A-Rank Dungeon Conquest (5)
Seoh Duho, the Intelligence Team Leader, and I walked out of the dungeon together.
All the field trips for this intern program had been completed. There was no longer any need to linger in the area.
“I’m glad we didn’t need to use a return stone.”
An A-rank dungeon. Once the boss had been defeated, the gate leading outside naturally opened. And the hunter who had taken down that boss?
The Flame Guild interns.
Outside the gate, a group of Association and guild officials had gathered. The atmosphere there was electric.
“Flame’s interns won again?”
“They soloed an A-rank dungeon boss? Without a team?”
“This is big news. It’s going to make headlines.”
Not only hunters, but journalists as well, were buzzing around the scene.
This intern program had essentially been a proxy battle with a major guild. It had drawn quite a bit of public attention.
“This is going to boost Flame’s reputation even more.”
At Seoh Team Leader’s words, Father Stefano nodded.
“That’s right. And once the full story of how we took down the boss gets out… everyone will be even more astonished. We orchestrated a near-perfect strategy.”
“I agree.”
Seoh Team Leader nodded as well. Just as he had expected, the interns led by Lee Minsu had been the first to reach the boss room.
They had pushed through the high-difficulty area packed with monsters and arrived in the shortest possible time. Even that feat was astonishing. But up to that point, it had actually been a double-edged sword.
‘I was thinking about the scoring method for this intern program. It definitely wasn’t the most advantageous one.’
We had observed every monster’s movement pattern, then engaged in the absolute minimum amount of combat required.
As a result, the interns had reached the hardest areas, but their pure kill count had been outpaced by those of other guilds’ interns.
‘Their headcount had also fallen short of the large-guild interns.’
To secure first place, we had been forced to take down the boss alone.
Standing before the boss room, we had hesitated. If any interns from rival guilds had entered first, the boss would have become easier to defeat, yet the credit would have gone to the group with the larger numbers.
In that situation, Lee Minsu had delivered an outcome far beyond Seoh Team Leader’s expectations.
Father Stefano continued.
“I’m still amazed that such a young hunter possesses such cold rationality. Waiting until the other interns had entered the dungeon and then stepping in at the razor-thin deadline… that required not just nerves of steel but meticulously calculated planning.”
“That’s exactly right,” Seoh Team Leader replied. “Planning an entry into the most optimal weakened state of the boss right before the rival interns arrive. It should have been impossible without exceptional boldness and calculation… yet it happened.”
“Remarkable. Of course, Seoh Team Leader, you provided data on the other interns’ strategies in advance…”
“That detail was secondary. What mattered was whether you could actually analyze it and turn it into meaningful results.”
“Like Minsu-nim, you mean?”
Seoh Team Leader nodded. “Even so, there was still the hurdle of a solo boss kill. And yet you showed us that kind of combat.”
No matter how perfect the timing or how open the solo opportunity had been, failure to defeat the boss would have meant the glory still went to someone else.
But in the end, the one who took the boss’s life had been Lee Minsu—using an unexpected flame chant.
Father Stefano turned to Seoh Team Leader.
“That’s right. I never heard of any such flame chant being used before… Soso-nim, did Minsu-nim employ that kind of chant even at Eins Academy?”
Both men looked at Soso. She gave no answer.
For a moment, Seoh Team Leader felt puzzled.
‘During the previous outing, she was the happiest whenever Minsu shone. Something’s off since this morning.’
Her terrifying swordsmanship and odd way of speaking were still there, yet at her age, a woman’s personality should have been almost identical to any ordinary girl’s.
But today the Raid Team Leader had spoken not a single word. If it were her usual self, she would have been chewing on some snack. She wasn’t.
‘What on earth happened?’
Father Stefano looked just as bewildered, but he didn’t press further. As Seoh Team Leader had sensed, Soso felt different—almost frightening. It was better not to speak to her now.
“Then let’s go back to the interns.”
Young people’s moods could shift at any moment.
Seoh Team Leader felt it was nothing serious. Most of all, he wanted to see the Flame interns surrounded by people as quickly as possible.
And Soso followed the two men ahead, her gaze fixed beyond them—on Lee Minsu and Seong Arin.
***
“Phew… what is this reaction?”
After completing the dungeon conquest, the group found itself instantly surrounded by members of other guilds.
