Chapter 48
Chapter 48
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 48
Chapter Title: Chapter 7. Finale
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“For now, we’ve bought ourselves some time. No siege warfare during the dawn phase, after all. Hunter Lee Seon, good work.”
“Yeah, I really thought I was done for.”
Under the pretext of a strategy meeting, I had dragged Lee Seon—who had just come to—and Lee Woo-yeon into a suitable room in one of the castle’s mansions.
Fortunately, old man Sebastian had even prepared some alcohol, making it perfect for plotting.
Lee Woo-yeon had declined the drink, and Lee Seon said he wasn’t in any shape to handle it right now, so I was the only one sipping whiskey from a glass.
Whew, it’s strong.
Just right.
As I went to take another swig, Lee Woo-yeon reached out and snatched the glass from me.
“Kang Ye-na, is this really the time for booze?”
“You’re such a kid. Don’t you get it? You need alcohol to endure crap like this.”
“A kid? Aren’t we the same age?”
“Who said that? Same age? Have you seen my ID or something?”
“You two, weren’t you getting along?”
Lee Seon’s question prompted completely opposite responses from me and Lee Woo-yeon, and we glared at each other.
I was the first to snap out of it and look away.
“Well, now’s not the time to bicker. We’ve got a lot to discuss.”
Right now, the most important thing was unifying our opinions on how to proceed.
There were two ways to clear this dungeon.
One was defending the castle until the eighth night, and the other was taking down the boss monster.
But judging from the battle earlier...
“I don’t think we can drag it out to the eighth night.”
Lee Woo-yeon, who was perched on the armrest of the chair I was sitting in, nodded in agreement.
“Yeah. We’ve only gotten through one phase, and we’re already this worn out. Defending isn’t viable.”
“Well, yeah. As a newbie, I couldn’t even use half my capabilities in actual combat... and I won’t be much help in the next phase either.”
Lee Seon shrugged without a hint of bitterness.
He had used a mana recovery potion, but it would still take some time before he could cast large-scale magic like before.
Lee Woo-yeon chimed in.
“Same for me. I need at least another day to recover enough for big spells.”
“Then we can’t even hold out tomorrow.”
Lee Seon glanced back and forth between me and Lee Woo-yeon, then let out a sigh.
“Honestly... I did help you earlier, Ye-na, but even now, I’d prefer if you two gave up on clearing and found the hidden clear condition to escape this dungeon.”
“That’d cause a dungeon break right in the middle of Sinchon.”
“Better than losing two rankers at once. We could handle the break.”
I flinched at that. I could feel my pupils shaking wildly.
R-Rankers? Two of them—she must mean Lee Woo-yeon and herself...
Or did she figure out I’m Rank 1?
Damn, did I drop that many hints? Yeah, I guess I did. Should’ve pretended to struggle more when slicing that rock with my sword.
All my past actions flashed through my mind, and I clutched my head.
While I agonized, Lee Seon and Lee Woo-yeon’s conversation continued.
“Hunter Lee Seon... are you sure you can take responsibility for that?”
“The decision to continue the raid is up to me, the leader of this raid team.”
“I’m talking about responsibility for what happens after failure.”
“I’ll take it. Whether I step down from the front lines or pay reparations—whatever it takes.”
Lee Seon’s tone was incredibly firm.
As a government hunter, he must hold a pretty high position to speak like that.
But Lee Woo-yeon didn’t back down and sneered.
“A dungeon break would sacrifice plenty of civilians too. How do you plan to compensate for their lives?”
“That’s not something to mock. Hunter Lee Woo-yeon, you need to recognize your own position. What if the Rank 2 hunter dies here?”
“Hunter Lee Seon, you should think too. As a government hunter, isn’t it your job to prevent dungeon-related casualties?”
“I know that’s why I’m saying this! Don’t you get how much regular raids will suffer if you bail now? I’m not saying it because I want to!”
“Whoa, whoa.”
I waved my hands like I was reining in bucking horses.
“No fighting, you two. Let’s calm down and talk.”
“You too, Ye-na!”
I flinched at the shout.
Crap, I’m getting scolded too.
Lee Seon clenched his fists and bowed his head deeply.
“Of course, your sense of duty to prevent a dungeon break is admirable... and impressive. But right now...”
Her expression as she spoke was horrific.
Not horrific to onlookers, but like she was horrified by her own words.
“I think pulling out is the rational choice. S-rank rankers are that valuable. We have to extract you even if it means sacrifices.”
She clearly despised herself for weighing lives, but Lee Seon stated her position clearly anyway.
Lee Woo-yeon scoffed, but he didn’t exactly disagree with her stance.
If escape was possible, losing top hunters here would be a huge blow.
By the way, S-rank hunter... that includes me, right?
...Yeah, she knows.
No escaping reality anymore—the nails were hammered in deep.
I forgot the situation and stared up at the high ceiling.
Lee Woo-yeon patted my shoulder.
“What’s up all of a sudden?”
“Nothing. It’s nothing.”
The silver lining—if you could call it that—was that, like Lee Woo-yeon, Lee Seon wasn’t the type to draw a sword on me over rankings.
Of course, it’d be even better if she cooperated in keeping my identity secret like he did, but as a government hunter, that seemed unlikely...
While I clutched my head in thought, Lee Woo-yeon spoke up instead.
“Anyway, I’m against it. If you want out, go alone, Hunter Lee Seon. Take the newbies too, I don’t care.”
“...Lee Woo-yeon!”
“I’ve come this far—too bad to waste the progress. We’ve gotta see it through.”
I’d expected him to say that.
Lee Woo-yeon had fought solo on the battlefield for five hours straight to raid this dungeon.
And he’d even made achievements. He’d met the boss monster kill condition. Who wouldn’t regret leaving an SS-grade monster raid opportunity?
