LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 60
After getting out of the car, I silently followed the manager closely from behind.
Before I knew it, the conversation flowed smoothly, and I successfully became part of the Later Group.
Of course, it couldn’t pass without any incidents.
“You’re a foreigner?”
The man who had become the leader of the Later Group, Kang Cheol-min, looked at me.
He was an S-rank Hunter from the Cheongrim Guild or something like that.
A big guy decked out in shiny equipment.
“Can you communicate? It would be troublesome if I can’t give you instructions.”
“Yes, I can manage basic communication just fine. Right?”
I nodded.
If needed, I could use alteration magic, but unless a truly necessary situation arose, I was planning to keep my mouth shut.
It had happened frequently when I wore a nun’s robe every day, of course.
Though there’s a difference between voluntary and involuntary.
“Hmm, fine. I’ll just place you at the back.”
His arrogant gaze flicked to me for a moment before it moved away.
After the departing leader of the Later Group left, I turned my gaze back to the manager.
“I’ll return to my work now. I need to fulfill the promises made today.”
Nod, nod.
“Then, I wish you a safe completion of the raid.”
The manager left for the spot where he had parked the car earlier.
After a while of waiting dazedly, a voice rang out.
“We’re heading out now!”
I entered the A-rank Undead Dungeon along with the others.
With the dungeon’s typical eerie atmosphere, the thick mana density was palpable.
Following the orders of the leader of the Cheongrim Guild, the people took their positions.
It seemed half of the Later Group were members of the same guild.
They exchanged familiar conversations and settled into their spots.
Most of them were vanguards, while I was at the rear.
Honestly, I was only planning to watch unless something really big happened. It was better this way.
“This way!”
A thief began to lead the way.
From what I heard beforehand, he was one of the Hunters who participated in the scouting after the incident.
As we moved under his guidance, traces of the battle that occurred earlier started to become visible.
“Ugh, undead corpses are always disgusting to see.”
“Tell me about it.”
“And the boss related to this one will show up, right?”
“Just hope nothing weird pops out…”
I walked along, listening to their quiet whispers.
While moving swiftly, we soon encountered a group of skeletons that had awoken in relatively good condition.
It was definitely an A-rank dungeon because there were skeleton warriors, archers, and mages, all formed and ready.
In between them, there were also enhanced variants visible.
“Let’s take care of them and regroup!”
“Understood!”
With Kang Cheol-min’s powerful shout, the battle began.
“Haah!”
Boom—!
Crash—!
With every swing of the gigantic hammer, massive craters formed in the ground.
Simultaneously, the skeletons shattered into bone dust.
The first to charge was Kang Cheol-min, who became the target of the archers and mages’ ranged attacks.
“Ha ha ha! Not even a scratch!”
Though his shiny equipment blocked the attacks without a mark, Kang Cheol-min purposefully flailed about as if inviting their focus.
Behind him, other Hunters formed ranks and continued the fight.
Since the skeletons weren’t fully intact to begin with, the battle didn’t take long to conclude.
“We have no time to hesitate! Move out again!”
“Yes!”
The Hunters shouted energetically as they kicked off their movement.
I hurriedly followed suit, keeping pace with them.
Surely, since this was a path cleared by the vanguard earlier,
battles occurred only sporadically.
Most of our time was spent moving deeper within the dungeon.
After battling once more, when a brief rest was announced, a Magic Type Female Hunter plopped down beside me and said,
“Ugh…! The deeper we go, the more chilly my body feels! The mana concentration in this dungeon is too high…”
“R-right? It wasn’t my imagination after all.”
Another Hunter responded to her words.
Then the woman shivered as if she was covered with goosebumps and said,
“Hee, what if there’s really an S-rank dungeon inside?”
“If we join, there’ll be a total of four S-rank Hunters. They’ll manage well!”
“Y-Yeah, that’s right?!”
It was clear they wanted to shake off their tension.
I could see groups of them chatting here and there.
Suddenly feeling a gaze on me, I turned my head to find the Magic Type woman looking at me.
“……?”
Wondering if she had something to say, I tilted my head.
“Y-you understand Korean, right?”
She struck up a conversation with me.
I nodded lightly and waited for her to continue.
“Oh, um, it’s nothing much. I was just wondering what your class is since you aren’t participating in the battle.”
Ah, so that’s why she approached me. That made sense.
Since everything was progressing without a hitch, I hadn’t stepped forward, but to them, I must have seemed like a strange person just goofing off.
I couldn’t appear to be dead weight.
Not wanting to be a hassle, I took out the sword I had not bothered to mention.
Whoosh—
I swung it sleekly once and then pointed with my finger at myself, then at the woman.
“Oh, so you’re to escort us?”
Nod, nod.
