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Chapter 60: Chapter 60

In front of the Red Gate.

Baek Yun-Ho's expression remained gloomy. Ahn Sahng-Min provided a short summary on who Seong Jin-Woo was, but his anxiety level hadn't decreased by one bit.

"In the end, that's all speculation, isn't it?"

"Yes, sir. You're right."

Ahn Sahng-Min readily accepted that assessment. It was true that he didn't know anything about Seong Jin-Woo, after all.

'But, if the boss checked Hunter Seong Jin-Woo out with his own eyes, he'd have changed his mind right away.'

There was something different about Seong Jin-Woo.

And the fact that he couldn't adequately describe that with words frustrated Ahn Sahng-Min to no end.

Baek Yun-Ho's gaze shifted back to the Red Gate.

"In the end, the only person I can believe in is Kim Cheol…."

It was then.

"Sir, there won't be any problems with Hunter Kim Cheol, I assure you."

One more person butted in among the group of Baek Yun-Ho, Ahn Sahng-Min, and Hyun Ki-Cheol. The gazes of three men automatically shifted in that direction simultaneously.

It was Ju Seong-Chan, Chief of the First Division of the White Tiger Guild.

He scanned the three people in front and spoke in a proud voice.

"I've been training Hunter Kim Cheol quite strictly, so he could be ready for all contingencies."

Originally, the initial training of new recruits was left to the Second Division, but the First Division would be in charge of the Awakened ranked A or higher.

Those promising individuals who were scheduled to enter the ranks of the main combat force soon got to enjoy a different starting point from everyone else.

Seeing Ju Seong-Chan's confidence, Baek Yun-Ho's expression softened slightly.

"How were Hunter Kim Cheol's grades?"

"They are excellent, sir. Just his combat capabilities alone, he'd not fall behind anyone from the current members of the Guild's main combat force."

"Is that so?"

A smile managed to return to Baek Yun-Ho's lips.

Kim Cheol was a rank A. Even among high ranked Hunters, he was a talent that must be held on to.

If, as the leader of this raid team, he commanded the rank B Hunters well and managed to clear this Gate…!

There would be some losses among the rank C Hunters, but from the White Tiger's perspective, the survival of high ranked Hunters came first.

'It's a relief that Hunter Kim Cheol's abilities are top-notch….'

The weakened sparks of hope regained some life again.

Ju Seong-Chan managed to calm the boss man down and narrowed his eyes at Ahn Sahng-Min, clearly in derision.

"From what I heard just now… A rank E Hunter who might have gone through a Re-Awakening process, was it? You were saying something about that…."

Ju Seong-Chan snorted dismissively.

"My Hunter Kim Cheol should prove to be more effective than someone like that, a Hunter with no proven qualities."

Ahn Sahng-Min's expression hardened. He was being looked down on here. However, he didn't raise his voice and let anger take over him.

'Let's just wait and see who's correct at the end of the day….'

The four men shifted their gazes at the same time over to the Red Gate that had trapped their Hunters.

Wuwuwu…

The crimson light oozing from the Gate seemed especially more ominous than ever before.

"I'm guessing you're not a rank E. Am I right?"

The female Hunter asked Jin-Woo quite openly.

Jin-Woo opened his mouth in response.

"Well, then. Let me ask you something as well."

"Of course."

Jin-Woo shifted his gaze over to Kim Cheol and the Hunters gathering around him. They were busy planning their next move before they got going.

"You guys, you're supposed to be new recruits, yet how can you be this calm?"

"The first thing we've been taught is that 'Anything can happen inside a dungeon', you see."

….Anything could happen inside a dungeon, she said.

Jin-Woo knew this fact better than anyone here, actually.

"Every one of us has been trained properly. Especially that Kim Cheol over there. He even received a special training regime, too. He's scheduled to join up with the White Tiger's main combat force."

They didn't fear dungeons, because they had received prior training.

Jin-Woo could only be flabbergasted by that revelation. And then, almost right away, he realised that all of these people were no different from Hahn Song-Yi.

She said that they had been sufficiently trained or whatever, but just what kind of uses would that have here? They were simply showing off without realising how terrifying a dungeon could become.

'Knowing something and experiencing it are two different things.'

More so, when your fragile belief of you knowing everything about dungeons develops just a tiny little crack – it'd all come crashing down like a dam with a hole getting swept away by the deluge of water.

Building up one's confidence took a long time, but breaking it down only took a single moment. He could see the fate in store for Kim Cheol's team already.

They might look okay from the outside, but in the end, they were all helpless noobs.

"You still haven't answered me, though."

"Excuse me?"

After hearing that, Jin-Woo's gaze shifted back to the strange woman.

"My question. You haven't answered it yet."

The question about whether he was a rank E or not.

She seemed to be a rather tenacious customer, this woman.

"Why should I tell you that?"

He replied in a blunt and a bit curt manner, but the female Hunter, Park Hui-Jin, was now crying out in elation and clenched her fist. Inwardly, of course.

Park Hui-Jin had met many people in her life and she immediately knew what Jin-Woo's response meant.

And that would be his unbridled confidence.

'Yes, I didn't see it wrong!'

There was another thing that gave her even more assurance; while she was being trained back in the White Tiger Guild, she had often witnessed the movements of many high-ranked Hunters.

However, Jin-Woo's hand just now….

She had never seen anyone move as quickly as Jin-Woo's hand catching that arrow.

'I mean, all I could do was to barely confirm what just happened, even with my eyesight!'

She used to be a top-tier athlete before becoming a melee-type Hunter through her Awakening, so she was pretty confident of her dynamic vision.

Park Hui-Jin's eyes began sparkling.

'This guy, he's at least rank A.'

Or, even higher than that….

In order to ascertain a more definite answer, Park Hui-Jin asked him again.

"Don't be like that now. Can't you tell me, please?"

"Don't feel like it."

That was the end of their conversation. Jin-Woo turned his head away.

He definitely didn't feel like being in the receiving end of endless stream of questions, and also, Kim Cheol was walking closer to them as well.

Jin-Woo's eyes and Kim Cheol's met.

"We will…."

Kim Cheol's voice was harsh, low. Didn't matter what he was trying to convey here, he sounded threatening and menacing.

"….Be using the road."

He didn't saunter over here just to declare which path they would be using, though. No, Kim Cheol's eyes were asking what Jin-Woo's group would do. Along with the hidden threat of 'Don't you dare follow us'.

'.....'

Jin-Woo scanned his surroundings once more, before reverting his gaze back to Kim Cheol.

"And we will be going through the forest."

"…I'll wish you luck."

'Well, you guys will be the ones needing that luck later on, though…'

Jin-Woo didn't mouth his inner thoughts, however.

"Sure thing. You too."

With that, Jin-Woo's group headed towards the forest.

After ensuring that the group had completely disappeared into the forest, Kim Cheol began guffawing out uncontrollably.

"What a bunch of idiots."

"Excuse me?"

"Look over there."

Kim Cheol uncrossed his arms and pointed towards some trees.

Not just one or two, either – everywhere he pointed at, trees bore the scars that suspiciously looked like claw marks of potentially gigantic creatures.

"That…. isn't that?!"

"It's a bear."

"An Ice Bear?!"

A bear-type monster, infamous among all the beast-type monsters as the most ferocious! Those claw marks were them marking their territory.

The Hunters in Kim Cheol's group saw those and clicked their tongues.

"Tsk, tsk…."

"It'd been better if they stayed put here and waited till the end…."

"Looks like innocent people will die because of a rank E taking the lead."

"I mean, would that rank E have received any prior training like us?"

Kim Cheol stared at the forest and chuckled derisively.

'That's to be expected from a measly rank E.'

...Wait.

Suddenly, Kim Cheol's smile disappeared.

'Most of that group is rank Cs, and there is a rank B among them too, so how come…..?'

How come he thought Jin-Woo was that group's leader? Indeed, he hadn't felt that anything was amiss, right up until he realised this weird incongruency by himself.

Still, Kim Cheol shook his head.

'….Well, it doesn't matter.'

They were all going to die soon, anyway. Worrying about themselves took precedence over what would happen to the weaklings who wouldn't last for long, to begin with.

There was nothing he could do about the dead, but well, shouldn't the ones that were supposed to live, live on?

Kim Cheol turned towards the road and spoke up.

"Let's depart."

Jin-Woo took the lead and walked up ahead.

But before long, Park Hui-Jin stood in front of him.

"What is it?"

"Have you lost your mind?"

Jin-Woo crossed his arms and displayed how unhappy he was to hear that. Meaning, she'd have to be careful with her follow-up.

Perhaps she understood Jin-Woo's warning, Park Hui-Jin's voice had softened somewhat.

"I'm sorry. But I need to say this."

Park Hui-Jin's finger pointed towards one of the surrounding trees.

"Can you see that?"

There was a huge claw mark on the tree's bark.

"Over there, too! And there!"

Almost every single tree had their barks greatly damaged and it was hard to find one that was still intact.

"This entire place is full of the bear's territorial markings, you know?! This entire forest is the bear type monster's habitat!"

Dogs or apes were weaker than tigers or lions. Such logic also applied to monsters as well. The tiger or lion type monsters were much more difficult to fight against when compared to dog or ape type monsters.

So, what about a bear-type, then?

A bear, a polar bear no less, was seen as one of the strongest carnivorous land animals out there. And right now, Jin-Woo's group had entered a forest where monsters based on such animals were residing.

Of course, Park Hui-Jin would get angry.

"We need to go back right now! Before the monsters show up!"

"Tsk, tsk."

Jin-Woo clicked his tongue.

'What's this?'

Park Hui-Jin thought that Jin-Woo would show one of the three responses – get angry, get stunned, or accept what she told him.

Unfortunately for her, her expectation was wide off the mark.

She was the one advising him against the irrational and hasty decision here, yet it was Jin-Woo looking at her as if she was the idiot.

'Why… why is he looking at me like that?!'

Park Hui-Jin's face reddened up from anger.

"W-what is it?"

Her voice rose up again.

Jin-Woo spat out a long sigh and opened his mouth.

"It's difficult to find a tree without the territorial markings, which means that there are more than one or two Ice Bears here, yes?"

"T-tthat is why we much go ba….."

"That is precisely why we're moving through the forest."

"Eh?"

Park Hui-Jin's eyes went round in confusion.

'She still doesn't get it even with that massive hint?'

Jin-Woo had little choice but to tell it straight to her.

"When we're moving through the forest, we only have to worry about Ice Bears."

"….Ah!"

Only then did Park Hui-Jin understood Jin-Woo's intention.

The meaning behind lots of Ice Bears was simple – that there were no other monsters strong enough to hunt Ice Bears in this forest.

To be more precise, the group didn't have to worry about fighting monsters stronger than Ice Bears here.

'Why haven't I thought about that….?'

Park Hui-Jin became ashamed about shouting at Jin-Woo just now.

Her head dropped low, even the skin of her neck reddening up from embarrassment.

Jin-Woo continued to click his tongue.

The whole reason why a dungeon was a scary place was that no one knew what might pop out when you were inside. Well, you wouldn't be able to come up with a plan if you didn't know what kind of enemies were waiting for you there.

However, didn't the enemies of this place graciously reveal themselves already?

