Jung Da-on (정다온)
Potential Ability Evaluation: S-Rank
Stamina: LV. 18 (Limit: None)
Strength: LV. 14 (Limit: None)
Mana: LV. 28 (Limit: None)
Overall Level: LV. 12 → 20
Suitable Dungeon Levels: C~D Rank Dungeons
Surpassing an overall level of 20 results in a significant boost to physical abilities.
Of course, aside from the psychological toll, the result wasn’t bad.
‘A judgnt of righteousness.’
There’s a word that doesn’t suit at all.
Unsuitable, suitable, righteous.
From the increase in my stats after being judged righteous instead of just suitable, it seed that the level of approval from society’s mbers influenced the outco.
Reaching level 20 so quickly was surprising. Typically, as levels rise, the increase becos harder, but this was an incredible feat.
Reaching level 20 puts one at the lower tier of C-rank hunters, aning it’s the minimum required to live off being a hunter. Usually, it would take at least one to two years of focused dungeon runs to reach that level.
But I, having only awakened three days ago, reached level 20…
If regular hunters heard about this, they’d probably be furious with jealousy at how quickly I’d progressed.
‘The collar is still there, but it’s not all bad.’
If the rewards are this great, I might even consider engaging in ‘righteous’ actions, even if I have to set aside my pride as the forr Demon King.
I shouldn’t risk having my level drop again by acting ‘unsuitable.’
Of course, despite what I was thinking internally, the kids, thinking they were safe, were chatting excitedly.
"Hey, but the hunter sister is hurt!"
"Are you okay? Should we call 119?"
"Isn't she 119?"
"Do you want to give you a hug?"
"...."
In movies, heroes look so cool, but standing in front of kids, I wasn’t cool at all. I felt a headache as I tried to avoid the children who ran up, trying to hug my legs.
Avoiding their small hands so they wouldn’t get blood on them was the best I could do.
Heroes in movies always seem to interact so kindly with children at tis like this, but what kind of face do they make to do such things?
As I tried to dodge, the children looked at with wide eyes, like dogs chasing chickens, confused by my movents.
That innocent gaze, which I didn’t even know I had, hurt. Is this what they call a conscience?
“There's blood on . Can you get the kids away... Please hold them back.”
“Oh, yes, yes!”
"How do we treat the hurt hunter, friends from the sunflower class?"
"Give her a hug!"
"Take her to the hospital!"
...Definitely better handled by professionals.
After glancing briefly at the cara monitoring the daycare from the office upstairs, I looked at the teacher holding the kids.
"Do you have water? Maybe a simple chocolate bar?"
"Ah, yes. We have so candy we give as a reward to the kids..."
"Everyone, eat one and drink so water. We can’t afford to pass out in a situation like this."
"Ah, yes…?"
"But... Miss, I need to go to the bathroom!"
"Can I go now?"
"I want a snack."
Were they finally convinced they were safe?
Amid the children’s chatter, the teachers exchanged looks and one carefully asked .
"Um, has the dungeon been cleared?"
"No."
With that sharp response, I saw resignation in the teacher’s eyes.
At first, they must have thought I was part of a rescue team, but after looking around, they seed to realize otherwise.
But, I couldn’t lie either.
Honestly, aside from dealing with the monsters around here, the situation hadn’t really changed.
Sure, I had taken out the monsters in the ergency stairwell, but that was it. There was one useful hunter now by the children’s side, but the fog surrounding the area hadn’t lifted.
“To end the Dungeon Break, we need to find and destroy the core that caused this rift.”
Each world is protected by a solid dinsional wall.
For an invader to breach this world, breaking down the protective wall surrounding the dinsion is necessary. When successful, a crack forms in the wall, connecting the rift to the invader’s world, creating a portal—what we call a dungeon.
Humans conquer these dungeons to prevent monsters from invading. However, sotis, by unfortunate luck, the rift forms in a weak part of the wall, and monsters imdiately break through.
