Chapter 63: To the Snowfield (8)
“Hunter Min Sa-hyeok-nim!!”
“We’re alive……!”
Cheers of relief and excitement erupted from the raid members.
Sa-hyeok raised his hand to calm the situation and spoke.
“Let’s assess the situation first. Identify and classify the dead, seriously injured, and lightly injured. Those who are relatively unharmed, please administer first aid and then begin self-maintenance.”
The words of the person who had single-handedly dispelled the crisis of total annihilation carried significant weight.
All members began to move in unison according to Sa-hyeok’s instructions.
Even Ui-jun, the raid leader.
Soon, the tally of the damage was complete.
3 dead.
4 seriously injured.
9 lightly injured.
The joy of survival was short-lived.
As the damage was confirmed and the bodies of the deceased were recovered, the atmosphere grew heavy.
After closing the eyes of the dead, Sa-hyeok began a discussion with Ui-jun.
It was about how they would proceed from now on.
Ui-jun spoke first.
“We have to end the raid here, right?”
“We have to. The damage is too great. Let’s just extract the magic stones from the Snowmen and quickly return to the gate.”
“Understood.”
As Sa-hyeok pulled out his dissection knife, the other Hunters followed suit.
Sa-hyeok gathered the Snowman corpses with his telekinesis, and the raid members quickly extracted the magic stones.
As the collection of magic stones came to an end, Sa-hyeok called Bang-ul-i.
“From what I’ve heard, the damage would have been worse if it weren’t for you. Good work.”
[These people are the ones who did the hard work.]
“Then do a little more hard work. Recombine the Silver Boxes and make some snowmobiles.”
[Those are practically scrap now……?]
“You’ll find something if you look. Just try it.”
[Yes, sir.]
Bang-ul-i managed to salvage some of the intact parts and barely succeeded in creating a snowmobile and a trunk.
Ui-jun’s eyes widened as he watched the Silver Box transform into a snowmobile at will.
“Uh…… I’m sure the control pad was broken……?”
Ui-jun’s eyes soon turned to the drone where Bang-ul-i was.
It seemed as if the Silver Box was moving according to the drone’s control.
He was right.
“What is that drone……? I didn’t see it when we entered the dungeon.”
“It’s my drone.”
Sa-hyeok answered from behind.
“It’s a smart drone equipped with artificial intelligence developed by Kwonmu-mun.”
[What are you talking about? It’s not artificial intelligence, it’s just intelligence, Hyung-nim.]
Sa-hyeok just said whatever came to mind.
Because no one would believe him if he honestly told them about Bang-ul-i’s true identity.
Well, and in the first place, Sa-hyeok didn’t know Bang-ul-i’s exact identity yet.
……Even Bang-ul-i himself didn’t know.
Ui-jun asked.
“Then the Silver Box transforming into a robot and fighting earlier was also……”
“Probably the drone’s own judgment.”
Ui-jun was once again horrified as he looked at Bang-ul-i and the drone.
‘How many layers of security programs are in the Silver Box software, and a single artificial intelligence bypassed all of them and controlled the Silver Box……? When did Kwonmu-mun acquire this level of technology?!’
Ui-jun felt a chill down his spine.
Technology had advanced tremendously since the gate incident, but he had never heard of artificial intelligence of this level being developed.
‘……No matter what happens, I shouldn’t confront Kwonmu-mun.’
Meanwhile, the raid members were gathering the bodies into the trunk part of the snowmobile.
Seeing this, Sa-hyeok said to Bang-ul-i.
“You drive the snowmobile and return to the entrance with the raid members.”
[Understood.]
“Contact me immediately if anything happens on the way.”
[Wait a minute, Hyung-nim, aren’t you coming?!]
“No.”
Sa-hyeok turned to the raid members and spoke.
“Then, please return to the entrance as quickly as possible.”
“Huh?”
“The Snow Wolf pack has been eliminated, and I’ve killed all the Snow Black Eagles that were targeting us from above. Even the chicks.”
“Y-You killed all those flying monsters?!”
“Yes.”
