The next day, the team didn't waste time looking for the dungeon boss. The hunters were split into two teams. Attackers were at the front, and the rear team was for backup and support.
Baek Haemin was appointed to the rear, following closely behind Kang Minho and Han Jiwon. Although Jiwon wasn't part of Blue Dragon, she didn't hesitate to help the team in fighting basans using her chains.
An enraged basan tried to attack Haemin from behind, but a chain swiftly caught its head and its body spun away.
It wasn't long until they found a huge cave. Park Hanwoo raised his hand to stop everyone from moving.
"We're here. The strongest wave of energy in the dungeon is concentrated inside."
He turned to the hunters,
"Let's go."
Everyone nodded and followed their captain inside.
Although it was sunny and clear outside, the deeper they went into the cave, the darker it was. The sound echoed with each step they took.
Haemin was already wearing a jacket, but the cold chill still lingered on his skin. Just as they were slowly losing visibility, the two mages in the team used their magic to summon a fireball in each of their palms, and it became their new source of light.
Nobody was making noise, making him tense. Haemin didn't dare to look around, only holding onto the sleeve of the one on his right.
He clutched it and whispered,
"Hey, Minho. Don't go too far from me, okay?"
This is so scary… It's like going to a haunted house, but so much more spacious.
This is his first time going inside a cave and the atmosphere made it so eerie. He continued walking but his ankle suddenly twisted.
"Ah,"
I, I'm falling!
He quickly tugged onto the sleeve of the person next to him, tightly holding onto it before he completely fell to the ground. He felt a hand on his waist from behind helping him stand straight.
"T, thank you, Minho."
He couldn't see the face of the person who helped him but he knew that Kang Minho was beside him when they entered the cave, so he naturally assumed that it was him who helped catch him.
He heard a heavy sigh but Haemin still smiled at him. The light from the fireballs up front slowly enveloped the man beside him.
Contrary to Kang Minho's short hair, the man beside him had much darker and slightly longer hair. His eyebrows furrowed when he saw Baek Haemin's face.
Ryu Jinmu slapped the hand holding his sleeve.
"Get away."
"R, Ryu Jinmu?"
Haemin promptly pulled away and tucked his hand beneath his jacket.
Dammit, of all people…
Ryu Jinmu only scoffed at him and continued walking.
Baek Haemin could see him patting his clothes, especially his sleeves like something dirty just fell over it. The blunt displeasure behind those lifeless eyes made Haemin's face scrunch up.
That fucking bastard. His facial muscles never move except the times he shows disgust over me.
Soon enough, the team finally encountered a nest of sleeping basans who woke up and attacked the hunters with no hesitation.
Their beaks first started expanding, until their whole head ballooned up and threw fire everywhere. Park Hanwoo used his sword to cut down the heads of the basans during the interval of their fire breath.
The mages assisted their fellow members specializing in close combat and the archers covered them from a distance.
"Up front! Up front!"
"Porter, get the porter!"
Kang Minho grabbed the backpack bigger than his build and stood up.
"Yes, I'm going! Jiwon-ssi, I'll leave Haemin-ssi to you."
"Yeah, I got it!"
Jiwon happily nodded at him and she moved closer to her young master.
Porters' job requires them to pick up the mana stones that show up once the monsters are killed. Mana stones could be made into weapons or imbued into objects necessary for hunters to have when fighting monsters, that's why they're extremely valuable.
Kang Minho frantically collected the mana stones while making sure he doesn't get caught up in the fight. His barrier ability also made it useful for him to be around the battlefield.
Baek Haemin used the system to view his status window.
[System:
{Status Window}
Name: Kang Minho
Age: 19
Gender: Male
Race: Human
Type: Defense
Rank: A
…]
19 years old… how young.
"Why is he only a porter when he's an A-Rank Hunter?"
He muttered as he stared at Minho's status window.
If you had a defense skill, then wouldn't you rather fight? Why is he working as a porter?
Han Jiwon noticed her young master's expression.
"I only heard this from team 2 but apparently, if you're a newbie at their guild, you have to act as a porter first. Once you get the team members' approval, then you can join the team officially and start conquering dungeons with them."
"What? Even if they're a combat hunter?"
"Yes, that's what they said. Something about seniority?"
Jiwon sat on her knees.
Seniority? What kind of bullshit is that? The world's already in ruins with dungeons and monsters that could show up anytime and you still want to uphold hierarchy?
He looked to his right where a tall man with his arms folded was standing, silently watching over the hunters fighting the basans.
I didn't even know there's something like that in the Blue Dragon. Did the novel mention anything about it? Even so, what are you doing, Blue Dragon guildmaster-nim? A precious defense hunter wasting away as a porter…
No, but then again, Kang Minho is still 19 years old. Maybe it's actually better for him?
"Kyaaaaaaarrr!"
A high, echoing shriek that tapered into the air shook the whole cave. It was piercing to the ear, like a molten metal singing.
"What… is this?"
Haemin covered his ears while peeking at the surroundings.
It was so loud and them being in a closed, tight space made it worse.
Ryu Jinmu said in a low voice,
"It's here."
Don't tell me, was that the dungeon boss?