Chapter 20

“Sorry. You weren’t originally supposed to be such an anticlimactic boss, but I was in a bit of a rush.”

Confirming that the final fragment had dissolved into powder, Nam Shin-hoo stowed his weapon.

Having lost its boss, the palace formed of desert illusions began to shake. An exit portal would open soon. He just had to gather the rest of the harvest and return to the guild before Choi Kang-hyun noticed…

A voice echoed through the space. Shin-hoo quickly grabbed his spear again. In the raid mechanics he remembered, killing the boss was supposed to be the end. He tensed at the unfamiliar phenomenon.

The voice was drifting from the sarcophagus that had already crumbled to dust. Looking inside, a red jewel resembling the statue’s eyes gleamed among the black sand. It was the magic stone from the boss.

The voice continued:

The red magic stone slowly lost its luster. Soon, it turned pitch-black like the rest of the remains and crumbled away.

The tension drained from Shin-hoo’s hand holding the spear. As he stared blankly at the vanished stone, a system window popped up before his eyes.

“What is this?”

There was a hidden quest? Shin-hoo looked closely at the reward on the system screen. Both the vague description of going “where you are needed most” and the impractical 100-day cooldown were absurd.

How was it supposed to know who wanted him most right now to trigger the reward?

A reward with these conditions was useless because the user couldn’t control it. He would have preferred a decent magic stone instead.

“No, I’m good.”

He felt like he would never use this ability in his entire life. Ignoring the system window, Shin-hoo turned around.

He was better off using this time to craft high-grade potions and win over Kwon Hae-joo, looking for opportunities to get a little closer to him.

Now, let’s wait for the exit portal—

“Wait…!”

Before Shin-hoo could even finish his sentence, the world turned stark white. A sensation of space distorting around him followed, and his vision returned to a completely new area.

“…”

Stepping onto solid ground, he barely kept his balance. He shook his head against the aftereffects of the sudden teleportation. Judging by the distinctly sinister aura and damp air, he seemed to be inside another dungeon.

I need to figure out what kind of dungeon it sent me to—

“Why are you here?”

A familiar voice rang out. From the opposite side of the dark cavern, Kwon Hae-joo walked toward him, a sharp claymore gripped in his hand.

“Ha… haha.”

Shin-hoo let out an awkward laugh. Droplets of water condensed on the ceiling dripped rhythmically onto the floor. This was a cave-style dungeon with stalactites.

Moving from a parched desert to a damp cavern sent goosebumps across his forearms—though he couldn’t tell if it was from the sudden temperature change or from Hae-joo walking toward him with a murderous look.

“What a coincidence. Seeing you in a place like this.”

“How did you get in here? You’d better explain yourself properly.”

Uh-oh. His voice was ice-cold. Just when Shin-hoo thought they were finally getting on better terms, things were right back to square one.

Behind Hae-joo, his guild members were visible. It seemed Shin-hoo had become an uninvited guest barging into an active dungeon raid.

He felt a sense of déjà vu, like going back to when they crossed paths in the Gyeongju dungeon. Back then, he had at least used an official excuse in advance, but this time was an indefensible, outright intrusion.

‘This is bad.’

Behind an easygoing expression, Shin-hoo cursed the system. The title’s ability was pure nonsense. Where I’m needed most? And it dropped him right in front of the one person who least wanted to see him right now.

Shin-hoo casually raised both hands.

“To be completely honest, I’m a victim here too. I was clearing a dungeon when I was suddenly teleported here.”

“…”

“…I guess that’s pretty hard to believe, right?”

He could see the muscles in Hae-joo’s wrists tighten. This dungeon had clearly been bid on and claimed by the Epic Guild. If Hae-joo used force, it would be considered standard self-defense.

If Shin-hoo hadn’t had memories of his past life and Hae-joo had randomly appeared in his dungeon, Shin-hoo would have gladly taken the chance to sever a limb or two, since it was a great opportunity to handle a rival legally without consequences.

Hae-joo was very likely thinking the same thing.

The claymore leveled straight at Shin-hoo. Shin-hoo subtly shifted his hand behind his back, ready to strike back if necessary—a stance allowing him to summon Luin Buada at any moment.

