Job Change 2
"Hyung. Don't worry about a thing—just wait here a bit. I'll be back soon."
Kang Jeonghun flashed me a bright smile and headed into the dungeon. I spread out a spot right in front of the dungeon gate.
"Guild leader, you're really gonna wait here?"
"Yeah."
I was about to reassure Seo Taehee, who was looking at me with worried eyes, when—
"Whoa! Guild leader, this bus is insane. It's nicer than my own house. How much did this thing cost? Oh, wait—before that, can I borrow it once Jeonghun comes out?"
Seo Taeju emerged from inspecting the camping bus I'd prepared to kill time while waiting for Jeonghun. His voice brimmed with excitement.
As always, my prediction came true: Taehee unleashed her signature violence on Taeju. I shook my head with a chuckle escaping my lips.
I felt grateful toward Taeju like this. Instead of empty words like "don't worry," he had a way of injecting cheer and lightening the mood—and I knew it well.
Taehee played along with his style for the same reason.
Thwack!
But that punch looked like it actually hurt. Taehee's fist slipped past his guard and slammed into the soft spot just under his armpit. Taeju's face twisted in genuine pain.
While Taeju played the punching bag, I gazed at the dungeon gate, praying for Jeonghun's safe return.
Two weeks earlier, I'd confirmed Jeonghun's dungeon-clearing potential through Kang Taehoon and sensed his rock-solid resolve in our talks.
Still, I hesitated to decide. That lingering 50/50 chance nagged at me.
That's when Choi Taesu showed up and laid into me.
"You think the dilemma you're agonizing over is really for Jeonghun's sake? Ever consider you're the one holding back his growth? Years from now, when he's just another run-of-the-mill hunter, do you think he'll thank you for saving his life? A combat hunter proves their worth risking it all against monsters. What right do you have to stand in their way?"
I had no comeback for Taesu's sharp rebuke. It wasn't because I couldn't mention the quest—it was because he was dead right.
After wrestling with it alone for a long time, I finally gave Jeonghun the green light.
Of course, he lit up with fiery determination, telling me not to worry and vowing to complete the quest safely—reassuring me instead.
It was embarrassing, really. I should have been the one pumping him up, yet here he was consoling me.
After one final rehearsal run through the dungeon and some rest, Jeonghun entered for the real challenge. I decided to wait right there at the gate.
Lee Musin had hooked me up with the camping bus, so I'd chill inside until he emerged.
Luckily, with potion-making off the table, I had nothing pressing—waiting here was no issue.
As I kept vigil for Jeonghun, his dungeon assault kicked into high gear.
"Haste!"
Haste
With the magic circle activating, Jeonghun's speed surged.
He dodged the giant spider's webs with ease and charged straight at it.
"Leap!"
Leap
Jeonghun vaulted over the spider's head in one bound, poured mana into his greatsword, and plunged it into the creature's forehead.
"Mad Slash!"
Mad Slash
Boom.
The spider's head exploded, and its massive body crumpled.
Jeonghun leaped off the collapsing head and swiftly put distance between himself and the corpse—he knew what came next.
The fallen spider's abdomen swelled, then burst with a thunderous roar, spilling out dozens of 50cm baby spiders.
"Wish I had an AoE skill for times like this."
Tongue clicking in regret, Jeonghun gripped his sword tighter and charged the spiderlings.
Slash. Slash.
Each swing cleaved the baby spiders in two.
But more kept pouring from the corpse than he could kill, and soon he was surrounded.
"This is why you need AoE."
Tsking at the swarm filling every direction, he Leaped toward the thinnest part of the wall of spiders.
He'd meant to vault over them, but the wall was too thick. As he faltered mid-air amid the horde—
"Earth Wall! Leap!"
Earth Wall
He raised an Earth Wall as a platform, sprang off it, then Leaped again to break free of the encirclement.
Jeonghun circled wide to avoid getting swarmed again, steadily thinning the spiderlings.
"Guild leader Kang Taehoon, how far do you think he's gotten by now?"
It had been two days since Jeonghun entered the dungeon.
I knew he had a ways to go, but I asked anyway.
Kang Taehoon was waiting alongside me and the core guild members.
"Probably cleared about a third by now, looping through the jungle. Jeonghun's got this."
I nodded at Taehoon's words and peered out the bus window at the dungeon entrance.
But inwardly, Taehoon was worried.
'He's about to hit the first major hurdle. How he handles it will decide if he clears the dungeon.'
Oblivious to Taehoon's thoughts, I just hoped Jeonghun would emerge safe.
"Damn. Earth Wall."
Monkeys perched in the trees pelted Jeonghun mercilessly with bizarre fruits.
