Shadows Reveal Uninvited Hunters
The identities of those emerging from the darkness were none other than people. Heavily armed hunters of unknown origin encircled the party. Among them, a man with a greatsword strapped to his back stepped forward and spoke.
"Who's the leader here?"
His voice carried a bold arrogance. His expression matched it perfectly. Woo Kyung-ho, who had been watching silently, stepped up to respond.
"That would be me."
"Oh? With that longsword, you're no warrior—must be a knight class."
At the repeated condescension, Woo Kyung-ho dropped the formalities as well.
"What does that have to do with you?"
"What? Acting all high and mighty just 'cause you're the leader? Some people really think a title makes them special."
The man sneered, his gaze fixing on the huddled group in the center, now drawing closer.
"What the hell? Those guys? Total noobs, aren't they? Whoa, check it out—one's even in casual clothes? Looks like he took the bus here or something. Come on, even then, casual clothes? Kids these days got no basics. No basics at all."
The owner of those casual clothes was, naturally, Taejeong. Unlike other classes, his didn't have dedicated armor items, so the only gear he had on was the armor suit hidden beneath his outfit.
Woo Kyung-ho's tone grew stiff at the mockery.
"Cut the bullshit. Who the hell are you? How'd you get in here? You know this is Jenix Guild's dungeon, right?"
"We know."
"And you're still this cocky?"
"Gotta be. We're from the Blue Lion."
"Blue Lion... Blue Lion Guild?"
Blue Lion Guild. One of the mid-tier generalist guilds, just like Jenix. They had frequent conflicts and disputes with Jenix. Woo Kyung-ho knew that much.
But those were always at the higher levels. He'd never heard of them coming down to a dungeon floor like this to pick a fight. The situation left him deeply unsettled.
The man addressed him again.
"You know how our guilds get along, right?"
"And?"
"We don't wanna escalate things either. Especially not when everything's almost wrapped up. Fighting now would just stir up trouble for no reason."
"Get to the point."
"You're heading to the count's castle, yeah? Straight up: give it up. We need it today."
A few hunters reacted immediately to the man's words.
"This guy's nuts. Who the hell are you ordering around?"
"Hey, you lost it? Blue Lion my ass. This is our turf—get the fuck out."
"Wanna try me? Huh? Come on!"
What started with a few insults spread like wildfire in seconds. The growing hostility felt like it could erupt into blades drawn at any moment.
Yet the enemy leader remained utterly relaxed.
"You guys are all one-trick knights, right? Paladins and knights. Even being generous, maybe one or two warriors mixed in."
"So?"
"As you can see, we're fully kitted out. Hunting's one thing, but in a fight, we're way ahead."
He wasn't wrong. Gear-wise, both parties were evenly matched in levels. With numbers similar, party composition was next. Woo Kyung-ho's team was dungeon-specialized for pure hunting. The enemies were less efficient for hunts but a textbook all-purpose setup—perfect for PvP.
Of course, his side had five people who couldn't fight. Even if they scrapped, they'd barely break even.
"Now that you've sized us up, have your fun and leave. Good fences make good neighbors—we all gotta eat."
With that, the man vanished leisurely into the shadows, his group following.
Once they were gone, complaints erupted from all sides.
"Dude, why let them go? This is our turf—they're straight-up intruders."
"You let them off too easy. Anyone'd think they owned the place."
"This ain't right, Kyung-ho. Guild pride, man."
As the close-knit ones grumbled first, Woo Kyung-ho spoke apologetically.
"No choice. Your safety comes before my pride or justice."
"Even so, letting those assholes walk... "
"Shake it off. It's done."
"So what's the plan? Just hunt like nothing happened? You're already cleared, but most of us are here for quests. Regrouping this team? Takes more than a month."
"Don't worry. Schedule stays the same. Just tweaking the plan."
They resumed moving and soon escaped the forest. Before them stretched an endless dune sea. No obstacles meant the moonlight poured down, brightening visibility.
