8

THE DEMON’S CASTLE

Jinwoo stood outside Daesung Tower. It was a giant building with more than one hundred floors that looked like it was going to poke the sky. Skyscraper was a very apt name for it. Jinwoo felt dizzy just looking up at it.

Since it was night, not many people were walking by. The empty streets had a creepy vibe to them.

Still, just in case……

Jinwoo looked around and then pulled his hood forward. A person disappearing and reappearing without the presence of a gate was sure to cause a disturbance. Plus, it wasn’t a bad idea to be cautious, since there were surveillance cameras everywhere.

In fact, someone was actually watching Jinwoo at that very moment.

Who the hell is that?

A person circling the building with their hood up at this time of night was definitely suspicious. The security guard watching Jinwoo from inside the building stood up to confront him.

As the guard headed for the door, he suddenly stopped, and his eyes bulged out.

“Wh-what?” Shocked, he ran out of the building.

The man who’d been walking in his direction had disappeared in the blink of an eye. There wasn’t a trace of him. The security guard searched everywhere but couldn’t find a single other living creature, not even an ant.

He turned around and shook his head. “Huh. How strange……”

He was about to head back inside the building, but seeing something out of the corner of his eye, he turned his head.

“A-aaaaaack!” The horrified security guard fell to the floor.

“Wh-what is that?!”

His face grew pale as he screamed.

A single human hand floated in midair in front of him before vanishing.

Jinwoo withdrew his hand.

It’s connected to the outside.

This place wasn’t blocked by the barrier like the last time. The key hadn’t disappeared and was still in his pocket. That meant he could leave anytime he wanted.

I have a way out of here……

He was more cautious than usual in case the acquisition difficulty of the key indicated the level of the dungeon.

He took off his hood and looked back.

“……”

What he saw almost made him groan aloud. When Jinwoo walked a few steps toward where Daesung Tower should have been, the world in front of him changed completely.

Could this be called a dungeon? He was in a totally different world now.

Where once had stood Daesung Tower was now an incredibly huge spire.

It looks more like a medieval tower than a castle.

The tower that stretched out endlessly toward the sky was covered in blackish-red fire. But it wasn’t on fire; it looked more like the flames were part of the structure.

“A towering tower of fire.”

That would be a more apt name than the Demon’s Castle.

Jinwoo started walking toward it.

FWOOSHHH!

As he got closer, the sound of the flickering flames grew louder.

Can I go inside?

Even if he could, there was a problem. If this dungeon was based on the layout of Daesung Tower just as the last dungeon had been based on the layout of the subway station, he would have to clear one hundred levels to complete it.

He couldn’t begin to guess how long that would take.

Huh?

Jinwoo stopped. He sensed a powerful presence near the door. He examined the area carefully and spotted a black animal as big as a cow curled up and sleeping in a corner near the door.

He quietly summoned Kasaka’s Venom Fang.

Ping!

Its attack power wasn’t very high, but the debuffs had proven invaluable in actual battles.

It’d be great if I could easily defeat it with paralysis.

Jinwoo slowly tiptoed as quietly as he could toward the creature.

He couldn’t evade the monster’s sense of smell, though. It sniffed the air and got to its feet.

Tsk.

Jinwoo clicked his tongue.

The creature’s three heads swiveled toward Jinwoo.

A huge dog with three heads. Jinwoo noted that the creature’s name was written in red letters. It was proof the monster’s level was high.

Is this monster the same level as the centipedes from the penalty zone, since its name is in red?

He’d been preoccupied with running away from the centipedes back then. He’d only been level 1.

But I’m different now.

He’d leveled up quickly in a short period of time.

The monster was definitely strong, but he didn’t feel intimidated. His keen senses told him that he could take it.

He hadn’t increased his perception stat for nothing. He’d continuously invested points in it so he’d be able to determine whether he should fight enemies or run away.

GRRRROWL!

Cerberus started threatening its perceived antagonist by gnashing its teeth.

Jinwoo sneaked a peek at the monster’s tail. It was long like a whip and had a fiery tip.

Jinwoo’s eyes gleamed.

Teeth and a tail. This one has at least two attack patterns.

He swallowed nervously.

The approaching Cerberus stopped short and seemed to examine Jinwoo.

