[Distance run so far: 10Km]
Jin-Woo rested his hands on his waist and sighed.
[You have completed the 10Km run.]
[Status
Strength: 219
Health: 200
Agility: 230
Intelligence: 250
Awareness: 200
AP: 0
Physical damage resistance: 46%]
The neighborhood had always been fairly quiet, but there was no one around today.
'Perhaps the Jeju Island raid broadcast has started.' Jin-Woo thought to himself.
The S-rank hunters from Korea and Japan were hunters possessing power beyond a shadow of doubt.
'What use would it be for me to watch that? Even without me, with those powers arrayed against the ants, I'm sure the Jeju Island raid will succeed.'
'Unless something truly unexpected happens.'
Jin-Woo combed his hair with a hand. He made an effort to reassure himself, but his anxiety persisted.
'Seung-Eun changed his mind and decided to join the raid.'
'He didn't need to come. They already had enough people.'
He recalled how Seung-Eun would go with him when he raided the dungeon and would come to his rescue when he was in danger of losing his life. He stood by him even when he was still the least skilled hunter and was ridiculed by everyone.
When Seung-Eun suddenly revealed that he was only pretending to be a D-rank hunter, he felt deceived. It was as though he was the only one who was weak. The sense of betrayal, though, rapidly subsided. It didn't matter. Seung-Eun was still there for him through thick and thin.
Seung-Eun's efforts were genuine.
But lately, he was unable to understand him. He wasn't able to read Seung-Eun. It appeared as though he still had some secrets to keep. And he would be in for some unpleasant surprises.
Even so, he couldn't help but be concerned about him.
...
"With the exception of a couple of them, they're pretty much as we have expected." Jong-In spoke to the man beside him.
"Haven't seen these guys before... Perhaps they're the queen's bodyguards? They seem pretty weak for that though." Tae-Gyu, an expert in archery magic, cast a quick glance at the dead mutant ants.
"Their eyes have degenerated. I think it's an adaptation for working in the darkened interior of the cave."
"That should make it easy. If these guys aren't the bodyguards, we should have ample firepower to handle them."
"You really think the queen is here? You know how it can be... the queen abandoning the peasant and running away..." Byung-Gyu spoke to Yoonho.
"They're ants, so I doubt it. Plus, this is an island. There's nowhere for them to run to." Yoonho replied.
'I wonder if the feed is watchable, given how dark it is here. I guess the HQ would fix that if needed.' The cameraman adjusted the camera attached to his helmet.
There were only seven hunters in the cave. Jong-In lit up the way with his fireball floating in front.
They kept walking for a few minutes until they came across ant eggs.
"That's...!" Jong-In opened his mouth in surprise.
"The hatchery."
Hundreds of eggs, each the size of an adult male, were discovered in the cave.
"For the hatchery to be here... that must mean the queen's chambers are nearby."
"Those ants must have been guarding the hatchery after all. I'll send'em all up in flames." Jong-In put his hand up in front of him.
"Hold on a second!" Hae-In suddenly shouted from behind. "There's a single hatched egg that's larger than the rest of them!"
"No way... could it be, that this is an ant egg? Just what crawled out of this thing?" Byung-Gyu said in surprise. "A bodyguard? But then..."
"All we have to do is to kill the queen. Everything else is superfluous." Yoonho patted his friend on the shoulder.
'I understand Byung-Gyu's reaction, over the top as it may be...'
'How monstrous...!'
Seung-Eun thought with his finger on his chin. 'Isn't that the egg of the ant king?'
He couldn't remember the scene before Jin-Woo arrived. After all, the resurfacing of his old recollections took place several months ago. In addition, he mainly recalled the life he lived rather than the details of the manhwa he had read just once before passing away.
...
"Kenjo, look at you, man." Shimizu, a Japanese healer, said teasingly.
