46
The van that had been running for a while stopped near the coast where control was already in place.
"Hey."
"……."
At Hong Yeon-ha's voice, Baek Woo-jin opened his eyes.
"I'm going to change clothes, so get out. Or──"
Anticipating what would follow those words, Baek Woo-jin quickly got up and stepped out of the van. He then moved his body simply to loosen the muscles that had stiffened from the longer-than-expected ride.
"The young lady was quite talkative, wasn't she?"
Lee Da-young, who had also gotten out of the van, approached casually and spoke.
"Anyone would have done the same if you kept picking at them like that."
"Oh my?"
Lee Da-young feigned surprise, but there was a reason for his remark. From departure until arriving here, Hong Yeon-ha had constantly bickered with Lee Da-young at what felt like one-minute intervals—no joke.
As mentioned just now, the cause was entirely provided by the woman standing next to him.
If she hadn't kept prodding at Hong Yeon-ha, he might have recalled something meaningful before arriving.
"Now that I think about it, you're the type who gets embarrassed easily?"
"No, I'm not."
"But our young lady prefers people who honestly express their feelings, you know?"
Baek Woo-jin decided not to respond.
She wasn't a bad person, but judging by her skill at poking at Hong Yeon-ha, she seemed to have a personality that greatly enjoyed teasing others. Moreover, seeing Hong Yeon-ha take it all in stride, it wasn't difficult to guess that she was someone capable enough to handle it.
The fact that Hong Yeon-ha even knew about her personal vacation schedule suggested she likely held a fairly important position in the guild.
"Isn't our Woo-jin friend going to get ready?"
"I will."
Aside from the coat, he was already wearing everything from when he came, so there was no need to do anything separately now.
"A large corporation is definitely something different."
The number of vans that departed in line was 10 in total.
Even calculated generously, that was enough to easily transport 50 people.
However, the actual number of people who got out of the vans was himself, Lee Da-young, and Hong Yeon-ha, who was currently changing clothes—13 people in total.
The remaining vans were packed with weapons to be used by the personnel entering the dungeon today, various potions and food, and tools that could be usefully employed inside the dungeon.
"The fact that you came this far means the Master rated you decently. Where are you affiliated?"
"I'm a civil servant."
"Civil... the Association?"
"Yes."
"Wow, that place with low pay and crap tons of work? Are you being threatened or something?"
"I joined of my own free will, normally."
"By any chance, that side?"
He couldn't know what "that side" meant, but it was clearly not in a good sense, so he just ignored it.
"Is Lee Da-young-ssi the Keeper?"
A Keeper refers to a high-rank Hunter who is deployed alongside a novice raid party to prevent them from getting wiped out in a dungeon. Of course, it's not something that can be done simply by having a high rank.
While the criteria vary slightly from guild to guild, only those who can handle various unexpected variables and diverse situations, as evaluated by the guild master, can become Keepers.
"If it's a Keeper, then yes. Today's escort targets are just you and the young lady."
"So you didn't voluntarily give up your vacation after all."
"Of course not! As much as I enjoy teasing the young lady, I'm not going to pass up on my rest!"
"I can hear you."
"Oops~"
Hong Yeon-ha, who had gotten out of the van, glared at Lee Da-young who was whistling while subtly avoiding her gaze, then shifted her attention to Baek Woo-jin standing next to her.
"Is that what your grandfather gave you?"
"Thankfully, yes."
"Hmm."
Hong Yeon-ha, who knew about the matter with Hong Ik-hyun, tugged at Baek Woo-jin's sleeves this way and that, which looked like an ordinary black shirt on the outside, before letting go and raising her head again.
"How do I look?"
Hong Yeon-ha spread her arms slightly.
Like Lee Da-young and the guild members busy preparing for the dungeon raid over there, Hong Yeon-ha was wearing a red uniform, and due to her characteristic red hair and eyes, the color seemed even deeper.
"It's red."
"Pfft?!"
"……."
Lee Da-young, standing next to her, hastily covered her mouth with one hand, and Hong Yeon-ha's eyes gradually narrowed.
"Even if blood splatters, it won't show easily."
"Keuk, pfft..."
Lee Da-young leaned against the van and openly shook with laughter.
"...Well, fine. It means you're at least at the level to joke around, right?"
She seemed to have decided to think positively, but both the former and latter statements were sincere, not jokes.
Just as his ears were getting numb from Lee Da-young's one-sided conversation, a man with a fairly tall and handsome appearance even from another man's perspective approached.
"Preparations are complete."
"Keuk, y-yeah, good work. We'll be there soon, so go on ahead."
"Understood."
When Lee Da-young, who quickly composed her expression, waved her hand, the man bowed once, but his gaze was directed at Baek Woo-jin for just a brief moment. And Baek Woo-jin, with his keen senses, read a negative emotion in that instant.
As long as he wasn't a fool, he couldn't help but know what the cause was.
'Did I make a mistake coming here?'
Both Lee Da-young and the man just now.
Even before entering the dungeon, two things had already left a bad taste in his mouth.
Since he wasn't a member of the raid party, refusing to enter now wouldn't be a problem. However, after some deliberation, Baek Woo-jin decided to enter the dungeon with Hong Yeon-ha.
