S-Rank Healer Gets Kidnapped First Chapter 38

After that, taking down the low-level monsters was a piece of cake.

With the buffs and efficient movements added in, an already smooth raid proceeded even more quickly.

“The number of monsters falling down has noticeably decreased.”

I said that while healing the three of them so they wouldn’t get tired.

At first, they had been pouring down like a mountain, to the point where it was downright disgusting, but now they weren’t even enough to cover the bottom.

I took comfort in the fact that there really was an end to this.

“That must mean it’s almost time for the boss to appear.”

Cha Seohae, who had somehow made his way over beside me, answered while mechanically using his skills.

The three of them weren’t having any trouble fighting. However, as the battle dragged on with no end in sight, they were beginning to get bored.

After all, repeating the same movements over and over was more exhausting than fighting a difficult battle.

They all looked like they would rather fight a tough boss and finish things quickly.

I felt the same way.

Just as I raised my head, wondering if it was finally time for the boss to drop—

“Huh?”

―What’s wrong, Yeonhee?

Na Ye-ri immediately reacted to my exclamation.

She had been giving me an instant response whenever I had something to say for a while now.

“I’m wondering if what I’m seeing right now is actually what I think it is.”

―What did you see?

This time, Han Seongwoo asked.

“I was wondering what that thing sticking out of the rift is….”

―What do you mean, something is coming out of the rift?

He immediately asked me a question in return, but soon, only the sound of breathing could be heard through the radio.

Cha Seohae, who had been silently listening to our conversation, also raised his head.

“What is it?”

The unnatural rift looked as though someone had maliciously torn open the blue sky.

Something grayish was emerging through the gap.

Even though only part of its body had appeared, the presence it gave off was completely different from the small fry that had emerged so far.

“If it can emit this much energy….”

Cha Seohae spoke beside me in a voice filled with certainty.

“That’s the boss of the rift.”

Almost immediately after Cha Seohae finished speaking, a gigantic object burst out of the rift.

―Hehehe.

The creature laughed unpleasantly, as if it wasn’t afraid of falling at all.

BOOM.

The boss plummeted straight down and entered Na Ye-ri’s battlefield.

“Gasp, look at the size of that thing!”

The boss was truly enormous, even crushing its own minions beneath it. It was even larger than the Neon Octopus I had seen before.

That thing is practically as tall as an entire apartment building!

I was so shocked that I couldn’t even speak.

At that size, the damage it could cause to civilian areas just by walking around would be catastrophic.

―Holy shit. I’ve never seen something this big before.

―Whoa, shit! If I’d been even a little closer, I would’ve gotten crushed!

―You should’ve let it crush you. You never know. Maybe it’s only big on the outside and weighs as little as a feather.

―Are you seriously joking around right now?

Despite being equally shocked, Na Ye-ri and Seongwoo still seemed to have enough energy to bicker.

Judging by the fact that they’re joking around, I guess that boss isn’t that difficult.

Normally, I would have scolded them for wanting to fight at a time like this.

But now I knew what they were capable of.

Besides, Cha Seohae had said that it had this much energy, not that it had strong energy.

That meant it was an enemy whose power could be assessed through Cha Seohae’s abilities.

I breathed out in relief.

“Let’s finish this quickly and go.”

―Okay!

―Ah, I’m hungry.

BOOM.

Just as we finished preparing to move, the boss landed on the ground.

[Goblin (S)]

“S-rank?”

―A pretty strong one showed up for the first time in a while.

―I heard there hadn’t been an S-rank boss for quite some time.

That was true. S-rank bosses had been nowhere to be seen for quite a while.

The higher the rank, the more difficult the raid, but the better the rewards.

In particular, the enhancement stones dropped by S-rank bosses were the main course of any raid.

The resources needed to enhance weapons were limited.

As a result, there were plenty of Hunters who wanted the highest-grade enhancement stones, but they were difficult to obtain because the raids were so challenging, and their prices were extremely high.

―Whoever picks up the enhancement stone that drops from this guy first gets to keep it?

―Hey, you stingy bastard! The fastest guy here is always saying “whoever picks it up first gets it.” Do you even have a conscience?

―If you’re so upset, try picking it up before me.

Han Seongwoo spoke smugly, causing Cha Seohae to sigh.

“Childish.”

He was right.

Since I didn’t have any particular weapon, I simply watched the situation and gave an awkward smile..

At that moment, the monster that had failed to land properly got back up.

Monsters around the S-rank level possessed a certain degree of intelligence.

Because of that, they could speak anywhere from simple words to complete sentences that were easy enough to understand.

However, perhaps because of its particular attributes, this Goblin spoke slowly and had such a low voice that it was difficult to understand.

When we stopped talking, the Goblin let out a roar as if it had been waiting for the opportunity.

―Hungry! I’m hungryyyy!

“Ugh!”

When the Goblin roared, a sonic attack erupted, making my ears sting as though they were going to burst.

―Ground Defense Wall.

Na Ye-ri’s voice came through the radio as she activated her skill.

At that moment, with a loud crack, fragments of stone floated up from the cracked ground.

The chunks of rock slowly rose into the air as if controlled by telekinesis, then densely surrounded me and Cha Seohae.

―I almost lost my hearing because I let my guard down. Thanks.

Seongwoo seemed to have received the same shield and thanked her through the radio.

―Hungry! Hungry! HUNGRYYYY!

The Goblin seemed completely oblivious to us, wheezing and panting continuously ever since it had landed on the ground.

―Good thing we evacuated everyone early. Since there’s no one around except us, that guy won’t have anything to eat.

