She got a hold of herself, simultaneously feeling a migraine, and furrowed her eyebrows heavily.
Even Hunters who had transcended the limits of humanity couldnât avoid hangovers from heavy drinking.
She was able to drive out the migraine with her strong willpower and examined her surroundings. She was in the bedroom of a wide room; someone was beside her.
The blanket was covering their entire body, so she couldnât tell who it was.
âM-Mr. Sung JoonâŚ?â
Eun Joo recollected her final memory, assumed that it was Sung Joon, and cautiously called his name. She had mixed feelings.
âMr. Sung Joon?â
She called for him again, but there was no response. She carefully removed the blanket and looked. Sung Joon wasnât there, but Seol Ah was, sleeping.
The disappointment was clear on her face.
* * *
Sung Joon had dumped the two women into the hotel and left; he got into his car without looking back once and returned to his studio apartment.
âArenât you disappointed?â Rishubalt asked.
He didnât explain further, but Sung Joon could tell what he was referring to.
He spoke with a calm expression.
âIâm not interested in voyeurism.â
As always, Rishubalt followed beside him. He was a helpful and loyal subordinate, but there were times when he made things uncomfortable.
âWouldnât it be alright if you just sent me to scout somewhere else?â
That was a clear solution that Sung Joon hadnât thought of.
âI canât let you make such a fruitless effort.â
âThank you, my lord.â
The next day, Sung Joon got a message from Eun Joo. It was regarding the practice schedule with the 10th place S-Rank Hunter, Park Ha Yeonâs regular assault team, âRoyal Crossâ.
She mustâve not remembered what had transpired in the hotel, or she may be playing dumb, but she didnât mention it.
Sung Joon thought it was the latter.
âPractice for the attack, huhâŚâ
It would be a first for Sung Joon, but when facing a high difficulty dungeon, if there were at least two regular assault teams working together, they would often have to practice their teamwork.
It was his first time practicing for a dungeon attack, so Sung Joon browsed Hunter.com for information; this way, he wouldnât be confused on site.
âItâs not much compared to what I had expectedâŚâ
There was a lot of information regarding it on Hunter.com. Sung Joon was anxious, but there was nothing special about it.
He exited Hunter.com and stood up. As soon as he stood up, he heard his message alarm ring.
[Mr. Kang Sung Joon, I had a good time because of you. Thank you.]
It was Seol Ah. It was a message containing multiple meanings. Sung Joon checked his messages; since he didnât reply, Seol Ah sent him another message.
[Iâll soon come and meet you âformallyâ. Itâs because grandpaâs pressure has been severe.]
[I have an appointment for a dungeon run. Iâll contact you when Iâm finished.]
[Iâll be waiting.]
And their conversation was finished. Sung Joon took an early break.
Before long, it had become the day that he would meet Ha Yeon and Eun Joo.
Sung Joon, Eun Joo, and Ha Yeon decided to meet first and converse briefly before their practice.
The agreed upon place was the cafe nearby the Iron training center. When it was time, Sung Joon drove his car towards Iron.
âTheyâre not here.â
After he finished parking, he went inside the cafe and scanned the inside, but he couldnât see Eun Joo or Ha Yeon. Sung Joon ordered an Americano and he waited for the two while drinking his coffee.
After five minutes had passed, the two came inside the cafe.
Eun Joo found Sung Joon first and briefly, just briefly flushed. Fortunately, she was able to collect herself before Sung Joon saw her.
âM-Mr. Sung JoonâŚ!â
Eun Joo walked towards Sung Joon while waving her hand, and Ha Yeon followed behind her. Ha Yeonâs long hair was dyed red and when she looked at Sung Joon, she smiled softly and bowed slightly.
âItâs nice to meet you. My name is Park Ha Yeon, Mr. Kang Sung Joon.â
He didnât know the reason, but there was goodwill mixed into her joyful voice. The two ordered Americanos and brought them with them, and sat in front of Sung Joon.
âBefore we start talking, I want to say thank you for killing Cha Kyu Tae,â Ha Yeon said.
Sung Joon took a sip of his coffee and opened his mouth.
âDid you have a personal grudge?â
âYes. There will be other people besides me thatâll thank you when they see you,â Ha Yeon replied, smiling bitterly.
She didnât explain the circumstances in detail, but he could assume that she had a deep grudge.
All this time, he had thought that there wouldnât be just one or two people with a grudge against Cha Kyu Tae, but he didnât think heâd personally meet one of them.
âI canât tell you what happened between Cha Kyu Tae and us âyetâ, but Ha Yeon is really thankful to you Mr. Sung Joon.â Eun Joo added a short explanation.
He hadnât really been after him. Sung Joon seemed bashful and just nodded.
When they saw him, both Eun Joo and Ha Yeon smiled.
âThen shall we move on the main subject?â Ha Yeon began.
Ha Yeon led the meeting. They discussed the partyâs configuration, as well as primary formations that they would use in the dungeon. The meeting took an hour, but it felt short.
After they were finished with their meeting, the three people walked to the training centerâs lobby, and decided to gather with the rest of their party members there.
âIt looks like everyone had already gathered.â
When Eun Joo saw her teammates, she expressed her joy. Ha Yeon also smiled as she gathered with her teammates from âRoyal Crossâ.
There were fifteen team members that had gathered for the S-rank dungeon assault, including Sung Joon, Eun Joo and Ha Yeon. There was one Mage, one Supporter, two Healers including Sung Joon, and eleven Combat Hunters.
