episode_0014

“….”

As they parted ways after spending some time together, I couldn’t help but feel uneasy.

Whether it was physically or mentally, the feeling was unsettling.

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[Current Points: 5pt]

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However, since I had used up all my points, there was no immediate way to see her again….

“Ah.”

In the end, I had to spend the day feeling uneasy.

.

.

.

The next morning, as I opened my eyes.

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– Hello, Hunter Soohyun. I am the leader of the E-rank gate raid party scheduled for today. Please arrive at the meeting place by 10 a.m….

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I sighed as I checked my phone alarm.

“….I should go.”

It was better than sitting still and waiting.

Besides, the remaining time seemed just right to go through the dungeon gate once, and it seemed like the cooldown would be complete.

And so, I headed to the promised meeting place.

*

Upon arriving at the designated location, a group of people was waiting for me.

Two men and one woman.

Since it was in front of the dungeon gate, which was off-limits to non-participants, I approached them slowly, and the person who seemed to be the leader of the party, Kim Deokbae, came forward with a friendly smile and greeted me first.

“Hello. Are you Hunter Soohyun? I am Kim Deokbae, leading this party today. I hope we have a good day together.”

“Ah, yes. Nice to meet you.”

As we exchanged greetings, the rest of the group also came closer and introduced themselves.

“Hello, I am Lee Sehoon, in charge of the party’s scout.”

“I’m Lee Hina, I can use fire-based magic.”

“I’m Lee Soohyun. I handle weapons like swords, shields, and spears. I hope we have a good day today.”

After brief introductions, without any awkward silence, the party leader, introduced as Deokbae, continued speaking to the group.

“Well, now that Soohyun is here, let’s start the briefing. The dungeon gate we will be entering today is known for the appearance of Hounds, the lowest-ranked E-rank monsters. However, we shouldn’t be too complacent. Although individually weak, they are monsters that act in groups. And inside the dungeon….”

He seemed to have thoroughly researched the dungeon we were about to enter, as befitting a leader of an awakened party.

As the conversation started to feel boring, he seemed to sense the mood and spoke to the group in a very cheerful tone.

“Well, let’s stop with the boring talk and get inside, shall we? If you have any more questions, feel free to ask as we go. After all, a hunter speaks with their skills, not their words.”

.

.

.

Inside the dungeon we entered.

Unlike higher-ranked dungeons, E-rank or F-rank dungeons were never large.

If it was a cave, it was a cave. If it was a forest, it was a forest.

The defining feature of D-rank and lower dungeons was that they had clear themes and specific monsters appearing.

The theme of the dungeon we entered was a forest, as expected for a dungeon with dog-like monsters.

“I’ll go ahead and check out the front.”

Lee Sehoon, dressed in arrows and leather armor, prioritizing speed, went ahead, and we followed behind him.

His ability was to make his body agile and silence his footsteps, making him quite useful for ambushing monsters.

“I’ve spotted four Hounds 40m ahead.”

“….Fire, Firebolt!”

As he reported the monsters and came back, Heena, the mage who knew how to use fire-based magic, chanted a spell.

Boom!

The ambush started, and it naturally turned out in favor of the party.

“Soohyun! They’re coming from behind!”

The monster, which was torn to shreds by her fire magic before we could even properly fight back, finally succumbed to the party leader’s greatsword and my attacks.

“Crash! Bang!”

“Thunk! Thunk thunk!”

Certainly, I don’t know where they recruited these people from, but as a makeshift dungeon raiding party, this combination couldn’t be more ideal.

Still gasping for breath, the party leader finished off the hound by plunging his blade into its neck and said, “This is your first time in an E-rank dungeon, and as expected of a hunter who recently obtained a license, you’re quite skilled.”

“Well, it’s all thanks to the party members,” I replied.

The hound, which was already half-cooked from the intense firepower, was no threat to me compared to the Tund Bear I faced in the hunter ability test.

“Haha. At this rate, we’ll clear the dungeon in no time.”

“….If we do, can we speed things up a bit? I want to go back early in the afternoon and rest a bit…”

“Then how about picking up the pace a bit?”

The person who wanted to go back early in the afternoon and rest was a female mage named Heejin, and the man who showed interest in her and suggested increasing the speed was a guy named Sehun.

Just as I was about to say something to calm the overly enthusiastic guy, the party leader, Deokbae, interjected first, “No. It may be frustrating, but caution is crucial in dungeon exploration. Let’s continue like this, even if it’s a bit slow.”

As expected of a seasoned leader, he seemed to avoid making hasty judgments.

Once the party leader spoke firmly, the other members quickly complied.

“Well, we have no choice.”

“Well, there’s no need to be so firm…”

The atmosphere became awkward for a moment.

