Hoarding In Hell [EN]: Chapter 94

94. Debut Stage (2)

“Troll!”

The first person to spot the troll shouted a quick warning. As soon as they heard it, the Omnipotent hunters scattered nimbly.

They already had a protocol for dealing with threatening enemies.

Thanks to their quick dispersal, none of the hunters were caught when the troll landed with a thud.

“Kuaooo!”

But the moment the troll roared, they were at a loss as to how to deal with the giant green monster, who stood over 13 feet (4m) tall. Then, Hyun-woo spoke for the first time since entering the dungeon.

“Initiate exoskeleton activation.”

At Hyun-woo’s command, the hunters quickly injected mana into their exoskeletons. The exoskeletons, infused with mana, glowed bluish and began to emit heat.

The troll was momentarily flustered by the suddenly glowing hunters, but the hunters were just as surprised.

The troll roared and swung its arm at a nearby hunter. The hunter was horrified and threw himself to the ground. But his body flew much further than he expected. The troll’s hand weakly cut through the air.

“Get your act together, you bastards!”

Hyun-woo snapped, and the hunters snapped out of it and started moving quickly.

The true value of the exoskeleton quickly became apparent. In the dungeon, they spent more time running and jumping than attacking.

These two actions were important for both offense and defense, and the exoskeleton greatly enhanced both.

The overwhelming increase in mobility immediately translated into combat power.

“Scatter and attack from all sides!”

Song Yeo-un swung her whip menacingly. The troll sneered and tried to wrap its arm around the whip. At that moment, the whip sliced through the air at a strange angle.

The moment the air-splitting sound rang out, the troll covered its ears, unable to withstand the deafening noise.

Taking advantage of the opening, the hunters attacked from all sides. They doubted they could pierce the troll’s hide, but thanks to the rare-grade weapons and enhanced stats Hyun-woo had given them, the hunters were able to cut through the troll’s skin without much difficulty.

The troll, instantly covered in blood, went berserk and swung its arms wildly.

“Trolls recover quickly! Keep inducing bleeding!”

Song Yeo-un’s whip continued to crack, tormenting the troll. But there was a limit to the debuffs she could inflict.

The troll, its eardrums blown, was no longer affected by the whip and attacked Song Yeo-un.

But Song Yeo-un immediately used the skill, Repulsion, on the troll. It was impossible to blow the troll away, but she was able to throw herself back.

The troll’s movements, exhausted, began to slow down. The other hunters seized the opportunity and mercilessly poured attacks on the troll.

Watching the hunt, Yoo Seong-woon even felt a sense of futility.

“What the hell…….”

The attack coordination was so well-coordinated, as if they were one body. They fearlessly attempted actions that seemed to entrust their lives to their comrades, driving the troll into a corner.

It was as if they were comrades who had been through dozens of life-and-death battlefields together.

‘Could we do that?’

No.

He had been working with the Obsidian team for years, but basically, he thought it was right to take care of his own life, and the other team members thought so too.

But they had moved so smoothly, as if they were one body.

‘No, but they’re still human, how can they do that?’

Hyun-woo had only joined the Omnipotent a little over two weeks ago. But he was controlling the hunters to that extent? Or was there a team of that level that had been unknown?

In particular, Yoo Seong-yeon watched the performance of a hunter named Song Yeo-un.

A whip is a weapon that can easily cause harm to those around you. But Song Yeo-un attacked the enemy with precise control, bending her whip in completely unexpected directions.

It was as if some invisible force was controlling the movement of the whip. It was a sophisticated technique that he never thought a low-level hunter would show.

‘Is the skill something like repulsion or attraction? How can she use such a sophisticated technique at that level?’

Everything was incomprehensible.

***

“You’re doing well.”

“Don’t talk to me. You’re breaking my concentration.”

“Okay.”

Seo Ji-hoo tapped his fingers incessantly without blinking an eye. Every time he tapped his fingers, skills were activated, and the hunters’ movements were subtly adjusted.

His ability to objectively adjust from a third-person perspective was like watching a pro gamer from the sidelines.

‘Come to think of it, wasn’t he really a pro gamer?’

He once said that he was kicked out of the gaming world because he awakened as an ability user.

Ability users could not be accepted because they had different physical abilities than ordinary people.

Thanks to this, Seo Ji-hoo had a painful past of being driven out as a jobless person and becoming a socially inept intern.

‘It’s a gift that someone desires so much, but it’s a disaster for someone else.’

But thanks to him, Hyun-woo gained such talent, so it was a great deal for him.

Seo Ji-hoo flinched as if he had a headache. He put the straw connected to the bag on his back in his mouth.

Mana potion flowed into his mouth, replenishing his depleted mana.

Mana potions, which allow you to use skills freely even outside of dungeons, are several times harder to obtain than health potions.

But in Difficulty: Hell, it was easier to find than clean water. It was already a place where mana was absolutely abundant.

‘It’s ending.’

Hyun-woo concluded as he watched the troll being brutally slaughtered. The exoskeleton’s capabilities were beyond expectations.

The exoskeleton’s abilities were to raise overall stats to at least B or higher and to greatly improve mobility.

Just by raising the lacking abilities to above average and securing mobility, they showed abilities comparable to the Obsidian team.

Even the power of the enhanced exoskeleton seemed to Seo Ji-hoo to be nothing more than enhanced convenience features.

