Chapter 7

Two streets down from the Ttukseom road, there was an unusual amount of activity in Seoul park. The trucks and groups of men waiting around made it seem like there was some sort of construction work going on. But you knew better - the machinery was necessary for the work the miners had to do.

You strode towards them, stepping past some trees to enter the clearing that housed the gate. Even though you technically weren't allowed to be here, nobody would stop you - not if you looked like you belonged.

"Hey." One of the miners whispered to another. "Who's that?"

"Can't you see the uniform? She's from the Association. They're generally bad news for us."

"Pretty face though…"

"Quiet. She's coming..."

You walked through their midst, straining your eyes for the person you came all this way for. Jinwoo didn't seem to be here, but that was okay. You found the next best thing - his supervisor.

"Hi." You said, coming to a stop in front of the gruffy miner. "I'm not interrupting anything important, am I?"

He startled, turning away from his conversation to stare at you. His group was rough, composed entirely of men. In their midst, you must have stuck out like a sore thumb.

"Welcome." He finally said, taking the lead. "What brings someone from the Hunter's Association here? Not another inspection I hope."

"Nothing like that." You reassured, smiling at him. "What are you guys waiting for?"

"For the hunters to clear the dungeon. Then we'll start mining."

"Ah."

His response confirmed your suspicions. The hunters were still inside the dungeon, which made your timing perfect. You were here for one of the miners after all.

But that was also the problem - if the miners were all here, that meant the person you had come all this way for, was missing.

Was I mistaken? You thought, standing on your toes to peek past the group of men. The database definitely said Jinwoo would be here, but I can't see him anywhere…

"Do you need help with anything?" The miner asked. "I would be glad to assist."

"Oh, right!" You nodded gratefully. "I'm looking for Hunter Sung Jinwo-."

"That E-ranked hunter?" His shaggy eyebrows went up at the name.

"Yes." You beamed. "You two know each other?"

Jinwoo? The gruffy miner couldn't believe his ears. He felt sorry for the boy. Messengers from the Association were rarely the bearer of good news.

"You've just missed him then." He said. "Sung volunteered as a porter for the attack force earlier. I warned against it since their raid leader is still wet behind the ears, but he went anyway."

"Ah."

If Jinwoo was inside the gate, perhaps it would be best to just wait for his return. Searching for him in the maze of branching caverns that was the dungeon did not seem fun.

You sighed, carefully tucking in your skirt before dropping down onto an appealing patch of grass.

Despite the gate hovering ominously in the distance, it felt peaceful here. Waiting suddenly didn't seem so bad...

...

You had been sitting for some time before you realized you weren't alone. A young man sat against a tree about a meter away, sneaking glances at you. A faint but not unpleasant aroma of spice wafted from him.

"What're you eating?" You asked, curiously peeking at the plate in his hands.

"Dumplings." He said, showing you. It smelled like pork, the scent of it making your mouth water.

You stared at it longingly. You haven't had a chance to eat lunch yet...

"...Do you want one?"

You nodded.

"I made these." The man said conversationally, smiling nervously as he watched you take one. "They taste good, don't they?"

"Mmph." You agreed, chewing contently on the treat. They were delicious.

But for all the pleasant distractions here, you couldn't help but think back to the conversation earlier. The miner had mentioned the raid leader was still inexperienced...

Wait... You paused, frowning. There was no way S-rank hunter Choi Jong-In would be considered inexperienced. And Chae Hae-In always went with her guild master...

"Hey." You said, suddenly grabbing the young man next to you. "Do you remember who was part of the attack party?"

"Uh, not exactly…"

Hm. Maybe you weren't asking the right questions. "How about a man with red hair?"

"No…"

"The one wearing glasses and reeking of cigarette smoke?"

"Definitely not."

Strange. That would mean guildmaster Choi wasn't part of the attack team.

But why would the Hunter's Guild try and clear an A ranked dungeon without at least one S-rank? Especially one of this size...

