Chapter 210: Chapter 211:The E-Rank Awakener’s Secret
The Troll King’s head continued regenerating.
Flesh gradually covered the exposed bone, followed by muscle and skin as the enormous wound closed before the eyes of everyone standing in the chamber.
For several seconds, nobody could move.
Then the Troll King suddenly opened its eyes.
A violent roar erupted from its throat.
GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!
The sound shook the entire chamber.
The walls trembled.
The floor cracked beneath the pressure.
The enormous aura surrounding the Troll King erupted outward, becoming several times more intense than before.
Jang Hyuk-soo’s expression changed immediately.
"Everyone, brace yourselves!"
The Troll King’s aura continued expanding.
The air became unbearably heavy.
Several members struggled to remain standing as the pressure pushed against their bodies.
Ares remained completely calm.
His eyes narrowed slightly.
’So this is its real power.’
The Troll King raised both hands.
The temperature inside the chamber suddenly dropped.
A strange frost began forming across the stone floor.
Then countless magical circles appeared throughout the air.
One.
Ten.
A hundred.
Then thousands.
Each circle carried a different pattern, but all of them contained the same cold, destructive energy.
Joo Min-ho stared upward.
"What..."
His voice trembled.
"H-how many are there?"
Chae Soo-ah’s expression became serious.
"There’s too many... is this really an S rank boss? how can it posses even that."
The circles rotated simultaneously.
The Troll King roared again.
GRAAAAAAAAAAH!
Every magical formation released its power.
Countless enormous spears of ice appeared throughout the chamber.
They covered the entire battlefield.
Then they descended.
SHRAAAAAAAAAAK!
SHRAK! SHRAK! SHRAK!
The ice spears rained down from every direction.
The party immediately raised their weapons.
"Defensive formation!"
Jang Hyuk-soo shouted.
The A-Rank members moved together, attempting to protect the others.
But the number of attacks was overwhelming.
There were simply too many.
Then Ifrit stepped forward.
It remained completely still as crimson flames suddenly erupted around it.
A massive barrier of fire formed around Ares and the entire party.
The flames rose several meters into the air, forming a perfect dome of blazing crimson energy.
The first ice spear struck it.
FSSSSHH!
It disappeared instantly.
Another struck.
FSSSSHH!
It dissolved into vapor before it could even touch the barrier.
Then hundreds more descended.
Every single one vanished the moment it came into contact with the flames.
The ice didn’t shatter.
It didn’t melt slowly.
It simply ceased to exist.
Jang Hyuk-soo stared at the barrier.
"...It’s dissolving them."
Chae Soo-ah’s eyes widened.
She watched another enormous spear disappear.
"It’s completely destroying them."
Yoo Ha-rin looked toward Ifrit.
"That barrier is protecting all of us."
Nam Tae-jin tightened his grip around his weapon.
"Just how powerful is that thing?"
The final wave of ice spears struck the crimson barrier.
FSSSSSSSSHHHH!
The chamber filled with steam.
Then silence returned.
The fire barrier remained completely intact.
Not even a crack had appeared across its surface.
The party stood inside it, staring at Ifrit.
Jang Hyuk-soo slowly lowered his sword.
"This isn’t something an ordinary S-Rank Awakener could do."
His expression became increasingly serious.
"What exactly are we witnessing?"
Ares didn’t answer.
His eyes remained fixed on the Troll King.
The enormous monster was staring directly at Ifrit.
Two overwhelming auras filled the chamber.
One was the freezing pressure of the Troll King.
The other was the blazing divine presence of Ifrit.
Neither side moved.
For several seconds, the dungeon seemed to hold its breath.
---
Outside the Dungeon
The black Gate suddenly changed.
The surface that had remained motionless for so long began trembling violently.
The researchers monitoring it immediately looked toward their equipment.
"Director!"
Han Seung-ho turned.
The readings were rising rapidly.
"What is happening?"
The response officer stared at the display.
"Two..."
He swallowed.
"Two separate high-level energy signatures are coming from inside the Gate."
Seung-ho’s expression hardened.
"How strong?"
The officer hesitated.
"I can’t determine the exact classification."
He looked toward the rapidly changing readings.
