Lee Seon-jae and Yu Mi-ran were out early in the morning, preparing to open their business.
“I still can’t believe Seong-jun is such an amazing healer.”
“I know, right? Every time I turn on the TV, they’re talking about him. Plus, they say he’s even treating people for free at the hospital. Did you know? People are calling him a Saint.”
Lee Seon-jae and Yu Mi-ran were as happy about Seong-jun’s success as if it were their own.
They felt a deep sense of pride that he was doing such good deeds.
“Haha, I heard that too. To think our Seong-jun is being called a Saint. He’s really all grown up now.”
Since they had watched him grow up from a young age, Seon-jae and Mi-ran still felt anxious about him, as if he were a child playing near a dangerous shore.
But now, hadn’t he become a great Hunter known to everyone in the country?
They were truly overwhelmed with emotion.
But then.
*Wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing!*
A siren suddenly began to wail outside.
“Hm? Why a siren all of a sudden?”
“I—I know, right? Could it be another Dungeon Break like last time?”
At the sudden sound of the siren, Yu Mi-ran was reminded of the incident in Taean.
“Oh, come on. Maybe it’s just some kind of drill?”
Just as Seon-jae tried to dismiss it as nothing serious—
*Beep! Beep!*
Emergency alerts arrived on Lee Seon-jae and Yu Mi-ran’s phones.
“Wait, th—this…!”
“Gasp! It—it really is a Dungeon Break!”
The message stated that a Dungeon Break had occurred nearby.
It said there were only 30 minutes left until the monsters would emerge and urged everyone to evacuate to a shelter immediately.
“What do we do now?”
When Yu Mi-ran asked in a panic, Lee Seon-jae rushed outside the shop.
“Wait here a second.”
*Jingle!*
As he opened the door and stepped out—
“C—crazy! A Dungeon Break?!”
“Move! I said move!”
*Honk! Honk! Honk!*
*Screeeech!*
*Thud!*
It was absolute chaos.
Cars were abandoned on the road, unable to move, and people were fleeing desperately between them.
Some cars trying to escape by driving the wrong way saw the road was blocked and climbed onto the sidewalk, only to crash into buildings.
The police, arriving late, tried to control the situation, but it was already beyond saving.
After checking the situation, Lee Seon-jae came back inside.
“It’s a disaster out there. It looks like it’ll be impossible to get out by car, and there’s no point in going to a shelter. At this rate, they’ll be full already. We can’t stay here either, so let’s just head out. We need to get as far away from here as possible.”
Since the roads were blocked, moving by car was practically impossible.
This meant they had to go on foot, which required moving as fast as they could.
If the Dungeon Break occurred while they were hesitating, it might be even more dangerous to be outside.
“O—okay. Let’s go quickly.”
Yu Mi-ran had also learned something from the Taean incident.
When such a situation occurs, one must set everything aside and move immediately.
With that, Lee Seon-jae and Yu Mi-ran left the chicken shop and fled, disappearing into the crowd of escaping people.
***
The Forest of the Red-Maned Centaurs.
Seong-jun’s party and Karl’s team continued their hunt steadily while meticulously searching the surroundings.
Eventually, they found something.
“Here! Over here! There’s something here!”
One of the dealers from the Holy Emperor’s first team had discovered something.
“Oh! What! Did you find something?”
“What is it!”
The Hunters from the first team were the first to rush over.
Seong-jun’s group and Karl followed shortly after.
“What is it?”
As Seong-jun approached, the Hunter who first discovered it stepped aside hurriedly and said, “There’s a stone door on the ground! There’s even a keyhole here!”
Indeed, there was a large stone door on the ground, and on one side of it was a small indentation that looked like a keyhole.
It had been covered with branches and debris, so one might have missed it without looking closely, but he had managed to find it.
“Hmm, it looks like a door leading somewhere. This might actually be a ruin.”
When Seong-jun mentioned it could be a real ruin, everyone’s expression brightened with excitement.
“Right! I knew it!”
“Wow! A real ruin? This is crazy!”
