Before entering
This was supposed to be a simple D-rank dungeon—the very place where the double dungeon incident would happen. Just before we stepped inside, Mr. Song turned to me and said,
"Sung, stay behind us so you don't get hurt. Take it easy."
"Yes, thank you," I replied.
Jin-Woo was already acquainted with Mr. Song, and considering my reputation here—well, I was famous, but not for anything good.
A few moments later
As expected, this body is garbage. I got injured again.
Joohee quickly healed me and said,
"Jin-Woo, why are you so set on being a hunter? Keep fighting like this and you'll get yourself into big trouble one of these days."
I stayed silent.
The big trouble you're talking about is already here, I thought.
Seeing me quiet, Joohee sighed. I turned to her and said, "Thanks."
She simply nodded. "No problem."
The others were cutting down the monsters with ease, while I was the only one getting injured.
Just a little longer. A little more time, and I'll finally gain that power.
This world is dangerous—too dangerous. I need strength to protect myself and the people close to me. For that, I need that power. I clenched my fist without realizing it. I thought Joohee didn't notice, but she did… and I had no idea the raid was almost finished.
"Park, you've still got it."
"This is a piece of cake."
"Looks like we're almost done here."
People chatted casually as the raid wrapped up.
All I got for my participation was an E-rank essence stone—a pitiful amount given my family's financial situation.
Still, as I held the small crystal in my hand, I felt excited.
Soon, I'd be getting dozens… hundreds… even B-rank stones. Worth millions. Money mattered—if you didn't have it, people treated you like garbage.
In my past life, I was an orphan who clawed my way up and became a millionaire in the Philippines through stocks and forex trading.
But here?
As long as I defeated powerful monsters, their essence stones would fetch a fortune.
Just then, someone yelled,
"Everyone! Come look at this! There's another entrance over here!"
We all gathered to check it out.
"A double dungeon… So things like this really do exist," Mr. Song murmured.
Mr. Song walked ahead to inspect the newly discovered entrance. He tossed a small fireball inside, its glow briefly illuminating the darkness. After a moment, he turned back to us and said,
"Hmm… everyone, listen up for a second."
He gestured toward the still-open gate.
"The gate doesn't close unless we defeat the dungeon's boss. Since it's still up, that means there must be a boss waiting inside."
Everyone murmured quietly, shifting uneasily.
"Normally," he continued, "we should report this to the Association and wait for their decision. But…"
He paused, scanning the group.
"…other hunters might get their hands on the boss before we do. And if that happens, our profits will drop drastically."
The moment money was mentioned, a few hunters straightened with interest.
"So I say we go ahead and deal with the boss ourselves."
He looked serious now. "It could be dangerous, so how about we put it to a vote? All seventeen of us."
He added firmly, "And once the decision is made, no one gets to back out."
I glanced at Joohee. She was clearly scared—hesitating, biting her lip, gripping her staff nervously. She didn't want to go in.
Then I looked at the others. Most of them were excited, exchanging confident nods. They had no idea what awaited them inside.
"I'm in."
"I vote for going in."
"I'm against it."
"Let's go!"
Voices rose one after another as the hunters cast their votes.
Beside me, Joohee lowered her gaze and whispered, "I'm sorry… I don't want to go."
Mr. Song counted the raised hands, his expression tightening.
"We have eight votes to go in…" he said, then looked at the other side, "…and eight votes to stay out."
Silence fell.
Then he turned toward me.
"How about you, Sung? Everything depends on your decision."
All eyes shifted to me.
My vote would decide everyone's fate.
I took a slow breath and said, "I'll go," while thinking silently, I've been waiting for this opportunity.
1 hour later
"We're too deep already…"
"How long have we been walking?"
"More than forty minutes?"
"No, I think it's been over an hour…"
Voices echoed along the tunnel as the hunters walked in a long line, footsteps slow and cautious. The deeper we went, the colder and quieter it became.
Meanwhile, behind me, Joohee was practically on fire—still lecturing me nonstop even though I had already apologized earlier.
"You're so reckless!! How could you agree to go? Did you hurt your head too?" she scolded, glaring at me with puffed cheeks.
For someone who was a B-rank healer, she really was timid. If not for her shy and easily frightened personality, she would've been recruited by a strong guild long ago. Healers were precious assets, after all.
"Now, now," I said calmly, "let's just go with the flow, alright?"
That actually shut her up. She blinked at me in surprise and stared for a good second.
"What? Is something on my face?" I asked.
"No… it's just… I can't believe it. You sounded so mature a moment ago."
I couldn't help but laugh. "What do you mean? I've always been mature."
Inside, I added silently, And so was the original Jin-Woo… at least emotionally. If he didn't try to shoulder everything alone, he would've told you that himself.
I glanced at Joohee, who quickly looked away, pretending she wasn't flustered.
Just then—
"This is it! The boss's lair!"
"I've never seen a dungeon room with an actual door before…"
"Yeah, this is a first for me too. Feels… strange."
"I—I don't know. I feel like this place is dangerous…"
"Yeah… I think so too."
Mr. Song looked at all of us, then raised his voice.
"Are you all going to head back empty-handed after coming this far? We could be the first hunters to discover a dungeon like this. Those who want to leave can go. But I'm going in— even if I have to go alone."
With those words, he pushed the massive doors.
In front of us, I heard the others whispering:
"Well, Song's got a ton of raids under his belt. Plus he's an aggressive hunter for a C-rank."
"Yeah… if he wasn't already over sixty, he could've been part of one of the big guilds."
"We trusted Song enough to follow him this far. Might as well stick it out until the end."
The doors groaned loudly, then slowly rumbled open.
"Hm… that was easier than I expected," Mr. Song said. "Let's go."
As everyone prepared to enter, I reached out and grabbed Joohee's hand—tight enough to make her jump.
"H-huh? Jin-Woo?" she asked, her face suddenly flushed.
"I've got a bad feeling about this," I said quietly. "Stay close to me."
Joohee blinked, startled by my tone… but then she nodded.
It was almost funny, honestly—me, the weakest one here, telling her to stay close. But better safe than sorry. If she dies here, I won't be able to help or repay her in the future.
Whew… it's finally time. This is it.
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It took me a lot of time to create this chapter since, I was very busy and I don't want to drop the quality of the story.
All my other FanFics will be dropped, except for this one, I'm gonna focus on this.
Open for suggestions, I'm already thinking of getting the Ice Elves as Jin Woo's shadow as well as Kamish the Dragon.
Open for suggestions since I don't have stockpile of Chapters yet.