Neither far nor near a distance. With just a little push from his legs, he was suddenly airborne—and when he landed again, the broad backs of the High Orcs were right before his eyes. Thud. The moment he touched down, a thought crossed his mind.
Disassembling the High Orcs like this would be easy. But that would defeat the purpose of hiding with his Stealth skill. The Hunters around him, including Son Gi-Hoon, were all elites of the Hunter's Association, considered the best in the country. If they saw the High Orcs being torn apart by an invisible force, anyone other than that clueless female healer would probably realize Stealth was in play.
Well, even if he got caught, it wouldn't be a problem. Today, the day before the rank reassessment results came out, he didn't want to stir up unnecessary trouble. He'd even considered waiting until the raid completely failed... but that would likely cause too much damage to the Hunters. The female healer had almost died just moments ago, for one. And so. A gleam flickered in Jin-Woo's eyes.
Take only what he could take without being noticed. That settled his approach for this fight. All this deliberation took one or two seconds. Immediately after, the "Baruka's Dagger" and "Night Killer" appeared in his hands, summoned reflexively—faster than conscious thought.
When had he called those? A smirk escaped him. The familiar grip gradually steadied his pounding heart. It was a good thing no one could see his expression while he was in Stealth. He didn't want to look like some crazy person laughing by himself in the middle of a battlefield where humans and High Orcs were a tangled mess. Especially the raid team leader, who was surrounded by three High Orcs and drenched in sweat—that would really drive him crazy.
First things first—these guys. Jin-Woo moved. He crouched low and drew a reverse-gripped dagger across one High Orc's Achilles tendon.
"Graaaah!" The High Orc warrior cried out in agony, its Achilles tendon severed without warning. That was the start of it. Like a dance, in a fluid series of movements, he drove "Baruka's Dagger" into the side of the next one and pulled it out, then slashed the back of another one's knee.
"Krrrk!" "Kah!" The thrill of combat alone wasn't enough to numb the pain—their vital points struck at timings they never saw coming, the High Orcs' bodies went rigid for an instant. That was enough. Like a dam broken open letting a torrent pour through, the High Orcs' confusion opened the way for Son Gi-Hoon's counterattack. Thunk!
"Krr... krrk." "Haa, haa." Son Gi-Hoon raised his head. The sword extended from his hand had pierced through one High Orc's heart.
"Gurk." The High Orc, lips trembling as it glared, soon rolled its eyes back and collapsed backward. Thump. Son Gi-Hoon clenched his fist.
Yes! We can do this! While Son Gi-Hoon silently cheered, taking down the High Orcs that had surrounded him one by one, Jin-Woo swept through every corner of the Dungeon without rest.
"Graaaah!" "Grrrk!" Moving freely alone in slowed time, he subtly knocked the balance off, bit by bit. Swish! Every time Jin-Woo brushed past, large and small wounds appeared on the High Orcs' bodies.
"Krrrk!" "Kah?" The moment the High Orcs stiffened from sudden wounds and their focus scattered, it was over. The top-class Hunters' attacks, never missing an opening, followed right after.
Something... made fighting easier. What was this? Were they really winning against this many High Orcs without a single casualty? The raid team was puzzled but, at the same time, swelling with emotion. Because in a battle where they'd expected at least one or two casualties, everyone was performing beyond expectations. Crack! A High Orc's skull was shattered by a mace swung by one of the Hunters. Just then, a welcome message reached Jin-Woo's ears.
[Level Up!]
Oh. His hard work roaming around had paid off. His level had gone up. It seemed he gained experience points even without dealing killing blows or critical damage.
He'd directly killed two. He'd assisted in the kills of over thirteen more. As long as experience wasn't completely zero, a Level Up was only natural. Jin-Woo, now fired up, moved even faster. Swish! Thunk!
"Graaaah!" Thanks to Jin-Woo's covert operations, the battle was slowly drawing to a close.
Haa— Jin-Woo stepped back, sent the daggers back to storage, and surveyed his surroundings.
This should do... The situation was nearly wrapped up. Plus a bonus Level Up on top of that. Jin-Woo's gaze suddenly dropped downward. The floor was littered with the corpses of nearly twenty High Orcs.
If he'd killed all of them alone, he probably would've gone up another level. Unfortunately, this was their hunting ground—paid for at great expense by the Hunter's Association for clearance. This was probably the best he could do.
Good. With a satisfied look, Jin-Woo returned to the dark corner of the Dungeon where a porter was supposed to be hiding.
"GRAAAH!" The last High Orc, its position now completely reversed—it was surrounded by Hunters—let out a scream. Its scream echoed thunderously through the cave. Jin-Woo watched the High Orc fall as he deactivated Stealth. Shh. The Hunters gasped for breath. They looked left and right. There wasn't a single standing High Orc left.
"D-did we win?" "Is it over?" "Wait." Before they could savor the joy of victory, team leader Son Gi-Hoon checked for injuries.
"Anyone hurt! Is anyone hurt?" In truth, a raid team with an upper-level healer rarely had lasting injuries. As long as you were still breathing, magic could heal you in no time. Son Gi-Hoon wasn't really asking about injuries. He was indirectly asking whether anyone on the team had died. The female healer, meeting his eyes, shook her head. There were injuries, but no fatalities. And the treatment of every injury had just been completed.
"Then..." All of the raid team's faces flushed with exhilaration.
