The Otherworldly Magic Swordsman Who Disciplines the Hunter World Chapter 37

Amidst great expectations and attention, the Yeollak Guild’s raid proceeded. Julian, whose name was now officially listed as a hunter, also headed toward the gate according to procedure.

Ever since their conversation earlier, Gong Siyoung had been pointedly avoiding Julian. Julian had no idea which tune he was supposed to dance to.

Gong Siyoung, leading the way awkwardly, disappeared into the gate, and Myeong Haejin entered after him.

“Shall we go in?”

Woo Yujin cheered himself up with a “Heave-ho!” and headed inside. Julian moved his feet next.

As he passed through the gate entrance, which resembled a black curtain, his stomach twisted again. A blurred sensation—somewhere between dizziness and nausea—mingled within him.

The stomach that had been faintly queasy ever since that “deep-layer examination” or whatever completely turned over once he entered the dungeon. With every step he took, a surge of nausea welled up.

He took a deep breath and covered his mouth. Since he didn’t know why he was reacting this way, Julian’s face was full of question marks.

His condition hadn’t been particularly bad… Was the deep-layer examination the problem? He had felt suspicious of the way the man kept attaching “probably” to everything, but who would have known it would cause this mess?

“We’ll move without resting until we reach the route we previously cleared.”

Myeong Haejin called the group to a halt. At his command to move while maintaining formation, Gong Siyoung took the lead.

Following the chattering group, Julian tapped “thump-thump” on his nauseous chest.

“Once we enter the overlapping gate, you two please cast the barriers immediately. Hunter Siyoung and I will attack the monsters, and Hunter Yujin, please protect those two.”

“Yes, sir!”

In an environment with lightning storms, it wasn’t easy to maintain mobility. There were no objections to the need for barriers.

The problem, however, was the fact that in his current state, it might be difficult to deploy magic and swordsmanship simultaneously.

‘This is bad.’

He could swing a sword as long as he grit his teeth, but magic was different. Since it consumed a lot of mental power, in the worst-case scenario, he might not be able to manifest it at all.

Deploying both at once was impossible for now. If his concentration wavered even slightly, the shield would break first. For now, he had to focus on magic for the sake of the group.

Julian rubbed his chest and let out a small sigh. He wasn’t at the point where he couldn’t fight at all, but hiding this problem wouldn’t be helpful.

However, before he could speak up, Myeong Haejin moved into the overlapping gate. Gu Jayoung, who had deployed a barrier, followed behind him, and Gong Siyoung was next.

His eyes met Gong Siyoung’s as the latter glanced back.

As if he were a child who had been burned, Gong Siyoung turned his head away in a startle. Julian watched his retreating back as he pushed himself through the narrow entrance as if nervous.

At the blatant avoidance, Julian muttered, not knowing the reason.

“What’s up with him?”

He had been acting strange since before entry, and now he was openly ignoring him. No, why on earth? What did I do wrong?

“Shall we go too?”

Woo Yujin tapped him on the shoulder. Not wanting to fall behind, Julian hurried his pace.

Once he deployed the shield, his nerves became twice as sharp as usual.

Passing through the gate within the gate, a sky flashing with lightning appeared. As thunderbolts struck down, the shield glowed transparently.

‘As I thought, like this…’

For now, he had to tell Myeong Haejin about the current situation… but the distance between them had already grown quite large. Since there were no particular problems as long as he focused on the shield, should he tell him in a bit?

Woo Yujin surged ahead as if running. Julian grabbed his arm tightly so as not to lose him. Woo Yujin, pulled along without much resistance, pointed somewhere with an “Oh!”

“I think there’s something over there?”

The ground cracked open, and a Dick Shadow slithered out from within. Gong Siyoung’s group, who were walking ahead, also looked toward it.

The two exchanged a few brief words, and then Gong Siyoung reached out his hand.

“Ah…”

Julian’s eyes widened. The energy blooming from Gong Siyoung’s fingertips swallowed the Dick Shadow in an instant.

Watching from a slight distance allowed him to observe more objectively. Gong Siyoung’s ability was similar to magic, but it wasn’t magic. There was a clear difference in the flow of mana.

The monster, frozen solid in its slithering pose, trembled violently. The sound of ice cracking was heard, and a wriggling mass was visible through the gaps.

Even if it was frozen, it was merely a stopgap measure while the host was still alive. Due to its nature of reviving even after death, it amounted to nothing more than buying a little time.

Should he step in like last time? Then he’d have to release the shield… He glanced at Woo Yujin. He couldn’t just leave this kid alone, so what should he do?

Fortunately, Julian’s dilemma didn’t last long. Instead of a second attack, Myeong Haejin chose to advance. It seemed his plan was to move out of the search area first.

