hotmtlnovel Chapter 9
Chapter 9
The queen ant, pierced directly, didn’t even scream before burning black and crashing to the ground.
Thud!
The earth trembled under the massive body, raising clouds of dust.
You have defeated the Boss Monster: Queen Ant (C-Rank)!
And, fortunately, the message appeared confirming the kill. It had been a clean shot.@@@@
Thud!
"EEEK!"
"My God!"
People screamed at the sight of the queen ant’s carcass, but I had no time to worry about them.
A sharp, unpleasant sensation surged in my throat.
I pressed my hand to my mouth.
"Ugh..."
The red blood tried to rise in my throat, but I forced myself to hold it down.
‘That was pushing it.’
Still, I was lucky.
I had managed to complete the spell just before the queen ant could bite me.
What I had just used was a type of incantation magic that I had created back when I was the Demon King, something that couldn’t be learned from typical spellbooks or tutorials.
In regular magic, the amount of mana required for casting is carefully calculated like ingredients in baking. If there’s not enough mana, casting the spell would fail entirely. But incantation magic is different.
Magic bends the absolute laws of the world for a moment. Such an act is forbidden to living beings and requires a price. The mage must pay for that transgression with the energy of their soul—mana.
Mana circulates through the body’s magical circuits, but fundamentally, mana resides within the soul.
If there is insufficient mana, it will harm the soul.
Using magic beyond one’s means is essentially suicide.
But, the upside is that as long as the mage can endure the toll on their soul, they can cast magic beyond their normal capacity.
And in this regard, I had an advantage over most mages.
I had already raised the level of my soul through incantation magic in my past life as the Demon King.
While casting large-scale incantation magic would certainly cause my current human body to collapse under the strain, taking down a C-rank monster was still within my capabilities.
User ‘Jung Da-on’ has received agreement from many social members, and ability restrictions have been lifted.
Potential Evaluation: S-Rank
Stamina: LV. 12 (No Limit)
Strength: LV. 8 (No Limit)
Mana: LV. 18 (No Limit)
Overall Level: LV. 12
Dungeon Suitability: E-Rank Dungeon
Thanks to the quest success for saving the civilians from the boss monster, my physical stats were boosted. The body, which had been on the verge of breaking, was now reinforced like it was patched up with superglue.
Though it still hurt like hell.
"Da-Da-on! Oh my God!"
The boss called out to me in a terrified voice, but her concern was drowned out by the other humans quickly chiming in.
"Wait, did... did Hunter Jung Da-on cast that spell?!"
"How can a student who just awakened cast such an amazing spell?!"
"How did you do it? You really Awakened today, right?!"
The excited voices were deafening. I frowned, expecting more difficulties even once we were out of the dungeon. But thankfully, there was no immediate need to answer their questions.
"Look! Over there!"
Kiiiiiik!
"Still! This is too much..."
The boss held my scorched hand, momentarily speechless. Her wrinkled face showed a mix of relief at being alive, admiration for me, and sympathy. She desperately tried to wipe the blood off with her tattered clothes, but all it did was make them dirtier.
And honestly, I was a little uncomfortable with the situation.
Having used incantation magic had left my insides in turmoil. I wanted to spit out the blood I had swallowed and focus on healing my mana circuits, but everyone’s eyes were on me.
The reporters, now somewhat reassured, began buzzing around again.
"Really incredible, Hunter Jung Da-on! This is unbelievable!"
"She just Awakened today, and she’s already this strong? She could even take on a Hunter like Hanul!"
"Truly amazing! Not only her potential but also her sense of responsibility, keeping civilians safe...!"
"Even after suffering such wounds... Once we get out of here, we’ll write an article about this heroic act of Hunter Jung Da-on!"
Wow, these compliments didn’t suit me at all. Goosebumps rose on my arms.
In truth, I hadn’t even planned to save the reporters. I just happened to end up saving them while rescuing the boss.
"Yeah, make sure to write a good article."
Of course, I didn’t say that directly. I wasn’t about to be that honest. After all, my past life had been that of a Demon King. I had to use whatever I could to my advantage.
‘Hunters even do commercials for big corporations. Maybe I’ll get some sponsorship too?’
S-Rank Hunters made a lot of money from commercials, after all. If I got a good article, I’d probably be able to rake in some lucrative deals.
While I could make money selling dungeon loot and items, my current level was just 12, and leveling up would take time. But commercials were an easy way to make money—just a few photos or videos, and bam, cash.
Considering my family’s financial situation, making money quickly was ideal.
"Of course, Hunter Jung Da-on! You can trust me..."
"Eh?! What happened?!"
"Don’t be too scared, we’re just escaping the dungeon."
Then, just as the system message indicated, one by one, people started disappearing from the dungeon.
I waved to the boss, who still couldn’t hide her worried gaze.
"Da-on, why aren’t you leaving? You’re the last one?"
"I guess so. Don’t worry, I’ll see you outside soon, boss."
Soon, the boss disappeared outside the dungeon.
Once everyone had exited, I was the last to remain.
And I too...
I, too, would leave...
"...What?"
Why was I still in the dungeon?
Of course, the system provided the answer.
Due to a system error, the dungeon exit for user ‘Jung Da-on’ cannot be executed.
Whether or not I accepted this was another matter.
"...What?"
I rubbed my eyes.
But even with my disbelief, the message remained unchanged.
Due to a system error, the dungeon exit for user ‘Jung Da-on’ cannot be executed.
The dungeon exit cannot be executed?
It can’t be?!
19 years since my rebirth.
For the first time since I was born, I let out a scream from deep within my gut.
I’m confident it was loud enough to shake a whole world.
"Hey, you cluster-brained idiot system!"
Is this for real?!