HPDBC Chapter 123 : Chapter 123
Chapter 123 : Chapter 123
Chapter 123 : First Shot
"Ah..."
The fear, anxiety, and doubt that had burrowed into Sal's mind began to vanish the moment he analyzed the given information.
The visor captured even the slightest movements around him, eliminating any possibility of a sneak attack.
He clearly perceived the countless materials surrounding him, but forcibly withdrew his gaze and focused on the hidden enemies.
Fortunately, the visor read his intent and made the surrounding materials disappear from his view.
In his left eye, unassisted by the visor, only the crumbling station platform and the darkness extending about 20 feet (6 meters) into the tunnel were visible.
Traces of countless battles remained around the station, and some of the pillars connecting the ceiling and platform were completely destroyed, exposing the raw steel cables within the rubble.
The billboards on the walls were torn to shreds beyond repair, hinting at the state of the world since long before Sal was born.
The fact that relics of the past remained in such a wretched state was strange enough to make him lose his sense of reality.
However, the scene reflected in his right eye was completely different and unrelated to his current location.
It would take a few more minutes for them to actually encounter monsters.
That fact alone allowed Sal to barely suppress the encroaching fear.
"It seems the monsters are mostly gathered deeper in the tunnel. There are plenty of materials nearby, but I'm ignoring them for now."
Sal explained, pointing down the subway tracks stretching into the distance.
Out of curiosity, he looked back at the other side, but the wall had collapsed, completely blocking the tracks.
Only one path was allowed to them: the tunnel stretching forward.
The visor detected no monster movement beyond that collapse point.
That gave him a sense of relief that at least he wouldn't be ambushed from behind.
One thing Sal noted on the path ahead was that the monsters were clustered in certain areas to the left and right of the tracks.
'I don't know the subway structure well, but it looks like they dug into the walls to make nests.'
Chatfield laughed and took the lead, jumping off the platform and landing on the tracks.
"Glad to see your Crafter brain hasn't overridden your common sense. Would have been a headache if you ran off to grab materials. Is that visor telling you anything about the monsters nearby?"
Chatfield could have easily made a replica of the visor with his Concept ability, so asking meant he was clearly testing Sal.
But Sal was in no mood to be tested; he just wanted to stay on the platform as long as possible.
If playing along with Chatfield's question could delay his combat instincts even a little, he was willing to do so.
"So far, it's only giving locations and rough information on how to approach. Since we haven't gotten close yet, detailed analysis doesn't seem to be working."
As soon as the words left his mouth, Sal realized he had made a mistake, and fear was plainly visible on his face.
When Upgrade, who had maintained a stiff expression, finally burst into laughter, Sal caught on.
Sal immediately glared at her, but Upgrade turned her head slightly to avoid his gaze, though she couldn't hide the smile spreading across her lips.
From below the tracks, Chatfield grinned up at Sal.
"Excellent idea, Salvatore. Let's go and see for ourselves how useful your visor is in actual combat."
Sal wished the platform would swallow him whole just to escape this ridiculous situation.
But eventually, he stepped forward with his left foot and threw himself onto the uneven metal tracks.
Sal stumbled slightly to the right but quickly regained his balance and looked down at his feet.
Even though he had turned off material analysis on the visor, his vision still displayed detailed information about what he was stepping on.
The metal, which should have been ordinary steel, had at some point changed into an Essence-infused variant, and Sal recognized it as Void Metal.
As if noticing his confusion, Upgrade gracefully descended from the platform and landed beside him.
"The dungeon ecosystem changes common materials with Essence. You didn't think those ingots just fell out of a monster's butt, did you?"
Sal looked at Upgrade quietly.
He could see she was trying to lighten the mood.
It was starkly different from her attitude over the past few hours, and Sal couldn't figure out why.
Was she sorry for dragging him into this situation, or was she relaxed now that she was certain he would kill a monster?
Either way, he was glad to see the familiar Upgrade again, so he smiled and followed Chatfield, who had gone a few steps ahead.
Sal moved his feet slowly and carefully to avoid tripping over himself.
Faintly glowing spots throughout the tunnel provided some visibility.
