Chapter 4

The world I reincarnated into…

There were no gates, but there sure were a lot of dungeons.

Various types like natural occurring ones, ancient liches, the Demon King’s doing, etc. I met and cleaned out all kinds of dungeons.

And now, the scene before my eyes…

A dark cave, a pungent smell that tickles your nose. Green monsters popping out every now and then.

Feels familiar.

How should I take this? It looks exactly like the monsters I saw in another world.

I looked around at the temporary party members with a bewildered feeling.

“What, why?”

“…”

A woman who introduced herself as a Magic Type Hunter. She’s actually lighting up the dungeon’s darkness with her own fire magic.

But something feels off. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but it doesn’t seem like she’s controlling the magic herself.

Even when observing the other two people’s battles, I get a similar feeling.

“Haaat!”

“Hyyyaaap!”

Basically awkward movements. Makes sense since this is an E or D-rank hunter party.

Though sometimes when they use mana, their motions become smoother, like they’re forcibly becoming more skilled.

“Kerck!”

A squat green monster, a goblin, lunged at me from the side. I easily dodged its club by turning my body.

I kicked its tilted stomach hard, sending it crashing into the wall.

Han-gyeol immediately finished it off with his sword.

“Nice job, Si-hyun!”

We adequately dealt with the goblins in the open area. After cleaning up to some extent…

I finally realized what was causing the sense of unreality.

“Status window!”

Seriously, all I could say was ‘my goodness’. The three people excluding me started muttering strange things one after another.

Then they pointed their fingers at the air. I watched them dumbfounded.

The items people were holding… the goblin’s magic stones suddenly disappeared.

Storage magic. I do have a magic tool bracelet that can store small amounts, but… this is pretty expensive stuff.

“…Uh.”

“Yes? Is there something wrong?”

I approached the most approachable person among the three temporary party members. Han-gyeol smiled kindly.

Yeah, if there’s something I don’t know, I can just ask.

“I’ve only recently awakened.”

“Woah! But you fight so well!”

“…Ahem! Rather than that, could you tell me about the status window?”

I suppressed my involuntarily rising corners of my mouth. Praise just naturally slipped in too easily.

After being criticized all the time, my resistance seems to have dropped.

“Status window? It’s not difficult. Though the entrance fee for academy is definitely burdensome…”

“…Yes.”

“Would you like to try opening it?”

“…”

Don’t want to… but I guess I have to, huh?

Let’s agree to speak quietly.

“S-status…”

Han-gyeol stared at me blankly for a moment before starting his explanation.

There were occasional questions like “Can you see it?” but I just went along with it while pretending to see even though I couldn’t.

Anyways, summarized, here’s the gist:

Earth has started experiencing a great change where Awakened individuals are appearing.

These people, the Awakened, grow similarly to a game system with the assistance of something called a status window.

…Why don’t I have one?

Is it because my soul is from Earth but my body is from another world?

Maybe I feel a little envious.

I used to be good at games too.

Why am I being left out…

Thinking about it, I’m not an Awakened person either, but still, it’s disappointing.

“Hmph! Coming to a dungeon without knowing the functions of the status window? Isn’t that basic?”

Turning my head at the muttering voice that sounded like it was meant for me to hear.

Well, having seen various human characters…

I easily ignore low-level aggravation.

“Let’s get going. We’ve delayed too much.”

The man who had been silently watching intervened as if to mediate.

I obediently nodded and followed the instructions.

Even though he occasionally gives unpleasant looks, this person is the most skilled here.

He seems to regard himself as the leader.

Afterwards, this man continued to give commands while clearing the dungeon.

That way, we finished the E-rank dungeon and settled our earnings outside.

“I’ve divided it equally according to the number of people. No complaints, right?”

“Yes, thank you for your hard work!”

Han-gyeol answered energetically.

Received 10 goblin magic stones. Considering the price I heard earlier, that’s about 50,000 won.

I subtly asked Han-gyeol what the average was.

The answer was that it varies from person to person, but people generally enter dungeons 1-2 times a day.

He said this was his second dungeon run today.

