Chapter 15
“The difficulty is D4-rank, and the dungeon is estimated to be small in size. According to the advance party’s investigation, there were no abnormalities.”
By now, the training schedule was nearly over.
Only one thing remained—the dungeon expedition, known as the greatest hurdle of the government-funded Hunter training program.
“The dungeon will be cleared by a carefully selected group of instructors. However, volunteers will be provided with the opportunity to experience actual combat under controlled conditions.”
In reality, there wasn’t much for us to do directly.
We were simply supposed to observe the assault team’s exploration process and learn about practical precautions and how an actual dungeon raid was conducted.
The group training we had undergone until now had been for this very moment. Naturally, our teams had also been organized with people who had spent the past few weeks together and learned how to work with one another.
“It shouldn’t be particularly difficult, but let’s all do our best.”
“I-I’m a little nervous.”
“Come on, don’t worry too much. With Seung-min here, there shouldn’t be any danger in a dungeon of this rank.”
There were three people in our group besides me.
Kim Seung-min, a shield warrior; Han So-eun, an ice mage; and Choi Eun-sol, an archer.
“Eun-ha, I heard you’re a necromancer?”
“……Y-Yes.”
Thanks to the deboned mackerel incident, Han So-eun and Choi Eun-sol had developed a fairly favorable impression of me. Because of that, I could at least manage to have brief conversations with them.
“That’s a rare class in Korea. What’s your title?”
“Uh……”
At Choi Eun-sol’s question, I quickly racked my brain.
I still hadn’t achieved a complete Awakening. Naturally, I didn’t have a title either. So I had no choice but to make one up.
“I’m told mine is Agile Hunter. Not very impressive, right?”
Titles in this world were rather mysterious yet intuitive.
There were occasionally titles whose meanings were impossible to understand, but there was one thing that was certain.
People with impressive-sounding titles tended to be strong.
Because of that, people often tried to estimate someone’s talent or abilities based on their title.
If we’re talking about titles……
I had plenty of impressive ones to choose from.
If I wanted to keep it simple, how about Lord of the Underworld?
A name like that was appropriate enough to represent my glorious achievements.
I prepared to announce it with a prideful expression.
“Come to think of it, wasn’t there someone in another group with a title like Earth Guardian or something?”
“Ah, that guy? I didn’t like how he strutted around just because he had a flashy title.”
“Indeed. He didn’t seem particularly impressive. His fundamentals seemed lacking, too. Ultimately, what matters is one’s foundation.”
Those were the words of Han So-eun, Choi Eun-sol, and Kim Seung-min, respectively.
Seeing the atmosphere, I hesitated and hurriedly offered the alias I had used back when I was merely a beginner necromancer.
“Um, mine is…… Apostle of the Old Straw Heap.”
I was a traditional necromancer with proper roots, after all.
There was absolutely no way I could be mistaken for some rootless corpse peddler.
“All right, everyone should have all their equipment ready. Let’s enter.”
After a brief period of chatting, we finished our preparations and finally entered the dungeon alongside the assault team.
“Training participants, maintain a certain distance from the front line and move in formation.”
As expected, there were no problems with the actual raid.
For the instructors, who could be considered a group of veterans, a lowest-rank dungeon was nothing particularly difficult. We simply followed behind them and analyzed the battles.
“Training Participant No. 21, your rear guard is too lax.”
“Ah! I’m sorry!”
However, there was a reason this dungeon expedition was called the greatest hurdle.
Simply walking through the dungeon and observing the battles was enough to exhaust the trainees far more quickly than expected.
No matter how much they wanted to become Hunters, the killing intent of monsters and the eerie mana permeating a dungeon were not things that people who had never experienced a dungeon before could easily ignore.
“We’ll take a twenty-minute break starting now. During that time, we’ll quickly go over how to maintain vigilance while stationary.”
This final stage determined who could move forward as a Hunter and who could not.
In simple terms, it was a kind of filter.
Everyone here had undergone grueling training and accumulated knowledge, but there were inevitably people who simply couldn’t put that knowledge into practice when faced with a real situation.
It was unfortunate, but such people simply couldn’t become Hunters.
They weren’t qualified.
“Training Participant No. 13, are you all right?”
“……Urgh.”
And that person was me.
I wasn’t even capable of maintaining a proper defensive posture. I was already on the verge of throwing up.
