NoveLight ™
After the crisis in the rear guard of the party had been resolved, not far away, Kang Cheol-min was angrily berating the vanguard hunters.
“You bastards, can’t you do anything right?!”
“S-sorry, sir….”
“You’re already barely keeping up, and now this?! What the hell are you doing, huh?!”
Kang Cheol-min jabbed his finger at his guild members, the tirade of scolding and profanities showing no signs of stopping.
Nearby, a rogue observing the scene shook his head in dismay.
“Like boss, like right-hand man. That temper’s just as fiery.”
It was clear that leaving this hotheaded leader unchecked would only delay their progress.
The rogue didn’t particularly want to interfere but knew he had no choice.
Putting on a friendly smile, he spoke up.
“Alright, everyone, let’s calm down a bit, shall we?”
He waved his hands lightly, trying to dispel the heavy tension hanging in the air.
“If we waste too much time like this, it could jeopardize the mission. For the sake of the vanguard, let’s get moving quickly.”
“…Hmph!”
Kang Cheol-min took a deep breath, his fiery gaze lingering on the guild members he had been scolding.
Though still visibly upset, he couldn’t deny the rogue’s reasoning.
Right now, the priority was clearing the dungeon safely.
The guild’s tarnished reputation needed to be restored, and this was no time to let emotions get in the way.
“Move out!”
With Kang Cheol-min’s booming command, the rear party resumed their advance through the dungeon.
***
Meanwhile, the vanguard had reached just outside the boss room, where the gate to the double dungeon was likely located.
They took a brief rest, exchanging thoughts on their progress.
“Phew… This is definitely an S-rank dungeon.”
“Agreed. We initially considered entering straight away based on the monsters’ level, but we should stick to the plan.”
“Absolutely. Let’s clear up to the boss room and wait for the rear party to regroup.”
The three S-rank hunters from the vanguard discussed the situation among themselves.
Their pre-arranged approach consisted of two scenarios:
If the Cheongrim Guild’s incident was truly accidental, and the dungeon turned out to be just an A-rank:
If it was confirmed to be a double dungeon containing an S-rank segment:
It was now clear that the second scenario applied.
Standing to the side, Ji-ah listened quietly to their discussion alongside a female support hunter.
The support hunter, voice trembling, eventually spoke up.
“W-what kind of boss do you think we’ll face?”
The men’s gazes shifted toward her, and she visibly shivered under their attention.
After a brief exchange of glances, Yeo Dohyung of the Dawn Guild answered.
“No idea. There are too few cases of S-rank dungeons to draw comparisons.”
“B-but we can at least guess, right?”
“Expect something stronger than a lich.”
Yeo Dohyung frowned as he replied.
He recalled the undead dark sorcerer, a lich, which he had once encountered as the boss of an A-rank dungeon.
Even then, it had been a challenging opponent.
A lich could summon skeletons that resurrected almost instantly, command powerful elite monsters, and wield potent magic to protect itself while directing its undead army.
Today’s boss would undoubtedly be worse.
The master of the Knight Guild, stroking his beard, chuckled and spoke up.
“Haha! Miss, there’s no need to be so frightened. Aren’t you part of the best party in the country?”
“I’m not scared at all!”
The support hunter snapped, her face stiff. He chuckled again.
“I’ll carve the path forward! No need to worry, just fight confidently.”
“Haha! Of course, we trust you, elder.”
“With the Knight Guild’s master on our side, what is there to fear?”
Their spirited exchange helped lighten the atmosphere, maintaining just the right amount of tension as they rested.
Ji-ah quietly observed the vanguard.
The aged but unmatched swordsman, master of the Knight Guild.
The elite team of the Dawn Guild, known as the strongest party in South Korea not only individually but also as a group.
Each of them was a world-class top-tier hunter.
Additionally, several veteran guilds had sent elite teams to join the vanguard.
“They’re certainly reliable…”
So why did she feel such unease?
Ji-ah clenched her fists.
No matter how much she tried to shake it off, the ominous energy clung to her, gnawing at her senses.
It wasn’t fear or dread.
It felt as though some unseen force was tightening its grip around her throat—a lingering discomfort that was hard to describe.
Was it because this was her first time in an S-rank dungeon?
Or was it because something truly unknown and incomprehensible awaited them?
“Let’s move out!”
As the group readied their battle formation to advance, Ji-ah followed the support hunter toward the rear guard.
“We’ll find out soon enough.”
Ji-ah gripped her spear tightly, steadying her breath as she moved.
