Chapter 57 – King Nutria Dungeon

He didn’t even cast any magic.

He just applied two buffs to his sword.

‘This is insane?’

Though surprised by the increased damage, it made sense.

His weapon was A-rank, and his current magic power was approaching 1,400.

‘This is great.’

Anything that allows for faster hunting is welcome.

‘Au, remember the one we just took down?’

[Woof!]

‘Track similar scents to that one.’

[The summon has used tracking skill.]

[The summon has memorized the scent.]

[Real-time location detection activated.]

Using the tracking skill on monsters instead of humans brought up new notifications.

[Multiple targets detected.]

[Distance to nearest target: 42m]

‘This tracking skill is convenient.’

Now there was no need to waste steps looking for monsters.

He just needed to go straight in the direction the skill indicated.

Of course, he wasn’t planning to hunt them one by one.

‘Au, hit them once each and herd them towards me. About 20 of them. You’re faster than them, so you should be able to herd them without getting hurt.’

[Woof!]

As the ghost wolf received the order and ran through the air, Min Do-jun moved.

‘While Au herds them, I’ll hunt separately.’

Min Do-jun hunted King Nutrias following the tracking skill.

Slash-!

Boom-!

With the buffs applied, the damage was so high it was a one-hit kill.

After hunting about twenty of them…

Thump-thump-thump-thump!

The ground shook as if there was an earthquake.

And the sound was getting closer.

Au had herded exactly twenty monsters.

[Woof woof!]

‘Good job, Au! Leave it to me now.’

After giving a light praise, Min Do-jun smiled and charged forward.

He dove straight into the group of approaching Nutrias without any fear.

To him, who could kill them in one hit, they were just experience point bundles.

Slash! Slash!

Boom- Boom-!

Whoosh-! Bang!

A massacre unfolded.

He quickly dispatched them using magic as well.

[Experience +8,400]

[Experience +8,400]

[Experience +8,400]

Each Nutria he cut turned into smoke.

It took less than 30 seconds to clear all twenty.

‘Hehe, at this rate, reaching level 1,000 won’t take long.’

The dungeon’s clear objective was 200 King Nutrias.

He had killed 40 in just over 10 minutes, so he could clear it within an hour.

Min Do-jun didn’t hide his joy as he started herding hunting again.

---

Park Dong-yun, who had been waiting in the car, reclined in his seat.

He planned to take a nap while Min Do-jun was hunting.

‘It’ll probably take him some time to kill 200, right?’

It took about 3 hours when hunting 200 Red-beaked Ancestor Birds.

He thought this would probably be cleared at a similar pace.

So he set an alarm and closed his eyes, but…

Knock knock-

He startled awake at the sound of someone tapping on the car window.

“Huh? H-Hunter Min Do-jun?”

“You must have been tired.”

Min Do-jun grinned as he got into the back seat.

“Ah, I’m sorry. I definitely set an alarm but it must not have…”

Park Dong-yun’s eyes widened as he checked the time.

“What? You’re already done when it hasn’t even been an hour since you went in?”

“Yes. Finished early. Please find the next dungeon right away.”

“Wow… Understood.”

Park Dong-yun tapped on his tablet with a dazed expression.

“Um…? Since you came out so quickly, there aren’t any empty spots. What should we do?”

“Can’t be helped. We’ll have to join a party.”

“Understood. I’ll guide you to the nearest available one then.”

The two headed to their next location.

---

At the entrance of the King Nutria dungeon located on Cheonma Mountain.

Three hunters and one manager were smoking cigarettes while waiting for their turn.

“Manager, how much longer?”

“Just 10 more minutes and they’ll be out.”

“Some people really use the full 6-hour time limit?”

“Those bstrds. Just how weak are they…”

“We can clear it with just three people, tsk tsk.”

They were a B-rank hunter team from the mid-tier Dawn Guild, famous within the guild for their teamwork.

