Chapter 43: Dungeon Incursion (2)

Chapter 43: Dungeon Incursion (2)

[ Translator – Bin ]

[ Proofreader – Phylicia ]

I replied to a listing as I walked out of my apartment.

“This should be alright.”

The party I applied to was the one looking for a duo.

「 ISO Jikdonggeonlin Park duo. D or higher only. 」

Since all the rewards and responsibilities were split evenly, duo parties were typically formed by very skilled hunters.

There was a little more risk involved, but it couldn’t be that much worse than the 4th trial.

I literally put those two in a stroller and rolled them out of the trial.

“If I can’t even solo a D-grade dungeon, that’s an entirely different problem on its own.”

Soon enough, my party request was accepted.

He probably saw that I was a C-rank hunter and accepted it immediately.

Hunter Han Sungyeun-nim, please come to the park as soon as possible.I already got approved to get into one of the gates, so all you have to do is show up.We’ll be splitting everything 50/50, and I’ll let you keep any of the special rewards depending on the situation.

He was even willing to give up any of the special rewards.

I guess he really wanted to duo with me.

‘Pros of being a high-ranking hunter.’

With a smirk on my face, I grabbed a taxi off the side of the road.

“Jikdonggeonlin Park, please.”

I was wondering what I would do if there was an item I really needed.

‘I guess I don’t even need to worry.’

I could already tell that this was going to be very worthwhile.

***

Sitting on a bench in Jikdonggeonlin Park, Lee Cheolwon hastily typed his post.

“Holy shit, why are there so many people here?”

It hadn’t even been an hour since the emergency alerts were sent, but there were already crowds of over ten people by the gates.

Lee Cheolwon let out a sigh after seeing the high spec gear everyone had on.

‘How many hunters were near the area...?’

He thought there would be two, or maybe three teams.

‘It must be because of the damn trial tower or whatever.’

Recently, hunters who were at a place called the Tower of Trials sold a bunch of low-grade items and made it really hard for amateur hunters to make a living.

The items weren’t worth what they used to be...

All the low-rank hunters nearby probably came here to make a quick buck.

“Life’s hard, huh.”

Despite that, Lee Cheolwon had no intentions of backing down.

For a D-rank hunter like him, entering this gate would be like winning a lottery.

It was typically much harder to earn big bucks while freelancing in the public dungeons.

Plus, the items from those dungeons weren’t worth much anymore.

The world was changing again.

Even a low-tier hunter like Cheolwon could tell.

There were all kinds of rumors about the tower, like how it roped in civilians forcefully.

Or how the hunters would lose all their powers once they entered the tower.

It was like the great calamity all over again.

‘At least my partner is supposed to be a C-rank hunter.’

‘It doesn’t look like he has much experience, but he’s still a higher rank than me.’

A high-ranking hunter with no experience was way better than a low-ranking hunter with experience.

No matter how much experience you had, raw power is what mattered the most.

It was then.

“Are you Lee Cheolwon? The one looking for a duo?”

The anticipated C-rank hunter had finally arrived.

***

I walked over to the man sitting on the bench after arriving at the park.

‘Is this the person who was looking for a duo?’

He must be, since this was the location that he specified in his texts.

“Yeah, I’m Lee Cheolwon. Does that mean you’re...”

“Yes, I’m Han Sungyeun.”

“Ah, nice to meet you. You seem like a promising new hunter.”

“Haha, it’s not like that. You seem to have a lot more experience than me. I’ll be in your care.”

I scoped this Lee Cheolwon person out while we made small talk.

A spear engraved with a lion’s face and leather armor with an aura of cool air.

His equipment was so well-maintained that I could tell the items were high-quality at a glance.

‘Better than I thought.’

I guess he wasn’t looking for a duo just to get carried.

Most of his items seemed to be above E-grade, which made him seem more trustworthy.

Even though I didn’t know the exact effects of his items, he should be an adequate partner to clear this dungeon with.

The only special thing about them was that they used weapons skills, unlike goblins or orcs.

They were actually known to have high-tier weapon skills.

“Kieeek, kieeeek.”

A lizardman holding a long spear flared its eyes as it made its way toward us.

“A long spear and weapon skills? That’s gonna be annoying.”

“It’ll be better if one of us takes it down.”

“Yeah. I’ll take him since I have a longer range with my spear.”

“...Okay.”

I thought about it for a bit, but this was just one monster.

‘I’ll let him have this one.’

Plus, this was an opportunity to see how an experienced hunter fought.

I was about to take a step back until I saw that Lee Cheolwon was just staring the lizardman down.

‘What the...?’

I thought he would end the fight instantly, but they both circled each other.

Feigning attacks while looking for opportunities to strike?

This was not what I signed up to see.

I wasn’t going to waste my three days on Earth like this.

Why was he struggling so much against a single lizardman at the entrance?

‘Stalling like this could be problematic...’

Emergency gates were different from normal dungeons in a couple of ways.

The only reason they let random hunters into these gates was to stop the monsters from getting out.

After some time, the hunter association would either blockade the gate or designate it as a public dungeon.

Then the hunters from the association could come and clear the dungeon.

I was under not one, but two different time limits.

‘We can’t waste any more time.’

Change of plans.

I was done observing this guy.

“Let me lend you a hand.”

My actions were faster than my words.

I propelled myself forward instantly.

Crash!

Lee Cheolwon stared in dismay as I bolted past him.

“What the fuck?! C-come ba-”

He seemed to be startled at my sudden decision to dash in.

“Instant acceleration.”

But as soon as I activated the skill...

「 Activating the skill ‘Instant Acceleration.’ 」

Lee Cheolwon’s desperate cry was cut short.

Slash-!

“...Huh?”

A mere D-rank monster had no chance of following my accelerated movements.

Plop.

“It’s over.”

That was enough for its head to drop to the floor.

‘I guess dungeons don’t make the monsters particularly strong.’

The lizardman felt a little weak compared to the D-rank monsters I faced in the tower, but that was not important right now.

I swung my sword to clean the blood off.

“Sorry, I’m in a bit of a rush. I hope you don’t mind.”

“Ah yeah... I understand. Very understandable.”

He nodded as he stared into the empty space in front of me.

It was as if he didn’t understand what had just happened...

This was the perfect time to convince him.

“By the way, I have a suggestion. Are you open to one?”

“S-sure. Anything.”

I gave him my brightest smile and finally spoke my mind.

“I want to stand in the front.”

I couldn’t waste the whole day on this dungeon.

It was time to pick up the pace.

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Translator’s notes – Or ask me for clarification on our channel in discord!

I smell an mc simp

No waifus tho

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