Park Hee-Jin had come to understand how terrifying high-level dungeons were and how powerless she could become.
*'This is like me learning what Sung Jin-Woo tried to teach Han Song-Yi...'*
Embarrassing, but what could she do? Insisting that something scary wasn't scary was nothing short of recklessness and foolishness. The experience inside the Red Gate had been a spine-chilling one, without question. However, that didn't mean she had even the slightest intention of giving up the treatment and status that came with being a Hunter. A hefty salary! Loads of benefits! And social prestige! Aside from the danger, the job was nearly perfect. In other words, because the risk was high, the rewards were equally great. But Park Hee-Jin had found a way to minimize even the risk.
*'Raiding alongside Captain Sung Jin-Woo.'*
While inside the Red Gate, the person she'd envied most had been none other than Han Song-Yi. There was only one reason. The promise Sung Jin-Woo had made to Han Song-Yi on the first day.
—I brought you here, so I'm responsible for keeping you safe.
Put another way, that meant he had no reason to take responsibility for the other team members besides Han Song-Yi. They were just along for the ride. That was why she'd spent the whole time anxiously worrying that the two of them might slip away secretly. And on the sixth day, Sung Jin-Woo had truly cleared the high-level dungeon all by himself and safely sent Han Song-Yi home. He had kept his word. Seeing that, Park Hee-Jin had grown certain. Ah. If she raided under that man, there was no way she'd end up in danger. The moment she thought that, her heart started racing uncontrollably. That thrill still hadn't subsided. Cool-headed judgment. Outstanding ability. And a sense of responsibility. She wanted to raid with Sung Jin-Woo again next time, no matter what. That was the condition she'd set.
*'I'll only join an attack party that definitely has Captain Sung Jin-Woo in it.'*
Baek Yoon-Ho and Ahn Sang-Min discussed things between themselves. After a moment.
"Very well."
Baek Yoon-Ho laughed heartily.
"Then Park Hee-Jin, for the time being, move together with Department Head Ahn." "Thank you."
But scouting was obviously going to be anything but easy. Sung Jin-Woo was a man who knew exactly how valuable his abilities were.
*'He was brimming with confidence even inside the Red Gate.'*
Getting him to cooperate was going to be no small task.
*'Still...'*
There was now a possibility of meeting him again. Park Hee-Jin smiled, unseen. Baek Yoon-Ho, who had been pondering something, spoke up with some difficulty.
"Department Head Ahn." "Yes?" "I'd like to have Sung Jin-Woo's contact information." "Boss, about that..."
Ahn Sang-Min came clean. Why he had kept Jin-Woo's story under wraps all this time. Baek Yoon-Ho listened thoughtfully and nodded.
"If you have abilities like that, it makes sense to want to hide them. There are people in this world who don't want to stand out."
Yet that very man had revealed his abilities in front of a crowd of people. Partly because it had been an emergency, but it was also a sign of growing confidence that it might be okay to show himself to the world now.
"As long as things don't blow up out of proportion, Sung Jin-Woo won't hold it against you, Department Head Ahn."
Ahn Sang-Min nodded. Of course, he had no intention of letting this information leak outside. Not just for Sung Jin-Woo's sake—it wouldn't be good for the Hunter's Association or Baek Yoon-Ho either.
"That's all well and good, but..."
What Ahn Sang-Min was worried about was something else entirely. That the boss, not knowing Hunter Sung Jin-Woo's resolute personality, might rush things and botch the whole affair. He wanted to prevent that much, at least.
"You contacting him directly might not be the best idea..."
Baek Yoon-Ho also caught on to what Ahn Sang-Min was worried about.
"Oh, I'm not trying to contact him about recruitment." "Then why...?" "Exactly what Sung Jin-Woo said yesterday."
Baek Yoon-Ho had realized this after hearing Park Hee-Jin's account. Sung Jin-Woo was the White Tiger Guild's savior. He had saved three of their rookies. On top of that, he had eliminated the Red Gate, preventing White Tiger's reputation from taking a hit. Even if the Association had made the mistake, if this incident became public and it got out that White Tiger had lost all those rookies, how badly would the guild's image have tanked? Just imagining it was terrifying. It sent shivers down his spine.
*'And they had tried to drag him in for questioning without even explaining why...'*
He could now understand why Sung Jin-Woo had been displeased. Had he not known, maybe it would have been fine. But once he did know, there was something he was obligated to do.
"As the representative of the White Tiger Guild, I'd like to express my gratitude to Sung Jin-Woo. And while I'm at it, properly apologize for yesterday."
*'Ah, if it's about that...'*
Ahn Sang-Min was fully satisfied. Knowing Baek Yoon-Ho's straightforward personality—right was right, wrong was wrong—there was no chance he'd pester Sung Jin-Woo about recruitment under the guise of saying thank you. And personally, he too wanted to relay his thanks.
