------------------
HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
Join our Discord for release updates!
https://discord.com/invite/dbdMDhzWa2
------------------
Chapter 9: People Met in the E-Rank Dungeon (2)
The association assigned someone to me the next day.
"You're already in an E-rank dungeon as a 13th gen? Heard you found double experience points? Don't hold us back just because your level's low."
A bald man in his 40s, wielding an axe and looking overly confident, entered the dungeon with me.
I resolved to fully act as a mage this time and used only magic.
Even with just magic, the dungeon was easily cleared since there was no boss monster this time.
Maybe that's why:
[Your magic stat has increased from F+ to E-.]
My magic stat went up as we cleared the dungeon.
And since it was such an easy clear, the man's attitude toward me changed.
"You've got great potential as a mage. Ever thought about joining our guild? We don't interfere much, and the base salary's decent."
When I asked if he wasn't part of the association, he said he was just here through a partnership.
A guild, huh.
Joining a guild typically involves revealing your status window to the guild master, so I couldn’t join with my current situation.
I politely declined.
"My friend’s part of a guild, so I'll probably join theirs."
"Really? That’s a shame... If it doesn’t work out, consider our guild, Daewoo."
After easily clearing two E-rank dungeons, it seemed like word was getting out.
The association, which used to complain about how hard it was to find me matches, now assigned people readily.
Most were warrior types, and all of them urged me, as a mage, to join their guilds.
For now, I politely declined all offers.
I decided I’d think about guilds when I reached D-rank.
For a week, I partied with different hunters.
Except for when I went to a dungeon with Jinseong, there were no boss monsters, and we cleared everything smoothly.
After seven days, the association’s assistance came to an end.
Now, as an E-rank hunter, I had to find and arrange party play myself.
It turned out that forming parties wasn’t as easy as I’d thought.
The main method was to post a "Looking for party" notice on the HunterNet app provided by the Hunter Bureau and wait for contacts.
But by E-rank, most hunters were already in guilds.
They formed their own teams and rarely looked for party members on the app boards.
Even when party members were recruited through the app, the process often involved sharing detailed information for proper matching.
People like me, who had no intention of sharing their status window, were mostly ignored.
Unlike my unique case, hunters typically had no problem revealing their status windows.
After all, you needed to know your potential party member’s specs to trust them enough to form a party.
"Ah, two days of nothing."
No messages on my phone.
A few replies asked if I could share my info.
Apparently, just listing "Mage" in the title wasn’t convincing enough.
Well, I am still a novice...
Maybe I should just go solo.
It felt doable, but I hesitated because of the risk of encountering a boss monster.
Could I take on a Giant Spider if I met one now?
It wouldn’t be easy.
Even if I won, it’d likely leave me injured.
Also, going solo this early might draw too much attention.
I’m level 9.6 right now, but I’d prefer to reach level 12 through party play before going solo.
Still, if this keeps up, I might have to take the risk and go alone.
Better that than revealing my status window and becoming a test subject for some human dissection experiment...
Ding.
As I was firming up my resolve to go solo, my phone buzzed.
[Have you found a party yet, Novistar?]
A simple ID, "12th Gen Swordfighter," popped up with a message.
It was the message I’d been waiting for.
[Not yet. Still training through the association.]
[I’m an 11th-level warrior. We’re keeping status windows private, right?]
[Yes. My level’s also 11.]
I exaggerated a bit to make sure the party deal went through since I wasn’t planning to reveal my status window anyway.
[Can you use magic?]
[Yes.]
[Can you leave now?]
[Sure. I’m at the association, so let me know when you arrive.]
[No, let’s meet at this E-rank portal location instead. You can take an association vehicle to get there.]
What’s this?
Are they far away?
I took the address they sent and asked an association staff member about it.
"You’ve arranged to meet a party member at an E-rank portal through the app? It’s not common, but there aren’t pranksters on the HunterNet app... Got it. I’ll take you there."
After gearing up, I got into the car.
The destination was somewhere in Uijeongbu.
I took a short nap in the car and woke up to find myself on a quiet mountainside.
A road stretched nearby, and an orange portal glowed beside it.
So, E-rank portals are orange.
F-rank was red... Does it go red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet?
Parked near the orange portal was a foreign luxury car.
