Ch.88S-Rank Dungeons Are Dangerous (1)

I was curious about the identity of that Necromancer of Hades and the guy called Gildeon, but since there was no point in worrying about it right now, I put those thoughts aside.

After fiddling with my smartphone in bed until evening, I went out of my room to find Hayeon sitting in the living room watching TV with Seoha, having barged in earlier on her own.

It was truly an astonishing sight.

“…Since when did you two get so close?”

“She likes dramas. Are your undead usually this self-aware, oppa?”

“It varies by type. She’s a high-ranking undead, after all.”

Honestly, this wasn’t an ideal situation. Fortunately, Seoha seemed completely oblivious, but things would get quite complicated if she discovered that the Death Knight before her was actually Hayeon.

“Stop watching and come back in now.”

“……”

“Damn it. You don’t even listen to me anymore?”

I need to establish dominance with her one of these days.

I clicked my tongue with a dissatisfied expression and ordered chicken through a delivery app.

Just then, Hayeon suddenly stood up and strode toward the screen.

“What now? Why are you acting up again?”

I glanced at the screen and saw the evening news was covering a story about hunters.

At the forefront were a middle-aged man with brown long hair wearing sunglasses and a young man with blonde hair who had a weasel-like appearance.

The blonde one was a familiar face.

He was definitely Michael, an S-rank hunter who also worked as a model in the United States.

‘I think I saw him in some hunter wealth ranking or something.’

I’d heard he was quite popular in America with his slender yet sharp appearance, unique aura, and top-level skills as an S-rank hunter.

Hayeon was staring at Michael with a meaningful gaze.

“Would you snap out of it?”

Finding the situation annoying, I picked up the remote control Seoha was holding and changed the channel.

To a program popular among the elderly, featuring aged masters competing in a game of baduk.

“……”

After staring at the screen for a moment, Hayeon trudged over to me, gave me a light knock on the head, and said in a displeased voice:

*Konk!*

“…I’m going to bed.”

“Ugh, seriously!”

Then she went back into the Book of Death.

Her barging in without permission was exasperating, but somehow her demeanor seemed different from usual, which made me suspicious.

However, I soon set that thought aside as well and sat on the sofa, picking up my smartphone.

After all, Hayeon being strange wasn’t anything new.

About twenty minutes later, the delivery driver finally arrived.

“…Ah, please leave it in front of the door.”

Opening the door slightly and reaching through the gap to retrieve the chicken, I quietly reminded myself of my upcoming goals.

‘Reach level 50, and annihilate Hades.’

Both objectives were within reach and quite interconnected.

By the time I reached level 50, I should be able to cleanly eliminate Hades’ remaining forces, right?

‘It would be better to take care of that Gildeon guy before he gets resurrected.’

This absolutely isn’t because I’m scared. Even with Kan’s necromancy, he’d be at most half as powerful as in his prime, right?

I just meant it’s never bad to be cautious.

“Oppa, why boneless chicken today?”

“It’s annoying to pick out the bones separately.”

“…Oh, okay.”

As Seoha made a somewhat disappointed face, I busily stuffed chicken into my mouth behind her.

And so ended another day full of various concerns.

#

‘Is this really happening?’

In a room filled with various computers and electronic devices.

The man inside frowned at a piece of information he had just received, shaking his head.

He was Joseph, Baek Eunha’s friend and a renowned information broker in Europe.

“There’s going to be a bloodbath.”

A few days ago, Joseph had received a request that was more like an order from Baek Eunha.

It was to quickly relay information about the appearance of an S-rank dungeon.

And just now, information matching that request had reached Joseph’s ears.

The location was Iowa in the United States, the rank was S4, and the size was large. It was truly a nightmarish dungeon that would shake the world.

‘An S-rank large dungeon? This is only the second one ever, no matter how you look at it.’

Until now, a large-sized dungeon within the S-rank classification had appeared only once.

That also happened in the United States.

‘That was a huge crisis.’

