“What on earth is happening?!”
“Can’t we make a call?!”
“This is a dungeon, what kind of call is that?!”
“Is there no Hunter? Hunter?!”
Chaos—also known as a swirling abyss of confusion.
As the situation unfolded suddenly, the citizens were thrown into a frenzy.
Some were screaming.
Others had turned pale in despair.
And a few even fainted, tears streaming down their faces.
Of course, not everyone was like that.
A-rank Hunter, Kim Ji-a, calmly assessed the situation around her.
Inside the dungeon, which was completely open, only endless walls and floors were visible.
Fortunately, there were torches lit here and there, but that was about it.
‘I can’t see an exit. Plus, the mana concentration is unusual.’
Having conquered numerous dungeons, she reached a conclusion.
This was one of those special dungeons—one-way entry dungeon.
A dungeon where you could only escape by defeating the boss.
“Everyone, pay attention!”
Ji-a patted the trembling Si-yoon on the shoulder and shouted as loud as she could.
“I am A-rank Hunter Kim Ji-a! Everyone, listen to me!”
Her shout gradually calmed the commotion.
The influence of the A-rank status was indeed formidable.
“W-we’re alive…!”
“To have an A-rank Hunter here, what luck!”
People began to gather around Ji-a.
She observed her surroundings and shouted again.
“Is there no other Hunter besides me?!”
“I, I’m a Hunter too…”
“I’m C-rank…”
There were only two out of dozens of people.
Two C-rank Hunters.
Still, Ji-a felt a bit relieved.
Considering the population of Hunters, this was a fortunate situation.
After calming the citizens, she worked to quiet everyone down.
She then spoke with the two Hunters.
“You two are at least E-rank, so you have enough combat experience, right?”
“W-well, yeah…”
“Isn’t this place at least B-rank?”
The two Hunters trembled in fear.
Ji-a pondered for a moment but nodded and said.
“There’s no point in lying; the truth will come out soon enough.”
“I think this is an A-rank dungeon. I’ve never felt such deadly mana concentration even in A-rank dungeons.”
“Yikes…!”
“We’re all dead…”
The two Hunters turned pale in fear.
Ji-a felt the need to encourage them.
“I’m here, everyone.”
The two looked towards Ji-a.
She declared with a determined expression.
“I will handle most of the monsters. You two just take care of any stragglers that slip through.”
“W-well, if it’s that much…”
“W-we might be able to do that…”
Ji-a nodded assertively.
“If we can hold on, reinforcements will arrive. We must endure for the citizens to stay safe. Stand tall. Don’t tremble. Can you do that?”
“I-I’ll try my best!”
“I’ll do it…!”
The expressions of the two Hunters improved somewhat.
Ji-a sighed in relief internally.
But it was too early to relax.
As Ji-a recalled, all the S-rank Hunters in Korea were out on missions.
If this truly was an A-rank dungeon as she suspected.
An alliance of guilds would be necessary.
At least six A-rank Hunters would need to be deployed.
Special dungeons, especially those requiring one-way entry, made entry decisions much stricter.
In other words, the chances of delayed support were high.
‘This is bad…’
Ji-a bit her lower lip.
Can I do it?
Can I really keep holding out?
She had to do the work of at least four people alone.
…She had to.
After all, there were no other options.
“Everyone, the terrain isn’t good. Let’s move to a place that’s easier to defend rather than staying here in the open.”
“B-but wouldn’t waiting here be better for support to arrive?”
“Please trust my judgment right now.”
“U-understood.”
It wasn’t good to wander far as that Hunter said.
But there was only one direction Ji-a could hold on her own.
She needed to find at least a spot with a blockage on the opposite side.
Ji-a led the citizens, hoping such a location would be nearby.
*
“What should I do…?”
As Ji-a led the citizens, Si-yoon was tormented by a huge conflict.
Big sister Ji-a said she could hold out until reinforcements arrived.
And she asked everyone to stay calm and follow her.
Thanks to that, the citizens were feeling reassured and diligently following her instructions.
‘Is what big sister Ji-a said true…?’
Even Si-yoon thought Ji-a looked very dependable.
Her eyes were strong, showing not a hint of wavering.
