“This way.”

The Arcadians diligently crossed the snowfield where their feet sank deep.

Their stamina didn’t seem particularly good, but they had a certain tenacity.

Kim Songcheol suddenly became curious about their status.

“May I ask something?”

“Ask anything. I will answer as much as I know.”

The youngest of the Arcadians spoke with a bright expression.

He must have been about 17 years old.

He looked like a high school student.

It seemed there was no Hunter age limit in Arcadia.

“Arcadia has a social status, right?”

“Yes, it does.”

“What stages is it composed of?”

Kim Songcheol felt awkward asking about their status so abruptly, so he tried to ease into it.

“Hmm… to put it simply, there are nobles and commoners. There are also cases where classes are divided even among nobles. Oh, and there are also the forsaken.”

He mentioned “the forsaken” as if it were nothing. Kim Songcheol instinctively realized that they were at the lowest rung of the caste system.

“The forsaken” probably referred to people who couldn’t use magic.

It was impossible from the start.

Even commoners used magic, so it was physically impossible to overturn their status.

‘By their standards, most of Earth’s population would be untouchables.’

As an Earthling living in the 21st century, it was a somewhat unsettling story.

“May I guess your status?”

“My status?”

“Yes.”

“Do as you wish.”

“Aren’t you a noble?”

Honestly, Kim Songcheol had no sense of social hierarchy. So he just named the highest status. It was similar to how a female staff member would try to make herself sound as young as possible.

“Haha.”

As expected, a smile bloomed on his face.

“I’m grateful that you see me that way. I am a commoner. The others are the same.”

“Ah, I see.”

“Actually, my family is a noble family. I became a commoner because I was a bit lacking… so you might have thought I was a noble.”

He spoke with a bitter tone.

An unexpected story.

Kim Songcheol quickly threw out a question to change the subject.

“Can’t you move up?”

“No. Once a status is set, it can never be changed. There’s no way to hide it. One’s status cannot be avoided.”

Kim Songcheol simply shut his mouth.

Because it felt like the situation was getting worse.

Just then, the Arcadians walking ahead and Oh Songhui stopped abruptly.

They immediately crouched down, and Oh Songhui signaled to the rear.

It meant they had found their target.

Kim Songcheol walked towards them as quietly as possible. The crunching sound of the snow seemed unusually loud.

Kim Songcheol first caught his breath behind a large rock, then cautiously poked his head out.

Behind the rock, in a steep canyon, there was a monster.

Its height was almost 4-5 meters.

Its body was like a yeti. It resembled a primate covered in pure white fur.

But its head was different.

Under a skull that looked like it was wearing a long conical hat, there were two glowing blue eyes, and it had no mouth at all.

‘How does it eat…’

Kim Songcheol hid himself behind the rock again.

“We will restrain its movements.”

In response, the oldest of the Arcadians offered his opinion.

“Can you restrain it?”

Kim Songcheol honestly didn’t feel confident in restraining that monster.

A hold magic would break the moment it was cast, and even if he pierced its feet with icicle magic, it would only be for a fleeting moment.

So how would they restrain it?

“Yes. If we use collaborative magic, we can restrain it.”

“Collaborative magic?”

“It’s when four people use magic together.”

“Oh.”

It was a new concept to him.

“Please, go ahead.”

Kim Songcheol’s eyes gleamed as he stepped back.

He was immensely curious how four people would use magic together.

But instead of casting magic immediately, the Arcadians asked a question.

“How will you attack? We can’t hold it for long.”

“How long can you hold it?”

“A maximum of 10 seconds.”

“A maximum of 10 seconds…?”

It was shorter than he expected.

It was enough time to run over and swing a sword a few times.

While being able to hold such a monster even for a short time was impressive enough, the word ‘maximum’ bothered him.

Kim Songcheol had actually been feeling it for a while. The fact that the Arcadians didn’t really try to talk to Oh Songhui and Seo Gangjin.

It was probably because, from their perspective, swordsmen were classified as ‘the forsaken.’

So, did they consider the safety of those two in this plan?

Kim Songcheol didn’t think so.

“I believe if we injure it first and then prolong the battle, we will have a definite chance of winning.”

The Arcadian added that.

The 10 seconds they were thinking of wasn’t 10 seconds to kill the monster, but 10 seconds to injure it.

As expected, it was a strategy that didn’t consider the swordsmen, and the main idea was to finish it by unleashing magic from a distance.

“Restrain it. I’ll handle it alone.”

“Huh? That…”

At Kim Songcheol’s words, the Arcadians looked troubled.

They couldn’t speak, but their eyes were saying that he couldn’t handle it alone at his current level.

If he couldn’t handle it, he would only provoke it without even inflicting a proper injury.

That was what the Arcadians were worried about.

But Kim Songcheol also had a plan.

Because the weaknesses of monsters appearing in E-rank dungeons were obvious.

“This… I mean… it’s an order.”

“Ah, I apologize.”

At Kim Songcheol’s words, which he uttered after much thought, the Arcadians immediately began preparing their collaborative magic.

They stood in a circle, hidden behind the rock.

Soon, a round basic circle formed under their feet, and under the leader’s hand gesture, the circle split into four pieces.

They began to fill the pieces placed in front of them.

Although they filled different shapes, they eventually completed a single picture.

‘Quite impressive?’

Kim Songcheol was secretly surprised.

It looked like just drawing, but it was a highly advanced form of magic.

He would probably have to pay a lot of points to buy this magic.

