Chapter 69
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 69
Chapter Title: The Boy Dreams (3)
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Eun-young took a bite of the ramen Hyun-sung had brought her.
"Ah, nothing beats soju with ramen."
"What do you expect in a dungeon?"
"You guys aren't exactly sane for bringing ramen into a dungeon in the first place, you know?"
"We'll be out of here soon anyway."
"Still! Huh? Back in my day, it wasn't like this! We gave it our all, even in a D-rank dungeon!"
"Your day?"
"No, I mean... Damn it, Choi Soo-hyun."
While Han-gyeol was preoccupied with clearing an A-rank dungeon, Eun-young had mostly been in contact with Choi Soo-hyun.
Having unconsciously picked up Choi Soo-hyun's manner of speaking, Eun-young scratched her head.
Jung Hyun-sung looked even more confused at the sudden mention of Choi Soo-hyun's name.
Feeling needlessly embarrassed, Eun-young put on a brazen front.
"Anyway! Ramen just isn't right!"
Despite her words, Eun-young polished off every last drop of the broth in an instant.
"So? What is it? You didn't come over just to sit next to me and eat ramen, I assume. If you have something to say, I'll listen."
"Um... Th-This might be really rude to ask, but... Ms. Eun-young, were you an... an unaffiliated Hunter?"
Eun-young spat out the flavorless wax from a water candy.
"How did you know?"
Eun-young had never told any of the Hunters, including Chae Seol-ha, that she had been unaffiliated.
Eun-young's gaze turned icy, and Hyun-sung grew flustered.
"It's, it's nothing weird. It was Section Chief Choi."
"Choi Soo-hyun again?"
First the Association employee, and now this. Eun-young was sick and tired of hearing Choi Soo-hyun's name.
"During our theory training. The instructor couldn't make it because of gastritis, so he filled in. I bumped into him in the hallway back then."
Choi Soo-hyun had remembered not only Jung Hyun-sung's name but also the fact that he was an unaffiliated Hunter.
Even the trainee Hunters all knew that although Choi Soo-hyun was part of the Training Department, his actual duties had nothing to do with it.
In the first place, a position like Hunter training was considered a post for loafers within the Association, at least for anyone above the rank-and-file.
— Names? Isn't anyone who bothers memorizing them an idiot? You see them once, you know them.
— I-Is that so?
— I was keeping a bit of an eye on you, though. None of the unaffiliated Hunters I've known have ever amounted to anything.
— You were also unaffiliated...
— What? You wanna die? Ah, whatever. Anyway, I'm leaving.
— Wait! I... I heard that even unaffiliated Hunters can be chosen by a god... Is it possible for me, too?
— Of course.
— But I've never heard of an unaffiliated Hunter becoming a disciple of another god.
— Really? I have. A battle-crazed, selfish, dungeon-dwelling brat.
Hearing Hyun-sung's story, Eun-young grew annoyed.
"Who's a dungeon-dwelling brat! When I get out of this dungeon, I'll make him pay... Oh, my. Hahaha. Proper words."
Eun-young quickly covered her mouth.
Her outburst had been a confession that she was, in fact, the unaffiliated Hunter.
"When I heard that Chae Seol-ha saw you with the Section Chief, I had a feeling you were the Hunter he was talking about."
"Wait, that magic bullet woman saw me with Choi Soo-hyun? Don't tell me the reason she hates me is..."
"I heard she's been a member of Choi Soo-hyun's fan club since high school."
"What club? Faaan? Don't give me that 'fan' crap! That's putting it nicely! And there's nothing between me and Choi Soo-hyun!"
"I never said there was anything between you two..."
"Th-That's just an expression!"
Eun-young crossed her arms and turned her head to the side.
No matter if it was an age where one's imagination ran wild, linking her with that psycho was definitely going too far.
"So, Ms. Eun-young, you really were unaffiliated before becoming a disciple?"
"Yeah. That's right."
Eun-young shared her story with Hyun-sung with relative ease.
As she spoke, she realized there was no need to hide the fact that she had been unaffiliated.
Han-gyeol was right.
The person she was today existed because of the Eun-young from back then.
"That's amazing. Six years... I don't think I could do that."
"There's nothing amazing about it. It was just stubbornness. Looking back, I was lucky."
