Chapter 5

A Hunter called out to the Raid’s leader, finding a statue that stood out from the rest. Leaving his observation of the magic circle, Mr. Song headed towards the Hunter. One by one, all the Hunters in the room gathered before the strange statue as well.

Of all the statues in the room, this one was the only one with wings. It was holding a stone tablet. What caught the Hunters’ eyes were the words written on the stone tablet.

“It’s Runic[5].” Mr. Song spoke after a.n.a.lyzing the tablet.

Runes. A form of text that could be found in Dungeons, it was something that could not be found elsewhere on Earth. Only the Hunters who Awakened[6] as Mage-cla.s.s could interpret them.

Mr. Song read the first line of the tablet:

” ‘Commandments of the Cartenon Temple'[7] ”

Jinwoo listened to Mr. Song’s reading of the tablet with a serious expression. But then suddenly, someone grabbed his arm.

Turning around, he saw Juhee looking at him with a pale, fear-stricken face.

Translator’s Notes:

[1]: “Statue of G.o.d” (신상 [神像]; Shin-Sang): “G.o.d” Shin + “Statue” Sang

[2]: “my G.o.d…”: Just an “omg”, not specifically saying that the statue was his G.o.d.

[3]: “Statue of Liberty”: Heel-to-Head Height: ~111 feet.

[4]: “Magic Circle” (마법진; MBeop-Jin): “Magic” MBeop + “Circle” Jin

[5]: “Runic” (룬 문자; Rune Mun-Ja): Rune (in English) + “Text” Mun-Ja

[6]: “Awakened” (각성; Gak-Sung): Terminology used to describe the phenomenon where humans awaken special powers. Those that awaken obtain specific repertoire of abilities and skills fitting to a certain cla.s.s (Fighter, Mage, Healer, etc…)

[7]: “Commandments of the Cartenon Temple” (카르테논 신전의 규율): The korean word for “commandments” actually is closer to an uncommon way of saying “rule”, but I’ve translated as “commandment” for a minor story purpose later on. I couldn’t find a direct translation for “Cartenon”, so this is just a p.r.o.nunciation choice.

Her pale face shocked Jinwoo.

“What’s wrong? Are you not feeling well?”

“Over… over there.”

Jinwoo followed Juhee’s pointing fingers to the Statue of G.o.d. The enormous statue. She was pointing at its face. Not seeing any difference from the first time he saw it, Jinwoo tilted his head.

“?”

With a shaking voice, Juhee spoke,

“H-his eyes… The Statue’s eyes just looked at us.”

“What?”

No matter how long he stared, the results were the same. The Statue sat still, unmoving.

“Hmm… You must’ve imagined it.”

But his words fell on deaf ears. Casting her gaze to the ground, Juhee simply held on to his arms and trembled.

‘Wait.’

A sense of dread washed over Jinwoo.

‘…Where did the sound go?’

The crackling sound from the torches’ fires suddenly became silent.

“First.”

Meanwhile, Mr. Song’s reading of the tablet continued.

“Worship the Lord. Second, Praise the Lord. Third, Prove your Faith to the Lord. Those who do not follow these commands will not leave alive.”

It was in that moment,

creak~

At the sudden sound, all the Hunters jumped in surprise.

“What’s happening?!”

The first person to notice was Jinwoo. Having focused on his hearing because of the torches, he was able to immediately notice what was happening.

“The door! The door is closing!”

At his words, the entire party turned towards the door, only to watch it close with a bang.

“Dammit! I can’t do this anymore!”

The Hunter who first voted “no” to enter the Double Dungeon swore and headed towards the door.

“I’m leaving now. You guys can have all the bosses and treasures you want.”

Glaring rebelliously at Mr. Song, the man turned and grabbed the door’s handles.

Suddenly.

Mr. Song’s eyes widened.

“No, don’t!”

Crunch!

A sickening sound of ‘something’ striking ‘something’ rang throughout the temple.

With it, the man’s head had disappeared from sight. Having lost its head, his body naturally fell backwards onto the ground.

thud-

The Hunters started screaming.

Having obliterated the man’s head with its mace, the statue returned and a.s.sumed its position next to the door as if nothing had happened.

“That- that thing just moved!”

“What? Does that mean all the statues here can move?”

“We’re supposed to fight those?!”

“I didn’t even see him swing that mace!”

It was at this point Jinwoo replayed Juhee’s words in his mind.

“H-his eyes… The Statue’s eyes just looked at us.”

‘If that’s true…’

He shuddered. Making an effort to move his terrified body, he turned and looked at the Statue of G.o.d.

And found the Statue of G.o.d looking back at him.

“Ah…”

Jinwoo realized. This was just the beginning.

-3. Start of the Attack-

The Statue of G.o.d’s eyes were lit with a crimson light.

Was it a Hunter’s instinct? No, it was the survival instincts of a living being. “Something” was coming. “Something” that could not be stopped.

Jinwoo turned and shouted on top of his lungs.

“GET DOWN!”

Right as his mouth opened, a crimson ray of light shot out from the Statue’s eyes.

Jinwoo threw himself at Juhee and pulled her to the ground.

BEAM~!

The ray of light pa.s.sed through where Jinwoo was standing moments before.

One tenth of a second.

No, one hundredth of a second.

If the timing of his actions were off by just an infinitesimal amount…

The other Hunters were not as lucky.

“Uwaaaaaaah!”

“Ahhhhhhh!”

The screams did not come from the Hunters who were struck by the light. After all, the ones who were struck disintegrated instantly, leaving only a trace of ash and burnt stone in their wake. No, the screams were coming from the Hunters who survived.

“What the h.e.l.l is this!”

“Waaaaah!”

“How could this…”

The Hunters were in shock.

11 remaining alive out of 16.

They had never seen an attack like this before.

‘I barely dodged after hearing Jinwoo.’

‘If Mr. Sung didn’t shout just now…’

The Hunters looked at Jinwoo and gulped. Their lives’ savior. If it was not for him, they knew that they would be counted among the fallen.

“…”

With his entire body bowed on the ground, Jinwoo turned his head and peaked at the Statue. Its eyes were still lit with crimson glow but did not continue its attack.

‘Is… is it done attacking?’

Jinwoo turned his head towards the ground again. Juhee lay below him, shaking in fear. Although she was a B-Rank Hunter, this was the reason she Hunted in simple Raids under the a.s.sociation and not an advanced Raid under a large Guild.

Her breathing became more and more irregular. He couldn’t just leave her like this. Thinking he had to do something to help her, Jinwoo began to get-up when a strong hand forced him back down.

“Don’t stand up.”

It was Mr. Song.

Although surprised, Jinwoo sternly listened to his words.

Mr. Song shouted at the other Hunters, as well.

“Everyone stay where you are! Don’t move from your position!”

After taking a quick look across the party, Mr. Song turned to Jinwoo again.

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