The damp air stabbed into his lungs.
Amid the rotten moss stench unique to Grade C dungeons, Lee Chae-ho crouched on the ground and held his breath.
Up ahead, the party's main Hunters shouted as they carved through monsters amid flashes of skill effects. The sounds of clashing metal and the dying cries of monsters continuously battered the cave walls.
That was not a place where Chae-ho belonged.
His role was different.
Hidden in a dark corner, Chae-ho's eyes moved sharply.
The angle at which the tank pushed forward with his shield, the timing when the mage's casting finished at his fingertips, and even the trajectory of the damage dealer's sword strike that shattered the monster formation.
He quietly observed the flow of the battle and predicted what would happen next.
"Groooan......"
Just as expected. One of the weaker monsters knocked away by the aftermath of the battle rolled toward Chae-ho's feet. It was a goblin that had been half-crushed after being caught in the main Hunters' area attacks.
Without hesitation, Chae-ho pulled a dagger from his waist and stabbed the goblin in the back of its neck.
A strike aimed precisely at the soft vital point between the bones.
With a brief convulsion, the monster breathed its last. It was a clean move without any unnecessary force or motion.
Chae-ho skillfully cut open the goblin's chest and extracted a small mana stone. After putting the blood-covered mana stone into his pocket, he lowered his body again and scanned the surroundings.
Grade D Hunter Lee Chae-ho.
His role in this party was clear.
Watching the rear, finishing off weak monsters that were knocked away with only a sliver of health remaining, and collecting dungeon byproducts to carry outside.
Some people might laugh and say that a Hunter was doing nothing but wiping monster blood and handling chores. After all, many people believed that if someone was an Awakened, they should naturally stand at the front lines, cut off monster heads, and act like a flashy hero.
But Chae-ho knew reality all too well.
He did not have some flashy skill that could instantly turn the situation around, nor did he possess the physical ability to stand at the front and endure a boss monster's attacks.
He did have better perception than most and a sense for calmly reading battle situations, but if his body could not keep up, it was useless.
'This line of work is simple. If you don't know your place and act recklessly, you'll just become monster food.'
Chae-ho wiped the blood from his dagger with a cloth and put it away again.
A heavy backpack as large as his own body hung from his back. It was a special bag filled with the monster byproducts and mana stones the party members had collected while hunting.
The weight pressing down on his shoulders made his lower back ache, but he silently kept watching the situation ahead.
Doing his assigned task perfectly. Filling the gaps and keeping the party's backs safe.
That was the only way a Grade D Hunter with ordinary stats could keep his job as a porter for a Grade C party and make a living.
***
Before long, the noise from the front completely died down.
"Situation concluded! Good work, everyone."
The party leader Oh Sang-min's voice echoed loudly through the cave.
Only then did Chae-ho straighten the back he had kept bent for so long.
The long dungeon raid had ended.
When they escaped the gate, the outside air of the city, mixed with exhaust fumes, washed through his lungs. Compared to the stench of rotten blood inside the dungeon, even this felt refreshing.
The party members each put away their weapons, stretched, and eased their fatigue.
"Ah, today was seriously brutal. Isn't there way too much monster volume for a Grade C dungeon?"
"Seriously. There wasn't even a chance to rest. Still, we finished without anyone getting hurt. The rewards should be pretty decent too. Dinner today is definitely beef!"
Amid the noisy atmosphere, Chae-ho went to a corner of the open area and silently set down his backpack. He sat down heavily on the dirt ground and massaged his stiff legs.
Sang-min immediately approached and carefully checked the contents of the backpack.
"You worked hard, Chae-ho. You collected everything cleanly again without missing a single thing."
"It's just what I was supposed to do. You worked hard too, Party Leader. You were the one tanking at the front."
Chae-ho answered calmly.
Sang-min skillfully took out a tablet and began the settlement process. A Dungeon Association employee who had been waiting approached, appraised the value of the byproducts, and smoothly proceeded with the purchase process.
A short while later, the smartphone in Chae-ho's pocket vibrated briefly.
When he turned on the screen, a deposit notification appeared.
It was the exact amount promised for the party's porter share. His body was exhausted, but seeing the number deposited firmly into his account made him feel as though his fatigue faded.
'Good. This should be enough to cover my mother's hospital bills next week and my father's old truck repairs.'
Chae-ho turned off the screen with his calloused finger and let out a small breath.
"Everyone, go wash up first and meet at the restaurant. Chae-ho and I will finish cleaning up."
Sang-min waved his hand toward the other party members.
The party members gathered their equipment one by one, got into their cars, and left. Only Sang-min and Chae-ho remained in the open area in front of the gate.
Normally, they would have finished organizing the supplies and gone to eat together, but today the atmosphere felt strangely heavy.
Sang-min took out a cigarette from his pocket and put it between his lips, but he could not bring himself to light it. His gaze wandered through empty space, avoiding Chae-ho's eyes.
Chae-ho was quick to notice things.
He could roughly guess what this awkward silence meant, and why Sang-min had deliberately left only him behind.
"Party Leader. Is there something you wanted to tell me?"
Chae-ho broke the silence first while brushing dirt from himself.
Sang-min flinched, then removed the cigarette from his mouth and let out a long sigh.
"Chae-ho."
"Yes."
"That...... I really can't bring myself to say it."
Sang-min roughly scratched the back of his head. His broad face was filled with a complicated mixture of guilt and discomfort.
"You know our party is preparing to officially enter Grade B dungeons starting from the next raid, right?"
"I know. Everyone has been getting new equipment recently, and your teamwork has improved a lot."
