Chapter 65: Raid

[Level Up!]

Sweet.

Though it was already somewhat full, since I’d dipped my spoon (Frost) into all the monsters they’d killed, my experience points accumulated quite quickly.

And after personally taking care of what seemed like a mid-boss, I finally leveled up.

Of course, since I just leveled up, I wouldn’t reach 100% experience even if I defeated the boss here, but it would be a big help in the next Gate, so I didn’t stop hunting.

Looking around, everyone was hunting well on their own.

I was a bit worried since it was Seung-ah’s first time catching monsters, but perhaps because that Great Sage fellow taught her well, she finished off monsters without a hint of hesitation.

I thought she was Joan of Arc.

It was Ha-yeon’s first time catching monsters too, but having fought spiritual beasts like the human-faced spider before, she didn’t show any difficulty against these grotesque creatures.

Estelle, with angel wings on her back, was crushing monster heads in a single blow with her mace, as if they were tofu. She looked like a saint who couldn’t kill a fly, but her actions were those of a berserker.

Her mace was covered in blood, and her clothes were soaked with monster blood. Yet, she had a smile on her face, making it look like a scene from a horror movie.

However, the difference from a horror movie was that the blood-soaked person was incredibly beautiful, and the blood belonged to monsters harmful to humans.

Furthermore, the sight of a woman who had introduced herself as a holy saint from another world, slaughtering monsters with a smile, was definitely captivating people’s attention.

The gap between her previous image and her new one was making people even more immersed in her.

As if to prove it, Estelle’s power was growing in real-time.

It was Liera’s first time with monsters too, but her talent for killing was exceptional.

With each monster she killed, the time it took to kill the next one shortened.

After 30 minutes, although her energy was lacking, her hunting skills had improved to a level almost comparable to mine, who had mastered monster hunting through countless battles.

Watching her kill monsters with precise strikes to their vitals or magic, using minimal movements without any wasted motion, I felt a twinge of jealousy at her talent.

Still, it was quite pathetic for me, who had five chances along with the status window, to be jealous of others.

And the fact that this talented person was my ally put my mind at ease.

Of course, I had no intention of slacking off in my growth, as I didn’t know what would happen the moment she caught up to me.

Everyone put on a spectacular show for their debut, and soon the Gate began to tremble.

“That’s the sign the boss is coming out. It’s a medium-sized Gate, but the mobs so far have been a bit weak, so the boss will be strong. Everyone, stay a little tense.”

The total strength of the monsters within a Gate is determined by its size.

If the monsters that appeared earlier were strong, the boss would be weak, and if the earlier monsters were weak, the boss would be strong.

For a medium-sized Gate, the strength of the monsters and the mid-boss that had appeared so far seemed somewhat lacking, so the boss was expected to be quite strong.

That’s why I warned everyone.

Of course, with this group, I wasn’t worried, but it wouldn’t do if someone got seriously injured due to carelessness. But something was strange about the Gate.

Usually, when it started trembling, the Gate would burst open within a minute, and the boss monster would appear.

But the Gate just kept trembling and showed no signs of disappearing even after a minute.

“Why the hell…”

After waiting for another three minutes, the color of the Gate began to change. From blue to black.

I’d never even heard of a Gate changing color, so I looked at the association agent, but they also seemed to be experiencing this for the first time, looking bewildered.

The black Gate shattered shortly after, disappearing, and in its place, something… something exuding immense energy appeared.

A being that couldn’t have come from a mere medium-sized Gate, radiating destructive energy.

Though obscured by dust, its shadow suggested a monster tens of meters long. It shattered the force field, which could block even an S-rank monster’s attacks a few times, in a single blow and roared.

A ferocious roar that shook the heavens and earth.

Most people who heard it collapsed on the spot, trembling.

The fear exuded by a high-ranking species stimulated humanity’s primal fear.

I had definitely felt this before.

‘The Demon Dragon, a legion commander of the Demon King. That thing used to emit this kind of fear.’

The fear I felt now was slightly less intense than that, but back then, I was someone who had faced the wall of level 299, at the peak of the Transcendent Realm.

