CH 11

She was one of those who knew Ha-eun belonged to the famous Jung family. In fact, most of the residents of the apartment knew this.

Ha-eun’s family tried to hide it as much as possible, but with so many people coming and going, it’s impossible to prevent rumors from spreading.

Given that Ha-eun is here, the woman assumed that her family would be here as well.

She was a little let down, but she also became aware of Ha-eun’s pitiable circumstances.

She wondered how frightened Ha-eun must be, getting caught up in a dungeon break. Unlike her family members who are well-known for being S-Classes, Ha-eun was nothing more than a powerless citizen.

Ha-eun, the usually chatty kid, was silent, so she assumed she was scared and hugged her tightly.

“I’m glad you’re safe. I was so surprised.”

“Madam, are you okay?”

“Yes. Fortunately, I’m not hurt anywhere.”

As if trying to reassure Ha-eun, she smiled broadly and added,

“There’s a hunter among the crowd.”

“A hunter?”

“Yes. He told us that he was a C-class. Thanks to him, we were able to move safely.”

Just then, a man who seemed to be on patrol appeared. His face was tense, and he had a small dagger in his hands. He was the C-class hunter the woman had mentioned. 

When the man saw Ha-eun, he shouted.

“Who are you!”

“I’m a student who lives in the apartment complex. I happened to stumble in here alone.”

“Haa, the dungeon explosion seems to have gone farther than I thought.”

The man said nervously. He then warned Ha-eun with a firm face.

“Hey, student. If you want to get out alive, follow my lead. If you wander about in the dungeon, you’re a dead man. I can’t take care of everyone by myself.”

[The constellation ‘Mutant of the abyss’ is dissatisfied with the man that would definitely fold in front of a silkworm.] 

Ha-eun inwardly agreed. A man, so stiff that he would immediately be swept away if a monster appeared, was threatening her.

[The constellation ‘Mutant of the Abyss’ whispers to Ha-eun to simply reveal her power to the world.]

[The constellation asks if she wants to surprise the baby chicks who don’t know of  Ha-eun’s powers.]

‘Mutant of the Abyss’ thought that this was the perfect chance, and had recommended Ha-eun to go all out. Ha-eun scoffed at the blatant attitude.

However, the man, perhaps misunderstanding Ha-eun’s scoff, pointed his dagger towards her.

“Do you take my words as a joke?”

The man approached with strides and tapped Ha-eun’s shoulder.

[The constellation ‘Mutant of the abyss’ is angry that he’s pushing her around.]

The woman was startled and tripped. Ha-eun looked up to him.

“Hey, do you think it’s a joke? Do you think you can escape the dungeon on your own.”

Ha-eun seemed to be ignoring his words. The woman stepped up for Ha-eun,

“Oh, Hunter-nim. How could that be? It was because she was surprised.”

“Don’t cut in, miss. I’ll be keeping an eye on the student. If she causes any inconvenience, she’s out.”

“Yes, yes. Of course. Ha-eun, you have to say yes.”

“…I understand.”

The man was trying to intimidate her, but Ha-eun answered meekly.

There was no need to make a fuss. She was also relieved that there was already a hunter in the group, reducing the likelihood that she would have to step up.

Ha-eun was doubtful whether a C-class hunter could face the dungeon alone, but all they had to do was last until the hunters came to rescue them anyway.

“We’ll see. All right, let’s go! Come with me!”

“Ha-eun, let’s go.”

“Yes.”

Ha-eun held hands with the frightened woman as they followed the hunter.

* * *

Jin-hwan Ahn was an independent E-class hunter. He was a freelancer at best, and jobless at worst.

If you’re wondering why, surely it has to do with his ability.

The fact he was caught up in a dungeon break can be called complete bad luck.

He barely managed to get rid of the low-grade slime that rushed at him, and people who witnessed the scene flocked to him.

“Hunter! There’s a hunter!! We’re going to live!”

“H-hey, I want to get out of here! Help me!”

He couldn’t bring himself to tell those who rushed at him that he was an E-class hunter. So he told them to walk up.

People enthusiastically clinged to Jin-hwan. He felt embarrassed, along with an odd sense of superiority. 

‘Yeah, this is how hunters should act.’

It felt like all the sorrows he had experienced as a low-ranking hunter had been washed away. He claimed to be the leader, and those who were engulfed in the fear of the dungeon cheered him on.

“Hah, hah…….”

Jin-hwan, who cut the slimes that came out consecutively, took a deep breath.

There was no end to this dungeon.

He knew that he could not get out of this dungeon with his own abilities. He, too, could only wait for the rescue team. However, he couldn’t make that obvious, so he planned for them to stay in a moderately safe spot.

