Chapter 36
“Si-hyun! How did I do this time?!”
“I think I did pretty well too!”
After finishing another round of battles while clearing the dungeon, the men approached Si-hyun with gleaming eyes.
Si-hyun, who had been observing from the back, nodded lightly.
“You’re all getting much better.”
“That buff thing is amazing!”
“It’s all thanks to you, Professor! Hahaha!”
The excited men naturally showered Si-hyun with praise.
The corners of Si-hyun’s lips twitched slightly.
“So, how do you know so much about monsters?”
“As expected of our Academy Professor! You’re incredible!”
“Heh heh…”
The open barrage of compliments continued, and as they say, praise can even make a whale dance, so Si-hyun’s usual stoic expression started to relax.
The enthusiastic praise from the men, who had their lives saved, gradually had an effect.
A contract was a contract, and admirable things deserved admiration.
Everyone was captivated by Si-hyun’s cool demeanour and strength.
Laughter and cheerfulness created a lively atmosphere.
In that warm and friendly mood, however, one person was feeling down.
It was the archer.
He spoke to Han-gyeol, who was standing next to him with a deflated posture.
“Han-gyeol, why does my trait have to be archery…?”
“Huh? Isn’t long-range combat a good thing?”
“But Si-hyun said she doesn’t know much about archery…”
“Oh, hahaha… But there’s still a lot to learn, like monsters and such, right?”
Han-gyeol replied with an awkward smile.
The archer nodded slowly.
As Han-gyeol said, while there was no specific guidance on archery, it was true that he was still learning a lot.
Although the archer sighed deeply, the group continued to progress smoothly through the dungeon.
After some time passed, the party, full of enthusiasm, encountered a troll.
“Hmm?”
“…Everyone, we’ve got a great teaching aid right here.”
Si-hyun stepped forward.
Due to the men’s continuous praise earlier, Si-hyun was also feeling exhilarated and took a more proactive stance.
“When dealing with a troll…”
Whoosh—
Si-hyun lightly twisted her body to dodge the massive fist swung by the troll.
“It’s best to target weak points like the joints or knees.”
In an instant, she approached the troll and tapped its knee with her finger.
To the troll, this action was extremely provoking.
“Graah!”
The troll, infuriated, launched a knee kick.
However, as if she had predicted it, Si-hyun stepped back with ease and dodged.
In that brief moment, her seamless skill left the men wide-eyed.
Then, Si-hyun lightly kicked the inside of the troll’s knee.
“Graaah—!”
With a loud scream, the troll collapsed onto its knees.
Even though it was over three meters tall, kneeling brought it down to eye level with Si-hyun.
Si-hyun naturally continued her lecture.
“Of course, if you’re close enough, targeting the neck works well too.”
“Graaaah!”
The troll, enduring the pain, swung its arm at Si-hyun.
But it was a futile struggle.
Si-hyun lifted her leg and kicked the oncoming arm with full force.
Thud!
The troll’s arm twisted backward and went limp.
Si-hyun cast a nonchalant glance at it and continued her lecture.
“As for our archer, aiming for the eyes might be effective.”
She held the troll’s head tightly with one hand.
With her other hand, she pointed at the troll’s tearful eyes.
The Wings Guild members, who had been quietly watching, looked on in shock.
“Whoa…”
“Hey, what am I even witnessing here?”
“Look, it’s crying from the pain!”
“Was a troll always such a weakling?”
The men were astonished, but Si-hyun gave a small nod and gestured to the archer.
When he looked over at her, she pointed to the troll’s eyes again.
Blink.
The archer looked between Si-hyun’s face and the troll’s head.
Si-hyun nodded.
‘She… she’s telling me to shoot, right…?’
The archer awkwardly lifted his bow and took aim.
Although his mind was struggling to keep up, he figured he had to follow her direction.
For a moment, he thought, What if I accidentally hit Si-hyun? But that thought was quickly followed by, I probably couldn’t hit her even if I tried.