No matter how you look at it, risking your life like this…

I can’t shake the feeling that the pay is ambiguous.

Is it because it’s E-rank? Does D-rank profit skyrocket?

Hmm, anyway, it’s all the Hero party’s fault.

Because I couldn’t touch the funds at all.

That’s why I lack financial sense.

“Since there are four of us. It’s stable, but the profit decreases accordingly.”

“Aha.”

I nodded at the additional explanation.

So that’s why D-rank hunters also tackle E-rank dungeons.

Life is precious after all.

I organized various thoughts in my mind.

At that moment, the man who volunteered as the leader spoke.

“How about all of us tackling a D-rank dungeon together like this?”

“Are you suggesting we go to a D-rank?”

“Yes, both me and Han-gyeol are D-rank hunters. The other two are E-rank, but they seem close to D-rank to me. I think it’ll be sufficient?”

“Ho ho, I’ll be D-rank soon! Shall we go?”

The female magician responded with a bright smile after hearing the leader’s words.

However, Han-gyeol shook his head.

“Dungeons start to have various changes from D-rank onwards, which makes them dangerous, you know. I’m against it.”

“As long as it’s not a rare dungeon like a double dungeon, we should be fine with just the four of us, right?”

“…That’s true.”

Han-gyeol stared at me intently.

…Ah, probably worried about me since I said I’ve only recently awakened.

Just like someone from group 1 who’s considerate.

Since I want to heal by seeing my younger sibling’s face soon…

Let’s just go home…

“D-rank dungeons earn at least 5 times, maybe even 10 times more than E-rank, right? Since our team works well together, let’s make some money this time?”

…We don’t really work well together, but…

At least 250,000 won, maybe even 500,000 won if it’s 5 times more.

Definitely better than E-rank, right?

I can buy beef for Si-yoon.

“Let’s go.”

“…!”

“You’ve made a good decision.”

The leader smirked, and Han-gyeol’s face turned surprised.

Si-yoon, it might be a bit late, but please wait.

Big brother will buy you something delicious!

* * *

“Haa, haa…”

“Fwoooh…”

After one battle ended.

The party leader leading us sighed heavily.

Indeed, D-rank dungeons.

The variety of monsters increases, and

the number of monsters attacking simultaneously doubles.

As a result, we couldn’t relax at all, and our fatigue doubled.

That’s why entering E-rank dungeons multiple times a day is the right choice…

The leader turned his head to look beside him.

An exotic beauty was looking around observantly.

Her novice-like appearance stood out.

She didn’t seem to have much trouble in E-rank dungeons, likely due to talent.

I tried to help her when she was struggling and gain some points,

but it was impossible.

That’s why I suggested tackling a D-rank dungeon despite the slight difficulty.

No matter how talented, she’s still just an E-rank hunter.

There would surely be opportunities to bond and score points while tackling a D-rank dungeon.

It should be possible to clear it as long as nothing unusual happens.

But…

“Han-gyeol, where did that sword come from?”

“Oh, do you recognize it? The master of the guild I belong to is a crafting hunter.”

This is strange.

He doesn’t seem tired at all.

I haven’t seen him falter even once.

In stark contrast to the magical hunter woman beside him.

This woman looks pale enough to collapse at any moment.

Which means she’s almost out of mana.

But that beautiful woman remains exactly the same as before.

She hasn’t shown any special feats, yet she doesn’t seem fatigued.

Does the Paladin class have some kind of special ability related to stamina?

I don’t have any information since it’s a class I’ve never seen before.

Moreover, there’s something strange about more than just that.

The hunter using the same sword as me, Lee Han-gyeol.

In the E-rank dungeon, I was confident that he was slightly below me.

But how about now?

I’m getting more and more exhausted, but that man still looks full of energy.

It almost seems like his vitality is increasing.

Moreover, I have this illusion that he’s getting stronger and faster.

Isn’t that level far beyond D-rank? Shouldn’t it be comfortably C-rank?

The leader furrowed his brows.

It feels like I’m having delusions because I’m tired and exhausted.