'…Bear-type monsters, is it?'

Jin-Woo didn't know how strong these Ice Bears were, but he was sure of them being weaker than those two White Phantom archers. They were wearing clothing that looked to be made out of bear felt.

That was why had chosen the forest route.

He was thinking of traversing the forest and increasing his level, and at the same time, keep an eye out on Kim Cheol's group and the movements of the White Phantoms while waiting for his chance to act.

That was the safest way available.

'…..??'

Abruptly, Jin-Woo became rather puzzled by what he saw.

"….Why is your face still so red?"

Park Hui-Jin's face was far too red to be normal. She couldn't raise her head and managed to squeeze out a voice that was smaller than a buzzing mosquito.

"It… it's because… too cold…."

"Fuu…."

Jin-Woo spat out a long groan and summoned his Store. He quickly browsed through the items for sale and spotted thick fur coats and shoes designed for Winter.

Tti-ring.

[Item: Warm fur coat]

Rarity: None

Type: Miscellaneous

Warms up the wearer's body.

Price: 10 Gold

[Item: Warm boots]

Rarity: None

Type: Miscellaneous

Once worn, provides warmth to wearer's feet.

Price: 10 Gold

'Fur coat and the shoes cost 10 Gold each….'

Unlike items with added effects, regular items didn't cost a lot to buy. No, compared to the amount of Gold in his possession, they were oh-so-cheap.

[Remaining Gold: 431,930]

'Still, I'd never have guessed that I have to buy japtem with my Gold…..'

Jin-Woo chose 'Buy' for all of them.

Since he couldn't just give to some and ignore others, Jin-Woo spent 100 Gold and bought the articles of clothing for all five people.

Poof.

Five coats and five pairs of boots suddenly popped up in front of his eyes. And of course, the eyes of all four people, excluding Jin-Woo, all grew super-wide.

"Heok?!"

"W-what the heck?! Was that separate space magic?!"

Park Hui-Jin was taken aback, too, and she hurriedly raised her head to look at Jin-Woo.

Not caring whether they were shocked or not, Jin-Woo spoke to them disinterestedly.

"Put them on."

He finished speaking and reached down to grab the closest fur coat, but then, Hahn Song-Yi suddenly grasped his sleeve.

'…..?'

When their gazes met, Hahn Song-Yi asked him while looking rather scared and confused.

"A-ahjussi, just what's going on with you? You managed to catch that arrow, and now, you used some strange magic to take these clothes out, too."

Frowns formed on the forehead of Jin-Woo. It didn't take a genius to figure out that, at this rate, he'd be swarmed by the endless streams of questions and get irritated to no end.

'Right, let's use this chance to clearly draw the line.'

Jin-Woo raised his voice and spoke in a firm voice.

"Hahn Song-Yi, I brought you here with me, so I will take full responsibility and protect you. However…"

Jin-Woo's voice became colder next.

"….Don't ask me about anything."

Jin-Woo then swept his gaze against Park Hui-Jin as well as other Hunters tagging along.

"The same goes for the rest of you. Do not ask me anything, and do not demand anything from me."

He didn't stop there, though.

"If you don't like it, then you can just leave now. I won't stop you."

The two male Hunters originally didn't choose to follow Jin-Woo, but only tagged along because of the rank B Park Hui-Jin. They alternated their gazes between the fur coats and Jin-Woo, before hurriedly shaking their heads.

Chapter 61: Chapter 61

There was one more thing – one more reason why Jin-Woo chose the forest route.

'Status window.'

[Name: Seong Jin-Woo]

[Level: 51]

[Class: Shadow Sovereign]

[Title: The one who overcame the adversity (extra 1)]

Jin-Woo silently summoned his Status window and swapped his current Title from 'the one who overcame the adversity' to that of the 'Slaughterer of Wolves'.

[Title: Slaughterer of Wolves (extra 1)]

A Title given to a hunter skilled in hunting wolves. When facing animal-type monsters, all of your Stats will increase by 40%.

A chance to abuse this plainly-cheating buff had fallen on his laps, so why should he go anywhere else now?

Tti-ring.

[An animal-type monster has appeared.]

[The effect of the current Title will activate.]

A smile crept up on Jin-Woo's face after he confirmed his Stat values shooting up.

'Nice.'

It was then.

The Hunters all began screaming out, loudly.

"It, it's the bear!"

"It's the Ice Bear!"

An Ice Bear that had picked up on the scents of humans was slowly trudging towards the group.

These humans were its enemies that had invaded its territory. Obviously, it'd not look too kindly towards the intruders.

Growl….

The Ice Bear bared its fangs, transparent-like-ice, and slowly raised its massive frame on its hind legs. It's huge and hulking figure completely filled up the Hunters' vision!

"Ah…."

The creature did resemble a polar bear, but it was almost twice the size, and the magic crystal, the symbol of all monsters, could be seen in the middle of its chest area as if it was some kind of a proud emblem.

ROAR!!

It roared out furiously, the ground seemingly quaking under its might!

All the Hunters, excluding Jin-Woo, all froze stiff on the spot after hearing the ice Bear's roar.

Park Hui-Jin's expression crumpled unsightly.

'Oh, so we only need to be mindful of Ice Bears, was it?!'

How could anyone say that sort of nonsense after seeing that monster?!

She almost fell for Seong Jin-Woo's pretty convincing argument. But, upon seeing an Ice Bear, she was certain of one thing.

'We definitely shouldn't have chosen the forest route!'

Sensing the approaching danger to the group, Park Hui-Jin stepped out in front of the group and shouted out.

"I'll draw its attention towards me, so everyone must… Kyah?!"

The scruff of Park Hui-Jin's neck was yanked back by a considerable force, and she had to back step several times to make sure that she didn't end up on her butt.

After somehow regaining her balance, she raised her head only to find Jin-Woo standing before her.

"Hey, what was that all about?!" Jin-Woo pointed at Park Hui-Jin. "I'm telling you this right now. I'll be killing all the monsters from now on."

Obviously, he couldn't let anyone steal his experience points, now could he?

For Jin-Woo, these bears were perfect health tonics to buff him up for his inevitable showdown with the true enemies of this place, the White Phantoms.

"Hah?!"

Park Hui-Jin couldn't hide her astonishment.

'Did he just yank me back because he wants to monopolise the monster?'

The other two male Hunters, who so happened to be Mage-types, also stopped casting their spells in sheer dumbfoundedness.

"No matter how strong you think you are, that thing is a monster of a high-rank dungeon!��

Completely ignoring Park Hui-Jin's furious voice coming from behind him, Jin-Woo walked right towards the Ice Bear.

'Well, it's not going to be okay to use daggers for this one.'

The blood splatter would make a mess of things, wouldn't it?

Jin-Woo had already summoned his two daggers almost out of reflex, but stored them back in his Inventory. Instead, he clenched his fists tightly.

'Well, I promised to just observe, but this is an emergency, so I'm sure they'll understand. Right?'

Jin-Woo's glare collided mid-air with the Ice Bear's.

Roar!

The Ice Bear swung its telephone-pole-thick front arm towards Jin-Woo like a streak of lightning.

Swish-!!

However, the attack only swiped at the empty air.

'Why is it so fast compared to its size?'

Jin-Woo was already above the Ice Bear's head. It was here that he kind of understood the reason for this monster's infamy.

"Even then….'

He also sensed that all his level ups until now weren��t in vain.

Before the Ice Bear could lift its head up, Jin-Woo punched with all his might right in the middle of the monster's forehead.

Kaboom!!

The head of the Ice Bear slammed down on the snowy ground with an explosive force.

Its skull was completely obliterated; with its limp tongue hanging outside the slack maw, the Ice Bear stopped moving completely.

[Level up!]

'Hell yeah!'

He was thinking that his level up was just around the corner, and now, he was glad to have stopped Park Hui-Jin from taking any action.

"You… you, just what are you??"

Jin-Woo heard that trembling voice and looked behind him, only to spot four speechless faces staring back at him.

Jin-Woo sheepishly scratched the side of his head.

'I warned them earlier because I didn't want to run into this sort of situation….'

It seemed that a person would become rather forgetful whenever he or she witnessed something utterly beyond their capacity to understand.

Left with little choice, Jin-Woo had to state his position once more.

"I told you, I'll not tolerate anyone asking me questions. If you're unhappy with my methods, then…." Jin-Woo pointed his finger in the direction of Kim Cheol's team. "You can always go that way."

Only then did Park Hui-Jin regain her senses, and her facial expression changed.

"You think I'll leave your side after seeing how you one-punched that Ice Bear??"

Honestly, Park Hui-Jin was now overflowing with joy.

She only chose to follow this youth because her gut feeling said he'd be a better option than Kim Cheol, but holy cow, she quickly discovered that she had quite literally stumbled onto an unexpected jackpot here.

She was blessed with a quick head, so it was easy to come to a conclusion. If she really wanted to get out of this place alive, then she had to follow Seong Jin-Woo.

She feared that Seong Jin-Woo might suggest they go their separate ways, so she hurriedly made a suggestion first, her heart beating anxiously.

"Mister Jin-Woo, please take over the leader's position. We'll definitely follow every one of your commands from now on."

'….Well, I did say I wouldn't humour their demands at all, but….'

Jin-Woo pondered for a bit, before nodding his head. Thinking about the near future, it seemed that this arrangement would prove to be convenient for him.

Park Hui-Jin looked behind her.

The student named Hahn Song-Yi was someone Seong Jin-Woo brought along, so there was no need to ask her. So, that left the two male Hunters.

"I'm sure you two also agree with my suggestion, yes?"

The two Hunters, now being on the receiving end of the unexpected stare, alternated their gazes between the corpse of the Ice Bear and Jin-Woo, before hurriedly nodding their heads.

Once more, in front of the Red Gate.

Hyun Ki-Cheol used his handkerchief to wipe away the cold sweat from his brows, his eyes locked on his watch.

Baek Yun-Ho asked him.

"How long has it been?"

"It��s been about three hours now, sir."

"Three hours…. Meaning, it's almost been three days inside."

Baek Yun-Ho's voice sounded grave. Out of four people gathered here, only he had personally experienced entering a Red Gate before.

One of the S-ranked Hunters representing South Korea – Baek Yun-Ho.

Even to someone like him, a Red Gate was a challenging place to survive.

With a complicated expression, Baek Yun-Ho recalled his experiences.

"The most terrifying aspect of the Red Gate is that… you're thrown into a completely different world."

This was a rare recollection of the past as told by an S-rank Hunter. Naturally, the attention of Ahn Sahng-Min, Joo Sung-Chan, and Hyun Ki-Cheol focused on him.

Baek Yun-Ho continued on.

"Once you cross the Gate, the place you end up could be a desert with temperatures soaring past 60 degrees Celsius, or it could be a dense jungle full of poisonous insects and snakes. Or, it could be the middle of a snow-covered field where it's so cold that you'd immediately develop frost bites."

Gulp.

The three men simultaneously swallowed their dry saliva.

"Until you actually enter it, no one knows what awaits them beyond the Red Gate. So, how can anyone prepare for something like this?"

It was the same story as today. The Gate that looked plain and normal immediately changed its colour to red as soon as Hunters entered it.

