It was a peculiar phenomenon. The louder and closer the footsteps from the other side became, the quieter the Hunters grew.
"Son hyung..." "..."
A silence fell over the area. *Perk.* Jin-Woo's ear swiveled. Seizing the lull in noise around him, Jin-Woo used the approaching footsteps to gauge how many there were. *Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud.* Thanks to his heightened hearing and high perception stat, he could distinguish each individual footfall.
*'48, 49, 50, 51.'*
Fifty-one footsteps in total. The same number as the High Orc warriors from before. Jin-Woo looked around.
*'...'*
The tension on the Hunters' faces was plain to see. They, too, had picked up on the approximate scale of the enemy through the sounds. This was the raid party that had just barely scraped out a victory against twenty-two High Orc warriors. And now there were fifty-one. More than double.
*'...There's no chance.'*
For them. For the raid party. Jin-Woo suddenly glanced at his own shadow. The shadow seemed to ripple. He could almost hear the wailing of his shadow soldiers, hungry for blood. Jin-Woo looked away again. *Thump. Thump. Thump.* His heart, which had been calm until now, began to pound violently.
*'Wait...'*
Not yet. Not the right time. Soothing himself with that thought, Jin-Woo quietly fixed his gaze ahead. At last, the enemies revealed themselves. *Snap.* The High Orcs stopped a short distance in front of the Hunters.
"Grrrrr." "Grrk."
The High Orcs snarled as if they might charge at any moment. The sheer intimidation of over fifty High Orc warriors was beyond words. Without even fighting, the outcome was obvious.
"This is insane." "This can't be happening..." "Ugh..."
The Hunters groaned. Pressured by the overwhelming presence, they began shuffling backward—only to find, unfortunately, that their retreat was blocked. What now? Everyone had finished preparing for battle long ago, yet no one stepped forward. They all just kept glancing at their leader, Son Gi-Hoon. Son Gi-Hoon pressed his lips into a thin, hard line.
*'Damn it...'*
If Choi Jong-In or Cha Hae-In—just one of the two—had been here... His brow furrowed. S-rank Hunters possessed the overwhelming power to turn the tide in unfavorable battles. With them, High Orcs like these would be nothing.
*'Why now, of all times...'*
Why were those two absent? Son Gi-Hoon, who had always fought alongside them, now felt his own helplessness with crushing clarity. The absence of an S-rank hit him hard. But he couldn't keep lamenting forever. He had to make a decision.
*'Fighting here is a death sentence.'*
But with their backs against the wall, there was no room for choice. When he'd decided to become a Hunter, when he'd set foot in a Dungeon for the first time, when he'd lost consciousness for the first time after a grievous injury—hadn't he always vaguely sensed that a day like this would come?
*'Yeah... that's right.'*
Son Gi-Hoon drew his longsword, having steeled himself to die. *Shing.* As he turned, the Hunters who had been waiting for the leader's orders nodded. Son Gi-Hoon faced forward again. Shield raised to chin level, he stared down the High Orcs, who still showed no sign of moving.
*'So he's finally made up his mind?'*
Jin-Woo readied himself as well. Behind his back, 'Baruka's Dagger' materialized silently in his right hand. Then he closed his eyes. The heart that had been pounding like mad now grew calm as battle approached. *Thump. Thump. Thump.* He relaxed his muscles and steadied his breathing.
*'...Good.'*
When Jin-Woo opened his eyes again, a sharp glint flashed in them. *Gulp.* The Hunters swallowed dry saliva, their throats tight. Cold sweat beaded on their foreheads. Jin-Woo, by contrast, licked his lips. *Gulp.*
*'How much experience will these things give me?'*
A faint smile spread across Jin-Woo's face. But then—one High Orc stepped forward. It shoved the Orcs in front of it aside and walked out, its two eyes gleaming like a beast's as it surveyed the Hunters.
"Grrr..."
This one was far larger than the rest, with elongated fangs.
