Chapter 15

Since it was standard practice to begin the conquest of a large-scale dungeon as quickly as possible, Taewoon and the Baran Guild party headed straight to the designated location the following day.

And there, they met the party members from the other four guilds participating in the conquest.

“…The party with the highest rank is the Daeryong Guild. Their leader, Choi Ik-hwan, is Level 3, and the other two are Level 2 Hunters.”

“I see.”

He had heard that in gatherings where multiple guilds joined forces, a tacit competition over their respective achievements would unfold. Indeed, Harim, having become the Party Leader, already seemed to be fully fired up.

“Let’s go without feeling too much pressure.”

“Ah, I know. It’s just that the guild’s name is on the line, so I can’t help but be nervous.”

“Don’t you worry about a thing, hyung-nim! We just have to show them that rank isn’t everything, right?”

While excessive zeal wasn’t ideal, such competition could be a good experience for a young Rookie Hunter.

As he thought this, each guild finished their preparations to enter the dungeon, and amidst the crowd, Taewoon encountered a familiar face.

“Yo, looking quite sharp, aren’t we?”

It was Kang Mansik, the leader of the ruffian group who had pressured Taewoon to terminate his contract.

“What do you want?”

“Whoa, whoa. Let’s not get heated. I was just doing my job back then, and it would be troublesome to have bad blood since we’re conquering the same dungeon, wouldn’t it?”

“I have no intention of holding you accountable, so you don’t need to worry.”

Perhaps he had heard the news of Yongcheol being utterly crushed; Mansik approached Taewoon with a considerably cautious attitude.

However, that didn’t mean his rotten nature had changed.

“Baran Guild, huh? You’ve climbed the ladder. Who knew that parasite would end up like this? Well, anyway, put in some effort. Samson will take the lead, but you should at least handle the cleanup properly, right?”

At the arrogant and grating mockery, the expressions of Harim and Minjun, who were standing beside Taewoon, soured.

Regardless, Taewoon didn’t even pretend to listen, simply finishing the inspection of his equipment.

“…Tsk, just you wait.”

After Mansik left, feeling offended on his own, Minjun, who had been suppressing his anger, shouted indignantly.

“Who is that shameless brute? To just come up and insult hyung-nim and the guild.”

“…He is certainly an unpleasant fellow.”

“That’s just his nature. There’s no need to pay him any mind.”

Just as it had been during the fight with Yongcheol, Taewoon no longer felt hatred or concern for them.

As Mansik had said, he had merely done as he was told, and Taewoon’s perspective had broadened too much to be affected by mere ruffians.

“Forget it! It’ll be enough for us to prove ourselves through our results!”

“Anyway, once we go inside, we’ll rarely have to see each other’s faces.”

Because large-scale dungeons are vast in size, parties usually split up and explore different directions.

Unless it was a difficult area or the Boss Room, it was certain that they wouldn’t encounter Mansik, just as Harim said.

“Are you the Hunters from the Baran Guild? If you’re ready, enter through the right passage with us.”

“Yes. We’re all set.”

Taewoon’s group paired up with the Heimdall Guild, which also had a 3-person party. Together, they formed a balanced party consisting of three Level 2s and three Level 1s.

Glancing over, it seemed the Daeryong Guild, which possessed a Level 3 Hunter, was exploring the remaining central passage alone.

“You don’t have to worry about that side. The power of a skilled Level 3 Hunter cannot be matched even by eight Level 2s.”

“I see. Understood.”

Generally, it was accepted that a Level 2 Hunter had about twice the combat power of a Level 1 Hunter, but from Level 3 onwards, the gap in strength increased exponentially.

Though Taewoon hadn’t experienced it personally, people said that once someone reached Level 4, dozens of Level 2s wouldn’t be a match for them.

That was why no one worried about the Daeryong party taking the central passage alone.

“Then, let’s move.”

Finally, the parties from the Baran and Heimdall Guilds entered the dungeon, and a chilly air enveloped their bodies.

Indeed, even considering its scale, Level 1 and Level 2 dungeons felt different in atmosphere.

For Taewoon, who had grown further after clearing two Theaters, this would be a fairly good experience.

“Monster pack appearing 10 meters ahead! Species I-14—Greyhound, 7 in total!”

“Seven, huh. This dungeon is quite tight right from the start.”

One of the biggest characteristics of a large-scale dungeon is that, as the interior is vast, the number of inhabiting monsters is also quite high.

The members of the two parties quickly formed a formation, dividing into Vanguard and Rear Guard, and began killing the wolf-like Greyhounds in sync.

“One over there! It’s breaking through!”

“…I’ll handle it.”

While the front line was holding them back, the smallest one dashed toward the rear. Without even relying on the power of the Mask, Taewoon sprinted in the blink of an eye and struck the creature’s flank with the shaft of his spear.

Following that, he delivered a strike accurately aimed at a vital point, and while the creature hesitated, he pierced its throat with a decisive thrust.

