Heroine Hunts Heroines

Chapter 9

We tumbled down for what felt like ages, and by the time we stopped, it didn’t feel like the fifth floor but more like the fifth basement. I had no idea what mechanism caused it, but here we were, deep underground. Honestly, it felt like a miracle we survived the fall.

“...Geum Taeyang, you idiot! At least act like one of those guys from adult comics instead of doing stupid stuff like this!”

“Uh, noona, but come on! Isn’t it normal for any guy to want to push a button when he sees one?”

“You idiot. You were the type of kid who rang doorbells and ran, weren’t you?”

There was no way out. We were stuck.

In the novel, dungeons have traps. Of course, the Cloud Dungeon was no different. The only way out of a sealed boss room was by defeating the boss. That meant we were in the boss room.

“Vubmi-chan, didn’t your amazing brothers deal with the trap bosses here?”

“Hawawa, Vubmi-chan doesn’t know~!”

I wanted to punch her. Badly.

Wait, then what is the trap boss? If the Cloud Dungeon mainly consists of slime monsters, then the regular boss would be part of the slime series. So what would the trap boss be?@@@@

Boom. Boom. Boom.

A disturbing sound echoed from the dark ahead.

“Mariko, can you light the torches over there?”

“Okay.”

Torch-wielder Mariko lit the row of torches on the wall, and slowly, the silhouette of the boss began to appear. It was twice the height of a grown man, with a body packed with muscles far denser than any human’s. Its skin was a grayish ash color, as though covered in soot, and it had a single giant eye in the middle of its face.

A B-class monster, Cyclops.

Of course, it would be the kind of monster that preys on rookie hunters.

“Hawawa! We’re in big trouble!”

“Damn, we’re screwed. A B-class Cyclops?”

What do I do? A monster like that isn’t something my acceleration can handle. My fighting style relies on speed, but Cyclops has tough skin. My knife alone won’t pierce it, and even with body enhancement, I don’t think I can hurt it. Maybe if Choi Si-woo were here, but I’m not confident I can win this fight.

“We’re doomed.”

Vubmi-chan was as useless as ever, Mariko looked like she was preparing to fight but was shaking, and Geum Taeyang, who had triggered the trap, was just staring blankly at the Cyclops. This party setup was the worst.

“If I had to divide this group by roles, Vubmi is a mage, Mariko’s closer to a mage than a ninja, and I’m an assassin with my knife kills. Geum Taeyang’s a warrior? But definitely not a tank.”

A DPS mage, a support mage, an assassin, and a warrior.

What a terrible party combination.

Even worse, our highest rank is D-class hunters, while the opponent is a B-class monster. If I were Choi Si-woo, maybe it’d be different, but as irregular as I am in Yoonha’s body, this fight will be tough. Maybe I can use acceleration and parallel circuits to target the Cyclops' eye?

“Hawawa, what do we do~?”

“Geum Taeyang, can you tank?”

“Noona, do I look like I can tank?”

“Then what can you do?”

I had a bad feeling about this, but there was a way. The Cyclops’ weak spot is its eye. Stabbing its eye won’t necessarily kill it, but it’ll definitely weaken it. After that, we can gang up on it. This plan isn’t bad.

“Vubmi-chan and Mariko, distract it with magic. Draw its attention.”

“Hawawa! What are you going to do, White-hair noona?”

“I’m going to take it down.”

She acted like I was asking her about her hobbies.

“And me, noona?”

“You just stand back and deal damage when it falls.”

"Wait, does this mean Geum Taeyang...?"

“Huh? Noona, why’re you looking at me like that?”

“You don’t fit in this dream at all.”

Also, what’s with this guy calling me ‘noona’ all the time?

“Huh? Well, anyway, this guy here has a bunch of cores. There are five B-class cores!”

“So, how should we divide them?”

“Hawawa, Vubmi-chan and Mariko did help, but White-hair noona landed the critical hit. I think noona should take two, and we’ll divide the remaining three among us.”

Thanks for the generosity.

“How much are B-class cores worth?”

“If we sell them to my brothers, they’ll go for 500,000 won each.”

Wow, 500,000 won for one day’s work is way better than spending all day cleaning corpses.

“Should we sell them now?”

“Hawawa, let’s decide after we get out of here.”

Poor Vubmi-chan. If she didn’t live like this, she wouldn’t be able to use magic at all. Still, getting out of here wasn’t a bad idea. We defeated the trap boss, so there’s no need to stay in this monster-filled dungeon. It felt like bugs were crawling on my skin, and the dark dungeon seemed to close in around me. I reached into my pocket for a cigarette but found none.

I must’ve forgotten to bring them.

“Geum Taeyang, give me a cigarette.”

“Oh, here you go, noona.”

I lit the cigarette and immediately felt the nicotine flood my brain, brightening my vision. My itchy body finally started to relax. For a moment, I almost toppled over, feeling weak from the relief.

“Aah, this is the best. Now I feel like myself again.”

“Noona, the way you look while smoking... Wow. By the way, that ability you used earlier—what was that?”

“What about it?”

I looked at him with disdain.

“The speed you moved with was insane. You seemed to disappear and reappear like you were controlling time or something.”

“Yeah, that’s my power.”

It’s the kind of power that darkens the sky, makes everything dim. Still, it’s reliable. If I had proper gear, I wouldn’t have needed Vubmi-chan—I could’ve taken down the Cyclops myself. Maybe I should get better equipment. After all, I do need to make a living as a hunter.

“Are you two getting along well~?”

“Be quiet.”

What’s with Vubmi-chan trying to ship me and Geum Taeyang? I grabbed her cheeks and stretched them out in frustration.

“Hawawa! Vubmi-chan’s cheeks are stretching~!”

“They’re nice and squishy.”

After teasing her for a bit, we divided up the loot. Two B-class cores meant I earned 1 million won today. Not bad for a student. Hunters can make serious money if they do this full-time.

After we left the dungeon, we stopped by the guild where Vubmi-chan’s brothers worked to sell the cores.

“Wow, Vubmi-noona is part of a pretty big guild. Impressive.”

“Hawawa, praise makes me blush!”

Vubmi-chan was part of Reform, one of Korea’s largest guilds. They didn’t have any S-rank hunters, but they had plenty of A-rankers and a solid track record. No wonder they could lend an entire dungeon to their sister.

“White-hair noona, Gold-hair oppa~.”

“Yes?”

“What is it, Vubmi-noona?”

“Give me your numbers. I’ll call you for the next job. Posting on job boards is such a hassle.”

Having a steady source of income wasn’t a bad idea. But can students really keep doing this?

“I know it sounds weird to ask, but is it okay for us, as students, to keep doing dungeon runs?”

“White-hair noona, you already came along once, so what’s the big deal? Besides, you’re a student at Hanseong Academy and the sister of Divine Sword Yujin-seok. You’ve got a free pass. And Gold-hair oppa’s grades are high enough that he doesn’t need a guardian’s permission.”

Well, if that’s the case, I guess there’s no reason to turn down an opportunity to make money.

Should I just skip school entirely from now on?