A few days later.

Team 24C gathered in Guardian Hall.

They took off the Illusion suit, which had become familiar to them, and entered the room with the Stone Slab.

Thump! Thump!

Park Ha-su tapped his helmet twice strongly.

When Kim Songcheol looked back at the sound, Park Ha-su replied, ‘Ah, it’s a routine,’ and then drew and sheathed the longsword in his hand twice with a click-clack sound.

“Please understand, brother.”

Kang Hye-seong laughed, massaging Kim Songcheol’s shoulder.

“No, I wasn’t going to blame you. Don’t others have routines?”

“I don’t.”

“Me neither.”

Kang Hye-seong and Lee Yong-chan shook their heads. They were just checking their equipment one more time.

After all, since they were risking their lives in the Dungeon, some Hunters had strange routines or jinxes.

I heard that a foreign Hunter moves according to a minute-by-minute routine from the moment he wakes up until just before entering the Dungeon.

If you look, there are many more bizarre routines and jinxes.

Compared to that, the ‘thump-thump, click-clack’ was quite cute.

Team 24C soon stepped onto the Stone Slab.

Kim Songcheol finished setting the difficulty and glanced at his teammates.

Their sunken eyes sparkled with seriousness.

They looked like true Hunters, not young men fooling around in the Gymnasium.

“Ready?”

“Yes!”

The team members answered Kim Songcheol’s question in unison.

“Transmission ready. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.”

The countdown ended.

As light burst from the Stone Slab, Team 24C was transmitted to the Dungeon.

The place where Team 24C appeared was a ruin.

Large rocks lay scattered, and rotten wood was strewn about.

Only traces of a building barely remained on the well-trodden ground.

It was like an archaeological excavation site.

Kim Songcheol and the other Hunters did not move at first, surveying their surroundings.

This is because sometimes they encounter monsters as soon as they are transmitted.

“It seems safe.”

Kim Songcheol said.

For one, the view was wide open. There was nowhere for a monster to hide.

Unless it was in the forest several hundred meters away.

“Is this the master bedroom, and this the kitchen?”

Lee Yong-chan, walking forward, surmised the house structure by looking at the remaining traces on the floor.

He couldn’t tell if there had been a roof, and most of the walls were gone.

Only the foundation stones remained.

It looked like it had been in ruins for at least several hundred years.

“If you find anything useful, take it. Maybe we can donate it to a museum official.”

“It’s just rocks? Should I donate even this?”

Kang Hye Castle and Lee Yong-chan exchanged a few words.

If they rupture the thread, something might come out, but there was no reason or need for that.

It was just a map, after all.

They didn’t know if they would visit again after leaving through the portal.

There was nothing to gain from researching the ruins.

“Let’s go to the forest. We need to earn points.”

“Yes!”

As Kim Songcheol waved his finger towards the forest, Lee Yong-chan and Kang Hye Castle immediately returned to their formation.

Lee Yong-chan was at the very front, followed by Kang Hye Castle, then Kim Songcheol, and Park Ha-su at the very back.

Team 24C passed through the ruins and entered the coniferous forest.

Tall coniferous trees, like those in a tundra, stood at regular intervals.

As soon as they entered the forest, the scent of phytoncides wafted over them.

Lee Yong-chan, who was at the very front, swung his sword a couple of times and then slowly raised it.

This was the perfect terrain for monsters to appear. Lee Yong-chan had entered combat readiness.

His steps were cautious but unhesitating, and he kept his vision wide while also keeping his ears open.

Kim Songcheol found Lee Yong-chan’s demeanor quite reassuring.

It was because he exuded a strong sense of experience.

Team 24C traversed the forest without exchanging a single word.

There were no unnecessary jokes, and they certainly weren’t sightseeing.

Only tension flowed.

After about 15 minutes of advancing.

‘Something’s wrong?’

Kim Songcheol’s eyes scanned the surroundings.

He saw nothing.

It was just trees, dirt, and rocks, nothing more.

Soon, Kang Hye Castle and Kim Songcheol’s eyes met.

Kang Hye Castle asked with her eyes.

‘Isn’t something strange?’

Kim Songcheol also replied with his eyes.

‘Let’s keep going for now.’

After walking for another 10 minutes, the trees gradually became sparse, and another set of ruins appeared.

They hadn’t encountered a single monster.

“This isn’t good.”

Kim Songcheol uttered his first words as they left the forest.

“This looks like an arena dungeon, no matter how you look at it.”

Park Ha-su said, approaching backward. Unlike the other team members who were looking forward, he was guarding their rear.

“This seems like an Arena Dungeon, doesn’t it?”

Lee Yong-chan said, sharply scanning his surroundings. He lowered his sword, but his muscles were taut, ready to spring into action at any moment.

“…I’ll have to assume it’s an Arena Dungeon. Until a monster appears.”

Kim Songcheol said, his voice laced with apprehension.

An Arena Dungeon refers to a dungeon without monsters.

Instead of monsters, many hunters are deployed.

That’s why it’s called an Arena Dungeon.

When many hunters are placed inside, battles naturally break out.

This is because not all hunters enter dungeons with active defense as their primary strategy, like the Earthlings.

In fact, in these situations, some countries actively engage in offensive strategies, completely transforming the battlefield.

Killing a hunter earns more than 100 times the points of killing a monster.

Moreover, hunter kill points increase exponentially as the level rises.

The dungeon itself seemed to encourage combat between hunters.

“First, let’s hide. This place is too open.”

Following Kim Songcheol’s suggestion, the 24C Team re-entered the forest.

They moved around the ruins, even muffling their footsteps.

Even an Arena Dungeon is still a dungeon, and they needed to find a portal to leave.

Finding the portal without encountering other hunters was their best option.

