Chapter 70
Chapter 70
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 70
Chapter Title: Path to B-Rank Hunter (3)
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「B-Rank Dungeon. Pitch-Black Cave.」
The place I entered to complete my third request was a B-Rank Dungeon called the Pitch-Black Cave.
Just like the other requests, which each came with some annoying catch, dealing with the monsters in this dungeon had its own frustrating twist.
As the name suggested, the Pitch-Black Cave was a space swallowed by utter darkness, except for the entrance where the warp gate was installed. Vision—one of the five senses—was completely cut off, making it an incredibly inconvenient place in many ways.
On top of that, any light or magic used to illuminate the dungeon wouldn't extend beyond 10 cm before fizzling out. In practical terms, you had to abandon sight entirely and fight blind.
You were thrust into battles against monsters lunging at you from the dark, relying solely on sound and instinct without even knowing what they were. It was no wonder this was an unpopular dungeon. Coordinating with a party was nearly impossible in pitch blackness.
...Hunters who bother hunting in a place like this have to fall into one of two categories.
Those training to sense monsters' presence with their other senses blocked, or those forced to come for a request.
And by some coincidence, I was both.
There was no better training ground for testing your limits than hunting monsters by sensing their presence without sight.
If I successfully transferred to the company and joined Kang Hye-eun's A-Rank party, I'd have to consider what came next.
From what I remembered, Hye-eun started her apprentice hunter days in her first year of high school. That meant she'd been a hunter for at least five years longer than me. Even Han Min-ah, the one with the shortest experience in the group, had rolled through three years of hunter life to reach A-Rank.
Judging by how Han Min-ah called the other party members Cha Yu-ri and Jeon Ji-hee "unnie," those two probably had plenty of experience too—not far behind Hye-eun or Min-ah.
In contrast, my hunter career was barely a month old. To keep up with them, I needed denser real-world experience. Training with one sense sealed off was perfect for that.
Plus, I could learn to maximize my three current skills.
With my Flame Magic leveled up, I was more sensitive to mana flows. It naturally helped pinpoint monsters approaching me in the dark.
And so, in the darkness, I swung my sword through the air, relying not on sight but hearing and a sixth sense.
-Slash!
'Kieeeek!'
The agonized scream of a bat-like monster echoed through the cave as it collapsed. Instantly, I sensed the chaotic mana flows of over a dozen more monsters stirring.
In this restrictive environment, where I depended only on subtle sounds and mana flows to predict their direction and which one would strike first, my heart strangely thrilled even in the extreme conditions.
-Slash!
'Kiek!'
'Kieeek...!'
The sensation of my blade slicing through two more monsters hit. At this rate, gathering the 20 "Black Bat Cores" for the final request would be quick.
Even if I took an unexpected hit in the dark, my Level 3 Healing skill had me covered.
All in all, it wasn't a bad spot for my final request and some training.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ For about three hours, I swung my sword in the darkness, relying solely on sound and mana flows with my vision blocked.
'Kie...!'
-Slash!
'...ek.'
The dying screech of the last monster marked by my swift slash echoed. No more presences approached.
"...Huuu."
A sigh of relief escaped me as I realized the fighting was finally over.
To be honest, hordes of C-Rank and B-Rank monsters charging wildly in the dark weren't easy. But even in their frenzy, there were minimal patterns.
How many rushed at once? How did they react if the first attack missed?
Handling monsters from different directions? These were lessons only experience taught. In just three hours of training, I could feel myself growing as a hunter.
Surprisingly, the trickier foes weren't the flying B-Rank Black Bats or Gray Bats, but the ground-based C-Rank monsters.
Cave rats and cave centipedes targeting my legs mid-swing had put me in peril a few times.
Tracking those while dealing with aerial bats was still beyond my skill. But with Level 3 Healing, I endured.
After that three-hour defensive game of a hunt, I lit up the immediate area with Flame Magic and picked up the remaining materials.
'Fitting for an unpopular dungeon—collecting drops is a pain.'
Without interruptions, I'd just sweep the floor slowly. But real combat rarely allowed that luxury.
Killing everything first, then grabbing leftovers? Probably only I hunted like that here.
Solo without backup, efficiency aside, it was my only option.
I'd slain hundreds—three digits at least—but my subspatial pouch couldn't hold them all.
Lingering risked more spawns, so I grabbed as many monster cores as possible from the floor and stashed them fast.
「Black Bat Cores: 20」
Minutes after scooping cores indiscriminately under faint light, I'd met the request quota. I ditched the rest and headed for the exit warp gate.
The leftovers stung a bit, but no need to obsess. Once I joined the company, it'd be chump change.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Returning to the Hunter Autonomous Guild from the final dungeon, the clock's short hand had passed 6.
Not morning 6—if it were, it'd just be a long hunt. No, it was evening 6. Since entering the first dungeon, Tar Pit, last night, I'd spent nearly a full day inside three dungeons.
...Time sense does loosen up in dungeons.
My 200-slot subspatial pouch was down to single digits, even excluding personal space. One day, three dungeons: over a hundred materials gathered.
Double that including what I left—real gains were huge. But topping it was completing these requests to boost my rank.
I bypassed the dungeon exit counter and went straight to requests, shoving my magic-engraved hunter license at the attendant without delay.
For B-Rank requests, I wore my mystery mask to hide my male hunter status.
"I'd like to complete request 63230."
"63230...?"
"Yes, 63230."
"P-Please wait a moment?"
The attendant's eyes widened at the early number. I just flatly said I'd done my job.
She fumbled at her computer, soon finding the long-stalled request and asking for materials.
"Ah, yes! Completion requires ten Black Slime Cores and ten bottles of Black Slime Slime."
I pulled ten cores and ten vials from my subspatial pouch—or made it look that way. Couldn't pull from thin air, so I used an empty leather sack as camouflage, extracting from inside it.
"Ten Black Slime Cores and ten bottles of slime..."
She inspected each for authenticity.
"Yes, all 20 materials check out!"
She beamed, confirming completion.
"Deadline was only six hours away—thank you! The requester's lucky too!"
"Is that so."
"Yes! Good luck with the other two!"
She waved farewell from her desk, but I wasn't done.
"I'd also like to complete request 96586."
"...Pardon?"
My follow-up caught her off guard; she responded blankly. I calmly started unloading Skeleton Femurs from the pouch.
"W-Wait. 96586, right?"
"Yes."
"96586... Ah, found it. Skeleton Femurs, 30...?"
I shoved the materials for the next request at her as she muttered. Stunned briefly, she got to appraising.
"Th-Thirty Skeleton Femurs, all good."
Five minutes later, after checking all 30, she cautiously confirmed the second completion.
No time for her surprises—I immediately placed Black Bat Cores before her.
"Completing 119950 too."
"Uh, 119950... Black Bat Core collection..."
"......"
"I'll... process it as complete..."
Overwhelmed by the backlog but working through it, the attendant verified the materials.
My plan to finish all three before midnight wrapped up with time to spare.
"Y-You took these last night, right?"
"Yes. Any issue?"
"N-No! Faster the better. Good work on three B-Rank requests."
"Oh, and can you buy the extra materials too?"
"...M-More here?"
"Byproducts from the requests."
I dumped the rest from my pouch. Her face finally showed raw panic.
"Th-This many... This is Skeleton Cores... Cave Centipede Cores, Skeleton Humeruses, Cave Rats..."
"Anything you don't buy?"
"N-No, all eligible."
"Buy them all then. Cash payment."
"S-Supervisor! Need more cash—open the vault!"
In this cashless era, my all-cash demand dragged request completion and sales payout to nearly an hour.