Chapter 48: Return to the Ruins
After wrapping up the hunt, Park Taemin swung by the Hunter Market to offload his items before heading back to Wolfsrein Headquarters.
Once he'd finished reporting in and returned to his room, he immediately called Yoon Ji-young.
“Hey, it's me. You still not done? When do you think you'll wrap up?”
“Yeah, probably another four hours or so?”
“That long? Must be tough. It got chilly this evening—grab a jacket or something.”
“Nah, it's still fine. But didn't you say you were heading out to hunt? You're already back?”
“Yeah, just got in and hopped in the shower before calling you.”
“What about food?”
“About to eat. You?”
“Same here.”
“Oh yeah? Hmm...”
“What? Something you wanna say?”
“Nah, just... I miss you. Wanna come over after you're done?”
“Might be late.”
“It's fine. I don't sleep late anyway. I'll wait up.”
“Okay. Then I'll head straight there when I'm done.”
“Sounds good. Good luck, see you later.”
After hanging up, he flopped onto the bed and muttered while scanning the messy room.
“Maybe I should clean up for once.”
True to his word, he sprang up, flung open every window in the place, and dove into a full deep clean. He dusted every corner, swept and scrubbed relentlessly, and finally hauled out the trash to wrap it up.
“There, much better.”
Surveying the freshly tidied room, he shivered as the chilly air seeped in and promptly shut all the windows.
“Fall's really here, huh.”
Gazing at the somewhat bleak autumn scenery outside, Taemin fired up his computer and settled at the desk. He logged into the guild server network and dove into info on upper dungeons.
Having experienced the Ruins already, it was time to scout the next tier.
“Let's see... right above the Ruins is Death Land, yeah?”
Taemin zeroed in on Death Land, the first hunting ground in the upper dungeons. As a well-trodden spot, it was packed with reviews from various hunters. He clicked on the one with the most recommendations.
Hello. Here's a review of Death Land from my visit a few days ago.
This is an objective take for first-timers, so I hope you'll read it in a positive light even if it doesn't suit you.
[Death Land]
Death Land is the lowest-difficulty upper dungeon, accessible to any party of A-rank or higher.
Its hallmark is monsters with dark attributes alongside the four major elements (water, wind, earth, fire).
Average monster combat power matches or slightly exceeds the core-floor beasts in the Ruins below. Even without light-attribute gear, you can hunt smoothly with a hunter specced into white magic (sorceress line) or holy attack spells.
Late B-rank hunters might manage with top-tier gear, but you'll absolutely need attribute items then.
White magic like Accuros or priest holy magic like Holy Solar unlocks at level 80, so at least 3-4 people should carry attribute gear for efficient clears.
Note: Plenty of monsters here fire magic projectiles, so prep accordingly.
Other classes have defensive skills to fall back on, but warriors or dukes with low defense should gear up first—I recommend it.
As he scrolled through the post, another mention of new attribute gear made him mutter to himself.
“Light attribute, huh... Every time I switch hunting spots, it's more cash. Gotta grind hard.”
Skimming more info on future grounds, he glanced at the time.
“She should be here any minute...”
Shutting down the computer, he paced by the window, waiting for Yoon Ji-young.
About thirty minutes later—
Ding-dong! Ding-dong!
His face lit up at the doorbell, and he bolted to the door.
“Who is it?”
“Me.”
The door swung open, and a fresh shampoo scent hit him. In the same instant, his arms pulled her into a hug.
“Whoa, what? Can't breathe.”
“Why not? It's been two days. Missed you all day.”
She seemed a bit flustered by the sudden move but didn't pull away, leaning into him for a moment.
About a minute later, Taemin gazed at her face and spoke.
“You showered?”
“Yeah. Kinda weird, right? Rushed out without drying my hair so I wouldn't wake my roommate.”
“Nah, not at all. You look gorgeous.”
She smiled shyly at the compliment.
“What were you up to?”
“Just browsing stuff on the computer.”
“Like what?”
“Eh, upper dungeons and random bits.”
“Already?”
“No harm prepping early. We'll hit 'em eventually anyway. Speaking of, how was your day? Not too rough?”
“Nah, kinda boring, but no sweat. Just stood around.”
“Sit down first. Coffee?”
They chatted idly over coffee he brewed himself—nonsense to outsiders, but pure joy for them.
Before long, deep night had fallen.
“Stay over tonight?”
“No way.”
“Why not?”
“Co-sleeping's banned. Guild policy.”
“Do they actually enforce that?”
“Probably?”
“We're all adults with skills—why even have that rule?”
“Dunno the details, but I heard it's 'cause people skipped shifts to shack up.”
“What happens if you get caught?”
“Demerits and extra duty hours.”
“Got it. I'll cover your shift then.”
“Pfft, come on.”
“No, seriously—I'm hunting long tomorrow, no clue when I'll be back.”
“Where to?”
“Ruins.”
Her eyes widened slightly at his answer.
“The Abandoned Ruins? Isn't that level 50? How're you going there?”
“Long story. Some guild event—we partied up once. I helped 'em out, so they're taking me again.”
“Whoa, turns out you're a big deal.”
“Big deal? Nah. I'll power-level fast and carry you like you did me.”
With that, he kissed her cheek.
*Next day.*
With Yoon Ji-young seeing him off, he left the dorm early and headed to the main building.
“Morning. Am I late?”
Yoo-hyuk shook his head, not quite like his usual self.
“No, you're good. Our team's always early. Still fifteen minutes left.”
Shortly after