"That, Mr. Jin, let me be honest, your team is very small, it may be good enough for containment but I don't think we can go for the raid. I can see you and the Shield hunter are strong but with Byung-Gyu staying out of this, this is not a feasible solution. We can set up the perimeter and contain the dungeon break," said Lim after thinking for a few seconds.
"Mr. Lim, I won't deny your claims but do you think we have enough people to even contain it? Compared to the streets here, we can contain it inside the dungeon. You still have a good number of Hunters under you. And I will take responsibility, so that it will not fall under your name anywhere," replied Jinchul, giving his opinion and waiting for the answer.
"Are you sure, Mr. Jin?"
"Yes, I am, Mr. Lim."
"Okay. Let me get the hunters, we go inside in 5 mins," replied Lim, turning back.
"Mr. Jin, is it really alright to do this? Won't it be easier to contain even if some monsters leave the perimeter? We have freelance hunters and military coming. With these reinforcements, I think it will be enough right?" Seok questioned, his grip tightening on his massive tower shield.
"Yes, Mr. Seok. But why do we even need to think like that? It is a B-Rank, no doubt, but compared to a normal B-Rank, I will say it's weak," replied Jin after sensing the mana bleeding from the rift. A strange, metallic scent of ozone and wet fur hit his nose. "So do not worry, we can do it."
"Mr. Jin, we can go into the dungeon now," said Lim, returning with his elite team of Reaper archers and strikers behind him.
"Thank you, Mr. Lim. Dear Hunters of the Reaper's Guild, thank you very much for coming forward even though we all know it is tough." Jinchul bowed to the hunters, then looked toward Lim. "Mr. Lim, don't take it offensive, but can I be the leader? I have a very good perception and also will not affect you too."
"Yes, Mr. Jin. And thank you," replied Lim in a low voice, a weight lifting off his shoulders as the Association took the brunt of the liability.
As they crossed the threshold, the blue vortex spat them out into a sprawling, subterranean pine forest bathed in a permanent, eerie silver twilight. The trees were twisted, their needles sharp as glass.
"Formation!" Jinchul's voice was sharp. "Seok, front and center. Chiyul-ssi, Seok's right. Taeshik, vanish. Rest of them take both the sides, Mages center, Assassins protect them"
The air was suddenly filled with the sound of snapping twigs—thousands of them.
"Above you, eleven o'clock," Jinchul said calmly, not even breaking his stride.
Lim Tae-Gyu didn't hesitate. He loosed an arrow toward a high branch. A massive, silver-furred Lycan was knocked from its perch, its throat pierced before it could lunge.
Suddenly, the ground shook. From the dense thickets, three massive Lycan Stalkers—larger than the scouts—charged at the Reaper's backline.
"Left flank, thirty degrees. Seok," Jinchul called out.
"Got it!" Lee Jin-Seok roared. He slammed his shield into the earth, activating [Earth Wall]. A slab of rock erupted from the soil just as the Lycans struck. The monsters collided with the barrier with the force of a freight train, but Seok didn't budge. He braced his shoulder against the shield, his muscles bulging. "Come on, you overgrown puppies! Is that all?"
As the Lycans were momentarily dazed by the impact, Jinchul didn't move to finish them. "Taeshik, they're open."
Kang Taeshik appeared like a ghost from the shadow of Seok's shield. His daggers were a blur of silver. In one fluid motion, he took out one of the beasts and disappeared before the blood even hit the grass. Rest of the team finished the remaining two
"Swordsman take the center, Mages be ready," Jinchul noted, eyes fixed on a second wave emerging from the mist.
Song Chiyul stepped forward. He didn't have the explosive power of Jinchul or the shield of Seok, but his swordplay was art along with his fire. As a pack of five Lycans swarmed towards them, he moved in a tight circle. His blade caught the silver moonlight, parrying a claw here, a bite there, using the Lycans' own momentum to guide them into each other's paths. With a sharp exhale, he delivered a horizontal fire slash that left two of them decapitated in perfect synchronization.
"The rhythm is good," Liml remarked.
"Mr. Lim, Behind the ridge, four hundred meters," Jinchul warned. "They're gathering for a pincer. Your strikers need to push the right, now."
Lim Tae-Gyu looked at Jinchul in awe. He only started to focus there, but Jinchul's directions were pinpoint. "You heard the man! Strikers, right side! Clear the ridge!"
With Jinchul acting as the "eyes" of the operation, the chaotic B-Rank dungeon was being dismantled with surgical precision.
He wasn't doing the fighting for them; he was providing the map, allowing the Association team and the Reaper Guild to showcase the full extent of their power.
The deeper they ventured into the Lycan dungeon, the more the environment warped. What began as a twisted pine forest had become a cathedral of ancient, silver-barked trees whose canopies blocked out any hint of the false sky. The air was thick with the scent of wet fur and the metallic tang of blood.
Jinchul walked at the center of the formation, his eyes scanning the shadows with a calm that bordered on the unnerving. To his left, Lim Tae-Gy, his fingers trembling slightly as he notched another arrow. To his front, Lee Jin-Seok looked like a titan, his shield glowing with a faint, earthen aura.
"They're gathering," Jinchul said, his voice cutting through the heavy silence. " I can sense it is at the end, which should be the cathedral. There are four distinct high-mana signatures surrounding one massive core."
"The boss and his guards," Lim Tae-Gyu whispered. "Usually, the guards stay by the boss's side. If we charge in, we'll be swarmed."
"Not this time," Jinchul replied. "We're going to separate them. Taeshik-ssi, Chiyul-ssi—you'll draw one away. The Reaper's strike team will take the third and fourth. We'll handle the King."