Chapter 293: The Colleague Sunbae Who Hates Me (5)

「A-Rank Dungeon, Shadow Underground Mausoleum」

Kwak!

Deep inside the underground mausoleum, a faint light flickered and danced indistinctly. From somewhere in the pitch-black darkness, an unidentified white hand shot out towards a monster with a faint form. At first glance, it looked like a mummy’s hand, wrapped tightly in bandages, but it was undeniably a human hand. In the grasp of its owner, a fighter of the Sky Blue Shield, the core of a Shadow Wraith was held firmly.

‘……! ……!’

Before it could do anything, the monster, its weak point seized, fluttered its spectral form in agony, but Cheon Jihee paid it no mind and swung the hand gripping its core through the air. Stripped of its core in mid-air, the Shadow Wraith instantly lost its form and vanished on the spot.

“……”

Cheon Jihee quickly pocketed the obtained monster core into her material pouch and surveyed her surroundings. Most of the monsters in her path had already been annihilated by her hand or had fled into the darkness.

The Shadow Underground Mausoleum. This was a Ghost-type dungeon that Cheon Jihee had been consistently using for training ever since she became an A-Rank Hunter. Having frequented it like her own home for nearly a year, this dungeon had long since become one she could easily enter and exit alone.

What exactly does it mean for a Hunter to become stronger? There were probably at least thirty different answers among a hundred Hunters, given the variety of opinions, but for Cheon Jihee, becoming stronger meant ‘overcoming weaknesses’. One of the weaknesses of a hand-to-hand combatant is that most attacks are limited to physical force. Of course, by the time one reached A-Rank Hunter status, they were strong enough to handle about 80% of existing monsters without the help of magic-wielding Hunters, so her reliance solely on physical attacks wasn’t something to be belittled. Besides, her party, the Sky Blue Shield, had a high-ranking wind mage named Cha Yuri, so there was no need to worry about that aspect.

Therefore, in such an environment, a typical Hunter would have focused on further developing and refining their strengths rather than training to fight monsters they couldn’t handle with physical force, but Cheon Jihee possessed a slightly different mindset. For the past three years, she had been consistently training not to enhance her strengths, but solely to overcome her weaknesses. Initially, like most Hunters, she trained focusing only on her strengths, but at some point, she began to intensively hone her defensive abilities instead of her offensive ones. Once she could combine both offense and defense, she trained to increase speed with restrained movements and execute efficient actions. Having overcome her weaknesses step by step, Cheon Jihee was finally conquering even the ‘physical attack resistance,’ a common vulnerability among all close-combat Hunters.

A past incident played a major role in her intense focus on overcoming weaknesses. This story dates back to about three years ago, when Cheon Jihee had just ascended to B-Rank Hunter. At the age of 23, having become a B-Rank Hunter, she was overconfident in her abilities and lacked the skill to distinguish between enemies she could handle and those she couldn’t. She firmly believed that as long as her attack power was sufficient, she could face any monster, so Cheon Jihee had always focused her training solely on her strength: offense. She was convinced that overwhelming offensive power could solve everything, even if other aspects were lacking. That is, until she faced a mutant giant scorpion in the B-Rank dungeon, the Barren Desert.

She thought she could handle the giant scorpion, a B-Rank monster, on her own, but Cheon Jihee at the time was not yet accustomed to special individuals known as mutants. The outcome that befell her, who approached the battle as usual, as if fighting with her back against a cliff, was perhaps inevitable. Her plan was to evade to the last moment, then deliver a decisive blow with her most powerful kick to end the fight, but unfortunately, the decisive battle that day did not unfold as Cheon Jihee had imagined. The mutant giant scorpion’s exoskeleton, which Cheon Jihee hadn’t accounted for, was far tougher than she anticipated. Failing to crush its head in one blow, she was immediately hit by the monster’s paralyzing venom attack. After that, it was just a typical battle against the mutant giant scorpion. Her body stiffening from the venom, she rolled on the ground several times, accumulating countless cuts and stab wounds. Just as she was about to give up on life and accept her end, it was Kang Hye-eun, a rookie Hunter at the time, who saved her.

“Aaaargh!”

The junior Hunter charged forward with a mighty battle cry, shield first, towards the mutant giant scorpion that had come to end her life. Cheon Jihee was instantly smitten, transcending gender, by that steadfast appearance and resolve. Her unwavering spirit and courage, even against a B-Rank mutant monster. A cautious fighting style, meticulously destroying the dangerous venom sacs first before gradually breaking down the exoskeleton. A measured and deliberate gait, rather than flashy, ostentatious attacks.

“…Are you alright, Sunbaenim?”

