Nir’s fist grew a size that was as large as his body. Then he swung that huge fist. The blazing fist moved forward, burning the space while also causing it to burst. Suddenly, a dark wall appeared in front of Nir’s fist, stopping its advancement. This wall—which was exactly the same size as the fist—completely blocked off Nir’s fist and prevented him from moving forward. However, that dark wall soon started to melt, causing water vapor to appear.

Just then, Tang-E’s voice rang out, “Master dude, now!”

The identity of the dark wall was Tang-E’s ice magic. The ice magic’s cooldown time had ended, so Tang-E used it to stop Nir’s attack. No, it wasn’t just simply stopping it. This was both a defense and an attack. The proof of this was that the flames around Nir’s fists were weakening bit by bit.

‘He has good judgment because of who raised him.’ Hyeonu marveled at Tang-E’s proper use of magic.

Rather than attacking recklessly, Tang-E showed the proper usage of magic, which differed depending on the situation. Hyeonu praised Tang-E’s decision to create an opportunity for Hyeonu to attack, rather than dealing a blow personally.

‘Summon a Giant Sword.’

Hyeonu used a skill, and a giant sword appeared over Nir’s head. Draped in dark red flames, the sword itself was very frightening, and its presence overwhelming. Nir noticed the existence of the sword and quickly tried to leave. However, Hyeonu didn’t wait to see that happen.

‘Fighting Energy Emission, Area Proclamation.’

Dark red threads poured out of Hyeonu’s body. It was an energy that had been broken once, but this time, it was two skills, not one. The dark red threads inserted into Nir’s body while something black flowed onto the ground of lava. After a while, the ground where Nir was standing was dyed dark red, and it started to submerge Nir’s feet.

[Nir, master of Crater 4, has received the abnormal condition ‘slowed down’.]

Nir’s movements were perfectly sealed. He was now in a motionless situation. Then the sword with dark red flames started to lower toward Nir’s head.

“Uwoooooh!” Nir began screaming desperately. The ground cracked, and dirt soared into the air. Despite that, Nir’s body was still intact. Instead of hitting Nir, the giant sword had lodged so deeply into the earth that only the handle could be seen. Of course, Nir’s appearance couldn’t be seen. He lost his form under the pressure of the giant sword.

[Nir, master of Crater 4, has been defeated.]

[Experience has been acquired.]

Hyeonu made a subtle smile when he saw the message announcing Nir’s defeat.

‘I like it, but...’

It was definitely a joy to kill named and boss monsters that others couldn’t kill even if they wanted to. The problem was that Hyeonu didn’t come here to hunt. He needed to find Chen Long and the Cheonryong Group. Moreover, Nir wasn’t a boss monster.

‘It’s nothing again.’

Hyeonu spat on the ground. Nir and Parat had only dropped gold and materials. There was nothing worthwhile.

“Tang-E, let’s go. Let’s explore and leave.”

***

After killing Nir the master of Crater 4, Hyeonu also defeated the masters of Craters 2 and 3. Both of them were also a combination of lava giant and flame predator like Nir and Parat.

‘All that is left is Crater 1.’

Hyeonu was able to gather a lot of information from his hunts. The biggest harvest was that Chen Long and the Cheonryong Group had been here. To be exact, he had found the traces of many people in Crater 2 and 3.

‘It isn’t a hunting ground the Rupiah Guild can come to.’

The Rupiah Guild never killed the crater masters, who were named monsters. They only had enough skills to be satisfied with hunting normal lava giants. The fact that there were traces of at least 100 people in this place meant it was highly likely Chen Long and the Cheonryong Group were the ones who made them.

“Tang-E, it’s just one more place. Then we can escape from here.”

Hyeonu was already convinced that all he had left to do was go to Crater 1 and meet Chen Long.

“Really, Master dude? Can we leave here now?” Tang-E asked with a smile on his face.

Hyeonu nodded silently. Truth be told, he too didn’t like it here, a land where lava gushed out. The temperature was very hot, and so was the air. Breathing in and out was hard, and merely moving caused him pain. Hyeonu held Tang-E in his arms and moved quickly. The location of Crater 1 had been determined. The closer he got to it, the more resentful Hyeonu felt toward the emperor.

‘If it wasn’t for the real compensation, I would really flip things over.’

The emperor would pay the price of Hyeonu’s suffering here—his gift. It seemed that Hyeonu would only get rid of his anger when he got his money’s worth out of it.

‘My labor is never cheap.’

Hyeonu wasn’t the only one with such a grim expression on his face. Tang-E, who was in Hyeonu’s arms, also had the same expression. The only difference was that the target was Hyeonu, not the emperor.

“Master dude, you have to pay me well for my hard work today. Be prepared.”

Tang-E’s arrow was directed at Hyeonu, but Hyeonu didn’t take it seriously at all. Like Hyeonu’s resentment, Tang-E’s arrow would disappear the moment he got what he wanted.

