Chapter 67: Special Dungeon—3

The assault on the special dungeon continued.

The squad members had now successfully held off up to the second monster wave.

"This special dungeon isn't as tough as I thought, is it?"

"Was I too scared?"

The monsters that appeared in the first and second waves were all D-grade, Level 2.

They were numerous but posed no real threat; instead, they provided good experience points.

'This is just the beginning. It'll be hell later on.'

Kim Hyeon-jun chuckled quietly to himself as he watched the squad members.

Wave-type dungeons tended to increase the level of monsters as time went on.

The next monster wave would likely feature C-grade monsters.

"Alright. Good work, everyone. We'll rest after we block the third wave, so let's hang in there until then."

"Understood."

There were six hours left until the third monster wave.

Following the squad leader's orders, the soldiers took their meal time.

Though 'meal' was a generous term, as it consisted entirely of combat rations.

"Ugh… how many more times do we have to eat this?"

"You'll have to eat it at least nine more times."

"Sigh. I wish they'd at least give us different varieties. They just stockpiled a huge amount of the same thing."

"Exactly."

Everyone shoved the food into their mouths with disgusted expressions.

Since they had to fight monsters for over three days, they had to fill their stomachs somehow.

'They had to pack so much essential gear that they didn't even have room for honey jerky.'

As Kim Hyeon-jun took bites of the dry, crumbly rice, a familiar voice came from beside him.

"Hyeon-jun. Mind if I sit next to you?"

It was Corporal Park Ye-rin, who had approached without him noticing.

"Sure."

They were all sitting on a wide stone floor; one more person squeezing in wouldn't be noticeable.

"Sergeant Kim Hyeon-jun! Let me join in too!"

As soon as Corporal Park Ye-rin settled in, Corporal Jeong Ye-na also took a seat on his other side.

Kim Hyeon-jun suddenly found himself sandwiched between the two.

"Sergeant Kim Hyeon-jun is so popular, it's enviable."

"All we have around here are smelly guys."

The juniors who saw this grumbled, but Kim Hyeon-jun felt nothing.

Instead, Corporal Jeong Ye-na and Corporal Park Ye-rin started a conversation.

"Wow. But seeing you up close, you're really pretty. Your skin is so smooth. Do you have a secret?"

"No… not really."

"When did you get close with Sergeant Kim Hyeon-jun?"

Corporal Jeong Ye-na spoke warmly, while Corporal Park Ye-rin answered hesitantly.

Their conversation continued with topics like skincare routines, hair care, and what cosmetics they used—typical women's talk.

In the middle of it, Corporal Jeong Ye-na gave Kim Hyeon-jun a sidelong glance.

"Sergeant Kim Hyeon-jun, you seem to have very high standards."

"What are you suddenly talking about?"

"Isn't that right? I'm decent enough, but you even have a friend as pretty as her, don't you?"

"Hmm… You? Not really."

At Kim Hyeon-jun's answer, the other juniors chimed in as if they'd been waiting.

"You're comparing yourself to Park Ye-rin? Have you no conscience?"

"People who call themselves pretty are a bit…"

"Hey! You guys, come here!"

"Huh? Why us all of a sudden!"

And then, a sudden chase began between the three corporals.

"Hey! Don't run over there!"

While eating their combat rations, the three running around eventually got caught by the squad leader and were forced to do push-ups.

"Sigh. They're something else."

Kim Hyeon-jun shook his head as he watched the three holding the push-up position.

"Hyeon-jun, you seem like a good senior."

Corporal Park Ye-rin, who had finished her meal, suddenly spoke.

Her tone sounded almost envious.

"I can tell from how you talk and interact with the juniors without any reservations."

She, on the other hand, said she wasn't like that.

She said the juniors kept their distance from her first.

'Well, her situation is special, so it's understandable.'

If your father is a division commander, everyone would be cautious.

Her quiet personality probably played a part too.

"Try looking out for the juniors a little in ways others don't notice. They're people too, so they remember those things."

"...Okay. Thanks. Let's do well with the rest of the assault."

