Ch 158 – Paragon Guild’s Debut

Before the apocalypse, the whole world's focus was on famous people such as influencers, celebrities, movie stars, youtubers, and such. But now, after experiencing rebirth and facing countless death and destruction, adapting to a world invaded by otherworldly monsters, the entire world has now changed.

From sports, games, entertainment, the whole world has experienced nirvana! And now, the celebrities of the past are now hunters of the present!

They hold fame, glory, and power!

They are the kings and queens of this world! From a world where individual power was minuscule, to now a world where a singular being can rival a nation's military might; it changed to a world where might means right!

People now idolized strong hunters, treating them as the saviors and heroes of this world. And of course, the stronger a hunter was, the more famous they will get.

And as such, hunters entering dungeons of course became an area where people would flock over like a celebrity about to watch their own movie. But this time, they are about to fight monsters to the death and deal with the monsters that may potentially run rampant in the outside world!

Not only that, but this event was also special, for it is the debut of Korea's most-talk Guild these past few days, Paragon Guild! Not only that, but the first dungeon its members are tackling is the fearsome B Rank Dungeon—Fire Boar Lord Forest!

Most monsters starting from C Rank have received a special naming system. And this also applies to the Fire Boars!

At C Rank, Fire Boars are simply called Fire Boars, but from B Rank and onwards, their name would change.

B Rank: Fire Boar Lord.

A Rank: Fire Boar King.

S Rank: Fire Boar Emperor!

And the unknown Z Rank Fire Boar variant.

Fire Boar Lords are the B Rank variant of the C Rank Monster, Fire Boars. They hold terrifying physical might and have the ability to manipulate their body's flames, coating themselves in fearsome flames and spewing bursts of flames to the enemy. Coupled with their natural resistance to flames and a forest, they can easily have a terrain advantage by burning down the forest and killing the hunters within.

"So, those are the members of Paragon Guild?" A hunter from a certain guild asked their guildmates.

Many stared at the group of four hunters in the distance, they all wore distinct clothing made from high-quality materials and exuded a strong mana aura, clearly showing the four weren't lacking in money in any way.

Many hunters from the other guilds stared in envy, but they were also experienced and noticed how the four's aura were distinct from other newbies. They were clearly all experienced hunters and experts, they aren't simple newbies. They had the temperament of hunters who has faced countless dangers already and became battle-hardened warriors.

"It seems like the rumors of them being newbies are false."

Many murmured to one another before suddenly noticing the guy in the lead, a man with long black hair and abyssal black eyes, nearing the blue dungeon entrance along with the three others from behind.

"It seems like we're finally entering the dungeon," many chided and followed the four, entering through the blue dungeon portal as many captured pictures of them entering the dungeon.

Why are there so many other guilds also entering the debut dungeon of a new Guild? It's to assess what the members are like and gauge their general strength. If they are strong, the guilds would try to make connections with them, if not, they'd save their asses and have them become indebted to them.

This is something quite normal in the world of hunters. Hard times would cause anyone to adapt and change, and the world of hunters is the same.

Isaac clearly knew that, and let it be. In fact, the mysterious glint popping in his eyes upon finding himself inside a forest clearing will make anyone feel a chill crawl up their spine.

Now that they were inside the dungeon, Isaac took a quick glance at the other guilds behind him and saw that they weren't going to act from the way they presented themselves, they were clearly just here to assess them and wouldn't help in any way whatsoever. This is something the world publicly knows, and Isaac of course knows this hidden rule too.

Turning his head back, he raised his arm to the sky, and a blue ball of mana slowly formed over his palm, its shine illuminated the shadowy forest with a dim blue glow before it then exploded into a burst of mana, spreading itself and their location to the residents of this forest.

Like shouting "I AM HERE!" loudly, the hunters inside the dungeon could faintly sense the ground trembling from the horde of footsteps to the ground.

'Are they insane?! Doing such an insane tactic would get us killed!'

That thought flashed through their minds and they quickly became apprehensive, taking on a defensive stance and feeling an oncoming fight looming near. But unlike them, the four members of the Paragon Guild walked towards four different directions and they saw a group of Fire Boar Lords rushing toward the four from the far distance.

"Ahaha! I'll show you what it means to have unrivaled might, piggy!" A burst of booming laughter erupted which caught their attention.

