As the two people entered the boss room, they were greeted by a gigantic monster.
The slumbering monster sensed the presence of intruders and slowly lifted its massive body.
Ji-a raised her head to gauge the size of the monster.
Was it about the height of a 2 to 3-story building? It was that enormous.
“It’s a mutated Drake.”
“Right? It looks like it has an ice attribute, right?”
As Si-hyun spoke, Ji-a nodded in agreement.
Simply put, it was a wingless dragon.
Except for the area from its jaw to its chest and belly, every part of its body was covered in scales that emitted a chill.
Its head and back were decorated with large, sharp spikes.
A close-range Hunter would get impaled in an instant if they let their guard down.
Grrr—
As the Drake breathed out, the air near its mouth froze.
It was the signal for battle to begin.
“It’s coming!”
“Yeah!”
As the Drake scraped the ground with its hind legs, it lunged toward the two like a bolt of lightning.
Si-hyun and Ji-a quickly spread out to the sides to dodge the attack.
Boom——!
The Drake’s head crashed into the wall, creating a massive sound that echoed through the cave.
The Drake, now with a crater in the wall, lifted its head.
As it did, dust fell from the spikes on its head.
Thud thud.
What a terrifying sight.
Rejoining in the middle, Ji-a muttered, “If that hits me, I’m in big trouble?”
“Don’t worry, I’ll save you.”
“Ah, haha….”
Ji-a let out an awkward laugh.
She was just making a light joke to keep the tension manageable.
But the calm reply felt ominous.
It actually seemed possible, sending shivers down her spine.
Ji-a shook her head, brushing off the thought.
After all, she had no intention of getting hit by such a simple attack.
“Here I go!”
Facing the approaching Drake, Ji-a stepped forward.
She made a confident entry, but after all, it was the boss of an A-rank dungeon.
Normally, two Hunters would struggle against such an opponent.
But because she was partnered with “Jeong Si-hyun,”
Ji-a marched forward with great momentum.
She focused all her energy.
Thud!
She kicked off the ground and dashed forward.
As she closed the distance, the Drake spun menacingly, swinging its tail.
Ji-a used her spear as leverage to leap high into the air.
Using that momentum, she quickly closed the gap.
Just then, having finished its tail spin, the Drake faced her directly.
Mana gathered at the tip of Ji-a’s spear, glowing with a blue hue.
The weak point was the area without scales!
Ji-a gripped her spear tightly.
At that moment, her body, defying gravity, began to fall rapidly again.
Swish—!
Like a meteor descending from the sky, Ji-a’s spear slashed the Drake’s chest.
“Kruwaak!”
With a burst of sound, the Drake let out a painful scream.
However, as expected from the boss of an A-rank dungeon, the wound wasn’t too deep.
The fury-filled gaze of the Drake fixated on Ji-a.
As if to seek revenge, the Drake aimed its massive maw toward Ji-a.
At that moment…
Boom—!
A sudden explosion of flame erupted, snapping the Drake’s head back.
“Nice one!”
With Si-hyun’s timely support, Ji-a cheered and assumed her attacking stance.
Lifting her spear with both hands, she bent it backward before powerfully kicking off the ground to soar upward.
Spinning rapidly in the air, she accelerated her spear, leaving another long scar on the Drake’s chest.
The mana packed into the spear dug deeply into the Drake’s heart.
“Kuwaak!”
Once again, the Drake let out a scream filled with pain.
While it was doing this, it kicked back hard with its hind legs to shake off Ji-a.
But once again, things didn’t go as the Drake wanted.
An invisible wall that had formed blocked its hind legs.
With the attack failing, a gap naturally appeared, and
Ji-a unleashed her mana without reservation.
Whoosh! Slash—!
Stab, swing, slam down.
She wielded her spear mercilessly at an incredible speed.
Having already adapted to Si-hyun’s buff,
Ji-a had made the incredible speed her own.
The spear moved at a speed invisible to ordinary eyes.
