Chapter 81

Si-hyun casually waved at Kim Hunter as if to say, “Don’t worry.”

She nonchalantly let go of the sword she had been holding in one hand.

Kim Hunter stared at her with a stern expression.

‘…Does this mean she’s fine?’

If she could handle it on her own, that would certainly make things easier for this side.

After all, it would be like the instructor taking care of an entire swarm of ants during that time.

Kim Hunter thought, ‘Let me trust her once,’ and turned her gaze back to the front.

The woman’s unwavering stance looked solid, and a bit of trust began to form.

She refocused on dealing with the nearby ants.

Having successfully communicated her intent to the other party, Si-hyun became aware of the students behind her.

‘I want to make the most of this opportunity.’

Dealing with a horde of ants like this is something she could do while yawning.

But simply driving them away has no meaning.

She wanted to show the students something valuable.

Si-hyun quickly decided on a strategy and sprang into action.

Swish—

In a flash, Si-hyun’s wrist shot out, cleanly decapitating an ant.

She smoothly spun her sword, slashing diagonally and splitting another ant.

Keeek!

Before the ant’s scream had even faded,

Si-hyun thrust her sword downward, neatly slicing yet another ant in half.

In the blink of an eye, three ants were reduced to corpses rolling around.

However, the ants weren’t just targeting Si-hyun.

Kiiik—

Keeek—

Two ants turned sideways, aiming for the students, while the rest charged at Si-hyun.

Sughug—

Thud.

Si-hyun effortlessly cut down two more ants coming from the front.

But there were still too many ants approaching.

At this moment, Si-hyun had to make a choice.

Should she sweep them all away flamboyantly?

Handle the ants trying to bypass her with ranged attacks?

Or act like a tank?

Si-hyun’s decision was swift.

She had already decided on a method before the fight began.

“Pro-fessor!”

“Professor?!”

The students gasped in surprise.

Because Si-hyun had ignored the ants charging at her from the front.

Instead, she steadily dealt with the ants trying to bypass her.

Whoosh—

She slashed one down.

Gnash.

An ant latched onto her thigh.

Sughug.

She cut down another ant.

Meanwhile, another ant attached itself to her calf.

“…”

Si-hyun took down the ants targeting the students first, then dealt with the ones in front of her.

Naturally, she also sliced off the ants clinging to her legs during the process.

Throughout the fight, Si-hyun never uttered a single sound of effort.

She silently judged the situation and demonstrated the ideal form of a C-rank female tanker.

Watching from behind, Jae-woo realized what the professor was showing them through her actions.

‘The virtue of a tanker…!’

Silence!

Calmly analyzing the situation and focusing on ‘protecting the party’!

The lecture content he heard during a special class a few days ago.

The professor was demonstrating it right now.

‘So this is what a true tanker looks like!’

The vivid scenes unfolding before his eyes.

Not letting a single monster pass by her.

Yet, she wasn’t merely blocking or dodging frantically.

Within the most efficient movements possible, she clearly distinguished between what she could and couldn’t do.

Every time her razor-sharp blade flashed, the number of ants steadily decreased.

Truly the image of a steadfast warrior guarding the front lines.

Jae-woo watched every move of the professor without blinking.

To never forget this moment, this dazzling sight.

To vividly engrave it in his mind.

“Huff…!”

Si-hyun adjusted her posture.

Ultimately, despite over a dozen ants attacking, not a single one reached the students.

Jae-woo was ready to step in and block any ants that got through.

But the wall that was Professor Jeong Si-hyun proved insurmountable.

He exhaled the breath he’d been holding and blinked, reaffirming the path he needed to take moving forward.

“Pro-fes-sor!”

Ah-reum hurriedly ran forward.

Meanwhile, the members of the Early Morning Guild had finished their battle around the same time.

Kim Hunter let out a soft exclamation.

“Ho, impressive…”

He had been keeping an eye on the observers throughout the battle.

In case of an accident, he was prepared to help them immediately.

However, no help was necessary.

