SWNOVELXO Chapter 199: It Looks Nonexistent, But It Exists
It looks non-existent, but it exists.
This was a remark made by Choi Jin when describing a certain reptile existing on Earth.
Instead of hiding itself like a common animal in the thick trees, it used advanced magic to conceal itself, waiting to ambush.
[Nest of the Grass].
This was known as an A-Class Gate, renowned as the habitat for the ‘Green Dragon’, one of the three dungeons where dragon species appeared.
And I already knew how to dispatch the insidious monster residing there.
To prepare for this day, I had received advice directly from the famous dragon hunter, Choi Jin.
Furthermore, the information I gathered back then was meticulously recorded without leaving out a single detail.
【Strategy Tips】
· When you first enter the dungeon, all the Green Dragons will be concealed, so make sure to wield the analyzer and scan the surroundings 360˚.
· The invisibility state will be broken once the dragon is hit.
· They crawl at a naturally slow speed, so defeating them one by one poses no major problem, but be cautious as dragons in hiding could approach in chaos. (Gathering in one place is a recipe for disaster.)
Additionally, they have high resistance to physical attacks, rivaling that of a golem.
Or rather, although they resemble grass in color, they surprisingly aren’t weak to fire, and so forth.
As I opened up the notebook I brought, the handwritten information about the Green Dragon was all neatly laid out.
“Anyone who hasn’t received their buffs, come over here~”
“How many potions did you bring? Three? You brought quite a few. Haven’t high-grade potions been scarce lately without scalpers?”
“Everyone memorized their positions, right? Make sure not to panic inside the dungeon later. You must activate your analyzers at your designated angles during each timing.”
But why has the area been so noisy since earlier?
I paused my review of the strategies and looked up. What I saw were hunters equipped in various ways.
This was none other than the bridge in Daejeon, where [Nest of the Grass] had appeared.
The people in front of me were fellow hunters who would be joining me in the dragon hunt.
“Team Leader, check out the new gear I got. I found it at the market last time…”
However.
“I could hardly find something that fits my body…”
Glancing over.
The hunters from the Korean Magic Tower preparing the strategy at the gate entrance were glancing furtively at one spot for some reason since earlier.
And the likely cause for their secretive gazes must have been that young man.
“Wow. Seeing Jeong Ha-seong in person, his magic power is insane…”
“Hey, keep it down. Shut your mouth. An S-Class can hear us way better than we can.”
In that moment, the most famous Awakened in Korea was standing there.
A white coat with a pattern resembling diamonds repeated ad infinitum. And two layers of bracelets with a red one-handed sword.
Considering the comfortable weather, that outfit might seem a bit warm.
However, for hunters prioritizing performance over style, such a choice was only natural.
I gazed quietly at the young man draped in the item known as [White Scale Armor].
Perhaps sensing that gaze, he turned his head to meet my eyes.
“Is something the matter?”
To be precise, I hoped nothing would arise out of that “something.”
“No, nothing.”
As I stood side by side with Jeong Ha-seong, it was clear we had been granted permission to hunt dragons safely.
– You want to bring Ha-seong along? Plus, just pay him the same rate as the other A-Class hunters?
– Yes.
– Oh~ then it’s definitely okay. Absolutely okay.
Given that the permission for a strategy granted after a fierce bidding war with Neo Sisters was used to ask this, I expected a refusal.
But upon hearing the details, I realized although dragons had significant economic value, they possessed exceptional strength, making the hunting process perilous, increasing the likelihood of casualties.
Hence, having an S-Class hunter participate was welcomed by the guild, or so they said.
With our numbers being few, there was no need to share excessively, but having elite support significantly mitigated risks for guild members.
‘As I mentioned before, it seems Esther herself couldn’t come due to a lot of cleanup related to Chairman Go.’
Anyway, I was relieved that the participation request was smoothly accepted.
I told Ha-seong to wait here and headed toward where the guild members of the Korean Magic Tower were gathered.