Continuously, more scars were added to the Drake’s chest.
Eventually, the Drake decided to make a big move to escape the situation.
It curled up and spun around, charging at Ji-a.
“Ugh…!”
Ji-a exclaimed in surprise, instinctively stepping back.
Luckily, while the attack was threatening, it was slow.
Ji-a quickly slipped back and successfully dodged, buying herself time.
The Drake once again lifted its body.
Now from its mouth, a chilling aura began to seep out.
Seeing this, Ji-a didn’t charge in; instead, she returned to Si-hyun’s side.
“Si-hyun, can you stop that?”
“Leave it to me.”
With a reassuring reply, Si-hyun quickly prepared her magic.
When they were far away, she could only delay its hind legs, but
When protecting someone nearby, Si-hyun had confidence that she wouldn’t be breached.
Using her powers to the fullest, Si-hyun readied against the breath attack.
First, a dazzling barrier made of holy energy appeared.
Grrr…
The Drake’s massive mouth slowly opened, letting out a low growl.
A cold, eerie energy wrapped around the surrounding air.
In that moment of silence,
Kuwaaaaaak———!
With an explosive sound, an intensely frigid breath shot out towards the two.
But what Si-hyun was preparing wasn’t just the holy barrier.
At the exact moment, a wall of seething flames was also created in front of the barrier.
A double barrier.
The path the breath took froze solid.
Even the moisture in the air turned to ice, scattering frost crystals everywhere.
However, Si-hyun’s preparation was flawless.
The wall tailored against the cold reduced the intensity of the frost,
So the holy barrier didn’t even have a scratch.
“Si-hyun! You’re amazing! Wow!”
“…Hehe.”
Si-hyun let out a humble chuckle at Ji-a’s fervent praise.
After the breath attack ended, as Si-hyun dispelled her magic, the ice that formed above the barrier floated in the air.
Ji-a immediately dashed away, avoiding the path of the breath.
Kuwaaak!
Again, she struck its chest.
Having been hit in the same spot repeatedly, the Drake let out a huge scream.
It tried to counterattack like before, but Ji-a dodged with much more ease this time.
Since the time the battle started, during the period when it was exhaling breath,
Si-hyun’s debuffs had steadily been stacking up from the beginning.
Angry mana was continuously gnawing at the Drake.
Under normal circumstances, Ji-a would have been sluggish from the Drake’s chill.
However, with Si-hyun’s blessings and buffs, Ji-a’s resistance had been boosted.
Whenever Ji-a felt slightly sluggish, Si-hyun would promptly cleanse the chill away.
Thus, the Drake’s cold didn’t have a significant influence over Ji-a.
In the end, time was on Si-hyun and Ji-a’s side.
So these two continued to easily trade blows with the Drake.
The Drake kept fighting back, but after all the opponent was the opponent.
While Ji-a stayed the same as at the start, the Drake weakened further.
Even if Ji-a were to get hurt, Si-hyun’s blessings would follow immediately.
And so eventually…
Grrr…….
The massive boss monster collapsed to the ground, breathing its last.
“Ha…, Hah…”
Ji-a let out a deep breath she had been holding in.
Si-hyun happily approached her side.
“Ji-a, you did great! You were truly awesome!”
“No, you were the best! The ultimate supporter!”
“Hehe…”
“Haha!”
Fully savoring the joy of victory,
Si-hyun and Ji-a exchanged a slap! high-five.
It was a clean and perfect victory.
*
In the office of the Hunter Management Agency in Seoul.
Department head Jang Han-soo stared intently at the monitor screen.
Several hours had passed since Hunter Kim Ji-a entered the A-rank dungeon as per the agency’s request.
Normally, a single person would never be requested to tackle an A-rank dungeon.
In fact, the department head had recommended starting from a B-rank dungeon.
Even if someone was an A-rank Hunter, it was an impressive feat to conquer a B-rank dungeon alone.
But she insisted on tackling the A-rank dungeon.
Even when advised against it, she insisted she could handle it.
