Chapter 19
EPISODE 3: An Inevitable Battle (2)
The day of the danger dungeon raid had arrived.
In front of the C-rank No. 223 dungeon located at the foot of a mountain in Gwanak-gu, Seoul.
The weather was sunny as usual, but perhaps because we were about to enter a place where many hunters had sacrificed their lives, there was an inexplicable, eerie atmosphere lingering around.
It seemed like I was the only one who felt this way.
“Hey there, man! We meet again!”
“Good morning, mercenary!”
“Oh wow, you really came!”
As I was heading up to the gate, the three government hunter trio who had arrived earlier greeted me with bright smiles.
I responded with a nod.
“It looks like we’ll be raiding together again. I look forward to working with you.”
“It’s us who should be grateful! We’re lucky to have such a skilled hunter with us!”
“We owe you a lot from last time, mercenary. Thanks to you, we survived.”
“Mercenary, you must join us for a meal after this. We really want to show our appreciation!”
Perhaps the dungeon overlap incident had left quite an impression on them.
When I arrived at the gate, the government hunter trio encircled me, expressing their gratitude for that time.
Their eyes were practically dripping with honey, and while I was grateful for someone thinking so highly of me, it was a bit overwhelming.
But I couldn’t just say I couldn’t attend right away, so I hedged.
“Let’s think about that after we safely finish this raid first.”
“Oh, so you’re saying you’ll attend then!”
“Of course we’ll finish safely! It’s a danger dungeon, but it’s only C-rank and we have you and the people from Ashin Guild. What could go wrong?”
Seo chunbok and Ahn Jinsoo replied confidently to my words.
They showed no signs of worry.
The Ashin Guild hunters were the same.
“Oh, there they come.”
Speak of the devil, while I was talking with the government hunters, the Ashin Guild hunters came down the mountain path to the gate.
There were three of them in total.
Each of them held a dagger, a bow, and a greatsword. Their neat appearance and high-quality equipment made it clear they were from a major guild.
The one holding the dagger spoke first.
“Nice to meet you. You must be the Hunters from the Hunter Office here to raid the Ice Fortress today?”
“Haha, yes! That’s right. I’m Seo chunbok from the 14th Dungeon Team of the Hunter Office. These are my teammates, Park Nam-il and Ahn Jinsoo, and this is the mercenary hunter.”
“I see. I’m Lee Gyu-jin, the team leader of Ashin Guild’s 9th Raid Team and a B-rank hunter. This is our archer, Kang Dushik, a C-rank hunter, and behind him is our greatsword warrior, Yoo Sangjun, also a C-rank hunter.”
“Hello, I’m Kang Dushik, and I’ll be raiding with you today.”
“Nice to meet you all! I’m An Jinsoo, the junior of the Hunter Office’s dungeon team.”
Introductions continued following Lee Gyu-jin and Seo chunbok’s greetings, and my turn approached.
“Hello. I’m the mercenary hunter for this raid.”
“Nice to meet you. I’m Lee Gyu-jin. Your name and rank are confidential, right?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“Haha, I see. Since Chief Shin Daehun vouched for your skills, I won’t ask any more. I look forward to working with you.”
“Yes, I also look forward to working with you.”
Lee Gyu-jin finished the conversation smoothly. Perhaps due to a preconceived notion, his slanted eyes and dagger made his first impression seem unfriendly, but he was quite kind and composed.
The subsequent briefing was the same.
“Now, I’ll explain the strategy for tackling the Ice Fortress before we proceed with the raid. As you may already know, the boss monster of the Ice Fortress is inside the castle. There’s a three-way path on the way to the fortress, and we need to pull the levers at the end of the side paths to open the castle gate. We’ll split into two teams and tackle each path to save time.”
“That’s a standard strategy. But isn’t it risky? Considering it’s classified as a danger dungeon and there have been recent casualties, it might be better to stay together.”
Seo chunbok raised an objection to Lee Gyu-jin’s explanation.
Indeed, Seo chunbok’s opinion seemed valid to me as well.
The goal of this raid was to clear it without casualties and prevent a dungeon break.
It would be best to clear it as safely as possible without prioritizing speed.
However, Lee Gyu-jin smiled as if it were no problem.
“It’s fine. Accidents usually happen when fighting the boss monster, not while dealing with the lesser mobs. The Ice Fortress mobs are weaker compared to other C-rank dungeons. And even though it’s a dangerous dungeon, it’s still C-rank. I’ll do my best to protect you from the back.”
“Haha, understood. You hold the command authority, so we’ll follow your lead!”
Seo chunbok replied with a laugh.
Since Lee Gyu-jin was a B-rank hunter from Ashin Guild, he decided to take a step back instead of confronting him. Following the opinion of the hunter with command authority was beneficial for teamwork.
“After all, with a B-rank in the team, what could go wrong?”
“Exactly. And it’s Ashin Guild. Their equipment looks high-end too.”
Park Nam-il and Ahn Jinsoo didn’t seem to take it seriously either.
The atmosphere lightened up again.
