance, no texture, etc.
– Once poisoned by this toxin formed using Mana, the target won’t be able to heal using a standard potion. It can only be alleviated through the usage of SSS-Rank or higher detoxification items or skills.
– Toxin activation is freely controlled by the caster. It can be left asymptomatic so that the enemy doesn’t notice any signs, or the user can make it cause pain immense enough to be comparable to death without actually killing the target. Of course, it can also induce immediate death.
‘So this is Ray Chen’s unique skill!’
He had the ability to create toxic substances that were made up of Mana.
Such things couldn’t be mixed in food or water and were usually applied to artifacts.
He then recommended an action to be taken.
“Would you like to equip it now?”
“Yes.”
I put the ring on my finger without hesitation. The red Mana, which Ray Chen could see with his eyes since he was the caster, was blocked by my body’s Mana barrier and couldn’t easily seep through, causing it to hover around instead.
But if I fell asleep like that, it would definitely start to seep in.
He continued with a smile.
“Potion shock management is the most important thing in exploring massive dungeons such as this. It’s easy to carry around since it’s in the form of a ring, so make sure to wear it while you sleep. I guarantee that your condition will dramatically change in the morning.”
“Yes, I’ll take note of that.”
I replied with a bright smile.
“But…”
I continued with a mischievous expression.
“You said you don’t know diplomacy, but that doesn’t seem to be the case, does it? I have a hunch that if I go out of the Gate with this on, the Chinese Foreign Affairs personnel will come by and ask for something.”
Ray Chen smiled back at me as he replied.
“Of course, I don’t know how diplomats think, but… There seemed to be something they wanted to ask for because of the event in Australia. If it’s not a difficult thing for the Guild Master…”
He intentionally blurred his last words and stared at the ring on my finger.
I nodded as if I understood everything.
“Even if it’s a difficult request, I think I’ll gladly accept it because my fingers are heavy.”
“That would be perfect.”
“Haha! Don’t worry about it.”
We burst into laughter in each other’s company.
Keeping a bright expression on my face, I quietly thought to myself.
‘You must be trying to poison me with this ring while pretending that it’s a bribe, then turning me into a puppet. Afterward, you will tell the people brazenly on the international societies that I entrusted myself to China on my own.’
Perhaps he would reveal his true colors right after the attack.
Until then, I decided to dance to his rhythm.
*
“There, that’s the portal to stage two!”
The expedition stopped in front of the Gate-like blue luminescence.
– This is the gateway to enter stage 2 of the dungeon.
– Entrant Limit: 20 persons
– When exposed to an unstable environment, the door will close.
The expedition leader, Ray Chen, spoke while giving foreign hunters a gaze individually.
“10 out of 30 of us have to stay here to protect the portal. If the portal is left unprotected and is exposed to monster waves, it might collapse. The people who cross through it won’t be able to come back.”
Like the Siheung 8 Dungeon, the returning stone no longer worked starting from the second stage of the dungeon.
“What do you choose? If any of the foreigners choose to remain in the first stage…”
He essentially suggested that they should remain behind to guard the Gate if they didn’t want to take the risk.
The SSS-Rank hunter, Klaus, snorted before speaking.
“It’s obvious there are more monsters in stage two than stage one, but you think I’m going stay here and let all the contributions be stolen? No thanks. I’ll proceed to stage two.”
Other foreigners seemed to feel the same way.
Since most of the Chinese people, including the exploration team leader, were moving to the next stage anyway, there was no possibility that the remaining people in the first stage would do any funny business. If ever they did so, China’s superior forces would be isolated and become dimensionally lost.
I looked at the three SSS-Class hunters, one after another, who declared that they would go to stage 2.
Apart from the consensus, there was another thing they shared in common.
The common factor that only Ray Chen and I could see.
‘Ray Chen gave them all one each.’
They were equipped with SS-Class and SSS-Class items each that weren’t there when they entered the dungeon.
The Chinese’s plan seemed to be more than just to recruit me.
‘But they didn’t give it to Nate and Hibiki. Does that mean that they don’t need to recruit the two S-Classes? They must be planning to make it seem like they died in the dungeon.’
Ray Chen signaled the move.
“We’re proceeding!”
Twenty others, excluding ten Chinese soldiers, entered the portal.
A message from the system emerged.
– You have entered the final stage of the dungeon!
– If you survive here for three days, the entire dungeon Clear will be completed.
– If an Awakened who entered stage two returns to stage one before the Clear, the timer will be reset.
The dungeon’s Clear condition was to survive in the final stage for three days.
What could be incurred from the word ‘survive’ was more terrifying monster waves than the first stage.
We surrounded the portal so that it wouldn’t disappear, creating a formation.
As we waited for a little while in that manner…
Rumbleeeee!
An earth-shaking sound reverberated.
