Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Dungeon.

A dimension from another world that appeared as the world changed.

There are various types of dungeons, including entrance-type dungeons and exit-type dungeons.

Currently, only entrance-type dungeons are called dungeons, while exit-type dungeons are referred to as gates.

And the very first dungeon was a gate that appeared in the void.

Humans suffered immense damage from the monsters pouring out of the gate.

Fighters? Battleships?

They couldn’t even properly use their strength against monsters flying through the sky or monsters bursting forth from the depths of the sea.

Missiles or nuclear weapons.

They could inflict damage.

But this only served to shrink the areas where humans could survive.

Amidst this, ‘Awakened Ones’ began appearing one by one.

They were humans who could demolish buildings with their bare hands or heal open wounds.

Using skills powered by an unknown force called mana, humans began reclaiming their original place, with these individuals at the forefront.

Now, much time has passed since then.

The world now calls these Awakened ones Hunters, living amidst the threat of monsters while establishing systems and institutions.

And what makes that system and order even more robust is Huntranet, the Hunter Association’s exclusive community site for Hunters.

Click- Click-click-click-.

‘Is there any raid party I can join right now?’

Dojae, logged into Huntranet, clicks his mouse and enters the menu he’s searching for.

Hunter News, Guild Info, 1:1 Trading, and various other menus exist, but Dojae clicked on the Raid Party Recruitment menu.

‘It would be nice if there were quests.’

After clearing the first quest, the next one didn’t appear.

No matter how many times he shouted ‘Check Quest,’ all he saw was the message ‘No quests in progress.’

He couldn’t figure out if some specific condition needed to be met.

So he decided to level up in the meantime.

Whatever the next quest was, I needed to get stronger to fight monsters again.

Scroll-scroll.

Dojae scrolled down to check the recruitment post for the raid team,

– <Ongoing Recruitment> ‘Wishful Guild’ seeks Healer-type Hunters. Top-tier treatment regardless of rank.

– Mercenaries wanted. Three days starting next Tuesday. See post for details.

– [Seongjin Cooperative Guild] Looking for members to join our new guild! Contact us if you’re cheerful and hardworking~

….

Dozens, even hundreds of posts appear daily on the raid party recruitment page.

While hunters are gradually increasing with both natural and forced awakenings, their numbers couldn’t keep up with the generation speed of dungeons and gates.

Considering the hunters dying in dungeons, the manpower shortage was quite severe.

Ding-.

Ding-ding-.

A red light illuminated the bell-shaped icon in the upper right corner of the screen.

He had applied to join assault teams primarily for missions with less demanding conditions, and now a reply had arrived.

Dojae immediately checked the notification.

– We apologize. You are not a good fit for us.

– Recruitment has just closed. Please contact us next time.

– We only hire D-rank and above. F-rank is a bit much. Good luck.

….

I got rejection messages from several teams I applied to.

It was only natural.

After all, Dojae’s ID proudly displays ‘F-rank’.

‘Guess I have no choice but to join the guild raid party.’

I could join a raid team organized by the guild.

But the closest dungeon available was one scheduled for a raid four days later, which I had already applied for.

Looking for one farther away was pointless since they were already full, meaning the wait would be the same.

For now, all he could do was keep scrolling through the recruitment pages.

Clatter-.

Click-.

Clank-.

Click-.

Click-clack-.

“Hm?”

After flipping a few more pages, a title caught my eye.

Click-.

– Just Bring Your Go! Hunter License.

The title had an extremely personal tone.

Recruitment posts like this are usually for private hunting parties.

‘Private raid party.’

A private raid party is literally a raid party hosted by an individual.

Dungeons are discovered using special mana detectors, but since these detectors are extremely expensive and scarce, only mid-tier guilds or higher usually possess them.

Occasionally, individuals discover them, but most sell them to guilds or associations for large sums.

This is because if the discovered dungeon exceeds the individual’s capabilities, they must hire powerful hunters.

In such cases, the costs could easily outweigh the benefits, making selling the discovery the wiser choice.

Conversely, even if the dungeon was manageable, various legal procedures were required.

Various contracts, confirmation documents, investigations, and reports had to be completed.

After going through all that hassle to recruit hunters, freelance hunters would then refuse.

The loot from the dungeon would be claimed solely by the individual who organized it, and it was obvious that going along would mean little to no real earnings, just tagging along.

The income simply didn’t match the time invested.

These circumstances interlocked, meaning private raiding parties had low supply, but demand was equally low.

Click.

Dojae immediately clicked the title.

–

Just come, and it’s Go!

Weapons? Armor? Potions? No!

Just bring your license!

Do whatever you want. Play around. Just chill. Even if you’re out of sight. We’ll handle everything.

We’ll depart as soon as the timing works out!

Location: Near Macheon Station, Songpa-gu, Seoul

Contact: 010-….

–

‘Songpa-gu isn’t that far.’

The location is close, and it seems like they’ll leave as soon as you contact them.

Plus, the phrase “do whatever you want.”

It’s obvious they just need someone to fill the headcount.

But this point actually drew Dojae in.

‘I can interpret that as meaning I can hunt too, right?’

Dojae dialed the number listed.

“Hello?”

***

Hunter, Song Deok-hoon.

Deputy Guild Master of South Korea’s 7th-ranked guild ‘Manseong’ and an A-class Hunter.

Right now, Deok-hoon was in a pretty irritated state.

“Tsk tsk. That reckless kid.”

