Chapter 70: The Path to a B-Rank Hunter (3)

「B-Rank Dungeon. The Obsidian Cave.」

To carry out the third request, the place I entered was a B-Rank dungeon named The Obsidian Cave.

Just like the other requests that had some sort of flaw, dealing with the monsters in this dungeon similarly came with a bothersome complication.

As one could vaguely guess from the dungeon’s name, The Obsidian Cave, this cave was a space consumed by pitch-black darkness, except for the entrance area where the warp gate was installed. In the sense that sight, one of the body’s five senses, was completely blocked, it was a particularly inconvenient space in many ways.

Furthermore, any light or magic used to illuminate the dungeon couldn’t extend beyond 10cm before cutting out, making it essentially a place where one had to fight with their sight abandoned.

In the darkness, without knowing what kind of monster was rushing at you, having to fight solely based on sound and intuition meant it was naturally an unpopular dungeon. As it was pitch-black, coordinating with a party was nearly impossible.

‘…Hunters who deliberately throw themselves into a dungeon like this to hunt would be, at best, one of two types.’

Hunters who want to train their sense of detecting monster presences while their own senses are blocked, or hunters who have no choice but to visit to complete a request.

And I, coincidentally, was in the situation of being both.

In a situation where sight is blocked, there was no better training ground for gauging my own limits than hunting monsters by sensing their presence.

If I could successfully complete my transfer to the company and become eligible to join Kang Hye-eun’s A-Rank party, then naturally, I would have to consider my future activities.

As far as I remember, Kang Hye-eun started her trainee hunter life in her first year of high school, so she must have been a hunter for at least five years longer than me. Even Han Min-ah, who has the shortest career, has been a hunter for at least three years, having gone through the grind for a long time until becoming an A-Rank hunter.

Judging by the fact that Han Min-ah calls the other party members, Cha Yuri, or Cheon Jihee, whom I haven’t met yet, ‘Unnie’, it’s likely that those two also have considerable experience compared to Kang Hye-eun or Han Min-ah. They probably aren’t exactly rookies either.

In contrast, my hunter career is barely just over a month.

To keep pace with the people mentioned earlier, I needed to gain more intensive practical experience, so this training, conducted with one sense blocked, would surely be a valuable exercise.

Above all, I could also learn how to fully utilize the three skills I currently possess. This would be a good opportunity.

As the level of my fire magic increased, my sensitivity to reading the flow of mana became sharper, so I could naturally use it to pinpoint the location of monsters approaching me in the darkness.

Thus, in the darkness, relying on hearing and my sixth sense rather than sight, I swung my sword through the empty air.

-Swerk!

‘Kieek!’

As soon as the sound of a bat-type monster falling with a pained shriek echoed through the cave, I sensed the mana flow of over a dozen monsters moving about in a panic.

In this limited environment where I had to rely solely on subtle hearing and mana flow to determine which monster would attack from which direction, even in such extreme circumstances, my heart strangely felt a sense of exhilaration.

-Swerk!

‘Kiek!’

‘Kkieek…!’

I felt the sensation of two more monsters being sliced by my blade, so at this rate, I should be able to collect the final request item, 「20 Black Bat Cores」, before long.

Even if I happened to sustain unexpected injuries in the darkness, I had my Level 3 healing skill.

For carrying out the final request and training, it was a fairly decent environment.

In the darkness, with sight blocked, relying solely on sound and mana flow, I had swung my sword for about three hours.

‘Kkie…!’

-Swerk!

‘…Ack.’

With the final swift slash ending the life of a monster and its dying scream, I sensed no more monster presences approaching from the surroundings.

“…Hoo.”

The thought that all combat was finally over brought forth a sigh of relief.

Honestly, monsters of C and B-Rank charging recklessly in the darkness wasn’t exactly an easy situation, but even within the movements of such monsters, there existed at least some basic rules.

How many monsters attacked at once at maximum, how monsters behaved when their first attack missed.

And how to deal with monsters attacking from different directions – these were knowledge gained only through direct experience. Even though it was only three hours of training, I could feel myself, as a person, growing as a hunter. It was palpable.

Surprisingly, the opponents that gave me more trouble weren’t the B-Rank monsters flying in from the air like the Black Bats or Gray Bats, but the C-Rank monsters attacking on the ground.

While I was busy swinging my sword, Cave Rats or Cave Centipedes attacking my legs or ankles caused several dangerous situations. I had been in peril a few times because of them.

While dealing with the bat monsters in the air, identifying those ground-based threats as well was still beyond my current skill level.

Still, with my Level 3 healing skill, the attacks were manageable.

After the hunt, which felt like a defense game lasting three hours, concluded, I used fire magic to illuminate just the immediate area around me and began gathering the remaining materials.

‘As expected of an unpopular dungeon, retrieving the materials is also a pain.’

If there were no other interfering monsters, I could just slowly sweep the floor and pick up the materials, but in a real situation, things rarely go that smoothly.

The method of killing every charging monster first and then picking up the remaining materials was probably something only I, among the hunters who entered this dungeon, would employ. I was probably the only hunter who entered this dungeon using such a brute-force method.

Besides, in a solo hunt with no companions, this wasn’t just the most efficient method, it was the only option available.

