Chapter 18: 2nd Circle Mage Kim Song-cheol (3)

The meeting room, which was usually empty, was now packed to capacity.

The Trainees and Hunters stood inside, not even bothering to take a seat.

Their low murmurs echoed softly throughout the room.

Beyond the door, the lobby stretched out.

Kim Myung-joo could be seen entering Suho Hall while talking on the phone.

“Yes, I will do that.

However…”

He spoke a few more words in front of the meeting room before hanging up and stepping inside.

The moment Kim Myung-joo entered, the murmurs died down instantly.

Only the sound of his footsteps echoed as he walked toward the podium.

Kim Myung-joo pushed aside the desk microphone and stared at the Trainees for a moment.

Indescribable gazes met in the air.

Soon, Kim Myung-joo spoke.

“As I have informed you, a C-rank Gate has been generated.

This is the fourth one in the Republic of Korea.”

His tone was neither light nor heavy.

“Currently, the Republic of Korea’s held Points…

as far as I am aware, are 1,783,421.

The cost required to delete this C-rank Gate is 2,819,742.

We are approximately one million Points short.”

The atmosphere among the Trainees grew heavy, as if cold water had been poured over them.

One million Points.

It was a precarious situation.

They were given seven days.

If the Gate was not deleted within seven days, Monsters would come pouring out.

“As you Trainees know, we were short by a mere 30,000 Points during the last Ulsan Incident.

Entering a low-rank Dungeon does not mean you aren’t helping.

This is a time when we must gather even a single Point more.”

Kim Myung-joo straightened his posture and bowed deeply to the Trainees.

“I ask for your help for the sake of the Republic of Korea.”

Faced with that heavy request, the Trainees solemnly steeled their resolve.

Everyone who entered this Training Academy must have made a pledge at least once—that they would become Hunters and protect the citizens.

It wasn’t just the Republic of Korea.

In most countries, Hunters were treated as heroes who protected the nation.

Everyone respected them and appreciated their hard work.

Now was the time for the Hunters to prove themselves.

They had to show why Hunters were called heroes.

Kim Song-cheol and the rest of Team 25A immediately left the meeting room and drew their equipment.

After quickly changing, they stood at the back of a long line.

Every person there was waiting for their turn at the Dungeon Slate.

“We can stop it, right?” Oh Song-hui asked.

“Of course,” Kim Song-cheol answered in a clear voice.

“Hunter Cha Se-hyeon was weak back then.”

In reality, when the Ulsan Incident occurred, Cha Se-hyeon had only just graduated from the Training Academy.

At the time, the strongest Hunter in the Republic of Korea was Yu Jong-hwan.

Though he had since passed away, he was the Hunter who brought in the most Points back then.

If compared to the current Cha Se-hyeon, anyone would say she was stronger.

That was how peerless Cha Se-hyeon had become.

“Right?

I suppose if she’s strong, she’ll bring in more…”

Oh Song-hui seemed a bit relieved.

Kim Song-cheol simply nodded as he watched her.

‘It’s better not to say anything unnecessary.’

Actually, during the Ulsan Incident, the Point deficit had been around 700,000.

The government had never officially announced this fact.

They controlled the media regarding Gates to prevent public panic.

Kim Song-cheol only knew through word of mouth, so it seemed Oh Song-hui, who was a student at the time, had never heard it.

‘In any case, the Points Cha Se-hyeon will earn are roughly set.

The key is the Hunters below her…’

While Kim Song-cheol was busy calculating in his head, the line shortened rapidly.

Like paratroopers heading to a battlefield, Hunters were throwing themselves into Dungeons.

Soon, it was Team 25A’s turn.

Team 25A stepped onto the Slate with grim expressions.

Kim Song-cheol let out a short breath and adjusted the Dungeon difficulty.

For the past two weeks, Kim Song-cheol had been serving as the leader of Team 25A.

“Set difficulty to F-rank.”

At his lead, the rest of the team repeated the command.

Then came the countdown.

“Five seconds until transmission.

5, 4, 3, 2, 1.”

The moment Kim Song-cheol accepted the transmission, the scenery shifted instantly.

—

A dark interior.

Damp air.

Though clumps of orange light were visible, visibility wasn’t clear enough to walk safely.

“Wait.”

Kim Song-cheol gave the order and scanned his surroundings.

After a short while, his eyes adjusted enough to see ahead.

The Dungeon was a wide cave.

