A S-Class Hunter With Great Agility - Chapter 82
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 82: Elf Dungeon (3)
Josephine led us to the front of towering castle walls. The castle wall built with solid bricks resembled a medieval European castle.
It seemed like the Elf Clan’s territory was inside these castle walls.
“It’s bigger than I thought…?”
“Right. It’d be troublesome if we got surrounded in there…”
I said that while pulling the binding rope holding Josephine tighter.
If I saw even the slightest suspicious sign, I was planning to turn her into electric roasting.
【Hey, I’m back. Hurry up and open the castle gate.】
Josephine soon walked confidently toward the castle gate. Then she spoke boldly to the knights guarding the front.
Well, since she was pitifully tied up with rope, it was easy to predict the knights’ reaction.
【C-Captain?! What’s going on here?】
【Don’t tell me you’ve been taken hostage! By those human bastards! How despicable…!】
The male elf knights grabbed their spears and aimed them at us.
I made a bored expression.
“Oh, should I roast them? Roast?”
Crackle.
Lightning prepared to flow from my fingertips.
【It’s not like that. I’ve brought the Heroes, so hurry up and open the door!】
【What? Did you say Heroes…?】
Only then did the knights hesitantly begin to open the castle gate. It seemed like her claim of being the 1st Knight Division Captain wasn’t a lie after all.
【Please enter, Heroes!】
Josephine showed a pure, clear smile and guided us inside the castle.
Choi Yu-il and I exchanged glances and nodded. We had already decided on a plan for what to do if we got surrounded or ran into problems.
Creeeeak.
Soon the heavy castle gate opened. We swallowed and stepped inside.
* * *
“….”
What the…
However, contrary to our worries, the interior of the castle looked very different from what we had imagined.
“What is this place? Is this really a dungeon?”
“This is my first time seeing something like this… Hae, Hae-dam. Is this going to be okay?”
Logically speaking, who would have more dungeon experience, you or me… It meant I didn’t know either.
I looked around the territory with confused eyes.
The territory was like an ordinary village. Young elves were working, and occasionally the sound of swords clashing could be heard as if they were training.
There were elves laughing together while harvesting fruit, and other residents hanging laundry.
It was such a peaceful scene that our consideration of getting surrounded seemed pointless.
【Oh, Captain! Thank you for your hard work today!】
【The fruit has ripened very well. Would you like to try one?】
The residents seemed to recognize Josephine and came over to talk to her one by one.
Josephine waved back cheerfully.
【Yes, yes! Is everyone doing well?】
‘The problem is with you…’
Don’t they care that their knight captain is tied up tight?
The elves just smiled kindly and bowed politely toward us.
【How is it? Everyone looks happy, don’t they? Under our Lord’s rule, we live more stable lives than anyone else.】
“….”
【The only problem is the Lycans! I trust that you Heroes will definitely solve that!】
Josephine spoke in a proud tone.
Really, it was such convincing peace that it made me wonder if everything she had said so far was actually true.
“Hey, Choi Yu-il. What do you think…”
I casually brought it up to Choi Yu-il.
‘…?’
However, he was looking around the village with somewhat dazed eyes. His face looked like he was lost in thought about something.
“Hey, what’s wrong.”
“No… it’s just…”
Choi Yu-il hesitated, then spoke.
“It doesn’t seem much different from how humans live.”
“….”
Normally I would have gotten angry and asked what nonsense he was talking about. We were both guys who had been burned enough by monsters.
But this time, I didn’t particularly feel like arguing. I kept my words to myself.
* * *
In the end….
I stared at the ceiling with a dazed expression.
‘How did I end up here?’
I must have been bewitched by something. Was human will really this weak?
“Guys. We probably shouldn’t drink this, right?”
“Don’t put it to your lips unless you have to.”
“The color looks nice though….”
We had finally reached the inside of the castle. Josephine had stepped away for a moment, saying she would bring the Lord. I couldn’t very well keep holding onto the power line after coming all the way into the castle.
What the elf servants inside the castle had offered us was warm green tea. The place we were in was a reception room.
‘Like I’d drink it and risk whatever they might do to me.’
I still hadn’t let my guard down, but Baek Kyul and Choi Yu-il seemed to have relaxed a bit.
I had just stopped Baek Kyul from trying to sniff the tea. I wondered what to do about teenage curiosity.
“But this really does smell good….”
“….”
“Okay, okay, I get it.”
I pretended not to hear his muttering about how he could use Poison Purification anyway. What, are you the only healer here?
I sat the grumbling Baek Kyul down on the sofa and opened my mouth.
“Alright, everyone get your heads together. Let’s talk this through calmly. Finding the leader of this place was our original goal, right? Anything come to mind?”
“Hmm…. I don’t think I’m sensing any particular mana yet.”
Choi Yu-il thought for a moment before speaking. Since this was the guy who could instantly locate where mana was, it was trustworthy.
Soon after, Baek Kyul also crossed his arms and shared his speculation.
“We just got here. It wouldn’t make sense for something to stand out already. These guys are definitely intelligent types, so the boss monster wouldn’t be careless either.”
I agreed with that assessment.
With this level of environment, they were beyond just intelligent—they were almost at human level. The boss of this place would be even more so, not less.
Choi Yu-il also chimed in.
“Right. This is the first time I’ve seen monsters capable of conversation like that. Well, only Hae-dam can communicate with them though….”
