GM Ch58

Two days later, at 2 PM.

Nine hunters gathered in front of the gate in the underground parking lot of the Capital Defense Command headquarters. Four were existing hunters with poison resistance, two had participated in the last raid, one was a newcomer, and finally, there were Minjun and Soohyuk.

“Is that a black bear leather jacket?”

“Yes.”

“Those are expensive.”

“I made a big investment.”

“Nice. Did you get a lot from the June Guild?”

“Yes.”

“Would it be rude to ask how much? I’m jealous.”

“My bank account is empty.”

Soohyuk quietly observed the man chatting with Minjun beside him.

Ha Sungwook. A B-class hunter, twenty-two years old. He became a hunter last year and was participating in the Poison Jar Dungeon raid for the first time today. Originally, he was supposed to come with another hunter from his guild, but due to a personal issue that arose for his partner just yesterday, he came alone.

Ha Sungwook had only introduced himself during the dungeon briefing, but today he approached Minjun with a bright smile as soon as he saw him. Claiming there were no other hunters around his age, he insisted on calling Minjun “hyung” and couldn’t hide his envy when looking at the items other hunters had.

Ha Sungwook’s behavior was remarkably transparent. Soohyuk, who had already done a background check on the hunters participating in today’s raid, knew that this was just Ha Sungwook’s nature. So he let him be as he made odd comments next to Minjun.

The atmosphere of the raid party was a bit awkward. It hadn’t been noticeable during the briefing, but now that they were standing in front of the gate, it was clear that the hunters were keeping to themselves. Minjun could take care of himself. Still, having someone to chat with wouldn’t hurt.

“Alright, enough chit-chat. Let’s enter the dungeon.”

Once everyone was gathered and ready, Joo Myunghwan shouted loudly. Among the hunters participating in the raid, Soohyuk had the highest rank. However, since he had appointed himself as Minjun’s bodyguard, Joo Myunghwan became the leader of the raid.

This was an agreement made with the National Security Agency to avoid infringing on Joo Myunghwan’s authority. Soohyuk’s forceful involvement required some political maneuvering. Soohyuk didn’t mind taking orders from someone else, but Joo Myunghwan seemed to be constantly wary, smiling as he did so. However, it wasn’t very effective.

He’s really bad at this.

Soohyuk judged coldly. Joo Myunghwan lacked the ability to match his ambition. Despite managing the Poison Jar Dungeon for five years, he hadn’t earned the hunters’ respect.

Deciding that he needed to be replaced, Soohyuk entered the gate with Minjun.

∥[Notification] You have entered the dungeon.

Clearing the familiar status window, they saw the dungeon’s interior, thick with a bluish poison fog. It was a fitting scene for the Poison Jar Dungeon.

“M- Minjun, detoxify. Detoxify me. Wow… It’s been less than a minute, and I’m already poisoned. Stacking? It stacks with every breath. This is bad.”

Ha Sungwook exclaimed with purple-tinged lips. The other hunters’ faces had also changed color. The reason the Poison Jar Dungeon, despite being C-class, was considered the worst was right here. The poison itself wasn’t severe, but with every breath, the condition worsened.

“Hold on a moment. I’ll detoxify you. Just drink the water droplets that appear in front of you.”

Thanks to Minjun’s demonstration during the dungeon briefing, the hunters drank the water without hesitation. The hunters’ faces, which had turned blue, slowly returned to normal.

“Resistance for 99 minutes. No more worries. Wow, you’re amazing!”

Ha Sungwook, oblivious and cheerful, shouted with a smile. The atmosphere among the hunters, now resistant to the poison, also improved. In the midst of this, Joo Myunghwan interjected.

“Hahaha. Thanks to hunter Kim Minjun, we can be at ease for today’s raid. It would have been even better if there was a skill to cut the raid time in half like in the Grassland Dungeon, but I won’t be greedy.”

Soohyuk inwardly clicked his tongue as he watched Joo Myunghwan subtly steer the mood with his friendly demeanor. Despite having finalized everything with the National Security Agency, his mention of Minjun’s buff skill was in poor taste.

If Minjun were hiding a skill that could halve the raid time, it could cause dissatisfaction. As expected, the hunters who had frequented the Poison Jar Dungeon for a long time didn’t look pleased.

“Hunter Kim Minjun would love to help, but contracts are a scary thing. The penalty fees are enormous.”

Soohyuk answered on Minjun’s behalf. Contracts involving large sums of money were crucial for hunters. Seeing Minjun nod in agreement, Soohyuk also smiled.

