“I came from the academy.”
I leaned in closer and continued speaking.
“Is there any other support besides you?”
“…Uh, no, there isn’t.”
“Then how do we request external support?”
“Communication with the outside is impossible within the dungeon. The only way is to go outside and do it directly…”
The hunter, who had been mumbling absentmindedly, suddenly sprang up and ignited his mana.
“T-then I’ll hurry and go request support!”
“Bullshit.”
Thud!
I smacked the back of his head with all my sincerity, then grabbed him by the collar and pulled him up.
“Get a grip, you lunatic! If you leave, everyone here is dead! Are you, a certified hunter, planning to run away alone?”
His eyes wavered as he rubbed the back of his head. At least he had a shred of conscience.
I let go of his collar and closed my eyes.
‘Eia, can you hear me?’
-I hear you, Tower Master.
‘Send an emergency distress email to the crisis control team on the Hunter Association’s website. Report an irregular appearance in the Lava Cave Dungeon at Yeoju.’
-I’m accessing it now. But it says I need to log in to send an email…
‘Use mine.’
I immediately provided my ID and password. Moments later, Eia spoke.
-Distress email sent.
I turned my gaze toward the hunter, who looked bewildered.
“I just requested support.”
“…Huh? H-how?”
“There’s a way. But that’s not important right now. What’s your unique ability?”
“Pa…”
“Paralyze. Of all things, a restraint-type ability? Damn it.”
“H-how did you know?”
The hunter stared at me, eyes wide with shock, but I ignored him. Explaining that I could see status windows would be too much of a hassle.
Of all people, the strongest one here had to be a restraint-type. That bald guy should’ve been the one to survive instead.
“No choice. We’ll fight, so just focus on restraining the boss properly. If you hesitate and try to sneak off, you’re dead for real.”
“Y-yes!”
The guy straightened up, answering sharply, but soon wore a puzzled expression.
“Um, wait. You don’t seem like faculty… If you’re an academy student, then I should be your senior—”
I shot him a sharp glare, making him shrink back and stumble away.
“For god’s sake, pull yourself together! You think ranks matter in a situation like this?”
How did this airhead even get a hunter license? Restraint-type abilities might be rare, but this is ridiculous.
I quickly moved toward the battlefield.
Boom!
Crack!
Jung Seojin was fighting desperately.
Some guild members provided support now and then, but he was the only one engaging head-on.
He was dodging around, drawing attention, but he seemed close to his limit.
And worst of all—
Rumble!
Boom!
“Aaaaah!”
—Lava Golems kept emerging from the sea of molten rock.
Being large monsters, their attacks were devastating, and they were difficult to take down.
Some players managed to fell one with great effort, but another would soon take its place.
The biggest threat wasn’t even the irregular—it was these monsters.
Covering Seojin while dealing with the Lava Golems…
Now that’s a hard mission.
‘Ready, Eia?’
-Yes, Tower Master.
‘Let’s go.’
Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes and focused.
“Everyone, listen to me! I’m a certified Rank 5 Hunter, Kang Hyun!”
Standing atop a hill, Kang Hyun shouted toward the players.
“The enemy you’re facing is not just a Rank 2 boss monster! It’s an irregular monster!”
Murmurs spread through the crowd.
All eyes turned to Kang Hyun.
“To survive, I need everyone’s cooperation! I’ll use my restraint ability on the boss—focus all your firepower then!”
The players looked at each other in confusion.
“A hunter taking a support role? Wouldn’t it be better if he just fought?”
“He must have a support-type ability.”
“Well, if it’s a hunter’s order, we should follow it.”
“Get ready, everyone! We have no choice but to try!”
With a hunter taking command, the chaotic battlefield settled slightly.
Everyone here was stranded in the dungeon together.
Running wasn’t an option—they had to work together to survive.
As that realization sank in and people began preparing for a counterattack—
Boom!
Two more Lava Golems burst out from the lava sea.
“Hunter! If we all focus on the boss, what about those things?”
“Yeah! They’re more dangerous than the boss!”
At their concerns, Kang Hyun pointed toward a figure seated in the distance.
“That guy said he’ll handle it.”
“Huh?”
‘Stop looking at me like that. I don’t know either.’
Kang Hyun shook his head.
Even now, he wasn’t sure why he was following the lead of an academy student.
But he would never forget—
That man’s piercing blue right eye.
The moment they locked eyes, he had felt suffocating pressure.
He had no choice but to nod along like a madman to every word that man spoke.
Woooom! Wooooom!
Yushin’s casting began.
Seated with his eyes closed, intricate blue magic circles formed around him, glowing brilliantly.
As they solidified and reached their peak—
Shoo-kaaaang!
With a thunderous roar, a massive ice spear launched forward.
It struck dead center in the head of a Lava Golem trampling the players.
Rumble!
The Lava Golem, clutching the spear lodged in its face, groaned in agony before slowly collapsing into the sea of lava.
Yushin didn’t stop there.
Shkwaang! Shkwaang! Shkwaang!
With every crisp launch, the Lava Golems surrounding the island fell one by one.
