Chapter 82

Chapter 82

“That dungeon was originally created with ‘me’ as its target from the very beginning.”

I didn’t know the exact purpose, but unlike normal dungeons that exist to be cleared, that dungeon was a place used to trap me.

In other words, even if someone other than Yoon Juyeong had come—say, Jeong Seojin, the strongest hunter in the country right now—the situation likely wouldn’t have changed.

Since it was a place made to capture me from the start, if someone stronger than Yoon Juyeong had shown up, it would have just raised the difficulty to match.

“Still, maybe it could have reduced even one scratch on Hunter Yoon Seohee’s body.”

As I was deep in thought about the mirage dungeon and the voice I’d heard there, Hunter Kim Miju’s worried voice settled down cautiously. I reflexively lifted my bowed head and met her eyes.

“Unlike people like us, who are sturdy and recover quickly, Hunter Yoon Seohee has to suffer for a long time. So you have to be careful.”

“I think Hunter Kim Miju is amazing too! Really, I mean it. I’ve always admired you, even before this.”

“Haha, hearing that from a young person makes me feel good, but I’m serious too. Please take care of yourself, Hunter Yoon Seohee. You are a very precious person. I’m not saying this as the Equipment Adjuster Yoon Seohee, but thinking of the people who cherish you.”

“There’s even that fellow sitting right next to Hunter Yoon Seohee, refusing to leave even if he dies.” Hunter Kim Miju’s subtly mischievous smile turned toward Jeong Seojin, who was sitting there calmly.

Even under Hunter Kim Miju’s teasing gaze and my sour look, Jeong Seojin seemed completely unfazed.

“You seem to be mistaken. It’s not like I’m particularly cherishing Yoon Seohee.”

He started speaking calmly, as if nothing was wrong.

“Rather, she’s my Mas—”

And then he casually started spouting nonsense. I moved at the speed of light and clamped my hand over Jeong Seojin’s mouth.

Honestly, between Yoon Juyeong and Jeong Seojin, I have no idea why they’re so fond of throwing around that ‘Master’ talk.

Keeping his mouth shut so he wouldn’t bring up that damn ‘Master’ thing, I desperately tried to change the subject.

“Ah, hahaha, looks like Jeong Seojin is about to spout nonsense again today. As Hunter Kim Miju knows, he’s really good at talking nonsense!”

“Heh heh. I don’t know about nonsense, but Hunter Jeong Seojin does say a lot of frivolous things.”

Thankfully, Hunter Kim Miju didn’t point out my suspicious behavior and just let it slide.

With a mix of relief and anxiety, I mumbled things like, “Isn’t it a waste of time to listen to Jeong Seojin’s nonsense? I heard the guild masters have been busy lately—” for a while, until I finally saw Hunter Kim Miju leave.

Ah, and right after that, I threw a pillow at Jeong Seojin with all my strength, only to see him calmly reading a magazine as if nothing had happened, which just made my blood boil. That’s a little side story of its own.

After Hunter Kim Miju’s visit, many other people came to my hospital room.

Starting with Hunter Rui and Hunter Joo Minjeong, who showed up right after Hunter Kim Miju left, then Hunter Kim Seongmyeong and Hunter Jeong Soyeon, who I hadn’t met in person but had kept in touch with, and then the Director and my former C-Rank hunter colleagues, who came the next day and the day after.

Oh, Avan even brought Blackie to the hospital room. Apparently, Blackie had been refusing to eat or drink because it was sad about not seeing its owner for so long.

My heart ached at that, so I held Blackie for a long time and stroked its soft fur.

Thankfully, Blackie was back to normal when it went home. Avan, who took Blackie back, told me that it was eating so well it had completely emptied the bag of food at home.

I smiled contentedly at the news. After all, for children and animals, as long as they eat well and poop well, that’s enough.

…Of course, people are a bit different. I pouted as I thought about that certain someone who had apparently disappeared without even seeing a doctor after getting out of bed.

It seemed like my words about not intending to stop at that ‘proof’ level had made him run away… For now, I planned to just watch how far he’d go.

Well, if it came down to it, I could always force a choice disguised as an order and drag him back in front of me.

Anyway, after hearing from Avan that Blackie was doing well and that someone had escaped from the hospital room, a day passed, and now there were only six hours left until my discharge.

Guild Master Kang Mujin, wearing a strangely irritated expression, and a man with brilliant golden hair—rare to see in Korea, where black hair dominates—came to my hospital room.

