Chapter 35 – Butterfly Dungeon (1)

“Hey. Isn’t that the Hanul Guild?”

“The one that’s been sweeping up all the bosses lately?”

“Isn’t that Kim In-ho from the Tushin Guild next to them? Why is he with Hanul instead of Tushin?”

“I heard Kim In-ho got traded to Hanul.”

“What? Why?”

The murmurs of the hunters gathered in front of the Uiwang Railroad Museum Dungeon reached my ears.

I could feel people’s attention slowly gathering.

Until now, I had hunted dungeons alone. A mere porter and supporter, I was taking down bosses by myself without a party and had even recruited the sensational S-rank Seo Hyun-ji as a team member.

Right now, I was the most famous person in the hunter community.

Whether that fame would turn out to be a good or a bad thing was yet to be seen.

“Everyone’s staring at us.”

“If you’re going to be with me, you’ll have to get used to this much.”

Seo Hyun-ji, wearing a black hat and mask, was practically bursting with pride.

“Wait, is that Seo Hyun-ji?”

“Seo Hyun-ji? For real?”

Although the only people gathered at the Uiwang Dungeon were hunter industry personnel, there were quite a few fans of Seo Hyun-ji among them.

Hearing the hunters’ whispers, Seo Hyun-ji’s eyes filled with pride. It looked like she wanted to hear something from me, but I just ignored her.

“The Hanul Guild, we meet again.”

Instead of the guys who were loitering around hoping to get a glimpse of Seo Hyun-ji, a completely different group approached us first.

It was Baek Ju-hwan, the party leader of the Tushin Guild.

Behind him, Go Ha-sol, the one who spoke five languages, wore a knowing look, while Kim Chang-yeol, formerly of the special forces, scowled.

“Tushin is here too. I guess we’re bound to run into each other often since our levels are similar.”

Since dungeons have entry-level requirements, teams that debut around the same time often see each other constantly for years.

“Kim In-ho, I heard you got kicked out and went to Hanul. Sticking to them like a damn bat, are you?”

Kim Chang-yeol said with open scorn.

“What, you were on a team with losers like that? Good thing you left.”

“What did you say?”

As Kim Tae-yang threw an arm around Kim In-ho’s shoulder and pointed, Kim Chang-yeol’s eyes widened in fury.

It would be trouble if a war of nerves broke out between our team members. In times like these, it’s up to me, the team leader, to step in and speak calmly.

“Are you acting like this because we stole your boss last time? Or is it because you got beaten up? Come on, surely grown adults wouldn’t be so petty, right?”

At my words, the faces of both Baek Ju-hwan and Kim Chang-yeol crumpled simultaneously.

“You’ll have a hard time getting anything good in this dungeon. Thanks to Kim In-ho leaving, a B-ranker has joined our party.”

Kim Chang-yeol smirked sinisterly.

Just as he said, a man with permed hair stood with his arms crossed arrogantly.

“Wow! A B-rank hunter! So amazing! We have an S-rank hunter, though!”

“…!”

As if joining in on some unknown competition, Seo Hyun-ji slightly lifted her hat, pulled down her mask, and crossed her arms haughtily.

“S-Seo Hyun-ji?”

No one had gained as much fame as Seo Hyun-ji recently.

Seeing Seo Hyun-ji in the flesh, Kim Chang-yeol blushed and didn’t know what to do with himself.

“Would you like an autograph?”

At Seo Hyun-ji’s words, Kim Chang-yeol was about to present his power suit but backed off regretfully after catching the eye of his team.

“I hope we all have a good clear.”

I said with a smile.

* * *

“A brief announcement!”

A guard at the Uiwang Dungeon shouted, cupping his hands around his mouth.

“I am the supervising official for the Uiwang Railroad Museum Dungeon! As of this moment, the boss of this dungeon has been upgraded to 2-star! The dungeon difficulty itself remains Intermediate! Team leaders of each guild, please consult with your members before applying for entry!”

At the news that the boss had been upgraded to 2-star, the hunters who came to clear it began to stir.

It made sense, as all information about bosses was shared through the Wizard System distributed by the Hunter Disaster Agency.

Even if it was a boss from an intermediate dungeon, a boss was still a boss.

If its star-rank increased and it gained just one new skill, or if its stats were slightly altered, the difficulty of clearing it would skyrocket in an instant.

For example, say a boss had a regeneration ability. A standard, stable party would be unable to clear it. You would need explosive damage output that could overwhelm its regeneration speed.