"But both signatures are far beyond the levels we recorded previously."
Then—
BOOOOOOM!
The Gate released a tremendous wave of energy.
The ground shook.
Several security personnel were forced backward.
Seung-ho immediately raised his arm to protect his face.
"What the hell..."
Another wave followed.
This time, two distinct pressures could be felt.
One was scorching.
The other was freezing.
They collided against the dimensional boundary from within the dungeon.
The researchers stared in disbelief.
"Fire and ice..."
"Two different sources?"
"Director, the Gate’s internal energy is fluctuating rapidly!"
Seung-ho looked toward the black surface.
Then suddenly—
The Gate changed.
Blue light returned across the dimensional entrance.
The sealed Gate was reopening.
Seung-ho’s eyes widened.
"The Gate..."
Before he could finish, Park Tae-hyun moved.
The S-Rank Guild Master immediately rushed toward the entrance.
"Guild Master Park, wait!"
Seung-ho’s voice came from behind him.
Tae-hyun didn’t stop.
"My people are inside."
His voice was firm.
"And whatever is fighting them has already reached a level that cannot be ignored."
He reached the Gate.
The blue surface rippled.
Tae-hyun stepped forward.
His body passed through the dimensional boundary.
He disappeared inside.
Seung-ho stopped.
He sighed.
"...I knew he wouldn’t wait."
The Director looked toward the Gate for another moment.
The two powerful auras were still coming from the other side.
Seung-ho finally turned toward his assistant.
"Come with me."
The assistant immediately nodded.
"Yes, Director."
Seung-ho stepped toward the Gate.
The two entered together.
The blue surface rippled around them.
Then they disappeared into the dungeon.
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
The Troll King changed.
Its enormous body expanded as the corrupted mana surrounding it became increasingly violent. Thick crystalline growths spread across its shoulders, chest, and back, forming layers of jagged armor that continued growing even after its body had already reached an enormous size.
The pressure filling the chamber intensified.
The stone beneath its feet cracked.
The air itself trembled.
Jang Hyuk-soo immediately recognized the danger.
"Defensive formation!"
The Titan Guild members reacted without hesitation.
Seo Kang-ho planted his shield firmly against the ground.
"Barrier!"
A translucent defensive field appeared around the party.
Moon Tae-ho immediately reinforced it.
"Second barrier!"
Another layer of protection formed over the first.
Chae Soo-ah raised both hands.
"I’ll reinforce the outer layer."
A third barrier appeared.
Three separate defensive formations now surrounded the party, each one overlapping the others and creating several layers of protection between the Awakeners and the monster.
The Troll King slowly raised one arm.
Crystalline ice began forming above it.
One crystal.
Then another.
Then another.
Within seconds, dozens of enormous ice crystals had appeared throughout the chamber.
They were much larger than the attacks it had used earlier.
Each one was several meters long, with jagged edges and a dense core of frozen mana.
The crystals began rotating.
Then they fired downward.
BOOOOOOOOOOM!
The first crystal struck the outer barrier.
The entire formation shook.
CRAAAAASH!
Another struck.
Then another.
Then dozens more.
The chamber was filled with the sound of exploding ice.
The first barrier began developing cracks.
"Hold the formation!"
Seo Kang-ho shouted.
The party reinforced the defensive layers.
The second barrier absorbed the next wave.
BOOOOOOOOOOM!
Cracks spread across its surface.
The Troll King continued creating more crystals.
Hundreds now covered the upper portion of the chamber.
The party members stared upward.
The attack was overwhelming.
Even their combined defensive formations were struggling to withstand it.
Then—
The temperature changed.
A wave of heat swept across the chamber.
The enormous ice crystals suddenly stopped.
Crimson light appeared among them.
The nearest crystal began melting.
Then another.
Then another.
Within seconds, the entire storm of ice was being consumed by crimson flames.
FWOOSH!
The crystals dissolved before they could reach the barriers.
Steam erupted throughout the chamber.
The party members looked toward the source.
Ifrit stood several meters in front of Ares.
The humanoid warrior remained completely still.
His golden eyes were fixed on the Troll King.
The thin crimson markings across his body glowed brightly.
He raised one hand.
The remaining ice crystals melted simultaneously.