*'Is that the chief?'*
Jin-Woo's eyes narrowed. If he could take that one out right now, the fight would become much easier. What to do? While Jin-Woo fidgeted with the handle of 'Baruka's Dagger' and weighed his options, the High Orc's mouth opened.
"Kerak tu shina wigdu araknaka."
A booming voice. The High Orc's gaze was fixed on Son Gi-Hoon, who stood at the forefront of the raid party.
"Kerak tu shina wigdu araknaka!"
*Murmur, murmur.* The Hunters' eyes darted about uneasily.
"What?" "Is it talking to us?" "What's it saying?"
In that instant, the High Orc's facial muscles began to tremble. And when the trembling stopped, a voice entirely different from before flowed out of its mouth.
"Humans..."
As if someone else were speaking through its mouth.
"Humans..."
On closer look, the creature's eyes—once clear—had gone cloudy, like those of a fish dead for days. *Hah!* The Hunters recoiled as though struck hard at the back of the head. An Orc speaking in human language!
*'How can an Orc speak our language?' 'Magic? Is it magic?'*
Caught off guard, the High Orc chief's voice continued.
"I... Kargalgan... wish to... meet you... humans... Follow... this... one."
A monstrous creature wanted to talk with people? No one had ever reported such a thing before. The unprecedented situation threw not just Son Gi-Hoon but the entire raid party into turmoil.
"Gi-Hoon hyung, you can't be seriously considering what the monster says?" "Ignore it." "Gi-Hoon, this is a trap. Whatever happens, let's just finish it right here." "But if it can communicate, maybe..." "Hey, you idiot—you've been in and out of Dungeons this long and you still don't know what monsters are?"
In the short span of time, opinions among them clashed. Son Gi-Hoon, who had been silent, finally spoke.
"Kargalgan. Were you the one who blocked the cave?" "Yes... I am... Kargalgan... the great... arch sorcerer of the... proud... Orcs... My magic... cannot... be broken... by your... human... strength." "Is there a being stronger than you inside this cave?" "Who... dares... to... stand against... me!"
The booming voice rang out, rattling the Hunters' eardrums. Many grimaced or covered their ears, but only Son Gi-Hoon nodded calmly. His suspicion was confirmed. The existence now speaking through the High Orc chief was none other than this Dungeon's boss. Since no one could leave the boss room until the Dungeon Break ended, it was luring the Hunters to come to it.
*'I don't know the reason, but...'*
When Son Gi-Hoon delayed his response, the High Orc chief raised its axe above its head.
"Choose... either die here... at the hands of my... soldiers... or follow... my... soldiers." "We'll follow."
The swiftness of Son Gi-Hoon's answer made the Hunters' eyes go wide.
"Hyung!" "Gi-Hoon!"
Son Gi-Hoon waved off his protesting comrades and watched the High Orc's reaction.
"Follow... human."
With those final words, the chief High Orc's cloudy eyes returned to their original color. The fierce, beast-like glare was back. It spoke.
"Arsh tu reka."
With that single phrase, the High Orc warriors, who had been burning with hostility just moments ago, began to withdraw as if by magic. The chief High Orc, the only one remaining, beckoned for Son Gi-Hoon to follow.
"Let's go, too."
Son Gi-Hoon took the first step, and the hesitant Hunters soon fell in behind him one by two.
*'What's he thinking?'*
Jin-Woo gave a puzzled look. The boss room would hold the boss itself plus even more High Orcs than this, and the odds of winning a fight would be even slimmer. Yet he couldn't fathom what Son Gi-Hoon intended by following them.
*'Is he trying to negotiate with the boss? To get out alive?'*
The chances looked slim... No. Maybe this was actually a good thing. Here he'd expected nothing more than grinding a few mobs in this raid, and now he was getting the chance to meet the boss. Jin-Woo sent the dagger he'd been holding back to his inventory. Then he slowly followed the group. How long had they been walking? Son Gi-Hoon, who had gradually slowed his pace, was now beside him. He called to Jin-Woo in a low voice.
"Hunter-nim." "Yes."
