Hunters Keep Coming To My House - Chapter 75

Chapter 75

Lychee.

It is the fruit of an evergreen fruit tree in the non-deciduous tree family… It’s neither meaningless nor does it mean richness in English.

So, what did Kang Yoon-soo mean by ‘Lich’?

“… Is it a top-tier undead monster?” 

Jung Tae-il, who answered in one go, narrowed his eyebrows seriously.

And everyone was facing seriousness in their own ways.

‘… Is it really that Lich?’

The Lich who reached the pinnacle that a necromancer could achieve, abandoning flesh and fur and becoming a skeleton…?

The Lich, who concentrated its life force and mana in one place, was reborn into an undying body, making it one of the most notorious boss monsters.

Because of its endlessly reviving undead body, no matter how much you attack, it doesn’t die.

So, in the early days of the Gate crisis, many high-level hunters fell victim to the Lich.

‘… Wasn’t it the boss monster of the first S-level Gate that appeared in South Korea?’

And among those who cleared that Gate was Kang Yoon-soo himself.

At that time, at the government’s command, several high-level hunters, including Kang Yoon-soo, gathered and entered the Gate. Due to the hasty entry without proper equipment or support, there were quite a few casualties.

After that, rumors spread that Kang Yoon-soo’s relationship with the government officially soured.

Well, that’s not important right now.

What’s important is that we have to face that Lich.

… More accurately, I’m the most worried.

While everyone here has the skills to handle it individually, the probability of me becoming a burden is 99.99%.

Should I just stick around and wait for them to defeat the Lich?

But to do that…

‘The system won’t just stand by.’

Even if they have to give me a quest, they’ll make sure I participate because I’m that incorrigible scoundrel.

…Damn.

As the stifling silence continued for a while, Kang Yoon-soo slowly spoke with a serious voice.

“Still, there’s a fortunate aspect.”

“…What is it?”

“For one, the influence of the Lich is not ridiculously huge, and their base is a pirate ship.”

“….”

Jung Tae-il looked at Kang Yoon-soo as if asking why that was fortunate. I, too, sent him a gaze with the same question.

If their influence is not ridiculously huge, what difference does it make?

If the monster we just encountered with bizarre legs turned into an undead by the Lich, it would be problematic. Not only is it tough, but it also has intelligence. Even if intelligence decreases when revived as undead… there’s a difference between a bone that only attacks and a thinking bone.

And the fact that their base is a pirate ship is also a problem.

‘…If it’s a pirate ship, it means it’s floating in the middle of the sea.’

How do we approach it? We don’t have a means of flying, and there’s no ship. How do we get close and launch an attack? No matter how you look at it, there was no fortunate point to be found.

Kang Yoon-soo seemed to feel everyone’s puzzlement and shrugged his shoulders with a small smile.

“Why is everyone’s expression like that? Do you not trust me, Yeon-oh?”

“…Probably.”

“Ugh, without trust like this…”

“…I don’t know what the fortunate aspect is.”

“Well… since I’m the only one who has encountered the Lich, it might be hard for you to understand.”

After muttering softly and pondering for a moment, Kang Yoon-soo took out a bead from his inventory where he stored mana.

“Lich seals its life force and mana separately. So, no matter how much you attack the Lich’s main body, it won’t die because its life force is somewhere else. That’s why I say it’s fortunate about the pirate ship here.”

“…You mean there’s a vessel sealed on the pirate ship.”

“Yeah, Tae-il. It took me a long time to find the vessel in the case of the Lich I encountered, who lived in a disgustingly large castle. But a pirate ship is smaller in scale. It’s better to quickly find and break the vessel as the more you fight with the Lich, the more enemies you’ll face.”

“…I see.”

Fighting for an extended period with a Lich who can turn corpses into undead is like boarding a train to death.

Then…

“While the rest attack the Lich and divert its attention, one person can break the vessel.”

“Correct, Ms. Yeon-oh. Now, what does it mean that their influence is still small?”

Kang Yoon-soo made exaggerated gestures like a quiz show host. Of course, no one responded to his actions because the atmosphere was too heavy.

However, Yoo Seol-ah quickly answered.

