073 - Designated Request (3)
The influence of an Association director was formidable.
Word had spread to the Association about the discovery of another dungeon within the A-rank dungeon break, and before half a day had passed, high-rank hunters began arriving in droves.
"...Wow. It's my first time seeing so many top hunters gathered like this. These are faces I only ever saw on TV."
"That just means the Association is treating this incident with the utmost seriousness."
Kim Sun-woo scanned his surroundings, gauging the hunters' auras.
The assembled force consisted of at least B-rank hunters and above.
Hunters from all corners of the country who could make it had converged in one place.
'One A-rank hunter, eight B-ranks.'
It was a shame there was only one A-rank, but with this lineup, they could comfortably clear a high B-rank or low A-rank dungeon.
The prevailing theory was that nested dungeons inside others were typically one rank lower.
Even so, given it was a dungeon break, Director Lee Jin-hyuk had mobilized every hunter he could, pulling out all the stops.
"You're the first discoverer of the dungeon? From Mugung Guild, I heard."
"Kim Sun-woo."
"Yi Seong-jin. You've heard of me, right?"
"Of course."
Kim Sun-woo nodded and shook the offered hand firmly.
It was a name impossible to miss.
An A-rank hunter from Nakwol Guild—one of Korea's top ten guilds alongside Mugung.
He was a renowned powerhouse, counted among the elite even among fellow A-ranks.
"You've been making waves lately yourself, junior."
Kim Sun-woo grinned, sizing up Yi Seong-jin, who regarded him with keen interest.
Over fifty years old, wrinkled skin, a scruffy beard, and long hair tied back.
He looked less like a hunter and more like some mountain hermit cultivating the Tao.
Yet the unfathomable power in those eyes was beyond even Kim Sun-woo's ability to measure.
'If he fought Lascael...'
No clear outcome came to mind.
Both were simply on another level.
"Alright, looks like we're all set. Let's head in—we've got a tight schedule."
The investigation team's leader was, naturally, the sole A-rank: Yi Seong-jin.
He shook out his waist-length hair and addressed the hunters, striding toward the dungeon entrance.
"Let's go."
The Knight Team and Robert, assigned as support, fell into step beside Kim Sun-woo.
"Ever been in an A-rank dungeon before?"
"First time. Our team mainly tackled C-ranks anyway."
"The first dungeon we did together was C-rank too."
Kim Sun-woo nodded, reminiscing.
Their inaugural raid as a team under his training leadership had been the volcanic zone.
A sudden Red Drake ambush had given them hell.
He could bisect it with a single stroke now, but back then, the searing agony had been nightmarish.
"Opening it up."
At the underground dungeon entrance, the hunters wore grave expressions as they flung open the sealed door.
No matter their rank, stepping into an unknown dungeon was tense.
"I'll take point."
Yi Seong-jin crossed the threshold without hesitation.
The interior was pitch-black, without a speck of light, but that posed no issue for those present.
A damp, humid air hung heavy.
Despite the door unopened for ages, there was no musty stench.
Yet everyone inside could sense it clearly.
Something extraordinary lurked at the end of this path.
"...This is giving me chills."
"Won't be a cakewalk."
These B-rank hunters were veterans active on frontlines nationwide.
They'd cleared famous dungeons multiple times over.
But this atmosphere was unprecedented—eerie in a way they'd never felt before.
"......"
Kim Sun-woo narrowed his eyes, extending his senses.
A strangely familiar energy.
Damp, insidious—the same he'd clashed with before.
Soon convinced, he stepped forward and approached Yi Seong-jin at the lead.
"It's a death spirit-type dungeon. Faint, but black magic flows through the air."
"You sensed it too? It was so subtle, I was half-doubting."
"...And that presence at the end."
"Everyone feels it."
Yi Seong-jin nodded.
"Conservatively, it's mid-tier A-rank boss level. Hope that's the end of it."
They could take an A-rank mid-boss with their current force, led by Yi Seong-jin.
But anything stronger would force a rethink on the raid.
"Let's move. Sensing presences inside—looks turbulent."
"Got it."
Kim Sun-woo nodded, inwardly impressed.
Only upon approaching to speak had he detected the monsters ahead.
Yi Seong-jin had picked them up long before.
'A-rank indeed.'
On par with Mugung's Han Kang-seok.
