Breaking Up with the #1 S-Class

I worked as an A-class hunter in the past, and naturally, this isn’t my first time running a raid.

Before retirement, I would run raids not just once, but sometimes even twice a day.

So of course, I know as much as others about large gates and raids.

Large gate.

Unlike single-person, small, and medium gates, the interior of large gates is often much bigger than expected.

Basically, they’re the size of a village, and some gates can be as large as a city.

It’s said that extremely large gates can be the size of a country.

In that respect, the gate we entered now was quite small.

The inside of the gate was like a dark, gloomy mine.

It was merely the size of an amusement park at most.

So I expected to conquer it quickly, but that seems difficult.

Although it’s not wide, it’s twisted like a maze in all directions, making it more challenging than even wider gates like plains.

“They said it wasn’t very large, but it feels larger than I thought.”

“Yes. It’s probably because it’s twisted like a maze.”

“We seem to have dealt with most of the mobs, but there’s no sign of the boss…”

Park Jin-soo’s complaints continued.

It seems he’s quite tired since we’ve been exploring the gate for hours without progress.

Additionally, since it’s a mine, the air is stale, which increases physical exhaustion even more.

But unlike Park Jin-soo, I wasn’t tired at all.

It was because of the Hero skill.

“By the way, aren’t you tired, Si-woo? You seem even healthier than before.”

“Haha… I just have good stamina by nature.”

“You’re really different from me.”

Park Jin-soo looked at me and once again spoke as if I were amazing, and I could only smile shyly at his burdensome compliment.

“By the way, are you no longer nervous?”

“Yes. After killing a few mobs. I became fine before I knew it.”

“I told you it was nothing, right?”

“Ahaha. That’s true.”

This time, I asked Park Jin-soo, and Park Jin-soo made an expression as if he was fine.

He looked a bit more tired than before, but it was much better to see than trembling excessively from nervousness.

And anyway, the gate exploration is almost over.

One way or another, we’ll soon meet the boss.

“Young folks. Shh.”

It seems that moment has come. Kim Jong-pal raised a finger towards us as we were chatting.

“Wow… It’s huge. Is that the boss?”

“Yes, that’s right. The boss is [Iron Mole].”

And we were able to meet the long-awaited boss mob.

A massive, armored beast in the form of a giant mole, with a danger rank of B, [Iron Mole].

“… Can we do this well?”

“Don’t worry. You just need to do proper damage dealing.”

Seeing the beast the size of a house, Park Jin-soo broke into a cold sweat.

Kim Jong-pal told Park Jin-soo that there was no need to worry.

And I agreed with that statement.

We are a raid group of 10 people with proper composition.

We’re not so weak that we can’t conquer a B-class dimensional creature. We should be able to handle it easily.

“Well then, prepare and go to your positions.”

While the boss was still sleeping, the party members moved in unison at Kim Jong-pal’s words.

“First, hunters who can apply CC. Calmly restrict its actions.”

First, 3 agents who could apply crowd control (CC) placed bindings on the sleeping Iron Mole.

“Tanks forward.”

And 2 tanks blocked the Iron Mole that was suddenly startled and rampaging.

“Healers, don’t take your eyes off the tanks.”

A healer treated a tank 1 who was injured in the process.

“Young folks, please attack with me whenever you see an opening.”

Then, me, Park Jin-soo, and 2 attackers chipped away at the Iron Mole’s health.

After about 10 minutes passed like that, we continued several exchanges with the boss, and.

“Kieeeeeek!!!”

The Iron Mole was finally conquered.

“Whew. Si-woo. We did it.”

“I told you it was nothing, right?”

After 10 minutes of intense fighting, Park Jin-soo sat down on the spot.

I smiled at Park Jin-soo and threw him a water bottle.

“Hahaha. It really is. But still, I’m a bit tired. I want to go rest quickly.”

“Let’s get a drink after this is over.”

“Of course, Si-woo.”

Park Jin-soo drank the water bottle cleanly and smiled proudly.

Since it’s his first raid, he seemed to have a special feeling after clearing it.

Every hunter has their first raid. I also understand Park Jin-soo’s feelings.

“Young folks, you worked hard. This is the fairly divided magic stone.”

While we were sharing in the afterglow of victory, Kim Jong-pal approached us.

