Chapter 9

At the entrance of the dungeon, there was nothing. After all, the real challenge would begin from the point where the hidden dungeon started, which would likely be near the exit, so the key was to move quickly now.

“Shall we run a bit?”

When Heero, standing at the front, suggested this, Dasol let out a deep sigh. He looked at Jeongeun and asked, “Do you have the stamina to carry me while running?”

Typically, when quick movement was necessary, the bodyguard hunter would carry the healer. However, Jeongeun couldn’t answer easily. He hadn’t been particularly strong for an S-rank hunter. While he might have seemed like a monster to lower-ranked hunters or civilians, in terms of stamina, he was weaker than an A-rank combat hunter.

Moreover, with his magic vessel damaged and his body significantly weakened, he doubted he could even keep up with the team members, let alone carry someone.

“...I’ll try my best.”

Even so, Jeongeun didn’t outright say he couldn’t do it. Saying he couldn’t here would leave everyone dumbfounded.

Dasol nodded, understanding Jeongeun’s uncertain response, and approached Soohyuk.

“Hyung, can you carry me?”

“Sure.”

Soohyuk, as if it were second nature, lifted Dasol up.

Dasol had immediately sensed that Jeongeun wouldn’t be able to do it. Jeongeun had become a bodyguard who couldn’t fulfill his role from the very beginning.

“I’m sorry.”

When Jeongeun apologized, Soohyuk smiled kindly.

“There’s no need to apologize. I’m basically Dasol’s personal palanquin.”

“Why say it like that?”

“Isn’t it true? You don’t like being carried by a bodyguard. Don’t worry about it, Hunter Kim Yibak.”

The fact that he even asked Jeongeun if he could carry him was absurd, and Soohyuk lifted Dasol’s thighs.

Jeongeun nodded gloomily and then noticed Heero looking at Dasol. However, Heero’s gaze lingered on Dasol only for a moment before he turned back to face forward.

“Ready? Let’s run.”

From that point on, they began a sprint that felt like a marathon. Even though Soohyuk was carrying Dasol, who was an adult male but small in stature, he was leading the pack. The other team members were as fast as cheetahs. It was only natural that Jeongeun fell behind.

After about three minutes, the other team members were nowhere to be seen.

‘Am I really lost?’

As Jeongeun gasped for breath, pushing himself to run with all his might, his knees buckled.

“Ugh!”

In the end, he fell onto the slippery ice-like ground.

‘I can’t be a burden from the first day.’

Jeongeun pushed himself off the cold floor. Despite the freezing temperature, sweat poured down his forehead, and his lungs felt like they were about to burst, inflating and deflating repeatedly. He started running again while scanning his surroundings.

Just one… just one monster…

He was currently searching for a monster.

He knew it was a ridiculous plan, but Jeongeun thought about asking a monster to carry him. Of course, he would tame it with his spells, and using skills for such a thing would likely cause him internal injuries too quickly. Also, if the monster was of a higher rank than Jeongeun, who could only use B-rank level magic, he might end up dead. Still, he couldn’t disappoint Heero, who had chosen to trust him.

“Ha, huff, huff…”

However, no matter how much he ran, no monsters appeared. It seemed that with the emergence of the A-rank hidden dungeon, all the D-rank monsters had hidden away.

Now Jeongeun was starting to feel dizzy. If he could get out of here safely, he would need to start training his stamina. After all, he was once the number one ranked hunter in the country, and this was too embarrassing.

Then it happened. Suddenly, his feet were lifted off the ground, and someone wrapped around him.

“Hold on tight!”

“Ugh, huff, huff, Kim Yejin, Hunter?”

“If you can’t run, you should have said so from the start. The Guild Leader asked me to apologize for not thinking of it.”

It was Yejin who was carrying Jeongeun. It seemed that Heero had sent Yejin after realizing Jeongeun wasn’t keeping up.

“I’m really sorry. I feel ashamed.”

Jeongeun said gloomily. At this point, it felt meaningless to be a bodyguard hunter. The team members had to take care of the bodyguard. He might even get fired after this raid.

“It’s okay. You’re a mental manipulation type, right? You’re B-rank. Oh, I’m not belittling you, am I?”

Yejin said playfully as she increased her speed. The wind whipped past Jeongeun’s ears painfully. It was truly an incredible speed. No wonder civilians would say hunters were inhuman.

