Yerin Jeong.
She was a B-Rank Hunter.
At the same time, she possessed the Healer trait.
The position of a B-Rank Healer was by no means easy. To be able to heal most injuries and maximize the party’s sustainability in dungeons. That was Yerin Jeong, a B-Rank Healer.
This alone was remarkable, but her background was further enhanced by something else.
It was her guild. The guild she belonged to was the Fire Bird Guild. It was one of the top five largest guilds in South Korea.
Possessing the rare Healer trait and belonging to a large guild. If anyone else saw this, it would be a combination that would surely inspire envy and be seen as a role model.
However, Yerin Jeong herself felt that these things were futile. If she had been an ordinary guild member, she would have enjoyed the present moment. But. Unfortunately, she was not simply a member of the Fire Bird Guild.
The Guild Leader of the Fire Bird Guild was her father. And she had two older brothers.
Her father was the Guild Leader.
Her older brother held the position of Vice Guild Leader. If nothing unexpected happened, he would likely inherit and manage the Fire Bird Guild after their father.
Her younger brother was the same. Although he didn’t wield as much power as her older brother, he could exercise authority over the guild’s dungeons and personnel decisions.
Furthermore, both her father and older brother were A-Rank Hunters. There was no room for her, a B-Rank, to interfere. Others might have wondered what the problem was. Wasn’t it good that her father was the Guild Leader and her brothers held sway within the guild? Wouldn’t she be at least above average just by staying put? This was the general perception people had of her.
In actuality, she held the title of Team Leader and led a team.
However, it was far from the happiness people imagined. This was because she and her two brothers were half-siblings with different mothers. Of course, even if their mothers were different, it would have been one thing if they had been generous and taken good care of Yerin Jeong, but the world was not that accommodating.
Due to having a different mother, her brothers viewed Yerin Jeong as a thorn in their side. Someone to be eliminated someday. That’s how they saw Yerin Jeong.
Of course, in a well-governed country, it was impossible to eliminate someone openly. Therefore, they subtly disadvantaged Yerin Jeong and deliberately assigned her extremely dangerous dungeons.
It was the same now.
“A Goblin Lord in the dungeon…”
A variable had appeared in the dungeon assigned to her team. What she thought was a simple goblin dungeon turned out to have the appearance of a Goblin Lord, an A-Rank Monster.
“Sigh…”
She couldn’t help but sigh. The Goblin Lord was the leader monster of all goblin-type monsters. Naturally, it was also the master of that dungeon. A monster that, as a leader, was on a different level from ordinary goblins. That alone was a headache, but there was a bigger problem. It acted strategically, commanding numerous goblins under it. Therefore, many hunters struggled to clear dungeons where a Goblin Lord appeared.
If her team members were of a higher rank, she wouldn’t have worried too much. Unfortunately, she, a B-Rank, was the highest-ranked in the team. The other team members were a mix of C-Rank and D-Rank. The problem was that she, a B-Rank, was a non-combat Healer.
Even if she were to be resurrected, she would still be insufficient to defeat a Goblin Lord. This meant she had to inform the guild and give up. As a result of giving up, she and her team members would face disadvantages, but it would be better than losing their lives unnecessarily.
‘They wouldn’t have deliberately given me this dungeon, would they?’ She knew very well that her brothers viewed her as a thorn in their side. Yet, she wanted to believe that the fact this dungeon was assigned to her was just a coincidence. She hoped they weren’t that much of trash.
Thus, Yerin Jeong sat in a cafe, contemplating this problem. And at that moment. A man’s mumbling could be heard from nearby.
“Goblin Lord’s weakness…”
The sound coincidentally reached her ears.
‘Goblin Lord?’ She quickly looked around. There, a man was holding his smartphone diligently, doing something.
‘What is he doing?’ Yerin Jeong observed the man’s actions closely.
“If there are no goblins, the Goblin Lord can’t use any power…”
The Goblin Lord can’t use power? What did that mean? Yerin Jeong continued to listen to the man’s words. And she could arrive at one conclusion.
‘The Goblin Lord cannot use any power without the goblins under its command!’ It was shocking, but at the same time, a sense of doubt arose, wondering if it was true. Honestly, it was absurd. Based on the situations so far, it was generally believed that the Goblin Lord had no weakness. The Goblin Lord commanded countless goblins. In reality, hunters considered it a top priority to eliminate the Goblin Lord when it appeared, as it acted strategically. Typically, the strategy was to unleash powerful area attacks to create an opening, and the strongest hunter in the party would fight against the Goblin Lord. Therefore, the words she had just heard could have been ignored. However, a glimmer of hope, “What if?”, arose in a corner of her heart. If she gave up on this dungeon, the guild would impose disadvantages. In that case, she, as the Team Leader, and her team members would face disciplinary action. Her position within the guild would be shaken. Soon, such a result could escalate to questioning her qualifications as a Team Leader, a significant problem. However, knowingly entering the dungeon would be like walking into a death trap. This was also a serious problem.
