The size of a dungeon varies greatly and has very little to do with its rank. Sometimes hunters have to spend several days exploring endless tunnels and chambers before finding the boss room. Other times, they can reach the boss in only a few hours. Every dungeon is different.
Step. Step. Step.
The sound of boots echoed through the cavern as we continued deeper into the darkness. The further we traveled, the stranger this dungeon became. We had been walking for quite some time, yet we hadn't encountered a single healthy magic beast.
"That's weird," one of the hunters muttered.
"Yeah," another agreed. "We've been walking for a while now, but we haven't seen a single magic beast with all four limbs intact."
"All we've found are corpses."
"Or beasts that were already dying."
The atmosphere gradually became more tense. Most dungeons were dangerous because of the monsters living inside them. This one felt dangerous because of what was missing.
"There should still be a boss, right?" one hunter asked.
"The gate wouldn't remain open if there wasn't one."
I suddenly stopped walking.
"Wait."
The hunters immediately froze.
"Ah!"
One of them nearly stumbled over a loose rock.
"Kyuhwan, bring the light over here."
The light beam swept across the cavern ahead. The moment it illuminated the area, everyone fell silent.
"Oh my God..."
"It's the boss lair."
A massive chamber stretched before us. The cavern was so large that the light couldn't fully illuminate it.
"Get ready."
Several hunters immediately drew their weapons.
"Huh?"
The hunter holding the flashlight blinked.
"T-This is..."
"H-Holy crap!"
The beam of light moved across the cavern floor.
Everywhere it touched, crystals sparkled brilliantly.
The walls were covered with them.
The floor was covered with them.
Even parts of the ceiling glittered with countless crystal formations.
"Are those mana crystals?!"
"No way..."
"How much would all of this be worth?"
"Wow."
"We hit the jackpot!"
Excited voices echoed throughout the chamber.
One hunter quickly knelt beside a crystal deposit and examined it.
"These have less mana than the essence stones we get from hunting magic beasts, so they're relatively cheap."
His eyes widened.
"But there are thousands of them."
Several hunters began calculating the value in their heads.
"This would definitely be worth more than a single essence stone."
"No kidding."
"Roughly speaking..."
The hunter swallowed.
"This place is worth over a billion won."
The entire group erupted into cheers.
A billion won.
Even after splitting it, everyone would walk away with a life-changing amount of money.
"Dongsuk," one hunter said with a grin, "won't this make your little brother jealous?"
"Dude."
Another hunter immediately elbowed him.
"Don't mention him."
"Especially right now."
"Oops."
The hunter laughed awkwardly.
I quietly observed Dongsuk's reaction.
For just a moment, his smile vanished.
His eyes darkened before he quickly regained control of himself.
Hwang Dongsoo.
His younger brother.
An S-Rank hunter who had left Korea for America and achieved tremendous success. To outsiders, Dongsuk always spoke proudly of him, but the resentment was obvious. Living in the shadow of an S-Rank sibling couldn't have been easy.
"We hit the jackpot, guys!" Dongsuk suddenly shouted.
The hunters cheered again.
"A billion won divided by nine people is still over one hundred million won each!"
Their excitement grew even louder.
Beside me, Jinho adjusted his posture.
"Jinwoo, give me the contract you signed."
I handed it over.
Jinho carefully read through the document.
His expression gradually changed.
Then he raised his hand.
"Excuse me."
The cavern immediately became quiet.
"I'd like to ask everyone something."
The hunters turned toward him.
"Mr. Hwang," Jinho began politely, holding up the contract. "As you can see, this agreement only explains how the essence stones obtained from hunting magic beasts will be divided."
Dongsuk nodded.
"So?"
"It doesn't mention anything about how other resources discovered inside the dungeon will be distributed."
The smiles on several hunters' faces disappeared.
Jinho continued speaking.
"Could you explain why that section was left out?"
No one answered.
"Shouldn't the mana crystals be divided among all ten of us instead of just nine?"
For a brief moment, complete silence filled the chamber.
Then Dongsuk smiled.
"Of course they should be divided equally."
His answer came without hesitation.