We saw a group of fanatical monsters running over the horizon like waves.
“Initiate battle!”
*
Monsters attacked at irregular intervals for the next three days, and explorers, which were all of SS-Rank or higher, continued their defenses excellently without a single casualty.
Sometimes, when the cycle seemed to be prolonged, they took turns taking a rest, and whenever the foreigners rested, Ray Chen observed them while pretending not to look.
He thought quietly.
‘No matter how much you drink Mana potions regularly… it is impossible to maintain your Mana barrier 24 hours a day.’
Most of the items that Ray Chen distributed to Seo Jin-Wook and other hunters were recovery or defense types, and they were all easy to carry, so they didn’t have to be worn and taken off.
Of course, the reason for that was to buy time to come in contact with the body for a longer duration for them to be poisoned.
‘It doesn’t matter even if they are SSS-Class hunters. Three days is more than enough for them to be poisoned!’
Then the hunter, who was on guard, shouted sharply.
“Here comes the next wave!”
“Everybody, wake up!”
Hunters, mostly veterans, immediately got ready for battle.
The crowd rushing in was much more powerful werewolves than the first stage. Not only were they huge, but those who skills were mixed in their ranks, and the number of waves that came at once was overwhelming.
“… I can’t get used to that.”
Someone muttered while the battle was in full swing.
What he looked at was not a monster in the front.
Some of the hunters annihilated monsters faster than the others.
“Are they really… SS and S-Rank? Is the rating standard in Korea different from that in other countries?”
All of the invited SSS-Rank hunters belonged to the international top tier, and there were numerous instances where they joined forces with similar level partners. They wouldn’t be surprised by most things, but they exclaimed several times without them realizing after entering the dungeon.
“… How did they learn such skills that are optimized for genocide?”
What surprised them was the performance of three people from Celestial Dragon.
Their hunt from the first stage boasted overwhelming momentum.
“Rargh–!”
The undead group, which was charging through like a Cimmerian wave, wasn’t pushed back even if they collided with the brawny werewolves. No, they were rather unilaterally committing genocide.
The mass-produced artifacts wielded by zombies cut off the wolves’ fangs and claws, and the dragon’s aid, which rained down flames from the skies, was worthy of being called the ultimate finishing touch.
“They’re really… turning the monsters into rags.”
Someone murmured in a fed-up voice.
The scary thing about the wave was the overwhelming number of offensive forces that could make most formations collapse, yet what was collapsing at that moment wasn’t the defense formation made out of 20 hunters.
Instead, the attacking monsters were being turned into smithereens.
Hibiki’s spells also played a part in that.
[Gravitokinesis (Rank: SSS)]!
Flesh and blood rippled on the ground as she moved her hand. The gravitational magic, which utilized its maximum potential, repeatedly lifted the monster high into the sky and dropped it back on the ground. Wolves pouring down like meteor showers broke each other’s bodies and died.
However, the one killing more monsters than anyone else was…
“What in the world has the World Hunters Association been up to, not giving an SSS-Class rating to that man?”
A relinquished murmur.
The subject of their focus was Seo Jin-Wook, who conjured and fired sword energies as if he was bombarding in the distance.
The purple storm he unleashed crushed the battle formation of werewolves.
Paht!
It was finally past the promised time.
A welcoming message appeared in front of everyone’s eyes.
– You’ve satisfied the Clear conditions of the dungeon!
– Clear Condition: Survival in the final stage of the dungeon for three days.
– The boundaries have weakened at every stage of the dungeon.
“Done! It’s finished!”
“Oh, the three sickly days are finally over!”
Ray Chen smiled broadly at the cheering hunters. And he clapped his hands generously and gave a recommendation.
“Thank you all for your hard work! Please go and get the extra compensations!”
Paht! Pa-pa-paht!
The hunters disappeared as if they had teleported. They had gone to the dark space to get compensation.
On the other hand, Ray Chen wasn’t even eligible for additional compensation. Most Chinese hunters, including him, weren’t, but there was nothing to feel wasteful about.
‘The rewards that the foreigners have received…. Will be in our hands anyway.’
Even if it was a wholly imputed item, it was meaningless because they were all destined to be puppets.
‘If I knew they would perform that way, I would have poisoned those two S-Class Koreans as well.’
It was unfortunate, but he couldn’t help it because the items he prepared in advance were limited.
He smiled quietly and pulled up the red Mana in his body. The rest of the soldiers exchanged their glances and prepared something as well.
The foreigners who had received the system’s reward would compete in the next order to see who would receive the Chinese government’s compensation.
But that expectation was going to be shattered.
As soon as they got back, Ray Chen would make the toxins in their body run wild.
[Poison King’s Breath (Rank: SSS)!]
While preparing to cause extreme pain equal to having their internal organs torn apart, Ray Chen waited for the hunters to return in anticipation.
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