by Elan Wang
Ring-
While I was busy picking up the balls and planning the next raid in my head, my phone started ringing. When I checked the caller ID, it was Han Joonseok.
Why is he calling out of the blue?
“Hello?”
[Party head? Did you see the news just now?]
“What?”
What is this all about?
[10 minutes ago, all the level 1 dungeons in the country just disappeared. Everyone who happened to be in a dungeon at that time were transported out so there were no casualties or missing persons, but it seems any raids would be all but impossible for us anytime soon.]
“If all the level 1 dungeons disappeared then it’s not that it’ll be impossible for us anytime soon…it’ll be impossible for us forever….no?”
[Well, we should monitor the situation for now…but what is going on.]
Han Joonseok and Cho Yeongoo were just getting into the rhythm of being hunters but they were still beginners. Their equipment and skills were both still at level 1. You could say that if the level 1 dungeons were truly gone, any chance of them doing any more raids were up in smoke. Like I said earlier, you needed level 2 equipment to clear a level 1 dungeon safely…and you needed level 3 equipment to clear a level 2 dungeon safely. Anything less meant you were flirting with death. Our team was only able to clear the level 1 dungeons (and just barely at that) because of my level 0 skill – a bit of an anomaly
“I’ll see if I can find out some more info on this and call you back.”
As soon as I hung up, Jung Sooah asked.
“What were you talking about? What did you mean by all the level 1 dungeons are gone?”
“Exactly what I said. Let’s head on home first.”
I went back to my place with Sooah and turned on the computer. The internet was already in an uproar with this new turn of events. Because of the irregulars, raids had been reduced to nearly half its number…hurting our economy due to the lack of rare ores. Now that all the level 1 dungeons were just gone..things would become critical. Just what is going on?
“The level 1 dungeons had all disappeared from our nation in one fell swoop…does this make any sense?”
Jung Sooah asked incredulously after staring at the computer screen from beside me. It didn’t make sense to me at all. Why would it disappear so suddenly after 50 years of staying right where it was?
“It is coming from left field but since it happened, it’s not like we can do anything to change it just because it doesn’t make sense to us. Do you think that’s the natural order? First irregulars appear. Then all the dungeons disappear?”
“SunbehOppa. Are you saying that the two have something to do with one another?”
“I mean, doesn’t it seem like too much of a coincidence? Irregulars suddenly popping up one after the other and level 0 skillbooks that no one has ever seen before appearing. Then out of nowhere the dungeons disappearing. There’s no other way to explain all of this except that they have something to do with eachother.”
“What in the world do you think is going on?”
“Who knows. It’s not as if someone actually created the dungeons and is doing things according to their whim. This is all supposed to be a natural phenomenon.”
After saying this, he felt as if he said something important. Natural phenomenon? Could he really say that the raid system was a natural order of things? It’s true that it has been 50 years since the monsters and dungeons appeared so it all seemed natural. But it didn’t mean this was normal…did it?
Dungeons, monsters, items, and skillbooks. Their origin and makeup were all still mysteries.
“Then what do we do now?”
“You. Why do you keep grouping me with you into a we?”
“Surely you’re not going to say we don’t have anything to do with eachother!”
“We weren’t a thing to begin with.”
“Then we can start being a thing now.”
“I’m amazed you can turn the conversation completely around to suit you.”
“Is it so weird that I would want us to establish that we’re friends?”
“Oh. That.”
“What were you thinking?”
“I wasn’t thinking anything.”
“Hm…not true. I think you were thinking something perverteddd.”
“Stop it.”
****
All the level 1 dungeons have vanished. I had wanted to keep racking up the reward points and raise up all of my abilities but looks like all my plans are out the window. I only had two choices left, I guess.
Go hunting out in the fields
Venture into the level 2 dungeons
Field hunting was when you hunt outside of the city – kill monsters in the more rural places. These monsters drop items and ores just like monsters in dungeons do. You’re probably thinking, “Then why don’t people do this all the time instead of paying admission to hunt in a dungeon?” Right? Well, it’s true you don’t pay the high admission fees…but this method of hunting is also highly inefficient.
In a dungeon, monsters have a set skill level, are located in a set area, and appear in a set number. You could count on maybe 3-6 monsters appearing in one place. There are times when a high number of monsters, like the time 10 appeared while I hunted with Lim Hyunjoon’s party, can appear but this was rare. This means raids in dungeons are on the safe side because of its predictability.
Field hunting is unpredictable. Not only are the monsters spread out instead of being in one central area, if you’re unlucky, you could even run into a high-level monster. For this reason, only a group of massive raids are done by pros or armies perform field hunting.
There are also issues with hunting monsters running around near the city by themselves. Once in awhile, monsters appear that look weak on the outside but are actually super high-level. There have been a lot of cases where less experienced parties have messed with these type of monsters and were instantly annihilated.
