Solo Resurrection

Chapter 102

The Merciless Tyrant (4)

“As you all know, today is the day for the dungeon raid demonstration.”

B-rank dungeon, Giant’s Canyon.

It was a dungeon boasting an extreme difficulty level where giants over 10m tall appear in a vast terrain that makes you feel as if you’ve entered the land of giants.

To be honest, even the elite Raid Team 1 of the Badass Guild would have to push themselves considerably here, but Kang Hyeon chose this dungeon to maximize the visual effect.

“Guild Master. Isn’t the Giant’s Canyon too dangerous…?”

“When have we ever raided a dungeon that wasn’t dangerous? We’re not going to take down the boss, just casually hunt some monsters and come out, so it’ll be fine.”

“…”

“What? Do you have a problem with that?”

“No…”

Han Si-hwan could only nod with an expression as if he had just eaten a mouthful of shit.

“Originally, the training was to observe the instructor’s raid, but who am I! This time, we’ve specially decided to observe the Badass elite Raid Team 1 hunting.”

Kang Hyeon said with a smile, but the trainees’ stiff faces showed no signs of relaxing.

“Instructor… Isn’t this place too dangerous?”

“That’s right. A B-rank dungeon… Even the top 10 guilds risk their lives raiding such places.”

The trainees were completely frozen at the sudden introduction to a high-level dungeon.

“Ha! Dungeon raiding is always about risking your life. How can you aspire to be an ability user if you don’t even have this much guts?”

“…”

“You’re not even fighting anyway, just watching, and in case of any emergencies, I’ll step in myself, so everyone just relax.”

The trainees, having realized over the past few days that there was no point in arguing with Kang Hyeon, quietly nodded.

“Oh, perfect timing.”

At that moment, a group of people could be seen walking towards the dungeon entrance.

“Let me introduce you. The elite of Badass Guild. Raid Team 1.”

All members of Raid Team 1 had gloomy expressions.

It was natural, given that they were suddenly forced to raid a high-difficulty dungeon that wasn’t even on the schedule.

“Tsk. All of you, cheer up. If you have any complaints, talk to Team Leader Han Si-hwan.”

This was the epitome of pettiness.

Honestly, even Han Si-hwan felt sorry when the dinner bill exceeded 5 million won.

‘No matter what, isn’t this too much!’

Han Si-hwan vowed never to suggest a company dinner to Kang Hyeon again.

“Then, we’ll start the raid. The ravine giants that appear here mostly act alone, so if you maintain a good distance, there shouldn’t be any danger to the trainees.”

“Yes…”

“Let’s go!”

And so, the dungeon raid that no one wanted began.

***

Ippotranslation

***

Kang Hyeon set out to find monsters using magic detection.

Fortunately, he was able to spot a giant wandering nearby right away.

“What is that…?”

“How can a monster be like a building? I’ve never seen such a large monster even in videos.”

The overwhelming presence of a monster over 10m tall.

Most of the trainees had never even seen a monster in real life.

So it was natural for them to be shocked when the first monster they encountered in their lives was literally a giant beast.

“Everyone knows the formation for large monster raids, right? Move according to your training!”

“Yes.”

Han Si-hwan’s raid team showed a combative attitude as if they had never been worried once they faced the monster.

It wasn’t surprising as their daily lives were a series of battles.

“Hwaaaaap!”

-Kwaaang!

A battle between humans and a giant.

A moment of carelessness could lead to a life-threatening situation.

The giant’s overwhelming weight itself was a weapon, so the raid team was careful not to allow any attacks.

“Argh!”

However, battles never go as expected.

The giant’s swinging fist hit the Canyon, and the resulting debris swept away several guild members.

“It’s not enough to just dodge attacks! You need to be out of its line of movement beforehand!”

“Team Leader. The attacks are too fast for that!”

“Use slowing magic!”

-Kwaaang!

The raid team’s battle looked quite impressive.

Overwhelming giant monsters versus the warriors facing them.

The visual effect Kang Hyeon wanted was being fully achieved.

“Amazing…”

“The Badass Guild is certainly strong.”

“That person, Team Leader Han Si-hwan. I heard he was originally the Vice Guild Master of the Guardian Guild.”

“What? That Guardian Guild that was ranked 5th?”

“Yeah. They say he was the Vice Guild Master until it collapsed.”

The trainees were constantly in awe.

A breathtaking battle with endless nail-biting situations.

The thrill that can only be felt on-site, not through videos.

They were completely immersed in the battle.

Among them was Choi Yeon-hwa, her eyes sparkling brightly.

‘It must be like that for now.’

Kang Hyeon’s goal was to scare Choi Yeon-hwa into quitting.

If things continue like this, it would greatly deviate from the original plan.