Is it……looking for my weak spot?

As Jinwoo was wondering about it…Cerberus rushed at him.

RRRRFFF!

Jinwoo looked rattled.

It’s fast!

Cerberus jumped at Jinwoo, but he escaped the dog’s sharp teeth by quickly sliding under it. Cerberus turned as soon as it landed, and its three mouths went after him.

ROWRRR! ROWRRR!

Its sharp teeth gleamed in its mouths.

Ping!

Jinwoo felt his body get lighter.

Great!

He kept retreating while swinging the dagger as Cerberus attempted to knock him down.

Shwp, shwp, shwiiip, shwp!

Clang! C-clang! Clang!

The sound of the dagger and teeth striking echoed loudly. The dagger was moving so fast, it was hard to see, but Jinwoo could barely block Cerberus’s attacks.

Even with the buff, this is all I can do!

The monster was a lot more agile than Jinwoo had expected.

He used the Murderous Intent skill in the hopes of turning the tide.

Jinwoo was startled.

It didn’t work?

Cerberus’s long tail cracked down like a whip.

Chaaaaak!

Jinwoo escaped the attack by ducking instinctively, but this meant his feet had stopped moving.

Cerberus took advantage of this opening. One of its heads bit down on Jinwoo’s left shoulder.

“Aaargh!”

He stuck the dagger between the creature’s eyes with all his might.

Shhhk!

Yip! Cerberus yelped as it released Jinwoo.

Luckily, he was able to escape before the other heads joined in, minimizing the damage. However, his left shoulder was all torn up. Cerberus’s bite was incredibly strong. Jinwoo tried to flex his left arm but couldn’t move it.

He grimaced. He’d dealt a bit of damage to his opponent, but the damage he’d sustained was much worse by comparison.

If Paralysis and Drain had worked, things would be different……

Jinwoo gritted his teeth as he glared at Cerberus.

At that moment…

Huh?

Cerberus’s eyes started glowing red.

Grrrrrr.

Jinwoo felt a sudden chill.

What is this?

Jinwoo cried out, “What?!”

A monster could use a skill?!

Cerberus came charging at Jinwoo.

Shit!

Cerberus was in front of him before he could react. Jinwoo hastily swung the dagger but could only graze its head.

All three of its mouths went after him simultaneously.

Chomp!

“Ahhhh!”

Jinwoo gritted his teeth as Cerberus bit down on his neck, side, and thigh all at once. It dashed and slammed Jinwoo against the castle’s door.

Wham!

Jinwoo’s HP dropped almost to nothing in an instant.

“Argh!”

Ping!

Luckily, Jinwoo avoided an instakill due to the decrease of physical damage and the passive Willpower skill.

“Gkkk……”

He endured the pain coursing through his body because he knew he had only one chance.

If he lost focus, it’d be over.

……Hundred seventy-eight, hundred seventy-nine, hundred eighty!

Jinwoo had been waiting for the three minutes of Cerberus’s skill to expire. He finally played his last card.

Accept reward one!

He accepted reward one, which he’d saved instead of accepting right after the daily quest.

Shwoooo!

His body was engulfed in blue light, and his HP recovered.

His wounded shoulder immediately healed.

It’s now or never!

Jinwoo’s eyes flashed.

No matter how agile his opponent was, it wouldn’t be able to avoid attacks at this distance.

Jinwoo wrapped his left arm around Cerberus’s neck and stabbed Kasaka’s Venom Fang straight into the middle of its throat.

Shhhk! Shhhk! Shhhk!

Its rage state appeared to have expired, and it started struggling to escape Jinwoo’s hold.

Yiiiip! Yip-yip! Yip! Yip!

But Jinwoo held it in a death grip. He tightened his hold the more Cerberus struggled. He stabbed the neck countless times.

Shhhk, shhhk, shhhk!

Yiiiip, yip! Hnn! Hnnnnn!

In a last-ditch effort, Cerberus bit Jinwoo, but the victor had already been decided.

Shhhk! Shhhk!

Yiiiip! Yip!

Kasaka’s Venom Fang cut into Cerberus’s neck and sliced down to its chest.

Shhhk! Shhhk! Shhhk!

Cerberus stopped flailing as much.

Hnnnn……

Finally, its head dropped to the side.