Swish!
Thud!
“Well done!”
“Oh, haha!”
It was a direct hit!
The arrow was lodged precisely in the troll’s eye.
The troll’s head tilted slightly, but no one seemed to notice.
As Si-hyun praised him, the archer scratched his head with an embarrassed smile.
He felt like a kindergartener, but… it wasn’t all bad.
His self-esteem soared with the beautiful woman’s cheerful praise.
“Long-range attacks are great after all!”
“Aren’t they?”
“Hahaha!”
“Heh heh.”
The party’s mood became even more cheerful.
Everyone laughed together, and praise and jokes flowed freely, leaving no one behind.
In that way, the C-rank dungeon expedition of the Wings Guild had turned into a field trip.
***
After a short break, before continuing to clear the dungeon, the Wings Guild members asked Si-hyun,
“Si-hyun, what are your plans for dinner after the dungeon today?”
“Would you like to have dinner with us before heading home?”
All eyes focused on Si-hyun.
Si-hyun shook her head and answered,
“I’m planning to have dinner at home with my sister.”
“Oh, I see!”
The men looked a bit disappointed but didn’t show it too much.
To finish clearing the dungeon, the group began moving diligently.
Then, they encountered a group of goblins armed with various weapons.
“The Professor wants to finish early!”
“Let’s wrap this up before it’s too late for dinner!”
“Her sister is waiting! Charge—!”
The men shouted energetically and charged forward.
‘I didn’t exactly say I wanted to leave early….’
Si-hyun smiled wryly.
Still, it was nice to see that everyone was much more spirited than when they first entered the dungeon.
“Hm….”
“Kehek—!”
After kicking one goblin in the stomach as it lunged at her, Si-hyun leisurely observed the Wings Guild members.
Surely, D-rank hunters were more skilled in combat than E-rank hunters.
Fighting familiar goblins, they handled themselves well, like fish in water.
Of course, there were so many goblins that it didn’t look easy.
But with Si-hyun’s timely help during dangerous moments, the group managed to defeat the monsters with their own strength once again.
“Thanks to you, Si-hyun, we’re clearing this dungeon really fast. We’ll be done soon!”
“It was over in no time!”
The men chatted happily as they gathered the spoils.
Their speed in clearing the dungeon was indeed impressive.
Riding the momentum, they quickly cleared the forest.
Full of confidence, the men moved forward without hesitation.
“Hm? Is that a clearing?”
“Do you see something at the end of that clearing?”
“Does that mean we’re at the end?”
“Everyone, wait a moment….”
Si-hyun tried to stop them.
The mana she spread lightly had been blocked by a certain boundary.
It felt exactly like entering a boss room by opening a door.
It was the first time she had felt such a sensation in an open area of a dungeon.
“Let’s finish this!”
“Let’s go!”
However, the excited men didn’t hear Si-hyun’s voice as they continued talking among themselves.
Taking a few more steps, they kept chatting energetically.
“…Everyone, stop right there!”
Sensing something suspicious, Si-hyun shouted loudly.
Han-gyeol, who was nearby, stopped immediately.
But the rest of the men continued moving forward.
The chatter stopped, but their steps did not.
As if, after crossing a certain boundary, “the space had split.”
It was an ominous situation.
Si-hyun immediately pushed off from the ground.
She aimed a mana-charged punch at the spot where her mana was blocked in midair.
Boom—!
Si-hyun’s punch was blocked.
The invisible barrier crackled and rejected her intrusion.
The men in front stopped walking.
They hadn’t heard the sound of the barrier breaking.
They simply realized belatedly that Si-hyun and Han-gyeol, who had been following, had stopped.
Tilting their heads, they turned back toward Si-hyun.
They tried to speak, but no sound came out.
Across the boundary, they were completely cut off from each other.
Han-gyeol, who had approached Si-hyun, touched the air.
Something was blocking them like an invisible wall.
A notification appeared on the status window.
