The next day, Si-hyun got into Ji-a’s car, which was there to pick her up, and they headed toward the gate.
Ah, having a personal vehicle is nice… she thought absentmindedly.
Ji-a looked at Si-hyun and spoke.
“What weapon are you using? I’m a spear master.”
“Uh, I couldn’t bring my usual weapon back… so just roughly something?”
Should I try using the sword that Da-young gave me?
Si-hyun simply thought and pulled out the sword.
Seeing that, Ji-a’s eyes widened as she exclaimed,
“Isn’t that a sword for a saint?”
“I have enough skills I picked up just by eyeballing it.”
Si-hyun replied nonchalantly.
During large-scale battles, she had used everything she could grab in the chaotic melee. Plus, she had years of experience fighting alongside the hero party.
She wasn’t systematically trained, but she knew how to use it to some extent.
“Hmm…, shall we begin then?”
“Yeah, let’s go.”
The two stood side by side, stepping forward energetically.
As they advanced deeper into the dungeon, they soon encountered two trolls.
With their towering heights over three meters and thick skin, plus strong regeneration abilities, regular C-rank hunters would be sweating bullets at the sight.
But those two were not your regular hunters.
“We’ll take one each. Sound good?”
“Of course.”
They prepared for battle, each taking on a troll.
Ji-a adjusted her stance slightly, glancing at Si-hyun.
She was confident, but she’d never actually seen Si-hyun in a fight.
For her, a single C-rank troll was an easy opponent.
So she was planning to observe Si-hyun’s strategy first.
But then…
Si-hyun was doing the same thing!
She’d killed countless trolls before.
She was confident she could take one out with her eyes closed.
Thanks to that, both girls realized they were looking at each other.
“Haha…”
“Ahaha!”
They were both having the same thought!
After a big laugh, they turned their attention back to the monster in front of them.
After all, the dungeon was spacious.
They had all the time in the world to observe their opponent.
Adjusting their thoughts, the two began their attack as the trolls charged at them.
First was Ji-a.
She utilized her quick movements and the extended reach of her spear to its limits.
Maintaining a certain distance, she attacked the troll’s weak spots unilaterally.
Joints and knees—the parts that could slow down her opponent’s movements.
No matter how tough the troll was, even the most robust would eventually falter when targeted repeatedly by an A-rank hunter’s skilled spear techniques.
Ultimately, lacking regeneration, the troll went down to its knees.
In that moment!
Ji-a activated her spear master skill.
With a swift woosh of blue energy, a spear shot forth quickly.
The spear imbued with mana pierced straight through the troll’s neck.
“Ugh—!”
No matter how good its regeneration was, that attack was fatal.
The troll collapsed, marking the end of its life.
“Ahh…!”
Ji-a lightly stretched her body, swinging her spear to shake off the blood.
She turned to glance at Si-hyun.
“……Wow.”
Ji-a couldn’t help but gasp lightly.
The troll on Si-hyun’s side was already defeated.
It had been cleanly decapitated.
Even though she hadn’t given it her all, she didn’t think she would be slower than Si-hyun.
Si-hyun seemed much stronger than she’d anticipated.
“….But is the saint really supposed to be wielding a sword?”
As Si-hyun approached, Ji-a muttered that under her breath.
With a wry smile, Si-hyun responded,
“Paladin.”
“Ahaha.”
It was just one word, but the meaning was conveyed correctly. Ji-a nodded while smiling.
Whatever happened in the dungeon today was also a secret.
“Do you remember saying you’d bless me when we entered the dungeon yesterday?”
“Oh, right.”
“Is it similar to the support-specialized hunters?”
“Could… be?”
Si-hyun tilted her head at Ji-a’s question.
Since she had never seen them, she wouldn’t know.
But she’d figure it out eventually, right?
Si-hyun lightly used her divine power to strengthen Ji-a’s body.
Next, she used mana to cast buffs, enhancing various efficiencies.
After all, this was a C-rank dungeon.
Si-hyun carefully adjusted the power level.
Once the blessing was over, Ji-a clenched and unclenched her fists, mumbling in amazement.
“……This feels different?”
“Really?”
“It’s layered with a bunch of stuff, right?”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
When Si-hyun affirmed it, Ji-a pondered deeply.
“That first phase… this energy is unlike anything I’ve ever felt before. I know the mana feeling from the middle onwards, but…”
“Holy power?”
“Is that what it’s called? Yes, this sensation is new to me.”
“Hmm……”
Si-hyun fell into thought for a moment.
This was something no one had pointed out before.
Maybe she was sensing it since she was around A-rank hunters.
But she reached the conclusion that she didn’t know the answer herself.
The holy power came from prayer and belief.
While she had, of course, learned about mana theoretically, it was an area where intuition played a big role.
So much difference between awakeners and status windows…
“Is there a problem? Any side effects or anything?”
“None! In fact, I feel so powerful, it’s a bit of a problem. I think I could handle even an S-rank opponent right now.”
Ji-a declared confidently.
She felt strength and vitality surging through her entire body.