Ping!

Jinwoo’s level went up by four all at once. The battle had been that difficult.

Jinwoo let go of Cerberus’s neck only after seeing its body go limp. The creature’s lifeless form dropped to the ground.

Whump.

Jinwoo put his hands on his knees.

“Phew.” He exhaled a big sigh of relief.

A monster that could use a skill. If he hadn’t had his secret weapon, there was no doubt he would’ve been killed.

He got chills just thinking about it.

Oh, right…… Items.

Would they be worth all the effort Jinwoo had gone through?

After catching his breath, Jinwoo extended his hand to Cerberus.

Ping!

Acquire all.

The steel collar that was around Cerberus’s neck, a gray key, and three fangs appeared on the ground.

“Ooooh.” Jinwoo’s eyes lit up.

The collar will increase the stats of agility and perception by twenty points?

The collar was an amazing item. The acquisition difficulty was A rank. That was the highest level among all the items he’d acquired thus far.

Well, killing the dog wasn’t easy, so……

There was no way it would be a low acquisition difficulty.

But Jinwoo hesitated to put on the collar. It was a dog collar consisting of a metal band with spikes on it.

“Hmm……” He closed his eyes and debated whether to wear it, before deciding he should at least try it on. As he held it up to his neck to put it on, a message popped up.

Ping!

After pondering it some more, Jinwoo responded rather unenthusiastically. “……Sure.”

The choker slowly vanished.

“Huh?”

Jinwoo quickly called up the stat screen.

[Stats]
Strength:	60
Stamina:	39
Agility:	80
Intelligence:	37
Perception:	67

(Available ability points: 0)

Physical damage reduced by: 20 percent

“Whoa!”

Agility and perception had actually gone up by twenty points. The boost had been applied immediately.

It looked like the item wasn’t visible when it was worn. Jinwoo was relieved he didn’t have to walk around with a dog collar around his neck.

Next, the fangs.

Jinwoo pulled up the shop.

Cerberus’s fangs, which were miscellaneous items, sold for 15,000 gold each. He had three fangs, so he’d made 45,000 gold.

Why is this miscellaneous item worth so much?

It was a good way to estimate the difficulty level of the dungeon. This meant that the level of the Demon’s Castle was just that high.

However, that wasn’t particularly bad news for him. He’d made four times more money from killing one monster here versus the instance dungeon at Hapjeong Station, where he’d grinded all day. If he kept saving gold at this rate, it wouldn’t be long before he could purchase some of the more expensive items in the shop.

If I can clear this dungeon……

Jinwoo looked up at the flaming tower.

FWWWOOOOM!

The top part was covered in fog. He wouldn’t know what was inside until he actually went in.

He shook his head.

Not yet.

He’d barely defeated the gatekeeper using a quest reward coupled with the buff from his title. He couldn’t even guess what dangers awaited him behind the door. He would withdraw for today.

Still, one thing was for sure. As the description said, the Castle Door Key was definitely what he wanted. It truly was a blessed mystery box.

Leveling up, items, and gold. This place provided everything he could hope for. When the time was right, he would acquire them all. But that time wasn’t today.

He was a little disappointed, but he put the gray key into his inventory.

I’ll be back.

He’d be back soon, for sure.

Jinwoo walked away with a smile on his face.

A few days passed quietly.

Jinho called Jinwoo once a day to report his progress. He’d called exactly three times since their last meeting.

“Boss! It’s me, Jinho.”

“Get to the point.”

“Yessir.”

It looked like Jinho had been able to recruit people with no problem. He kept asking Jinwoo to wait just a little longer because the squad was almost ready.

I guess he’s worried I might ditch him.

But Jinwoo couldn’t just wait around and do nothing, so he visited the hunters’ website today as well. He kept searching for strike squads, but none wanted an E-rank hunter. He’d gotten lucky on that first day.

Dongsuk’s ulterior motive aside, he’d enabled Jinwoo to join a strike squad for the first time.

Because of what he did, I was able to make money, level up, and obtain a new skill.

Should Jinwoo be thankful to him? Jinwoo snickered.

At this point, he didn’t care if he came across more lizard-esque scam hunters. He couldn’t find a freelance job, the association wasn’t calling him, and there were no more instance dungeon keys.