âItâs nice to meet you, Mr. Kang Sung Joon. Iâm âRoyal Crossâ Vice Team Leader, Lee Ki Hoon.â
A man wearing blue robes and round glasses approached Sung Joon and offered a handshake. He had introduced himself as the vice team leader and was also an executive in the Imperial guild.
âItâs also nice to meet you,â Sung Joon replied.
The two men gently shook hands. Eun Joo and Ha Yeon introduced Sung Joon to their respective assault team members.
âWeâve already reserved the large-scale simulated combat system. Letâs go up.â
There were also facilities in the Iron training center that were provided for party training.
âAside from Mr. Lee Ki Hoon, weâll check your fighting strength one by one first, before going in!â Eun Joo said.
Due to technical problems*, the Mage Hunter, Ki Hoon, couldnât utilize the large-scale simulated combat system. (*Reminder: Mages canât use the combat system because the Blue Dragon Group hasnât figured out how to program the system for magic.)
Excluding him, the other party members would go in one by one, and fight the simulated monsters. The other party members activated spectator mode and watched the situation inside as they waited for their turn.
âItâs your turn now, Mr. Kang Sung Joon,â Ha Yeon said.
At long last, it was Sung Joonâs turn. Sung Joon activated the large-scale simulated combat systemâs spectator mode and went inside.
The monster that spawned would be random, as it was set up that way from the outside. As he gripped and lifted a training sword, an A-rank humanoid monster, a Warlock, appeared.
âSummon.â
The Warlock, wearing a blue robe and a hood over its head, appeared and simultaneously shook his staff and summoned four Flaming Guards.
When the four Flaming Guards, lifting their blazing swords and shields, saw Sung Joon, their scarlet eyes shone.
âThey look as real as ever.â
Sung Joon briefly admired them.
The more time passed while fighting a Warlock, the more difficult the fight became. Since there was no reason for him to buy time, Sung Joon rushed towards the Warlock without delay.
It seemed as though the Warlock was in the middle of casting as he couldnât immediately summon the second set of guards after his first summoning..
âHa!â
Sung Joon instantly closed the distance to the Flaming Guards and swung his training sword with a brief battle cry. The simulated aura cut through the Flaming Guardâs shield, severing its upper body.
The remaining Flaming Guards died futilely.
âUghâŚ!â
The Warlockâs face showed his embarrassment underneath his hood. Sung Joon was astonished by the technical skill involved in materializing these detailed appearances with the large-scale simulated combat system.
âSum⌠AH!â
In an instant, the Warlock attempted to complete its casting and yell âsummonâ, but Sung Joonâs training sword had already pierced his chest.
The Summoner vomited a handful of blood, shivered, and died. The Warlockâs blood had stained his clothing, but when he killed him, the stained blood also neatly disappeared.
âYouâre amazing!â
âThis is the first time Iâve seen someone hunt down an A-rank monster this quickly!â
As soon as Sung Joon left the training area, the party members who had been spectating through the monitors connected to the inside of the training area applauded and admired him.
âIt seems like killing Cha Kyu Tae wasnât luck,â Ha Yeon said.
Though she was a Supporter Hunter, she was still an S-rank Hunter. Just now, she had watched for only a short time, but she was able to at least recognize that Sung Joonâs skills werenât at the level of an A-rank.
Eun Joo was also the same.
âNo matter how low I rate him, heâs at least A-rank top tierâŚâ
It hadnât been long since she had known Sung Joon, but he was shrouded in mystery.
âWeâll begin practicing teamwork now.â
When Ha Yeon finished speaking, the party members immediately went into the large training area and started practicing.
âDikeâ and âRoyal Crossâ had occasionally gone through dungeons together, so their teamwork was good.
Sung Joon had worked together with Dike before, but it was his first time with Royal Cross. However, because of his ample combat experience, he was able to sync naturally with them, as if he had been part of their team from the beginning.
âYouâre amazing, Mr. Kang Sung Joon. You looked as if you were part of our team from the beginning,â a âRoyal Crossâ team member said at dinner, following their training.
The others also nodded their heads. Sung Joonâs sense and his adaptability were so high that they were astonished.
Sung Joon just wordlessly tilted his wine glass.
* * *
They finished their dinner, and a few days later, they gathered at the S-rank dungeon entrance.
There were three people in charge of the joint assault team.
Eun Joo took command in front, while Ha Yeon was in charge of the middle. Lastly, Sung Joon was in command of the rear, as well as responsible for their safety.
âEveryone, donât be so tense,â Eun Joo comforted softly, but the heavy silence still remained.
Amongst the party members, the only ones who had âformallyâ experienced an S-rank dungeon were Eun Joo and Ha Yeon.
If they added an informal S-rank dungeon assault, then Sung Joon would be included, but despite that, there still werenât many who had experienced an S-rank dungeon. Therefore, they all had no choice but to be tense.
However, they were just tense, not afraid; since all of them were Hunters with ample experience attacking dungeons.
âWeâll enter the dungeon now!â
The dungeon entrance opened and they went underground. Contrary to other dungeons, there wasnât a vast clearing underground, but a single gate.
âIt seems like a field-type dungeon. If we go through the gate, weâll be transported to a field.â
As the attack difficulty increased, the dungeon would also greet them with various forms. Dungeons that transported them to different fields were uncommon, but they certainly did exist.
Everyone looked tense, but they went through the gate. And they were covered in a radiant white flash, as if he had manifested a powerful âHealâ.
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When he opened his eyes, he was in the middle of a vast plain.
âTeam Leader! What do we do in this kind of situation?â someone asked.
âThe Boss will be at the place where we feel the strongest mana, so we just need to go there,â Eun Joo responded.
It was a relief that Eun Joo and Ha Yeon had experience attacking S-rank dungeons.