The Hunter Exhausted After One Week of Dungeons
“Tough work.”
“Ugh… I can’t take it anymore, hyung.”
Sohui collapsed onto the table like a ragdoll, and Dojin stared blankly out the window, his expression unchanging.
He could have sighed.
After all, today he had cleared three dungeons.
Unlike him, who wrapped everything up in lightning-fast strikes, Sohui had taken every monster hit to the body.
Three hours per dungeon meant nine straight hours of being battered by monsters.
And then…
“Here it is! The spicy-sweet nuclear-flame tteokbokki, fried items, and sundae set you ordered, Miss Sohui.”
“Ah! Thank you so much!”
A moment ago the guy had been dead, yet the second the food arrived his eyes sparkled with life.
He had asked her to eat whatever she wanted as a reward for her hardship, and somehow the delivery had been dragged all the way here.
“….”
Dojin looked at the tteokbokki on the table.
It wasn’t red… more like deep blood-red.
‘It looks like lava.’
Figures he’d love this kind of thing.
He was still staring curiously when Sohui and Seonghyun dug in without hesitation.
“Master, aren’t you eating?”
“Eat a lot.”
Dojin picked up one piece of fried item, dipped it lightly in soy sauce, and ate it.
Seonghyun’s face twisted in confusion.
“You can’t handle spice?”
“……?”
Dojin glanced at him.
“Impossible.”
It was a little spicy, sure, but…
He grabbed a tteokbokki and popped it into his mouth.
And…
“It’s not bad at all.”
He snatched the sundae from beside him in a panic.
His fingertips trembled, but he kept it hidden.
He even took a sip of the milk.
Perfect acting, but…
“……Master, are you crying?”
“Why is there sweat on your face…?”
Wiping the sweat trickling down his cheek, Dojin turned his head away.
Clearing dungeons was clearly a much easier job than he’d thought.
* * *
One week.
He had only been clearing dungeons, no rest at all.
He felt bad about Sohui, but he simply didn’t have the luxury of worrying about her condition.
An inhuman schedule had been squeezed out of her.
During that week Sohui’s level rose six notches and she reached 45.
If he’d had his way he would have pushed her to 50, but…
“From tomorrow we take two days off.”
“……Really?”
Sohui, half-dead and sprawled across the couch, blinked.
Dojin nodded.
Unlike him, she had taken every monster attack directly to the body, so she needed proper rest.
Dojin nodded again.
“I told the company. Get it checked out. This month we’re on the same brutal schedule, so you’ll need to recover.”
“……”
Sohui’s expression hardened.
That made sense.
The schedule she had been grinding through wasn’t ordinary grueling—it was lethal.
The word “lethal” fit perfectly.
No matter how talented a prodigy, no one trained and cleared dungeons like this for a week straight.
It was literal life-or-death danger.
Yet Sohui had survived.
There were two main reasons.
Willpower and environment.
Willpower, because she had the burning determination to finish this murderous schedule.
She had suffered in hell because she was weak, and her mother had ended up in danger because of it.
That fear had forged her into steel.
The second reason was the man beside her—someone with “special” abilities.
Right now Dojin’s level was 61.
Originally 59, he had gained two levels during the week with Sohui.
Because their levels were so close.
So even in dungeons too hard for her level, she received massive experience.
In reality it was like forming a party with someone in their mid-100s.
But a 50-level Sohui hunting with a 100+ hunter meant she would receive almost zero experience right now.
That unique situation was why such rapid leveling was possible.
Of course Sohui had no idea about any of that.
“Yes, I’ll recover as much as I can over the two days.”
“Armor and shield repairs are already requested, so just leave it with me.”
Dojin looked at Seonghyun driving the car.
“Seonghyun, you should rest for two days too. I have somewhere I need to go alone.”
“Eh? Where are you going? I’ll drive you.”
“No need. You’ve been through a week of hardship. Think of this as vacation. After two days we go right back to the grind.”
“……Understood.”
Watching him with Dojin for this long had given him a sense of the man’s rhythm.
When Dojin told him to rest, he really had to rest.
Otherwise his body wouldn’t keep up with the next brutal schedule.
When they finally reached the hotel, Dojin opened the drawer and pulled out the notebook he had written in on the day he first regressed.
The very first thing he had noted was awakening at Epic rank or higher.
And stopping the Yongin Dungeon Break in March.
But between those two there were plenty of other tasks.
‘Pull Gu Jinmo into my side. And raise my level to a certain point.’
Everything he had planned had gone faster than he expected.
One hour, one second—time that was far too precious for Dojin.
Especially because this period overlapped with Red Circle’s growth.
He drew the short sword at his waist.
[Blood Bane]
—A short sword made of dark iron with red stone mixed in, its blade exceptionally sharp.
However, it carried the blood curse caused by the red stone’s side effect.
『Blood Protection』
—The wound never heals and keeps bleeding.
Attack power: 360
A rare item bought on the black market.
Even with the risk, it had been supplementing his weakness until now.