Deok-hoon had successfully completed a raid that lasted late into the night, then celebrated with his guildmates over drinks, parting ways only after the morning sun had fully risen.

However, he couldn’t even go home after work and had to return straight to the guild to approve various documents.

Only after lunchtime passed did he finally get to bed.

He slept for maybe two hours.

He was jolted awake by the loud ringing of his phone.

The caller was his nephew.

He considered ignoring it and going back to sleep, but knowing his temperament, the kid would keep calling until he answered.

In the end, I had no choice but to answer. Frowning deeply at his whining, I threw on some clothes and went out.

Going out feeling that annoyed and tired, only to find my nephew acting like a spoiled brat? How could I not be irritated?

“Isn’t Uncle awesome? He could crush most A-rankers, right? Hell, if it’s one-on-one, he might even give an S-rank a run for their money?”

Deok-hoon’s nephew, D-rank Hunter Shim Young-jin.

And his D-rank friends.

Shim Young-jin couldn’t stop bragging about his uncle in front of his friends.

His friends chimed in to flatter him.

“Damn… Your uncle’s got some serious presence. He’s fucking awesome.”

“Young-jin, after we finish this mission, could you put in a good word for me with your uncle? Ask him to let me join the guild.”

Feeling puffed up by his friends’ reactions, Shim Young-jin said with an air of supreme arrogance.

“So, make a good impression this time. That’s how I’ll have something to say. But don’t go acting cocky for no reason. Got it?”

This was the real reason Shim Young-jin had called Deok-hoon.

While he asked for guidance on dungeon raiding for himself and his friends, his real motive was to get himself and his friends parachuted into Deok-hoon’s guild.

‘If only I hadn’t been drunk back then.’

Shim Young-jin always bragged about his uncle, but of all times, he’d promised his friend he’d get him into his uncle’s guild when drunk.

Once sober, he realized that no matter how close they were, Deok-hoon’s personality meant he’d never just parachute him in. But to say he’d misspoken? That would be a blow to his pride.

After agonizing over it, he came up with this situation.

“Uncle! The other guy said he’d be here soon, so just wait a little longer.”

“Tsk. If it weren’t for your sister’s request… Fine.”

Even someone like Deok-hoon, no matter how much of a nephew he was, would hardly ever assemble a personal task force to train D-rank hunters.

But when Shim Young-jin’s mother—Duk-hoon’s sister—pleaded with him to help her son, how could he refuse?

To Deok-hoon, who had struggled through a difficult childhood, his sister was like a mother to him. That’s precisely why he couldn’t refuse.

“I’ll go easy on them and get some rest soon.”

He quietly watched Shim Young-jin and his friends chatter excitedly for about ten minutes.

A man approached them.

“Hello. This is Lee Do-jae, who contacted you earlier.”

“Ah, the person who called this morning! Hello. I’m Shim Young-jin, the one who took your call.”

Shim Young-jin smiled and offered his hand.

“I look forward to working with you.”

Do-jae extends his hand and they shake.

“Of course! No need to worry. Shall we start with introductions? It seems we didn’t get to talk properly on the phone. Oh, and please hand me your license. I need to take a photo and send it.”

In response to Shim Young-jin’s question, Do-jae handed over his hunter license and addressed the others.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Do Jae. My hunter rank is F-class, and my position varies from time to time. I usually handle cleanup or loot collection.”

Do-jae finished his brief introduction.

Shim Young-jin’s friends murmured among themselves.

“Did he just bring anyone? If he was going to bring an F-rank, why not just call a civilian?”

“Hey, Young-jin might hear that.”

“Okay, okay. Shh.”

“And no one’s contacted us for days now. Might be better to just throw anyone in and show off our skills quickly.”

“Come to think of it, if it’s a high-grade hunter, they’ll just take our share.”

They thought they were talking quietly among themselves, but Dojae could hear their voices clearly.

It was the effect of the stats they’d invested in as their levels rose through quests.

Whether he knew it or not, Shim Young-jin spoke with a bright smile.

“Nice to meet you! I’m a D-rank Hunter, and my position is frontline DPS. I haven’t been a Hunter long, but my skills are pretty decent. Hahaha.”

After finishing his introduction, Shim Young-jin began the next round of introductions one by one.

“This is Kim Joon-soo, frontline tank and a D-rank hunter. Over here is the backline healer, Seong Min-ho. A C-rank hunter, no less! He can heal minor wounds in an instant. Not that you’ll get hurt! They’re all my friends, and we’ve tackled raids together many times, so we work well together.”

It’s a well-balanced team.

A tank to draw the monster’s attention, a damage dealer to unleash explosive attacks in the gap, and finally, a healer to provide support from the rear.

Especially since healers are in such short supply, just having one made this a solid party.

“And this is… the deputy guild master of the Manseong Guild! None other than A-rank Hunter Song Deok-hoon! See why I said not to worry? For reference, he’s my uncle. Heh heh.”

Dojae greets Deokhun.

“Hello. I’m Dojae.”

Deok-hoon responded to Do-jae’s greeting.

“Looking forward to working with you today.”

Unlike his awkward nephew and his nephew’s friends, Dojae had no relation to him, so he maintained proper etiquette.

It was the manner befitting the Deputy Guild Master of the Daegild.

“Enough introductions. It’s already three o’clock. Shall we start the raid? I’m so excited!”

Shim Young-jin exclaimed energetically.