But Yi Seong-jin wasn't a martial artist.
Rumors said he wielded shamanic arts matching his appearance. What kind of combat would a superhuman outside martial or magic show?
The descending staircase ended.
Yi Seong-jin halted at the bottom, inhaling deeply.
"Hm. This familiar stench of rot."
Shiak!
A blade dropped from the darkness.
Black magic trailed in a razor-sharp arc.
Yi Seong-jin pinched the sword tip between two fingers and drew a talisman from his pocket.
"Black Knights. Like the Cradle of the Broken Pilgrim. So that thing at the end's a Death Knight, then."
—Pajijijik!
Azure lightning erupted.
Thunderbolts radiating from Yi Seong-jin swept the underground, illuminating the gloom.
Kim Sun-woo, descending next, marveled at the transformation.
Pajik, pajijijik!!
Even after one burst, immense energy crackled around him.
He looked like a thunder god descended.
"No need to dawdle. I'll clear the path."
Kung—!
A-ranks needed no tactics or plans.
Sheer overwhelming force—he charged into the cavern, smashing toward the black knights.
"Let's go."
"Black Knights—nobody's strangers. Watch for wounds; rot starts from cuts."
"Tch. Nearly lost an arm to one back in the day."
The B-ranks joined, carving through black knights.
Elite C-rank bosses in dozens? The hunters treated them like trash mobs.
Kim Sun-woo was no different.
Whick.
He twisted aside from the predictable swing and flicked his finger.
Lightning bolt pierced the black knight's core, shattering it instantly.
Such precise, devastating efficiency drew awed murmurs nearby.
"Kim Sun-woo, right?"
"Yeah, the guy who won at the Huashan branch. They said Huashan got fully armored in White Tiger Plate and still got owned."
"He blew up online. B-rank promotion already? Over ten years as F-rank—what ability did he awaken?"
As they felled more, interest turned to Kim Sun-woo.
From B-rank up, changes were rare; most knew each other.
New stars usually hailed from top guilds, building rep young.
Kim Sun-woo? F-rank for a decade, then supernova to B in half a year.
A rare outlier—rumors swirled he'd hit A-rank fastest ever.
'A-rank.'
Kim Sun-woo pondered while dropping his third black knight.
His rapid rise felt too fast, but seeing these B-ranks, it clicked.
He lacked confidence against them.
Even Mugung's elite Main Assault Team—veteran Gu Jin-uk couldn't match him now.
Lascael proved B-rank gaps were vast.
But A-rank...
Kwaang! Kwaaaang!
Yi Seong-jin toyed with lightning, sweeping black knights effortlessly.
Kim Sun-woo could one-shot dozens too.
But with that casual playfulness? Another story.
"All done."
Pasus.
The black knight in Yi Seong-jin's grip crumbled to dust.
He shook his hand, dispelling the thunder aura, and asked Kim Sun-woo.
"Neat power. Not a blessing, huh?"
"...I'm a bit of an oddity."
Kim Sun-woo scratched his head sheepishly.
'He noticed.'
To others, it looked like a precise core strike.
But since Death's Land, his power inexplicably carried Parasa Flame properties.
Death spirits? No match.
Detecting black magic had relieved him for that reason.
Even if issues arose, he could handle necromantic types.
"Hm."
Yi Seong-jin's interest deepened; he stroked his chin, studying him.
"Intriguing. Visit Nakwol sometime. Curious about that constitution."
"Can you figure it out?"
"My workshop's full of fun toys. Might uncover something."
Tempting offer.
He hadn't puzzled out why this affinity dwelled in him, or his martial talent.
No dire need, but the process might reveal more.
"Anyway, later for that..."
Yi Seong-jin glanced up.
—Kung.
Kim Sun-woo followed his gaze.
Vibrations from afar, just as black knights fell.
The commotion had roused a slumbering beast.
"No need to go deeper. Not exactly welcome guests, but it's coming to greet us."
Sruk.
Yi Seong-jin drew more talismans, smirking down the long passage.
Saaaa—.
Dense black magic surged, far thicker than before.
Nearby hunters flinched instinctively.
Then its massive frame emerged, exuding overwhelming menace.
"...Bone Dragon. First time seeing one in person."
A skeletal dragon, bones stark and bare, loomed over them, radiating deathly aura.