The Hero Returns

“Yes…?”

Su-hyeun spoke as if it was an insignificant thing. Lee Kang-hee also felt like it was not a big deal. At the embarrassing expression of Lee Kang-hee, Su-hyeun clicked his tongue.

“How can he be so scared by the size of the monster, even before he actually fights?” Su-hyeun thought.

Suddenly, the awakeners from the three guilds who had been hiding returned. They gathered around Su-hyeun, who looked around at them and opened his mouth.

“Everybody takes a position.”

Su-hyeun’s voice was very low. The enchanting voice spread loud and clear. At the same time, it calmed the more nervous among the group because they could not feel any tension from Su-hyeun’s voice.

“It will take a while for that slow octopus to come here. We have enough time to get ready,” Su-hyeun said.

What he said was correct. They could only see Kraken because it was so big, but it looked like it would take a while before it would actually arrive. Until then, they could finish their preparations. The panicked party planned to reclaim their peace, even if it took time. If a fearless leader was present, people would feel less scared. And that was the first and the most important virtue for the leader of the raid.

“Kraken…” Su-hyeun thought.

Although he met it in an unexpected place, that wasn’t a scary creature.

“Although it might be a little annoying.”

That was what Su-hyeun thought about Kraken. It would be annoying, but it was not impossible to kill. If the others could cooperate, it would be possible to catch it without too much damage.

However, that was only if people did not freak out because of its size. Or…

“From now on, everybody will do as I say.” Su-hyeun used his influence as a raid leader for the first time. “Does anyone here have a fire or electric shock skill?”

With those words, some raised their hands.

***

Act 7

Rumble—!

Kraken almost arrived. It looked far bigger as it grew closer. Those who felt some relief at Su-hyeun’s words started to feel nervous again.

“It…it’s coming!”

“Keep the formation and focus!” each guild’s master shouted, but it was a vain attempt.

Whirl—!

Boom—!

Kraken arrived and quickly disrupted the formation. To be specific, those who were frightened moved out of line to get as far from Kraken as possible.

Grrowr—!

Kraken slowly opened its mouth and cried. As Su-hyeun had expected, Kraken was slow on land. But each leg was about a hundred meters long, so no matter how slow it was, it could not be ignored.

“What are you doing, idiots! Didn’t you hear the command to keep formation?” Lee Kang-hee shouted to his guild’s awakeners as they left their spots. In the middle of the mess, people stared at one person. Lee Kang-hee also saw the man walking towards Kraken alone.

Lee Kang-hee mumbled while looking back, “Kim Su-hyeun…?”

Su-hyeun approached Kraken. Lee Kang-hee knew what Su-hyeun would do. When they had discussed the role and position before, Su-hyeun had said something. But he could not believe that Su-hyeun moved alone.

“You’re smaller than the other one,” Su-hyeun said.

Grrrr—!

Su-hyeun looked up at Kraken from below. “Are you that Kraken’s baby?”

Kraken looked down at Su-hyeun, who was not sure whether it understood his words or perceived him as a threat. His Provocation skill would not work well on a monster of this size. So instead of relying on Provocation skill, he had to get its attention through other means.

Whoosh—!

Su-hyeun spread his Flame skill around Kraken. It reacted to the heat with anger and pain.

Gwuuuuooo—!

It was not a smart monster. It was not hard to catch its eye.

[Indomitable Body.]

[The Transfiguration Skill: Imoogi.]

[The Flame.]

Those were a few of the highest proficiency skills Su-hyeun possessed. The color of his Flame changed to blue. It was hotter and it required more concentrated magic.

Whiz—!

Su-hyeun jumped upward. He used his Leap skill and flew several more meters up. He still needed to kick the air a few more times to reach Kraken’s head.

Swish—!

As Su-hyeun quickly narrowed the distance, Kraken reacted immediately. While it could recognize the threat quickly, its movement was not fast enough.

Whirl—!

Gram vibrated as if it hurried Su-hyeun to use it. Su-hyeun had saved his energy. The goal was set.

“Frist of all…” Su-hyeun mumbled.

Stab—!

Slash—!

Su-hyeun’s sword cut Kraken’s eyes.

“Take its sight.”

Grrrrr—!

***

Kraken raised its two legs and covered its eyes. The huge body swung its legs everywhere, causing chaos. The huge legs broke down the old houses around it, and Kraken opened its mouth and cried in pain.

Looking at it, Lee Kang-hee thought, “Really… He really did it.”

“I will take away its sight first.”

When Lee Kang-hee had asked how he would do that, Su-hyeun did not answer. He just said he could. That was his answer—if it could even be considered an answer. Lee Kang-hee had thought Su-hyeun was bluffing. He thought what Su-hyeun had said was nonsense. But he really made it. As the title of S-Rank, Su-hyeun embodied his role perfectly.

“It lost its sight,” Lee Kang-hee thought.

Kraken was struggling after it lost its sight. It looked like it did not have a good sense of smell, so this was a golden opportunity.