It was to double-check that nothing was overlooked before we set off.
“Team Leader, both Ha-seong and I are ready. When do we leave?”
“I think we can start soon. We just finished checking as well.”
But suddenly, a strange atmosphere was palpable.
It had been quite noisy around, but as I approached the Team Leader of Magic Tower’s Team 1 for conversation, the murmurs abruptly quieted down.
‘What’s going on?’
I turned my head to check for confirmation and noticed hunters hurriedly avoiding eye contact within my limited field of vision.
“Ahem.”
“Cough, cough.”
Ah…
It seems, on the surface, being an S-Class Awakened meant I was gaining some attention as well.
‘They don’t even realize what they are looking at is an empty shell of a person.’
How pitiful.
Amidst the preparation for the dragon hunt, I surveyed the hunters gathered on the bridge, sinking into contemplation.
Having reincarnated with an F-Class body, I never expected a day like this would come.
Receiving special treatment again for being among the powerful felt incredibly unique.
“Wow, what a gaze from those people…”
“I heard Kim Gi-ryeo Hunter will be more polite in person…”
Though there were some differences in detailed assessments, I decided to be satisfied knowing I was treated like an S-Class Hunter, alongside Jeong Ha-seong.
*
And thus, the dragon hunt commenced.
“Ha-seong, fight hard!”
“Be careful, both of you!”
Just as I was delighted at the participation of an S-Class, during the actual hunt, Jeong Ha-seong would part ways with the team from the Korean Magic Tower.
After all, being alongside the S-Class Fire Mage would only lead to unnecessary injuries.
“Alright, let’s proceed rightward and slowly reduce the number of dragons.”
Ha-seong and I began our respective strategies as separate groups.
However, humorously enough, our progress went much faster, despite being the minority.
Thanks to the presence of the Great Mage, who had keen instincts and analyzed enemies’ locations with the analyzer.
‘Wow… This level of concealment is indeed top-notch. It’s much better than that guy Park Jun-tae or whatever!’
Unlike the cautious advance of the Korean Magic Tower, carefully confirming enemies’ positions like crossing a bridge, here we strode boldly with long strides as the S-Class group.
Before long, we spotted a curled-up sleeping dragon.
Alright, target locked, now it’s time to execute the plan.
“Jeong Ha-seong.”
I pointed my index finger to accurately indicate the enemy’s position. And in this state, I commanded.
“Cast it as ‘clearly’ as possible.”
Ha-seong responded swiftly.
Before I could elaborate further, he summoned a red spear of fire in the air and shot it straight ahead.
“Kaahh!”
The dragon hit by Ha-seong’s skill was unveiled from its invisibility and let out a pained cry.
The wings of the Green Dragon, penetrated by the skill, left a round hole reminiscent of one made by a punching machine.
The edges of the wound weren’t exactly immaculate, but compared to a past where it merely emitted a faint flame without form, this was truly a monumental improvement.
“Well done.”
This was the result of previous days.
I had significantly corrected the primitive sorcerer’s habit of leaking magic power every time he cast a spell.
“Now, you can actually create circles.”
Seeing the magic had sharpened so much in just a few weeks, it was clear that Jeong Ha-seong had been putting in tremendous effort.
And thus, my conscience began to pang…
‘Hmm.’
In fact, I had lured Ha-seong into this endeavor with the intent of checking whether he could adequately apply what he learned in classes.
Kang Chang-ho was trapped in jail, and I needed an extra labor force for the dragon hunt.
However, Ha-seong wasn’t aware that some alien was trying to cheat on a week’s worth of teaching while trying to shift the workload onto him.
“Mr. Kim Hunter, between the first and second shots, which was better?”
“Uh?”
“The first skill seemed to disperse mana evenly across the spear, while I focused the energy on the tip for the second… I wonder if it worked?”
His face was having an unbearably docile expression as he awaited my evaluation.