It wasn't particularly helpful advice, but Corporal Park Ye-rin returned to her position with a faint smile.

'If she just treats them the way she treats me, it'd probably be fine.'

That was the thought that suddenly crossed Kim Hyeon-jun's mind.

---

"Red Pattern Spider swarm!"

Time passed, and the third monster wave began.

Unlike the relatively relaxed first and second waves, C-grade monsters started appearing from the third wave onward.

Monsters swarmed in from all four directions simultaneously, forcing the soldiers to gradually give ground.

Keeeeek!

The Red Pattern Spiders bared their fangs and let out fierce cries.

They pushed forward recklessly with their bodies, trying to break through the formation the soldiers had set up.

The archers and mage soldiers exerted more effort, significantly reducing their numbers initially.

Corporal Jeong Ye-na concentrated more mana into her arrow and fired a powerful shot.

Keeeek!

Keeeek!

As the mana-wrapped arrowhead struck the ground, over five spiders died at once.

Corporal Park Ye-rin cast a wide-area ice magic spell, freezing dozens of monsters in one go.

The monster swarms died off rapidly due to the coordinated efforts of the archers and mages.

'There are quite a few left.'

Although the archers and mages had reduced their numbers significantly, there were still many left.

That's how it seemed to Kim Hyeon-jun.

The spiders that closed the distance even started shooting sticky webs frequently.

Of course, even that couldn't break through the soldiers' defensive line.

The soldiers selected beforehand had decent specs,

Thud! Thump!

"I'll go provide support!"

and because Kim Hyeon-jun ran on foot to support the defensive points that looked unstable.

'The combination of spearmen and shieldmen has good synergy.'

By thrusting his spear between the shieldmen, he killed several at a time, earning experience.

He didn't even need to coat the spearhead with mana.

[The effect of Gorgos's Essence is active.]

Thanks to the increased penetration power, the spear dug deep into their hides.

'Better than before.'

The experience bar, moving ever so slightly, gave a faint sense of progress.

The gauge for the Willpower trait rose slightly before stopping.

It seemed activating it was difficult even against Level 3 monsters.

'Will there ever be a time to use this?'

He thought it was a universal enhancement button with no side effects, but it felt like the conditions required were just as demanding.

The gauge, which could be filled to 100%, had nearly reached 10% from the recent fight before disappearing.

'It's still only the first day.'

He decided to be satisfied since he gained more experience than expected.

Thud!

With the defeat of the last monster, the third wave ended.

"Whew, those damn things."

"I think we killed over a hundred of them."

"But at least we have quite some time until the next wave, right?"

The soldiers let out tired sighs.

Right now, they desperately wanted to rest.

Even though they took breaks in between, they had been fighting continuously.

"Actually, the squad leader said we'd rest after blocking this wave... huh?"

The gazes of several archers turned in one direction.

They had clearly defeated all the monsters, but three more appeared.

One from each of three directions.

Ding.

Soon, a message floated before their eyes.

[Assailants have appeared!]

[Assailants will perform a powerful leap toward the angel statue when they get close to it.]

"Assailants? Aren't those Level 5 named monsters?"

"Named monsters appear in this dungeon?"

The soldiers who identified the monsters were horrified.

And for good reason.

Assailants were much stronger than regular monsters.

Its appearance resembled a large, bipedal wolf.

The peculiar thing was the sickle-like blades attached to both hands.

And despite its size, it was incredibly agile.

It was fortunate only three appeared; if over a hundred of them had shown up...

This place would have become the squad's grave.

'A named monster here? Sounds tasty.'

Kim Hyeon-jun licked his lips.

An individual abnormally strong compared to regular monsters.

The Hunter Association called such creatures 'Named Monsters.'

Since he had never hunted one before, he really wanted to.

Was it because he gained the Willpower trait?

He felt a burning desire.

"Everyone, prepare quickly and maintain formation!"

Meanwhile.

The two squad leaders who checked the message quickly gave orders.

The defensive formation was maintained as is, just in case.

