Cover quickly entered Cha Seohu’s number and handed the phone back to Ryu Sunghyun as he began speaking.
“Let me give you a quick briefing first.”
He looked at Kwon Taehyuk, Ryu Sunghyun, and Eun Woojeong one by one before continuing.
“I’ve been too busy dealing with monsters to get right up to the dungeon entrance, but from across the apartment complex, I saw red light glowing from the opposite side. It looked like the light coming from a portal. That confirms a dungeon break.”
You could tell how saturated a dungeon was by the color of the portal’s light. Normally, it was blue, but the more monsters gathered inside, the color would shift—from orange to red.
If it was red, like Cover said, then a dungeon break was almost certain.
Kwon Taehyuk clenched his jaw, brow furrowed.
—Which guild was supposed to be managing this dungeon...? How did it get this far...?
At least the portal color made the situation easier to gauge. That meant the dungeon had to be B-rank or lower. If it had been a higher rank, you wouldn’t be able to tell the saturation level from the portal color alone.
“The monsters that have come out so far are the C-rank I was just handling and the D-ranks that have scattered around the mountain area.”
Cover gestured at Eun Woojeong with a nod.
“The two of us are S-rank, and he’s got a decent skillset. We’ve kept them from getting past the apartment complex. But we’ve reached our limit.”
“If this really is a dungeon break, it won’t end with just a few. They’ll be flooding out soon.”
Ryu Sunghyun spoke, and Cover nodded in agreement.
Monsters ranged from mindless creatures acting purely on instinct to those with intelligence rivaling or exceeding humans.
In other words, they didn’t behave like dumb AI mobs from a video game.
The ones Cover and Eun Woojeong had taken down were just C and D-rank—clearly the lower class types.
It was common in dungeon breaks for smarter monsters to send these lesser ones out first, either to scout or act as bait.
Cover knew this pattern well—and so did Ryu Sunghyun and Kwon Taehyuk.
“We’ll circle the dungeon perimeter, check for any that slipped through, and provide support as needed,” Cover proposed. “If a crowd builds up, we’ll help clear it. You two should split—one east, one west—and focus on locking down those zones.”
Ryu’s light-based skills and Kwon’s Blade Rush were both ideal for holding a position and clearing large groups quickly.
Eun Woojeong’s skill was useful too, but his real strength was his mobility—he could fly between locations via his chains, which was more valuable now.
Cover planned to rely on him for that reason. He didn’t want to fight next to Ryu or Kwon and accidentally expose himself by showing weakness or getting his mask knocked off.
—Not using his skill would be unnatural, and if that mask got pulled off during a fight, it’d be a disaster.
Ironically, because of the kidnapping earlier, Eun Woojeong had become the easier partner to work with.
Kwon Taehyuk judged the suggestion to be sound and accepted it.
“Checking for missed monsters takes priority. Holding them off is important, but backup will arrive soon either way.”
“Understood.”
RUMBLE!
Just then, the ground trembled, and red light flared behind one of the apartment buildings.
The monsters were starting to pour out. As the light faded, a hot, oppressive energy surged through the air—it was unmistakably monster aura.
“Let’s move.”
Break time was over.
As Kwon and Ryu sprinted off in opposite directions, Cover turned to Eun Woojeong, who was still standing there, ready to tell him to get going—
“Cover.”
Eun Woojeong spoke first.
“Why did you assign me as support?”
“...What?”
Cover glanced at his face, but it was masked—no way to read his expression.
“There was no need for two support roles, was there? You could’ve taken support and I could’ve held the dungeon front or the northern flank. That would’ve been more efficient.”
With three S-ranks, they could each hold a zone, and the fourth could provide backup where needed.
Eun Woojeong thought that made more sense.
Cover’s support role involved mopping up stray monsters and helping out if one zone became overwhelmed. It was a necessary job, but one person was enough.
No need for two.
“Well, yeah. That’s true.”
Cover understood his logic. If he were Eun Woojeong, he would’ve asked the same thing.
But his decision hadn’t been without reason.
The most important factor was skills. Eun Woojeong had assumed Cover had an attack skill, if not a teleport one.
But the truth was... Cover had no skill at all.
Which meant he couldn’t support the whole battlefield alone. It had to be Eun Woojeong, zipping around on his chains and drawing attention while at it.
And there was another reason.
“Your left arm’s wrecked.”
It was the perfect excuse.
“From the way you can’t move it, it’s not just a fracture—it’s shattered.”
“......”
“You really think I’d put someone like that on zone duty? At the dungeon front, no less? You serious?”
Clicking his tongue, Cover turned without hesitation.
“Quit the nonsense and just fly around helping out. Reinforcements’ll be here soon.”
He left without even glancing back.
Eun Woojeong quietly watched him fade into the dark before coming back to his senses.
—How did he know?
Just like Cover said, Eun Woojeong’s left arm was messed up. A side effect of the earlier fight.
When that black shadow surged at him like a snake and swallowed him whole, it burned like fire—and he’d passed out for a moment. When he came to, his body was in tatters.
His insides were all twisted, and his left arm was shattered, both upper and lower. His shoulder was likely damaged too—he couldn’t even raise it.
Thanks to his S-rank regeneration, his internal injuries were gradually recovering, but his arm and shoulder were still a mess. He needed proper treatment at a Hunter-specialized hospital.
And yet—he hadn’t shown a single sign of it during the fight.
He was right-handed, and all his skills were ranged. He never needed to use his left arm for anything.
