Hunter Kindergarten, Dolphin Class! - Chapter 52

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 052

 

It had already been 40 days since Yu Jin-chae entered this dungeon.

 

Roughly a month and a week had passed.

 

Na Hwi-yeon, who was sharing vision with Yu Jin-chae, had also felt the full flow of those 40 days.

 

He could feel her mental fatigue reaching its peak. Yu Jin-chae hadn’t properly rested for even a single hour during the month she’d been trapped in the dungeon.

 

30 minutes—brief naps taken minimally just to conserve stamina were the maximum rest she allowed herself.

 

Even for an Awakener, it was superhuman mental strength and stamina.

 

‘Isn’t she going to collapse at this rate?’

 

Na Hwi-yeon suppressed the urge to lie down right then and there. With the parching thirst and the sun beating down on his head, it felt like his brain was melting away like water.

 

The asphalt road shimmered with heat waves under the midday sun.

 

Unfortunately, Yu Jin-chae’s blood-soaked efforts over those 40 days bore no fruit.

 

She hadn’t found her team members.

 

Not a single one.

 

When exactly a month had passed since being trapped in the dungeon, she desperately searched only for the gate exit, feeling like she wanted to die.

 

‘Let me at least get out first.’ ‘I’ll go out, request support, and come back.’ Only these two sentences floated through her mind.

 

However, even this failed.

 

There was no trace of an exit leading outside anywhere.

 

Her lips cracked and became rough. Her hair grew brittle and her complexion grew deathly pale. Yu Jin-chae woke up from a brief nap this morning—exactly 40 days later—and immediately approached a mirror that came into view.

 

Then she screamed like a madwoman. Remembering how she had communicated with her team member through the mirror at the department store when she first entered this place.

 

But such a thing never happened again. Na Hwi-yeon had no choice but to watch this scene without any filtering.

 

He felt the same emotions—fear, sadness, anxiety, confusion, guilt—all mixed together.

 

‘This is driving me crazy.’

 

It felt like he was going insane along with Yu Jin-chae. All that existed was the desire to abandon all plans and everything else and escape this place immediately.

 

Feeling fear and sadness that weren’t his own was truly… a different dimension of pain.

 

Only after her throat was completely raw did Yu Jin-chae stagger away from the mirror.

 

Then, when the sun was at its highest point, she dragged her worn-out combat boots back to the place where she had first opened her eyes.

 

The spot where the gate had originally been.

 

‘It’s not there now, but…’

 

Instead, she could see a tall building on the opposite side.

 

 

“There it is.”

 

A hoarse, cracked voice flowed from Yu Jin-chae’s mouth as she stared at the building. Na Hwi-yeon, who was practically one body with her at this moment, could also tell.

 

It was a conviction close to baseless instinct, but…

 

‘The answer is there.’

 

It felt like fog had lifted and his vision had cleared.

 

***

 

A tall building where construction seemed to have been halted midway, with its steel framework still exposed.

 

Yu Jin-chae moved her steps into that building as if entranced.

 

Following her instincts, she slowly stepped on the stairs and continued climbing upward.

 

Was there originally a place like this? Will something come out if I go here? What if nothing comes out? Is there even a boss? Does the outside world know we’re trapped here? Wouldn’t it be better to just die? How much time has passed?

 

With each step she took on the stairs, meaningless questions arose in her mind and disappeared repeatedly.

 

Her empty eyes swept past bags of cement powder piled in corners. As if she had a goal, she continued moving her feet without stopping even for a moment.

 

And finally, she stopped her hurried steps only when she reached the very top floor of the building.

 

“…You!”

 

A surprised voice burst out. Something had finally caught her eye for the first time. Thrill and overwhelming emotion struck her frozen brain.

 

She had found the team member she had been searching for so desperately.

 

One of the remaining two with whom she had never been able to communicate even once.

 

It was Youngest K.

 

K was leaning against what roughly resembled a railing, looking down outside. Her black hair tied high in a ponytail fluttered like a flag.

 

What’s wrong, why isn’t she answering?

 

Yu Jin-chae approached with quick steps and reached out her hand toward her.

 

At that moment, K turned to look in her direction. With a gaunt face so damaged it wouldn’t be strange if she died soon.

 

“No, are you okay….”

 

But that wasn’t what mattered.

 

“…?”