“I’m sorry, Hunter Yoon Seohee. I intended to make sure you didn’t have to worry about any work-related matters until the moment you were discharged, but…”

The man who came with Guild Master Kang Mujin was a handsome man with the kind of appearance that first comes to mind when you think of a Caucasian. He was smiling brightly, his blue eyes sparkling.

“Hunter Adam Rogers here, along with the British government, practically forced a meeting request. I thought that if I kept refusing, it might cause trouble not just for our guild but also for you, Hunter Yoon Seohee, so I eventually accepted.”

Adam Rogers.

I carefully rolled the name I’d heard from Guild Master Kang Mujin around in my mouth.

Adam Rogers… Of course, it wasn’t a name I didn’t know. Probably no one who’s set foot in the hunter industry doesn’t know that name. And that’s because Adam Rogers is…

“Hello, Ms. Yoon Seohee.”

Beneath his golden hair, dazzlingly bright in the sunlight, his pale, kind-looking face smiled warmly.

“I’m a bit embarrassed to say this, but I’m Adam Rogers, who calls himself a Knight in my home country’s tongue.”

The Knight, Adam Rogers. The only human to be rated S+-Rank.

To put it simply, he was the man known as the world’s strongest hunter.

Adam Rogers, still wearing that incredibly kind-looking smile, began to explain why he had come all the way here.

I looked at the face of a man I’d never once thought I’d see in person in my life, with a dubious expression, and listened to his explanation.

“To put it simply, the reason I’ve come to see you, Ms. Yoon Seohee, is that I need the help of an Equipment Adjuster regarding a dungeon raid.”

Saying that, the man immediately handed me a thin folder of documents. It seemed to be a document containing information about what he wanted to discuss.

After a moment’s hesitation, I took the document. And I immediately read the title written on its cover.

[Briton Dungeon Internal Exploration Report]

I flipped the page right away to check the next one.

<Briton Dungeon>

Date of Creation: **/**/**** (1 year and 6 months ago)

Discoverer: Adam Rogers

Cleared: No

Raid Attempt Records:

**/**/**** (Party Leader: Harry Wilson)

**/**/**** (Party Leader: Jackson Peter)

**/**/**** (Party Leader: Adam Rogers)

Monster Parade Cycle: 7 months

<Briton Dungeon’s Greatest Obstacle—Investigation Report on the Trial of Caliburn>

According to investigations conducted so far, achieving the ‘Pulling Caliburn’ trial required to clear the dungeon cannot be accomplished through mere physical strength.

Based on what has been revealed through the three raid attempts so far, to pull Caliburn—

—One who is mentally strong

—One who is physically strong

—One who is spiritually strong

—it is said that all three of these conditions must be met.

Furthermore, recent external exploration of the dungeon has revealed that to pass the ‘Pulling Caliburn’ trial, one must also meet the condition of being ‘one without original sin.’

Hmm.

Hmm…

“The contents of this report are baffling from start to finish.”

“If there’s anything you don’t understand or are curious about, please feel free to ask.”

In that case, I’ll take you up on that and ask right away. I quickly sorted through the points in the report that had struck me as odd and asked Adam Rogers.

“First of all, is it really true that you failed the raid even though you, Hunter Adam Rogers, participated?”

“Please, feel free to call me Adam. To answer your question, yes, that’s correct. However, it wasn’t a failure due to the dungeon’s difficulty being too high, or the monsters being too strong… something like that.”

“Then what was it?”

“As it says in the report… the issue was the conditions for entering the stage where the final boss is located.”

So that meant that even Adam, called the world’s strongest hunter, hadn’t hit a wall in terms of raw power.

The moment I thought that far, I honestly felt quite relieved. As both a hunter and one of the people of humanity, I really didn’t want to hear that there was a dungeon the world’s strongest hunter couldn’t clear.

…Of course, if that had been reality, I would’ve had no choice but to accept it.

Separate from my relief that Mr. Adam hadn’t failed to clear the dungeon because he was “weak,” I searched through the documents in my hand for the part he’d mentioned and read it again.

<The Greatest Obstacle of the Britain Dungeon — Investigation Report on the Trial of Excalibur>

According to the investigation conducted so far, achieving the “Excalibur Pulling” trial required to clear the dungeon cannot be accomplished through sheer physical strength alone.

Based on what was revealed over the three previous attempts, to pull Excalibur, one must meet three conditions:

—One who is mentally strong

—One who is physically strong

—One who is spiritually strong

All three conditions must be fulfilled.

Furthermore, a recent external exploration of the dungeon revealed that to pass the “Excalibur Pulling” trial, one must also meet the condition of being “one who bears no original sin.”

“…Wow, even reading it again, this is seriously weird.”

“I felt the exact same way when I first confirmed those conditions.”