“What???”
Park Hyo-sang and Kim Chu-ho stared at me with wide eyes. They must have thought I would quietly agree to the contract, never imagining I would make a counter-offer.
“Hahahaha.”
A moment later, they shrugged their shoulders and burst out laughing. It seemed they saw me as a greenhorn who knew nothing of the world. The two men snickered for quite a while as the two new Hunters watched the scene with uneasy eyes.
“Mr. Cheon Hae-seon. There seems to be some misunderstanding. It is a healer's duty to heal party members. Just as it is ours to stand on the front lines and take down monsters.”
“I know.”
“... Pardon?”
“Of course, I will heal anyone here who gets injured. I have no intention of breaking the rules set by the Hunter Association.”
“Then why are you asking for two million won...”
“Didn't I make it clear? I said it applies if you request 'protection,' not 'healing'.”
Park Hyo-sang and Kim Chu-ho finally seemed to understand what I meant. But their gazes were still cynical.
“Mr. Cheon Hae-seon. We know you’re a healer of unprecedented skill. But dungeons are more dangerous than you think. You’ll be too busy worrying about your own safety to even think of protecting us.”
To think I had to hear this from a guy who probably had never even experienced a 5-star (★★★) dungeon. My mouth itched to retort, but I only said what was necessary.
“I’ll worry about that myself. If you don’t add that clause to the contract, I won’t sign it either.”
“Well, this is...”
As Park Hyo-sang scratched his head, the blond, tanned Kim Chu-ho egged him on.
“Boss. Why are you even worrying about this? Whether it's two million won or twenty million, it's never going to happen.”
“Hmm... I suppose you’re right. Alright, Mr. Cheon Hae-seon. Let’s do it your way.”
Park Hyo-sang added the clause I requested to the contract and stamped it with his thumbprint. I thought this would be a boring dungeon, but it was getting more interesting than I expected.
“Kyaaah!!”
“Oh my, our little princess got a big scare. Hehehe.”
Park Hyo-sang lifted a limp Nutria above his head as if to tease the young Esper. The inside of the dungeon resembled a ruined sewage treatment plant. I had thought most Poison-type Dungeons were dense forests.
It seemed the structure varied depending on the Monster type. Screech. The veterans were more agile than I expected. The idea of extorting a protection fee was absurd, but in reality, they cleared the dungeon quickly without needing any support from the Espers.
“Ugh!”
Suddenly, a Nutria leaped out of the stream, flying toward the male Esper’s face. Thwack! With perfect timing, the blade in Kim Chu-ho’s hand pierced the Nutria’s side. Seeing the creature flailing its limbs in mid-air, the Esper’s face turned deathly pale.
“Haha. Don’t you worry. We don’t take protection fees for nothing.”
The Esper nodded with a frightened expression.
‘Good grief...’
It wasn’t my business, so I let it slide, but it was endlessly frustrating. At this rate, there was no point in the Association’s training program. What good was it to just rack up dungeon clears?
If they cleared dungeons by being protected like this, would they ever be able to fulfill their roles in a real battle later on?
“Why don’t you try doing something?”
“What...?”
“I have nothing to do if no one’s injured, but that shouldn’t be the case for you two. Are you going to come all the way into a dungeon and do nothing? Especially after paying that expensive one million won?”
“...”
“These Nutrias here are nothing more than large rats. Even if you get bitten, I can heal you right away, and there won’t even be a scar. You didn’t become Hunters just to scream, did you?”
They looked young, but they were actually two or three years older than me. Although there was a significant difference in our ranks, my words could easily be taken as an insult. But I said them anyway.
I couldn't stand their helplessness. The people who had been brutally killed in Gaebang District. If the same situation were to happen again, would these two be able to protect anyone?
“Mr. Cheon Hae-seon is... right.”
Though her face was pale, the female Esper turned and gathered Ether in both hands. Swoosh. Thwack, thwack. The harsh advice I'd shot at her transformed into a sharp electric arrow that pierced the Nutria. Seeing it was still alive despite a direct hit, I guess an E-rank is still just an E-rank.
But it didn’t matter. At least she showed the will to do something.
“Haha. I told you, you don’t have to.”