Conversely, say a boss had an invisibility skill. Then you would need a supporter who could detect it. Otherwise, at least one person would be devoured in a surprise attack.

Due to the human trafficking incident with the Winners Guild, a party registration system had been implemented.

While events inside a dungeon couldn’t be tracked, if a party member who entered with you died, you would face a massive fine.

This was the so-called Ahn Sang-jin Special Act, which was newly revised.

“An S-rank. No, what the hell is an S-rank doing in an intermediate dungeon! This sucks! Seriously!”

Baek Ju-hwan, the Tushin party leader, spat out in frustration.

The other party members looked just as grim.

Kim Shin, the head of HR, had given them an ultimatum. If they delivered another performance unbecoming of Tushin, they would all be sent back to the training center.

“If we go back to the training center…”

“Ha, what a disgrace. We’d have to roll around with the rookie hunters. No, more importantly, we wouldn’t be making any money.”

Go Ha-sol and Kim Chang-yeol muttered under their breath. The B-ranker spoke to the two of them.

“Nothing to worry about. So what if she’s an S-rank? This is her first clear, isn’t it?”

At the B-ranker Kim Chi-guk’s relaxed words, a sense of relief washed over the party members’ faces.

There was a rumor that Seo Hyun-ji was only level 1.

Not only that, but Kim In-ho and Kim Tae-yang were both low-level rookies. Thinking about it rationally, they had the advantage.

“And the Hanul Guild will definitely not be able to kill the boss this time.”

Kim Chi-guk said leisurely.

Many were wary of the Hanul Guild in this dungeon. Specifically, of Team Leader Lee Hyunbin.

* * *

The dungeon entry began.

Just because you passed through the dungeon entrance didn’t mean everyone arrived at the same place. Much like how monsters respawned, you were transported to one of several designated locations.

-Grade: Intermediate

-Name: Insect Dungeon

-Boss: Butterfly Queen Mago ★★

-Rewards

Legendary: Mago’s Eye

Unique: Mago’s Staff, Mago’s Leather Boots, Flight

Rare: Camouflage, Sleep, Charm, Levitate

Despite the boss suddenly being upgraded to 2-star, no one gave up.

The reason was that the Wizard System had announced that Mago could drop a legendary item.

Legendary items were incredibly valuable.

Even unique items could be worth billions, but legendary items were in a league of their own.

Hunters aiming for a windfall began their hunt.

*Rustle, rustle.*

Giant insects approached with an eerie rustling sound. To hunt them, hunters formed formations and began to fight.

Thirty minutes after the hunt began.

There were those who retreated from the dungeon, heavily injured, and those who rejoiced after getting a Skill USB from a regular monster.

Skills could also drop from regular monsters, albeit at an extremely low rate.

“If we go straight ahead from here, we’ll be there! Ah, there are other hunters engaged in combat up ahead!”

At the scout Go Ha-sol’s words, Baek Ju-hwan opened his mouth.

“Any other routes?”

“If we detour about 35 meters from here… Hah, but the party ahead might get wiped out. There are too many of them…!”

“Doesn’t matter.”

At their party leader Baek Ju-hwan’s words, Go Ha-sol blinked in surprise.

“What do you mean…”

“He means it’s a good thing for us if there’s bait.”

As if frustrated by Go Ha-sol’s failure to understand, Kim Chang-yeol spoke up instead.

He was right. Inside a dungeon, it was a competition.

“Aaargh!”

“Damn bugs! Where the hell do they keep coming from?!”

Ignoring the screams and shouts of the hunters surrounded by insects, the Tushin party chose to take a detour.

The most important thing right now was to kill the boss first. And other guilds were thinking the exact same thing.

While everyone was searching the labyrinthine forest for the boss, the Hanul Guild’s party was acting differently from the others.

* * *

-If you go straight from here, you’ll find the caterpillar hatchery.

-Good.

I moved according to Olivier’s communications and navigation.

What was the best way to level up? You either kill the boss or hunt monsters with a higher level than you.

If neither of those was feasible, there was only one option left.

Wipe out a massive number of monsters.

“Where are we going? Is it okay to just walk around without scouting?”

“Yes, let’s go for a round of power-leveling.”

Hearing my words, Seo Hyun-ji pouted.

“But it’s uncomfortable walking around with a hat and mask.”

“I never told you to wear them.”

“If I didn’t wear something like this, I probably wouldn’t be able to take a single step.”