“Um, I get that, but what about your rank—”
“Let’s get moving now!”
Just as the woman was about to ask me more about myself,
with a large man’s voice, everyone quickly stood from their spots.
The Magic Type woman did the same.
Maybe she wasn’t that curious about me after all, as she bowed her head slightly and wrapped up the conversation.
The group progressed deeper into the dungeon.
As I followed them, I pondered the slight sense of déjà vu I was feeling.
… Hmm, it’s vague.
I shook off the feeling and focused on my steps.
* * *
Amidst the rigorous pace of the Later Group.
The Magic Type Female Hunter briefly turned her head to glance back at the woman following behind.
‘…She must be a woman, right?’
The guess about her gender was solely based on her height.
The nun’s robe, which showed no skin at all, almost looked like a priest’s outfit at first glance.
She had never spoken even once nor had she shown any peculiar behavior up to now.
Though to think of her as dead weight was….
‘There’s something reliable about her.’
Once they entered the dungeon and progressed deeper,
Both she and many other Hunters were being crushed by the density of the mana.
However, there were exactly two people whose demeanor hadn’t changed at all since entering.
Kang Cheol-min, the leader of the Later Group from the Cheongrim Guild.
And the woman in the nun’s robe who was trailing far behind.
Once I recognized her this way, I felt a true sense of security.
And it wasn’t an illusion.
Although battles rarely occurred, the Later Group had fewer higher-ranked Hunters compared to the vanguard.
As a result, an emergency arose.
“Damn it, what if we get breached!”
“Rear guard! Be careful!”
“Follow quickly—!”
Beast-like undead creatures charging on all fours attempted to break through the front guard’s defenses.
A few fell right away, but ultimately not all were taken down.
“Stay calm and respond!”
“At-tack!”
The rear guard Hunters rushed to use their skills.
Flamboyant spells they hastily triggered poured out towards the beasts.
However, the urgently cast skills lacked firepower.
One of the significant traits of undead monsters is that they do not feel pain.
Using that unique perk, the beasts didn’t stop running.
They quickly surged towards the rearguard.
“Growl, ack—!”
The first beast to arrive let out a low and eerie sound.
As it scratched its throat, it lunged straight at the rearguard Hunters.
“Ahhh?!”
“Ugh!”
The Hunters in the path of the beast screamed.
In that moment!
*Swish—*
*Thud.*
The beast’s head cleanly severed and rolled on the ground.
In an instant, a scene unfolded.
The Hunters couldn’t quite comprehend what had happened and turned to see who had stepped forward.
The woman in the nun’s robe calmly positioned herself at the front of the rearguard.
“Grrr!”
“Eeeeeek—!”
Other beasts rushed towards her with their rotten bodies, revealing their teeth while shrieking ominously.
Unlike before, multiple undead beasts charged in one after another.
However, the outcome didn’t change.
“Wow….”
“Whoa…!”
The Hunters stared wide-eyed at the nun’s robe woman’s movements.
She calmly lifted her sword.
The moment the first beast lunged,
*Swish——*
Her wrist moved like lightning, neatly slicing the beast in two.
She pivoted, correcting her stance once more.
Then two beasts lunged at the same time.
The woman in the nun’s robe smoothly dodged to the side and swung her sword in a rotating fashion.
It was a smooth, clean, and refined motion without any waste.
*Swish—, Thud.*
In one motion, the heads of two beasts flew off and tumbled to the ground.
“……”
The woman steadied herself and looked at the remaining beasts.
“Grrr…!”
Even though they were undead monsters devoid of fear,
they showed a brief hesitation in their movements.
The woman immediately dashed towards the monsters.
The remaining beasts prepared to retaliate, but her sword was swifter.
She twisted her body slightly and performed an upward slash.
“Graah!”
Then she executed a downward slash in succession, cutting down another beast.
Now only one beast remained.
Naturally, it took only a moment to finish it off.
The rearguard Hunters gaped at the woman in the nun’s robe in astonishment.
The entire battle transpired so quickly that none remembered the process.
The carcass of the remaining monster testified that the nun’s robe woman was an incredible Hunter.
‘Wow… she really fights well.’
‘No wonder the manager of the administrative department hurried to bring her along!’
Everyone looked at the woman in the nun’s robe with astonished expressions.
At that moment, the Magic Type Female Hunter sensed someone’s gaze.
The veil-covered head was facing her.
Unconsciously, the Magic Type Hunter gave a thumbs up.
Thumbs up.
The nun’s robe woman hesitated for a moment but then responded with a thumbs-up with her other hand.
Thumbs up.
From the tips of the nun’s robe sleeves, delicate hands and fingers peeked out.
The Magic Type Hunter smiled brightly.
Although unseen, it seemed there was a kind and sincere, cute woman within that nun’s robe.