"Could I become like that, too? If I wait for six years..."
"You idiot, why would you do something so foolish! You'll definitely find a good god. Probably..."
For a moment, a shadow crossed Eun-young's face.
She suddenly worried that she might have said something she shouldn't have.
She herself had lived day by day thinking the same thing.
She was concerned that her words were just giving this young Hunter false hope.
Eun-young watched as Jung Hyun-sung and the other Hunters fought.
Hyun-sung, who was in charge of luring, continued to fight steadfastly even after bringing the monsters over.
The sight of him was like watching her past self.
She thought she could understand, just a little, why Choi Soo-hyun had said what he did that day.
"Hey. Why do you want to be a Hunter?"
"It's nothing grand... Please don't laugh."
"Why would I? I won't laugh at something like that."
"When I was young, a Hunter saved me when I was about to be killed by a monster. So I want to become a Hunter and save other people."
"That's noble."
"Is it wrong to become a Hunter for a reason like that?"
"Why would it be wrong? Compared to your reason, mine is incredibly selfish. You're better than me."
As the atmosphere shifted toward clearing the basement, Eun-young dusted herself off and got up from the floor.
Whatever one did, it was all up to them.
Even if the reason was some absurd ideal.
"So do what you want to do. Ah, and maybe I can help you after this dungeon is cleared. You could say this is fate."
"How?"
"I don't know yet. I'll look into it."
The god Soter didn't have many disciples, but Han-gyeol seemed quite close to him.
She had a feeling that Han-gyeol would be able to help Jung Hyun-sung, who was in the same situation she had been in.
"So, hang in there."
"Yes!"
Eun-young took Hyun-sung's hand and stood up.
***
They inserted the key into the tightly shut basement door.
The old basement door opened to reveal a long staircase.
"This... feels less like a basement and more like a secret passage."
Beneath the mansion lay a massive underground passage.
There was only one path to their destination, so there was no fear of getting lost.
"They're coming!"
At Chae Seol-ha's signal, the Hunters moved in perfect sync.
The party advanced, dealing with the kobolds in the underground passage.
"There it is."
At the end of the basement was the door to a large storeroom.
As soon as they broke down the door and entered, a dozen or so kobolds appeared as if they had been waiting.
The kobolds surrounded Chae Seol-ha and her party.
A few of the kobolds glanced at Eun-young, who was at the back.
*Hmph.*
She had no intention of striking first, but if they came at her, she was willing to take out one or two.
Eun-young clenched her fist at an approaching kobold.
At that moment.
*A whistle?*
The kobolds that were about to attack Eun-young turned toward Chae Seol-ha and the other Hunters instead.
*Hmph, so that's how it is?*
Just because it was the same dungeon didn't mean it always followed the exact same pattern.
If every dungeon were identical, guilds wouldn't need to continuously collect reports on dungeons they had already cleared.
The monsters' behavior varied slightly depending on the strategy, situation, and atmosphere.
The boss of the old mansion was a Red Kobold.
It was over three times the size of a normal kobold, but its movements were remarkably agile.
*Seems like a pretty smart one.*
Even so, it was still playing right into Eun-young's hands.
The real problem was Chae Seol-ha and her party.
*Damn it! Why can't I hit it!*
The most important part of clearing the storeroom was to defeat the Red Kobold.
Once it was dealt with, the other kobolds would quickly lose their will to fight.
The problem was that the creature was moving much faster than Seol-ha had anticipated.
The disadvantage of magitech firearms was their incredibly high skill ceiling compared to normal weapons.
They required more talent and finesse than using a regular gun.
Above all, this team had a much bigger problem.
*Their reliance on Chae Seol-ha is too high.*
Chae Seol-ha's attacks were certainly powerful, but they were by no means a cure-all.
Sure enough, the moment Chae Seol-ha became flustered, their formation crumbled in an instant.
Eun-young had excellent combat instincts.
Her unaffiliated status had held her back, but no one could say she lacked talent.
*This might be a good chance for her to get a reality check.*
Absolutely not!
It wasn't because she was feeling spiteful about the suspicion between her and Choi Soo-hyun.
Eun-young crossed her arms and quietly observed the fight.
"What are you doing! Move, you're in the way!"
