Chapter 27
Chapter 27
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 27
Chapter Title: How the Rank 1 Hero Protects the World
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Following Lee Woo-yeon as he soared through the sky, we arrived near a massive university hospital about fifteen minutes from Sinchon Station.
It was a building with a familiar landscape to me as well, but what had changed from my memories was that the main gate of the large university building was sealed shut, surrounded by soldiers on guard.
I stopped just before crossing the line the soldiers were patrolling.
One of the soldiers approaching me to say something pointed up at the sky.
“It's Lee Woo-yeon the Hunter.”
“Contact Professor Kim Sook-ja.”
The soldiers sprang into bustling action.
Rather than joining that group right away, Lee Woo-yeon slowly descended to my side.
“Kang Ye-na, you're fast. But this isn't a dungeon break, so watch your step on the building grounds or you'll get reported.”
Damn it.
I clicked my tongue.
Through the soldiers keeping watch around us, a woman approached with quick strides. Lee Woo-yeon walked toward her. The soldiers, recognizing his face, stepped aside.
The woman, now close, gave a slight nod toward Lee Woo-yeon.
Lee Woo-yeon smiled lightly and bowed his head in return.
“Professor Sook-ja.”
“Woo-yeon.”
Ah, so that's Kim Sook-ja.
Out of curiosity, I examined Professor Kim closely.
Mid to late fifties, maybe?
Since she was called "Professor," I'd imagined a gentle or finicky scholar type, but she was nothing like that.
If I'd passed her on the street, I would've thought she was an actress.
Tall and slender, dressed in a black leather coat that reached her calves and leather pants to match, with a short wand-type staff in her hand that didn't quite fit the outfit.
“Haha, long time no see, Professor. Meeting like this, of all ways.”
“This doesn't seem like a time for laughing, Woo-yeon.”
Professor Kim replied sharply. Her tone was so prickly it made me flinch involuntarily.
They said the clear condition changed mid-dungeon raid—maybe someone she knew was inside tackling it?
Even I, standing behind Lee Woo-yeon, felt the edge in her words, but he seemed unfazed by her sharp tone.
“Then brief me on the way. Oh, this is a hunter I scouted. Mind if she joins us?”
“......What?”
I'd thought she wouldn't spare me a glance given the situation, but Professor Kim turned her eyes to me.
Her gaze narrowed.
“That's rare. First time I've seen you traveling with someone, Woo-yeon...... Eternal Guild?”
“Not affiliated with Guild Master Kim Seong-yeon, so rest easy if that's what you're asking.”
“I wasn't asking that, so don't misunderstand. Anyway, enough. She can come along.”
Their conversation flew by quickly, but it revealed quite a bit of info.
Doesn't get along with Eternal Guild's Kim Seong-yeon, huh. He was on the rankings too—this was worth remembering.
But now wasn't the time to dwell on that, so I matched their pace as Kim Sook-ja and Lee Woo-yeon started walking.
The soldiers stood guard around us and opened the door.
As Professor Kim walked, she gave a rough rundown of the situation.
“We learned about it thirty minutes ago. One hunter bailed out midway from the dungeon.”
“Bailed out, you say?”
“Looks like they accidentally triggered a hidden clear condition. Thanks to that, we at least know what's happening inside. They said the moment they entered, not just the clear condition but the entire dungeon environment changed completely.”
“What's the clear condition?”
“Exterminate every monster inside that dungeon.”
I swallowed hard.
I wasn't sure about Korea's dungeon grading system, but in Tartarus, that would've meant......
“We need to upgrade it to S-Rank. Monster types unknown, but extermination as the condition.”
Lee Woo-yeon's words matched my thoughts exactly.
He was right.
Tackling high-rank dungeons was tough, sure, but clear conditions often boiled down to just taking down the boss monster.
But if it was exterminating every monster in the dungeon, the extermination itself was an issue, and who knew how long it'd take to clear.
Going in unprepared was a one-way ticket to Robinson Crusoe. No, worse, since it wasn't a deserted island.
“Then support should focus on mages with AoE...... Professor, you'll go in, of course.”
“No.”
Professor Kim answered curtly. Lee Woo-yeon glanced at her profile with a puzzled look, but she pointed ahead instead of turning.
Where the university building's main entrance should've been, a massive diamond-shaped glow now hovered.
It was an alien sight.
Professor Kim spoke.
“Check the dungeon saturation level first. Explanation after.”
Dungeon saturation level referred to how close a stationary dungeon was to breaking out.
Regular clears kept it low, but failed raids raised it, and crossing the threshold triggered a dungeon break from a stationary dungeon.
“Query dungeon saturation level.”
Following her lead, I checked it, and a red gauge bar appeared before my eyes.
- This dungeon's saturation level is in 'Danger' status.
Damn. Lee Woo-yeon, standing beside me, also queried it and swallowed in slight surprise.
At this rate, one or two more failed raids and it'd overflow into a break.
Unlike breakout dungeons, stationary ones had no area limits—monsters would spill into reality unrestricted.