But Kang Hyeon wasn’t worried.

‘Just wait a little.’

It’s still the early stages of the raid.

It’s natural for such impressive scenes to unfold when the raid team’s stamina and condition are at their best.

‘But it’ll be different as time passes.’

Dungeon raids can’t always be done in the best condition. As time passes, stamina naturally drains, and concentration wanes.

The more this happens, the higher the probability of unexpected situations occurring.

In other words, the longer the raid, the more dangerous situations increase, and a moment’s mistake can lead to death.

‘If you endure that, you become stronger. If not, you die.’

After taking down three giants in a row, it was time for the battle with the fourth giant.

Having fought continuously without a single break, the raid team looked quite exhausted.

“Oh no, be careful!”

“Argh!”

In an instant, one guild member took a direct hit from the giant’s swinging fist.

The guild member, thrown dozens of meters in a single breath, flew near the trainees and crashed into the ground.

It was the first severe injury since the raid began.

“Kyaaaa!”

“What? Isn’t he dead…?”

“That person is completely covered in blood.”

Kang Hyeon approached the guild member with an expressionless face.

“Are you okay…?”

“Ugh, kuh… I’m, I’m fine…”

“I see.”

Kang Hyeon nodded and looked around.

“An Yeon-hwa! Where are you? Come save this friend here!”

An Yeon-hwa.

She was a healer from the Guardian Guild who joined early on with Han Si-hwan.

“Yes.”

She, who initially had a quite fragile personality, had now become strong-hearted, not even blinking at most injuries.

And her healing skills had also grown exceptionally.

“Hey. The bone is twisted here. I told you if you don’t set these properly, we’ll have to break and reset them later, right?”

“I’m sorry.”

Kang Hyeon reached out and forcibly moved the guild member’s misaligned bone.

“Arghhhh!”

“Tsk. Stay still.”

“Haa, haa…”

A moment later. When the injured guild member had recovered to some extent, he got up.

“Can you move?”

“Yes.”

“Can you run?”

“Yes.”

“Then go fight.”

“Yes!”

And he immediately rejoined the battlefield.

The trainees couldn’t close their mouths watching this scene.

“What is this…?”

“He’s telling someone who almost just died to go fight again?”

“It seems like they’re pushing too hard because we’re watching…”

Kang Hyeon looked at the trainees with a grin.

“Everyone. On the first day of training, I talked about talent, right?”

“…”

“The friend who just got hit and flew over here, objectively speaking, is on the better side in terms of talent. At least upper-middle class? That’s about right.”

The trainees didn’t seem to believe it at all, but Kang Hyeon continued speaking.

“Even someone like that has to keep putting in that much effort just to be a member of the Badass Guild’s raid team. This is not a lie. And if they die while suffering like that? They just die.”

“…”

“In dungeons, a person’s life is no different from a fly’s life. Law? Do you think such a thing will protect you in here?”

“But Instructor! If we’re not aiming to be top-tier ability users, but just moderately hunting in E-grade or D-grade dungeons, or even F-grade if not possible, wouldn’t that be fine?”

At that moment, one student raised their hand and boldly asked.

“Good question!”

A hint of madness glinted in Kang Hyeon’s eyes.

“Not challenging difficult dungeons, only doing safe hunts. Sounds easy, right? Yes, it is easy. That’s why in reality, most ability users are doing just that.”

“Then there’s no problem…”

“But there are too many humans without ambition.”

“Excuse me…?”

“It’s been a long time since E and F-grade dungeons became oversaturated, and D-grade is almost full too. What does this mean? It means that all the remaining F to D-grade dungeons have become owned by guilds. Newly appearing dungeons are quickly claimed by strong local guilds. Without a guild, you can’t even hunt.”

“…”

“Even at this very moment, guilds are brandishing weapons at each other, making threats, and doing all sorts of things just to claim a single F-rank dungeon that can make them money.”

At Kang Hyeon’s words, the expressions of the trainees became heavy.

“You think I’m exaggerating? Well, you might think so. After you finish your training and get your ability registration card, try entering a dungeon once. No matter which dungeon you go to, you’ll be cut off at the entrance until you join a guild. If you run into some unlucky jerks, you might even die right away.”

Just as Kang Hyeon was focused on demoralizing the trainees, Han Si-hwan, who had finished hunting, approached to report.

“Phew… Guild Master, the hunt is over.”

“Okay. No casualties, right?”

“No, sir.”

“Magic?”

“We still have enough left for one more fight.”

“Then let’s move right away.”

“Understood.”

Han Si-hwan looked visibly exhausted.

The condition of the regular guild members visible in the distance was even worse.

Despite this, the trainees wore disgusted expressions as they watched them move for the next hunt without a moment’s rest.

