“Si-hyun! How did it go this time?!”
“I think I did pretty well just now!”
As the battle continued after concluding the dungeon raid,
the men approached Si-hyun with sparkling eyes.
Si-hyun, who had been watching from the back, gave a light nod.
“You all have improved a lot.”
“Buffs are something else!”
“It’s all thanks to the professor! Hahaha!”
The excited men naturally showered Si-hyun with compliments.
The corners of Si-hyun’s mouth twitched slightly.
“Wow, how do you know so much about monsters?”
“Truly, the academy professor is amazing!”
“Hehe…”
The compliments kept pouring in.
They say praise can make even whales dance, and Si-hyun’s expression began to soften.
The passionate praise from the men whose lives had been saved was starting to take effect.
Contracts are contracts, and impressive things are impressive, after all.
Everyone was falling for Si-hyun’s chicness and strength.
Laughter and joy filled the air.
In such a cheerful atmosphere, there was just one person.
A gloomy man.
He was an archer.
Looking defeated, he turned to Han-gyeol, who was next to him.
“Han-gyeol, why do I have to have a bow as my trait…?”
“Huh? Isn’t ranged good?”
“But Si-hyun said she doesn’t know much about bows…”
“Oh, haha… But there’s still a lot to learn with monsters, right?”
Han-gyeol replied awkwardly while laughing.
The archer nodded slowly.
As Han-gyeol said, there wasn’t any teaching about bows, but it was true there was purely a lot to learn.
Even though the archer let out deep sighs, the group steadily continued with their dungeon raid.
After quite some time passed,
the excited party encountered a troll.
“Uuu?”
“…Everyone, it seems a good teaching material has arrived.”
Si-hyun stepped forward.
Thanks to the endless compliments from the men earlier, Si-hyun also felt invigorated and took a proactive stance.
“When facing a troll, you should…”
WHOOSH—!
Si-hyun swiftly dodged the troll’s massive fist by twisting her body slightly.
“Basically, it’s best to target the joints or knees as weaknesses.”
In an instant, she closed in on the troll and lightly tapped its knee with her fingers.
From the troll’s perspective, it was a highly provocative act.
“GRAAH!”
Furious, the troll kicked at her knee.
However, Si-hyun stepped back as if she had anticipated it and easily dodged.
At the sight of her swift moves, the men’s eyes went wide.
Next, Si-hyun lightly kicked the inside of the troll’s knee.
“That-AAH—!”
With a massive scream, the troll collapsed to its knees.
Even for something over three meters tall, kneeling brought it to eye level with Si-hyun.
She naturally continued her lecture.
“Of course, if you can reach, aiming for the neck works too.”
“GRAAH!”
In agony, the troll swung its arm at Si-hyun.
But this was a futile struggle.
Si-hyun lifted her leg and delivered a powerful kick to the troll’s swinging arm.
WHACK!
The troll’s arm twisted at an odd angle and drooped down limply.
Si-hyun glanced at it nonchalantly before continuing her lecture.
“Archer, you might want to aim for the eyes too.”
With one hand firmly gripping the troll’s head,
her other finger pointed at the troll’s tearful eyes.
The Wings Guild members who were watching couldn’t help but gasp at the scene.
“Whoa…”
“Guys, what am I looking at right now?”
“Is it crying because it hurts?”
“Was the troll this pathetic?”
Regardless of the men’s shock,
Si-hyun gave a nod and gestured to the archer.
As he looked at her, she pointed at the troll’s eyes again.
BLINKBLINK.
The archer shifted his gaze between Si-hyun’s face and the troll’s head.
Si-hyun nodded.
‘So, she’s telling me to shoot…?’
The archer awkwardly grabbed his bow and got into position.
Though his mind couldn’t fully catch up, he thought he had to do it because he was told.
What if he accidentally hits Si-hyun by mistake? That thought briefly crossed his mind.
But soon came another thought that he would probably miss anyway.
WHOOSH!
THUD!
“Great job!”
