Snow Pine's Vow
“No matter how I look at it, you seem younger than my daughter. You really won't tell me your age?”
“Nope, I have to keep it secret.”
“Who said?”
“Gayeon unnie.”
During the search, Gwak Mansu kept bombarding Seoya with questions from right beside her. He looked just like a dad nagging his daughter.
“Lee Gayeon... Well, if it's her, she must've made the best call.... So, you cleared those other two dungeons too?”
“Yeah.”
“Then you met Go Heejae and Na Seonghyeon?”
“Yep, just a bit ago.”
Seoya recalled Na Seonghyeon, who had been excessively polite to her, and Go Heejae, who unlike his formerly arrogant demeanor now acknowledged her superiority.
“That Go Heejae punk didn't act all cocky again, did he?”
“...He even got on his knees?”
“What, what?! Go Heejae did?!”
“Yeah.”
Gwak Mansu, staring at Seoya, muttered in disbelief.
“That Go Heejae acted all polite? You must really be that strong....”
“Ah, people over there.”
In the middle of their conversation, Seoya suddenly snapped her head up and stared into the distance.
“Where? I don't see 'em.”
“I do.”
There were definitely people far off. Two of them. Probably a mom and her young daughter.
“Ah, I see 'em now!”
“Seoya-nim, should we check if they're monsters?”
“Hm... Nah.”
Seoya shook her head. Even from this distance, she could make out their faces clearly. Their sclera were a normal white.
“We're from SnowPine Guild. You folks okay?”
“Gasp, wait a sec!”
As the hunters approached, the woman oddly hid her daughter behind her back and took a step away from them. She was clearly wary.
To reassure her, one hunter crouched down and said,
“You're safe now. We'll clear the dungeon soon.”
“You guys are really hunters?”
“Yeah, you've probably seen Guild Master Gwak Mansu on TV plenty of times, right?”
Only after confirming Gwak Mansu's face did the woman drop her guard.
“Hm....”
Seoya tilted her head as she watched the other hunters talk with the woman. Why had she been scared of fellow hunters? And why were these two off on their own?
“Ask her what happened, in detail.”
“Y-yes!”
Anything remotely suspicious needed immediate resolution. No one knew better than Seoya that in a place infested with B-type mutants, you couldn't overlook any clue.
“What happened? Why were you two all the way out here alone?”
“...You might not believe it, but....”
“It's fine. All sorts of crazy stuff happens in dungeons anyway.”
The woman hesitated, glanced at Gwak Mansu, then continued cautiously.
“The others were acting weird. Like they were possessed or something....”
“Aha.”
They must've run into people whose minds were slightly frayed by the B-type mutant.
“They were all so violent... Super hyped up, like they could kill someone any second. They weren't even scared to be dragged into the dungeon....”
“Mutant influence.”
Seoya summed it up neatly. Maybe because her voice sounded so young, the woman widened her eyes.
“Where were they? Those people?”
“...O-over by the sea....”
Seoya nodded at the direction the woman pointed.
Just keep tracking the mutant's path like this, and they'd catch it soon enough.
“Okay, let's head that way.”
“If their minds are messed up, can that be fixed? Will they snap out of it after some time?”
Gwak Mansu, standing right next to Seoya, scratched his head uneasily.
“Yeah. Or if it's urgent, shock therapy can bring 'em back.”
“Shock therapy? Like what?”
“Dunked a few in the sea earlier.”
“Wha... what?!”
Gwak Mansu's pupils shook with unease. Seoya replied matter-of-factly.
“It's fine. Your guild hunters probably fished 'em out already.”
“...Yeah, of course our guild members are all used to the sea, so they'd pull out anyone who fell in, but... that's more extreme than I thought....”
As Seoya listened to his stunned voice, a sudden question popped into her head, and she tossed it at him.
“By the way, what does that mean?”
“What does what mean?”
“Your guild name. SnowPine.”
“Ah, that. Well....”
Suddenly Gwak Mansu lit up with immense pride as he launched into an explanation.