The woman protecting the students admirably fulfilled her role.

Even if the students were all E-ranked, hunters are hunters.

It would have been easier for her to deal with the incoming ants first before helping the students.

But…

‘That was never part of her consideration.’

There was no hesitation in her actions.

She moved with the protection of the party as a given priority.

The perfect image of a vanguard.

‘Now I understand why the manager and deputy manager coveted her so much.’

Truly a hidden talent.

Through the recent battle, Kim Hunter finally understood the dignity of the temporary instructor.

She was someone fully capable of protecting the students.

He set aside his concerns about the observers.

He judged that he only needed to focus on this side.

“Now there’s not much left. Let’s take a short break and then continue advancing!”

“Yes, understood!”

“Hunter Yang Chae-wook, please take care of the healing!”

“Yes, I’m on it!”

Yang Chae-wook belatedly bustled about, checking on the condition of the other rookies.

Swollen wrists, ant bites on legs, etc.

He used supporter skills to heal the wounds.

The mere existence of a supporter was a solid mental pillar for hunters.

Because they provided stable and continuous support to the party instead of expensive potions that were hard to use.

It was on a completely different level from temporary measures like bandages.

Thanks to this, after taking a short break, the hunters advanced deep into the dungeon without losing their initial momentum.

* * *

After countless battles, the group finally reached just outside the boss room.

Taking a final rest, Yang Chae-wook sighed deeply and said,

“Huff, I’m glad we had Hunter Kim here. Why are there so many bugs…?”

“Hmm, not really. If you guys were alone, this would’ve been a dungeon where retreating after assessing the situation would’ve been correct. You’re all doing well.”

“R-right? Hahaha.”

As Yang Chae-wook chuckled sheepishly, Kim Hunter nodded and continued speaking.

“The number of monsters is almost B-rank level. Fortunately, there were no special entities.”

“At least it’s a C-rank dungeon. We’ll give our best until the end!”

“That’s right. Just keep doing what you’re doing.”

“Yes, understood!”

Kim Hunter lightly praised and encouraged the rookies.

They were actually performing extremely well.

If the rookies’ level was lower, it would’ve been difficult to reach this far.

Just…

‘That person stands out too much.’

Kim Hunter glanced at Si-hyun.

The rookies seem unaware since they’re busy with their own tasks,

But her performance of handling the constantly leaking ant hordes alone was quite remarkable.

“Well then, let’s get up. Let’s wrap this up cleanly.”

“Alright! Let’s finish it quickly!”

“Understood!”

The Early Morning Guild hunters finished their preparations one by one.

As they entered the boss room, Si-hyun and the students followed inside.

What greeted them was…

“Keeeek——!”

Just as Si-hyun expected, a giant queen ant.

A sharp high-pitched sound echoed through the cave like it was tearing the eardrums.

“Ugh, disgusting.”

“How terrible.”

The hunters stiffened their expressions and observed the boss.

The massive body of the queen ant sprawled on the floor was covered in shiny black exoskeleton.

The plump end of her abdomen continuously spewed out new ants.

Those very ants that had been troubling them all day.

“It’ll be tough, but it’s definitely possible.”

Kim Hunter quickly calculated.

He had anticipated this type of boss would appear.

With a loud voice, he shouted,

“Let’s go!”

That’s how the battle began.

“Hmph!”

Since this dungeon focused more on clearing than training,

Kim Hunter entrusted the safety of the rear guard to the rookies and broke through the ant horde.

Keeek!

Kiiik!

Indeed worthy of his reputation, his performance was incredible.

Ants were being cut down in an instant.

“Keeeek——!”

If the queen is defeated, it’s all over.

Naturally, the ants’ attention was drawn to Kim Hunter.

A fierce battle of one against many ensued.

“Hurry up and reduce their numbers!”

“Don’t isolate Hunter Kim!”

The rookies of Early Morning Guild weren’t idle either.

They steadily eliminated ants while following after Kim Hunter.

While such intense battles continued,

The magic-type hunter shouted loudly.

“I-I’m out of mana!”

