Chapter 49

Once the thief party’s introduction concluded, Han-gyeol stepped forward and briefly introduced the members.

In the Wings Guild, there were two C-rank Hunters and four D-rank Hunters.

Additionally, there was D-rank Si-hyun and Ah-reum, who joined for observation purposes.

The male members of the Thief Party turned their gaze toward the two beauties.

Han-gyeol cleared his throat a few times to redirect attention back to himself.

“Hmph! The rewards will be divided on a party basis. No objections, right?”

“Of course.”

Once the coordination ended, the two men exchanged a light handshake.

Next, Kang Do-joon, the leader of the Thief Party, spoke.

“I assume you’ve heard the gist of it. I should brief you about the dungeon. Let me explain briefly.”

As Do-joon began his explanation, the group focused intently on the content.

The main monsters appearing in the dungeon are undead types like skeletons.

A characteristic of skeletons is that unless the boss controlling them is defeated, they’ll slowly resurrect.

It was a race against time, so they pushed the assault recklessly, but…

Due to it being a large dungeon, they failed to reach the boss room.

Eventually, everyone except those who barely escaped using the thief’s stealth skill perished.

“The ones we lost are unfortunate… but at least we’ve established the route. Since we gathered early today, if we push hard until evening, we can definitely conquer it.”

“Hmm, I see…”

Everyone’s expression except Si-hyun hardened.

They realized the uniqueness and danger of the dungeon they had to clear today.

Time attack.

If you don’t clear the dungeon quickly, the monsters from the areas you passed through will revive.

You must defeat the boss before getting surrounded by monsters from both sides.

“But at least we have the route figured out. Let’s give it our best!”

“Yeah, let’s go!”

Once all information exchanges were done,

After preparing for battle, everyone entered the gate.

Ah-reum released Si-hyun’s arm, which she’d been holding, and instead stuck close behind her.

Si-hyun glanced sideways at Ah-reum and started walking with the group.

“Stealth skill, huh…”

A strange uneasy feeling washed over her.

Even though this was the second round, not a trace of uneasiness could be felt from the male members of the Thief Party.

Do-joon is B-rank, so that makes sense, but…

Even the D-rank males were the same.

What’s more, instead of looking around the dungeon, they kept glancing over here.

Totally nonchalant guys.

“Ah-reum.”

“Yes, yesss?”

Si-hyun quietly called out to Ah-reum.

Regardless of how unsettling these strange men were,

She couldn’t waste the time she brought Ah-reum here for nothing.

“Are you scared?”

“That… yes…”

A timid voice replied.

Si-hyun smiled lightly and said,

“What do you think fear comes from?”

“Eh… umm…”

“Listen carefully? Traumas or reasons vary, but…”

Si-hyun looked straight into Ah-reum’s eyes.

Their gazes met.

“I believe the greatest fear comes from the unknown.”

“Ah, definitely. That does seem true.”

“Did you hear the story earlier? The special nature of the undead dungeon.”

“Yes.”

As Ah-reum nodded, Si-hyun smiled faintly and continued.

“Review time. What did I tell you to do when we first entered the dungeon?”

“Umm… predict what kind of monsters might appear?”

“Correct! You were paying attention.”

“Hehe…”

When Si-hyun praised her, Ah-reum’s expression relaxed into a cheerful smile.

Enjoying her cute reaction, Si-hyun carried on the conversation.

“So, there’s no need to be afraid now, right?”

“…Huh?”

Ah-reum wore an expression of confusion.

Si-hyun added further explanation.

“What’s right in front of us are just simple skeletons. Then the boss would be a monster controlling skeletons. Probably something like a Skeleton Mage at most.”

“Uh… maybe?”

“Then there’s nothing left ‘unknown,’ right? We know everything.”

“…Ah-ha!”

Ah-reum’s eyes widened so much they seemed ready to pop out.

Covering her mouth with one hand as her jaw dropped wide open, Ah-reum thought,

“Now that Professor explained it, it really isn’t that big of a deal, is it?!”

What had felt only overwhelming and terrifying before,

Felt as if the fog had lifted, brightening her view.

Of course, even so, she wouldn’t immediately jump into battle against monsters based on her current skills.

But at least the suffocating, oppressive feeling disappeared.

Ah-reum looked at her professor with admiration in her eyes.

Si-hyun smirked while enjoying Ah-reum’s gaze.

It felt good to have successfully enlightened her student.

Just then,

The battle began with the men up ahead.

Si-hyun gently tapped Ah-reum’s head like petting her and looked forward.

“Our next lecture was supposed to be about undead anyway. Looks like Ah-reum will get some pre-study done today?”

“Indeed! Hehe.”

“See? There’s no need to think too hard about skeletons.”

Si-hyun pointed with her finger at the men fighting in two groups, indicating the Wing Guild side.

“Ultimately, there’s always an original form, whether human-like or goblin-like.”

“Yes! That’s right!”

“Which is scarier, a goblin with a bow or a goblin skeleton?”

“Both!”

Caught off guard by the unexpected answer, Si-hyun scratched her cheek while looking at Ah-reum.

She saw a slightly bashful smile.

‘At least it’s fortunate. Ah-reum’s tension has eased quite a bit.’

Si-hyun chuckled softly and said,

“In the end, the important thing is applying the unique methods for dealing with undead, but there’s no need to overthink it.”

