Chapter 126: Fate

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*Slash!*

Kim Ji-hoon exhaled sharply as he cut the throat of the final Hobgoblin. He immediately checked on his comrades.

“Is everyone okay? Any injuries?”

“I’m fine!”

“Me too!”

“I got a slight graze on my leg, but it’s nothing to worry about!”

The Hunters had successfully completed their first large-scale battle.

“Alright, let’s keep moving forward.”

Ji-hoon took the lead once again, stepping into the darkness. Fortunately, no more Hobgoblin swarms as large as the first appeared. It seemed the monsters had committed the bulk of their forces to that initial ambush.

As they grew accustomed to fighting in the dark, the Hunters began to regain their confidence. Though they had fallen into an unexpected crisis, hope began to bloom that they might escape without further trouble.

Only one person, Sang-woong, remained on high alert. In fact, his gaze grew sharper and more cautious the deeper they went into the cave.

Before long, they arrived at a fateful location. On one side of the cave wall, a vein of Dungeon Metal was exposed, emitting a faint but distinct blue glow.

“W-what is this? Is this Dungeon Metal?”

“You’re right, there’s no mistake! It’s a vein of Dungeon Metal!”

The Hunters’ eyes widened at the discovery. Cheers erupted throughout the tunnel.

Due to the sudden ground collapse, they had lost most of their equipment, personal belongings, and even their stored Mana Stones.

Not only had they nearly died at the hands of the Hobgoblins, but they were also on the verge of returning empty-handed. Finding a Dungeon Metal vein now was like rain after a long drought.

One Hunter excitedly used the tip of his sword to carefully pry a piece of Dungeon Metal loose. As he held the fist-sized blue ore, an indescribable smile spread across his face.

A piece this size would fetch at least 50 million won.

The realization that they could hit the jackpot in such a dangerous dungeon made them momentarily forget the horrors of the battlefield. Greed flickered in their eyes.

It was exactly the same as in his past life.

Blinded by immediate gain, they had missed what was most important. But Sang-woong was different.

He knew through bitter experience that this was not just a simple ore vein; it was a cunning trap set by the Hobgoblins to lure and slaughter greedy Hunters.

In his past life, the moment the Hunters’ attention was fixed on the Dungeon Metal, elite Hobgoblins had crawled out from a hidden cave entrance in the darkness on the opposite side.

Ji-hoon had taken a fatal wound while trying to save Sang-woong and the other party members, collapsing in a pool of blood.

Ji-hoon’s face twisted in pain and his desperate groans… those horrific memories flashed before Sang-woong’s eyes.

‘This time… I will never repeat the same mistake!’

Sang-woong’s eyes turned cold. Just as everyone’s attention was drawn to the blue vein, he instinctively pointed his sword toward the darkest corner on the opposite side, where the monsters had emerged in his previous life.

A faint shadow flickered in the darkness. The familiar silhouette of a Hobgoblin was slowly revealing itself. It was the very same one that had dealt the fatal blow to Ji-hoon.

“Found you, you bastard!”

He had wanted to see this enemy so badly it hurt. He had gnashed his teeth, wishing for this reunion. Sang-woong swung his sword with all the resentment he had carried for decades. Of course, he didn’t end its life in a single blow.

He intended to relieve his stress slowly and surely, dealing back the same amount of pain that had haunted him for so many years.

*Slash!*

The first ambusher’s arm was severed, spraying blood as it screamed. Without hesitation, Sang-woong sliced through the legs of the creature as it tumbled.

Only after seeing the miserable sight of the monster writhing and bleeding on the floor did Sang-woong feel the knot of resentment in his chest loosen slightly.

The small cave in the darkness was a lethal trap, but once discovered, it became a fatal weakness for the monsters.

Because the passage was so narrow, the Hobgoblins could only crawl out one at a time, and Sang-woong was waiting at the exit, his sword radiating sharp blue energy.

*Slice! Slice! Slice! Slice!*

Every time a Hobgoblin crawled out of the small cave, Sang-woong severed its neck and limbs. Only then did Kim Ji-hoon and the other Hunters notice the commotion and rush over in shock.

“What is this? There was another cave here?”

Kim Ji-hoon broke out in a cold sweat as he looked at the hidden entrance. If Sang-woong hadn’t noticed it… just the thought made a shiver run down his spine.

“Hunter Ji-hoon, didn’t you always say that being careless in a dungeon is forbidden? Isn’t that right?”

Sang-woong teased him, mimicking the words Ji-hoon often said. Ji-hoon was alive, and Sang-woong, having personally executed the source of the nightmare that had weighed on him for decades, felt incredibly light and happy.

“Man… I can’t even show my face.”

Ji-hoon scratched the back of his head, looking embarrassed.

The Hobgoblins that had planned a secret ambush were annihilated before they could even show their strength.

Ji-hoon ordered half of the party to stand guard in case of an emergency, while the rest were instructed to mine the Dungeon Metal.

“Ah, damn it… I wish we had bags!”

The Hunters stomped their feet in frustration, having nowhere to put the mined metal. A jackpot opportunity like this was rare to find even once in a lifetime, and they wanted to take every single piece.

