Here's an Opportunity-Chapter 252: The Hell King (2)

In the command room, Kim Ki-Rok pondered how they had made it this far. Was it because they had held until the very last moment? Because the video of his one-on-one with the Hell King had circulated? Or because they had cleared the Four Dukes quickly and leveled up on regular monsters?

"Maybe all three..." Kim Ki-Rok mumbled.

The operator beside him tore his eyes from the battlefield feeds and glanced over. "Sorry?"

"I think we've made it to this point because the top Hunters focused on training, the strategists in this room analyzed every frame for intel on the Hell King, and the mid-level Hunters cleared regular monsters to build our numbers for the raid."

At Kim Ki-Rok's words, the operator turned to the wall of monitors, where dozens of screens tracked every corner of the battlefield. He watched as Hunters harried the Hell King, rotating in teams of five to keep their combat styles unpredictable. Some top Hunters fought solo at first, but once their objectives were met, they joined teams to pile on more pressure.

Shaking himself from his thoughts, the operator found himself staring at Kim Ki-Rok. He was sitting in a wheelchair and dressed in a white hospital gown with an IV drip attached to his arm. When had he even changed into that?

Kim Ki-Rok had headed straight for the command room after waking up. Keeping up the act, he'd reviewed footage alongside the strategists, isolating the Hell King's weaknesses, fighting patterns, and habits. Kim Ki-Rok had observed the training Hunters on the wall monitors, dispensing advice with the operator's help, and monitoring the battlefield whenever Hell monsters invaded Hunter territory.

But why the patient getup? the operator couldn't help but wonder. He wasn't actually injured.

"Um... Guildmaster Kim Ki-Rok?" the operator ventured.

"Yes?"

"I've been curious about this for a while," the operator said, eyeing the IV. "What is that, exactly?"

"This? Ah, it's a potion," Kim Ki-Rok replied.

"A potion?"

Kim Ki-Rok nodded. "That's right."

He'd been hooked up to potions since the moment he woke up. Three weeks had passed since he pulled his "patient" act in the command room.

"Are you sure you're okay?" the operator asked.

"I've been on recovery and stat-boosting potions. You know, Elixirs? For two weeks straight," Kim Ki-Rok answered.

"Not just supplements?"

"All Elixirs," he confirmed.

"I see. So what's in the IV this week?"

"This one increases my maximum mana."

"Uh, um... Are you planning to join the fight?"

"Yes. I'll make my move when the time c—"

Suddenly, a whoosh came over the speakers, prompting both the operator and Kim Ki-Rok turned their attention to the wall of monitors.

On the screens, Yoo Seh-Eun narrowly dodged a strike from the Hell King, while Lee Ji-Yeon stood on the ground, ringed by dozens of shadow spears. The focus shifted to the sword in Lee Ji-Yeon's hand. Kim Ki-Rok recognized the weapon as hers, and as the operator looked at the Hell King's upper body, the two spoke in unison.

"Blood."

"Wound."

Yoo Seh-Eun, having barely dodged the Hell King's assault, issued a sharp command.

—Scatter! Regroup! Standby!

The Hunters pulled back in haste, while Yoo Seh-Eun and Lee Ji-Yeon tossed their weapons aside and leaped to rejoin their teams.

The shadow spears detonated, shaking the ground and filling the air with dust that concealed the Hell King's position. Even so, the Hunters, able to track their foe by its mana signature, stayed alert. In the command center, operators watched through the cameras, waiting for the dust to clear as they checked in with the Hunters they managed.

Tap, tap, tap.

The Hunters had taken some scrapes. It was nothing life-threatening, but the attrition was adding up. Still, they'd forced the Hell King to burn through mana by bombarding it with long-range attacks and magic.

"They didn't stop there. They managed to inflict a deep wound by risking everything on a bait tactic," Kim Ki-Rok observed.

The Hell King now bore a gash running from the left side of its chest to the right. Given its notorious regenerative abilities, further observation was needed, but the one who had inflicted that wound was none other than the Elemental Warrior Lee Ji-Yeon.

Kim Ki-Rok pulled the IV needle from his arm, changed swiftly into prepared gear, and stood up from the wheelchair. All around, people turned to stare. Kim Ki-Rok had simply been advising the Hunters with the strategists but was now arming himself and rising to join the fray.

Ignoring their stares, Kim Ki-Rok headed toward Commander Kang Man-Ki, who was focused intently on the monitors. "Commander."

"Yes, Guildmaster Kim Ki-Rok."

"I'm going out."

His decision to join the Hell King subjugation was no sudden impulse.

***

While those Hunters strong enough for the raid devoted themselves to training, those below the cutoff were making their final preparations by clearing out regular monsters. Meanwhile, Kang Man-Ki pored over the Hell King footage with his strategists.

