Chapter 711: Rank S Dungeon, Wasteland Desert (2)

Inside the sand desert, a pair of S-rank monsters revealed their massive bodies.

From the start, the fact that not one but two S-rank monsters popped out definitely made me realize this was a much more dangerous area compared to places like the Crystal Spider Cave.

‘If it were just one, we could probably defeat it easily enough during the time Hye-eun could hold out, but two would be….’

Even Hye-eun, the one with the best defensive ability among us, could barely hold out against just one monster.

While she bought us time, we had to defeat the other one as quickly as possible with the remaining members.

It seemed like Cha Yuri and I were going to have to take on the role of somehow cramming in damage in that fight.

“Yuri-ssi and Taekyung’s magic?!”

“…Almighty movement of air…”

-Nod, nod.

-Nod, nod.

“Sung Taekyung has finished casting, but Yuri Unnie is still!”

Han Min-ah confirmed that I had finished preparing to use magic with only the last sentence left, while Cha Yuri was still chanting her spell, and then reported to Hye-eun.

Hye-eun was somehow blocking one monster, but we couldn’t control the movements of the other one.

True to their S-rank monster intelligence, instead of applying frontal pressure, it was aiming for me and Cha Yuri, who were chanting spells from the rear.

Right in front of my eyes, Hye-eun calmly directed the strategy according to Min-ah’s report, even while dealing with one giant sand scorpion.

“Jihee-ssi! Even for just a moment, please do something about the one that got away!”

“…I know.”

-Taaak!

As if she had already been preparing, Cheon Jihee’s body instantly soared into the air at Hye-eun’s words.

Cheon Jihee’s soaring body, like a painting, fluttered in mid-air along with her clothes, continuing several spinning movements.

Just as a tail strike targeting Cha Yuri, who was still in the middle of chanting her spell, flew towards her.

-Hwi-iik!

‘Kkeugegegegek!’

-Ppa-ak!!

Cheon Jihee’s kick, flying in from outside its field of vision, instantly knocked away its tail strike.

‘Kkeggeek…!’

“…Damn, it’s hard.”

With a kick imbued with her awakened ability, the Giant’s Strike, she controlled its movement once in mid-air.

At the same time, the sand scorpion immediately changed its target to the one that landed the threatening blow, charging towards Cheon Jihee.

Cheon Jihee, though slightly flustered, evaded the monster’s attacks or deflected them slightly, buying time.

‘Kkeggegegek!’

“…Kuhut!”

As expected, Cheon Jihee, not being purely defensive, couldn’t fully handle one giant sand scorpion.

Moreover, her awakened ability was the type that periodically released attack power beyond its limits.

She was desperately buying time, unable to contend with an S-rank monster with only her basic physical abilities.

The magic of Cha Yuri and I shot out from the tips of our respective staffs and swords to support Cheon Jihee like that.

“…A vortex of fresh wind shall rage! Oxygen Tornado!”

“…Burn like an explosion! Fire Explosion!”

The massive gust of oxygen caused by Cha Yuri, and immediately following it, my explosive fire magic.

The two of them’s combo flew accurately towards the giant sand scorpion’s tail strike, without deviating even slightly from its trajectory.

Due to the magic of Cha Yuri and I, its limb exploded once and burned.

-Kwa-gwa-gwa-gwang!

‘Kkegge-eeek!’

A loud explosion sound, and a piercing scream.

Although it wasn’t a pleasant sound to hear, the results achieved were definitely a sight for sore eyes.

The exploded giant sand scorpion’s tail proved it.

‘Kkeggegegek!’

Since the battle started having cut down one of the two S-rank monsters by about half, the beginning wasn’t too bad.

Of course, even so, with one more full-powered S-rank monster still remaining, it hadn’t changed at all that this was a tricky opponent compared to the battles we’d had so far.

-Kkeudeuk, kkeudeuk….

“Euhut, hut…. Heueu…”

When I, Cha Yuri, and Cheon Jihee had half-defeated one of the two monsters, Hye-eun’s pained groans were heard amidst the commotion.

Perhaps enduring the remaining giant sand scorpion alone had become difficult, as the great shield created by her ability began to crack little by little.

Her expression also suggested it would be quite difficult to hold out much longer.

-Jjeojeok!

“Ah…!”

“Hye-eun!”

“Hey, Kang Hye-eun!”

“No!!”

Just below the broken shield, the moment before being caught by the sand scorpion’s pincer.

It was a method I didn’t want to use if possible, but it seemed like I had no choice but to use it in the current situation.

Using the inherent ability of the ‘Hunter Lust Manager System’ that I possessed, I summoned Hye-eun, who was facing a crisis.

“Summon!!!”

It’s a function to summon a Lust Manager Hunter with the highest level of favorability via teleportation, once a day.

Since it was recently upgraded, specifying a location to extract them out of the dungeon would be possible, but in this situation, sending only Hye-eun out would actually be closer to a bad move.

Anyway, as long as she had stamina left, shields and such could quickly regenerate and she could fight, which was Hye-eun’s ability, so giving her a stamina potion here and having her re-engage in battle was the best option.