As soon as a magic circle vanished after launching a spear, a new one formed in its place.
The firing and reloading process was executed with machine-like precision in both speed and timing.
‘Is he seriously planning to take them all on by himself?’
Kang Hyun glanced at Yushin’s face. His expression was ice-cold, his pupils half-dilated.
An eerie chill ran down his spine—it was unsettling to witness such an extreme level of focus. Was that even human?
‘Now’s not the time for this.’
Kang Hyun snapped out of it and dashed toward the boss monster.
Luckily, there were a few unexpectedly strong fighters in this boss room. They were his only hope.
Boom!
“Urgh!”
Seojin barely blocked the boss’s attack but was sent skidding backward with a groan.
As per Yushin’s instructions, he minimized his defenses and focused solely on dodging, drawing the boss’s attention. But even that was reaching its limits.
Even with his “Iron Man” ability, he wasn’t invincible.
Every time he blocked an attack, an enormous amount of mana drained from his body.
—Krrrraaaagh!
Just as the boss monster stomped toward Seojin—
Black tendrils shot up from the ground, instantly wrapping around the boss’s body like chains.
The boss struggled to tear them off, but they seeped into its skin like ink, staining its body black.
“Now’s the time!”
Kang Hyun, using his ability, shouted at the top of his lungs.
“Pour everything you’ve got into it while it’s weakened!”
“Ooooooh!”
“Fire! Fire!”
A storm of unique abilities and ranged attacks rained down from all directions.
The boss, exposed to Kang Hyun’s Paralysis ability, failed to dodge properly and took a relentless beating.
“Take a breather! We’ll take over!”
Tanks at the front raised their shields and blocked the boss’s path. Seojin seized the chance to retreat and catch his breath.
‘But those attacks won’t be enough to bring it down. Its entire body is coated with mana—its durability and elasticity are on another level…’
Clink!
Something struck Seojin’s face. A potion bottle.
Drenched in red liquid, he turned his head with a blank expression.
“…What is this?”
“Healing. Obviously.”
Jin Bora grinned playfully, waving her hand as she approached from behind.
“…”
The potion was working, healing his wounds, so he had no grounds to complain—but something about it still felt off.
“Aaaagh!”
But before he could say anything, the tanks at the front were already screaming.
“Alright, you’ve rested enough! Back in there, Ace Tanker!”
“…I’m not a tanker. I’m a strategist who fights from the rear.”
“Oh, come on! Anyone can see you’re a tanker!”
Crash!
The front-line tanks were knocked aside like rag dolls.
Through the gap, the boss monster locked eyes on Seojin with clear hostility and charged toward him.
“Kyaaah! It’s coming! Get in there already!”
‘This is pointless.’
Seojin rose to his feet and took a combat stance.
The boss lunged, twin blades slashing down—Seojin stretched both arms out, catching the attack with all his strength.
A tremendous force collision shook the air.
—Krrrrrraaagh!
“…!”
Kang Hyun’s ability was definitely working. The boss monster was noticeably weaker—Seojin could feel it firsthand.
The only problem was, even if they could hold it back like this, they had no decisive way to finish it off.
Rumble!
—Kyaaaagh!
Suddenly, the boss shrieked in pain.
An ice spear had shot in from nowhere, stabbing deep into its side.
‘Tower Master!’
Seojin looked up—on the hill, Yushin was descending, firing Ice Javelins nonstop.
Shkwaang! Shkwaang! Shkwaang!
He wasn’t even looking around. Yushin was focused solely on casting, unleashing frost spears in every direction, striking every Lava Golem in sight.
A massive fist from a Lava Golem swung toward him, but a barrier rose just in time to block it. Instantly, a retaliatory ice spear was fired.
A seamless flow of offense and defense.
And he was handling both the boss monster and the Lava Golems at the same time.
It was like watching a walking artillery unit.
“Oooooooh!”
“That’s insane!”
It was only natural for everyone’s attention to gravitate toward him.
Yushin strode toward the boss and spoke.
“Everyone, focus on the Lava Golems. We’ll take care of the boss.”
With the immediate crisis handled, he was ready to deal with the boss monster himself.
Just then, the boss, locked in battle with Seojin, suddenly switched targets and rushed toward Yushin.
“…Not so fast!”
Seojin exploded with mana, leaping ahead to cut it off.
“Senior!”
From above, blue elixirs rained down, restoring mana.
Yushin stretched out his palm, catching every single vial with pinpoint accuracy.
Popping one open, he gulped it down in one go, wiped his mouth, and smirked.
“Alright. Let’s do this, boss.”
Seojin flinched, glancing back at Yushin.
His icy tone, his chillingly mechanical aura—he looked like a completely different person.
“Oh boy, here we go again.”
Jin Bora shook her head with an amused sigh as she joined them.
“Jin Bora, what’s wrong with the Tower Lord right now…?”
“Yeah, looks like he’s in immersion mode again.”
“Immersion… what?”
“I saw him like this back at the dorm yesterday. Gave me chills, honestly. He had that exact same look while making 400 heat-resistance armors.”
Seojin stared blankly at Yushin as he advanced toward the boss.
