NOVEL WEB Chapter 11
A year before the death goddess ‘Isia,’ who could be called a corporate hunter streamer, famously failed to make Emperor Goblin’s head soup…
After the Great Rift, there existed an S-grade Hunter, hailed as the hero of the Great Rift, and still treated as a legend.
In the early days of the Great Rift, despite countless chaos and wars, there was a severe lack of personnel to manage it, but the first S-grade Hunter, ‘Yeonseo,’ even earned the title of Knight of Radiance, being hailed as a hero who protected humanity and this world from the Great Rift.
Most of the S-grade Hunters born in the early days of the Great Rift have either retired or died in the unending fight to save humanity.
However, Yeonseo was still a living legend, recently participating in a new dungeon raid, embodying the hero of the Great Rift itself.
When people thought of S-grade Hunters, they began to think of Yeonseo, who had started shaping the image of S-grade Hunters.
Even at present, the image of Hunters, compared to that of outlaws or criminals, leaned more toward the noble image of protecting humanity and helping the weak, largely due to Yeonseo, the very first S-grade Hunter.
And in the prestigious Yeon family, the home of that hero, a new prodigy was born.
That day, Yeonhwa was busy raiding dungeons.
In pursuit of becoming the new S-grade Hunter of the Yeon family, following in the footsteps of her grandmother.
Bing the bing!
“Hah, hah…!”
The flower with teeth, entirely frozen, couldn’t even scream properly as it shattered before Yeonhwa.
Normally, even if fully frozen, a boss monster wouldn’t stop its vital activities.
Just as Hunters have mana, dungeon boss-grade monsters also possess mana, so their resistance is considerable.
However, if the very source of their power, the mana stone that sustains their activity, is frozen all at once, they would crumble without any resistance.
‘Lucky…’
[-Confirming cessation of life activity for B-grade dungeon, Erosion-type dungeon boss Frostbite. Raid on the Deep Sea Doctrine confirmed. Good job, Hunter Yeonhwa.]
After decapitating the boss monster Frostbite, Yeonhwa panted heavily while reading the message delivered by the AI Drone Camera.
“I’m still lacking….”
Eighty years ago, the Yeon family established through the Great Rift and Yeonseo served in the Hunter Association for generations.
With Yeonseo’s simple yet clear motto of “Power for Humanity,” the family upheld its banner, and even those without awakened abilities who could not become Hunters worked in the Hunter Association or related sectors as part of the Yeon family.
And the Hunter name ‘Icicle Nine.’
Just a month ago, a 21-year-old Hunter succeeded in ranking up to A-grade.
Real name: Yeonhwa.
Yeonhwa was Yeonseo’s granddaughter and the greatest genius of the Yeon family, confirmed to have a chance to reach S-grade after decades.
Since childhood, she walked the straight path to becoming an elite Hunter with expectations, encouragement, and support from numerous people.
While elitists often become arrogant with the environment and expectations placed upon them and tend to be lazy, that wasn’t the case for Yeonhwa.
Inherently, Yeonhwa wasn’t the type to become complacent with the expectations of those around her; she couldn’t easily be satisfied with her environment.
Since before the elders of her family praised her for resembling her grandmother Yeonseo, she trained tirelessly, dedicating herself to honing her skills as a Hunter, striving to catch up to her idol, her grandmother.
She had no time for holidays.
From her days as a Hunter Academy student, she trained her abilities and body to the point of using her blood.
She honed her freezing abilities until her mana ran dry, eventually resulting in a state of near exhaustion whenever she began to bleed from her nose and mouth.
While the training method suited her abilities as a Hunter—growing stronger under pressure—it also meant her physical and mental fatigue and burden were beyond what an average person could withstand, yet Yeonhwa always pushed herself.
Before even graduating from the academy, she had already participated as a support in raids on C~D grade dungeons, gaining hunting experience. Normally, the general rule was that graduates would start from F-grade Hunters; however, Yeonhwa received her C-grade Hunter license upon graduation.
Even from the beginning, Yeonhwa had talent to ascend to the rank of S-grade Hunter, like Yeonseo, and with her obsessive efforts, her Hunter rank surged in no time.
The prodigy of the Yeon family, appearing like a comet.
Consequently, both the association and media showed considerable interest in Yeonhwa.
Just being the granddaughter of Yeonseo, the very first S-grade Hunter, was enough to draw attention, but Yeonhwa herself displayed terrifying growth, soon becoming a hugely popular next-generation S-grade Hunter leading Korea, despite her young age.
“Hah… this isn’t enough… more… Hah… AI, search for the next dungeon…”
[Performing search…]
No matter how much of a B-grade dungeon it was, solo raiding it as an A-grade Hunter wasn’t an easy task.
For a B-grade dungeon, a party of at least five B-grade Hunters or two A-grade Hunters in a three-member party was recommended.
An A-grade dungeon required three or more A-grade Hunters, and for an S-grade dungeon, access wouldn’t be granted unless you had a considerable force.