And if her life was truly in danger, the forced summon function still had one use left.

“Kyaaah…”

Hye-eun was startled by the unknown light that suddenly enveloped her body.

Her body then completely disappeared in an instant from beneath the sand scorpion’s pincer.

When she reappeared immediately after, she was summoned right next to where I was standing.

-Teobeok.

“Aack…! Huh? What the?!”

“It’s the Summoning Item! Remember what I told you last time!”

“Ah, that, that’s what it is! Thanks, Taekyung… wait?”

“First, I’ll give you a stamina potion, so drink this and make your shield again… huh?”

The moment I handed over the stamina potion I took out from my subspace pocket to continue the second round of battle, Hye-eun’s pale, naked body came into view.

At first, I thought I had momentarily seen wrong.

Because Hye-eun, who was wearing a full-body hunter suit consisting of armor and tights until just a moment ago, appearing before my eyes naked was something I hadn’t imagined.

Could it be that summoning a hunter with the item really only summoned the hunter’s ‘body’?

“Wh-what, Taekyung?! Where are my clothes…”

“It’s a side effect of the summoning item! Even if you’re embarrassed, just bear with it for a moment and fight!”

“Ah, okay!”

I couldn’t be sure yet whether only the body was summoned due to the summoning item’s side effect, excluding clothes, or if her clothes came off for some other reason.

However, it was also true that we weren’t in a relaxed situation enough to care about that.

I felt sorry for Hye-eun, but still, right now, I had no choice but to ask her to continue the fight just as she was.

Fortunately, the Guardian Shield’s ‘Female Warrior’ aspect also included the ability to create a shield she could use to engage in battle.

-Gulp, gulp.

“Hu, huaaaack!!”

Fortunately, Hye-eun realized the situation wasn’t good, quickly put aside her shame, and created a great shield to re-engage in battle.

Watching from behind, she ran to block the giant scorpion again, a sight that truly evoked strange feelings.

…Although, rather, one person seemed to be present who was unable to focus on the battle in a different sense.

“H-Hye-eun, is, naked on the battlefield…”

“Snap out of it, Cheon Jihee-ssi!”

“…S-sorry!”

Cheon Jihee momentarily lost her senses at Hye-eun’s beautiful backside, muttering foolishly.

I don’t misunderstand that feeling, but still, at this very moment, it was time to muster focus again.

If we didn’t want the sky-blue shield to remain at the A-rank party level forever, we had to become strong enough to easily overcome at least a crisis of this level.

‘Kkiggegegegek…!’

“…This bastard, where do you think you’re going!”

-Peoeok!!

Perhaps because Hye-eun’s appearance returning to the front lines naked looked like she was turning her back and running away.

The half-dead giant sand scorpion threatened Hye-eun’s back with its pincer as she returned to the battlefield where Min-ah was somehow holding out with evasive maneuvers.

Cheon Jihee, belatedly regaining her senses, blocked it with the Giant’s Strike, preventing further loss of power for the time being.

“Cha Yuri-ssi! Again, the cooperative magic from earlier…”

“…Currents flowing through the waves of air gather…”

She was already chanting. It’s fortunate that I, on my part, was also understanding the situation quickly.

It was amazing focus that she was preparing the next attack immediately without even caring at all whether Hye-eun was naked or not.

…Perhaps because she herself had many experiences of becoming naked inside a dungeon, she wasn’t particularly shaken when someone else became similarly undressed?

This strange thought momentarily crossed my mind, but anyway, the fact that she was chanting the spell beforehand meant that she could move quickly to the next attack.

In sync with Cha Yuri’s second wind magic, I quickly chanted my second magic spell too, which would serve as the ignition point.

“…Oxygen Tornado!”

“…Fire Explosion!”

With only a slight time difference, the second magic spells launched from Cha Yuri’s staff and my greatsword.

It was the moment they flew accurately onto the giant sand scorpion’s face, which had been slightly dulled after losing its tail strike.

As the magic of Cha Yuri and I flew, Cheon Jihee pulled back, and at the same time, the large-scale magic from both of us struck and exploded directly onto the monster’s brow.

-Kwa-gwa-gwa-gwa-gwang!!

‘Kkigge-e…!’

The giant sand scorpion fell to the second combo magic without even being able to scream properly.

There was no time for celebrating victory. One more S-rank monster, which Hye-eun and Min-ah were facing, still remained.

“Cha Yuri-ssi, how much more magic can you use?!”

“…One more large-scale magic. If I drink a magic potion, I can use it two more times on top of that.”

“The number of uses is sufficient! Then let’s quickly deal with the rest…”

-Kugugugugu….

“Uwaack?!”

“Wh-what?!”

The moment we tried to approach the other giant sand scorpion that Min-ah and Hye-eun were facing, the ground itself rose up this time, blocking the way between us and the other two.

It took only a moment to realize that it was the appearance of another monster.

“It’s a Sandman! For now, prepare for battle again!”

“…Yep!”

“Got it!”

After pouring in four large-scale spells just to defeat one S-rank monster, is it another S-rank monster replenishment this time?

…As expected, there seemed to be a reason why it was ranked as an S-rank dungeon.