“Let’s have a meat party as soon as we leave here. I’ll fill up your subspace.”

“You must keep this promise. It can’t be broken.” Tang-E grabbed Hyeonu by the collar and shook him. It was a vow that Tang-E wouldn’t let Hyeonu go if it was a lie.

“Of course...” Hyeonu nodded and was trying to answer when his senses caught something.

‘What?’

Hyeonu covered Tang-E’s mouth and hid quickly. There was nowhere to hide, but he jumped onto a tree that had grown sturdily.

“Shh!” Hyeonu whispered quietly in Tang-E’s ears.

Tang-E breathed in without knowing what was going on and closed his eyes tightly.

‘I don’t think it is a monster... Who is it?’ The feeling Hyeonu got was very subtle.

It wasn’t the sound of a monster; the lava giants and flame predators didn’t move so stealthily, especially on this lava ground. This was why Hyeonu had hidden himself. Hyeonu stretched out his head and looked in the direction in which he felt the movement.

‘Huh?’

He saw a person, not a monster. Moreover, it was a very familiar person.

‘Bakar?’

Bakar—the man who was said to be the right arm of Chen Long, the master of the Samsungga—had shown up.

‘Sure enough, he is here.’

Hyeonu climbed down from the tree and walked toward Bakar. “It has been a while, Bakar. I never dreamed we would meet in a place like this.”

Bakar was startled and stepped back with wide eyes at Hyeonu’s sudden appearance and greeting.

“How are you here...?” Bakar looked like he had seen something he shouldn’t have seen. It had already been a few months since he met Hyeonu. Moreover, few people knew that Chen Long was here. It was a top secret within the Samsungga.

‘How is this possible?’ Bakar wondered inwardly.

“What? Is this a place I can’t come to? I’m here to see Chen Long. It has been a long time since I greeted him,” Hyeonu said without any regard for Bakar’s feelings. He just wanted to see Chen Long and get his signature as soon as possible.

“It isn’t possible. Chen Long isn’t meeting with anyone right now,” Bakar replied. The problem arose here as Baker stopped Hyeonu from carrying out his mission.

“What does that mean? Why can’t I meet Chen Long?”

“There is a situation. It’s complicated. Can’t you meet him later?” Bakar asked.

Hyeonu shook his head. He couldn’t do that because that meant Hyeonu’s quest would be postponed as well.

“It isn’t possible. I have something to say to Chen Long right now.”

In the end, Bakar raised the white flag due to Hyeonu’s stubbornness. He knew very well that he couldn’t stop Hyeonu.

“Then follow me. I will explain why you can’t meet him.” Bakar turned away from Hyeonu and trudged somewhere.

‘Did something really happen?’ Hyeonu shook his head as he saw Bakar’s seemingly drooping back. He had met Bakar many times doing quests on the East Continent. They’d had a lot of conversations and drunk alcohol several times. Yet no matter what, Bakar had never acted like this.

‘Is there a problem with Chen Long?’

Hyeonu could speculate that there was something wrong with Chen Long, and that led the Cheonryong Group to Shalun Mountain.

‘Will the quest flow in a strange direction?’

He couldn’t get rid of this ominous feeling that he wouldn’t be able to easily return to Etono.

‘What is this about?’

While Hyeonu was feeling uneasy, the two of them had moved further in.

“Come this way,” Bakar beckoned when he suddenly stopped in front of a huge rock wall. He looked around several times before lightly tapping on various parts of the rock wall. Surprisingly, the rock wall sank down.

“Quickly enter before anyone sees it,” Bakar said.

As Hyeonu stood still with a surprised expression, Bakar grabbed his arm and led him in.

‘It’s bright?’ Hyeonu thought. The passageway inside the rock wall was very bright. The ceiling of the passage was densely embedded with luminescent mana stones.

“This is an amazing place. Is this a secret place of the Samsungga?” Hyeonu asked with wonder.

Bakar replied with an expressionless face, “It’s a place that only a few people in the Samsungga know about. It is a place we only go to when something really big happens in the Samsungga. This is the last bastion.”

He smiled bitterly. It was something that was bound to happen. The last bastion—using it meant that the current situation wasn’t good.

‘Will this not proceed properly?’ Hyeonu showed an uneasy expression for other reasons. Something had happened to Chen Long. So, in order to proceed with the main scenario, Hyeonu had to help Chen Long somehow.

‘I thought it would be easy this time...’

“What happened to Chen Long? Did he fall into a coma because he was attacked by someone?” Hyeonu asked.

Hearing that, Bakar sighed and shook his head.

“That would be better... He wasn’t attacked by someone,” Bakar said and randomly tapped the wall again. This time, the wall soared up, and another passage appeared. No, it wasn’t a passage but a cave. A huge space had appeared.

“Now, the leader is there.” Bakar reached out and pointed into the space.