He looked like a model student waiting for praise in front of a respected teacher after achieving excellent grades.
‘Ha-seong, this is why you’ve been taken advantage of by the association…’
As expected, Jeong Ha-seong was entirely oblivious to someone’s scheme and presented himself with a sincere attitude.
Yet, I couldn’t halt this act just because of a pang of conscience.
No, instead, I had to bite the bullet and exploit that young man’s good nature.
‘If there’s even a 0.1% chance of obtaining a Dragon’s Lung, I need to seize it!’
If it weren’t for this greedy desire, I wouldn’t have entered the monster’s den in the first place.
“Well, simply burning a dragon to death feels a bit too trivial.”
Right after the first Green Dragon fell.
I commanded the young hero.
From now on, he must avoid killing the Green Dragons immediately and try to incapacitate them in some way.
“Just so you know, this is all for your training, alright? It’s about practicing your strength control~”
In response, Ha-seong began various attempts on each dragon we encountered.
At first, he tried to burn the limbs to limit activity, but the monster couldn’t withstand the damage and died, so it was a failure.
Next, he attempted to extinguish the oxygen around it to suffocate the beast, but upon removing the flames, the dragon was discovered in a nicely crisp state, etc.
There were some trial and error, but that S-Class hunter soon got the hang of it.
“It’s done.”
Using a thin spear of fire, he selectively damaged only the dragon’s vital muscles.
‘Bringing Jeong Ha-seong into the gate has proven the experience gained from hunting is not to be underestimated.’
With wide-open eyes, I approached the writhing carcasses of the dragons lying helplessly.
And I stabbed their tongues repeatedly with the hydra’s dagger I had previously drawn.
This way, the feeble lives that had been tenuously hanging on would succumb to the overlapping poison damage.
“Kaek!”
This was the action referred to as ‘spooning’ in expert terminology.
The minimum threshold for rewards dropping to upper contributors is surprisingly low, so doing this gives even weaklings like me a chance to acquire additional items.
Of course, Ha-seong didn’t find this situation particularly strange.
What I did was merely a common practice in the hunter industry.
‘It’s just that trying this with monsters as dangerous as dragons is an uncommon sight.’
The only regret was that I was alone in reaping these benefits.
But as the Fourth S-Class Hunter, I couldn’t allow others to see me only spooning.
“Ha-seong, I’ll take care of the finishing touches from now on. Don’t worry, just focus on your practice…”
I decided to be satisfied with that degree of intervention.
But then.
“Kaah!”
“Oh no!”
Ting!
Just as I was about to stick my sword into the next dragon for the poisoning process.
Suddenly, the dragon on the ground twisted its head and batted the approaching blade away with its mouth.
It looked like just a simple head shake, but why was the impact enough to twist my wrist?
‘I dropped my sword.’
Twinkle.
It seemed this was the dragon’s last kick, as a new item floated beside Ha-seong.
However, Ha-seong, without checking the reward, walked toward the direction where the sword was flung.
“Oh, I’ll bring it back.”
Given his flat tone, it seemed no one suspected the secret that someone’s grip was incredibly feeble.
In that moment.
As Ha-seong bent down to pick up the sword, he suddenly flinched his shoulder.
“Uh?”
“Oh.”
Focusing to see what was wrong, a thin line like red silk appeared on the hero’s finger.
No, he should’ve lifted the sword by the handle! Why would he grab the blade with the direction twisted?
“What’s going on, did you get cut?”
As I approached, Ha-seong, while picking up the [Hydra], spoke, looking somewhat surprised.
“Yeah. I didn’t expect this item would have such good magic conductivity. But it’s not deeply cut, so I’m fine…”
Swipe.
Ha-seong halted his words and looked down at his finger.
“……”
“……”
And there, his skin was turning greenish.
Ha-seong and I stood side by side, expressing our feelings in silence.
“Excuse me, what tier is this sword?”
“Epic.”