Gathering of withered souls
An easily accessible gate with a low difficulty level. Despite the decent rewards for gates below level 2, this place was an unpopular hunting ground.
“Ugh… I just can’t get used to this place.”
“Agreed.”
It was because of the eerie atmosphere and an unusually strong odor it possessed.
The party passed through the gate immediately after completing the entry procedure.
Among them, Jeonga shivered with disgust just by returning to this place.
On the other hand, Jeonghyun, upon entering the gate, looked around as if fascinated by the surroundings.
This was a gate with the settings inside a hall. It had windows on one side leading outside, and on the other side, a corridor-like structure with a tightly sealed wall.
Although torches were scattered around, the brightness was low, and the visibility was poor, making those torches useless.
‘It might have been better if it were completely dark, other senses might have become more sensitive.’
At that moment, a flash came through the window, followed by thunder roar a short while later.
Due to the sudden environmental changes, they hadn’t paid much attention outside, but it seemed like it was raining outside.
Jeonghyun asked Sunhyung, “Is it always this dark here?”
“Hmm? Oh, yes. That’s why this gate was easy to book, and honestly, it’s just not a popular place.”
Of course, there was rarely a shortage of reservations, depending on the time.
“But if you want to have money right away, there’s not much else here.”
Jeonghyun nodded.
Certainly, at this level, there wouldn’t be many people eager to enter here among the beginners who had just awakened.
The corridor wasn’t very wide either, so unless one was accustomed to close combat, there was a risk of making mistakes.
“The smell here is too strong compared to other places. Ugh, this is too disgusting.”
“We don’t have money, so we can’t be picky.”
Jeonghyun understood the situation from the conversation between Jeonga and Doyoon.
From what he understood, they were also just beginners who had recently escaped the lower ranks.
Their budget couldn’t be abundant.
But it seems like they frequently collaborated in such unpopular gates among themselves.
“But we’ve already hunted here a few times. Jeonghyun, you can consider it as gaining some first-hand experience.”
Just then, lightning flashed again.
Sunhyung’s friendly smile passed by in that light, and for some reason, it seemed somewhat sinister.
“Understood.”
Jeonghyun nodded and tightened his grip on the mace.
It wasn’t difficult to hunt monsters, the overall situation was just uncomfortable.
The torches, stench, lightning, thunder, and the sound of rain all created disturbances.
And looking at the dark corridor, it subconsciously induced fear.
Rather than a gate, it seemed more like a training course to build courage and was surprisingly popular.
‘In a way, it might be a training for me.’
Jeonghyun was relieved that he had chosen two agility attributes, especially in this situation.
Despite being only F-rank attributes, the power of a hunter was not to be underestimated.
And soon, Jeonghyun’s heightened senses picked up a some presence.
“There’s something coming from the front. Judging by the sound, it seems like they’re zombies.”
“Yeah, you’re right. I can see it with my eyes. About five of them?”
“What? You can also feel their presence? Doyoon, let’s get ready.”
Initially, Sunhyung seemed slightly surprised, but he quickly corrected his posture.
In the party, Jeonga with the E-rank ‘Ten-Mile eyes’ attribute was usually the first to detect monsters.
But this time, Jeonghyun, with just a slightly faster reaction, was ahead.
Sunhyung have noticed that Jeonghyun’s intuition was more exceptional than expected, but he didn’t dwell on it.
Jeonga who was somewhat fearful, couldn’t fully unleash her abilities in the Gathering of Withered Souls.
Also, it seemed like a more developed sense in the agility attribute, which was advantageous in the dark, rather than an attribute related to vision, was the reason.
It was only half correct.
“Jeonga, can you snipe them before they get here?”
Jeonga furrowed her brows at Sunhyung’s question.
“I don’t know. It’s dark, and I’m not sure.”
“Do what you can. Even if you manage to hit one, it’s an advantage.”
Jeonga nodded.
Once a close combat started, there wasn’t much an archer like Jeonga could do when enemies and allies got entangled.
At best, she could wait for zombies to accidentally separate from the front-line members.
Jeonga pulled an arrow and started preparing, pulling back the bowstring.
‘About 35m? Is that right?’
Sssss-
The threatening footsteps of the zombies were quite close.
Even Sunhyung and Doyoon, who didn’t have enhanced senses, could vaguely feel that something was approaching.
Jeonga had a clear view now, and she pulled the bowstring tightly just as she was about to release a breath.
Quang!
Coincidentally, or unfortunately, lightning struck nearby.
The flash and the thunder were closely spaced, and the sound was particularly loud.
In a precise shot that required intense concentration, such interference became a significant variable.
“Uh, I messed up!”
Jeonga sensed the failure in her aim and furrowed her brow.
As if to prove her point, the arrow was not struck on its head but a little below the neck. This was all seen by Jeonghyun.
Still, one could say it wasn’t a bad skill level.
With enough brightness and no variables, hitting a target about 40 meters away shouldn’t be a problem.
But the skill level she usually demonstrated wasn’t immediately necessary.
“It’s not like zombies will just stop if the situation gets bad, right?”
Jeonga quickly took another arrow and shot, but once again, she failed to precisely target the head.
Instead, the arrow pierced through the cheekbone.
It would be quite fatal for a typical monster, but the odds weren’t in their favor.
Zombies don’t die unless you destroy their heads.
Originally, zombies weren’t a good match for archers.
“Good job, Jeonga. Jeonghyun, I’ll take the lead, so please provide support from behind.”