‘Most Beast Type monsters of the first form use powerful physical ability as their weapon.’

Thus, the Greyhound was a monster with great strength and considerable speed, but honestly, it was far below the level required to make the current Taewoon struggle.

Gyeongcheol, the Party Leader of Heimdall, marveled at the clean, efficient movements.

“Your skill is quite impressive. Those aren’t the movements of a Level 1.”

“It’s thanks to the Heimdall members helping me with the distractions.”

“Hehe, a humble fellow.”

In any case, there were no major issues and the atmosphere was good, allowing the Baran and Heimdall parties to proceed with the dungeon conquest at a significant pace from the first day.

“Let’s see… at this rate, we must be at least halfway there. We might actually be the fastest.”

“Are there any particular issues we should be concerned about?”

“Hmm? No, none. It’s been nothing but Hounds; the most annoying thing that might appear would be a Rock Boar.”

Gyeongcheol seemed to be a quite experienced Hunter, so his words were trustworthy.

“But well, the general rule is that anything can happen in a large-scale dungeon. Let’s keep our guard up as we move forward.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

After setting up a temporary camp and spending the night, Taewoon’s group headed deeper into the dungeon.

They fought packs of Hounds several times and clashed with Rock Boars, as Gyeongcheol had predicted, a few more times.

About ten hours after waking up, the Baran and Heimdall parties reached a point that seemed to be the end of the right passage.

“My prediction was off. I didn’t expect this side to be the jackpot.”

Before Gyeongcheol, who held an axe, sat a truly massive and grand Boss Room.

Normally, in this situation, one would return to the dungeon entrance first, meet the other two teams, and challenge the Boss Room together.

However, the three passages spreading out from the Boss Room suggested a new possibility that contradicted that norm.

“No matter how I look at it, it seems they connect to the three passages at the starting point, right?”

“Hyung-nim, I think so too. We just suffered for nothing.”

As if everyone’s prediction was correct, about an hour later, two parties appeared from the left passage, looking quite exhausted.

They were the party members from the Samson Guild, where Mansik belonged, and the Garosu Guild, who had been with them.

“What is this… was the structure like that?”

“You’ll know if you look. You’re later than us this time.”

“Whew, I’m too exhausted to even argue.”

The Party Leader of the Garosu Guild, who seemed to be on friendly terms with Gyeongcheol, waved his hand and slumped down on the spot.

Just as a peaceful atmosphere was about to continue, Taewoon, feeling a strong sense of incongruity, called everyone over to raise a question.

“But, isn’t this a bit strange? That the Daeryong Guild, which has Hunter Choi Ik-hwan, is the last to arrive at the Boss Room.”

Hearing Taewoon’s words, the Hunters tilted their heads as if realizing it, and soon, all their expressions hardened.

Because their tension had dropped, they had almost overlooked it, but it was indeed a bizarre result.

“Everyone, combat stance—!!”

Gyeongcheol, feeling the unease, was the first to call everyone up, and a subtle tension began to circulate among the raid party.

Nothing had happened yet, but the feeling was definitely not good.

As if to prove it, a man covered in blood soon appeared from deep within the central passage and faced the group.

“The… the Daeryong party. Two people, including Hunter Choi Ik-hwan, have died. Is everyone… okay?”

“What on earth happened? We didn’t encounter any monsters that powerful…”

“In the central passage, there was… an Aberrant Being, about 3 meters tall, with a grotesque face, swinging a club. Senior Ik-hwan dealt a fatal blow, but even with its waist severed, it launched a surprise attack, and— cough…”

The man began to sob, choking on his emotions.

Having suddenly lost two party members and been left alone, it wasn’t strange for his heart to break.

“…Dasol, please treat him.”

“Yes, mister.”

Fortunately, it seemed Hunter Choi Ik-hwan had sacrificed his life to deal with the monster, but that wasn’t the real problem.

If the boss was stronger than that creature, it would be an overwhelmingly difficult opponent for the remaining Hunters.

“Hey, Gyeongcheol. Isn’t this a bit dangerous?”

“We don’t know that for sure. Hunter Ik-hwan wouldn’t have fallen if it wasn’t a surprise attack, and regardless, there are thirteen Hunters gathered here.”

Since it was generally said that one Level 3 Hunter could handle eight Level 2s, Choi Gyeongcheol’s words weren’t exactly wrong.

Yet, everyone knew. The fight ahead would certainly not be easy.

“Damn it, I’ll be blunt. The boss will be stronger than that thing, not weaker. But if we respond with unity, it’s not an opponent we can’t beat.”

“…Tsk, no choice then. Once you enter a dungeon, there’s no way out other than a Clear.”

With that conclusion reached, the Hunters took their own time to rest and prepare for the final battle.

And finally, having steeled their resolve, the Hunters lined up before the Boss Room and began to push open the massive doors.

It was the moment the battle began to see the end of a large-scale dungeon where even a Level 3 Hunter had perished.