Chapter 26
“Even though I’m intentionally storing mana…”
Since I was already here, I planned to give Gru plenty of experience points, but at this rate, it seems there won’t be much to gain.
“Should I take the boss down?”
If I monopolize the boss, I’d get a decent amount of experience. Taking down a B-rank dungeon boss isn’t particularly difficult.
The problem, however, was that a group had already found the boss room.
Usually, it’s an unspoken rule that the first discoverers get to handle the raid.
Even so, if they lose the boss to Gidan right in front of them, there’s nothing they can do—at most, they’d just whine about it in the community.
“Still, that feels a bit much.”
Gidan might have a slightly lower sense of ethics than others and has contributed greatly to Hyun-ak’s notorious reputation, but playing the villain in front of Gru wasn’t something he particularly liked either.
Gidan watched the hunters’ movements with eyes dripping disappointment.
Since no familiar faces were visible, they all seemed to be B-rank or lower.
Gathered in front of a massive door, seemingly taking instructions from someone, they appeared to be preparing for a boss raid.
More strangely:
“Two parties…”
Hmm, Gidan smiled.
If there are two parties together, he could roughly gauge the situation.
He pulled out a camouflage item from his inventory.
It’s the kind that sticks like a patch and prevents the opponent from recognizing your face.
[“Self-Censorship Patch (C)” activated.]
[Effect lasts for 1 hour upon use.]
Gidan grabbed the squirming Gru, holding him with a magnifying glass and duck clamp.
“As long as you’re careful, nothing should go wrong.”
At the man’s words, B-rank healer Son Ah-young clenched her fists.
Baek Ho-seung, who had been giving instructions to her team for a while, smirked.
“Alright, the briefing is over. You can go in now.”
“Go in now?” They made it sound like she was being shoved to her death.
“Let’s go! Move out~”
Baek Ho-seung waved his hand.
But when Son Ah-young’s team didn’t open the boss room, those behind him gripped their weapons tightly—clearly ready to use force if she didn’t move. What a despicable performance.
The two team members accompanying Son Ah-young hesitated, glancing at her nervously.
The only reason Baek Ho-seung’s team brought them here was to open the boss room and use them as meat shields.
The white-eyebrow Yeti boss targets the first three entrants.
Son Ah-young could probably manage, but the two with her were inexperienced rookies who had just awakened.
They weren’t a proper raid team; this was a hastily assembled bus meant to kill a few regular monsters for experience.
If Baek Ho-seung had anticipated such villains, he wouldn’t have brought just two rookies.
“I remember all your faces. I’ll report every one of you to the Management Bureau! Got it?!”
“Yeah, just survive and then report us, right?”
When he sought agreement, laughter erupted from behind.
“See, healer girl? Go on, get inside.”
Baek Ho-seung and his team roughly shoved Son Ah-young’s group to the door.
Damn them, Son Ah-young bit her lip in frustration.
“Sister, do you need a mercenary?”
The sudden voice made everyone step back cautiously.
Looking toward the source, they saw a boy with a shadowed face spinning a baseball bat nearby.
“How did he get here without making a sound?”
They were mostly B-rank. B-rank means superhumans far above ordinary people. To be so easily caught off guard was unheard of.
“A skilled one, perhaps.”
The group murmured uneasily at the strange intruder.
Meanwhile, the boy, completely calm amidst the hostile atmosphere, stabbed the bat into the white snow while holding a teddy bear.
“How about us? We could be relief hitters.”
Relief hitters? Son Ah-young’s eyebrows twitched.
A savior appearing at a time like this? She should probably bow and welcome him.
“That’s true, but…”
The opponent held a teddy bear in one hand and a baseball bat in the other—a ridiculous concept.
Normally, she’d ignore someone like that, but…
“Relief hitter? What kind of ridiculous cosplay is that?”
It didn’t matter if he was a concept nut or a demon now.
“Fine! I’ll hire you, mercenary or whatever!”
Baek Ho-seung stepped forward, displeased.
“What are you doing, huh?”
The boy smirked, as if he’d been waiting for that response.
“No backing out, sister.”
[‘Gidan’ has applied to join the party.]
“What?!”
Son Ah-young screamed at the popup that appeared before her.
Baek Ho-seung’s brow twitched in disbelief.
“What the hell are you conspiring in front of people?”
Gidan, however, smiled and stepped forward.
“Then let’s open the door. Oh, I can open it, right?”
“O-of course!”
“Are you kidding me? Stand over there?!”
Baek Ho-seung tried to stop Gidan.
No way—who does this crazy kid think he is?! Son Ah-young growled.
“It doesn’t matter who I hire. As long as the front line has enough aggro pullers, it’s fine.”
“There have to be three aggro pullers!”
Then—
Screeeech—
The boss room door suddenly began to open on its own.
“…W-what?”
“Why is the door opening?!”
Everyone looked up, pale with shock.
Thud—
The sound of a giant stepping on the snowy ground filled their ears.
A towering giant covered in pure white fur—the white-eyebrow Yeti boss—strode out of the door.
“Uwaaaaaaaah!”
‘The boss came out of its territory?’
Gidan frowned slightly.
Everyone froze as if an error had occurred.
Bosses, which maintain the dungeon’s core, never leave their domain.
Hunters knew this as basic common sense.
As the boss let out a long howl and seemed to look down at the hunters, Baek Ho-seung’s team reacted first.
“Get out of the way!”
“Move back! Quickly!”
The group dodged between the giant’s legs to avoid becoming a target.
Soon, the boss’s gaze fixed on Gidan.
‘Did it recognize me?’
Son Ah-young and her group, standing beside Gidan, stomped helplessly.
‘Something’s strange.’
Gidan fixed his gaze on the boss and handed Gru to them.
“Stay here with the sisters for a moment.”
Son Ah-young’s younger sister, Son So-young, took the teddy bear and shouted in alarm.
“W-what? Wait! We have to run together—!”
So-young reached for Gidan.
At that moment, Gidan removed the camouflage patch. Dust scattered into the air.
At the same time, the shadow disappeared, revealing his handsome face.
Seeing his face, Son So-young opened her mouth in disbelief.
Hunters couldn’t possibly fail to recognize him.
Gidan smiled gently.
“Sister, take good care of that teddy bear.”
He held the black Combat Knife of the Blade.
“I’ll be back soon.”
For a moment, it seemed his figure distorted and stretched.
‘…!’
In the blink of an eye, his new form vanished.