In the face of the unprecedented crisis of an S-rank large dungeon, hunters from around the world had gathered, and although they managed to clear it, there were reportedly many casualties.

It was an event that left humanity with anxiety and fear, vivid enough for even Joseph, who wasn’t an awakened person at the time, to remember clearly.

‘Is America really cursed or something?’

A second S-rank large dungeon.

Sure, the country was larger than most others, but this was still enough to be called a disaster.

Joseph held his personal smartphone and stared at Baek Eunha’s name in his contacts for a moment.

‘It was half-forced on me, but…’

Still, it would be much more profitable than clearing the notoriously bad game Vault Action 4 to the end.

Although it was premium information, it would soon spread worldwide anyway.

So Joseph called Baek Eunha without hesitation to relay the information.

“An S-rank dungeon has appeared.”

With a feeling that some rather ominous events would unfold in this dungeon.

#

“An S-rank dungeon?”

“Yes.”

After easily clearing a dungeon with Kim Seungmin’s party today, I shared the information I had checked in the morning with Song Hayeon.

“I haven’t seen any news about that…”

“Ever heard of an embargo? They said the story would start spreading around this evening.”

“If it’s true, it’s a serious situation, especially since you said it’s large, right?”

“Yeah. But is a large dungeon really that dangerous?”

Of course, I had experienced the difference myself in lower-ranked dungeons, but I thought that if powerful S-rank hunters gathered, they could sufficiently narrow the gap.

In response to my words, Hayeon shook her head and answered.

“It’s probably different from what you’re thinking. S-rank large dungeons are special.”

“In what way?”

“For starters, even the regular monsters are strong, right?”

And apparently, at the S-rank level, even those regular monsters often possess high intelligence.

“So they won’t just let themselves be defeated easily, and they’ll do everything they can to drain the raid party’s strength.”

In other words, even the simple, repetitive battles are on a completely different level compared to lower dungeons.

“Plus, since it’s large, there are countless minions, no time to rest, and surprise attacks can come at any moment. They say that even S-rank hunters are completely drained after just a few days in there.”

“Is it really that systematic of a fight? Wouldn’t high intelligence make them more likely to protect themselves?”

“I thought so too at first, but apparently not. Maybe it’s some kind of influence from the dungeon itself?”

If that was the case, it truly was a dangerous place.

An S-rank large dungeon seemed quite formidable, more than I had initially thought.

‘I’m personally interested, but…’

The situation isn’t very favorable. I’m just a B-rank hunter who’s only now being considered for promotion to A-rank.

It would be difficult for me to be included in the raid party among the world’s high-ranking hunters.

‘Well, maybe not necessarily.’

Come to think of it, I did have a subordinate made for situations like this.

That would be Lee Jichul, known by the epithet “Tyrant,” who clearly qualified as an S-rank hunter.

The United States would naturally seek help from other countries, and they would welcome a force like Jichul with open arms.

‘And I could join as his assistant.’

It hurt my pride a bit, but he was my subordinate anyway, so what did it matter? It wouldn’t be bad to just go along with the role-play.

So I called Jichul to discuss the idea.

[The S-rank dungeon in America? Yes, I just received a call about it.]

“So are you going?”

[No, I was planning to decline. I want to keep an eye on my sister’s condition right now.]

“No way. Tell them you’re participating before all the spots are filled. And make sure to mention you’re bringing one assistant.”

[……]

After giving these instructions, I hung up on Jichul, who reluctantly agreed.

Then I remembered something I had momentarily forgotten.

‘Ah, Seoha.’

Since we had promised to act together when something happened, it would be wrong to just ignore her here.

So I had no choice but to call Jichul again.

[What is it this time?]

“Tell them you’re bringing two assistants, not one. If they refuse, threaten that you won’t go either.”

[……]

Having always been greatly interested in S-rank dungeons, I couldn’t miss this opportunity.

I started packing my bags in advance, briefly planning my next steps in my head.

All while not even noticing Hayeon staring blankly at me from behind.