Though whether that would be possible, he didn’t know.

The 24C Team continued through the forest.

They couldn’t let their guard down.

Monsters and hunters are different.

You can’t predict where or how they’ll appear.

At that moment, Lee Yong-chan, who was at the very front, stopped.

He moved his head, turning his ears forward.

His ears could be seen twitching.

He seemed to have heard something.

First, Lee Yong-chan and Park Ha-su lowered their stances. A pale red aura began to slowly emanate from their swords.

Rupture…!

A few seconds later, Kim Songcheol also heard a sound.

It was a very faint sound.

He immediately channeled his mana.

Soon, what appeared was a pair of green light wings.

The wings fluttered beside a hazy green light orb.

It moved very quickly, approaching them while avoiding their gaze.

“Be on guard! It’s a spirit!”

Kim Songcheol raised his voice. At his words, the 24C Team sharply scanned their surroundings.

That wasn’t a monster; it was a spirit.

That meant there was a spirit user nearby.

A large magic circle appeared in front of Kim Songcheol. It was magic to intercept the spirit.

Thread! No!

Then, a young voice echoed through the Forest.

It was a voice that didn’t suit the Dungeon.

That’s when Kim Songcheol’s Magic formation, which had been slowly rotating, stopped.

A child’s figure appeared through the Nothingness.

But soon, an adult’s arm reached out from behind the Nothingness and pulled the child’s arm.

The distance was about 50 meters.

“I have no intention of attacking! I ask that you not annihilate me! I will give you information instead!”

A young man’s voice spread from behind the Nothingness.

“Please!”

The child’s voice was also heard.

Kim Songcheol first focused on the spirit.

A Contract with a spirit is mental.

If a spirit is annihilated, the Contract holder will receive a huge Rebound.

In this case, the child would receive it.

Kim Songcheol first raised his hand, signaling his teammates to stand by.

The Swordsmen watched the spirit with tension, ready to pounce at any moment.

The atmosphere of the 24C Team was full of tension, but the spirit alone leisurely circled above Kim Songcheol’s head.

If it did anything suspicious, he would strike it with Lightning.

But Kim Songcheol was feeling it.

The fact that the spirit had no Doctor to attack.

It was like a whisper in his mind.

Rupture…!

At some point, the spirit gently landed on Kim Songcheol’s head.

A pleasant breeze came from its rapidly Rupturing wings.

The icy atmosphere seemed to slightly loosen.

“…Go.”

Kim Songcheol waved the spirit away, saying.

Then the spirit flew up again and fluttered towards the child.

As the spirit returned, a voice soon spread from behind the Nothingness.

“…As promised, I will give you information.”

His voice sounded as if he was speaking right next to them. It seemed to be the spirit’s trick.

“From what we’ve confirmed so far, there are 13 Nothingness. Two of those Nothingness hunt together. Never go north.”

“Are those two Nothingness in the north?”

“Yes.”

They had quite detailed information. It was thanks to the spirit’s reconnaissance.

“Where is the Portal?”

“We haven’t found it yet.”

“Why did you send the spirit away?”

“It was the spirit’s independent action. Lower spirits aren’t very intelligent. It happens sometimes.”

Normally, wind spirits can move without making a sound.

The fact that it approached with the sound of flapping wings, however, added credibility to the claim of independent action.

“…Good luck.”

With those words, an adult and a child emerged from behind us and hurried off somewhere.

The child was, at most, about a sixth grader.

“Have you ever seen a child that young?”

Kang Hye-seong asked.

“No.”

The team members shook their heads in succession.

“Let’s move.”

Kim Songcheol gave the order in a rather businesslike tone.

At that, the other team members’ eyes sharpened again.

Team 24C moved more cautiously.

If there were thirteen gates, there would probably be more than twenty teams deployed, and more teams would be hunting.

Even with reconnaissance using spirits, it’s impossible to grasp the entire map at once.

It was right to assume there were more.

Team 24C wandered for three more hours and encountered several hunter teams, but fortunately, there was no combat.

Perhaps it was because they didn’t go north.

Just as the Coniferous Forest was becoming a little familiar.

“S-save me!”

A loud shout came from the right.

Team 24C immediately prepared for battle.

Park Ha-su threw down the energy bar he had half-peeled and raised his sword.

A human figure was faintly visible through the trees.

A few more seconds passed, and his entire body was revealed.

It was a male staff member in a combat uniform.

He was running towards Team 24C with an urgent expression.

“Save me! The enemies are chasing me!”

Upon seeing Team 24C, the male staff member’s expression brightened as if he had seen a lifeline.

He repeatedly pointed behind him.

Behind him, the pursuers were visible. At a glance, they were not Earth hunters.

They were wearing leather clothes and each carried a longsword.

They were chasing him at a considerable speed.

If left like this, he would surely be caught quickly.

“It’s the American flag!”

Lee Yong-chan, who was in front, said.

The male staff member’s military uniform clearly bore the American flag.

According to the treaty, Korea’s Hunters had an obligation to rescue America’s Hunters.

Snap!

Kang Hye-seong reacted first.

Lightning Spears continuously tore through the air.

However, they failed to inflict any damage.

The pursuers easily dodged the attacks. Their physical abilities were quite exceptional.

Kang Hye-seong looked back at Kim Song-cheol with an urgent expression.

This was because Kim Song-cheol, who should have been casting magic, was just watching.

Kim Song-cheol’s eyes kept darting between the Americans and the pursuers.

Then, at one moment, his gaze became fixated on the Americans.

Flash!

It was then that a magic circle appeared in front of Kim Song-cheol.

The moment the magic circle glowed with an illusionary light.

Crash!

A bolt of lightning fell from the sky, striking the American squarely on the crown of his head.