“Uhm…”

Lee Soo-ah’s voice trembled as she began to speak. Everyone in the room was watching her closely.

The people gathered were all S-rank hunters: Lee Haru, Lee Ye-ji, Lee Ah-reum, Cha Ah-yeon, Park Ye-eun, and Jo Su-ji.

They were the top hunters, well-known throughout South Korea, with almost no one unfamiliar with their faces.

“I... have something I really need to ask of you today.”

Lee Soo-ah spoke in a low, timid voice, a tone quite different from her usual self.

“Huh? Soo-ah has something to ask of us?” “Really? Soo-ah rarely ever asks for anything.” “Right? She’s always been so successful on her own.”

Everyone looked at her with puzzled expressions.

“Well... I need help from S-rank hunters. We have a dungeon raid to complete. Could you help me? It’s pretty urgent…”

“Wait, you want us to help with a dungeon raid?”

The atmosphere grew a bit uneasy. It was hard for them to process the situation.

“Yeah, it’s something the Blue Guild has to take care of urgently…”

Lee Soo-ah gradually began explaining.

“Wait, so you're saying we need to deal with this Baek Ji-hoon guy?” “Uh-huh…” “So, we think Baek Ji-hoon’s been messing with us, and we absolutely need to complete this mission... Please, help us!”

Seeing Lee Soo-ah hesitate, Yoo Hana took over, speaking more assertively.

“Hey, Hana, by the way, why did you join the Blue Guild? Since we’re at it, might as well ask.” “Well... that’s… it’s kind of…”

Yoo Hana’s face flushed. It was a bit embarrassing to admit that it was because of Baek Ji-hoon.

“Ha… I might have been mistaken… I don’t know…”

The S-rank hunters looked at Lee Soo-ah and Yoo Hana with suspicion. After all, nothing like this had ever happened before. And the hunter world had been in a bit of chaos recently.

‘Baek Ji-hoon... Who is this guy? How did he suddenly become an S-rank hunter?’

Jo Su-ji found the whole situation hard to believe. It had taken her nearly five years to reach S-rank, yet someone who had once been an E-rank suddenly became an S-rank and took control of one of the top guilds, the Blue Guild, all at once.

And now, here were Lee Soo-ah and Yoo Hana talking about this Baek Ji-hoon like he was some kind of troublemaker. It was suspicious, to say the least. And she wasn’t the only one who thought so; all the S-rank hunters present were looking at Lee Soo-ah with puzzled expressions.

“So... all we need to do is help with the dungeon raid, right?” “Yeah, yeah.”

Despite the strangeness of the situation, it was hard for them to refuse Lee Soo-ah’s request, so they all agreed to help.

“Thank you, everyone...”

“Hah, hyung, we can just sit back and relax now. Looks like they’re about to surrender. It’s like taming them at this point.” “Yeah. I’m sure Hunter Lee Soo-ah will handle it.”

I decided not to worry too much about Lee Soo-ah and Yoo Hana. It seemed like they would take care of their own situation.

Besides, I had a lot of other things to deal with—especially the higher-level dungeons.

These were the areas of focus for all the guilds and the direction we needed to head in.

“By the way, no one’s touched these S-rank dungeons?” “Nope. I guess they didn’t think they could handle it. It’s prime real estate, but... yeah…”

I opened my status window.

‘Maybe I should just dump all my stats into this and test out one of the S-rank dungeons…’

“Hey, Hyung-seok.” “Yes, yes?” “Wanna come with me to a dungeon?” “Wha-?! A dungeon? But I’m just a normal guy!” “But you know dungeons really well, right?” “Well… yeah, I do, but…” “You also know a lot about S-rank dungeons, right?” “Well, sure, but I’m just a regular guy. I have no defense skills. What if I get killed? I trust you, but this is scary!” “I’ll introduce you to a girl.” “Let’s go.”

Hyung-seok became polite and agreeable in an instant.

“Dude, hyung!!! This is an S-rank dungeon! Are you messing with me right now?”

I dragged Hyung-seok to a dungeon in Seongsu-dong. Of course, the entrance was sealed off.

[No Entry] [This is an S-rank dungeon. Entry for curiosity or video recording is prohibited. The government cannot guarantee safety. A minimum of two S-rank hunters is required.]