After taking just a few steps, he could feel how much the dungeon ecosystem was changing the environment.
Mysterious forms of plants hung from the ceiling, emitting a dim bioluminescence.
At that moment, the visor picked it up, and Sal suddenly stopped in his tracks.
This time, what the visor targeted wasn't material, but that very plant.
"What's wrong, Sal?"
Upgrade asked, looking up at the glowing plant.
Sal scanned the information displayed on the visor but couldn't understand it at all.
"It's recognizing something like moss as an enemy. But there's no threat analysis or reason given."
Upgrade frowned and whistled ahead to stop Chatfield.
Sal flinched as the whistle echoed deep into the tunnel, but the two didn't seem to care at all.
He just hoped it hadn't provoked anything nearby.
Chatfield returned with a curious look, read their movements, and shifted his gaze to the plant on the ceiling.
Soon, he looked back at the two and raised an eyebrow.
"It's just moss. It's unlikely to evolve into a threat before we die of old age."
Chatfield grinned and shook his head.
"Let's get moving. And Salvatore... don't perceive everything around you as a threat. That will only slow you down. Think simply. If it tries to claw your face off, that's the enemy. Understand?"
Chatfield's encouragement didn't reassure Sal at all.
Sal felt the blood drain from his body, his face turning pale.
Upgrade glared sharply at Chatfield, but he just shrugged and faced the darkness ahead.
"We'll reach their nest soon. How much further, Salvatore?"
Sal sighed and stared at the end of the tunnel through the visor.
If his memory served him right, there should still be a few minutes before the first group of Vampires appeared.
But on the screen, he saw six dots rapidly approaching them.
'It won't even take a minute.'
Sal's eyes went wide, and he instinctively took a step back.
Upgrade's whistle had definitely attracted them.
When Sal couldn't utter a word, Chatfield glanced back, saw his reaction, and grinned.
"We'll address communication etiquette later. Usually, it's polite to give a warning when approaching a nest. But don't worry. You can do this."
Suppressing a laugh, Chatfield patted Sal's shoulder and walked past him.
Sal blinked twice, needing to double-check.
Chatfield and Upgrade were standing behind him; Chatfield gave a thumbs-up, while Upgrade looked at him with a complicated expression.
Chatfield nodded, pointed down the tunnel, and tapped Sal's revolver with his fingertip.
"It's useless if you keep the muzzle on the ground. Show us what you've got, Salvatore."
Dizziness washed over him, and Sal trembled visibly.
Not a single word came out of his mouth.
'Do the professors really expect me to fight against Vampires I've never actually seen before? Are they not planning to teach or support me?'
Sal cursed himself for letting the situation come to this.
Of course, he wanted to face his fear and become stronger, but this was crossing the line by far.
'How am I supposed to deal with six moving targets when I've never even fired a gun?'
Just then, the visor flashed, snapping his dazed mind awake instantly.
They were approaching fast and would soon reveal themselves before his eyes.
Sal tried to lift the revolver and follow the crosshairs, but his right hand shook uncontrollably, making it impossible to steady his aim.
He took a step forward, grabbed his right wrist tightly with his left hand, and prayed desperately for his body to listen just for a moment.
The shaking subsided just a little, and Sal barely managed to align the visor and the revolver's crosshairs.
If not for the surrounding darkness, he wouldn't have noticed the red light flashing across the revolver.
The Scarlet Screen material was reacting with the visor, changing the information being relayed to him.
Sal took a short breath, closed his left eye, and relied solely on his right eye and the visor.
A moment later, the first Vampire entered his field of view, and time seemed to slow down.
Name: Vampire
Region: Evergreen Subway Dungeon
Type: Dark / Beas
Description: Vampires are threatening floating monsters that ensnare targets with plant-like tentacles to drain vitality and Essence, hunting with razor-sharp teeth.
Stats:
-Strength: 2
-Agility: 4
-Intelligence: 1
-Constitution: 2
Threat Level: I
Behavior: Vampires must be in close range to activate their ability. They grapple targets with tentacles to absorb Essence, weakening their prey. Vampires can only drain Essence through direct skin contact and cannot use their ability through protective clothing.
