Chapter 1
Today was a day just as special as the day I was born.
Because today was the day I would finally escape from my miserable life as an F-rank Hunter.
Was I finally ranking up to D-rank or C-rank?
No.
The exact opposite.
I’m quitting.
Today was the day I had decided to retire.
I had struggled as an F-rank Hunter for quite a long time.
Sure, I might have been a little stronger than an ordinary person.
But compared to other Hunters, I was inferior in practically every area—strength, speed, reflexes, everything.
Even when it came to learning skills, I could only use limited abilities or low-level skills.
That meant I killed monsters far too slowly to be of any real help in battle.
Basically...
I was dead weight.
I couldn’t even earn enough money to cover dungeon entrance fees, which meant upgrading my equipment was difficult.
And even when I somehow managed to squeeze myself into a party, all I could do was provide support from the rear. That meant I barely received any experience.
Trying to hunt alone wasn’t much better.
I could only hunt inside the lowest-level dungeons, making the whole thing horribly inefficient.
Most F-rank Hunters eventually gave up, saying they were sick of this crap, and returned to living ordinary lives.
But I had still tried to keep going until the very end.
But not anymore.
Someone once said that being able to work hard was also a kind of talent.
They were right.
At least, that was what I had come to believe.
There were some limits that effort alone simply couldn’t overcome.
The dungeon I was entering today would be the last dungeon of my Hunter career.
Once this was over, I planned to throw away the title of Hunter and return to being an ordinary person.
“So, what are you going to do for a living after you quit being a Hunter?”
One of today’s party members, A-rank Hunter Jang Dalsu, asked me with a worried expression.
“I’m not sure... I was thinking of spending all my savings and maybe opening a bungeoppang stall in front of a dungeon.”
“Bungeoppang? I freaking love bungeoppang. You know what’s popular these days, right? Half custard and half red-bean filling mixed together.”
Jang Dalsu had the face of a genuinely kind person.
An A-rank Hunter like Jang Dalsu could probably stroll around a dungeon with just one healer and still clear it without much trouble.
Maybe he pitied me.
Or maybe he was simply bored today.
Either way, when he heard this would be my final dungeon run, he formed a party and let me join.
And then there was that guy.
His complete opposite.
B-rank Hunter Sama Cheon.
“Hey, hey. Don’t wander around and end up taking the road to the afterlife instead of the road home. Just stay in a corner and breathe quietly, got it?”
Even his voice sounded irritating.
He was famous for having an absolutely rotten personality and no manners whatsoever.
On the other hand, his natural stamina and agility were incredible.
He was exactly the kind of support fighter A-rank Hunters liked bringing along.
And because of that, he kept growing stronger every day.
“What did you say your name was again?”
“Hong Mangi.”
“Mangi. You kill the boss today.”
“Come on, how am I supposed to kill that thing?”
“You land the final blow.”
“What?”
My eyes widened.
Sama Cheon looked just as surprised.
“Wait, Dalsu hyung. Isn’t that a little much? We’re the ones doing all the work, so why does he get to reap the reward?”
“We’ll still get experience, and we’ll get our own rewards too. He’s retiring after this. We can at least do that much for him.”
“Jeez...”
Sama Cheon obviously didn’t dare argue with Jang Dalsu.
Instead, he just glared at me.
What are you gonna do about it...?
That was what I thought.
Of course, I didn’t have the courage to actually say it aloud.
I simply forced an awkward smile while checking my worn-out equipment.
Then Jang Dalsu spoke.
“All right. Let’s get moving.”
“Yes, sir!”
Sama Cheon immediately stuck close behind Jang Dalsu like some shameless lackey and headed toward the dungeon entrance.
I followed them inside.
The dungeon officially named the Labyrinth of the Red Forest by the Hunter Association was a massive forest completely soaked in shades of red.
Even the leaves looked like they were burning.
“Woooow...”
The sound escaped my mouth before I realized it.
Someone like me, who normally wandered around low-rank and lowest-rank dungeons, rarely got the chance to enter a mid-level dungeon.
Maybe that was why, despite this being a dangerous place, I felt more wonder than fear.
A thin mist covered the forest, making it difficult to see far ahead.
Growls from magical beasts echoed from somewhere in the distance, sending a faint chill down my spine.
Despite the ominous atmosphere pressing in from every direction, A-rank Hunter Jang Dalsu calmly walked at the front.
His expression was completely relaxed.
Meanwhile, B-rank Hunter Sama Cheon yawned in boredom as he casually swung his sword through the air, cutting apart the thick blood-colored fog as he walked.
And me?
F-rank Hunter Hong Mangi?
I silently followed behind them.
No.
Following them was all I could do.
After all, this was going to be my final hunting ground.
I should at least end things properly.
There was a faint tension in my chest.
Then it happened.
Dark-red wolves.
Red, winged dogs.
Leech-like monsters covered in tentacles.
They slowly began crawling out from all around us.
“Haaaam...”
Jang Dalsu let out a long yawn.
Then he swung his greatsword once.
[CRACKLE—!]
Every time Jang Dalsu swung his greatsword, lightning crashed down and burned dozens of monsters at once.
O-Ohhh!
The destructive power of an A-rank Hunter was incredible no matter how many times I saw it.
Sama Cheon, a B-rank Hunter, was no different.
He sliced through the magical beasts’ necks as easily as a farmer pulling radishes from the ground.
And me?
Well...
I just followed them around, finished off whatever monsters were left behind, and occasionally kicked scraps of monster corpses out of the way.
Still...
[Experience increased by 0.1.]
[Experience increased by 0.3.]
[Experience increased by 0.1.]
My experience did go up.
Little drops eventually formed an ocean, as they said.
At one point, I had believed that if I kept gathering experience like this, one day I might reach C-rank.
Maybe even B-rank.
But I had realized a long time ago that a speck of dust was still just a speck of dust.
Just then—
“Hey, F-rank.”
Sama Cheon, who had been killing monsters for quite some time, looked at me with obvious contempt.
“Stop spacing out and pay attention.”
“Huh? Ah, yes.”
“Just stick close behind us. Dealing with your corpse would be annoying.”
“Ah... right...”
Jang Dalsu paused for a moment to catch his breath before speaking.
“Sama Cheon. That was too harsh.”
“Yes! I’ll watch my words.”
Jang Dalsu looked at me and smiled as if telling me to hang in there.
That smile managed to calm the irritation rising inside me.
Not that getting angry would change anything.
I had no strength.
And when someone had no strength, their words didn’t mean much either.
Around then, a massive magical beast finally appeared.
“What’s that? A stag?”
“A Dark-Red Stag. ‘Guardian Soaked in Blood’?”
“Wow, we hit the jackpot today, huh? That was quick.”
“Seriously, this was easy... Sama Cheon, you take that one.”
“Huh? You’re giving me all the experience? Thanks.”
The Dark-Red Stag gave off a terrifying pressure, as though proudly announcing that it was the boss of this dungeon.
The horns on its head weren’t even proper horns.
They writhed like tentacles.
Every time its hooves slammed against the ground, a blood-like liquid spread beneath them.
But—
“What a cute little bastard...”
To Jang Dalsu, it apparently looked like nothing more than a walking source of deer antler medicine.
“Oh, right. Sama Cheon. Don’t forget Hong Mangi gets the final hit.”
“What? Then I won’t even get all the experience...”
“It’s his last dungeon. Let him do it as a keepsake.”
Sama Cheon gave a small smirk.
“Fine.”
He approached the Dark-Red Stag.
It had the flashy title Guardian Soaked in Blood, but the fight itself was completely one-sided.
Sama Cheon slipped into its blind spots like a shadow.
