Ch.37Rescue Operation Is Dangerous (8)

“What, what are you crumpling?”

I backed away with a bewildered expression.

Come to think of it, Hans was one of the subordinates who was particularly bossed around by me on the other side due to his slick personality. Could it be that he harbored a grudge about that?

“Neither your mana nor magic power gives me much of an impression. It doesn’t seem like you’re hiding anything.”

“…Has this guy really gone crazy?”

“And what’s with this appearance? Have you developed a new hobby in the meantime?”

“It’s, it’s because of the dimensional transfer.”

“Ah, side effects. I do recall hearing something about that.”

Hans, who responded slickly, approached me again and brought his face close to mine with a puzzled expression.

“But don’t you think your personality has changed too much? How did someone who could destroy an entire kingdom if things went wrong become so pathetic?”

“Who are you calling pathetic?”

At those words, Hans picked up my arm with a playful smile.

“Ugh.”

“You’ve really shrunk down, haven’t you?”

“……”

I felt shame spreading from within me.

“…This is also because of the side effects.”

“Well, isn’t that something.”

“Anyway, hurry up and finish this. In my current physical state, it’s difficult to summon you for long.”

Hearing those words, Hans answered me with a meaningful smile.

“I refuse.”

“What?”

I glared at Hans with an incredulous expression, but nothing changed. Hans continued with a sneer.

“Does that upset you?”

“……”

“I always felt the same way.”

It seemed this unreliable minion had completely erased his proper role from his mind.

I felt heat rising to the top of my head as I recited the spell again.

“Book of Death.”

Whoosh!

“Why so suddenly…?”

“I was thinking of just burning your heart.”

It was actually a bluff.

I did have Hans’s heart, but it was stored in pages much further back, and I had no way to retrieve it now.

But of course, Hans didn’t know that.

“Seems my joke went too far.”

Seeing him immediately enter a combat stance, I felt like bursting into laughter.

“But where is my steed?”

“…I can’t summon it right now.”

“Hmph, it’s been a while since I’ve had such an uninspiring battle.”

His nonchalant attitude was extremely irritating. However, since I was the one in need right now, I suppressed my inner anger.

“I can’t stand watching this anymore. Are you done with your nonsense?”

The doppelganger, who had somehow finished recovering from its wounds, approached with intense killing intent.

“My analysis is complete. You cannot defeat me.”

That was considerable confidence. And as if to prove that confidence wasn’t misplaced, the doppelganger began creating a terrifyingly large fireball by spreading its magic power.

Whoosh!

Crackle!

“…The necromancer’s abilities aren’t that impressive. If you dodge, you’ll simply die. Try to block it if you can.”

“Hmph.”

The flames didn’t stop their momentum and continued to grow larger. Watching the scene, Hans muttered.

“To think you’d be threatened by such an ill-mannered thing. The Lord’s dignity has truly fallen to the ground. It’s quite pitiful.”

“…Shut up.”

Whoosh—!

The completed fireball instantly flew toward us.

Hans stepped forward as if he had no choice and intercepted it. Soon, the sound of heat rising from his armor and the smell of burning flesh filled the surroundings.

Boom!

Sizzle.

Sizzzzle!

“It’s over.”

Hans’s condition was miserable. The thin armor protecting his entire body was in tatters, and about half of his flesh was blackened, burned, and crumbling.

Thud!

Crack!

Not missing the opportunity, the doppelganger quickly approached and swung its hand, severing Hans’s neck.

Thunk.

The sound of the severed head hitting the ground filled the empty chamber.

“You’re next.”

Facing the doppelganger approaching with a confident expression, I quietly opened my mouth.

“Why aren’t you getting up?”

“Nonsense…”

The doppelganger’s face, which had been sneering, froze.

Hans’s body, which should have been miserably burned with its head severed, was somehow standing up and blocking the way.

Swish.

As Hans raised his hand, the head that had been rolling on the ground rapidly regenerated and flew into his palm.

Thump!

“You’re still… as stubborn as ever.”

Sizzle!

Sizzzzle!

As if performing a magic trick, Hans’s body instantly regained its form. The doppelganger, witnessing this up close, seemed completely speechless.

“H-how.”

“With such pathetic attacks, I couldn’t die even if I wanted to.”

Durable zombie.

That title was no exaggeration.

If summoned in his complete state, Hans was the being with the most powerful vitality among my original undead.

