The Wise Cleaning Life Of A Returning Genius Hunter [EN]: Chapter 74

073

Somewhere in the underwater dungeon, a dark passage.

With about 10% of their oxygen remaining, Kim Min-ju, Cha Seok-hyun, and Yu Ji-woo barely managed to find the boss.

Grrrr…

A large space.

Inside, a massive creature emitting bizarre cries slowly began to move.

“Wow, seriously…”

Guild Leader Cha Seok-hyun was the first to react to the creature before them.

Its size was beyond comprehension.

30 meters? No, more like 50 meters?

A long body covered in tens of thousands of scales.

A head large enough to swallow several people whole, and fiercely gleaming eyes.

The massive spines protruding from its entire body seemed to forbid anyone from approaching.

“…Should we turn back?”

Yu Ji-woo also wore a bewildered smile at its overwhelming presence.

Cha Seok-hyun almost nodded unconsciously.

That is, if that woman hadn’t been calmly taking out her weapon.

“We don’t have much oxygen left. Let’s proceed as quickly as possible.”

“W-wait…”

Cha Seok-hyun couldn’t finish his sentence.

He felt not a shred of hesitation from her back as she approached the boss indifferently, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

Defeating a Red-grade boss with just three people?

Anyone would scoff at that idea.

Even he, ranked 2nd in the country, thought so.

Hope?

It wasn’t even a situation where you could consider such a thing.

Woefully inadequate forces and a lack of oxygen.

They didn’t even have much information about the boss.

Just a desperate situation.

In this situation, that woman believed there was hope.

No, it wasn’t just hope.

Right now, that woman was certain.

That they could defeat it 100%.

‘That woman is not normal either…’

He’d heard that she was a disciple of that Head of the Main Office?

Like teacher, like student.

Cha Seok-hyun smiled without realizing it.

“Oh well, whatever.”

He eventually let out a shallow sigh.

He took out all the dozens of robot puppies he had brought from his inventory.

[Unique Skill: Steampunk – Awakening]

A skill of the Mechanic class that could produce guild-level power on its own, and Cha Seok-hyun’s trademark.

[Revolutionary Army]

Clank, clank—.

The robot puppies began to change their forms all at once, making a noisy sound.

Soon, dozens of large steam golems were completed.

His army, which had made Cha Seok-hyun the 2nd ranked in the country, revealed itself.

“If I had known this would happen, I would have brought all the ammunition from the warehouse.”

Yu Ji-woo swallowed her regret and took out her weapon.

[Unique Skill: Artemis]

Clank—.

A custom-made sniper rifle named after her skill, Artemis.

She immediately lowered her stance and accurately aimed the faintly glowing muzzle at the boss.

“Hoo…”

Kim Min-ju took a deep breath.

She adjusted her grip on her sword in front of the bared fangs of the Imoogi [a mythical Korean serpent or dragon-like creature].

[Unique Skill: Thousand-Armed Guanyin – Awakening]

[Four of the Six Guanyin]

The moment a subtle aura began to flow along her entire body.

[4th Form – Eleven-Faced Guanyin]

Her red-tinged eyes flashed.

***

As expected from the start, it wasn’t easy.

Kaaa—!

A roar that seemed to twist her entire body.

If she lost focus even a little, she might lose consciousness.

The entire dungeon shook every time the boss moved, and if she were hit even once by its swinging tail or charging head, it would mean certain death.

Zhiing—.

“Dodge, dodge!!”

Kwwaaang—!!

Above all, that breath of tremendous power.

She had to be prepared to lose several limbs if she even grazed it.

Kim Min-ju used the entire space to move her legs non-stop.

The red light in her eyes couldn’t keep up with her speed, leaving a thick afterimage.

Of course, she couldn’t just keep dodging.

She had to force her way in, even if it was reckless.

[One of the Six Guanyin]

Once again, she took a moment to gather her breath.

[1st Form – Holy Guanyin]

Swish, swish—.

She instantly plunged under the Imoogi’s chin and slashed her sword accurately at its neck.