"Yeah well, it was a little bit more troublesome than I had first expected." Kenjo said grumpily, his hand holding the severed head of an ant. "They swarmed me in formations using some semblance of orders. I think I got about 30, but the fuckers got me in my shoulder and side."
"Want a heal? It'll cost ya."
Another hunter stood on the sidelines awkwardly watching the two of them talk.
"Shimizu, stop being a pain and heal me up already."
"But I want this one thing, you know. Not money this time, though." The girl smiled cheekily.
"What then? You make more money than me anyway. You sure got a taste for money. Not good for a little kid like you, you know." When he turned his head to look up at the sky, he noticed a swarm of flying ants approaching them in the distance. "We got more ants flying in."
"Tell me quickly. What do you want?"
Kenjo returned his gaze to the girl, only to find her head detached from her body. Blood gushed out from her neck, and her body collapsed on the ground.
He was stunned for a moment before reacting quickly.
"It's close! Be care...!!"
"Fucker!!" The man attempted to swing his arm, but his opponent was quicker and severed the man's head off his neck.
The third hunter opened his jaws wide in horror as he watched the other hunters have their heads chopped off; he didn't even have time to call their name.
He quickly located the enemy and struck his sword, but he shared the two hunters' fates.
...
'So these guys are the queen's personal bodyguards... each one is at least S rank. However, a monster is a monster. Their movements are simple and predictable, unlike hunters who utilize various tactics.' Dongwook firmly held the shield in front of him as the ant, twice his size, struck him. "Miss Hae-In!"
The woman jumped from behind the tank and stabbed the ant from above its head, slashing it until it was torn in half.
"These ants are quite durable. More than I would have thought possible." She commented as she struck another monster twice more before it collapsed.
"The bodyguards are different from the normal ants. But it's fortunate there aren't as many of them." Dongwook responded, sweat dripping down the side of his face.
Byung-Gyu heard their conversation and said, "Please, do not concern yourselves. I'll provide support from the rear."
Yoonho looked at the man from the corner of his eyes and smiled. "At least you are not acting cowardly."
"And hyung shouldn't be running around like a newbie, either!" Byung-Gyu bashed the ants head with a hammer. "You didn't forget, did you? These guys, they can live for a while even after getting their heads bashed in. I'd rather you finish them cleanly so they can't attack us anymore."
"Ah... yeah, sure."
'We haven't even reached the queen's chambers, but we've already encountered the body guards. On top of that, they are the 3rd gens we've fought before...' Yoonho thought to himself.
"I'm only speculating, but... I think the 1st gen ants have been completely supplanted by the body-guard ants. From here, we might be in the thick of the 2nd gen guard ants." Yoonho said to the whole team.
Byung-Gyu took out the book he had brought with him. It emitted a bright light as it flipped open. "In that case, we better properly prepare ourselves."
The hunters all felt their bodies erupt with power. The buffs they received were adjusted according to their combat style.
"This is well beyond a conventional buff..."
"I feel like I could take on a whole army."
"How about we each take on 10 at a time?" Someone proposed their idea.
"I'm rated A rank in combat power at least, I'll take on one or two, if you wanna leave a couple for me." Byung-Gyu chimed, as he didn't want to get left behind.
"You think I'm crazy enough to rely on a healer for combat?" Yoonho retorted. "You're contributing enough with buffs, so just enjoy the show from afar."
Seung-Eun also felt a power surge through his body as a result of the healer's buff.
He had remained silent the entire time, only fighting when necessary. Unlike the other hunters, they had known each other before, but he was new to them. He didn't want to do anything major for the time being and change the course of the original manhwa, as this could result in a butterfly effect.
Seung-Eun looked at the light blue screen in front of him, which showed the Japanese hunters' heads being decapitated one by one by an ant. The situation was immediately reversed, and the hunters were being hunted by the prey. The ant was unlike any other ant they had encountered.
The Korean hunters had not encountered the ant, and it appeared that they would suffer the same fate if it was found in the cave.
The monster this time was not created by him. It was already on the island before he received the mission.