"Your skin is burning under the hot glares of the sun, or you're tormented by poisonous insects throughout the day, or your flesh rots from the skin-peeling cold….. And so, the weakest of your group would start dying first."

"Oh, my god…."

Hyun Ki-Cheol spat out a gasp as if he could hardly calm himself down.

"But, even when you're in such a perilous situation, you still have to fight monsters as well."

Just from listening to his explanations, they could understand the hopelessness of the current situation. However, the explanation didn't end there.

"Okay, then. Let's say that you've somehow adapted to your new environments. From then on, you will have to procure food."

Indeed, one would have to secure enough food to last a few weeks at a minimum, or at worst, for several months. Now that would be a huge challenge in and of itself.

"While stuck in the unforgiving surroundings and suffering from constant hunger, all you can trust is your magic energy compass."

The magic energy compass always pointed towards the source of a powerful magic energy emission.

The only ways to escape from a Red Gate were to follow the needle of the magic energy compass, locate the boss and kill it, or wait until the dungeon break occurs.

"Now, think about waiting for days, weeks, or even months while only staring at that compass. How can anyone not go mad from that?"

The three men nodded their heads. These three knew that normal people like them would not last one day in places as hostile as those.

"I said that it's been three days already, didn't I?"

"Yes."

After hearing Hyun Ki-Cheol's reply, Baek Yun-Ho formed a distressed expression.

"Most likely, all Hunters ranked C and below have died by now."

Kim Cheol was ranked 'A'. However, no matter how good his skills were, it was impossible for a rank A to protect everyone. Unless it was a rank S Hunter standing by their side….

Which meant….

"All we can pray for now is the safe return of the higher ranked Hunters."

This was the conclusion derived from his personal experience.

In Baek Yun-Ho's mind, the Hunters ranked C and below were already as good as dead by now.

Evening.

Large chunks of meat were nicely sizzling on top of a campfire.

"You know, this bear meat, it's a bit chewy but not as bad as I thought."

"Would you like some more?"

"Aigoo, thank you kindly."

Goh Myung-Hwan expertly sliced the meat of the Ice Bear and placed them on a plate pushed forward by Yun Ki-Joong. These two men were the rank C Hunters following Jin-Woo.

Both Park Hui-Jin and Hahn Song-Yi were also slowly chewing on the bear meat, although their portions weren't as large as the men's.

"Unni, please pass me the pepper."

"What about salt?"

"Mm, the seasoning's just about fine, so it's okay."

They all looked to, more or less, have adapted to the living conditions of the dungeon. From the campfire, to the blankets wrapped around them, and the tents all set up, too…

They didn't seem to be in trouble at all.

Heck, from a certain perspective, one could say that they looked rather comfy, instead.

Goh Myung-Hwan scanned the vicinity and spoke up.

"Don't you think the attacks of the Ice Bears have lessened lately?"

Park Hui-Jin replied to that question.

"Well, that's because the team leader has annihilated their numbers, that's why."

"That man, it's like he has some sort of unresolved vendetta against these bears from his previous life or something. His eyes go all crazy when he spots an Ice Bear. He's so scary whenever he does that. Really, really scary."

By now, Jin-Woo's title had been set as the team leader.

Park Hui-Jin felt Jin-Woo's absence and craned her neck a little to scan the surroundings herself.

"Now that I think about it, where did the team leader disappear to?"

Yun Ki-Joong had his head almost buried in the plate as he chomped down on the meat, but still, raised his head to make his reply.

"He went out a little while ago, saying that he's going to take a look around here."

"Huh." Park Hui-Jin formed a helpless expression. "Roaming inside a high ranked dungeon all alone….. Isn't he scared at all?"

Yun Ki-Joong formed a sly grin.

"If it's him, it's not going to be a problem."

"Oh, well. He's strong enough to kill Ice Bears, high-rank monsters, with his bare hands, after all."

Goh Myung-Hwan followed up to Yun Ki-Joong's words and continued on.

"But, by the way…. since we're discussing this and all…. Just how high must your rank be, if you can beat up a nonsensically huge monster like that?"

Stop.

Everyone suddenly became utterly silent.

They were all curious about the same thing as well. But, they dared not say anything, fearful of being kicked out of this place.

"….Let's just finish out meals first."

Everyone nodded their heads at Park Hui-Jin's suggestion.

Jin-Woo searched through the forest, and made his exit as he brushed past some thickets.

'It must be somewhere nearby….'

He could sense the presences of multiple Ice Bears coming from somewhere. From last night, he had been carefully tracking the Ice Bears.

This was all because he had finally realised that Ice Bears were coming from the same direction.

Jin-Woo continued to search, before his eyes began glittering dangerously.

'Found you!'

He spotted dozens of caverns on a cliff-like wall, lying beyond some bushes. And he sensed presences of more than one lifeform coming from each of the caves.

Hell, he didn't even have to expand his Perception here; his eyes could clearly see many Ice Bears lazily moving in and out of several caves.

Just a quick head count and he found over 30 bears.

In other words, this was literally a bear farm.

The corners of Jin-Woo's lips arched up.

He deliberately came here alone to eliminate the possibility of eyewitnesses. This would be the perfect opportunity to utilise his shadow soldiers.

Indeed, he had been waiting for a moment like this.

'Come out.'

When he inwardly called out, the soldiers wearing black armour soundlessly materialised and surrounded him.

"You all understand that this is your first sortie, right?"

What he meant by that was, just as one's impression was decided upon through the first encounter, these guys would have to impress him with their first battle, too.

'.....'

'.....'

The shadow soldiers stood at attention in eerie silence, with nary a hint of disorder.

'Nice.'

Jin-Woo smirked deeply, seeing them like that.

Sniff, sniff….

Meanwhile, more and more Ice Bears began emerging from the caves after detecting Jin-Woo's scent.

'Looks like the other side is done preparing, too.'

Jin-Woo pointed at the Ice Bears.

"Go."

As soon as his order was issued, the shadow soldiers rushed forward as if they were sliding on ice.

Chapter 62: Chapter 62

The shadow soldiers rapidly closed in on their targets. Unfortunately, the angry swipes of the Ice Bears' front paws were faster than their movements.

Swing!

Kwajeek!!

A single hit, and one shadow soldier was obliterated.

If it wasn't a 'shadow' underneath the armours but an actual human being, that attack would surely have ripped him apart into several pieces.

'Hmm…'

Jin-Woo frowned deeply.

'As I thought, did I ask for too much?'

Whether it was their physical strength or their body sizes, these Ice Bears were difficult enemies for the shadow soldiers to fight against.

However, something quite surprising happened next.

'Heok!'

Jin-Woo's eyes opened wider.

The soldier with its chest torn open by the Ice Bear's attack suddenly transformed into a clump of black smoke just before it fell to the ground.

Pooof!

The black smoke coagulated in a spot a couple of steps away and it reverted back to its original appearance.

'Very good!'

Jin-Woo's expression brightened up.

The 'undeads' – he remembered this crucial fact that he had unwittingly forgotten about until now.

The Ice Bear became even more agitated than before after realising its attack was all for nothing, and it roared out loudly.

ROOOAR!!

And so, as the infantrymen bought time out in front, the magic soldiers standing at the back had completed their spells.

Boom!!

Kaboom!!

The balls of flames leaving the ends of the magic soldiers' hands exploded here, there, and everywhere. The shadow soldiers swept up in the explosions regenerated right away, but on the other hand, the Ice Bears could only roll around screaming in sheer pain and agony, as their bodies caught on fire.

Roooar!!

Growl!!

Meanwhile, the shadow soldiers didn't waste time and swiftly approached the defenceless Bears, before stabbing down on them with their blades.

Stab!!

Staaaaab!!!

One by one, the triumphant and arrogant Ice Bears were falling at the cooperative tactics of the shadow infantrymen and the magic soldiers.

'Hiya….'

Jin-Woo continued to spectate on the proceedings with an expression filled with great interest and happiness.

The infantrymen and their quick regenerative abilities; the magic soldiers and their superb firepower.

The overall combat prowess of the shadow soldiers had far exceeded his initial expectations.

Soon, the Ice Bears were forced into retreat by the might of the shadow soldiers and were pushed back towards the entrance of the caves.

He was thinking that the end of the battle was drawing near, but then….

ROOOOAR!!

Accompanied by the eardrum-shaking roar, a huge shadow slowly emerged from one of the caves.

"Isn't that….."

Even Jin-Woo's eyes grew extra round and super-large.

The bear that came out was at least a head taller and double the body size compared to others around it.

Rooar!!

Just a single swipe from this huge bear, and multiple soldiers were blown away.

SWOOOSH-!!

Kabboooomm!!

The regeneration rate of the soldiers could not keep up with the huge Ice Bear's relentless attacks.

Kwajeeeck!!

Slam!!

Jin-Woo could only leak out a groan after seeing that.

"So, it's the leader of the pack, is it….?"

He kind of suspected that, since there was a pack, there should be a leader leading it, too. However, the b*stard turned out to much bigger and stronger than he had anticipated.

"Krooaar!!"

The huge Ice Bear leader obliterated all the shadow soldiers appearing before it, and approached Jin-Woo at a frightening speed.

It was at this point that a message popped up in his view.

Tti-ring.

[Your Mana has been depleted and shadow soldiers cannot regenerate anymore.]

[Your Mana has been depleted and shadow soldiers cannot regenerate anymore.]

'What??'

He hurriedly checked his MP value, and just as the System had warned him, it was totally gone.

[MP: 0/1860]

Once his MP had been drained. The obliterated shadow soldiers didn't regenerate and simply entered back into Jin-Woo's shadow.

In other words, in order to regenerate the lost soldiers, he needed lots more Mana.

'That d*mn Mana….'

One more reason to enhance his Intelligence Stat, then.

Jin-Woo scratched the side of his head. With the appearance of the Ice Bear leader, the flow of the battle had reversed completely.

However, Jin-Woo still had plenty of leeway.

'Since their boss has shown up, this side should also step up.'

Jin-Woo, still standing there with his arms crossed, summoned the 'boss' of the shadow soldiers.

"Igrit!!"

One more shadow escaped from Jin-Woo's shadow.

And from that shadow, a knight wearing a helm with decorative mane rose up soundlessly.

Jin-Woo pointed forward with his chin.

Igrit bowed to Jin-Woo, before rushing towards the Ice Bear leader.

Tap, tap, tap, tap!

Igrit lightly evaded the Ice Bear leader's front paw, and slid between its hind legs. It brushed past the hind legs again, pulled out a dagger and cut the Bear's tendon.

"Rooar?!"

That was the beginning.

Igrit unsheathed his longsword and deftly evaded the Bear's enraged attacks, all the while shaving away at the giant monster's body with his blade.

Tendons, claws, front paw, legs, torso – bits and chunks of meat from various areas of the monster sheared off and fell to the ground piece by piece.

"Huh…."

Jin-Woo could only gasp out in admiration at Igrit's crafty and elaborate movements.

The last place Igrit hit was the bear's head.

Slice!

The giant Ice Bear's head separated from its body and flew away. Before it landed on the ground, though, Igrit easily snatched it. He trod proudly towards Jin-Woo, and knelt before him.

Plop.

And then, he placed the dead bear's head before Jin-Woo's feet. It was as if the knight was presenting the spoils of victory to his sovereign.