The number of monsters caught within this dungeon alone must have surpassed triple digits, but unfortunately, the remaining space in my spatial pouch couldn’t accommodate so many materials.

More importantly, lingering here for too long risked another wave of monsters appearing, so I quickly secured only the monster cores from the materials scattered on the floor and stuffed them into my spatial pouch.

「20 Black Bat Cores」

Relying on the faint light to collect cores from both B and C-Rank monsters for a few minutes, I somehow managed to meet the criteria for the initial request. Leaving the rest of the materials behind, I headed towards the warp gate leading out of the dungeon.

Although it was a bit of a shame to leave the remaining items, there was no need to dwell on it.

After all, once I transferred to the company, that amount of loss would be easily covered.

When I returned to the Guild Hall after the last dungeon, the short hand of the clock had already passed the number 6.

If it had been 6 AM, it could have been interpreted as having hunted for a considerable amount of time, but the time I emerged was none other than 6 PM. Recalling that I had entered the first dungeon, Tar Pit, yesterday evening, it meant I had spent nearly a full day inside three dungeons.

‘…It’s true that time perception gets a bit blurry when you’re inside a dungeon.’

Even my spatial pouch, which had 200 slots, was down to a single-digit capacity. Excluding the space I used for personal items, I had collected over a hundred materials from three dungeons in just one day.

Including the materials I’d left behind in the dungeons, the amount would be more than double, so the actual achievement was even greater.

Of course, more important than all that was the completion of these requests, which would serve as a catalyst for raising my hunter rank. That was the real prize.

Leaving the dungeon entrance, I walked straight to the request counter and without delay, presented my hunter license, embedded with a magic seal, to the attendant.

Since I was completing B-Rank requests, I wore a mask of unknown origin to avoid revealing my identity as a male hunter.

“I wish to complete request number 63230.”

“Request number 63230…?”

“Yes, number 63230.”

“Uh, could you please wait just a moment?”

Hearing the surprisingly early request number, the attendant’s eyes widened. I simply replied with a calm, ‘Task completed’.

The slightly flustered attendant hurriedly searched for request number 63230 on her computer.

Soon after, she found the request, which had been neglected for quite some time, and asked me to submit the materials.

“Ah, yes! The conditions for completing the request are submitting ten Black Slime Cores and ten bottles of Black Slime Mucus.”

As soon as the attendant finished speaking, I pulled out ten cores and ten small bottles from my spatial pouch and presented them.

Normally, it would look like I was pulling items out of thin air, so naturally, I couldn’t use it as is. I took an empty leather pouch, disguised it like a monster material bag, and used my spatial pouch inside it to retrieve the items.

“Ten Black Slime Cores, and ten bottles of mucus…”

The attendant, who took the items from me, meticulously checked each one to ensure authenticity.

“Yes, all 20 materials are confirmed to be genuine!”

Then, with a bright smile, she informed me that the request was complete.

“The deadline was only six hours away, so thank you for completing it! The person who posted this request is quite lucky too!”

“Is that so.”

“Yes! Well then, please take care of the remaining two requests!”

As she said that, the attendant sitting at the counter seemed to be bidding me farewell, but naturally, I wasn’t done here yet.

“I also wish to complete request number 96586.”

“…Huh?”

Perhaps my next words were unexpected, as the attendant asked again in a dazed voice. I calmly began pulling out Skeleton Femurs from my spatial pouch.

“Just a moment. Did you say request number 96586?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“Number 96586… Ah, found it. It clearly states ‘Collect 30 Skeleton Femurs’…”

Before the muttering employee who was checking the request, I presented the materials for the next request. The attendant, who was momentarily stunned, immediately began the appraisal process for the next request.

“Th-thirty Skeleton Femurs, all confirmed genuine.”

After confirming all 30 materials over about five minutes, she cautiously replied that the second request was also complete.

Waiting for her to be surprised each time was tedious, so as soon as she finished speaking, I took out Black Bat Cores from my spatial pouch and presented them to the attendant.

“I will also complete request number 119950.”

“Uh, request number 119950… Collecting Black Bat Cores…”

“……”

“I-I will process this as a completed request…”

As requests kept piling up before her eyes, despite her dazed state, the attendant continued to move her hands, checking the materials.

My plan to complete the three requests before midnight tonight was accomplished with ample time to spare.

“Y-you took these requests yesterday evening, correct?”

“Yes. Is there a problem?”

“Oh, no! Of course, the sooner the better. You’ve done well completing three B-Rank requests.”

“Ah, and could you also purchase the remaining materials?”

“…Th-there’s more?”

“These are additional byproducts obtained during the request missions.”

Finally, I poured out the remaining materials from my spatial pouch, and this time, her expression shifted to undisguised bewilderment.

“Th-this much…. Th-this is a Skeleton Core…. This is a Cave Centipede Core, a Skeleton Humerus, and this is a Cave Rat…”

“Are there any items you don’t purchase?”

“N-no. Everything here is eligible for purchase.”

“Then please purchase them all. I’ll take the payment entirely in cash.”

“M-manager! We’re short on cash at the counter, could you open the vault!”

Perhaps it was due to my unreasonable demand for full cash payment in this day and age, but completing the requests and settling the materials took nearly an hour.