So basically, dungeons are the safest option.
“Do we have to resort to going into a level 2 dungeon…”
“Can we do it with the party members we have now?”
“Hm..I guess everyone else could work out but glasses girl…Bae Yeongyoung is the problem. Up to Cho Yeongoo and Han Joonseok should be ok.”
“And manager Kim?”
“If that old man just focused then he should be able to do just fine.”
“I don’t think we have to worry about Yeongyoung either.”
“Where is this confidence coming from?”
“She’s been really practicing a hell of a lot recently. She said that after meeting a certain someone and raising her ability a bit, even practice has become a lot more fun.”
“Yah? I don’t know who this person she might be referring to but he seems like a great guy.”
“Are you low key complimenting yourself right now?”
“Oh that person was me?”
Duh I knew it was me.
“Wow. You’re great at feigning ignorance. Bravo.”
“Hm hm. Anyway. At our current level, Level 2 dungeons would be a bit much. We need at least one more person who has level 2 dungeon experience…do you know anybody?”
“There is someone. He’s someone who was part of the leisure groups so I don’t think he’d want to join your party though.”
“Well, such is the life of a porter.”
“How about you? Do you know anyone?”
“Zero.”
“Wow. Wasn’t your answer to quick?”
I’m not a friendly person to start with. Even talking with Jung Sooah like this and being a party head is something that is still hard for me to believe.
“Let’s start with putting up a want ad at the market.”
We posted up an ad at the hunter market. Wanted: Level 2 hunter. Dungeon clearing experience preferred. Magician preferred. That should be enough.
Responses started flowing in.
&n
bsp; This party has been formed less than a month ago. You think it’s alright to joining?
I searched for their previous posting … I think they’re a level 1 party. Seems like their doing this because of what happened recently. Hell to the no for me.
Same here. Apply if you want to die.
If you just do a simple search, you can find the names and abilities. Ask after you do at least that much.
Wow. If you join this party you’ll 100% die. Everyone be careful.
Tap tap tap!
= Not true! We cleared a level 1 dungeon in 2 hours and then decided to go to a level 2 dungeon ok? We can definitely clear it so if you don’t know anything just shut up and sit down.
Jung Sooah started typing out of anger. I quickly calmed her down but this was only after she had already pressed the enter key.
“You. Why the hell would you post that up under my id?”
“Ah. Sorry. But I was just so annoyed…can’t we report these trolls or something?”
“We. Cant. Move. I’ll fix it.”
All those people were just typing all that because they were worried. They know just how dangerous a hunter lifestyle is so they were just trying to make sure no one was ill-informed. I think.
I deleted the last note and waited for a response. I don’t know if level 2 hunters became even more valuable with the recent events, but we didn’t get even one note of interest.
***
I waited the entire day for a response after sending Sooah home but nothing. After thinking about it for some time, I decided to join a level 2 party by myself. My party members might feel a little betrayed but safety came first. I couldn’t take beginners like them into a dungeon that could very well cost them their lives.
It was fairly easy for me to find a level 2 party to join since level 2 hunters were in high demand right now. They didn’t even properly check my skill level.
The decided location was Gwanak Hills. It was a 10 person party but, looking at all the people who gathered, I couldn’t really put my trust in any of them. Just from one glance I could tell that they were either people who just graduated from level 1 dungeons or people who had the lowest proficiency in their level 2 skill.
“Let’s embark now that everyone is here.”
The party head was in his mid thirties. Not only did he look like a weasel, but he he had a constant sneer on his face that killed my first impression of him instantly. And as expected, an issue arose from the very start.
“What are you doing! You guys are close range attackers! So go on and attack at close range!”
The party head yelled out. The close range attackers were barely keeping themselves within striking distance and acting like they were attacking. This only happens when attackers do not have any confidence in the amount of damage they can cause. What was worse was that there were way too many close range attackers. Among the 10 members, including tankers, there were about 7 close range attackers. They were tangled up together and had zero coordination in attacking. Some were just standing by to see if the person next to them would attack.
“Jesus! Are you guys retarded! This is pissing me off!”
This was partially his fault though. All of this should have been anticipated or in the very least resolved properly by the party head but all he was doing was yelling instead of doing his duties. No, it seemed as if he didn’t even know how to properly perform his duties as a party head. I started wondering if he’s ever even been a party head before.
“FIreball!”
What?
Slam!
At the party head’s command, the magician threw a fireball right into the middle of the chaos. A plume of dust erupted after the huge explosion that ensued.
“Keuk. This crazy…”
I spit out the dust in my mouth as I hurriedly got up after barely evading the attack. When I looked around, I saw that all the close range attackers were rolling on the ground.
This was the worst.