"The Hell King is a child," Kim Ki-Rok said. "To be precise, a brat with the power to destroy dimensions."

A young child.

Kang Man-Ki and the strategists turned to face him.

"If you watch the whole video, you'll see it. When it first saw me, it smiled so wide, like a kid given a new toy. It instinctively gauged my abilities and launched a preemptive strike, using only the speed and strength it knew I could handle."

Everyone returned their attention to the monitor. As Kim Ki-Rok paused, the operator up front restarted the video.

"He's right."

"It's gradually moving faster."

The strategists and the commander nodded in agreement.

"Yes, exactly," Kim Ki-Rok went on. "But midway through, that smile starts to slip. By the end, it's completely gone. Now it's attacking at full force, its eyes seeing me not as a toy, but as trash that needs disposing of. Once it senses it's losing control, the Hell King lands and starts showing real anger."

Realizing it had been bested, the Hell King unleashed its unique long-range attacks, conjuring shadow spears, greatswords, and arrows with mana and shadows to devastate the terrain. For a moment, it froze in place, staring off into the distance. Then, it suddenly looked up at the sky, straight at the camera, as if using a transparency skill.

The Hell King leaped high, drawing closer and closer. Then, the video cut off abruptly, as though the camera itself had been destroyed.

"That's the end," the strategist said, exiting the playback.

"So you're saying it'll be careless as long as it sees us as toys?" Commander Kang Man-Ki asked.

"Yes," Kim Ki-Rok confirmed, nodding. "We need to exploit that carelessness, keep pressuring it, drain its stamina, willpower, and mana."

"And then land a fatal blow?"

"Exactly." 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

"But the Hell King can regenerate wounds almost instantly," the commander countered.

"That regeneration likely uses up its mana," Kim Ki-Rok explained.

"That makes sense."

"So, we'll stack wounds on the Hell King like building a tower, layer by layer," Kim Ki-Rok continued.

"And when the foundation's set, we aim for the fatal blow?"

"Right."

"In other words, a standard subjugation raid," Kang Man-Ki said.

"That's the framework. But..."

Everyone in the command room turned toward Kim Ki-Rok.

"The moment we start stacking wounds, the Hell King will stop seeing the Hunters as toys and start seeing us as trash. Once it's dealt a fatal wound, it won't hold back anymore. The Hell King will instantly unleash its full power. The Hunters won't be able to handle its speed or strength at that point. That's when I intervene."

"You?"

"I'll have the food, magic, and skill buffs ready. It's temporary, but it'll put me on par with the raid team's levels and stats. So when the Hell King cuts loose, I'll reveal myself as well."

"It'll see you not as the first toy it lost but as an annoying one, targeting you instead of the Hunters. Is that your plan?"

Kim Ki-Rok met the strategist's gaze and nodded.

"Because I was the first toy it lost, and the first one to frustrate and annoy it, it'll change targets to me the moment I show up."

"And this gives the Hunters a chance to adapt to the Hell King's true power?"

"That's right," Kim Ki-Rok replied.

"It's dangerous," one of the strategists remarked.

"Huh? Dangerous? Hahaha!"

Kim Ki-Rok laughed at the strategist's concern. Some frowned at his outburst, but the reason for his laughter soon became clear with his next words.

"Every Hunter in this fight is in danger. Some will even act alone before the Hell King shows its true strength, just like I did. Of course, they'll be taking on a ton of risk, too."

***

A heavy boom echoed as the Hell King lunged toward Lee Ji-Yeon, aiming for the Hunter who'd carved that wound in its chest. But anticipating this, Lee Ji-Yeon's team was made up of four tanks.

Finding its normal attacks useless against their combined shield, the Hell King morphed its shadows into razor-sharp blades and charged, shadows swirling. Several teams began to converge on Lee Ji-Yeon's position, but the command from the control room reached them first.

The five advancing teams fell back to their original spots, while Lee Ji-Yeon's group retreated, opening distance in case things went wrong.

Though the Hunters managed to create space between themselves and the Hell King, the gap was closing fast, its physical prowess far exceeding theirs. As the Hell King reached the four tanks bracing behind their shields, it drew its fist back, ready to unleash the shadow blades when suddenly a massive burst of light flooded the battlefield.

Just as its fist was about to strike and the shadow blades threatened to slice through shields and flesh, the Hell King froze.

"Hehehe."

The Hell King sensed a familiar energy and slowly turned from the defenders in front of it to the spot where the explosion of light had erupted.

"Yo!"

Kim Ki-Rok stood at the center of the light, grinning and waving.

Instantly, the Hell King's killing intent flared. It charged straight at Kim Ki-Rok, ignoring Lee Ji-Yeon, the one who had wounded it.