My stomach hurts. My head hurts.
No matter how you looked at it, there were simply too many people.
If it were just the four members of our group clearing a dungeon together, perhaps I could manage. But communicating with such a large number of people was almost impossible for me right now.
“If you’re not feeling well, we’ll move you to the rear standby group.”
“I-I’m fine……”
So I decided to take drastic measures once again.
Whoosh.
Curse Blind.
I said it again: if I couldn’t see anything, there was nothing to fear.
Curse Blind was supreme, and I was invincible!
Tick.
“We’ll resume moving shortly. Please get into formation.”
My vision was unreliable, but that was what sensing one’s surroundings was for.
For someone like me, who had survived countless hardships in that other world, something like this was incredibly simple.
This way.
I naturally slipped into the middle of the formation.
Then I heard the voice of a trainee beside me.
“Excuse me, that’s my spot……”
“……”
I hid my reddening face, dispelled the curse, and returned to my proper position.
The subtle looks from my teammates stabbed painfully at my heart.
The dungeon raid proceeded smoothly.
However, because the expedition was also intended to train the participants, it was taking quite a while to clear the dungeon.
“We should reach the boss room in about two hours. Please don’t let your guard down and keep up the good work for just a little longer.”
The instructors continued encouraging the trainees while clearing the path ahead.
Some people were completely exhausted because the dungeon simply didn’t suit them, but Group 3, which included Baek Eun-ha, was generally fine. We were even able to chat casually while keeping watch.
“Still, this dungeon is strange.”
“Hm? What do you mean?”
At Choi Eun-sol’s question, Kim Seung-min looked around once before continuing.
“Do you know about the difference in mana distribution depending on the size of a dungeon?”
“What’s that?”
“The smaller a dungeon is, the more closely connected the mana in the atmosphere tends to be. It’s because of the boss monster.”
Boss monsters possessed far greater mana than ordinary monsters. Therefore, the smaller the dungeon’s overall space, the less room there was for that mana to spread, causing it to become more concentrated.
“I heard this dungeon was estimated to be small.”
“Yes. I believe the supervisor said that as well.”
“But the mana around us seems slightly thinner than expected. Of course, it’s not a major difference. It’s simply unusual.”
What Kim Seung-min had pointed out was actually something the instructors had been concerned about as well.
It was difficult to say that there was an actual problem, but as he said, the situation was certainly unfamiliar.
However, the lowest-rank dungeons had a low occurrence rate and were difficult to find in Korea. Finding another one was out of the question.
Choi Jeong-woon, a former C-class Hunter serving as the chief supervisor, spoke.
“Have there still been no abnormalities?”
“Yes. There has been no difference from the advance party’s investigation so far, and there have been no unusual signs either.”
The advance party had already been sent in beforehand to inspect every section of the dungeon and confirm the location of the boss room.
Honestly, there shouldn’t have been any problems.
Something about it felt irritating, but Choi Jeong-woon deliberately ignored the feeling.
And eventually, the group reached the entrance to the dungeon’s boss room.
After taking one final rest, Choi Jeong-woon gathered the trainees and spoke.
“We’re entering the boss room now. We haven’t been able to inspect the inside ourselves, so the trainees will not enter in case of an emergency.”
It was the correct decision.
Most of the trainees, who had secretly been nervous, nodded in relief.
“Instead, we’ll conduct the battle within your direct line of sight. Please remain outside and focus on analyzing the battle.”
Someday, they would have to fight a boss monster themselves.
Someone swallowed nervously as the instructors finally entered the boss room.
Rumble.
“Hunter Kang, please secure visibility.”
“Yes. I’ll illuminate the room.”
Flash!
A basic light spell filled the boss room, revealing everything inside.
The boss room was completely empty.
“There shouldn’t be a D-rank boss capable of hiding itself.”
“It could be hiding behind the terrain. Everyone, stay alert……”
That was when the anomaly occurred.
BOOM!
KWAANG—!
A tremendous roar erupted, as though the ground itself had been overturned.
The advance party was startled and immediately began looking around in every direction.
As the noise finally subsided, someone shouted in an urgent voice.
“Supervisor! Behind you! Look behind you!”
Choi Jeong-woon quickly checked the rear.
His expression twisted at the incomprehensible sight before him.
“What…… is this?”
The rear party that had been waiting outside the boss room only moments ago had vanished without a trace.
