The moment they got to the ground floor and they saw civilians panicking, Baek Haemin and Kang Minho already knew something was wrong.
People screaming about monsters and asking for help were the most obvious signs. Unless there was a shooting for a film nearby, it wasn't something that would happen.
Baek Haemin now had a rough idea why he was having a hard time contacting Han Jiwon. She must be occupied with monsters.
Knowing that, Kang Minho took the initiative.
"Haemin-ssi, please go and evacuate. I will go and handle this."
He pulled his sleeves up to his elbows, his face determined to fight. However, Baek Haemin did not move.
His brows creased.
"No, I will go too."
"Eh? No, I–"
"I don't want to hear it. I'm going too. Let's go!"
Kang Minho tried to stop him, but Haemin insisted.
He didn't even let the young hunter finish his sentence. Haemin began pulling Kang Minho to the direction where people were running away from. The reason was simple.
Go and evacuate, you say? You want me to go alone without you? I'm not an idiot. People who go around alone in these kinds of situations are always the first ones to die, you know!
He currently doesn't know where Han Jiwon is, and there are monsters wreaking havoc. There was just no way he'd go on his own. He'd rather stay and help Kang Minho fight the monsters than be separated without anyone there to help him.
When he saw Baek Haemin's insistence, Kang Minho had no choice but to let himself get pulled by him, quietly staring at his back.
People scattered around. Kids were crying in their parents' arms while they're running, and they saw a guard whistling as loud as he could.
"Everyone, run! Hurry!"
The guard, instead of running for his own safety, stayed behind to warn and lend his help to people in need.
Baek Haemin and Kang Minho went straight ahead without looking back. They didn't know how long it had been since the dungeon break started, but if the guard already knew, then the Hunter Association must have already been alerted.
That means help from nearby hunters and hunter guilds were about to come. They didn't have to run for too long though, as a monster soon came to their view.
A monster that had the head of a pig, but more grotesque than a normal one, appeared. Its huge sharp teeth couldn't fit in its mouth, its muscles bulging even though its stomach was round.
Baek Haemin paused, his face scrunching at the monster's appearance.
Ah, so disgusting. What's that?
Compared to the basan he encountered at the dungeon last time, this monster was awful to look at. Even though their heads expand when they use fire breath, deep inside, Baek Haemin had found basan somewhat adorable in appearance.
Even the phoenix that he admired before it got eaten by the Neo Phoenix. Haemin was starting to appreciate their beauty once more while looking at this monster.
Ding!
[System:
Monster identified.
Name: Ogre (B)
Attribute: Stone]
"That's… an ogre?"
He muttered.
Kang Minho tensely nodded.
"Yes. Even though they're B-Rank monsters, they're actually very tough and their physical strength could easily rival that of a low-tier A-Rank monster."
The ogre dragged its axe on the floor, creating a sound that rang hard on their ears. Blood dripped all over when it opened its mouth just a tiny bit.
Kang Minho pulled Baek Haemin from behind.
"Haemin-ssi, it's dangerous. Please, don't let yourself get too far from me."
"Ah, I got it."
An ogre is a classic monster you see at least once in fantasy games or novels. As someone who consumed a lot of those, Haemin obviously knows how dangerous they were to normal humans. Not to mention, it was one of the monsters Ryu Jinmu encountered in book 1.
"Kyaa! Help me!"
A woman screamed on their left, getting the ogre's attention.
"Ugu!"
It quickly turned its head to the woman and proceeded to lift its axe, as if getting ready to slice its next victim.
Kang Minho dashed before the monster could even reach the woman. Using his fist, he didn't hesitate to punch the ogre's head, sending it flying into the wall.
Baek Haemin ran to the woman trembling on the floor. He held his hand out.
"Hurry, get out of here!"
"Uh, y, yes!"
He helped her get up and watched her until she got far enough away from them. They went deeper and saw a few more ogres.
Kang Minho activated his barrier to protect Baek Haemin and continued hitting the monsters through his fists. The first two went down on one hit, but the third one didn't.
After the first hit, the ogre's body shook, its head still trembling but managed to grab its axe that fell when it got hit by Kang Minho.
The ogre swiftly swung the axe but Kang Minho was faster. A curvy barrier appeared in front of him, shielding him from it.
Haemin, who was watching from the side, gasped.
It's smaller!
Kang Minho's barrier was smaller than usual. Haemin had only seen him use it in the dungeon for generally protecting him on the side, and the size almost never changes. Although this one was smaller in size, he could see that it's also thicker.
I see. He made it smaller but stronger in defense, huh? And it's curvy, too. Is it more flexible than I thought?
He might have given Kang Minho less credit than he deserves. However, he noticed one more thing.
"Agh–!"
Minho pushed the axe away, finally overpowering the brute force of the monster.
The ogre had blood spilling from its mouth, indicating its recent feast. The more ogres consume human meat, the stronger they get. Baek Haemin clicked his tongue as he saw Kang Minho struggling to handle the monster that was bigger than the average ogre.
Ah, I really didn't want to use it, but it can't be helped!
The ground around Kang Minho and the ogre glowed, and a huge golden sphere opened up.