FWOOSH!
The chamber became filled with steam.
Then Ifrit disappeared.
The Troll King suddenly turned.
Too late.
Ifrit appeared directly in front of it.
His fist struck the monster’s chest.
BOOOOOOOOOOM!
The Troll King’s enormous body was launched backward.
It crashed into one of the chamber walls.
The impact shattered several layers of stone.
Before it could recover, Ifrit appeared above it.
His foot descended.
DOOOOOOOOOOM!
The Troll King was driven into the ground.
The stone beneath its body collapsed.
It attempted to regenerate.
The wounds across its body began closing.
Ifrit raised his hand.
A crimson formation appeared beneath the Troll King.
The formation consisted of several concentric rings rotating in opposite directions, with countless symbols resembling ancient flames moving along the outer edges.
The moment the formation activated, the Troll King’s regeneration stopped.
Its wounds remained open.
Crimson energy spread through its body.
The Troll King attempted to move.
It couldn’t.
Ifrit’s hand tightened.
The formation contracted.
BOOOOOOM!
A concentrated explosion of crimson energy erupted beneath the monster.
The Troll King’s body was thrown upward.
Ifrit followed.
His fist struck its abdomen.
BOOM!
Another strike.
BOOM!
Another.
BOOM!
Each blow released a controlled burst of destructive energy that penetrated directly through the Troll King’s body.
The monster’s crystalline armor began breaking apart.
Chunks of corrupted crystal fell from its body.
Ifrit appeared behind it.
His palm touched its back.
A crimson mark appeared.
Then another.
Then several more.
The marks spread across the Troll King’s entire body.
Ifrit stepped away.
The marks detonated simultaneously.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
The explosion engulfed the Troll King.
The entire chamber shook.
The party’s three barriers trembled violently.
Several members instinctively raised their weapons.
But the destructive energy remained completely contained around the monster.
When the flames disappeared, the Troll King was still standing.
Barely.
Its body was covered in enormous wounds.
Its crystalline armor had been almost completely destroyed.
Yet something began happening again.
The corrupted energy around the Troll King suddenly surged.
Its body twisted.
The remaining crystalline growths expanded.
Its muscles became denser.
Its wounds began closing.
Its presence increased dramatically.
The pressure inside the chamber became suffocating.
Jang Hyuk-soo stared.
"It evolved again."
The Troll King’s body continued changing.
Its shoulders became wider.
Its arms became thicker.
The crystals covering its body turned dark red.
A massive crown-like formation emerged from its head.
Its eyes burned with crimson light.
The dungeon shook.
Then the Troll King released one final roar.
GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!
The roar reverberated throughout the chamber.
The remaining ice crystals shattered from the force.
The stone pillars cracked.
The three barriers trembled.
Even the Titan Guild members were forced to brace themselves.
Ifrit remained completely motionless.
His golden eyes never left the Troll King.
The creature charged.
The distance disappeared.
Its enormous fist came toward Ifrit.
Ifrit caught it.
The collision produced a tremendous shockwave.
BOOOOOOOOOOM!
The Troll King pushed forward with all its strength.
Ifrit did not move.
He slowly tightened his grip.
The Troll King’s arm began cracking.
CRACK.
Then Ifrit twisted.
BOOOOOOOM!
The Troll King’s body was thrown across the chamber.
It crashed into the ground.
Before it could rise, Ifrit appeared above it.
His right hand opened.
A massive crimson magical formation appeared beneath the Troll King.
This formation was far larger than any previous spell.
Its outermost ring covered nearly the entire battlefield, while several smaller rings rotated inside it at different speeds. Ancient symbols resembling burning crowns filled the formation, and at its center was a dense black-red sphere surrounded by countless streams of crimson energy.
The entire chamber began glowing red.
The air became unbearably hot.
Even the stone beneath the formation started melting.
Ifrit raised his hand.
Crimson energy gathered around him.
The Troll King struggled to rise.
It couldn’t.
The formation locked onto its entire body.
Ifrit finally moved his hand downward.
The spell activated.
"Infernal Annihilation."
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
The entire chamber disappeared beneath crimson flames.
The attack wasn’t a simple explosion.
It was a concentrated field of destruction.
