LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 81
Si-hyun lightly waved her hand at Kim Hunter, as if to say not to worry.
Before I knew it, she was casually dangling the sword she held in one hand.
Kim Hunter observed her with a serious expression on her face.
‘…Does that mean it’s okay?’
If she takes care of it, it’ll be easier for me.
In the end, that instructor had effectively handled a swarm of ants for that time.
Kim Hunter thought, ‘Let’s trust her this once,’ and turned her gaze back to the front.
The unwavering demeanor of the woman seemed steadfast, and it instilled a bit of trust.
He refocused on exterminating the nearby ants.
Having successfully conveyed her intentions to the opponent, Si-hyun was aware of the students behind her.
‘I want to make the most out of this opportunity.’
A swarm of ants like that would be a piece of cake.
But simply defeating them wouldn’t hold much significance.
She wanted to demonstrate something valuable to the students.
Si-hyun quickly decided on her strategy.
She immediately sprung into action.
Swish——
Si-hyun’s wrist soared like lightning, cleanly severing an ant’s head.
With a smooth rotation of her sword, she swung diagonally, cutting another ant in half.
Kiiiyek!
Before the ant’s scream could even settle.
Si-hyun slashed downward, splitting yet another ant in two without a moment’s hesitation.
In an instant, three ants lay lifeless on the ground.
However, the ants weren’t just targeting Si-hyun.
Kiiieek—
Keeeek—
Two ants turned towards the students, while the rest lunged at Si-hyun.
Swish—
Thud.
Without hesitation, Si-hyun cut down two more ants that charged straight at her.
Yet, the number of approaching ants was still considerable.
In that moment, Si-hyun had to make a choice.
To sweep them away in style.
To deal with the ants trying to pass her from a distance.
Or to act like a tank.
Her decision was swift.
She had determined her approach even before the fight began.
“Pro, Professor!”
“Professor?!”
The students screamed in shock.
This was because Si-hyun was ignoring the ants charging at her front.
She methodically took out the ants trying to get by her.
Zip—
One ant was cut down.
Crack.
One ant clung to her thigh.
Swish.
Another ant was sliced apart.
Meanwhile, an ant attached itself to her calf.
“……”
Prioritizing the ants targeting the students, Si-hyun took down the remaining threats in front of her.
In the process, she naturally sliced off the ants stuck to her legs as well.
Throughout the fight, Si-hyun never let out a single sound of struggle.
Silently assessing the situation, she showcased the ideal demeanor of a C-rank tank.
Jae-woo, watching from behind, suddenly realized.
He understood what the professor’s actions meant.
‘The virtue of a tank…!’
Silence!
Calmly analyzing the situation and focusing on ‘protecting the party’!
It was the lesson he had heard a few days ago during a special lecture.
And now the professor was directly putting it into practice.
‘That’s a true tank right there!’
The scene unfolding before his eyes was vivid.
Not a single monster could get past her.
Yet, she wasn’t frantic about blocking or dodging either.
In the most efficient movements possible, she distinctly recognized what she could and couldn’t do.
With each flash of her sharp blade, the number of ants dwindled.
She was truly a reliable warrior guarding the front.
Jae-woo couldn’t even blink; he was capturing every one of the professor’s movements in his eyes.
To ensure he would never forget this moment, this dazzling display.
“Phew…!”
Si-hyun adjusted her stance.
Despite the swarm of a dozen ants that had rushed at them, not a single one managed to reach the students.
Jae-woo was ready to step in if any ants managed to slip through.
But the swarm couldn’t get past Professor Jeong Si-hyun, a giant wall.
He finally exhaled a breath he had been holding back and blinked.
He replayed in his mind the path he needed to take moving forward.
“Pro, Professor!”
Ah-reum dashed forward breathlessly.
Meanwhile, the people from the Dawn Guild had wrapped up their battle at a similar time.
Kim Hunter let out a soft gasp.
‘Whoa, impressive…’
She was continuously glancing at the onlookers between the bouts.
Just in case anything went awry, she could help them right away.
However, there was no need for help whatsoever.
The woman who stepped forward to protect the students had done an excellent job.
Even if the students were all E-rank, they were still Hunters.
