Swordmaster Healer - Episode 80
TL: Boko
Editor: Ren
Chapter 27: Dragon's Nest (1)
"There's one strong magic response… Is it the Boss?"
"The magic reaction is too small for it to be the Boss and it's too early for it to appear."
Someone cautiously speculated that it was the Boss, but Ki Hoon refuted him. Sung Joon was also of the same opinion as him.
"It's also too early for it to be a Mid Boss…"
"Would it perhaps be a colossal monster?" Soo Young asked anxiously.
A colossal monster boasted a giant body and was the kind of monster that was tough to deal with amongst monsters of similar ranking.
"It doesn't seem to be a colossal monster; it seems to be a large monster," Sung Joon said, relieving Soo Young.
"The mana is stable. It seems like it hasn't noticed our approach yet."
"If that's the case, wouldn't it be better to take a detour?" one of the party members suggested.
A large monster was rare, so most of the party members had no experience hunting them.
Therefore, everyone was anxious and wanted to take a detour if it was possible.
"Let's rest here for a little bit," Ha Yeon announced, and simultaneously called for Sung Joon, Eun Joo and Ki Hoon.
"Would it be best to take a detour?" Ha Yeon asked.
Sung Joon shook his head and opened his mouth.
"If we take a detour, we don't know how long we'll have to walk around. While we're taking a detour, there may be more monsters laying in wait," he said.
"I'm of the same opinion. Though the large monster is indeed big, if we cooperate, we can take it down without much difficulty."
Ki Hoon agreed with Sung Joon's opinion. He (Ki Hoon) had experience hunting a large monster during a Raid, which was why he had more confidence than the other party members.
"Also, the purity of the magic stones that the large monster drops is higher. You'll all like it," Ki Hoon finished.
"It's decided. Eun Joo, could you tell the party members?"
"Ok, I'll do that."
As per Ha Yeon's request, Eun Joo spread the contents of their meeting. Fortunately, no one was against their decision. The party pushed past their anxiety in order for them to defeat the large monster.
It wasn't long after they pushed through the forest that the owner of the powerful mana revealed itself.
"A Wyrm…" someone softly revealed its identity.
Its body was crouched and it was in a deep sleep; its identity was that of the S-rank monster, the 'Wyrm'.
"If it's a large S-rank monster, then it won't be easy," Soo Young said.
"I've defeated a large S-rank monster before. It's not as hard as you think," Ki Hoon replied.
"Enclosing it in a semicircle and ambushing it is best. I'll prepare the buff."
As per her instructions, the party members spread out in a semicircle and closed the distance to the Wyrm. It seemed as though their ambush had succeeded, but the Wyrm had detected their presences and opened its eyes.
Roar!
The Wyrm, which had noticed the trespassers, opened its gigantic mouth and roared.
A weak Dragon Fear was mixed into its roar and the two weakest party members stumbled dangerously. Cleverly, the Wyrm didn't miss that opportunity.
It raised its head towards the two stumbling party members and spewed a scorching blaze.
"Fire Protection!"
Ha Yeon cast a buff that raised their fire resistance before they were hit by the flames. The buff had definitely gone through, but it wasn't enough to block the Wyrm's blaze.
"AH!"
Fortunately, one of them had blocked it with his Aura Shield, but the other was swept away by the hot flames and collapsed. He yelled in agony and his body twisted violently.
"Heal!"
A party member beside him took out a portable fire extinguisher and snuffed the flames while Sung Joon quickly cast his 'Heal'. Due to the S-rank Hunter Ha Yeon's buff, the burns weren't severe.
If they considered the 'Wyrm's' combat abilities, the Wyrm's breath would have melted the Hunter, if not for Ha Yeon's buff.
'So this is an S-rank Hunter's buff…?'
The Bless buff that she had used in the beginning was also really effective. Sung Joon was in awe.
"Ugh…"
The pain seemed to subside as the healing began, since his painful screams died down and the burns were quickly healed.
While the shield-bearing party member covered him, the others came to the burned party member's rescue.
"The rate of healing is extremely fast."
"Yeah… It seems like he'll be able to join us immediately."
Sung Joon's healing power was higher than that of other rank Hunters. That was why he was able to heal severe wounds so quickly.
Usually, if someone was severely wounded, it would take a long time for them to be healed, so they would leave the battle and participate in the next one, but the injured Hunter was being healed so quickly that he would be able to participate in the battle soon.
'Mr. Kang Sung Joon's healing power is tremendous… I can see him as an S-rank Hunter…'
The burned party member was moved to the rear and when he saw his healing rate, Soo Young couldn't help but be astonished once more.
Since she was a Healer, she was well aware that if he had this much healing power, at worst, he would be a top tier rank, and if he was placed a little higher, he would be an S-rank.
"Ice Spear."
Ki Hoon calmly completed his magic. Four ice spears manifested in the air and shot towards the Wyrm's head.
However, the Wyrm spewed out its breath again and the ice spears melted futilely.
"Bless!"
Ha Yeon used her buff as a signal and the party initiated a full-on attack.
"What is this! Why is it so fast!?"
"Please calm down!"
It was impossible for a Wyrm to fly. However, its movements were faster than expected, so it was difficult to inflict injuries on it.
It swung its spiky tail and fluttered its wings, so it was difficult to approach. What's worse, the duration of the Bless buff was short.
"Something's coming!" warned Sung Joon, as he felt a presence.
Ha Yeon, who was maintaining the buff, came up beside Sung Joon.
"Where is it?"
"The sky. It's approaching really fast," Sung Joon replied curtly.
Ki Hoon was keeping the Wyrm busy, so he didn't have the energy to spread his Searching Magic, but it wasn't really necessary.
Eleven Wyverns appeared in the sky.
"They're Wyverns!"