The topic could have ended like this, but Joo Myunghwan persisted.

“Wouldn’t it be possible if hunter Yoon Soohyuk allowed it? As the guild leader of the June Guild, you have the authority.”

“Hahaha. While the June Guild is my company, that would be overstepping. Hunter Joo Myunghwan. Well, if you covers the 15 billion won penalty, I’m sure hunter Kim Minjun would be encouraged.”

“…That’s an enormous amount. Hunter Yoon Soohyuk. It must mean the skill is that impressive, right?”

“Of course. That’s why I quickly signed the contract with him before anyone else could. Now, let’s get going. The other hunters are waiting, Hunter Joo Myunghwan.”

Soohyuk, returning Joo Myunghwan’s earlier words at the gate, urged to start the raid. He also reminded him that the other hunters were watching silently. Joo Myunghwan, with a sour expression, finally turned and started leading the way.

“Let’s go now. Our goal is to defeat the boss and get out of the dungeon as quickly as possible. Hunter Yoon Soohyuk, please take care of the rear. You can do it, right?”

“Oh, sure. I am an S-class hunter.”

Soohyuk did not just let the person who was arguing with him slide. And if he put his mind to it, he could turn provoke people as much as he wanted. As he curved his eyes and smiled brightly, Joo Myunghwan’s face hardened, and eventually he turned his head and began to take the lead.

With a peculiar atmosphere, the dungeon raid began.

***

The biggest headache in the Poison Jar Dungeon was the poison, but the second was the vast swamp that stretched out before them. The poison-filled marshland had few places to step, and the toxic mist obscured their vision. To make matters worse, monsters hidden beneath the swamp would ambush them at any moment.

Hundreds of snake monsters would burst out, scattering poison everywhere, while amorphous slime monsters would shoot spears from beneath their feet.

Progress was slow, but aside from Ha Sungwook falling into the swamp once, there were no major incidents.

“We’ll take a 15-minute break here!”

It wasn’t Joo Myunghwan but his assistant, Lee Minjae, who shouted loudly. The party stopped on a patch of dry land between the swamps.

“As mentioned in the briefing, both water and food can get contaminated. With our poison resistance, it shouldn’t be a big problem.”

While the hunters settled down, Minjun surveyed the surroundings. Given that this was a fixed-recurring dungeon they had raided repeatedly for five years, they knew where the safe spots were to rest.

The dry land was about the size of a classroom. It was spacious enough for the nine hunters to rest, but the poison was still an issue.

“Damn, it really gets contaminated right away.”

Soohyuk waved a piece of jerky he had taken out from his inventory. The red jerky, which should have been glistening, turned purple in an instant. And then, Soohyuk took a bite of the now-purple jerky and grimaced.

“Tastes awful.”

“Well, why would you eat that?”

“I wanted to see if it was edible. I’ve never eaten something this contaminated before. I’m immune, so I won’t get poisoned, but it tastes terrible. The smell is awful too.”

“Really?”

Minjun also took out a canteen from his inventory. As soon as he opened the lid, he could tell the water was contaminated.

The dungeon briefing had warned them that food and water would get contaminated. Despite being a C-class dungeon, the overlapping poison was incredibly potent. While his artifact, the Black Bear Leather Jacket, was fine, ordinary clothes were deteriorating from the poison.

Holding the canteen, Minjun looked around. All the hunters were grimacing as they drank the water. Then he made eye contact with Ha Sungwook. With a deeply furrowed brow, Ha Sungwook got up and approached him.

“Minjun, can you detoxify this? Or can you drink this water? It tastes weird. I’m not getting poisoned, but it’s so bitter.”

Minjun hesitated for a moment at Ha Sungwook’s complaint. In this world, dungeons often had poison or curses due to the influence of the Demon King. For status abnormalities like poison, curses, and decay, a priest’s blessing was the best remedy. However, Earth didn’t have the priest profession yet.

They expected the Poison Jar Dungeon raid to take about 48 hours to clear. While they could go without sleep, they couldn’t go without food or water. Hunters, with their high activity levels, consumed a lot of energy.

“Uh… rather than that. Hold on a moment. Everyone, detoxifying everything you eat and drink one by one is cumbersome and time-consuming. I can make detoxifying rain for 15 minutes. If you get wet, you’ll be detoxified, but your food will get wet too. If anyone doesn’t want this, let me know. I can adjust the range.”

“I’m fine with it! Getting wet is no big deal.”

Ha Sungwook shouted loudly. The other hunters also chimed in, saying they were okay with it. The water and jerky, soaked in poison, tasted bitter and awful anyway.