Breakout dungeons killed everyone in the zone, but stationary breaks had no such bounds.
Of course, in Korea with modern weaponry, it'd fare better than Tartarus, but still dangerous.
Plus, location-wise, a break here would be disastrous. Big hospital nearby, high foot traffic.
Lee Woo-yeon asked Professor Kim in a sharpened tone.
“The Ga-18 Dungeon is government-managed, right? How'd this happen, Professor?”
“We're managing it. Seon—er, Hunter Lee Seon—took government hunters in for a regular raid. Saturation was stable until yesterday.”
“So it spiked all at once? What'd the one who triggered the hidden clear say?”
“Nothing. Out of it.”
“What? Why? Even a newbie should've had basic training.”
“That's the frustrating part. Barely mentioned the clear condition, then clammed up like he'd seen a ghost.”
Professor Kim pointed to the tent.
Following her finger, I saw someone lying on a cot receiving treatment from medics.
Lee Woo-yeon started toward them as if to ask something, but she stopped him.
“We've done everything possible. But we can't just wait for info.”
“Got it. Then I'll head in right— What the hell.”
Lee Woo-yeon approached the entrance and scowled.
“Personnel limit? Only one more can enter from now on?”
“Yeah.”
Professor Kim nodded. I checked the system too.
- Query this dungeon's raid status?
- Raid in progress. Personnel limited for ongoing raid.
- Available slots (19/20)
I glanced at Lee Woo-yeon's baffled expression.
From their reactions, personnel-limited dungeons must be a first in Korea.
In Tartarus, twenty years post-appearance, they were commonplace. Mercs even fought over loot exclusives from them.
But those fights happened after stationary dungeons were mapped out through grueling clears.
Right now, zero data on this one. How to raid it? Unknown.
Even top hunters wouldn't find it easy.
“That's the situation.”
Finished explaining, Professor Kim rummaged in her pocket for a cigarette.
She asked my permission before lighting up.
Lee Woo-yeon commented.
“You said you were quitting.”
“Can't endure without it. Saturation's at break-on-next-failure levels, inside we've got rookies geared for first A-Rank raid—minus Lee Seon. And only one more hunter can enter.”
Total mess all around.
But Lee Woo-yeon didn't hesitate.
“Then Professor, you were raiding Busan dungeons until yesterday......”
“If not, I wouldn't have called you.”
“Yes, I'll go.”
His gaze fixed solely on the entrance.
As if no other option even crossed his mind.
No trace of his earlier playfulness in that expression.
His strangely refined profile backed by the fading sunlight. Delicate lashes casting a poignant shadow under his eyes.
“I'll handle it.”
Something ached in my chest at the sight. I pressed a hand to it.
Heart pounding fast.
Why? Why this?
“Still, just in case, prep for break. Hate to say it, but contact Eternal Guild too......”
His following words snapped me back.
Right, not the time. Get it together.
“Wait.”
Lee Woo-yeon and Professor Kim turned to me. I tapped the sword at my waist.
“I acknowledge Hunter Lee Woo-yeon's AoE firepower, but filling the gap in the entered party's roles might help more.”
“It's not that I haven't considered it.”
I'd figured a stranger like me might get dismissed, but she was surprisingly open.
Professor Kim took a deep drag, turned her head, and exhaled smoke.
“The hunters inside? Good enough for A-Rank first raid, not useless, but under S-Rank guidance. No role gaps—need raw firepower.”
“What about Hunter Lee Seon?”
“Mage like me, can do AoE, so not total disaster for extermination. Plus Woo-yeon's going.”
“I see it differently.”
I pointed to the patient in the tent.
“A-Rank first raid or not, would anyone zone out that hard? Especially after safely triggering hidden clear and bailing.”
Lee Woo-yeon got it, tapping his temple. He'd cleared a breakout with me a week ago.
“You mean the dungeon spawned the worst matchup for Hunter Lee Seon's abilities?”
“Yeah.”
Stationary dungeons usually fixed monsters and environments regardless of entrants, but here the setup flipped on entry.
Like a 'Lich' tailored to Lee Woo-yeon—couldn't rule out the trickiest foe for a mage inside.
“What mages hate most: monsters casting same spells. Yeah, explains the newbie. Mental magic, probably.”
Lee Woo-yeon pondered deeply, Professor Kim stubbed out her near-finished smoke.
Her gaze on me sharpened like a blade. Eyes full of suspicion.
Fair enough. Some no-name hunter popping up, acting like she knows it all.
......Honestly, didn't want attention from a ranker like her, but sending Lee Woo-yeon solo first might doom the whole party.
Could trigger break...... No choice.
I sighed.
Before Professor Kim could speak, Lee Woo-yeon cut in.
“Professor, she's right. Was gonna report this at the next meeting, collect samples formally.”
“......Still think you're the best bet, Woo-yeon. Few classes counter mage-type monsters well, none available now.”
“No.”
I tapped the sword at my waist. The Apex holy sword hummed faintly. As if anticipating what was next.
“I'll go.”