"Kaaaaaah!"
Blue flames erupted around Eun Sangmin, who had been confidently leading the way. The Energy Protect device on his shoulder flickered incessantly.
Suddenly, without warning, flames engulfed Eun Sangmin's body. He screamed and rolled frantically on the ground. The Energy Protect only absorbed the damage; the pain was entirely his.
"Aaaaaaaah!"
Han Harin and I rushed toward Eun Sangmin in shock. I hastily tore off my shirt and tried to smother the flames as he writhed on the ground. But the flames wouldn't extinguish. Their blue hue suggested they were no ordinary fire.
"Damn it! There's no water here! Senior Sangmin, are you okay?!"
"Aaaah! Aaaah!"
"There has to be a way... Senior Sangmin! Mana Release! Use your mana to extinguish the flames!"
My plan was to force an explosion of mana within my body to extinguish the blue flames. Even if they weren't ordinary flames, I believed mana could handle it.
"Kuaaaaaah!"
But Eun Sangmin was in a panic, barely able to hear me. Overwhelmed by the agony of his burning body, he was completely out of his mind.
"Senior Harin! Can't you use gravity to extinguish the flames?!"
"Impossible! These aren't ordinary flames. If gravity could put them out, they would have been extinguished long ago!"
"Haaaaaaah!"
Eun Sangmin roared, channeling his mana. The blue flames flickered briefly, then surged back to life.
"Give up. Your mana releases can't extinguish the Inferno."
I turned toward the voice. Three figures emerged from behind the trees: two men and a woman.
One man wielded a spear, while the yellow-haired woman carried a bow. My gaze locked onto the man in the center.
He wore a black coat and held no visible weapon. His dark hair framed an impassive face as he stared at us.
It's Kang Seoksu!
Kang Seoksu. A C-Rank Hunter and Magician.
I knew about him because the newspapers and TV had excessively hyped him up as the Republic of Korea's greatest genius magician a few years ago.
That bastard wasn't even here on the summons day.
Come to think of it, there was no rule requiring mandatory attendance on the summons day.
"It's over," Kang Seoksu said.
I quickly glanced at Eun Sangmin.
The blue flames clinging to Eun Sangmin's body had vanished, and the Energy Protect device on his shoulder had shifted from blue to red, confirming his elimination.
"We'll take the eliminated participants now," an Association staff member who had been observing the situation said, helping Eun Sangmin to his feet. Though Eun Sangmin was physically unharmed, he was breathing heavily.
"Fuck..." Eun Sangmin muttered under his breath as he was led away, his voice clear despite the distance.
Whoosh!
An arrow flew toward me. I swiftly drew my sword and deflected it, then glared at the woman who had fired it.
She had yellow hair, likely not dyed but changed due to her awakening.
With a B-cup bust and a slender, athletic build, she was undeniably attractive, though not quite as stunning as Han Harin.
"You'll be eliminated just like that man," Kang Seoksu declared, waving his right hand. A magical light circle appeared before him, and a sharp, watermelon-sized rock hurtled forward at high speed.
"I'll block it," I said, refusing to dodge. Han Harin's voice had reached me the moment the magic circle formed.
A translucent gravity shield materialized in front of me. The rock slammed into it, shattering into fragments that rained down on the ground.
"You... you're Han Ahyeong's younger sister, aren't you?"
Kang Seoksu recognized Han Harin. This wasn't surprising; Han Ahyeong was a Hunter so famous that nearly every Korean knew her name.
"But you're pathetically weak compared to Han Ahyeong."
"..."
Han Harin glared silently at Kang Seoksu and hurled a Gravity Orb. The transparent magical barrier surrounding him blocked the orb. Though the barrier shattered, the Gravity Orb vanished as well.
"Hmm. Is this all you've got?"
Mana erupted from Kang Seoksu's body, causing his coat to billow violently. He was clearly preparing to unleash a powerful spell.
The sheer force of his Mana Sense dwarfed that of Eun Sangmin, who had barely scraped by as a C-Rank Hunter.
Damn. The pressure is overwhelming. I was waiting for an opening to use Blink... Should I use it now?
I gauged the distance.
Blink could close the gap in an instant. And if I used it consecutively to attack... it might work.
