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Crackle-
Countless Hunters followed behind him.
The frigid air felt like it was freezing his lungs.
Shaking off the biting cold, he ran for a while. When he passed through the winding passage, Ju Uiryeong was met with a massive domed cavern.
There, inside—
“Hyung! The subscriber count is dropping! Ah, seriously, do something!”
“Dokyeom, leave it to Agon and fall back…!”
“Hey, Beom Yeonhu! You just focus on yourself!”
“Hunter, there are too many of them. You should retreat for now…!”
Seven Hunters, none in good shape, were gasping for breath as they fought zombie-like monsters rising from the ground.
Among them, Ju Uiryeong was chasing a man with a pale, panicked face. His wide eyes were filled with confusion and agitation. Anxiety and danger.
He looked as if he hadn’t foreseen this situation.
Uiryeong glanced around his surroundings, but there was no sign of the ‘same thing’ he was holding anywhere. Besides, all he saw were a motley crew of Hunters.
Uiryeong smiled. Maybe, just maybe.
He thought that person might not be Mr. Uhm.
Uiryeong’s gaze slowly shifted to a Hunter who was deftly dodging monsters while filming. Even in this precarious situation, where he could be caught and torn apart at any moment, he was weaving through the danger like a tightrope walker, capturing footage.
For now, yes, he needed to deal with that video-recording Hunter first.
***
Dokyeom was floored by the situation, which was even worse than he had expected. Normally, the guardians protecting the witch only appeared in set numbers per phase. But now, it was different.
Countless monsters poured out all at once, ignoring the phases.
Perhaps the witch, having sensed the death of another witch, felt threatened and summoned all her guardians.
Even so—
“Ugh!”
The sheer number was overwhelming.
A skull-shaped monster swung a jagged scythe, slicing through the air. Dokyeom barely blocked it with the barrel of his gun. Gritting his teeth, he shoved it away with all his might.
Agon, Beom Yeonhu, Kang Taesan, and Byeon Yeongchan were already busy dealing with dozens of monsters rising from the ground, leaving them no time to mind their surroundings.
Baek Jiun was the only exception. He had activated his Holy Rank skill
“Ah, hyung! How long are you going to be so frustrating?! Are you crazy?! You talked big about doubling the viewership, and now look at this?! I’m going crazy, I swear…!”
“Hey, you punk! Then come over here and try killing them yourself!”
[Your ‘Fame’ has decreased!]
[Your ‘Fame’ will soon turn into ‘Resentment’!]
As soon as he set foot in the snowy mountain, the ‘Fame value’ that had been applied flashed before his eyes multiple times. Even when he hastily dismissed it, the situation remained the same.
He knew full well that his channel was already teeming with all kinds of mockery. People were probably saying things like, ‘That E-rank is really trying hard,’ or ‘Someone get rid of that E-rank,’ throwing fits like they were about to vomit blood.
And on top of all this chaos, one Holy Rank kept stubbornly clinging to him.
[The demon ‘???’ from the ‘Lemegeton’ attempts to converse with you.]
[The demon ‘???’ from the ‘Lemegeton’ confidently says it can resolve this matter.]
Gasping for breath, Dokyeom barely retreated and wiped his moist lips.
At the end of his wavering gaze, a massive figure huddled on a throne, trembling by a flickering candle, caught his eye. Its wrists, clutching its disheveled hair, were as thin as bones, and its skin was as white as snow. Its body was nearly three meters tall.
That was the witch.
That witch was Pteia, the third boss, driven insane by ‘the past’.
In terms of rank, she was B-class, a boss that could be subdued even by a single A-class Hunter. She was so consumed by her past glory that she was more fragile and fearful than anyone else.
But precisely because of that, Pteia had raised far more ‘Guardians’ than the other two witches, enough to form a legion. All of her Guardians were A-class or higher.
Those were the monsters Dokyeom was facing now.
The problem was that the number of monsters he needed to eliminate had exceeded the usual scale.
[Number of Guardians eliminated: (189/50000)]
Kiyeeeek-!
“Hunter!”
In the distance, Kang Taesan shouted while wiping monster blood off himself. Dokyeom ducked to avoid a rusty sword flying from behind. A curse escaped his lips.