‘Of course, without his heart, he’s only half as effective…’

Even in that state, Hans’s survival ability was unparalleled.

It was impossible for a mere B-rank lower-tier monster to kill him.

“I don’t have much mana left. Finish it quickly.”

Due to wasting time unnecessarily, I was approaching my limit.

At my urging, Hans completely wiped away his playfulness as if it had never existed and charged toward the doppelganger.

“Kuk!”

Thud!

Crack!

Crunch!

The doppelganger continued the optimal battle using everything it had, but it was all meaningless.

“Th-this can’t be.”

Hans, fully engaged in battle, was overwhelming the doppelganger with his monstrous recovery ability, ignoring all its attacks.

Crash!

Crunch!

“Argh!”

It was one-sided violence.

The doppelganger’s attacks were powerless against Hans’s regenerative ability, while Hans’s attacks steadily accumulated damage.

In that unfair fight, the doppelganger, as if possessed, began creating another massive fireball by pouring out all its magic power.

Crackle!

“Don’t make me laugh! An undead who merely serves a human!”

At that final strike, Hans grabbed the doppelganger’s arms with a sneer.

“Wh-what!”

“I was getting tired of fighting, but you’re digging your own grave.”

And he thrust his own head into the massive fireball, disrupting the magic power arrangement by releasing mana.

The result was obvious.

Whoosh!

Boom!

A powerful explosion occurred, and the doppelganger was caught in the center of the explosion along with Hans.

It was a futile yet somewhat heroic end.

【Level has increased!】

Sizzle!

Sizzzzle!

As I listened to the notification sound, I saw Hans calmly walking out of the flames, repeatedly burning and regenerating.

“So, how does it compare to the old days?”

Hans’s question was serious. After pondering for a moment, I gave my answer.

“…Less than 10%.”

“We have a long way to go.”

Hans, who had been frowning briefly, brushed off the remaining embers on his body and continued.

“There’s an unpleasant smell.”

“……”

“In this inexplicable place.”

With just those words, Hans returned to the Book of Death, becoming a skull of his own will.

At the same time, a portal signaling the dungeon’s clearance finally began to appear.

#

The C3-rank special dungeon, which had trapped a total of 10 hunters—2 initial castaways and 8 rescue team members—was finally cleared.

Whoosh.

“Huh? What?”

“The raid team is out!”

“Hey, what are you waiting for? Start filming!”

Click!

Flash! Click!

It was truly breaking news.

Just yesterday, the United States and Russia had also announced the occurrence of special dungeons, so interest in them was growing endlessly.

【Special Dungeon Cleared with a Total of 13 People!】

【C-rank Hunters Kim Seungmin, Seo Yuna, and others. How Were They Able to Survive in the Special Dungeon?】

【Association President Han Minwook: There were three casualties, but they endured well. We will do our utmost for the bereaved families.】

The special dungeons that had recently appeared were no longer just Korea’s problem, so many countries were seeking information.

As days passed and other countries also succeeded in conquering special dungeons one by one, their peculiarities began to be revealed.

The established facts were as follows:

First, in these so-called “condition-type dungeons,” special conditions are attached to entry.

Second, the specific rules that had been distinguished by rank in regular dungeons do not apply in condition-type dungeons.

Third, the boss monsters in condition-type dungeons have higher ranks compared to normal dungeons.

In summary, while entry conditions were attached, the difficulty level had increased compared to normal dungeons.

Naturally, clearing them became more challenging, so the leaders of each country were busy presenting measures to deal with these condition-type dungeons.

“In the future, we need to establish systematic education and support so that hunters can have higher combat power relative to their level.”

“That’s easy to say, but the current system is entirely focused on nurturing high-level hunters. Honestly, considering the risk during a break, wouldn’t B-rank or A-rank dungeons be more challenging?”

Unfortunately, the process was not smooth.

The fact that level increases, which had been considered an absolute principle until now, no longer held meaning was significant.

Moreover, this situation was tantamount to suggesting another potential crisis for humanity.

“Since the Day of Change ten years ago, there hasn’t been such a noticeable change.”

“This means we can no longer unconditionally rely on conventional wisdom.”

“To me, this situation seems like a warning that anything could happen to humanity from now on.”

In other words, the situation had become truly unpredictable.

Everyone in the room swallowed hard at the man’s words.

Ten years since the Day of Change, when everything was turned upside down.

Once again, a time of change was approaching humanity.