Chae Seol-ha's voice began to rise.
The fact that they were in a cramped indoor storeroom, not a spacious area like the first-floor hall, was another factor fraying her nerves.
An ornament on the wall shattered, and a shard of glass embedded itself in her forehead.
Spinning around, Chae Seol-ha hastily turned her gun.
"Hmph, you must have been aiming for an opening, but this much is..."
Chae Seol-ha's hand trembled as she tried to pull the trigger.
*Oh no, my mana...!!*
For Hunters who used magic bullets, the most important thing was, of course, mana.
Mana was the ammunition itself.
Running out of mana was fatal for a magic bullet user.
Narrowly dodging the kobold's attack, Chae Seol-ha drew the dagger from her belt.
*Is it smiling? Why...*
Belatedly, Seol-ha scanned the storeroom.
The Red Kobold she had been marking was nowhere to be seen.
The other Hunters were too busy fighting kobolds to notice.
A black shadow flickered beneath Chae Seol-ha's feet.
"Kyaaah!"
The Red Kobold burst from the shadow and instantly pounced on Chae Seol-ha.
For a moment, a dead silence fell over the storeroom.
"Kekek, kekeke."
The moment the Red Kobold seized Chae Seol-ha, the entire formation fell apart.
"F-Fall back!"
Another Hunter, having come to his senses, shouted, and everyone retreated as if on cue.
But the kobolds weren't about to let them go.
At the Red Kobold's signal, the rest of the kobolds charged all at once.
At the same time, the Red Kobold's sharp claws dug into Chae Seol-ha's shoulder.
"Aaargh!"
The Hunters flinched at Chae Seol-ha's scream.
The Red Kobold was deliberately holding Chae Seol-ha captive.
It knew that by targeting Chae Seol-ha, it could rattle the other Hunters.
The nearby kobolds laughed as Chae Seol-ha writhed in pain.
Chae Seol-ha desperately called out to Eun-young.
"S-Save me! Save me!! What are you doing! You're the one who was brought in to handle accidents like this!! Why are you just watching! Aaargh!"
"Oh my, who was it that so bluntly told me they didn't need my help?"
"I-If I die, do you think you'll be fine? You're just a C-rank!"
"What was that? You're nothing."
Eun-young looked down at Chae Seol-ha with a cold gaze.
Other nearby Hunters asked Eun-young for help, but she paid them no mind.
"You keep going on about C-rank, C-rank. So what are you?"
"Is that what's important right... Kyaaaah! It hurts, it hurts! Help me! I was wrong! Aaargh! I'll-I'll do anything!"
"I'll help you if you're willing to retake all of the Association's training courses. Ah, or do you hate the title of 'dropout' more than death?"
"Y-You... psycho..."
Chae Seol-ha gritted her teeth.
The other Hunters were also injured.
She couldn't feel her shoulder or thigh where the kobold had stabbed her.
Judging the battle decided, the Red Kobold raised a crude, iron club-like weapon high.
"F-Fine!! I'll do it! Retake the courses, be a dropout, whatever! Just s-save me!"
The Red Kobold's iron club rose above Chae Seol-ha's head.
*Thwack.*
Eun-young's figure appeared in front of the kobold in an instant.
"Keep your word."
Blocking the club with one hand, Eun-young glanced down.
Her face a mess of tears and snot, Chae Seol-ha buried her face in the ground and nodded.
Eun-young and the Red Kobold's eyes met over the iron club.
Eun-young's form vanished from the Red Kobold's sight.
*Craaash.*
The entire storeroom was engulfed in a violent tremor.
Eun-young, now behind the Red Kobold, swung her leg in a wide arc toward its neck.
The Red Kobold's head fell to the ground with a soft thud.
The bewildered kobolds turned around.
Eun-young's foot appeared, grazing the top of a kobold's head.
***
"Aaaaaaaah!!"
The Gyro Drop plummeted with the screams of the people on it.
It was a weekday, so it wasn't crowded, but there were still visitors.
Soo-hyun, lowering his sunglasses slightly, raised a hand in greeting.
"Oh, what a coincidence to find my friend in a place like this."
"Die, Choi Soo-hyun."
"Soo-hyun! Are you here to have fun, too?"