Ch.110The Saint Is Dangerous (5)

“Inspection complete! Grade is S4, small size. Detailed figures are included in the report.”

“Huff, understood. Good work.”

S4 rank small dungeon. I had roughly anticipated this, but hearing it directly made me feel gloomy.

Thankfully, it was small in size and the lowest rank among S-rank dungeons, but the title of “S-rank dungeon” itself carried too heavy a burden to consider this merely a blessing in disguise.

Shin Yuncheol, the head of the Dungeon Management Department, stared at the portal rippling like the entrance to hell with a troubled expression.

“Minister. There’s a risk of exposure to the magical energy flowing from the gate. Please step back.”

“I know. It’s just that my heart feels heavy.”

The thought of having to send Korea’s capable hunters into this place again naturally made him uncomfortable.

But it had to be done regardless. That was what hunters were for, and it was the most perfect way to protect the citizens.

“…Are you worried?”

“It would be a lie to say I’m not.”

There had been several joint operations with other countries before, but this was only the second time an S-rank portal had opened within South Korean territory.

And the first S-rank dungeon had caused massive damage at an unthinkable level, despite receiving support from neighboring countries.

Of course, the overall quality of hunters had improved since then, but there was no guarantee that the same tragedy wouldn’t repeat itself.

A subordinate spoke to the troubled Shin Yuncheol.

“But it’s also true that the situation isn’t that bad. The new S-rank hunter Baek Eunha has appeared, and even Chaehwain has been revived as her undead.”

“Those two will certainly be a great help. However…”

Shin Yuncheol still couldn’t be confident about Baek Eunha. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust her, but rather that there was too little information about her.

‘We won’t know how much skill she can actually demonstrate until we see it firsthand.’

Shin Yuncheol held a position that required such caution. He couldn’t simply rejoice at the increase in fighting power.

However, his concerns became pointless in an instant.

Right after that, he received news from Seo Dahye, the vice president of the Korean Hunters Association, that Baek Eunha was heading toward the dungeon.

Moreover, she planned to enter the dungeon with just the two of them—herself and Celestia Yesiel, the French S-rank hunter who was with her.

“Did you approve that? Do you really think it’s possible?”

[If it were impossible, she wouldn’t have volunteered in the first place. That’s the kind of person she is.]

Since Seo Dahye had interacted with Baek Eunha several times before, she likely knew more about her than Shin Yuncheol did.

For Shin Yuncheol, who had no decision-making authority anyway, there was nothing to do but trust them, even if it meant being deceived.

“I’m not sure if this will be okay.”

“Isn’t Xavier, one of the Seven Stars, also inside the dungeon? I think there’s definitely a possibility.”

That certainly wasn’t wrong. Although Shin Yuncheol hadn’t seen them personally, he had heard that the hunters called the Seven Stars each possessed incomprehensible strength.

‘…There’s no choice.’

Shin Yuncheol resigned himself, sighed, and soon withdrew from his position.

The situation had already left his hands.

In the current situation, all Shin Yuncheol could do was earnestly pray that Baek Eunha’s reputation wasn’t in vain.

#

Whoosh.

Slide.

“This is practically a palace.”

The path to the dungeon wasn’t difficult. Everything seemed to have been arranged in advance, so there was no need for any special procedures, and now that I had become an S-rank, there was no one to stand in my way.

What I discovered inside the gate was a corridor built in an antique style I had never seen before.

“I heard it was small, but it’s bigger than I expected.”

“Yeah. But if the inspection data is accurate, there shouldn’t be too many monsters.”

As we walked slowly, examining our surroundings, Yesiel suddenly began chanting a spell while emitting holy power.

“I’ll cast a blessing on you before we enter.”

“What? Cast what?”

And soon, I felt my body grow dizzy and could only jump up and flail around in place.

“Hyaah!”

Crackle.

Crackle.

Zzzzt!

“Ow! It stings! What, what are you doing? Turn it off quickly!”

“Huh.”

