The world was half-ruined, and in practice, the world had become half-lawless.
Even so, there was a reason everyone obtained a Hunter Registration Card.
Because at present, the force that provided the most reliable services was the government.
It sounded like a joke.
But it was true.
And the fact that it was only “half” lawless was also important.
What did that mean?
‘Inside the residential districts within the government-operated Shelters, public order is extremely good, and they are comfortable and very pleasant to live in.’
The problem was that a 5th-class citizen like Park Il-sang could not even enter such a place, and one needed a pass to go inside.
Each residential district required its own individual pass.
That was how it was.
The current Republic of Korea had assigned grades to its citizens.
These grades were measured through various factors, but the important thing was money. There were also conditions such as whether one had a criminal record.
If one had enough money, minor offenses could be treated as though they had never existed.
Or one could possess overwhelmingly exceptional ability.
A Hunter Registration Card was also something people registered for in order to receive such services.
Once a Hunter Registration Card was issued, one essentially became a 4th-class citizen and could enter and live in a 4th-class residential district.
The shanty and temporary-building settlement where Park Il-sang currently lived was a 5th-class residential district. It was essentially a neighborhood where public order did not exist.
Of course, it did have its own rules, in its own way.
For that reason.
They had entered the Dungeon to receive Hunter Registration Cards. And right now, they were farming corpses.
It did not matter if the cameras recorded it.
The other side had attacked first.
Things like this were common, so it would be recognized as self-defense. Their equipment would also be treated as legitimate spoils.
‘I heard that in the old days, even if someone attacked you with a knife, hitting them back was considered mutual assault.’
Thinking that, he picked out only the equipment that seemed worth money.
Mainly weapons. The combat uniforms would also fetch some money, but they were not special items or anything of the sort.
In contrast, all of the men’s swords were items, though they were of the lowest quality.
In other words, they were objects with special abilities under the influence of the Hunter System.
So he took the swords and the automatic-fire crossbow.
The crossbow was a good weapon too. It was expensive as well.
“This is some incredible luck! How much is all this worth?”
“Roughly thirty million won, I would say.”
“Right? If Park and I split it in half, that is fifteen million won each! Wow! That is incredible!”
The uncle seemed to be in a good mood. Park Il-sang also felt pleased by the free profit.
“All right. Then let us go.”
The party moved boldly toward the passage.
Then, as they continued forward, they killed Frogmen and Mermen one after another.
“Ribbiit-gurgle!”
“Guhk!”
The Zombies and Skeleton Soldiers tanked, and Kim Dong-su ran in to finish them off.
It was very easy.
In truth, Han Da-young and Lee Si-woon were still only watching from the side with nothing to do.
Even so, that was not actually a problem.
When one entered as a party, experience was distributed evenly.
That was also why everyone’s grade had risen together earlier.
At last, they finally found the Boss Room. Because the Dungeon had become a maze, it had ultimately taken more than five hours to find the Boss Room, so everyone was so hungry that they felt dizzy.
Even so, they gritted their teeth because they did not want to eat Frogman flesh.
“We finally found it.”
Park Il-sang’s expression was somewhat irritated. Because of his experience as a Menial Worker, this much did not make him exhausted or worn out, but he was hungry.
“If not for you, Park, we would have collapsed long ago.”
Lee Si-woon continued after Kim Dong-su’s words.
“That must be so, since the number of Frogmen we killed should be at least over a hundred.”
“It feels like the difficulty increased far too sharply, does it not? Ordinary F-Grade Hunters could easily die here….”
Han Da-young had a point.
If not for the Undead, Han Da-young would have had to cast magic repeatedly as well.
Then she might have run out of mana.
Kim Dong-su probably would have sustained many wounds too, and Lee Si-woon would have had to heal him with divine magic.
In other words, they would not have been able to come this comfortably, as if riding along while being carried.
“Is Necromancer not completely overpowered? Good for you, Park.”
“It is certainly good.”
‘From the perspective of someone who was an Archlich in his previous life, it is frustrating, though….’
“All right, then. Let us enter the Boss Room.”
Kim Dong-su took the lead.
“Let us. And everyone, do not forget the plan.”
Park Il-sang added one sentence.
Then they entered the Boss Room.
***
“Ribbit-rumble-rumble.”
A giant frog was visible, sleeping while making a strange sound.
It was not an ordinary frog.
As one could tell from the species name Frog‘man,’ these creatures could walk on two legs and use their hands and feet.
The ones that had appeared so far had come without proper weapons, and their only methods of attack had been tongue thrusts and the venom coating them.
But this one, the Boss Monster, was different.
The Nest Guardian.
This creature possessed a weapon, and its size was far larger than a human’s.
If it stood on two legs, its body would be about three meters tall, and sideways, it looked somewhat like a fat pig.
Would it weigh at least three hundred kilograms?
Its weight class alone already surpassed that of a human, making it worthy of being a Boss Monster.
When they entered the Boss Room, the Nest Guardian, which had been lying down with its eyes closed in sleep, woke up.
“Ribbit? Ribbiiiit!”
The Boss Monster grew enraged as it looked at the intruding humans.
