Cha Hae-In immediately thought of summoned creatures when she saw the shadow soldiers. But there were far too many to be called mere summons. A magic-class Hunter who specialized in summoning magic could handle, at most, one or two creatures. Handling two was noteworthy; finding a summoner who controlled three was impossible. And yet... what was she looking at?
'Is this even possible?'
The number of summoned creatures one man had called forth exceeded one hundred. And it hadn't taken long to summon them either. He'd brought forth dozens simultaneously.
'If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn't have believed it.'
Here she was, a Hunter ranked in Korea's top ten, left speechless by another Hunter's ability. But.
'Now's not the time for this.'
Her gaze passed over the shadow soldiers and settled on the strike team. Everyone looked unwell. Some had collapsed, their legs giving out. Regardless of who this man named Sung Jin-Woo was or what abilities he possessed, they had to help him clear out the High Orcs as quickly as possible. Think simply, act quickly. Cha Hae-In gripped her weapon in both hands and took a step toward the High Orcs. But then, her eyes met Sung Jin-Woo's. His gaze spoke volumes. He didn't need help. Don't interfere, just watch. She couldn't understand.
'Why...?'
She knew Sung Jin-Woo could command many summons. But there were still a similar number of High Orcs left, plus a undoubtedly powerful boss. After summoning and sustaining that many creatures, his mana must be nearly depleted, if not already.
'What is he planning to do alone?'
Perplexed, Cha Hae-In eventually lowered her weapon. Not just because it was a pickaxe borrowed from the mining team. She wanted to see what this Hunter, Sung Jin-Woo, intended to do against the High Orcs. Anticipation. In the battle between rational judgment and anticipation, anticipation won a decisive victory. Her heart was pounding for some unknown reason.
'Phew, that was close.'
Jin-Woo let out a silent sigh of relief upon seeing Cha Hae-In's reaction. The real show was about to start; he couldn't have anyone getting in the way. He'd intentionally left Son Ki-Hoon, who was being attacked by the boss, in a perilous state until the very last moment, all to claim the magical beasts for himself.
'If he'd had any energy left, he would have insisted on fighting together.'
That was why he only moved when the sword fell from Son Ki-Hoon's hand. He'd held back the overwhelming urge to rush forward and take off the cursed shaman's head, all for this exact moment.
'She really has a keen sense, doesn't she?'
It was a relief Cha Hae-In was so perceptive. She'd backed off on her own without him needing to raise his voice. Jin-Woo smiled and turned away.
"Shadows!"
Jin-Woo's voice, echoing through the chamber, caused the shadows to snap into combat readiness in perfect unison. *Snap!* A moment of absolute silence fell. The one to break it was a single word from Jin-Woo, aimed at the High Orc shaman.
"Go."
The over one hundred shadow soldiers then charged toward the terrified High Orc warriors. *Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud!* The ground, the cave, and the eyes of all who watched trembled nonstop with the soldiers' onslaught.
***
Woo Jin-Cheol came running, completely out of breath.
"Huff, huff, huff."
He'd run so hard the taste of blood was in his mouth. After a moment to catch his breath and straighten up, a short-haired woman standing near the entrance came into view. He recognized her instantly.
'Cha Hae-In...'
Where else would you find a female Hunter with such a powerful aura?
'But why is she just standing there?'
Woo Jin-Cheol found it strange that she was only watching and not joining the fight. He approached her, and the situation inside became clear.
"What... what on earth is this...?"
Soldiers clad in black armor were brutally slaughtering the powerful magical beasts known as High Orcs.
"Kraaargh!" "Kyaaaack!" "Graaaah!"
The screams of the High Orcs were deafening. He might have been less shocked if the soldiers had simply been human-shaped. But what about those absurdly large black bears that were smoking and steaming, and the High Orcs clad in black armor?
"It's been a while, Department Head Woo Jin-Cheol." "Ah, yes. It has. But what are those things? They don't look like magical beasts..." "They are summons called forth by that man."
Cha Hae-In, who had greeted him first, pointed toward Jin-Woo. Woo Jin-Cheol took off his sunglasses and looked at Jin-Woo, who stood at the center of the soldiers. He was wielding two daggers, breaking the High Orc formation from the front line.
'He looks like a top-tier combat-class Hunter, no matter how you look at it.'
But he could use summoning magic as well? Sure enough, as his lips moved, dozens more summons rose from the ground.
"My god!"
Woo Jin-Cheol's jaw dropped. Just how many summons could this man command?
'So this is Hunter Sung Jin-Woo's ability...'
He couldn't close his mouth. Had Association President Go Geon-Hyun recognized Hunter Sung Jin-Woo's true power from the start? If so, his intense interest in the Hunter was completely understandable. After staring at Jin-Woo for a long while, Cha Hae-In finally turned to Woo Jin-Cheol and asked.
"But Department Head, what are you doing here? Has the Surveillance Team been contacted already?"
In response to Cha Hae-In's question, Woo Jin-Cheol composed his shock and answered.
"No. I happened to be passing nearby and discovered the anomaly at this Gate. I was trying to evacuate the strike team..."
As he continued speaking, Woo Jin-Cheol's head turned back toward Jin-Woo.
"Though it seems that won't be necessary."
This was the first time he'd witnessed Hunter Sung Jin-Woo's ability. The sight of him clearing an A-rank Dungeon single-handedly. It didn't look like he needed anyone's help.
"Yes. Right now, I think staying put is the right answer."
Cha Hae-In agreed. She couldn't even find a gap to intervene in his fight, not even as an S-rank Hunter herself.
"Do you know that man?"
