Chapter 17

Chapter 17

“Then let’s enter.”

“Yes. C-Rank hunter Yoon Seohee will take the center, I’ll take the very front, and the other members will cover from the sides and rear as we enter.”

This is kind of embarrassing. I feel like some rich person getting bodyguarded by impressive people. Though if I’m being honest with reality, it’s more like protecting a single piece of luggage.

Hunter Kim Seongmyeong confirmed the formation was set properly, then immediately entered the field as he’d said.

Like most dungeons, this one had a dirt path laid through the center, as if guiding the way we needed to go, despite the dense forest.

I followed behind Hunter Kim Seongmyeong, being as careful as possible not to fall behind or get too far ahead.

And then.

“Enemy approaching!”

The moment Hunter Kim Seongmyeong shouted urgently, something shot past right next to me. At the same time, whatever had appeared between the thick trees crumpled to the ground in an instant.

“Huh?”

“……?”

“What?”

For a moment, I couldn’t understand what had just happened, so I just stared blankly in the direction where the black something had fallen.

It was a monster that looked roughly like a coyote… but with spikes sticking out all over its body. The name visible through the monster identification system that any Awakened could use was ‘Spike Coyote.’ A truly excessively straightforward name.

“W-what just happened…?”

In this strange atmosphere, the first person to speak was Jeong Soyeon. I turned my gaze away from staring blankly at the Spike Coyote and looked at Jeong Soyeon.

Jeong Soyeon flinched as if startled even by her own words, then shook her head vigorously. After that, she seemed to pull herself together and asked in a clearer voice.

“Was that you, Mr. Yoon Juyeong?”

It was a reasonable guess. Certainly, the only person in this party who could silently take out a monster without anyone noticing was S-Rank hunter Yoon Juyeong.

Mr. Yoon Juyeong received Jeong Soyeon’s gaze, which had turned toward him, with a gentle smile and answered in a calm voice.

“Yes. I prefer to handle things quickly.”

“…Hoo.”

Hunter Jeong Soyeon’s expression seemed both deflated and relieved. While she was reacting, Hunter Kim Seongmyeong, who had been standing awkwardly at the very front, cut into the conversation.

“Th-that’s amazing. From what I can see, it looks like you used a throwing weapon to kill it in one shot, am I right?”

“As expected of an A-Rank hunter, your eyesight is sharp. You’re right, I used a throwing weapon.”

Hunter Yoon Juyeong said that, then reached his hand toward the inner pocket of his coat and immediately pulled out something long.

It was a spike about the length from the middle finger to the far end of the palm when you spread your hand… It seemed that thing was the culprit that had killed the coyote in one shot just now.

“I suppose because my experience is lacking, I wasn’t sure exactly what the level of an A-Rank dungeon would be, so I threw it as a test… Fortunately, it doesn’t seem too difficult.”

Unfortunately, the expressions on Hunter Kim Seongmyeong and Hunter Jeong Soyeon’s faces said otherwise. The two of them exchanged a glance and shared some intense emotion.

If I had to interpret the silent conversation that passed between them, it was probably something like, ‘That’s only true for you, an S-Rank.’

“I’ll handle any field monsters that appear from now on this way. It’ll make progress smoother for you all too.”

“Y-yes… Well then, wouldn’t it be better if you took over leading the party, Hunter Yoon Juyeong…?”

“No, I’d still prefer if Mr. Kim Seongmyeong handled that. After all… we have someone we need to protect.”

For just a brief moment, Mr. Yoon Juyeong’s gaze landed on me, then immediately moved away. Hunter Kim Seongmyeong and Hunter Jeong Soyeon seemed convinced by his words and nodded without saying anything else.

It was a natural reaction — even if nothing was difficult for an S-Rank hunter, they still had to account for the possibility of getting careless and failing to meet the quest conditions.

In the end, the dungeon raid from then on proceeded in a way anyone could predict.

We kept walking steadily, and whenever a monster appeared in between, Mr. Yoon Juyeong would instantly throw a Black Thorn to take it down. Occasionally, when a monster didn’t die in one hit, he threw another spike. And ten times out of ten, they all crumpled on the spot.

‘…Wow, so being an S-Rank hunter really is a cheat code, huh.’

Honestly, despite having told the orphanage director that there was nothing to worry about with an S-Rank hunter accompanying us, I myself had been feeling a bit anxious.

Well, that made sense — it was an A-Rank dungeon. A dungeon of a difficulty that someone like me, a C-Rank, would never have any business with in a lifetime. That’s why I’d mentioned the risk of death to Mr. Yoon Juyeong this morning.

But now that I’d experienced it firsthand, I understood for sure. To an S-Rank hunter, an A-Rank dungeon posed no threat whatsoever.

