Chapter 2: Can you take responsibility?

When I was a child, I wanted to become a Hunter.

Not just me—almost every kid my age wanted to be a Hunter.

You could make a lot of money.

Use the kinds of powers you saw in comics.

And, since they were basically semi-celebrities, always on every media outlet, their lives looked so cool and glamorous.

But, becoming a Hunter wasn’t something you could do just because you wanted to.

Only those chosen by the Labyrinth could take the test, gain abilities, and explore the Labyrinth.

That’s why, no matter how much you wanted it, there were plenty of people who never became Hunters their whole lives.

I was one of them.

I spent five years trying to become a Hunter, even went into debt for it. But in the end, all I found was giving up.

And now, suddenly, an Awakening?

“…Seriously?”

It’s simple to check.

Only those chosen by the Labyrinth can see the Status Window. If you can see it, it means you’re qualified.

If I open the Status Window, I’ll know for sure.

“…Status Window.”

A translucent screen appeared, displaying my information.

[Name]: Cheon Yongje

[Skills]: Dragon Lair (EX)

My jaw dropped on its own.

“This is insane……”

When Hunters Awaken, they usually get at least one skill.

Each skill has a rank.

They ranged from F Rank all the way up to SSS Rank.

Even the same skill could vary in power and versatility depending on its rank.

Of course, the higher the rank, the rarer it was.

Especially, skills above S Rank were so rare that only one person in the world could have each.

Among them,

The “Unity of Divine Sword” held by the God of War was known as the most powerful SSS Rank skill.

But this was even higher than that.

“EX Rank?”

I’d never even heard of that rank before.

My heart was pounding so loud I could hear it in my ears, and I couldn’t calm down from the shock.

It was the kind of situation people call a once-in-a-lifetime chance.

“…It’s too soon to celebrate.”

Just because the rank is high doesn’t mean it’s always good.

The SS Rank skill “Revival” sacrifices your own life to save someone else.

The SSS Rank skill “Crow’s Eye” maximizes your detection ability, but at the cost of your eyesight.

Skills above S Rank always had some kind of price.

Usually, they came with huge physical or mental restrictions, required multiple skills, or needed special equipment.

“Skill details.”

I steadied my nerves and checked the skill in the Status Window.

[Dragon Lair (EX)]

• You can move to the Dragon Lair.
• You can freely store and summon various things in the Lair.

For an EX Rank skill, the description was pretty lackluster.

From the explanation, it didn’t seem much different from a Pocket of Subspace item.

Of course, getting a Pocket of Subspace isn’t easy, but still—not something you’d compare to an EX Rank skill.

[Main Quest has arrived.]

[Main Quest 1]

• Use the Dragon Lair skill to move to the Lair.
• Reward: Guardian Unlock

A familiar screen.

“Raising a Dragon Lair?”

It was exactly the same UI I’d seen there.

I remembered getting this kind of quest the first time I logged into the game.

Should I just do what the quest says for now?

“Move to Dragon Lair.”

[Moving to Dragon Lair.]

Shuaaaaaak!

A white light flashed, and then a moderately bright cave appeared.

A big, empty chamber with nothing in it.

The only thing visible was a passageway where the light came in, leading outside.

[You have entered the Dragon Lair.]

[Main Quest 1 completed.]

[Guardian is unlocked. From now on, you can appoint a Guardian.]

With the message, my senses returned.

I could smell the musty air and feel a cool breeze.

Is this the Dragon Lair?

Right after, the second quest appeared.

[Main Quest has arrived.]

[Main Quest 2]

• Appoint a Guardian.
• The Guardian will protect the Lair from intruders and explore the area to collect various things.
• Reward: Growth Unlock

“A Guardian, huh……”

The first thing you do when starting the game is summon a Guardian.

Guardians do all sorts of things.

They scout to reveal the surrounding map, gather resources, and fight off those who invade the Lair.

At first, you can only summon one, but as time passes and the Lair grows, you can manage hundreds or even thousands of Guardians.

‘But… appoint, not summon?’

That’s different from the game.

In the game, you could summon Guardians in a gacha style. But not now. The quest spelled it out clearly.