"I was already aware of that."
The other hunters visibly relaxed.
I didn't.
While everyone else listened to his words, I watched his face.
The moment Jinho mentioned splitting the mana crystals, Dongsuk's expression had darkened.
Only for an instant.
But I saw it.
Several of his companions reacted the same way.
Their disappointment was subtle, but it was there.
A small smile appeared on my face.
"However, there's something we need to take care of first," Dongsuk said.
"??!!!"
"The dungeon boss..."
"As you already know, the gate will close once we defeat the boss. So before we take down that spider, we need to mine the mana crystals and transport them out. Thankfully, it looks like the spider is asleep after filling its stomach... This could be our chance to collect the crystals."
"Are you ready? Now then—"
"Wait," I said.
"What is it, weakling?" one of the hunters asked.
"Lizards."
"Hunting is a dangerous business, and accidents happen all the time. But whatever happens inside a dungeon is never made public, which makes it easy to commit crimes. There aren't any security cameras like the ones you see in the outside world, so who can stop hunters from committing murder?"
"Nobody."
"That's who."
"If you're weak, you'll be left behind. If you're strong, they'll see you as a threat. And if they think they no longer need you—or that you're getting in their way—they'll cut off their own tail like a lizard and run away."
As I continued speaking, Jinho, standing beside me, seemed to shrink back. He had finally realized that something was terribly wrong. Meanwhile, the other hunters had already begun preparing themselves.
"Bwahahahahaha!" Dongsuk burst into laughter.
The other hunters soon joined in.
"Hahaha! And what are you going to do about it?" one of them mocked.
"You?" another hunter sneered. "You're a weakling—nothing more, nothing less. Just another piece of disposable meat we can use."
"You...!" Jinho shouted, fear plastered across his face. "You're no different from monsters! You're all garbage!"
"Now, now, calm down," Dongsuk said with a smile. "For now, just be our bait, will you? Live bait."
At his words, a grin slowly spread across my face.
"What are you grinning about?" one of the hunters demanded.
"He must've gone crazy because of the situation he's in."
Ignoring them, I grabbed Jinho and hoisted him over my shoulder as if he weighed nothing.
"Ehh?! J-Jinwoo! W-What are you doing?!"
Without answering, I opened my inventory and pulled out an item.
Then I hurled it toward the dungeon boss resting against the wall.
Thud!
The object struck its target.
I turned to the hunters and flashed them a mocking smile.
"Let the game begin."
The moment the words left my mouth, I bolted.
Using my stealth and speed, I slipped out of the boss's immediate senses. Unfortunately for them, the rest of the party had already drawn its attention.
The giant spider's eyes snapped open.
"..."
For a brief moment, silence filled the cavern.
Then chaos erupted.
"Shit!"
"That bastard!"
"Why won't you just die already?!"
"We're screwed this time!"
The hunters' screams echoed throughout the dungeon as the enraged boss turned its gaze toward them.
"D-Don't just stand there! Attack it!" Dongsuk shouted.
The hunters immediately unleashed their skills. Arrows flew through the air, blades flashed, and spells erupted toward the monster. Yet their attacks barely left a scratch. The spider's thick black exoskeleton absorbed every blow as though they were nothing more than raindrops. The confidence on the hunters' faces quickly vanished.
Before they could react, the spider moved.
The monster lunged forward with terrifying speed, its enormous body crossing the distance in an instant. One hunter barely had time to raise his weapon before a massive leg slammed into him, sending him crashing into a nearby wall. The impact echoed throughout the cavern. Another hunter charged in with a desperate roar, only to be swatted aside like an insect. He rolled across the stone floor and lay motionless.
"T-This thing's insane!"
"We can't stop it!"
Fear replaced discipline as their formation began to fall apart. Some hunters continued attacking while others backed away in terror. Thick strands of web suddenly shot from the spider's mouth. One hunter was instantly wrapped up and pinned against a stone pillar. Another was caught while trying to escape. Their screams echoed through the cavern as they struggled helplessly against the sticky restraints.
