Chapter 4
Chapter 4
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 4
Chapter Title: First Time Seeing a Saintess Good at Magic?
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In the world I got transmigrated into,
there were no gates, but dungeons were incredibly plentiful.
Natural occurrences, ancient liches, the Demon King's schemes, and all sorts.
I encountered all kinds of dungeons and cleared them out.
And the scene unfolding right before my eyes now.
A dark cave, the musty smell stinging my nose.
Green monsters popping out every now and then.
It's familiar.
How am I supposed to process this?
They look exactly like the monsters from that other world.
Feeling dazed, I glanced at the temporary party members around me.
"What, why?"
"......"
The woman who'd introduced herself as a magic hunter.
She's actually illuminating the dungeon's darkness with her fire right now.
But something feels off.
I can't quite put my finger on it.
She doesn't seem to be controlling her magic herself.
Even watching the other two fight gives me the same vibe.
"Haat!"
"Hraaap!"
Their movements are basically awkward.
It's a party made up of E-rank or D-rank hunters, so that tracks.
But every now and then, when they use mana, their motions smooth out.
Like they're being forcibly made proficient.
"Keruk!"
A green, squat monster—a goblin—charged at me from the side.
I lightly twisted my body to dodge the club.
I slammed my foot hard into the belly of the guy whose stance had tilted.
The goblin crashed into the wall and collapsed.
Right away, friendly guy number one—Hankyeol—swung his sword to finish it off.
"Sihyun! Nice!"
I put in a moderate effort, cleaning up the goblins in the clearing.
Once the cleanup was mostly wrapped up,
I finally figured out what was bugging me.
(Shouted by the protagonist and party members)
Really, all I could think was oh my god.
The other three were all shouting these bizarre phrases one after another.
Then they started jabbing at the empty air with their fingers.
I watched in utter bewilderment.
The items they were holding.
The goblins' mana stones suddenly vanished.
Subspace storage magic.
I had a magic bracelet that could hold a small amount too, but...
This stuff was seriously pricey.
"...Hey."
"Yes? What's the matter?"
I approached the most approachable one out of the temporary party.
Hankyeol flashed a kind, personable smile.
Yeah, if you don't know, just ask, right?
"I've only been awakened for a short while."
"Whoa! And you fight that well?"
"......Ahem! Anyway, could you explain the status window to me?"
I tamped down the twitch in my lips that were trying to curl up.
The praise just hit so naturally.
After living a life full of nothing but scolding, my resistance must've tanked.
"Status window? Easy peasy. You learn all about it at the academy, but yeah, the enrollment fee's a real pain."
"......Yes."
"Want to try opening yours first?"
"......"
I didn't want to... but I guess I had to play along?
Keep it low-key, then.
"S-Status... window..."
"......Yeah, once it shows up——"
Hankyeol stared at me blankly for a moment before starting his explanation.
He threw in a few "Can you see it?" midway through, but I brushed them off smoothly.
Pretending like I had one, even though I didn't.
Anyway, long story short: Earth was in the middle of some massive upheaval, with awakeners starting to pop up.
And these folks—the awakeners—were all growing like in a game system.
With help from this thing called a status window.
......Why don't I have one?
My soul's from Earth, but my body's from that other world—maybe that's why?
Kinda bummed out.
I used to be pretty good at games, you know.
Why leave just me out......
Technically, I wasn't even an awakener.
But regret was regret.
"Ha! You came to a dungeon without even knowing status window basics? Isn't that like, beginner 101?"
I turned at the disbelieving mutter.
The lady was saying it loud enough to make sure I heard—like an auntie throwing shade.
Whatever. I'd seen all types of people in my time.
Low-level aggro like that? Easy ignore.
"Let's get moving. We've wasted enough time."
The guy who'd been quietly watching chimed in, like he was stepping in to mediate.
I nodded meekly and followed his lead.
He shot me unpleasant looks now and then, but he was the most competent one here.
He clearly saw himself as the leader too.
From then on, he kept barking orders as we pushed through the dungeon.
And just like that, we wrapped up the E-rank dungeon and settled our earnings outside.
"Divided it equally by headcount. Everyone cool with that?"
"Yes, good work!"
Hankyeol answered with energy.
I got 10 goblin mana stones.
Going by the prices I'd overheard earlier, that came out to about 50,000 won earned.
I subtly asked Hankyeol about the average take.
Varies per person, but he said most folks hit 1-2 dungeons a day.
This one had been his second today.
Even so, it was life-risking work.
Couldn't shake the feeling that the daily pay was kinda meh.
E-rank holding it down? Did D-rank profits spike hard?
Hmm. Anyway, this was all the Hero party's fault.
They never let me touch a single coin.
Explains my total lack of money sense.
"Four of us means it's stable, but yeah, cuts into the profits."
"Aha."
I nodded at the extra explanation.
That explained why D-rank hunters dipped into E-rank dungeons.
Life's precious, after all.
I sorted through my thoughts.
That's when the self-appointed leader spoke up.
"How about we all tackle a D-rank together just like this?"
"A D-rank?"
"Yeah. Me and Hankyeol are D-rank hunters. You two are E-rank, but from what I've seen, you're D-rank material. Should be plenty doable, right?"
"Hehe, I'll be D-rank soon anyway! Let's go?"
The magic woman beamed in response to the leader.
But Hankyeol shook his head.
"D-ranks start having all sorts of changes in the dungeons—it's risky. I'm against."
"Unless it's something rare like a double dungeon, we should handle it fine on our own."
"......True, but."
Hankyeol glanced my way.
......Aha.
Since I'd said I was newly awakened, he was worried about me.
Classic friendly guy number one.
I wanted to head home soon and heal up with my little sister's face anyway.
