Jin-Woo raised his head. The moment he stepped inside, he felt a cold wind blowing from the deepest reaches of the cave. A sudden chill ran down his spine. At the same time, Jin-Woo realized what the wind actually was.
*'This isn't just wind.'*
Waves of mana. The immense mana exuded by the A-rank Gate's boss had materialized and made contact with Jin-Woo's body. Considering that S-rank Dungeons were rare even on a global scale, the owner of this mana could be considered the highest-level magical beast Jin-Woo was likely to encounter in practice.
*'The boss of an A-rank Dungeon...'*
He found himself wanting to see the creature with his own two eyes. And if the opportunity arose... Jin-Woo shuddered with a chill that made every hair on his body stand on end, yet at the same time, he couldn't suppress a smile. Maybe it was a hunter's instinct. When faced with a fearsome predator, the desire to point a gun right at it — that's the heart of a hunter, or rather, a Hunter. Just then. Bump. The person behind him collided with Jin-Woo's shoulder.
"Hey, can you move along faster up there?"
Lee Seong-Goo frowned and grumbled in a whiny voice. The inside of an A-rank Dungeon was spacious. There was plenty of room to walk around the person in front. But he really didn't like the newcomer who just stood there motionless with no intention of moving. So he figured he'd bump into him to put him in his place...
*'What the hell is this guy? Does he think he's a stone pillar?'*
But after the collision, it wasn't the newcomer who got pushed back — it was him. Irritation welled up naturally.
*'How is an E-rank so solid?'*
At the end of the day, the guy was E-rank. He was C-rank himself. Sure, he was one of the weaker C-rank Hunters, which was why he'd been assigned to mining work, but still — was he really going to feel intimidated by an E-rank? But the newcomer hadn't budged an inch. Lee Seong-Goo's eyes narrowed.
*'Oh yeah? Look at this guy.'*
Growing steadily more annoyed, Lee Seong-Goo glared and tensed his neck.
"Hey — if you bumped into me, you should apologize, shouldn't you?"
Jin-Woo turned around. Startled, Lee Seong-Goo took a step back.
*'Huh!'*
There seemed to be a flash of light in Jin-Woo's eyes. As Lee Seong-Goo panicked, feeling the air pressed out of his lungs, Jin-Woo spoke.
"I'm sorry." "Ah, no..."
Lee Seong-Goo stammered and barely squeezed out a voice.
"That's... fine."
Having unexpectedly ended up using formal speech, Lee Seong-Goo's flushed face drooped as he quickly hurried past Jin-Woo.
"Whew—"
Only after putting some distance between himself and the newcomer did Lee Seong-Goo finally manage to catch his breath.
*'What was that look in his eyes? And why was he smiling?'*
They'd barely made eye contact for a moment, and yet his body had gone stiff and his voice wouldn't come out right. Not looking away was the last shred of his pride.
*'...Is that guy really E-rank?'*
The collision, that deadly stare — what was going on? Ah, whatever. As if trying to shake off his thoughts, Lee Seong-Goo shook his head vigorously and quickened his pace.
"Oh."
Seeing Lee Seong-Goo pass him in an instant, Jin-Woo scratched the side of his head.
*'I was on edge because of the boss...'*
He'd ended up scaring the guy. He needed more discipline — more training. Reflecting on his overreaction, Jin-Woo followed after the mining team members who were already walking ahead. He caught up quickly. Jin-Woo attached himself to the end of the line and matched his stride with the others.
*'If I walk at my own pace, nobody can keep up.'*
He had to hold back. But then. The deeper they went into the Dungeon, the stronger the waves of mana flowing from the boss-class magical beast became.
*'My Sensory stat really has gone up quite a bit.'*
The innermost part of the Dungeon. The aura of the magical beast that must be in the boss room — he could feel it vividly from this far away. Thanks to that, his heartbeat quickened for no good reason.
*'At this rate, how am I supposed to focus on the work?'*
As if to answer his own question, a hearty shout rang out from up ahead.
"Heave! Heave!"
The collection team, which had entered the Dungeon ahead of the mining team, was already hard at work. They were hauling the massive corpses of magical beasts with ropes.
"One, two!" "Heave!"
Since combat-type Hunters had such impressive physical strength, the work progressed smoothly without the need for any special equipment. Jin-Woo took in the process of conquering an upper-rank Dungeon, committing each step to memory.
*'First, the assault team leads the charge and eliminates every magical beast except the boss.'*
Then the collection team drags out the corpses, and finally, the mining team extracts the ore from the cave walls. To maximize profits, not a single step could be skipped. Mana crystals and mana stones were a given, but the corpses of high-rank magical beasts — which had a wide variety of uses — were worth a fortune too.