 

K passed right by as if she couldn’t see her at all.

 

Or rather, should this be called passing through?

 

Her eyes helplessly followed the back of Junior Member’s head as he passed by her.

 

As she blankly watched the ponytail swaying away into the distance, something in the opposite corner… caught her eye.

 

A person approaching while waving at Junior Member.

 

That person was herself.

 

Another Yu Jin-chae.

 

“What the… what the hell is this now.”

 

It was like looking in a mirror.

 

From head to toe… exactly the same.

 

It had even reproduced her worn-out appearance, properly capturing the realism.

 

Yu Jin-chae, with her years of hunter experience, could easily guess the identity of that thing that looked exactly like her.

 

Our original target.

 

That thing was probably this Dungeon’s boss.

 

K approached it with a bright smile and patted its shoulder affectionately. Though she looked utterly exhausted, K’s face seemed much more at ease, like someone who had found hope.

 

-When can we get out of here?

 

-Uh…. Soon, soon. We need to take all the kids with us.

 

-Ah~ I really thought I was going to die. Team Leader~

 

The thing handled K’s whining and affectionate clinging with familiarity, gently leading her along.

 

To the edge of the railing of a building that was completely open below.

 

So high up that one might mistake it for touching the sky, a dizzying height.

 

Standing at that precarious spot, the two looked down below.

 

Meanwhile, Yu Jin-chae kept her mouth tightly shut and carefully approached the pair.

 

Monster? What type is it?

 

Does it have the same Body Transformation Skill as me? But if so, what’s with this ridiculous situation?

 

…Could it be a hallucination?

 

She approached while holding her breath, waiting for the right timing. Then she swung her arm toward the back of its head.

 

But her arm only cut through empty air.

 

Her fist that swung through the air and returned to position was frustrating. She moved her fists and legs again without rest, but couldn’t make contact.

 

As if they and she existed in different worlds.

 

“Please!!”

 

Yu Jin-chae looked at K and cried out pleadingly. Unfortunately, her stamina and mental strength to maintain composure were now scraping the bottom.

 

-When will the others come? Will they come if we wait?

 

They’re already here! They’re already here!

 

-Ah, ah, the Watch is working now? They said they’re coming here soon.

 

-Wow, thank goodness. It’s less scary when we’re together. When we get out of here, I want to wash in hot water right away.

 

That’s not me! Please!

 

-That’s right, we should go together. Together.

 

The conversation between K and that thing could be heard clearly.

 

…Huh?

 

That thing standing behind K, who was looking down below the railing, slowly began to move.

 

And without giving her time to stop it, the thing pulled something from its chest and stabbed it into K’s lower back.

 

With an utterly emotionless expression.

 

-Huh?

 

“No no no no.”

 

K staggered for a moment and grabbed onto the railing. Bright red blood gushed out between her cracked lips.

 

K looked back at the thing that had taken Yu Jin-chae’s form with eyes full of bewilderment, then immediately reached out toward it.

 

Red threads writhed and moved between her pale, slender fingers, then grabbed hold of its limbs.

 

-You, what are you? Team Leader was… wasn’t she?

 

-Ah, no. Not really. Maybe? Could be.

 

-What?

 

-Do I look like the team leader right now? I’m exactly like that woman. Ah, the way of speaking?

 

-…

 

-These crazy bastards aren’t even answering! Where the hell are these guys slacking off? This is ridiculous. If I get out of here, they’re dead. Absolutely.

 

Yu Jin-chae’s speech patterns and expressions were output in real-time like copy and paste.

 

Seeing this, K wiped away cold sweat and her face hardened pale. Her trembling hands clenched into fists, pulling the red threads taut.

 

-The humans who came here were all like you. At first they were lively and talkative, but as time passed, they all became silent and lost their strength… Eventually, they couldn’t even think or react like they normally could.

 

Its voice gradually lowered like a cave, and only its neck creaked as it turned.

 

Its gaze was looking at an empty concrete wall, not at K. However, Yu Jin-chae knew.

 

The fact that it was looking directly at her.

 

Her breath caught in her throat. Because she recalled someone familiar from its speech patterns and the humming it added to the end of each sentence.

 

Ma Team Leader, who died in an A-Grade Chaos Dungeon six months ago.

 

It was exactly like that person.

 

…Then, could this place not be a C-rank Dungeon, but the A-Grade Chaos Dungeon where the entire Ma Team went missing and died six months ago?

