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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Chaos
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For a moment, I wondered if I was dreaming.
The people who should have been sound asleep were standing right in front of me.
I forced down my complicated feelings and broke the silence.
“Hey. You’re here early.”
“Lee Seol was curious, so we came early. It’s really huge, just like I heard. If we’d come later, it would have been packed, and we wouldn’t have been able to look around properly.”
It was a place we’d be frequenting for the next three years.
But to come here at the crack of dawn just out of curiosity?
That didn’t make sense. I turned my gaze towards her, and our eyes met, by chance or something.
The same as always, a smile that puts you at ease. There seemed to be no malice in it.
She slowly approached me.
I averted my gaze and turned slightly, but Lee Seol persisted and came right up to me.
“Seong-hyun-ah. It’s been a while since the orientation, hasn’t it?”
“Yeah. I was so busy that day, we didn’t really get to talk. Ji-hoon didn’t try anything funny last night, did he? I’m a little worried, he’s kind of a loose cannon.”
“Nah, Ji-hoon wouldn’t do anything like that.”
True.
More than a few guys had tried hitting on Lee Seol and ended up frozen stiff. And Ji-hoon valued his life, so he’d probably stay within certain boundaries.
Honestly, I didn’t really care.
My mind was preoccupied with the question of why Lee Seol was here.
‘Why else? To get the reward.’
Regression.
The idea that this bitch had followed me back in time was gaining more and more weight in my mind.
And her next action solidified that suspicion.
“What about you, Seong-hyun? Did you sleep well? Being in the same room with Ah-hyun and Yuri, I bet your heart was pounding.”
She bent down slightly, meeting my gaze from below.
Black eyes.
Was it my imagination, or could I see something dark hidden within their depths?
I took a shaky breath and forced a smile.
“They say if someone’s too pretty, you don’t see them as a woman. And I value personality over looks.”
“Hmm. Really? Alright. I’ll believe you.”
A meaningful smile. My heart sank in that moment. Just then, a lifeline appeared.
“Hey! Lee Seong-hyun! When are we going in?!”
“Right now! Sorry, Seol-ah. Yuri’s calling. Let’s talk again when we have time.”
“Okay. Be careful.”
Leaving Lee Seol waving behind me, I quickly walked back to my team.
Han Yuri stood there with her arms crossed with a displeased look on her face.
“What were you talking about for so long?”
“I was just clearing up the misunderstanding from the orientation with Lee Seol. I didn’t want her to keep worrying about it.”
“Huh? The orientation? Seong-hyun-ah, did something happen with Lee Seol?”
“Yeah, something like that. Anyway, let’s go.”
I didn’t have time. I had to clear the assignment before them.
I quickly tore the sticky note. A white light enveloped us, and then a lush forest came into view.
Lee Seol wasn’t around. The realization eased my mind.
‘If Lee Seol remembers the previous timeline and is here for the reward…’
I couldn’t afford to delay. Lee Seol was a step above Han Yuri, so I had to hurry.
As if she’d done this before, Han Yuri walked off towards the forest alone.
I couldn’t help but scoff.
“Hey! Where are you going?”
“I told you I’m working alone.”
“Stop talking nonsense and come back here. You can do whatever you want on low-level assignments like this, but teamwork is essential as the difficulty increases.”
“Teamwork?”
Han Yuri looked at me as if I’d said something absurd.
“Do you think you can keep up with me? Or are you expecting me to crawl around on the ground at your level?”
She had a point. Han Yuri was already at D rank.
She was far beyond first-year level.
It was natural for a genius like her to find it ridiculous to cooperate with slowpokes like us.
But I wasn’t about to back down.
“I admit we’re lagging behind now, but give us some time, and Ah-hyun and I will be able to stand on equal footing with you.”
The moment I spoke, Han Yuri’s eyes turned cold.
“Equal footing? You sure talk big. Or do you think your S-rank Unique Skill makes you special?”
“That’s not what I meant…”
“Let me tell you something. If you’re here thinking I’ll carry you, you’ve got the wrong idea. I’m barely keeping up with my own growth, and I don’t have the energy to help anyone else. Got it?”
Han Yuri threw a sharp dagger at me with her words and turned away, disappearing into the forest.
“Yuri! Wait!”
Seeing that I wasn’t going after Han Yuri, Choi Ah-hyun quickly ran into the forest.
We were on the verge of disbanding before we even started fighting.
“Fuck.”
With Lee Seol chasing me from behind, this was a problem.
‘If that’s how it’s going to be…’
Change of plans.
Han Yuri was essential for obtaining numerous rewards in the future. It was fine for now, but if she kept playing solo like this, it wouldn’t work.
‘I need to train her from the start.’
I just had to show her that we had potential.
The reason Han Yuri liked playing solo was that she didn’t want to carry dead weight.
So I just had to show her the possibility that we weren’t dead weight, that we could be helpful to her in the future.
And to do that…
‘I need to set the stage.’
This was an F-rank dungeon, the Goblin Encampment.
It was the first stepping stone for beginners, but it would later become known as the D-rank variant dungeon, “Newbie Hell.”
At F-rank, Han Yuri could sweep it alone, but what about at D-rank?
She’d have no choice but to rely on us.
I walked in the opposite direction from where they’d gone. In the distance, I saw a large stone monument.
The Goblin Totem.
If I destroyed this, the dungeon would descend into chaos.
The goblins hiding underground would come to the surface, and the shamans holed up in the caves would crawl out into the sunlight.
And the escape artifact set up by the Academy would stop working.
It was a risky gamble, but I had no other choice.
*Crack.*
I swung my sword up and down, splitting the monument in half.
“Alright. Let’s all die together.”
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“Yuri! Wait up!”