There was a reason big guilds were always looking for a few good support hunters.
Everyone feels a limit, a wall, at certain stages.
And there’s a tantalizing allure in bursting through that wall, even for a moment.
“How about we go wild for a bit?”
“Yeah, let’s go!”
As Ji-a was overflowing with energy, Si-hyun felt invigorated too.
Ji-a’s enthusiasm felt refreshing.
The two girls boldly made their way into the dungeon.
It may have just been a C-rank dungeon, but both Ji-a and Si-hyun were having more fun than ever!
*
After finishing up their adventure in the dungeon and stepping outside, Ji-a suddenly voiced a question.
“Si-hyun, you’ve never been in a C-rank dungeon before, right?”
“Hmm? This is my first time.”
“Then how come you handled it so skillfully?”
Ji-a recalled Si-hyun’s movements she had witnessed in the dungeon.
It wasn’t just talent and physique that allowed her to counter the opponent’s attacks.
It was prediction.
Her movements were like someone who had already penetrated the behaviors and patterns of the enemy.
With Si-hyun’s strength on top of that, it looked as if she toyed with the C-rank monsters.
“Ah… I’m not sure why myself.”
Having understood Ji-a’s question accurately, Si-hyun scratched her cheek.
“The monsters from my world are exactly the same.”
“Really? E~C grades?”
“Yeah. I’ve fought those monsters so much, I instinctively know how to handle them.”
“Then….”
Ji-a’s expression turned to one of surprise.
Si-hyun might be familiar with the monsters found in B and A ranks too.
If she also recognized the S-rank monsters, which have scarcely appeared so far…
The world would turn upside down.
“Ah, just because I know doesn’t mean I know everything. I only know what I know.”
What she didn’t know, she admitted she didn’t know, Si-hyun mumbled, then continued with a small smile.
“By the way, Ji-a, you’re really strong, you know?”
“Huh? Out of the blue?”
“Yeah, honestly, I was surprised. You’re definitely on a different level from lower-ranked hunters.”
“R-really…?”
Ji-a’s cheeks flushed red at Si-hyun’s sudden compliment.
Compliments can indeed make even whales dance, and her heart raced.
Honestly, Si-hyun was a total knockout, too.
Feeling embarrassed, Ji-a thought she needed to change the subject.
“Are you really going to miss out on shopping with Si-yoon?”
“…Yeah. I think I’ll be tired.”
“C’mon, the dungeon is way more tiring!”
“I’m good, so you two have fun.”
Si-hyun put up a solid wall, wanting no part in the women’s shopping spree.
Ji-a lightly tapped against that wall but couldn’t break through.
*
Time passed, and the weekend arrived.
Ji-a was wandering around a nearby shopping district with Si-yoon.
While they were out, Ji-a happened to notice a bracelet on Si-yoon’s wrist.
“Si-yoon, that bracelet is pretty. Where did you get it?”
“Oh, this?”
At Ji-a’s question, Si-yoon smiled brightly and raised her arm.
“It was a gift from my older sister! She said it was completed after she ordered it a while back.”
“Hmm….”
As Si-yoon showed it off, Ji-a inadvertently touched the bracelet and felt a familiar sensation.
“Hmm? Status window.”
She instantly opened her status window to check the bracelet’s information.
Since it was made from mana stone, unlike ordinary items, simple details were laid out in the status window.
“This is a mana stone accessory?”
“Oh, is that what it is? No wonder they were saying something about it being dangerous…”
Hearing Si-yoon’s mumble, Ji-a smirked.
Who wouldn’t dote on their sister?
It hadn’t even been that long since they returned, and she was already taking care of her.
“…I want to buy something too.”
“Should we check out the accessory shop?”
“Yeah.”
The two women browsed around the shops searching for accessories.
It took quite a while, but in the end, Si-yoon found a satisfactory item.
Just as Si-yoon was about to grab her wrapped present,
“Everyone! Evacuate!”
“What’s going on?!”
There was a sudden commotion.
A young man shouted desperately.
People stared at him, bewildered.
“Dimension rifts…!”
The young man’s words couldn’t finish.
With a loud boom, a huge gate flickered with a crimson aura appeared.
The people inside the shopping center were helplessly sucked into the gate.
It was the emergence of an anomalous special dungeon that the management agency had failed to pre-detect.
Among the many civilians pulled into the gate, Ji-a and Si-yoon were swept away as well.
*
Meanwhile, Si-hyun stayed home alone, alternating between browsing the internet and watching videos.
While doing so, she stumbled upon an urgent news bulletin displaying various reports.
[In a shopping district in Seoul, a gate has appeared that was not observed.]
[The management agency announced it’s a one-way dungeon that cannot be exited once entered.]
[Measured as the most powerful dungeon among A-rank dungeons observed in Korea to date.]
“……”
Si-hyun gazed blankly at the bracelet on her wrist.
She had instructed them to activate the bracelet if anything happened.
She hadn’t heard where they went shopping.
Seeing there was still no response, she hoped they were alright…
But still, worry gnawed at her.
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