“Take off your pants. If you tie the ends of the legs, you can use them as bags.”

The Hunters hesitated at Sang-woong’s suggestion, but one look at the Dungeon Metal made their embarrassment vanish.

They immediately stripped off their pants, tied the ends tightly, and began scooping up the metal. In an instant, the cave was filled with men in their underwear, but their faces were adorned with blissful smiles.

After that, they mopped up the remaining Hobgoblin stragglers without any particular danger and finally escaped the dreadful cave.

“I don’t even know how to describe this feeling. I never imagined the ground would collapse… or that we’d fall into such a dark cave and meet a swarm of Hobgoblins.

I really thought everything was over.”

Ji-hoon spoke as he brushed the dirt off his body. He hadn’t realized that standing under the dazzling sunlight again could feel so emotional.

“Sang-woong, I survived because of you. Thank you, truly. And to the rest of the party, thank you all for staying calm and fighting well.”

He expressed his sincere gratitude as he looked around at his fellow Hunters.

An unexpected accident where the ground gave way, a life-or-death struggle in the dark, and even a lethal trap—it felt as if they had experienced several years’ worth of adventures in a single day.

However, since they had gained an unexpected windfall in the form of a Dungeon Metal vein, it was a stroke of incredible luck that far outweighed the misfortune.

Above all, he would never forget the fact that he had avoided a dangerous trap and saved his life thanks to Sang-woong.

The Hunters nodded at Ji-hoon’s words. Having survived a brush with death and gained a huge profit, they found it difficult to hide their excitement.

Everyone was in an embarrassing state, dressed only in their underwear because their pants were full of Dungeon Metal, but bright smiles bloomed on their faces.

“More importantly, Sang-woong, what kind of training did you do to get that strong?”

Ji-hoon asked the question he had been most curious about regarding Sang-woong’s performance today.

“Well, it’s simple.”

As Sang-woong spoke, Ji-hoon’s eyes sparkled, and he focused all his attention on the words. He hoped that by learning this incredible training secret, he could become much stronger as well.

“First, as soon as you wake up in the morning, swing your sword. Just a light 20,000 times. You must never do it half-heartedly. You have to focus as much as possible with every swing. Then, after lunch, swing another light 30,000 times. Naturally, don’t lose your focus this time either. Finally, after dinner, just swing it 50,000 more times. See? Isn’t it easy?”

Ji-hoon’s face contorted as he listened. He thought Sang-woong was going to share some grand secret, but this was clearly a joke.

“Forget it, you punk. I’m an idiot for asking. I suppose if such a secret existed, every Hunter in the world would already be a master.”

“I’m serious. Just try it for exactly one month. I’ll personally guarantee the results.”

Sang-woong smirked and followed Ji-hoon around, teasing him. He was expressing his relief and joy that his best friend had escaped the clutches of death.

After dealing with Hobgoblins in the dark, facing Ghouders back on the field was as easy as twisting a child’s wrist.

Although it had been a perilous journey, passing the major crisis made Ji-hoon realize that his skills had grown a level.

Not only him, but the other party members also engaged in combat much more stably than before. The struggle against the Hobgoblins in an extreme situation had clearly boosted their experience points significantly.

If not for Sang-woong, it would have been truly dangerous, but as a result, everyone’s skills improved, and they secured a solid amount of Dungeon Metal, making this dungeon raid a huge success.

They reached the location of the Dungeon Core without much difficulty. And there, the final boss of the dungeon was waiting for them. It was the massive and hideous Ghouder King.

It had a burly, muscular body, sharp claws, and a menacing face full of bared teeth.

Strangely, however, the Ghouder King did not exude the same overwhelming pressure as the Hobgoblin group they had encountered earlier.

Ji-hoon gave calm instructions.

“Everyone, don’t panic! If we move calmly together like we’ve been doing, we can definitely take it down!”

The Hunters skillfully surrounded the Ghouder King. This was a standard boss battle in a wide space, not a chaotic melee in the dark.

Ji-hoon took the lead and drew its attention, while the other Hunters aimed for its sides or rear in coordination with his movements.

Sang-woong continued to move inconspicuously, accurately piercing the Ghouder King’s weaknesses or intercepting threats before they reached the other Hunters.

The Ghouder King collapsed more easily than expected under the Hunters’ organic cooperation. It fell so quickly that it felt almost anticlimactic.

Perhaps the core dangerous elements of the dungeon had already been exhausted by the ground collapse and the Hobgoblin trap, or maybe the Ghouder King itself was a relatively weak boss compared to the scale of the dungeon.

After defeating the boss monster, they discovered the Dungeon Core situated in the center of the area. It was a beautiful, crystalline core that emitted a soft blue light.

Ji-hoon stepped forward as the representative and struck the Dungeon Core hard with his sword.

*Cr-ack!*

Along with the thunderous sound of the core breaking, the surrounding space shook violently. The blue light scattered beautifully in all directions before gradually fading away. The ominous energy that had filled the dungeon began to weaken.

The dungeon was completely closed.—