“Hey. Isn’t that the Hanul Guild over there?”
“Aren’t they the ones who’ve been sweeping all the boss kills lately?”
“And isn’t that Kim Inho from the Fighting God Guild next to them? Why isn’t he with his own guild, but standing with Hanul?”
“I heard Fighting God’s Kim Inho got traded to Hanul.”
“What? Why?”
I could hear the murmurs of Hunters gathered in front of the Uiwang Railroad Museum Dungeon.
I could sense all eyes slowly focusing on us.
Up until now, I’d hunted in dungeons alone.
Just a porter. I was nothing more than a support, yet I went solo, hunting bosses, and even recruited the S-rank Seohyeonji, who was the talk of the town, as a team member.
Right now, I was the most famous person in the Hunter world.
Whether that fame would turn out to be good or bad remained to be seen.
“People are staring at us.”
“If you’re going to hang out with me, you’ll have to get used to this much attention.”
Seohyeonji, wearing a black hat and mask, puffed her shoulders out with pride.
“Is that really Seohyeonji over there?”
“Seohyeonji? Seriously?”
The only people gathered at the entrance to Uiwang Dungeon were Hunter industry folks, but even so, Seohyeonji had plenty of fans.
As she overheard the whispers, pride gleamed in Seohyeonji’s eyes. It seemed like she wanted to hear something from me, but I just ignored her.
“We meet again, Hanul Guild.”
Instead of the ones wandering nearby hoping to catch a glimpse of Seohyeonji, a different group started the conversation.
It was Baek Juhwan, the party leader of the Fighting God Guild.
Behind him, Go Hasol had her ‘I know you’ face on, and the Special Forces veteran Kim Changyeol was frowning.
“So Fighting God is here, too. Well, since our levels are similar, we keep running into each other.”
Because dungeons have entry level requirements, teams that debut around the same time end up bumping into each other for years.
“Kim Inho, I heard you got kicked out and joined Hanul. Clinging there like a little bat, huh?”
Kim Changyeol said, overtly mocking.
“What, were you really teamed up with these loser types? Good thing you got out.”
“What?”
As Kim Taeyang draped his arm over Kim Inho’s shoulder and pointed, Kim Changyeol immediately glared, his eyes flipping.
If the team members started bickering, things would get messy. As team leader, it was my job to step in and handle it calmly.
“Are you acting like this because we took the boss last time? Or is it because you lost a fight? No way, adults wouldn’t really be this petty, right?”
Hearing my words, Baek Juhwan and Kim Changyeol both scowled in unison.
“You’re not going to have any fun with this dungeon. Thanks to losing Kim Inho, our party’s got a B-rank ranker now.”
Kim Changyeol smirked slyly.
Just as he said, a man with permed hair stood with his arms crossed, exuding arrogance.
“Wow! A B-rank Hunter! That’s so amazing! But we have an S-rank Hunter!”
“!”
Seohyeonji, catching on to this strange competition, lifted her hat and pulled down her mask, crossing her arms with haughty pride.
“S-Seohyeonji?”
Lately, nobody had gotten as much attention as Seohyeonji.
Kim Changyeol, realizing Seohyeonji was right in front of him, instantly blushed and flustered.
“Want me to sign something for you?”
Seohyeonji asked, and Kim Changyeol, reaching for his power suit, faltered under his team’s gaze and stepped back, looking disappointed.
“I hope we can all enjoy a good clear this time.”
I smiled as I said this.
“Attention, everyone! I have an announcement!”
The gatekeeper of Uiwang Dungeon was cupping his hands and shouting.
“I am the chief administrator of the Uiwang Railroad Museum Dungeon! As of now, the boss in this dungeon has been upgraded to 2-star! The dungeon difficulty remains at intermediate level! Team leaders of each guild, please consult with your members and submit your entry applications!”
At the news that the boss had been upgraded to 2-star, the Hunters who came to hunt the boss started murmuring.
As expected, information about bosses was shared through the Wizard System distributed by the Hunter Disaster Agency.
No matter if a boss came from an intermediate dungeon, a boss was still a boss.
If the boss’s star rank went up and even got a single new skill, or had slight stat changes, the clearing difficulty would skyrocket instantly.
