Chapter 13
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Translator: Wjin
Chapter: 13
Chapter Title: Delivery Into the Dungeon
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'Damn, that thing's got a hell of a roar.'
The one who ambushed Shin Ha-rang while he was quietly resting—and placing his order—was the boss of this SS-Rank Dungeon, a colossal sandworm.
The massive body of the sandworm, which wouldn't pale in comparison to one of Seoul's skyscrapers, had launched a surprise attack on Shin Ha-rang during the brief respite he took to place his order.
As expected of an SS-Rank Dungeon boss monster, Shin Ha-rang hadn't noticed at all as the house-sized beast tore through the sand toward him.
'Shit, this is a pain. Does it have some stealth skill or something?'
Fortunately, Shin Ha-rang managed to save his skin by slashing at it with his curved sword just before the sandworm, which had closed in, could swallow him whole with its maw full of razor-sharp teeth.
A rock nearby happened to be the same color as the sand, giving him a momentary hiding spot, but how long could he really hold out?
He was out of breath from running, clamping his mouth shut to stifle any noise.
'And my right arm's a bit injured too.'
Even his S-Rank protective gear outerwear was nothing more than rags against that sandworm's assault.
'They said it wouldn't tear even against attacks from monsters higher-ranked than me, tough as nails. What a load of bullshit. I need to file a complaint with the Hunter-exclusive VVIP customer service.'
It was right then, as Shin Ha-rang clicked his tongue and opened his subspace to roughly bandage the wound.
"Kieeeek-!!"
"Whoa, someone's really pissed off. Mr. Earthworm."
The sandworm, having failed to devour Shin Ha-rang and now bleeding green blood from the wound he'd inflicted, was rampaging and scouring the area thoroughly in fury.
'This is bad... That earthworm bastard outranks me as a boss monster, and my current condition sucks.'
Grrrooowl.
A loud rumble echoed from his empty stomach, demanding food.
"Ugh... I'm starving..."
Even his sturdy Awakener body was starting to reach its limits.
'Please... I hope that delivery hunter shows up soon without being late.'
It couldn't be that the delivery wasn't coming just because he mentioned paying by card midway, right?
Based on what the one and only person with delivery experience, Min Hae-yul, had said, delivery hunters seemed pretty lenient toward starving hunters.
In other words, the chances of one showing up were even higher.
So Shin Ha-rang had gone all out acting frail—something totally out of character—shedding tears in his messages. His cheeks burned the whole time he typed.
He figured showing how desperate he was would get the delivery hunter moving, and boost his own survival odds.
'...Will they really come?'
Clinging to that uncertain hope, Shin Ha-rang braced for the sandworm's next assault.
"Kieeeek-!!"
Spotting Shin Ha-rang, the sandworm charged with its densely toothed maw wide open.
"Persistent bastard."
Ripples formed over his lake-blue eyes.
Clouds Walking on Blades
A brilliant blue flame flickered along his primary weapon, the curved sword.
"Clouds seek to walk upon the blades, and thus none may harm them."
⟨ Clouds Walking on Blades ⟩
As Shin Ha-rang swung the curved sword freely, several crescent-shaped blue sword auras were sucked into the sandworm's maw.
Psssh-!
The sound of monster flesh being pierced rang out, followed by the sandworm's tearing scream that shook the heavens.
"Kieeeek-!!"
'Die already, please.'
Gripping the hilt of his curved sword tightly, Shin Ha-rang fled without looking back.
Praying desperately that the starving sandworm would give up on him and leave, just like he was doing.
It had already been five days since Shin Ha-rang entered this SS-Rank Dungeon, [Mirage Quest].
For the first two days after entering, he'd somehow managed to survive by gnawing on the dungeon's revolting ingredients...
But the boss monster's appearance had made even that impossible.
'Goddamn it. That sandworm has degenerated eyes and poor vision, but its sense of smell is insanely sharp.'
No matter how well Shin Ha-rang hid or searched for an exit from the dungeon, the sandworm would appear like a ghost out of nowhere, trying to devour him.
Having found prey after so long, it was relentlessly persistent.