"Understood."
Ahn Sang-Min pulled out his phone. He quickly found Sung Jin-Woo's number.
"What's the number?"
Baek Yoon-Ho also took out his phone to receive and note down the contact. Just then.
"The number is..."
Just as Ahn Sang-Min was about to recite the number, he sensed something odd and turned his head.
"Um, Hunter Park Hee-Jin, why are you—" "Oh, well..."
Park Hee-Jin let out an awkward smile and discreetly slipped her phone away, the screen still displaying an "Add Contact" page.
***
Hunters, the top guild in South Korea. Its president and active S-rank Hunter, Choi Jong-In, had received an interesting piece of intelligence.
"Is this... confirmed?"
Would he have knocked on the president's office door if it wasn't? Jo Myung-Gi, head of the Recruitment Department, nodded.
"Yes. We got it from inside the Association today."
The major guilds each had their own informant at the Association. It wasn't exactly above board, but it was the only way to be the first to reach out when a high-level Awakened appeared. But today the informant had leaked a curious story. After much deliberation, Jo Myung-Gi had made his way up to the president's office.
*'White Tiger Guild has been on a rising trend recently and is one of the mega-guilds gunning for Hunters' top spot.'*
He figured it was worth reporting. True to his expectations, Choi Jong-In showed deep interest.
"Two C-ranks surviving a Red Gate where an A-rank and six B-ranks died? And they cleared the dungeon? That's absurd."
Setting aside the one B-rank among them—Choi Jong-In shook his head as he read through the notes.
"There was definitely another helper involved who isn't listed here."
He was certain. Years of raid experience told him as much. Jo Myung-Gi answered.
"The Association seems to suspect the same thing. But..." "But what?" "White Tiger's keeping their mouth shut." "And they're just letting it go?" "Apparently, since the Association was at fault this time, they don't want to blow things up too much." "Hmm..."
Choi Jong-In brought a hand to his chin. It was his habit when deep in thought. The Association was one thing, but why would White Tiger stay quiet? There was only one conclusion.
"White Tiger received help from someone they don't want the outside world knowing about." "I think so too."
The two men were in agreement. Choi Jong-In's mind began spinning rapidly.
*'An unnamed helper who rescued lower-ranked Hunters from a high-difficulty dungeon where multiple higher-ranked Hunters died...'*
He couldn't contain his curiosity about who it was.
*'A newcomer who hasn't even been officially Awakened? Or a criminal who can't afford to reveal their identity?'*
Either was fine. If a newcomer, he should be brought into Hunters. If a criminal, they could smear White Tiger's name. Choi Jong-In's eyes glinted.
"We need to find out who was there." "Do you have a good idea?" "To catch a fox hiding in the bushes, you set the den on fire."
Jo Myung-Gi's eyes went wide.
"You're not actually thinking of burning down the White Tiger Guild, are you?" "Have I lost my mind? Setting fire to someone else's perfectly fine company." "Ah, I'm sorry. You're such an outstanding magic-type Hunter, I just..."
No wonder his nickname was the Ultimate Weapon. If Choi Jong-In put his mind to it, obliterating an entire building with a skill would be a piece of cake. In any case, Choi Jong-In continued.
"That's not what I mean. We create a story." "So... fire."
When Choi Jong-In's gaze sharpened, Jo Myung-Gi clamped his mouth shut.
"Let's tip off the press." 'What!'
Jo Myung-Gi's eyes widened.
"A mistake by the Hunter's Association, a major guild's disaster, and a mystery hidden behind it all. Isn't that exactly the kind of material the media would love?"
His head nodded almost involuntarily. Choi Jong-In chuckled softly.
"With the media's full attention on them, White Tiger will exhaust itself and end up revealing the helper's identity." "So that was your plan!"
Jo Myung-Gi laughed along. It was a chance to land a blow on White Tiger, which had been breathing right down Hunters' necks. The corners of Choi Jong-In's mouth curled upward naturally.
"Contact the reporters immediately."
***
[You have entered the dungeon.]
The moment Jin-Woo stepped inside the dungeon, he took a deep breath.
*'Hm.'*
After being stuck in field-type dungeons for a few days, the air of a cave-type dungeon felt refreshing. Soon after, Yoo Jin-Ho followed him in.
"What kind of magic beasts will appear in this dungeon?" "Hard to say..."*'The presence is nearby, though.'*
He could sense a presence nearby, yet nothing was visible. The moment he took one step forward, the cave floor began to rise up all over the place. Thump-thump-thump. Thump-thump. They had the shape of humans, but their skin was made of rock—magic beasts known as Stonemen. Yoo Jin-Ho recalled their names.
"Hyung-nim, they're Stonemen!"
Jin-Woo nodded. Among the magic beasts found in lower-level dungeons, these were known for having the hardest skin. Conventional wisdom held that you needed magic to take them down, but—
"Hold this for a sec."
