Chapter 5
Chapter 5
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 5
Chapter Title: Parched Dead's Corridor
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Chapter 5
The Parched Dead's Corridor.
It was an easy difficulty gate in an accessible location. Despite offering decent rewards for a level 2 or below gate, it remained an unpopular hunting ground.
"Ugh... I never get used to this place, no matter how many times I come."
"Same here."
The main reasons were its eerie atmosphere and the particularly foul stench.
The party finished the entry procedures and passed through the gate immediately.
Among them, Jeonga shuddered, her shoulders trembling just from being back here.
In contrast, Jeong-hyeon looked around curiously, as if the mere act of entering the gate was fascinating.
True to its name as a corridor, one side featured windows opening to the outside, while the other was a solid wall stretching endlessly.
Torches were lit here and there, but the light was dim, and there were too few of them to be of much help.
'If it were pitch black, at least my other senses would sharpen.'
At that moment, a flash of lightning streaked through the window, followed shortly by thunder.
He hadn't paid attention amid the sudden change in environment, but it seemed to be pouring outside.
Jeong-hyeon asked Sunhyeong.
"Is it always this dark here?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah. That's why it's easy to book. Honestly, it's just not popular."
Of course, slots didn't often go empty by time slot.
Sunhyeong added.
Jeong-hyeon nodded.
At this level, it made sense why beginner low-rank hunters wouldn't rush in.
The corridor wasn't wide, so unless you were used to combat, a mistake could be costly.
"Compared to other places, the smell is way worse too. Ugh, doesn't this zombie stench hit too hard?"
"Still, when you're short on cash, there's no better spot."
From Jeonga and Doyun's conversation, Jeong-hyeon roughly grasped their situation.
From what he'd seen on their hunter IDs earlier, they were all fresh out of beginner level in the low ranks.
Rewards wouldn't be plentiful.
But they seemed close-knit, likely having synced up often in unpopular gates like this.
"We've hunted here a few times, though. Just think of it as gaining your first experience, Jeong-hyeon."
Just then, lightning flashed again.
In its light, Sunhyeong's friendly smile somehow looked chilling.
"Got it."
Jeong-hyeon nodded and gripped his mace tighter.
It wasn't that monsters were hard to kill here—the overall conditions were just annoying.
The disorienting torchlight, stench, lightning, thunder, and rain sounds.
And the dark stone corridor that instinctively instilled fear.
It felt more like a guts-training course than a gate—probably more popular that way.
'On second thought, it might actually be a plus for me.'
Jeong-hyeon was glad he'd picked two agility-based traits.
His sharpened senses picked out each distracting element clearly.
Even F-rank traits weren't so feeble as to be thrown off by natural elements anyone on Earth could encounter—hunters' powers weren't that weak.
And soon, those senses caught a new stimulus.
"Something's coming from ahead. Sounds like zombies."
"Yeah, you're right. Bro, I see it too. About five?"
"Huh? As expected of an agility type. Doyun, get ready."
Sunhyeong seemed slightly surprised at first but quickly adjusted his stance.
Normally, Jeonga with her E-rank 'Thousand-Mile Eyes' spotted monsters first.
But this time, Jeong-hyeon had beaten her by a hair.
He might realize Jeong-hyeon's senses were sharper than expected, but Sunhyeong brushed it off.
Jeonga, who was a bit timid, didn't perform at full potential in corridors anyway.
Dark places favored raw sensory agility traits over vision-based ones, he figured.
Half-right.
"Jeonga, can you snipe before they get here?"
At Sunhyeong's question, Jeonga furrowed her brow.
"Hmm. It's dark. Not sure."
"Do what you can. Even one hit is a gain."
Jeonga nodded.
Once melee started, enemies and allies would tangle, leaving little for an archer like her.
At best, wait for zombies to stray from the front line.
She drew an arrow and lightly pulled the bowstring, preparing.
'About 35 meters? Left.'
Graaah—
The zombies' groans were closing in.
Even Sunhyeong and Doyun without enhanced senses could faintly tell something was coming.
Jeonga's view sharpened; she fully drew the bowstring.
Now about 30 meters away.
As she held her breath to release—
Boom!
Lightning struck nearby right then.
The flash-to-thunder gap was short, the roar deafening.
In precision shooting requiring focus, that was a major disruption.
"Ugh, I messed up!"
Jeonga grimaced, sensing her failed aim.
Proving it, Jeong-hyeon saw the arrow hit not the head she'd aimed for, but slightly lower on the neck.
Still, that skill wasn't bad.
With clear visibility and no variables, she could nail a 40-meter target.
But 'normal skill' wasn't needed now.
'Zombies don't politely avoid biting if things go south.'
Jeonga quickly nocked and fired again, but missed the head precisely.
Instead, the arrow pierced the cheekbone.
Fatal for most monsters, but bad matchup.
Zombies don't die unless the head's crushed.
Archers were a poor fit from the start.
"Good job, Jeonga. Jeong-hyeon, I'll take point—support from behind, please."