“Come on, you’re supposed to rest while moving.”

Ten minutes later, the fifth battle began.

“Uwooooh!”

“Kuhaaak!”

The attack team was now fighting with pure malice and brute force.

Seeing their desperate appearance, the admiration and passion in the eyes of the trainees had completely disappeared, and now most of them looked like they wanted to go home.

-Kuung, kuug!

“Here comes another one!”

“Team leader! One more has joined!”

At that moment, another giant could be seen walking from afar.

It was something that could have been sufficiently anticipated as they had already come quite close to the core.

Normally, they would have prepared and responded in advance, but today they were proceeding with the attack more tightly because Kang Hyeon was watching.

The already exhausted attack team didn’t have the energy to hunt two giants at once.

“I’ll handle that one, so everyone focus on the fight!”

“Yes, sir!”

“Mr. Jeong Jong-ho. And instructors! Protect the trainees.”

“Understood.”

Kang Hyeon drew out the Craftsman’s Longsword from his inventory.

Bilgein’s sword hadn’t been fully tamed yet, so it wasn’t in a state to be used in actual combat.

“It sure is big.”

Standing in front of the giant, Kang Hyeon tilted his head up to look at its face.

It reminded him of Panath, whom he had hunted not long ago.

Of course, Panath with wings was much larger overall, but the height was quite similar.

“Uwaaaah!”

The giant roared upon seeing Kang Hyeon at its feet.

At the same time, it lifted its foot powerfully to stomp on Kang Hyeon.

“Ah… My eardrums might burst.”

Kang Hyeon rubbed his ears once before quickly moving to the giant’s feet.

Then, infusing the sword with a lot of magic, he cut off the Achilles tendon above the giant’s heel.

“Kwoooh!”

The giant, which had been standing on one foot to step on Kang Hyeon, staggered, unable to support its body.

“What is this, soft tofu? It cuts so easily.”

The giant’s skin and outer shell were very rough and hard, befitting its size.

It wasn’t comparable to Panas, but it wasn’t something that should be cut so easily.

However, the reason it was helplessly cut by Kang Hyeon was one thing.

Magic.

Panath was a giant monster that utilized magic, and its outer and inner skins were always protected by the magic it operated.

But this giant was just a monster with a big body that couldn’t utilize magic.

Therefore, it couldn’t resist at all against the magic Kang Hyeon had infused into his sword.

Kang Hyeon knew this, which is why he chose this Giant’s Canyon.

“Fall down nicely.”

-Kuuung!

A thunderous sound echoed as the staggering giant fell to the ground.

Amidst the rising dust, Kang Hyeon quickly headed towards the back of the giant’s head.

“Hup!”

Once again, Kang Hyeon slashed at the back of the giant’s neck.

But because the giant’s neck was so thick, this alone wasn’t enough to kill it.

“Kuaaah!”

“Shut up!”

Kang Hyeon thrust both his hands deep into the wound he had cut on the giant.

“Magic Explosion!”

-Puung!

A magic explosion equivalent to B-rank. Moreover, Kang Hyeon intentionally infused excessive magic to increase the explosive power even more.

“Kuhak!”

With that single attack, the giant let out a death cry and slammed its head into the ground.

“Ssup… That hurts a lot.”

As Kang Hyeon pulled out his hands, Ronald’s armor, which had been destroyed in an instant, could be seen.

Fortunately, as Kang Hyeon’s skin had become harder in proportion to the increased power of the magic explosion, his hands weren’t torn apart.

“Phew…”

Finally, the battle ended, and all members of Attack Team 1 and the trainees gathered again.

“Did everyone see that well?”

“…”

“Team Leader Han Si-hwan and Attack Team 1, good work.”

“Yes, sir.”

“By my estimation, if we walk for about an hour more, we should reach the normal core.”

“…?”

People who thought the attack was over now wore confused expressions at Kang Hyeon’s words.

“Aren’t we going home…?”

“What are you talking about? It would take half a day to go back. But if we go to the normal core, even with fighting and resting in between, we can easily arrive in about two hours.”

“…”

“Then if we break the core and take the portal out, it’ll be convenient, right?”

Everyone fell silent at Kang Hyeon’s words.

“Come on, attack team! Let’s work a bit more.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Okay. Let’s go!”

And so, the merciless tyrant’s forced march began again.

‘Hmm… They should be sick of it by now.’

As he headed towards the core, Kang Hyeon glanced sideways at Choi Yeon-hwa, who was following along.

And their eyes met.

‘W-What…?’

Choi Yeon-hwa was looking at him with eyes sparkling even more brightly than when she first arrived.

“Haah…”

Kang Hyeon sighed as he ran his hand through his hair.

It seemed that today’s plan had failed again.