“Please prepare.”

The Arcadian said. Kim Songcheol prepared to cast Lightning Spear, the most powerful and fastest magic he possessed.

“Let’s begin.”

When Kim Songcheol gave the signal.

“Neane Hwakachio!”

The moment the four mages shouted simultaneously, chains of light shot out from under the monster’s feet, binding it tightly.

Clang!

The monster resisted with a roar, and the chains stretched taut, trembling as if they would break at any moment.

It was then that Kim Songcheol stepped forward from beside the rock.

“Lightning Spear.”

With a low incantation, a bluer-than-ever Lightning Spear appeared.

Crackle!

The Lightning Spear cut through space, advancing towards the monster moment by moment.

The monster, resisting the chains, also spotted the Lightning Spear.

It began to resist even more fiercely.

Clatter!

Every time its arms trembled, the chains tightly bound to them groaned.

At that moment.

Snap!

One of the chains broke.

Although nine more remained, one breaking created a gap in the monster’s movement.

Unlike being completely immobile, it could now move a little.

The Lightning Spear aimed for the monster’s eye.

But as its range of motion widened, its head completely shifted sideways.

It was clear it would miss at this rate.

“Ah…”

A low gasp escaped the Arcadian’s lips.

This was because Kim Songcheol’s failure was clearly felt.

However.

The moment Kim Songcheol’s eyes narrowed as he stared at the Lightning Spear cutting through space.

Crackle!

The Lightning Spear smoothly arced and struck the monster’s right eye as if it were drawn in.

Screech!

The monster let out a single scream and threw its head back.

“Lightning Spear.”

Kim Songcheol cast the magic once again.

Crackle!

The electric shock spear, flying like an arrow, seemed to aim for the other eye, but it struck the same spot again.

Electric shocks scattered in all directions from the spear, which was lodged deeper than before.

Judging by the depth it was lodged, it must have burned its brain this time.

As expected, the monster lost its strength and slumped its body.

As the chains rattled and scattered, the monster’s massive body fell to the ground with a thud.

“Ohhh…!”

“We foolishly…”

The Arcadians were clearly surprised.

It was their first time seeing Kim Songcheol’s way of using magic.

However, they didn’t comment much on it.

It was due to the vague thought that such things might be possible for a descendant of the Great Sage.

Instead, they apologized to Kim Songcheol.

The gist was that they had foolishly misunderstood Kim Songcheol’s profound intentions.

“We apologize. We tried to judge the descendant of the Great Sage with a narrow perspective. Please forgive us with your broad generosity…”

As one person bowed their head, the other Arcadians also respectfully bowed their heads.

“Why are you all doing this? It’s fine.”

As Kim Songcheol helped each of them straighten up, only then could the Arcadians stand upright.

Their expressions brightened considerably. It seemed they felt forgiven since Kim Songcheol had personally touched them.

Team 25A and the Arcadians continued to navigate the dungeon together thereafter.

As expected, Team 25A primarily earned points, while the Arcadians merely assisted.

If hunters from other Earths had witnessed it, they would probably have found it strange.

This was because even if Arcadians and Earthlings had friendly relations, they wouldn’t stick together and assist so closely.

With the boss defeated, there was nothing to stop them now.

At some point, while continuously dealing with monsters, an escape portal was discovered.

“Ah, there’s the portal.”

An Arcadian pointed down the slope with a joyful voice.

The portal was in the center of a wide-open snowy field.

“Shall we head back soon?”

Oh Songhui said cheerfully, taking the lead.

Team 25A, along with the Arcadians, paused in front of the portal.

It was time to say goodbye.

Encounters in the Private Dungeon are mostly coincidental.

Dungeons are randomly assigned, and no one knows who will enter which dungeon.

“We are sorry, but it seems it’s time for us to return. We apologize for not being able to attend to you until the end.”

The Arcadians bowed deeply once again.

Bowing when they met and bowing several times, Kim Songcheol was now used to it.

Even when they bowed in apology, he didn’t feel particularly apologetic.

“If fate allows, we’ll meet again.”

“It is said that the path of magic never ends and stretches eternally to the heavens. And since all roads lead to magic, we will surely meet again on that path someday. I will pray and pray for that day to come quickly.”

“Yes, thank you. For your help. And for your promise in magic.”

“No, it’s what we ought to do.”

“Then you go first.”

“No, how could we go first…?”

“Go ahead.”

When Kim Songcheol urged them once more, the Arcadians fidgeted, then bowed again and cautiously entered the portal.

“Ah, don’t you dislike those people a bit?”

As the Arcadians disappeared, only then did Oh Songhui vent her dissatisfaction.

She couldn’t have failed to notice their subtle disdain for swordsmen.

“I don’t know if they’ll even send the magic. Aren’t they just talking big?”

“I don’t know. Let’s just wait and see.”

Kim Songcheol comforted Oh Songhui.

He was also proud of her for enduring until the end, even though it must have been quite annoying for someone of Oh Songhui’s personality.

“Really? I thought they were good people. I asked if I could have some food earlier, and they shared it. The pink food they were eating.”

Seo Gangjin, on the other hand, tilted his head.

The feeling of ‘subtly looking down’ varied from person to person.

“Are they good people just because they gave you food? They just gave it out of charity because of my uncle.”

Even though Oh Songhui was disgusted, Seo Gangjin just mumbled to himself, “Aren’t they good people? They’d probably give it to me even in magic…”