S-Classes That I Raised to Devour - Chapter 25

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 25. A Test of the Test (3)
―Welcome to HuntNet, Hunter Chae Mu-jin.
[Information Viewing]
―Dungeon
―Search: Temple of Light
「Temple of Light」
Conquest Rate: 8%
Map Type: Linear
Recommended Level: 200
Light-attribute single-type monster: Knights of Light appear here. Their health and defense are low, but physical attacks are nearly ineffective, and they move at tremendous speed. They ignore taunt skills and have no physical form, making aggro management extremely difficult.
Hunting Difficulty: ★★★★★ (Extreme)
Dungeon Recommendation: ★☆☆☆☆ (Worst)
Summary: Low experience gain relative to hunting difficulty; no drop items.
Though Chae Mu-jin had reached level 400 in his previous life, he didn’t have much dungeon experience. The Temple of Light was a dungeon he was seeing for the first time today.
‘I only ever ran weak dungeons that gave lots of experience.’
But he’d learned just how foolish that strategy was through his battle with the Moon.
The Moon used nearly every pattern skill in its arsenal. Among them was a summon pattern that, whenever he recalled it, made him want to gag.
‘Summoning every conceivable type of monster.’
From as weak as level 1 Horned Rabbits to space wyverns at the 500-level mark.
Monsters of thousands of different kinds had appeared.
Level is certainly a measure of strength, but it’s not an absolute metric. A level 200 Hunter facing a level 100 monster can still struggle if they don’t know how to handle it.
‘Above all, Hunters don’t intentionally fight multiple monsters. It’s too dangerous.’
Why would anyone risk danger fighting an unknown monster? Fighting monsters with plenty of information available is safer and guarantees experience points.
‘Some Hunters won’t even defeat the boss in dungeons where hunting is easy.’
Leveling up. Farming. Safety.
Most Hunters prioritized only these three when choosing dungeons.
‘But these two people here are different.’
Though they carried an odd guild name, they were a boss-specialist raid team.
The repercussions of the qualifier “specialized in boss raids” could fill pages to explain.
But it could be summed up in a single line.
‘They’re the only ones in South Korea.’
Out of thousands of guilds, there’s just one. ‘Bastard’—the guild with that impossibly long name.
“Is there a shortened name you go by or something?”
Generally, he tried to respect diversity and people’s preferences, but this guild name was simply too long and difficult to remember.
In the self-driving taxi heading toward the Temple of Light, Choi Beon-gae and Song Baek—who had come with him—spoke simultaneously.
“Bastard.”
“The short version, though.”
“…I’ll call you Bastard.”
In any case, this collaboration with Bastard was crucial to his management strategy.
Boss raids were fundamentally high risk, high reward.
The probability of losing one’s life was extraordinarily high, but if one survived, special privileges, high-grade items, and level-ups were guaranteed.
‘If Bastard’s boss raid information and experience combine with my buffs, I can reduce the risk while significantly increasing the returns.’
And as a side benefit, stabilizing this nation would come as a bonus.
Then the taxi stopped and spoke.
―Destination reached: Temple of Light dungeon entrance.
* * *
Dungeons came in various types, and the Temple of Light was an area-type dungeon.
A fog that had swallowed Incheon International Airport whole.
This fog was contained as if blocked by a transparent wall, covering only a certain region.
If you entered this fog, you could enter the dungeon called the Temple of Light.
Of course, there was no guarantee that exiting would be so simple.
Chae Mu-jin examined the dungeon carefully. Choi Beon-gae whispered to Song Baek.
“He’s naturally spreading mana to defend against the corrupted mana. For his age, he has an unusual amount of experience.”
“Is that really such a big deal?”
“Dungeons and corrupted lands are, if you will, the abyss. The denser the mana concentration, the greater the pressure exerted on Hunters. But mana destroys not the body, but the spirit. That’s why mana is so terrifying. Physical pain is felt quickly, observed, and dealt with, but spiritual collapse often goes unnoticed until the very end.”
“I’m fine though?”
“Tank-class jobs naturally have high mana and mental resistance. Since their bodies themselves have high mana saturation, they’re affected less than other classes.”
“So is that guy a tank too?”
Chae Mu-jin hadn’t even revealed his job class yet. That fact left Choi Beon-gae confused.
“His skill with mana is precise like a mage’s, yet he searches doggedly like a ranger. And while doing so, he stays alert like a seasoned warrior.”
