NOVEL WEB Chapter 17
At the moment Ji-a was starting to buy some time, Si-hyun was in a different situation.
There were still no signals from her bracelet, but she had already changed into her combat outfit.
She sent a text to Si-yoon and waited, but it was marked as unread.
Ultimately, she couldn’t wait any longer and dialed her number, but it went straight to voicemail!
Brrr—rrr!
Just as she donned her pitch-black nun’s outfit and was glaring at the news, she got a response from her wrist.
“Shit….”
Si-hyun muttered under her breath before throwing on her veil.
Dressed perfectly for battle, she dashed out the door.
As she sprinted to the street, a taxi happened to pass at just the right time.
Waving her arms like she was trying to flag down an airplane, she managed to stop it and jumped in.
“Where to?” the driver asked.
“To the site of the gate incident!”
“Where was that again…?”
Silence…
There was a bit of a hiccup in getting there, but she arrived at the shopping center where the incident occurred in record time.
Si-hyun bolted out of the taxi without hesitation.
“What the—?!”
“Whoa!”
Some citizens jumped in surprise as the wind from Si-hyun’s sprint rushed past them.
But by then, the black silhouette had vanished into the distance.
She dodged past obstacles and swiftly made her way near the gate.
With a leap, she vaulted over the barricade.
“Hey, stop!”
Startled by her sudden appearance, the agents from the Hunter Management Agency and soldiers tried to block her.
However, Si-hyun agilely evaded them and dove right into the gate.
“What was that…?”
“Uh, must be a Hunter…?”
People watched in shock as Si-hyun disappeared without a moment to react.
Even though they couldn’t stop her, the incident had already occurred.
Scratching their heads, they called their superiors.
Meanwhile, once inside the dungeon, Si-hyun didn’t hesitate.
She started wrapping herself in her most powerful buffs.
Finally, she drew her sword, ready for battle.
Without a second thought, she moved forward.
The open dungeon was a place where one could easily lose their sense of direction, but the bracelet pointed her the right way.
With determination, she pressed on.
Not long later, Si-hyun faced a group of monsters.
But her steps didn’t falter.
Snap!
With a light flick of her finger, mana began to swirl around her like waves.
As soon as the mana detected the hostile targets, it surged fiercely.
Just like a predator pouncing on its prey, it pressured and intimidated the enemies.
This was one of Si-hyun’s specialties—wide-area debuff magic.
The monsters around her began to wilt one by one under its effect.
While her allies grew stronger through various buffs, the enemies were weakened by a variety of debuffs.
It was a proven combat method for a true supporter like Si-hyun.
“Graaah!”
An ogre struck, sensing its impending doom.
But its spirit was low.
Its strength diminished, and its speed slowed down.
Si-hyun dodged its swing with minimal movement.
Then, effortlessly jumping, she swung her sword in a smooth motion.
Swish—
The sharp sound sliced through the air.
“Grrrr—!”
Si-hyun’s sword buried itself deep into the ogre’s neck, cleanly severing it.
Its head plopped to the ground.
The ogre’s eyes rolled in confusion, unable to comprehend what just happened.
Yet, within moments, it breathed its last.
It was a single blow.
Thanks to Si-hyun’s magic, the ogre’s body had weakened significantly.
Other monsters rushed towards her next.
Si-hyun’s combat style remained consistent.
Dodge, attack, advance.
She continuously repeated the optimized movements tailored to counter her foes.
Sometimes using elemental magic to introduce variables,
and occasionally allowing one or two hits land when surrounded by multiple attackers.
But she never stopped.
Because Si-hyun was a ‘Saint.’
Her body, enhanced by divine power, was resistant to the weakened monsters’ attacks.
Moreover, her wounds healed almost instantly through her blessings.
If there were only one way to stop Si-hyun,
it would be to take her life in one fell swoop.
Otherwise, even though her body was sturdy, she healed from critical damage in no time.
As her foes were exposed to her mana, they continually weakened.
Si-hyun herself grew stronger.
With outstanding stability, an advantage in prolonged combat, and the prowess of a jack-of-all-trades,
an A-rank monster had no chances of hindering her.
Thud!
Soon, a group of monsters lay decapitated on the ground.
“Si-yoon, Ji-a. I’ll be there soon. Just hold on a little longer…”
Si-hyun’s mind was solely focused on those two.
Unknowingly mumbling to herself, she continued towards her goal.
Since entering the dungeon, she had not halted even once.
And so she single-handedly cut through countless monsters.
Only after slicing through a troll did she finally reach Ji-a.
Si-hyun’s eyes widened behind her veil.
The citizens, including Si-yoon, appeared unharmed.
Not a single person had been injured.
But what about Ji-a?
She was covered in injuries.
Her left arm was nearly useless, hanging by a thread.
It seemed she could barely stand, supporting herself with her spear, her right arm trembling.
Simply standing was an astonishing feat.
One of her eyes was almost fully closed; the other struggled to open as she gazed at Si-hyun.
She looked like she could drop dead any moment.
But she held on.
She had protected all the citizens by herself.
She had bought time until Si-hyun arrived.
Truly, she deserved to be hailed as a hero.
“…You did well. I’m sorry I’m late.”
Si-hyun bestowed her blessings upon Ji-a.
Ever since coming to this world, her divine power hadn’t fully returned to her former pace.