Jin-Woo handed Yoo Jin-Ho the cylindrical vinyl pack and walked toward the magic beasts.
'Whoa!'
Yoo Jin-Ho flinched, thinking the pack contained a weapon, but nothing happened.
*'It's not a weapon?'*
Meanwhile, Jin-Woo stood before the Stonemen and summoned 'Baruka's Dagger' and 'Knight Killer.' Slice! In the blink of an eye, the Stoneman at the very front lost its head. Jin-Woo looked at 'Baruka's Dagger' and smiled with satisfaction.
*'Not bad, huh?'*
Grinning, Jin-Woo's figure vanished in an instant. Swish. The moment Jin-Woo reappeared behind the Stonemen, over ten of them collapsed all at once. Thump-thump-thump-thump-thump.
*'I've gotten even lighter on my feet since coming out of the Red Gate.'*
That was only natural. His current level was 60. After fighting the Bears and the White Ghost, his level had climbed a full nine steps from 51. The C-rank magic beasts now felt like the Goblins he'd encountered back in the E-rank dungeons.
*'At this point, I probably don't even need to pull out a weapon.'*
The warm-up was more than sufficient.
*'Maybe I should pick up the pace a bit?'*
It was time to use the soldiers. As if on cue, another cluster of Stonemen came shuffling in from the far end of the cave.
*'Summon.'*
Upon issuing the command, Shadow Soldiers trapped in Jin-Woo's shadow silently materialized behind him. Then a scream erupted.
"AAAH!"
Oops. Jin-Woo slapped his forehead and turned around.
*'Right, he's here.'*
He'd gotten so caught up in the thrill that he'd forgotten Yoo Jin-Ho was even there.
"Hy-hyung-nim."
Yoo Jin-Ho had fallen on his backside and was pointing a finger at the Shadow Soldiers that had appeared beside him.
"Wh-what are all these?" "It's complicated to explain... They're my skill." "Y-you can summon things like this with a skill?"
Jin-Woo nodded. Yoo Jin-Ho's jaw hung open, unable to close.
"Ah..."
This was already the eleventh time he'd entered a dungeon with his hyung-nim. He'd thought there wouldn't be any more surprises, but he'd been dead wrong. Sure enough, his hyung-nim was a being who surpassed all expectations. Gulping, Yoo Jin-Ho swallowed hard as he stared at the black-armored soldiers radiating a fearsome aura. Jin-Woo shifted his gaze. The Stonemen, which had seemed to move slowly, had already arrived nearby. Jin-Woo jerked his chin toward them.
"Move out."
As though they had been waiting, the soldiers charged forward. Thump-thump-thump. With nearly forty soldiers moving at once, the cave floor shook. With large-framed units like Iron and the magic beast soldiers now among the ranks, the soldiers carried noticeably more weight.
*'It's like watching an armored division.'*
Jin-Woo wore a satisfied expression. Once the soldiers swept through, the dungeon was cleared in the blink of an eye. All around were the remains of the Stonemen, broken apart like mud cookies. An entire C-rank dungeon had been obliterated in an instant. Hah—Jin-Woo let out a breath of admiration.
*'At this rate, I can finish the remaining raids in no time.'*
The eight raids that remained didn't seem like they would take very long. Clack. Clack. Clack. When the battle ended, the Shadow Soldiers who had collected the mana crystals lined up neatly in front of Jin-Woo. At the front stood Igrit and Iron, the two knights. Only after every soldier had come to a complete stop did Yoo Jin-Ho finally approach cautiously and step up beside Jin-Woo.
"Hyung-nim, here..."
He returned the vinyl pack he'd received from Jin-Woo. Jin-Woo pulled a tumbler out of the pack and put a straw in his mouth.
"What is that, hyung-nim?" "Vegetable juice." "Oh..." "It's pretty good, actually."
Gulp, gulp. When the tumbler was nearly empty, he asked Yoo Jin-Ho.
"Jin-Ho, how many Gates did we clear today?"
Yoo Jin-Ho, who had been gingerly trying to touch the fur of a magic beast soldier, froze and turned around.
"Four, hyung-nim."
Four done today meant five Gates left. There was no reason to drag it out.
"Then let's finish tomorrow. We can go further out, it doesn't matter." "Tomorrow?"
Yoo Jin-Ho glanced around. Looking at the Stonemen remains scattered everywhere, he nodded.
*'At this pace, yeah...'*
"Got it, hyung-nim. But..."
Yoo Jin-Ho hesitated before speaking up.
"Would it be okay if I collected the mana crystals?" "Why?" "It feels like my role's been taken, and it's frustrating, hyung-nim."
Jin-Woo let out a small laugh.
*'Always the odd one, this guy.'*
One day later, Jin-Woo completed all nineteen raids he had promised Yoo Jin-Ho.