Chapter 29: Encounter (2)

「A-Rank Dungeon. Crystal Spider Nest」

Eun & Ok Co., Ltd.’s exclusive dungeon, the Crystal Spider Nest.

Inside this dungeon, where entry is permitted only to properly formed hunter parties, four hunters moved forward, exploring the dark cave with the aid of their flashlights.

“Let’s take a short break here.”

The one who declared the break was the party leader and A-Rank hunter, Kang Hye-eun.

By age alone, she was the youngest member of the party, but she held the leader position thanks to her talent and her role as a Shieldbearer.

As soon as the word ‘break’ came from her mouth, the other three immediately nodded, and the remaining three sat directly on the cave floor without even mats or handkerchiefs, resting in their own comfortable positions.

Each in their own way, whether it was quenching the thirst of their throats tired from exploration or leaning against the wall to relax tense muscles.

“Yuri-ssi, how much mana do you have left?”

“Based on 5th Circle, enough for five uses. Based on 3rd Circle, enough for ten uses.”

“Hmm, then let’s just destroy the nest ahead and head back today. Min-ah and Jihee-ssi also seem a bit tired.”

After checking each party member’s condition, Hye-eun rolled through several possibilities in her mind before making a suitable judgment that balanced both safety and achievement.

“Yeah, I agree~.”

“…I’m not tired yet, so I’m fine….”

“No, Jihee-ssi. Dungeon raiding isn’t about pushing yourself to your absolute limit. You have to know when to stop while it’s still a little disappointing to prevent any unforeseen situations.”

“…Fine, since Hye-eun-i is saying it.”

Kang Hye-eun, who skillfully accepted the statement from the party’s Brawler, Cheon Jihee, as usual, slightly unzipped her tights to cool down her body heat. She observed the expressions of each resting party member, picturing the next battle in her mind.

If the next nest they encountered was a Blue Crystal Spider nest, she, the shield, would block with her body while Cheon Jihee acted as the attacker. Han Min-ah would draw aggro, and Cha Yuri would support Cheon Jihee.

If it were a Yellow Crystal Spider nest, they would let Cheon Jihee and Han Min-ah buy time, then lower its defense with Shield Break and fight it. The finishing blow would be Cha Yuri’s large wind magic.

If it were an Amethyst Crystal Spider nest, they would first neutralize the spiderlings with Cha Yuri’s wind magic. Drawing aggro would be her and Han Min-ah’s role, and the finishing blow would be a single strike using Cheon Jihee’s awakened ability.

As Kang Hye-eun was organizing her plans in her mind, her concentration was broken by the voice of Han Min-ah, her longtime friend and fellow alumna from the hunter training school.

“Speaking of which, how are things with Sung Taekyung these days? I heard things were pretty good last time.”

“…Who’s Sung Taekyung?”

“Ah, I’m talking about Hye-eun’s childhood friend, the boy. He’s also my middle and high school classmate. This idiot had a crush on her for nearly 10 years. Then, a while ago, somehow things got heated at his place and they went all the way….”

“It wasn’t a crush, he was waiting. Waiting until Taekyung gave up dangerous work like being a male hunter and decided to become my husband.”

“Don’t make me laugh. You didn’t even have the guts to confess until middle school ended. But after middle school graduation, when he didn’t answer your calls for a while, you called him crying at night, saying, ‘Ughhh, maybe Taekyung hates me~‘.”

“…I told you not to bring that up, Han Min-ah.”

–Kkwahwak!

“Ah, Aagh! It hurts! Hey, Kang Hye-eun! It hurts even more when you do that with the armor on!”

Kang Hye-eun retaliated by grabbing Han Min-ah’s head with her arm, punishing her for freely spilling her embarrassing past.

Amidst this commotion, Cha Yuri, the mage of the hunter party 「Sky Blue Shield」, was simply resting without a care in the world. In her mind, she was quietly imagining the man she met a few days ago, like fate.

And there was one more member carefully listening to the two of them.

“So?”

“Huh?”

“…Hye-eun and that boy went all the way? Are you dating?”

Kang Hye-eun felt a slight question towards Cheon Jihee, who showed unusual interest whenever the topic involved her, but she answered diligently as usual.

“Well. The first time, I was a bit unsure, but then something similar happened one more time, so I’m thinking we’re dating.”

“I, it’s not necessarily like that. M, modern guys aren’t really hung up on that kind of thing….”

“Hey. Jihee Unnie. Two times having sex means you’re dating, right? Oh, was it not two times? Last time it was five or six times in one day banana-na-nak! Ah, ah, it hurts!”

“The first time might happen by chance, but from the second time onwards, it’s dating….”

Cha Yuri, who had been listening intently to the three of them, quietly nodded.

As she fiddled with her smartphone in her pocket as if planning something, the party leader Kang Hye-eun initiated small talk to change the subject.

“Th-that aside, I’m really glad you’re back, Yuri-ssi.”

“Really?”

“A wind mage with skills like yours is quite rare, you know. Fire mages are too dangerous in these enclosed dungeons, and water mages lack killing power, making them difficult for combat. That’s why we debated for quite a long time whether to recruit a new main damage dealer.”

“So that’s why my spot was still open even after I took over two months off.”

“Your strength is fully recovered, right? You seemed even stronger earlier. Did something happen while you were resting?”

Recalling what happened the moment she regained her strength, she blushed slightly and shyly uttered a word to her colleagues.

“…It’s a secret.”

“……”

“……”

Although she said it was a secret, it was a reaction that Kang Hye-eun and Han Min-ah could easily guess.

However, they swallowed their questions, thinking it would be an invasion of privacy if they pressed further. They knew from their long experience in the party that Cha Yuri didn’t like prying into her personal matters.

