Standing before the Defense Battle, Min Ju-ho and F-Rank Group 3 felt bewildered.
Unexpected numbers were displayed on the Defense Battle.
[Defense Battle, Pitch-Black Daedalus (F)]
Entry Personnel 1/10
Clear Progress Rate 13%
Break Time 95:33:13
Someone had already entered.
On top of that, the Progress Rate had already risen to 10%.
Judging by the timing, it was clear someone had been swept into a Defense Battle that had suddenly appeared.
If the Progress Rate had risen, then that meant they were accomplishing something.
Of course, that was probably not what the Hunter inside had intended.
“It is…… a little unexpected, but nothing has changed significantly.”
“Yes, Instructor.”
“As we trained earlier, if you analyze the mission, fill only the Progress Rate, and escape, an escape route will open for the other Hunter as well.”
“Yes! Understood!”
And so, F-Rank Group 3 entered the Defense Battle.
[Transfer to Defense Battle, Pitch-Black Daedalus (F), complete.]
Then the pitch-black labyrinth greeted F-Rank Group 3.
【F/Pitch-Black Daedalus】
『Boss: ???』
『Clear Condition: Defeat the hidden boss monster of the labyrinth (100%/100%) and escape from the labyrinth.』
『Progress Rate: 13%』
『Time Limit: 95:31:02』
“The boss has already been defeated?”
Yoon Du-sik, who had been given the role of group leader for F-Rank Group 3, noticed something.
The Defense Battle was proceeding strangely, unlike what they had learned.
They had clearly been told to avoid the boss…….
“The boss is one thing, but why are the walls here like this?”
Jeong Su-hyeon, a member of Group 3 who had awakened a long-range skill, noticed something else strange.
The walls of the labyrinth had collapsed here and there, leaving piles of debris.
The dungeon was practically in tatters.
“E-Even so, let us analyze the mission first according to the rules.”
Jo Myeong-su, who served as Group 3’s tank, offered his opinion.
Thus, F-Rank Group 3 put their heads together and analyzed the mission.
In truth, however, there was nothing to analyze.
All they had to do was find the way out of the labyrinth to clear it.
And the labyrinth escape mission was extremely easy for them.
As it happened, F-Rank Group 3 had Kim Jeong-ho, who had awakened the [Trace Search] skill.
It was a skill that could mark footprints, so they could tell every path they had already passed through.
If they kept walking through the labyrinth, they would eventually find the way.
And so, F-Rank Group 3 began walking through the labyrinth with Kim Jeong-ho in the lead.
[Energy Ball (C)]
[Defeated – Deathwing (6)]
The monsters that appeared as they walked through the labyrinth were easy compared to those in Ranked Matches.
They were dealt with one by one with a single long-range skill.
“Oh, as expected of a ranged dealer.”
“Come on, please do not flatter me like that…….”
Thanks to that, the atmosphere of F-Rank Group 3 inside the labyrinth flowed in a positive direction.
At least until they encountered a certain door that radiated majestic light.
“…….”
“…….”
When they faced a door that anyone could tell was enormous and radiated powerful energy, fear appeared on the Hunters’ faces.
No one opened their mouth, but they all shared the same thought.
‘This must be where the dungeon boss is…….’
However, it was not that big of a problem.
The boss was already marked as defeated.
And in truth, nothing would happen if they simply passed by the closed door.
And so, F-Rank Group 3 tried to walk away from the boss’s door while keeping a wide distance.
But then,
RIIIP!
A Deathwing appeared from between the collapsed sections of the labyrinth and flew toward the party.
[Energy Ball (C)]
[Defeated – Deathwing (7)]
Although the reaction was slightly late, Jeong Su-hyeon’s skill struck the Deathwing.
If there was one problem, it was that the Deathwing hit by the skill crashed into the massive door.
Tap!
It was a touch-and-go situation where no one knew what might happen.
The members of F-Rank Group 3 hunched their bodies.
Then, after a brief moment,
fortunately, that much stimulus seemed to have no effect.
Nothing happened inside the boss room.
