Stone-Grilled Black Minotaur Short Plate, Part 1

Exactly one year before the deceased saintess Lee Sia—who could be considered a fairly big-time hunter streamer—failed her Emperor Goblin Head Soup mukbang.

After the Great Rift, there was an S-grade hunter who was hailed as a hero of the cataclysm and still treated as a living legend today.

In the early days of the Great Rift, chaos and war ran rampant, yet the forces capable of restoring order were desperately scarce. It was during this time that Yeon Seo, the world's first S-grade hunter, earned the title "Knight of Silver Light." She achieved feats so brilliant that she was revered as the champion who shielded humanity and saved the world from the brink of destruction.

Most of the S-grade hunters born in those early days had either retired or perished in the endless crusade to save mankind.

Yet Yeon Seo remained a living legend, having recently participated in clearing a newly discovered dungeon. She was the very embodiment of a hero of the Great Rift.

She had shaped the public perception of what an S-grade hunter should be, to the point where her name was the first to spring to mind at the mention of the rank. She had truly become a hero.

Even now, hunters were viewed not as lawless vigilantes or criminals, but as noble protectors of humanity who aided the weak—a positive image akin to noblesse oblige. This was largely thanks to the profound influence of the first S-grade hunter, Yeon Seo.

And within the prestigious Yeon family, the household of this very hero, a new prodigy had been born.

On this day, as on any other, Yeonhwa was throwing herself into clearing a dungeon.

She was driven by the lifelong wish of her family elders: to follow in her grandmother's footsteps and become the Yeon family's next S-grade hunter.

"Haa, haa...!"

Krr... rrrgh...!

The fanged flower, frozen solid from stem to petal, couldn't even let out a proper shriek before it shattered into a million icy shards right in front of Yeonhwa.

Normally, a boss monster wouldn't cease its life functions just because its body was frozen.

Just as hunters possessed mana, dungeon bosses had their own reserves, granting them a formidable resistance to elemental attacks.

However, if the magic stone—the very source of the monster's power and life force—was frozen solid in a single instant, all resistance became meaningless. The creature had no choice but to crumble.

I got lucky...

Having severed the head of the dungeon boss, Snowflake Fang, Yeonhwa panted heavily as she read the prompt projected by her AI companion drone.

"Still not enough..."

Established eighty years ago by Yeon Seo during the Great Rift, the Yeon family had served the Hunter Association for generations.

The family's banner was raised under a simple, clear motto coined by the first S-grade hunter: "Power for Humanity." Even those who lacked the talent to awaken as hunters still served the Hunter Association or worked in related fields as proud members of the Yeon family.

And then there was the hunter known as Icicle Nine.

A twenty-one-year-old hunter who had successfully promoted to A-grade just a month ago.

Her real name was Yeonhwa.

Yeonhwa was Yeon Seo's granddaughter, and the greatest genius the Yeon family had seen in decades—the only one deemed to have a genuine shot at reaching S-grade.

Showered with expectations, encouragement, and resources since childhood, she had walked a straight, paved path toward becoming an elite hunter.

While it was said that some prodigies grew arrogant under the weight of their environment and expectations, neglecting their training, such stories had nothing to do with Yeonhwa.

By nature, Yeonhwa was not one to let praise go to her head, nor was she easily satisfied with her circumstances.

Long before the family elders began praising her for inheriting her grandmother's traits, she had been pushing her body to its absolute limits, honing her skills to catch up to her idol, Yeon Seo.

For her, there was no such thing as a day off.

Since her days at the Hunter Academy, she had trained her body and abilities with blood-spitting intensity.

She would practice her cryomancy until her daily mana pool was completely drained.

When her mana finally ran dry and blood began to trickle from her nose and eyes, she would transition straight into physical conditioning, her mind already half-delirious from exhaustion.

Since a hunter's abilities grew stronger when pushed into a corner, her training method yielded undeniable, brilliant results. Yet the physical and mental toll it took was far beyond what any ordinary person could endure. Still, Yeonhwa never stopped driving herself forward.

Thus, even before graduating from the academy, she had gained ample experience hunting monsters as a support member in C- and D-grade dungeon raids. While academy graduates typically had to start from F-grade, Yeonhwa was issued a C-grade hunter license the moment she received her diploma.

She possessed the raw talent to eventually ascend to the same S-grade heights as Yeon Seo, sooner or later. Combined with her obsessive work ethic, her hunter rank skyrocketed in the blink of an eye.

A prodigy of the Yeon family, rising like a comet.

Naturally, both the Association and the media showered her with attention.

Being the granddaughter of the legendary Yeon Seo ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was enough to turn heads, but her terrifying rate of growth cemented her reputation. Before long, despite her youth, Yeonhwa became immensely popular as the next-generation S-grade hunter who would lead South Korea.

