Even as the bugs tore at him fiercely, Hwang Dong-Suk held his ground without a shred of faltering, waiting for the moment to counterattack—when the dealers' burst damage wouldn't pull aggro.
'This should be enough!'
Now the real hunt begins. This is the reason Hunters are called Hunters! Hwang Dong-Suk shouted.
"Deal!"
Along with that short, forceful roar, the team's entire firepower poured onto the bugs. Skreee—skraaak— the magic beasts' shrieks erupted left and right. Jin-Woo stood in the back, watching his companions fight. That had been the condition of his contract for this raid. He observed their battle and imagined in his head how he would fight if it were him.
'This is frustrating.'
Jin-Woo suppressed the urge to rush forward, again and again. He could see too many openings in the magic beasts' attacks. And the Hunters' mistakes in missing those openings were frequent too. Yet all he could do was stand still and watch, so frustration was inevitable. But Hwang Dong-Suk's team was taking less damage than expected. The members moved well together. The composure Hwang Dong-Suk had shown before the raid didn't seem to be entirely bluff.
"Jin-Seok, eleven o'clock!" "Brother, they're coming from the right too?" "Jun-Tae, Seok-Min, Gyu-Hwan! You guys handle the right!" "Yes!" "Chul-Jin, your wrist's swollen. Fall back for now." "It's fine, Brother, just a little something." "Do we just want to clear the entrance and head back? We don't know how long this will take, so don't push too hard from the start. Pace yourselves." "Got it."
They'd clearly been breathing together for a long time—their communication flowed smoothly. Smooth communication made for good teamwork. They were nothing like the ragtag Hunters from the Association.
'Surprisingly, he's not half bad either.'
Jin-Woo's gaze shifted to Yoo Jin-Ho. A magic beast bit down on his shield with its mandibles, so he kicked it away with his foot, then swung his sword. The expensive blade sliced clean through the magic beast's head. For a rookie D-rank Hunter, he was putting up a solid fight.
'His lacking skill and experience are being covered by his gear.'
It was no wonder Hunters fought tooth and nail to get their hands on good equipment. Yoo Jin-Ho caught Jin-Woo's eye and gave him a thumbs-up.
"..."
His gaze was so earnest that Jin-Woo had no choice but to raise his thumb in return. Yoo Jin-Ho turned around looking satisfied. Skraaak—anyway, the fierce battle was gradually drawing to a close. Once the surroundings were mostly cleared, Hwang Dong-Suk gave his team their orders.
"Gather all the mana crystals! Split them into exactly nine equal parts." "Got it." "This is my favorite part." "Me two."
Watching his team members grinning with delight, Hwang Dong-Suk approached Jin-Woo.
"Well, we owe you our lives." "Excuse me?" "You were the one who warned us the magic beasts were coming from above, Sung Jin-Woo. How did you sense that?" "I... just had a hunch."
Jin-Woo deflected vaguely. He couldn't say it was because his Sensory stat was high.
"Ah, really? A hunch, huh... You were really lucky. If you hadn't spotted them somehow, who knows what would've happened—phew."
Hwang Dong-Suk said that while wiping his chest in relief. But just then. A Hunter who had been searching through the bug carcasses gestured to Hwang Dong-Suk.
"Brother, come take a look at this."
The team members were gathered together. Hwang Dong-Suk headed over.
"Hm?" "These guys are kind of weird."
When Hwang Dong-Suk arrived, the Hunters parted to make way. He crouched down and looked around. He didn't notice anything particularly strange. Everywhere he looked, there were just dead bugs.
"Weird how?"
Hwang Dong-Suk tilted his head. One of his team members pointed at the leg of a nearby bug.
"That wound—those aren't from us, are they?" "..."
Hwang Dong-Suk's brow furrowed. He examined the bugs closely, then spoke.
"Something... bit them, it looks like." "Right? There are tons of them with wounds like this. Look—here too. And over there. That one's got an entire wing torn off. Weren't these guys already torn to shreds before they even fought us?"
Hwang Dong-Suk's face hardened. No wonder the fight had felt easy despite the large number of magic beasts.
"Could it be... they were fighting something else?"
Right then—for just a moment, Jin-Woo sensed Hwang Dong-Suk and a few other members glance his way. When Jin-Woo noticed, they quickly looked away. Seeing that, Jin-Woo was certain.
'So I was right.'
His initial suspicion had been confirmed. Moving so well together meant they'd been a team for a long time. And without a single casualty. But was that possible without a healer? No matter how capable the Hunters were, they were only human—mistakes were inevitable. Just moments ago, the bugs' attack had nearly broken their formation. A rough picture came together in his mind. A smile crept onto Jin-Woo's lips.
'Perhaps... I could use them.'
If they only moved as he expected.
Hwang Dong-Suk stood up with a smile.
"All right, let's push deeper. At this rate, we'll clear this in no time."
Hwang Dong-Suk spoke in a deliberately loud voice. It probably wasn't for his team to hear—they were all already standing around him. In the meantime, Yoo Jin-Ho came over with a big grin.
"Brother, did you see that? You saw me, right? I absolutely wrecked those bugs with this."
Yoo Jin-Ho swung his sword through the air with a whoosh. Jin-Woo asked.
"That sword and shield of yours—expensive, right?" "Huh? Oh, since I was heading to my first raid, my father put some effort into it." "Then you'd better be careful too."