In a B-grade dungeon, all the monsters appearing were generally C~B-grade on average, and not only the numerous monsters but also the dungeon’s bizarre terrain and mechanisms threatening hunters’ lives were often present.
Sometimes, dungeon bosses might even be a rank higher than the dungeon rank, leading to cases where arrogant young Hunters, unaware of the danger, called for emergency rescue teams or even lost their lives.
Nevertheless, Yeonhwa gripped the sword of ice and headed into the dungeon, aiming for her limits or beyond.
[Hunter, extreme fatigue and exhaustion detected in vital stats. Immediate withdrawal and rest from the dungeon are recommended.]
“Shut up and just search…”
[Executing command…]
Though a rather expensive AI support drone, its one flaw was its tendency to speak just a bit too much.
Yeonhwa seemed to have become addicted to pushing herself to the limits.
It was as if she was addicted to her overly obsessive dungeon raids, becoming a quite the hot topic among the association, media, and her fans.
One publication even ran a special feature on Yeonhwa.
“Pushing oneself to the limit can make the seemingly endless pain fade away at some point.”
“In particular, when a Hunter undergoes excessive fatigue and continual physical and mental exertion, their brain releases powerful narcotic-like substances; studies suggest that even athletes who are addicted to exercise experience such dopamine release. Yet they say Hunters experience several times that amount.”
“The numbness of nerves and a sensation of flying combined with the thrill of the whole body.”
“At each limit reached, the next-generation S-grade Hunter Yeonhwa might feel as if the ice forming at the tip of her sword moves and controls freely, just like her own hands and feet.”
“Next-generation S-grade Hunter Yeonhwa, is the strength of the Yeon family due to her obsessive dungeon raids?”
When Yeonhwa began her addictive self-torture and dungeon raids, it was unclear.
Perhaps it stemmed from her long-standing admiration of her grandmother Yeonseo as an idol.
However, torturing herself to the point of self-neglect, merely from admiration, wasn’t normal.
Maybe, just as the media speculated, in the critical moments surrounded by overwhelming monsters, liberating her body and truly unlocking her strength, experiencing the exhilaration of freezing and cutting everything might have granted her feelings indescribable to a Hunter.
A pleasure interwoven with the body and mind.
The duty of a Hunter, protecting humanity and killing monsters.
And the powerful endorphins released at the moment of overcoming a crisis.
Along with the yearning to surpass an idol.
Yeonhwa scoffed at the ridiculous things said by the media.
‘This is absurd.’
However, the truth was quite different.
Yeonhwa was just a little girl, unable to escape the shadow of losing her sister.
Though unknown to the media, Yeonhwa originally had an older sister named Yeona, who was several years her senior.
Yeona detested the attention or exposure of the media, often working under a pseudonym.
Nonetheless, Yeona also possessed considerable power, having inherited the bloodline of the Yeon family. Though using a fake name, she had managed to earn the qualification of an A-grade Hunter at a young age, becoming a successful Hunter without relying on the family’s reputation.
However, that sister was suddenly caught in the Great Rift with Yeonhwa.
The incident at that time was the Second Great Rift, which followed the First Great Rift, where massive dungeons invaded reality simultaneously worldwide.
Naturally, the Hunter Association and many skilled Hunters mitigated the chaos of the Second Great Rift, so it didn’t bring as much destruction and death as the first.
But during that time, without any power and defenseless, the young Yeonhwa was caught in the Great Rift, falling into a dungeon alongside her sister.
With no food, no shelter to protect them, and no warm blankets, they fell into a desert-like dungeon.
Due to a simultaneous Great Rift, the rescue teams faced a severe shortage of manpower to come save Yeonhwa and her sister.
It’s only natural.
Would they prioritize sending a rescue team to the dungeon where an A-grade Hunter and her younger sister went missing?
Or to a dungeon where hundreds or thousands were swallowed at once while on the subway? Given the circumstances of the severely strained manpower and managing Hunters, choosing the latter would be the obvious outcome, and Yeonhwa even understood the association’s choice now.
And Yeonhwa’s sister desperately protected her.
In the desert dungeon, where they had no idea where the exit was, her sister provided all the scarce food and water procured to Yeonhwa.
However, cruelly enough, when the two were exhausted and famished, the dungeon boss began to focus its attacks against Yeonhwa’s sister, an A-grade Hunter posing a threat.
After a long time, rescuers dispatched to save them finally entered the dungeon, but Yeonhwa’s sister succumbed despite being moved to the hospital due to serious injuries and nine hours of prolonged battle.
And Yeonhwa suffered no injury thanks to her sister’s sacrifice.
Young Yeonhwa felt sad. But more than her sadness, she resented her own powerlessness.
If only I had been strong like my sister.
No, even if I couldn’t be as strong as my sister, if I could at least protect my own body…
If I hadn’t been a hindrance for her, she could’ve lived.
Thus, Yeonhwa desired to grow stronger.
Always pursuing her limits and beyond.
To the outside observer, her near-misses each time could lead them to think of her as an addict to the thrill of dungeon diving.