Appoint a Guardian.

“But there’s nothing in here……”

I turned my head to look at the passage leading outside.

Is there something alive out there?

Maybe I can make that creature my Guardian?

Rather than overthinking it, it’d be faster to go see for myself. But first, there’s something I need to check.

“How do I Return?”

As I thought about going back to reality, a message window popped up.

[Return is only possible from within the Dragon Lair.]

[Would you like to Return to reality?]

Knowing I could get back safely, it was finally time to move.

Let’s look around a bit, as long as it’s not dangerous.

‘You have to grab opportunities when they come.’

I walked toward the light.

Thunk!

I bounced off an invisible wall, blocked by something I couldn’t see. I reached out and knocked on it lightly.

Thunk!

Thunk!

Something was keeping me from going out.

[Ding!]

[Tip: To expand your territory, you must clear the prerequisite quest.]

Just in case, I checked further inside the cave, but there wasn’t a single living thing.

Looks like I can’t solve anything from inside here.

“Guess I’ll go back for now.”

I Returned to reality and sat on the edge of my bed.

Grrrgle.

“…Let’s eat first.”

My stomach growling, I took out my phone and opened a delivery app. I ordered a simple hamburger set.

As I waited for the food, I thought things over.

Now that I’d Awakened and earned the right to be a Hunter, I wondered if it was right to start Hunter work with this ability.

‘If this had happened two years ago, I wouldn’t even be hesitating.’

Starting as a Hunter now—

Especially starting in Korea—

It’s not great.

Hunters grow stronger by raiding Dungeons to raise their level and stats, learn various skills, and farm equipment.

But Korea has an abysmally low number of Dungeons.

That means you have to buy Dungeons from overseas and clear them, but the cost for that is no joke.

If your skills or talent were guaranteed,

Investing that money and getting strong would be worth it for the high returns.

“…It’s just too iffy.”

Even if my EX Rank skill has potential, right now all I can do is use the Pocket of Subspace ability.

I couldn’t risk my limited funds on that alone.

I hadn’t even paid off all my previous loans.

“…And I’m not as fired up as I used to be.”

I used to have clear goals as a Hunter, but over time those goals faded.

Now, I just don’t have the same passion as before.

Just because you Awaken these days doesn’t mean you’ll hit it big, and if you rush in like a moth to a flame, you could end up losing your current life, too.

It’d be better to just keep living as I am.

I might not get rich, but at least I won’t have trouble getting by.

“Isn’t that still a problem?”

After losing the 23rd floor of the Labyrinth, there are fewer Dungeons, so it’ll be hard to find work as a Dungeon Worker.

I’ll have to look for some other job.

For now, earning money elsewhere while slowly figuring out my new ability isn’t a bad plan.

Ding-dong!

“Yes.”

I went to the door, picked up the hamburger set, and sat down at my desk.

While I ate, I browsed part-time job sites.

Vrrrrr!

My phone rang.

[Team Leader Jigwonyeok]

He’s a manager at the Guild, someone I met back when I was a Hunter hopeful. He sometimes throws me odd jobs—a real lifesaver, I guess.

“Hello.”

“You busy?”

“I’m just hanging out.”

“Knew it. I’ll send you an address. Escort Hunter Park Chanseong as a Supporter and take him to that address.”

Ah.

That guy…

“Three hundred thousand won.”

“Where is he right now?”

Kim & Choi Guild is a mid-sized Guild.

Rather than making money by raiding Dungeons, their focus is on training Hunters.

It’s like a selling club in soccer.

They scout promising rookies,

Train them up and build their reputation,

Then sell them to big Guilds for a hefty price—that’s their main business.

If it works out, you can make billions, but it’s not an easy job.

You have to find Dungeons for Hunters to enter,

Handle all the byproducts and settlements, and clean up any messes they cause.

Honestly, it’s less a manager and more a slave.

“Damn it. I was having fun.”

“They say a Dungeon Break just happened.”

“Someone else will handle it anyway, so why do I have to go?”

I glanced at Park Chanseong sitting next to me.

