Chapter 15
10:40 AM.
Byeon Dae-Sang, an intern on the Hunter’s Bureau Fissure Control Team, checked the time on his smartphone.
It had been an hour and forty minutes since he swapped shifts with his fellow intern, Cha Seok-Woo.
Two days ago, a Fissure suddenly appeared inside the premises of a Korean beef shop in Deokyang-gu, Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do.
The Fissure was given a provisional rank of C by Supervisor Kwon Hyuk-Soo from the Seoul City Hall Fissure Management Division, and the majority of monsters inside were orcs, the most common among C-rank monsters.
Something feels off, Byeon Dae-Sang thought to himself as he checked the entry records for the Fissure.
It had been two days since the appearance of the Fissure, and a total of thirty-seven Hunters had entered. However, only five Hunters had come out of the Fissure.
The team of five Hunters who came out after eight hours were the first to enter. In the following twelve hours, twenty-five more Hunters had entered, but these additional Hunters showed no signs of coming out.
It was common practice for Hunters to limit their time in a Fissure to eight hours, whether hunting or exploring, as there was no food or proper place to rest.
Sleeping inside a Fissure is basically suicide.
Did this mean the Hunters who hadn’t come out yet were continuously hunting without sleep?
Should I report this to the Bureau? Byeon Dae-Sang contemplated.
As he was lost in thoughts, two people walked toward him, one of whom was a typical Hunter dressed in a suit and holding a sword.
That looks like a pretty decent suit.
The woman, seemingly in her early twenties, wore a suit that looked superior even at a quick glance and was noticeably different from the mass-produced ones.
But on the other hand, the man accompanying her looked to be in his mid-to-late twenties and looked nothing like a Hunter. Dressed in a neat suit, he looked more like a typical office worker.
“Hello. I’m Lee Do-Jun from the Seoul City Hall Fissure Management Division, and this is Hunter Cha Ye-Ji, who has contracted with our division.”
“Ah. No wonder I thought your attire was unusual. Are you here for the Fissure exploration scheduled for today?”
Do-Jun nodded in affirmation and pulled out his civil servant ID from his inner pocket.
Byeon Dae-Sang handed over the fingerprint scanner according to protocol, and Do-Jun placed his right thumb on it as if he were now used to the process.
[Lee Do-Jun, Fissure Management Division, confirmed.]
Instead of a civil servant ID, Ye-Ji handed over a Hunter ID card labeled “C.” Upon noticing the name, a thought crossed Byeon Dae-Sang’s mind.
“Ah! You’re the one who refused to join the Icarus Guild...?” he asked.
Ye-Ji had become quite famous after the incident at the annual rank evaluation. Despite being personally invited by the S-rank Min-Hyuk to join the Icarus Guild, she had turned him down. This action was incomprehensible from an ordinary person’s perspective and soon became a hot topic.
“If there’s nothing else, may we enter?” Do-Jun asked.
“Of course, haha. Thank you for all the work you do for our country.”
“Likewise, thank you and welcome.”
Do-Jun and Ye-Ji stepped inside the Fissure, which was shimmering with light, and soon they disappeared, confirming their entry into the Fissure.
Shoot! I should have mentioned the situation right now, Byeon Dae-Sang thought after momentarily forgetting that most of the Hunters hadn’t come out of the Fissure for over thirty hours.
He finally decided to report this to the Hunter’s Bureau.
***
Upon entering the Fissure, Do-Jun retrieved his SpacePad from his briefcase and launched the Fissure Management System application installed on the home screen.
[Welcome to the Fissure Management System, Lee Do-Jun.]
It’s a nice voice, no matter how many times I hear it, Do-Jun thought, wondering whether they hired a professional voice actor for the recording.
He quickly brushed off the idle thoughts and touched the “Register New Fissure Information” button at the bottom right corner, then selected the region and location where the Fissure had occurred.
[The Fissure at Seongsa-dong-001, Deokyang-gu, Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do has been registered.]
[Please select the rank of the Fissure. Or if you enter the rank of the appearing monster, the rank of the Fissure will be automatically assigned. Also, if the Fissure is deemed a higher rank than what is assessed by the system, please select the Exception option.]
He decided to withhold entering the Fissure rank and the appearing monsters for now.
Hyuk-Soo had told him that the Fissure was given a provisional rank of C from the reported appearance of orcs, but he chose to make an informed decision after looking around himself.
After taking a few photos of the surroundings with the SpacePad, he pressed the Register button. This was the basic procedure for mapping the interior of the Fissure.
A map similar to those in RPG games appeared at the top right corner of the SpacePad, but it was pitch black other than the spot where Do-Jun was standing.
He would have to draw the map from here on out.
Do-Jun suddenly stopped in his tracks.
About twenty Hunters lay sprawled at the entrance, and their condition was deplorable. There were dried bloodstains all over their suits, and some were even groaning as if they were about to die, much like patients in intensive care units.
Just then, a middle-aged Hunter in his early forties, leaning against a large rock and groaning, made eye contact with Do-Jun. The Hunter then sneered and shook his head.
“Another sacrifice walked in, huh? And in a business suit, no less. Are you out of your mind? Are you even a Hunter?”
In response, Do-Jun showed his civil servant ID and said, “I’m Lee Do-Jun from the Seoul City Hall Fissure Management Division.”
“What the hell is a civil servant doing in here...? Oh, right. I’ve heard that Fissures ranked C and lower are managed by civil servants, but I was sure it was just formality.”
Most Hunters, including this middle-aged one, knew that the actual management of Fissures was handled by the Hunter’s Bureau.