And he handed us the magic stones that came from defeating the boss.

Out of the total 1 billion won worth of magic stones from the beast,

What he gave us was 200 million won worth of magic stones.

“Haha. Thank you. Uncle Jong-pal also worked hard. Then we’ll be going now.”

Park Jin-soo received it and expressed his gratitude to Kim Jong-pal.

Then he stood up and was about to leave.

Since the raid was over, our job was done.

“Young folks. It’s too early to leave.”

“Pardon? Why?”

But Kim Jong-pal blocked Park Jin-soo.

“Because the raid isn’t over yet.”

“What? We already killed the boss. What do you mean…”

Park Jin-soo was puzzled by Kim Jong-pal’s words.

The raid should have been completed, so he didn’t understand why Kim Jong-pal was saying such things.

“Kuhak…”

During his momentary confusion, Kim Jong-pal stabbed a dagger into Park Jin-soo’s abdomen.

“The real raid starts now.”

Kim Jong-pal’s expression became cold.

“Why… why are you doing this?”

“Why do you think?”

“N-No way…?”

“Your guess is correct.”

Park Jin-soo still seemed unable to grasp the situation, but seeing Kim Jong-pal’s cold attitude, he seemed to be figuring it out.

Park Jin-soo’s expression was increasingly tinged with fear.

Park Jin-soo had also noticed. That these people were hunters who hunt people.

“Ugh… Aaaah…”

And soon, Park Jin-soo fled into the gate in terror.

“What? Didn’t you apply paralytic poison to your dagger? I’m sure I told you to apply it thoroughly.”

“Brother Jong-pal. It’s a misunderstanding. I definitely applied paralytic poison, but it seems that guy has immunity to it.”

“Haah. I see… Sigh. Playing tag at this age, what a hassle.”

Kim Jong-pal and his party members sighed as they watched Park Jin-soo flee.

They hadn’t expected Park Jin-soo to be immune to paralytic poison and escape.

“But brother. No matter how I look at it, he doesn’t seem like much. Is he really worth hunting?”

“Despite appearances, he’s a guild master. Plus, I heard his sister is a hunter with considerable talent, so the VIP wants him. We’re just doing what the request tells us to do.”

Kim Jong-pal and his subordinate continued their conversation indifferently.

As if I wasn’t even in their consideration, they continued talking among themselves.

“By the way, don’t you like playing tag? I find it strange that you’re not running away.”

And after talking for a while, he looked at me and spoke.

It seems he found it strange that I wasn’t running away.

“I don’t like playing tag.”

I had observed this entire situation.

I could also understand what this situation was.

Looking at Kim Jong-pal, I couldn’t help but sigh. As expected, Kim Jong-pal was that kind of person.

I had sensed something from the contract, and I had hoped my intuition was wrong, but as expected, ominous intuitions are never wrong.

“Haah… So you were that kind of person after all.”

“Yes. I am that kind of person.”

Kim Jong-pal’s prey from the beginning was us.

“I have a question, judging from your command skills, it seems you’ve been leading raids for a long time, so why do you do this kind of work? The income shouldn’t be bad.”

I asked Kim Jong-pal why he was doing this kind of work.

I had observed Kim Jong-pal’s raid leadership, albeit briefly.

Of course, he’s far from the people I know, but nevertheless, he had the skills to lead a B-class raid group.

His income must not be bad. But there must be a clear reason why Kim Jong-pal is doing this.

“Young man. I’m sorry, but my wife is bedridden… If she’s not treated quickly, she might die.”

Kim Jong-pal looked at me for a moment and made a bitter expression.

“It’s not just me. Everyone here has their own stories.”

And Kim Jong-pal pointed to the party members behind him as he spoke.

Kim Jong-pal’s party members also had sad expressions.

“I feel sorry, but I won’t apologize.”

Kim Jong-pal looked at me. And he drew his sword. It was a clear hostile action.

‘Is there no villain without a story?’

It seems these people are fighting to protect their precious ones.

Although their methods are rough, it seems they have something to protect.

But that’s the same for me.

“I’m the one who’s sorry. If I die, my sister will be sad.”

I also have something I absolutely cannot yield.

I absolutely cannot die before my sister Si-eun.

So I also drew my sword.

“Kill him.”

A battle where neither side can back down is about to begin.