All he was doing now was passing the time.

Grrrrumble.

Is it already time to eat?

Jinwoo stopped his online search and went to the kitchen to fill his empty stomach.

Pwwwp.

The fridge was empty.

……

He’d been so preoccupied with everything that had happened in the past few days that he’d forgotten to go grocery shopping. He should probably get that done today.

He yawned as he closed the fridge door.

One of the very few good things about his apartment building was that it was near a large supermarket.

Jinwoo left home in comfortable clothes. It was a ten-minute walk. He soon arrived at the store.

As he entered, he scanned the whole place. It wasn’t as busy as he’d expected, though that was most likely due to the lack of sales at the time.

He grabbed a basket and slowly went around the store. Jinwoo had gotten used to doing household chores, including grocery shopping, after he became the head of the family when his mother was hospitalized.

There’s not much worth buying today.

He stared at some items on display and debated what to make for dinner.

“Sung! How’re you doing?”

Jinwoo turned toward the friendly voice.

Who could that be?

He’d detected a hunter in the vicinity thanks to his high perception stat, but he hadn’t paid any attention to it because lots of people, including hunters, shopped there.

He didn’t expect said hunter to talk to him. Moreover, he didn’t expect said hunter to know him.

“Mr. Song?” Jinwoo was delighted to see him.

Mr. Song, Chiyul Song, looked at Jinwoo, half-surprised and half-welcoming.

“I heard a rumor that you were fine, but I still can’t believe I’m looking at you right now.” Chiyul seemed thrilled to see him, too.

The way he looked at Jinwoo made him feel bashful, and Jinwoo rubbed the back of his neck.

“I should’ve visited you earlier, but those jerks from the association wouldn’t say a word, so I had no idea what was going on. No idea what they were thinking. Did you know Miss Joohee is dying to hear from you, too?”

“She is?”

“Yes, she came on a raid last week hoping to see you, even though she said she planned to quit being a hunter.”

“Last week……?”

According to Chiyul, the raid organized by the association had happened the same day Jinwoo joined Dongsuk’s squad.

No wonder there hasn’t been a peep from the association in the past few days.

It wasn’t that they hadn’t called—he just hadn’t been there to receive it. In that instant, one of his questions was finally answered.

Chiyul continued staring at Jinwoo incredulously.

Has Sung always been this tall? Especially now, after losing that leg……

His eyes moved down. And then they grew large.

“Your leg……?”

Jinwoo remained composed. “My leg was fine when I woke up. I’m not sure how that happened.”

Chiyul nodded in understanding.

Since the first gate had appeared a decade ago, many inexplicable things had happened. The awakened beings known as hunters were one of them.

It was said that an S-rank healer could restore a patient with a shattered body as long as they were still breathing. Perhaps a high-rank healer had treated Jinwoo while he was unconscious? If so, reattaching Jinwoo’s severed leg didn’t seem so impossible.

“A young man like you shouldn’t be disabled. I’m glad. I’m really glad.”

Chiyul seemed as relieved as if it were his own leg.

That’s when Jinwoo noticed something about Chiyul’s left arm. The end of his shirtsleeve was flopping around as if empty.

Chiyul laughed as he touched his left shoulder. “Don’t worry about me. Injuries happen to hunters during raids. I was lucky enough that I hadn’t had one until now.”

He spoke as if it wasn’t a big deal, but other people clearly didn’t see it that way.

“Oh no, look……”

“I feel so bad for him…… It was probably a magic beast, right?”

Middle-aged women and students whispered to one another as they passed by and spotted Chiyul’s empty sleeve. A middle-aged man even stared directly at Chiyul as if studying something fascinating.

“Should we go somewhere else?” asked Jinwoo.

There were too many people in the meat section.

Chiyul nodded, as he was uncomfortable with the way people were staring. He still had more to say to Jinwoo.

“That sounds good.”

They walked toward a less crowded area. Chiyul felt something was off as they walked.

Sung’s footsteps sound……

Jinwoo’s footsteps seemed too light. Chiyul walked right beside Jinwoo, but it was hard to feel his presence. Why was that?

It was strange, but he felt like he wouldn’t even be able to lay a finger on Jinwoo if they fought each other right now, even though he was C rank and Jinwoo was E rank.