“If it’s not too much trouble, could you tell me about the situation here? I can see that some of these people are in pretty bad shape. Why haven’t you left the Fissure?” Do-Jun asked the Hunter.
“It’s not that we don’t want to leave. We can’t, Mr. Civil Servant,” the middle-aged Hunter answered as he pointed to the exit.
Only then did Do-Jun realize that the portal to the exit wasn’t functioning properly.
The portal, which should have been glowing brightly, was colorless.
This… This is… Do-Jun tried to understand the situation.
This was the same thing he saw with the Fissure Distortion in the Swamp of the Dark Ogre.
Did this mean that he and Ye-Ji were inside a Great Fissure?
Distortion? No. If that were the case, we would not have been able to come here in the first place.
The appearance of a boss monster caused Fissure Distortion, sealing off both the entrance and the exit.
“A Fissure Break…” Ye-Ji muttered.
A Fissure Break occurred along with a Distortion in a Great Fissure with a rank of B or higher.
Each Fissure had a special condition that, when met, caused unusual phenomena.
“Can you show us the Fissure Break info?” Ye-Ji asked the middle-aged Hunter.
He nodded and made a gesture in the air, and a holographic message appeared in front of Do-Jun and Ye-Ji.
[Fissure Break]
[Activation Condition: Number of current challengers entering the Fissure is 25 or more]
[Clear Condition: Eliminate all common monsters in the Fissure]
[Perfect Clear Condition: Eliminate all monsters in the Fissure]
[Penalty: Cannot exit the Fissure during the Break]
[Clear Reward: All challengers’ Strength, Agility, Stamina stats +5]
[Additional Reward: Random B-rank or higher weapon awarded to challengers who defeat the Boss and Champion monsters]
[Remaining common monsters: 280]
[Remaining champion monsters: 3]
[Remaining boss monster: 1]
“Two hundred and eighty monsters…”
It was a significant number, but it wasn’t impossible to eliminate them all since the monsters here were orcs.
With about thirty Hunters ranking from C to B, they could handle up to five hundred C-rank orcs if they hunted intensively.
“It would be better for you to wait here. If the Bureau notices that Hunters haven’t come out of the Fissure for days, they’ll send the skilled ones in.”
“Can we not take down two hundred and eighty monsters by combining our efforts?” Do-Jun asked.
The middle-aged Hunter chuckled at Do-Jun’s question. It was generally a feasible idea.
“Do you know what kind of monsters are here?” the middle-aged Hunter asked.
“We heard they were orcs.”
“Yes. We thought so, too. And it was true—at the beginning, at least.”
In the initial part of the dungeon, the monsters were indeed orcs. However, as the Hunters traveled further inside, the monsters that appeared were completely different.
“Just a bit further in from here, trolls start showing up. B-rank monsters. Does that help you understand why we’re stuck waiting here?”
Ye-Ji’s expression hardened at those words. Having taken down eight Orc Warriors during her rank evaluation, she was confident she could handle up to five of them simultaneously. Moreover, she hadn’t neglected her training in Scholar’s Swordsmanship since then.
But trolls were a different story.
Not only had she never faced them before, but B-rank monsters were several times stronger than C-rank.
To make matters worse, trolls couldn’t be killed with just minor wounds.
Their monstrous recovery ability meant they could only be dealt with critical hits.
However, among all these issues, the most critical was that she couldn’t guarantee Do-Jun’s safety.
After a moment, Ye-Ji made her decision. “I say we sit this one out.”
“What’s your reason?” Do-Jun asked her.
“I can’t put you in danger, Mr. Administrator.”
“As I mentioned before, that won’t happen.”
“No, this is different. If a bunch of trolls charge at us all together, I won’t be able to protect you. I absolutely oppose this.”
At Ye-Ji’s firm stance, Do-Jun rubbed his chin, contemplating.
It didn’t matter if they didn’t go hunting. In fact, not going was clearly the right choice, but that was if he were a normal person.
[Additional Reward: Random B-rank or higher weapon awarded to challengers who defeat the boss and champion monsters]
Do-Jun looked at the weapon that Ye-Ji was holding. The Skeleton Soldier’s Sword was a feeble D-rank weapon, but it was the best the Fissure Management Division could afford with their operational budget.
It wasn’t like he could buy her a weapon with his own money, either.
This is a good opportunity to upgrade her weapon...
Then Do-Jun noticed three Hunters who seemed like they were about to go hunting.
“Ye-Ji, if my safety was guaranteed, would you agree to go on this hunt?”
“Well, in that case, I wouldn’t oppose it... Wait, what are you saying?”
“Let’s find us a party.”
***
Ye-Ji turned around every three seconds to look behind her.
Trailing about ten meters away, Do-Jun was taking photos with his SpacePad and tapping something.
Ye-Ji sighed deeply.
Just half an hour ago, Do-Jun pressed her for the hunt with a smile after he brought three other Hunters to form a party with Ye-Ji: a tank, a healer, and a ranged damage dealer.
They, too, needed a close-combat damage dealer, so they readily accepted Do-Jun’s proposal.
“Telling ourselves we entered a B-rank Fissure, to begin with, makes it feel much better,” said Choi Ho-Jun, the party leader. Laughing heartily, he equipped the shield on his back.
He glanced at Do-Jun, following behind them, and said, “Follow carefully. We can’t have a government worker dying on us.”
Do-Jun was typing up a document on his SpacePad with his head lowered.
In a monotonous voice, he said, “Thirty meters ahead, three trolls. Prepare for battle.”
“What? What are you talking about? Where are the—”
Two seconds later, three trolls appeared from behind a giant tree.
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