They planned to select the two squad leaders and a few soldiers to deal with the Assailants.

Since they would perform a powerful leap when they got close, they had to go out first.

Originally, Assailants didn't have such an ability.

It seemed to be an effect of the special dungeon.

"Then we'll select about three from our side, while Lieutenant Kim Dong-woo, you..."

"Could you leave this part to me?"

Just as Lieutenant Yu Chae-min was about to voice his opinion, Lieutenant Kim Dong-woo spoke first.

Then, he turned his gaze and looked at Kim Hyeon-jun.

"Hyeon-jun. I want to leave one to you. Can you handle it?"

He was entrusting a named monster to a single soldier.

"Even if he's a sergeant, wouldn't that be too much?"

"From what I've seen, he seems more than capable. The Assailants might act unpredictably, right?"

Lieutenant Yu Chae-min expressed concern, but Lieutenant Kim Dong-woo's opinion was firm.

"Hoo. Understood then."

If things went wrong, he could just order the mage soldiers.

Lieutenant Yu Chae-min didn't oppose any further.

Since it was a joint operation, he wanted to avoid conflicts of opinion as much as possible.

Of course, he didn't know.

That the Biryong Unit was pushing hard for Kim Hyeon-jun.

"Sergeant Kim Hyeon-jun. Yes. I'm confident."

Kim Hyeon-jun answered without hesitation.

Just as he was wondering if he should say something, the opportunity was given to him.

'Hmm. I have been working hard in military life lately. I even got promoted to sergeant.'

Perhaps that's why he was given this chance.

'How strong is a named monster?'

How much experience would it give?

What about the gold from the trait?

How effective would his attacks be?

Filled with such curiosity, he advanced toward the monster.

"I'll take the front. Lieutenant Kim Dong-woo, you take the left, and Sergeant Kim Hyeon-jun, you take the right."

"Let's do that."

Lieutenant Yu Chae-min, Lieutenant Kim Dong-woo, and Kim Hyeon-jun approached the Assailant.

Since it was a named monster, the officers stepped forward personally.

Grrrrl!

As the distance closed, the Assailant revealed its hostility with a sharp cry.

It moved unlike a typical Level 5 monster.

It moved erratically in a zigzag pattern instead of a straight line, yet it was remarkably agile.

A hunter of the same level would struggle to keep up with its movements.

Shiiing!

The battle began in earnest.

The Assailant's curved blade clashed with Kim Hyeon-jun's spear.

"It's definitely heavy."

Even with mana wrapped around his limbs, Kim Hyeon-jun was pushed back slightly.

If it were him, he could withstand it, but a regular soldier would have been knocked down instantly in a head-on clash.

"Look at this thing?"

And that wasn't all.

Unlike other monsters, it didn't charge in recklessly.

It struck and retreated, as if testing the waters.

As if probing.

"Is this what a named monster is like?"

Its attack patterns were varied too.

The areas it targeted were all different.

Of course, blocking them wasn't difficult.

He used Imperial Spear Techniques to block and deflect the attacks.

However, there was a problem... its evasion ability was better than expected.

Every time he tried to press in, it retreated like a ghost.

'I could chase it to the end if I wanted to...'

But this was a special dungeon.

Since the internal structure wasn't fully understood, recklessly going deep was problematic.

'The opening when it strikes and retreats. If I target that moment... but something feels lacking.'

Blink. Blink.

Then, something blinking caught Kim Hyeon-jun's eye.

It was the Willpower trait gauge.

The gauge value accumulated while fighting the Assailant had already reached 40%.

It didn't feel like they had fought for very long; perhaps it was because the monster's level was high.

'Perfect timing to test it out.'

Without delay, Kim Hyeon-jun activated Willpower.

[Willpower has been activated.]

[All stats are temporarily increased by 40%.]

A message appeared, and he felt an intangible power settling into his body.

The battle continued.

'Huh?'

What happened next was astonishing.

Keeeng!

The Assailant, which was about to strike and retreat, was pierced by Kim Hyeon-jun's spear.

Absurdly easily.