Sunhyeong didn't expect her to finish them, raising his massive shield casually and advancing.
They weren't bad people.
"You okay with that?"
"A bit many, but we'll hold. Somehow."
Sunhyeong nodded briskly at Jeong-hyeon's question.
He charged ahead, shoving back two oncoming zombies at once.
'This might be dicey.'
Confident on the surface, Sunhyeong was inwardly uneasy.
The corridor was a tad wide for one tank to fully block.
If their usual party member Sang-su were here, no issue.
He'd blast zombies away effortlessly before they overwhelmed.
D-rank lightning magic delivered devastating area strikes against zombies.
But now, the front line was Jeong-hyeon, newly awakened.
He might not hold aggro perfectly—two or three could slip to the back.
'Jeonga or Doyun could handle that many, but...'
Backline didn't mean idle.
Still, forcing melee on them burdened the party.
Especially with more zombies and skeletons ahead.
As expected, Jeonga's urgent shouts echoed from behind.
Couldn't make out words, but probably "Don't push," "Be careful," "Pull back if risky."
'If it goes bad, we bail early today.'
Sunhyeong lowered his earnings goal.
"Graaah!"
Zombies lunged with claws and teeth at the living.
Sunhyeong deftly deflected with his shield, landing solid hits occasionally.
They focused on him now, but soon they'd turn back.
Not expecting much from Jeong-hyeon, Sunhyeong yelled rearward.
"Jeonga! Just come forward and hel—Huh?"
But before he finished, a figure shot past him.
Jeonga wouldn't charge without orders.
Who was that?
Sunhyeong's mind blanked for a second.
***
Five zombies, just like the ones he'd dissected endlessly at the workshop.
Extracting nails, eyes, teeth from rotting corpses had been grueling.
Seeing them attack Sunhyeong in their full glory felt novel to Jeong-hyeon.
'But why so slow?'
He'd planned to support as instructed, but the fight looked off from his view.
Mindless zombie attacks, Sunhyeong blocking them—both too slow to his eyes.
Glancing back, tense Jeonga waited with half-drawn bow for stragglers.
Doyun gripped a small wand tightly.
One zombie spotted Jeong-hyeon and approached.
Jeonga warned.
"Jeong-hyeon, one on you—can you handle it?"
"Uh... Yeah!"
His slightly flustered voice returned.
Not surprising to Jeonga.
They'd fumbled cluelessly at first too.
"If it looks bad, dodge! I'll cover!"
But Jeong-hyeon's fluster was different.
'Not about can or can't.'
The zombie reached out, groaning grotesquely.
Trait synergy visualized its attack path.
A straight-line lunge—easy to dodge.
Jeong-hyeon sidestepped instantly, occupying its flank.
Too quick for the zombie's sluggish reaction to turn.
Then he swung the mace with full force.
Thud—
Crushing its skull.
'Why think I couldn't?'
The sturdy iron mace pierced decayed scalp and bone, smashing the brain.
Jeong-hyeon's strength wasn't exceptional, but zombie defense was negligible.
Headless, it collapsed like a powered-down robot.
"Huh?"
Jeonga's surprised exclamation—she hadn't anticipated this.
Jeong-hyeon was impressed too.
'Manager Cheol-yong wasn't kidding about this mace for newbies.'
Performance solid, despite the looks.
Years running the rental shop gave it vibe.
Anyway, grasping the combat level, Jeong-hyeon stopped spectating.
He charged in swift, giving no time for Jeonga or Doyun to stop him.
Sunhyeong, still blocking oblivious zombies, shouted.
"Jeonga, just come forward and hel—Huh?"
His voice trailed off, dazed, as someone brushed past.
Jeong-hyeon ignored, circling behind to smash heads same way.
Thud.
Thud.
From the second, zombies hitting Sunhyeong's shield turned on him.
Up-close chaos looked perilous to others.
But with real-time paths visible, childishly slow to Jeong-hyeon.
Faint Combat Sense felt paths intuitively.
Synergy made them visually clear.
Dodging easier.
He twisted aside from a neck-aimed lunge.
Confident in countering even then, but he reset stance.
'Even hunting rabbits, tigers go all-out.'
First fight—overconfidence could spell disaster.
That caution shone: two clean swings.
To watchers, blinding speed.
Thud—
Thud—
Four swings felled all five, brains spilling.
The corridor fell silent, groans gone.
Sunhyeong frozen shield-up, Jeonga bow-drawn, stared at central Jeong-hyeon.
Doyun muttered blankly.
"That's really level 1 F-rank?"
No reply.
Jeong-hyeon hadn't said F, but they'd assumed.
F-rank agility traits were common.
If all showed this, F-rankers seemed worth it.
Jeong-hyeon would've said 'It is F-rank' to Doyun's thought—luckily, he eyed fallen zombies thoughtfully.
"Jeong-hyeon...?"
Sunhyeong called cautiously; he finally looked around.
"Ah. Sorry. Was thinking."
Then innocently asked.
"I took them all solo, so they're all mine, right?"
Party members were speechless.