What am I thinking……?

Chiyul shook his head. That wasn’t important. He wanted to tell Jinwoo something. No, he needed to tell him something.

Chiyul stopped in a quiet spot. Jinwoo stopped as well.

Chiyul turned toward Jinwoo and, before Jinwoo could stop him, bowed in gratitude.

“Thank you so much, Sung.”

It was sobering to see a man around his father’s age bow to him in that manner. Even though Jinwoo tried to get him to lift his head, Chiyul continued talking with his head downcast.

“Eleven people died because of me, but at least six survived thanks to you. I bear the biggest responsibility for that day, so I’m thanking you on behalf of everyone.”

Each word Chiyul spoke was genuine. Jinwoo could feel the sincerity of his sentiments. He also felt a little awkward, but he didn’t mind that. He sort of felt proud.

But Jinwoo couldn’t allow an elder to stand before him like this for long.

“Mr. Song, it’s okay; please raise your head.”

As Jinwoo moved to raise Chiyul’s head, the phone in Chiyul’s jacket rang. He excused himself and took his phone out of an inside pocket.

“Hello?” His face became serious as he listened to the other party. “I understand. I’ll be right there.”

With that, he ended the call.

“It looks like I have to go now.”

He made it sound like a personal matter, but Jinwoo had heard the contents of the conversation due to his keen hearing being boosted by his perception stat.

The call had been from the Hunter’s Association asking for Chiyul’s help with a nearby gate that needed attention. Chiyul kept this to himself so Jinwoo wouldn’t follow him. He didn’t want Jinwoo getting hurt again, since he’d been discharged from the hospital only recently.

Jinwoo asked him directly. “Was that the association?”

Chiyul hesitated before answering. “Did you……hear everything?”

The association summons all the hunters nearby when they host a raid. If Chiyul had gotten the call, they must have called Jinwoo’s house as well.

Jinwoo had been waiting for this call to battle.

“I’m coming, too.”

“You……”

Chiyul started to see Jinwoo in a different light.

They arrived at the meeting place. Police had blocked off the vicinity because the gate had materialized close to a residential area and major road. There were barely any spectators.

Gates handled by the association tended to have first appeared a few days ago, so they were often volatile situations. Besides, nobody would be able to see any actual fights no matter how close they got to the gate anyway.

Occasionally, the police would have to chase away some mischievous kids.

Clack.

The taxi door closed. Jinwoo and Chiyul, who had exited said taxi, were stopped by the police while heading to where the other hunters were gathered.

“May I see your ID, please?”

Chiyul took out his wallet and presented his license. “Chiyul Song, C rank. This is my colleague Jinwoo Sung.”

The police compared Chiyul to his photograph, returned his license, then let them through.

“Thank you, sir.”

“Please keep up the good work.”

Chiyul lightly greeted the policemen before he continued on his way. Jinwoo followed him.

An employee of the association was waiting for them in front of the gate. It was a young lady with round glasses. She spotted them and headed toward them.

“Hunter Chiyul Song! Huh? And Hunter Jinwoo Sung? How did you know about this raid? You didn’t answer your phone.”

Chiyul responded for Jinwoo. “He was with me when you called.”

“Oh, really? I thought Hunter Sung was avoiding my call again!” she said jokingly.

Jinwoo used to actually do that in the past. There’d been times when he would turn off his phone after sustaining heavy injuries because he was too scared to go back into another dungeon. However, regulations stated that if he ignored the association’s call three times, he could be kicked out, so he’d drag himself back there eventually.

He smiled bitterly as he remembered the past.

“Oh, other hunters are already here. Please go ahead and mingle.”

She pointed to where hunters were gathered. She’d said “hunters,” but there were only two others there. Since that big incident, attendance had been low.

On the way here, Chiyul had explained to Jinwoo that on top of many hunters getting killed, several had also decided to retire after sustaining injuries.

And one of them was Joohee.

Jinwoo looked around, but he didn’t see Joohee. As he and Chiyul approached, the other two hunters avoided making eye contact as if they were embarrassed.

Jinwoo’s eyes narrowed.

They should be, to be honest.

The two were Kim Sangshik, who’d hightailed it out of the dungeon to save himself, and the hunter who’d tossed Jinwoo aside to escape the room. They were clearly uncomfortable having to face Jinwoo.