Now, I was just at the Supernal Realm, albeit with abnormally high strength.

The difference in mastery was so great that the pressure I felt now was on a different level.

The dust settled, revealing the head of a dragon-shaped monster, as expected. And above its head, an unimaginable piece of information was written.

[Lv299 Nidhogg]

A monster of unfathomable power, difficult to encounter even as a boss in a large-scale Gate.

It was definitely not something that could come out of a medium-sized Gate. Something was wrong.

My companions, who had faced beings stronger than this monster, managed to withstand its fear to some extent, and with my Unwavering and Unyielding trait, it wasn’t a problem for me, but the people were the issue.

Thump. Thump. CRASH. BOOM.

With each step the creature took, the ground shook violently, and the surrounding buildings collapsed. Yet, those engulfed in fear couldn’t even think of escaping.

‘F*cking hell.’

At this rate, people would die. Not just die, but a massacre would occur.

Since it was a medium-sized Gate, not many high-ranking Hunters had gathered nearby, and even those had all gone home after seeing us stably defeating the monsters.

Moreover, since our monster-slaying was being broadcast live, no additional Hunters would be coming to this area.

That meant we had to hold out for at least 10 minutes until S-rank Hunters arrived as support.

And 10 minutes was more than enough time for that overwhelming monster to annihilate everyone in the vicinity.

I imbued my internal energy into my throat and shouted to break people free from the fear and draw aggro.

“EVERYONE WAKE UP!!!!!!!!!”

[Skill: Lion’s Roar (Lv1) acquired.]

One of the techniques Silion had taught me.

A shout imbued with energy directed in all directions, it momentarily drew significant aggro towards me and had the power to partially dispel mental status effects like fear.

It had little effect on ordinary people, but the association agents controlling the area and the Hunters watching us seemed to have somewhat recovered from the fear’s influence.

“If you’ve snapped out of it, evacuate the citizens first! I’ll draw aggro!”

“That… that’s…”

“Quickly!”

I urged those who were only half-conscious and still questioning, and met the eyes of Nidhogg, whose aggro was now on me.

And the dragon’s mouth opened.

–Thor..?

The people around didn’t seem to understand its words, but strangely, I heard them. Was this also due to the knowledge gained from accepting Ymir’s power?

Just like with the giant’s words before, and now the dragon’s, I was hearing things others couldn’t.

–How did you come to be here?

I spoke to it using their language, just as I had when I first spoke to the giant.

–How do you know the language of the Aesir… No, does that mean this place is…

It seemed this language belonged to those called the Aesir.

As I was trying to gather more information by conversing with Nidhogg, a sparrow flew down and landed on its head.

‘A sparrow…?’

I didn’t want to read too much into a mere sparrow, but something felt off.

A sparrow that didn’t flee even after seeing a transcendent dragon, and just a while ago, there was a sparrow that didn’t flee after seeing a transcendent giant.

Was this a coincidence? The fact that the same thing happened twice in a row, that a transcendent being appeared before me for no apparent reason, and the same sparrow was present each time, couldn’t help but arouse suspicion.

And a few seconds after the sparrow landed, Nidhogg’s eyes turned red, and it began to exude immense killing intent towards me.

The sparrow then flew back into the sky and leisurely disappeared.

I knew I had to catch that sparrow, but for now, the monster in front of me was the problem. No matter how many times I tried to speak to it, the monster ignored me and approached, as if it couldn’t hear.

I finally realized I had to fight it.

With a body that hadn’t even reached the Transformation Realm, against a being on the verge of stepping into that domain.

‘It’s not impossible.’

“Come forth, Doom.”

One thing I’d learned after acquiring the Taming skill was that it was possible to summon a tamed monster in mid-air.

So I opened the Taming skill’s portal in the sky… and from within, a 30-meter-tall flame giant fell.

The giant landed squarely on Nidhogg’s head.

BOOM!

Even though Nidhogg’s body was nearly 100 meters long, a 30-meter flame giant falling with acceleration was bound to inflict significant damage.

It was a huge opening blow, signaling the start of the Nidhogg raid.