A man with flowing red hair stood in the far distance, his muscular back facing them like a mighty mountain that stands tall against a tsunami. He rushed forward madly, his fist rearing to the back as the leading Fire Boar Lord neared him.

Boom!

His fist erupted with ferocity and punched the head of the Fire Boar Lord, the mere force of his fist caused the head of the Fire Boar Lord to explode into flesh and brain matter. Not stopping his movements, a bright rainbow light covered the dead Fire Boar Lord and it disappeared, while the man's muscles roared with power.

"AHAHA!" He laughed madly, and one can see flames erupt throughout his entire body as he charged forward with incomparable speed.

Each of his attacks landed with such ferocity that a loud explosion would occur, each boar he killed would get absorbed by a bright rainbow light and his fearsome aura got stronger! This visible rise in strength shocked the others out of their wits, it was akin to watching a war demon on their natural playing field.

Not only that, but some also put their attention to the other member of the Paragon Guild who wielded a sword. Though his body was slim and thin like a twig compared to the fearsome horde of Fire Boar Lords, he calmly stood against them steadily without budging an inch.

His long black hair swayed with the wind, while his eyes remained calm and steady like a calm lake. His sword was pointed outwards, and his sword looked simple without any mana exuding from it, clearly showing its normal status.

But under his grasp, the others hallucinated the sword turning into a divine sword!

"GRAA!" The first Fire Boar Lord arrived at the sword-wielding man who remained stagnant, his body not moving an inch even at such close distance.

'He's gonna die!' To see him remain unmoving, the others thought he was shell-shocked from fear and could not move, but in the next moment, their thoughts were shattered by the unparalleled skill the man showed.

His sword moved through the air with grace, those who blinked didn't even see what happened and only saw the Fire Boar Lord in front of him was divided into two equal pieces. Its innards lay bare for everyone to see and everyone saw the clean cut from the middle of the head down to the fiery tail of the Fire Boar Lord.

The man breathed in deeply, and he crouched down, taking in a mysterious stance while mana gathered around his body. With a flash, he zoomed forward and countless bright lights erupted, sheathing back his sword, all the Fire Boar Lords around him exploded into finely dice chunks within a single breath.

"W-What Martial Art is that!"

"S-Such power! Such skill! Who is he?! How come he has Level 6 Swordsmanship?!"

Many exclaimed in shock at such fearsome display of swordsmanship and martial arts, shocking them out of their wits.

On the other hand, others also spectated the third member of the Paragon Guild. His hair was fluffy and coated in the color of gold, his astute golden eyes gleamed with intellect and a pair of black metallic gloves covered his arms.

He slams his two palms on the trees beside him, and bright blue arcs of electricity erupted everywhere. He grinned, lunging both of his arms forward and the trees followed, sharp wooden spikes formed and stabbed two different Fire Boar Lords before they suddenly turned dark and metallic, showing off his fearsome ability to control the physical world.

More bursts of blue electricity erupted, and the two trees beside him rapidly changed, they both turned black and held a metallic luster. Not only that, they rapidly transformed into two black swords tens of meters in size, their bodies moved through the air and charged toward the horde of Fire Boar Lords, killing them relentlessly without breaking even a bead of sweat.

"W-What magic is that?!"

"What class does he have?!"

To see such absurd magic never before seen, it made their hearts skip a beat upon its terrifying might.

Finally, they glanced over to the leader of the Paragon Guild, a man with long black hair and abyssal black eyes that held endless depth. In front of him, a group of Fire Boar Lords charged over with fearsome might.

He pointed his finger forward, his eyes apathetic and cold. Shooting out a beam of blue light, it pierced through the skull of one of the Fire Boar Lords in one single shot, shocking the others at such high skill and finesse. But it didn't stop there, the line quickly halted and formed into a magic circle above the corpse of the dead Fire Boar Lord and shone with deathly black light.

Quickly, in a few breaths time, the dead Fire Boar Lord had its wound healed and stood up, the fire on its body now fueled by deathly energy as it shone relentlessly. Its body now held a duller color, while its red blood turned colder and dimmer in color.

Without hesitation, it charged toward one of the nearby Fire Boar Lord, surprising it with fearsome strength and the advantages held by its undead physiology. Quickly, the boar died and the deathly energy of the beast quickly transferred over, its dead comrade also turning into an undead just like it!

"W-What?! What kind of undead is that?! Is it a zombie?!"