"Yeah. But starting from Grade B, the monster levels and dungeon environments will be completely different from now...... We'll need proper combat power in the rear as well. A Grade C or higher sub damage dealer or support tank."
Sang-min's words gradually slowed.
Chae-ho silently looked at Sang-min's face and continued listening.
"There will be more surprise attacks from above, and formation collapses will happen more often in boss rooms. Honestly...... with you still being Grade D and having to handle the porter role from the rear at the same time, it's going to be too dangerous."
He was trying to say it as gently as possible, but the conclusion was obvious.
A notice that he was no longer part of the fighting force.
He was being removed from the party.
Usually, people would get angry in a situation like this or complain about how unfair it was. After all, a stable source of income tied directly to their livelihood was disappearing starting tomorrow.
At the very least, they might beg to be taken along one more time, saying they would accept the danger.
"Understood."
But Chae-ho's answer was far too calm and composed.
Sang-min looked at him in surprise.
"Uh...... you're not angry?"
"What is there to be angry about? Your judgment is correct."
Chae-ho shrugged indifferently.
"If a wide-area attack or long-range monster sniping comes at me in a Grade B dungeon, I'll probably be too busy protecting myself. If the party's formation breaks because everyone has to protect me, I'll only become a bigger burden. Someone like me with a Grade D rank would probably die from just being grazed by an attack."
He knew his own limits better than anyone.
There was no way someone like him, without even a single skill capable of dramatically increasing his combat power, could force himself into an elite party aiming for Grade B dungeons.
Rather than being greedy, risking his life, and becoming a burden to others, it was right to step away cleanly here.
Reality was cold. Complaining and blaming others for being pushed out because he lacked ability would only make him look pathetic.
If anything, he should be grateful to Sang-min for taking care of him as the party's dedicated porter despite his lack of combat ability.
"Thank you for taking care of me all this time. You always handled the settlements exactly on time too."
Chae-ho smiled faintly and bowed his head.
That clean and effortless acceptance left Sang-min speechless.
If Chae-ho had cursed at him or asked why he was being abandoned now of all times, Sang-min's heart would have been less heavy.
But seeing him calmly accept the situation as it was made a strange guilt stab into his chest.
'He's always been such a sincere guy.'
His innate ability grade was simply low, but few Hunters could perform their jobs as silently and perfectly as Chae-ho both inside and outside dungeons.
His sense for handling necessary chores at the exact right moments without drawing monster aggro, and his ability to reliably support the party from behind, were difficult even for Grade C Hunters to match.
Sang-min bit his lip tightly and rummaged inside his clothes before pulling something out.
"Take this."
It was a thin booklet covered in old leather.
Chae-ho's eyes widened slightly.
"Isn't this a skill book?"
"Yeah. I got it after luckily landing the finishing blow in the last dungeon, but it's still unidentified. It's a one-use random skill book, so I don't know what will come out either."
"Why would you give me something this expensive? It should go into the party's shared assets and be distributed."
"I paid for the other party members' shares with my own money and kept ownership of it. I haven't even had the Association appraise it yet. Think of it as severance pay. Don't ask questions and just take it."
Sang-min forcibly pulled Chae-ho's hand forward and placed the skill book in it.
"You worked hard handling all the dirty work for our party all this time. Without you, all of us would have been rolling around in that dungeon without a moment to rest. I sincerely thank you, Chae-ho."
Sang-min's deep voice was filled with genuine gratitude and a profound sense of apology.
Chae-ho looked back and forth between the old booklet in his hand and Sang-min's face.
Refusing it by saying he would only accept the sentiment was impossible. A random skill book was simply too precious for Chae-ho, who did not have a single proper skill.
If he was lucky and obtained even one utility skill useful for daily life or dungeon support, it would become a major advantage when searching for a new party porter position.
"......I'll accept it gratefully."
Chae-ho carefully placed the booklet into his bag.
"Until you find a new party, get plenty of rest and take care of yourself. I hope you get good skills."
"Party Leader, you should move upward as well, but don't overdo it and make sure you don't get hurt."
After a short farewell, Sang-min turned and walked away.
His sturdy back, unable to leave immediately because of his guilt, slowly grew distant.
***
The open area around the gate became empty.
Chae-ho stood there alone.
A chilly wind blew in and messed up his sweat-soaked bangs.
"I really became unemployed."
A hollow laugh escaped him.
The thought of how he would make money starting next month weighed heavily on him. To find a new party, he would have to go around again, hand out applications, and prove his abilities from the bottom.
But porter positions were increasingly being filled by young Awakened with excellent physical abilities these days, so competing with only the title of a Grade D Hunter without even a decent skill would not be easy.
Chae-ho took out the random skill book he had put in his bag.
The rough texture of the old leather touched his fingertips. At first glance, it was a shabby book that looked like something that would be lying around in a neighborhood old book collection bin.
'I hope something useful comes out.'
The most likely results were small passive skills such as a 1% increase in stamina or enhanced night vision.
In the worst cases, completely useless negative skills such as generating bad smells or temporary illumination could appear.
But Chae-ho was not in a position to be picky right now. He had to grab even a rotten lifeline.
After taking a deep breath, he placed his hand on the cover of the skill book.
However, his fingertips stopped just before he sent mana into it.
He did not know what ability would appear, and using it carelessly in the open area in front of the gate could cause trouble.
'Let's go to the Association first.'
Chae-ho put the book back deep inside his bag and closed the zipper.
He planned to check the settlement at the nearby Association branch, find a quiet place, and then use it.
The footsteps that had always followed behind a familiar party now headed toward the Association building alone.