Na Ye-ri said that.

I was just about to agree when I noticed a faint figure in the diagonal direction.

I rubbed my eyes, wondering if I had seen it wrong.

But the figure didn’t disappear.

I opened and closed my mouth in confusion.

“…Is there someone there?”

“What?”

―What did you say?!

All three of them reacted in surprise at once.

―Are you sure you didn’t see it wrong? We evacuated everyone earlier!

Seongwoo asked anxiously, as though desperately refusing to believe it.

Unfortunately, I hadn’t seen it wrong.

Cha Seohae also seemed to have spotted someone, as his eyes narrowed.

“There’s someone. One person.”

―Ha….

―Damn it.

The moment Cha Seohae finished speaking, the other two let out different sighs.

―I’ll go. If we move, the monster will focus on us and attack, so we’ll need the shield.

Na Ye-ri spoke urgently.

It was a reasonable suggestion, but it would be difficult.

“No, Ye-ri. You stay here.”

―What? Then who’s going?

Cha Seohae, who had been looking down after hearing Na Ye-ri’s words, turned his gaze toward me.

His eyes widened as if he had realized what I was thinking.

He was quick to figure it out, even though I hadn’t said anything yet.

“Don’t tell me you’re planning to go?”

“Yes.”

After my firm answer, Na Ye-ri and Seongwoo immediately began protesting through the radio.

Cha Seohae also couldn’t readily agree.

I knew they were doing this because they were worried about me, but there was no time to hesitate.

―Kkkk… hungry….

The Goblin had spotted the person wandering around alone.

I grabbed the microphone so they could hear me clearly.

“But I have to go. If it’s an S-rank boss, the three of you will have an easier time dealing with it together. If even one of you leaves, it’ll delay things. If you attack all at once and pin it down, I can evacuate that person in the meantime. It won’t be difficult.”

I was even surprised by how firm my voice sounded.

Perhaps my determination reached the three of them as well, because they could no longer use their concern for me as an excuse to stop me.

Cha Seohae stared at me silently before finally opening his mouth after a moment of hesitation.

“…Be careful.”

―Cha Seohae!

Na Ye-ri shouted sharply.

But this was also the commander’s decision, and the leader had given me permission.

I nodded and hurriedly stood up.

―Yeonhee….

“Don’t worry.”

I answered confidently.

Even if it meant making them repeat the same words over and over, I didn’t actually dislike their concern.

The fact that the healer who was supposed to be here is missing means they lost a healer. They know the pain of losing a teammate, which is why they keep trying to stop me.

Knowing that only made me want to accomplish this even more safely.

The fault line Na Ye-ri had created wasn’t shaped like a cliff that dropped straight down. Instead, it was a gentle slope like a slide.

Thanks to that, I was able to slide down the slope and descend quickly.

The Divine Protection is working properly.

After reaching the bottom, I even checked the translucent shield barrier.

As soon as I descended, I confirmed that the other three were keeping the boss occupied and shouted in the direction where I had seen the person.

Fortunately, I spotted someone not far away.

“Excuse me!”

“Geomeongi!”

“Excuse me, sir!”

“Geomeongi! You must be hungry! Where are you?”

Perhaps he was panicking, because he didn’t seem to hear my voice.

Geomeongi… Was that the dog Cha Seohae moved earlier?

Come to think of it, the dog Cha Seohae had evacuated earlier had been black.

At least I know where the dog is. That’s a relief.

If I had told him to evacuate alone while leaving his family behind, he probably would never have moved.

I hurriedly grabbed the man by the wrist.

“Excuse me!”

“Let go! I can’t leave until I find Geomeongi! Geomeongi!”

“Please, just listen to me for a moment! Your dog is—!”

As I shouted desperately, I caught sight of a pair of yellow eyes between the trees in front of the man.

“Oh no….”

Those weren’t human eyes.

They were the piercing yellow eyes of a beast.

―Grrr.

Apparently, it had spotted us as well, because it emerged from hiding.

The creature appeared from between the dark trees, opening its mouth and letting saliva drip onto the ground.

“There was a monster we failed to trap?”

Thinking about it, thirteen minutes had passed between the moment the rift appeared and our arrival here.

That was enough time for some of the monsters that had fallen earlier to have escaped our containment.

“Eek!”

The man also spotted the monster and froze stiff.

Apparently, he had assumed there wouldn’t be any monsters because the Hunters were putting up walls and eliminating them.

So that’s why he’d been shouting without caring whether he attracted attention.

There was no one to blame for this situation.

I stopped worrying about who was at fault and stepped in front of the frozen civilian to shield him.

―Grrrr.

The monster growled as if demanding that I hand over the prey it had chosen.

“Slowly. Take a few steps back.”

“Huh? B-But….”

“Go toward the entrance of the park. I saw my colleague sending a dog that had lost its owner in that direction earlier. Go and check if it’s Geomeongi.”

“Y-You mean by myself? What about you, Hunter…?”

“Don’t worry about me! Just go!”

“Yes, yes!”

He realized that my shout was a signal to run and immediately took off.

Thankfully, he at least had enough sense to understand that. Or perhaps seeing the monster had snapped him out of his panic.

―RAAAARGH!

Perhaps because its prey had escaped right in front of it, the monster looked furious.

It took a running start across the open ground and launched itself at me.

Not only did it jump with the sunlight behind it, but it also clenched its fist.

It was a thick fist that looked capable of making my cheek swell up like a balloon with a single hit.

The fist flying straight toward me drew closer and closer.

And when the fist finally came so close that it looked impossibly huge right before my eyes—

THUD!