At least until the regression, Hong Yeon-ha was alive and well until the moment a hole was pierced through her chest.
"Young lady."
Lee Da-young's voice, stripped of playfulness, dropped even in tone as if she had become a completely different person.
"I know."
When Hong Yeon-ha, who also became serious in turn, answered, Lee Da-young's gaze turned to Baek Woo-jin.
"I think you'll follow along well without me having to say it, but I'll say it once anyway. From the moment we enter the dungeon, no matter what I say, follow my words unconditionally."
"Of course."
From high-rank dungeons onward, all guilds kept information strictly secret as everything seen and experienced could be worth money, so following the instructions of an experienced veteran was as natural as she said, without needing to instill any special caution.
"Follow me."
Following behind Lee Da-young, Baek Woo-jin and Hong Yeon-ha stood at the rear of the raid party.
"Enter!"
The man who had approached earlier to announce that preparations were complete shouted with force in his voice, then pushed his body into the dungeon entrance first.
"We're going in."
After the entire raid party entered, Lee Da-young entered next. Now only Hong Yeon-ha and Baek Woo-jin remained. And the personnel to control the surroundings.
Since the control personnel were all watching elsewhere, Baek Woo-jin took out the halberd and coat from his item box and put them on while meeting Hong Yeon-ha's gaze that asked with her eyes why he wasn't going in.
"Is that also from your grandfather?"
"It's mine."
"You had something interesting."
The conversation ended there.
As a Hunter herself, Hong Yeon-ha clearly distinguished between what to ask and what not to ask.
"Let's go in."
Hong Yeon-ha entered first, and Baek Woo-jin followed behind her, walking into the entrance.
The world beyond the entrance was the exact opposite of the seaside preparing for the approaching summer.
Snow piled up enough to submerge ankles, a dense forest visible in the distance, and a giant snow-capped mountain beyond it.
Wheeee──!!
Plus, a fierce wind strong enough to flip one's hair.
"Squad 2 on guard, the rest check for any abnormalities."
Following the instructions of the man serving as the leader of this raid party, the raid members moved swiftly according to his orders.
"That coat must have cold protection too."
"I just found out myself."
Whatever the principle, his body temperature was perfectly maintained even on his exposed face and hands.
"Potions, no issues."
"Supplies, no abnormalities."
"No stragglers."
"Stand by."
After confirming there were no abnormalities in the raid party, the man began surveying the surroundings while maintaining the guard squad.
"How is it?"
"The Tower was quite a kind place, wasn't it?"
"I agree."
The Tower at least told you what you needed to do. However, this place, a C-rank dungeon with a theme, simply threw you into a snowfield and that was it.
Not only did it not tell what the objective was, it didn't even provide a small hint.
"Maintain formation and advance into the forest."
Centered around the man, the raid party began moving toward the forest visible in the distance.
"Let's go."
Hong Yeon-ha moved, and Baek Woo-jin walked alongside her. And Lee Da-young followed behind at a slight distance from the two.
Chak!
When the man raised his right hand and made a fist, the raid party's steps stopped.
Then two members with bows strapped on came forward, each placed a hand on the tree closest to the snowfield, and closed their eyes.
"No abnormalities here."
"This side too."
He had guessed it when they were carrying bows, but they must have had search-related skills.
"Trap on the left."
"There's also a trap on the right at a distance of ten paces."
As if proving how important search skills were from high-rank dungeons onward, the two members guided the raid party to a safe path. And thanks to the two members' performance, the raid party arrived at what appeared to be a gimmick event location without any damage two hours after departure.
"Ugh..."
A knight wearing shattered, blood-stained silver armor was groaning while collapsed with his back against a tree.
Clank!
One tanker raised his shield, and the male leader approached the groaning knight from behind it.
"Who did this to you?"
"Ugh, the night, the night comes..."
Judging that the knight was not in a state to converse normally, the man didn't ask further but instead listened carefully to the dying knight's voice.
"The evil spirits... of the night... the sacred relic..."
The head of the knight leaning against the tree drooped weakly.
At that moment, an anomaly occurred in the dungeon.
The sun that had been hanging above their heads began to tilt at a rapid speed, and as the moon took the place where the sun had been, the world instantly met night.
Hiiiiii...
At the sound too eerie to be made by the wind, the members who were guarding the perimeter tightened their formation and sharpened their weapons.
'Damn it.'
And Baek Woo-jin, who was receiving Lee Da-young's protection along with Hong Yeon-ha, cursed inwardly.
The chilling sound that had just reached his ears brought back a memory that had been struggling to surface.
Before the regression, someone asked Hong Yeon-ha, who had reached A-rank, what her most memorable dungeon was.
Hong Yeon-ha answered.
It was the high-rank dungeon she entered for the first time on a observation visit.
That day, if Hunter Lee Da-young hadn't sacrificed herself in that pure white hell, she wouldn't be here right now.
Snow piled up high.
A dense forest with a giant snow-capped mountain beyond it.
Kikikikiki...
Now seemingly not even trying to hide, the eerie sounds came openly.
'They did say my luck at the Tower was too good.'
Baek Woo-jin let out a small sigh and spread his senses wide.