Nonetheless, it was impossible to avoid all the monsters that occasionally appeared.

People approached him, who was struggling, and asked,

“Oh, hunter-nim. What will happen to us?”

“Will you be able to get us out of here?”

“Please hurry up. Why are your attacks always so slow?”

Jin-hwan felt irritated. Those who cheered for him in the beginning, started urging him little by little.

They were parasites that didn’t help with attacking the dungeon.

However, that wasn’t the only thing that irritated him.

“……”

A woman who looks to be in her early 20s had just joined in. She took a position far behind the group and seemed to be looking and evaluating all her surroundings.

He had never liked that she disregarded his words from the start. Furthermore, she was eating a sandwich out of a plastic bag as if on a picnic.

“You……!”

Jin-hwan, who was about to say a word to the woman, made eye contact with her and turned away without realizing it.

It was an instinctive move. It felt like he was facing a boss monster in a dungeon. Her cold eyes made Ahn Jin-hwan nervous.

“Hey, you bastard. If you don’t have a skillful ability, at least be quick-witted. I took you in because I was begged, but you’re only a nuisance.” 

[T/N: I assume that this line is from the former team leader he mentioned as a flashback]

She worthlessly reminded him of a former team leader.

‘No matter what anyone says, I’m the one in charge right now.’

Jin-hwan shouted loudly.

“Let’s get some rest!”

The people protested.

“No! What do you mean rest?! I need to get home right now!”

“Hunter! Can’t we get out of here?”

“Ah, I’m going to take a break! If you don’t like it, go on your own!”

Jin-hwan sat in a fit of rage.

The people were dissatisfied, but they’re unable to complain any further. Moving through a dungeon full of monsters alone was no different than putting your body up for monsters to eat. Rather, they chatted among themselves.

“Is he really a hunter?”

“Ah, he did catch monsters earlier.”

“What I’m unsure about is…. I don’t know if we’re all going to survive like this.”

Jin-hwan completely ignored the whispers of the people. He believed that the people who should’ve died earlier were still alive because of him.

When the hell is the rescue team coming?  An ominous thought that he’ll die in the dungeon like this passed through his head.

“Ha-eun, are you okay?”

“Yes. Don’t worry too much, madam. Sit down and rest. Someone will come to our rescue any moment now.”

“Yes. I hope that’s the case… It would be nice if Eun-woo or Se-hyun arrives.”

Yeah. It would be real nice if Hunter Jung Eun-woo, who ranks 2nd, can come.

……Hunter Jung Eun-woo, and Jung Se-hyun?

Jin-hwan jumped up from his seat. It was not a mere coincidence that the names of the top 10 high-rankers and that girl’s name were mentioned together.

Come to think of it, he once heard in a raid that there was a non-awakened daughter in the Jung family. Looking closely, her face looks similar.

“Ha.”

She dared to ridicule him. Jin-hwan’s fists trembled, sharply gritting his teeth.

* * *

Huh? Why is he suddenly approaching me?

Ha-eun was nervous when the C-class hunter suddenly approached her.  From the look on his face, it seemed like he came with malicious intent.

She didn’t interfere with his attack on the dungeon, did she?

[The constellation ‘Mutant of the Abyss’ groans that the hunter should walk through the dungeon, not walk here.]

[The constellation is frustrated because the hunter can’t get that right. Saying that Ha-eun would do a better job than him.]

Ha-eun didn’t respond when the constellation cursed him like an uncle watching a soccer game.

Jin-hwan stood tall in front of Ha-eun. She didn’t know why, but he seemed angry. He reached out to Ha-eun.

“Give it up.”

“……What?”

“The escape stone.”

What kind of question is this? Ha-eun frowned. He then raised his voice hysterically.

“You’re No. 2 hunter Jung Eun-Woo’s little sister! Everyone in this line of work knows that they care about their daughter, so it wouldn’t make sense if you didn’t have an escape stone!”

Everyone’s eyes were focused on Ha-eun and Jin-hwan due to the outcry. Ha-eun bit her tongue inside. It seems that Jin-hwan knew who she was.

Ha-eun answered as quietly as possible.

“I don’t have one.”

“You’re lying.”

“I seriously don’t.”

In the first place, it was Ha-eun who didn’t carry such items like escape stones.

Of course, the family gave Ha-eun many escape stones for safety. Hence, Jin-hwan’s prediction was right.

However, Ha-eun didn’t really need such a stone, so she never really brought it with her and simply left it in the room. She would only take it out and use it occasionally.

However,  Jin-hwan did not seem to believe Ha-eun’s words. He put his hands on his waist and smiled. Then he spoke in a loud voice as if to bring the attention of others.

“Are you trying to escape alone?”