They were about to leave the labyrinth again.
Creeeeeak—
The enormous door very slowly tipped backward.
THUD!
It produced a thunderous sound that reverberated through every part of the labyrinth and fell over as it was.
A tremendous cloud of sand and dust rose with it…….
It was not the normal way a door opened.
That was strange, but whatever the case, the boss room had opened.
“Everyone, behind me for now!”
[Chivalry (C)]
Jo Myeong-su stepped in front of the party and created a defensive wall with his skill.
While F-Rank Group 3 held their breath and prepared, the dust settled, and the outline of the interior gradually appeared.
The Minotaur’s huge body was stuck in the floor, motionless, and one of its horns had been broken off and was rolling on the ground.
“I…… I think it is dead?”
Faced with a scene so gruesome that it inspired pity despite the creature having been the dungeon’s boss monster,
the members of F-Rank Group 3 were so shocked that they could not take a step forward for quite some time.
***
In one space of the labyrinth where many walls had collapsed,
Yoo Seonghyeon lay down and began to rest.
He had already been wandering the labyrinth for three hours.
After he broke all the blocked walls, all he had done was create one broad space, and there had been no particular gain.
As he wandered through the labyrinth without any progress,
an enormous fatigue accumulated in his body.
Fortunately, no more monsters were appearing…….
Once he thought he was in a safe place, the tension drained away, and he felt exhausted.
‘Ugh…… Should I close my eyes and rest for a moment……?’
He had never imagined he would sleep rough inside a dungeon.
But unexpectedly…… the floor of the labyrinth was not bad.
And so, Seonghyeon collapsed among the broken sections of the labyrinth and fell asleep.
Some time passed.
“Excuse me…… Mr. Seonghyeon…….”
“Mmph…….”
“Oh! I think he is coming to. Mr. Seonghyeon! Mr. Seonghyeon!”
Seonghyeon, who had somehow woken up, felt someone holding him and shaking him.
“!!!”
He realized a little later that he had been asleep.
But how did they know me?
“Mr. Seonghyeon, are you all right?”
The man called Seonghyeon’s name again.
He seemed somewhat familiar…….
“I am Jo Myeong-su. We met when registering as Hunters.”
“Ah…… Mr. Myeong-su! I am sorry. I am not thinking clearly right now.”
The male Hunter whose face had seemed familiar.
The man calling Seonghyeon’s name and checking his condition was Jo Myeong-su.
He had not expected to meet him like this, but seeing someone he knew again inside a dungeon made him extremely glad.
Of course, it was embarrassing that he had been asleep and that he had entered first only to be trapped…….
However, Jo Myeong-su and his party seemed to be thinking about it differently.
“Are you all right? No, where did you receive such an attack……?”
As he said that, Jo Myeong-su brushed the dust off Seonghyeon’s body.
Then he continued.
“To think the Hunter swept into this place was Mr. Seonghyeon. I am glad you are safe.”
After saying that, Jo Myeong-su and his party let out sighs of relief.
In a slightly burdensome way.
But that was not the problem right now.
This was a labyrinth he had failed to escape for three hours, and having a few more Hunters around would not change much.
“How did you come in here?”
“Ah, we entered for practical Defense Battle training. We became affiliated with the Hunter Association.”
Oh? Association-affiliated Hunters?
Park Ji-tae had treated them differently during the previous measurement.
So there really had been something different about them.
To think they would even come to rescue him like this.
“This worked out well, then…… I happened to come in by accident.”
And judging from their reactions, they seemed to think I had been swept into this Defense Battle.
If that was the case, I had to match the atmosphere.
From now on, Meteor was banned.
I was a weak F-Rank Hunter who had been swept into a Defense Battle.
“But…… do you happen to know what happened to the boss monster?”
Just as he was trying to blend in vaguely,
a man who had been watching him beside Jo Myeong-su asked.
“…….”
“Mr. Seonghyeon, this is our group leader, Yoon Du-sik.”
“Ah…… Yes.”
As expected of a leader, his ability to detect something strange was above average.
However, Seonghyeon had no intention of obediently revealing that he was Meteor Lord.
