章 32: Chapter 31: The Third Stage (1)
"Look, a dungeon popping up in the middle of downtown. What's happening?"
On the other side, people were gathering around the dungeon's gate, curious.
In this lively downtown, they were just normal people walking around the city. It was a little past noon and the sky was clear with no clouds in sight. A lot of people were gathering around there, and the first thing they noticed was the dungeon's gate, towering in the middle of the street.
Even though the police had already set up the barricade and dealt with the traffic, people still tried to get close to the dungeon. They took pictures that went live on their social media, all excited as if the place had become a tourist attraction.
"The hunter test is today, isn't it?"
"It looks like a C-rank dungeon."
"Say cheese. Anyone want to be a hunter?"
The shutter sounds competed with the chitchatting of the crowd. The cars passing by kept honking their horns at the police. The place was filled with enthusiasm like a festival was taking place. It looked like a normal day, but a hyper version of it.
"Eh?"
One of the people shook his phone and noticed that there was no signal.
The sun was shining bright, the weather getting warmer and more humid. Someone in the crowd sweated like crazy. He looked around and saw that everyone was also confused at the phone signal as well. The confusion spreaded around like a forest fire. A few seconds later, a huge dark cloud devoured the sun entirely. But when they looked up, they realized it was not the cloud. The sky had gone completely black.
"What?"
"What's going on?"
"Why is there no signal?"
The crowd started shouting. The car horns got louder in unison.
Then, someone pointed at the sky.
"Look at that!"
Everyone turned around and looked at the sky. They all let out a confusing grasp. On the sky was a message box. It said,
[Don't move. You'll all survive. Just don't run.]
"...moreover, people from the Hunter Guild will also be inside the dungeon. No hunters in the test will be fatally injured, that's for sure. But if you're wounded so badly your body can't take it, you're going to automatically fail the test and be sent out of the dungeon."
Once inside the dungeon, the announcement from the Hunter Guild quieted down.
Raydel looked at the eighty hunters in the dungeon. He repeated the mission in his mind. The Hunter Guild said that everyone would fail the test if no one defeated the dungeon within twenty-three hours. But if someone managed to do it, each of the hunters would be graded based on how many fights they joined and monsters they killed. The damage done on monsters also counted.
The Hunter Guild's people inside the dungeon would be tracking everyone's scores.
The mission was so simple, so the first thing everyone did was searching for monsters. But they all saw only a pine forest and a snow-covered large field. A village was located about hundreds of meters away in front of them.
Everyone still looked confused, not knowing what to do. But when someone started walking toward the village, the rest followed.
Raydel looked up at the now evening sky. It was still noon when they were in the downtown area.
"Is this dungeon related to winter? I forgot to bring my jacket," Raydel heard Shane complain from behind.
He was hugging himself. The thin hoodie he was wearing was almost useless in this weather.
Raydel, with his three-layered cloak, felt his arms softly. He noticed that some of the hunters also brought jackets. They made the right choice because the dungeon was pretty cold.
Sheryl who wore only just a working shirt said,
"We just have to bear it."
"Aren't you cold?"
She shrugged and asked Raydel.
"How much did the cloak cost?"
Raydel told her the price and told Sheryl that Han bought it for him. She nodded and whispered, "that guy… a friend?" She got a weird expression on her face as she thought about it but said nothing.
The hunters had already arrived at the village. Each of them scattered around the place, exploring all the huts. Raydel looked at the building from outside. He noticed that the village had only four huts, not so large but enough to host about twenty to thirty people per hut.
There were no new orders and the dungeon did nothing at all, not even an instruction on how to clear it. Monsters that should be roaming around were nowhere to be found. Some hunters got inside the huts while the others gathered together at the center of the village. Raydel and his group stood at the forest edge.
"Let's explore the village," Sheryl said.
Everyone was also walking around the village. The number of hunters present made the place not scarry at all. Everywhere they went, there were hunters already there. Everyone tried to find some more clues or even just a monster, but no matter how hard they tried, not a single one of them found anything remotely dangerous.
The dungeon's unusual peace made everyone worry..
Raydel and his group walked into the forest till they found a cliff. In front of them stood a huge gray forest.
"Is there no monster at all?" Shane asked.
Raydel said, "we should have gotten the conditions to clear the dungeon by now."
"Yes, it's so strange that everyone has been walking all over the place trying to find one but got nothing. What if they can travel underground? What if they're waiting for a lone victim?"
