There is No Such Thing as a Bad Hunter

t was very rare for it to be this far off.

Seon Tae Woong saw Jiho’s face morphing into despair and sighed. 

“The guys lurking around in the passage are all at least B-ranks.
That means the boss is at least S-rank.
If we’re really unlucky, it could be SS-rank.”

“…”

“If you didn’t wake up, you could’ve died peacefully, what a shame.
Should I have killed you mercifully before you woke up?”

Although Seon Tae Woong was being sarcastic, in this situation, dying really was a blessing.

If the boss is really higher than S-rank, the possibility of the two defeating him is close to zero.

“It’ll probably be best to choose between starving to death or committing suicide.”

“Are you being serious?”

“They say dying of starvation is agonizingly painful, so it might be easier to just commit suicide.”

Instead of his usual look of confidence, Seon Tae Woong had sunken eyes and was mumbling depressingly to himself.
However, because the situation was what it was, Jiho couldn’t even think about laughing at Tae Woong’s state.

In general, dungeons are one of four types: Open Dungeon, Closed Dungeon, Sunken Dungeon2, or Special Dungeon.

Of those, dungeons that close over people like this are sunken dungeons.

Sunken dungeons are different from open dungeons, which have the gate open for people to come in and out as they please; from closed dungeons which only let in a set number of people before it closes on them; and from special dungeons which only let in people who meet its conditions.

Sunken dungeons suck people in as though they’re hunting.
Like closed dungeons, the gate to sunken dungeons seals up completely.
Once the gate is sealed, it’s impossible to enter, so people cannot request help.

The only way a closed or sunken dungeon will open is if all the people inside have died or someone met the conditions and escaped.
That condition is usually killing the boss monster that’s typically located in the deepest part of the dungeon.

It is for that reason that the person who first encounters a sunken dungeon usually dies.
There is no way a normal person can defeat a boss monster.

If a hunter was the first to discover it, it’s usually better, but… it’s unfortunately still not the best situation right now.

According to Seon Tae Woong, this dungeon’s rank is very high.
It’s impossible for an A-rank and B-rank hunter to clear it by themselves.

Shin Jiho bit his lips as he looked at Seon Tae Woong, who was cursing and pulling at his hair.
Jiho was also worried.

‘Mom, dad…’

The first people he thought of were his parents.

Unlike his older brother and sister, who were raised strictly in order to take over the company later, Jiho was heavily loved and cared for, and his parents felt happy as long as he was healthy.

He remembered his parents’ plea for him to be like other second-generations who act like degenerates and drink or do drugs rather than becoming a hunter.

The unfilial son who was unconscious and in a coma for two years argued with them and ran out of the house….

In the end, his parents could only support their son.
They were still constantly worried.

The result of that was this situation.

What should he do?

As Seon Tae Woong said, committing suicide is one option.
If the both of them commit suicide, his parents may be able to receive his body in one piece, at the very least.

However….

‘You’ll never beat me.’

Joo Yiwon’s infuriating face from the dream popped up. 

The number one hunter in the world, and his cursed childhood friend.

When they went to school together, they were still at about the same level.
Yiwon was always first, Jiho always second.
There was no one in between the two of them. 

However, now, there were at least several tens of people between them.
If you consider reputation, there may even be billions of people in between.

What would Yiwon think when he saw how pathetically Jiho died?

‘He wouldn’t have made it anyways.
If he had just lived comfortably, he wouldn’t have died.’

He wouldn’t mock him like that right…

…No, that’s going too far.

Even if Yiwon doesn’t laugh at Jiho, his memories with his pathetic childhood friend will probably be cleanly forgotten within a few years. 

Moving forward, he will continue to gain success before passing on his name to his future descendants.3

On the other hand, even though Shin Jiho is the first hunter, his name will be scorned as the person who died pathetically.
After being mocked even worse than now, he will eventually be forgotten.

‘I don’t want that.’

Jiho clenched his fist and tightened his jaw.
When his fingernails drew blood from clenching too hard, he woke up. 

That’s right, no matter how he dies, he’ll become a laughingstock, so why should he just die here? He should at least try to fight.

Jiho looked at the Tae Woong, who was still holding his head

“Seon Tae Woong-ssi4, if you want to die, I will kill you.

Footnotes

(Click on the numbers to return)

1. This is what they’re saying in the dream.

2. So this has been driving me crazy.
This is a 채집형 Dungeon, which literally translates to Collect Type Dungeon.
I thought it was a mining dungeon or something, but from what I’ve read, it doesn’t seem to be the case.
I’m just going with Sunken Dungeon because it seems to swallow people up into the dungeon.
If anyone has a better suggestion, please help.

3. Thinking a little far (and jealously) there, ey.

4. Another way of address.
Still relatively formal, but not as much as –nim.
–nim is usually used for people much older or higher up than you. -ssi is a little less formal and can be used between people of similar ages.