This is what Yoo Han-ul had explained to the rookie hunters earlier as a type 2 dungeon.
In these cases, the monsters hide a material that helps maintain the rift, called a core.
There are various kinds of cores.
Material from the sa world naturally attracts one another, so anything could potentially be a core.
Simply put, unless we find and destroy the core maintaining the rift, the crack won’t close, and the Dungeon Break won’t end.
“Then…”
“Don’t worry. It’ll be resolved in 30 minutes.”
It wasn’t the bleakest of situations.
Right now, hunters, including Han Jae-young, were swarming around the building. Once the smoke clears, Han Jae-young would take care of it. I had done all I could for now in this Dungeon Break.
My task now was to protect the children until the core was destroyed, and then I could just wait for the real rescue team, the true heroes, to return.
So who had this lazy thought?
“Um, I think 30 minutes passed already…”
“...Yeah, it’s been an hour.”
According to Han Jae-young’s earlier explanation, the magic circuits should have been recovered by now, but why was there still no change?
I tried to hide my anxiety, glancing at the teachers, and then I looked outside.
‘Could sothing have happened to Han Jae-young?’
If so, my plan would fall apart.
If the Dungeon Break didn’t end soon, it’d be for nothing, and monsters would keep pouring out.
I hesitated a bit longer, but no change was evident.
“Could sothing have happened to the other hunters?”
“Now that you ntion it, since the hunter ca, there’s been no sign of activity inside the building. Before, there were so signs here and there.”
“What should we do? The kids are almost at their limit…”
“...”
The teachers asked in anxious tones, but I couldn’t give them an answer.
The kids, who had been happy to see before, now started whining. Realizing they still had to stay quietly in the daycare, they were nearly at their breaking point.
Honestly, the only way to fundantally resolve this situation was for the Dungeon Break to end.
‘...Should I go find the core?’
Waiting indefinitely for the Dungeon Break to end wasn’t an option.
Even the sunlight, which had been so bright before, was now starting to fade. If the shadow ghosts attacked again when darkness fully set in, we’d be in trouble.
The problem was the daycare.
I had rescued the kids, but I couldn’t just leave them here. At least one more hunter should be here to guard them, but right now, I was the only one.
‘What do I do?’
In the past, I would have created a clone to guard them while I dealt with the core, but now, as a level 20 mage, that was impossible.
No, wait. A clone?
“Ah.”
I slapped my palm.
“That’s right, there was that thod.”
I had completely forgotten.
Though not exactly a clone, I could summon my familiar—the three spirits I created in my past life.
Typically, the familiars used by mages are lifeless puppets moved by magic. But my familiars were different. They were imbued with pieces of my soul, like family spirits.
The reason I had forgotten about them was that summoning them into this world was beyond my current ability.
To summon soone from another dinsion into this one required a massive amount of mana—far more than massacring a few shadow ghosts.
But now, the situation was different.
‘Since the Dungeon Break already created the rift, I can use it.’
The invaders had already made the rift. I didn’t need to create a new hole in the dinsion.
‘Now, the only thing left is to identify whom to summon. Since they’re tied to my soul, that’s not an issue.’
Like a famous line from a comic, even though my body has changed, my soul remains the sa.
Just like how the core maintaining the Dungeon Break attracts the original world, my familiars are bound to my soul, so by using the pull of my soul, I can summon them through the dinsional rift to Korea without needing to use mana!
‘This should be theoretically possible, right?’
Despite all the dinsions in existence, the power of a human soul should not be underestimated. Especially the soul of a stubborn, experienced archmage like .
Even small creatures that are born and raised in the sa place attract each other, so how could I not summon my own soul’s fragnts?
I focused, and after so ti...
Pop!
A sharp, exhilarating sensation like a spark.
Sothing materialized in my hand, which had been floating through an intangible void.
‘Jung Da-on’ has summoned an entity from another world.
At the sa ti, a system ssage appeared, and sothing fell to the ground.
Thud!
A small clump of fur landed on the floor, four-legged.
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