Time to call it...
"D-rank dungeons pull at least 5x the profit over E-rank—up to 10x if you're lucky. We four mesh well; might as well cash in while we're at it."
......I didn't think we meshed that well.
But 5x meant at least 250,000 won. Up to half a mil if big.
D-rank definitely beat E-rank hands down.
I could buy some beef for Siyun.
"Let's go."
"......!"
"Smart choice."
The leader smirked slyly while Hankyeol's face lit up in surprise.
Siyun, might be a bit late, but hang tight.
Oppa'll buy you something tasty!
"Haa, haa..."
"Hooo..."
After one round of combat wrapped up,
the leader who'd been guiding the party let out a heavy sigh.
D-rank dungeon for sure.
Monster types got more varied, sure.
But the numbers swarming at once doubled too.
Couldn't let my guard down, and the fatigue? Doubled right along with it.
This was why multiple dungeons a day meant sticking to E-ranks, but...
The leader turned to glance beside him.
A woman with exotic beauty was scanning her surroundings.
Rookie vibes radiating off her.
She had talent, though—no real struggles back in the E-rank.
I'd tried helping her out during tough spots to rack up some points, but nope.
She didn't need it.
So I'd pitched tackling a D-rank, figuring it'd be tougher.
No matter how talented an E-rank hunter was, a D-rank would give me openings to bond.
We could clear it too, barring any weird anomalies.
But.
"Hankyeol, where'd you get that sword?"
"Oh, you noticed? Our guild master’s a production hunter."
Something was off.
She didn't look strained at all.
Not a single moment of faltering.
It was night and day compared to the magic hunter woman next to her.
This woman looked pale enough to drop any second.
Meant she'd burned through almost all her mana.
But the beauty? Same as when we started.
No flashy heroics, but zero fatigue either.
Did the Holy Knight class come with some special stamina perk?
First time seeing the job—no info on it.
And that wasn't the only weird thing.
The hunter wielding a sword just like me—Lee Hankyeol.
Back in the E-rank, I'd pegged him as a notch below me.
But now?
I was wearing down bit by bit, but that guy? Still bursting with energy.
Vitality practically ramping up by the second.
Hell, it even felt like his strength and speed were picking up.
At this rate, he wasn't D-rank material—he could handle C-rank with room to spare.
The leader frowned.
Must be the exhaustion sparking delusions.
"Aaaah! Less yapping, more dungeon-clearing! I'm dying here!"
"Right."
The magic woman bellowed.
The leader shook his head and approached Hankyeol and Sihyun.
"Time to move."
"Got it."
"......"
Her face, cold as ice, flicked toward the leader for a moment before facing forward.
The leader even felt a twinge of injustice.
He hadn't done anything yet.
Couldn't figure out why his treatment was worlds apart from Hankyeol's.
"Mm..."
"Something wrong? If you're tired, just say the word."
"Ah, no, it's not that."
Hankyeol peered at me with concern.
I waved it off to signal it was nothing and scanned the surroundings.
The leader still shooting me sticky stares.
The woman glaring with venom.
Not the most fun atmosphere, but nothing worth stressing over.
I was playing favorites with them too, after all.
I'd dialed back the buffs to moderate levels, but only for Hankyeol.
Different from the thank-you buff I'd slapped on him in the subway.
He'd definitely feel the power-up.
I'd even tossed in some magic when monster packs got thick.
Blinding their vision and such.
Got to look out for a good, pure kid like that.
Anyway, what actually had my attention was this odd space.
Occupational habit spotted it.
I always spread a thin layer of mana around me—prepped for instant AoE buffs or debuffs anytime.
"...Hey."
"Yes? What's up?"
I walked over to the leader, who'd been staring me down.
"How much dungeon left?"
"Practically done. Tired? We can take a breather."
The leader grinned slimily.
I ignored it and pointed at a wall a short distance away.
"Over there. Hidden, but there's a space."
"Huh?"
Everyone turned to look at the wall.
A dark surface subtly concealed by rocks and foliage.
The leader cautiously headed toward where I'd pointed.
Parted the rocks, shoved aside the vines.
He came back a moment later with a stunned look.
"How'd you even spot that?"
"Eh... just did. Looked suspicious."
"......A secret room. Even specialist scouts might miss it. You're something else."
His voice carried genuine surprise.
Secret room!
The name alone screamed epic loot.
I glanced up at the leader with a hint of expectation.
He covered his mouth with a hand and looked away.
"Ahem. We'll need a vote on this."
"Huh? A vote?"
"D-rank dungeon and all."
What the heck? I shot Hankyeol a confused look.
He'd been listening and spoke up seriously.
"D-ranks start spawning patterns. Sometimes just treasure. Other times monster hordes to stall the clear."
"Aha......"
"Super rare, but I've heard rare dungeons work like this too. Could be seriously dangerous if special."
(Though I've never seen one.)
Hankyeol muttered.
"What happens if it's a treasure room and we ignore it to clear?"
"Vanishes with the dungeon. No one knows why."
"......"
Risk versus reward—pick your poison.
One big difference from otherworld dungeons.
From experience, D-rank was still chump change for my level.
But... no guaranteed payout? Random drop?
Better to head home, recharge with sis, than waste time here.
I could already afford a nice dinner tonight.
"As leader, I vote 'let's check it out.' Too good to pass up after finding it."
"Agreed! We're basically done with the raid anyway. What's there to fear?"
Leader and the lady made it two yes votes.
Party of four total.
I stared steadily at Hankyeol.
He shrugged like he'd follow my lead.
......
"Let's go."
2-2 tie if I said no.
Better wrap quick than argue.
If we scored something good, great.
Bigger haul meant even tastier dinner.