But since she had consistently prayed every day, she was far from out of options.
“Phew… seeing your face here, it’s a relief. Thanks to you, I survived…”
Ji-a cracked a light joke while glancing at her body.
Her wounds healed rapidly.
Energy surged through her body.
Her ragged left arm began to move as she wished.
It was a power that could only be described as miraculous.
In just a few seconds, Ji-a realized her body had restored itself to peak condition.
She clenched and unclenched her left fist repeatedly, checking her revitalized state.
“Wow, this is amazing…?”
All the wounds on her body vanished.
Her expended mana was replenishing at an incredible rate.
She felt invigorated. Her mind was sharp.
Right then, she felt like she could accomplish anything. Confidence flooded through her.
With this feeling…
“Si-hyun, with this kind of buff, I think I can clear this place by myself.”
“Heh, are you confident?”
“Of course! You’re just incredible! The best!”
Though Ji-a, hidden by the veil, couldn’t see, Si-hyun smiled faintly, lost in admiration.
Incredible.
It had been a long time since she received such enthusiastic praise after granting a buff.
Of course, strengthening and healing an ally was a given.
It was ingrained in her that it wasn’t something to be praised.
She had sought the best efficiency but never received recognition.
The treatment she received in the hero party was a stark contrast.
So she had ceased to expect anything.
She had just worked hard on her own.
Yet hearing Ji-a’s compliments…
A surge of confidence welled up within her.
It felt rewarding for all the effort she had put in.
This sensation of being acknowledged by someone.
Si-hyun felt her heart swell with warmth.
“Why not give it a try? Anyway, I don’t want to be famous yet, so you handle everything.”
“Pfft, what’s that?”
“I was aiming for a cool line like ‘Leave it to me now.’”
“Haha! Really? Sorry.”
At Si-hyun’s words, Ji-a chuckled and straightened her composure.
“I’ll give all the rewards to you. It has to be fair. After this—”
“That’s enough. Just you keeping Si-yoon safe is enough for me. Thank you.”
“Hm… well, how about we negotiate the details later?”
The gratitude was something Ji-a also felt deeply.
She had been saved.
However, yet another wave of monsters was approaching.
Ji-a loosened up her body a bit.
“Are you leaving the citizens to me?”
“Yep.”
As soon as Si-hyun nodded, Ji-a dashed towards the monsters like a bullet.
She had always been fast, but now, boosted by buffs, her speed was on another level.
The monsters couldn’t keep up with Ji-a’s movements.
She wove between them, launching one-sided assaults.
It was almost tormenting.
As if blowing off steam from today’s ordeal, she swept through the monsters alone.
For a moment, Si-hyun watched, nodding in satisfaction as she turned away.
It seemed she could trust her to handle this.
“Eonnie!”
“Si-yoon, thank goodness.”
Her cute little sister was sprinting towards her, tears in her eyes.
Thanks to Ji-a, it looked like she was unharmed.
*
Less than a day after the occurrence, the A-rank special dungeon was cleared.
Typically, even a regular A-rank dungeon requires weeks to chill.
Not only does it need to be conquered, but also exploration and preparation time are a must.
There are even cases where it’s narrowly finished just before going berserk.
Moreover, this dungeon had conditions for one-way entry.
For such a dungeon to vanish less than half a day after it appeared was astounding.
This remarkable fact turned heads everywhere.
[A-rank Hunter Kim Ji-a, single-handedly defeats an A-rank dungeon!]
[All the dozens of citizens trapped are safe; not a single injury reported.]
[(Hunter Interview) Facing monsters alone, she was a true hero.]
[Could Korea see the rise of a new S-rank Hunter?]
[The Management Agency plans to award Hunter Kim Ji-a a certificate of merit.]
News outlets and media kept churning out reports on Hunter Kim Ji-a.
The community couldn’t help but catch the same buzz.
[Title: Defeated an A-rank special dungeon in less than a day?]
[ㅇㅇ]
This is too ridiculous lol
– What a joke.
– Hahaha!
– Wow!
– Kim Ji-a! Kim Ji-a! Kim Ji-a!
[Deleted Post]
[Title: Guilds in a frenzy, this is hilariously funny lol]
[ㅇㅇ]
Though she seems to act like she’s from the Hunter Management Agency, she’s actually a solo act.
Everyone’s scrambling to scout her right now lol
– Hahaha, she’s pretty and talented; I’d want to recruit her too.
└ Plus, she goes into those dreaded dungeons alone often. Her experience is insane.
└ If she forms a party, that would be incredible for real.
– Just a goddess.
– Ji-yaa!!!
– Whoa!
[Title: Is this what a hero looks like? Is there something else to heroism?]
[ㅇㅇ]
(A photo of Hunter Kim Ji-a, leaning on her spear from behind)
– Major upvote!
– Damn, it’s Ji-a again.
– Her back looks so reliable for real.
– Kim Ji-a! Kim Ji-a! Kim Ji-a!
She even took down the boss like that?
└ Someone healed her in between; in the end, she wiped them all out alone.
└ Unbelievable, that’s so cool.
[Deleted Post]
[Title: What’s up with the posts that keep getting deleted?]
[ㅇㅇ]
I don’t get it.
– It was just something trivial.
– I saw something asking about the nun outfit.
└ Why a nun all of a sudden?
└ No idea!