“Whew…… What happened to the boss? I was unconscious, so I do not remember anything at all…….”
Yoon Du-sik did not seem to have completely withdrawn his suspicion yet.
But he did not question him any further.
It would be strange to interrogate someone who said they could not remember.
Then Jo Myeong-su and his party began moving again.
Of course, Seonghyeon was included in the party.
***
Truly surprisingly,
when they used the [Trace Search] of Hunter Kim Jeong-ho, one of the members, it turned out that Seonghyeon had only been going in circles around the collapsed area.
He had known he had a poor sense of direction, but he had never imagined it was this bad.
If there was one fortunate thing,
it was that not a single trace of his footsteps remained in the direction of the boss room, and thanks to that, Yoon Du-sik’s suspicious gaze disappeared.
Aside from that, the [Trace Search] skill was the most helpful ability in the labyrinth.
A labyrinth that left traces was ultimately like a problem with the answer already shown.
Of course, the other Hunters’ skills were also useful.
Thanks to the fact that he had been holding the Goblin Dagger when he first met them,
he was excluded from the role of killing monsters.
It was much safer to deal with them using long-range skills, after all.
In other words, Seonghyeon was essentially doing nothing.
He was, quite literally, riding the bus.
If there was one thing he did well, it was following the instruction to “not act alone and stay quiet.”
How much longer did they walk like that?
After repeatedly finding and walking down labyrinth paths with no traces,
the end of the dungeon finally appeared.
“Wow! You all worked hard.”
“I am glad we cleared it without any major problems.”
“A Defense Battle…… In the end, we cleared one too.”
When they reached the end, Jo Myeong-su’s party exchanged greetings with deep emotion.
And Seonghyeon, too,
“Thank you. For coming to rescue me.”
He meant those words sincerely.
One shot of Meteor or not, a labyrinth where he had to find the way was truly difficult.
If he had to do it again, he would need to think very carefully before coming.
***
Min Ju-ho calmly waited in front of the Defense Battle Gate for the Hunters to come out.
[Defense Battle, Pitch-Black Daedalus (F)]
Entry Personnel 6/10
Clear Progress Rate 21%
Break Time 95:25:10
After F-Rank Group 3 entered, the Defense Battle’s Completion Rate increased rapidly, at about 1% per minute.
They truly were a Hunter group he had been keeping an eye on.
Before long, the Gate’s Progress Rate reached 60%, and it was almost time for them to come out through the Gate.
But the Gate remained quiet.
Clear Progress Rate 62%
‘……Have they not found the escape route yet?’
Clear Progress Rate 74%
‘The escape route should not be hidden this thoroughly…….’
Clear Progress Rate 88%
‘Surely they are not getting greedy for the boss?’
As if Min Ju-ho’s prediction was correct,
the Gate’s Progress Rate quickly passed 90% and raced toward 100%.
‘Oh, they are quite impressive, but…….’
Min Ju-ho made up his mind.
No matter how skilled a Hunter was, they had been sent into this Defense Battle for practical training.
Was it not too arrogant to break the rules from their very first Defense Battle?
They were still incomplete Hunters, so he had to firmly correct this point if he did not want them to repeat the mistake.
And finally,
[Defense Battle, Pitch-Black Daedalus (F)]
Entry Personnel 6/10
Clear Progress Rate 100%
Break Time 94:06:00
[Defense Battle, Pitch-Black Daedalus has been cleared!]
The Defense Battle into which F-Rank Group 3 had been deployed was cleared.
However,
【Contribution】
Yoo Seong* 89%
Yoon Du* 3%
Jeong Su* 4%
……
Min Ju-ho rubbed his eyes several times and checked again.
That was how impossible the figure was.
‘Yoo Seong*? Who is that?’
As he remembered it, the highest contribution ever recorded in a Defense Battle had been 52%.
Contributing more than half alone was already a nonsensical level…….
‘89%? Is that even possible?’
While Min Ju-ho was falling into confusion, F-Rank Group 3 and one mysterious Hunter emerged from the Gate.