“I had a good feeling about this trip to Korea, and this is why!”
A key dropped from a monster and a large stone door hidden in the ground—it had the unmistakable feel of a ruin.
Seong-jun took out the key and brought it to the keyhole.
“I’ll try inserting it.”
At those words, the chatter died down, and the Hunters shifted their gaze to the key in Seong-jun’s hand.
*Click!*
When he inserted the key into the hole and turned it—
*Rumble!*
The large stone door shifted aside, revealing a staircase leading downward.
“A staircase. Since we’ve come this far, we should go down, right?”
Whether it was a ruin or not, a new, unusual space had appeared.
Could they call themselves Hunters if they backed away now?
“Of course we’re going down.”
Karl had no intention of backing down either.
“Then let’s head down.”
Slowly, everyone descended the stairs.
Once everyone, including Chang-su at the rear, had stepped below—
*Rumble!*
The stone door suddenly slammed shut.
Pitch-black darkness fell upon them.
“Urgh! What! The door closed?”
“Are we trapped?”
“Damn it! I can’t see a thing!”
In that instant—
*Whoosh!*
Torches installed along the stone walls caught fire, illuminating the interior once more.
At the same time, a notification rang in everyone’s ears.
**[Total of twelve people have entered the Red-Maned Centaur Underground Jail.]**
**[The entrance is sealed. You can obtain the key to open the entrance by defeating the Warden of the Underground Jail, Mad Zephyrios.]**
**[The Red-Maned Centaurs guarding the underground jail have recognized the intruders.]**
It seemed this place was an underground jail for prisoners, and to leave, they had to defeat the warden.
The problem was that other centaurs were guarding the place, and they were now aware of the intruders.
“It doesn’t seem like an ordinary ruin. I don’t know how many enemies there are, but we should prepare.”
Karl nodded at Seong-jun’s words.
“Since they’ve recognized us, they’ll be swarming here. Fortunately, this is a corridor rather than an open field, so if we defend the front properly, we won’t get surrounded.”
The only saving grace was that the corridor was only wide enough for about three people to stand side-by-side, so they wouldn’t be flanked.
However, they had no idea how many monsters would swarm them, so they had to prepare accordingly.
“For now, Karl and your Tanker should move to our party. And let’s have your two strongest dealers move to our side as well.”
Seong-jun asked Karl, the first team’s Tanker, and the two strongest dealers to join his party.
“You’re going to give us the Enchant buffs? Then our combat power will definitely skyrocket. Jameson! Laura! Polson! Coulson! Dissolve your party immediately and join Kim Seong-jun’s party!”
At Karl’s command, Jameson the Tanker, Laura the Warrior, and Coulson the Wizard quickly left their party.
They immediately joined Seong-jun’s party.
‘Holy Weapon Enchant! Party Mode! Holy Armor Enchant! Party Mode!’
Since the other buffs, including All-in-One, still had about 40 minutes remaining, he only cast the Enchant buffs in Party Mode.
*Flash! Flash!*
“Whoa! Wh—what is this? Holy Weapon Enchant? Holy Armor Enchant? Ha! Such insane buffs actually exist?”
“Hah! I thought All-in-One was incredible enough, but this is beyond words.”
Those who received Seong-jun’s Enchant buffs were all astonished.
Seong-jun spoke to them.
“First, Gwang-taek and Jameson, block the enemies at the front. Karl and Laura, support them from behind. If the four of you hold the front like an iron fortress, the long-range dealers in the back won’t be in danger even if the aggro shifts. So, long-range dealers, start spamming your skills the moment you see an enemy. You don’t need to conserve Mana or Aura.”
Dealers usually restricted their skill usage to manage their Mana or Aura, and also to avoid pulling too much aggro.
However, in a structure like this where the monsters could hardly reach the back if the front was blocked, there was no need to worry about aggro.
Besides, Seong-jun had Energy Recharge.
Since he could just replenish any lacking Mana or Aura, he told them to spam skills as soon as they saw the enemy.
“You’re saying we don’t need to manage our Aura even though we don’t know how many enemies will appear?”