The warning signs were clear.

“Can’t you read the signs? Hah... It says you need two S-rank hunters!” “Yeah, but I’ll just max out my points.”

I dumped all the points I’d accumulated so far into my stats. I planned to use them to try something new.

“What? You still have points left…?” “I had more points left than I spent.” “Wha—?”

Hyung-seok was clearly in shock.

“I’m thinking of maxing out all my stats and testing it out. No one will know, anyway.” “You still have that many points?”

I nonchalantly maxed out all the necessary stats and skills. I’d been cautious up until now, but I decided to go all out this time.

‘Well, if Lee Soo-ah is doing her own thing, I might as well do mine.’

The status window now showed me at a level that might as well be classified as SSS-rank, although such a rank didn’t exist yet.

“B-but hyung... Are you really sure about this…?”

Hyung-seok was slowly backing away.

“Come on, you’ve already assigned Lee Soo-ah and Yoo Hana an impossible mission. We need to prepare too. And besides, it’s time to move to the next level.” “Still, it’s not normal to drag a regular person into an S-rank dungeon. Even if I were an A-rank hunter, I’d say no.” “Sigh... I’ll introduce you to an S-rank hunter.” “Yes, sir. I’ll do my best to assist you.”

Hyung-seok became eager again.

“Hyung, are you sure you can do this…?”

Inside the S-rank dungeon, Hyung-seok kept muttering to himself. He was terrified of the dungeon but determined not to give up on meeting an S-rank hunter.

“Hey, what’s that one called?” “That? It’s the Crystal Storm Fox. Not much use, since it doesn’t drop many magic stones.” “What about that one?” “That’s a Rekona Mage. It’s manageable, and it’s known to drop decent loot. Sometimes, in the U.S., people will just throw money at it and challenge S-rank dungeons.” “Hmm. So, which monster here is the most profitable?” “Well…”

Hyung-seok thought for a moment.

“Probably the ‘Phantom of Terror.’ It drops something called a Fragment of a Tormented Soul, which could change your life if you get it.” “Life-changing?” “The current market rate is about 2 billion won for one of those. The drop rate is low, and it’s incredibly hard to kill. It’s infamous for requiring precise skill timing. It’s like winning the lottery.” “Then let’s go for it.” “Whaaaat?!”

Hyung-seok’s eyes widened in shock.

“Hyung, that thing is really hard to kill! You haven’t even practiced properly. Plus, if you get hit by it, you could end up with a serious debuff. I haven’t even been on a date yet, and I don’t want to get hit with a debuff!” “Relax. I’ve got this. And once we get the loot, you’ll get a cut after the guild takes its share.” “Argh, I really don’t want to die!”

“Just do what I say.” “Sigh…”

Reluctantly, Hyung-seok started leading the way.

“Oh no... I’ve never seen it in person before... Are you really sure about this?”

“I told you, trust me. I’ve got this. Don’t you believe me? I’m going to take this thing down. Just stay here, and if any other monsters show up, don’t scream, alright?” “Yes, yes...”

Hyung-seok looked at me with anxious eyes.

According to the descriptions I’d heard, this dungeon wasn’t going to be that difficult. I’d poured all my points into this fight, to the point where I felt overpowered. All I had to do was follow the order of my skills.

‘It’s like scratching a lottery ticket. Let’s see what we get.’

I charged towards the Phantom of Terror, a dark, shadowy figure that seemed to shift and twist in the fog of black mist.

‘I’ll just set my skills in order… and use them one by one…’

Boom… Sssshh… Boom, crash, thud.

Having an expert like Hyung-seok with me made the fight feel straightforward. He was practically a living dungeon guide.

All I had to do was use seven skills in the correct sequence.

Skill 1... Then Skill 2… … and finally, Skill 7…

It was over quickly. Too quickly. All I’d done was use the skills in the right order.

‘What? That was easy.’

It was like shooting fish in a barrel. I’d barely broken a sweat, and the monster vanished without a trace.

“Huh?”

Then I noticed a faint glow on the ground where the monster had disappeared. There, shimmering, was an item.

‘No way.’

[Fragment of a Tormented Soul]