An awakened hunter had willingly stepped forward to conquer the calamity of an S-rank gate without the slightest hesitation.
And that man was a freelancer?
“Could it be that the Korean guilds failed to treat him properly?”
“Then why hasn’t he founded a guild of his own?”
“Could he be dissatisfied with his country?”
“That must be it. He willingly came to help us enter this deathtrap of an S-rank gate. He must have some interest in Japan!”
In the blink of an eye, the Japanese hunters reached a silent consensus.
“As soon as this raid is over, we’ll recruit him!”
“We should contact the government immediately and arrange permanent residency for him.”
“What do Koreans like...?”
Their eyes gleamed like those of predators that had just spotted their prey.
One hour later, we began the dungeon raid without further delay.
The longer we waited, the more monsters would multiply inside.
“The Japanese hunter industry commonly uses the term ‘raid.’”
Boom! Whoosh!
Soon afterward, Hunter Ito’s flames engulfed the enemies.
The heat was intense enough to instantly boil even the pools of poison scattered throughout the dungeon. The Japanese hunters did not stop there, continuing to rain their abilities down upon the dragon.
Lightning crashed from above, while compressed blades of wind carved into the enemy and tore it apart from within.
I had wondered how Japan’s S-rank hunters cooperated with one another, but their method was surprisingly simple.
They maintained as much distance from one another as possible to prevent their abilities from interfering, then concentrated every attack on the monster at the center, overwhelming it with sheer explosive power.
“That hunter stands out the most. As expected, the highest-ranked hunter is still in a league of his own.”
When Ito pressed his hand against the ground, a vast circle appeared beneath the dragon’s feet.
The interior of the circle slowly began to glow red...
“Wow. It’s hot even from here.”
Grrr...
A ferocious blaze erupted from below.
The ability Ito had activated resembled a gigantic, incorporeal being ascending toward the heavens.
Yet wherever those radiant flames passed, all that remained was the nauseating stench of scorched flesh and the dragon’s hideous skin, swollen with bubbling blisters.
“------!”
At that moment, a shrill sound like shattering glass suddenly rang through the air.
“Ugh!”
“Keugh.”
It was the dragon species’ unique ability, [Fear].
As one could see, it had a high probability of paralyzing nearby enemies.
Hunter Moritake Ito had been rendered immobile by the Fear that had just been unleashed.
‘Most low-ranking hunters would suffer a heart attack from [Fear] alone.’
The strength and resilience of dragons truly defied imagination.
The S-rank dragon did not miss its opportunity. It swung its tail and launched a succession of attacks.
And what happened to the Earthlings struck by that single sweep?
I clicked my tongue as I watched the hunters whose skin had been torn away and scraped raw by the dragon’s scales.
‘I wonder if this will end without anyone dying...’
Fortunately, the result was much better than I had expected.
Once the paralysis wore off, Ito immediately used his ability to finish off the dying dragon.
“Gasp, gasp, gasp!”
“Potion! Bring a potion!”
“Healers, over here!”
I listened to the artificial voice coming through Piny’s translator.
Wait a minute.
They were struggling this badly, so why was I standing here so comfortably?
“When will we encounter the boss?”
It couldn’t be helped.
With this fragile body of mine, I could die from a single breath attack.
Before coming to Japan, I had declared that I would never stand on the front lines.
To be precise, I had made the excuse that I needed to conserve my strength until the dungeon boss appeared, at which point I would pour everything I had into using [Binding].
Still, could I really continue standing around doing nothing?
“Hunter Kang Changho.”
I addressed the S-rank standing behind me.
“Considering your abilities, don’t you think you could help them a little?”
But Kang Changho replied in a voice utterly devoid of interest.
“We already settled that.”
Well, as one could see, this S-rank had come solely to protect his own property.
Before entering the country, Kang Changho had also made it clear that he had no intention of fighting the dragons and that Japan should act as though he were not part of the raid at all.
“I thought challenging an S-rank gate might let me see something entertaining. But all you used was [Binding].”
He had been visibly disappointed after seeing the ability I demonstrated.
Of course, his reaction was understandable.
Binding was a typical low-level ability, and its skill stones were readily available on the market.
‘Skill stones are expensive, but this one isn’t valuable enough to steal merely for the sake of strengthening yourself.’
Well, there was nothing else to do.
If I was bored, I might as well help the others.
I surveyed the ruins left behind by the battle.
“K-Keugh...”
The Japanese hunters had been reduced to a state in which it was difficult to believe they had only fought ordinary dungeon creatures.
External wounds could easily be treated with a healer’s regeneration magic or recovery potions.
However...
“Aaagh!”
The true problem was the poisonous breath used by the venomous dragons.
The toxicity of these creatures was truly terrifying, befitting their S-class classification.
For now, the hunters were managing to hold out with antidotes, but several had already begun complaining of shortness of breath.
“Venomous dragons.”
Before we reached the boss, approximately five people would probably lose consciousness.