Surprised by my reaction, Yesiel withdrew the blessing, but the pain lingered for a while, tormenting me.

After somehow managing to dispel the remnants of the holy power by releasing my mana, I glared at Yesiel with an irritated look.

“Are, are you crazy? Why are you suddenly team-killing?”

“I-I’m sorry. It was just out of habit…”

Well, casting blessings before battle begins is practically common sense for the cleric class.

But it was of no help to me as a necromancer. It was more of a hindrance.

“…I’m reminded again that our party compatibility is the worst.”

“I-I’ll be careful.”

“Just stand in front and be a meat shield. I’ll handle the attacks.”

If she only used holy power for her own recovery, it wouldn’t be a big problem, but now that we were in the dungeon, it was more annoying than I had thought.

We began to slowly advance through the corridor, keeping some distance between us.

“There are too many paths. Can’t you detect distant holy power or something like that?”

“It’s a bit difficult. Unless Master uses a large technique openly, his energy doesn’t leak out much. Plus, the mana flowing in the dungeon interferes.”

“You’re pretty useless.”

I heard that quite a few citizens were caught up when the dungeon seed awakened, so Xavier was likely gathering and protecting them.

In the end, our only options were to find Xavier and join him, or to head to the boss room and clear the dungeon with just the two of us.

“Let’s just clear it. If we’re lucky, we’ll meet him on the way, and clearing it will solve everything anyway.”

“Yes. That seems better. With Eunha’s abilities, it’s certainly possible.”

“……”

Although I spoke confidently, the situation wasn’t actually that relaxed when you thought about it.

‘I don’t want to use necromancy again.’

I didn’t want to return to a week of lethargy right after recovering my strength, and I didn’t know when Hades might bare his fangs.

If possible, I needed to clear this dungeon using only the power I currently possessed.

“I sense some kind of presence.”

“Yeah.”

But soon, as the identity of the dungeon was revealed through the monsters that appeared, I had to admit that such thinking was extremely arrogant.

Click.

Click.

Boom.

“Full armor? And holy power? Could that be…?”

“Ah, shit. I thought something felt off from the beginning.”

What appeared before our eyes were living statues that seemed modeled after holy knights.

And the theme of this dungeon was…

“Don’t tell me this is actually a temple?”

“…This is bad.”

A place that enshrines gods—none other than the stronghold of those who could be considered the natural enemies of necromancers: a temple.

#

Boom!

Crash!

Zzzzzap─!

“Hmm. Pathetic.”

The middle-aged man who instantly shattered the three statues in front of him spoke to reassure the terrified citizens behind him.

“Don’t worry. Even if a truckload of these came, it wouldn’t be a problem.”

“…You really are strong.”

In truth, the citizens had thought Xavier was either a senile madman or someone driven insane by the terror before them.

And of course, why wouldn’t they think that?

To discover that a foreigner sharing a meal with them at a soup restaurant was an S-rank hunter, said to transcend humanity—it would be like being struck by lightning while walking down the street.

But Xavier truly was strong.

Not just strong, but strong enough to make one’s skin crawl.

‘I’ve only seen S-rank hunters in videos before…’

Yet even with their limited knowledge, the citizens could immediately realize that this man called Xavier possessed power surpassing even other S-rank hunters.

“I thought we were going to die for sure… Thank you so much. You are our hope.”

“Even so, don’t let your guard down too much. This place is likely a high-grade dungeon, and we don’t know what dangers might be lurking.”

Though he couldn’t bring himself to tell the truth and spoke indirectly, Xavier had been certain from the moment they were caught up in this.

That this dungeon’s rank was definitely S.

‘It might not be easy alone.’

Especially since he had to protect the citizens, tackling the boss room was practically impossible.

For that part, he would have to wait for someone’s support.

‘…My disciple needs to hurry.’

With this concentration of magical energy, citizens would start showing problems within half a day.

Praying that reinforcements would arrive in time, Xavier moved forward with a hardened expression.