In just two minutes, Yejin caught up with the group. The other team members were already waiting for Yejin and Jeongeun at the entrance of the hidden dungeon.

“I’m sorry.”

Jeongeun bowed again as he got down from Yejin’s back.

“Kim Yibak, I’m more sorry. I knew your condition but didn’t pay enough attention.”

Heero said, grabbing Jeongeun’s arm. He looked so genuinely apologetic that Jeongeun almost thought he had committed a serious mistake.

“I’m sorry too. I knew you weren’t feeling well, but I thought it would be fine as long as I didn’t have to carry you.”

Even Dasol timidly apologized to Jeongeun.

Jeongeun found it hard to understand the situation.

When he was in the Gibaek guild, he had always been the vanguard, so he had never fallen behind like this. However, if he had occasionally let a monster slip through due to injury or carelessness, he would receive a severe scolding from Semi. The piercing glares from the other team members were an added burden.

‘Jeongeun, are you doing this on purpose?’

‘We all came in trusting you, so what will we do if you make a mistake?’

‘Jin Jeongeun, you are the pillar of our Gibaek guild. What happens if the pillar collapses? Everything falls apart. You need to do well.’

‘You’re not feeling well? How long will you keep using that as an excuse? You still call yourself the top among hunters?’

Semi had been the savior who rescued the young Jeongeun, who had been mercilessly tossed around by the Hunter Management Bureau. After joining the Gibaek guild, Jeongeun received astronomical compensation, and his schedule was adjusted to a manageable level. That’s why he was always grateful to Semi.

However, she was an excessively strict perfectionist. The look on her face when Jeongeun made even a single mistake would turn cold. The sharp words that would spill from her tongue. The gaze that seemed genuinely disappointed.

Jeongeun had learned to endure pain to avoid disappointing her. Thanks to that, he appeared to others as a stronger hunter.

But in the Sooryun guild… why were they apologizing to him when he had clearly made a mistake?

Jeongeun felt confused as he alternated his gaze between Heero and Dasol.

“After all, this guy is B-rank, and everyone thinks according to our standards. We should be considerate, right?”

Rina exclaimed, clicking her tongue.

“Rina is right. Depending on rank or class, stamina differences can vary greatly, and it seems everyone got too used to the existing team. I don’t think this will happen again. Can you forgive us?”

Heero’s voice sounded sweet and heavenly, like a choir of angels. The content felt like the merciful words of a divine being.

Jeongeun felt like crying out, “Ah, Heero!” and kneeling to kiss his feet. However, he maintained a very rational and calm expression, merely nodding.

“Of course. I will also share my condition more openly in the future and seek solutions immediately if any issues arise.”

“Haha, that would be very helpful.”

Heero laughed cheerfully and squeezed Jeongeun’s arm once before letting go. Jeongeun glanced down at the spot where he had held him and thought, ‘Crazy… I shouldn’t wash this arm for a while.’ Of course, no one knew that Jeongeun was having such thoughts while maintaining a blank expression.

In any case, the brief incident ended on a warm note. The Sooryun guild reorganized their combat readiness and moved forward. From now on, they were heading into the hidden dungeon, where the boss monster awaited.

**

“Yejin!”

“[Explosio!]”

As Yejin chanted the spell, a massive glacier exploded with a tremendous sound. Huge chunks of ice fell, crushing and smashing the monsters beneath them.

Jeongeun, sheltered by the shield activated by his bracelet, stared blankly at the scene while staying close to Dasol.

‘The Sooryun guild… really is strong.’

As the warrior Soohyuk attacked the monsters first, Heero neutralized their counterattacks before taking them down. Most were eliminated during this, but the monsters that were drawn in a moment too late were either killed by Yejin’s magic or restrained, while Rina handled the rest with ranged attacks. Dasol intermittently healed the team members.

‘The system is well-organized so that all team members can do their part.’

Of course, while Heero was overwhelmingly strong, the other hunters also exhibited excellent combat skills and instincts.

For Jeongeun, who had tackled dungeons almost like a one-man guild, the Sooryun guild’s raid system felt like a new world.

‘This is the guild that Heero created and leads.’

Jeongeun watched as Heero turned the chunks of ice into water, trapping the monsters and drowning them. He observed his with a slightly cold expression, watching the moment the monsters’ breaths ceased.

‘Sexy dynamite…’