Because of this, dungeons meant for four people could be cleared sufficiently with just three.

The King Nutria dungeon was one such place.

“What was our record yesterday?”

“4 hours and 33 minutes.”

“Should we try to cut it down to under 4 hours this time?”

“Hehe, Manager, what will you treat us to if we come out within 4 hours?”

“Treat you to what? Just hunt safely like usual without pushing yourselves.”

“Tch, how boring.”

The grumbling hunters put out their cigarettes and prepared to enter.

“Are we hunting with just three people today too?”

“Looking at the 5 minutes left, seems like it?”

“Alright, let’s set another record just among oursel…”

At that moment, a vehicle approached the entrance, and the hunters’ expressions darkened.

“Ah… looks like someone’s coming.”

“Damn, having another person will just get in our way.”

“There goes our record attempt.”

The coordinator got out of the car and approached with a hunter.

“Hello. I’m Park Dong-yun from the Ilsan branch. We’re here to join your party, and this is our hunter.”

“I’m Min Do-jun.”

The hunters merely nodded halfheartedly at Min Do-jun’s greeting.

Their eyes looked at him like an unwelcome guest.

As usual, the manager spoke on behalf of the guild members.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Oh Sang-min, manager of Dawn Guild, and these are our guild members. Let me introduce them – Hunter Kim Seung-hyun is level 1,001, a sword warrior and tanker, and Hunter Lee Dong-woo here is…”

It was just talk about levels and positions, but Min Do-jun wasn’t really listening.

‘What rude guys.’

Even A-rank hunters introduce themselves personally.

That was the minimum courtesy maintained in the hunter industry.

But giving a half-hearted greeting and leaving introductions to the manager was nothing short of disrespecting the other party.

“…that’s all. What about your hunter?”

“Ah, our hunter is…”

“Level 783. Magic Swordsman, melee dealer.”

Min Do-jun answered briefly and simply.

However, the impact wasn’t small.

“Magic Swordsman? Was there such a job?”

“Yeah. It’s trash that needs to split points between strength and magic…”

The hunters thought they were speaking quietly, but he heard everything.

Still, Min Do-jun showed no particular reaction.

If he hadn’t known about Magic Swordsmen before, he would have had a negative reaction too.

Just then, the time limit expired, and four hunters walked out of the dungeon.

“Ah, we just needed two more…”

Apparently, they couldn’t kill all 200 within the time limit.

“Shall we go in now?”

The guild members headed toward the dungeon.

Min Do-jun silently followed them.

[Cheonma Mountain King Nutria Dungeon]
-Difficulty: B
-Player Limit: 4
-Entry Requirement: Level 750+
-Objective: Eliminate 200 King Nutrias
-Failure Penalty: Random destruction of 1 item
-Time Limit: 6 hours
-Time until dungeon break: 51 hours 21 minutes 33 seconds

While equipping gear before entering, one guild member spoke.

“You said you’re Min Do-jun, right? The three of us have been working together for quite a while. We were originally planning to go in just by ourselves.”

‘So what are you trying to say?’

That I’ll be a hindrance, is that it?

Min Do-jun quietly listened.

“Since you’re also the lowest level, please follow our instructions as much as possible. Don’t try to act on your own and create dangerous situations. That’s all you need to do if you want to party with us.”

“…”

They weren’t asking for his opinion.

It was just a notification to follow their orders.

Min Do-jun was too dumbfounded to respond.

After everyone finished equipping their gear and preparations were complete.

“Let’s go in.”

The four people entered the portal.

---

King Nutrias are not easy monsters.

A clear example was how some people couldn’t clear it even using the full time limit, right?

But the guild members who entered the dungeon showed no signs of tension.

Except for Min Do-jun, the three had been training here and working on their coordination.

‘Can that guy do well?’

That was the thought the three shared as they looked at Min Do-jun.

Their teamwork had been finely tuned, and they worried Min Do-jun might ruin it.

