Beyond The Control

Chapter 74

Even dog feces have their use; who would have thought this lacking kid could be helpful.

It was the result of noticing with a keen sense that Jeon Hyeon-wook had feelings for Lee Su-hyeon. Anyway, now that Jeon Hyeon-wook had taken the bait, it was time to cast it far. So that it could become a bomb and devastate the surroundings.

“Actually, I have a connection with Su-hyeon too. If the Team 3 leader hadn’t cleverly snatched him away under the pretext of duality, he would have been a member of our team. …That’s why I can’t turn a blind eye anymore.”

Considering his nature, it was nonsense. Kim Kwang-in was a cold-blooded man who would abandon team members in dungeons to survive and inflict fatal injuries on promising juniors. Such a person wouldn’t care for Lee Su-hyeon, who seemed less valuable than an insect by his standards.

But Jeon Hyeon-wook didn’t have the luxury to think that far. Right now, his mind was filled only with the thought that the guild’s high-ranking officials, whom he believed to be righteous, were in league with the evil Song Ji-hyeok, exploiting and breaking Lee Su-hyeon.

“W-what do you m-mean you c-can’t turn a blind eye…”

Kim Kwang-in brought his face closer to him. The words that soon flowed into his ears were shocking enough to make Jeon Hyeon-wook stare directly at Kim Kwang-in with wide eyes.

“You can save Guide Lee Su-hyeon.”

***

Bang-!

A deafening explosion rang out as massive energies collided. The battlefield, mixed with the roars of monsters from all around, was nothing short of pandemonium.

I stood watching the scene with jaded eyes. Only one thought occupied my mind.

This is… something is very wrong.

Regardless of their type, A-rank dungeons are places where I can’t even dare to set foot at the entrance with my combat abilities. But the team members with me now were different. With this lineup, they should have finished the battle and gone out at least twelve times by now, if not easily.

But reality kept deviating from predictions. Not only in the rooms but also in the corridors, traps were continuously discovered, and the deeper we went, the more troublesome the monsters we had to face became.

Especially here and now, in the boss mob’s room we finally reached, there were only A-rank rhinoceroses. When I saw them standing in groups as soon as the door opened, goosebumps covered my entire body, and my teeth chattered. It was because my body instinctively realized first that there wasn’t even a single monster I could hope to match, let alone defeat.

‘How… How can this be?’

From that moment, my mind was in chaos. The rank of a dungeon is determined by measurements taken with energy measuring devices. For example, if readings suggest the presence of an A-rank monster, the dungeon is classified as A-rank even if there’s one A-rank and a hundred C-ranks.

And proportionally, there are far more monsters below the dungeon’s rank. Records accumulated over decades proved this without doubt.

But the dungeon we were in now rendered past records useless. All the monsters in the boss mob’s room being A-rank? Even for me, with 7 years of experience and various encounters, this was beyond imagination.

As a result, our team members were dying. They had already depleted much of their energy, and facing an unexpected situation in what they hoped would be the last room was overwhelming.

Like me, the team leader might have had some hope, as he ordered to deal with the boss mob first. Those of us who weren’t much help in combat, including myself, retreated outside the room, while only A-rank and above Espers remained to start the battle.

The battle seemed far from easy. It was overwhelming to have to deal with or block other attacking monsters while focusing on the attack. Still, befitting their reputation as our guild’s strongest force, they eventually succeeded in defeating the boss mob.

But unfortunately, there was no stroke of luck. Although the boss mob was killed, the scene remained unchanged. The unique gloomy atmosphere didn’t dissipate, nor did the remaining monsters fall. It only proved once again the frustrating fact that in all-kill dungeons, you must kill every single monster to be able to leave.

From then on, Jae-young hyung also lent his strength. When other Espers nearly drained a monster’s power and moved on to face another, Jae-young hyung delivered the final blow. I too wanted to help even a little, but was blocked by the team leader’s firm opposition.