Even so, we had no choice but to continue advancing, even as the number of active raid members dwindled.
If we abandoned the raid halfway through and retreated, the enemies we had worked so hard to eliminate would simply multiply again.
“How many are left before we reach the boss?”
I closed my eyes and estimated the number of enemies remaining.
Then, at that very moment...
The heavy footsteps of a four-legged creature echoed from somewhere beyond the cavern.
“Damn it. Another dragon is coming up behind us.”
But fleeing was not a viable option.
Many hunters had yet to recover from the poison, and some would inevitably be left behind.
“Everyone, get up! If there’s any residue on your weapons, wipe it off immediately!”
Moritake Ito barked orders as the enemy drew nearer.
What followed was another battle no different from the high-level combat I had witnessed earlier.
“Ugh. It’s blinding.”
Fire and poison.
Thunder and roaring.
And with every ability unleashed, the terrain of the dungeon itself shifted.
I remained eighty meters away from the battle in case any stray sparks came flying toward me.
But then something unusual on the battlefield caught my eye.
“Heuk... Ugh...”
One of the hunters suddenly stopped moving and staggered in place.
At first glance, his youthful features made him appear to be a young teenager.
“What is he doing?”
It was the S-rank hunter who had introduced himself as Iori.
As I watched, the Japanese hunter clutched his chest and soon collapsed to his knees.
“Did he inhale too much poison? Is he having some kind of seizure?”
Something felt wrong.
Every other member of the team was focused on fighting the dragon, and of all possible places, that fellow had collapsed directly in front of its head.
Waaaaaagh!
I knew it.
I had sensed the timing was dangerous, and sure enough, the reptile unleashed its Poison Breath.
Boom!
By now, the raid team had gained enough experience to launch every kind of magical attack into the dragon’s open mouth.
The dragon’s life ended at the same moment.
“Iori!”
“Gasp!”
“Damn it!”
Only after the dragon’s severed head struck the ground did they finally notice what had happened to their companion.
Iori had been struck by the breath and hurled into a distant pool of poison.
If no one intervened, the unconscious hunter would sink beneath its surface.
“C-Can someone use an ability...?”
The Japanese awakened ones became flustered by the sudden accident.
Among those present, the only person capable of rescuing someone from a distance was the wind-element mage.
Unfortunately, the high-ranking mage who had fallen into the pool was that very person.
In that case, the rescue would have to be carried out physically.
“Huh?”
Splash!
I had started running the moment the dragon unleashed its breath and immediately jumped into the pool.
Drawing upon the experience of my previous life, I used my excellent swimming ability to retrieve the fallen hunter.
And that was all there was to it.
‘It’s been a while since I last swam.’
Well, now it was time to receive the Earthlings’ gratitude for saving their companion...
“Huh.”
As I wiped the liquid from my eyes, I finally noticed everyone’s expressions.
They were staring at me with their eyes wide open, clearly shocked.
The reason for their reaction was...
“He jumped into a pool of poison with his bare body...?”
Come to think of it, had I ever mentioned that I possessed poison resistance?
‘Wait. Now that I think about it, there’s no reason to reveal this ability to the entire world, is there?’
I did not deliberate for long.
I was a magician who was quick to protect his own interests.
Without delay, I subtly altered the condition of my body.
Smirk.
Thud.
Like the other S-class hunters who had been poisoned, I drained the color from my skin and pretended to faint.
“Oyaaaah!”
“H-Healers! Get over here right now!”
“Where’s the antidote potion?”
But I could not keep up the performance for long.
It was not merely antidote that had been poured up my nose.
Someone with an air of superiority was also staring down at me with cold eyes.
“Just a moment. Calm down.”
Still lying flat on the ground, I opened my eyes and tried to stop him.
After I managed to restrain Kang Changho for a while, Hunter Iori also regained consciousness once his treatment was complete.
“—No, Changho-ssi, please don’t do that. Just listen to me first. I’m also an S-rank, so I’m not going to die after falling into this for a few moments. What are you even thinking right now...?”
“Iori, are you all right?”
“You’re awake?”
The Japanese hunter slowly raised his upper body.
Even now, the Koreans beside him were speaking loudly, but he could not understand a single word they were saying.
“It’s broken.”
Iori removed the earpiece he had been wearing and tossed it onto the ground.
It seemed to have been damaged when he briefly lost consciousness during the fight with the dragon.
“Say hello to Giryeo. He’s the one who saved you.”
Only then did Iori learn what had happened while he was unconscious, and he immediately turned toward the Korean hunter.
“Are you saying he jumped into the poison pool to save me?”
Since the other man’s translator was still functioning, there should have been no difficulty understanding his words.
“I-I’m sorry! And... thank you. Truly.”
Kim Giryeo began to respond, but a guild member standing beside him translated his words instead.
“If you’re really grateful, then focus on the raid. He says you’re one of our main sources of firepower.”