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Join the Server“Hunter Han Dokyeom, since the assault team has already entered, there will be fewer monster appearances deeper inside than at the entrance. It would be best to move quickly with Hunter Baek Jiwun.”
Jeong Ilun, quickly shaking the blood off his sword, took the lead and spoke urgently. Dokyeom looked around, then spotted lights illuminating the dark cave interior and swiftly moved toward them.
“Hyung?! Hyung, let’s go together! We’re a two-person team…! Ah! Team leader, you have to hold on until I pass! I’ll go fast, fast!”
Baek Jiwun, who had been yapping while grabbing an innocent Chinese hunter’s sleeve, saw Dokyeom quickly pass the monsters and, eyes wide, screamed and ran out. The Chinese video hunter followed behind like a leech.
Flicker.
‘This isn’t the place.’
The scenery around him changed rapidly. Lights installed by hunters who had gone ahead were placed throughout the snake-like cave, pushing back the darkness. Though it was still dim, it wasn’t dark enough to prevent friend-or-foe identification.
‘Was it about the middle?’
There was definitely a spawning room. Though he had only glanced at it, the memory of this scene remained faintly in Dokyeom’s mind. Thanks to that, he had been able to extract some facts from the memories he had groped through all night.
There were three places where female Lamias stored food by spinning cocoons, and those spawning rooms were distributed at the entrance, the middle, and the rear where the boss was.
The ‘food’ was stored under guard along with those eggs.
“Hyung, aren’t we going too deep? What if we get lost… Ah, a Lamia ahead! Hyung, there’s a Lamia ahead…!”
Click.
True to Baek Jiwun’s words, a Lamia dragging its snake skin along the dim darkness came into view. Unlike the many male-type monsters, its long hair and prominent chest marked it as a different gender from the monsters they had seen so far.
Drip. Drip.
The stench of blood, sharp in his nose, spread right after.
“Huh… Heuk…”
At that moment, Dokyeom’s heart sank. His hand, which had been aiming the gun far ahead, froze. Faintly, he heard gasping and pitiful moans. The man struggled with all his might, but his body was trapped in the Lamia’s tightly clamped jaws like a vice, showing no sign of escape.
When the pale light brushed the man’s face, Dokyeom stopped breathing.
“!”
He was one of the search team from the Shihyeon Guild. The very one Dokyeom had been watching closely. His heart pounded wildly, but his mind was empty as if swept by a tsunami. His fingertips trembled in confusion.
It had only been about twenty minutes since they entered…? Could this happen in just twenty minutes?
It was that hunter. The A-rank hunter who had been gasping in that bloody vision.
“What’s wrong, hyung.”
Noticing his ragged breathing, Baek Jiwun looked at him with wide eyes and asked. Dokyeom calmly steadied his breath and collected his thoughts. That Lamia was a lure to draw hunters to the ‘spawning room.’
The important thing here was ‘who’ had ordered it. He would find out when he got there.
“Jiwun, radio our location to the team leader right now.”
“What are you going to do, hyung? Hyung? Hyung?! Just wait until the others come. Even if you charge in…”
He couldn’t pretend not to see because one of the Chinese hunters who had followed was filming with blazing eyes. He had to at least pretend to go along. He also needed to find the spawning room’s location.
‘[Confusion]’
Bang!
Dokyeom immediately loaded the skill into a bullet and pulled the trigger. The bullet, fired with a furious noise, passed the Lamia’s ear by a hair’s breadth and embedded into the damp cave wall. Fragments of the wall flew into the air.
Swoosh.
In an instant, two sinister eyes in the darkness turned toward him. The chilling killing intent made his spine stand on end, confirming that it was indeed an A-rank monster.
But just as the Lamia’s nose seemed to twist hideously-
Sssss.
The Lamia, with its prey in its mouth, began to quickly retreat into the dark cave. Its movement was so fast it reminded him of a water snake, and Dokyeom moved quickly, afraid of losing it.
“Hyung? No, why are you going there! That’s a lure! Why do you pretend to be so smart and not know that!”
“Then should we just let it go? Not search? Stop talking and wait here until the team leader comes.”
“No, how can I let you go alone!”
The voice following behind Dokyeom was almost a lament. But in the end, Baek Jiwun, muttering ‘I must be crazy, crazy,’ just ran after him at full speed.