Sunhyung also didn’t thought for Jeonga to finish off zombies with just arrows, he confidently raised the huge shield and moved forward.
“Are you okay?”
“It’s a bit much, but I can somehow manage. Well.”
In response to Jeonghyun’s question, Sunhyung nodded confidently.
He swiftly rushed forward, pushing aside the zombies coming directly towards him.
“Jeonga come forward and… huh?”
However, before he could finish his sentence, a figure passed by Sunhyung, moving forward fast.
Wasn’t Jeonga supposed to follow instructions and stay in the back?
Then who was that person?
Sunhyung’s mind was absent for a moment.
* * *
Five zombies, they were something that Jeonghyun often see in the workplace.
Extracting nails, eyes, and teeth from decomposed corpses was already a difficult task.
Seeing those zombies attacking Sunhyung like that, it was a new experience for Jeonghyun.
“But why are they so slow?”
At first, Jeonghyun had intended to follow Sunhyung’s instructions, but as the battle progressed, it seemed different from what he expected.
The mindless zombies attacking and Sunhyung defending appeared too slow in Jeonghyun’s eyes.
Turning back for a moment, he saw Jeonga with a tense expression. She was waiting for the zombies to fall behind so she can struck them with her arrow.
Doyoon also held a small wand tightly.
A zombie approached him just as Jeonghyun noticed.
Jeonga asked cautiously, “Jeonghyun, can you handle one?”
“Uh… yes!”
Jeonghyun’s slightly flustered voice returned.
It wasn’t surprising to Jeonga.
They themselves didn’t know what to do or how to handle monsters when they first awakened.
“If you think you can’t handle it, just step back! I’ll provide you support!”
But Jeonghyun’s confusion was a bit different.
It wasn’t about whether he could or couldn’t.
Reaching out to him, the zombie roared with a strange sound.
Thanks to the synergy effect of his two attributes, he could somehow predict the attack pattern of the zombie.
It was nearly a straight-line attack, and there was no reason he couldn’t dodge it.
In a short moment, Jeonghyun swiftly moved his body, moving to the side of the zombie.
Given the zombie’s slow reaction time, it was a moment so brief that it couldn’t even turn its body.
And then, with all his strength, Jeonghyun swung his mace.
Thunk!
The zombie’s skull shattered as the sturdy iron mace effortlessly pierced through the decayed scalp and skull, disrupting the brain.
Although Jeonghyun’s strength wasn’t outstanding, the zombie’s defense was so negligible that it was possible for him to one-hit the zombie
The zombie with its head shattered collapsed like a robot that had lost power.
“Huh?”
Jeonga’s exclamation, as if she hadn’t expected this situation at all.
Jeonghyun performance was unexpected.
“The mace recommended by Cheolyong, performs really well.”
For once, Jeonghyun finally believed the old man. Using a mace while being a newbie was better than he thought.
Perhaps, being someone that had guarded the rental center for a long time had something more beneath its surface.
Regardless, having grasped the level of the battle, Jeonghyun no longer just observed.
Jeonga and Doyoon swiftly attacked without giving zombies a chance to catch their breath.
At that moment, Sunhyung’s shout burst out, not giving zombies who seemed unaware of the situation any respite.
“Jeonga come forward and… huh?”
After witnessing someone passing by his side, Sunhyung’s voice was slowly lost, as if he had lost focus.
Without caring, Jeonghyun turned around the zombies and began smashing their heads, just like moments ago.
Thud.
Thud.
From the second hit onwards, zombies that had been hitting Sunhyung’s shield turned to target Jeonghyun.
The situation looked bad to bystanders due to the close combat. However, for Jeonghyun, who could see the zombies’ attack paths in real-time, it was a speed that could be described as yawn-inducing.
His originally Meager Combat Sense were limited to feeling only.
However, the synergy effect made it appear visually, making dodging and attacking easier.
He dodged the zombie’s attack aimed at his neck by turning his body sideways.
Even in that state, he was confident his attack would succeed, but Jeonghyun still corrected his posture.
“Just as tigers do their best when catching rabbits.”
It was still the first battle. If he made a mistake while being too complacent, it could lead to an irreversible accident.
And that mindset was faithfully reflected as two attacks proceeded methodically.
Of course, to the spectators, the attacks were not as rapid, but nevertheless effective.
Thud-
Thud-
Four zombies fell to the ground with just four swings.
As the corpses of the Zombies falling on the ground echoed through the corridor, silence fell instantly.
Sunhyung remained in the same posture with his shield, Jeonga aimed her bow, and Jeonghyun’s stood in the center, still looking at the fallen zombies.
Doyoon, in a bewildered voice, asked, “Is that something a Level 1 F-rank could do?”
There was no response.
Although Jeonghyun had never explicitly stated he was an F-rank, his tone was like saying it.
While they didn’t have F-ranks in their party, F-rank agility attributes were widespread in the hunter community.
If all F-ranks could show such performance, wouldn’t it be okay to have one in the party?
That thought naturally came to mind.
If Jeonghyun had heard Doyoon’s thoughts, he might have responded, ‘Yes, it’s an F-rank attribute.’
Unfortunately or fortunately, Jeonghyun remained silent while deeply thinking of something as he looked down at the fallen zombies.
“Jeonghyun…?”
It was only after Sunhyung cautiously called Jeonghyun. Hearing someone calling him, he looked up, and then he casually asked, “Since I defeat them all by myself, are they all mine?”
The other party members couldn’t say anything.