"Haa... This isn't enough... More... Haa... AI, search for the next dungeon."

Even for a B-grade dungeon, clearing it solo was no easy feat, even for an A-grade hunter.

For B-grade dungeons, the recommended party size was at least five B-grade hunters, or a party of three or more including two A-grade hunters.

A-grade dungeons recommended at least three A-grade hunters, while S-grade dungeons outright barred entry to anyone who didn't possess overwhelming strategic power.

In a B-grade dungeon, the monsters averaged C- to B-grade. Beyond the sheer numbers, hunters had to contend with bizarre terrain, lethal ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠traps, and unpredictable variables.

Occasionally, a boss monster a rank higher than the dungeon itself would spawn. Arrogant young hunters who charged in blindly often ended up begging for emergency rescue—or worse, losing their lives.

Yet, Yeonhwa marched on, gripping her ice-forged blade as she headed toward dungeons at—or even beyond—her limits.

"Shut up and just search..."

It was a highly expensive hunter-grade support AI drone, but its tendency to talk back was its biggest flaw.

Yeonhwa drove herself to madness.

It was as if she were addicted to the self-destruction.

Her borderline obsessive addiction to clearing dungeons was a hot topic of debate among the Association, the media, and her fans.

One media outlet had even published a special feature article on her.

It was unclear exactly when Yeonhwa's addictive self-abuse and dungeon-clearing obsession had begun.

Since she had always idolized her grandmother, Yeon Seo, it might have simply started as a desire to emulate her hero.

But destroying one's own body out of mere admiration was far from normal.

Perhaps, as the media claimed, she felt an indescribable, hunter-exclusive ecstasy in those desperate moments—surrounded by monsters, pushed to the brink of death—where she broke free from physical constraints, unleashed her true power, and froze everything in her path to pieces.

A pleasure born from the fusion of mind and body.

The duty of a hunter to protect humanity and slaughter monsters.

And the potent cocktail of brain chemicals released the moment she overcame a crisis by her own hand.

Coupled with the passion and longing to catch up to her idol.

Yeonhwa scoffed at the nonsense the media spouted.

What a joke.

But the truth was entirely different.

Yeonhwa was merely a child who had lost her older sister, unable to escape the shadow of that tragedy.

It was a fact completely hidden from the media, but Yeonhwa once had an older sister named Yeon A, who was several years her senior.

Yeon A had despised the spotlight and media attention, so she had operated under a pseudonym.

Yet, inheriting the Yeon family bloodline, Yeon A possessed formidable power. Despite using an alias, she had earned her A-grade hunter license at a young age, becoming a highly successful hunter entirely on her own merits, without the family's backing.

But her sister had been swept up in a sudden Great Rift alongside a young Yeonhwa.

The event was the Second Great Rift—a cataclysm where massive dungeons invaded reality simultaneously across the globe, following the first Great Rift.

Naturally, because the Hunter Association was prepared and boasted many skilled hunters, the Second Great Rift did not cause as much widespread chaos and death as the first.

However, the young and powerless Yeonhwa had been dragged into the rift with her sister, tumbling into the depths of a dungeon.

They fell into a desert-type dungeon, with no food, no shelter, and no warm blankets.

Because of the simultaneous rifts, the rescue teams were severely understaffed, making it impossible to send help immediately.

It was only logical.

Would they send a rescue team to a dungeon where a single A-grade hunter and her little sister were missing?

Or would they prioritize a dungeon where hundreds, even thousands of civilians had been sucked in from a subway station? From the perspective of the Association managing limited resources, the latter was the obvious choice. Even today, Yeonhwa understood their decision.

And so, Yeon A had fought desperately to protect her little sister.

In the vast desert dungeon, they couldn't find the exit. Her sister gave every drop of water and scrap of food they managed to scavenge to Yeonhwa.

And cruelly, just as the two were exhausted and starving, the dungeon boss and its minions began focusing their attacks on the only threat: Yeonhwa's A-grade sister.

By the time rescue hunters finally entered the dungeon and pulled them out, her sister had sustained horrific injuries. After a grueling nine-hour battle, she was rushed to the hospital, but she ultimately passed away.

And Yeonhwa, thanks to her sister's sacrifice, hadn't suffered a single scratch.

The young Yeonhwa was devastated. But more than her grief, she loathed her own helplessness.

If only I had been strong like her.

No, even if I couldn't be as strong as her, if I could have at least protected myself...

If I hadn't been a burden, she would still be alive.

That was why Yeonhwa wanted to become strong.

She constantly pushed beyond her limits.

To outsiders, seeing her barely survive one reckless raid after another, she looked like a thrill-seeking dungeon addict.

But Yeonhwa had no intention of clearing up the rumors.

She simply wasn't that kind of person.