So, it was likely easier for that woman to take down the attacking ants and then aid the students afterward.
But…
‘That kind of behavior wasn’t even in the initial plan.’
Her actions showed no hesitation.
She prioritized the protection of the party as if it were a given.
It was the epitome of an ideal front-line warrior.
‘Now I understand why the department head and the assistant were so eager.’
She was truly a hidden talent.
Through the recent battle, Kim Hunter finally understood the confidence of that time instructor.
She was more than capable of protecting the students.
She set aside her worries for the onlookers.
Deciding that she could focus solely on this matter.
“We don’t have much time left. Let’s take a short break and then advance again!”
“Yes, understood!”
“Yang Chae-wook, could you help me with a healing spell?”
“Sure, coming right up!”
Yang Chae-wook hurriedly moved around, checking on the conditions of his fellow rookies.
Swollen wrists and legs bitten by ants.
Using support skills to heal the injuries.
Simply by existing, the supporter had become a solid mental backbone for the Hunters.
Because they provided steady and reliable support for the party instead of using expensive and hard-to-find potions.
This was on a different level than temporary measures like bandages.
Thanks to that, the Hunters who took a short break advanced deeper into the dungeon without losing their initial momentum.
* * *
After countless battles, the group finally reached the entrance of the boss room.
Taking one last break, Yang Chae-wook let out a deep sigh and said.
“Phew, I’m glad we have Kim Hunter with us. I wonder what kind of pests swarm this much….”
“Hm, it’s nothing to be concerned about. If it were just you guys, it’d be best to assess the situation and leave right away. You’re all doing great.”
“Is that so? Hahaha.”
Yang Chae-wook chuckled awkwardly, and Kim Hunter nodded, continuing.
“The numbers of monsters are already at a level comparable to B-rank. Fortunately, there are no special entities.”
“For now, it’s still a C-rank dungeon. I’ll give it my all till the end!”
“Right, just keep doing what you’ve been doing.”
“Yes, understood!”
Kim Hunter lightly praised and encouraged the rookies.
In reality, they were doing very well.
If their rookie levels had been low, it would have been challenging to reach this point.
However.
‘That person is simply too striking.’
Kim Hunter looked at Si-hyun.
The rookies, busy with their own tasks, seemed to not fully appreciate it.
But the way she was single-handedly taking down the continuously leaking ants was impressive.
“Alright, let’s get up. Let’s finish this cleanly.”
“Sounds good! Let’s wrap it up!”
“Understood!”
As the Hunters of Dawn finished their preparations one by one, Si-hyun and the students also entered the boss room.
What awaited them was.
“Kiiieek——!”
Just as Si-hyun had predicted, a gigantic queen ant awaited them.
Its sharp, high-pitched scream echoed through the cave like it could tear through eardrums.
“Ew, gross.”
“Disgusting.”
The Hunters grimaced as they observed the appearance of the boss.
The massive body of the queen ant laid sprawled on the ground, covered in a shiny black exoskeleton.
From the bloated tip of its abdomen, new ants kept pouring out.
Those were the very ants that had tormented them all day long.
‘It’ll be tough, but definitely doable.’
Kim Hunter quickly finished calculating.
She had anticipated that such a boss would appear.
With a booming voice, she shouted.
“Let’s go!”
“Yes!”
And just like that, the battle began.
“Whoa!”
In this dungeon, they had decided to focus on strategy rather than training.
So Kim Hunter entrusted the safety of the rear guards to the rookies and pushed through the mass of ants.
Kiiieek!
Kiiieek!
As expected for a famous face, her performance was outstanding.
Ants were sliced apart in an instant.
“Kiiieek——!”
Once the queen fell, it would all end.
Naturally, the attention of the ants was drawn to Kim Hunter.
A fierce battle ensued, one against many.
“Reduce their numbers!”
“Don’t let Kim Hunter get isolated!”
The rookies of Dawn weren’t just sitting idle either.
They steadily removed the ants as they followed behind Kim Hunter.
Amidst the fierce battle, a magical archer shouted in a loud voice.
“I’ve run out of mana!”
The archer in charge of long-range attacks urgently added.