Orange rocks were scattered sporadically throughout the cave, and a faint light was emanating from them.

“Let’s move.”

Team 25A began to advance through the cave.

Their steps were unwavering.

A cave was actually on the easier side because Monsters only appeared in the passages.

There was no need to worry about Monsters launching surprise attacks from the side, as they would in a forest.

Tatap.

Before long, the sound of Monster footsteps could be heard from ahead.

Footsteps were another factor that made cave terrain easy.

They would always echo before the Monsters appeared—at least in an F-rank Dungeon.

“I’ll take them.”

Without slowing his pace, Kim Song-cheol manifested a Magic Circle in the air.

As the footsteps grew closer, pure white Monsters emerged from the darkness.

They were the size of large dogs.

They resembled monkeys and approached at high speed by climbing the cave walls with their long limbs.

“Magic Missile.”

Along with Kim Song-cheol’s incantation, the Magic Circle repeatedly appeared and vanished.

Each time a Magic Circle appeared, a Magic Missile was fired.

The Magic Circle flickered like a strobe light as it poured out Magic Missiles.

His casting speed looked even faster than before.

Thud, thud, thud!

The Monsters struck by the Magic Missiles fell to the floor.

Not only from the impact of the Magic Missiles but also from the impact of hitting the ground, they couldn’t move immediately.

Taking advantage of that opening, Oh Song-hui’s sword harvested the Monsters.

Stab!

Every time the sword pierced a chest, pure white blood flowed out and soaked the damp floor.

“Let’s go.”

After dealing with the pack of Monsters, Team 25A moved forward without delay.

Normally, they would have engaged in small talk, but today, no one opened their mouth unnecessarily.

After advancing through the cave for twelve hours, Team 25A discovered a massive cavern.

A Portal was placed in the center, and a large, pure white Monster was guarding it.

It was a Portal Guardian that appeared occasionally.

“Combat Formation A.”

At Kim Song-cheol’s command, Oh Song-hui and Ser Gang-jin stepped forward.

The crouching Monster stood up on its long limbs.

It looked like a giant version of the white monkeys they had been fighting.

It was twice as large; if it spread its arms, it would likely span five or six meters.

It was then.

The Monster suddenly picked up a stone from the ground and whipped its arm like a lash to throw it.

The stone was the size of a child’s head.

A direct hit would guarantee a serious injury.

Oh Song-hui and Ser Gang-jin didn’t even need to dodge.

The stone was aimed at the Mage in the rear from the start.

“Close in!” Kim Song-cheol shouted as he threw himself to the side.

It was an order for Oh Song-hui and Ser Gang-jin.

The two hesitated for a moment but soon realized they had to stop the projectiles and quickly closed the distance toward the Monster.

Shatter!

The stone flew between Kim Song-cheol and Mun Gi-jeong, smashing into the wall and breaking into pieces.

It was a bone-chilling display of power.

If the two hadn’t quickly dodged to either side, someone’s head would have burst like a watermelon.

Meanwhile, Oh Song-hui and Ser Gang-jin rushed the Monster and began hacking at its arms and legs.

It allowed the attacks to land helplessly.

It seemed the creature was designed for long-range combat.

Kim Song-cheol’s judgment to charge had been correct.

Slash!

In fact, with Oh Song-hui’s second attack, the Monster lost an entire arm.

Skreeeee!

The Monster let out a piercing scream.

Not missing the opportunity, Magic attacks from Kim Song-cheol and Mun Gi-jeong flew in.

The Monster, struck repeatedly without recourse, soon collapsed.

The Points earned from defeating the Portal Guardian were about 240 each.

Altogether, they had earned 1,000 Points.

After dealing with the Portal Guardian, Team 25A immediately left the Dungeon.

When they returned to Suho Hall, they saw medical staff on standby.

They were unfamiliar faces.

It seemed additional personnel had been added due to this emergency.

Kim Song-cheol transferred all his Points to Kim Myung-joo.

A total of 4,000 Points.

It was an amount that exceeded the average.

“We finished one, at least.”

“Good job, everyone.”

Team 25A encouraged one another as they left the room.

Kim Song-cheol stepped out into the lobby, holding only his helmet.

In the lobby, the target Points were displayed on a large screen.

[983,524]

They were still 980,000 Points short.

But it was too early to be discouraged.

It was only Day 1.

There were still six days left.

Team 25A split up to take an eight-hour break before gathering at Suho Hall again.