Consequently, in the eyes of the public, the Association, and the media, Yeonhwa was packaged as a genius S-grade prospect with an obsessive streak and the temperament of a battle maniac.

"...Change search parameters."

"Include A-grade dungeons in the search range. No other hunters currently inside."

"Phew, good..."

With that, Yeonhwa headed toward the nearest A-grade dungeon.

Whether this was a stroke of luck born of youthful folly or a descent into misfortune, she did not yet know.

"Ugh, grrgh!"

"Uwoooooooooh!"

The monster Yeonhwa was facing was a Minocentaur, a creature primarily found in Great Forest-type dungeons.

The Minocentaur possessed the muscular upper body of a human with a bull's head and horns, but the lower body of a horse. It was a formidable beast that combined the brute strength and muscle of a Minotaur with the devastating leg power and speed of a stallion. Yeonhwa had faced this creature several times before as a boss in B-grade dungeons.

"Is it because this is an A-grade dungeon...? It's on a completely different level!"

Speed battles were Yeonhwa's specialty.

Her primary combat style involved parrying the heavy strikes of brute-force monsters, using her agility and reaction speed to slip into their blind spots, and then delivering fatal blows with her cryomancy.

But the Minocentaur proved to be a massive obstacle.

Even its raw charging speed surpassed her own.

Depending on the individual, a Minocentaur could pose a near-S-grade threat on its own. Its resistance to mana was also incredibly high; even when blasted point-blank with freezing energy capable of turning a normal monster solid, only the parts directly struck by the frost would freeze over.

"It's fast, strong... The only saving grace is that it can only charge in a straight line."

"Uwoooooooooh! Oooooh!"

Letting out a monstrous roar, the Minocentaur swung its massive axe and charged at Yeonhwa once more.

After she parried and countered its charges several times, the Minocentaur ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠grew infuriated that this fragile female kept resisting. Blinded by rage, its eyes rolled back to show the whites as it lunged at her in a frenzy.

Its upper body is pure muscle and highly resistant to freezing. In that case...

Yeonhwa ducked under the charging Minocentaur's swing and slammed her frost-laden palm hard against its leg.

The sheer force of the impact sent a crushing, agonizing pain through her hand, but the effect was immediate.

"Kh... ugh!"

"U-oghhhhhh!"

At the cost of injuring her hand, the Minocentaur's slender leg froze solid. Unable to support its own immense weight and momentum, the frozen limb shattered under its own force. Deprived of its leg, the beast shrieked in panic and agony.

Seizing the opening, Yeonhwa drove her sword deep into the fallen beast's head and twisted.

"Haa, haa, haa... haa... haa...!"

Only after slaying the beast and retrieving its magic stone did Yeonhwa realize just how utterly exhausted her body was.

She collapsed onto the dirt, gasping for dry air.

"Haa, haa, haa... Ah... *cough*!"

Still, she had defeated the dungeon boss, so everything should be fine—

"...?"

Something was wrong.

Why hadn't the AI support drone declared the dungeon cleared, even though she had slain the boss?

What was going on? There was no way the drone was malfunctioning.

In situations like this, it was usually one of two things.

Either the dungeon had anchored to reality, becoming a persistent-type dungeon where monsters spawned infinitely...

Or the Minocentaur she had fought with every ounce of her strength was not the boss, but merely a common mob.

No, that's impossible.

A monster that strong was easily A-grade...

"No way... AI, what is the danger level of the Naftare Great Forest?!"

Yeonhwa had definitely searched for an A-grade dungeon and selected the Naftare Great Forest.

But if an A-grade dungeon contained a boss stronger than a Minocentaur, her life was in grave danger.

"...What?"

The moment the AI's voice delivered the absurd news that the danger level was S-grade, reality crashed down on Yeonhwa.

She had entered an A-grade dungeon. But re-evaluating the danger level now yielded an S-grade rating. That meant...

"A Dungeon Overbreak..."

A Dungeon Overbreak occurred when external interference or a sudden spike in internal mana density caused a dungeon's erosion and danger levels to skyrocket.

Needless to say, it was not a natural phenomenon.

When a sudden influx of massive mana caused the danger level to spike, it didn't just alter the dungeon's ecosystem; it mutated every existing monster inside, including the boss.

This mutation was a critical threat to what had been a stable dungeon. If a Dungeon Overbreak occurred ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠while hunters were already inside, it was nothing short of a catastrophe.

"...!"

From deep within the forest, Yeonhwa heard a horrific bellow.

It was no ordinary cry.

Not only was the volume incomparable to the Minocentaur she had just slain, but the sheer wave of mana carried in the sound was enough to strip away her will to fight.

"...If that is the boss... *gulp*... then what on earth did I just kill...?"

"..."

And then, Yeonhwa realized.

Because of her own reckless pride, she was absolutely, utterly screwed.