‘Conversation.’ Actually, that was the most confusing part for me right now.
‘This isn’t the first time I’ve understood monster speech.’
However, I’d never heard those words together with other people. So it was natural that others didn’t know I was different until now.
‘…This doesn’t seem like the issue to worry about right now.’
I pushed aside the problem that had no answer even if I pondered it and accelerated the meeting.
“Then should we observe for a while? Until we find the leader.”
I hadn’t sensed anything suspicious yet. Observing until then was a decent choice.
Even if something happened right away, given the level of the elves we’d roughly assessed, we could definitely escape.
‘More importantly….’
These guys’ Four Pillars readings were unchanged. That alone was enough to feel safe for now.
Choi Yu-il also nodded in agreement.
“Yeah. Let’s observe for a bit. We’ve gathered enough magic stones from the lycans, so it might be good to stay here briefly while looking for the boss monster.”
“I agree too. And….”
“?”
“It’d be a waste to give up the hero’s companion role like this.”
“…You need to quit that game.”
The last comment gave me a brief headache, but I pretended not to hear it. I wrapped up the discussion by roughly organizing our opinions.
“Good, that’s settled. Let’s do that.”
We’d observe what the elves were doing while carefully searching for the dungeon boss.
Just as that conclusion was reached, a voice came from the direction of the reception room door.
【Preparations are complete. I will guide you to the Lord.】
It was a female servant speaking in a calm manner.
I interpreted her words and conveyed them, and we were guided to where the Lord was said to be.
* * *
The place we arrived at was a cafeteria inside the castle.
A long, ornate table filled the interior. Various types of food were prepared on top of that table.
【Oh! Welcome! Welcome!】
At the head seat of that place sat an elderly man. He was an elf with the appearance of an aged male.
He welcomed us with a bright face.
“Is that the Lord?”
“Seems like it. He looks like a typical NPC or something.”
“En…. What’s that supposed to mean?”
Baek Kyul and I whispered and exchanged trivial conversation.
The Thunder God had already released the Divine Descent Ritual. He kept pestering me about why I wasn’t fighting anymore.
The Lord kept offering us seats with a beaming face.
【This is truly an honor. Hehe, living for 800 years, I get to see days like this too! To think I’d meet the legendary Heroes!】
‘800 years?’
Then exactly what era has he been living since.
Choi Yu-il and I sat side by side with awkward movements.
Meanwhile, Baek Kyul corrected the Lord’s words.
“No no. We’re reliable companions.”
【Ah…! Haha. I see. My mistake!】
The Lord corrected himself to say companions as if he understood. Then he pushed the food on the table forward and smiled a good-natured, no, monster-natured smile.
【Come now, this won’t do. Please eat first. Even in the Elf Castle, business comes after meals!】
We had no choice but to pick up our tableware. Of course, we had absolutely no intention of eating.
‘Can we even eat this stuff in the first place…’
The colors of the food were very diverse. There were many things whose identity was unknown. Among them were even vegetables that resembled eyeballs.
“Ugh, what is this.”
“Um… Haha.”
Baek Kyul frowned and Choi Yu-il only managed an awkward smile.
‘I heard elves only eat fruit and live. I guess that’s not the case either.’
As ordinary humans, experiencing only clothing and housing from the elf lifestyle was enough for us. Food was a bit much…
“Still, this looks somewhat edible. What do you think?”
Even so, Baek Kyul found something that looked like it might be edible.
It was a plate with meat that looked like steak.
【You have good taste! That’s Lycan Steak grilled medium rare. It’s a dish with very rich juices flowing on the tongue.】
“….”
After hearing my explanation, Baek Kyul pushed the plate far away.
Well, having seen even the brain matter while extracting Lycan magic stones. How could that go in his mouth.
In the end, no one could move their tableware. Only the Lord’s cheerful chatter echoed in the cafeteria.
【This is fruit that only grows in our provinces! If you feed it Lycan blood for a certain period, it becomes very sweet.】
Really information I didn’t want to know. Choi Yu-il squeezed through that gap and finally opened his mouth.
“…Ahem. Thank you for welcoming us. But we haven’t heard a detailed explanation yet. The word Hero too, we don’t really know exactly what it means…”
‘Good. Nice topic change.’
The Lord no longer spoke about Lycan’s function as an ingredient.
The Lord looked at Choi Yu-il with sparkling eyes as if he’d been waiting.
【Oh my. So you must be that legendary Hero. Then that bow is…?】
“Yes. It’s the Bow of Green Sound.”
【Wow. Indeed, it has beauty recognizable at a glance!】
He moistened his throat with what appeared to be wine, though who knows what it actually was. Then he cleared his throat and put down his glass.
【Hmm, indeed it’s proper etiquette to give an explanation first.】
Clap.
Soon the Lord clapped his hands together. When he gestured, the servant standing beside moved.
【Now I’ll tell you about the legend of the Hero passed down among our Elf Tribe. This story goes back fifteen hundred years… ahem, no. Exactly thirteen hundred years ago.】
Soon the servant who had briefly left returned carrying something.
“…?”
“What’s that?”
“What is it…?”
It was a very large rectangular item. Covered with cloth, it seemed to be a painting.
Flutter.
The Lord removed the cloth covering the painting.
“…!”
“Hey, that’s…”
As soon as we saw that painting, we couldn’t help but be very surprised.
‘This, I didn’t expect.’
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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