The archer responsible for ranged attacks also urgently called out.

“I still have arrows left, but my mana is low! I can’t put much power behind them like this!”

It was due to reaching here after endless battles.

The ants’ war of attrition excellently drained the hunters’ mana.

That much pressure landed squarely on Kim Hunter’s shoulders.

“…It’s enough!”

Kim Hunter pressed the attack on the ants.

He surged forward with great force.

Consistently closing the distance to the queen ant.

Right at that moment.

“Keeeek!”

The queen ant, who had been focused solely on producing ants until now, suddenly exhibited erratic behavior.

Lifting her large front legs,

Booom—!

She slammed them forcefully into the ground, creating a loud noise.

Kim Hunter quickly retreated to avoid the attack.

Shattered remains of worker ants flew about where he had been standing just moments ago.

The queen ant lifted her leg again, having her spot filled with other ants.

The distance widened again.

“This won’t be easy…”

Kim Hunter muttered.

Si-hyun and the students watched the scene from afar.

Reading the flow of battle, Si-hyun spoke softly.

“Hey kids, did you hear the rear guard shouting just now?”

“Eh, yeah… They said their mana was depleted.”

“If it were you guys, what would you do?”

Initially thinking it’s about managing well from the start,”

“Yeah, that’s right too. Then, what’s an effective way to use it when there’s only a little left?”

“Uh…”

Enbiel also fell into thought.

Meanwhile, Si-hyun stepped forward.

Kiiiek—

She easily cut down a few ants that had leaked out in the meantime.

In a calm tone, Si-hyun said,

“You just need to use it as efficiently as possible. Watch carefully.”

Si-hyun slowly walked forward.

She skillfully slashed at the approaching ants with her sword.

During this time, Kim Hunter had reached near the queen ant again.

The queen ant lifted her front legs again.

All the boss’s attention was focused solely on Kim Hunter.

Right at that moment!

Djaak—!

“Keeeeek——!”

The queen ant screamed in pain as a dagger embedded itself in one of her eyes.

Unable to properly slam her raised front legs, she wailed in agony.

“Nice job!”

Seizing the opportunity, Kim Hunter advanced further.

The desperate queen ant lifted her giant legs again.

One leg defended in front of her head while the other prepared for an attack.

As a result, Kim Hunter’s range of movement greatly increased.

Si-hyun threw another mana-infused dagger.

It bounced off the giant front leg without leaving a mark.

But that was enough.

During the additional opening created, Kim Hunter advanced once more.

Si-hyun quickly returned to the students’ side.

And in an instant, Kim Hunter reached the boss’s doorstep, pouring all his remaining mana into hacking at the boss.

“It’s over!”

His sword carved a long gash across the boss’s torso.

At that moment, Si-hyun placed her hand on Ah-reum’s shoulder and said,

“Ah-reum, protective barrier for all of us.”

“Ah, yes!”

Pwaang—!

The queen ant’s torso exploded, splattering sticky slime everywhere in the cave.

The unpleasant smell accompanied the dirty slime covering the floor and walls thoroughly.

Si-hyun and the students were protected by the barrier from the slime.

However, the rest of the hunters were all…

“Gah! What is this stuff!”

“Ugh, the smell!”

Without exception, everyone was completely covered in sticky slime.

* * *

The management and deputy manager of Early Morning Guild were waiting outside the gate.

They were there to warmly welcome the hunters returning from the dungeon.

The first people they saw were the observers.

Their appearance was clean and healthy, just like when they entered.

“Ooh, looks like you’re done! How was today’s observation for everyone?”

“…It seems to have been a good experience for the students. Thank you.”

“Haha! That’s great news! We look forward to seeing you again next time!”

“…Yeah. Good work.”

Si-hyun left with the students.

Soon after, the Early Morning Guild hunters emerged from the gate.

However, their state was far from ordinary.

Not just the rookies but even Kim Hunter,

Everyone without exception was completely drenched in sticky green slime,

Dripping slime onto the floor as they walked out.

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