“……”

…And, her kindness in checking on Cheon Jihee, who lay pathetically struggling on the ground. It was merely their first meeting, but Kang Hye-eun became someone more special to Cheon Jihee than anyone else. It didn’t take long for the junior C-Rank Hunter to occupy a significant portion of her heart. And that, she believed, would likely never change. At least, that’s what Cheon Jihee thought.

From that day on, Cheon Jihee began learning a combat style focused not just on offense, but on efficient defense and cautious movement while looking for opportunities. While her admiration for Kang Hye-eun’s shield techniques contributed somewhat to her increased training in defensive arts, which she had previously dismissed, there was another reason she poured so much effort into training. To be able to continue her Hunter career alongside Kang Hye-eun for as long as possible, without retiring. With only that goal in mind, her training direction shifted from enhancing strengths to eliminating weaknesses. For long-term activity, a balanced, hexagonal set of abilities would be far more beneficial than an extreme focus on attack power. More importantly, she felt that being able to utilize various powers in multiple aspects would make her presence stand out to her colleague, Kang Hye-eun.

If she had chosen to train the conventional way, leveraging her strong offense and leaving defense to other team members, Cheon Jihee might have reached the status of an S-Rank Hunter by now. Cheon Jihee had occasionally considered this, but for various reasons, she preferred remaining an A-Rank Hunter in a more meaningful way. If she became S-Rank, there was a possibility she would take over the leadership of the Sky Blue Shield, her party, which would have been an unforgivable sin to her. For Cheon Jihee, the party leader had to be Kang Hye-eun, always. It had always been that way, and it would continue to be. Furthermore, being the same A-Rank as Kang Hye-eun brought her a small, quiet joy.

“……”

Of course, she knew better than anyone that her feelings were for an unrequited love. She knew the nature of her feelings for Kang Hye-eun differed from Kang Hye-eun’s feelings for her. And she knew that the moment she revealed even a sliver of these feelings, the outcome would be unfavorable. However, maintaining the current situation wasn’t entirely positive either. Unresolved feelings would eventually lead to separation. Either she would retire from being a Hunter due to exhaustion, or she would have to let go of Hye-eun marrying her own man someday. But, if she could remain in Kang Hye-eun’s heart, even for just that short, uncertain period… She was willing to put in any effort to meet those expectations.

“…In the end, he didn’t follow.”

Glancing towards the entrance of the deserted dungeon, Cheon Jihee calmly assessed the new male party member. She had briefly wondered if he might be a man of considerable resolve, given he was liked by the woman she adored, but he was indeed the unremarkable man she had expected. After all, Kang Hye-eun would have had the courage to enter the dungeon without hesitation, even if she were only a B-Rank Hunter.

Having finished her assessment of the mediocre man, Cheon Jihee found herself facing a new dilemma in the mid-section of the dungeon. Should she proceed further into the dungeon to increase the training intensity, or simply turn back the way she came and conclude the dungeon raid? Her progress so far was already considerable for a typical A-Rank Hunter. Normally, one would need a proper A-Rank party to reach the point she had. Having consistently visited the Shadow Underground Mausoleum alone for nearly a year, Cheon Jihee had indeed developed the skill to progress this far by herself. Conversely, it also meant she had become accustomed to her current hunting and training methods. Cheon Jihee, who once struggled for half a day to deal with a single monster, could now extract a Shadow Wraith’s core with a single swing, even with her eyes closed. Despite covering the usual distance, her body wasn’t as tired as before. If anything, the training intensity felt insufficient. Now that she was accustomed to clearing this far, it was time to consider increasing the training intensity.

If she ventured just a little deeper from here, she would enter the territory of Soul Reapers. Soul Reapers were monsters on a completely different level from Shadow Wraiths, so even she needed considerable thought before proceeding further.

“……”

Although they were also A-Rank monsters, this was an area inhabited by creatures far more dangerous with entirely different attack methods. Even for Cheon Jihee, who had spent considerable time in the Shadow Underground Mausoleum, venturing further inside would have to wait a little longer.

‘It’s truly fortunate that Taekyung is here. We can distribute the manpower smoothly, and everyone’s burden is significantly reduced. …You think so too, don’t you, Jihee-ssi?’

“……Hmph.”

Recalling Kang Hye-eun’s words from a recent party hunt, Cheon Jihee, unable to suppress her jealousy, chose to push forward. This wasn’t enough. She had to try harder. To become strong enough to leave a lasting impression on Hye-eun. …And to ensure she wouldn’t be forgotten by her someday. Cheon Jihee couldn’t stop at just this level of effort. Even if it meant employing a perilous training method, like walking through a minefield.