I Alone Level-Up

It was a long distance that was at the same time short.

Focusing the strength into his legs a little bit, Jinwoo leaped and immediately shot away from the ground. When he landed, he was behind the large backs of the high orcs.

step

With the landing, a conundrum appeared in his head.

"It"s easy for me to kill the high orcs like this."

But then there was no point in using "Stealth". Including Son Gihoon, the Hunters here could be considered to be at the top of the nation. If they witnessed the high orcs being ripped apart by an unseen force, every single one of them would quickly realize that "Stealth" was being used. Well, almost every single one of them… The naive female Hunter had not realized.

"Well, it"s not like it matters if I get caught."

Still, with his remeasurement coming up, he did not want to invite needless ire from Hunters Guild. Because of that, Jinwoo had planned to perhaps just wait until the Raid had completely failed… But it seemed like the harm to the Hunters was going to be too great. The female Healer had already almost died just now.

And so.

A light gathered in Jinwoo"s eyes.

"I have to act without being noticed."

He decided on his approach to this battle. The entire pa.s.sage above took about one, maybe two seconds for Jinwoo to think. A moment later, Baruka"s Tanto and Knight Killer were in his hands. These days, the daggers were reflexively summoned before he even gave the mental command.

"When did I summon these?"

Amidst the battle, Jinwoo smiled with amus.e.m.e.nt. The familiar grips of the daggers calmed his beating heart. Thank G.o.d he couldn"t be seen right now. He would"ve looked like a mad man, smiling in the middle of this chaotic melee. The sweating Raid Leader that was fending off three high orcs especially would"ve been mad.

"First, these guys."

Jinwoo moved into action. With his body lowered, he wielded the daggers in a reverse grip and cut a high orc"s achilles tendon.

"Kuaaaaaak!"

When its ankles were cut out of nowhere, the high orc warrior cried out in pain.

This was only the beginning.

With fluid movements that could be described as a dance, Jinwoo weaved in between the high orcs. One was stabbed by Baruka"s Tanto in its ribs. Another was cut behind the knees by Knight Killer.

"Kreureuk!"

"Kuhak!"

The adrenaline from the battle was insufficient to block their pain. Having cut and stabbed in an entirely unexpected way, the high orc warriors stiffened. This was more than enough. Son Gihoon immediately sprang to his counteroffensive when the high orcs showed a moment of weakness.

stab!

"Kreu… kreureuk."

"pant, pant"

Son Gihoon raised his head. The longsword in his hand was sticking through a high orc"s heart.

"Kkreuk."

The high orc that was glaring with its lips trembling soon showed the whites of its eyes and fell backwards.

thud

The Tanker clenched his fists.

"Yes! We can do this!"

The man slew the high orcs surrounding him one by one. Meanwhile, Jinwoo moved ceaselessly around the Dungeon.

"Kuaaaak!"

"Kwoook!"

In the world of slowed time, he casually moved around and broke the balance of the various battles around while doing his best not to make it noticeable.

slas.h.!.+

Everytime he pa.s.sed a high orc, small but effective wounds appeared on its body.

"Kreureuk!"

"Kuwak?"

When the high orcs were thrown into chaos by the sudden injuries appearing on their bodies, the elite Hunters" attacks did not miss the opportunity.

"Did… did the fight just become easier?"

"What"s this feeling?"

"Are we winning against this many high orcs without a casualty?"

The Hunters had been resolved that at least one or two of them would die in this battle. Contrary to their expectations, the battle was going exceedingly in their favor.

smas.h.!.+

A mace swung by one of the Hunters smashed into a high orc"s head. With that, a welcoming voice rang in Jinwoo"s head.

You have leveled up!

"Oooh."

His efforts had not been in vain. He had leveled up. Even though he had not killed or inflicted a mortal wound, it seemed that he still earned experience points by just helping.

"The only ones I actually killed were two of them."

The ones he a.s.sisted in killing were thirteen of them. If his actions were still giving him experience points, it made sense that he would level up. Excited by this, Jinwoo"s movements sped up.

slas.h.!.+

stab!

"Kaaak!"

Because of Jinwoo"s invisible support, the curtains were closing on the battle.

"Phew-!"

He took a step back from the melee and returned his daggers to the inventory. The man looked around the battlefield.

"I think I did enough…"

The situation was nearly over; his operation was a success. And he had leveled up on top of that as a bonus. Jinwoo looked over the ground. Nearly twenty corpses of the high orcs were scattered about.

"If I took them down on my own, I probably could"ve gained another level."

Regrettable, but this was Hunters Guild"s hunting ground; the Guild had paid a large sum of money for the raiding rights. He had done the best he could.

"Alright."

With a satisfied expression, Jinwoo returned to the corner where the porter should"ve been hiding.

"Kaaaah!"

Their initial situations flipped, the Hunters surrounded the last high orc. Its scream rang loudly throughout the cave. Watching the final enemy go down, Jinwoo released "Stealth".

shoooo-

The Hunters gathered their breaths. Looking around, they confirmed that all the high orcs were dead.

"Is… is it over?"

"We"re done?"

"Hold on."

Before they could celebrate, Raid Leader Son Gihoon checked for the injured.

"Injuries! Is anyone hurt?"

In reality, there were rarely injured people at the end of battles with a high-ranking Healer. As long as they clung to a shred of life, they could be healed. When Son Gihoon asked for injuries, he was not actually asking if anyone was hurt. He was asking if anyone had died. Meeting his eyes, the female Healer shook her head. There were injuries but no casualties.

"Then…"

The faces of the entire raiding party brightened.