“Aaah! Instead of chatting, let’s quickly clear the dungeon! I’m exhausted!”

“That’s what we’ll do.”

The magical hunter woman screamed loudly.

The leader shook his head and approached Han-gyeol and Si-hyun.

“Let’s get moving.”

“Understood.”

“…”

A cold gaze briefly glanced at the leader before facing forward.

The leader felt a sense of injustice.

I haven’t done anything yet.

I can’t understand why the treatment between Lee Han-gyeol and myself is so vastly different.

* * *

“Umm…”

“Is something wrong? If you’re tired, please let us know.”

“Ah, it’s nothing.”

Han-gyeol looked at me worriedly.

I waved my hand to indicate it wasn’t a big deal and looked around.

Still receiving sticky gazes from the leader.

The woman glaring at me with a venomous expression.

It’s not a pleasant feeling, but there’s no need to worry too much about it.

After all, I’m also discriminating against them.

I lightly applied buffs only to Han-gyeol, albeit weakly.

It’s different from the buff I gave as thanks on the subway.

He’ll definitely feel the increase in strength.

Moreover, when the number of monsters seemed overwhelming, I even used magic.

Like obscuring the monsters’ line of sight or something like that.

Such kind-hearted and pure young men must be protected.

Anyway, what’s concerning me now is the existence of a peculiar space.

I discovered it thanks to my occupational habit.

Always spreading mana lightly around to be able to apply buffs and debuffs over a wide area.

“…Excuse me.”

“Yes, what is it?”

I approached the leader who had been continuously watching me.

“How much longer until we reach the end of the dungeon?”

“We’re almost done. Would you like to rest a bit if you’re tired?”

The leader smiled slyly.

I casually ignored it and pointed to a slightly distant wall with my finger.

“Over there. There’s a space hidden behind that.”

“Huh?”

At my words, everyone looked at the wall.

A dark wall subtly obscured by rocks and bushes.

The leader cautiously walked towards the direction I indicated.

Stepping between the rocks and pushing aside the vines.

After a short while, he returned with a stunned expression and said,

“How did you notice this?”

“Umm… just instinct. It looked suspicious.”

“…It’s a secret room. A place that’s barely discoverable even with a dedicated exploration hunter present. Impressive.”

A reply filled with genuine surprise came back.

Secret room!

Sounds like it holds something grand.

Looking up expectantly at the leader.

The leader covered his mouth with his hand, turned his head, and said,

“Hmm. We need to vote on this.”

“Vote?”

“Because it’s a D-rank dungeon.”

What’s he talking about? Not understanding, I looked at Han-gyeol.

He, who had been listening to the conversation, opened his mouth with a serious expression.

“Starting from D-rank dungeons, there are various patterns. Sometimes there’s simply treasure, other times there’s a swarm of monsters that delays the dungeon progress.”

“Aha…”

“Though it’s extremely rare, I’ve heard that rare dungeons can be like this. If it’s a special dungeon, it’s genuinely dangerous.”

Though I’ve never seen one.

Han-gyeol mumbled.

“If we ignore the treasure room and clear the dungeon, what happens?”

“It disappears along with the dungeon. No one knows the reason.”

“…”

Choosing risk versus return on your own, huh.

There are differences from the dungeons in the other world, it seems.

Experiencing it, D-rank dungeons are indeed nothing special at my level.

But… if it’s not guaranteed reward and random instead?

Going home and healing with my younger sibling would be better use of time here.

It already seems like I can buy something delicious tonight.

“In my opinion as the leader, I’ll cast one vote for ‘let’s check it out.’ It’s too wasteful to ignore since we found it.”

“Agree! Anyway, we’re nearing the end of the dungeon clearance. What’s there to be afraid of?”

The leader and the auntie cast two votes in favor.

The party consists of four people total.

I silently stared at Han-gyeol.

He shrugged as if agreeing to follow my intention.

…

“Let’s go.”

Saying no would result in a 2-2 tie.

Better to settle it quickly rather than argue.

That’s better.

If we find something good, it wouldn’t be bad either.

If profits increase, we can eat something even more delicious tonight.