Just as I was about to move, a whirring sound came from the sky. Kang Seoksu and I both looked up.
A drone was delivering white food crates. It wasn't heading our way, but toward a spot a little further off.
"Not here, then," Kang Seoksu clicked his tongue.
"Getting the food takes priority. You guys are lucky." Kang Seoksu said to us.
My eyes twitched. I hated his attitude, as if he could kill us whenever he pleased.
"You've got a serious case of Chuunibyou. Aren't you 24? At that age, Chuunibyou is practically a mental illness."
"Cheap provocation."
"Next to you..."
I started to speak but stopped myself.
I wanted to ask if the Yellow Bitch beside him could still talk like that after I'd fucked her, but I held back.
It's a broadcast. A broadcast. I need to stay calm.
Even if it got edited out of the recording, there were too many people here for word not to spread. I had to watch my actions and words, making sure not to cross the final line.
"Brother Seoksu, shouldn't we abandon the food and deal with them here? Those two look dangerous to me."
The man with the spear asked Kang Seoksu.
"We can handle them anytime. Right now, securing the food and maintaining our condition is more important. This forest doesn't have as much to eat as you think."
They turned their backs on me.
Crack.
Manroe appeared before me. Thunderbolt rotated in a swastika pattern, concentrating power at its center.
"A lightning user...!" Kang Seoksu hastily deployed a magical barrier.
Kwarrrrrumble!
Lightning erupted from the center of Manroe. It wasn't aimed at Kang Seoksu, but at a slightly higher angle. The azure bolt streaked skyward.
The lightning struck the drone and food crates with pinpoint accuracy. The drone shattered, and the food crates splintered into fragments that rained down on the ground.
"You bastard! The food...!"
"Heh heh. If I have to starve, so do you."
If I can't have it, I'll destroy it.
If I can't succeed, neither can you.
That's who I am.
The prince of hypocrisy.
Yours is mine. Mine is mine.
"...If getting eliminated right now is your wish, I'll grant it."
Kang Seoksu's coat billowed once more.
"Brother Seoksu! Twelve Hunters are heading this way! They must have seen the food exploding from the lightning."
"...Tch."
"Hey, what's wrong? Not going to fight?"
The yellow-haired woman, who had been drawing her bow, tilted her head in confusion.
"If twelve Hunters converge here, the chances of them targeting me first are high."
Kang Seoksu was a celebrity. The Hunters would naturally recognize his danger and try to eliminate him first.
"It's only the first day of Dungeon Survival. There's no need to show all my cards on day one."
"Ugh, how boring."
Kang Seoksu's team turned and began to retreat.
I kicked a fallen arrow off the ground, sending it spinning into the air. Catching it with my right hand, I channeled Mana to charge it to its limit.
Thunderbolt.
Crackling.
Confirming the azure Thunderbolt coalescing at the arrowhead, I hurled it at the back of the yellow-haired woman's head.
"Sister Jungmi!"
Kang Seoksu moved, snatching the arrow I had thrown out of the air.
I noticed the Energy Protect on his shoulder flickering, indicating he had taken damage.
Kang Seoksu glared fiercely at me before disappearing.
Even when I shot Manroe earlier, his reaction was a bit slow. Apart from his magic, he doesn't seem as formidable as I thought.
What worried me was the man with the spear. I suspected he was a sensory-type ability user, a true treasure in this situation.
With such an ability, he could locate monsters or uncover hidden resources, allowing him to sweep up Survival Points.
The real contenders for victory were Kang Seoksu's team.
Was Kang Seoksu's ability sensory amplification?
True to its name, this ability temporarily amplifies all senses to their peak. From what I remember, it enhances not only the five physical senses but also the Mana Sense. This ability was one of the reasons Kang Seoksu was hailed as a genius magician.
If two conditions are met, I can face Kang Seoksu alone.
First, Kang Seoksu must be in a state where he isn't using his ability. Second, I must be able to get close to him.
If I use the Momentary Flash, I can win.
Meeting these conditions is incredibly difficult. The first condition might seem easy, but as long as he has a detection specialist by his side, approaching him undetected is nearly impossible.
"Yujin-ah, look here."
"..."
I followed Han Harin's gaze to the ground. Cleverly concealed beneath fallen leaves, a crimson magic circle was etched between the foliage. The circle was drawn using monster blood.