You abruptly stood, taking out your phone and gently placing it next to the man.

You would have taken it with you, but you didn't trust yourself to keep it unbroken. And besides, you trusted him.

»»————-

The first thing you saw was blood.

It pooled in large puddles, dying the floor black in the dim light. Bodies of orcs were strewn about haphazardly, laying on the floor in piles.

So many? You thought, stepping over them, careful not to get your shoes wet. High orcs were known to be intelligent. Even with a team composed entirely of A-rank hunters, killing this many would have to be rough.

That was the problem - unless the raid team had a S-rank with them, completion of the dungeon would be impossible. And yet, you could not deny the scene in front of your eyes. The orcs had been killed without a single casualty.

Even if Jinwoo had revealed himself, the Hunter's Guild were not fools - they would have retreated due to the dangerous nature of this dungeon. There was no way they would rely on someone else to clear it for them. Something must have forced them to push on.

The thought was terrifying.

Your body suddenly lurched as the cavern trembled, and you were hit face first with a sudden blast of powerful magical energy. What was going on? You closed your eyes trying to sense where the magic was coming from. Wherever it was, it wasn't far.

You tensed your legs, circulating mana through them. Then jumped. Very quickly.

You flew through the darkness in large bounds, the stone beneath your feet cracking with the force of each thrust. Wind dashed against your face from each sudden acceleration.

And then you were out, piercing into the empty space. The confining walls of the cavern disappeared, replaced with carefully carved stone pillars. Vibrant red banners were placed at regular intervals, casting a myriad of eerie shadows in the torchlight. And at the cavern depths lay a fortress, where the brunt of the magical energy was coming from.

But the feel of the mana surprised you. It couldn't possibly be from Jinwoo, but it still felt… familiar somehow.

You fell, hitting the ground with mana strengthened legs. Barely a second passed and you were off again, rapidly approaching the fortress in the distance.

I hate this. You thought, wincing at the strain on your calves as you stepped harshly onto an angled piece of rock. This is why I rarely join raids-

You stopped, almost stumbling as you nearly collided with a group of people on the road ahead of you.

They sat on the floor, huddled together in small groups. Despite the commotion you've made, their attention wasn't directed onto you. Every eye was pointed inside the fortress.

"Ahem." You coughed, grinding your feet against the ground.

They jumped in surprise.

"Vice Chairman!" One of them turned, her eyes lighting up as she recognized you. "Why are you here?"

"I dunno. I got curious, I guess." You said, nonchalantly checking out the hunters one by one for injuries. "You guys don't look too good..."

"That's right! Our raid leader was injured, so please…" The group parted, revealing a man laying on the ground.

You stepped forwards, taking a closer look at the injured man. Son Ki-Hoon, one of the A-rank hunters of the Hunters Guild.

"You're going to owe me after this." You mumbled quietly, taking a moment to dig through your pockets. It took a while, but you finally found it, taking out a clear glass bottle filled with red liquid.

Kneeling next to the injured hunter, you set the bottle into his hands, and he took hold of it absently.

"Drink it." You said, doing your best to sound authoritative. It must have worked, as he drained the bottle completely without hesitation. After a few moments he blinked, his eyes finally able to focus.

"What did you give me?"

"It's a healing potion." You said gently. "You had internal injuries."

"Thank you." He gasped, grasping your hand and using you as an anchor to pull himself upwards.

"What's going on in there, anyway?" You asked him. "It sounds like a war or something."

"You're right." He coughed, his grip on your wrist growing painfully tight. "There is a war. We need to go. Now. It's dangerous."

"Don't worry about me. I might not look like it, but I'm still an S-Rank." You reassured, turning towards the castle. "Just tell me what's going on inside."

"Sung Jinwoo. He's fighting them alone..."

What? You startled, backing away in shock. If that magical aura was entirely Jinwoo's… wouldn't that make him even stronger than when he cleared the Red Gate? But, that wouldn't make any sense - People didn't simply grow after their reawakenings.