Jin-Woo gave Yoo Jin-Ho a couple of pats on the shoulder. Then he followed the Hunters who had already started moving deeper.
"What's that supposed to mean all of a sudden?"
Yoo Jin-Ho cocked his head, but soon followed after the group. The cave stretched far inward. But along the way, they didn't spot a single magic beast. Since it was a linear dungeon, it wasn't like they could have missed any.
"Were those guys at the entrance all of them?" "No way." "This really is strange." "But there's still a boss, right?" "A Gate wouldn't open if there wasn't a boss."
Inside the large but empty dungeon, the Hunters debated among themselves.
"Wait."
Hwang Dong-Suk stopped. The sudden stop caused a minor collision. A Hunter who had bonked his nose into the person in front of him made a face and asked.
"Ugh—Brother, what is it?" "Gyu-Hwan, shine your light over here."
Jo Gyu-Hwan moved the ball of light he'd been floating ahead and illuminated the corner Hwang Dong-Suk was pointing at.
"Oh my god..." "Is this it?"
The Hunters murmured low. Bug wings, legs, bodies—even heads. The remains of dead bugs were strewn everywhere. The farther into the cave, the more debris there was. And at the end of it all, a massive room.
"The boss room."
Someone muttered. Hwang Dong-Suk nodded.
"Everyone, gear up."
The Hunters immediately armed themselves. Tension hung on every face. Step by step—led by their captain Hwang Dong-Suk, the rest of the Hunters cautiously entered the boss room. But the silence lasted only a moment.
"Holy—holy crap!"
The Hunter with the bright red nose shouted. He was the one who'd slammed his face into someone's head earlier. Normally, making loud noises inside a dungeon was absolutely taboo. Magic beasts you hadn't encountered yet could hear the sound and come rushing. But no one was about to tell Red Nose to keep it down.
"Wow—" "How much is all this worth?" "This is insane."
They were all too busy marveling.
"Hold."
Jo Gyu-Hwan fixed the ball of light high in the air, and the room's full shape became clearly visible. Gems jutted out of the cave walls.
"Mana crystals!" "The entire wall is covered in mana crystals!"
But the Hunters' eyes outshone the light reflecting off the mana crystals. Mana crystals! One of the treasures you could find in a dungeon. They contained less mana than the mana crystals found inside magic beasts' bodies, but they were usually discovered in large quantities, so mining them could earn you a fortune. And the clusters of mana crystals they'd found this time were staggeringly large. They covered one entire wall of the massive cave.
"Let me do a rough calculation."
One of the Hunters who was good at math started working the numbers on his fingers.
"If we mine all of this, it's got to be over a billion won. Even split nine ways, that's over a hundred million each."
Ooh—smiles spread across the Hunters' faces. Yoo Jin-Ho, who had been hanging back, heard this and nudged Jin-Woo in the ribs with his elbow.
"Hey, let me see the contract!" "Why do you want the contract?" "Just trust me and hand it over. I know my way around legal stuff."
Jin-Woo shrugged once, then handed over the contract as requested. Yoo Jin-Ho took it and walked over to Hwang Dong-Suk.
"Excuse me, everyone, I have a question."
The Hunters' joyful gazes snapped to Yoo Jin-Ho in an instant. Yoo Jin-Ho unfolded Jin-Woo's contract and showed it to them.
"Captain, this is Jin-Woo's contract. As you can see, there's no mention of distributing anything other than the mana crystals obtained from the hunt."
Everyone understood what Yoo Jin-Ho was getting at.
—It was standard practice in dungeons to split any treasures or rare finds equally among all members. This was different from a hunt, where you only took the mana crystals from the beasts you killed yourself.
In other words, the mana crystals should be split ten ways, not nine. For a moment the Hunters' expressions shifted, but Hwang Dong-Suk stepped forward with a smile.
"Of course we should split it fairly. I'm well aware. There's something to take care of first, though."
Hwang Dong-Suk pointed ahead with his index finger. Yoo Jin-Ho nearly jumped, thinking he was being pointed at. Startled, he turned around and saw, deep in the far corner behind them, a house-sized spider crouching quietly.
"Gah...!"
Yoo Jin-Ho stumbled backward at the sight of the spider, clapping a hand over his mouth. It was completely still—maybe it was asleep. Around it lay mountainous piles of bug husks. Many were half-eaten, and strands of saliva gave them the look of an overturned garbage bin.
"The boss." "Did this thing eat all the bugs in the dungeon?" "It sure ate a lot."
The Hunters each tossed out a comment upon seeing the spider. Hwang Dong-Suk called the group together. Jin-Woo and Yoo Jin-Ho both stood before him.
"As you all know, the Gate closes once we defeat the boss. So before we take down the spider, let's mine the mana crystals and move them out first."
Everyone nodded. Hwang Dong-Suk's gaze shifted to the buzz-cut Hunter.
"Chul-Jin, did you bring the mining gear?"
Lee Chul-Jin shook his head.
"No. Who would've guessed a C-rank dungeon had mana crystals? I left all the mining equipment back in the car." "You idiot... Didn't I always tell you to keep your gear ready?" "I'm sorry, Captain, I'm really sorry. Truly, truly sorry."
Lee Chul-Jin grinned and bowed his head in apology to Hwang Dong-Suk, his teammates, and even Jin-Woo. Hwang Dong-Suk scratched his head and said.
"Well, this is a pain. How about you two stay here and keep watch. We'll go grab our equipment."