 

As the reality became apparent, an enormous fear incomparable to when she was ignorant came rushing in.

 

Total disappearance, total death.

 

It was such an exceptionally massive accident that not only BOND but all Hunter Companies in the Republic of Korea mourned for a while.

 

…But wasn’t that dungeon eliminated by S-rank overseas mercenary hunters?

 

Come to think of it, she hadn’t seen any articles saying it was completely cleared.

 

She had only seen that S-rank overseas mercenary hunters were deployed.

 

It was confusing.

 

…What if that A-Grade Chaos Dungeon had been left uncleared until now?

 

And what if we ended up entering that dungeon?

 

Yu Jin-chae looked at her colleague K. Blood foam was rising to her lips and her body was gradually tilting forward.

 

What should I do?

 

What should I do here?

 

Hallucination, if this really is an A-Grade Chaos Dungeon, then it must be using hallucination right now.

 

…Then escaping the hallucination should be the priority.

 

How do I escape…

 

“…!”

 

The fastest way to escape a hallucination is to temporarily receive a strong shock.

 

Yu Jin-chae pulled out the short sword stuck in her calf and stabbed her thigh without hesitation.

 

Blood immediately gushed out, and as intense pain momentarily arose…

 

The scenery before her eyes began to ripple like a mirage. Like dissolved paint, everything except K and that thing – all objects and scenery – collapsed.

 

Thus Yu Jin-chae was able to glimpse the reality that the hallucination had been hiding.

 

This place wasn’t a building in the middle of the city center.

 

A formless space with nothing in it.

 

The round, white drawing paper-like space was about the size of a studio apartment of roughly 10 pyeong.

 

But the disturbing thing didn’t end there. The four walls that blocked all sides were surrounded by mirrors.

 

In the center of that space, K and that thing were confronting each other.

 

That thing was a monster with tentacles in the shape of a slime.

 

The reality was cruel. To think they had been spinning around trapped in hallucinations for 40 days in this space of merely 10 pyeong.

 

Yu Jin-chae swallowed her curses and briefly scanned the surroundings. In the corner, she could see the other two team members advancing with their heads pressed against the mirrors.

 

Though she desperately wanted to collapse from the futility of it all, she had no choice but to draw her short sword again and stand up.

 

Get it together.

 

Yu Jin-chae gripped her short sword at a right angle and charged toward the monster.

 

But then.

 

-Huh? Team Leader?

 

While running, my eyes met K’s. It seemed K’s hallucination had also temporarily broken when she was stabbed in the back.

 

There was so much I wanted to say. However, seeing K’s face made me lose my words.

 

-Haha…! You’re alive?

 

The bloodied face of the twenty-year-old. The team’s Junior Member was looking at me with a relieved expression and smiling.

 

The strength momentarily left my hand gripping the Short Sword.

 

It was truly an instant.

 

In the blink of an eye, K had wrapped the Monster’s body with Red Threads and was leaning her back against the railing.

 

The hallucination was returning in the meantime. Behind K, the familiar ruined Seoul landscape was rapidly overlaying the Formless Space.

 

My breathing became labored. Yu Jin-chae eventually dropped the Short Sword and reached out her hand.

 

However, K didn’t take her hand. I don’t know if she wouldn’t take it, or couldn’t take it.

 

She simply pressed her body tightly against the Monster and threw herself over the railing together with it.

 

“N-no…!”

 

K and the Monster fell toward the concrete floor of the building forest in the hallucination.

 

Yu Jin-chae hung from the railing and frantically reached out her arm, but couldn’t reach them.

 

A dizzying scene spread out directly below. Her breath was consumed by primal fear.

 

…After a moment, tears flowed down her cheeks. They were tears born from physiological terror.

 

Yu Jin-chae collapsed to the floor with weakened legs. In that position, she crawled on the floor and looked down below the railing.

 

Nothing. No one was there.

 

All that was visible was the view of the ruined city center from a dizzyingly high position.

 

When Yu Jin-chae opened her eyes again, she had been thrown out of the Dungeon.

 

 

The method to completely break a hallucination is clear. Either completely kill the one who cast the hallucination…

 

‘Or disappear together with the one who cast the hallucination, consumed by the hallucination.’

 

K died together with the hallucination. Inside the hallucination.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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