"We won!" "We won!" "Woooah!" The Hunters embraced one another in celebration. Jin-Woo folded his arms and watched them with a pleased expression.
Were High Orcs really that strong? In his own experience, he wasn't so sure... Having never raided an upper-level Dungeon, the raid team's jubilation didn't quite resonate with Jin-Woo on a visceral level. Jin-Woo didn't know. That for A-rank and B-rank upper-level Dungeons, raid plans were calculated in detail not just by rank but by mana capacity. High Orcs were high-tier magic beasts even in A-rank Dungeons. And when it wasn't ordinary High Orcs but over twenty High Orc warriors gathered together... the current result was nothing short of a miracle. Jin-Woo, the very cause of this miracle, didn't even realize the value of what he'd done—he simply watched quietly, congratulating the raid team on their victory.
Hm? In the meantime, the female healer approached Son Gi-Hoon with a serious expression. It was the look of someone with something to say. Jin-Woo tuned in to listen.
"Hey, oppa Gi-Hoon." "Yeah?" "When I was fighting that High Orc earlier..." The female healer carefully, slowly explained what she had just seen. How a High Orc had floated into the air, ripped off its own head, then used it to attack and kill another High Orc. She told it with a dead-serious expression.
"..." Son Gi-Hoon was at a loss for words.
"I'm telling you, it's true!" Watching the female healer's flushed face as she pleaded her case, Jin-Woo stifled his laughter. They didn't get to savor the afterglow of victory for long. One by one, the Hunters gathered in a circle around their leader, Son Gi-Hoon.
"Captain, are we continuing?" "Isn't this a bit dangerous? We're not even that far from the entrance and it's already High Orcs." "How about we pull back for now?" Son Gi-Hoon gazed across the cave, his lips pressed tight.
It wouldn't be easy. Jin-Woo could understand how Son Gi-Hoon felt. In a Hunter's Association with two S-rank Hunters, this could be the first and last time Son Gi-Hoon was given command of an elite raid team. To retreat this quickly from what was essentially the first chapter of his career.
It was a situation where anyone would want to push for a clear. But if he was a wise leader... His resolve set, Son Gi-Hoon's lips slowly parted. Jin-Woo's eyes narrowed. Fortunately, Son Gi-Hoon was not a fool.
"We're pulling back for now." Inside a Dungeon, the leader's word was absolute. As a member of the raid team, there was an unwritten rule: you obeyed the captain's decision without question. After all, wasn't it said that insubordinate soldiers in wartime faced immediate execution? In some ways, a Dungeon was far more dangerous than a battlefield. That's why who you met as a leader was a matter of life and death—and Son Gi-Hoon didn't let his team down. At Son Gi-Hoon's withdrawal order, every member of the raid team breathed a sigh of relief.
"Phew—" "I was worried Son would say we should push to the end." Son Gi-Hoon grinned and gave the speaker a light pat on the shoulder.
"I'm not that stubborn, you know." "I know. But look, hyung—my hand's shaking." "Quit being dramatic. All right, let's move out." Jin-Woo slung the luggage bag over his shoulder. At Son Gi-Hoon's command, the raid team resumed moving. In the opposite direction, though. Jin-Woo smiled bitterly.
I would've liked to go a bit deeper in. In any case, he was a guest. A guest couldn't very well second-guess the host's decision. As much as he hated it, it seemed today ended here.
"Ugh..." The female healer, resentful that the captain hadn't believed even a shred of her story, grumbled her way over to Jin-Woo. "It's the truth." Pouting, she clung to a sliver of hope and looked up at Jin-Woo. "Hey, did you maybe see that High Orc earlier?" "I didn't." "Hnng..." Her hope crumbled without mercy. Jin-Woo had to try hard not to be caught stifling a laugh. But how far had they moved? Suddenly, those at the front came to a hasty stop. Son Gi-Hoon raised his right hand.
"Everyone, halt!" Bewilderment bled into his voice. The other Hunters, walking with weary steps, and Jin-Woo, who had been at the rear keeping his senses alert for any pursuing magic beasts, all stopped in unison. Murmurs. The Hunters' voices rose.
"What's going on?" "What is this now?" "Why is the path blocked? It was fine when we came in!" Jin-Woo pushed past the commotion, stepped forward, and reached out his hand. His eyes widened.
It was... blocked? The path was blocked by an invisible wall. At first, he thought of an instance Dungeon. The walls that separated an instance Dungeon from the real world. But he quickly shook his head.
No, this was different. This wall reeked of artificiality. Given the mana mixed into it, it seemed to be a spell cast by an intelligent magic beast.
But why? Why was it blocking the way out instead of the way in? Then. Jin-Woo whipped his head around.
...? As if it had been waiting, a terrifying wave of mana surged from the far end of the cave like an angry tidal wave.
This can't be... This was the boss of this Dungeon? The scale of the mana wave was nothing like what you'd feel outside the Gate or when first stepping into a Dungeon. The other Hunters, feeling that tremendous mana, shuddered involuntarily.
"Wh-what is this?" "I'm getting chills all of a sudden..." Watching the Hunters' faces grow paler and paler, a hypothesis formed in Jin-Woo's mind.
If the boss could conceal its own presence... A wall that wasn't there on the way in. And the boss, baring its fangs only after creating the wall.
Could it have... dug a trap and lured the Hunters in? A chill ran down his spine at the thought. Sure enough. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. From beyond the darkness of the Dungeon, countless footfalls echoed—unlike anything heard before.