*'Bones, leather, flesh, and more — there's nothing on a high-rank magical beast's corpse that goes to waste.'*
That was the difference between magical beasts found in lower-rank Dungeons and those that appeared in upper-rank Dungeons. After scraping every last valuable thing out of the Dungeon like that...
*'Kill the boss and close the Gate.'*
Only when all four of these steps were fully completed could one say the upper-rank Dungeon had been perfectly cleared. At least, that was the case from a guild's perspective. But then.
*'For simple manual labor like that, wouldn't my soldiers be more than enough?'*
Walking past the collection team Hunters who were drenched in sweat, Jin-Woo suddenly had that thought. In reality, the strength of his well-upgraded shadow soldiers far exceeded that of the collection team Hunters, all of whom were C-rank or below. If he split the soldiers into groups — one for hunting, one for collection, and one for mining...
*'Maybe I could really take on an upper-rank Dungeon all by myself.'*
Jin-Woo smiled with a satisfied look on his face. The purpose of coming here was reconnaissance. He was glad he'd made the time to come.
"Mr. Sung, something good happen?"
The team leader walked over and spoke to him. An E-rank Hunter with zero upper-rank Dungeon experience quietly laughing to himself — he must have been curious about the reason.
"I'm just amazed that the magical beasts are so much bigger than I expected."
Seeming satisfied with Jin-Woo's vague reply, the team leader recalled his own experience and nodded in agreement.
"Oh, is that right? Well, I can't blame you. The first time I came into one of these, my jaw dropped and wouldn't close either."
Since the topic had come up, Jin-Woo asked a few questions.
"You said all the regular magical beasts have been eliminated, but the boss is still alive, isn't it?" "That's right. If you kill the boss, the Gate closes."
So the boss couldn't be touched until all the collection and mining work was finished.
"What if the boss charges out of the boss room?" "That almost never happens, but... if it did, everyone still inside would be dead."
It was a perfectly reasonable thing to say. The assault team that had exited the Dungeon would rest up before going in for the boss raid, and the mining and collection team Hunters wouldn't stand a chance against an A-rank Dungeon boss. But it was common knowledge that the boss almost always stayed inside the boss room until a Dungeon Break began. That was probably why there was no sign of fear on the team leader's face either.
"With something that terrifying right behind you, you're not scared?" "Not at all."
Team Leader Bae was firm.
"In the three years I've worked at Hunters, that kind of incident has never happened once. Don't worry so much, Mr. Sung."
Watching Team Leader Bae give his shoulder a pat and flash a hearty grin, Jin-Woo felt a brief pang of envy.
*'They say sometimes not knowing is a blessing.'*
The man was completely unaware that the boss's mana waves were strong enough to make his body tremble even while standing still. It seemed Jin-Woo was the only one here who could sense the boss's aura.
"Oh, it starts from here!"
Team Leader Bae discovered the mana stone vein running along the cave wall and lit up with excitement. The seasoned mining team Hunters took their positions near the mana stones one after another, without anyone having to tell them. Plop, plop. They set down their bags and picked up their pickaxes. Jin-Woo walked over to the edge of the vein and stood there.
*'Do I just swing at it?'*
He worried that if he simply swung with brute force, both the mana stones and the pickaxe would shatter.
*'What do I do?'*
Hesitating to begin the work right away, Jin-Woo's gaze fell on Park Jin-Soo, the one the team leader had called the veteran mining team member. Swish! Crack! Swish! Crack! Park Jin-Soo was mining the mana stones with a rhythmic motion. Every time his pickaxe struck the wall, a thudding sound rang out as mana stones tumbled to the ground.
*'Just as I thought...'*
It was skill worthy of being called veteran. He was working more than twice as fast as the others around him. Jin-Woo's eyes gleamed. Within slowed time, Jin-Woo studied Park Jin-Soo's posture, breathing, and the movement of his muscles. Park Jin-Soo's efficient motions replayed in Jin-Woo's mind over and over again.
*'Got it.'*
He had the feel of it now. Jin-Woo picked up his pickaxe. His posture was almost like a mirror image of Park Jin-Soo's. Swish! CRACK! Swish! CRACK! With the same motion, Jin-Woo's strength was on an entirely different level — one Park Jin-Soo could never match. Every time Jin-Woo's pickaxe struck the wall, chunks of mana stone tumbled down in whole clumps. Swish! CRACK! Swish! CRACK! The crisp sound ringing from the far end began to catch the attention of the mining team Hunters.
"Hey... hey." "What?" "Look over there." "Whoa!" "What's he doing?"