Suppose the boss had regeneration. With a standard party, it would be impossible to clear. You’d need explosive firepower to overwhelm its healing speed.
Suppose the boss had an invisibility skill. Then, you’d need a supporter who could detect it. Otherwise, at least one person would get ambushed and killed.
After the recent human trafficking incident with the Winners Guild, a party registration system was being enforced.
You couldn’t track what happened inside the dungeon, but if a party member who went in together died, you’d get hit with a huge fine.
This new amendment was called, informally, the Ansangjin Special Law.
“An S-rank? What kind of S-rank comes to clear an intermediate dungeon! This sucks, seriously!”
Baek Juhwan, party leader of Fighting God, spat out his annoyance.
His other party members didn’t look any happier.
This time, HR team leader Kim Shin had given them a prior warning. If they didn’t perform up to Fighting God standards again, they’d all be sent back to the training center.
“If we go back to training…”
“Man, that’s humiliating. We’d have to roll around with the rookie Hunters. Worse, we wouldn’t make any money.”
Go Hasol and Kim Changyeol muttered quietly. The B-rank ranker spoke up to the two.
“Nothing to worry about. Who cares if they’re S-rank? This is their first run.”
With Kimchiguk the B-rank ranker’s relaxed attitude, the party members’ faces finally showed some relief.
There was a rumor that Seohyeonji’s level was only 1.
Not only that, but both Kim Inho and Kim Taeyang were just rookies with low levels. Coldly speaking, their side had the advantage.
“And the Hanul Guild? No way they’ll be able to take down the boss this time.”
Kimchiguk spoke confidently.
Many groups in this dungeon were wary of Hanul Guild—especially Team Leader Lee Hyunbin.
Dungeon entry began.
Just because you passed through the dungeon entrance didn’t mean you arrived at the same place as everyone else. Like monsters respawning, you’d be transported to one of several set locations.
- Grade: Intermediate
- Name: Insect Dungeon
- Boss: Queen Mago★★
- Rewards
Legendary: Mago’s Eye
Unique: Mago’s Staff, Mago’s Leather Boots, Flight
Rare: Camouflage, Sleep, Charm, Levitation
Even though the boss had suddenly been upgraded to 2-star, nobody gave up.
The reason was simple—the Wizard System had announced that Mago could drop a legendary item.
The value of a legendary item was astronomical.
Even a unique item was worth tens of billions; a legendary was on an entirely different level.
Hunters dreaming of hitting the jackpot began their hunt.
Chchchch,
Giant insects made eerie rustling sounds as they approached. To hunt them, the Hunters formed up and launched into battle.
Thirty minutes after the hunt began.
Some, gravely injured, retreated from the dungeon, while others, thrilled, celebrated obtaining a Skill USB from an ordinary monster.
Even regular monsters had a very low chance to drop a skill.
“Just keep going straight! Ah, there are other Hunters fighting up ahead!”
At the words of their scout, Go Hasol, Baek Juhwan spoke up.
“Any other routes?”
“If we detour about 35 meters here… but, the party ahead might get wiped out if things go wrong. There are too many monsters…”
“Doesn’t matter.”
At Baek Juhwan’s words, Go Hasol blinked in surprise.
“What do you mean…?”
“If there’s bait, all the better.”
As if annoyed by Go Hasol not catching on, Kim Changyeol explained.
That was exactly right. Inside the dungeon, it was all competition.
“Arghhh!”
“Damned bugs! Where do they keep coming from?!”
Ignoring the screams and shouts of Hunters surrounded by insects, the Fighting God party chose to take a different route.
The most important thing now was to reach the boss first. And everyone else had the same idea.
While all the parties scoured the maze-like forest for the boss, Hanul Guild’s party was doing things differently.
-If we keep going straight, we’ll reach the Caterpillar Hatchery.
-Got it.
I moved according to Olivier’s communication and navigation.
What’s the best way to level up? Kill the boss, or hunt monsters stronger than yourself.
If neither is an option, there’s one thing left.
Wipe out as many monsters as possible.
“Where are we going? Aren’t we going to scout around?”
“Nope, let’s do a little mass leveling-up.”
Seohyeonji pouted her lips at my words.
“But it’s uncomfortable going around with this hat and mask.”
“I never told you to wear them.”