Flicker.
Despite appearances, Baek Jiwun was sharp as a tack. And as he said, this behavior was more like a lure than a retreat.
Lamias were highly intelligent monsters, skilled in luring prey alive to their habitat.
Probably, at the end of this were dozens of females in their spawning season.
Chasing after it would do no good. Dokyeom sent his location via smartwatch at each section so Team Leader Jeong Ilun could know. He also made sure to keep his distance from the Lamia ahead.
‘At this point, he could pretend to have lost it and pull back.’
The Lamia’s figure had already been swallowed by the dark cave, barely visible. He had also transmitted the route here via radio. If he joined Team Leader Jeong Ilun on the way and they attacked the spawning room together, they might even save that A-rank hunter.
So Dokyeom decided to stop here and turn toward Baek Jiwun. But suddenly, his body was yanked back, stopping all movement.
“!”
Pih-ee-ee!
It was because Dali had grabbed Dokyeom’s clothes from behind and pulled hard.
“Dali, why…”
As soon as he steadied himself, Dali’s eyes were sharp like an animal sensing its natural enemy.
Something was so frightening and displeasing that Dali let out a screech as if tearing his throat. His eyes, clean as moonlight, stared at Dokyeom without blinking, conveying something repeatedly with fierce intensity.
That it was dangerous, that he shouldn’t go.
Finally realizing something, Dokyeom also raised his head and fixed his gaze on the dark cave where the Lamia had disappeared. His senses opened, and his mind grew complicated.
Pih-ek! Pih-ee-ek!
Dali’s cry, while holding onto his clothes, conveyed something he had warned about. Suddenly, Dokyeom saw beyond Dali’s shoulder that the video hunter, who had been capturing the whole situation, looked urgent and anxious. It seemed he was frustrated at having to stop right before something.
Pih-ee-ek! Pih-ee!
There was only one reason Dali was acting like this. That is-
‘Dali. If you sense three or more beings gathered inside the gate, let me know. Any way is fine. Just let me know.’
This was something Dokyeom had clearly instructed before entering the gate. And it was based on ‘hostility.’ It was different from monsters. When he said this, Dokyeom had been thinking of the ‘Chinese hunters.’
No way.
Something scraped through his mind. Without thinking twice, Dokyeom quickly turned around and began to leave the spot.
“No, hyung? You were going fine, now what? Dali, you too, what’s wrong?!”
“Stop talking and just follow me out!”
Baek Jiwun’s eyes blinked in disbelief as he watched Dokyeom sprint away. After glancing between the cave entrance right in front and Dokyeom, Baek Jiwun finally spat out ‘This is insane’ and followed Dokyeom.
But it was only three steps.
Shhh.
Han Dokyeom’s body, which had been moving away, had already stopped for a while. His shoulders, which had been moving urgently moments ago, were now stiff and still. It was only natural.
Ahead, further than where Han Dokyeom stood, pitch-black things were narrowing the distance, their sinister eyes gleaming. Those dark, immensely huge things crawling along the cave floor.
The Lamias were countless.
Baek Jiwun tried to scream in surprise but swallowed his breath. His heart pounded at the sudden misfortune. No, what in the world was going on? Baek Jiwun stared at Han Dokyeom, who had started retreating with clenched fists.
That’s when it happened.
Crunch.
Something so huge it took his breath away passed by Baek Jiwun. The sound of snake scales slowly and heavily sweeping the ground made his spine crawl. The thick body brushing past was vividly horrifying.
It was that Lamia.
“Huh, heok… keok…”
The female Lamia that had been luring everyone here with a hunter in its mouth. In its hideously gaping mouth, the Shihyeon Guild hunter was still gasping in a daze.
It seemed to be going hunting again. Or perhaps luring prey.
But that Lamia’s eyes were glazed as if possessed. Not just it, but the other Lamias that had blocked Han Dokyeom’s path with hunched backs were no different.
Baek Jiwun, stiff as a board, barely steadied his trembling breath.
“…Hyung. I think…”
I don’t know why Han Dokyeom’s back, standing so stubbornly, made him swallow dry saliva. Baek Jiwun felt like dying just looking at that motionless back. It was when the Lamia with the hunter in its mouth passed by Han Dokyeom. Finally, Baek Jiwun muttered in a voice full of despair.
“…I think we’re in trouble.”
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