Just as Seo Hyun-ji said, people’s attention was focused on her. Not only that, but even after entering the dungeon, hunters had approached her to get an autograph or to try and get friendly.

You never know what might happen in a dungeon. Inside, you had to be suspicious and wary of even people you didn’t know well. That’s why I blocked all their approaches, and all the complaints were directed at me.

It really was a thankless role. No matter how I looked at it, this felt like a bad deal.

“Maybe I should wear a full mask next time. A hat and a regular mask can’t hide my beauty.”

To say something like that about herself.

I wanted to ask if she had any shame, but since it was true, I had nothing to say.

‘A mask?’

Her mentioning a mask reminded me of something good.

The Justice Armor that the idiot duo Im Jae-joon and Olivier had made came to mind. They had definitely said they would start with the prototype, ‘Red,’ and then move on to mass production.

Hmm, maybe I should recommend it to her later.

-You’ve arrived at the caterpillar hatchery.

-Find the next one, too.

-…….

At my words, Olivier was silent for a moment.

-Truly, your love for insects is something else. Is it because you’re as repulsive as an insect yourself? Instead of going to kill the boss, you’re just looking for bugs?

I let out a dry laugh at Olivier’s aggressive tone.

Come to think of it, she had a weak stomach for gross things. Scouting around, she would have to see the sight of all the squirming caterpillars. Her skin was probably crawling right now.

-I’m not killing the boss today. I’m just going to keep smashing bugs. Got. To. Level. Up.

-…You monster.

Ignoring Olivier’s complaint, I prepared for the task at hand.

“Pour all the oil flasks you brought inside the cavern. And Hunter Seo Hyun-ji, use Igni to scour the inside clean.”

“Inside? What’s in there?”

“Do you like caterpillars?”

“…No.”

“Then just do the cooking.”

Finally guessing what was inside, Seo Hyun-ji’s face contorted in a grimace.

Kim Tae-yang and Kim In-ho excitedly poured the oil flasks everywhere.

Seo Hyun-ji summoned her fire spirit and had it scrape along the walls and floor. Thanks to that, the oil-soaked cavern was instantly filled with flames.

“Mmm, what a nice smell.”

My team members held their noses with disgusted faces, but to me, it smelled sweet. It was the smell of experience points pouring in.

Caterpillars the size of a forearm were forcing their way out of their chambers.

They couldn’t speak, but they realized they were facing the threat of death.

Seeing them crawling out of the cavern, I sent Kim In-ho and Kim Tae-yang to the front.

“Alright, let the hunt begin!”

After Seo Hyun-ji’s fire spirit put on a spectacular oil show, the caterpillars that burst out to save their lives were cut down at the entrance by Kim Tae-yang and Kim In-ho.

Their dreams of growing up to be fine insects that would eat many bad people ended in a brief, fleeting moment, along with the flames.

These things dropped zero items, but the experience they gave was substantial. And it was safe, too.

In an instant, nothing but ash remained inside the cavern.

-Olivier?

-Huu… Do you understand a mother’s heart? I wonder what the parents, who left their cute children at a nursery to go to work, would say if they saw this horrific sight. Hero?

-Wow, you like cute children?

I tried to get a closer look at a half-cooked caterpillar. Right now, Olivier was sharing my vision. Thanks to that, I could hear her shriek in horror, which put me in a cheerful mood.

-Stop talking nonsense and guide me to the next location.

-Sob, you’re a devil. A devil!

She’s a demon herself, yet she calls me a devil.

We moved to the second caterpillar hatchery.

Most of them hadn’t even hatched from their eggs yet.

“Alright, star player. Let’s begin.”

“Who are you calling star player!”

Seo Hyun-ji grumbled but still incinerated all the bugs with her flames.

By now, she was probably leveling up at literal light speed.

Kim Tae-yang and Kim In-ho were also hunting the ones that made it out, cutting them off at the entrance.

There was another reason I was clearing the caterpillar hatcheries besides the experience points.

In any insect colony, the queen is in the deepest, safest place. The queen is, quite literally, the one and only individual capable of ensuring the continuation of the species.

Naturally, the path to the queen is perilous. It might take days of constant battle. So, I decided to use that to my advantage.

My plan was to wipe out all the eggs and caterpillars, forcing the Butterfly Queen to come to me.

No, that had been the plan.

‘Hmm, it seems some unexpected guests have taken the bait.’

Instead of the Butterfly Queen I wanted, something else was caught first.