You looked at the hunters beside you. There were about twenty of them, all staring nervously at you for guidance.

"Your raid leader is right." You said seriously. "You should all go. This dungeon is dangerous. It's not something A-ranks can clear."

"Wait." Ki-Hoon said quietly from behind. "What about you?"

You smiled, feeling curiosity boil up strongly inside of you. Here was the opportunity you'd been waiting for, the chance to see Jinwoo's true abilities. If you missed this chance, you would never forgive yourself.

"I'm staying."

»»————-

The battlefield was chaos. Two armies clashed, and the sounds of clanging and guttural screams cluttered the air, making it nearly impossible to spot any single figure in its midst. You watched as the high orcs held their ground, moving as a unit to approach groups of their enemies, surrounding them before brutally attacking, cutting at them with iron spears.

But what are those? You wondered, idly leaning against a stone pillar. Sure, there were the orcs, but you couldn't figure out what were the things they were fighting against. They almost looked like medieval knights made of mist...

But whatever they were, they were strong.

You watched as what looked like a knight cleave through tens of orcs with a single swing of his sword, their blows bouncing harmlessly off his armor. As he fought, the red ribbon on his helm fluttered prettily, like a banner waving in the wind.

Within seconds, the fight was over. Corpses shifted underneath the knight's feet as he turned, in search of more enemies.

But a feeling of being watched pulled at his attention.

He stopped, as if sensing something.

Then, like a flicker of lightning, it turned directly at you and charged.

You flinched, quickly leaping back as you pulled at a nearby spear. The weapon - nearly as big as your body, lurched into the air, spinning at your command. You pointed your finger, and it flew, slamming directly into the knight despite its hasty attempt to block.

The attack killed him instantly. Or at least, it should have.

It's still alive? You looked at the creature in surprise. Instead of blood, the area hit by the blow simply broke apart like mist, slowly reforming in the air. As you watched, the wound healed, his body knit back together in seconds.

The knight rushed you again.

But this time, you were ready. Your leg came out of nowhere, blasting the creature in the side of the neck. You felt the blow shatter his upper body completely, dropping it onto the floor at incredible speed.

It landed a short distance away, spraying chips of stone in the air as it skidded harshly off the ground.

The force should have turned it to mush, summon or not.

That still wasn't enough? You stared numbly at its body, watching in amazement as the knight reformed yet again. Black mist wrapped around it, trailing around its body as it worked to heal the damage.

But if that's the case… You concentrated, directing your mana towards a group of high orcs. The magic crystal embedded in each of their necks started glowing, and moments later, you felt yourself in their minds.

Attack him. You told them, directing their anger at the black knight as they strained against your will.

They obeyed, hundreds of orcs swarming him like bugs to honey.

That should buy me some time. You thought, running towards the end of the castle. I'm here for Jinwoo, not to fight some weird immortal mist creature...

You lept up the steps towards the throne room, careful not to make too much sound. Earlier, you had been confused at the lack of the dungeon boss, but now you realized why.

The fight was already over. The corpse of an orc laid on the floor, next to the throne. The dungeon boss. You realized.

Even though it was dead, you could sense a large amount of mana escaping its body. A figure knelt over it, tiny in comparison.

Jinwoo? You thought, hesitantly walking forwards. Even though his back was turned on you, it was still easy to recognize him.

You watched as he placed his hand over the corpse.

"Arise." He said, speaking the word as a commandment.

You moved by reflex, taking a quick step backwards. Your aura blossomed outwards, covering your body in a natural response to danger. You stood, silently watching as black mist swirled around its body in definite patterns, a seething storm slowly growing stronger.

It darted, it's motion growing faster and tighter before bursting outwards. Then it appeared, an orc formed entirely of mist, head bowed towards Jinwoo as if he were its master.

No. You realized. Shadow. Not mist.

You began to tremble, a powerful, numbing chill crawling up your arms.

"Jinwoo?" You tried to say, but it barely came out as a whisper.

It was Ashborn.

»»————-