Chapter 17

"Those in rank B will now be responsible for keeping civilians safe. While..."

Hye approached, poking Samantha's shoulder, attempting to get her attention.

"Not now, Hye. As I was saying, those in rank A will be responsible for completing the dungeon..."

Remembering the sensation they felt moments before and fearing it might happen again, the hunters trembled, observing Hye's persistent attempts, which continued to be ignored.

"Now, all of you must prepare. Those with higher ranks will scout the area, and after the report is given, rank B members should go with..."

The touches didn't stop, causing Samantha to clench her fists and teeth tightly, interrupting her speech.

"Enough! Stop! I haven't forgotten that you lied to me! We'll talk, but not now. So wait your turn!"

"But..."

"What is it?!"

"I already know what monster is in the dungeon."

Samantha quickly turned her head, and the hunters began to pay attention to Hye's words.

"You already know..."

Samantha approached, hearing the snapping of fingers, causing Hye to take a small step back.

"And how did you find that out?"

"I saw it from the top of the trees."

Everyone looked up. Each tree towering dozens of meters, probably taller than any building in the world today. Indeed, if all the trees were of similar sizes, this would be the best method to survey the surroundings. However, if this worked even with other trees obstructing the view, among so many possible creatures, the most likely would be...

"So it's really a giant..."

"You already knew...?"

"No, it was just a hypothesis..."

Samantha turned away.

"Since they really are giants, the danger will be significant then..."

The ground trembled, and the trees swayed. Looking around, Samantha questioned;

"When you saw the giant... which way was it heading?"

"Probably because it saw the plane crashing, it was coming in this direction."

"You... And why didn't you say that before?!"

Hye shook his head disapprovingly.

"Rule number two. If someone is speaking, don't interrupt, and only say something if a question arises, or if it's very important..."

"Try to get their attention somehow..."

Another step was taken, and once again, everything shook.

"Quick, civilians, get them out of here now!"

Their feet pushing the ground desperately and the trees passing by like a massive brown and green blur.

A gigantic shadow emerged, darkening the path dozens of meters ahead. Everyone, except Hye, felt their eyes instinctively drawn towards the one blocking the light from reaching their bodies even though it was so far away.

Their eyes widened, their hearts raced, and amidst the despair, the colossal creature treating an airplane like a mere toy it could crush with just one finger made everyone naturally tremble and do everything to keep silent.

After running for some time, they reached the limit of that space. A place where an invisible barrier prevented anyone from going further. And it was there that Samantha and the high-ranking hunters left the civilians and the others.

"Have any of you faced a giant before?"

The hunters looked at each other, hesitating, some of them raised their hands.

"...As big as this one...?"

They all lowered their hands without hesitation.

Samantha sighed.

"As you probably already know, the weak point of giants is the nape, but... the problem is how we'll manage to reach this monster's neck... Does anyone have any ideas?"

Even after they all looked at each other, nothing was said about it, but...

"Ma'am..., may I ask a question...?"

Her eyes wandered over the faces of those people. The hesitation, fear, and anguish present in their expressions... Even though she couldn't read their minds, it wasn't necessary; Samantha knows what the biggest doubt is eating them internally right now, after all... the same thing is happening to her.

"Go ahead.."

The man hesitated, but, fidgeting his hands, he took a step forward.

"The system says... this is level 1 of the first floor... Do you think... how many other floors like this will there be...? The monsters after this giant... do you think they'll be stronger...?"

"That's..."

"Theoretically, yes."

Upon hearing that voice, Samantha clenched her fists and turned quickly, and following her action, all the hunters looked to the side.

"Taking a game as an example. Have you ever played a game where each level becomes easier? I haven't. If this tower follows the same concept as games, that's probably what will happen."

Sitting on the edge of the mountain, Hye watched the giant in the distance.

"You... What are you doing here?!"

Samantha, gritting her teeth, pulled Hye's ear.

"I came because I thought I was worried."

"You...? Worried..?"

After a nod from Hye, reluctantly, Samantha let go of his ear.

"But now I'm not sure if it was worry or curiosity..."

Gritting her teeth and clenching her fists, Samantha lightly punched Hye's head.

"Ouch..!"

"So what's the plan then?"

With her hand on top of her head, Hye stood up.

"For you, none. Go back now to the others and..."

Small stones on the ground rolled. The earth beneath their feet trembled. And, looking at the expressions of the hunters in front of her, Samantha immediately understood why that was happening.

Leaving huge marks wherever it passed, the creature ran wildly towards the mountain they were on.

The hunters scattered, and quickly grabbing Hye under one of her arms, Samantha jumped down the mountain.

Moments later, the mountain that stretched for hundreds of meters, when it collided with the body of the terrible creature, turned into nothing but a pile of rocks scattered around the area.