He didn't bother blocking or dodging the hundreds raining down like hail—instead, he threw up an Earth Wall and bolted.
The dense canopy hid their exact numbers, but experience told him there were hundreds lurking.
Jeonghun had no intention of fighting them.
He couldn't.
They were clones of the giant monkey boss ahead. Killing them funneled mana back to the boss, powering it up.
No point making his solo run harder.
The real issue was those fruits.
They dealt zero damage on impact but burst into sticky goo on contact.
The adhesive was insanely viscous, crippling normal movement.
Mana could dissolve it, but that drained MP—and with hundreds or thousands incoming, one hit could snowball into disaster.
So Jeonghun blocked the barrages with Earth Walls from the start, dodging to prevent any buildup.
"Where the hell are you hiding?"
Two hours of hunting the giant monkey, whose spawn was random—but he'd never taken this long before.
Usually thirty minutes max.
This time? Not even a glimpse. It was hiding on purpose.
He'd eaten dozens of sticky hits along the way. He shook them off instantly to avoid chaining, but the MP drain added up.
At this rate, he'd run dry, exit the jungle to recover, then re-enter—and the boss would reset.
Lucky, he might find it quick—but after all this searching, Jeonghun gritted his teeth and pushed harder.
How much more time passed?
It was time to bail for real.
"Damn it!"
Fuming but no fool, he turned and sprinted for the jungle entrance.
Then, as he reached it, a hollow laugh escaped him at the absurdity—a massive roar echoed behind.
ROOOAR!
His exasperation ignited into rage.
"Ha. Ha. Ha. You goddamn monkey. Die!"
All the pent-up fury from tromping sweat-soaked through the jungle exploded.
Jeonghun drew his greatsword and charged.
"Earth Wall."
Even en route, the tree monkeys kept fruit-bombing him.
Dodge the fruits, evade the giant monkey—Jeonghun was in the zone.
But he wasn't just surviving; he was waiting for his shot.
The one opening Kang Taehoon had drilled into him.
Nail it, and the boss drops in one go. Miss, and it's a brutal slog.
Even as fury blazed in his chest, Jeonghun's mind coldly calculated.
Then, amid his flawless defense and evasion, the moment arrived.
Irritated by Jeonghun staying just out of range? The giant monkey thumped its chest in a drumming roar.
Jeonghun seized it.
"Haste! Frenzy! Leap!"
Haste! Frenzy! Leap!
Buff potion, Haste, Frenzy stacked, then Leap—Jeonghun shot forward like a streak of light.
Strike of Fury.
Strike of Fury
Usable only during Frenzy. Consumes remaining Madness stat to boost Attack Power (1 point = 1% increase).
Jeonghun's ultimate damage skill, a special one from my quest.
His Madness stat sat at 230, promising a 230% Attack boost.
Downside: It drained all Madness, ending Frenzy.
Worth it.
At peak power from potions, magic, and skills, Strike of Fury severed the giant monkey's neck in one stroke.
Crash.
The boss toppled backward. With the real body dead, the fruit-throwing clones vanished.
A massive mana surge hit Jeonghun, and he collapsed.
But a satisfied smile crossed his face—he'd done it.
"It's past the expected exit time—why isn't he out? Should we go in now?"
We were two days overdue from Kang Taehoon's calculated latest possible clear date.
I'd factored in delays, but this overrun sparked anxiety and worry.
Worse: If today ended without success, the quest window closed—failure.
The guild buzzed with unease; even Taehoon's face clouded with concern.
"Midnight. We'll wait till then."
Taehoon resolved to trust Jeonghun to the last second.
His eyes betrayed deep worry, though—he was holding back the urge to charge in.
I nailed it.
Taehoon had based his timeline on Jeonghun's toughest past kills, with buffer days for mishaps.
Two days past that? Unavoidable concern.
He was suppressing the impulse to dive in, banking on faith in Jeonghun.
Time ticked to minutes before midnight. Taehoon, Taesu, and Park Hyungsu geared up to enter.
No need for a crowd—it'd just hinder.
Bang Taegeuk and Ha Yeji, benched, looked dejected and worried.
"Take care of Jeonghun."
I said it short and firm to the trio.
I burned with more anger than them—regret for letting him go, fury at my NPC class barring entry.
Swallowing it, I entrusted him to them.
"Don't sweat it. That kid's tough—he's gotta be alive."
Taesu clapped my shoulder reassuringly and prepped at the gate.
Time dwindled to under ten seconds.
Then a sudden alert jolted me.
To be continued in the next chapter…
The Hunter Who Awakened as an NPC