Jin-Woo swallowed dry saliva and gazed at the kneeling Igrit and his bowed head.

'If Igrit decided to use his sword from the beginning, would I have been able to defeat him?'

The Ice Bears, without their leader present, lost all semblance of order and became utterly confused, before they were cleanly swept away by the remaining shadow soldiers. That brought about the end to the battles.

The result was truly satisfying.

[Shadow Infantryman Lv. 2]

[Shadow Infantryman Lv. 3]

[Shadow Infantryman Lv. 2]

[Shadow magic soldier Lv. 2]

The levels of the soldiers had risen up nicely. Also, as these shadow soldiers were seen as a part of his skill, even Jin-Woo's level had risen up by 3.

Most of all, there was another point he found much to his liking.

"Rise up."

[Shadow extraction was a success.]

[Shadow extraction was a success.]

[Shadow extraction was a success.]

….And that point would be the fact that he could recruit new 'friends' now.

Roooarr….

From the shadows of several Ice Bears that Jin-Woo had selected, which obviously included the boss bear, black shapes began to slowly rise up.

'And I thought that armour-wearing bears would pop up….'

His expectation turned out to be far off the mark, unfortunately.

These creatures came with the name tag that said 'shadow beast soldier'; at a casual glance, they kind of resembled bears, but it was still difficult to tell whether these monsters were actually corporeal or not.

The creatures continued to pant as the black steam-like fog rose up from their backs.

'Well, uh, they might not look that great but, they are definitely the shadows of the Ice Bears.'

That explosive strength, that destructive power!! Without a doubt, they would prove to be useful.

It happened then.

Rooaarrr…

Jin-Woo's ears twitched after hearing the roars of bears coming from the distance. There were several of them, as a matter of fact.

'Meaning, this isn't the only bear farm, huh?'

It was already getting too late today, so should he pay a visit there tomorrow?

A bright smile formed on Jin-Woo's face.

"Uwaaahk!!"

"Keo-heok!!"

His comrades screamed in despair.

Kim Cheol's bloodshot eyes shot open wide.

'No, this can't be!!'

How can I….

How can this Kim Cheol fail?!

He was supposed to become the elite of the White Tiger Guild. They even trained him with the special program so he'd enter the Guild's main combat force right away.

However, to fail like this?

He could not acknowledge it.

While enduring against the biting cold and starvation, they fought off against a group of snowmen. Then, they encountered snow giants. They lost two of their numbers, but in the end, emerged victorious against the giants. He thought that the conquest of this 'dungeon' was going according to plan.

However….

However!!

As soon as the desperate struggle against the snow giants ended, the White Phantoms sneak attacked from the rear as if they were waiting for this chance.

These wicked, treacherous b*stards had been in hiding, waiting for the raid team to exhaust all their stamina first.

What happened next was a one-sided massacre. In the blink of an eye, the Hunters were annihilated.

"C-captain!!"

A fallen Hunter reached out towards Kim Cheol with his bloodied hand.

Kim Cheol could only retreat in faltering steps.

Suddenly, a White Phantom appeared on top of this fallen Hunter. It pulled out a dagger and swiped it under the Hunter's neck.

"K-keogeok?!"

The White Phantom smiled as it sliced the neck off and raised its head to look at Kim Cheol.

Kim Cheol could only scream in terror.

"U, uwaaaaaah!!"

And then, not even taking one look behind him, he ran straight into the forest.

There were Ice Bears in the forest?

Compared to snowmen, snow giants, and the White Phantoms that appeared before him, those unseen Ice Bears came across as laughable existences right now.

Kim Cheol summoned every ounce of his energy and ran, and then ran even harder.

The White Phantoms glared at the departing back of fleeing Kim Cheol and raised their bow. Just as they took aim and got ready to fire….

A White Phantom with white hair extending all the way down to its waist raised its arm and stopped the attack.

The White Phantoms lowered their bows.

'....'

When the long-haired 'Elf' signalled the others to follow Kim Cheol, the White Phantoms began disappearing from where they stood one by one.

Kim Cheol ran out of the thick bushes.

"Pant, pant, pant…."

He couldn't catch his breaths at all. Still, when he recalled the derisive smirks on the White Phantoms' faces as they massacred the Hunters, he felt like peeing himself from fear.

His gaze inexplicably lowered to his hands.

He couldn't feel much from his frozen hands now. He had lost all feelings in his feet a long time ago.

In his current condition, he couldn't even fight properly.

'If it weren't for this d*mn cold…. No, if we weren't starving for several days, we wouldn't have been annihilated like that.'

In the end, Kim Cheol couldn't acknowledge the failure of the raid team… no, his own failure.

Muttering to himself, Kim Cheol raised his head.

'By the way, where am I? How deep in the forest is this?'

Kim Cheol began scanning the surroundings. Then, he picked up on a faint smell coming from a distance.

Kim Cheol began following that smell.

It wasn't that far.

Once he walked past the trees and escaped out into an open area, he was greeted by an unbelievable spectacle.

'But, how can this be?!'

He found over twenty dead Ice Bears surrounding a cave entrance.

And he thought it was odd to not see a single Ice Bear when every single tree was marked by them!

"What is going on here?"

Kim Cheol investigated the conditions of the carcasses. They all showed sword-inflicted wounds. Some of them even had signs of being burnt alive.

Almost immediately, Kim Cheol thought about Seong Jin-Woo and the Hunters following him.

"Could they have….? Did they do this to these Ice Bears?"

No, it couldn't be.

Kim Cheol shook his head.

The wounds on Ice Bears were inflicted with long swords. As far as he knew, none of the Hunters that went into the forest used a sword.

'Besides, the two rank E Hunters didn't even wield any weapons.'

If he were to look at the situation objectively, then there was no chance that those people were still alive. In that case, there could be only one explanation.

'There are White Phantoms nearby!'

His heart fell to the pit of his stomach.

Here he was, thinking that he had finally lost those d*mnable White Phantoms, yet they were actually residing close by!

Scared stiff now, Kim Cheol held his breath and hurriedly returned to the forest.

A little bit further away, and a little bit faster than before…

He wanted to escape from the territory of the White Phantoms as soon as possible.

Around the same time.

"Krrooaar…."

An Ice Bear cried out and fell to the ground.

Shadow soldiers pounced on it and made sure it was no longer able to draw breath.

[Level up!]

"Very nice…."

Jin-Woo was standing at another 'bear farm'.

It had been five days since his arrival in this snowy world. He had already cleaned up three bear farms in the meantime.

'Looks like I've killed most of the bears in this forest.'

His level had risen up quite a bit during this time. It was the same story for his soldiers, too. Initially, they had to attack a bear in a pair to kill it, but now, they could eke out a victory in a one-on-one fight.

This was very satisfying.

Once the Stats of the soldiers rose up, Jin-Woo assigned them different roles.

He could store 30 shadows now. 28 soldiers participated in battles, one went around picking up magic crystals, while the remaining one secured the bear meat.

He didn't even have to move a finger but still ended up with loot from the Hunts, so this was proving to be oh-so-convenient for him.

'I can't sense the presence of other monsters around here anymore.'

It seemed that he had more or less took care of all the monsters inside the forest.

In that case….

'Should I think about killing the boss?'

It could be at least a month, or in the worst case scenario, several months before the dungeon break occurs. He couldn't just sit here and wait for a Gate that who knows when it'd open up.

'And, I still need to kill that insolent little Elf b*stard, too….'

That measly monster that dared to provoke Hunters. Its cocky grin still remained etched in his memory.

The scent of meat coming was from somewhere.

Sniff, sniff….

Kim Cheol sniffed the air with his nose, now super-perceptive due to his extreme hunger.

The only food he ate since his imprisonment behind the Red Gate was a single rabbit. Picking up on the smell of food, he reflexively swallowed down his ravenous saliva.

'Gulp.'

Perhaps, the White Phantoms were having a meal nearby.

'Still, if their numbers are low, then….'

Then, he could subdue them and snatch away their food. His hunger was extreme enough for him to arrive at such a conclusion.

'Let's go and take a look.'

Kim Cheol walked as silently as possible and cautiously approached the source of the smell.

And eventually….

He hid inside the bush, and discovered the Hunters who had left along with Jin-Woo. Kim Cheol's eyes grew wider from the revelation.

'What the hell??'

The smell of meat was coming from the campfire they had raised.

'How can they still be alive?!'

Kim Cheol began glaring.

He couldn't find one rank E Hunter among their midst.

'He must've been killed first after taking the lead like a fool.'

That would be an obvious thing, wasn't it?

However, there was a not-so-obvious spectacle unfolding before his eyes. So, how should he go about explaining this situation, then?

Something didn't add up.

'Wait, hold up. Their attire….?!'

Clothes and blankets designed to keep warm, tents and several pieces of equipment could be seen. They were obviously well prepared.

'Just how can this be?!'

Kim Cheol was getting flustered even more, but then, his gaze had stopped by at a certain place.

It was a piece of bread sitting next to sizzling meat.

Meaning, these people even had food ready.

His confusion immediately morphed into a rage.

'These b*stards….!!'

Grit.

Kim Cheol began gritting his teeth.

They had enough supplies to ensure their continued survival, yet they wanted to hog them all for themselves?!

'If my hands hadn't frozen up, no, if only I wasn't starving, I'd have easily dealt with those Ice Elves!!'

Realising that these b*stards had snatched away the crucial supplies that should've been shared among the rest of the team, he couldn't hold back his fury anymore.

Kim Cheol angrily ran out of the bush.

"You sons of b*tches!!"

Park Hui-Jin quickly shot up from her spot, clearly surprised.

"Kim Cheol? How did you get here??"

She found it rather difficult to lie here and say it was good to see him again. Because… Kim Cheol's glare was full of murderous intent.

Indeed, he didn't even bother to mask his hostility.

"My raid team failed to conquer this dungeon because of the lack of supplies, yet how can all of you find yourselves with this much food and this type of equipment?!"

"That is….."

Park Hui-Jin couldn't continue on. If she mentioned Jin-Woo here, then Kim Cheol's rage would be directed towards the youth. To her, Jin-Woo was her saviour.

'Also, that man always looked at Jin-Woo in a suspicious manner.'

Park Hui-Jin shut her mouth immediately.

That prompted Kim Cheol's eyes to open even wider in anger.

"Even I don't think all of you were complicit in this crime. So, who had hidden these?! Tell me the truth, and I will ignore everything else."

A thick vein popped up on Kim Cheol's neck.

"Tell me who monopolised all the gear and drove his comrades to death!!"

His angry roar reverberated throughout the forest.

Kim Cheol was planning to shed blood here if it would appease the sin of betraying his comrades.

"I'll count to three. If you don't reveal who it was by then, I'll take it as the sign of all of you being complicit in this matter."

Hahn Song-Yi tugged at Park Hui-Jin's sleeve.

"U-unni…."

Park Hui-Jin hugged Hahn Song-Yi. Both Goh Myung-Hwan and Yun Ki-Joong swallowed their saliva as cold sweat soaked their backs.

Kim Cheol was a rank A. Even if everyone present worked together, they wouldn't be able to win against him. However, none of them still mentioned Jin-Woo's name.

"One."