At that moment, a woman’s information flashed in the department head’s mind.
A returnee who claimed to be a paladin, currently registered as a D-rank Hunter, Jeong Si-hyun.
Respecting her will and keeping it under wraps,
the department head personally speculated that she was around B-rank, if not A-rank level.
He understood Hunter Kim Ji-a’s intentions.
Even though Si-hyun’s name wasn’t mentioned directly by either of them,
the consultation went smoothly, and Jang Han-soo had completed the procedures for gate entry considering Si-hyun.
And today,
The department head had been refreshing the app screen for hours while staring at the monitor.
“I can’t focus at all…”
He had other work to do but kept glancing back. It was torturous.
After all, it’s rare for an A-rank dungeon to be cleared in a day.
The department head knew this well.
However, due to the previous outcome,
he couldn’t help but keep watching, even when he didn’t want to.
“Ugh, I’ll grab a coffee.”
The department head stretched and stood up.
After stopping by the break room to grab a cup of coffee, he returned and plopped back into his chair.
Then, he noticed.
“Oh?”
Unconsciously clicking to refresh the screen again,
he found that the A-rank dungeon in Gangneung was cleared too!
And once again! It took less than half a day!
With excitement, the department head clenched his fists.
“This is it! Wow—!”
His excitement made his nostrils flare.
He bounced in his seat, nodding happily.
He had some doubts but the two women had not let him down.
They had once again magnificently conquered an A-rank dungeon together!
The department head felt a giddy rush, as if he were the one who achieved it.
However, soon enough, he realized he had shouted without meaning to and calmed down his excitement.
But by then, he had already caught someone else’s attention.
A nearby team member approached to ask.
“Department head, is there something good happening?”
“Ah, just now, Hunter Kim Ji-a completed conquering the A-rank dungeon.”
The department head said lightly.
After all, this information would spread quickly.
“Wow, again? With this pace, Kim Ji-a will soon achieve S-rank!”
“Right? It’s really reassuring.”
“Every time I hear news like this, I feel a sense of pride! Like a new hero has emerged in our country! It feels great!”
“I agree! Hahaha!”
The team member chatted with the department head about Ji-a for a while before leaving.
Once he had gone, the department head leaned back comfortably in his chair, pondering.
Deep down, he wanted to publicly announce about Si-hyun.
That there is a returnee in our country! Someone even greater than the returnees from the US!
Just imagining it was thrilling.
However, it was still too early.
If he inadvertently hurt Si-hyun’s feelings, he could lose everything.
The relationship between the agency and Si-hyun shouldn’t become like that of the Heroes Party he had heard about.
For the time being, this information would be known only to a select few, including himself.
The department head indulged in his bubbling excitement.
*
Si-hyun and Ji-a’s dungeon expedition was for a day trip.
After conquering the A-rank dungeon, the two had dinner and immediately returned to Seoul.
“Si-hyun, good job today!”
“You too! Drive safely!”
After dropping Si-hyun off in front of her house, Ji-a drove away.
Si-hyun paused for a moment, watching the back of the car before turning away.
There was the distance between Gangneung and Seoul, and they had stopped by a mart along the way.
Before she knew it, it was nighttime.
Si-hyun’s hands were full of delicious goodies.
Today’s dungeon earnings were fruitful, so she had picked up some snacks at the mart.
Having returned home,
Si-hyun tilted her head, surveying her surroundings.
She had expected Si-yoon to be watching TV in the living room.
But there wasn’t a trace of her.
She placed her bags on the dining table.
As she scanned around absentmindedly, her gaze landed on her smartphone.
She had messaged that she was bringing a lot of food and would arrive at this time.
Checking the chat history, Si-yoon had read it and left a reply.
‘Still in your room?’
Work hours had surely ended a while ago.
Si-hyun quietly made her way to her sister’s room and stood at the door.
Knock knock—
“I’m back! Are you still working?”
Si-hyun knocked on the door, checking if her sister was inside.
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