The Weight of Victory
After the battle in the gorge, "I'm sorry... I was feeling too depressed by myself..." For a while, Yeonhee had kept her head bowed like a wilted puppy. When she finally spoke, Helen's group responded with bright enthusiasm, regardless of her words. "No, no, that's perfectly understandable. You went through something truly unbelievable, after all."
"Yeah, Yeonhee. Let's eat first and talk. Here, this is flower sirloin. Try some."
Helen and Jin-gyeong had always felt sorry for Yeonhee, who was much younger than them. Even though the legal age to become a hunter was nineteen, most people started after graduating high school at twenty. When they heard she had begun early to pay for her mother's hospital bills, it had been hard to hold back their tears. So whenever a shadow fell across Yeonhee's face, they felt an even stronger urge to look after her.
Gurgle—
'I'm hungry... Even after losing Ilwol, my stomach still gets hungry on time...'
No matter how terrible the events had been, less than three hours had passed since the battle in the gorge ended. This was the time when hunger clawed at the stomach like a starving ghost. Most hunters would have already polished off five or more portions of meat by now.
'Might as well eat. What else can I do? I'm the weak one here.'
Swish—
Eventually, Yeonhee picked up her chopsticks. After hovering over the table for a moment, she lifted a piece of flower sirloin that Jin-gyeong had placed on her plate. Chew— The sensation of the meat's juices spreading gently through her mouth made her body tremble briefly. As she moved her chopsticks toward the rolled omelet, she recalled the nightmare-like battle in the gorge.
Thud, thud—
After the battle in the gorge ended, Yeonhee and the others rested sufficiently before beginning to collect loot from the corpses of over 250 orc warriors. Since the living had far outnumbered the dead—an outcome that should have been impossible given the overwhelming difference in strength—their actions in claiming the spoils carried a sense of rightful pride.
"Haa— There's just way too many of them."
Someone's complaint while gathering loot drew sighs from all around. There really were far too many. Because Yeonhee had positioned her summons at the front to guard against possible attacks, she couldn't even receive their help. A heavy sigh escaped from deep within her as she cut off an orc's ear.
"It's fine... It's fine..."
Ninety-six lives. Ilwol's remaining resurrections. Even though far more lives remained for him than for her, she couldn't shake her anxiety. Still, she forced herself to stay calm and began to feel an overwhelming desire to escape this wretched place. Fighting monsters in dungeons was one of the greatest joys in her life, but not today.
"It's been about an hour, and my mana seems to have recovered a bit. Shall we head out now? We've collected almost all the loot, right?"
"Jiu, wait a second— just three more minutes."
In truth, neither Lee Yeonhee nor No Hayun cared much about the mana stones or the bounty rewards from the orc warriors right now. Both were lost in their own thoughts, simply waiting for the remaining 600 orc warriors to move toward the entrance while collecting what they could in the meantime. The thought that they could handle another encounter with the orcs had only lasted a moment. If they thought about it rationally, even thirty orc warriors without addiction or paralysis would easily overwhelm them.
"Without Ilwol, I can't even store everything..."
The towering piles of orc warrior corpses they couldn't collect felt unbearably wasteful. If left behind, the management office or other hunters would surely claim them for profit.
"Ilwol needs to make bombs..."
If Ilwol had been here, he would have casually stored everything in his inventory and clicked his teeth to signal departure.
<10:41:09>
Yeonhee puffed out her cheeks while staring at the pointless resummons timer.
"Let's get going. The sun's already starting to set."
Lee Jiu wiped the sweat from her forehead and announced their departure. Only then did everyone begin moving toward the starting point of the gorge.
Blank—
Lee Yeonhee gently tapped No Hayun's shoulder—she had been dazed ever since seeing the broken Ilwol—and pointed ahead.
"Ah, uh... Okay."
No Hayun hadn't even collected her loot properly; her brown pouch looked noticeably empty.
'Why are you so shocked? What a sight, seriously.'
Yeonhee found it absurd, but since No Hayun had always been strange, she decided to let it go.
"Lizard unit."
At Lee Yeonhee's quiet murmur, the lizard unit that had been keeping watch at the gorge's entrance rushed over and lined up before her.
"Whoa... That's seriously impressive."
Jin-gyeong stared at the lizard unit with an excited expression, as if it were always a magnificent sight.
"Numbers one through three will stay here. The rest, spread out ahead and scout until you reach the point where you're still connected to me."
Churrrra-rak!!
At Yeonhee's command, Number One bowed its head deeply, and following its signal, seventeen lizardmen scattered forward in unison. Their retreating figures disappearing into the undergrowth reminded her of velociraptors from dinosaur movies. The lizard unit was growing stronger by the day, and signs of evolution were now clearly visible. Yet Yeonhee still felt endlessly lacking.
