Levelling Up In An Exclusive Dungeon - Chapter 9

The monster hunting of the Titans, one of the top five largest guilds in Korea, ended smoothly.

The hunt was conducted for the new recruits to gain experience, so only three out of the fifteen hunters present were veterans. One of them was deputy guild leader Ahn Doyoon.

The hunt went smoothly thanks to the rigorous interview and screening process of the guild. 

“The suppression is completed.”

After checking that the last monster was dead and the new recruit completed his report, Ahn Doyoon packed up his equipment.

“Alright, let’s withdraw.”

“Please wait a second!”

A guild member sensed something unexpected, so he shouted in an urgent voice and pointed to the thing with his finger.

The other guys turned their attention to where he was pointing, and they saw a large purple vortex.

“What the f**k!”

They never thought a swarm of monsters would get to their location.

Was it because the guild hunted large quantities of Lizard Men here?

As if waiting for this day to come, the Lizard Men appeared in front of the hunters, with more systematic formation than ever.

“They don’t come when we want them to. But of all moments, right now is…”

The other guild members were off to hunt other large monsters.

The only people who could stop this monster now were the people who are currently there.

The new recruits were terrified as they witnessed the monsters multiply thrice in number.

“W-what should we do?”

“We should hurry and request backup from the other hunters!”

This would’ve been a good opportunity to make money, but not right now.

There were only three veteran hunters present, and most of the new recruits never fought monsters more than three times.

The hunters are incredibly outnumbered.

However, Ahn Doyoon doesn’t intend to tend to the new recruits’ requests for help.

“What if the murderer manages to slip in when we call for our people in such a hurry?!”

“Now is not the time for you to think about that kind of situation!”

The serial killer who only targets hunters from large guilds.

His existence was certainly unsettling, but it doesn’t make sense to not call for backup just because they’re worried about the killer.

At this rate, they’d die at the hands of the monsters first instead of the serial killer’s.

“Don’t fall back, everyone. Fight! We can defeat them as long as we keep it together!”

They have to protect the guild’s power of preventing other hunters from coming into the area. If they chicken out right now, Titan’s reputation will be damaged.

The guild members know that they’re disadvantaged, but they risk expulsion if they disobeyed the guild’s orders. They had no choice but to cry out and hold their weapons.

* * *

Jinhyuk, who already signed a contract with Lee Juncheol, stopped by the association for a long time.

Since his level was in the 50’s, he wanted to upgrade his Hunter ranking.

[Kang Jinhyuk]

Level: 51

Species: Human

Class: Cleric

Strength: C

Agility: C

Magic: C

Stamina: C

After checking his stats, all his abilities had risen to C-rank just in time.

Jinhyuk took a queue number and headed to the reception desk where a clerk gladly welcomed him.

“Please come in. What’s the purpose of your visit?”

“I’m here to renew my Hunter Ranking.”

“Then, please fill out these documents.”

The documents given by the clerk were asking for his personal information and abilities.

It was the same one used when he first became a hunter. Since it’s a thing for formality, Jinhyuk filled out the forms without any inconvenience. 

“Here it is.”

“Yes, thank you. I need to verify this, so please wait here.”

Falsification of abilities was a serious offense that could lead to imprisonment, so thorough validation was needed.

Kang Jinhyuk sat on a chair and waited for a while before the evaluator arrived.

After 5 minutes, a brown-skinned man with a sturdy physique walked towards Jinhyuk.

“Hello, Kang Jinhyuk-ssi. I’m Heo Jinwoo, and I’ll be in charge of reviewing your promotion. Nice to meet you.”

“Ah, nice to meet you too.”

Jinhyuk took the hand that Heo Jinwoo offered and shook it.

After they shook hands, Heo Jinwoo pointed somewhere in the building.

“This way please.”

Jinhyuk entered a 30 square meter room with Heo Jinwoo.

Inside the room were several measuring equipment and some sandbags.

Among those, Heo Jinwoo brought a flower pot.

The pot, which was on his palm, was planted with a flower that seemed to wither at any moment.

“We’ll confirm first that you’re a Cleric.”

“You’re telling me to use heal on this flower?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

When Kang Jinhyuk reached out his hand and used his heal skill, the withered flower began to come alive.

When the brownish flower regained its original bright color, Heo Jinwoo marked a passing score on the document he was holding.

“The certificate will be issued today as we confirmed that you are a Cleric. Did you bring your picture?”

“Yes, here.”

Jinhyuk gave Jinwoo the ID picture that he prepared in advance. 

“Alright, all that’s left now is to test your stats. Please stand in front of the sandbag.”

All the information written by Jinhyuk were correct, so the inspection proceeded smoothly.

After passing all the aspects tested, Jinhyuk later left the room and waited for the procedure to end.

“Kang Jinhyuk-ssi!”

“Yes?”