When Karl asked in confusion, Seong-jun nodded.
“Yes. There won’t be a situation where you can’t use a skill because of a lack of Mana or Aura.”
Like Energy Amplification, Energy Recharge had reached Level 3, increasing the number of people who could be charged simultaneously from five to seven.
Excluding Seong-jun, there were five long-range dealers here; adding Karl and Polson, who would support the Tankers from the front, made exactly seven.
He excluded the Tankers because they wouldn’t need to use many aggro-related skills, so their Mana consumption would be relatively low.
“You must have a hidden trick. If we don’t have to manage Mana or Aura, it’ll certainly be easier for us.”
Strictly speaking, for dealers, there was no hunt more comfortable than being able to pour out attacks without worrying about aggro management or Mana.
At that moment.
“Kee-haaaaaah!”
“Kieeeee!”
The roars of centaurs could be heard from a distance.
“It looks like they’re coming. Everyone, get ready.”
In an instant, the Red-Maned Centaurs reached their position.
There appeared to be about thirty of them.
*Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!*
As the battle began in earnest, Gwang-taek and Jameson raised their shields to block the attacks.
“Ugh! S—Seong-jun! Dark Attribute Infusion! Hurry!”
Since they weren’t originally of the dark attribute, Holy Armor Enchant wasn’t working, which seemed to make Gwang-taek struggle a bit.
Since damage wasn’t being absorbed, the centaurs’ attacks were being delivered fully to Gwang-taek.
Seong-jun immediately cast Dark Attribute Infusion.
‘Dark Attribute Infusion! Wide Area Mode!’
When he cast Dark Attribute Infusion in Wide Area Mode—
*Whoooooosh!*
The thirty or so swarming centaurs were instantly converted to the dark attribute.
“Phew! Now I can breathe.”
Once the centaurs became the dark attribute and Holy Armor Enchant began to function properly, Gwang-taek felt much more at ease.
On the other hand, Jameson felt the true power of the Enchant buffs as the centaurs’ attacks ceased to be threatening at all.
“Whoa! At this rate, I could easily tank three of them on my own!”
Jameson was someone who could tank two monsters alone even without Enchant buffs.
With the buffs added, the centaurs’ attacks didn’t feel threatening at all.
“Long-range dealers! Attack!”
At Seong-jun’s shout, Yuseon and the other long-range dealers began their assault simultaneously.
*Swish! Roar!*
A barrage of skills began, and the powerful attacks struck the centaurs.
*Boom! Bang! Rumble! Thud!*
While the long-range dealers were spamming skills, Karl and Polson, positioned behind the Tankers, also unleashed powerful offensive skills to attack the enemies.
About 20 minutes after the battle began.
The thirty Red-Maned Centaurs were completely wiped out.
Seong-jun’s God’s Wrath and Sword of Light played a big part, and the fact that the dealers with Holy Weapon Enchant cast powerful area-of-effect skills helped shave down the enemies’ health rapidly.
But the biggest factor was something else.
“Hah! To think we caught thirty of them so quickly. By the way, what was that? My Aura, which had dropped below half, recovered in an instant.”
“Me too! My Mana was almost at rock bottom, but then it suddenly refilled.”
It was the fact that they could cast skills incessantly.
Because Seong-jun had restored their Mana and Aura with Energy Recharge, the dealers could continuously use their skills, allowing them to wrap up the situation this quickly.
“It’s called Energy Recharge, a skill that uses my Divine Power to fill the target’s energy. Anyway, let’s hurry. The buffs will end in about 20 minutes. We need to finish the raid and get out before then.”
Even though they had defeated all the centaurs, it wasn’t a situation where they could afford to relax.
The buffs were nearing their end, so the teams outside would likely be gathering to receive them again.
If they couldn’t receive the buffs in time, the B-rank members of Changcheon and Genesis could find themselves in a very difficult position.
Therefore, they had to clear this place and get out as quickly as possible.
“I didn’t think of that. If the buffs end now, the raid teams outside will be in trouble. Everyone, hurry up!”