Jin-Woo answered without looking away from the path ahead. Son Gi-Hoon, too, kept his eyes on the backs of the High Orcs leading the way as he continued.
"When we meet the boss, we're going to ambush it. Whether the ambush succeeds or not, it won't be able to maintain the spell that's been blocking the way."
The logic held up. Unless it was a curse-type spell, maintaining a spell required mental concentration. The more advanced the magic, the higher the concentration needed. But so what? Even if they succeeded in killing the boss or disrupting its spell, they'd immediately be surrounded by High Orc warriors in the boss room with nowhere to run. The raid party's chances of returning alive remained slim. As if to ease Jin-Woo's doubts, Son Gi-Hoon spoke with a grim expression.
"While they're distracted with us, you escape the boss room, Hunter-nim. Get out of the Dungeon and contact the main raid team."
By the time the raid team containing the S-rank Hunter arrived, everything would already be over. Son Gi-Hoon had resigned himself to death.
"You're saying you'll kill the boss and then die yourselves?"
Jin-Woo glanced at Son Gi-Hoon's face. His expression was hard, but his eyes held no wavering.
"Our job isn't to survive Dungeons—it's to close the Gate. That's why people pay us a lot of money."
Son Gi-Hoon spoke firmly.
"We'll do our job the way we were trained to. But you don't have to. You don't need to die here. Please—get out alive."
His voice carried a deep conviction. It was the resolve of a man prepared to die. Here, no words Jin-Woo could offer would help Son Gi-Hoon. So Jin-Woo simply nodded in place of a reply.
***
Cha Hae-In arrived at the site. Wearing her cap pulled low, few would have recognized her. She walked toward the mining team Hunters. A few glanced her way as they passed but paid her no real attention, assuming she was with the guild. Captain Bae was visible in the distance. And the mining team Hunters gathered near him. *Thump. Thump.* Her heart began to beat faster. She stopped a few paces away and scanned the faces of the mining team.
*'Is he...?'*
She couldn't see Jin-Woo. How to describe it—it felt like the ground had given out beneath her.
*'Did he quit mining?'*
She'd wait just one more minute. He might have stepped away briefly. Three more minutes. No—five more. She waited fifteen minutes in all, but Jin-Woo never appeared.
"Hah..."
Cha Hae-In let out a long sigh and turned to leave. But after only a few steps, she walked back to where she'd been standing. She took off her cap, took a deep breath, and approached Captain Bae. The mining team Hunters turned to look at her. Fortunately, since they were all low-rank Hunters, the smell wasn't too strong.
"Oh?"
Captain Bae, who recognized her, hurried over.
"Cha Hunter-nim, aren't you off today?" "Hello."
After a brief exchange of greetings, Cha Hae-In glanced around to make sure no one was listening, then asked carefully.
"Is there... a Hunter named Sung Jin-Woo here, by any chance?" "Someone named Sung?"
At the unexpected name, Captain Bae looked puzzled.
"A Sung? He went in earlier as a porter substitute..." "A porter?"
Cha Hae-In was startled.
"He went inside the Gate?"
Captain Bae nodded emphatically, clearly finding it hard to believe himself.
"That's what I'm telling you."
An E-rank Hunter had volunteered as a porter and entered an A-rank Dungeon? It wasn't as if he had nine lives.
*'What is he thinking?'*
Come to think of it, that man had been standing in the boss room yesterday with a weapon in his hand, too. She hadn't been mistaken after all. And there was something else. Yesterday she'd let it slide, thinking it could've been a fluke, but thinking about it more carefully, a Hunter with four years of experience getting lost inside a Dungeon was strange enough in its own right.
*'I need to look into this.'*
She needed to see with her own eyes what exactly this Sung Jin-Woo was up to inside the Hunter's Guild. To do that, she'd have to enter the Dungeon herself. She was the vice president of the Hunter's Guild and an active S-rank Hunter. Nobody would stop her from joining the guild's raid-bound Dungeon. Cha Hae-In bit at the tip of her thumbnail, deliberated, and made her decision.
"I... I think I need to go inside the Gate."