Kyaaaaaaa—!

However, it was not enough to cut down that massive creature in one go.

Far from cutting it, her sword became deeply embedded in its scales.

In a moment of panic, Kim Min-ju hesitated, and the Imoogi’s mouth opened wide right in front of her nose.

A desperate moment.

[Unique Skill: Artemis]

[Bullet – Full Moon]

[Loading Complete]

Bang—!

Yu Ji-woo’s bullet accurately pierced the Imoogi’s left eye.

Kkieeee—!!

The Imoogi writhed in pain.

Kim Min-ju pulled her sword out of the scales in that gap.

[Revolutionary Army – Concentrated Fire]

Bang, bang, bang, bang—.

Kwang, kwagwang—!

Immediately, the steam golems’ bullets and cannons rained down relentlessly.

However, they couldn’t inflict significant damage. They merely drew the boss’s attention and created an opening for Kim Min-ju to attack.

Yu Ji-woo’s bullets were the same.

The powerful bullets that struck one by one at crucial moments created small gaps each time.

With the help of the two, Kim Min-ju’s sword danced without a single mistake.

No conversation took place in the process.

Just experience and instinct. They perfectly carried out their respective roles, relying solely on those two things.

That’s how dozens of attacks continued.

Before long, the sea was turning red with the blood shed by the boss.

“Haa, haa…”

Kim Min-ju breathed heavily and roughly.

As she had poured out all her strength, her stamina was rapidly declining.

But… it was possible.

At this rate, they could really defeat it.

The only problem was.

‘Damn it, my vision…’

The oxygen was almost completely depleted.

Her vision was blurring, and it was becoming increasingly difficult to control her body. Her head was also throbbing as if it would break.

She could feel the limits of her stamina.

She couldn’t drag it out any longer.

She had to end it with this attack.

“Representative Yu Ji-woo.”

Kim Min-ju opened her mouth, breathing heavily.

“Yes.”

“Please create an opening for about 5 seconds.”

“…5 seconds means I have to unload all the bullets I have.”

“Please do that.”

“…Okay.”

“Representative Cha Seok-hyun, please peel off some of those scales. Can you do that?”

“I’ll try, but I’ll have to explode all the robots I have now. If that happens, I won’t be able to fight anymore…”

“It’s okay.”

Kim Min-ju gripped her sword tightly and continued.

“Because I’m going to finish it this time.”

A silence fell over the boss room.

It was the moment when the boss, who had shown no signs of collapsing despite dozens of attacks, bared its fangs once again.

[Unique Skill: Artemis – Awakening]

Yu Ji-woo shoved all the bullets from her belt into her gun.

[Bullet – Overload]

[Overcharge]

She pulled the trigger without hesitation.

Psh—.

Kaaa—!!

The bullet fired without a sound hit the Imoogi’s head.

[Revolutionary Army – Grand Plan]

Clank, clank—.

Without missing the gap, all the steam golems clung to the boss. Soon, they began to glow red.

Kwang, kwang, kwang—!!!!

The robots all exploded with fierce explosions.

At the same time, Kim Min-ju closed her eyes.

[Thousand-Armed Guanyin – Awakening]

Yu Ji-woo had exhausted all her bullets, and Cha Seok-hyun’s transform weapons had also all exploded.

[Outside of the Six Guanyin]

[Spirit Contact – Guanshiyin [East Asian bodhisattva associated with compassion]]

There would be no second chance.

If she couldn’t end it here… she would die.

[Shōbōmyōōnyorai [Japanese name for the Buddhist deity Amoghasiddhi]]

The aura that had been flowing from her all along burst out like an explosion. At the same time, the surroundings began to vibrate greatly.

Cha Seok-hyun and Yu Ji-woo couldn’t close their mouths at the sight before them.

Kim Min-ju’s appearance now could not be called human.

And then, the moment she gripped her sword and took a step.

Suddenly, her legs gave way, and her body slumped forward.

Thud, her knees slammed into the ground.

The oxygen had already been completely depleted.