“Uhhh, Sung……” Kim tried belatedly to say hello to Jinwoo after an uncomfortable silence, but he turned away after being met with Jinwoo’s cold stare.

“……”

He kept his mouth shut tight and, after observing the group, quietly left his place. He cocked his head in confusion as he peeked at Jinwoo from a distance.

Is that really the same Jinwoo Sung? His eyes look like some kind of beast, I tell you.

It gave him chills, and he got goose bumps on his arms as well.

Jinwoo reined in his murderous glare. Fortunately, Kim was more perceptive than Jinho. After making eye contact with Jinwoo once, he’d decided to keep his distance. Jinwoo hoped that he’d continue doing that.

“Sung.” Chiyul stood beside Jinwoo, smiling as he spotted something. “There she is.”

Jinwoo turned his head in the direction Chiyul was looking. Even before he’d completely turned around…

“Jinwoo!”

…something soft collided with him.

“Joohee?”

As Jinwoo stood flustered, she looked him over, fighting back tears. “Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere? Oh, your leg! How did your leg…?”

Her eyes grew wide as she looked back and forth between Jinwoo’s face and leg. Chiyul had been just as surprised as she was, but her reaction was more overt.

“Right. My leg. That’s, uh…” Jinwoo was about to make up a story when…

“Ooooh, that’s hot! Sooo hot!”

Both Jinwoo and Joohee looked toward the voice.

Some man was catcalling at them from a distance. He wore a blue prisoner’s outfit.

Are they shooting a movie nearby?

As Jinwoo looked on curiously, a man in a suit emerged from the passenger side of a van. He chided the one in the prisoner’s outfit.

“Shut up.”

The prisoner looked away, acting like he hadn’t done anything wrong, but when the man in the suit turned back to the van, he took the opportunity to wink at Joohee.

Jinwoo frowned.

Soon, two more people came out of the van. Both of them were male as well. Strangely, all of them wore the same prisoner’s uniform and had on handcuffs. The man in the suit led the three men in the prisoner’s outfits toward the association employee.

She greeted him happily. “You’re finally here.”

“My apologies. There was traffic.”

The man in the suit started signing the paperwork she handed him. While he was doing that, she addressed all the hunters.

“These probational prisoners will join you in today’s raid.”

The hunters were stunned.

Kim stepped forward. “Probational prisoners? Are you telling us to do a raid with criminals?”

Hunters convicted of a crime have a choice. They can fully serve their prison term or they can decrease their jail time by cooperating with the association. Most of them chose to shorten their sentences, and those were called “probational prisoners.”

The employee of the association kept bowing in apology. “I’m sorry. I’m really sorry, but this area is very low on hunters. The association has already said there isn’t much choice currently. But you needn’t worry, since a member of the Surveillance Team will also go with you.”

Kim eyed the man in the suit suspiciously. “A member of the Surveillance Team, too?”

“Yes. The probational prisoners are all C rank, and the hunter from the Surveillance Team is B rank, so you needn’t worry.”

Kim nodded.

There was a theory that ten C-rank hunters would be needed to defeat one B-rank hunter. There was no reason to refuse a B-rank hunter who would both help them and keep an eye on the prisoners.

A B-rank hunter and three C-rank hunters……

Jinwoo felt like something was off as he looked at the hunter from the Surveillance Team and the probational prisoners.

Something isn’t right.

He sensed hostility from them.

Was this a result of his perception stat? Or was he worrying too much about nothing? In any case, an inexplicable uneasiness came over Jinwoo.

He whispered to Joohee. “You shouldn’t come on this raid.”

She looked up at him. “What about you?”

He responded to her question with his own. “And if I go?”

“Then I’m going, too.”

Her expression made it clear she would follow him no matter what.

I know it’s because she’s worried about me, but……

Jinwoo knew from experience how stubborn Joohee could be when she had that particular expression.

I guess it’ll be okay as long as I stick with her.

He’d defeated Dongsuk’s squad, which had five C-rank hunters, all by himself.

Jinwoo nodded. “Okay, then.”

The Surveillance Team member stood in front of the hunters after finishing up the paperwork.