"We won!"

"We actually won!"

"Waaaah!"

The Hunters celebrated in unison. Jinwoo looked on with his arms crossed.

"Are high orcs that strong?"

From what he saw just now… perhaps not. Having no experiences with a high-level Raid, the celebratory mood of the raiding party was lost on Jinwoo.

At the time, Jinwoo did not know. When it came to B-rank and rank Dungeons, the rank of the Dungeon wasn"t the only thing taken into consideration when determining the difficulty. The magic power measured were carefully reviewed to figure out the approach and party composition of the Raid. Even for an rank Dungeon, high orcs were at the upper end of the high-level magic beasts. And if it was not just an ordinary high orc but over twenty high orc warriors…? The victory obtained just now was no different than a miracle.

The one responsible for this miracle didn"t even know the weight of what he had done. Jinwoo just quietly congratulated the raiding party"s victory.

"Hmm?"

He saw the female Hunter approach Son Gihoon with a serious expression. Her eyes said she had something to say. Jinwoo focused his hearing towards their conversation.

"Gihoon oppa."

"Hmm?"

"When we were fighting the high orcs just now…"

The Healer carefully explained what she saw. That a high orc suddenly floated in the air and removed its own head, then flew over to strike and kill another high orc. Her face was completely serious.

"..."

Son Gihoon was at a loss for words.

"I"m telling you the truth!"

Looking at the mortified red face of the Healer, Jinwoo struggled to keep in his laughter.

Meanwhile, the Hunters" celebrations lasted only a short while. They gathered around the Raid Leader, Son Gihoon.

"Leader, are we going to continue?"

"Isn"t it a bit dangerous? To think that high orcs would appear just ahead of the entrance."

"Why don"t we retreat for now?"

Son Gihoon stared down the cave and closed his mouth.

"It"s probably not easy for him."

Jinwoo understood Son Gihoon"s feelings. In a Guild with two S-rank Hunters, this was probably the first and last time Son Gihoon would be given command of a raiding party. To think that he would have to end what might be the height of his career that quickly…

"Anyone would want to continue and clear the place."

Unless they were a level-headed leader…

Having made his decision, Son Gihoon slowly opened his mouth. Jinwoo"s eyes narrowed. Thankfully, Son Gihoon was not a foolish man.

"Let us retreat for now."

The Raid Leader"s decisions were absolute in the Dungeon. As long as you were part of the raiding party, it was an unspoken rule that you had to follow the orders of the Raid Leader. In ancient times, weren"t disobedient soldiers even executed before a battle? In a way, a Dungeon was a much more dangerous place than an ancient battlefield. Because of that, who your leader was often determined your safety in a Dungeon. Son Gihoon did not disappoint his teammates.

At his retreat orders, the entire raiding party breathed a sigh of relief.

"Phew-"

"I thought Son hyung was going to go to the bitter end."

Son Gihoon grinned and slapped the shoulders of the man who just spoke.

"I"m not that much of a dumba.s.s."

"I know. Man, look hyung, my hands are shaking."

"Stop being such a baby. Alright, everyone! Let"s head out!"

Jinwoo picked up the baggage. As commanded, the raiding party began to move back to the entrance. Jinwoo smiled defeatedly.

"I wanted to go in a bit more."

Still, he was only a guest here. A mere guest should not contest the will of the homeowner. Regrettable, but it looked like this would be it for today.

"Dammit…"

Frustrated at the fact that the Raid Leader did not believe her, the female Hunter came up to Jinwoo"s side while pouting.

"It really happened."

With her cheeks puffed up like a child, she asked Jinwoo with a hope,

"Did you by any chance see that high orc-"

"Nope."

"Hiiiiing…"

Her hopes were dashed in an instant. Jinwoo thought he was going to bust his stomach from holding in the laughter.

-

How long did they walk for?

Suddenly, the vanguard of the party stopped. Son Gihoon raised his right hand.

"S-stop!"

His voice was filled with panic. The Hunters tired from walking and Jinwoo, who had focused his senses behind the party to detect any ambus.h.i.+ng magic beasts, also stopped.

A commotion broke out between the Hunters.

"What"s happening?"

"What the h.e.l.l is this?"

"Why is the road blocked? It was fine on the way here!"

Jinwoo pa.s.sed through the chaos and reached out with a hand. His eyes widened.

"It"s… blocked?"

There was an invisible barrier blocking their way.

The first thing that came to mind was the Instant Dungeon. That invisible wall that separated the Instant Dungeon and reality, like the two were in different dimensions. But Jinwoo shook his head.

"No, this isn"t the same."

The wall reeked of being artificially made. Sensing magic power mixed in it, it was clear that it was the magic of a magic beast with intelligence.

"But why?"

Why did it block them from leaving, instead of blocking them from coming in?

Suddenly, Jinwoo sharply turned his head.

"...?"

As if waiting, a terrifying wave of magic power came in torrents from the deep end of the Dungeon.

"My G.o.d…"

This is a boss of a Dungeon? It was on a different scale than the magic power he had felt from outside of the Gate or even in the Dungeon up until now. The other Hunters also felt the power and shuddered.

"W-what?"

"I just got chills."

Looking at the faces of the Hunters turning white, Jinwoo thought up of a theory,

"If it"s a boss that can erase or hide its energy…"

The wall that was not there on the way in. And the boss that revealed its magic power after creating the wall.

"Did it… create a trap for the Hunters?"

When he thought that way, a chill ran down his back.

As if on cue,

step step

step step

From the distant darkness of the Dungeon, footsteps incomparably louder than the first high orc group rang forth.