Chapter 112: Yetis
The subway platform at South Ferry Station.
Six Hunters from the Financial District Station Shelter each wore expressions of unmistakable tension.
They couldn’t help it.
Their current mission was to repel the monsters crossing over from the direction of Williamsburg Station.
And fairly powerful monsters, at that.
"Heavenly Father, please watch over us and..."
"Whew, please let this go smoothly..."
Murmuring prayers or steadying their breathing, the Hunters each eased their nerves in their own way.
Meanwhile, unlike the others, one of them simply held her position with an impassive face.
"..."
A young girl with her hair tied up.
The most youthful-looking of the six Hunters, she stared out past the tracks without a trace of expression.
The fire attribute Hunter, Lauren.
Gazing intently toward Williamsburg Station from atop the tracks, where a bleak and eerie atmosphere hung in the air, she soon parted her firmly closed lips.
"They’re coming."
The words had barely left her mouth.
Tension swept over the platform. The Hunters adjusted their grips on their weapons and readied themselves for battle.
And moments later.
Thud! Thoom!
Along with heavy tremors.
A giant covered head to toe in white fur emerged from the darkness beyond. A humanoid monster boasting a frame of nearly 10 feet.
"Grooooar!"
A massive body, powerful physical abilities, and on top of that, enough intelligence to use tools. A thoroughly troublesome creature to fight.
A top-tier C-rank common monster.
A Yeti.
"Everyone hold formation! Hunter Martin, keep its attention on you and don’t let the aggro slip!"
"Angie, the moment the enemy enters your attack range, start suppressive fire."
"R-Right! Got it."
As they quickly ran through the plan.
The Yeti passed through the dark tunnel and finally stepped out onto the platform. A moment later, spotting the Hunters, the creature charged with an earsplitting howl.
"GRAAAAAAAH!"
"All units, attack!"
The Hunters unleashed their skills as if they’d been waiting for it. With this much firepower, they could surely subdue it without any real trouble.
Every one of them was certain of it.
But before long, a situation no one had anticipated unfolded.
"Hey! Look, look over there!"
"There are more Yetis...!"
There wasn’t just one Yeti.
More Yetis kept emerging from beyond the tunnel. Six of them in total. It was shaping up to be one Yeti for every single Hunter.
"Whoa, this isn’t what we signed up for!?"
"There’s no way we can handle those on our own..."
The Hunters began to panic.
And that was when it happened.
Thud!
With light footsteps.
Someone walked straight toward the Yetis.
"H-Hunter Lauren?!"
It was Lauren.
Walking past her fellow Hunters, she fixed her gaze on the charging Yetis. Then she drew in a deep breath and extended her hand.
"Heat Drain."
In that instant, a bizarre phenomenon occurred.
A small vortex formed in front of Lauren and began rapidly absorbing the heat ahead of her.
The Yetis were no exception.
"Grrgh?! Krrk?"
The Yetis flew into a panic.
Robbed of their body heat in an instant, the Yetis’ muscles contracted rapidly, and their movements grew visibly sluggish, as if every joint in their bodies had frozen stiff.
"The Yetis are slowing down!"
"Now! Attack!"
The moment they saw it.
The Hunters seemed to realize this was their chance and began firing off skills with abandon.
By the time two Yetis had fallen to the Hunters’ combined assault, the vortex that had formed in front of Lauren was glowing red-hot.
And then.
"Overheat."
At Lauren’s signal.
The enormous amount of thermal energy stored in the vortex poured out onto the Yetis.
Their body temperatures skyrocketed in seconds.
The Yetis trembled from head to toe like leaves, then dropped to their knees one after another.
"Gyaak! Grrgh...!"
"Krragh! Hrk!"
Along with screams of agony.
Boiling, bubbling blood streamed from the Yetis’ eyes, noses, ears, and mouths.
And in the next moment.
Splurt! Blam!
The Yetis’ bodies exploded from the inside out.
Every fluid in their bodies had boiled past its limit and expanded, tearing through their skin and bursting free.
The five Yetis met their gruesome ends just like that. The Hunters watching gulped dryly at the overwhelming display.
"Hah... She really is something else."
"She handles the debuffs and the area attacks all by herself. Doesn’t leave anything for us to do."
The Hunters stole glances at Lauren.
But mixed into their voices, alongside the admiration, was a peculiar note of discomfort.
"Her skills are the real deal, no question..."
"But she’s strangely hard to approach, you know?"
"If it weren’t for that blank face and stiff attitude of hers, she’d be way easier to deal with."
"Right. She’s got a pretty enough face. If she’d just warm up a little, it’d do wonders for the mood around here."
They probably thought they were whispering, but every word reached Lauren’s ears loud and clear. Frowning, she swallowed her contempt.
’That will never, ever happen.’
The Hunters of the Financial District Station Shelter were the same people who had heartlessly abandoned Walfred, her companion and savior, back at Prospect Park Station.
Lauren had never once forgotten the selfishness and vileness of the people who had used Walfred as bait. Not for a single day.
’There’s only one reason I stayed here.’
To grow as fast as possible.
To learn combat know-how from Chief Jonah, the shelter’s representative, and to volunteer for the search teams and guard details, building real combat experience and getting stronger.
That alone was the only thing of value Lauren stood to gain from this shelter. Turning around, Lauren started walking back toward Financial District Station.
"...Status."
On the way back to the shelter.
Lauren examined her status window.
-----
[Name]: Lauren
[Level]: 28
[Attribute]: Fire
[Mana]: 2,800
[Rank]: D
[Experience]: 92.18%
-----
Her rate of growth was remarkable.
Since acquiring the [Heat Drain] and [Overheat] skills, she had thrown herself into battlefield after battlefield, leveling up several times in a single day.
As a result she had reached Level 28, but not a trace of satisfaction could be found on Lauren’s face.
’I still have such a long way to go.’
This was nowhere near enough.
She recalled the powerful enemy extermination notice that had appeared out of the blue yesterday afternoon.
The news that Walfred had single-handedly exterminated the Frost Spirit King, an S-rank Boss Monster. The moment she saw it, Lauren had felt two emotions.
Relief that Walfred was safe.
And a creeping anxiety at how far ahead of her Walfred’s growth had pulled. The wider the gap between them grew, the more restless she became.
’The next time I see him again...’
She didn’t want to be someone he protected. She wanted to stand beside him, through thick and thin. That was why Lauren refused to settle for where she was and kept pushing herself.