“Is that all your explanation?”

“That really is the whole truth.”

‘Should I just get it over with?’

If the other side attacked, he naturally had to fight back. Facing a powerhouse radiating hostility, strength filled Shin-hoo’s hand as well. The thought that he shouldn’t fight clashed with the competitive urge to have a clean bout and settle this awkward situation once and for all.

It couldn’t be helped. Hunters were creatures far more accustomed to persuading others with power than with words.

“…”

In the dim light, Hae-joo frowned. After glaring at Shin-hoo for a long time, he drove the claymore into the ground and lightly raised a hand.

“Fall back.”

He was speaking to his guild members. At the same time, Hae-joo suppressed his menacing aura.

“You’re not going to fight?”

“Are you asking for a fight?”

Without lowering his guard, Hae-joo spoke to Shin-hoo.

“I’m holding back because a clash here would cause too much collateral damage.”

Of course. Just when Shin-hoo wondered what brought about such a peaceful decision, it turned out Hae-joo was simply worried about the safety of the guild members behind him in such a tight space. But what did it matter? It wasn’t a bad outcome for Shin-hoo. He relaxed his tense fingers.

“I will be submitting a formal report to the Association.”

“Fair enough.”

Whatever happened, it was better than causing bloodshed here. Relieved that things had settled more smoothly than expected, Shin-hoo stepped aside.

“I’ll stay quiet just like last time. Don’t mind me.”

The displeasure on Hae-joo’s face grew even more pronounced, as if words of complaint were rising straight to his throat. Even so, this was an remarkably peaceful response—letting it go with just a verbal warning.

“The dungeon is about 70% cleared. There are many flying and small-type monsters. They aren’t strong, but there are large numbers of them.”

He was even giving a briefing. Having heard the explanation, Shin-hoo nodded.

“Then I’ll wait here and join you when the exit portal appears. Or I can stay in the back with the gathering team.”

“Follow slowly behind Squad 3.”

“Hm?”

A conflicting instruction came out immediately. Shin-hoo looked at Hae-joo in surprise at the order to move with the raid team.

“Because it’s a cave-type dungeon, the layout is complicated. It’s safer to move together than to make your way back to the gathering team.”

“I… suppose so?”

Thinking simply, Hae-joo was entirely right. But safety? Not even the Saint Guild worried about Shin-hoo’s safety. Who on earth would fret over looking after Nam Shin-hoo?

Though he had a mountain of retorts against such absurd concern, Shin-hoo chose to quietly follow along.

“Well, thank you then. I’ll take it easy thanks to you.”

He fell in behind Squad 3 without another word. Hae-joo walked ahead without acknowledging him. The members of Squad 3 flinched as Shin-hoo approached, but quickly refocused on the mission.

The raid resumed. The clearing style was different from the last dungeon. Instead of leading from the front, Hae-joo held the rear, allowing the other members to coordinate their attacks at the front.

‘Hmm…’

Come to think of it, Kwon Shin-joo was nowhere to be seen today. Not only that, but there were many unfamiliar faces among the hunters, including several whose combat movements looked clumsy.

‘Looks like rookie training.’

Recruitment periods were fairly similar across guilds. Since the Saint Guild had recently hired rookies, the Epic Guild likely had as well. Today’s dungeon seemed intended to train and evaluate new recruits.

‘No wonder he was carrying a claymore that doesn’t even suit the dungeon.’

A long, heavy greatsword was inefficient in a narrow cave, but it was great to use like a shield when guarding from the rear. Hae-joo had probably brought the claymore from the start intending to provide support from behind.

The difficulty of this dungeon was likely around Rank-C, so nothing particularly dangerous should happen. Though startled by the sudden teleportation, at this difficulty level, he could comfortably sit back and watch the fight.

“Do you really have to stand right here?”

“Someone needs to keep an eye on you.”

…If only Hae-joo weren’t standing right beside him like a guard dog. Hae-joo stayed glued to Shin-hoo’s side as if conducting surveillance. Shin-hoo wanted to close the distance between them, but he hadn’t wanted to close it quite like this.