Honestly, judging from Mr. Yoon Juyeong’s attitude so far, I’d believe it if someone told me he’d just stepped out for a stroll around the neighborhood.

We’d been clearing the dungeon without any trouble for a while when Hunter Yoon Juyeong took down a pitch-black bear that suddenly appeared, and at the same time, the narrow path ahead of us began to widen right before our eyes.

‘This is it.’

When the path suddenly widens like this or the field changes, it only happens in two situations. First, the appearance of a mid-boss. And second, the appearance of the final boss.

And in this situation, which one it was obvious. The mid-boss.

“Should we head in right away?”

“If everyone is ready, let’s go in.”

Hunter Kim Seongmyeong asked, and Mr. Yoon Juyeong answered.

Without a trace of fear, Hunter Kim Seongmyeong strode straight into the mid-boss’s field area. It was clear he had complete faith in the feats Mr. Yoon Juyeong had shown so far.

Jeong Soyeon was no different — she shot Kim Seongmyeong a slightly sullen look, but without any further delay, she followed right behind him into the field.

Naturally, I entered the field too. Hunter Yoon Juyeong, who had been standing just outside the field until then, looked around as if checking something, then immediately followed me inside.

The moment the last party member stepped into the designated area, the scenery around us began to change in an instant.

Having lived my whole life as a C-Rank hunter, I’d never experienced this firsthand, but I knew that entering a boss monster’s territory caused the surrounding environment to be ‘eroded.’

First, the conifers that had been bursting with vibrant blue-green life instantly faded, and white snow fell and settled over them. The ground, which had been covered in pale green grass or a brown dirt path, was also blanketed in white snow.

I felt the cold climbing up my body in an instant and let out a breath that misted in the air.

‘An ice-attribute enemy.’

The change was about as intuitive as it got.

When the surroundings had fully transformed, a beast’s growl echoed from afar. A very low, imposing roar.

Upon hearing the monster’s cry, Kim Seongmyeong — whether by spinal reflex or not — immediately raised his shield in front of all of us, and Jeong Soyeon quickly stood beside me, drawing her rapier.

Mr. Yoon Juyeong, however, made no special preparations. He quietly came up next to me, stood still, and stared in the direction the sound had come from.

For a brief moment, silence settled quietly over the frozen white earth.

And then…

“Prepare yourselves!”

At Hunter Kim Seongmyeong’s urgent shout, the sound of the earth rumbling and trees breaking and collapsing came from afar. It was the kind of noise something massive would make as it charged forward on four legs, kicking off the ground.

Hoping I wouldn’t cause any trouble, I fiddled with the ring on my right ring finger.

The trail of broken and collapsed trees from afar reached right in front of where we stood before long.

A part of the circular line of trees surrounding the round field collapsed in an instant, and a massive white beast appeared before us.

Awooooooooo—

With a long, great howl that seemed like it could reach the ends of the world, it bared its fangs, its icy blue eyes flashing like the glaciers of a snowy plain.

The feeling the mid-boss monster, the first I’d ever seen in my life, gave me was unmistakable. A pressure and fear that felt like my throat was being completely choked off… and awe.

‘That’s…’

That was the mid-boss monster of an A-Rank dungeon. That destructive being that had approached so casually, knocking down the forest’s trees. If that was ‘just’ a mid-boss monster…

There was no time for the thought to continue. The beast, having finished its long, drawn-out howl, charged at us without warning and swung a massive front paw.

Before anyone could react, Hunter Kim Seongmyeong, who had been standing at the front, stepped forward and swung his large shield.

“Everyone, snap out of it!”

The sound of heavy things colliding rang through the air. I finally snapped to my senses and took a step back.

Seeing it in person, I could be certain of one thing. There was nothing I could do in this fight. No, I shouldn’t even think about trying in the first place. Staying completely out of the battle’s range and keeping still was all I could do right now.

“From the looks of it, even without getting inside the attack range, just getting caught in the aftermath would be a disaster.”

That was obvious just from the wind whipping around from the wolf’s single swing. While Hunter Kim Seongmyeong blocked the wolf’s strike, I had stepped back one pace, putting Hunter Jeong Soyeon diagonally in front of me. She drew her rapier and moved toward Hunter Kim Seongmyeong.

“I’ll back you up!”

As she shouted, a vivid green light sparkled above her rapier.

“Blessing of the Earth!”

At Hunter Jeong Soyeon’s shout, the shield, which had been pushed backward from blocking the wolf’s strike, moved forward a bit more.

I didn’t know the exact situation, but it seemed like the skill Hunter Jeong Soyeon used had offset the impact on Hunter Kim Seongmyeong.

While they each showed their skilled sides as hunters, Mr. Yoon Juyeong was nowhere to be seen.