“Oh, haha!”
It was a hit!
The arrow struck right in the troll’s eye.
The troll’s head tilted slightly, but no one noticed.
As Si-hyun praised him, the archer awkwardly scratched his head, feeling a little childish.
But it didn’t seem bad after all.
The compliment from the smiling beauty boosted his self-esteem immensely.
“Ranged attacks really are good!”
“Right?”
“Hahaha!”
“Hoho.”
The party’s atmosphere grew even more cheerful.
Without leaving anyone behind, everyone laughed together as compliments and humor exchanged hands.
Thus, the Wings Guild’s C-rank dungeon field trip turned into a picnic.
*
After a brief rest,
before continuing the dungeon raid, the Wings Guild members asked Si-hyun.
“Si-hyun, what are you planning to do for dinner after finishing the dungeon today?”
“Do you want to eat with us and head home?”
Everyone’s eyes focused on Si-hyun.
Si-hyun shook her head and answered.
“I’m planning to have dinner with my younger sibling at home.”
“Oh, I see!”
The men showed a slightly regretful expression but didn’t make a big deal out of it.
As they gradually worked to wrap up the dungeon raid, the group began to move busily.
Then, they encountered a horde of goblins wielding various weapons.
“The professor wants to leave early!”
“Let’s finish before meal time!”
“Your sibling is waiting! Let’s go—!”
The men shouted energetically as they charged forward.
‘W-wait, I didn’t mean an early leave…’
Si-hyun let out a wry smile.
Yet, seeing everyone full of energy compared to when they first entered the dungeon made her feel good.
“Hmmm…”
COUGH—!
Si-hyun kicked the belly of a goblin rushing at her.
She leisurely observed the Wings Guild members.
The D-rank hunters were certainly more skilled in battle than the E-rank hunters.
Meeting familiar goblins, they fought like fish in water.
Of course, with the sheer number of goblins, it didn’t look easy.
But thanks to Si-hyun’s help every dangerous moment,
the party successfully defeated another group of monsters with their strength.
“Thanks to you, Si-hyun, the raid speed is incredibly fast. We’re almost done!”
“It’s going by in a flash!”
The men chatted excitedly while collecting loot.
Indeed, their raiding speed was exceptionally quick.
Riding the momentum, they soon cleared the forest area.
With their confidence soaring, the men advanced without hesitation.
“Huh? Is that an open area?”
“Don’t you see something at the end of that clearing?”
“Then, is this the end?”
“Everyone, wait a moment…”
Si-hyun tried to stop the men.
Her mana, which had been faintly spreading, was suddenly blocked by a certain boundary.
It felt just like the sensation of entering a boss room.
It was the first time she felt such a thing in an open area of a dungeon.
“Let’s wrap it up quickly!”
“Let’s go!”
But the men, chattering while joking around with divine beings, didn’t hear Si-hyun’s voice.
They eagerly continued a few more steps, exchanging lively dialogue.
“…Everyone, stop for a moment!”
Sensing something suspicious, Si-hyun shouted loudly.
Han-gyeol, who was near Si-hyun, immediately halted.
But the rest of the men continued moving forward.
The conversation ceased.
Yet, the footsteps didn’t stop.
As if, upon passing a specific boundary, “the space had separated.”
It was an unsettling situation.
Si-hyun immediately stomped the ground.
With her fist, she struck the area where mana was blocked in the air.
BOOM—!
Si-hyun’s fist met an invisible barrier.
An intangible barrier crackled, refusing to let her pass.
The advancing men felt the pause in their steps.
It wasn’t that they heard the sound of the barrier breaking.
They realized belatedly that Si-hyun and Han-gyeol’s steps had stopped.
Tilting his head, one of them turned back to Si-hyun.
He seemed about to speak, but no sound came out.
They had perfectly severed communication based on the boundary.
Han-gyeol, who approached Si-hyun, reached out to touch the air.
Something was blocked by an invisible wall.
A notification appeared in Han-gyeol’s status window.
