Hoarding In Hell [EN]: Chapter 37

37. Experienced Newbie (3)

The possibility that someone had arrived before them nagged at the back of their minds.

However, Noh Ha-eul shook her head.

“For now, we are the only ones who have reserved this route at this time. The routes are fixed to prevent accidents between hunters.”

“Th-Then, did someone sneak in with us?”

Noh Ha-eul briefly considered that possibility, but she couldn’t think of any reason why someone would target newbies. If anything, it might be a hunter targeting her. An assassin from a rival clan, or perhaps someone with a personal grudge.

‘If that’s the case, it would have been better to just attack directly. Why this prank?’

Noh Ha-eul was completely baffled.

“There’s also the possibility of a monster that hasn’t been detected yet. Dungeons are more massive than you can imagine. Let’s retrieve the return stones as quickly as possible and report this to the higher-ups. It’s not unheard of for a dungeon’s grade to suddenly increase.”

Noh Ha-eul gave more weight to the possibility that the goblins had been attacked by a new type of monster.

The hunters, feeling uneasy, left the goblin corpses behind and moved forward. But what they soon discovered was even more disturbing.

Countless goblin corpses were scattered all over the forest.

***

“Ugh, I’m gonna puke.”

Eventually, one of the newbies threw up on the ground. Even Park Seo-moon, who had been acting all macho, was pale.

The stench of blood was overwhelming. As they went deeper into the forest, they couldn’t find a single goblin corpse that was intact.

The goblins’ limbs were hanging from branches, and some were dangling, their necks tied with their own intestines. It looked like they had been torn apart haphazardly, spun around, and thrown away like a child’s tantrum. Noh Ha-eul’s expression grew increasingly grim.

‘To be able to mock corpses like this means they possess high intelligence.’

It wasn’t eating them, nor was it simply a massacre.

This was a scene of deliberate amusement.

To derive amusement from this meant they were that much smarter. An entity strong enough to disrupt the dungeon’s balance and intelligent enough to plan this had appeared.

The fact that such a monster had appeared in the Cheonggye Dungeon, which had been considered a stable 1-star dungeon and used as a training ground for newbies, was far from normal.

“I’m declaring a state of emergency. Return immediately as soon as you see a return stone. The rest of you, follow closely behind me.”

Noh Ha-eul, who had only been observing from behind as an inspector, now began to take the lead. It was the inspector’s job to be there in case of such emergencies.

“Kang Hyun-woo, are you alright, Kang Hyun-woo?”

Noh Ha-eul deliberately spoke to Hyun-woo, who was at the very back. Her eyes were still full of suspicion. Hyun-woo had no intention of revealing his skills just yet; he wanted to observe for now. He lightly shrugged his shoulders and replied.

“How much further do we have to go?”

“We don’t have much further to go to the return stone. Everyone, let’s hang in there a little longer. I want you all to be as vigilant as possible.”

Noh Ha-eul took the lead with a responsible attitude, and the newbie group followed behind her. Park Seo-moon looked displeased to be behind a woman, but he didn’t say anything and followed, also feeling uneasy.

How long had it been?

The actual distance they walked wasn’t much, but it felt like half a day. The newbies looked exhausted. It was close to hard labor to take each step with their nerves on edge, wary of the grotesque sights that might appear in the nauseating scenery.

Noh Ha-eul became increasingly anxious as she watched the newbies lagging behind.

If she were alone, she would have run ahead to track down the enemy, but she couldn’t speed up with five burdens.

Then, the forest thinned, and an open space began to appear. Noh Ha-eul breathed a sigh of relief. It was where the goblin village was located. Usually, the return stone could be found near the village.

The newbies hurried their steps, thinking that the forest was finally over. But the sight that greeted them as they stepped out of the forest made them cover their mouths again.

The open space was entirely red. Goblin corpses were scattered everywhere in fragments. It was hard to find a place without corpses. A disgusting stench of blood filled the air.

Noh Ha-eul immediately ran out and investigated the corpses at the abnormal sight. She could quickly piece together what had happened. Noh Ha-eul’s expression turned pale.

‘…It summoned both the goblin chieftain and the goblin shaman, then killed them too.’

Among the numerous corpses, the fragments of the goblin chieftain and shaman were also visible. The two were additional achievement goals in the Cheonggyesan Dungeon.

Both were large and had noticeable decorations and tattoos, making them easy to identify.

Each of them led many goblin groups and used various buffs [temporary enhancements], making them difficult opponents for newbies.

However, the unidentified enemy gathered them both in one place and killed them all in this open space.

‘But why?’

If the entity that killed the goblins was a monster, there would be no reason to do this. It had to have a purpose beyond simple brutality. If it was a person….

“Th-There! Is that the return stone?”

In the middle of the open space, where the corpses were particularly piled up, there was an altar made of stacked stones. On top of it was a stone with a strange pattern. It was the primary goal, the return stone.

Hyun-woo compared the altar with the return stone he had. The patterns looked similar.