“SnowPine. Pines and nut trees in the snow. Means unyielding integrity and chastity. We named it hoping to become hunters as sturdy as those trees on Namsan Mountain. Pretty good, right?”
“...Uh, yeah.”
One of the younger hunters trailing behind Seoya whispered to her quietly.
“Don't ask about that. If you don't switch topics quick, he'll go on about his army days shoveling snow and the enlightenment he gained from it.”
“Aha....”
“Ah, over there! People!”
Right on cue, one hunter shouted upon spotting them. The other hunters sighed in relief at dodging the army stories.
Far off by the seaside, a group of people were huddled together.
“That's weird.”
Their formation was off. They were holding hands in a straight line, facing the sea side by side.
“What the...?”
“They said everyone's minds were off, and yeah, looks like it.”
One in the middle of the line turned toward them. An elderly woman in purple clothes.
“Found it!”
Her eyes were pitch black. Before anyone could stop her, Seoya leaped straight there.
Whoosh—
With each step, the people flew back in an instant. In the blink of an eye, Seoya stood before the grandma.
No, it's a mutant.
Can't let her guard down. Seoya swiftly drew mana and shoved the mutant far away.
Splat—
The mutant splashed into the sea, its eyes gleaming fiercely as it twisted its head unnaturally to glare at Seoya.
Let's end this quick.
Three more dungeons awaited. No time to drag it out.
The dagger Ibin had sent from Toda gripped tight in her hand. Seoya wrapped it in mana and hurled it at the mutant with immense force.
Whish—
Kieeeek—
The dagger pierced its gut, and the mutant writhed, emitting a bizarre screech. No more pretending to be human.
You messed with me. Too late.
Mana crackled from her hand, forming a sphere. It slammed right above the agonizing mutant.
Kiiiiiiak—!
The mutant finally slumped. A system window popped up before Seoya.
S-rank monster 'Mutant B' defeated!
S-rank Dungeon 'Finding_SeoYa_02' cleared!
Clear Reward: Magic Stone
Distributing rewards....
Special effect of Achievement Master of Hunters: All rewards allocated to < 0 │ - │ Seoya >!
“Done.”
A clean clear with zero delay. Seoya stretched, clutching the massive magic stone reward.
Third out of six dungeons down.
“Hey! What the hell are you doing?!”
“Huh?”
Too focused on the mutant, she'd ignored them. One young man from the line scowled at her and yelled.
“Murderer! Murderer!”
“Murderers gotta die! We have to kill her too!”
“Pay for your crimes!”
Their eyes burned with rage and excitement. Tainted by the mutant's aura, they weren't in their right minds.
Just dunk these folks in the sea too. Easy fix.
Simple as before. As Seoya raised her hand to sweep them all away—
“Skill, 'Deep Sea Abyss'!”
Suddenly, the black seawater surged into a monstrous, hideous shape and rushed toward them.
“What...?”
The pitch-black wave moved with a will of its own. Like a living beast, it gaped its massive maw.
Seoya, quicker than most, dodged back a step. Even if she hadn't, it'd just wet her shoes.
Splash—
“Ack, cold!”
“Help!”
The wave engulfed the people, sweeping through before receding. Soaked victims collapsed, spitting seawater and screaming. Some got dragged back out, flailing near shore.
Seoya turned to see Gwak Mansu glaring at them half-angrily.
“Minds clear now? Ungrateful brats yelling at someone younger who just saved your asses...!”
“You called my method extreme.”
He'd griped about her dunking, but his wasn't exactly gentle.
“Heh, extreme's our style anyway.”
None of his hunters batted an eye. They casually fished out the victims and thumped their backs to cough up the water.
The dungeon was finally breaking. Space shuddered, cracks forming.
Gwak Mansu's voice rang out amid the shattering.
“We owe you for this dungeon, Seoya. So if you need gear, political backup, or someone to bury, just call SnowPine.”
Sunlight blinded her as the dungeon crumbled; Seoya shaded her eyes.
“We'll handle any request. Promise.”
Gwak Mansu stood there with a resolute expression amid the light.