Chapter 29: First Semester Dungeon Strategy – 4

The dungeon master that appeared before us was none other than the Frogian.

A higher species of the Giant Toad that frequently appears in the swamp dungeon.

The name Frogian, when translated literally, means “frog-man.”

Its appearance also matches its name, looking like a frog standing on two legs, but more ferocious.

The problem lay in the unique body structure of the frog and its monstrous physique.

“Damn it, that thing is not a good match for me!”

Miguel cursed as he took his stance.

As he said, the Frogian is a natural enemy of hunters who specialize in striking attacks.

The slippery skin and elastic muscles characteristic of amphibians significantly reduce the impact damage, and it uses its massive body, nearly 2.7 meters tall, to crush enemies in close combat.

“Hermod!”

Miguel couldn’t hold out against the Frogian for long.

As soon as he realized that, he called out to Hermod.

Perhaps he had already assessed the situation before my call, because almost simultaneously with the shout, Hermod sprang forward, deftly wielding dual daggers and passing by the Frogian.

Slash!

“…It’s tough as hell, huh?”

Hermod sighed lightly and joined Miguel, his expression hardening as if in disbelief.

Despite his swift assault with dual daggers, his expression wasn’t as triumphant as his technique.

“Croooak!”

The grotesquely twisted frog’s cry was enough to make us grimace.

The red lines carved all over its body were the wounds made by Hermod’s slashing.

Anyone could see that those wounds were barely scratches.

Even the deepest slash didn’t inflict significant damage.

The Frogian, roaring as if the scattered wounds stung, stomped the ground.

“Damn!”

Thud!

A cubical barrier formed around Hermod, who had suddenly become the target.

Though hastily erected, the barrier served its purpose well.

Hermod sighed in relief as he looked at the Frogian stuck to the barrier, unable to break through.

“You bastard!”

Miguel gathered his magic power and leapt.

He soared to a height double that of the Frogian and descended quickly, aiming a punch.

“Croak!”

But the Frogian was no easy opponent.

“A tongue…?!”

If one struck the head where the brain is located, no matter how tough it is, damage is inevitable.

Miguel’s decision to aim for the head was correct, but the Frogian also knew this was its weak point.

Snap!

The Frogian quickly lifted its head and extended its tongue, wrapping it around Miguel’s right arm.

The Frogian’s tongue, which appeared thicker than Miguel’s arm, tightly bound his right arm.

“Mana Bullet!”

At that moment, a streak of light shot out from beside me.

A small bullet of magical power shot like a comet, leaving a trail of light.

Slash-!

“Keek!”

The Frogian, ready to throw Miguel away at any moment, retreated in pain.

Han Sehee’s Mana Bullet had severed its thick tongue.

“…I shouted the spell name despite the embarrassment, but it wasn’t a significant hit.”

“Damn it. I’ve seen mutant salamanders in my home forest do that, but never a frog.”

Han Sehee had called out the spell name to cut the tongue binding Miguel.

Since the spell name is part of the incantation, she had enhanced the spell’s power through her chant.

But as Miguel’s following words indicated, her effort soon became futile.

“A regenerating frog, huh.”

Now, even I couldn’t help but frown.

While creatures in fiction often have regenerative abilities, it’s not always the case in reality.

The Frogian in front of us showed that this isn’t an impossible trait, but it’s certainly not common.

“Was Frogian originally a monster with strong regenerative abilities?”

“Absolutely not. This is clearly an abnormal situation.”

An obvious abnormal situation.

No one disagreed with Hermod’s grim statement.

The Frogian was a plunderer, monopolizing the magic power that should have been distributed among the numerous monsters in the dungeon.

It was the greedy dungeon master, akin to a tyrant.

“Just to be sure, is it possible to kill it with a Mana Bullet?”

“…It’s possible.”

“You’re saying it’s difficult.”

Miguel swallowed hard and took his stance.

Magic power began to surge through his body.

“I’ll have to use my mystic ability.”

Miguel, showing a determined stance and gathering magic power.

But I stopped him from using his mystic power.

What I learned from our weekend meeting was that his mystic power wasn’t suitable for this situation.

“I’ll handle it.”

So, I will take care of it.

Without significant physical exertion, I will deal with the Frogian more safely and surely.

I set up the barrier spell and selected the most suitable weapon shape for hunting such a large amphibian.