The flames consumed everything surrounding the Troll King while remaining completely contained within the formation.
The Troll King’s armor vanished first.
Then its flesh.
Then its bones.
The corrupted mana surrounding its body attempted to regenerate.
The flames consumed it.
The monster’s body continued disappearing.
Its enormous frame became smaller.
Then smaller.
Until nothing remained.
The flames continued burning.
The Troll King’s final traces of corrupted energy were erased.
Then—
Silence.
The crimson flames disappeared.
The chamber was still standing.
The ground had been scorched black.
The stone beneath the Troll King’s former position had melted into a smooth crater.
But the monster itself was gone.
Only one object remained.
A massive magic stone rested at the center of the crater.
It was dark crimson, almost black around the edges, with a dense red glow moving through its interior.
Nobody spoke.
For several seconds, the Titan Guild party simply stared at it.
One of the B-Rank warriors slowly lowered his weapon.
"...Did it die?"
Another member stared at the crater.
"Look."
He pointed toward the center.
"The Troll King disappeared."
Chae Soo-ah’s expression remained frozen.
"Impossible..."
She looked toward the magic stone.
"That power..."
Her voice became quieter.
"This is already beyond what an S-Rank Awakener should be capable of."
Moon Tae-ho stared at the empty battlefield.
"And now an S-Rank Summoner can summon something like this?"
Nam Tae-jin shook his head.
"That wasn’t an ordinary summon."
Jang Hyuk-soo looked toward Ares.
"Just what kind of summon is that?"
Ares didn’t answer.
He simply looked at Ifrit.
"Good work."
Ifrit lowered his head.
Ares raised one hand.
"You can return."
Ifrit’s body immediately began dissolving into crimson flames.
The flames rose around him before disappearing completely.
The pressure he had brought into the chamber vanished.
The party remained silent.
Ares walked toward the center of the crater.
He crouched beside the Troll King’s magic stone and picked it up.
The stone was enormous.
Its surface was smooth despite the destruction surrounding it, and faint crimson energy continued moving through its interior.
Ares examined it briefly.
Then he placed it inside his spatial storage.
"Let’s leave."
Jang Hyuk-soo nodded.
"A-alright."
The party gathered their remaining equipment.
The three barriers gradually disappeared.
The chamber had suffered considerable damage, but the dungeon itself remained stable.
They began making their way back through the dungeon.
The corridors were silent.
No High Trolls remained.
The oppressive presence that had filled the dungeon earlier was gone.
As they approached the entrance, a faint blue light appeared ahead.
Jang Hyuk-soo looked toward it.
"The Gate."
The party moved faster.
One after another, they passed through the blue light.
Ares and Ji Won followed.
---
Outside the Dungeon
The moment they emerged, the air of the outside world felt almost unreal after spending so long underground.
The Titan Guild members stopped.
Waiting beyond the security perimeter were government personnel, medical teams, security forces, and several high-ranking officials.
At the center stood three people.
Park Tae-hyun.
Director Han Seung-ho.
And Seung-ho’s assistant.
Tae-hyun immediately stepped forward.
"I’m relieved to see that everyone made it out safely."
Jang Hyuk-soo bowed.
"Guild Master."
Tae-hyun nodded.
"Good work."
His eyes moved across the party, checking their condition without interrupting them unnecessarily.
Seung-ho approached next.
His gaze moved over the damaged equipment, the injuries, and finally the two people standing slightly farther away.
"What happened inside?"
Jang Hyuk-soo took a breath.
"The information we received was incorrect."
Seung-ho’s expression became serious.
"Explain."
"The boss wasn’t an ordinary Troll."
Jang Hyuk-soo paused.
"It was a Troll King."
The assistant’s expression changed immediately.
"A Troll King?"
Jang Hyuk-soo nodded.
"Yes."
He looked toward the others.
"The creature was considerably stronger than the S-Rank boss described in the original report."
Seung-ho remained silent.
Jang Hyuk-soo continued.
"There were also hundreds of High Trolls inside the boss chamber."
Tae-hyun’s expression hardened.
"Hundreds?"
"Yes."
Jang Hyuk-soo nodded.
"We eliminated them."
He paused.
"But the Troll King was capable of reviving them."