It was then.
“Everyone, close your eyes and turn your heaaads!”
Kim Dong-su shouted, and Han Da-young raised her staff.
“Light! Burn its eyes!”
WHOOSH!
FLASH!
An intense explosion of light erupted between the party and the Boss frog.
“Keeeeeeek!”
The Boss Monster screamed.
Its eyes were stabbed with pain by the tremendous intensity of light that pierced its optic nerves.
Naturally, it lost its vision!
“Good! I am going! WHAAAAAAAA!”
The uncle, wearing nothing but a single pair of underwear, charged with his belly fat bouncing!
-You have heard a Battle Cry.
-Your spirit has been elevated.
-Your physical abilities have increased slightly.
Listening to the System messages, Park Il-sang also gave an order.
“All troops, charge!”
The number of Undead he had replenished on the way here was a full twelve.
He had packed it all the way to his limit!
However, they had nothing like weapons, and all of them charged with bare hands and teeth, ready to bite.
Since the enemies that appeared here had no weapons, that was only natural.
Meanwhile.
Han Da-young began chanting the incantation for her next attack spell. Beside her, Lee Si-woon, who had already been preparing divine magic, had just finished her words of invocation.
“O God! Bless us!”
Blessing, a Priest’s basic Skill!
All stats, including attack power, defense, luck, and more, rose slightly.
It was effective as a general-purpose Buff!
Of course, the effect was not huge, but the important thing was that it stacked with other effects.
When the power of Blessing was added to Kim Dong-su’s Battle Cry, the effect was fairly noticeable.
“Guuuuuuh!”
“Kraaaaah!”
Especially on the Undead!
Astonishingly, the Undead received both the sacred Blessing and the Battle Cry Buff.
Those creatures charged like mad.
The one who reached the Nest Guardian first was Kim Dong-su.
“Savage Strike!”
A red energy seemed to settle around his twin axes, and then he swung them with all his might, chopping into the Nest Guardian’s hind leg.
THWACK!
The Boss Nest Guardian, which had been covering its eyes in agony, screamed once more.
“It went in deep!”
Attacking the hind legs first had also been part of the plan.
This would destroy the creature’s mobility!
After all, it could not leap or walk properly with one leg taken out.
“Nice, Uncle!”
“Ribbiiiiit!”
While screaming, the Nest Guardian swung its hand. It had dropped the giant bone club it had been holding beside it while covering its eyes, so it was bare-handed.
But even bare hands were already threatening enough.
A palm strike from a Monster carrying all that body weight came crashing down.
“Whoops!”
Kim Dong-su dodged in a bridge posture, his belly fat wobbling.
It was painful to look at!
In the meantime.
The Zombies and Skeleton Soldiers clung to the Nest Guardian.
CRUNCH! GNAW!
They bit and chewed. They scratched wildly with their nails!
Especially.
They did not hesitate to shove their hands into the wound on the hind leg Kim Dong-su had hacked open.
“Kieeeeek!”
The creature thrashed in pain as the wound was torn wider, then grabbed the bone club beside it and swung.
CRAAAACK!
Four Zombies were smashed apart at once, their limbs twisting grotesquely as they were sent flying. But in the meantime, Kim Dong-su circled around to the side and swung his axes toward the other leg.
“Second one!”
THWACK!
“Kieeeeeeeeeaaaak!”
Another clean hit!
And at that moment, Han Da-young finished chanting her spell.
“Burn. Pierce! O Spear of the Sun!”
A mass of light appeared in the air, and from it, a laser beam stretched out in a straight line.
It struck the Boss Monster’s head at once.
The Nest Guardian’s head carbonized, and a hole was pierced straight through it.
A one-shot kill.
“Ohhh!”
Kim Dong-su burst into admiration.
Even Park Il-sang, who had been about to charge in with his sword, muttered, “That is incredible,” when he saw it.
Lee Si-woon, who had been just about to finish chanting a divine spell, also closed her mouth.
Gold-child Mage.
It was strong!
Inside the Dungeon, it had effectively been Park Il-sang’s solo stage as a Necromancer, but in the Boss Room, Han Da-young had shone.
The one who had failed to do her part was, rather, Lee Si-woon.
In truth, since no one had been injured, there was nothing she could do about it.
“Da-young, you are incredible! No, you blew its head apart in one shot!?”
At Kim Dong-su’s fussing, Han Da-young smiled as if boasting.
“A Mage should be able to do at least this much, should she not? A Mage is a damage dealer, after all.”
“That is right, that is right. I am glad Da-young is a proper Mage!”
“Good work. In any case, let us extract the Magic Stone. Boss Magic Stones are expensive, are they not?”
“That is true. Ah, Da-young and Si-woon, do not worry! The Boss Monster’s Magic Stone should be divided during settlement.”
“Though normally, that is work for Menial Workers.”
“Well, that is true.”
It was then.
-You have cleared the Frog Nest!
-You will be moved to the Settlement Room.
At the same time.
His vision darkened.
Soon, the world brightened again, and a pure-white, empty space appeared.
‘Oh.’
Park Il-sang was impressed.