Slosh—
She grasped the mass of mana rippling in her hand and repeatedly formed and released various complex shapes. She had been training like this for over two weeks now. Three days after successfully manifesting shapes with pure mana alone, the same message still appeared.
Your earnest desire to protect your summons has met with exceptional talent, heralding the manifestation of a new skill.
The time until skill manifestation can be shortened based on training duration.
'A new skill... When is it going to appear?'
She shook her head slightly and began issuing orders to her summons. Numbers one, two, and three, Ttungi, and Deonni were each assigned to guard one party member. Since No Hayun had said she didn't need one, Yeonhee simply left her alone.
"Th-thank you."
Bae Jua shrank her shoulders while looking at the massive Lizard Number Three standing beside her.
The group began moving toward the entrance, occasionally eliminating monsters they encountered along the way. However, they never once encountered orcs or other hunters, which meant the orcs were likely gathered near the entrance.
"I hope they're all just gone by the time we get there."
While walking, Jin-gyeong voiced her honest thoughts without thinking. If that many orc warriors had caused a dungeon break, a level-two disaster alert would have been issued in the outside world. Then B-grade or higher hunters would have swarmed in to handle it, just like last time, and the group would have nothing left to do. Hunters possessed abilities so bizarre they could almost be called a different species, yet they could still blend in with ordinary people in society because they fought against calamities like dungeon breaks. Jin-gyeong's words were essentially abandoning that sense of duty, but no one in the group bothered to argue with her about it. In truth, they all felt the same way. It had been too exhausting.
Perhaps Jin-gyeong's wish had reached the heavens.
"Th-this..."
When they finally neared the entrance, traces of battle remained strong, but only a few orc warrior corpses were scattered here and there. They encountered no living creatures at all. From a distance, the scene looked as though the hunters had emerged victorious. But upon closer inspection, they could see hunter body parts scattered chaotically everywhere.
What had happened?
"Uweeegh—"
"Uuuuup—"
The closer they got to the entrance, the more eyes, feet, and intestines they stepped on. No Hayun and Bae Jua, who had weak stomachs, kept retching.
"Based on the mana residue... it seems at least an hour has passed. They must have been fighting intensely here around the time we left the gorge."
"They didn't win at all. It was a crushing defeat."
"It wasn't just a defeat. It looks like they toyed with the hunters until all their forces gathered, then left."
Haa......
A sigh filled with worry escaped naturally.
"Did they receive some news from the scouts while waiting for their leader? They wouldn't move without a commander."
"You're right..."
"Hmm... Anyway, they've left now, but if there are orc warriors camped in front of the gate, we're in serious trouble."
"That won't be the case. Since there are only body parts and no corpses, it seems like they managed to clean up somehow..."
"It does seem that way. There's no way the civil servants would have acted this quickly. Some group with strong initiative must have gotten involved. Since the suppression happened outside, they came in here to collect the bodies. And all within just one hour."
"They're quite capable. If it's a guild nearby, it's obvious. Ilseom, Cheonsin, Magos?"
"Apex is there too."
"Haa... Don't even mention those Apex thugs. Bad luck."
Urgh—
They wanted to leave this place quickly, but they were reluctant to go out right away.
"Let's go out. Nothing will happen."
"Th-then everyone, please stay behind the lizardmen."
"Huaa... I'm scared."
Though the situation suggested there were no immediate dangers, the group still moved toward the gate with extreme tension.
At the gate.
The moment Lee Yeonhee and her group emerged, they had no choice but to cover their mouths and hold their breath. The sight before them was hundreds of corpses covered in white cloth. Other hunters and management office officials were frantically cleaning up. And they could also feel the intense presence of a man whose aura overpowered even that grim scene.
"Hyeon I-hwan..."
Snapping back to her senses from the pressure, No Hayun chewed on her lips while looking at the man.
"Hup— Is that the guy?"
"They said he was handsome, but the real thing is seriously something else..."
It was Hyeon I-hwan, the second son of Ilseom Guild's leader Hyeon Jung-gil and a B-grade hunter.
"If Ilseom Guild is handling the cleanup..."
"Something big must have happened."
"These aren't all the casualties..."
"I wonder if Sang-cheol and Hyeong-jik are okay..."
"......"
"Ugh... He's coming this way. What do we do!"
The bigger problem was that Hyeon I-hwan was walking straight toward them. If a living statue were to walk, it would feel exactly like this. Though he was only a little over 170 centimeters tall, his proportions made him appear much taller. His bold features, contrasting with his light brown hair, had a charm that made anyone take a second look.
"Greetings. My name is Hyeon I-hwan."
"Ah, hello."
"Hunters, could you spare me a moment of your time?"
Whooooosh—
His polite speech and posture carried such overwhelming presence that it felt as though refusing would bring disaster. The moment he drew his beloved sword, the heads of everyone present would never be reattached to their bodies. In the end, they moved to another location and began their conversation with Hyeon I-hwan and his six hunters.