Sweaty and pale, he stared at the status window.
The men on the opposite side began noticing something was off too.
They tried to walk back across the boundary.
WHACK!
Stopped by the invisible wall, they staggered back.
Rubbing their foreheads, they glared at the boundary.
At that moment, Han-gyeol let out a sigh.
“O-Oh my god…”
“…Han-gyeol?”
“T-this is fucking cruel…”
Han-gyeol whimpered as he struggled to keep his emotions in check.
Si-hyun turned her head towards Han-gyeol.
Han-gyeol was staring blankly at a particular direction in the air.
At that point, Si-hyun instinctively understood what that gesture meant.
Awakened individuals often acted that way when looking at their status windows.
“Damn it! Damn it!”
Han-gyeol swung his sword with all his might against the invisible wall.
The barrier crackled and rebounded his sword lightly.
THWACK! THWACK! THWACK!
Han-gyeol continued to kick the barrier with determination.
Yet, he couldn’t keep it up.
It was utterly futile.
Despair overcame him as he clung to the invisible wall, kneeling down.
“Why does it have to be this dungeon….”
Han-gyeol whimpered, his words trailing off in despair.
Si-hyun frowned deeply and looked up.
The boss monster of the dungeon, situated at the far end of the wide clearing, slowly began to rise.
It sensed that prey had entered its domain.
The expressions of the four trapped D-rank men turned pale.
To kill a C-rank dungeon boss, it would typically require at least dozens of D-rank hunters.
Even then, it would be necessary to prepare for deaths to occur.
And they were merely four?
That was essentially a death sentence.
The men’s legs began to tremble uncontrollably.
The situation became urgent. Si-hyun looked back at Han-gyeol.
“Han-gyeol, what is happening?”
“…It’s a one-way entry restriction boss room. Only D-ranks can enter! Damn it!”
Half-lost to reason, Han-gyeol howled.
If a regular C-rank party had discovered this, the management department would have gathered enough personnel to conduct a raid.
But due to unfortunate circumstances, an accident had occurred.
It was just plain bad luck.
Suddenly, Han-gyeol’s eyes widened as he looked at Si-hyun.
‘Huh…?’
Wasn’t Si-hyun a D-rank hunter?
While the status window could tell each hunter’s rank, it could only show one’s own.
So, promoted hunters would have to go to the management department to take a promotion test to have their rank acknowledged.
Therefore, this meant that Si-hyun was of C-rank or higher.
‘Well, what good does that do…’
The moment it became understood why she was so strong was now.
However, that still didn’t provide a solution for the current situation.
Should they rather go outside and call for support?
…No, it would surely be too late.
They wouldn’t be able to hold out until enough D-rank hunters gathered.
Just a little longer, and the guild members in front of her would be torn apart by the boss monster.
“Damn it, damn it…”
Han-gyeol pounded the ground in frustration.
No matter how hard he thought, there were no solutions.
The kind of tragic death that hunters might face due to bad luck had come knocking today. Of all days!
Han-gyeol broke down in despair.
Hearing the explanation, Si-hyun placed her palm against the invisible wall.
‘A rank restriction, huh.’
It was something hunters often talked about.
While the status window was incredibly convenient, it was also “unfriendly.”
That seemed quite accurate.
It became evident as she was restricted entry despite not being awakened.
In other words, it wasn’t just a matter of restricted entry by rank. It was a magical phenomenon.
“Han-gyeol.”
“…Yes?”
As Si-hyun called, the tear-streaked Han-gyeol looked up.
Detecting the serious look in Si-hyun’s eyes, he felt a surge of hope.
“Do you…believe in me?”
“……!”
Han-gyeol’s eyes widened.
The woman before him radiated confidence.
It was as if she had a way to resolve the current situation.
Her golden eyes sparkled with a mysterious glow.
Han-gyeol felt as if he was about to be pulled in and slowly opened his mouth.
“……Yes! I believe you!”
It was a strong answer.
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