"You're saying there's giant worms or something like that?" Sheryl asked. "In the middle of winter?"
"I don't know. It seems possible."
"But it doesn't match with the dungeon's gate at all."
"Then what will they be? What will the boss be?"
Sheryl and Shane fell silent. They didn't have the answer.
Raydel looked at the orangish red horizon. The sun was setting. It was a picturesque view. Then, he heard someone people shouting from behind. It was not the monsters-are-here-now type of scream. It seemed someone found firewood in a hut, so the hunters were preparing to build a campfire.
It almost felt like a party now.
"Are we on a trip?" Sheryl murmured and let out a long sigh. Her ears and nose were red because of the freezing wind. "I think we should head back to the village after dark. We probably need to wait till morning before we can explore further."
"Agree." Shane nodded, so as Raydel.
They explored the forest for a little while until the sky began to darken. They learned that they were in a sparse pine forest, with the ground covered ankle-deep in snow. And that was all they found. Not even a small animal or a bird lived there. They knew now it would be useless to go any further, so they headed back to the village.
Some of the hunters sat together round the fire and were talking happily to each other. Those who had gone out to explore the surrounding area were coming back. A few hunters were still exploring the dungeon all by themselves as the last sunlight of the day hit the ground. The whole situation felt like a winter trip or something.
But how long will it continue to be like this? Raydel thought.
Because he did not know who to look at, so he stared at the hunter who was walking alone deep in the forest. Sheryl touched him softly as he let his mind wander around.
"I want to talk to you."
Raydel and Shane followed her into a hut. He turned around to look at the hunter one last time, but he disappeared. It seemed he… squated down?
But why? Raydel thought.
No one was in the hut. It reeked of damp with almost no light piercing in. Sheryl closed the doors, crossed her arms, and went straight to the point.
"Tell me all the abilities you have," she said and took out an artifact and transformed it into a silver dagger. "I have three of this weapon on me now. What about you guys?"
"Do you carry this many daggers now?" Shane asked.
"Not just many daggers. I have also learned martial arts. After getting out of the hospital, I joined a gym near my apartment. There's a martial art school nearby, so I took a few classes there."
"Wow, you really want to be a hunter, don't you?"
"Not really, it just pays well."
Shane took out his own artifact.
"I only have this crossbow."
Raydel was hugging himself. He did not show them any of his artifacts. He just explained to them that he had one dagger he got from Han and that he could summon a boss, but not details on what kind of boss it was. Actually, he knew he could tell them about the Plague Doctor, but Cthulhu needed to remain his secret weapon.
"You're a boss summoner?" Sheryl asked. She put away her weapon and held her chin. "Before this, I also studied types of hunters. A boss summoner is really rare. Do you know its basics?"
"Yeah?"
"The strength of the boss depends on its relationship with you," she said. "You need to keep bonding with the boss. I don't know how, but I guess it's just like with pets. Take good care of it and don't neglect it."
"Pets? But his boss is this big." Shane showed Sheryl how huge Raydel's boss was with his hand. It was way taller than Shane.
Sheryl softly acknowledged it.
"Just treat it well. I bet you they have feelings just like us even though they're bosses."
"If they have feelings, then we need to fairly give them all the same amount of love. If we focus only on just one boss, the others will definitely get hurt."
"That's possible. My cats at home are like this too. Don't forget about this, Raydel."
Raydel gave them an awkward smile. Right.
"Back to what we discussed earlier. So, those who can fight melee are Raydel and me," Sheryl said. "I'll briefly assign each of us a role. I'm not sure what Raydel's good at, but I can handle close combat if we have to…"
They all froze because the sky outside had turned completely black.
Night had arrived, and darkness and coldness reigned over the immediate area. Raydel could see his breath in the air, and his ears and nose hurt. Even his body started to tremble uncontrollably in the freezing temperature. He hugged himself tighter. Shane and Sheryl also did the same.
"It's so dark," Shane whispered.
Sheryl did not say anything. Raydel paid attention to what happened outside the hut. He could heard the campfire at the village center flickering, the sound pierced through this weird silence. He did not understand why he could not hear the other hunters talking. They all suddenly went quiet as if everyone disappeared.
Raydel poked his head out the window because of curiosity. He saw that everyone was still there. They just stood still. The orange light illuminated their faces, revealing their anxiety.