These were not the people from the large corporations who had been hostile toward us, but rather representatives from smaller guilds or independent guilds.
“You corporate bastards! You assigned us the hardest dungeon on purpose, then pulled all kinds of dirty tricks, and in the end you still lost!”
“How’s your pride holding up? Serves you right, you big-company types. You’re the ones who’ve been bullying everyone left and right for years.”
“Still, you actually beat us this time. Honestly, I didn’t think it was possible.”
“Don’t underestimate Flame! Even if their scale is smaller, they’re already an S-rank guild. The competition among this year’s Flame interns was no joke.”
“Exactly. Hunters who solo an A-rank boss just because they’re interns? That’s ridiculous.”
Amid the praise, Dong-hyuk’s mouth curled into a wide smile.
“Now there, I took the bus for Minsu, but… I still feel great.”
“No, without your tanking it would have been impossible.”
“Really? Haha. Anyway, Minsu always gives out only nice compliments… wait, wait. I’ll tell you exactly how he did it! Don’t push—wait!”
Even though the boss had been a tank that had burned through all his mana, the hunter’s reaction now gave him fresh energy.
“Later, when word gets out that the senior finished the boss alone, things will get even crazier.”
Arin whispered in my ear. Just as she said, I had been the one to deliver the fatal damage that finished the boss.
‘This is the first time I’ve tried it, but it worked out perfectly.’
An A-rank dungeon. Even with the current members, a perfect conquest had not been easy.
Dong-hyuk and Arin had been keeping the boss occupied for a long time, so a prolonged battle was possible, but we had no intention of handing even a sliver of the glory to rival interns.
Therefore I had tried a different strategy—using the secret manual we had obtained from the old man Yeon Moon-woo during the previous outing.
‘That Strange Gate Formation they researched turned out to be incredibly effective.’
The Strange Gate Formation combined physical traps with Muguk-style mana-circuit arrays. I had fused my own Blue Flame chant into it.
‘Undead retain their full power, but their mobility is poor. The traps worked perfectly.’
The boss’s attention was fixed on Dong-hyuk and Arin. In the brief moment I was free, I hurriedly installed the traps in the boss room and observed its pattern.
Then I took over, luring the boss out myself. It was an undead high orc—an enormous creature that looked exactly like a normal orc but was far more threatening in one strike.
Its pattern was simple because it was undead, and its movements were slow. Consequently, the boss walked straight into every trap I had set.
The instant it triggered the trap, Blue Flame erupted—not from the front, but from the blind spots, racing in at blinding speed.
‘That’s why every attack ended up being a critical hit.’
I had set the traps and lured the beast precisely so that would happen. By the time the traps had consumed all my mana, the boss lay roasted.
And now the large-guild interns standing blankly beyond the gate had nothing left to do but stare at the twice-dead undead corpses they had only just entered the room to see.
I walked over to them and spoke.
“If you have any pride, you big-company interns would never have said a word. Keep your promises.”
“You bastard…”
The man’s face twisted in fury. But it was worse to back down than to admit defeat.
‘Everyone is watching.’
The independent-guild interns behind me hurled jeers at him, but the corporate interns and the man himself could only turn and walk away without a reply.
“Perfect victory.”
Arin trotted over and whispered in my ear once more.
“Eek?!!”
Realizing how close our bodies had become, she immediately blushed and pulled away.
I, too, felt awkward. The moment I turned my head, I met Soso’s coldly composed gaze.
***
A few days later.
Flame Guild Headquarters was more lively than ever—actually, it had grown busier. That was the better way to put it.
Thanks to the results of the previous intern outing, the Flame interns had already received early graduation. The Association’s designated period still remained, but they could now officially participate in raids alongside the guild’s elite.
That meant the number of raid party members for Flame had increased by three. And because we had tested their skills in real combat, the guild’s atmosphere had grown vibrant once more.
‘Only a week left…’
A week later, the S-rank dungeon cooperative mission began. Flame prepared for it in earnest.
An S-rank dungeon conquest carried enormous weight even in the hunter world.
Moreover, the Association and the two-nation alliance leadership seemed determined to make political use of this particular conquest.
Normally, high-level dungeon raids were tightly controlled by the media, but this time the Association had actively promoted it.
‘It must be because the dungeon is so close to Seoul.’