Judging that they had rested enough, the party leader prepared to re-enter the deeper part of the dungeon.

“Has everyone rested enough? Let’s start moving in again.”

“Yep~!”

“Okay.”

“……”

Thus, Kang Hye-eun’s A-Rank party moved deeper into the cave.

Little did they know, all four members of Sky Blue Shield were thinking of the same person at that moment.

---

「B-Rank Dungeon. Abandoned Village. Sector B」

It might seem obvious, but hunting monsters doesn’t end with simply and brutally cutting off their lives with swords or magic.

Hunting is merely one part of the process for collecting monster materials; if the remaining parts aren’t processed, it ultimately amounts to nothing more than a display of brute force.

And it was usually an unwritten rule that swordsmen or scouts handled this. It wasn’t to discriminate against melee combatants, but because those wielding blades found it easier to process the materials.

To extract the monster’s core, I climbed onto the head of the sideways-lying Treralodon carcass, inserted my greatsword into its eye socket, and began dismembering the head.

After roughly completing the somewhat queasy work, I discovered a glowing green core inside.

“Ah, found it.”

Well, this alone should cover the dungeon entrance fee and then some.

After cleaning the core and getting down to the floor, I held it up before the resting blonde woman’s eyes to reconfirm the material distribution.

“Are you sure I can really take this? You won’t go back on your word later, right?”

“I already told you I’m not after petty cash like that. How many times do I have to repeat myself? You idiot.”

“Stop calling me an idiot. If you’re so curious about my name, let’s introduce ourselves.”

“Why would I give my name to a mere hunter from the Union….”

“I’m Kim Sungchul.”

“…It’s Do Sihee.”

It seemed she wasn’t a hunter famous enough for her name to be widely known. Though it was possible I just didn’t know her name well.

Judging by the emblem of the Ariel Foundation on her shoulder guard, she was likely the daughter of a conglomerate family or a high-ranking politician.

Her hair color made her look foreign, but in this world, hair or skin color couldn’t determine nationality.

It was a world where one could enter another country with zero flight time just by passing through a warp gate between continents, and communication with foreigners was possible using translation magic.

With so many international marriages, nationality here was truly nothing more than the land of one’s birth and nothing else.

‘I probably don’t need to get involved with her further….’

Getting involved with women from the Foundation was never a good choice, then or now.

However, having witnessed the situation firsthand, I felt uneasy just walking away.

Her clothes were torn and ragged in places, likely from the prolonged battle with the Treralodon, and it was a situation where victory was far from guaranteed if I hadn’t intervened.

…For some reason, it reminded me of when I first met Cha Yuri, and I couldn’t bear to leave her in such a precarious state.

Therefore, I felt the need to build some rapport with her, even if it meant taking some risks. Perhaps just talking and listening to her worries, without getting too deeply involved, could prevent her from doing something reckless.

I also had the confidence that came from the other party not knowing my true appearance thanks to my mysterious mask.

“Kim Sungchul… that’s a rather masculine name.”

“I hear that often.”

“Of course, it’s not because an ordinary male hunter can leap 10 meters into the air from the ground.”

“That’s usually the case.”

I wasn’t exactly lying. Yep.

Once we started talking, Do Sihee’s guard seemed to lower somewhat, and we quickly exchanged various questions.

“What’s your hunter rank? A? Or B?”

“C-Rank.”

“Really? You don’t look like a student, did you awaken recently?”

“If you don’t mind me asking, what’s your rank, Do Sihee-ssi?”

“B. …Not that I’m making excuses, but until recently, I was right on the verge of reaching A-Rank. So, effectively, I’m A-Rank.”

“Effectively A-Rank, yet you were struggling against a B-Rank monster like the Treralodon?”

“I said B right now. And I wasn’t struggling?!”

“Ah, yes.”

…It looked like struggling to anyone who saw it.

Arguing with this type of person would only provoke resentment, so I just nodded along, pretending to listen.

“I, I could have defeated it on my own even if you hadn’t interfered. Getting hit by its tail and knocked back was all part of a strategy to close the distance….”

“Understood. I guess I worried unnecessarily.”

“…Well, regardless, it was a bit safer thanks to you. So, you can keep the core, which is practically pocket change.”

She considered this core, worth around 300,000 won each, as pocket change. As expected, people from the Ariel Foundation had a different sense of money compared to ordinary people.

“By the way, if you’re about to become A-Rank, why are you here in this B-Rank dungeon struggling… no, hunting a Treralodon? It’s not even monster breeding season. And isn’t the Ariel Foundation usually near Sector A, not here?”

“…That’s none of your business.”

“What?”

My words seemed to have offended her, as Do Sihee suddenly stood up the moment she heard me and moved to go deeper into Sector B.

“Wait a minute, Do Sihee-ssi! You need to return to the guild!”

“That’s unnecessary meddling! I’m still full of energy?! Do you think I’m going back to the guild with no results like this?!”

“You sustained so many injuries in the last fight. Where are you going with that injured body!”

“Stop worrying about me! I can take care of myself!”

Even though it was clearly a path leading to certain death, she wouldn’t give up her stubbornness and continued deeper inside. I couldn’t just stand by and watch such an obvious sacrifice.

“Do Sihee-ssi! Don’t do that, just wait a moment….”

Therefore, just as I called her name, trying to persuade her to return to the guild somehow.

“…Huh?”

A familiar system window, one I had seen before, appeared and blocked my vision.

『Emergency Quest Arrived!』

『B-Rank Hunter Do Sihee is currently unable to perform at her best due to suddenly accumulating lust in recent times.

Please resolve B-Rank Hunter Do Sihee’s lust so she can perform at her maximum potential.

Special Reward: Awakening Points +200

Remaining Time: 05:59:59』

…Wait, this again?