Fireball was a level 2 magic. It had a wide range and caused pretty high damage so it was a spell that needed to be used with caution. But this damn party head ordered the attack right where all of his party members were fighting. We’re screwed.
“Eu…eu….”
“Hey! Shit! Bandage!”
“We need to hurry and move this person!”
“Shit! Why the hell did that psycho throw a fireball…”
The monsters were taken care of, but the close range attackers had also taken serious damages as well. 3 had taken some damage and another 3 were in critical condition. Among those who had taken damage was the party head. Those who had taken critical damage were quickly taken outside the dungeon. Luckily there were emergency personnel outside so they would live.
“You rotten bastard! What the hell was that?”
One of the close range attackers who had taken damage yelled out at the party head.
“If we didn’t use the fireball, we would have been in trouble. If you had done your job probably, none of this would have happened.”
“What…?”
Squeeze!
When the close range attacker took hold of the party head’s collar, the party head just let out a sigh and said.
“Do you just want to stop the raid right here?”
“Euk…”
“If you want to stop then just hit me and leave.”
“Shit!”
He let go of the collar and stepped back. We only had 7 people left now. We lost 3 of our members but decided to keep going. Everyone had paid 1,000 each in admission fees. No one was willing to just throw that away.
Ironically, with the reduced numbers we were able to hunt more efficiently. Even the party head started leading the members better. When I glanced at his face, I saw that his last mistake didn’t concern him in the least.
To think that his mistake had caused 3 people to be hauled off to the emergency ward and he was still just fine about it.
Surely he didn’t do it on purpose.
I turned my head and glanced at the magician. He was talking privately with the party head. Based on their body language, it seemed as if they were acquaintances at the very least. I guess that explains why the magician to follow such a reckless command.
We started our fight with the orks.
The party head and the 4 close range attackers fought against the orks using both offensive and defensive measures. Since I had level 2 armor, I also put in my fair share of attacks whenever the opportunity arose.
“Mr. Jeon Sangmin! Stop shielding and start attacking!”
The party head ordered. I nodded my head and went to attack the ork the party head was fighting. I pushed the longsword I held in my right hand straight into the side of the monster. Since it was only a level 1 weapon, it wasn’t able to pierce the monster’s hide, but it was enough to take it by surprise.
In that moment, the party head pressed on even harder. Overwhelmed by both attacks, I was able to plunge my bloodysword into his neck.
[+200]
Ha. Are you giving me 200 points since it’s a level 2 monster? It’s double the normal amount, but I felt a little bit cheated nonetheless because the effort it took to kill this was more than double.
“Mr. Sangmin. Not bad.”
The party head said.
“Thank you.”
No point in spouting unnecessary modesty here. I couldn’t flex too much, but I could at least show some confidence.
“Let’s take care of the rest.”
***
The raid progressed very slowly. For every fight, we rested over 20 minutes in between. We had injuries at the end of each fight. Ultimately, the party head had to declare that the raid was done after a mere 2 hours since starting.
Clap.
“We are going to stop here because there are so many injuries. I will start the contribution distribution shortly so everyone please stand by.”
After 10 minutes, the party head revealed the rankings. Party head was nu
mber 1, magician number 2, and I was number 3. He called out everyone else one by one for a total of 7 people.
“How about the injured?”
I asked.
Since they were injured due to friendly fire, I thought it was only right that they receive some form of compensation from the magician’s distribution.
The party head glanced at me briefly before saying.
“I don’t know if I must give them any distribution for not even being able to evade friendly fire.”
“It’s difficult to dodge that kind of an attack in that situation.”
“But didn’t you dodge? You certainly received no damage.”
“I don’t think that is any reason to exclude the wounded.”
“Then tell me another reason why I should compensate them. I have no inclination on paying people who didn’t deserve it.”
“Isn’t that something you should have brought up at the time of recruiting?”
“Mr. Jeon Sangmin. I’m only saying this being I feel your talent might be wasted otherwise. Mind your own business. If you keep putting your nose in where it doesn’t belong to stick up for someone else instead of watching your own back, you won’t live too long.”
“…understood.”
I knew that if I pushed the issue, it would only prove to hurt me. I guess I could also see where he was coming from. You shouldn’t go into a level 2 dungeon if you don’t have the skills for it. But I also knew that since the level 1 dungeons had disappeared, this was their only option.
***
Even after we had finished the raid, I didn’t feel good about it for a long time after. Under normal circumstances, if the contribution distribution didn’t end well like today, it would become an issue where the same party would not be able to form again. Injury can happen to anyone and if someone were cut out of the distribution because of this reason alone, there would be no one willing to join that party again.
But it was different now. Because now there were people willing to join any party to be able to go to a level 2 dungeon.
“Whew..”
I let out a great big sigh as I went in to check the hunter market job board. I couldn’t stop thinking of what that jerk had said.