But still... Cover had noticed?
—There was one moment.
Just one. When he went to put the robe back on, he’d tried to lift his left arm and stopped.
It hadn’t even been a full second, but Cover had seen it.
...No. Actually, just seeing it wasn’t surprising. He was S-rank too—of course he noticed those kinds of things.
What surprised him was the fact that Cover had reassigned him based on that.
It was such an unexpected kindness.
Getting that kind of consideration from someone you’d never expect it from... that was the real surprise.
—Ah. So that’s it.
Only now did Eun Woojeong realize what he was feeling.
He was flustered.
The fact that Cover had looked out for him genuinely shocked him.
Kindness from someone you hadn’t even hoped for...
“......”
Eun Woojeong blinked slowly and, after a long pause, finally began to move.
A flying blade tore through the air and pierced straight through a monster’s torso.
SKREEEE! KIK!
A monster that had been sprinting eagerly toward the apartment complex stumbled forward and crashed to the ground. The swords cutting through the sky didn’t discriminate—they killed any monster in sight.
BOOM!
The same was happening on the other side.
Each time golden light flashed across the night sky, monster screams rang out. Ryu Sunghyun was fending off the monster wave with ease.
“Guildmaster.”
Stepping over the corpses of fallen monsters, Cover approached almost gliding across the ground. Next to him stood a man wearing a black mask.
Kwon Taehyuk twitched his sharp eyebrows and looked at the two of them with open irritation.
Cover and the Spiderweb’s leader, side by side in masks.
He’d noticed it before—they were always sticking together.
More accurately, it was the Spider King who followed Cover around like a lost dog. Seeing two irritating bastards together just doubled the annoyance.
“What is it?”
“The flow of monsters exiting the portal is already slowing.”
Kwon Taehyuk’s piercing gaze was nothing new, and Cover brushed it off lightly as he cut straight to the point.
“Once the reinforcements arrive, we should be clear to enter the dungeon.”
Just dealing with the monsters outside wasn’t enough. They had to enter the dungeon and reduce its internal saturation.
Since Cover had been tracking the flow between zones himself, his assessment was reliable. The moment Kwon nodded in agreement—
“Guildmaster of Yesung!”
An energetic voice called out, followed by the unmistakable presence of other Hunters. Reinforcements had arrived. At their ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) head was none other than Rank #3, Chae Juwon.
“Are you all right? Any injuries?”
They weren’t just damage-dealers—supporters and healers were also among them. Even at a glance, there were over twenty people. It looked like they had enough manpower to go straight into dungeon conquest.
‘Shit.’
While Kwon Taehyuk let out a relieved sigh at the sight of the support team, Cover and Eun Woojeong both felt a cold sweat.
The two of them were currently hiding their identities. A crowd of unfamiliar faces was the last thing they wanted.
As they both instinctively began edging backward—
SKREEEEEE!
From the dungeon entrance, small dark shapes suddenly shot up into the air—bat-type monsters, classified as D-rank.
Low-level and lacking any special abilities, but they traveled in massive swarms and were aggressive. Left alone, they could become a huge headache.
“I’ll take care of them.”
Eun Woojeong leapt toward the dungeon entrance.
Cover had been hoping to use the bats as an excuse to slip away, but Eun Woojeong beat him to the punch.
‘That bastard...’
Cover forced a strained smile as the support team began watching him with curious expressions.
“Haha. Looks like there’s too many for one person. I guess I’ll go help—”
BOOM!
He didn’t finish.
A shockwave, far stronger than any quake they'd felt so far, rippled through the ground.
BOOM!
Again, the earth shook violently, echoing like a thunderclap through the air.
BOOM!
It wasn’t random—it was rhythmic. Ominous, like a distant war drum.
“...!”
Sssssshhhh—
It felt like the air itself froze. Every hair on his body stood on end as a stinging, electric sensation shot through Cover’s skull.
This was killing intent. Thick, suffocating malice so potent it made his fingertips tremble.
He instinctively caught someone who’d stumbled beside him, eyes widening. Through the slit of his mask, his gaze met Kwon Taehyuk’s.
That look—they both understood. It was the same feeling as when Leviathan had torn through the rift.
No way... Is that an S-rank or higher...?
Cover turned toward the dungeon entrance—and drew a sharp breath.
Something massive... was rising from the portal.
CRKKKK—
The sound alone—like something being crushed just by it standing—sent shudders down his spine. Trees snapped, and the previously emerged bats scattered in unison, fleeing like their lives depended on it.
What the hell is that...?
A blank, primal question echoed through his stunned mind.
What... was that thing?
It defied description. There was no clear form to latch onto, no silhouette to define. He couldn’t describe it—because he couldn’t see it properly.
That...
The only thing visible, barely, was the enormous eye embedded at the top.
It wasn’t human. Round and alien, twitching left and right as if searching for something—its faint, glimmering motion looked unmistakably like a pupil.
The moment Cover locked eyes with that murky green iris, something clicked.
Wait—Eun Woojeong?!
Eun Woojeong had... gone toward the dungeon entrance.
He was sharp and fast. He probably dodged in time. It had appeared right as Eun Woojeong had jumped, so maybe he hadn’t even reached it yet. Yeah, probably...
Cover’s frantic thoughts hit a wall.
DING!
For the first time since descending the snowy mountain—a quest window appeared in his vision.
《Main Quest: Protect the Protagonist. (Time Remaining: 3 hours 59 minutes)》

Comments

Loading...