Vampires possess a lethal bite attack, which can be fatal if not treated immediately. However, their low health makes them easy to shake off or kill. Also, they have absolutely no self-preservation instinct, so retreating is rarely an option.
Abilities:
-Essence Drain: Absorbs target's Essence
-Razor Teeth: Lethal bite attack
-Tentacle Bind: Binds prey while absorbing Essence
-Regeneration: Heals self using stolen Essence
Weaknesses:
-Dark Variant: Weak to Sunlight
-Beast Variant: Weak to Fire
Evolution: None
Reputation: Hunter Bureau: Rank +1 | Current Score: 0
Kills: 0
Variants: Discovered 0
Target Data: 0% to next level
Essence Gain: 0% - Uncalculated
All the information Sal had hoped for unfolded before his right eye.
Ignoring the lengthy text, he shifted his gaze to find usable weaknesses.
Even though he had just loaded the cartridge, he didn't know which bullet was in which chamber.
As if reading his anxiety or his desperate stare at the revolver's cylinder, the visor displayed a list of each loaded bullet and the chamber it was in.
However, realizing that none of them corresponded to the listed weaknesses, Sal gritted his teeth.
'In the end, I have to rely on the revolver's power.'
Whether it was due to tension or the adrenaline rushing through his body, Sal cast aside his hesitation, fixed the crosshairs on the approaching target, and pulled the trigger.
The familiar click of the hammer falling was drowned out by the roar of otherworldly energy exploding forth.
A bolt of blue lightning pierced the darkness of the tunnel, illuminating every detail of the space, causing the approaching Vampires to flinch and retreat.
In almost stunned horror, Sal watched the light explode at the end of the subway, or wherever the bullet struck.
Not a single Vampire was hit, but thanks to the flash created by the first shot, he had bought a little time, so he hurriedly moved on to the next chamber.
Exhaling the breath he had been holding, Sal tried to aim at the nearest Vampire.
'Now I see clearly.'
The lumpy green body looked like a monster head of lettuce, with thorny vines trailing below.
If Sal hadn't been so tense, he might have burst out laughing at its ridiculous appearance compared to the Prowlers.
Even the variant in the illusion Barry showed him was far more terrifying than this.
Thanks to that ridiculousness, Sal's tension eased just a tiny bit.
His aim became much more precise, and the shaking of the revolver subsided.
"Here goes."
Sal whispered and pulled the trigger again.
This time there was no flashy flash, and he only knew there was a high probability of a Wind attribute attack activating.
But in Sal's vision, other than a slight recoil that made his arm tremble, no distinct effect was visible.
Then, hearing a WHOOSH sound from behind, Sal was about to turn his head when the number of Vampires displayed on the visor screen decreased by one.
Instinctively opening his left eye, Sal saw a Vampire that had been hanging from the ceiling fall limply and smack onto the tracks.
'I did it.'
It was his first monster kill.
It wasn't the one he aimed at, nor did he see the moment it died... but that didn't matter.
It was his first kill.
Sal hoped Upgrade and Chatfield would finish off the remaining Vampires and end it here for today, but that hope was shattered the moment Chatfield pointed out there were still five more left.
Grimacing, Sal resumed his awkward stance and closed his left eye.
To use the Lightning attribute bullet again, he had to fire four more shots.
He hoped that if he could stop them like last time, he could quickly expend the other bullets to buy time.
However, instead of firing in vain, he tried his best to aim at the group of Vampires.
He wanted to wipe them out before they got close.
The moment he pulled the trigger again, the visor indicated that the bullet fired this time had a magnetic field effect.
"Uh...?"
The bullet Sal thought would be useless turned out unexpectedly otherwise.
Sal faced a golden opportunity with a much larger target standing right in front of him.
Without a shred of hesitation, he fixed his gaze along the crosshairs and pulled the trigger again.
"Haha..."
Instinctive laughter burst out.
As a flash of green Essence struck the group of Vampires, they rotted and decayed in an instant.
The writhing corpses fell limply to the ground, piling up with a dull thud just a few steps away from where Sal stood.
"Hmm, well... doing it that way isn't bad either."
Chatfield laughed from behind him.