"But didn't its brain just explode before? How come it was able to become a zombie?"

"It can also use the flames on its body! That should be impossible as it should have lost its ability to wield mana!"

Many gasped in shock. To think the four newbies of Paragon Guild would hold such fearsome might. The four were clearly young, and they have a bright future ahead of them. With that thought, they all looked at each other and came to a single conclusion—Kill the four before they get too strong.

"ROAR!"

Like the heavens were helping them, their eyes widened, and saw countless trees burning in the distance and being toppled over by a fearsome boar many times the size of an elephant, its mane being coated in fearsome bright orange flames.

"AHAHA!" The man with red hair laughed loudly, and he charged forward fearlessly to the Boss Monster.

A bright burst of rainbow light erupted from his body, and the body of light rapidly grew before it disappeared and the hunters who had malicious intent widened their eyes. In just mere moments, the man's body turned into a fearsome Fire Boar the same size as the Boss Monster!

Not only that, a black sword flew from nowhere to the transformed Fire Boar. The sword then quickly changed like gooey slime, covering the boar's entire body in black armor while its tusk was coated in metal, increasing its attack power!

Including that, the fearsome swordsman rapidly approached with a burst of speed, his thin body akin to a twig landing on top of the Fire Boar and his sword rapidly glowed with brilliant white light, stabbing it down to the black armor of the Fire Boar. As if the Fire Boar has become a sword, peerless sword energy erupted from the front as it pierced through the air with a loud roar.

And finally, the fearsome necromancer in the far distance pointed their hand outwards. Instantly, the Fire Boar glowed with a rainbow of colors as multiple buff spells were used on it.

"HAHAHA! I'LL SHOW YOU WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A BEAST EMPEROR!" The Fire Boar laughed loudly with such might his voice echoed through the entire forest like a loud explosion.

A loud explosion of bright light, and the two bodies collided. A single conclusion was seen by the other guilds, the Boss Monster lay dead on the ground, its body torn and destroyed like a head bashed by a hammer.

But as they looked at the result in shock, Isaac looks at them with a glint in his eyes and he called out lightly: "Bahamut."

A shadow then descended from above, landing in the middle of the group of hunters without them noticing, and a thin layer of black slime covered the entire area around it for tens of meters.

"Huh?" One of them finally noticed, but it was too late. Quickly, they felt a prickling sensation from the soles of their feet, and the shine in their eyes quickly disappeared in a matter of moments.

"Ohoho, you have been focusing on your poison, Bahamut. Good, good," Isaac praised before he crouched down beside the corpses and tapped on their heads, sending a strain of his soul and reviving them one by one.

In the far distance, Bahamut the Devourer ate some Fire Boar Lords for a few minutes, devouring tens of boars until it finally stopped as it knew it wouldn't be able to extract any more value from them as their genetic code was clearly deduced by Bahamut. Using its newfound data, the inside of its body burbled and change rapidly, while it remained the same gooey slime on the outside.

Not only that, but Gal Jum returned back into his human form while his body was dripping with blood. But he still held a fearless smile on his face as he laughed loudly and his injuries quickly healed. He neared the Boss Monster, his open palm slapping on its body and he activated his ability, encapsulating it in rainbow light and absorbing it into his own body, turning it into a large Fire Boar totem on his body.

Quickly, strength overflowed his body as he grinned, the power of a Boss Monster was far larger than any normal Fire Boar Lord.

Back to Isaac, he looks at his newly created army of Servants and nods his head, a glint flashing through his eyes as he watched a blue portal in front of him open: 'Finally, my plan worked like a charm. With many guilds of Korea now under my control, it's only a matter of time before I grow in power and gain unparalleled strength!'

Grinning, he called back all of his servants and walk through the portal, for Isaac's scheme has succeeded.

But was it due to his own luck, his own intellect, his own strength? Or was it because of the scheming of a single being? The hands of shadow that remain unnoticed that move the events of the world forward?

Under the eye of a paranoid god, everything is simply another part of their plan.

AN: This chapter has 2669 words.

Yes, Gal Jum is bootleg Reckless Savage Demon Venerable. Even though I'm only at Chapter 700+, the power of RS Demon Venerable is pretty interesting which gave me a burst of inspiration as to what Gal Jum's future development would be.

And another yes, I may or may not have Gal Jum as my second most favorite character right now.

(September 23, 2022 – 303rd day of writing)