“Si-hyun! How did it go this ti?!”
“I think I did pretty well just now too!”
As the additional battles that followed the dungeon exploration concluded, the n approached Si-hyun with sparkling eyes.
Si-hyun, who had been watching from the back, nodded lightly.
“You all improved a lot.”
“Buffs are really sothing!”
“It’s all thanks to you, Professor! Hahaha!”
The excited n naturally praised Si-hyun. The corners of her mouth twitched slightly.
“No, how do you know so much about monsters?”
“Truly a professor of the academy! You’re amazing!”
“Hoho…”
The continuous barrage of complints made Si-hyun’s usually expressionless face begin to soften.
The enthusiastic praises from the n whose lives had been saved started to take effect little by little.
A contract is a contract, and sothing impressive is just that. Everyone was captivated by Si-hyun’s chicness and strength. A cheerful atmosphere was forming, filled with laughter.
However, in that warm atmosphere, there was one man who felt dejected.
He was an archer.
He spoke to Han-gyeol beside him in a dispirited posture.
“Han-gyeol, why did I have to have the trait of being an archer…?”
“Huh? Isn’t long-range good?”
“But Si-hyun said she doesn’t know much about bows…”
“Oh, hahaha… But there’s still plenty to learn about monsters, right?”
Han-gyeol awkwardly chuckled in response. The archer slowly nodded his head.
As Han-gyeol said, there wasn’t any teaching about bows, but it was true there was a lot to learn.
The archer sighed deeply, but the group proceeded smoothly with their dungeon exploration.
After quite so ti passed, the team, now filled with excitent, encountered a troll.
“Uuuh?”
“…Everyone, this is a good teaching material.”
Si-hyun stepped forward. Earlier, the continuous praise from the n had uplifted her spirit, making her more proactive.
“When facing a troll, you should…”
Bwoom—!
Si-hyun lightly dodged the troll’s massive fist by twisting her body.
“Basically, targeting joints or knees is the best approach.”
In an instant, she approached the troll and tapped its knee with her finger. To the troll, this was an extrely provocative action.
“Grrr!”
Enraged, the troll attempted a knee kick. But Si-hyun stepped back lightly, as if she had anticipated it.
The n’s eyes widened at the rapid succession of her moves.
Next, Si-hyun lightly kicked the inside of the troll’s knee.
“Grah—!”
With a loud scream, the troll knelt down, its large fra bringing its height closer to Si-hyun’s.
She naturally continued her lecture.
“Of course, if you’re in range, aiming for the neck is also a good idea.”
“Graaah!”
Enduring the pain, the troll swung its arm at Si-hyun. But it was a futile struggle.
Si-hyun lifted her leg and kicked the arm that was swinging towards her.
Thwack!
With that, the troll’s arm twisted back and hung limply.
Si-hyun cast a glance at the troll as if it were nothing and continued her lecture.
“Archer, you could also aim for the eyes.”
Gripping the troll’s head tightly with one hand, she pointed at the tears rolling from the troll’s eyes with her finger.
The guild mbers, who had been watching quietly, gasped in astonishnt.
“Whoa…”
“Guys, what am I watching right now?”
“Is it crying because it hurts?”
“Was the troll such a pathetic creature?”
Whether the n were surprised or not, Si-hyun nodded once and gestured towards the archer.
When he looked at her, she pointed again at the troll’s eyes.
Blink. Blink.
The archer alternated his gaze between Si-hyun’s face and the troll’s head.
Si-hyun nodded.
‘Shoot, she’s telling to shoot…?’
Awkwardly, the archer lifted his bow and readied himself. Though his mind struggled to keep up with the situation, he felt compelled to act.
What if he accidentally hit Si-hyun? That thought briefly crossed his mind, but soon followed with the belief that he wouldn’t even be able to hit it.
Whoosh!
Thwack!
“Nice job!”
“Oh, haha!”
It was a hit! The arrow struck directly into the troll’s eye.
Though the troll’s head was slightly tilted, no one noticed.
As Si-hyun praised him, the archer sheepishly scratched his head. He felt a bit like a kindergarten student, but it wasn’t a bad feeling at all.
His self-esteem soared at the praise from the smiling beauty.
“Long-range really is great!”
“Right?”
“Hahaha!”
“Hoho.”
The party’s atmosphere beca even more cheerful. Without any laggards, everyone laughed together, exchanging complints and humor.
Thus, the Wing Guild’s field trip to the C-rank dungeon turned into a delightful outing.
---
After a brief break, before continuing with the dungeon exploration, the mbers of the Wing Guild asked Si-hyun.
“Si-hyun, what are your plans for dinner after the dungeon today?”
“Would you like to eat with us and then head ho?”
The group’s attention turned to Si-hyun. She shook her head and replied.
“I plan to have dinner at ho with my younger sister.”
“Oh, I see!”
The n showed a hint of disappointnt but didn’t express it too openly. They began to move busily, preparing to wrap up the dungeon exploration.
During this, they encountered a group of goblins wielding various weapons.
“The professor wants to leave early!”
“Let’s finish up before dinner ti!”
“Your sister is waiting! Charge—!”
The n shouted energetically and rushed forward.
‘I didn’t really want to leave early…’
Si-hyun forced a smile. However, it was nice to see everyone so lively compared to when they first entered the dungeon.
“Hm…”
“Kek—!”
Suddenly, she kicked the belly of a rushing goblin.
Si-hyun leisurely observed the Wing Guild mbers.
D-rank hunters were certainly more adept in combat than E-rank hunters. They fought like fish in water against familiar goblins.
Of course, the sheer number of goblins made things challenging.