Cha Hae-In asked. Woo Jin-Cheol wasn't curious about Sung Jin-Woo's identity; he was awestruck by his ability. And he was also part of the Association that had suppressed information about Sung Jin-Woo.
'Perhaps Woo Jin-Cheol knows something about that man?'
Her guess was correct.
"I know a little." "That man... who on earth is he?"
Woo Jin-Cheol put his sunglasses back on as he replied.
"I cannot tell you."
***
The shaman was furious. The moment it had opened its eyes here, only one command had echoed in its mind.
-Hunt the humans!
But what was this current situation? Its entire tribe was being hunted by just one human? This was impossible. No, it *should not* be possible. The shaman's eyes began to turn red as it watched its subordinates being slaughtered.
'You insects, I'll stomp you to death!'
If curses wouldn't work on the enemy, it would bless itself to fight back.
"Song of Fury, Song of Fortification, Song of the Giant, Song of the Fire Dragon."
As the incantation was completed, the shaman's body swelled to nearly ten meters. Strength, agility, stamina, and confidence surged as power flooded every inch of its body. The shaman then blew away the shadow soldiers with its newly massive arm, took a deep breath, and.
"Hoooow!"
A torrent of dark red fire spewed from its mouth. *Fwoooosh!* Soldiers caught directly in the flames vanished in an instant. Those only grazed were no exception; if they didn't explode completely, at least a part of them was blown off, leaving them combat-ineffective. The flames didn't end with one burst. Two more streams of fire erupted in succession from the creature's maw. Having significantly thinned the soldiers' numbers with its continuous attacks, the shaman revealed its confidence and roared at the top of its lungs.
"Does this still make me, Kargalgan, look like a joke?"
The answer came from above.
"Yeah."
The shaman looked up in shock, scrambling to utter a defensive spell, but. Jin-Woo was one step faster. His fist slammed down on the creature's crown. *Thoom!* *Crack!* The shaman's head was driven straight into the floor. The ground fractured in a spiderweb pattern. Jin-Woo had, after all, already had the experience of punching the far larger Vulcan.
[Dungeon boss eliminated.]
*Snap.* As it lightly touched down, a pleasant series of messages appeared. *Ding.*
[Level Up!]
"Yes!"
Jin-Woo clenched his fist. He'd gained one level fighting with stealth earlier, one more from beating the orcs here, and now one more for taking down the boss. He'd cleared an A-rank Dungeon and gained three levels. The results exceeded his expectations. He found himself grateful to Team Leader Baek, who had proposed working together again yesterday.
'Perfect.'
Jin-Woo approached the boss with a joyful heart. The shaman, which had enlarged its body with a buff, had already returned to its original size. He spotted the large mana crystal embedded in its necklace but didn't take it.
'Gaining the experience was enough.'
This was the Hunters' Dungeon. If he needed an A-rank Dungeon's mana crystal, he could just get it from his own purchased Dungeon, not someone else's. What Jin-Woo was after was something else entirely. It was the black smoke that had begun rising from the boss's corpse. *Gulp.* Jin-Woo swallowed. He suddenly remembered Baruka's corpse from the Red Gate, the one he'd missed.
'It's different from back then.'
His stats were much higher now. Back then, defeating it hadn't been easy at all. He'd only managed it with the help of his Knight-grade shadows, Igrit and Iron. But this shaman had been relatively easy to defeat. It was proof that his grueling week at the Demon's Castle had not been in vain. Jin-Woo issued his command to the swirling, pitch-black steam.
"Arise."
At the same time, a chilling wind brushed past his cheeks. He could feel it instinctively.
'It worked!'
A smile bloomed on Jin-Woo's face. *Skraaaaa!* With a piercing shriek, a black mage draped in robes rose from the shaman's shadow.
'Huh?'
Sensing something unusual, Jin-Woo checked its information window.
[?? Lv.1] Elite Knight Grade
'Elite Knight?'
Until now, the grades of the shadow soldiers he'd seen had been only three: Normal grade, Elite grade, Knight grade. But for the first time, an Elite Knight grade had appeared. Considering it had the word "Elite" added to the existing Knight grade, he thought it might be a soldier one rank above Igrit or Iron.
'The mana I can feel is definitely stronger than the two knights.'
It was a fitting shadow soldier made from the boss of an A-rank Dungeon. *Ding.*
[Please give a name to the soldier.]
As expected, since a Knight-grade or higher had appeared, a system message requesting a name had popped up.
'A name, huh...'
Right now its face was hidden by the hood, but when you thought of a High Orc, didn't you think of big, long tusks?
'Let's go with Tusk.'
He didn't need to give a separate order; the creature's name was set with just a thought.
[Tusk Lv.1] Elite Knight Grade
The question marks were replaced by a name. It was a name that would make the shaman faint if it heard it, given how arrogant it had been right up until death, but oh well. It was already dead. With a satisfied expression, Jin-Woo recalled his shadow soldiers. The number of shadows he could store was about one hundred and thirty. The rest, regrettably, were returned to nothing.
'That's enough.'
As he stepped down from the altar, a crowd swarmed toward him. The Hunters from the strike team, Cha Hae-In, and the men in black suits. Among the suited men, he spotted one familiar face.
'When did Department Head Woo Jin-Cheol get here?'
Judging by his expression, he'd seen the shadow soldiers too.
"Sung Jin-Woo." "Hunter Sung Jin-Woo." "Mr. Porter?"
The ones who called out to Jin-Woo simultaneously looked at each other. Since there was no reason to hide his strength anymore... fighting to his heart's content had been great, but...
'Now, how do I get out of here?'
Jin-Woo looked at the people surrounding him and scratched the back of his head.
=