Paju and Kaesong. Both lay within an hour of the capital. An S-rank dungeon appearing there would certainly instill fear in the citizens.
If we succeeded under the guidance of the Association and the alliance council, it would be an excellent opportunity to resolve political grievances and public dissatisfaction with the government in one stroke.
But regardless of the political benefits, it was an important mission for Flame.
In the field-team office, Seoh Duho was checking the preliminary information sent for this dungeon when a message suddenly appeared in the corner of the screen.
‘Huh? What is this?’
A private message. The sender was unexpected—Soso.
Seoh Team Leader and I walked out of the dungeon together.
All the field trips for this intern program had been completed. There was no longer any need to linger in the area.
“I’m glad we didn’t need to use a return stone.”
An A-rank dungeon. Once the boss had been defeated, the gate leading outside naturally opened. And the hunter who had taken down that boss?
The Flame Guild interns.
Outside the gate, a group of Association and guild officials had gathered. The atmosphere there was electric.
“Flame’s interns again?”
“They soloed an A-rank dungeon boss? Without a team?”
“This is big news. It’s going to make headlines.”
Not only hunters, but journalists as well, were buzzing around the scene.
This intern program had essentially been a proxy battle with a major guild. It had drawn quite a bit of public attention.
“This is going to boost Flame’s reputation even more.”
At Seoh Team Leader’s words, Father Stefano nodded.
“That’s right. And once the full story of how we took down the boss gets out… everyone will be even more astonished. We orchestrated a near-perfect strategy.”
“I agree.”
Seoh Team Leader nodded as well. Just as he had expected, the interns led by Lee Minsu had been the first to reach the boss room.
They had pushed through the high-difficulty area packed with monsters and arrived in the shortest possible time. Even that feat was astonishing. But up to that point, it had actually been a double-edged sword.
‘I was thinking about the scoring method for this intern program. It definitely wasn’t the most advantageous one.’
We had observed every monster’s movement pattern, then engaged in the absolute minimum amount of combat required.
As a result, the interns had reached the hardest areas, but their pure kill count had been outpaced by those of other guilds’ interns.
‘Their headcount had also fallen short of the large-guild interns.’
To secure first place, we had been forced to take down the boss alone.
Standing before the boss room, we had hesitated. If any interns from rival guilds had entered first, the boss would have become easier to defeat, yet the credit would have gone to the group with the larger numbers.
In that situation, Lee Minsu had delivered an outcome far beyond Seoh Team Leader’s expectations.
Father Stefano continued.
“I’m still amazed that such a young hunter possesses such cold rationality. Waiting until the other interns had entered the dungeon and then stepping in at the razor-thin deadline… that required not just nerves of steel but meticulously calculated planning.”
“That’s exactly right,” Seoh Team Leader replied. “Planning an entry into the most optimal weakened state of the boss right before the rival interns arrive. It should have been impossible without exceptional boldness and calculation… yet it happened.”
“Remarkable. Of course, Seoh Team Leader, you provided data on the other interns’ strategies in advance…”
“That detail was secondary. What mattered was whether you could actually analyze it and turn it into meaningful results.”
“Like Minsu-nim, you mean?”
Seoh Team Leader nodded. “Even so, there was still the hurdle of a solo boss kill. And yet you showed us that kind of combat.”
No matter how perfect the timing or how open the solo opportunity had been, failure to defeat the boss would have meant the glory still went to someone else.
But in the end, the one who took the boss’s life had been Lee Minsu—using an unexpected flame chant.
Father Stefano turned to Seoh Team Leader.
“That’s right. I never heard of any such flame chant being used before… Soso-nim, did Minsu-nim employ that kind of chant even at Eins Academy?”
Both men looked at Soso. She gave no answer.
For a moment, Seoh Team Leader felt puzzled.
‘During the previous outing, she was the happiest whenever Minsu shone. Something’s off since this morning.’
Her terrifying swordsmanship and odd way of speaking were still there, yet at her age, a woman’s personality should have been almost identical to any ordinary girl’s.
But today the Raid Team Leader had spoken not a single word. If it were her usual self, she would have been chewing on some snack. She wasn’t.
‘What on earth happened?’
Father Stefano looked just as bewildered, but he didn’t press further. As Seoh Team Leader had sensed, Soso felt different—almost frightening. It was better not to speak to her now.