Yet, she had consumed too much breath concentrating.

‘Please, move…!’

She gritted her teeth as if they would break.

Thump—

In the end, she couldn’t get up.

The moment she collapsed, unable to control her body, she heard two people shouting in her helmet. Nevertheless, she couldn’t lift a finger.

Her consciousness was fading away.

In front of her eyes, she saw the Imoogi’s huge fangs rushing at her.

‘…It’s over.’

The last thing that came into Kim Min-ju’s sight as she lost consciousness was…

[Acquired Skill: Omnipotence]

A pure white, giant spear.

With that, her consciousness was cut off.

Thud—.

At the same time, the giant head fell powerlessly to the floor.

“…”

Air bubbles bubbled out from Kim Jun-woo’s mouth.

A bare body without a suit.

An attack of unbelievable power.

Cha Seok-hyun and Yu Ji-woo couldn’t close their mouths at the sight.

***

The Korean Association, Yeouido Administrative Headquarters.

He had foolishly forgotten that he had convened the board of directors through the association president.

While he was busy cleaning up the scene, he suddenly remembered the appointment and immediately rushed to Yeouido, but…

It was already two hours late.

He hurriedly opened the conference room door and stepped inside.

As expected, the directors’ complaints poured out at the same time. And the most prominent among them was Planning Director Lee Doo-shik.

“Hey, you! You call busy people and make them wait for hours?!”

“I’m sorry. I had some things to do.”

“You should have at least said you were going to be late…”

But he trailed off as he scanned me up and down.

“Why are you so soaked? Is it raining outside?”

“No. I just went for a swim.”

“…?”

His eyebrows furrowed.

“And why does your face look like that? Did someone hit you?”

“Well… it’s nothing. You don’t have to worry about it.”

I said that and gave a light nod to President Park In-beom, who was sitting at the head of the table.

Then, the president opened his mouth first in a heavy voice.

“How did the operation go?”

“The subjugation was successfully completed. The three of them caught the boss.”

Admiration poured out from here and there at those words.

The directors also seemed genuinely surprised.

“There are no injuries except for Team Leader Kim Min-ju. I heard that the injuries are not serious, so you don’t have to worry.”

“Hmm.”

The president nodded once.

“Now, let’s talk about the main point. What do you mean we might have to have a showdown with the International Association?”

I looked around and carefully opened my mouth.

“During this operation, my subordinates were attacked by the International Association.”

“What?”

“In my opinion, they seemed to be trying to push for a hostile M&A [Mergers and Acquisitions] against the Korean Association.”

The conference room was enveloped in a cold silence.

All the directors, including the president, froze without opening their mouths.

I continued to speak.

“Strictly speaking, it’s another organization related to the International Association, but I don’t think I can go into details in this meeting…”

I trailed off and quickly changed the subject.

“Anyway, the attack failed. It was dangerous, but fortunately, we didn’t suffer any damage either. Thanks to that, they didn’t get what they wanted. That means they might attack again.”

And that too, with much more thorough preparation.

“…Are you sure? That it was the International Association that attacked us.”

“Unfortunately, there is no evidence.”

“So it’s just a hunch.”

“That’s right. But that doesn’t mean we can just sit still. We have to prepare for the future somehow. However…”

“In our current situation, we can’t afford to keep the International Association in check.”

I nodded.

Even if we have partnerships with guilds and affiliates, they are only operational forces, and they are not helpful in any other way.

We are already a target of the International Association.

As long as we have the Time Stone, the attacks will not stop.

And I’m not such a pushover that I’ll just let it happen, even though I know that.

Once is okay, but not twice.

Now that I know their purpose, I have to prepare to fight back somehow.

“We need the power to respond to future attacks. To do that, we need to grow even bigger than we are now, but… there’s a limit to how much we can grow in this small land.”

“That’s true. Even if we are the largest of the independent associations, we are still just an independent association in the end.”
The president nodded.

“So? How are you going to grow?”

“Isn’t it obvious?”

I stared at the president and spoke my mind.

“We have to go abroad.”