The mining team Hunters stopped one by one and stared at Jin-Woo in blank astonishment. Even Park Jin-Soo, whose hands had never ceased moving, had frozen in place.
*'...'*
Everyone was speechless. The E-rank Hunter who'd said this was his first time mining was demolishing the mana stone vein with practiced efficiency!
"Hey, what the hell! I called you here to work, and you're all just standing around gawking?!"
Team Leader Bae, who had been busy recording the size of the mana stone vein in his ledger, rushed over in alarm at the sight of his entire mining team slacking off.
"Team Leader, look at that." "Look at what?"
Team Leader Bae peeked over. His eyes went wide.
"Huh!"
The team leader was no different. He couldn't take his eyes off Jin-Woo, whose speed was at least three times faster than anyone else.
"Team Leader, didn't you say that's his first time today?" "...I did."
Lee Seong-Goo, who had been curious about Jin-Woo's identity, suddenly cut in.
"Is he really E-rank?" "Of course — I checked all their certifications. Do you think I'd bring a Hunter I've never met into the team without even seeing their ID?" "Then how do you explain that?" "..."
Watching Jin-Woo in silence, Team Leader Bae swallowed hard, his face flushed.
"He's... Mr. Sung must be a miner sent down from heaven."
No wonder those solid pectoral muscles had caught his eye during the interview.
*'I really do know how to pick 'em.'*
A smile spread across Team Leader Bae's face.
***
Beep, beep, beep. The alarm on Team Leader Bae's wristwatch went off. He raised his wrist and checked the time.
*'Oh my, where did all the time go...'*
It was already lunchtime.
"Let's go grab some food, everyone." "Yes, sir!"
Everyone set down their equipment and dusted off their hands. Even as the other team members paired up and headed out in small groups, Jin-Woo showed no sign of moving, so Team Leader Bae quietly approached him.
"Mr. Sung, not going?" "I'm not really hungry." "You can't work on an empty stomach." "I'm fine. I ate late this morning." "Is that so? Well, then I can't force you."
He'd been hoping to share a meal and have some serious conversations about their future, but he couldn't exactly drag the guy there by force. Team Leader Bae turned back toward the Gate with a hint of regret. At that moment, the corners of Jin-Woo's mouth curled upward. He smiled as he watched the team members' backs grow distant.
*'I can't pass up an opportunity like this.'*
He was finally alone. Both the mining team and the collection team had left the Dungeon. Roughly one hour of freedom ahead of him. This was the perfect chance to seek out the boss-class magical beast hiding deep within the Dungeon. Jin-Woo set down his pickaxe. Then he turned his gaze toward the direction of the boss room. He could feel the magical beast's aura, thick and lingering.
*'I'll just go take a look.'*
He didn't have any particular plan for what to do. He just wanted to see the boss. Thump, thump, thump. His heart was already pounding at the thought of laying eyes on the boss. Suppressing his racing heart, Jin-Woo began to walk. He followed the boss's aura deeper into the cave. He walked for how long? After a long while, he came upon an enormous chamber. It was the boss room. The cave passage had been immense, but the boss room dwarfed it. He'd been wondering if all upper-rank Dungeons were this large in scale when — upon spotting the boss — he immediately understood why this Dungeon could not be cleared.
*'For something like that to get outside...'*
A one-eyed, giant humanoid magical beast stood alone in the farthest corner. Jin-Woo's eyes lit up like those of a child who had just gotten his hands on the toy he'd always wanted.
*'A giant-type magical beast.'*
He'd heard of them many times, but this was his first time seeing one in person. Giant-type magical beasts were impossible to transport due to their massive bodies, so aside from a Dungeon Break, there was virtually no chance of ever encountering one. Standing before such a creature made his chest stir with excitement.
*'It's a strong one.'*
Strong enough to make his hair stand on end. And yet, for some reason, the thought that it was impossible to defeat didn't cross his mind at all.
*'Not with the way I am now.'*
It was enough. The moment he thought that, saliva slid down his throat. gulp. How much experience would he get from killing this thing? He'd gone through hell in the Demon Castle and leveled up about fifteen times over the course of a week. But if he could gain two or three levels from taking down a single boss-class...
*'I shouldn't do this.'*
Even as he told himself not to, Jin-Woo's hands had already summoned 'Baruka's Dagger' and 'Knight Killer.' And it wasn't like he was wearing the face of someone torn over doing something he shouldn't. Should he just go for it? A small thrill crept to the corner of his mouth. But then — from behind Jin-Woo, who was smiling even as he deliberated — a sharp female voice cut through.
"What do you think you're doing right now?"