Dongsuk gritted his teeth and raised his weapon. "Everyone attack together! Don't let it corner us!"
The remaining hunters charged as one. For a moment, it seemed as if they might be able to push the monster back. Then the spider disappeared from their sight.
"W-Where did it go?"
The answer came too late.
A shadow fell over them.
The boss had climbed onto the cavern ceiling.
The hunters looked up just as the gigantic spider dropped from above. The impact shook the entire dungeon. Stone cracked beneath its weight as the hunters were thrown in every direction. Their formation shattered completely. Weapons slipped from trembling hands. Confidence disappeared, leaving only terror behind.
One by one, the hunters fell. Some tried to fight. Some tried to flee. None succeeded. The spider moved relentlessly through the cavern, cutting off every path of escape. Each time a hunter thought they had found an opening, one of the monster's legs would appear before them. Every scream was quickly silenced. Every desperate struggle ended in failure.
Soon, the sounds of battle faded.
As silence settled over the cavern, Jinho slowly lowered his trembling hands and stared at the aftermath in disbelief. The hunters who had threatened them moments ago were gone, wiped out by the dungeon boss as though they had never stood a chance. His body was still shaking when he suddenly noticed something.
Jinwoo was walking toward the spider.
"W-What are you doing?" Jinho stammered.
The giant spider turned its gaze toward the approaching hunter. Its crimson eyes locked onto Jinwoo as a low growl echoed through the dungeon. The monster clearly recognized him as a new threat.
"J-Jinwoo! Run!" Jinho shouted.
But Jinwoo didn't stop.
Instead, he calmly drew his dagger and continued forward.
The spider screeched and charged.
BOOM!
Its massive legs smashed into the ground, sending cracks racing across the stone floor. Jinho's eyes widened in horror.
"Look out!"
At the last possible moment, Jinwoo moved.
Whoosh!
The spider's attack missed completely.
"W-What?!"
Jinho blinked.
He had barely seen Jinwoo move.
The spider swung another leg.
Then another.
And another.
Each strike was powerful enough to shatter stone, yet Jinwoo slipped past them all with unbelievable precision. He darted beneath the monster's body and slashed upward with his dagger.
Clang!
Sparks flew as the blade scraped against the spider's hard exoskeleton.
Jinwoo clicked his tongue.
"It really is tough."
The spider let out an enraged screech and fired a thick strand of web.
Jinho's heart nearly stopped.
But Jinwoo twisted his body in mid-step and avoided it completely. The web crashed into the cavern wall behind him.
"How...?"
Jinho stared in shock.
This was the same Jinwoo he had met earlier—the weakest E-Rank hunter.
At least, that was what he was supposed to be.
Yet the man standing before him now looked completely different.
The spider attacked relentlessly, but Jinwoo continued to dodge every strike. His movements were smooth and efficient, as if he could already predict the monster's attacks before they happened.
Then Jinwoo suddenly accelerated.
The distance between him and the boss vanished instantly.
Slash!
Slash!
Slash!
His daggers flashed repeatedly, carving deep wounds into the spider's body.
The monster shrieked in pain.
"It got hurt?" Jinho gasped.
For the first time since waking up, the dungeon boss retreated.
Jinho couldn't believe what he was seeing.
The creature that had effortlessly slaughtered an entire raid party was being pushed back by a single hunter.
By Jinwoo.
The spider roared and reared onto its hind legs before crashing down with all its weight.
The entire cavern shook.
Dust filled the air.
For a moment, Jinho lost sight of Jinwoo.
"J-Jinwoo!"
Then a shadow burst through the cloud.
Jinwoo launched himself upward, using a nearby rock as a foothold. His body soared through the air directly toward the monster's head.
The spider's eyes widened.
Its instincts screamed danger.
Too late.
Jinwoo gripped his dagger tightly and drove it downward with all his strength.
Stab!
The blade pierced straight into one of the spider's eyes.
The boss unleashed a deafening scream that shook the dungeon itself.
Jinho stood frozen.
His mouth hung open.
His mind struggled to process what he had just witnessed.
The weakest hunter in the world was standing alone against a dungeon boss—and winning.