What the hell did he do? The raid members exchanged glances.
“So now, if you just follow the same path back, there will be no further damage.”
At Sa-hyeok’s words, the raid members noticed something strange.
“Wait a minute, from what you’re saying, it sounds like Hunter Min-nim isn’t coming back with us……”
“Yes. I’ll stay in the dungeon.”
The pupils of all the raid members dilated in shock.
Stay in the dungeon alone?
In a 4-star dungeon, no less?
What the hell is he talking about?!
“Stay?! What are you going to do? Are you going to solo the raid?”
“It’s not a raid, it’s an investigation. I’ll finish investigating this dungeon and then leave.”
The raid members began to murmur.
One Hunter said.
“Hunter Min-nim, this is a 4-star dungeon. It’s too vast to conduct an investigation alone.”
“I’m not planning to investigate the entire snowfield. I’m just going to quickly check the spot where the Snow Wolf with the tracker disappeared and return.”
“Even so, the distance to the target location is considerable. Considering the severe weather and rough terrain, it’s a route that will take more than a full day……”
“It took me about 5 minutes to cover a distance of about 14km to get here. Speed is not a problem at all.”
“But……”
“Most importantly, three Hunters have died. If we just end here, the sacrifice of these three will be meaningless. We have to leave with tangible results once we’ve entered the dungeon.”
Sa-hyeok’s words left everyone speechless.
He was right.
This dungeon wasn’t a place where the raid party bought tickets to enter.
The guild leadership obtained the tickets, and they were dispatched here under the guild’s orders.
Therefore, if they retreated completely here, the guild would definitely organize another raid party to send in.
Moreover, what if that subsequent raid party succeeded in investigating and clearing the dungeon?
This raid party would be robbed of their credit.
It would lead to the worst possible outcome: making sacrifices and being robbed of the credit.
Then, one of the raid members questioned Sa-hyeok’s words.
“The sacrifices were great, that’s true. It’s also true that we need to produce results that match those sacrifices. But it’s equally important not to increase the sacrifices.”
“How could there be any more sacrifices?”
“Didn’t you say you’d stay in the dungeon alone, Hunter Min-nim? Considering the danger……”
“Do you think I’m going to die?”
It was a very short rebuttal, but the weight of those words was not light at all.
Considering the achievements Sa-hyeok had shown so far.
In fact, they vaguely felt it too.
That Sa-hyeok alone might be stronger than all of them combined.
Then, Ui-jun spoke.
“I agree with Hunter Min-nim’s opinion.”
“Raid Leader-nim?”
“Hunter Min-nim is stronger than all of us combined. It’s strange for us to be worried about him.”
“That’s true, but……”
“But at least I have to accompany Hunter Min-nim.”
This time, Sa-hyeok looked puzzled.
“You’re coming with me?”
“Yes.”
“Why……?”
“Didn’t Sa-hyeok-ssi say earlier? This isn’t a raid, it’s an investigation.”
“What do you mean……?”
“If Sa-hyeok-ssi conducts the investigation alone, how can the credibility of the results be verified?”
“Are you saying you don’t trust me?”
“I trust you. But it’s different outside the dungeon. Will Orang easily believe the results of an investigation conducted solely by a Hunter from Kwonmu-mun?”
“……!”
“Conversely, if I investigated alone, Kwonmu-mun would also be suspicious. That’s why I have to accompany Hunter Min-nim. To prove the credibility of the investigation results to both Kwonmu-mun and Orang.”
Just as important as the act of investigation is guaranteeing the credibility of its results.
It was an opinion that pointed out a point Sa-hyeok hadn’t considered.
Sa-hyeok nodded.
“Then only Hunter Park-nim will accompany me, and the rest of you, please return to the entrance.”
Thus, the raid party was divided into two.
Sa-hyeok and Ui-jun headed to the investigation site, and the rest towards the gate.
Ui-jun handed them the gate key and said.
“Don’t lock the gate from the outside after you open it. We’ll follow soon.”
“Yes! See you outside!”
After seeing off all the raid members.