Kim Cheol yanked loose his sword from the scabbard attached to his waist.

"Two!"

Even then, the lower ranked Hunters showed not one sign of opening their mouths.

How dare lower ranked Hunters ignore his order?

That point alone stoked the flames of Kim Cheol's anger even higher.

'Just what these b*stards think of me as….?'

Murderous intent burned brightly in his eyes.

He'd kill that woman first.

He'd kill Park Hui-Jin before anyone else, the one who betrayed the raid team and left along with these lower ranked Hunters.

'That's right, she left the raid team because she must've been scheming something.'

He could only think that way.

Kim Cheol stood before Park Hui-Jin and spat out the last countdown.

"Three."

Park Hui-Jin squeezed her eyes shut.

It was then.

"Four."

POW!

Kim Cheol was struck super-hard by something in the back of his head and kissed the ground as his entire body slid across the snowy ground for several metres.

The eyes of the Hunters grew wider.

"Team leader!!"

Jin-Woo had hit Kim Cheol so hard that steam was still rising up from his palm.

Jin-Woo spoke in a dumbfounded voice.

"How dare you speak rubbish when it was you who drove your friends to death?!"

Chapter 63: Chapter 63

"Jin-Woo oppa!"

Hahn Song-Yi displayed her happiness as tears formed in her eyes.

"Team leader!"

It wasn't as much as Hahn Song-Yi, but still, the two male Hunters' expressions also brightened up considerably. Park Hui-Jin also breathed a sigh of relief after confirming Jin-Woo's face.

Unfortunately, Jin-Woo didn't have much leeway to respond to their welcomes.

"Ssh!"

Jin-Woo placed his finger on his lips and gestured them to keep quiet. The four people, seemingly getting ready to embrace Jin-Woo at any moment now, all froze up like ice statues.

Park Hui-Jin cautiously asked.

"W-what's the matter?"

Jin-Woo glared at the fainted Kim Cheol, the dumb b*stard who deserved to be beaten up, before turning around.

"Looks like Kim Cheol brought along unwanted visitors."

He sensed countless presences hiding in the forest. Right now wasn't the time to worry about Kim Cheol or Go Cheol or whatever. The real problem lay elsewhere, after all.

Shururu…

After sensing Jin-Woo's glare, the White Phantoms undid their stealth and revealed themselves one by one. At a quick count, there were around 20 of them.

And among them…

Jin-Woo's glare was fixed on a long-haired White Phantom riding on horseback.

'….That has to be the boss.'

An overwhelmingly mighty aura was coming from that creature, incomparably heavier than any Ice bears and the White Phantoms near it.

If that guy wasn't the boss of this dungeon, then just who else could be?

For the first time in a long while, Jin-Woo's skin broke out in goosebumps.

Just as Jin-Woo was shivering ever so softly from its powerful aura, the boss also recognised Jin-Woo's strength in one go.

"So, there really was one. A truly worthy being among all the human trash."

"….What did you just say?"

"…?"

When Jin-Woo spat out a response purely out of reflex, the boss displayed an expression of pure surprise.

"You, can you understand our language?"

Jin-Woo was also taken aback.

'How is it possible to converse with this guy?!'

Not only could he understand what a monster was saying, but he could also actually converse with it, too.

A language he couldn't even remember learning before fluently rolled out of his mouth as if it was his mother tongue.

"You…. You know how to speak the language of the monsters?!"

Park Hui-Jin's expression said her shock was so extreme that she didn't know what to do now. Seeing that, Jin-Woo realised that only he could understand what that boss was saying here.

'Is this because of the System?'

Like, an automatic translation feature?

Jin-Woo shifted his gaze back to the boss. The boss returned the gaze with great interest.

"To be able to converse…. Very good. There is someone I wanted to introduce to you."

The boss pointed at one of the White Phantoms standing behind it.

"I'm sure you're familiar with him already."

Jin-Woo's glare sharpened instantly. Indeed, he recognised that particular White Phantom.

'That guy is….'

That guy was none other than the bstard that fired an arrow at Hahn Song-Yi before breaking out in a mocking grin. How could he forget that arrogant bstard's face?

That exact same smile was still etched on the monster's face.

"This friend informed me of a truly strong being among the humans. And this friend wishes to challenge you to a duel, so how ab….."

Even before the boss finished his words, the 'Knight Killer' Jin-Woo threw flew in a straight line.

Stab!!

And the dagger landed right in the middle of the grinning White Phantom's face.

"Heok!"

The shocked cry came from the Hunters, though, Yun Ki-Joong hurriedly covered his mouth to stifle the cry he let loose inadvertently just now.

Plop.

The White Phantom collapsed on the ground.

Jin-Woo extended his hand out, and the 'Knight Killer' buried in the dead Elf's face shook around a little before it got pulled out and flew back to him. Jin-Woo grasped the returned 'Knight Killer' in reverse grip and lowered his posture.

"Anything else you want to say?"

The boss spoke up in admiration.

"….You are indeed very strong."

Then, it climbed off the horse. However, as if it wasn't planning to fight yet, it didn't draw its weapons nor showed any willingness to engage in battles.

"However, you know this already, don't you?"

The boss maintained a leisurely expression and continued to engage him.

"….That you can't fight this number all by yourself."

There were over twenty Ice Elves here.

However, their number wasn't important. No, the real danger came from the fact that there was the boss monster among them.

The rest of the White Phantoms were no match for Jin-Woo, who had raised his level as much as he could by hunting every single Ice bear in this forest.

….Exactly like the fool who got killed with a dagger to its face.

'So, how should I go about killing the boss?'

While Jin-Woo began kicking his brain into gear, the boss continued on.

"So, I shall make a simple suggestion."

"A suggestion?"

"That's right. It won't be such a bad suggestion for yourself."

"…."

Jin-Woo was inwardly surprised.

It was a well-known fact that humanoid type monsters possessed intelligence. But he never expected to see a monster trying to negotiate with a human. So, he couldn't help but get curious here.

"….I'll hear it."

The boss smiled as if it had expected that answer and opened its mouth.

"Before that, I want to ask you something."

"…..?"

"Why are you among these humans, when you're not one of them?"

Jin-Woo's expression crumpled deeply.

"What nonsense are you talking about?"

"Ahaha. It seems that you have no idea."

The boss guffawed out loudly, before pointing to its temple.

"Every one of us can hear a certain voice repeating itself in our heads. It tells us to kill humans. However, I can't hear that voice when I'm looking at you."

'Ah.'

That's what this guy meant?

In that case, Jin-Woo could think of a reason for that.

'When the boss says humans, it's probably talking about Hunters.'

The thing was, he had changed to this strange something called 'Player' through the System, during his ordeal in the underground temple. Technically speaking, he was slightly different from other Hunters – meaning, other Awakened human beings.

'That's why that guy thinks I��m not a human.'

That made perfect sense.

When Jin-Woo's expression slowly changed to that of an understanding, the boss nodded its head.

"There is no need for us to fight each other. And our side does not wish to see needless casualties, as well."

The boss finally got to the main topic.

"Hand over the humans behind you. Then, we will guarantee your life. How does my suggestion sound to you?"

Before he answered, Jin-Woo asked back.

"I want to ask you something, too."

"Fine. Go ahead."

"Just who are you? Where did you come from, and why do you wish to kill humans?"

"We are…."

It happened then.

The smiling face of the boss suddenly froze stiff. But, that odd state lasted only for a brief moment. The boss regained its original expression and continued on.

"There is no need for us to fight each other. And our side does not wish to see needless casualties, as well."

'What the hell was that?'

Jin-Woo frowned deeply.

The boss repeated itself like an NPC from a game that was asked a question that was not in the script, or one that it was not permitted to answer, to begin with.

"Hand over the humans behind you. Then, we will guarantee your life. How does my suggestion sound to you?"

Its expression showed how relaxed it was. In other words, it had not recognised how odd its own actions were. The White Phantoms standing behind didn't display any reaction towards the boss's strange behaviour, either.

'....'

Jin-Woo continued to wordlessly observe then, prompting the boss to begin urging him.

"Will you accept my suggestion or not?"

Jin-Woo wanted to find out more about the monsters' origins and their true intentions, but as it turned out, it was all a waste of time.

'In that case….'

The only thing remaining was to choose. But then again, he had made up his mind already a long time ago.

"I refuse."

The corner's of Jin-Woo's lips arched up.

'You see, you possess a far too tempting shadow for me to let go.'

He was planning to kill the boss and take away its shadow. And there was no way he'd change his mind now when he was constantly thinking about how to carry the plan out ever since the boss made its entrance.

"Are you planning to fight my soldiers all by yourself? Do you truly believe that you can overcome the disadvantages in numbers all alone?"

Jin-Woo smirked derisively.

'Soldiers', was it?

'You think you're the only one? I've got them too.'

He summoned his shadows. According to his wishes, the soldiers hiding in Jin-Woo's shadow all revealed themselves in the blink of an eye right behind him.

"Uwa?! Uwaaak!"

Again, the cry came from the Hunters this time as well.

Yun Ki-Joong cried out in fright as the shadow of the Ice Bear, the shadow beast soldier, suddenly materialised right next to him and he fell hard on his a*s.

"Ah, ahh…."

When Jin-Woo took a glance at the pale faces of the surviving raid team, he felt that it was a bit regretful, but this was an emergency situation. There was no time to explain things to them here.

'Well, I wouldn't explain things to them even if this wasn't an emergency, though.'

After summoning 29 shadow soldiers, Jin-Woo stood before them and glared at the boss.

"So, who's disadvantaged now?��

Finally, the boss displayed its hostility.

"…You seem to know some petty tricks, don't you? Fine. If it's your wish, I shall grant your death."

The boss unsheathed two daggers from his sides.

This was what Jin-Woo wanted, as well. He grasped the 'Knight Killer' in his right hand, while the left grasped the 'Poison Fang of Kasaka' as he got ready for battle.

'Petty tricks, is it?'

The boss had a point there. Jin-Woo might hold an advantage in numbers, but his 'army' was slightly lacking if he wanted to hunt the boss down.

Jin-Woo knew this very well.

The boss's self-confidence could have come from this fact.

Indeed, he now needed more comrades. Powerful comrades.

'If it's a powerful comrade, then….'

There was one candidate here.

Jin-Woo sneaked a glance to his side. The still-unconscious Kim Cheol was lying there, unmoving.

"Attack!"

When the boss issued the order, the White Phantoms pulled on their bowstrings.

"Bears!"

Jin-Woo placed the beast soldiers at the front.

Stab! Stab! Stab! Stab!

Kkrrroooar!!

The beast soldiers, with arrows sticking out of their bodies, all roared out in anger.

Before the White Phantoms could nock the next volley of arrows, the infantrymen rushed forward. The magic soldiers also began chanting their spells.

Meanwhile, Jin-Woo's eyes gleamed dangerously.

'You're mine!'

Jin-Woo deliberately pushed Kim Cheol's longsword towards its owner with his heel, before pouncing forward himself as well.

His sight was fixed solely on the boss of the White Phantoms. The boss too was waiting for Jin-Woo's arrival.

Soon, sparks endlessly flew as the four daggers wielded by two creatures clashed in mid-air.

Clang! Clang!! Clllaang!!