“As I believe you’ve already been told, I’m Taesik Kang from the Surveillance Team. I’ll keep a close eye on the prisoners, so please do not worry about them.”

Taesik waved the prisoners over. They trudged to him and put their hands out. He swiftly unlocked their handcuffs with practiced fluidity.

“Damn, that was uncomfortable.”

“We’re not slaves. How can they drag us around like this?”

The freed prisoners complained while rubbing their wrists. Taesik ignored them and turned to the hunters.

“Who is going to lead the way?”

Chiyul, who had always been the de facto leader, raised his hand halfway.

Taesik nodded. “Understood.”

Chiyul entered the gate first, and the others followed him one by one.

“Shall we go?” Jinwoo also went in with Joohee.

She gingerly held on to his sleeve, perhaps because she was still traumatized from the last incident.

The majority of magic beasts in this dungeon were goblins. Goblins were classified as the weakest among humanoid magic beasts. The level of the dungeon wasn’t high.

Keeeeeek!

Kek!

Jinwoo had always found it easy to deal with these creepy little creatures, even before the system.

He fought them cautiously.

Skreeeek!

Keeek!

Chiyul and Joohee were awestruck by the way Jinwoo was fighting better than they’d ever expected.

“Wow.”

Even though Jinwoo was trying to hold back most of his combat power, there was still a clear difference.

Joohee approached him. “Have you been working out?”

“Uh…… I’ve been running every day.”

“Running?” She looked doubtful, but at least he wasn’t lying.

More importantly…… My experience isn’t going up at all.

Skreeek!

Kaaaak!

Jinwoo looked disappointed. The message about the goblins’ level being too low kept repeating over and over.

What’s the point……?

On top of that, the essence stones from the goblins were of the lowest quality.

Jinwoo looked around. The C-rank prisoners seemed hyped up because of their temporary freedom and were tearing apart the little beasts with their weapons.

Keeeeek!

Skreeek! Keeek!

It was hard to tell which of them were the beasts and which were the humans.

Looks like I don’t need to work that hard.

He couldn’t increase his experience here; neither could he make much money.

At the same time, he had another thought.

If it’s gonna be like this all the time, isn’t it better to leave the association?

Most of the work from the association was attacking D- or E-rank gates. If he couldn’t level up with D- or E-rank raids, though, there was no reason for him to participate.

And I’ll have enough to pay for my mother’s hospital bills from now on.

He could leave the association at any time.

This was why it was good to have money. Jinwoo had more options open to him.

The party had ventured farther inside the dungeon while he was lost in thought.

“Huh?”

“Hmm……”

Now there were three different forks in the path before them.

Taesik offered his suggestion to Chiyul. “How about we split up here, since the level of the dungeon is lower than we thought?”

“Let’s do that,” Chiyul agreed.

Jinwoo closed his eyes and focused on his other senses.

Which way is the boss?

Jinwoo was hoping the boss, at least, would give him some experience.

Soon, he started sensing the life force of every living thing in the dungeon.

He opened his eyes and spoke to Chiyul. “Mr. Song, let’s go to the left one.”

“Sure.”

Jinwoo, Chiyul, and Joohee took the left path, Taesik and the prisoners took the right, and the last two hunters took the middle.

Jinwoo’s heart was racing with excitement.

The boss is at the end of this tunnel.

He couldn’t say it was particularly strong, but the energy coming from the end of the corridor was unique and different from that of the other goblins.

He wanted to get to the boss as soon as possible, but goblins sprang out at them every few steps.

Keeek, keek.

Skreeeeek, keek.

Keeeek.

There were about ten this time. One with a wooden club, another one with a wooden sword, and yet another with a long wooden stick with a sharp stone point attached to the end. They’d done their best to arm themselves, but……they didn’t feel threatening at all.

Aren’t these bastards sick of attacking us?

Jinwoo made a face. He considered goblins to be pesky, as they attacked in groups but weren’t worth very much.

“There are ten of them…!”

“What should we do? Should we regroup with the others and come back?”

On the other hand, Chiyul and Joohee took them much more seriously.

“They’re only goblins, so we should at least try to fight them ourselves first.”

“Okay.”

Flames flickered on the tips of Chiyul’s fingers, and Joohee was readying her healing magic.

Jinwoo scratched the back of his head.

