For Castorice, this scene hardly counted as dangerous.
Though it was the first time in this world she'd encountered combatants of this level… well, before arriving here, only a series like Jujutsu Kaisen could give her this sort of leisurely feeling.
Watching Cha Hae-in charge once more at Kargalgan, clusters of ghostly purple light, like blooming flowers, rose from the ground around Castorice.
These 'vines' spread outwards as if hunting for prey.
The orcs nearby quickly sensed something was wrong, but before they could even react, their wild, instinct-driven minds went utterly blank.
One by one, the orcs swiftly entered a state of being like 'the walking dead.'
The shouts and cries ceased rapidly, with Castorice at the epicenter of the silence.
Kargalgan glared in fury. His four elite guards immediately received the order to prioritize eliminating that purple figure.
It wasn't that he didn't need a frontline.
In fact, he was acutely aware that losing his frontline would put him at a severe disadvantage. But he couldn't just stand by and watch his forces be wiped out either.
He himself could hold out, even gain the upper hand for a short while, but his subordinates wouldn't last a second.
However, the domain of the dead never concerned itself with the strength of those who entered.
For any living being, no matter what form it took, could only walk upon the path towards death. Even if that path stretched into infinity, an end would inevitably be reached.
And for these beings who actively sought to tread upon the realm of the dead, Death was not stingy in granting them their final rest and peace.
Merely by stepping into this ghostly purple domain of death, the four elite guards—powerful enough to briefly contend with an S-rank—fell into silent stillness.
As the vines of death coiled around them, everything here was gradually being transformed into its subjects.
Castorice's expression remained largely unchanged as she calmly observed the fight ahead.
Cha Hae-in was immensely powerful.
Combined with her innate sensitivity to magical energy, the simple guidance from Castorice, her own comprehension and creativity, and the fierce, all-out battle against a peer opponent, caused the accumulation of her past two years to rapidly transform into nourishment.
If before she could only bring out 50% of her 100% strength, now she could manage 70%.
Even without her equipment, Cha Hae-in felt herself growing stronger. This improvement, stemming not from gear but from her own self, filled her with an unprecedented exhilaration.
The battle was over. Though it still continued, whether it was Castorice, Cha Hae-in, or Kargalgan himself, they all knew what followed was just pointless, garbage time.
To keep going was merely to delay Cha Hae-in's victory.
Realizing this, Kargalgan grew even more furious internally, yet he was powerless.
He simply resorted to a reckless, baiting style of fighting, trading wounds for wounds. It would hasten his own death, but he was determined to at least tear a chunk of flesh from his opponent.
Unfortunately, Cha Hae-in wasn't one for reckless advances.
Her combat intellect wasn't low, and besides, her situation was different from Kargalgan's. She had teammates. When she could win steadily, there was no need to take high risks.
Two minutes later, under Kargalgan's gaze of bitter resentment, Cha Hae-in slid her sword back into its sheath.
"Let's head back," she said, doing her best to steady her breathing.
She had just been through a major battle. Even if her opponent had grown desperate at the end, it had been a fight between equals.
The biggest reason for her victory wasn't just that she was stronger, but more importantly, he was a mage, and she was a warrior.
"Well done," Castorice said.
Having watched for so long, she rather felt like stepping forward to wipe away sweat or something, but given her current constitution…
"Not at all. If anyone worked hard, it was you, Castorice…" Holding off four powerful elites and a horde of High Orcs—that wasn't something an S-rank couldn't do, but it was certainly a major hassle.
But Cha Hae-in only got halfway through her sentence before belatedly glancing around.
All the High Orcs that had been clamoring non-stop before now stood perfectly still in place. The four elite guards also stood dazed to the side.
"This is…"
"They are wandering the shores of the river that separates life and death. Pay it no mind," Castorice said with a smile, her tone even, betraying little emotion.
The dungeon's boss was dead. Once they left, the dungeon gate would close. Cha Hae-in certainly wouldn't bother killing every single magic beast one by one, but still…
"Your ability… it feels somewhat terrifying," Cha Hae-in couldn't help but say.
If even she said so, then this scene must indeed be somewhat frightening.
Castorice's smile stiffened slightly. Aside from that blockhead, this was the first time someone had called her terrifying…
'While it may be difficult to understand, I believe death can bring more than just terror,' Castorice stated.
"…Perhaps that's true," Cha Hae-in said, though her face showed little agreement.
She was willing to acknowledge the rationality of Castorice's viewpoint, but personally, she couldn't quite comprehend it.
The two hunters' movements signaled to the assault team that the matter was resolved.
They came rushing out, expressing thanks and awe. Though Cha Hae-in had dealt with the boss, many eyes were fixed on Castorice.
For no other reason than during the earlier fight, they simply couldn't understand what Castorice had done.
Even if Cha Hae-in's movements were blindingly fast, hard to follow, they at least knew a wall collapsed here, something shattered there, the boss fell, things were burning.
But Castorice… in their eyes, she had simply stood in place, and the enemies had inexplicably frozen stiff.
Was this the power of death? Could it be… that getting too close to Castorice really meant death? But seeing Hunter Cha and Hunter Castorice so close together, it didn't seem that way?
The hunters couldn't quite grasp the situation, but that didn't stop them from planning to vividly recount everything they'd seen and heard once they got out.
Amidst discussions that varied in mood but were at least generally pleasant, the group tallied their spoils within the palace before finally exiting the portal.
The magic crystals they brought out were far fewer than imagined—certainly not worthy of the auction price for an A-rank portal.
However, the primary reward from an A-rank portal was always equipment.
From Kargalgan's body, they didn't get any warrior gear, but they did obtain a finely crafted-looking bracelet. When Cha Hae-in put it on, she could clearly feel her magic being amplified, but…
She never relied much on magic to begin with. Coupled with her growing sense of indebtedness towards Castorice, she simply gave the bracelet to her.
The boost it gave Castorice was actually minimal.
Still, she was quite interested in this world's—or rather, the Chaos World's—magical equipment. Its principles were completely different from the last world's, holding some research value.
With the equipment going to Castorice, and after her persuasion, Cha Hae-in kept only half of the magic crystals. The A-rank dungeon adventure thus came to a close.
After bidding each other farewell, Cha Hae-in returned to her apartment.
This portal raid not only failed to achieve her original goal but also left her owing even more favors, which dampened Cha Hae-in's spirits slightly.
But before she could ponder how to continue repaying these debts, a foul stench assaulted her nostrils.
With her control over magical energy steadily improving lately, she rarely smelled such a sharp, pungent odor anymore. Yet this time, it was far more irritating than any before.
A fluctuation of magical energy appeared beside her. Sensing danger, Cha Hae-in instantly grabbed the longsword by her bedside.
But what appeared before her wasn't an assassin's attack, nor a magical assault. It was… a gate?
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.