They kept glancing at him with concern.

But their worries were unnecessary.

“I’ll move separately. You three continue hunting as you’ve been doing.”

“What? You’re going to move alone?”

“Yes. Well then.”

The guild members let out a sigh as Min Do-jun disappeared before they could stop him.

“What kind of person…”

“He’s obviously planning to slack off.”

They didn’t think Min Do-jun would actually hunt alone.

They assumed he would just go somewhere to avoid work.

After all, it made no sense that a hunter with a lower level could solo kill King Nutrias that even they needed to work together to defeat.

“This is better actually. I was worried he’d mess up our hunting.”

“I really don’t understand what he’s thinking. If he was going to slack off, why even come in here?”

“Leave him be. He probably got scared once we came in. Let’s hunt together as planned.”

The guild members moved as a group, not caring whether Min Do-jun lived or died.

“Enemy spotted!”

Thump- Thump-

A King Nutria with a massive boulder-like body looked their way.

Thump- Thump- Thump- Thump-!

It began charging recklessly.

“Get ready!”

They each took their positions smoothly with weapons drawn.

Their training had taught their bodies how to handle this.

Kyuaaang!

Just before colliding with the Nutria.

Whoosh-

Tank Kim Seung-hyun dodged while slashing at its ankle.

Swish-

[Applied Mark of Aggro.]

[King Nutria will focus only on Hunter Kim Seung-hyun for a while.]

When the aggro confirmation notification appeared, the remaining two people stuck to the Nutria.

“Die!”

“You monster rat!”

While Kim Seung-hyun held aggro, the guild members focused attacks on its legs.

They aimed to prevent it from moving even after the aggro wore off.

Kyuuung!

While they were attacking enthusiastically.

“Aggro’s gone!”

At the tank’s shout, the two people nimbly jumped back.

The tank drew its attention until the cooldown reset.

Then.

[Applied Mark of Aggro.]

When the mark was applied, the two would stick close again and pour out all their damage.

After such an intense battle.

Kuung!

The King Nutria’s eyes rolled back as it collapsed.

[Experience +672] (24% contribution)
[Experience +1,204] (43% contribution)
[Experience +924] (33% contribution)

They split the 2,800 experience points between the three of them.

Tank Kim Seung-hyun said energetically.

“Good. Let’s keep going like this.”

“Wait. Are we really going to continue just us? Shouldn’t we go look for that Min Do-jun person?”

“Leave him. Who cares if that bstrd dies.”

“No, I’m not worried about him, but it’ll be awkward if there’s a death…”

“Don’t worry about it. If he values his life, he’ll join us on his own.”

The three continued hunting while excluding Min Do-jun.

“Whew, let’s rest a bit before continuing.”

Managing stamina was important for this long race of killing 200 monsters.

After about an hour of alternating between rest and hunting.

“Huh? What’s this?”

“What?”

“Everyone check the progress window.”

The guild members who happened to open the progress window noticed something strange.

-Progress: King Nutria 190/200
-Time Remaining: 4 hours 59 minutes 19 seconds

“It says we’ve killed 190, is it just me?”

“No, mine shows the same.”

“Didn’t we only kill about 40?”

“Where did the other 150 come from?”

Just as they thought it might be a system error.

“Oh? It went up by one.”

“That means…”

They remembered the presence they’d forgotten while focusing on hunting.

“The Magic Swordsman, that guy?”

“Impossible! He killed over 150 alone while we killed 40?”

It was incomprehensible.

Even hunting King Nutrias alone, it shouldn’t be possible to kill them this quickly.

And faster than three people working together.

“Surely it must be an error…”

But as if to deny those words, after about 3 minutes, the clear notification appeared.

[Dungeon cleared successfully!]

[Dungeon break time has been reset to 120 hours!]

“It wasn’t an error?”

“…”

The three people with dumbfounded expressions were enveloped in light and exited the dungeon shortly after.