The oppressive aura of death around them thickened with each step, but her resolute spirit remained unwavering as her eyes gleamed with determination.
The vanguard entered the boss room.
Immediately, the hunters frowned at the unfamiliar sight before them.
“This is definitely a double dungeon.”
Someone muttered.
Normally, defeating the boss would create a return portal, and the dungeon would collapse within an hour or two as the gate disappeared.
But in this case, a new portal had already formed within the boss room, standing ready to lead deeper into the dungeon.
And standing guard before it was a creature waiting for the hunters.
“…So much for bad luck being just words.”
“…It’s really here.”
The guardian faced the vanguard, an undead sorcerer in tattered robes—a lich.
A dark red mist oozed from its form, spreading into the air and draining vitality from its surroundings.
The oppressive aura made even breathing difficult, and the lower-ranked hunters felt as if their bodies were being crushed under its weight.
“Its robe looks a bit tattered, doesn’t it?”
“Maybe it’s one of Yu Byung-joon’s past opponents.”
It wasn’t a new type of monster, but the lich was still a formidable opponent.
However, the elite vanguard was confident in their ability to handle it.
Under Yeo Dohyung’s direction, the hunters calmly prepared for battle.
At the same time, shadows wriggled around the lich, and smaller undead monsters began to emerge in droves.
“This one seems weaker than the last one we fought.”
“Is that so? Then let’s take care of it without worry.”
Yeo Dohyung commented, and the Knight Guild’s master chuckled in response.
The undead horde advanced menacingly toward the hunters.
Yeo Dohyung moved to a position between the front and rear guards, while the Knight Guild’s master leisurely stepped forward.
Straightening his posture, the elderly man placed a hand on his sword hilt.
At that moment, the air shifted dramatically.
The seemingly harmless elder now radiated an overwhelming aura, the mark of a swordsman trained to the extreme.
Placing his weight forward, he readied to charge.
Boom!
With a deafening noise, the ground erupted as the elder disappeared from sight.
Slash—!
In an instant, the undead horde was sliced apart.
The cleanly severed bodies of the monsters collapsed to the ground, as if they had always been in that state.
“Hm…”
Now standing in the center of the boss room, the elder faced the lich.
The lich turned its hollow gaze toward him.
Letting out an eerie, displeased sound, the lich began casting more spells.
Fresh undead monsters were summoned, and the previously destroyed corpses began twitching as they reanimated.
The real battle had begun.
“The lich is yours, elder! Everyone else, focus on clearing the rest of the monsters!”
“Understood!”
Yeo Dohyung shouted orders, activating his skills immediately.
A brilliant flash of light accompanied a lightning strike that obliterated a cluster of undead.
Another S-rank hunter from the Dawn Guild stepped forward, solidifying their formation, while the remaining hunters concentrated their attacks on the horde.
The A-rank boss, the lich, was defeated in a surprisingly short time—a testament to the vanguard’s skill and South Korea’s strength.
But the battle was far from over.
“E-everyone! Look at the portal!”
As cheers erupted after the elder shredded the lich with his sword, a voice rang out from the rear guard.
All eyes turned toward the portal in the corner of the room.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
With each step, a monstrous creature emerged, its massive form shaking the ground.
The sudden appearance of a new foe froze the hunters in place, their expressions turning grim.
“Now that’s one ugly thing.”
The Knight Guild’s master muttered softly.
The creature was grotesque, appearing as though it had been pieced together from various living beings.
Even the most seasoned veterans had never seen anything like it.
From the rear guard, Ji-ah squinted at the creature.
She had never encountered anything like it before, but a faint memory surfaced in her mind.
[“They even fuse familiars together. Total freaks.”]
That was all she had heard when Si-yoon had been whining about something, but her curiosity had led her to ask Si-hyun for more details later.
Who would have thought that idle curiosity would prove useful now?
Ji-ah shouted loudly enough for everyone to hear.
“It’s a chimera! Each of its heads serves a different function!”
“What? Different functions?”
“Yes! You need to take out the most dangerous heads first before going for the heart!”
“Aha, got it!”
Ji-ah didn’t know every detail about the chimera, but what she had shared was enough.
Coming from Ji-ah, known for her expertise in tackling obscure dungeons, her words carried weight.
The hunters were all elites. Even with limited information, they could adapt their strategies effectively.
“We’ll analyze its patterns first! Focus on defense and identify the heads’ functions before targeting them one by one!”
Yeo Dohyung decisively shouted instructions for everyone to hear.
The hunters, who had scattered during the lich battle, quickly reformed their formation, ready to face this new challenge.