Sheryl also noticed that something abnormal was going on. She sneaked to the window and looked at the center of the village. Outside, everyone was looking around in suspicion and terror. They all could sense the tension in the air. No one dared to move, not even a flicker of a finger.
"Wolves?" Shane whispered.
Sheryl had a paranoid expression.
"It could be. But I don't hear and howls. It might…"
She suddenly stopped.
Then, Raydel heard a sound.
The sound of a horse galloping.
At first, it sounded so far away. But it got closer. The galloping sounds shook the earth as if an army was coming this way. The hunters froze in awe while some stepped back in fear. One of them took out a weapon and prepared for a fight…
Something flew out of the dark!
Someone screamed as Raydel heard a 'shluk' sound!
That something was a silver spear that penetrated through the chest of a hunter. The rest of the hunters steamed and scattered in shock. Raydel did not even get the chance to see what was happening outside when Sheryl pushed him and Shane down by their shoulders. They all lay down on the ground in the dark of the hut. Their hearts beat like a drum because of the screams that were still going on outside.
And then, they heard some more horses galloping.
More than ten to be exact.
Monsters? Raydel thought. He trembled as he listened to the sounds of metal against flesh. People kept screaming and falling down unconsciously. He felt like his heart would eventually tear through his chest. In his head, he played the scene of that hunter getting speared right in his heart over and over again. He tried to get rid of it. His blood froze when he realized that the man was killed.
But the Hunter Guild said no one will die.
No one died in the last stage, so no one will in this stage, probably.
Raydel swallowed hard. Someone got slashed near the hut they were hiding in.
Those who got attacked were just injured and sent out of the dungeon. They just failed the test. That's all. They didn't die…
Bang!
"...!"
All three of them jumped because a hunter pushed open the door. Then, a number of hunters flowed into the hut so fast they almost crushed them to death. Raydel, Shane, and Sheryl had to get up and retreat to the wall. Hunters kept pushing in till there was not even an inch of space left. The three were crushed together to the point Raydel could feel Shane and Sheryl's breaths on his neck.
Apart from that, the foul smell of blood was so intense Raydel could not breathe for a moment.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
"Open the door! Don't leave us outside!"
The hunters outside rushed to all four huts and slammed on the doors like crazy. Raydel peeked outside and saw about five people were banging the hut to his left. He felt sick when he noticed bloodstains on their bodies.
Raydel looked down. The window pane blocked most of his vision, but he still saw… a blood-covered arm on the ground.
Raydel tried to console himself.
No one died. This is an exam. He thought. This is a test.
Raydel heard the horses galloping closer. He could only see huge silhouettes with its glowing blue eyes. The horses had bloody red eyes. The riders wore armors that kept making noises as it crashed into each other. Some had spears while the others wielded huge silver swords. Even though he could not see what the monsters really looked like, he saw a message box above their heads.
[10… 9… 8…]
It was counting down.
"What does that mean?" Shane whispered. He also noticed the box.
[7… 6… 5…]
"They're coming. Open the door now!"
"ARGH!"
A hunter in the same hut as Raydel screamed.
"Shhhh!"
"Don't step on me!"
"Step back!"
[3... 2… 1…]
Raydel could not look away. The huge shadows on the eye-glowing horses surrounded the hut on his left side. There were still hunters outside knocking on the door trying to get inside.
[0…]
Raydel squeeze his eyes shut.
The screams and the sounds of weapons piercing through human bodies harmonized in a terrifying way.
It echoed in his ears. Those hiding in his hut fell silent when they heard the massacre. No one could breathe. They all probably had the same thought.
The monsters are… killing people?
Then, he heard someone shout, a woman.
"Run into the forest! Run!"
It destroyed all the magic that had fixed everyone in their places.
All the hunters pushed the doors open and ran for their lives toward the forest. The only thing guiding them away from the monsters was the campfire at the center of the village. Raydel did not even get the chance to breathe. The woman's scream sounded familiar to him. But Shane pulled him to run after Sheryl before he could do anything.
But when he ran outside, he froze because of the scene.
He could not believe his eyes.
It was a sea of blood.
A pile of hunters… lay on the ground.
He expected to see severely wounded hunters. He expected to see them barely breathing, waiting to be sent out of the dungeon. He did not expect to see this. Bodies after bodies with eyes still open wide. Some of them drowned in their own blood. It was a frightening scene. All of them laid still.
Raydel saw Sheryl bent down and put her fingers under the nearest body's nose.
She trembled.
"...They all died."
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