It was a rest that barely guaranteed enough time for sleep.

However, no one poured out complaints.

As soon as Kim Song-cheol entered Suho Hall, he checked the screen in the lobby.

[962,643]

The number had only dropped by 20,000 Points in eight hours.

Without any conversation about the Points, Team 25A was immediately deployed into a Dungeon.

This Dungeon took sixteen hours.

It was because they spent a bit more time finding the Portal.

After the next rest, they re-entered a Dungeon.

After escaping, they transferred Points.

Then they checked the remaining Points.

[893,643]

There were about 110 hours remaining.

Once again, they rested, entered a Dungeon, escaped, transferred Points, and checked the screen.

[703,875]

The number had suddenly dropped significantly.

It seemed a high-rank Hunter had cleared a Dungeon.

[622,129]

[604,650]

[509,152]

As they repeated the process of entering and escaping Dungeons, the required Points gradually decreased.

Now, only about 20 hours remained.

There were 500,000 Points left to gather.

It wasn’t a hopeless situation.

The reason so many Points were still remaining was that Cha Se-hyeon had not yet returned from her Dungeon.

Usually, Cha Se-hyeon brought in around 400,000 Points.

If she pushed herself, she could bring in about 450,000.

That meant the rest of the Hunters only needed to fill in 50,000 to 100,000 Points.

‘Still, it’s tight…

Let’s gather as much as possible.’

Kim Song-cheol steeled his resolve and walked across the hallway to enter a Dungeon one last time.

In the rooms lined up along both sides of the hallway, treatment for the injured was in full swing.

Because they were trying to clear Dungeons quickly, Hunters with injuries—ranging from minor scratches to critical wounds—were appearing one after another.

“Argh!”

A Hunter’s scream erupted from inside one of the rooms.

The urgent voices of the medical staff could also be heard.

Oh Song-hui flinched every time she heard a scream.

All Kim Song-cheol could do was gently pat her shoulder.

Team 25A passed through the hallway and stood on the Slate.

Soon, they were enveloped in bright light and transmitted to their final Dungeon.

—

It was a sweltering jungle.

As soon as they entered, the hot air hit them, and they could see sunlight barely filtering through the dense leaves.

“Whew…”

Kim Song-cheol let out a small sigh in spite of himself.

No matter how much rest he had taken, the fatigue accumulated over seven days was indescribable.

Even with the help of the Stamina-boosting Ring, he was helpless against the cumulative exhaustion.

Mun Gi-jeong didn’t show it, but the areas under his eyes were dark.

“Let’s go.

This is the last one,” Kim Song-cheol encouraged his teammates.

Everyone looked exhausted, but their eyes were still full of life.

It was their final Dungeon, and they felt the duty to fill the remaining Point deficit.

Team 25A began to make their way through the jungle.

While moving through and striking down Monsters as quickly as usual, Kim Song-cheol’s attention was caught by something glinting through the bushes.

“Wait a moment.”

Kim Song-cheol had his teammates wait while he cleared the bushes.

There was a small stone there, and a strange crest was carved into it.

Setting aside the meaning of the crest, the fact that such an artificial structure was found inside an F-rank Dungeon was quite unusual.

“There might be…

something here.”

“Let’s just keep going,” Ser Gang-jin urged Kim Song-cheol.

Kim Song-cheol nodded.

This wasn’t a time when analysis and prediction were important; it was a time for confrontation and breakthrough.

While hacking through the jungle and killing every Monster in sight, Kim Song-cheol discovered a structure stretching high above the towering trees.

It was clearly an artificial pillar.

“This way.”

Kim Song-cheol headed toward the structure.

After pushing through the bushes for a long time, a fairly wide clearing appeared.

And in the center of that clearing, there was a tall building.

It was a temple that looked as though it had been abandoned for ages.

At the top of the tall pyramid was a large door, and a red light was pouring out from the wide-open entrance.

“…It was an Irregular Dungeon,” Kim Song-cheol muttered.

Dungeons where alien architecture, unexpected Monsters, or special terrain appeared were called Irregular Dungeons.

One commonality among Irregular Dungeons was that they provided a lot of Points.

He didn’t know what was inside that temple, but Points were practically guaranteed.

“I believe we must enter.

Does anyone agree?”

Kim Song-cheol kept his words brief.

There was no time for debate.

As if they had been waiting, every team member raised their hand.

This was a time when they had to gather Points by any means necessary.