Yet, Yeonhwa had no intention of clarifying the rumors.
That just wasn’t her style.
Thanks to that, before she knew it, the public image portrayed her as a genius prospective S-grade Hunter, intertwining obsessive tendencies and combat madness.
[Search results. No suitable dungeon found nearby.]
“……. Change search conditions.”
[Please specify the changed conditions.]
“Include A-grade dungeons. No intruding Hunters.”
[…. Search completed. Three dungeons have been found.]
“Ha, good….”
Thus, Yeonhwa headed towards the nearest A-grade dungeon.
Whether it was a stroke of luck or an unfortunate twist of fate brought on by youthful recklessness was hard to say.
●●●●●●●●
“Ugh, so intense!!”
[UOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!]
The monster Yeonhwa faced was a Minocentaurs, typically appearing in ‘Daesanrim’ dungeons.
Minocentaurs had the muscular upper body of a bull with a human-like torso and a horse’s legs, merging the raw strength of the Minotaur with the destructive power and speed of a horse, making it a formidable foe, and Yeonhwa had confronted this very monster a few times as a boss even in B-grade dungeons.
“A-grade dungeon really is on a different level!”
Speed was Yeonhwa’s forte.
She would evade their powerful attacks using agility and quick reflexes and then strike with ice for a critical blow.
However, the Minocentaurs presented a significant challenge.
Even its simple charges exceeded her pace.
Depending on the situation, a Minocentaurs could possess a danger rating bordering on S-grade, and its substantial resistance against mana made it so that even if it were hit directly by her freezing chill, it would hardly freeze entirely.
“Fast and strong… At least it can only do straight charges.”
[UOOOOOOOOOOO!!! OOOOOO!!!]
Roaring ferociously, the Minocentaurs swung its massive axe and charged at Yeonhwa once more.
Dodging each charge, Yeonhwa ducked and struck the Minocentaurs’ legs with her icy hands, though the blow sent a jolt of pain racing through her from the powerful force.
But the effect was clear.
“Ugh, ugh!!!”
[UUUOOO!!!!!!]
With Yeonhwa’s hand as the price for her maneuver, the Minocentaurs’ thin leg froze entirely, shattering under its weight and power, causing it to scream in a mix of confusion and agony.
Seizing the opportunity, Yeonhwa drove her sword into the fallen beast’s head and twisted it.
“Hah, hah, hah… Hah… hah….!”
As she killed the beast and retrieved the mana stone, Yeonhwa finally became aware of her exhaustion.
Collapse she did, flat on the ground, she heaved dry breaths.
“Hah, hah, hah… Ah…. Cough!”
Still, having slain the dungeon boss, she thought she’d be fine now…
[Continuing, Dungeon: Nafthar Great Forest…]
“….?”
Something felt off.
Why hadn’t the AI Support Drone confirmed the completion of the boss monster despite its death?
What gives? There’s no way the AI Drone malfunctioned.
In such cases, the resolution is usually one of two outcomes.
Either the dungeon had become a reality-adapting, infinitely respawning type, or that Minocentaurs, which she just expended efforts to kill, was not the boss, but merely a common ‘mob’.
No way, that can’t be right.
A creature that powerful should easily qualify as A-grade, right?
“Surely… AI, what’s the danger level of Nafthar Great Forest??”
[Checking, in progress….]
Yeonhwa had specifically searched for an A-grade dungeon and chose to enter Nafthar Great Forest.
If there were a boss higher than Minocentaurs in an A-grade dungeon, her life would be in danger.
[Analysis complete. Nafthar Great Forest, erosion level A-grade, danger level… S-grade.]
“…. What?”
As soon as Yeonhwa heard the absurdity that the dungeon’s danger level was S from the AI’s audio message, she realized.
She had entered an A-grade dungeon. However, given that the moment she double-checked the danger level, it indicated S-grade means…
“Dungeon Overbreak…”
Dungeon Overbreak is a sudden increase in dungeon’s erosion and danger levels due to external interference or a change in the mana concentration inside the dungeon.
Naturally, that’s not a phenomenon that occurs naturally.
When sudden massive influx of mana spikes the danger level of the dungeon, it alters the entire ecosystem within the dungeon, transforming both the monsters protecting it and even the boss monster.
Such mutations pose a significant threat to the already stable dungeon, and if an Overbreak occurs while Hunters are raiding the dungeon, catastrophic consequences may follow.
Brahhhl!
“……!”
From deep within the forest, Yeonhwa heard a dreadful cow’s bellow.
It was not a regular cry.
The noise was immeasurably louder than even the Minocentaurs she had just defeated, and the mana waves carried in that sound struck her with overwhelming dread.
“…If that thing is the boss… what in the world did I just kill…?”
[Danger, danger. Current dungeon mutation confirmed. Exit guidance unavailable. Suggest prioritizing Hunter’s safety.]
“………”
Then Yeonhwa realized.
Because of her bluster, she had landed herself in a dire situation.