『User Joo Do-gyeom has demonstrated exceptional play in Dungeon: Broken Munitions Factory.』
『Successfully hunted every monster without destroying their cores.』
『Party play in progress. Measuring contribution: 100%.』
『Overwhelming.』
『Magic Grade increased: E => E+』
『Mana Stone clear rewards greatly increased.』
『Return to Earth? Y/N』
These were the messages that appeared before Joo Do-gyeom the moment he struck the death fissure visible on the Boss Monster.
To be honest, even Joo Do-gyeom was surprised.
‘To think there was a Hidden Piece like this.’
Something did not have to be explicitly designated as a Hidden Piece by the System to qualify as one.
Any undisclosed strategy that granted an additional reward was a Hidden Piece.
At least, that was how modern Hunters defined the term.
Naturally, Joo Do-gyeom was in quite a good mood.
He had not even used information from the future.
He had merely found searching for every core troublesome and killed them all with the Sure-Kill Eye, yet it triggered a Hidden Piece and earned him an exceptional-play evaluation.
Perhaps because the difficulty was lower than his previous accomplishments, the rewards were somewhat modest(?), but they could not be compared to an ordinary clear.
More importantly, he had believed the dungeon held nothing for him aside from gaining Kim Han-yul as a companion, which made the satisfaction even greater.
***
In any case, Kim Han-yul became a full member of Joo Do-gyeom’s team after that day.
The two exchanged numbers and finally learned each other’s ages.
Joo Do-gyeom was twenty-six.
Kim Han-yul was twenty-seven.
Kim Han-yul was one year older, but they decided not to speak formally to each other.
That was more comfortable for both of them, and there was also the matter of their positions as Team Leader and team member.
At home, Joo Do-gyeom picked up his smartphone and checked his email while braising Mana Stones.
‘She still hasn’t read it.’
Should he say that was just like Vivienne?
It was what he had expected, so he put the phone away without dwelling on it.
‘She’ll see it someday.’
Meeting Kim Han-yul at this point had been the unexpected development instead.
Judging only by the result, it was not bad.
No, it was good.
Now that Kim Han-yul was his companion, the number of things he could do immediately had increased.
Which should he do first?
Which would be the most efficient?
‘What path should I choose…….’
To keep the same thing from happening again?
Joo Do-gyeom’s eyes turned cold as he sank into thought.
Then a message arrived from Kim Han-yul.
Kim Han-yul - Come to think of it, Team Leader. What are we doing about positions?
As had been said repeatedly, an ordinary dungeon Party could have no more than three members.
And each member had a position.
To summarize them simply, the first was the Boss Killer.
It referred to a damage dealer who primarily excelled at hunting Boss Monsters.
They were characterized by Classes or Skills that were powerful in individual combat but weak against large groups.
Next was the Sweeper.
This role was the opposite.
Sweepers were strong against large groups but weak in one-on-one combat.
Most Hunter abilities were divided in that fashion, making this separation of damage-dealer roles unavoidable.
The final position was the Caretaker.
As the name suggested, it was the role responsible for taking care of the Party.
Hunters specializing in support and healing usually took on the position.
However, Joo Do-gyeom’s Party had little need to obsess over this conventional division of positions.
After all, Joo Do-gyeom could handle both the first and second positions.
He could serve as both the Boss Killer and the Sweeper alone.
Things might change somewhat once they began fighting truly powerful Boss Monsters, but for the time being, there would clearly be no problem.
The same was true of Kim Han-yul.
She was capable as a Sweeper and excellent as a Caretaker.
However, they still needed to decide which role she would focus on.
Her Manifestation Stock was limited, and the decision would change what she filled it with.
After thinking it over, the answer came easily.
Joo Do-gyeom sent a message.
Joo Do-gyeom – You will be the Caretaker.
Kim Han-yul – Then you’re the Boss Killer? Ah, because you can handle the Sweeper role too?
Joo Do-gyeom – Correct.
Kim Han-yul – Then it would be better to fill most of my Manifestation Stock with support items.