At the same time, the shadow soldiers and White Phantoms also slammed into each other as well.

Goh Myung-Hwan looked at Park Hui-Jin next to him.

"Uhm…. So, like, shouldn't we lend assistance here?"

Park Hui-Jin shook her head.

"This isn't a fight where we can butt in, you know."

This was a battle where huge black monsters were swinging their giant claws; the destroyed black soldiers were regenerating to their original state in the blink of an eye; and the gleaming blades and the arrows fired from the upper-rank monsters, White Phantoms, were chaotically flying around in the snowy field.

'So, what can a rank B or C do in this place?'

Indeed, the only thing they were permitted to do here was to pray. Park Hui-Jin could only stare at Jin-Woo with a tight chest as he fought the long-haired White Phantom.

"Keu-heuk!"

Jin-Woo gasped out.

As expected of a boss from the high-ranking dungeon!

The fight looked to be even from the side, but Jin-Woo was getting cut and sliced constantly all over his body. Would he be able to last three minutes at this rate?

His MP was also rapidly depleting away as his soldiers constantly regenerated.

Finally, the magic soldiers managed to finish their chants. A ball of flames larger than a volleyball flew in the midst of the White Phantoms.

KABOOM—!!

That was the power of the levelled-up magic soldiers in full display.

Awakened by the resounding eardrum-shaking explosion, Kim Cheol regained his consciousness and opened his eyes.

"M-mm….."

Kim Cheol raised his head to look.

Clang! Clang!! Pow-!!

His blurry vision picked up on the sight of White Phantoms fighting against the unknown black soldiers.

'What the… hell is going on here?'

He couldn't figure out what happened while he blacked out, but at least, he knew very well why he was lying on the ground like this.

The hand that slapped him in the back of his head!!

And the voice that came from behind him!

'That voice definitely belonged to Seong Jin-Woo!!'

Now that he had regained his bearing, the sense of shame and rage bubbled over like crazy and the ends of his fingertips trembled.

How fortunate that he could feel the hilt of his sword.

If he was surrounded by the White Phantoms, then he'd not get out of here alive. In that case, he must….

'I'll kill that b*stard Seong Jin-Woo with my own hands.'

His maddened eyes finally spotted the back of Seong Jin-Woo.

…..There he was!

He was too busy fighting a White Phantom and wasn't paying any attention to his rear.

This was his chance.

Kim Cheol stood up right away. And then, ran.

"Uwaaaahhhhh!!!"

After sensing Kim Cheol running towards him, Jin-Woo laughed out inwardly in elation.

'Right, if it's you….'

Kim Cheol ran with all his might and after taking aim at Jin-Woo's neck, swung the sword, hard.

"Die!!"

In front, the boss. From behind, Kim Cheol.

Even though he was stuck in a seemingly dangerous situation, Jin-Woo still managed to shout out.

"Igrit!!"

As if he'd been waiting for that call, Igrit jumped out from his shadow immediately and easily deflected Kim Cheol's sword.

Clang!!

"No!"

Kim Cheol's bloodshot eyes opened wider.

However, even before he could say anything, Igrit's sword pierced deeply into his chest.

Stab!!

The blade ran straight through his chest and emerged from his back.

"Keo-heok!!"

Jin-Woo quickly took several steps back.

'I knew Kim Cheol would act this way.'

This fool was someone who didn't think about anything in depth, and only acted according to his emotions. They had been together only for a short while, but that was enough for Jin-Woo to figure this guy out.

Kim Cheol glared at Jin-Woo.

"You…. You….!"

And with that, Kim Cheol breathed his last.

As Igrit stepped up to delay the boss, Jin-Woo issued an order to the shadow of the dead Kim Cheol.

"Rise up!!"

When that happened….

Uwaaaahhh-!!

Accompanied by a heavy, sombre cry, a huge hand emerged from the shadow.

Chapter 64: Chapter 64

[Shadow Extraction was a success.]

'There you go!'

Jin-Woo clenched his fist tightly. The final piece of this puzzle called the boss raid had fallen into its place.

The black knight that emerged from Kim Cheol's shadow was far bigger and sturdier than the original version. And it even carried a huge war hammer in one hand as well.

The other hand held a shield as tall as a grown man, and the overall impression this guy gave off was truly oppressive and threatening.

'Kim Cheol was a muscular man, but this shadow is just too over-the-top….'

Even though it was an urgent situation, Jin-Woo couldn't help but leak out a gasp of admiration.

[Please set the soldier's name.]

'Ah, right. The name.'

Jin-Woo sneaked a glance to his side.

Perhaps finding the battle quite tough, Igrit was having a hard time right now, being pushed around by the boss. Currently, he was barely buying enough time by relying on his cheat-like regenerative ability.

Slice!

Igrit's arm was sliced off, then.

'I don't have much time to waste here.'

A name, was it?

Should he go with whatever? Maybe, Kim Cheol?

Jin-Woo immediately shook his head.

To call an undead with a name it used while it was still alive… That just didn't sit well with him.

'Right, his name was Kim Cheol. Cheol, so Iron, it is!' (TL: 'cheol' is a Korean word for 'iron')

The name had been decided.

As soon as Jin-Woo thought of that name, it was bestowed on the newly-birthed shadow knight.

[Iron Lv. 1]

Knight grade.

A knight grade!

It was the same grade as Igrit, but again, there was no time to celebrate.

'I can't waste any more time than this!'

Jin-Woo pointed to the boss.

"Iron!!"

Iron's large frame lumbered forward quite heavily like a mountain.

Thud, thud, thud!!

Jin-Woo really liked the new guy's huge frame, but he couldn't help but worry whether that lumbering speed could even catch up to the agile boss or not. Fortunately, such a worry was put to bed really fast.

Iron leaned back and roared out loudly.

WUOOOAAARRR!!

'What was that?!'

Just as Jin-Woo was getting flustered, several messages popped up in his view.

Tti-ring.

[Iron has used 'Skill: Shout of Provocation'.]

[The owner of the dungeon has fallen into an 'aggro'ed' state.]

"An aggro skill!"

Kim Cheol was actually a rank A Tanker.

So, quite obviously, he possessed a high-level aggro skill, and the shadow knight extracted from his shadow, Iron, had retained that skill in full and was able to use it no problem.

The head of the boss swivelled towards Iron.

Although it could've chosen to finish Igrit off right in front of its eyes, the boss simply pounced on Iron as if it had been hypnotised by a ghost or some such.

Iron used the skill 'Reinforcement' and endured the sharp dagger attacks of the boss digging into his body.

'Nice!'

Jin-Woo nodded his head in approval.

In the meantime, Igrit's sliced arm regenerated to full.

Shurururu…

The black smoke began oozing out from the stump and coagulated to form a new arm.

Meanwhile, the boss was still preoccupied with Iron.

And seizing this chance, Jin-Woo and Igrit's combined assault began on the boss.

'....'

Park Hui-Jin became utterly speechless as the unbelievable spectacle unfolded right before her eyes.

What she was seeing right now proved to be too unrealistic, too outlandish. She didn't even want to ask for clarification. Not anymore.

From her side, Hahn Song-Yi asked her with a timid voice.

"Unni…."

Park Hui-Jin responded belatedly to her.

"Uh, ng?"

"Do all fights of Hunters look like that?"

She must've been frightened silly, because Hahn Song-Yi's voice was trembling noticeably. Park Hui-Jin replied to her, sounding helpless as well.

"….If that were the case, then I'd never have earned my licence, you know."

Goh Myung-Hwan asked next, looking utterly dazed out of his mind.

"Could it be…. that we are dreaming right now?"

If this was indeed a dream, then it must've been a nightmare, instead.

Park Hui-Jin looked back at the battlefield where the monsters and the black 'somethings' were having a chaotic throwdown, and spat out a long sigh.

At the same time, a new worry formed in her head.

'When we get out of here, without a doubt….'

There was no doubt that, as a survivor, she'd be asked several uncomfortable questions. How should she go about explaining what she was seeing here, then?

Park Hui-Jin couldn't even begin to fathom just where she'd start her explanations on what happened inside the Red Gate, and in particular, the man named Seong Jin-Woo.

After she raised that point to everyone….

"But, still…."

Yun Ki-Joong, sitting on the ground and shaking like a leaf, spoke with some difficulty.

"Isn't it an incredible thing that we can actually worry about what'll happen to us once we get out of here?"

The Hunters all nodded their heads in unison.

This was an upper-rank dungeon. Not only that, a Red Gate, too.

Even though they found themselves in such a dangerous area, they were now worrying about the matters that would take place outside.

This was all due to the power of one man.

Park Hui-Jin's gaze was directed to Jin-Woo.

'Mister Seong Jin-Woo, you're…'

Her feelings had moved way past shock and gratefulness, and she was beginning to feel a sense of awe towards him now.

Stab!

The 'Poison Fang of Kasaka' stabbed into the boss's shoulder.

['Effect: Paralysis' has been activated.]

[The effect has been cancelled due to the high resistance of the target.]

['Effect: Bleeding' has been activated.]

[The effect has been cancelled due to the high resistance of the target.]

With the increased levels of the enemies he'd been facing lately, the additional effects of the 'Poison Fang of Kasaka' failed to activate properly more often than not.

Still, inflicting injuries was a good thing in a fight.

'Nice!'

The boss's agile movements were being hampered gradually due to the increasing number of wounds being inflicted on its body.

"Keuahahahk!!"

The smile had disappeared from the boss's face a long time ago.

The boss had been dodging the combined attacks of Jin-Woo, Igrit and Iron rather freely until then, but now, it was quite obviously running out of breath.

'Just a little bit more!'

Iron suddenly bear-hugged the boss.

"Now!!"

When Jin-Woo gave the signal, Igrit rapidly retreated. Jin-Woo too quickly stepped back. The boss's eyes widened in confusion.

"What are you tryin…..?"

Before he could finish, the magic soldiers completed the explosion spells and they rained down on Iron's position.

KWABOOOM!!

BOOM!!

"Keo-heok!!"

For the first time ever, the boss spat out a sharp cry of pain. The b*stard twisted its body around, and Iron's arms fell off.

Grit!

The boss's enraged, murderous eyes were now firmly fixed on Jin-Woo.

"Keuahahahahk-!!"

Seeing this, Jin-Woo could only feel admiration towards the boss once more.

'Even with such a heavy wound, it can still exhibit that much strength!'

As expected of a high-level dungeon's boss. Unfortunately for it, the scale had tilted away from it some time ago.

'Dagger Throw!'

Just like what he did to that arrogant White Phantom, Jin-Woo threw the 'Knight Killer' at the boss, and added even more momentum by using the Ruler's Reach.

Shukk-!!

The dagger flew to its target in the blink of an eye.

'Keuk!'

The boss realised that it was difficult to dodge the throw, so it used its own dagger to deflect Jin-Woo's blade.

Crack!

The 'Knight Killer' flew at such a frightening speed that the boss's dagger actually cracked from the impact force.

And at the same time….

Jin-Woo used 'Stealth' and 'Dash' skills to close the distance to the boss, and stabbed the 'Poison Fang of Kasaka' deeply into the b*stard's waist.

Stab!!

The boss's eyes widened considerably.

"Keo-heok!!"