Dokyeom quickly scanned the surroundings. Just stalling for time here wasn’t the answer.
“Dali!”
Piee-!
Dali, who had been on all fours biting monster necks, reflexively answered and snapped his head up. When their eyes met, Dali wiped the monster blood from his mouth and immediately approached Dokyeom.
“Dali, can you jump and get there in one go?”
Pieek-
Even if he managed to take down all 50,000 Guardians, that wouldn’t be the end. Next, an S-class Guardian so massive it would barely fit in this cave would appear, and while he was killing it, the 50,000 Guardians would revive, leading to an endless bloodbath.
The only way to kill the witch from the start was a surprise attack that exploited the ‘gap’ between the rapidly changing situations.
Yes, a surprise attack.
And that ‘gap’ occurred every time he killed a hundred monsters. He had just passed 190, so it was almost time.
“Dali, when I give the signal…”
He was watching the witch and was about to speak when a sharp cry rang out from afar.
“Mr. Han Dokyeom! Send the child over to me!!”
Everyone fighting the monsters momentarily turned their heads to look in one direction.
From a pitch-black pit in a corner of the dark cave, someone stood up and urgently shouted. In their arms was a round object, and their dry shoulders trembled like aspen leaves from the cold and tension.
It was Ju Uiryeong.
“I’ll try to move at least the child to a safe place! Quickly!”
[Number of Guardians eliminated: (192/50000)]
Uiryeong clearly witnessed Dokyeom biting his lip tightly. A rusty axe flew at him from the side. Just as Uiryeong was about to scream, Dokyeom ducked and nimbly dodged the attack.
“The child…! And that Hunter filming looks too dangerous too! Send them both to me! No, I’ll come to you! Please do your best to move toward me! Hurry! It’ll be more dangerous if we delay any longer!”
He had to get the two of them out first. That way, he could make his plan succeed without drawing attention.
Shouting with a voice so strained it cracked, Uiryeong stepped into the cavern that seemed split between black and white. But before he could take a single step, he had to freeze.
Creeeak-
The entrance to the cave Uiryeong had entered was instantly covered in ice, sealing the passage.
Why is the entrance…
Uiryeong blinked blankly, his lost eyes moving in panic. After staring at the ceiling, the floor, even the empty air, his gaze finally settled on Dokyeom. More precisely, on the door behind Dokyeom’s shoulder.
It must have been the main gate. But now that gate was also frozen solid, isolating everyone.
Boom-! Bang!
The sound of a hammer striking from behind made his heart leap. It was the Hunters following him, pounding their fists against the ice to break it.
Ju Uiryeong sorted through his tangled thoughts and counted the people inside the cavern.
Total… seven people. No, including him, eight people in total.
Surely… the door should only seal when ten people are inside…?
Confident in his memory more than others, Uiryeong remembered every scene in the ‘Trap of the Supporting Actor’ quite vividly. This dome would only seal when ten ‘Challengers’ entered.
That was one of the prerequisites to kill the third witch. But why…
Either there was a very low-probability mix-up in his memory, or something had changed due to some influence. But everything that had happened on the way here matched, except for one thing—the ‘Inventory’.
Uiryeong hugged the object in his arms tightly, his expression anxious. It didn’t matter how nauseous he felt; this wasn’t the time to worry about such things.
After organizing the chaotic thoughts proliferating in his mind for a while, he finally reached a conclusion. His gaze slowly rose and fixed on ‘Han Dokyeom’, who was among the monsters. A sigh escaped him.
Maybe… yes. Maybe, as this world became real, something changed. Yes, that could be. This world had ‘come alive’ after receiving life, after all.
Having quickly made a decision, Ju Uiryeong regained a sharp light in his eyes. Even in his dazed gaze, a clear resolve formed. He’d have to try to know, but perhaps this situation could turn more in his favor.
For example, God was still on his side.
[Your ‘Fame’ is increasing!]
Seeing that, Uiryeong shouted more urgently and earnestly than anyone.
“Mr. Han Dokyeom! Everyone, gather where I am! We need to get out of here…! I’ll take responsibility and get you all out!”
You think this chapter was thrilling? Wait until you read Crow's Golden Fragment! Click here to discover the next big twist!
Read : Crow's Golden Fragment