Ui-jun said to Sa-hyeok.
“Then let’s move.”
“Let’s.”
Swoosh.
Sa-hyeok extended his right hand to Ui-jun.
Thinking it was a handshake, Ui-jun grabbed Sa-hyeok’s right hand.
At that moment.
Clatter!
Sa-hyeok wrapped Ui-jun with metal bandages.
“What are you doing?!”
“Did you think we were going to walk slowly?”
“Huh?!”
Whoosh-
Thud!
Sa-hyeok tightly bound Ui-jun with metal bandages and carried him on his back.
The snow-covered forest and the person on his back.
The combination of the two was reminiscent of abandonment in the mountains.
Sa-hyeok said.
“Let’s go, it’ll be a bit fast.”
“Huh?!”
Sa-hyeok pulled a distant tree with his telekinesis.
His body was pulled in that direction.
Thwack!
High-speed movement using telekinesis.
Sa-hyeok started running through the trees.
“Uwaaaaaaaaaaaa!!”
And the scream Ui-jun let out from behind left a long echo.
After running for about 3 minutes.
Shwaaaaaak!
Sa-hyeok stopped, leaving a long trail on the snow.
This was the place where the Snow Wolf with the tracker disappeared.
“We’ve arrived.”
“Ugh……”
Perhaps he was carsick, Ui-jun retched as soon as he was released.
“Are you okay?”
“Yes, ugh…… Are we here?”
“Yes. Seeing this, it seems we’ve arrived at the right place.”
Sa-hyeok pointed to the wolf footprints on the ground.
The footprints continued on, then stopped at a certain point.
Right at that point, where the signal of the creature disappeared.
Ui-jun and Sa-hyeok looked at that spot.
Their eyes widened.
There, a black, elongated oval-shaped hole was floating in the air, emitting black sparks.
“……What is that?”
“Let’s go closer.”
Sa-hyeok and Ui-jun approached the mysterious hole.
It was elongated vertically, and its length was less than 1 meter.
First, Sa-hyeok and Ui-jun took pictures of it with their phones.
From various angles, as many as possible.
Ui-jun asked.
“It looks like a portal that connects somewhere, right?”
“Yes, but it’s so black that we can’t tell where it leads. It seems the wolf escaped through this hole, but……”
But at that moment.
Crackle-
“Huh?!”
The oval began to shrink rapidly.
It was a disaster.
The subject of their investigation was disappearing before they could properly investigate it.
Desperate, Sa-hyeok grabbed the oval with his telekinesis.
Crackle……!
“Ugh……!”
“Sa-hyeok-ssi!”
Sa-hyeok tried to stop the oval from shrinking.
But his efforts only delayed the oval’s disappearance by 1-2 seconds.
The oval contracted rapidly and disappeared completely.
A drop of sweat trickled down Sa-hyeok’s temple.
He had exerted a considerable amount of power in that short time.
However, the result was clear.
The moment he held the oval with his telekinesis, Sa-hyeok had figured out what was beyond it.
“Sa-hyeok-ssi?”
“Damn it.”
“Huh?”
“This portal…… It’s connected to the outside.”
With this, everything became clear.
The reason why monsters were appearing outside even though there was no dungeon leakage.
The reason why the Snow Wolf with the tracker suddenly disappeared here.
They had all escaped through this hole.
But if a hole can be used to exit, it can also be used to enter.
It was almost certain that someone had entered through this hole.
However……
“There are no traces.”
This was a snowfield.
Even the slightest movement would leave deep footprints.
But there were no traces near this hole (where it had been) except for the Snow Wolf’s footprints.
Ui-jun muttered.
“Someone must have entered, but there are no traces at all……”
“No traces? There are footprints all the way over there.”
“Huh?!”
Ui-jun looked where Sa-hyeok was pointing.
There, a snowfield as white as a drawing paper, without a single footprint, was spread out.
“No, where are the footprints there……”
“And the footprints are heading that way.”
Sa-hyeok pointed to the giant tree in the center of the dungeon.
The very place where the boss resided.