‘Don’t even think about stepping in, and make sure to engrave in your mind how the situation unfolds.’

I knew it wasn’t because he was ignoring me, but rather for my sake. Even a weakened monster would require my full effort to face. His instruction to engrave the situation in my mind meant he would seek my help when writing the strategy report later.

As team leader, he had given the most optimal instruction, but seeing team members fighting with all their might, I couldn’t help feeling sorry. And in situations like this, I would involuntarily engage in self-blame, which I never do normally. How much better it would be if I were even a B-rank.

“—-!”

That’s when it happened. Another massive collision sound came from nearby, and I saw Jae-young hyung’s body bounce off like a ball.

“Hyung!”

I saw hyung, who only stopped after crashing into the wall, and a spider-shaped monster slowly crawling towards him despite losing several legs. At that moment, my body moved before my thoughts. Aiming for the completely exposed area where the legs had been torn off, I launched an attack with all my might.

“—–!”

Seeing flesh flying everywhere, it seemed to have hit properly. The monster twisted its entire body as if struggling and leaked greenish venom, but it couldn’t approach any further.

Like an upturned turtle, it only flailed in place, but just in case, I created a wind barrier. Only then did I run towards Jae-young hyung.

“Hyung! Are you okay?”

“…I’m fine.”

Contrary to his words, seen up close, there were traces of wiped blood at the corners of his mouth. It seemed the recent impact had caused internal damage.

I quickly examined hyung’s arm after noticing something strange about the left arm part of his combat suit. As expected, it was almost melted, with a considerable part red and swollen.

I hurriedly began first aid. I poured disinfectant from my waist pack onto the affected area without hesitation, then wrapped bandages focusing on the most severely damaged parts. If I had my backpack, I could have done a better job, but the helpers in charge of luggage had almost no combat power, so they were waiting in the adjacent room.

As hyung tried to get up, I supported him, and although he staggered a bit, he eventually stood firmly on both feet. Worried, I kept asking meaningless questions.

“Are you okay, hyung?”

“Yeah. The burning in my arm is making me wide awake.”

It was just like Jae-young hyung to joke even in this situation. Soon, he muttered to himself while looking somewhere.

“It’ll be over soon.”

Despite what must have been severe pain, his eyes sparkled as if seeing something interesting. As I shifted my gaze in the same direction, I saw Song Ji-hyeok facing off against the only remaining rhinoceros.

It was immediately clear who had the upper hand. The monster, whose back was more visible from our angle, was dripping dark blood from its detached right arm. But Song Ji-hyeok’s complexion didn’t look too good either.

As I watched this tense situation with bated breath, Jae-young hyung added another comment beside me.

“If it weren’t for you, I’d be in the same state as that thing.”

“Don’t say such horrible things, hyung.”

“Sorry, sorry.”

When I looked at him sternly, hyung immediately backed down. When I looked forward again, a massive energy was surging in Song Ji-hyeok’s hand. Knowing how powerful and strong that energy was, I involuntarily swallowed dry saliva.

But as I said, the outcome was all but decided. The moment the cornered monster bared its teeth, Song Ji-hyeok attacked as if he had been waiting for this. The energy, shot sharply like a blue-tempered spear, not only penetrated the monster’s mouth but also pierced through the back of its head.

“—-!”

A terrible sound rang out, threatening to burst eardrums. In agony, the tail, larger than a human torso, thrashed about on the floor, scattering debris everywhere.

Yet no one retreated. The team leader ordered the Espers to launch a final joint attack in a loud voice, and the results were immediate. Perhaps thinking it was the last push, everyone seemed to be squeezing out every last bit of strength. The monster’s body, under concentrated fire, was torn to shreds in seconds.

Thud- Thud-

Chunks of meat, unrecognizable in form, fell to the ground. With a splash, as if falling into a pool of blood, no more sounds were heard.

And we all instinctively realized it. The air, which had been increasingly pungent and murky, felt like it was clearing like a lifting fog.