"Damn it! They must have come when they heard its roar!"
Fighting the Wyrm was already a handful, but with the appearance of the rank Wyverns, a part of the party members went into a panic.
And eleven of them wasn't a small number, too.
The group of Wyverns flew through the air and quickly lowered their altitude. Sung Joon gazed at them with his two sharply gleaming eyes.
'First, I'll crush their spirits.'
He drew his dagger and threw it forcefully at the Wyvern that looked like the leader of the group. It cut through the air, clad in a sharp aura.
The aurclad dagger lodged into the center of the Wyvern's forehead.
The Wyvern spurted blood and plunged to the floor.
"You're amazing! To have hit the Wyvern with your dagger from this far away…!" Ha Yeon said admiringly, as she watched from beside him.
However, Sung Joon maintained his calm. There were still ten Wyverns remaining. He thought it was too early for him to be celebrating.
"The Wyverns are focusing their attention on you, my lord," Rishubalt reported, and Sung Joon furrowed his eyebrows.
"Did I aggro* them…?" (*Aggro is a gaming term. It means to draw the attention of an enemy. It can also mean other things.)
However, it seems that he had indeed crushed their spirits, as they didn't swoop down upon the party members who were fighting the Wyrm. He could see them just hovering in the air.
Sung Joon announced, "It seems like I've drawn aggro. It'd be best if everyone got away from me."
As per his warning, Ha Yeon and Soo Young, as well as Ki Hoon, widened the distance between them and Sung Joon. The group of Wyverns which hovered in the sky, waiting for an opportunity to strike, swooped down on Sung Joon together.
"Return."
Sung Joon's dagger returned to him. He threw his dagger once again, striking the forefront Wyvern's neck.
The Wyvern fell helplessly.
'There are only nine left now.'
Sung Joon raised his sword. He had wanted to reduce their numbers more through his dagger throwing, but they were too close now. They were right in front him, attacking him with their sharp talons, but it was pointless before his aura.
The group brushed past him and whenever they attacked, three or four Wyverns would fall before his aura.
'Now there's only one left.'
The remaining Wyvern attempted to escape. However, Sung Joon had no intention of allowing a source of mana to escape. He raised his left hand and opened his mouth.
"Return," he ordered.
He threw his returned dagger. The dagger flew through the air, crushing the Wyvern's skull and piercing its brain.
When he saw the Wyvern fall lifelessly to the floor, Sung Joon absorbed the mana from the corpses. He hadn't replenished it all, but he did manage to recover a part of his mana and stamina.
He turned his head towards the direction in which his party members were fighting the Wyrm.
'It's almost over.'
The Wyrm's entire body was spurting blood. There were three party members that were injured, but since Soo Young hadn't missed them and had started their treatment, no one had died.
"Ha!"
While the Wyrm was fighting the other party members, Eun Joo saw a gap. Letting out a brief battle cry, she leapt onto its back.
Befitting an S-rank Hunter, she was good at aiming for gaps, and severed its spine with her greatsword clad in white aura.
The Wyrm screamed and fell. The party members raised their weapons, ran towards the Wyrm, and hacked at it. The Wyrm didn't last long and soon died, and the party members cheered.
"An item came out. Is there someone who wants to bid for it?"
Aside from a magic stone, if an item dropped, the party dealt with it largely in two ways. They would sell it on site, or sell it to the Dungeon Bureau.
In both scenarios, the profits from selling the item would be divided equally amongst the party. In the former case, however, the person who successfully bid for the item would be excluded.* (*Basically, whoever wants the item pays for it. And that money is divided amongst all the other party members.)
"Ms. Park Ha Yeon, wouldn't it be a good idea to rest for a bit?" Sung Joon suggested to Ha Yeon.
He was still fine, but it seemed like the other party members were a bit tired due to fighting the Wyrm. Since they didn't know what would happen in an S-rank dungeon, they had to rest often in order to maintain tip-top condition.
"That sounds like a good idea." Ha Yeon nodded her head.
"Let's rest for a little!" Eun Joo announced, and the party members gathered, weakly sinking to the floor. Two people were taking watch and the remainder were resting.
"If you hadn't aggroed the Wyverns, Mr. Kang Sung Joon, we would've sustained a lot of casualties."
"Your dagger throwing skills seemed amazing."
"It was tough with just the Wyrm, but if we had fought the Wyverns as well… Whew… It's awful just thinking about it."
The party members expressed their thanks to Sung Joon. They didn't lack combat experience. Therefore, they were well aware of what an amazing thing Sung Joon had done.
If he hadn't aggroed the Wyverns, they knew that there was a high possibility that they would've sustained high casualties.
Despite their praise and admiration, Sung Joon simply smiled. If he made a wrong move, he could look conceited, so he was cautious.
"Break's over! Let's proceed!" Eun Joo said.
They pushed on and continued their dungeon assault. Though their enemies were fierce, with Sung Joon's active role, they were able to break through without much difficulty.
"Your synchronization rate is at 33%."
Sung Joon mopped up a group of monsters comprised of Lizardmen and Dragonkin and absorbed their mana; and Rishbult reported on his synchronization rate's growth.
"It seems more difficult than the Eroding Dungeon," Sung Joon said.
Eun Joo nodded her head.
"That's because the S-rank dungeons are also divided into tiers."
"I wonder what will show up as the Boss; I'm looking forward to it."
They laughed softly in order to reduce the tension and clear up the mood.
"I just hope it's not a Dragon," Eun Joo said.
A Dragon was a SS-rank monster which was no different from a walking disaster. It was unlikely that it would appear as a Boss in an S-rank dungeon, but the possibility wasn't zero, so they needed to be cautious.
"It'll probably just be a Hatchling."
Though Hatchlings were also difficult to take on, they were nothing compared to a Dragon.
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