“Then let’s go back to the interns.”
Young people’s moods could shift at any moment.
Seoh Team Leader felt it was nothing serious. Most of all, he wanted to see the Flame interns surrounded by people as quickly as possible.
And Soso followed the two men ahead, her gaze fixed beyond them—on Lee Minsu and Seong Arin.
After completing the dungeon conquest, the group found itself instantly surrounded by members of other guilds.
“You corporate bastards! You assigned us the hardest dungeon on purpose, then pulled all kinds of dirty tricks, and in the end you still lost!”
“How’s your pride holding up? Serves you right, you big-company types. You’re the ones who’ve been bullying everyone left and right for years.”
“Still, you actually beat us this time. Honestly, I didn’t think it was possible.”
“Don’t underestimate Flame! Even if their scale is smaller, they’re already an S-rank guild. The competition among this year’s Flame interns was no joke.”
“Exactly. Hunters who solo an A-rank boss just because they’re interns? That’s ridiculous.”
Amid the praise, Dong-hyuk’s mouth curled into a wide smile.
“Now there, I took the bus for Minsu, but… I still feel great.”
“No, without your tanking it would have been impossible.”
“Really? Haha. Anyway, Minsu always gives out only nice compliments… wait, wait. I’ll tell you exactly how he did it! Don’t push—wait!”
Even though the boss had been a tank that had burned through all his mana, the hunter’s reaction now gave him fresh energy.
“Later, when word gets out that the senior finished the boss alone, things will get even crazier.”
Arin whispered in my ear. Just as she said, I had been the one to deliver the fatal damage that finished the boss.
‘This is the first time I’ve tried it, but it worked out perfectly.’
An A-rank dungeon. Even with the current members, a perfect conquest had not been easy.
Dong-hyuk and Arin had been keeping the boss occupied for a long time, so a prolonged battle was possible, but we had no intention of handing even a sliver of the glory to rival interns.
Therefore I had tried a different strategy—using the secret manual we had obtained from the old man Yeon Moon-woo during the previous outing.
‘That Strange Gate Formation they researched turned out to be incredibly effective.’
The Strange Gate Formation combined physical traps with Muguk-style mana-circuit arrays. I had fused my own Blue Flame chant into it.
‘Undead retain their full power, but their mobility is poor. The traps worked perfectly.’
The boss’s attention was fixed on Dong-hyuk and Arin. In the brief moment I was free, I hurriedly installed the traps in the boss room and observed its pattern.
Then I took over, luring the boss out myself. It was an undead high orc—an enormous creature that looked exactly like a normal orc but was far more threatening in one strike.
Its pattern was simple because it was undead, and its movements were slow. Consequently, the boss walked straight into every trap I had set.
The instant it triggered the trap, Blue Flame erupted—not from the front, but from the blind spots, racing in at blinding speed.
‘That’s why every attack ended up being a critical hit.’
I had set the traps and lured the beast precisely so that would happen. By the time the traps had consumed all my mana, the boss lie roasted.
And now the large-guild interns standing blankly beyond the gate had nothing left to do but stare at the twice-dead undead corpses they had only just entered the room to see.
I walked over to them and spoke.
“If you have any pride, you big-company interns would never have said a word. Keep your promises.”
“You bastard…”
The man’s face twisted in fury. But it was worse to back down than to admit defeat.
‘Everyone is watching.’
The independent-guild interns behind me hurled jeers at him, but the corporate interns and the man himself could only turn and walk away without a reply.
“Perfect victory.”
Arin trotted over and whispered in my ear once more.
“Eek?!!”
Realizing how close our bodies had become, she immediately blushed and pulled away.
I, too, felt awkward. The moment I turned my head, I met Soso’s coldly composed gaze.
After completing the dungeon conquest, the group found itself instantly surrounded by members of other guilds.
“You corporate bastards! You assigned us the hardest dungeon on purpose, then pulled all kinds of dirty tricks, and in the end you still lost!”
“How’s your pride holding up? Serves you right, you big-company types. You’re the ones who’ve been bullying everyone left and right for years.”
“Still, you actually beat us this time. Honestly, I didn’t think it was possible.”
“Don’t underestimate Flame! Even if their scale is smaller, they’re already an S-rank guild. The competition among this year’s Flame interns was no joke.”