The two veteran Hunters chuckled and looked back at us. From their perspective, it was easier if they got a helping hand. The pair of new Hunters began attacking the Nutrias from behind the Knights, and the party’s hunting speed gradually increased.
The veterans skillfully extracted the Cores from the Nutrias’ bodies. They said they would distribute them later, but if we didn't count them from the start, they’d surely be swindled blind.
“How much farther is it?”
“Phew. Just about another 10 meters from here. That’s where a Nutria the size of a house will appear.”
“Huh...”
Hearing that it was the size of a house, the male Hunter was terrified.
‘What a joke.’
There was no way a Monster of that size would appear in a 1-star (★) dungeon. A real house-sized Monster was that thing…
Right, Daebeom.
That’s the kind of creature you’d call house-sized. In any case, it seemed the time had come. Time to forcibly ‘protect’ these Hunters who were so preoccupied with making money.
Ssk. Healers usually stand at the very rear of the party. They are vulnerable to enemy attacks and, conversely, have no reason to attack from their position. That was why no one knew I had taken out Exa in its White Dream state.
With White Dream activated, I dipped the blade into the stream. Tsssk... A faint white vapor, barely visible to the eye, slowly spread throughout the sewer. Too much could have the opposite effect, so this amount was just right.
The blade of White Dream had two powerful effects. A sleep effect. And an anesthesia effect.
As an S-rank Healer, I wouldn’t feel any changes, but the others wouldn't be so lucky.
Screech. “Ugh!”
Park Hyo-sang, who had been skillfully cutting down Nutrias, had his arm bitten by one.
“Haha. Boss. What are you doing in front of the kids?”
Kim Chu-ho cackled as he sliced the Nutria latched onto Park Hyo-sang.
“Damn it. How embarrassing. I guess I’m getting old.”
Park Hyo-sang grumbled and walked over to me. Ppori had consumed a great deal of my poison before we entered the dungeon, so my healing energy was brimming. I healed Park Hyo-sang’s wound completely.
“Ooh. As expected of an S-rank. It feels like my skin has grown back completely new.”
He laughed heartily, his face one of genuine admiration. You old fool. This is hardly the time for that.
“B-Boss!!”
A frantic voice came from behind Park Hyo-sang. Nutrias were clinging all over Kim Chu-ho’s arms and legs.
“What the?!”
His wound now healed, Park Hyo-sang quickly rushed over. The once-leisurely battle had taken a drastic turn. They were fighting a desperate, bloody battle against the Nutrias.
Their field jackets were already in tatters, and no sooner were their wounds healed than they began bleeding anew.
“Fuck! Why did they suddenly get so strong?”
I covered my slightly upturned lips with one hand. It wasn’t that the Nutrias had gotten stronger. It was just that their reactions had become duller.
The mist created by White Dream was temporary, but it was more than enough to affect everyone here. I took advantage of the fight to grab the hands of the two Espers.
“Come this way.”
Sharrr... It might have looked like a simple move to avoid the Nutrias, but that was just a pretext. As soon as I grabbed their hands, I completely erased the traces of White Dream that had seeped into the two Espers. Let's just watch the show and reap the benefits.
With clear minds.
“W-what do we do?”
The Espers aimed their skills at the Nutrias, but unlike before, the monsters were clinging so tightly to the two men that they couldn't attack easily. The flustered Espers asked me with anxious faces. I scratched my head and answered vaguely.
“I didn't know a 1-star dungeon could be this tough either. If this keeps up, those two could be in real danger.”
“No way...!!”
Chwiiiiiiik. As if on cue, a screech, slightly rougher than before, echoed through the chamber. To make matters worse, a colossal Nutria, smaller than the one the veterans had described but still easily two meters long, appeared.
“Ugh...!!”
Even the Espers, who had shown some fighting spirit, instinctively took a step back. Its appearance was that grotesque. Unlike the smaller ones they were currently fighting, the fur on its body stood on end like a mane.
Of course, if the two veterans joined forces, they could probably subdue it without much difficulty. If they were in their ‘usual state,’ that is.
“Grr...!!”
A shadow of despair fell over the faces of Park Hyo-sang and Kim Chu-ho as they struggled against the Nutrias. It was already a struggle to deal with the mobs, and now they had to face the boss, too.