She stood tall like a hero right out of a movie.
But because of that, Si-yoon felt uneasy.
It seemed like Ji-a was trying too hard to appear that way.
Si-yoon pondered.
Should she activate the accessory Si-hyun had given her, or not?
What if this place really was a dangerous one?
Wouldn’t she be bringing her sister into a perilous situation unnecessarily?
Was it really the right choice to drag someone into a place that even her big sister found taxing?
Si-yoon didn’t know how strong Ji-a really was.
She had heard about the hero party, but she hadn’t experienced her abilities firsthand.
All she knew was that Ji-a easily defeated a C-rank stalker.
That they had returned from a C-rank dungeon together and joyfully talked about it.
That was about it, and she didn’t know more than that.
That’s why she couldn’t make a rash decision.
Si-yoon looked ahead.
“Haah—!”
Before she knew it, Ji-a had started combat.
The two men who claimed to be Hunters positioned themselves in front of the citizens.
Trembling like leaves.
Unlike Ji-a, they were not instilling confidence at all.
“Oh no…!”
A large humanoid monster ignored Ji-a and began charging toward them.
“AHHHH!”
“Do something about that!”
The fearful crowd screamed.
But the two Hunters stood frozen like statues, unable to move.
Then suddenly.
“Roar——!”
A long spear pierced the monster’s back.
Overcome by the sudden force, the monster fell to the ground.
It was only then that the two Hunters snapped out of it and unleashed their skills on the monster.
The monster’s wails of agony echoed through the air.
Si-yoon turned her gaze away from the scene and looked towards Ji-a.
Ji-a seemed to have some spare equipment, pulling out a new spear to continue fighting.
But.
‘She’s hurt…!’
Ji-a had a large claw mark on her back, blood oozing out.
Si-yoon’s eyes welled with tears.
As precious as Si-hyun was, Ji-a was also precious to her.
Watching the grimaced face of Ji-a, struggling to continue the fight made Si-yoon feel as if the pain was her own.
In the end, she couldn’t hold back any longer and activated the bracelet.
Whether it was the right choice or the wrong choice, in her emotional state, Si-yoon resolved to trust her sister.
After their parents passed away, it was her dependable big brother who always protected her.
A beautiful big sister who had come back to defeat the stalker.
A party member of the hero party who defeated the Demon King.
Si-yoon had nothing but basic knowledge about Hunters and Dungeons.
Yet the words her big sister had emphasized lingered in her mind.
No matter what happens, she said she would come to save them.
Now that was all she could rely on.
“Ugh….”
Ji-a carried another long scar on her left arm, but she managed to defeat the monsters.
The immediate crisis was resolved, but the dungeon’s assault was now just beginning.
*
“Haah, haah….”
Leaning on her spear, Ji-a took a deep breath.
As expected, this was undoubtedly an A-rank dungeon.
Minotaurs, ogres.
Powerful monsters flooded out.
Even Ji-a, who was accustomed to fighting alone, found it impossible to win without injuries.
Moreover, with the risk of civilian casualties, the option to retreat was completely off the table.
Ji-a began to doubt whether she could truly hold on.
‘No, I can’t think like that.’
If she were to collapse now.
The lives of everyone here would be sealed.
Perhaps outside as well, while preparing for an expedition, they might have given up on saving the citizens.
In fact, such cases were quite common.
But she couldn’t afford to give up.
Not only was Si-yoon here, but there were also other citizens.
‘Until reinforcements arrive, I have to save everyone.’
Ji-a manipulated her status window and took out a potion to drink.
Though it was an expensive item, now was not the time to be stingy.
She would definitely, absolutely save everyone.
Each time comrades and acquaintances in her life as a Hunter disappeared one by one, Ji-a firmly vowed to herself.
That she would grow stronger so that no one would die.
Even though she had fought alone for a time, not wanting to see someone die.
It didn’t mean her goal had changed.
She thought now was the time to be tested.
Whether she had become someone closer to her goal.
She would protect Si-yoon, the two Hunters, and all the citizens.
Even if it meant sacrificing herself.
Ji-a faced the incoming waves of monsters once more.
“Bring it on—!”
Ji-a shouted with all her might, stamping her feet to instill courage within herself.