But even that alone allowed them to show overwhelming physical abilities and end the troll hunt without injury.

It was an excellent debut.

‘Ah, come to think of it.’

Hyun-woo suddenly looked at the Obsidian team. As expected, they were watching the battle with their mouths open.

‘They must be surprised. Until now, they must have thought that this was a place that only they could monopolize.’

But from today, the situation will be different.

“Situation ended!”

As soon as the troll hunt was over, Hyun-woo turned off all the exoskeletons. Again, the hunters’ movements became dull and slow.

The hunters felt regret, but it seemed that they had consumed half of their mana just to catch the troll. Even if the mana consumption rate was lowered, the amount of mana used with the skills was not small.

“Keep going.”

The hunters proceeded without looking back. The Obsidian team hunters were embarrassed to see that. Weren’t they going to farm the troll’s corpse? Troll parts are especially expensive because they are ingredients for potions.

But the hunters, who should have rushed in with their eyes on fire, were just throwing it away without regret.

‘Does that mean the support is that generous?’

It meant that the time spent improving their skills was more valuable than the time spent making money. It was impossible without a strong sponsor.

Equal to or greater than Taesung. Yoo Seong-yeon was confused but followed Hyun-woo. Hyun-woo felt their gaze and smiled.

Hyun-woo was aiming for two things with this expedition.

One was the successful debut of the hunters he was teaching.

The other is to destroy Taesung’s authority.

And all of that will be conveyed through the mouths of Taesung’s hunters.

***

“Oh my god…….”

It was a success.

Yoo Seong-yeon couldn’t believe his eyes as he looked at the return stone in front of him. The Omnipotent hunters succeeded in reaching the first goal of the 4-star dungeon, the return stone, which they had only dreamed of.

Whenever they encountered a dangerous enemy, they overcame it by activating the exoskeleton. As they became accustomed to dealing with trolls, crisis situations rarely occurred.

‘What the hell is that suit?’

Just by looking at it, it resembled the enhanced exoskeleton used by the military. But he had never heard of hunters using such things.

Ability users’ enhanced stats themselves acted as an exoskeleton.

Yoo Seong-yeon judged that if there was an answer to this amazing result, it would be in that enhanced exoskeleton.

“I can’t believe we actually cleared it…….”

“If we go to a 3-star dungeon wearing this, we can clear it easily, right?”

The Omnipotent hunters giggled and enjoyed the amazing result. But they couldn’t be happy without worry. They were worried that Hyun-woo would immediately increase the difficulty because they had cleared it more easily than expected.

“What if he tells us to go and attack the second goal?”

The boss monster is several times stronger than the normal monster. The boss monster of the Taean Dungeon is called the Giant Troll, and its highest recorded height reached over 22 feet (7m).

The Obsidian team often skipped the second goal unless it was absolutely necessary.

“Is that the problem? I’m worried that he’ll tell us to go and attack even a 5-star dungeon starting tomorrow.”

“…….”

A silent agreement flowed among the hunters.

The hunters looked at Hyun-woo with fearful eyes, wondering what to do if he even mentioned such a thing as a joke.

Hyun-woo felt their gaze and smirked.

“Good. That’s it for today.”

The hunters cheered and celebrated their first 4-star dungeon raid. Seeing that they were about to return, team leader Yoo Seong-yeon from the Obsidian team approached.

He looked at Hyun-woo with complicated eyes and reached out his hand.

“Well done. It was a great raid. It was a perfect hunt that will be a manual for our team members for a long time. I envy them.”

Yoo Seong-yeon was speaking sincerely, not just paying lip service. He envied the hunters who had a ladder to keep climbing.

Yoo Seong-yeon was one of the many hunters who had reached their limits.

It had been 30 years since ability users appeared, and there were already countless ability users who had reached their limit levels. In terms of games, they had enjoyed the content to the end.

He had also challenged the 5-star dungeon, but immediately felt the limit. The 5-star dungeon was a stage that only those at the pinnacle of humanity could conquer.

‘I wish I could climb a little higher.’

Hyun-woo read the thirst for growth from Yoo Seong-yeon. He too was once a promising rookie, so the frustration must have been great when he reached his limit.

Maybe he was secretly hoping that Hyun-woo would make him a scout offer.

‘But it’s none of my business.’

Unless he comes crawling in.

“You did a good job too.”

Hyun-woo shook hands roughly and gestured to the hunters to leave.

Song Yeo-un put her hand on the return stone as if she had been waiting for it. Soon, she waited for the return stone to light up and the vision to blur.

But nothing happened.

“Huh?”

Song Yeo-un was embarrassed and put her hand on the return stone again. But it was the same. The return stone showed no reaction.

Yoo Seong-yeon, realizing the seriousness of the situation, also approached and touched the return stone. This was the first time this had happened.

“Are there fake return stones?”

“I’ve raided the Taean Dungeon more than 10 times. But this has never happened…….”

Song Yeo-un slapped the return stone nervously. At that moment, the return stone burst into flames. The hunters were horrified and fell away.

Song Yeo-un muttered in a shocked voice.

“I hit it gently?”

But as the fire on the return stone began to draw something like a series of symbols, they realized that was no longer the problem. Hyun-woo knew those symbols. The symbols he had seen at the very end of the Book of Shaman.

“Flood.”

The dungeon was twitching and awakening.