WHOFA 27

The very first mission a newly awakened person receives is this one. The penalty for failure is a grade demotion, and if there is no lower grade to go to, even their awakening abilities are confiscated.

Even if one does not wish to live as a combat hunter, even if one decides to live their entire life as an office worker awakened being stuck at a desk. They must enter a dungeon once per quarter to maintain their awakened status, even if it is just as an F-rank.

Since the dungeon grade does not matter for this, non-combat awakened beings hire mercenaries or request help from guilds to clear herb dungeons when the time comes.

This party was precisely for the main mission homework of Danbaek Guild’s F-rank office workers. Come to think of it, even when Seo Hwa was the guild master, Grade 1 and Grade 2 dungeons were often allocated for the ‘Crown’ mission.

Currently, Seo Hwa’s main mission was in a temporarily paused state.

[Main Mission ‘The Crown is Heavy.’

• Paused temporarily as it is determined you are in a state where raiding is not possible.]

While he was grateful that it took into account his situation of having to go into hiding, it was, in fact, an unwanted consideration. It would have been more comforting if it had just immediately demoted his grade, demoted it again, and finally confiscated all of his awakening abilities.

‘Then I could have gone to see Gam Yigeon with a clear mind.’

At that thought, the image of the man lying on the bed with a wasted appearance came to mind again.

While Kim Biyul shared information about the dungeon’s terrain, which he had measured in advance with AlphaN, the locations of byproducts that must be secured, and the monsters to watch out for, Seo Hwa only thought of Gam Yigeon in his mind.

With a B-rank hunter in a Grade 2 dungeon, the raid will end in three hours at the shortest, and six hours at the longest.

I will definitely be able to see Gam Yigeon tonight.

I’ll be sullenly hospitalized, and when night comes and the security loosens, I will go check on Gam Yigeon right away.

If it really was all an act… I should at least give him a flick on the forehead before I leave.

For pretending to be sick. It makes my heart ache.

If it wasn’t an act… I should still give him a flick on the forehead.

For being sick. It makes my heart ache…….

“Do not touch any plants or trees that are not on the list… Hunter Lee Yuje?”

“Hm? Oh, yes?”

“You were spacing out just now, weren’t you?”

His heart dropped. Was it obvious on my face? Did he notice I have social anxiety? Did he figure out that the cause of my social anxiety is that I was hated by people for 18 years!?

Contrary to his chaotic inner thoughts, his outward appearance was calm.

“No, I was not. I was paying close attention.”

“What are the monsters predicted to appear in the dungeon?”

“Groks, Dreadps, Akranians, Forges, and Fizzliks. The monster to be most careful of among these is the Fizzlik. It has an appearance similar to an eagle, with sharp hooks on its wingtips, an electric current flowing through its feathers, and a flexible body that gives it high mobility. The map you showed earlier, Leader-nim, showed a canyon terrain surrounded by cliffs on all sides, so there is a high probability that Fizzliks will appear. It would be a good idea to distribute anti-electric shock items to the guild members who came to do their homework before we go in.”

Instead of admiration, a sigh escaped.

“As I thought, you weren’t listening. Hunter Lee Yuje, that’s a demerit. If you accumulate demerits, you will not be able to work as a mercenary for our guild.”

Kim Biyul declared coolly and typed something on his tablet. Seo Hwa felt wronged for some reason, even though he was the one at fault.

“Wasn’t my answer perfect? What mistake did I make?”

When he asked the mercenary next to him, the mercenary answered with a slightly baffled expression.

“There were only three types of predicted monsters, and we hadn’t heard the explanation about the Fizzlik yet….”

“Aha….”

“How in the world did you know?”

“What do I know? I was just spouting nonsense….”

Seo Hwa also became baffled. It seems he needed to be a little dumber.

“As Hunter Lee Yuje said, the appearance of Fizzliks is predicted, so we will prepare for it first.”

Kim Biyul took out the prepared anti-electric shock items and armor and distributed them to the guild members. The guild does not prepare items for mercenaries. The mercenaries took out their own anti-electric shock items and equipped them on their shoulders, forearms, and knees. Unlike the F-rank guild members who had serious expressions, the mercenaries looked like they were dying of annoyance.

Seo Hwa also found the low-grade anti-electric shock items that were just collecting dust in his inventory and put them on.

“Has everyone set their skill usage message exposure on? You must also expose your unique skills for the evaluation.”

“Yeees.”

“Hunter Lee Yuje?”

“That’s a given, of course.”

If an awakened person sets the skill usage message exposure item in the system settings to ON, others can receive a notification when they use a skill. If it is set to OFF, others will not receive a message about whether they used a skill or not. Of course, it is not as if there is no way to receive notifications at all. There are plenty of ways if one uses items or skills.

‘I should only use piercing magic.’

If he used a natural ability instead of a skill, the opponent would not receive a notification no matter what they did.