“It means that the Lich hasn’t been undead for long. So, it’ll be easy to provoke, and there’s one more thing.”

“What’s that?”

“Kang Yoon-soo, you say that. Do you want to teach even in this situation?”

“Because the ability to think for oneself is important. Anyway, the answer is…”

Kang Yoon-soo, who was about to answer, was interrupted by someone.

“The answer is that there are few monsters that can be turned into undead, right?”

This is about the enthusiastic rookie hunter, Kim Young-ji. She was showing an excellent student demeanor, even raising her hand energetically.

… She seemed to be someone with a strong willingness to participate in graduate school and a passion for learning. The passion seemed satisfying, and Kang Yoon-soo’s gaze was not indifferent. Well, how lovely would a rookie hunter look like that?

Kang Yoon-soo raised his thumb to show approval to Kim Young-ji.

“That’s correct, Hunter Kim Young-ji.”

“Yay!”

“To add more detail, it means that the enemies won’t infinitely increase during the battle. We can confidently say that we have enough people to defeat the Lich with this team.”

“…Including Seo Yeon-oh?”

Everyone’s attention turned to me at Jung Tae-il’s question. To them, I was probably like a hunter with the durability of a newborn baby.

Silently, I wondered if they would be relieved if I became a burden and left.

While I was contemplating whether I should be grateful for the fact that they didn’t explicitly bring this up, Kim Young-ji spoke up.

“Hunter Seo Yeon-oh, wouldn’t it be better for you to stay here? I haven’t heard that you have outstanding combat abilities, and it’s better to be safe here than to come along just to get hurt or die for the sake of defeating the Lich.”

“Hunter Kim Young-ji.”

“Well, it’s the truth. Instead of needlessly following to fight the Lich, getting hurt, or dying, it’s the right choice to stay here safely.”

Boldly expressing her opinion, Kim Young-ji looked at me with a gaze that suggested I should agree.

Listening to her words, I felt a strange mix of emotions. It was quite surreal to hear my initial concerns about facing the boss monster Lich being voiced by someone else. Even if what she said made sense when objectively judged, I didn’t feel upset about it, nor did I feel grateful.

If she’s going to say something like that, shouldn’t I be the one to say it…?

Or maybe Kang Yoon-soo or Jung Tae-il…?

‘What am I saying here.’

If I agree to fight together, I might become a burden, and if I decide not to join, then…

‘I feel so pathetic right now.’

Caught in a dilemma.

While I was keenly feeling my position, Kang Yoon-soo let out a small laugh.

“Well, Hunter Kim Young-ji’s words make sense too. But my opinion is different. I think Seo Yeon-oh would be the most helpful in defeating the Lich.”

“…What? How?”

“…Mr. Yoon-soo, now doesn’t seem like the time for jokes.”

“It’s not a joke.”

Kang Yoon-soo said firmly, looking at me.

“I believe in Ms. Seo Yeon-oh’s abilities.”

“…Mr. Yoon-soo, I might know my abilities better than you do. Unfortunately, I know that among the people here, I am the weakest.”

I understand my situation well. Until recently, I was just an FFF-level individual. My stats have only recently increased, and Kang Yoon-soo saying he believes in my abilities, how much has he seen?

Looking at Kang Yoon-soo with eyes full of skepticism, he responded with a serious expression.

“No, Seo Yeon-oh, this is something only you can do. You are more talented than anyone I’ve ever seen.”

“…”

“If you still can’t trust me, then tell me what task you want. I’m sure you’ll agree, right?”

He smiled with a slightly wrinkled nose. Why his trust is so strong, even though I understand, I don’t understand.

As I was silently observing him, Kang Yoon-soo slowly began to explain his plan to the team.

“…I believe that this way we can sufficiently defeat the Lich. What do you all think?”

“Not bad.”

“Sounds like a good plan.”

Jung Tae-il and Yoo Seol-ah quickly expressed positive reactions. The rest, including me, also agreed with Kang Yoon-soo’s plan.

After confirming everyone’s positive responses, Kang Yoon-soo looked at me.

“…I’m still not sure. But if you believe in my abilities… then I’m okay with it.”

Well, let’s give it a try, I suppose.