“Why are you muttering to yourself? Just ask. Hey, friend. What’s your job?”
Chae Mu-jin, who was observing the dungeon’s perimeter, answered immediately.
“Supporter.”
“A Supporter, you say?”
…….
The skeptical gaze was palpable even without turning around.
Chae Mu-jin saw no need to explain. No amount of talking would convince them until he showed them directly.
He felt the same way himself.
“Reconnaissance complete. Let’s go in.”
“You go in first.”
“Have you ever seen a Supporter solo? Let’s go in together.”
Growing weary of the suspicion, Song Baek grasped Chae Mu-jin’s hand and spoke.
“You’ve come this far—you deserve to know my name. Song Baek.”
“So your family name is Song and your given name is Baek?”
“That’s right.”
“Uncle Baek, pleased to work with you.”
“Uncle? Do I really look that old?”
“Not old, exactly—just reliable, like an uncle.”
“Well, that much is true. Hah-ha-ha!”
Thwack-thwack!
The sound of Song Baek striking Chae Mu-jin’s back was tremendous. Choi Beon-gae covered his face and muttered.
“That idiot… I warned him so specifically not to trust just anyone.”
“I heard that, Beon-gae. Come on, grab hands.”
The three clasped hands. Entering the dungeon this way meant they would land in the same location.
Chae Mu-jin naturally drew in a deep breath.
Entering a dungeon with a level far higher than his own was like diving.
Not diving down from the sky, but diving upward in reverse.
That sensation was an utterly indescribable, unknown feeling.
After a brief moment that felt eternally long, the sense of alienation ended, and an entirely different world lay before them.
And now.
What appeared before his eyes was a knight carved from light itself.
Chae Mu-jin immediately shouted.
“Encounter!”
A situation where they met a monster upon entering the dungeon. There was only one visible, but there could be more.
He quickly scanned the surroundings. Were there other monsters? Had his party members noticed the threat?
The latter didn’t really need checking.
“Thunder Strike.”
Crack-boom!
The lightning Choi Beon-gae unleashed destroyed the Knight of Light in a single blow.
Even in an encounter situation right upon entry, he wielded his skill with composure and precision.
Chae Mu-jin admired the display while simultaneously briefing the situation aloud.
“Situation concluded. No other monsters in the vicinity.”
“Quite composed. This isn’t your first time encountering a monster right upon dungeon entry, is it?”
“It is the first time, but I studied beforehand on the internet.”
“…So how exactly do you plan to prove yourself?”
“By doing what a Supporter does. First, do the two of you have any additional information about the Temple of Light dungeon? HuntNet didn’t have detailed information.”
Sharing information with teammates was fundamental to party play. Moreover, these two possessed quite a bit of knowledge. The dungeon’s structure, characteristics of the monsters that spawned…
Choi Beon-gae and Song Baek didn’t hold back—they shared everything they knew.
It was curiosity mixed with anticipation. You know about this information—so what can you do with it?
But Chae Mu-jin seemed like the type who could do anything.
“…So to summarize, it’s a dungeon with a single corridor or a linear hallway without elevation changes, and we predict the boss room is at the innermost point, but the hallway’s length is beyond imagination.”
“In six hours we advanced eight hundred meters, but there was no end in sight.”
“Then it must be one of two things. Either the dungeon’s length is beyond imagination, or it’s the type of dungeon that makes you loop forever in the same place. In the latter case, you’d need to solve a puzzle to find the boss room.”
“Anyone could make that deduction.”
“True. But you probably never observed it carefully.”
“The Knights of Light move at tremendous speed. Moreover, since they respawn while idle, you have to keep moving. As you move forward, you encounter newly spawned Knights of Light, leaving no time to examine things properly.”
From Choi Beon-gae’s vivid explanation, Chae Mu-jin formed a mental image. And based on that image, he devised a strategy.
“Guild leader, you have an Area-of-Effect skill, correct?”
“I do, but it won’t kill these things in one hit. I’d need to use it three times.”
“That’s enough. Uncle Baek?”
“Why me?”
“I’d like you to draw aggro.”
“Didn’t you explain that these things don’t respond to aggro?”
“That’s only because there were other people around. With no one else but you, would the monsters really ignore you?”
“They won’t ignore me, that’s for sure.”
“Let me explain the strategy.”
At the mention of strategy, both men listened intently, and their eyes widened at the plan he outlined in just one minute.
“That’ll actually work?”
“Yes.”