But…
“This won’t do anymore.”
If he swapped it for a weapon infused with SW Technology’s technology, it would be perfect.
But first he had to find one specific person.
The master blacksmith Kwak Hansu.
The greatest blacksmith of all time, who had been worked like a dog by Gang Seungho until he met a tragic end.
Even in an age of cutting-edge technology, he had chewed through everything with just one hammer.
His stubborn personality had led to bad results, but his skill was real.
If he had come to SW Technology instead of Red Circle…
“It would be a huge gift for Chairman Gu Jinmo.”
Whether thinking from one angle or another, it was a good choice.
Dojin immediately got into the car.
Kwak Hansu lived in Changwon, Gyeongsangnam-do.
A place Dojin was not familiar with.
Whoosh!
The car raced down the expressway.
* * *
“Hah, damn it.”
In a dimly lit room with soft indirect lighting, three empty liquor bottles lay scattered across the table.
Slosh.
Baek Ilseong tilted the bottle in his hand and poured himself another glass, his face twisted in disgust.
Lately everything had felt cursed.
“Kuh…”
The strong liquor burned down his throat.
He had met VIPs who had turned their backs on him at Junyeong’s command.
No matter what, he had to win them back.
But it wasn’t easy.
And then…
Click.
The door opened and a woman walked in.
She removed the sunglasses she was wearing and gave Baek Ilseong a small tsk.
“Tsk, you look like hell, Baek Ilseong.”
“……What’s the matter?”
Ilseong’s eyes went cold.
Baek Yeojin.
A hunter belonging to Red Circle.
Though their divisions were different, by rank she was his equal.
He had never liked her because of her sinister side.
Ilseong’s glare sharpened, so Yeojin sat in the chair beside the table and picked up her glass.
“I heard Burning Red is giving you a headache.”
“If you’re going to say something useless, get out. I’m not in the mood for games.”
“Deputy Head Baek, your mouth is really something today.”
“One more useless comment and I’ll crumple that pretty face of yours. Think carefully before you speak.”
Yeojin let out a light laugh at Ilseong’s words.
Soon she snatched the bottle from his hand and poured herself a full glass.
Gulp. Gulp.
The moment the glass was empty, she said, “I’ll take care of the Burning Red VIPs.”
“You?”
“The key people are from the Dowon Group and President Park of Myeongdong anyway.”
“……”
“I can handle that. Just let me borrow one of your jobs.”
“Your job?”
“It came down directly from the chairman. It’s recruiting a very picky blacksmith from some backwater village.”
Yeojin frowned deeper.
Even going to that remote place was annoying, and seeing the guy act so rude made her blood boil.
“I’m better at those kinds of things than you, Deputy Head Baek,” Yeojin said.
“Let’s work on what we’re good at. Mutual cooperation. How about it?”
“Hmm……”
Ilseong used his mana to clear the alcohol from his body.
Once his mind cleared, he spoke to Yeojin in a calm tone.
“Can you really catch the VIPs from Dowon and Myeongdong Park?”
“That’s my specialty.”
Yeojin’s eyes sparkled with confidence.
She had never failed at something she had taken on.
Ilseong nodded.
“Tell me more details. I’ll decide after hearing it.”
But he already knew he had made up his mind.
So Yeojin moved a little closer to him and continued.
* * *
Although the area had been heavily industrialized, there were still many fields and rice paddies left in the countryside.
Creak.
The car that had been speeding down the unpaved road finally stopped.
“Is this the place……?”
He had followed the address given by SW Technology, but it really was remote.
It felt like there probably wasn’t even anyone living here.
Since he couldn’t drive any further, Dojin stepped out and began walking.
After about fifteen minutes, a small building came into view at the end of a tree-lined path, surrounded by a fairly wide garden.
It wasn’t flashy, but the stone walls looked carefully stacked.
Inside, the house was neatly arranged with simple yet clean furniture.
Beside it was a workspace that looked like a workshop.
It had a cozy, artistic feel.
To Dojin, who had been in frequent contact with SW Technology lately, it felt even more so.
Dojin called out.
“Anyone home?”
No answer.
He tried louder.
“Anyone home!”
At that moment a woman in a plain ivory cardigan emerged from the house.
“Who is it?”
She was a fair-skinned woman, almost pale.
No makeup, yet she carried an unusual elegance.
She wore a simple but clean outfit underneath the ivory cardigan that wrapped her shoulders.
Probably…
‘Did the master blacksmith Kwak Hansu have a wife?’
Dojin dug through his past memories.
And then…
“Ah.”
With the memory suddenly clear, Dojin let out a small gasp.
Why had the master blacksmith Kwak Hansu fallen out with Gang Seungho?
Why had he met such a tragic end?
Dojin, who had been closest to Gang Seungho and had paid little attention to guild affairs, had been hazy before.
But the moment he saw the woman, everything clicked into place.
And at that instant…
“Who are you?”
A deep voice came from behind.
Kwak Hansu.