Seo Hwa decided to use only one piercing magic skill to appeal that he was an ordinary C-rank mercenary.

6:30 AM. Even though it was time to enter, Kim Biyul did not open the gate. He looked at his wristwatch and frowned.

“One person is late. Everyone, please wait while stretching or meditating.”

“Weren’t there seven of us?”

“A member was urgently added yesterday. You will be surprised when you see his face.”

His tone held a lighthearted amusement that was unlike him. Seo Hwa thought it must be an F-rank guild member who had not done his homework yet and dismissed it as nothing important.

And when the last member arrived, he nearly fainted while standing.

“Hello. I’m a bit late. It’s been a while since I’ve been in a Grade 2 dungeon, so please take care of me.”

The latecomer waving his hand cheerfully was none other than Cho Wookwon.

[You have entered the dungeon.

The party leader is closing the gate.

Time Limit: 110 hours 40 minutes 39 seconds

Dungeon Grade: Grade 2

Number of Entrants: 8 ←View Details

Failure Penalty: Dungeon Explosion]

[Grade 2 Party Dungeon Privilege:

1 Escape Stone

Please check your inventory!]

[The system understands your situation.

You have been registered as ‘Lee Yuje.’

Be careful not to violate your vow Ծ‸Ծ!]

Should I be thankful for this or not….

Seo Hwa dismissed the system window and followed the party members. He took the rear position. At the very front, of course, stood Cho Wookwon. Usually, a healer is protected in the middle of the party, but in an herb dungeon like this, he should be treated as an S-rank hunter rather than a healer.

‘This is a problem. I didn’t know Wookwon would come. Will I even be able to get hurt?’

Seo Hwa worried, and his concerns, as expected, came true.

Kuaaak!

When a flock of Fizzliks attacked.

“Ah, it’s been a really long time since I’ve been in a Grade 2 dungeon. Were they always this weak? Yigeon, even a mosquito would be trickier than this, you know?”

Without any need for the others to step in, Cho Wookwon annihilated them by himself.

Raiding a Grade 2 dungeon with an S-rank hunter who had even participated in a Grade 6 dungeon was a safer act than taking a walk in a neighborhood park. Cho Wookwon was a healer, and his skills were specialized in healing, but an S-rank hunter could easily take care of Grade 2 monsters with just their physical abilities, without even using skills.

For Seo Hwa, who needed to get hurt naturally and be hospitalized at the center, the appearance of an S-rank healer was an obstacle in many ways.

Moreover, it was suspicious that Cho Wookwon had joined this particular party, where he himself had entered while hiding his identity. This was absolutely not a dungeon for an S-rank healer like Cho Wookwon to join, so why?

‘There’s no choice. I’ll give up on this dungeon and wait for the next opportunity.’

Danbaek was a large guild that was assigned dozens of dungeons a day and was always looking for mercenaries. There would be plenty of opportunities.

However, on the other hand, a thought occurred to him.

……What if Gam Yigeon is really in critical condition?

What if he is looking for me in a life-threatening situation?

What if today was the last chance?

What if we can never meet again?

A bleak, cold wind crept up his spine and touched the back of his neck.

‘Let’s not give up and try somehow.’

Until three years ago, getting hurt was the easiest thing in the world, but now he was worried because it was hard to get hurt. Life was certainly something you had to live for a long time to see it all.

The end of the dungeon’s terrain came into view in just 30 minutes. In the final battleground, a flock of Fizzliks spread their hooks and charged.

Seo Hwa pretended not to notice the presence of the Fizzlik approaching from behind him and focused on the monster in front. What are you doing? Hurry up and scratch my back. Not with your wing hooks, but with your claws.

The Fizzlik’s claws contained poison. A simple wound would be healed instantly by an S-rank healer, so he absolutely had to be poisoned. The only abnormal status that a healer cannot heal instantly is the poisoned state. If one enters a poisoned state, they must be hospitalized at the center and periodically take an alchemist’s potion.

Kuaaak!

Good. Hurry up and rip apart this defenseless back.

Kwaang!

At that moment, there was a sound like something heavy was crashing down. When Seo Hwa looked back, a pure white marble wall was embedded behind him. Beneath it, the corpse of the Fizzlik that had been trying to approach Seo Hwa, crushed to death by the wall, was visible. Cho Wookwon sent a Fizzlik’s head flying with a punch and shouted.

“Hey, mercenary hyung-nim over there, be careful. You just owe me one life now!”

“…Thank you.”

The shield skill Cho Wookwon had acquired upon rising to S-rank, ❮Marvelous Marble❯.

It summons a marvelous and sacred marble wall engraved with the noble crest of the system to protect the target from monsters.

Just now, Cho Wookwon did not simply protect him, but used the protective wall, a shield, to sever the monster. It was an application of the shield.

Seo Hwa let out a deep sigh.

Why is he so good? Who raised him?

Of course, it was me. I raised him. I am truly proud. He grew up so well that I am now in a bit of a predicament….