Seung-ho’s eyes narrowed.
"Reviving them?"
"Every High Troll we killed returned to the battlefield."
The assistant looked increasingly concerned.
"Then how did you manage to defeat the boss?"
Jang Hyuk-soo hesitated.
His gaze moved toward Ares.
The young man stood several meters away beside Ji Won, looking completely calm.
Jang Hyuk-soo pointed toward him.
"He did it."
Seung-ho followed his gaze.
"Yoon Tae-ho?"
"Yes."
Nam Tae-jin stepped forward.
"At first, we believed he was simply an exceptionally skilled E-Rank Healer."
He shook his head.
"But his physical ability was far beyond anything we expected."
Another member continued.
"He moved through the High Trolls alone."
"Every time he moved, another High Troll was killed."
"He eliminated them faster than we could even understand what was happening."
Jang Hyuk-soo looked toward Tae-hyun.
"His movement was comparable to an S-Rank Awakener."
He paused.
"Perhaps even beyond that."
Tae-hyun’s expression changed.
"Beyond S-Rank?"
Jang Hyuk-soo nodded.
"We’ve never seen an E-Rank Awakener move like that."
Seung-ho’s gaze remained fixed on Ares.
"And the Troll King?"
Jang Hyuk-soo’s expression became more serious.
"That’s where things became even more difficult."
He explained the Troll King’s evolution.
"The creature became stronger during the battle. Its body changed, its mana increased, and its attacks became considerably more destructive."
He paused.
"We couldn’t defeat it."
Tae-hyun folded his arms.
"Then what happened?"
Jang Hyuk-soo pointed toward Ares again.
"He summoned a creature."
The assistant looked at him.
"A summon?"
"Yes."
Jang Hyuk-soo nodded.
"I can’t properly describe the level of power it possessed."
Nam Tae-jin continued.
"It was a humanoid creature covered in crimson flames."
Another member added,
"It was stronger than the Troll King."
Jang Hyuk-soo looked directly at Tae-hyun.
"The summon covered the entire chamber in what felt like hellfire."
His expression remained serious.
"The Troll King evolved again after that."
He paused.
"It became even stronger than before."
Seung-ho’s eyes narrowed.
"And the summon still defeated it?"
"Within seconds."
Jang Hyuk-soo nodded.
"The final attack completely erased the Troll King’s body."
He looked toward the magic stone Ares had already stored away.
"Nothing remained except its magic stone."
Silence followed.
Tae-hyun slowly looked toward Ares.
"He’s capable of moving at an S-Rank level, eliminating hundreds of High Trolls by himself, and summoning a creature powerful enough to overpower an evolved Troll King."
Jang Hyuk-soo nodded.
"Yes."
Tae-hyun remained silent for several seconds.
Then he glanced toward the party.
"Is he really an E-Rank Awakener?"
Jang Hyuk-soo gave a faint, almost helpless smile.
"That’s what his registration says."
Tae-hyun looked toward Seung-ho.
Then back toward Ares.
"Not only can he move that fast and eliminate High Trolls almost instantly..."
His expression became increasingly thoughtful.
"...he can also summon something capable of defeating an S-Rank boss?"
No one answered.
The contradiction was obvious.
Seung-ho finally spoke.
"As I expected."
His eyes remained fixed on Ares and Ji Won, who were speaking quietly a short distance away.
"There really is something about those two."
Tae-hyun glanced toward them.
Seung-ho continued.
"Let me handle this."
Tae-hyun nodded.
"Alright."
He turned toward the Titan Guild members.
"We’ll discuss the rest tomorrow. Director Han appears to have business with them, and I don’t want to keep everyone here after such a long operation."
The party members nodded.
"Understood."
Tae-hyun looked across them.
"Regardless of everything that happened inside, I’m glad all of you are safe."
Jang Hyuk-soo bowed.
"Yes, Guild Master. Thank you."
The others followed.
"Thank you, Guild Master."
Tae-hyun nodded.
"Get some rest."
The Titan Guild party began moving away from the Gate.
Seung-ho remained behind with his assistant.
His gaze followed Ares and Ji Won.
After a moment, he started walking toward them.
Ares noticed.
He turned slightly.
The Director was approaching.
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