With only a few successful surprises, and encountering a group of monsters that quickly noticed our presence, we had no choice but to cooperate with each other.

“Fireball!”

“It’s dangerous!”

“Ahh!”

“Suhyun, go back and protect the two!”

…Those two who always created a dramatic atmosphere, anyway.

After battling the monsters for a while, the party leader chuckled and said, “Something’s strange.”

“What? Why?”

“Well, it’s just strange. Haven’t we been moving forward since entering this dungeon? Yet we still haven’t reached the end…”

As someone not yet familiar with E-rank dungeons, I asked, “Is that strange?”

“Well… isn’t it? Even if it’s your first time in an E-rank dungeon, you’ve been to F-rank dungeons several times, right? In reality, E-rank dungeons aren’t much different from F-rank dungeons. They just have stronger monsters…”

As the party leader continued to explain, Sehun, who didn’t seem to care much, interjected, “Ah, don’t overthink it. We’ll figure it out as we go.”

“Well, I guess so?”

Although I felt uneasy after hearing the party leader’s explanation, the consensus of the party was to continue forward, so I had no choice but to follow them.

…

“Thunk.”

“Thunk thunk.”

After encountering the hound pack multiple times, no matter how far we advanced, we still hadn’t reached the end of the dungeon.

Finally, as he plunged his blade into the last hound pack, the party leader concluded that something was off about this dungeon.

“I don’t think we can proceed. We’ll have to abandon this dungeon and retreat.”

“What? But what about the rewards…”

In the end, we had to retreat from the dungeon that the party leader deemed too strange to continue.

“I can’t help it. It’s not about the money. The dungeon we just entered seems to be a bit strange. It’s ranked as an E-grade dungeon, but it has a much larger environment than usual. Even for me, who has led many expeditions, this is a first. It’s almost impossible for E-rank hunters like us, who formed a temporary party, to find the dungeon core in a place like this. Plus, we are completely unprepared for a long battle. It’s not too late to go back before any harm comes to us…”

And just as Ye-hunter, who was worried about the reward, was about to speak, the party leader shouted at that moment.

“Clang! Creak…”

“Creak…”

“Clang clang.”

“Kya-reung…”

As we hesitated to move forward, a horde of monsters unlike anything we had seen before appeared in front of us.

“This is insane!”

“What is this!”

“Where did all these monsters come from…!”

“Everyone run away…”

“Eek!”

“…Don’t go, you idiot!”

The party leader shouted as Se-hoon, the man, panicked and ran away from the party.

His speed was so fast that even I, who had been looking at him unfavorably, couldn’t help but be impressed.

He ran to a place where the monster encirclement was not yet complete, but then…

Crack!

He was killed by a monster three times larger than the usual hound that suddenly appeared.

“Ah.”

“Ah.”

It seemed that he was killed instantly, with his head crushed so badly that not even a groan could escape.

Having his head crushed like that and bleeding so much, it was a miracle that he was still alive.

And at that moment, the party leader’s grim voice struck my ears.

“Black Hound…!”

“The Black Hound is the most dangerous monster among D-grade monsters, why is such a creature suddenly here…!”

“I don’t know, I have no idea! Even I don’t know why that thing is here! The Association clearly said it was an E-grade dungeon!”

Before we could even regain our senses, the wave of monsters overwhelmed our party.

“Ahh! At least stop those small ones from coming! Stop them!”

“Let’s run… no, if we run, where do we run to…!”

The only fortunate thing was that the Hellhound that appeared while trampling Se-hoon seemed uninterested in taking our lives right away.

“Creak…”

Instead, we could only watch in horror as the overwhelming number of hounds slowly drained our stamina.

“That thing is using us as entertainment…!”

And thanks to the time he gave me, I was able to check my phone.

“It’s not time for matchmaking yet…!”

I had no points, and the only thing I could do with this app was to start a new matchmaking.

I hadn’t anticipated this situation in advance, but perhaps because I had experienced too many unreasonable things recently.

Even in this desperate situation, I remained calm and came up with a way to overcome it using my app.

From my previous observations, time in each independent world flows differently.

If I go over there, time on Earth will stop, so I couldn’t have solved this situation on my own, but if I could earn some points through a new matchmaking, I could bring her to this world and solve this situation.

“Soo-hyun, what on earth should we do in this situation…!”

Without even reading the contents, I immediately started a new matchmaking.

And…

“Hmm…. I don’t know where or how you found your way here, but you’re quite skilled. To break through the barriers those vile creatures set up and make it all the way here….”

I encountered a woman who spoke in a very eerie manner.

Moreover, she was dressed in a very Eastern style and exuded an atmosphere that was hard to grasp.