Chapter 50
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 50
Chapter Title: SS-rank Porter in the S-rank Backflow Dungeon
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Reclaiming Hwaseong City Hall was, honestly speaking, so anticlimactic that all the tension just drained away.
Out of curiosity, I went up front to watch, and the SSS-rank hunter Hong Si-jun, charging ahead with his greatsword drawn, was utterly overwhelming.
Dodge and attack.
Such basic combat rules didn't apply to him.
"Raaah!"
With a massive shout, he swung his greatsword, and monsters were sliced in half across a radius far wider than the swing itself, collapsing like they'd been stretched out by the blade.
It gave me chills.
What if an SSS-rank hunter changed his mind and danced with his sword in the middle of a major city?
Even though an S-rank dungeon had backflowed for years without leaving the city, wouldn't everything in the city be destroyed in under an hour, with countless deaths?
It was that incredible.
I glanced sideways at Im Hyeji.
"...That's SSS-rank."
Reading my gaze, she pursed her lips and said it.
She, too, couldn't tear her eyes away from Hong Si-jun's prowess.
Videos of SSS-rank hunters clearing dungeons are rare.
They don't casually upload footage of themselves going all out, and most are just farming lower-grade dungeons anyway.
Well, the battle at Hwaseong City Hall played out pretty much the same way.
"No monsters above A-rank detected. We'll finish cleaning up."
I'd worried about a brutal fight right from the entrance, but there weren't even any A-rank monsters, let alone S-rank.
It wasn't that the monsters were few or weak, but the humans who'd stormed in were devastating to anything B-rank or below.
Two SSS-rank hunters.
Fifteen including SS-rank hunter Im Hyeji.
And a bunch of other S-rank hunters.
How many parties in the world could casually lump S-rank hunters under "others"?
Party might even be too small a word.
Assault team. Expedition force. Subjugation squad.
It was on that massive scale, with hundreds—nearly a thousand people.
Once the base was set at Hwaseong City Hall, adding in personnel for supply distribution and dungeon support as they came and went, it'd easily exceed a thousand.
And even that was after each guild and party had trimmed down to only the essentials.
The lead hunting hunters pushed into Hwaseong City Hall, followed by cleanup hunters.
They collected, recovered, and cleared monster corpses, scrubbing away years of neglect.
If any rot bred bacteria or hidden survivors lurked, the rear hunters with little combat ability could take heavy losses at the base.
From the entrance parking lot to the playground, the wide open lot in front of Hwaseong City Hall.
By the time the sun rose for lunch, things were somewhat sorted, and base setup began.
"Setting up the base camp now!"
It was a pretty boring, drawn-out process.
Whether B-rank dungeons or S-rank backflow ones.
For the rear, I didn't need to wonder what to do.
Just sit, watch my team do well, munch snacks.
Im Hyeji at least went to heal after intense fights or when they ended.
Today, I'd barely slept since dawn, sitting there dozing off until base setup.
But dozing while others fought felt off, so I used stealth and napped in an out-of-sight rear spot.
That's when I got my job.
Pulled the magic backpack from my subspace and unpacked the tent.
"Kang Jik, our guild's spot is here."
Centered on Hwaseong City Hall to the entrance, open lots where each pitched tents for camp.
Prime spot was naturally right in front of City Hall.
Easier to defend against monsters, and the main barracks would go inside.
Plus, Semi Guild brought plenty of S-ranks alongside the SS-rank.
With Im Hyeji, A Team, and B Team all here, they got a good position inevitably.
The outermost edge.
Closest to bolt out of the dungeon if needed—that's where Semi Guild's lot in the public parking was assigned, and even there, I pitched at the very edge.
"Wouldn't an inner spot be better?"
Just a porter, but rumors flew as Im Hyeji's personal connection, so a Semi Guild staffer asked.
I waved it off.
"This is safest. Unless monsters go insane and exit the dungeon."
From my tent to the dungeon outskirts: under 70 meters exactly.
A small wooded area in between, but too many people they'd encounter en route.
"Got it. Call if you need help."
"Sure."
Above all, with Hwaseong reclamation ongoing, I needed steady sex with Im Hyeji, so a secluded spot away from eyes was key.
Tent's soundproof, but frequent entries would draw talk.
Nighttime sleep was fine, but daytime rests? Better stay low-key.
My hard-earned wisdom from years as a shut-in nerd.
This spot was perfect.
Outskirts of outskirts: two single parking spots, pitched an 8-person barracks.
"Perfect."
Entrance faced outward—not too deep—so crowds could skirt by to the wooded path; I fussed over details.
"Oppa, here? ...Nice spot."
"Right? This is 2-million-won porter skill."
Im Hyeji, back from healing, looked satisfied too.
She probably scored it same as me.
Unpacked long-stay essentials inside.
Plush mattress like a bed.
Magic wardrobe for clothes.
Stashed underwear there, pulled out snacks.
Best to pull from subspace as needed, sure.
"This feels like camping... Wait, tent looks too empty."
But flaunting subspace too much wasn't smart.
Unpacked magic backpacks, pretended to unpack, stocked snacks like a real long-hauler.
Of course, prepped for visitors: my mattress near entrance, hers at the far end, partitioned like separate tents in one barrack.
"Does it matter? Just two pillows side by side?"
"No way!!"
Blind trust or not.
Finished organizing, checked the skill I got entering.
[For the Quest ahead in extreme danger, survival ability granted.]
[Acquired survival ability 'Survive First (Lv3)'.]
"Out of all things, levels up Survive First at the perfect time."
No, if it's dangerous, give me self-defense or monster-killing skills!!!
I felt wronged, but realistically, it seemed the most useful, so no arguing.
You know the saying.
If you meet someone with a knife, don't fight—run.
My stamina and mana just hit C-rank; could I kill monsters in an S-rank dungeon even with S/SS/SSS skills?
Might survive one clash, but escape? Impossible.
But 'Survive First' made it possible.
＊ Enter Stealth (S) state using mana.
＊ Reduced mana consumption outside combat.
＊ Use large mana for 1 second Absolute Stealth (SS). (Ignores all attacks)
And Lv3 Survive First even added a 1-second invincibility.
"...Basically pushing me to live like a coward."
Someday.
I dreamed big of becoming an SSS-rank hunter by Exodia-ing SSS skills, but the road was long and rough—so the Pregnancy Support System's grand plan was to survive slinking until then.
I gratefully accepted.
And tested it right away.
Absolute Stealth.
Focused my mind, moved mana, and all my mana sucked out.
"...!"
The world disconnected instantly.
Nothing changed, but in that split second.
For 1 second, my body's dimensional boundary warped like it was out of phase.
Standing in this world, yet not.
It was a mere instant.
1 second.
Time for one clap.
But it felt eternal.
At death's door.
1 second is long.
"...Wow."
"Huh?"
"Nothing."
Im Hyeji, looking elsewhere, turned to me.
To confirm properly, I'd need a real test, but with mana drained and the sensation lingering, I was convinced.
This was the real deal.