“I still have arrows left, but I’m low on mana! There’s no power behind it like this!”
They had been through long and endless battles to get this far.
The quantity of ants had brilliantly consumed the Hunters’ mana.
As a result, the weight of responsibility fell heavily on Kim Hunter’s shoulders.
‘…That’s enough!’
Kim Hunter pressed on against the ants.
She charged forward vigorously.
Narrowing the gap to the queen ant steadily.
And then, in that moment.
“Kiiieek!”
The queen ant, which had been focused on producing ants, suddenly made an unexpected move.
She lifted one of her massive front legs.
Boom—!
The ground shook with a loud thud as she struck down.
Kim Hunter quickly jumped back to dodge the attack.
The debris of a single ant shattered where he had just been standing.
With the queen lifting her leg, the other ants quickly filled in the space.
The distance was once again created.
‘This won’t be easy….’
Kim Hunter couldn’t help but quietly murmur.
Si-hyun and the students watched from a distance.
Si-hyun, who was reading the flow of battle, gently spoke.
“Hey, did you hear the rear guard yelling just now?”
“Uh, yeah… They said their mana ran out.”
“What would you all do if you were in their position?”
As Si-hyun asked her question, Ah-reum pondered and rolled her eyes.
Eun-byeol hesitated before answering.
“Uh, manage it better…?”
“Right, that’s true. Then, what’s an effective way to use it when you have only a little left?”
“Um….”
Eun-byeol fell into her thoughts.
In the meantime, Si-hyun moved forward.
Kiiieek—
She swiftly sliced through a few ants that had slipped out.
With a calm tone, Si-hyun said.
“The key is to use it as effectively as possible. Just watch.”
Si-hyun slowly walked forward.
Skillfully cutting down the approaching ants with her sword.
In the meantime, Kim Hunter returned to the vicinity of the queen ant.
The queen lifted her front legs once again.
All of the boss’s attention had shifted solely to Kim Hunter.
And in that moment!
Swoosh—!
“Kiiieek——!”
The queen ant, with a dagger embedded in one of its eyes, let out a massive scream.
Unable to bring down the raised front leg, it roared in pain.
“Whoa, impressive!”
Kim Hunter didn’t miss the opportunity and pressed even further.
The queen ant, now panicking, raised her massive legs again.
One leg was prepared to protect its head, while the other was readied for an attack.
As a result, Kim Hunter’s range of movement had widened dramatically.
Si-hyun threw another dagger infused with mana.
The dagger ricocheted off the queen ant’s massive front leg.
It didn’t deal any damage.
But that was more than enough.
In the gap that had formed, Kim Hunter charged forward again.
Si-hyun quickly dashed back toward the students.
And within moments, Kim Hunter reached right in front of the boss, pouring all her remaining mana into the barrage.
“It’s over!”
Her sword cleaved the boss’s body cleanly in half.
At that moment, Si-hyun placed her hand on Ah-reum’s shoulder and said.
“Ah-reum, shield us all.”
“Ah, okay!”
Boom—!
The queen ant’s body exploded, splattering thick mucus everywhere in the cave.
With a foul smell, the gooey substance covered the floor and walls.
Si-hyun and the students were shielded from the mucus.
However, all the other Hunters were not spared.
“Eew! What is this!”
“Ugh, the smell!”
Without exception, everyone was covered in a sticky green slime.
* * *
The assistant from the management department of the Dawn Guild waited outside the gate.
They were ready to warmly welcome the Hunters who had just concluded their dungeon expedition.
The first person they spotted was the group of onlookers.
They looked as clean and healthy as they had before entering.
“Oh, looks like you’re done! How was today’s tour everyone?”
“…It seems like the students had a great experience. Thank you.”
“Haha! I’m glad to hear that! I look forward to seeing you all again next time!”
“…Uh, yes. Take care.”
Si-hyun left with the students.
Soon after, the Hunters from Dawn appeared at the gate.
However, their appearance was quite unusual.
From rookies to Kim Hunter, not a single one escaped being covered in sticky green slime, dripping it on the floor as they walked out.
The assistant was taken aback.
He looked at Kim Hunter with a questioning gaze, demanding an explanation.