Joo Do-gyeom – A good idea. But continue maintaining the Boss Monster. It will remain useful for a while.
Kim Han-yul – I was planning to, even without you telling me. Ah, but there’s a problem. The Boss Monster takes up two Stock slots.
Joo Do-gyeom – I did not know that. Is there a problem?
Kim Han-yul – Not necessarily. I’m just saying that space could get tight if there are many things you want.
Joo Do-gyeom – How many Stock slots do you currently have left?
Kim Han-yul – Excluding Mark Two, I have five left in total. Thanks to you, Manifestation advanced by two levels.
Joo Do-gyeom stopped messaging at that point and thought for a moment.
‘Five slots.’
What they immediately needed were a means of transportation and protection for noncombat situations.
Joo Do-gyeom – If you made a temporary residential steel bunker, do you think it would consume a lot of Stock?
Kim Han-yul – I don’t know. I’ve never tried it. Give me a moment.
Fifteen minutes later.
As Joo Do-gyeom finished cooking the braised Mana Stones and prepared to taste them, another message arrived.
Kim Han-yul – This takes up two slots too. I only have three left now.
It was the same as an Inventory.
The larger the volume, the more Stock it consumed.
The same applied if it was high-grade, like a Boss Monster.
‘Come to think of it, the future Kim Han-yul used ten Manifestations, but her actual Stock must’ve been much larger.’
Thinking that, he took a bite of the food.
It was delicious.
His mana rose as well.
He could feel that his cooking had improved.
It was probably because the Chef of All Things Skills—
Chef’s Knife Technique, Kitchen Knife Proficiency, and Mana Stone Braising—had all recently reached Level 3.
‘I should try braising the Corpse Giant’s Mana Stone tomorrow.’
He also thought it would be nice if another cooking method appeared.
Eating nothing but braised dishes was beginning to feel tiresome.
It was a concern he had never experienced in his life before.
‘Right, this isn’t the time for that.’
Joo Do-gyeom, who had been enjoying the food, sent another message.
Joo Do-gyeom – Then for the remaining three, use deadly poison, the water purifier, and…… chains for now.
Kim Han-yul – Deadly poison? I’ve never made that before.
Joo Do-gyeom – You can do it. Ah, and the water purifier is not an ordinary water purifier. I will send you the details by message, so examine the item. It is a Magitech Special Water Purifier, so the Manifestation difficulty itself will be quite high.
Kim Han-yul – Unbelievable. At this point, don’t you think of me as some kind of DoraXmon?
Joo Do-gyeom – Hmm. The impression is similar.
Kim Han-yul – You know you’re a seriously irritating person, right, Team Leader?
Joo Do-gyeom could not answer.
While reading the message and eating the braised dish—
『Magic Grade increased: E+ => D-』
A System message rang out.
He had already felt it steadily increasing, but this time the Grade itself had changed.
And that was despite having received a Grade increase at the munitions factory only a short while ago.
“……This is almost too good.”
Chef of All Things.
It was the greatest Class.
Just as Joo Do-gyeom thought so, his phone rang again.
Kim Han-yul – I made the deadly poison.
Joo Do-gyeom – Well done. I knew you would succeed.
Kim Han-yul – But what are you planning to do with it?
Joo Do-gyeom – I plan to enter a dungeon rated B-.
No reply came for quite a while afterward.
Joo Do-gyeom finished his meal and was about to rise to wash the dishes.
Then his phone rang.
This time, it was not a message.
It was a call.
Naturally, the caller was Kim Han-yul.
Joo Do-gyeom answered.
“What is…….”
She interrupted before he could finish.
-Team Leader, I’ll ask you plainly. A B- dungeon. You don’t mean just the two of us, right?
“What if I do?”
-Are you insane?!
Kim Han-yul raised her voice.
Joo Do-gyeom pulled the phone away from his ear and switched to the speakerphone.
“My ears hurt. Do not shout. You are being loud.”
-How am I not supposed to shout?! You’re suggesting that the two of us enter a B- dungeon!
Just as Hunters had stat Ranks—
Dungeons also had Ranks.