Despite entering a dangerous dungeon, everyone appeared quite relaxed.
However, there was one person with a different expression.
“…?”
It was Yoo Sangjun, a C-rank hunter from Ashin Guild.
He was silently looking at Lee Gyu-jin and Kang Dushik with a subtle expression.
As if something didn’t make sense to him.
Was there something going on?
Curiously, I decided to observe the situation a bit more instead of prying.
“Don’t worry too much. Let’s get going.”
“Alright, let’s go!”
Lee Gyu-jin signaled the start of the raid as he entered the portal, and one by one, we followed into the dungeon.
‘Whatever it is… it shouldn’t be a big deal.’
I shook off the inexplicable sense of unease and followed the government hunter trio into the portal.
“Haah!!”
A battle cry echoed across the snowy field.
And following it.
Thud-!
A giant figure fell onto the snow-covered ground.
We had defeated a C-rank Snow Knight, one of the mobs in the Ice Fortress.
“Phew…”
I relaxed my stance after swinging my sword, exhaling white breath as I turned around.
Then.
“Wow, I didn’t expect you to be this fast. No wonder you were sent here!”
“Haha, it’s all thanks to everyone for following so well.”
The party members, who had also defeated all the mobs, came into view, complimenting each other.
The raid was proceeding smoothly.
On the way to the Ice Fortress, there were fifty Snow Knights in full armor, but we handled them without much trouble.
B-rank hunter Lee Gyu-jin infiltrated and distracted them, allowing the rest of us to charge in and defeat them one by one.
Perhaps due to the excellent strategy.
It took us only about half the usual time.
“Alright, let’s keep going. This way.”
“I’ll lead the way.”
“Impressive. As expected from a major guild.”
Lee Gyu-jin and Kang Dushik confidently led the way, while the government hunter trio followed behind with thumbs up.
I also joined the party and continued walking.
But then, I noticed someone at the back of the group who didn’t look too happy.
It was Yoo Sangjun, the youngest member of Ashin Guild with the greatsword.
He had caught my attention since the beginning of the dungeon.
I approached him and asked gently.
“Are you feeling unwell? You’ve had a dark expression since earlier.”
“No, I’m fine. It’s just… something I can’t understand.”
“Something you can’t understand?”
I tilted my head. I had no clue what he was talking about.
But then.
“It’s… never mind, forget I said anything.”
Yoo Sangjun seemed to be about to say something but then avoided the question and walked ahead.
‘Hmm…’
There are two ways to drive someone crazy.
One is to start a conversation and not finish it. The second is.
“We’ve reached the fork. As planned, we’ll split into two teams and proceed.”
“Yes, everyone, take care.”
Despite our short conversation, we soon reached a fork in the path.
The gate of the fortress was visible at the end of the middle path, but we couldn’t go there yet because we needed to pull the levers at the end of the side paths.
So Lee Gyu-jin and the government hunter trio moved to the left path, while I, Yoo Sangjun, and Kang Dushik took the right path.
The path to the levers was filled with many Snow Knights, but.
Whoosh! Thud-thud-thud!
“Haha! Today everything’s on point!”
There was no need for me to step in.
Kang Dushik handled everything with his arrows.
I watched Kang Dushik’s performance and spoke to Yoo Sangjun.
“We don’t even need to step in with how well he’s fighting.”
“Yes, he fights well. Though his personality seems a bit off.”
“Personality?”
“That is….”
Not again with stopping mid-sentence.
I quietly waited for his response.
Fortunately, it didn’t happen again.
Yoo Sangjun seemed to make up his mind and bit his lower lip before speaking.
“Do you remember when I mentioned something odd earlier? Do you know who the hunters who recently died in the Ice Fortress were?”
“I don’t know the details. I just know they were from a small guild.”
“They were from Seowon Guild. And the ones who were with them were Lee Gyu-jin and Kang Dushik. It’s hard to understand how they can laugh so easily in the place where their team members died.”
Lee Gyu-jin and Kang Dushik were leading the team when the recent casualties occurred?
It was a fact I hadn’t known, and it was indeed surprising.
But.
“That’s been bothering me… I might be overreacting, though.”
“…I see.”
Everyone mourns in their own way.
Sometimes the grief is so overwhelming that you can’t even cry. Sometimes you force yourself to laugh to hide the pain.
However, Kang Dushik’s demeanor didn’t seem like that.
The unsettling feeling I had before entering the dungeon, the bad premonitions I’d had throughout, and now Yoo Sangjun’s story couldn’t be easily dismissed.
“Yoo Sangjun, what are you doing? Do you remember your job to distract the mid-boss?”
In the meantime, Kang Dushik shouted from a short distance away. Our pre-discussed strategy was for Yoo Sangjun and me to distract the boss monster, the Snow Cavalry Knight, while Kang Dushik supported from afar.
“Yes, understood!”
Yoo Sangjun lightly nodded to me, picked up his sword, and ran ahead as instructed.
But then.
“Wait, stop!”
Thunk-!
“What…?”
A sharp arrowhead pierced Yoo Sangjun’s chest.