However, the boss still managed to grab Jin-Woo's wrist even in the midst of all this. It was not that hard to see the boss's desire to not go down without a fight from its crazed eyes.

"Kuwaahhk!!"

Just as the boss raised its dagger above its head to stab at Jin-Woo….

Jin-Woo simply smirked. At the same time, a huge war hammer slammed into the head of the boss.

SLAM!!

The boss's face crashed into the snowy ground.

Behind the boss, Iron was raising his hammer up high again, both of his arms already fully regenerated.

The huge hammer flew down again.

Swooooosh-!!

Splat!!

Igrit was getting ready to attack, but then, sheathed his sword back into the scabbard attached to his waist.

Jin-Woo also stored his daggers back inside the Inventory.

And the expected messages popped up right away.

Tti-ring.

[You've killed the owner of this dungeon.]

[Level up!]

[Level up!]

'Whew, it's finally over.'

Jin-Woo sighed grandly in relief.

What a hard-fought victory this was.

He was about to take a breather, but then, saw Iron and his eyes went extra round in surprise.

"Hey, hey! You can stop now."

Jin-Woo hurriedly stopped Iron.

He was about to smash down with his hammer again, but finally stayed his hands. Perhaps it resembled the original too much, because the guy turned out to be a bit simple in the head like the original.

Meanwhile, the boss's corpse had been pummelled into a meat paste already.

'However, its shadow isn't affected, so it's fine.'

Jin-Woo smirked deeply.

Finally, the reward for this incredibly hard battle, the one he'd been salivating over, was right by his feet, waiting to be taken.

Jin-Woo issued his order.

"Rise up."

It was now 3 AM.

The facial expressions of four men waiting around the Red Gate were, as expected, not so good.

Unable to endure any longer, Hyun Ki-Cheol finally opened his mouth.

"Guild Master, we'll remain here and wait, so how about going home first, sir?"

"My Guild members are trapped in there, so how can I even think about going home to relax now?"

Baek Yun-Ho was resolute in his decision. Indeed, that wasn't something the leader of a large Guild, not to mention as a currently-active rank S Hunter, should entertain under this sort of situation.

It was here that Ahn Sahng-Min's eyed widened.

"Huh? Look, the Red Gate!!"

Hyun Ki-Cheol and Joo Sung-Chan also discovered an oddity with the Red Gate.

"The, the Red Gate is opening up!!"

"The dungeon's been cleared!"

"There are… there are people coming out!!"

Baek Yun-Ho clenched his fists tightly.

'That Kim Cheol!! Did he manage to pull it off?'

Everyone waiting there hurriedly rushed towards the front of the Gate.

Baek Yun-Ho, unable to hide his excitement, began searching for the leader of this team, Kim Cheol.

However…. even though all of the survivors came out, the big guy couldn't be seen.

'Uh? Huh? This can���t be right.'

The one who had been insisting on believing in Kim Cheol, Joo Sung-Chan's previously confident attitude was gone now, and his expression was getting warped as well.

"Park Hui-Jin Hunter-nim!! Goh Myung-Hwan, Yun Ki-Joong Hunter-nim!!"

"Seong Jin-Woo Hunter-nim!!"

After spotting Jin-Woo walking along with Hahn Song-Yi right behind the others, Ahn Sahng-Min's face was quickly filled up with a huge smile.

'I thought as much!'

It was such a noticeable contrast from the face of Joo Sung-Chan.

However, his smile also faded away quickly. When five people, including Seong Jin-Woo, walked out from the Gate, the portal to another world slowly disappeared from their view.

"It can't be…. Is this everyone?"

Jin-Woo nodded his head, looking rather exhausted.

Hyun Ki-Cheol had asked that question, and after getting that silent answer, his expression hardened instantly.

'How can this be….?'

Hyun Ki-Cheol's eyes teared up, and he reluctantly began crossing out the names of the deceased off the member list. This was a terrible job, but it had to be done regardless.

Baek Yun-Ho had been staring at this in a daze, before gasping out in sheer shock and disbelief.

'Only the lower ranked Hunters returned?! Never mind the A rank, only a single rank B survived?!'

Such a thing should not happen. Just what on earth happened inside that dungeon?

"Let's go. I'll take you home."

Jin-Woo was about to lead Hahn Song-Yi and leave the location, but Baek Yun-Ho reached out and grabbed his wrist first.

"Excuse me. Wait."

Slap!

Jin-Woo fiercely shook off that hand. Baek Yun-Ho's eyes sharpened immediately.

"We need to talk for a second here."

Jin-Woo turned around.

"I'm too tired. If you have questions, you should ask your own Guild members."

Baek Yun-Ho couldn't hold back and revealed his identity.

"I'm Baek Yun-Ho, the Guild Master of the White Tiger."

Jin-Woo's eyes remained cold, however.

"So what?"

Being on the receiving end of Jin-Woo cold response, Beak Yun-Ho's eyes suddenly transformed to that of a monster's. No, they completely resembled a beast now, instead.

"We lost nine Guild members through this incident. As the Master, I have the right to ask you a couple of questions regarding this matter."

This was no longer a request.

It was an order.

Or, even a threat.

Didn't matter what anyone thought of his words, he was not planning to let Jin-Woo go that easily here.

But then, Jin-Woo too angrily glared back.

He was not being cowered by the intense hostile aura oozing out in full force from the rank S Hunter, Baek Yun-Ho.

"I rescued three of your people. If you're really their leader, shouldn't you be saying thanks to me first?"

It was Baek Yun-Ho who had to withdraw his threatening aura first, as he was bombarded with this incredible pressure emanating from Jin-Woo.

Besides that, what he said was logical, as well. Baek Yun-Ho couldn't argue against the point raised.

"….I apologise."

Baek Yun-Ho lowered his head. Seeing this, Jin-Woo turned around once more to leave.

"Hahn Song-Yi, let's get going."

"Okay."

Hahn Song-Yi carefully studied the mood of this place and followed after Jin-Woo. The two of them got on the van and not too long after, left the location.

'This doesn't make any sense….'

Baek Yun-Ho's thoughts were now in complete disarray. He quickly ran towards the sole surviving upper-rank Hunter, Park Hui-Jin.

"Excuse me, Miss Park Hui-Jin."

She had been trying to warm herself up with the cup of hot tea Hyun Ki-Cheol had handed over. She raised her head to meet Baek Yun-Ho's gaze.

"What is the matter with that guy? Why was he so downbeat like that?"

Indeed, that man had probably gone through an unimaginable hell and finally managed to escape from the Red Gate, yet why was his attitude so murderous?

Park Hui-Jin shook her head, displaying her own confusion.

"I also don't know, sir. After killing the boss, he stood in front of the dead body and shouted something out three times, and after that, he's been like that…."

"He was okay until then?"

Park Hui-Jin looked at Goh Myung-Hwan and Yun Ki-Joong. The two men nodded their heads simultaneously.

"What a strange man…."

Baek Yun-Ho muttered to himself as he stared helplessly at the street Jin-Woo had disappeared in.

Ahn Sahng-Min saw the state his boss was in, and became incredibly nervous as if he had done something wrong instead.

"My apologies, Guild Master. I'm sure he's like that because he's just exhausted. He's not a bad person, I assure you. At least, I believe he's not."

"No…. That's not the problem."

"Pardon me?"

Baek Yun-Ho turned around to stare squarely at Ahn Sahng-Min.

"Why haven't you scouted that man already?"

"Ehhh?"

Ahn Sahng-Min couldn't hide his fluster. But, it wasn't strong enough to best the fluster Baek Yun-Ho had felt just now.

'Against me….'

Baek Yun-Ho recalled Jin-Woo's fierce glare and could only nervously swallow his dry saliva.

Gulp.

Abruptly, he thought that, were he to fight that man, he'd have to resolve himself to lose an arm or two.

'Maybe, even worse than that….'

Quickly figuring out what Baek Yun-Ho meant, Ahn Sahng-Min hurriedly replied.

"We're doing our very best, sir."

"That is clearly not enough."

Baek Yun-Ho's eyes began to sparkle rather dangerously.

Seong Jin-Woo.

Indeed, Chief Ahn's discerning eyes were on the money again.

"From today onwards, you'll receive all the resources you need. You must bring that man into our Guild, no matter what."

Chapter 65: Chapter 65

On the way home.

Vroom….

Jin-Woo was busy licking his lips in unhappiness as he drove the van.

'Tsk….'

Was it because the gap between his Stat values and the extraction target's were too great? What a disappointment it was, but his extraction attempts ended in failure.

'What a waste, but there's nothing I can do now.'

He'd still be able to kill a boss from a high ranking dungeon in the future. What's important now was to quickly raise his skill levels high enough so that he'd not miss out on another chance.

Levelling up. Now that was something Jin-Woo excelled in.

And also….

Jin-Woo's hand left the steering wheel for a little while, as a dagger with an elegant, flowing, arched blade appeared in his grip.

[Item: Baruka's Dagger]

Rarity: A

Type: Dagger

A dagger used by the great warrior 'Baruka'. Weight reduction magic has been applied to it, allowing the wielder's movements to become even more agile than before.

Attack: +110

Agility: +10

Well, he didn't walk away completely empty-handed; this was the dagger the boss had been using. There were two, but one of them was broken, so he threw that away and took the remaining dagger.

'The Baruka's Dagger, eh?'

Not only did it feature high attacking power, but it also raised his Agility, too.

On that front alone, there was no need to compare it to 'Knight Killer', a dagger ranked 'B' he paid handsomely for, never mind the rank C 'Poison Fang of Kasaka'.

Its rarity alone was at A, too!

This was probably one of the best weapons to replace the Poison Fang of Kasaka that had been losing its effectiveness lately.

'I like the way it feels in my hand, too.'

While he was mulling over the things that happened inside the Red Gate, they had arrived before Hahn Song-Yi's home.

Screech.

She had been sitting in the passenger seat without saying a word as if she wasn't even there in the first place. As soon as the van came to a stop, she climbed out of the seat and bowed her head.

"Drive safely."

"I will. Good night."

Hahn Song-Yi turned around to leave.

Seeing her slumped shoulders and powerless gait, it seemed that the original goal of this trip had been met, one way or the other.

'Well, although things did get a lot complicated, I was trying to change her mind anyway….'

It was rather likely that she wouldn't try to become a Hunter in the future. It'd be the same story for anybody if their first dungeon experience just so happened to be a Red Gate.

He nodded his head in satisfaction and was about to start the van again, but then, the passenger side door was abruptly opened from the outside.

'...?'

Jin-Woo shifted his gaze. Hahn Song-Yi had returned to the van and was holding on to the door.

'What's the matter with her?'

His curiosity only lasted for a little while.

Hahn Song-Yi bowed her head deeply again, this time looking much calmer than before.

"Thank you for everything, oppa."

He only now realised that, from some time ago, the honorific she used to address him changed from 'ahjussi' to 'oppa'.

"Uh, sure thing. Don't mention it."

"Uhm, excuse me…."

"Mm?"

"Tomorrow…. No, see you later."

Later?

Before he could ask her for clarification, Hahn Song-Yi hurriedly ran away. After her back disappeared from his view did he realise what she was talking about.

'Aha.'

