Kwon Jihan thought of that name the moment he saw the number "301." He almost mentioned it right away but missed the timing, and upon further thought, he realized that making such a hasty assumption in front of Yoon Seo, who hadn't yet overcome his past, could be dangerous.
Kwon Jihan didn't want to see Yoon Seo's depressed face, shocked face, shadowed expression, or fearful face—any of those, really.
"How do I know? I know because I had the same guess."
On the surface, Yoon Seo appeared as calm as usual.
"But this is impossible. If the exit portal disappears, everything inside the dungeon vanishes too. This is an unchangeable rule of the Gaia system. So, it's reasonable to assume that one of the 301 is either Lawrence and Rio's child or Galaxaia, infiltrating with a skill we're unaware of. It has to be one of those."
"..."
Yoon Seo looked at the silent Kwon Jihan. Jihan, who was busy gauging Yoon Seo's condition, ended up looking more anxious and unsettled. Yoon Seo let out a short laugh.
"Hunter Kwon Jihan, what are you so worried about?"
"Me? What am I even worried about? I was just… just listening, that's all. I think… I think it might be a fetus. It seems likely the fetus is involved."
Even though he said that, there wasn't an ounce of certainty in his shaky eyes.
"Let's keep all possibilities open for now."
"Yeah…"
The issue of the 301 wasn't something the two of them could solve definitively by brainstorming.
For now, they flew quickly towards their destination, focusing on what they could actually deal with.
But Yoon Seo couldn't stop thoughts of Lee Kangjin from coming to mind. He didn't think Kangjin was one of the 301, but he was filled with questions.
Why did he remain in the dungeon during the very last chance to escape that terrible place? Even after the black portal had disappeared, what reason was there?
Lee Kangjin was someone with an exceptional sense of responsibility and mission as the leader of the Revengers. Watching him made Yoon Seo realize what it truly meant to be a "leader." The same went for Domin.
'Chaeyoon-ah, Kangjin hyung is like kimchi stew with ice in it.'
'What kind of nonsense is that?'
'He's both warm and cold.'
'Oh.'
'He's incredibly affectionate, but also has a cool-headed side. If he had tried to recover the bodies as I insisted earlier, more casualties would've occurred, right? I think it's really amazing how he can put aside emotions and make rational decisions, just like a great leader should.'
'Yeah, he's an incredible person. That's why everyone relies on him.'
'I also want to stop causing trouble for him, but it's not easy.'
'Hey. That hyung would never think of you as a burden, so don't dig yourself into a hole, Lee Domin.'
'I'm not digging. I'm just… that's how I feel.'
Back then, whenever Lee Domin became unstable due to mana depletion, everyone would either bring Kangjin to him or take him to Kangjin. Yoon Seo couldn't take care of Domin properly, either.
Now that he thought about it, Lee Kangjin was only in his late twenties at that time… It felt like he was carrying too much on his shoulders. But even if they had known this back then, they still would have relied on him. The leader of the Revengers was someone worth relying on.
***
[Kwon Jihan/Boss taken care of. Where should I join?]
In the midst of a fierce battle, the [Guild Chat] popped up in front of Do Deungsoo. Assessing the status of the hunters and the boss monster, he quickly replied:
[Do Deungsoo/All clear]
[Park Soobin/All clear]
The S-rank Red-Black was something that drained a massive amount of guild experience every time it was used. Since Seokyoung Guild's experience was already running low from a previous use of the guild stone, Kwon Jihan didn't bother to answer, but with both sides reporting no issues, he must have been heading to the center. Deungsoo immediately notified Team 2, who were still in combat.
"Team 1 defeated the boss monster and is heading to the center!"
"Already?"
"Damn, those freakin' monsters are something else."
Hong Euiyoon swore while dodging the boss monster's gigantic tail. Most were impressed, though Jo Mani looked entirely crestfallen, as if his pride had taken a hit. Do Deungsoo sighed inwardly.
'Hunter Seo Chaeyoon missed an explanation.'
Yoon Seo remembered everything and explained it in detail, but… he hadn't described just how overwhelming the boss monster's presence would be.
A giant flame worm.
It was a boss found in other S-rank dungeons too, but this one felt entirely different. The overwhelming atmosphere instilled fear.