For example, Zombie Burst was D-.
Broken Munitions Factory was D+.
Both were known to have high difficulty relative to their Rank.
Zombie Burst in particular could be considered as difficult as a C-Rank dungeon if the Corpse Giant was included.
It was not strange for Joo Do-gyeom to feel confident after conquering it.
Kim Han-yul thought so too.
But a B- dungeon?
That was not merely one Grade higher.
It was on an entirely different level.
-At the very least, we need one more Party member around the same level…….
“The two of us are enough.”
-No, I mean…… Team Leader…… I know how confident you are, but…… Haa…… What exactly are you trusting?
“What else would it be? I trust my team.”
-…….
Silence continued.
A short while later—
He heard what sounded like Kim Han-yul wildly mussing up her hair.
He also heard what sounded like her burying her face somewhere and screaming.
Unfortunately, Joo Do-gyeom’s hearing was sharp.
No, Kim Han-yul was simply in such an agitated state.
Even through the communication network, he could hear all of it.
-Phew. Team Leader.
“Have you calmed down?”
-I’m really trusting only you and going. You know that, right? If I die, you have to take responsibility.
Joo Do-gyeom could not help letting out a faint laugh at the absurd statement.
“If there is a way to take responsibility for the dead, I will do so.”
-Promise me.
“I promise.”
-Seriously…… Why did I accept your offer to join the team? Good grief…….
Kim Han-yul sighed and continued.
-……Fine. Let’s do it.
“Good. Then I will send you the water purifier I mentioned earlier by message. Examine it and contact me again afterward.”
-Okay, Team Leader.
The call ended.
Joo Do-gyeom stood before the sink to wash the dishes.
Once again, laughter escaped him before he realized it.
“Haha…….”
Take responsibility for the dead?
‘How? Do I need to learn necromancy?’
The question surfaced along with his amusement.
***
On her bed.
After finishing the call with her new Team Leader, Kim Han-yul let out a hollow laugh.
“Hah, haha, hahahaha…… B-. Right, he said B-.”
She was about to enter a dungeon she had never visited in her life.
And with only the two of them.
She had heard that most of the Team Leader’s stats were still D-Rank or lower.
She was certain.
‘He’s a madman.’
There was nothing normal about him.
Neither the way he could fight so absurdly well at that Rank nor his suggestion that they challenge a B- dungeon.
When she first called him, she had intended to stop him unconditionally.
She had even planned to threaten him by telling him to remove her from the team instead.
It might have been shameless when she had only just been hired, but it could not be helped.
‘We haven’t even formally signed the contract yet. It’s better than dying.’
Even rolling in a field of dog shit was better than the afterlife.
Kim Han-yul firmly believed that saying.
And yet—
Once again, she had been swept along.
A few words from Joo Do-gyeom had shaken her.
His words that she could do it.
His voice saying that he trusted his team.
His promise to take responsibility even if she died.
‘Is the last one even possible? Is he planning to learn necromancy?’
They were truly absurd and outrageous things to say.
Yet she had found herself nodding along.
As though bewitched.
Kim Han-yul was not normally that kind of woman.
As she had said repeatedly, she valued her life greatly.
And she had a more realistic personality than anyone.
“But why?”
Why did her heart give in whenever Joo Do-gyeom reassured her in that voice that barely seemed to contain emotion?
A thought crossed her mind, but she immediately shook her head.
“He’s handsome, but he’s not my type.”
Above all, his personality was the worst.
Kim Han-yul was certain.
“There’s absolutely no chance this will turn romantic.”
Absolutely!
***
The Special Water Purifier was clearly quite difficult to produce.
Kim Han-yul had asked for an entire week.
Of course, that probably included the time needed to obtain the object and make the other preparations.
‘It is within the time I expected, so there is no problem.’
Thinking that, Joo Do-gyeom ate the Corpse Giant’s Mana Stone he had just finished braising.
He did not expect much.
He had experienced explosive growth recently, so he thought it would be excessive to desire another satisfying result from the Corpse Giant’s Mana Stone.
However—
‘……This is unexpected again.’