From today onwards, he'd be teaming up with Yu Jin-Ho again to mop up the rest of the raids. Hahn Song-Yi was a raid team member, so of course, they'd see each other again later on.

'Ah, so she meant that, huh.'

What a relief that was, though.

His plan would've been affected pretty badly if Hahn Song-Yi refused to come out of her house because of the trauma from this incident.

'This worked out for the best.'

And now, he would use his shadow soldiers to clear out the rank C dungeons even faster than before. He felt utterly confident of clearing up the remaining raids in the shortest time possible.

Also, he couldn't wait to see how Yu Jin-Ho would react after witnessing his shadow soldiers in action, too.

'The reactions of that man Yun Ki-Joong were really priceless, weren't they?'

Jin-Woo chuckled softly and leisurely turned the steering wheel.

The next morning.

"Yawn~."

Jin-Woo yawned grandly as he stepped out of the apartment's foyer. He only closed his eyes for a bit, but hell, it was time to meet up with Yu Jin-Ho already.

"Hyung-nim, good morning!"

He heard the familiar energetic voice greeting him. Yu Jin-Ho was already here, waiting.

"You don't even have a car, so how did you get here?"

The raid team's favourite ride, 'Mister Van' had been commandeered by Jin-Woo last night and was currently parked neatly in the apartment's parking lot nearby.

"I caught a taxi, hyung-nim."

"Ah, a taxi."

And here he was, thinking of going to fetch the kid instead….

"Oh no, it's fine, hyung-nim. I'm the one asking for your help, so it's only right that I'm the one driving you around, at least."

Yu Jin-Ho grinned happily and replied.

This morning started like any other.

However….

"Uh?"

Yu Jin-Ho discovered something new. And that was a cylindrical something held in Jin-Woo's hand. Yu Jin-Ho's curiosity peeked in an instant.

"Hyung-nim, what is that?"

"Ah, this?"

Jin-Woo grinned mysteriously.

"I'm going to use it inside the dungeon today."

"Heok!"

Suddenly, the chill invaded Yu Jin-Ho's back.

'Is it a weapon he's going to use inside the dungeon?'

Hyung-nim had already displayed many extraordinary things before; just what kind of a horrifying weapon was he bringing to a dungeon today, then?

Yu Jin-Ho was getting pretty psyched up already.

Gulp.

Yu Jin-Ho swallowed his dry saliva and raised his head after finally settling his mind.

"Hyung-nim, let's get going."

"Hold on."

Jin-Woo pulled out his phone and dialled someone.

"There's someone we should take along, as well."

"Excuse me? Who?"

"Hey, Song-Yi. It's me. Meet us at the parking lot. We'll go to the Gate together."

Song-Yi…. Could it be that Song-Yi?

As soon as Jin-Woo ended the call, Yu Jin-Ho asked him.

"Hyung-nim, the person you want to take with us, is she that high-schooler in our team?"

Jin-Woo nodded his head.

Hahn Song-Yi lived near here, and their destination was the same, so there wasn't any reason to go there separately, now was there?

Unfortunately, Yu Jin-Ho didn't see it that way.

Hahn Song-Yi….

The rather-cute high school girl with her hair tied up in a bun.

'He already knows her number, and can talk to her in such a friendly manner, too…. Could hyung-nim and her have formed a much deeper relationship than meets the eye?'

For sure, hyung-nim was a cool guy even from another man's perspective.

'Especially when he uses nothing but a dagger to totally rip apart a monster….'

While hyung-nim wouldn't be interested at all, it'd not be a strange thing for an impressionable school girl to fall for a man like that.

Yu Jin-Ho nodded his head. If this was the case, then there was something he had to make sure right away.

"Hyung-nim. Should I call Miss Hahn sister-in-law from now on?"

'….Did this guy fall off the bed and hit his head or something??'

Jin-Woo's crumpled expression was implicitly implying that. Even if Yu Jin-Ho was not too quick on the uptake, he should still be able to figure that one out pretty easily.

"Uhm…. You two aren't dating?"

"She's a friend of my little sister."

"Oh. Ahhh…."

So, that's what happened. Yu Jin-Ho finally understood the situation. He didn't even know what was going on, yet he was thinking of calling that girl his sister-in-law….

His face reddened up considerably.

Soon enough, Hahn Song-Yi came to the parking lot.

Not only that, she was noticeably better dressed than how she was usually.

Seeing this, Yu Jin-Ho grinned slightly.

'Yup, she's definitely a teen girl, wanting to look nice in front of the brother of her friend and all.'

As the leader of the raid team, he was thinking of praising the fellow raid team member's choice of wardrobe, but then, Jin-Woo greeted her first.

"Did you get some sleep?"

In that instant, Yu Jin-Ho's expression froze stiff.

'....'

Hahn Song-Yi smiled and shook her head.

"I couldn't catch a wink."

"I'm sure you're still exhausted, so get some rest in the van."

Listening to the two young people's conversation, the thought process of Yu Jin-Ho became more and more messed up.

'Uh? Uhhh??'

Hahn Song-Yi asked Jin-Woo this time.

"What about you, oppa? Did you get some sleep?"

"Well, only for a little bit. It was already 4 AM by the time I got back home, anyway."

"Well, true that…."

Night? Couldn't catch a wink? Still exhausted? 4 AM by the time he got back home????

Just as Yu Jin-Ho's panicked state was morphing into a full-blown freak-out, Jin-Woo stopped walking towards the van and looked back at him.

"What are you doing, Yu Jin-Ho?"

"Uhm….. Well, uh, hyung-nim?"

"…..?"

"Well, the thing is…. Miss Hahn Song-Yi is still a minor, hyung-nim."

"Okay. So?"

"…..Never mind, hyung-nim."

Truly now, hyung-nim was a man among man.

Yu Jin-Ho was deeply impressed by Jin-Woo who didn't care about the glares of the public and thought that….

'Indeed, he's extraordinary.'

He also began to reflect on his foolish ways of trying to apply the standards of the regular people on hyung-nim.

Around the same time.

Inside the private conference room of the White Tiger Guild.

"That's everything I saw."

Park Hui-Jin finished her report.

Although Baek Yun-Ho tried to dissuade her, saying that she should rest up first, she readily agreed to participate in the debriefing right away.

She added that her stay over there was comfortable (?), comparatively speaking.

"…"

"…"

The two men who sat through the debriefing, the Guild Master Baek Yun-Ho and the section chief Ahn Sahng-Min, were left utterly speechless.

The agent in charge of yesterday's disastrous training, Hyun Ki-Cheol was not present, currently in the Hunter's Association to discuss how to handle the fallout from this incident.

So, there were only three people inside this conference room.

Ahn Sahng-Min was the first one to break the silence.

"Everything you told us, are they all true?"

"You can speak to Goh Myung-Hwan and Yun Ki-Joong. They will corroborate everything I've said."

Those two Hunters went home right away, saying they missed their families. Park Hui-Jin was 100% certain that her testimony and theirs would not be any different.

'Well, I only described the things I saw, after all.'

Such as, when that man wasn't around, she'd hear the pitiful screams of Ice Bears every now and then coming from the forest some distance away, or such as, when he'd suddenly wake up in the middle of the night to perform push-ups while everyone was fast asleep.

She didn't bother to talk about things other Hunters might have experienced, those that she didn't get to see.

"Huh….."

Ahn Sahng-Min spat out a gasp that could either be a sigh or a groan.

Seong Jin-Woo knocked out cold a rank A Hunter in one hit, he could use separate space magic freely, and most important of all, he controlled dozens of summoned creatures.

Every one of those were unbelievable things to swallow.

And even more shocking news than that was….

"He had cleared the upper-rank dungeon almost all by himself."

Baek Yun-Ho broke his silence and said that sentence, word by word, syllable by syllable. He was qualified to say that, because he was an S rank.

"Now that is the most unbelievable thing out of all of them."

Sure, the summoned creatures fought alongside him, but then again, those summons weren't his comrades, to begin with. No, they were simply a part of Seong Jin-Woo Hunter's skill.

In other words, it was pretty much the same thing as Seong Jin-Woo clearing the dungeon alone.

"Even if you're a really high-ranked Hunter, clearing an upper-rank dungeon by yourself is incredibly difficult."

Not only that, it was a Red Gate, to boot.

What if it was Baek Yun-Ho?

Perhaps, he might be able to solo a rank B Red Gate, albeit just barely.

This feat was only achievable because Hunter Seong Jin-Woo was capable of summoning and controlling dozens of summons.

Ahn Sahng-Min remained stupefied as he spoke up.

"There's no doubt that he's a Re-Awakened possessing an extremely rare skill."

Baek Yun-Ho agreed.

"It is already rare to see a Hunter controlling a summoned creature, but he can control several tens of them…."

While working as the S-rank Hunter, Baek Yun-Ho had met countless other capable Hunters, and had talked to a lot of them, too. But he had never, ever heard of such a skill before.

"A Re-Awakened possessing a rare skill that's on another dimension compared to every other rare skill…."

Baek Yun-Ho expressed his admiration once more.

It was here that Ahn Sahng-Min thought of a question.

"If we were to evaluate Mister Seong Jin-Woo's ability in monetary terms, how much could it possibly be?"

"...."

Even Baek Yun-Ho couldn't answer that.

However, without a doubt, it didn't matter what Seong Jin-Woo's current value was – as soon as he went through the re-assignment test, his value would shoot up several times more.

They needed to sign him up before that happened.

The White Tiger Guild had already lost a rank A and several rank Bs through this incident. If they failed to secure the winning lottery ticket called Seong Jin-Woo at this time, then the losses incurred would be rather too severe to just write them off.

"I shall place my full trust in you, Chief Ahn."

Baek Yun-Ho's eyes gleamed in the light of faith. Ahn Sahng-Min formed a dignified expression.

It was then.

"Mm?"

The gazes of Baek Yun-Ho and Ahn Sahng-Min were directed to Park Hui-Jin. She had her hand raised slightly.

Baek Yun-Ho asked her.

"Is there something you'd like to ask us?"

Succeeding in her mission to draw the attention of the two men, she lowered her hand and spoke.

"Please, allow me to participate."

"In what?"

"The recruiting of the raid team leader… No, I mean, Seong Jin-Woo Hunter-nim."

Baek Yun-Ho and Ahn Sahng-Min exchanged glances for a bit, before looking back at her.

The person in charge of scouting and recruitment, Ahn Sahng-Min, tilted his head.

"But, why would Park Hui-Jin Hunter-nim….?"

"I've spent the most amount of time with Seong Jin-Woo Hunter-nim out of everyone in the White Tiger Guild, so surely, my familiarity with him would prove to be useful in reeling him in."

It had been six hours in reality. But, inside the Red Gate, it was almost a week. Park Hui-Jin's suggestion sounded logical from Baek Yun-Ho's and Ahn Sahng-Min's point of view.

On top of this, Park Hui-Jin was a beauty as well.

One could say that the power of a beautiful face was absolute when seducing another person.

Sensing that the thoughts of the Guild Master and the section chief had been swayed, Park Hui-Jin finally got to the main topic.

"However, I have a condition."

Baek Yun-Ho asked her.

"And what could that be?"

"When Seong Jin-Woo Hunter-nim signs up with our Guild, please place me in his raid team, no questions asked."