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Translator: penny
Chapter: 78
Chapter Title: SSS-grade Necromancer
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4:00 AM.
Before the sun rises, hunters assemble in front of the dimly lit city hall.
It's a full muster.
Two SSS-grade hunters, fifteen SS-grade hunters, and every S-grade hunter.
Guilds and parties that had been operating in different directions now move as one under Hong Si-jun's orders.
"Today, Hunter Kang Hana will be giving the main orders."
And with that, command passed to her.
Kang Hana raised her voice from the side.
"I'll focus on ending this with minimal casualties, giving it everything we've got."
Her voice was soft, but it reached every ear.
Leading hundreds of hunters, she should have been trembling, but Kang Hana stood tall, exuding confidence.
She hadn't fully adapted to her skills yet, but all she needed was to survey a slightly broader area than before, make judgments, and brief the team.
No need for micromanagement.
She couldn't control this many hunters on her own anyway.
Her job was to overview the battlefield, spot monster formations, dangerous spots, and clusters of high-risk monsters—not to dictate every move in detail.
Even without that, every hunter here was a veteran.
At the very least, they were pros who could hear their assignments, think on their feet, and act.
They set off toward the Central Park dungeon.
Visibility was limited in the dark, relying on lights, but it wasn't too early if they wanted to arrive by sunrise and start the fight.
"Halt. Let's top off our calories first."
In front of the Central Park dungeon, everyone sat, pulling out high-calorie chocolate bars and snacks to refuel.
They'd eaten breakfast beforehand, of course.
Words like "just woke up," "stomach's full from the early hour," or "I'm on a diet" had no place before a battle for hunters.
Unlike games, reality wasn't just about stats. Hunters had to fight while minding their physical condition down to the last detail.
If a battle dragged on, it wasn't just stamina that drained—mental focus and even body heat vanished, sapping strength.
Athletes already had basal metabolic rates worlds apart from normal people, but hunters, who pushed superhuman power, were on another level entirely.
Without mana as a special energy source, some hunters might have gone bankrupt just on food bills.
They loaded up on calories in advance, entering at peak energy without hesitation.
"Moving in."
Hong Si-jun took point.
The hunters following him showed no trace of anxiety, even if twenty S-grade monsters waited ahead.
They would win.
And so, the battle against the swarming monsters began.
@
The game-like rules of "testing the waters" or coming in waves didn't apply in dungeons.
The moment hundreds of hunters stepped into the territory, the monsters living there charged to defend their land.
Dozens, hundreds poured in from all sides, encircling the formation inside the dungeon.
"Left flank, right flank—about two hundred looping around to envelop the rear."
With crisp intel, hunters on both sides swung back to shield the inner ranged dealers and healers.
Melee hunters slashed incoming monsters, while ranged attacks carved through the ones behind, cutting off sustained damage.
"Party 1 sector: one S-grade monster, four A-grades joining."
"Two S-grades in front of Party 4."
"Party 8's getting pushed. Need support from 6 and 7."
The constant reports surprisingly boosted morale.
"Four S-grade monsters down so far."
They were updates on the final boss count that had to be cleared.
Even amid the endless monster waves, they could confirm steady progress.
Im Hyeji was right behind the vanguard, diligently healing and shining.
Hong Si-jun had suggested conserving mana, but she refused.
She still had plenty stored.
Mana she'd stockpiled for Mars—she poured it out freely.
To these tightly packed hunters, her stored-mana "Heavenly Waves" were sweeter than honey.
"What the hell is this heal.."
"Raaagh! Infinite stamina!!"
"Fuck yeeah! Bring it all!!"
With health bars refilling endlessly, the hunters pushed harder.
Especially the SSS- and SS-grade hunters facing the most S-grades—their stamina drained fastest.
The party bulldozed forward, soon reaching the center.
"They're close. Forty people... It's up to a hundred fifty now."
And then they saw it.
A massive gate in the dungeon's heart.
The huge gate, still open from the outbreak, and around it, a hundred fifty people dangling in the air.
All alive.
Or mostly just barely clinging to life.
"...."
"Insane."
"What the..?"
The hunters couldn't hide their shock at the grotesque scene.
Why were people where monsters should be?
That question was answered by a figure in a black hood emerging from the surrounding monsters.
"Kekeke."
Slightly hunched back.
Wrinkle-glimpsed face under the hood.
White beard flowing down, and at the end of his staff-like wooden rod, a skull that looked human.
"My name is Li Heiyan. SSS-grade Necromancer, and the master who will raise you as my loyal minions."
"..."
His bold, clear introduction instantly cleared up the unease and oddities I'd felt hearing from Im Hyeji.
Honestly, I'd thought Hong Si-jun had simplified it, sharing only the easy bits.
No reason to lie, but he'd probably skipped investigative details.
But no.
The mystery of how that Chinese hunter knew he was Chinese, SSS-grade—it unraveled in one intro.
He'd even revealed his name outright, so Hong Si-jun knowing the details wasn't weird.
"That's the hunter China's been hiding?"
If he was some black-ops operative unregistered with associations, operating covertly abroad, he should hide his identity ruthlessly—no hints, making discovery a frustrating slog.
Roaming with SSS powers, screwing around in foreign dungeons—no easy countermeasures came to mind.
Especially hunkered in an S-grade outbreak one nation ignored—what could you do?
As he said, if sniffed out, he'd just flee.
So I'd imagined some shadowy puppet-master manipulating monsters from afar, vanishing after clashes.
"You'll die today. I'm the trash cleaner, hired by America's strings."
"...Fucking psycho."
Without the earpiece auto-translate, it would've devolved to "What's that chink bastard yapping?" amid the noise—but he must think it'd get through.
"Kekeke."
Genuine or not, he seemed utterly at ease.
Untouched amid hordes of monsters, half the S-grades still kicking, standing like their master.
"Master will be pleased. You'll love it too. This stage, this feast—I spent two years crafting it. Kekeke."
Looking oddly like a principal giving a pep talk, the elderly Li Heiyan asserted his presence simply and turned away from us.
As he vanished behind the gate.
He slammed his skull staff into the ground.
Then, ominous black mana exploded from the skull, surging skyward and pouring out.
From that dark mana emerged a massive cloaked ghost wielding a huge scythe.
It showed no hostility toward us.
The ghost simply swung its scythe, as if dutifully performing its task.
Shaaa—
The gate was slashed.
No, the gate wasn't cut.
Instead, the necks of the hundred fifty dangling people were severed in one sweep.
Thud thud thud thud.
"...."
A shocking, unforgettable grotesque highlight—top five material.
They'd seemed as good as dead, but they were definitely alive.
Heads severed, blood gushed, soaking the ground near the gate and flowing along the drawn magic circle.
"Huh?"
"What's on the floor?"
Only then did we realize.
"Magic circle on the ground."
Not just cracked pavement or debris hidden under trash, corpses, monster bodies—the floor held a pattern.
The massive magic circle spanning the entire dungeon glowed red and bright, dyed in the blood of the hundred fifty and the monsters felled on the way.
Wooooong
A resonant hum tore at eardrums.
The magic circle's power, fueled by blood, surged up, seeping into every monster.
Even the dead ones were no exception.
"All monsters, including the dead S-grade ones... are reviving."
The first truly despairing report.
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