Not one of the usual German Big Three—it was a tier above.
No way...
Is that a Rolls-Royce?
Looks like a Phantom.
"Hello, I’m 12th Gen Swordfighter. My name is Kang Soojin."
"I use the ID Novistar. My name is Kim Jiho."
A fully armored woman greeted me as she stepped out of the car.
She looked about 170 cm tall, wearing a modernized steel armor designed for mobility.
Her two-handed sword was dazzling, and it probably cost ten times more than my longsword.
She wore a steel helmet, so I couldn’t see her face clearly.
But then...
[Pollux is excited by the aura of a stunning beauty. He urges you to activate the Infinite Stamina skill immediately.]
Pollux rarely reacted like this to women, so she must be gorgeous.
[Pollux insists on enhancing the Infinite Stamina skill. He says you’re strong enough to handle her now.]
Sigh.
What’s gotten into this guy?
Even when I met elves, he didn’t react like this.
[Pollux says he’s bored of elves.]
Man, what a spoiled attitude.
I wish I could get tired of elves too.
Anyway, stop the nonsense and let’s get going.
[Pollux criticizes modern men as pathetic.]
[He berates you for not realizing how rare it is to meet such a beauty in life.]
[He says you became strong to attract beautiful women, so act now!]
Ugh, so noisy.
I dismissed his endless nagging messages and turned to talk with her.
"What magic can you use?"
"I haven’t saved enough money yet, so I’m limited to first-circle spells."
"That’s fine for E-rank. I’ll handle the vanguard."
"Got it. I’ll support from the rear. I can handle one or two enemies in close combat if necessary."
"Thanks for the consideration, but if the vanguard lets that happen, they’re failing. I’ll make sure it doesn’t come to that."
Impressive.
She’s cool.
Honestly, I didn’t expect much from someone I found through the app.
But this... this is better than I could’ve hoped for.
First off, the gear is... wow... It must be worth billions.
A full set of steel armor forged by dwarves—just that alone is worth billions, and that two-handed sword isn’t ordinary either.
This should be an easy victory.
A black orc swung its axe downward.
Boom!
The blow was easily deflected with a shield and flowed away, and a sword was thrust directly into the orc's neck.
“Grrr…”
Dark red blood splashed, briefly obscuring my vision.
Feeling a stinging sensation on the back of my hand, I quickly withdrew it.
A small hand axe swished past.
Man, my danger detection skills are top-notch.
“Haap!”
On the other side, I can see Kang Soojin swinging her two-handed sword.
Her movements are quick, but her swordsmanship seems far from skilled.
She’s agile, but it feels like her strength stat is lacking or something.
She’s fighting three black orcs and is really good at dodging their attacks.
------------------
HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
Join our Discord for release updates!
https://discord.com/invite/dbdMDhzWa2
------------------
But the two-handed sword seems too heavy for her, making her attacks sluggish.
The orcs were easily defending against her strikes.
“Ice Arrow.”
This dungeon’s monsters are blackened black orcs.
According to the elf-made monster compendium, black orcs are strong but relatively slow-moving and weak against magic.
Particularly, water-based magic is their weakness, so I’ve been mainly using Ice Arrow for this run.
Thud!
“Raaagh!”
I fired two Ice Arrows, striking one of them in the chest.
Its dark muscles ripped apart, and blood splattered everywhere.
Thanks to the weakness, the arrows pierced deeply, blood gushing as the orc collapsed.
The two remaining orcs glare at me.
“Ugh… Damn mage!”
“This woman is nothing special… Can’t even wield her sword properly.”
“You damn bastards!”
Kang Soojin snapped and thrust her sword at the orc mocking her.
But black orcs are inherently strong.
One easily deflected her two-handed sword with its axe.
While one orc engaged Kang Soojin...
“Die, mage!”
One of the orcs charges straight at me.
Oh, come on!
You said you’d tank for me.
What’s with this woman?
The tank is supposed to provoke the monsters, not get provoked herself.
What a waste of good gear.
Sigh.
This is what you get with random party matches from an app.
“Ice Arrow!”
I fired Ice Arrows with both hands, preparing a defensive stance.
I’d love to charge in, but I’ve decided to stay under the radar.
Thwack! Thwack!
“Gahhh… mage!”
The Ice Arrows graze the left thigh and side of the orc.