Yet, thanks to Si-hyun’s assistance in critical monts, the team successfully defeated the monster horde once again.
“Thanks to you, Si-hyun, our progress is incredibly fast. We’ll be done soon!”
“It’s so quick!”
The n chattered excitedly while gathering the loot.
Indeed, their pace was exceptionally rapid. Riding the montum, they swiftly cleared the forest.
With their confidence boosted, the n moved forward without hesitation.
“Hmm? Is that an open area?”
“Don’t you see sothing at the end of that clearing?”
“So, is this the end?”
“Everyone, hold on for a mont…”
Si-hyun attempted to stop the n. A faint mana she was releasing hit a specific boundary.
This sensation was precisely what she felt when entering a boss room. It was her first ti sensing this in a dungeon clearing.
“Let’s finish up quickly!”
“Let’s go!”
But the excited n did not hear Si-hyun’s voice. They continued to chatter lively as they moved forward.
“…Stop for now!”
Feeling sothing was off, Si-hyun shouted loudly. Han-gyeol, who was near her, imdiately halted.
However, the remaining n kept advancing. The conversation ca to a halt.
But their steps did not cease.
It was as if, upon passing a specific boundary, ‘the space had been separated.’
An ominous situation. Si-hyun imdiately stomped the ground.
With all her strength, she thrust her fist into the space where the mana was blocked.
Boom—!
Si-hyun’s fist was halted. An invisible barrier crackled, refusing entry.
The steps of the n ahead ca to a stop.
They hadn’t heard the sound of the barrier breaking.
They realized late that Si-hyun and Han-gyeol had halted their steps.
They turned back, tilting their heads as if to speak, but no sound ca out.
They were perfectly isolated by the boundary.
Han-gyeol, who approached Si-hyun, touched the air.
Sothing transparent was blocking their way.
A notification appeared in Han-gyeol’s status window. He wiped the cold sweat from his brow as he stared at the status window.
The n on the other side also sensed sothing was off.
They tried to walk back through the boundary.
Thwack!
They were pushed back by an invisible wall. Rubbing their foreheads, they glared at the boundary.
At that mont, Han-gyeol sighed heavily.
“Oh, my god…”
“…Han-gyeol?”
“This is… so malicious…”
With a curse, Han-gyeol made a sobbing sound.
Si-hyun turned her head towards Han-gyeol. He was staring blankly at a direction in the air.
Si-hyun instinctively understood what that motion ant. This was sothing awakeners did when looking at their status windows.
“Damn it! Damn it!”
With all his might, Han-gyeol struck the invisible wall with his sword.
The barrier crackled, lightly deflecting his sword.
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
Han-gyeol didn’t give up and kicked the barrier multiple tis. But he could
not continue for long.
It was all in vain.
Despairing, he hung on to the invisible wall, eventually kneeling down.
“Why is it that this dungeon has to appear now…?”
In despair, Han-gyeol trailed off his words as he wept.
Si-hyun furrowed her delicate brow and looked up.
The boss monster of the dungeon, located on the opposite side of the large clearing, slowly rose.
It had sensed the prey entering its territory.
The expressions of the four D-rank n trapped inside turned pale.
To kill the boss of a C-rank dungeon, a D-rank hunter would need at least ten or more to participate. They would also have to be prepared for fatalities.
And just four of them?
It was effectively a death sentence.
The n’s legs began to tremble uncontrollably.
The situation had grown urgent. Si-hyun looked back at Han-gyeol.
“Han-gyeol, what happened?”
“…It’s a one-way entry limit boss room. Only D-rank or lower can enter! Damn it!”
Half out of his mind, Han-gyeol cried out.
If a typical C-rank party had discovered this, the managent bureau would have called in sufficient personnel to handle it.
It was sheer bad luck that they found it this way.
Suddenly, Han-gyeol’s eyes widened as he looked at Si-hyun.
‘Wait…?’
Wasn’t Si-hyun a D-rank hunter?
While the hunter's rank is shown in the status window, one can only see their own.
Thus, promoted hunters go to the managent bureau to take the promotion exam to have their rank acknowledged.
Therefore, Si-hyun was now a hunter of C-rank or higher.
‘So what if she is…?’
It was a mont of understanding why she was so strong. But that did not help solve their current situation.
Should they rather rush outside to call for help?
…No, it would surely be too late.
They couldn’t hold out until a sufficient number of D-rank hunters gathered.
If even a little ti passed, the guild mbers in front of her would be torn apart by the boss monster.
“Damn it, damn it…”
Tears stread down Han-gyeol’s face as he pounded the ground with his fist.
No matter how much he thought, there seed to be no way out.
The unfortunate death that hunters could encounter was arriving today of all days! Han-gyeol wept in despair.
After hearing the explanation, Si-hyun placed her palm against the transparent wall.
‘It’s a rank restriction.’
It was sothing hunters always said.
While the status window is incredibly convenient, it’s also ‘unfriendly.’
That seed undeniably true. Even a non-awakened individual was restricted from entry.
In other words, it wasn’t a matter of entry limited by rank. It was a magical phenonon.
“Han-gyeol.”
“…Yes?”
As Si-hyun called, Han-gyeol, teary-eyed, lifted his head.
He found Si-hyun’s serious gaze.
“Do you trust ?”
“…!”
Han-gyeol’s eyes widened.
The woman in front of him looked overflowing with confidence. It was as if she had a way to solve their current situation.
Her mystical golden eyes sparkled brilliantly.
Feeling as though he was being drawn in, Han-gyeol slowly opened his mouth.
“...Yes! I trust you!”
It was a powerful response.
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