“What are you doing? Attack quickly!” Lee Kang-hee ordered awakeners of the Papillon Guild who were in their places. Each of them was a B-Rank awakener and a hand-picked soldier. Their attack skills would be enough. With their power, Kraken’s size would not matter.

“Let’s go!” Lee Kang-hee raised his sword and shouted.

The awakeners capable of close combat were followed by Lee Kang-hee.

Su-hyeun looked at them and shouted, “Don’t get close! Use fire skill from a distance!”

That was what had been decided in the beginning. People were supposed to attack from afar after Su-hyeun took Kraken’s sight. That was Su-hyeun’s instruction.

“From a distance?”

“Did he say don’t get close?”

“Yes, that was what he said…”

At Su-hyeun’s order, the awakeners of the Papillon Guild were flustered because the guild master and raid leader gave different commands. In such a case, they were supposed to follow Su-hyeun’s order since he was the raid leader. Yet they had no choice but to read the face of Lee Kang-hee. They would not see Su-hyeun again when this dungeon attack ended, but Lee Kang-hee was different.

Lee Kang-hee also paused for a moment at Su-hyeun’s order. But the reason was different.

“What the hell do you know?” Lee Kang-hee thought.

Lee Kang-hee was dissatisfied with Su-hyeun, who intercepted his command inward.

“The strategy can change depending on the circumstances.”

Lee Kang-hee felt rather pathetic compared to Su-hyeun, something that Su-hyeun didn’t know. Of course, there was another reason.

“The one who gets that Kraken will take the biggest contribution.”

In the case of a dungeon attack through an alliance, everyone from each guild was supposed to record the contents. And the contributions were divided based on those videos and overall evaluation of the raid members. The reward of Ether stone was distributed according to those results.

“Don’t listen to him! Just run!” Lee Kang-hee shouted.

“Yes, sir!”

“It’s big but slow! Each bash is strong, so don’t attack it head-on, attack the sides! It’s lost its sight now!”

At Lee Kang-hee’s order, the members of the Papillon Guild moved quickly. He had attacked many dungeons and felt he had the experience that Su-hyeun lacked. So, he followed his own instincts.

“Idiots! Jeez!” Su-hyeun thought.

Whiz—!

Boom—!

It swung its leg randomly. Even though it lost its sight, the legs were still a threat. Su-hyeun hurriedly jumped to the side with Leap skill to escape its leg.

“It’s definitely slow.”

The matter was the size, and its survival power and endurance. Its speed was not very difficult for the B-Rank awakeners. Moreover, this Kraken had lost its sight, so the accuracy of the attack was pretty low. If so, it would be possible to unilaterally damage it. Lee Kang-hee’s judgment was clearly justified to some extent. But that judgment was only based on partial information.

“Get the dame away—!” Su-hyeun shouted, but they did not listen to him. They seemed to have chosen to listen to Lee Kang-hee’s instructions.

“Oh my god! Really…?”

Su-hyeun scratched his head in frustration. He knew there would be people not listening to him, but this was bad timing. It was much more effective to attack all at once from a distance than to approach dangerously close. And because they came so close, the other guilds could not attack freely.

“Let a fool hold his tongue and he will pass for a sage,” Su-hyeun sighed.

To bring back Kraken’s attention, it looked like he had to rush.

“I will see you later,” Su-hyeun thought as he saw Lee Kang-hee rushing to Kraken with crazy eyes. “You will die.”

***

Swish—!

Boom, boom boom—!

The legs of Kraken hit the ground. The one old building collapsed, and the pieces flew everywhere. But no one was there. Kraken had a hard time finding the targets with his blinded eyes.

“One, two!”

The awakeners of the Papillon Guild were busy fleeing Kraken’s leg. Fortunately, it was not difficult to avoid. The size of the legs made them easy to see, and they were also slow and sluggish.

“We have to be careful with each shot.”

“It really is easier than I thought it would be.”

“Don’t get too cocky. It takes blows well.”

The two awakeners talked continuously while dodging Kraken’s legs. They were nervous at first, but now that they understood Kraken’s movements, they were not difficult to dodge. If it were a game, it was like they learned a boss monster’s pattern. Moreover, Kraken was distracted by the other attacks from other awakeners from all over.

Kiyaaaaa—!

Whirl, whirl, whirl, whirl—!

An unexpected sound stabbed their ears. It was more than just a noise. As soon as they heard it, their heads were shaking and they felt nauseous. It was Kraken’s cry.

“Ugh… What, what is that?”

“Sound…?”

“Oop…”

The effect was greater on those near Kraken. They raised their magic, blocked their ears, and tried to hold their minds, but nothing worked. The nauseous stomach made them vomit. Their eyes were shaking dizzily.

“Damn… What the hell…”

Lee Kang-hee could not believe what had just happened. He held his head with one hand, raised it and looked up. And that moment…

“Damn… The eyes!”

His eyes met Kraken as it regained its sight.