The arrow to the thigh creates a sizable hole.
Despite the pain, the orc presses on with sheer willpower.
“Shield.”
“Dieeee!!”
Crash.
The sound of shattering glass echoes as the shield breaks.
But the axe's speed has slowed, making it easy to dodge.
I sidestep lightly and extend the fingers of my shield hand.
“Ice Arrow.”
Close range makes hitting easy.
The Ice Arrow strikes directly into the orc’s neck.
The orc convulses for a moment before I drive my sword into its neck.
Dark red blood flowed down the blade.
“Mag… ee… strong…”
The orc collapsed, lifeless.
Its body disappeared, leaving behind an E-grade mana stone.
I quickly picked it up and glanced at my hopeless teammate, still struggling in battle.
“Y-You pest!”
“Pathetic human, just stop dodging already.”
Is this a fight between Dumb and Dumber?
Kang Soojin’s sword was blocked by the orc.
The orc’s attacks were dodged by Kang Soojin.
Neither can deal a decisive blow.
It seems like they’ll only resolve things when both run out of stamina.
But I’m tired of watching this pointless fight and want to rest.
“Ice Arrow.”
“I’m so sorry… I’m ashamed of myself…”
After the battle, Kang Soojin bowed her head deeply.
In the end, the orc she was fighting was killed by my Ice Arrow.
“It’s fine. Isn’t the classic pattern for a mage to kill from behind while the tank holds the front line?”
“Well, that’s true, but I let all the monsters slip through. I talked so confidently, too.”
She gets it, at least.
Honestly, missing one or two is understandable, but three came at me.
Out of six orcs, I killed one with magic first, and the remaining five tried to gang up on me, leaving Kang Soojin to defend me.
But if three of those five came at me, that’s a failure as a tank.
Another almost got to me, but I killed it with magic.
I thought about calling her out on it, but her gear reminds me of a Rolls-Royce Phantom.
A woman equipped with billions worth of gear and driving the pinnacle of luxury sedans.
She probably even has a chauffeur.
“Well, it can’t be helped. Even experienced warriors sometimes let monsters slip through. Don’t worry about it.”
Scolding her wouldn’t fix anything anyway.
I’ll just avoid partying with her next time.
“I’m deeply sorry… and thank you for being so understanding.”
“Let’s take a short break before moving to the next room. I think it’s the last one, and I’m out of mana.”
“Yes, let’s do that. I’m really sorry and grateful.”
After wrapping up the conversation, I sat down to rest.
My body wasn’t particularly tired, but constantly reminding myself, I’m a mage, I’m a mage was mentally exhausting.
Time to recharge my mana.
Since she’s only half as effective, I need to be fully prepared for the next fight.
“Phew…”
Hearing a sigh, I turned to see Kang Soojin had taken off her helmet and was resting on a rock.
Wow.
She’s seriously beautiful.
Her black hair, damp with sweat, glistened.
Her bright eyes sparkled.
Her small head, delicate enough to be covered by a CD, was perfectly balanced with large, striking features.
She had a kind, gentle beauty with round, soft eyes.
She could easily be a celebrity—one of the prettiest among them.
Her skin, unadorned by makeup, was pure white.
[Pollux wants you to look at this.]
[Pollux says now’s your chance. Didn’t you see her fighting? He insists you can easily overpower her.]
[Pollux offers to upgrade your Infinite Stamina skill to level 2, saying he’s making a big sacrifice and ordering you to activate it.]
Ugh, this guy...
Activating that skill here would be dangerous.
This isn’t the place, Pollux.
Even that subpar association employee got all worked up when I used it—if I activate it now, there’ll be a real scandal.
“Huh… Oh no, how careless of me.”
Noticing my gaze, Kang Soojin turned her head toward me, touching her face.
Then, realizing her helmet was off, she seemed flustered.
“D-Did you see…?”
“Your face? I’m looking at it now.”
“Ugh… Please keep this a secret.”
“Huh? From who?”
“Wait… Don’t you know who I am?”
Kang Soojin looked shocked.
Her reaction left me even more confused.
How would I know who she is?
“Um, no. This is our first meeting, isn’t it?”
------------------
HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
Join our Discord for release updates!
https://discord.com/invite/dbdMDhzWa2
------------------