“If it fails, you’ll die though.”
“I appreciate the concern.”
“…If that strategy is actually possible, Chae Mu-jin, you’re no different from an S-Rank Hunter.”
“Perhaps so.”
“Alright, let’s get started. I’m dying to know if this actually works.”
“Then we’ll begin.”
Chae Mu-jin reached toward Song Baek, the tank, and called out.
“Movement Speed 300, thirty minutes.”
An ordinary Supporter would require 480 Mana to apply this buff.
This was a figure achievable only by a level 158 Supporter expending all their Mana.
But Chae Mu-jin, thanks to his Savior Trait, needed only 4 Mana.
“Buffs feel so refreshing. Shall we?”
One of a tank’s greatest weaknesses is slowness. But a Movement Speed 300 buff nullified that weakness entirely.
Chae Mu-jin’s strategy was simple. The tank Song Baek would run in a straight line for fifteen minutes, then turn back.
“How do we get back though? Since it’s not an open dungeon, the passage must be blocked.”
Song Baek asked as if testing him, but Chae Mu-jin answered with an air of disappointment.
“You can’t break through?”
“That’s child’s play really—I just wondered if you had some clever trick in mind.”
The monsters he’d driven back numbered in the hundreds.
Song Baek’s tanking ability was certainly remarkable.
His clothes were tattered, but he bore not a single wound.
“Guild leader.”
At Chae Mu-jin’s signal, Choi Beon-gae thrust his Lightning Staff forward, and the promised buff flowed in.
“Magical Attack Power 2,000, five seconds.”
Choi Beon-gae couldn’t believe it. Because he was sensitive to Mana, he could tell. Chae Mu-jin’s buff was no illusion—it was real.
A tremendous force coursing through his entire body. He felt a destructive power that made him wonder if this was what accepting forbidden power felt like.
Unquestionably, a buff impossible for any other Supporter in existence. Choi Beon-gae steadied himself with a deep breath, then began casting his spell.
“Manifest thyself, Thunder Storm.”
Boom-boom-boom-boom-boom!
Simultaneous with the incantation came a torrent of thunder and lightning.
For all its terrifying appearance, as if it could shatter anything in the world, it was far less destructive than it seemed.
Many small bolts descended together, so while the number of hits was high, each individual hit was weak.
With the damage spread among so many monsters, even if the total damage was high, the damage to any single monster was negligible.
But with a Magical Attack Power 2,000 buff, the minimum damage rose to at least 2,000.
It was like fine rain turning into hail the size of a fist.
Crackle-crack-crack-boom!
The Knights of Light caught in the Thunder Storm were shredded like paper fed into a shredder.
But none of this registered in Choi Beon-gae’s eyes.
What he saw was only one person—Chae Mu-jin, clapping his hands in appreciation.
* * *
Unlike the cautious Choi Beon-gae, the unguarded Song Baek asked directly.
How on earth were numbers this impossible to believe possible? What exactly was he?
“I’ll tell you once we’re closer.”
Neither a denial nor an affirmation—just an ambiguous answer.
Yet both men found that ambiguity acceptable.
It would be odd to bare all one’s secrets to someone met for the first time today.
“When you said collaboration rather than guild membership, honestly, I wondered what kind of person you were. But… you’ve more than proven yourself.”
“What form does this collaboration take, anyway?”
“Both of you, calm down for now. We’re still inside the dungeon.”
The three were walking and talking. There were no interruptions. They’d cleared everything out with drive hunting.
“You’ve proven yourself sufficiently. Let’s go back and discuss the collaboration properly.”
Even the exacting Choi Beon-gae had acknowledged Chae Mu-jin. He was strange, perhaps, but being able to receive help from such a powerful Supporter was a concern worth setting aside.
But the two men were mistaken.
“What do you mean? We’re far from finished.”
Chae Mu-jin pointed beyond the endless corridor.
“Let’s raid the boss too.”
“What? Ha-ha-ha-ha! What kind of mad man are you! You want the three of us to raid the boss alone? An unidentified boss we have no information about? Ha-ha-ha…?”
Song Baek, who had been laughing heartily, felt something amiss and stopped.
When he glanced at Chae Mu-jin, the man seemed to have become someone entirely different.
Where before he was a polite and eager young man, now he spoke like a cold-blooded executive.
“Are you refusing? The boss raid?”
Both men realized then: Chae Mu-jin had passed the test, and now it was their turn to be tested.

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