Following the hand signal, Julian also moved his feet busily.

“Wow, the atmosphere is quite chilling, isn’t it?”

After passing the fields, a pitch-black prairie appeared. A prairie covered in jet-black grass stretched out endlessly.

Thunderbolts struck down along with the sound of the sky tearing apart. The unrealistic sight was like a scene from hell.

“Is this your first time seeing something like this?”

Julian rubbed the black grass with the tip of his toe. It crumbled instantly like scattering ash. At Julian’s question, Woo Yujin stroked his chin.

“Hmm… the environment always changes depending on the dungeon, but I think this is the first time I’ve seen a place with such a strange atmosphere. It feels even more like that because the status window isn’t visible…”

Woo Yujin kept looking around at his surroundings. Chattering incessantly, he carelessly tried to step outside the shield.

Julian grabbed his arm tightly. At the warning not to wander alone, Woo Yujin nodded his head obediently.

“…But why does it feel like Hunter Siyoung is glaring at me? Is it just my imagination?”

Following the tilt of his head, Julian also shifted his gaze. Every time the lightning struck, Gong Siyoung’s wide-open eyes flashed along with it.

Since a tall man with large eyes was staring with the whites of his eyes showing, it was scary enough to appear in his dreams.

“I don’t think it’s your imagination. He’s definitely glaring, right?”

“Right? He’s glaring at me right now, isn’t he? I mean, why? What did I do? I was just staying still here?”

“Watch your step.”

Julian pulled Woo Yujin close to avoid a hollow in the ground. Since the grass was black and the ground was black, it was very easy to lose one’s footing if one didn’t look properly.

Shallow pits were visible here and there. Black grass and holes even blacker than that spread out like traps.

Come to think of it, the Dick Shadow also appeared from under the ground. Could the characteristics of this place be related to the earth—that is, the underground? There were many monsters besides the Dick Shadow that liked dark places.

Thunderbolts struck incessantly from the sky, and the ground was filled with darkness. Suddenly, a monster that loved this kind of environment very much flashed through his mind.

The stronger the darkness and light, the more vivid the shadow becomes. Even now, he could see shadows overlapping and scattering following the flashing lights.

‘Shadows?’

Julian, who had been staring down at the ground for a long time, furrowed his brow.

The moment the shadows of Gong Siyoung, Myeong Haejin, and Gu Jayoung—who were gathered inside the barrier—overlapped with a pit, something slithered out from inside the black hole.

Intangible beings began to take form as if by magic. From within the jet-black, shimmering shadows, two pairs of eyes appeared, rolling around.

Julian, the first to notice the anomaly, shouted urgently.

“Don’t go outside the barrier!”

The three who discovered the shadow monsters flinched. The shadows, which had begun to take human form, prowled around the vicinity.

Two eyeballs swam freely within the jet-black shadows. Woo Yujin, whose eyes met with the rolling eyeballs, let out a “hiccup” and started to hiccup.

“What… on earth is that? Is that a monster too?”

“Belvoid. It’s a shadow monster… you’re safe as long as you’re inside the barrier. They can’t come inside.”

Even if the shadow looked like the main body, those two pairs of eyeballs were actually the true body.

As far as Julian knew, there was only one way to eliminate a Belvoid: to melt it away with divine power. Thus, when a Belvoid appeared, holy knights or priests usually stepped forward.

If there was no one among the group who could use holy power, running away was the best option. Since as long as there were shadows, it was impossible to catch that monster.

“Unless you strike first, the Belvoid won’t attack…”

Before Julian could even finish his sentence, the Belvoid began to shimmer like a haze.

The two eyeballs moved around inside the shadow frantically like pinballs. At the gruesome sight, Woo Yujin let out a groan, uugh.

“Aren’t they about to attack? It looks like they’re about to attack! It looks like they’re sizing us up to attack right now!”

“Keep it down.”

Despite Julian’s scolding, Woo Yujin did not stop talking. He felt his already nauseous stomach twist even further. Julian, who blocked his ears with one hand entirely, narrowed his eyes.

The Belvoid, which disappeared from before his eyes every time the lightning flashed, appeared from a completely different direction.

The two eyeballs swelled up largely as if expanding. The jet-black pupils met Julian head-on.

“Huh…? I think that thing is coming this way right now…?”

Woo Yujin instinctively took a defensive stance. Every time the light flashed, the Belvoid’s form kept getting closer. The monster, which had clearly identified its target, approached with its mouth gaping wide.

In an environment where light and shadow were mixed, the Belvoid was nearly invincible. Julian, realizing that fact, let out a low groan.

“We’re fucked.”