Based on the prepared barrier spell, I crafted the chosen weapon.

The manifested barrier weapon was a spear.

It wasn’t the excessively large spear shown when facing Hermod before, but rather several spears slightly larger than a regular one.

“Croak…!”

Seeing the dozen or so spears filling the air, a sense of unease seemed to dawn on him.

Frogian crouched, overtly wary of the barrier weapon.

“…”

“It’s indeed fascinating.”

The blue-hued barrier weapon, cast over the shadowy, dark swamp, swept away the soggy shadows.

Leaving Han Sehee and Miguel, who were marvelling at the scene, behind,

I reached out my hand.

The spears of the barrier rained down in the direction I pointed.

The blue spears decorating the air flew like arrows, piercing the sky one after another.

“Grrrr!”

Of course, Frogia wasn’t foolish enough to just take the attack.

As soon as the barrier weapon was launched, Frogian began to rampage, but it wasn’t much of a problem for me.

As long as my magic power remained connected, the barrier weapon continued to move according to my control.

If it veered off course, I’d pull it out and launch it again.

If it dodged, I’d adjust the trajectory to target again.

If it hit, I’d dig deeper to inflict more damage.

With detection barriers reading the space every moment, the situational information obtained heightened the precision of my manipulation. ‘…

Now!

Click.

If it wasn’t magic but a material, wouldn’t it make that sound?

A heavy load fell on Frogian’s body, which had been relentlessly running around inside the barrier.

Like jamming a coin between the cogs of a wind-up toy, Frogian, who had been darting around swiftly, stumbled and rolled on the ground with twisted movements.

“…!”

It’s a technique that imposes heavy loads and restricts movement on the enemy within the barrier.

It hadn’t shown much effectiveness against Professor Karia, but that was only because Professor Karia was strong.

Barrier techniques fundamentally buff allies and debuff enemies, which is their original role and strength.

Thus, my barrier technique, which had reached EX rank, could easily restrain a monster like this.

“It’s over.”

Hermod’s brief remark.

As he said, the fight was already over.

A hunter that couldn’t move could no longer be called hunter.

Thunk.

The sound of flesh and muscle being pierced echoed repeatedly as Frogian met its end, looking like a hedgehog.

“So, does this mean the dungeon raid is over?”

Miguel, who had been staring at the lifeless Frogian, spoke up.

I also confirmed Frogian’s death and dispersed the barrier weapon, replying.

“Yes. Let’s head back to the base camp. We should return to Eden and report the rare phenomenon that occurred in this dungeon.”

Everyone nodded, indicating no objections.

Perhaps it was because we had overcome the crisis of an unexpected situation.

Or maybe it was simply because we could finally leave this humid and sticky swamp dungeon and return to the base camp.

Faces that had been dazed began to brighten with smiles.

“Wow, it really is an amazing technique. I vaguely felt it when you forced me in a beehive situation, but the precision of the technique is truly incredible.”

“Right. Like Hermod said, I’ve never heard of such things being possible with barrier techniques.”

“That’s what I’m saying. Maybe Hermod is right, and Seong Yujin really is the top student.”

The once quiet atmosphere began to buzz around Hermod.

Naturally, the main topic was my barrier weapon, which had easily neutralized Frogian.

Han Sehee marveled at the intricacy of my barrier technique, while Miguel seemed simply amazed by the skill I displayed.

‘Still, I have work to do.’

Smiling awkwardly at the conversation, I started to collect Frogian’s remains.

The Frogian we had just hunted was an advanced type of Giant Toad, created through the rare phenomenon.

It could be used as evidence for the anomaly report, and after fulfilling its role as evidence, it could be sold to private companies for a considerable profit.

High risk, high reward.

That’s the perception in the hunter industry, and it’s true in reality.

Especially the byproducts of the swamp dungeon monsters, which are always in short supply due to the difficult strategies, and even more so, the body of Frogian, an advanced type.

‘It was pierced here and there by the spears created with the barrier weapon, but even so…?’

I could probably get at least a few million won for it.

Thinking so, I deployed a barrier to transport the body.

I planned to carry Frogian’s body in a remotely controllable hexagonal barrier.

Crunch.

However, a problem arose.

“!??”

Crunch, crunch.

As if sand was being eroded away, Frogian’s body slowly began to disintegrate.