Choi Ah-hyun followed me. It seemed Lee Seong-hyun wasn’t coming.
‘Whatever.’
I didn’t have time for childish games.
To catch up to my father, who stood at the pinnacle of the Hunter world, I needed to be hunting monsters every second I could.
Two heads are better than one.
My father’s words, repeated so often they were practically engraved in my ears. But it was only half true.
If the levels were similar, there could be synergy, but if the gap was too wide, it would only lead to mutual destruction.
I’d experienced that enough times in Hunter middle school.
The ever-widening gap.
My teammates growing distant, consumed by their inferiority complex.
I’d seen teams fall apart countless times.
‘The only one close to my level is Lee Seol.’
But our fighting styles were different.
My style was efficient combat based on meticulous calculations.
Lee Seol’s style was overwhelming power.
Since our approaches were different, while raids might be possible, fighting together in smaller-scale battles was problematic.
In the end, after much deliberation, I chose to play solo.
‘This is the most comfortable.’
The duality of genius.
The thought processes of ordinary people and geniuses were fundamentally different.
Therefore, they couldn’t coexist.
That was the lesson I’d learned in life.
‘And what was that? Standing on equal footing?’
All talk, nothing else.
He’d been scary for a moment, but now I couldn’t even understand why I’d been scared.
‘Let’s just finish this quickly and go back to studying.’
I’d fallen behind because I’d gotten caught up in the drinking session last night.
The Goblin Encampment.
I’d been here countless times.
I knew the layout like the back of my hand. But…
‘What’s this?’
The atmosphere had changed.
‘Was it always this cold?’
The calm before the storm.
The forest suddenly fell silent. And then, at some point…
“Keekee! Keekeek!”
“Kyaaa!”
Furious roars echoed through the forest. Something was wrong. I instinctively summoned my meteorites.
A dozen meteorites floated into the sky.
“Yuri?”
“Something’s wrong with the dungeon. Stay with Lee Seong-hyun. I’ll come get you when I’m done killing them all.”
“What are you talking about?! You want me to run away alone?!”
“Yes.”
I gave a cynical smile and pointed ahead.
“Do you think you can handle those?”
“…”
At least a hundred.
A wave of monsters, far beyond the scale of an F-rank dungeon, was approaching.
Choi Ah-hyun’s face hardened.
This was probably her first time seeing something like this.
“Let’s get out of here! Yuri! This is too much!”
Choi Ah-hyun grabbed my hand and shouted into the air.
“Escape!”
But despite her desperate cry, the artifact didn’t activate.
“Ah…”
“The safety device wouldn’t work if there’s something wrong with the dungeon.”
My calm, logical tone made Choi Ah-hyun’s eyes waver.
She was clearly flustered, but she set her jaw and drew daggers in both hands.
“Even so, I can’t run away alone. My conscience would haunt me.”
“Ha… Do what you want.”
I’d already decided that running away now was pointless. I launched a meteor towards the front.
*KABOOM!*
One monster per shot.
The boulder-sized meteorites crushed their skulls in a single blow.
“Haa!”
Choi Ah-hyun dealt with the monsters that broke through the meteor shower. She could handle two or three at a time without much trouble. But…
“Oof!”
A meteor grazed her cheek, and she froze. It continued on its trajectory and landed in front of a goblin.
“…Sorry.”
“No, no, it’s my fault for being slow. Don’t worry about it!”
It might have looked like I’d missed my target. Like a friendly fire incident.
But it was a calculated move.
If I hadn’t launched that meteor, Choi Ah-hyun would have been stabbed in the stomach.
I calculated my actions ten, twenty, even a hundred steps ahead. But other people didn’t know, or understand, how I operated.
“…”
If I were alone, I could have used the mental capacity I spent calculating Choi Ah-hyun’s movements to kill the monsters faster.
Did she even realize that her attempts to help were actually hindering me?
No, she wouldn’t be acting like this if she did.
About five minutes into the fight…
“Yuri! Shamans on the hill!”
“Got it.”
I launched meteors and blew up the shamans’ heads, but there were still fifteen left.
They annoyingly rained fireballs down on us from the hill.
“Yuri!”
“I’m fine, just focus on what’s in front of you!”
As if trying to disrupt my skills, they specifically targeted me. I had to focus on dodging the fireballs.
And because of that…
Choi Ah-hyun was captured.
“Kyaa!”
“Duck!”
*KABOOM!*
I immediately launched a meteor, obliterating the goblins.
“Huff… Huff… Thanks, Yuri…”
“Don’t mention it. Cough…!”
I coughed up blood.
It was a sign that my mana was running low.
“Are you okay, Yuri?”
“Yeah. You?”
“I’m fine.”
She tried to smile reassuringly, but the dark shadows under her eyes couldn’t be hidden.
I gritted my teeth and stared ahead.
‘There’s no end in sight.’
The monsters weren’t particularly strong, but there were too many of them. My mana was nearing its limit, and Choi Ah-hyun was getting tired.
And the shamans in the distance were still targeting us.
A dead end.
No matter how fast I thought, I could only see a bleak future.
‘I haven’t even reached A-rank yet.’
I hadn’t even reached my father’s toes yet…
Was I going to die here?
The thought brought tears to my eyes.
My will faltered.
The last vestiges of my determination to gather my remaining mana and launch another meteor faded, replaced by despair.
‘It was impossible from the start.’
For a failure like me to surpass my father… It was a pipe dream.
Just as I was half-resigned to my fate…
*KABOOM!*
A massive explosion erupted from the direction of the shamans.
‘What?’
A man walked through the smoke and debris.
“Lee Seong-hyun…?”
From 0% to 1%.
From impossible to possible.
A light began to shine.
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