Double Clear of the Goblin Den
After finishing his morning errands and grabbing a quick lunch, Hyun-seong headed to the dungeon he'd reserved for 1 PM. The location was Apgujeong. Luckily, he'd snagged the last available slot for the Goblin Den through the Hunters app. From a local's perspective, it was a dungeon he'd cleared many times before, and it was the perfect spot to test out his new longsword. He seemed pretty satisfied with the choice.
Thud.
For convenience, Hyun-ji took the lead since she'd be doing the fighting, while Hyun-seong carried the bag. Right on time for their reservation, they approached the staff waiting up front.
"Hello."
"Ah, yes! Are you the party reserved for 1 PM?"
"Yeah, that's us."
When Hyun-seong answered, the staff member glanced behind them and asked, puzzled,
"Are the others running a bit late?"
"Nope. It's just the two of us."
"Pardon? Aren't you D-rank?"
The staff knew from the reservation info, which listed the party leader's rank.
"Correct. We'll clear it with just the two of us."
"Haa~ Alright, got it."
The Association employee nodded reluctantly and let them in. They had no authority to block hunters from entering in the first place, but it was hard to watch. No one could look favorably on people marching off to their deaths.
"Thanks, good luck."
In any case, Hyun-seong brushed past the Association staff and stepped into the dungeon. Hyun-ji followed, immediately tensing up. She swung her longsword experimentally at the air and asked,
"O-Oppa, like this, right?"
Hyun-seong was shocked by her swordsmanship—for all the wrong reasons.
She's got some seriously bad body control.
Her form was utterly sloppy. In the end, he had no choice but to take drastic measures.
Puppeteer Technique.
Once again, he applied the Puppeteer Technique so he could assist her at any moment. And then...
"Alright, now swing the sword however your body tells you to."
"Huh? However my body tells me?"
Hyun-seong nodded, ignoring her question about what that meant, and began manipulating her. He finely controlled the mana threads connected to his fingers, gradually moving her body bit by bit.
Swoosh!
Slash!
Swoosh!
Once her upper body seemed somewhat accustomed, Hyun-seong started manipulating her lower body as well.
"Wha—whoa!"
Though startled, Hyun-ji moved her legs as they led her, and her clumsy swordplay transformed into something near-perfect.
"There, got it? Remember this sensation."
"Wh-what is this?! How'd you do that?!"
"Obviously my skill. I told you, I'm a Puppeteer."
"I've never even heard of a skill like this. No wonder you're so strong..."
He had no idea why that led to her calling him strong, but anyway, leaving the stunned Hyun-ji behind, Hyun-seong boosted her overall physical abilities through puppeteer enhancement.
"If you get it, let's move. We gotta make some money."
Urged by Hyun-seong, she finally took the lead and began exploring the cave interior.
Seol-hee sat in her guild office, buried in paperwork. She'd spent the morning handling Hyun-seong's matter, so she hadn't gotten to the guild's tasks.
Not that "handling" meant much—just reviewing reports from her subordinates, thinking about improvements, or holding meetings on guild operations. But with nothing more important, she couldn't slack off.
Still, she couldn't focus. Her mind was troubled by someone.
Choi Hyun-seong...
Seol-hee set down the report she was reading and leaned back in her chair. Habitually, she swiveled sideways, nearly reclining as she stared blankly at the ceiling.
Can a guy who was discharged just four days ago really awaken and beat a B-rank hunter?
She didn't want to think that way, but the situation left her no choice but to suspect him. Dodging that hand chop so cleanly yesterday, and even in front of an S-rank hunter like her friend, he hadn't shown a hint of fear...
A Rogue...? Nah, couldn't be.
Seol-hee's mind grew more tangled. Rattle.
Without looking, she opened her desk drawer and pulled out a photo frame. It showed a youthful high school Seol-hee, Hyun-seong, and another male student. The boy's name tag read 'Kwak Tae-hyun'.
Seol-hee covered the boy and murmured softly,
"S-rank Rogue, Vampire."
That close friend had become the worst kind of criminal. That was why she despised Rogues so much.
Soon, she covered herself and Kwak Tae-hyun, leaving only Hyun-seong visible. Staring at his beaming smile, she eventually put the frame back in the drawer, stood up, and pressed the button on her desk to summon someone.
No sooner had she released it than...
Knock knock.
"Come in."
A woman in a crisp suit entered the office.
"You called for me?"
"Team Leader Im, keep an eye on the newly registered hunter named Choi Hyun-seong."
"Suspected Rogue?"
At her question, Seol-hee hesitated, then nodded.
"Yeah. Report anything suspicious right away."
"Understood."
With that, she silently exited, and Seol-hee leaned back again with a resigned expression.
Having experienced swordsmanship through Hyun-seong's Puppeteer Technique, Hyun-ji now swung her blade competently, taking down goblins left and right.
Slash!
She'd just decapitated one goblin and was scanning for the next target.
"Looks like that's all of them."
Unfortunately, no goblins remained.