‘It absolutely cannot happen.’ That would be exactly what her brothers wanted.
“Let’s just give it a try.” Yerin Jeong clenched her fist. It was a “nothing to lose” situation. If what that man said was true, she wouldn’t have to go all out to eliminate the Goblin Lord from the start. Perhaps, no matter how long it took, it would be enough to chip away at the goblins one by one. ‘If necessary, I can just give up.’ Of course, if what she had just heard was true, it would change the landscape of the hunter ecosystem. But that was assuming it was true, and at this point, she couldn’t just blindly believe it.
‘Let me check it out.’ She intended to lightly probe the other person. Yerin Jeong immediately stood up and walked towards the man.
“Excuse me.” She called out to him. The man put down the smartphone he was holding and calmly looked at her. Yerin Jeong deliberately greeted him and subtly handed him her business card. It was a form of pressure, indicating that she belonged to the Fire Bird Guild. However, the man, without any emotion, bluntly revealed his name.
“Ah, yes. My name is Kanghyeon Lee. I don’t have a business card.” The other person only stated his name. This slightly shocked Yerin Jeong.
‘Hmph.’ At the same time, she found it absurd. Judging by his words, the other person was undoubtedly a Hunter. Yet, he only revealed his name? This meant that the other person was not intimidated by the background of the Fire Bird Guild at all.
‘He’s a bigger shot than I thought.’ Look at him now. She could perceive both annoyance and arrogance in the other person’s expression. ‘To think he’s at this level…’ He even exuded confidence, as if he could resolve any situation.
Upon confirming this, she felt relieved. ‘If he’s that kind of person, the information he mentioned earlier is unlikely to be false.’ His name was Kanghyeon Lee, right? He must undoubtedly be a great Hunter. Yerin Jeong stood up, remembering the name Kanghyeon Lee. Of course, she didn’t forget to thank him. She planned to find him again if she succeeded in the dungeon subjugation. If everything he said was true, he was a talent she absolutely could not afford to miss. Of course.
‘Strange woman. I must never get close to her.’ Kanghyeon Lee’s thoughts were quite different from Yerin Jeong’s.
* * *
The Paladins were climbing the mountain.
“Halt here for a moment!” At the shout of a man at the front, the procession stopped. The man’s name was Berter Leobain. He was the second son of the Leobain Duke family, a powerful family in the Kalrn Empire.
“We will resume the search after a brief rest! Everyone, maintain your vigilance and take a break!” And he was currently the Vice Captain leading the Paladins of the White Church. They were carrying out a vampire subjugation operation initiated by the Church. It was not a dangerous operation. After all, their objective was only to weaken Baalcherit’s forces by subjugating lesser vampires.
Baalcherit was a 5-Star Vampire. A 5-Star Monster was a being that could annihilate an entire city on its own.
‘If I could just defeat that guy with my own hands…’ If he were to defeat Baalcherit, then occupying the Leobain Duke family would no longer be a dream. He was passed over for the position of family heir simply because he was the second son. Berter was deeply dissatisfied with this.
‘Even though I’m more capable than my brother, I’m treated like this.’ After relinquishing his position as heir, he immediately joined the Church. Fortunately, his skills and his family’s background allowed him to serve as a Paladin. Before long, he was even appointed to the position of Vice Captain. Although it was regrettable that he wasn’t the Captain, it couldn’t be helped. For someone who wasn’t originally affiliated with the Church to rise to the rank of Vice Captain of the Paladins was an unprecedented promotion.
“Sigh…” Berter sighed. During the vampire subjugation, one of the vampires had escaped. The current Paladins were brought here unnecessarily to catch a single escaped vampire. They had ended up at the mountains bordering the Demonic Realm. Moreover, although it was neglected, this was still the territory of the Sail Kingdom, and if discovered, it would be a troublesome affair.
“Um, Vice Captain?” Someone spoke to Berter. It was one of the Paladins.
“Is it really necessary to pursue him? He’s not a mature vampire; he’s unlikely to cause significant trouble, is he?” The Paladin’s words were true. Even if a young vampire escaped, in normal circumstances, they would have ignored it. Catching a young vampire wouldn’t even contribute significantly to their achievements. Yet, now they had ventured all the way to the mountains bordering the Demonic Realm to catch just one of them. Moreover, this was the territory of another country. Strictly speaking, they were currently invading another country. The Paladin couldn’t understand the current situation. However, Berter retorted with a shout.
“Our duty as Paladins is to protect people in the name of the Church!” That was to say, shut up and obey. However.
‘The sword that bastard was holding…’ Berter saw something else in the escaping vampire. A sword that the young vampire was holding in its embrace as it fled.
‘It was definitely a Demonic Sword.’ A Demonic Sword that grants immense power to its user. It was a sword identical to the Demonic Swords he had seen in the Church’s texts. Berter’s eyes sparkled with greed.