The clerk presented the certificate, which confirms him to be a cleric and a C-rank hunter, to Jinhyuk.

When Jinhyuk received it, the clerk smiled and congratulated him.

“Congratulations on ranking up.”

“Thank you.”

He thought he would take more years to receive a C-rank hunter certificate, but it finally came into his hands.

Jinhyuk doubted whether this was a dream.

It’s funny thinking about him being a C-rank hunter, but he couldn’t help it because a hunter’s life is truly difficult.

“Let’s go all the way to B-rank with this momentum.”

If other people heard what he said, he’d surely be laughed at and told to keep dreaming.

But because Jinhyuk has faith, he’s able to be confident in himself.

He thought of going home right away and entering the dungeon.

Now that he doesn’t have to worry that much about money, he wants to focus on levelling up.

However, Jinhyuk stopped in his tracks when he saw a certain hunter as he was about to leave the building.

The hunter who appeared out of nowhere leaned on the wall near the entrance and roughly snickered.

Seeing his clothes torn and his body scarred, he seemed to have fought a fierce battle just now.

“Gasp gasp…! Perhaps, is there a cleric here who can lend a hand?!”

The hunter shouted in an earnest voice even though he couldn’t breathe properly.

Kang Jinhyuk raised his hand with pity because the situation seemed so urgent.

“I’m a cleric… But I’m a C-rank hunter, is that okay?”

“Of course! Please come with me right away!”

Since clerics were very valuable, people don’t care even if their rank was low.

Just like this hunter.

He grabbed Jinhyuk’s hand and immediately gave him a returning stone.

“Woah.”

The place where they suddenly arrived was outside the deserted city.

There were numerous Lizardmen and hunters struggling against them.

Jinhyuk frowned as he witnessed the bloody battle.

The situation was worse than expected.

He knew that the hunters were Titans guild members just by looking at their clothes and the pattern engraved in them.

“Out of all people, it’s these assholes.”

Looking at the way they fight, he almost mistook them for a young name guild.

From a tanker that couldn’t even properly drag an agro, to a dealer who’s confused where to attack first.

Ahn Doyoon was desperately directing the other hunters, but everyone looked so inexperienced and were moving like a proper mess. 

Jinhyuk could roughly predict the situation after seeing such a scene.

“They must have stepped on a land mine while teaching new recruits.”

Jinhyuk held back his laughter because he thought that the scene looked satisfying.

The hunter who brought him spoke urgently without noticing Jinhyuk holding his laughter.

“Just heal some of them back! We’ll take care of the battle! I’ll give you a reward after this so don’t worry!”

After pouring out those words as if he was rapping, the hunter jumped back into the battlefield. 

Jinhyuk didn’t like the hunter, but he followed him silently as he said he would give him money.

He should hate the person, not the money.

As he walked towards the back of the scene, he could see some other clerics just like him.

Among them, he met eyes with someone and they greeted each other awkwardly.

“H-hello.”

Looks like they were also dragged here.

After bowing his head slightly, he joined them and used his heal without a break.

However, the hunters were completely outnumbered by the Lizardmen.

Even after using heal continuously, the hunters’ physical strength decreased faster.

“This is like… pouring water into a broken jar.”

“I think so too.”

The clerics turned anxious after some time.

The situation wasn’t getting any better even though as many as five clerics were assisting the battle by restoring the hunters’ physical strength.

Jinhyuk sighed at the situation.

“Can’t they just put aside their pride and ask for back-up from another guild…”

“Hahaha…”

The other clerics agreed with Jinhyuk, but they couldn’t protest.

‘At this rate, they’ll be wiped out in no time.’

There’s no way that Ahn Doyoon doesn’t know this.

His mentality, trained by numerous battles, was also shaken amid the continued disadvantage.

He would be a little more at ease if the new recruits followed his orders quickly.

Seeing the new recruits who couldn’t even differentiate left from right, he felt angry.

“Oh my god!”

Ahn Doyoon tried to break down the Lizard men’s camp somehow by wielding a sword much larger than him.

However, the Lizardmen blocked his sword with their shields.

Even Ahn Doyoon’s sword which boasted strong offensive power was forced to fade.

“I can’t believe this.”

In the end, Ahn Doyoon lost his patience and drank all the buff potions in his inventory.

He rushed fiercely towards the Lizard Men.

One of the veteran hunters, who saw what Doyoon was doing, sighed and slapped his forehead.

“That crazy bastard again…!”

Ahn Doyoon’s bravery was a great asset for a warrior, but it’s different now that he’s in the position of a commander.

In what world does a commander leave his men and charge recklessly towards the enemies?

Furthermore, Doyoon didn’t even notice that the Lizard Men were planning a backup to aim for the rear when they saw him rush without assessing the situation.

Like a chameleon, some Lizardmen who were hidden with an invincibility effect were quietly approaching the clerics.

It was only Jinhyuk’s baseball bat that noticed the threat.