"If I'd known it'd be this easy, I would've become a hunter ages ago."
Though she said that, Hyun-seong replied,
"In that case, try the next dungeon without my help."
"Huh? Why bother?"
"Someday you'll have to clear dungeons without me."
"Kinda scary, though."
"I'll be behind you. I'll help if it gets dangerous."
Reluctantly, she nodded.
"Let's head out. If we time it right, we can do this one again."
Hyun-seong had already collected all the byproducts. While Hyun-ji fought, he'd picked up goblin ears, gear, and mana stones from behind.
Porters who can't sense mana have it rough.
Ears and gear were visible, but mana stones were inside the body—usually near the heart, requiring digging through each one. But since Hyun-seong could sense mana, he only rummaged through those that had them.
From 50 goblins, he'd gotten 34 mana stones, about 100 ears, and a few pieces of decent gear. The bag still had room, so another run was feasible.
"Not sure if it's allowed, but let's check outside first."
Reservations allotted more time than the average clear. This dungeon's clear time was 1 hour 30 minutes, so they got 2 hours.
Hyun-seong and Hyun-ji had blasted through without breaks in just 30 minutes. Plenty of time left.
The question was whether she could clear it within time without his help.
If not, I'll just assist.
If a party didn't exit on time, the Association sent rescuers. He didn't want that hassle, so he'd clear it properly.
With that, they exited the dungeon.
"Huh? How are you out already...?"
The waiting Association staff looked stunned.
"Easier than expected. We've got time left on the reservation, so we can go again, right?"
"Uh, well. It's not against the rules."
"Cool, we'll head back in."
"Hey, at least take a break—"
Hyun-seong and Hyun-ji ignored the staff's trailing words and re-entered the dungeon.
"Ready?"
Inside, he released the Puppeteer Technique and asked.
"Yeah, but... maybe nerves? My body's feeling heavy."
"It's fine. Just do it like before."
"Got it."
With her longsword at the ready, Hyun-ji ventured into the cave. Soon, she encountered her first group of goblins on her own power—three of them together.
Tensed but without mistake, she activated her skill.
Shaaa!
It was the Hit Sense she'd shown before. Her sharpened senses locked onto the lead goblin, and she closed in.
Watching from behind, Hyun-seong hoped she'd nail the first step. Even pros could develop trauma from early slip-ups.
But his worries proved unfounded.
Her body accelerated in an instant, spinning to slice the necks of two goblins.
Slash!
According to Hyun-seong's knowledge, it was Bash, an attack skill common to all knight classes.
Stunned only briefly by landing two with the skill, she didn't let the last one escape. Legs firmly planted, she thrust her longsword into it.
Stab!
The final goblin met its end.
"Hoo~!"
Overconcentrated, she shook the blood from her blade and wiped her sweat.
Hyun-seong checked—no mana stones on these. He grabbed the ears and gear, then said,
"Good job, but try taking them one at a time usually. Save skills for emergencies."
"Tch, no praise?"
"What are you, a kid?"
She'd done well in that fight, but a clear flaw showed.
She doesn't hold back her body.
It was the result of fighting with boosted physical stats from his puppeteer enhancement. Pain dulled, she'd charged recklessly into enemy groups.
"Next fight, practice dodging."
"Dodging? Don't I use a shield?"
"Even with a shield, dodge what you can to last longer. Taking hits just to block is dumb."
She nodded as if understanding.
"Got it. I'll try my best."
The good news: she was hooked on this and eager to learn.
With that, they pressed deeper.
Swoosh!
Hyun-seong and Hyun-ji emerged from the dungeon. This clear took a bit longer—40 minutes.
"That last swarm of seven rushing at once was dicey. Good thing I practiced dodging like you said."
"What'd I tell you."
Goblin packs varied each run, leading to different scenarios. When the dungeon's record seven hit at once, even Hyun-seong pondered intervening.
But she handled it solo.
Proud as she looked now.
Amid it, she'd leveled up to 13.
Typically, E-ranks tested for D at level 10+, D for C at 20+.
She'll hit it quick at this rate.
Hogging all the EXP, what took others months she'd wrap in days.
As he watched her beaming face, an Association staffer approached.
"Good work. You're not going in again, right?"
His expression screamed please don't.
"Yeah, time's tight now..."
That was when.
"Hold on, looks like it's dissipating?"
Another staffer checking the dungeon gate noticed something and spoke up. Hyun-seong and Hyun-ji turned to look.
The dungeon's red hue faded to white, blending into the surroundings until it vanished.
"Whoa... Guess we were the last ones."
"Yeah. First time seeing a dungeon vanish up close."
Hyun-seong and Hyun-ji marveled at the novelty, while the staff checked their charts and sighed.
"Different again this time."
"Yep. Let's pack up and report."
"Right."
They were guards but also info gatherers for dungeon research. Watching them leave without a backward glance, Hyun-seong and Hyun-ji departed too.
"Time to spare, so let's grab another bag on the way."
"Yeah."
Hyun-ji eyed the bulging bag on his back with a happy smile.