"Inferno is an advanced spell. Even someone like him couldn't cast it instantly. Senior Sangmin fell into a magical trap."
"...Looks like we'll have to watch our step from now on. Let's go, Senior. I overheard them saying they're gathering here, so we need to escape quickly."
Han Harin and I fled the scene together.
"Yes! The first elimination has been decided! Engulfed in blue flames, he's screaming in terror. But thanks to Energy Protect, his body remains unharmed."
Main MC Jo Seok-hu forced a bitter smile after speaking. Though he tried to sound upbeat, the sight of Eun Sangmin's desperate screams filled him with dread. This scene would likely be heavily edited.
"Mr. Hong Su-won, what are your thoughts?"
Hong Su-won, an executive of Bluebird, one of the Republic of Korea's top ten guilds, stared intently at the screen.
"It's a magical trap. If you look closely at the ground, you can see it's hidden."
"Ah, the footage is coming up. He's drawing a magic circle on the ground using the monster blood he collected earlier."
"As expected of Hunter Kang Seoksu. Inferno is a spell even skilled magicians struggle to cast. And the fact that he drew the circle here means he perfectly predicted his opponent would come this way. Truly remarkable. Every time I see him, I'm amazed."
Baek Ji-eun clicked her tongue inwardly.
Hong Su-won had been showering Kang Seoksu with praise since the beginning.
You're so transparent, Uncle.
Kang Seoksu currently belonged to no guild. Hong Su-won had undoubtedly come here to scout him. Someone of Kang Seoksu's caliber would naturally attract such subtle recruitment efforts, starting with these minor gestures.
The screen then showed the Kang Seoksu Team and the Sung Yujin Team beginning to clash.
If Yujin falls, I'll have to comfort him.
Even she could see that Sung Yujin's team had virtually no chance of winning a direct confrontation against Kang Seoksu's team.
However, the situation didn't unfold as expected.
"Ah! They're retreating!"
"Hunter Kang Seoksu has judged that securing food is more important. He's looking to the future, not just the present."
"Wait! Hunter Sung Yujin is firing lightning to destroy the food! The lightning is both powerful and spectacular!"
"...Better to destroy it than let the enemy have it. A sound decision. But was it really necessary...?" Hong Su-won said, his tone lukewarm. From his perspective, he wanted Kang Seoksu to be flawless.
Baek Ji-eun, who had been silently observing the situation, finally spoke up when Sung Yujin appeared.
"Hunter Sung Yujin made the right call. It's better to burn the supplies than let them fall into enemy hands."
"...Hmm. You're right about that."
Kang Seoksu's team turned to retreat.
Sung Yujin gripped an arrow and hurled it with all his might at their retreating backs. The attack failed when Kang Seoksu raised his hand to block it.
"W-what?! How dare you attack us from behind like a coward!"
"Cowardly? The one who showed their back is at fault. Do you think the saying 'never turn your back on a beast' exists for no reason? A Hunter should never expose their back to an enemy."
"..."
Hong Su-won glared at Baek Ji-eun, but she didn't flinch. Hong Su-won might be an A-Rank Hunter from a massive Guild, but Baek Ji-eun was an A-Rank Hunter from the Hunter Association. She had no reason to back down.
"Why? If you've got a problem, try doing it yourself."
Despite her combative inner thoughts, she wore a pure and delicate smile on her face.
Rest Area
Hunters were allowed to use the Rest Area once per day for one hour, starting at midnight. Combat was strictly prohibited here, and there were no cameras inside. The facilities included restrooms, showers, and laundry. Exceeding the one-hour limit resulted in penalties.
The Rest Area we discovered at 10 PM was a luxurious two-story cabin.
"Senior, let's rest here."
We had arrived safely, though later than expected.
"I actually knew roughly where this place was."
Before participating in Dungeon Survival, I had contacted Baek Ji-eun to gather some information about this dungeon. That's what connections are for.
"Even if nothing else, being able to shower here is a plus."
"Yes, exactly."
I grinned slyly and opened the cabin's front door.
My face instantly contorted in shock.
Inside the cabin, sitting on the sofa, was Kang Seoksu. He stared at me in surprise before curling up one corner of his mouth into a smirk.