Judging by the fact that no more centaurs were swarming them, it seemed the regular monsters were limited to those thirty.
All that remained was the warden.
They had to eliminate the warden, get whatever they could, and escape as fast as possible.
Eventually, Gwang-taek and Jameson took the lead and moved forward quickly, while the rest followed.
After a short while—
“Kee-haaaaaaaah!”
A centaur much larger than the regular Red-Maned Centaurs appeared.
Behind it was a gate made of iron bars, which likely led to the underground jail.
“That’s the warden. It’s definitely not a normal monster. It looks like an Elite rank, so everyone stay focused. For now, Jameson will be the main Tanker, and Gwang-taek will be the sub Tanker. And Gwang-taek, if it looks like you can’t hold the aggro, use Chain of Light immediately. It might be tough, but you should be able to hold on somehow.”
To clear it as fast as possible, spamming skills was essential just like before.
However, that would make it difficult for the Tankers to secure aggro.
Since the entrance was narrow, even if the monster slipped past Jameson, the main Tanker, the sub Tankers like Gwang-taek, Karl, and Polson would try to block it.
But if they couldn’t fully stop it, they would have to pull it back with Chain of Light.
If the warden broke into the rear, it would surely turn into a disaster.
Of course, that would put a heavy burden on Gwang-taek, but Seong-jun judged that he could hold out somehow with Holy Armor Enchant.
“Ugh, got it.”
“Then let’s start immediately; we have no time.”
As soon as Seong-jun finished speaking, the battle with the warden began.
The Changcheon team led by Choi Gang-hyeok was sweeping through the monsters with unstoppable force.
With a team consisting of five parties and a total of forty people, they were dealing with small groups of monsters, essentially scouring the dungeon.
Of course, the other teams were doing the same.
“Guild Master, the buffs are about to run out. Shouldn’t we move toward Healer Kim Seong-jun?”
At the guild member’s words, Choi Gang-hyeok nodded.
“I suppose so. Locate Kim Seong-jun right now and contact the other teams.”
Just as Choi Gang-hyeok was about to locate Seong-jun and contact the other teams—
“Wait, please wait a moment!”
Someone rushed toward them, panting.
“Hm? Who is that?”
Since the person didn’t look like a high-rank Hunter at a glance, Choi Gang-hyeok looked puzzled.
“Huff, huff. Are—are you Guild Master Choi Gang-hyeok of Changcheon?”
Choi Gang-hyeok nodded in response.
“Yes, I am Choi Gang-hyeok of Changcheon. Who are you?”
“Haha, looks like I found the right person. I’m a Hunter from the Awakened Association’s dungeon investigation team! I came with urgent news!”
An F-rank?
How urgent was the news that an F-rank would dare enter an A-rank dungeon?
“Urgent news? What is it?”
After catching his breath for a moment, the investigation team Hunter spoke in a frantic voice.
“It’s a Dungeon Break! A B-rank Dungeon Break has occurred in Ahyeon-dong, Mapo-gu. The first defense line collapsed before it could even be properly established, and monsters have scattered in all directions. The guilds that arrived afterward are quickly setting up a second defense line, but at this rate, they’ll be attacked by monsters before it’s fully established!”
What kind of absurd news was this?
Not long after a B-rank Dungeon Break had occurred, another B-rank Dungeon Break was happening out of nowhere?
And in the middle of Seoul?
“What? A Dungeon Break? And it’s a B-rank?”
“We have to hurry! Civilians haven’t been properly evacuated yet, so casualties will increase as time goes by!”
At the investigator’s words, Choi Gang-hyeok immediately barked out orders.
“Inform Genesis, Holy Emperor, and Kim Seong-jun of this immediately and tell them to get to the dungeon entrance! Right now!”
A Dungeon Break, specifically a B-rank one, had occurred in the heart of Seoul.
This was no time to be leisurely clearing a dungeon.
Therefore, Choi Gang-hyeok ordered everyone to contact Genesis and Seong-jun, as well as Holy Emperor, so they could gather at the dungeon entrance immediately.
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