"Listen up. We're going straight to that first hill. Match the center group's pace. Oh, and Taejeong-ssi—what's your class?"
At the sudden question, Taejeong answered honestly.
"Me? I'm a... Mechanic."
"Mechanic? Nice—wait, what?"
Woo Kyung-ho, speaking out of habit, froze at the unfamiliar word and stared.
"Mechanic."
"What's that?"
"Uh, you know. Like a machine human."
Unable to explain properly, Taejeong winged it. Woo Kyung-ho's face grew more grave. He glanced at Taejeong, then at Seo Ju-ah.
"Yeah... machine..."
Even Seo Ju-ah confirmed it. Sensing something off but stroking his chin, Woo Kyung-ho asked,
"Got it. Does Mechanic have a speed skill?"
"Yeah."
"How fast?"
"Not slow, I think."
"Then don't look back until that hill, no matter what. We'll handle escorts—you just charge ahead. Same for the rest of you, got it?"
"Yeah, got it."
After confirmations from Taejeong and the other five, Woo Kyung-ho briefed the team.
"We'll skip hunting as much as possible. Can't avoid what's in the way, but don't bother with ones we can shake. They want the castle, so we beat 'em there—pick checkpoints, full speed. Watch the center group's pace closely."
"Roger! Let's go!"
As cheers rose, Taejeong summoned and equipped his Exoskeleton Robot Summon legs. A skill he hadn't used in ages. Running this vast expanse with so many felt exhilarating, heart pounding.
"Go! Go!"
At Woo Kyung-ho's booming command, everyone bolted.
The first checkpoint: the 200-meter gateway hill of this desert. Not tall, but kilometers long—not an easy climb.
Less than a minute in, holes punched the ground as dozens of monsters burst out.
But they disintegrated on emergence, not slowing the formation at all.
This is real party hunting.
Matching pace while spectating the flank fights, Taejeong thought this was a raid scene straight from his dreams. Dozens of hunters in perfect formation slicing foes mercilessly—it evoked wuxia films, vivid and immersive. Being one of them stirred unexpected pride.
Emotions solo hunting never brought. The urge to join surged.
Class is open now—should I help?
Taejeong debated jumping in. Idling made his hands itch like crazy.
But monsters dropped instantly. Felt like adding 1 to 1,000 combat power.
Time passed, and they crested the first hill.
"Everyone good?"
"We're fine."
"Then no break—straight to the oasis."
With stamina holding better than expected, they pushed to the second point: dungeon midpoint. Stock up there, then direct to the castle.
Monsters blocked endlessly, but one hit beheaded any. Slower ones dodged with speed skills—pure forward momentum.
Finally, they reached the oasis.
"Huff... huff... Rest here."
Woo Kyung-ho gasped it out. Hunters collapsed instantly—no breaks over that distance left them wrecked. Lower-level Seo Ju-ah and others were spent.
But one breathed easy: Taejeong.
"Hah... hah... How's Taejeong-ssi... hah... fine?"
Shin Ji-su wheezed, nearly collapsing.
Taejeong flashed an awkward smile.
"Did a lot of porter work before. Not winded."
He said that, but really, it was the exoskeleton legs. Peak tech multiplying power without his effort—worlds apart from mana body boosts.
During the brief collapse, they refueled with packed food. Taejeong opened Park Se-ah's bento: white rice with "power" in beans.
"Heh."
Chucking softly, he ate. Soon, people gathered.
One reason.
"Hey, what was that earlier?"
"A skill?"
"What does it do?"
"Mechanic class, right? What's it do?"
"Can we see?"
Bombarded, Taejeong stood abruptly. Better to show than tell.
"So, what I'm about to show is Exoskeleton Legs... uh, like a speed skill for other classes..."
Just as he started explaining before summoning,
"Whoa!"
A hunter in back yelled skyward. Higher than Taejeong's eye level—everyone looked up, including him.
A deflated voice followed.
"Th-the moon... it's changed."