After landing, a hunter’s association representative from the North Jeolla branch greeted them and took them to the A-rank gate they were supposed to clear for the day.
The Hunters Guild had hired a freelance excavation team for the dungeon who were waiting by the gate as well.
“Please let me know if you need anything,” the association representative said with a bow when they reached the gate.
Any gate Si-woo cleared in collaboration with a guild was a joint venture between the association and the guild, so the association did their best to fulfill any requests.
Si-woo and Hae-in nodded to the man before turning to their party, who were already conducting the final inspections of their gear.
As always, Hae-in and Si-woo entered first.
“You take the lead on this one.
I want to see the powerup you got and try using the powers of your talisman so you can get used to them,” Si-woo told Hae-in.
She gave him a determined look.
She wanted to show off her capabilities to Si-woo.
They looked ahead and were met with a large cavern, larger than possible since the place contained an entire forest ecosystem with its own source of light.
“Stay alert, everyone,” Hae-in commanded her team.
Due to the magical society of their world being very young, anything that contained beyond a measurable amount of mana was considered an S-rank.
Though, even in S-ranks, there was a large disparity.
Hae-in had met S-ranks she knew she could defeat easily.
With her recent powerup, she could sense she could defeat every other S-rank in Korea, barring Si-woo, combined.
In a more developed magical society, she would have climbed to the rank of SSS or Ex, but their technology was not developed enough to conceive that amount of power.
As she entered the dungeon, a feeling that this place was much stronger than most S-rank dungeons settled into her mind.
She took out her new sword, held it in both hands, and stabbed it into the ground.
A wave of magic rippled through the floor of the cavern.
Her senses expanded and a few magical signatures entered her perception.
The sound of loud screeching echoed in her mind as she sensed a horde of magical beasts moving toward their location.
“Get ready!” she shouted.
The tank behind her readied his shield, the attackers raised their weapons, and the mages started chanting their spells.
“To your left,” she commanded, her eyes opening with a start.
Her team members did not hesitate, firing their spells and thrusting their weapons to their left.
Screeches tore through the air as a pack of hounds came into view after being hit by the attacks.
Hae-in disappeared from her spot and appeared beside the healer of her party, swinging her sword through seemingly empty air.
A spray of dark blood followed the swing of her blade.
A hound lay bisected in front of the healer, its claw outstretched toward her.
She flickered again, massacring the hounds alongside her party while Si-woo watched and analyzed from the side.
‘It is like she has been fighting for a thousand years.’ Si-woo thought to himself.
He recognized that the level of skill Hae-in possessed was comparable to some longer-lived high orc swordsmen he had met.
She moved gracefully, her eyes scanning the battlefield at rapid rates as she devised the most effective way to carve through her enemies in mere moments.
Si-woo blinked and sensed her standing beside him.
There was no sound, no ripple in the wind.
She just stood calmly beside him while the rest of the party fought the few hounds that were left.
Si-woo leaned to the side and turned his head to whisper in her ear.
“That was beautiful.” Those words broke her calmness.
She looked down in embarrassment, causing Si-woo to chuckle.
He caressed her back lightly, suppressing an urge to kiss her cheek because of her cute behavior as he looked away from her.
Hae-in raised an eyebrow when she saw him looking away.
She extended a hand and held his face, turning his head back toward her.
The next moment, Si-woo felt a soft peck on his lips before she turned her gaze back to the battle ahead.
“I want people to know,” she said simply, her gaze still fixed ahead.
A moment later, a hesitant expression appeared on her face.
“Unless you are not ready yet.
You can tell me—” Si-woo interrupted her as he leaned down and kissed her lips directly.
“Oh, you are taken, Hae-in, and people should know,” Si-woo whispered in her ear, causing her blush to deepen.
She protested his teasing by elbowing his side.
Still, she felt happy in her heart.
It took a few more minutes for the party to kill the rest of the hounds.
Because the party’s healer was in the backlines, she had witnessed Hae-in and Si-woo’s exchange, causing her to blush furiously as she treated her teammates.
Hae-in noticed that and a small smile crept up on her face.
She turned her gaze to look at Si-woo in a silent moment of happiness.
“Vice Guild Master, we found some runestones from the beasts,” the mage of the party said, bringing four stones and placing them in front of Hae-in.
“This one is from the alpha hound you killed, and these three are from the beta hounds,” he explained, pointing to the specific runestones.
Si-woo noticed as well, glancing at the stones before nodding.
“The big one is an agility buff skill the alpha must have used on its subordinates, while the other three are for a stealth skill,” he deduced at a glance.
The mage left after giving Hae-in the stones, leaving only her and Si-woo at the moment.
Hae-in hummed and glanced at the healer before hesitating.
“What is it?” Si-woo asked.
“I was thinking the buff skill would be helpful for the healer.” “Yeah, why are you hesitating?
Just give it to her.” “When these runestones are sold, a part of the profit is given to you as well.
I feel like I am causing you a loss for a member of my guild.” Hae-in explained with a sigh.
Si-woo laughed at that statement, a genuine laugh as if she had said something truly funny.
“I do not care about money, Hae-in.
Do as you wish,” he said with a wave of his hand after he was done laughing.
“Why is that?” His statement prompted Hae-in to ask.
She had noticed that trait before and it made her curious.
At her question, Si-woo turned to her fully.
“I live in a modest apartment with the old man, Hae-in, and I have everything I can ever need.
Even if I become the richest man in the world, what will I do with the money?” Si-woo stated genuinely.
He had not revealed his deeper secrets to Hae-in yet, so he did not mention he possessed enough gold and magical artifacts that even he did not know how rich he was.
‘I should take some time to seriously sort those things out.’ he thought with an internal sigh.
Every time he sent his consciousness to his inventory and saw the literal mountain of treasure within it, only one thought would enter his mind.
‘There is always tomorrow.’ “Now that I think about it,” Hae-in’s words pulled him out of his reverie, “it does make sense.” “And you are rich enough for the both of us.
I can just mooch off you for the rest of my life,” Si-woo chuckled with a shrug.
“Hey, if you are for sale, I will buy you and keep you with me forever.” Hae-in giggled before turning her head towards the party, who were done healing.
“Mining break,” she announced.
The members nodded respectfully before leaving in formation.
Minutes after they left, the collection and mining teams started filing into the dungeon and setting up their equipment.
Hae-in and Si-woo exchanged a glance and went ahead to scout the area for danger.
“I think that is the boss chamber.” she said, pulling Si-woo’s sleeve as she pointed toward a cave five hundred meters away from where the collection team was.
“Hm.
I sense two beings in there.
One is as powerful as the death knight I fought before, and the other seems equally powerful but…suppressed?” he observed with a tilt of his head as his eyes glowed gold.
“We will see when we enter the boss room,” Hae-in nudged Si-woo.
He nodded and they started walking away from the boss room, heading back toward the collection team.
Si-woo paused and turned to face her when he noticed she was holding his sleeve and not letting go.
It took him a moment to process before a look of realization dawned on his face.
“You want me to stay?” he asked her.
She answered by stepping closer to him and nodding.
“You know, I will need proper compensation for my time,” he said with a sly grin.
She raised her head, a blush creeping on her face when she noticed the meaning of his grin.
She wrapped her hands around his neck and stood on her tiptoes to provide his payment, parting her lips as she pulled him closer.
A/n: Blue balls 9,000 Haha.
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