Han-gyeol, breaking out in a cold sweat, looked at the status window.
The men on the other side also sensed something was wrong.
They tried to walk back across the boundary.
Thud!
They bounced back off an invisible wall and stumbled backward.
Rubbing his bruised forehead, one of them glared at the boundary.
At that moment, Han-gyeol sighed deeply.
“Oh, my god….”
“…Han-gyeol?”
“This… this is so damn messed up….”
Han-gyeol cursed, his voice trembling.
Si-hyun turned her head toward Han-gyeol.
Han-gyeol was staring blankly in one direction.
Si-hyun instinctively understood what that action meant.
Awakened ones often acted that way when looking at the status window.
“Damn it! Damn it!”
Han-gyeol struck the invisible wall with his sword with all his strength.
The barrier crackled and bounced the sword back with a light sound.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Han-gyeol kicked the barrier repeatedly without giving up.
But he couldn’t continue for long.
Nothing worked.
Gripping the invisible wall in despair, Han-gyeol slid down to his knees as if giving up.
“Why… why does it have to be a dungeon like this now….”
Despairing, Han-gyeol mumbled in a tearful voice.
Si-hyun furrowed her delicate brows and lifted her head.
On the other side of the large clearing, the dungeon’s boss monster slowly rose to its feet.
It had sensed that prey had entered its domain.
The expressions on the faces of the four D-rank men trapped inside turned pale.
To kill a C-rank dungeon boss, at least a dozen D-rank hunters are needed at minimum.
Even then, they’d have to be prepared for a number of fatalities.
And now, with only four of them?
It was practically a death sentence.
The men’s legs began to tremble.
The situation grew critical. Si-hyun looked back at Han-gyeol.
“Han-gyeol, what exactly is going on?”
“…It’s a one-way entry-restricted boss room. Only D-rank or lower can enter! Damn it!”
Half-mad, Han-gyeol cried out in desperation.
If a regular C-rank party had discovered this, the Management Bureau would have gathered enough people to proceed safely.
But because it was found this way, an accident occurred.
It was pure bad luck.
Suddenly, Han-gyeol widened his eyes and looked at Si-hyun.
‘Wait…?’
Wasn’t Si-hyun a D-rank hunter?
The status window shows a hunter’s rank, but you can only see your own.
Thus, hunters who advance in rank have to go to the Management Bureau to confirm their rank through a test.
So, this means that Si-hyun is a hunter of C-rank or higher.
‘So, that’s why….’
It suddenly made sense why she was so strong.
But even so, it didn’t solve the situation they were facing right now.
Should he just leave the dungeon immediately to call for backup?
…No, that would definitely be too late.
There’s no way they could hold out until enough D-rank hunters arrive.
Soon, the guild members in front of him would be torn apart by the boss monster.
“Damn it, damn it….”
Han-gyeol struck the ground with his fists, tears streaming down his face.
No matter how he thought about it, there was no solution.
This was the kind of pointless death that any hunter could face by sheer bad luck, and it had found them today. Of all days, today!
Han-gyeol wept in despair.
After listening to the explanation, Si-hyun placed her palm on the transparent wall.
‘A rank restriction.’
It was something hunters always talked about.
The status window is incredibly convenient but also quite “Unforgiving.”
It seemed that was true.
Since she, who wasn’t even an Awakened one, was being restricted from entering.
In other words, this wasn’t a restriction based on rank. It was a magical phenomenon.
“Han-gyeol.”
“…Yes?”
When Si-hyun called him, Han-gyeol, his face covered in tears, lifted his head.
He saw Si-hyun’s serious gaze.
“Do you trust me?”
“…!”
Han-gyeol’s eyes widened.
The woman standing before him looked full of confidence.
As if there were a way to resolve this situation.
Her mysterious golden eyes sparkled brilliantly.
Feeling as if he was being drawn in, Han-gyeol slowly opened his mouth.
“…Yes! I trust you!”
It was a powerful response.
—
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