Whenever Shin Ha-rang reluctantly tried to eat the dungeon's ingredients, it would pop out and shove its maw right in his face.
Unable to even eat that tasteless garbage, he'd been forced to flee from its pursuit, until he realized he'd been cornered in the middle of the desert zone.
'Cunning earthworm bastard... You've set your sights on eating me, huh.'
He'd tried attacking it with his main weapons, the curved sword and composite bow, but it only resulted in minor scratches—nowhere near enough to win one-on-one.
'If only I'd come with guildmates, we'd have a shot at beating it and clearing the dungeon...'
Thinking an A-Rank Dungeon would be clearable solo had been a fatal mistake.
Even when he contacted the guild, they replied despairingly that no support could be provided from outside until the dungeon was cleared.
"Damn it..."
In the desert zone, even water was hard to come by.
Cornered, Shin Ha-rang could barely sleep or eat, reduced to a deadly game of hide-and-seek with the sandworm.
After enduring three days like that, ravenous hunger set in.
Grrrooowl.
'Shit.'
Unable to even nap properly due to the relentless pursuit day and night, Shin Ha-rang awoke in a daze, tears pricking at his eyes.
'...I might actually die like this.'
He wanted no part of a headline like ''Promising Attacker Hunter Shin Ha-rang Starves to Death in SS-Rank Dungeon.''
'Food... If I could just eat something tasty, I could muster the strength to fight...'
But this dungeon had nothing but awful-tasting junk.
In the scorching desert heat, parched and starving, the exhausted Shin Ha-rang thought of the delivery hunter whose order had failed earlier.
"If only that person would come to me now..."
It wasn't an empty promise—he'd treat them like royalty if they just showed up.
But cruelly, no order confirmation appeared before Ha-rang.
'Guess it's hopeless for them to come here.'
"Kiee- Kieeeek-!"
The sandworm's cries were drawing closer. The central area it had herded him into was a barren sand flat with nowhere to hide.
'Am I dying here?'
Just like this, so pathetically?
As he barely dodged while thinking that, the window he'd longed for appeared before Shin Ha-rang like a savior.
Taking Your Order, Customer!
Fast dungeon delivery packed with flavor and care, by a hunter.
Ah, you're the one whose order cut off midway last time?
If you'd like to resume the interrupted order, approve the chat connection!
YES/NO
'No way... Could this be?'
The status window felt real. Not a hallucination from exhaustion.
With trembling hands, Shin Ha-rang hit YES.
Want food delivery inside the dungeon? Hit YES!
YES/NO
He hit YES again, and a chat connection attempt popped up.
Attempting chat connection.
You can now receive messages from the delivery hunter.
Now, place your order!
Hello, customer^^
Are you reordering the 'King of Kings Bento' from before?
A polite yet strangely soulless, capitalist sales pitch.
'It's real.'
The real delivery hunter had come back!
Overjoyed at finally connecting with the delivery hunter he'd been desperately seeking, Shin Ha-rang hurriedly typed his nickname and message—half thrilled, half miserable at being chased as prey by a giant worm in an SS-Rank Dungeon.
Yes, yes, yes.
I'll order that.
As he was about to hit send, Shin Ha-rang hesitated.
'Can the delivery hunter survive coming into an SS-Rank Dungeon?'
If delivery was their job trait, they were probably support-class.
Estimated rank: A or S.
'Even an attack or defense-type S-Rank might not beat that sandworm.'
Was it really okay to call them here?
What if his desperate struggle to escape dragged an innocent person to their death?
His desire to live clashed with pangs of conscience, weighing on his eyelids.
"......"
After a brief agony, Shin Ha-rang deleted the message and typed a new one.
...No. Cancel the order. This is an SS-Rank Dungeon. It's dangerous. Unknown delivery hunter, do not enter the dungeon—run. And if possible, please request support from Wing Guild.
His hand shook as he wrote the message. Shin Ha-rang had just kicked away his ladder of hope.
'Even if they request guild support, it'll be too late by then.'
But he couldn't drag a precious hunter with a rare job trait down to the afterlife with him as a companion.