Now that I think about it, I don’t feel nervous at all, even though I’m in a dungeon.

Was it because he was much stronger than before? It was slowly starting to sink in how different it felt.

Chiyul turned to Jinwoo. “Sung, are you ready?”

“Yessir.”

Jinwoo kept pace with his teammates and steadily eliminated the goblins. In this way, they were focused on tackling the dungeon when…

…a steady stream of shrieking came from out of nowhere.

“Aaarrrgggh!”

“Aaaaack!”

It wasn’t the goblins. They were definitely human screams.

Jinwoo, Chiyul, and Joohee stared at one another. It was quiet for a moment, but then the awful wailing started up again.

“Aghhh!”

Chiyul’s face hardened. “Let’s go.”

The three of them sped toward the source of the commotion. Jinwoo could’ve run faster and gone on ahead, but he paced himself for the safety of the other two.

How long had they been running?

Joohee spotted someone. “Over there……!”

It was Taesik Kang from the Surveillance Team, and he was kneeling, covered in blood.

He called out to them. “Be careful! Those bastards might still be here somewhere!”

After spitting out the words with his last remaining strength, Taesik sank down as if he was in a great deal of pain.

“Uuuugh.”

Joohee couldn’t just stand by and watch. “I’ll heal you!”

She figured that, even if there were enemies nearby, she was a B-rank healer. She was pretty quick at tending to others. She thought it’d be better to treat Taesik before the enemies struck again.

“Please hang on.” Joohee stopped in front of him and stretched out her arms. Dim lights began emanating from her hands.

That was when Taesik sprang up and reached for her neck, his hand charged with magic.

Swwwp.

Someone grabbed his wrist right before his hand could touch Joohee’s neck.

Tmp.

“Ah……!” Startled, Joohee jerked back and landed on the ground.

Whump.

Taesik had a look of surprise on his face.

Who blocked my attack at this distance?

It wasn’t difficult for a high-rank hunter to get rid of his lower-rank comrades. His only issue was the B-rank female hunter who was the same level as he was. Luckily, she was a noncombat hunter. She wouldn’t be able to protect herself if he hit her with a surprise attack.

But……his strike had been blocked. His effort to act the part of a responsible hunter had been in vain.

Taesik’s eyes scanned up the arm holding on to his wrist. His eyes stopped at Jinwoo’s face.

There was malice in those eyes.

Taesik scowled. “How dare you, you low-rank trash!”

Shwip!

Taesik’s other fist flew for Jinwoo’s face. But Jinwoo easily avoided it by turning his head.

What?!

Taesik put in all his strength and wrenched his wrist out of Jinwoo’s grasp.

“Huh?”

This surprised Jinwoo. As expected of the strength of a high-rank hunter.

With both hands now free, Taesik attempted to pummel Jinwoo, but he moved as fast as Taesik did, blocking all his attacks.

Pa-pa-pak!

The two of them continued their assault on each other. They were very evenly matched.

Chiyul took the opportunity to get Joohee away from them.

“M-Mr. Song…” Joohee was speechless from shock.

But Chiyul was even more shocked than she was.

How is this possible……?

It was a fight at an unbelievable speed, too fast for the naked eye to follow. It might’ve been expected from the B-rank hunter, but Jinwoo was no longer the person Chiyul once knew. He was going head-to-head with a B ranker.

I’m C rank, but I can hardly follow their moves!

His hunch had been right. Jinwoo wasn’t that same E ranker who’d been weak but had good hunches.

After exchanging hundreds of blows in a short amount of time, the two fighters separated to catch their breath.

Jinwoo glared at Taesik. “The blood on your clothes……that’s not yours, is it?”

Taesik shook out his wrists as he replied, “That’s right. This is the blood of those bastards. But forget that; I had no idea I’d encounter a hunter like you in a place like this.”

He was truly amazed by Jinwoo. He hadn’t heard of a high-rank hunter working with the bottom-tier trash in the association.

This isn’t good.

Taesik had thought today would be the perfect time to enact his plan. He hadn’t anticipated such an unexpected complication.

His curiosity got the best of him.

“Who are you? What’s your rank?”

Jinwoo summoned Kasaka’s Venom Fang and gripped it tightly as he replied.

“Jinwoo Sung. E rank.”