“Fuck!! What are you doing!! Hurry up and attack!!”
Park Hyo-sang, growing desperate, spewed curses, urging the Espers on.
“B-but. They’re too close!!”
“You moron!! Then at least stop that big one from coming over!!”
“Y-yes!!”
Hmm.
Doing that might just turn the boss monster’s attention to the Espers. But looking at the two men’s faces, they didn't seem to care. No, it looked like they were desperately hoping the huge Nutria would attack someone else.
Swoosh—Bang! “Krrrr...”
The two Espers’ attacks hit the boss, but aside from a slight flinch, it seemed to have taken no damage. That was the extent of a rookie Esper’s long-range attack. The veterans, who saw the boss’s condition in the midst of the fight, wore expressions of despair.
“Boss. At this rate, we're all going to die!”
“Stop talking nonsense and kill this thing already!”
Screech. The two men, unable to hold on any longer, finally retreated toward us. I healed them both quickly. Leaving out the White Dream’s components, of course.
“Boss. I think the monsters have grown stronger. Let’s aim for the next opportunity.”
“Are you crazy? Who’s going to grant the next permit to Hunters who failed to clear a 1-star dungeon!”
The Nutrias slowly approached. The four of them trembled in fear. Covering my mouth to hide a slight smile, I asked Park Hyo-sang.
“Shall I protect you?”
“... What?”
“It seems you two are in no position to protect us. If you request my protection, I will clear this dungeon for you.”
Park Hyo-sang was so dumbfounded he couldn’t even answer properly. Even with healing, the Ether within their bodies was finite. If they continued to use it without rest, it would run dry.
“Don’t be ridiculous. As a healer, there’s nothing you can do.”
“Is that so? Then hurry up and fight. Like you just said, you can't be a Hunter who can't even clear a 1-star dungeon.”
Park Hyo-sang glared at me for a moment, then gritted his teeth and ran back into the fray. A few minutes later.
“Pant. Pant. H-heal me!!”
With his Ether already depleted and now paralyzed, how could he possibly fight properly? He came crawling back, half-dead. Sharrr... “I can’t keep healing you like this forever.
My Ether has its limits, too...”
“Is that really true?”
Of course, that was a lie. My Ether did have its limits, but healing small fries like these? I could handle hundreds of them without breaking a sweat.
But I needed to hear their request, so I had to stir up their anxiety.
“I’ll ask again. Shall we proceed with the additional contract?”
“...”
“Dammit, Boss!! If this goes on, we're all going to die! We either get out of here or take a leap of faith and sign it!”
A Knight being protected by a healer. Considering their class, it was an incredibly humiliating situation. But in the end, Park Hyo-sang had no choice but to raise the white flag.
“Mr. Cheon Hae-seon... Protect us... If you clear the dungeon, we will fulfill the contract.”
“Okay.”
With a short reply, I kicked off the ground and shot forward. The Exa in my hand had already turned back to its unique black color. The offensive weapon, lethal with a single touch, began to ravage the Nutrias in tandem with Poison Step.
Zip! Slash! Stab! “Chwiii...!!!” The deadly poison seeped in, not even allowing them a scream. In just a few seconds, the twenty or so Nutrias slammed their heads into the sewer floor.
“Th-th-th...!!”
“No way!!”
The two Espers, as well as the two Knights, stared this way with eyes full of shock. It was likely they couldn’t even process what had just happened.
“Chwiiiik!!”
The huge Nutria, as if enraged, leaped from its spot. Just as its jaws were about to snap down on my head, I jumped to a position much higher than it. Clack! The sound of its teeth clashing echoed loudly, and from above the Nutria that had lost its target, I slashed the back of its neck.
Shluck—Thump! Battle over. Making the blood-soaked efforts of the veterans look foolish, I cleared the dungeon in less than thirty seconds.
‘So this is how easy a battle is when I'm allowed to kill.’
After always having to avoid fights while searching for Copper Eternal Flowers, this kind of battle felt much more comfortable.
“Mr. Cheon Hae-seon! You...!!”
“What is your real identity?”
Beyond the fallen Nutrias, the four of them stood with their mouths agape, unable to close them.