“Yes, understood!”

“Good! Now observe carefully how everyone fights. Try out your skills if needed.”

“Okay!”

With an intensely focused look, Ah-reum began observing the men’s battles.

Meanwhile, Si-hyun looked at the Thief Party.

Leader Kang Do-joon displayed flashy movements as he one-sidedly swept away the skeletons.

He wasn’t called B-rank for nothing—his movements inside the dungeon were faster and more refined than anyone else’s.

Do-joon’s performance alone outshone the combined efforts of all the Wing Guild males.

Nearby, the C-rank thief concentrated on evasion.

The remaining two D-rank members used stealth to target weak points and attacked.

‘They’re pretty skilled at role-switching.’

When the C-rank member uses stealth, the D-rank members naturally focus on evasion.

Apparently, they were a long-standing party, and they conducted their battles quite systematically.

Eventually, the first battle ended thanks to Do-joon’s dazzling performance.

Once their side’s monsters were dealt with, the three thieves took a rest.

Do-joon himself joined the Wing Guild to help clean up the remaining monsters.

“Huff, thank you for your hard work.”

“There were too many, so it was tough.”

After one battle,

The men wiped the sweat from their foreheads and exchanged casual conversations.

After giving the men a short moment to catch their breath, Do-joon spoke.

“Rather than delaying the resurrection of monsters, wouldn’t it be better to proceed with the raid quickly?”

“Hmm, you mentioned mapping the route, right? So you at least roughly know the location of the boss room?”

“Yes. I believe we can pass through without issue.”

“Then let’s do it that way.”

The discussion went smoothly, and the group moved deeper into the dungeon.

As things became more leisurely, Ah-reum asked Si-hyun about something she was curious about.

“Professor, Professor.”

“…Yeah?”

“Um, what does ‘delaying resurrection’ mean?”

“Ah, it means breaking them apart.”

“Breaking them?”

Si-hyun nodded.

“Do you remember the part about skeletons slowly reviving if the boss isn’t defeated?”

“Yes.”

“It’s not like they all come back at once. The broken bones gather slowly and reassemble.”

“Ah-ha! If you smash them, the revival speed slows down, right?”

“Exactly.”

Smashing them so thoroughly that they can’t easily revive ensures safety behind you.

However, it takes more time, delaying the raid progress.

On the other hand, if you crush them appropriately and move forward, the raid progresses faster but with less stability.

Hunters choose the raid method that suits them.

‘There’s another method though.’

If there’s someone who uses holy power or magic,

Depending on their skill, it’s possible to sever the connection between the monsters and whoever controls them.

But Si-hyun didn’t explain that far.

She’d never heard of anything related to holy power on Earth,

And it was far too advanced for Ah-reum’s current understanding.

The group silently advanced into the dungeon following the Thief Party’s guidance.

Periodic battles occurred, followed by short rests.

“Hey, let me heal you!”

“Oh, thank you. Student.”

“Hehe…”

Ah-reum used her skill to heal a Wing Guild man who had a nasty cut on his arm.

Grateful for the thanks, she giggled happily.

After moving through the dungeon for half a day,

The group took a break in an open space for lunch.

Everyone pulled out their pre-prepared boxed lunches.

“Here, take it.”

“Thank you so much!”

Si-hyun and Ah-reum ate the boxed lunches prepared by the Wing Guild together.

At that moment, Do-joon looked at Ah-reum and said,

“You’re a student, aren’t you? A support type, it seems. Quite promising.”

“N-no, not that great!”

“Come on, it’s such a rare job. People will try to snatch you up everywhere. Do you have a fixed party? If not—”

“…Do-joon.”

Si-hyun deliberately interrupted Do-joon.

Because Ah-reum clearly disliked it but couldn’t refuse.

Ah-reum shuffled awkwardly and moved her seat behind Si-hyun while still holding her lunch box.

Si-hyun adjusted her posture and said,

“Ah-reum already has an affiliation.”

“Ah, is that so? It’s a shame, but what can you do.”

Do-joon shrugged his shoulders as if acting.

There was no hint of regret in his demeanor.

Though his lips were smiling, his eyes sharply scanned the two women.

Once Do-joon started talking with his party members, Si-hyun let out a light sigh.

Because the male members of the Thief Party kept sneaking looks at them with shady expressions whenever they got a chance.

Once the mealtime ended, the dungeon raid resumed.

Do-joon kept trying to talk to Ah-reum and Si-hyun every chance he got.

After several battles, while Si-hyun and Ah-reum were chatting with the Wing Guild people,

Somewhat apart, Do-joon quietly conversed with his party members.

“That white-haired woman may be pretty, but she’s kinda stern and rude.”

“Yeah, sir? People can glance, right? She was glaring at us pretty fiercely.”

“Should we intimidate them a bit and make a quick buck?”

“Again? Won’t the Management Bureau get suspicious if we keep doing it consecutively?”

As the man voiced his concern, Do-joon smirked and replied,

“Hmph, it’s an accident that happened inside the dungeon. What can they do about it?”

“That’s true! How would they even know if it’s an accident or not?”

“As long as I handle the boss, there’s no problem. Don’t you trust me?”

“Hahahaha! When have we ever doubted you, sir?”

The Thief Party huddled together and conspired.

This was familiar territory for them.