He’s another guy I met as a Hunter hopeful, but unlike Team Leader Jigwonyeok, my relationship with him is more like a bad connection.

Currently, he’s D Rank.

But he’s a promising talent expected to reach B Rank.

Unfortunately, his personality is trash, and he causes so much trouble that other managers avoid him.

Didn’t he get Penalty Points last time for getting into a fight with a civilian?

He’s such a headache that no one wants to handle him.

That’s why they call in someone like me for one-off jobs.

“You need to clear your Penalty Points, right? If you don’t clear them by next week, your Hunter License will be suspended.”

“…Damn it.”

“Here. Take this and sober up. Jigwonyeok told me to give it to you.”

I handed him a Hunter-exclusive Alcohol Detoxifier.

Without a word, Park Chanseong took it and chucked it out the taxi window.

Then he glared at me with sharp eyes.

“Hey. Am I your errand boy or something? Why do you keep bossing me around?”

We arrived at the scene.

Bang.

Park Chanseong flung the door open and got out.

Soldiers came over to block him.

“Who are you?”

“…Ah, shit. Don’t piss me off…”

I stepped in.

“We’re from the Kim & Choi Guild. This is D Rank Hunter Park Chanseong. We’re here to assist with the Dungeon Break.”

I handed over the documents Team Leader Jigwonyeok had given me in advance. The soldier checked them and let us through.

Park Chanseong clicked his tongue and entered the site. I called out to him.

“Make sure to catch at least one. I need to take a Certification Photo.”

He flipped me off and disappeared into the scene.

‘Seriously… what a pain in the ass.’

I waited outside the Red Line guarded by soldiers, writing up the Report.

Once Park Chanseong caught something, I could snap a Certification Photo and send it right away.

As I waited,

A blue firework shot up, signaling the end of the Break.

Soon after, Park Chanseong came out dragging something.

An Orc.

He threw an Orc my way—a massive creature, as big as two grown men put together.

Thud!

The Orc hit the ground.

“Here you go.”

Park Chanseong grinned at me.

I had a bad feeling. I glanced at the Orc.

Twitch.

The Orc moved.

It’s alive.

My head understood, but my body didn’t react right away. Fear? Terror? It wasn’t that.

“Grrrrr…”

The moment I met the Orc’s wild eyes,

I suddenly knew how to solve a math problem I’d been stuck on.

At the same time, the activation phrase flowed into my mind.

Staring into the Orc’s rage-filled eyes, I quietly whispered,

“Kneel.”

Woom!

A floating sensation and a slight tremor spread through my body as a message window appeared.

[Would you like to appoint the Orc of the Desert Crocodile Tribe as your Guardian?]

Yes.

[Appointing the Orc of the Desert Crocodile Tribe as Guardian.]

[Orc of the Desert Crocodile Tribe (E)]

• A member of the Orc tribe that worships the Desert Crocodile.
• Overall Stats: E
• Potential: D
• Grade too low to view.
• Grade too low to view.

[Dragon Lord’s Blessing has activated.]

[The Orc of the Desert Crocodile Tribe receives a stat boost.]

[Rank has increased.]

[Orc of the Desert Crocodile Tribe (D)]

The Orc lying on the ground bowed his head low.

I could feel it instinctively.

He was waiting for my command.

“Huh. He was still alive? Hehehe.”

Park Chanseong came over, laughing.

When I just stood there, he must’ve thought I was scared. He laughed even harder, grinning wide.

“Look at this guy, totally freaked out. Don’t worry, I broke all its arms and legs—it can’t move.”

I turned to look at Park Chanseong.

“Can you take responsibility for this?”

“Hey. You wanna die? I’ll rip your eyes out, I swear. Who are you threatening? Gonna get all serious over a little joke? That’s why you never Awakened as a Hunter, you coward.”

Yeah, that’s the kind of guy he is.

Which is why I can test this without worrying too much. Might as well see what my ability can do and wipe that grin off his face.

‘Don’t kill him, just subdue him.’

“Uoooooo!”

With a wild roar, the Orc sprang up, his eyes blazing red.

Then he charged straight at Park Chanseong.

“Kuwaaaaaa!”