However, that return stone was so huge that it should be described as a megalith [a large stone used in prehistoric monuments], while Hyun-woo’s was about three finger joints long.

Park Seo-moon immediately started running towards the return stone. The dungeon he had imagined was nothing like this. He didn’t know what had killed the goblins, but it was clear that it was an opponent he couldn’t handle.

“Wait!”

Noh Ha-eul shouted urgently as she saw Park Seo-moon running towards the return stone. But it was already too late.

The moment Park Seo-moon stepped through the corpses to reach the return stone, something snatched his leg.

“Kkyaaaaaak!”

Park Seo-moon screamed and began to be dragged quickly towards the forest. Before Noh Ha-eul could save him, he was sucked in and disappeared into the lush bushes in an instant.

Park Seo-moon’s scream suddenly stopped the moment he entered the forest. An ominous silence made everyone shudder.

‘It’s a trap.’

The entity that slaughtered the goblins was targeting not only goblins but also humans.

The newbies who were about to run after Park Seo-moon all froze in place. Kang Hyun-woo was the only one who remained still.

Noh Ha-eul realized that all the goblin corpses she had seen so far were a smokescreen to hide the trap in this open space. It was to eliminate the sense of unease by making them familiar with the corpses.

‘Strength that destroys the balance, intelligence to set traps and hide… It’s definitely a human.’

Noh Ha-eul drew two short swords from her waist and shouted urgently.

“A rogue might have infiltrated! Everyone, be vigilant and watch out!”

The newbie group’s faces turned pale at the word rogue.

Rogue referred to those who illegally invaded dungeons. The most dangerous rogues were those who targeted ability users.

Some rogues killed ability users for items or grudges, but there were also crazy people who picked fights just to test their skills.

‘Is she the target? Who on earth?’

Noh Ha-eul thought she was the target. There was no reason to target the newbies, so she couldn’t help but think so. But there was no way they would leave the newbies alive even if they killed her.

‘They’ll attack to eliminate the witnesses.’

Noh Ha-eul watched her surroundings, waiting for the rogue to appear. She had to save Park Seo-moon, but she didn’t know where the traps were, and she couldn’t leave the other newbies defenseless in the meantime.

Noh Ha-eul focused on the surrounding movements for a moment. Her sharp eyes noticed that the bushes where Park Seo-moon had disappeared were moving slightly unnaturally.

Noh Ha-eul quickly threw one of the swords she was holding towards it.

“Kereuk!”

With a sharp sound of metal clashing, the sword bounced into the air. It wasn’t a scream, but a guttural shout.

Noh Ha-eul was surprised by the familiar yet unexpected sound.

“…Goblin?”

“Kik, kireuk.”

A goblin wearing a red hat slowly walked out of the bushes.

***

The newbie group was surprised by the appearance of the newly appeared goblin, but they couldn’t even think of approaching it.

The goblin that appeared in front of them was completely different from anything they had faced before. A red hat, plausible clothes, even shoes.

Moreover, even the dagger in his hand looked better than the weapons they were holding.

Hyun-woo watched the goblin and raised the corners of his mouth.

It was Kirson.

Although he no longer had the Black Hand, Kirson was one of the first beings he resurrected using his skill—Minions.

Hyun-woo had conducted numerous experiments with Kirson in hell.

The biggest advantage of Minions was that they could be controlled by directly transmitting their will. And in reality, he could gladly summon monsters from Difficulty: Hell.

Moreover, even if they died, they could still be resurrected as long as the corpse wasn’t severely damaged.

Goblins were one of the lowest-ranked monsters in Difficulty: Hell, but here, they had proven to be the top predators.

The disadvantage was that if the level was insufficient compared to the target to be included in the Minions, control was difficult. But subduing Kirson was simple.

‘His village.’

Of course, he didn’t do things that even demons would shake their heads at, such as using Kirson to kill the goblin villagers. The remaining villagers were valuable hostages to control Kirson.

Hyun-woo resurrected Kirson after reaching level 20. He had killed half of them, but half still remained.

Kirson had to be alive to protect even those remaining villagers. If he killed Hyun-woo, he, as a minion, would also be dead, so he had to submit even if his blood boiled.

‘This dirty goblin massacre looks like a mixture of venting and self-hatred.’

Helpless and unable to communicate, stupid fellow humans. He wouldn’t even want to acknowledge them as the same race.

For that reason, Kirson was obeying Hyun-woo while acting more cruelly than necessary. Or perhaps that was his true nature.

Or maybe his mind was broken.

‘Well, it doesn’t matter.’

Seeing the pale-faced group, he didn’t think it was too bad. The more they feared, the greater the effect would be. The problem was the inspector, Noh Ha-eul.

Hyun-woo was curious about how strong she was. Could she fight and win against the minion he brought?

It seemed like it would be close. No, maybe the minion was a little weaker.

It was difficult to gauge, but he would know once they started fighting in earnest.

‘She’s a mid-level executive of the top 3 clans, so she has to be at least that good.’

If not, he would be disappointed.

‘Let her experience how much I’ve suffered.’