“Exactly. Hunters who solo an A-rank boss just because they’re interns? That’s ridiculous.”
Amid the praise, Dong-hyuk’s mouth curled into a wide smile.
“Now there, I took the bus for Minsu, but… I still feel great.”
“No, without your tanking it would have been impossible.”
“Really? Haha. Anyway, Minsu always gives out only nice compliments… wait, wait. I’ll tell you exactly how he did it! Don’t push—wait!”
Even though the boss had been a tank that had burned through all his mana, the hunter’s reaction now gave him fresh energy.
“Later, when word gets out that the senior finished the boss alone, things will get even crazier.”
Arin whispered in my ear. Just as she said, I had been the one to deliver the fatal damage that finished the boss.
‘This is the first time I’ve tried it, but it worked out perfectly.’
An A-rank dungeon. Even with the current members, a perfect conquest had not been easy.
Dong-hyuk and Arin had been keeping the boss occupied for a long time, so a prolonged battle was possible, but we had no intention of handing even a sliver of the glory to rival interns.
Therefore I had tried a different strategy—using the secret manual we had obtained from the old man Yeon Moon-woo during the previous outing.
‘That Strange Gate Formation they researched turned out to be incredibly effective.’
The Strange Gate Formation combined physical traps with Muguk-style mana-circuit arrays. I had fused my own Blue Flame chant into it.
‘Undead retain their full power, but their mobility is poor. The traps worked perfectly.’
The boss’s attention was fixed on Dong-hyuk and Arin. In the brief moment I was free, I hurriedly installed the traps in the boss room and observed its pattern.
Then I took over, luring the boss out myself. It was an undead high orc—an enormous creature that looked exactly like a normal orc but was far more threatening in one strike.
Its pattern was simple because it was undead, and its movements were slow. Consequently, the boss walked straight into every trap I had set.
The instant it triggered the trap, Blue Flame erupted—not from the front, but from the blind spots, racing in at blinding speed.
‘That’s why every attack ended up being a critical hit.’
I had set the traps and lured the beast precisely so that would happen. By the time the traps had consumed all my mana, the boss lay roasted.
And now the large-guild interns standing blankly beyond the gate had nothing left to do but stare at the twice-dead undead corpses they had only just entered the room to see.
I walked over to them and spoke.
“If you have any pride, you big-company interns would never have said a word. Keep your promises.”
“You bastard…”
The man’s face twisted in fury. But it was worse to back down than to admit defeat.
‘Everyone is watching.’
The independent-guild interns behind me hurled jeers at him, but the corporate interns and the man himself could only turn and walk away without a reply.
“Perfect victory.”
Arin trotted over and whispered in my ear once more.
“Eek?!!”
Realizing how close our bodies had become, she immediately blushed and pulled away.
I, too, felt awkward. The moment I turned my head, I met Soso’s coldly composed gaze.
After those few days, the Flame Guild Headquarters felt more vibrant than ever—actually, busier than ever.
Thanks to the results of the previous intern outing, the Flame interns had already received early graduation. The Association’s designated period still remained, but they could now officially participate in raids alongside the guild’s elite.
That meant the number of raid party members for Flame had increased by three. And because we had tested their skills in real combat, the guild’s atmosphere had grown vibrant once more.
‘Only a week left…’
A week later, the S-rank dungeon cooperative mission began. Flame prepared for it in earnest.
An S-rank dungeon conquest carried enormous weight even in the hunter world.
Moreover, the Association and the two-nation alliance leadership seemed determined to make political use of this particular conquest.
Normally, high-level dungeon raids were tightly controlled by the media, but this time the Association had actively promoted it.
‘It must be because the dungeon is so close to Seoul.’
Paju and Kaesong. Both lay within an hour of the capital. An S-rank dungeon appearing there would certainly instill fear in the citizens.
If we succeeded under the guidance of the Association and the alliance council, it would be an excellent opportunity to resolve political grievances and public dissatisfaction with the government in one stroke.
But regardless of the political benefits, it was an important mission for Flame.
In the field-team office, Seoh Duho was checking the preliminary information sent for this dungeon when a message suddenly appeared in the corner of the screen.
‘Huh? What is this?’
A private message. The sender was unexpected—Soso.