Second Life of a Dragon Raising Hunter

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Chapter 35

I cautiously advanced through the dimly lit cave. At this rate, it was hard to tell whether it was a cave or a dungeon; the types of gates had become confusing.

The only thing hinting at the existence of some kind of civilization in this underground cavern were the mysterious patterns carved into the deeply recessed walls.

Dungeon. This underground space was indeed a prison, a place where monstrous beings were kept. From the perspective that monsters were trapped here, humans acted as the jailers, maintaining order in this prison.

However, there was always the risk that the prisoners could turn on their captors.

Yet, this F-rank gate, ‘The Sinister Passage,’ seemed exempt from such occurrences.

The monsters confined here were ‘Shadow Men.’ They had a faint presence. Physically blurred. It was difficult to even sense their typical hostility towards humans; nothing about them was particularly intense.

This was how the Shadow Man slowly walked in front of Yeon-woo.

A towering height, emaciated figure. Their arms looked grotesquely long. Surrounded by darkness, no humanlike features were visible except for their bipedalism.

Yeon-woo cautiously inhaled. The dank air of the underground filled his lungs before being exhaled, carrying with it a moldy scent.

The easiest way to elicit a reaction from a Shadow Man supposedly was through breathing. Although not much was clearly established, Shadow Men always reacted to life signs.

Like a scene from a horror movie, the dark, egg-shaped head turned towards Yeon-woo. The simple motion seemed to be taking place in slow motion, making a sound reminiscent of rusty metal scraping with each movement.

『─────!!』

It was a scream that couldn’t even be called that. Instead, it was like the sound of air being squeezed out of them, or a creature that had permanently lost its voice. It let out this inarticulate sound, swinging its long arm towards Yeon-woo as it charged.

Wow, what a freaking horrible situation.

Faint presence, physically blurred, lacking even a hint of hostility.

But the reason they loom as the greatest barrier for novice Hunters is not hard to find.

Malice, hatred, desire.

You can clearly see those raw, sticky emotions from a monster that craves what it cannot have.

Before such emotions, a person can easily feel fear and freeze───.

“But that’s none of my business.”

With a flash (一閃).

A streak of light cut through the air. A diagonal slash. With a slightly familiar motion, Yeon-woo’s long and thin arms sent black blood spraying through the air.

It wasn’t a particularly impressive strike. There were no grand concepts embedded in it, nor was it a completed technique.

Defensive reflex. A strike swung only to fend off what was trying to harm him, yielding a form that would make his master click his tongue, yet still, considering Yeon-woo had only recently learned how to wield a weapon at all, it looked quite decent.

But he couldn’t afford to be complacent. As he deflected one arm, the other arm was still coming. From the upper right to the lower left. The left arm of the Shadow Man swung menacingly as Yeon-woo stepped forward and twisted his wrist, bringing his sword up in a diagonal slice.

He severed the arm, and if he could cut the other arm too, then the Shadow Man wouldn’t even think about that. It just charged in, hating the very existence before it.

Again, black blood splattered over the mysterious patterns etched into the wall.

The Shadow Man lunged at Yeon-woo, missing its right arm. No left arm either. Without teeth, it tried to bite at Yeon-woo’s neck with its rough, primitive maw.

Yeon-woo released his grip on the sword with his left hand and struck the Shadow Man’s head with his elbow. Filthy saliva flew as the head twisted around. The assault didn’t stop.

Until the monster was completely finished off, it wouldn’t be dead even if all of its limbs were severed.

Yeon-woo took a few steps ahead, passing by the Shadow Man. The sword he held began to morph, appearing thin and delicate. As if it could snap with a tug, the black thread wrapped around the Shadow Man’s neck.

He caught the Shadow Man against his back, leaning forward while cross-matching his arms. Tightening the thread around its waist naturally drew the Shadow Man up like a condemned prisoner hung from the gallows.

Twitching, an unpleasant struggle could be felt from behind. It was nice to see his instinctive movements come naturally, but these last struggles before death weren’t a pleasant sensation.

“I’m sorry, really sorry.”

Doing this somehow made him feel like apologizing. Even though the opponent was a monster, it felt natural. Maybe it was because the maneuver seemed ominous.

Before long, the twitching behind him stopped. A sickening void of energy hung at his back.

Is it over?

Swish, with a sound like a snake flicking its tongue, the thread wrapped around Yeon-woo’s right arm, enveloping it with a dark gauntlet.

“Whew….”

Should I have gone with a half-glove instead?

For a moment, Yeon-woo pondered this while leaving the fading corpse of the Shadow Man behind, moving forward. Although it was good that he handled it quickly and efficiently, he still had to reach at least the boss room for better points.

“…Found it.”

The shadow muttered.

“In this environment, I can’t use this.”

Yeon-woo fiddled with a leather holster strapped to his waist. Inside were several objects the size of walnuts. Homemade bombs made from environmentally friendly materials he had crafted in his free time.

It was a delight to have stumbled upon plenty of quality flame crystals at a bargain, but it was unfortunate they had to be used in such an environment.

“Had it been a cave type instead of dungeon type, I might have had a chance….”

He sighed deeply. The biggest factor affecting his score was time, and how adeptly he tackled the gate on the way there was second. Not being able to use weapons like bombs that could greatly shorten that time was a painful loss for Yeon-woo.

But on the bright side, it could also be said to be a blessing in disguise as it saved bomb resources.

Still and all, Yeon-woo was a veteran Hunter with 10 years of experience. That alone enabled him to handle the gate with ease, even distracted.

Combined with the eye of the dragon, which allowed him to see mana, managing to tackle this situation was a near impossible mistake. The latter was nearly at full score; he just had to improve the former.

As Yeon-woo contemplated this, he placed his hand on a decorative item marked with the Academy emblem before the boss room. A decoration engraved with the magic of return. Most students who didn’t attack the boss room would usually turn back at this point.

*

To be frank, dungeon-type gates are brutally inconsistent.

If you were to seek recruitment for a dungeon-type gate attack, you might as well ask “So, where exactly?”.

Hunters often lament that it shouldn’t be so vague, but even the Hunter Guild finds it challenging to address this issue. There are truly bizarre terrains everywhere.

“Hmm.”

This one’s quite rare.

Columns so thick one couldn’t wrap both arms around them stood lined up like a knightly order ready for battle. The stained glass which must have once basked in warm sunlight lay shattered. Instead of light, only a deep darkness was cast, and the poorly crumbled door behind the victorious hero testified to their great deeds.

The Grand Hall. The king’s grand hall, and the royal audience chamber. The dusty throne at the far end proved this fact.

“……Oh.”

What? Is this the boss room? Wasn’t this a decoration infused with return magic?

A black shadow sat upon the throne. A Doppleganger…? Or perhaps a shadow-type monster…? As he squinted at the figure, it spoke.

“Found you.”

───Piiing, a sound like an arrow being shot pierced the air, and Yeon-woo instinctively drew his sword as a shockwave hit him.

Bang!!

“What, the heck!?”

He managed to block it, but couldn’t fully suppress the impact. His flying body slammed against a column, a burning shock radiating through his back. All the air previously held in his mouth escaped through what was meant to be a clenched jaw.

“Arise.”

Cough, blood trickled from Yeon-woo’s lips as he forced himself up. He had no idea what was happening. However, two things were clear.

That thing before him was powerful enough to kill him at any moment.

And the current situation. The fact that ‘I was transported alone to a different gate.’

“Damn, this sure is one absurd day.”

He spat out the blood pooling in his mouth.

(To be continued in the next episode)