If he were the type to run for his life, he wouldn’t be Rank 2 in the first place.
“I want to keep going too.”
I finally joined their conversation.
Lee Seon looked at me with wavering eyes.
“...Even you, Ye-na.”
“Professor Kim Suk-ja sent me in to stop a dungeon break. Failing would make me look bad.”
Plus, Lee Woo-yeon’s argument aligned with my interests. I had to clear this dungeon no matter what.
“Right? Right? Glad we see eye to eye.”
Lee Woo-yeon grinned, peering into my face.
Don’t grin—I’m not agreeing because of you.
“Hunter Lee Woo-yeon! Is this the time for jokes?”
Predictably, his playful vibe made Lee Seon raise her voice in anger.
But Lee Woo-yeon didn’t bat an eye. With an innocent smile that seemed oblivious to worldly filth, he said,
“No joke. We’ve progressed this far in a dungeon with an SS-grade boss monster. Whatever drops—items or whatever—it’s gotta be amazing. I can’t leave that behind.”
Hmm, a materialistic reason that didn’t match his face at all.
But I agreed.
“Yeah. It’s definitely something incredible.”
My Apex Holy Sword alone was a drop from clearing an SS-grade dungeon. The system sometimes showed abysmal malice, but it reliably rewarded trials.
Come to think of it, it took me almost a month to clear that one. If we cleared this per my plan, it’d only take two days.
Whoa, that’s a steal.
Lee Seon looked exasperated hearing us.
Frankly, I was amazed by her.
How does someone reach Rank 4 without craving items or achievements? Is her name really Lee Seon, or is she an immortal sage?
“You can only get those by clearing the dungeon. Ye-na, are you saying you’re confident you can win a full-on battle with the boss?”
“No way. No chance of winning.”
“Ye-na?”
“Kang Ye-na?”
I grinned at their bewildered faces.
“You’ve gotta hear people out. Full-on battle? Slim odds. So, for now...”
Truth be told, ever since hearing about the dawn phase and the info on the person Lee Seon possessed, I’d already formed a rough plan in my head.
A plan to end this dungeon raid before dawn broke.
“There’s something I want to ask you two.”
* * *
The place I headed to was the underground prison beneath the castle.
As we descended the dim stairs reeking of mildew, Damon O’Neil coughed dramatically, torch in hand.
“Ugh, thought I’d get a break, but the captain’s tyranny strikes again.”
“Want a real break? I can give you one.”
“My bad. Oh, here.”
“Captain! Sir O’Neil! Good work.”
The soldiers at the prison entrance saluted sharply.
Damon O’Neil pulled a keyring from his pocket and unlocked the entrance gate. Meanwhile, I got a report from a soldier on the prisoner’s status.
“The wounds from the battle were severe; he was out cold until about two hours ago. He screamed nonstop, then went quiet recently. No food provided.”
“Poor thing, throat must be raw.”
I told one soldier to grab the bread and water prepped for the prisoner and follow me.
Damon opened the door and led the way.
The cell holding my target prisoner was deep inside.
As we went down the stairs, inmates in other cells occasionally looked up pitifully or banged the bars with enraged shouts.
But that was nothing. The moment we reached the bottom floor, ear-piercing screams erupted from both sides.
“You, you, you!”
“Captain!”
“Oh god.”
I plugged my ears as they threatened to burst.
So damn loud. Who put these two on the same floor?
“Well, Dante posed an escape risk, so we stuck him at the bottom... Didn’t expect to catch the successor too.”
Damon scratched his head with an excuse.
“Might as well fight with swords.”
Inmates from upper floors heard the commotion and started yelling injustices or telling them to shut up, their clamor echoing up the stairs.
Already exhausted from battle, the noise pushed my irritation to the brink.
Finally, I kicked a crate by the bars toward the stairs.
Crash!
Something inside shattered with the boom. The noisy inmates fell silent instantly.
“Shut the hell up, you bastards! Want me to shut you up for good?!”
Still fuming, I unleashed a barrage of curses, and they finally quieted.
I ruffled my hair and peered through the bars at the prisoner.
Beyond them: blood-matted hair and glassy eyes flickering in the torchlight.
Worth the intimidation?
Still slouching cockily, I looked down at the man and smirked.
“Hey, successor. Looking good?”
“W-What? Such insolence...!”
“Insolence my ass—what manners does a prisoner expect? Right, Sir O’Neil?”
“Exactly. Starts a war barging in, gets captured, and expects VIP treatment? Your Highness, even a precious successor is too shameless.”
Damon clapped artificially.
“Oh, right. Daddy disowned you? Not a successor anymore. What do we call you then? Mutt?”
“...Kill me if you will. To inflict such humiliation—have you no knightly pride?!”
“Huh? If you wanna die so bad, just do it. We didn’t even tie you up—why’re you still breathing...”
I clicked my tongue.
Wow, I told them to rile him up, but... this guy’s a pro at it. Who’d win between him and Lee Woo-yeon?
Not sticking around to find out. My sides might split.
The man trembled with rage at the insults, his torch-lit face pale as a ghost.
I smiled down at him.
“Guess not, since you’re still alive.”
“You’ll kill me?”
“Nah, why would I? You’re way too useful a card.”
When I captured this young successor, the monarch ordered his son to commit seppuku. I didn’t see his face, but I saw the kid’s back shaking with rage and shame.
Obvious: dumb, prideful, but no skills to back it. Couldn’t control his temper, charged me, got publicly abandoned. How’s he feeling?
I plopped down on the cell floor, meeting the young man’s eyes. My grinning reflection shone in his pupils.
Watching his shoulders flinch, I whispered lowly.
“Hey, successor. Not interested in succession?”