“If I don’t, I probably wouldn’t be able to take a single step, you know?”
As Seohyeonji said, everyone’s attention was focused on her. Even inside the dungeon, Hunters approached her for autographs and to get close.
You never know what’ll happen in a dungeon.
You have to be suspicious and cautious even with people you don’t really know. That’s why I blocked everyone from approaching, and all their complaints were aimed at me.
It really was a role made to be hated. No matter how I looked at it, it seemed like I was losing out.
Maybe I should just wear a full mask or something. A hat and mask just don’t hide my looks enough, so next time—
Huh, I can’t believe she says stuff like that herself.
I wanted to ask if she had any shame, but the truth is, I couldn’t really argue.
‘A mask?’
The word reminded me of something good.
I remembered that Justice Armor that Im Jaejoon and Olivier, that dumb duo, supposedly made. They said they’d mass-produce it after the prototype called ‘Red.’
Hmm, maybe I should recommend it to her later.
-We’ve arrived at the Caterpillar Hatchery.
-Find the next hatchery, too.
…….
Olivier didn’t respond for a moment.
-Really, your fondness for bugs is remarkable. Is it because you’re as disgusting as they are? Instead of going after the boss, you’re just looking for bugs?
Amused by Olivier’s snarky tone, I snorted.
Come to think of it, she’s weak against gross things. As we explored, she had to watch all the wriggling larvae. No wonder her skin was probably crawling right now.
-Not hunting the boss today. Just gonna wipe out bugs. Gotta. Level. Up.
-……You’re the worst.
Ignoring Olivier’s grumbling, I started prepping for work.
“Pour all the oil jars into the burrows. Then Seohyeonji, torch everything inside with Egnir.”
“Inside? What’s in there?”
“Do you like caterpillars?”
“…No.”
“Then just focus on cooking.”
Realizing what was inside, Seohyeonji’s face scrunched up.
Kim Taeyang and Kim Inho, excited, splashed oil everywhere.
Seohyeonji summoned her fire spirit and scorched the walls and floor. Thanks to her, the oil-soaked burrows were ablaze in an instant.
“Mm, smells great.”
The others pinched their noses in disgust, but to me, it was sweet as honey. That was the scent of pouring in experience points.
Caterpillars the size of my forearm wriggled out of their chambers.
They couldn’t talk, but they seemed to realize they were facing death.
Seeing them crawl out, I had Kim Inho and Kim Taeyang stand at the entrance.
“Okay, let the hunt begin!”
After Seohyeonji’s fire spirit put on a spectacular oil show, the caterpillars, scrambling to escape, were cut down at the entrance by Kim Taeyang and Kim Inho.
Their dream of growing into big, dangerous bugs and eating lots of people ended in flames, just a fleeting fantasy.
They dropped zero items, but the experience points were juicy and, more importantly, safe.
Soon, nothing was left in the burrow but ashes.
-Olivier?
-Sigh… Do you understand how mothers feel now? I wonder what the parents, who left their precious children at daycare to go to work, would say if they saw this horror, Hero?
-Oh, so you like cute kids?
I tried peering at the still-squirming caterpillars. Olivier was sharing my vision, so I could hear her shrieking, which put me in a good mood.
-Enough chatter, just guide us to the next spot.
-Sob, you really are a devil. A devil!
She’s the real devil, but she calls me one.
We moved on to the second Caterpillar Hatchery.
Most of the ones here hadn’t even hatched yet.
“Go ahead, Seohyeonji. You’re up.”
“Why do I have to be the one?”
Grumbling, Seohyeonji still burned everything up with her fire.
She was probably leveling up at light speed right now.
Kim Taeyang and Kim Inho were also taking down anything that made it out the entrance.
There was another reason I was clearing out these hatcheries, aside from experience points.
In all insect colonies, the queen was always in the deepest, safest place. She was literally the only one capable of ensuring the survival of the species.
Naturally, the road to the queen was harsh. You might have to fight for days and nights to reach her. So I did the opposite.
I planned to wipe out all the eggs and larvae so Queen Mago would have no choice but to come herself.
Or so I thought.
‘Hmm, looks like something unexpected took the bait first.’
Instead of Queen Mago, something else had fallen into my trap.
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