Seo Chaeyoon probably didn't feel the pressure or fear at all, which is why he left it out.
"They took one down with just the two of them. Damn it, we have to kill ours too!"
The hunters pushed aside their fear and charged forward.
Do Deungsoo, who was protecting the ranged supporters, asked Kim Jinhae.
"How much health does the boss monster have left?"
"75% remaining."
Deungsoo thought this side was monstrous as well. It was just that Kwon Jihan and Seo Chaeyoon were even more monstrous.
Kwaang! With a tremendous explosion, a significant portion of the giant flame worm's body burned away. It was Yelena's
Most of those with shield skills had been sent to Team 3, so Lee Inseon, who was with Do Deungsoo guarding the supporters, shouted:
"Hunter Jo Mani, 5 minutes left for
"I know."
Everyone, upon hearing the call, used flight items and flight skills to soar into the air.
Five minutes later,
The solid ground vanished, replaced by scorching lava, while the air, filled with sulfuric acid, made breathing a struggle. The boss monster roared and charged as if it had been waiting for this moment. Hong Euiyoon, resistant to fire, blocked the boss monster's attacks, while Yelena unleashed her
Jo Mani gathered his magic power. A white frost swirled around him. Despite being arrogant and materialistic, the Rainbow Vice Guild Leader was still an S-rank hunter, one of the top five.
Jo Mani's
A cracking sound echoed from all around. The sound of lava freezing. Do Deungsoo, trying to save his flight item's durability, landed on the ice as soon as he judged it stable enough. Once he landed safely, everyone else came down to continue the fight.
'It's only as cold as Earth's winter.'
Just as expected. Jo Mani's
[
Though shorter than
Their analysis and plan had gone as expected so far, yet Do Deungsoo felt neither exhilaration nor relief but rather grief and regret.
'How on earth did the Revengers clear this without any information, strategy, or resources ten years ago?'
With that thought, he couldn't allow himself to feel joy.
***
The third
As time went on, there came a point when the cooldowns of
After three days and an additional two, monsters began to swarm toward the center, almost as if rumors had spread that prey was gathering there.
In other S-rank dungeons, there were several hours of rest between battles, but here, they didn't even get tens of minutes. For this reason, they set up modified shield stones in the central barracks, while they took turns keeping watch around the perimeter.
"Damn it, monsters are coming. Everyone, get up!"
While Perfect kept watch, monsters began to swarm in. At Hong Euiyoon's shout, everyone swiftly dismantled the camper and got into battle positions.
Grrrr, screeech. The hideous monsters shrieked eerily. The hunters gulped down potions to shake off fatigue and drew their weapons.
"Watch out for the ones with hooks! They're self-destructing monsters!"
"Deploy the shields!"
The types of monsters were varied, but Seo Chaeyoon remembered every one of them, and the new Revengers were also well-prepared.
Ten years ago, they had fought the hook monsters without any information, leading to some of them dying in a joint explosion. Those who survived the tragedy remembered it vividly. Now, the new Revengers set up shields around the monsters in advance to avoid getting caught in the blasts.
The battle, which took place in the early dawn, ended after about two hours.
Most of the monsters were slaughtered by Seo Chaeyoon. His fighting style was more brutal than expected, causing the hunters to increasingly feel a mix of both respect and fear. However, Kwon Jihan's fighting style was even more vicious and gruesome, so when the two were together, nobody but the Perfect team members dared approach them.
After the battle ended, Kwon Jihan spoke to Yoon Seo, who was currently making sure the monsters were dead by stabbing them repeatedly with
"Hyung, the blade of 'Curse of Darkness' is already damaged."
"Already? Let me see."
When Kwon Jihan showed him the sword, it was indeed damaged.
"Throw it away. I bought four swords expecting this."
He had four from the black market and three more from Seokyoung. Kwon Jihan had a total of seven swords.
"Did they sell us poor quality?"
"Well, we did kill several S-rank monsters. It's decent quality for the price."
"Your 'Existing Spirit' basically has infinite durability, right, hyung?"
"Our Riceball doesn't even know what durability is."
Yoon Seo smiled faintly, patting his waist. He didn't transform it since the stench of blood was too strong, and it would get overly excited if summoned now.