Levelling Up In An Exclusive Dungeon

An S-rank Hunter, just like himself, had lost his life right in front of him.

It was no longer something he could dismiss as unimaginable.

‘Let’s escape.’

His pride might take a hit, but for now, it was the best course of action.

No matter his status as the leader of the Titans, all of it would mean nothing if he was dead.

Kang Jun-tae’s plan was to flee and then request protection from the Association.

An S-rank Hunter was a valuable asset, and they would unlikely dismiss him.

‘That guy can’t act recklessly against the government either.’

The reason countless Hunters did not challenge the Association’s policies was due to the influence it wielded.

Moreover, the Association had an S-rank Hunter known as “Cheon Sang-hoon,” who was regarded as the chairman’s right-hand man.

Kang Jun-tae believed that Cheon Sang-hoon possessed strength far beyond ordinary S-rank Hunters, making it hard for Kang Jin-hyuk to act recklessly.

But even if the plan seemed plausible, it was all useless if he couldn’t escape this immediate situation.

Kang Jun-tae was deep in thought about how to extricate himself from this predicament.

‘I mustn’t confront him head-on.’

Kang Jin-hyuk’s speed had already surpassed that of Jo Won-cheol.

With Kang Jun-tae focusing more on power rather than speed, he had no confidence in evading Kang Jin-hyuk’s attacks.

Accepting the blows head-on had already proven to be the wrong choice just moments before when his mace was shattered.

‘What should I do…’

As Kang Jun-tae pondered ways to escape, he recalled the tactic Kang Jin-hyuk had used against him.

‘Right, that could work!’

As he saw Kang Jun-tae’s face brighten with hope, Kang Jin-hyuk suspected that it wasn’t a good sign.

Seeing someone who bore the weight of the world suddenly light up was rarely a positive indication.

“What absurd scheme are you planning now?”

Kang Jin-hyuk, anticipating the trouble, charged in before Kang Jun-tae could enact his scheme.

Before Kang Jin-hyuk could close the distance, Kang Jun-tae brought his mace down heavily upon the ground.

Boom!

A heavy impact erupted, sending a massive cloud of dust spiraling into the air, obscuring their vision.

Through the thick cloud, Kang Jin-hyuk discerned his opponent’s intentions.

“You plan to mimic me, don’t you?”

Blocking the opponent’s line of sight before making a getaway was indeed a wise move.

However, it was a surprise that Kang Jun-tae—the prideful S-rank Hunter—would opt to flee.

“I thought you’d be fighting for your life, but now you’re just running away… You’re nothing but a coward.”

Kang Jin-hyuk’s words struck a nerve in Kang Jun-tae, binding his legs in frustration.

Intending to dash away without a second thought, he suddenly stopped in his tracks.

Using a potion from his inventory, he hastily healed his fractured arm.

Once the dust settled, he stood his ground with fierce determination, glaring at Kang Jin-hyuk.

“Take back what you just said.”

Kang Jin-hyuk raised an eyebrow, noticing that Kang Jun-tae hadn’t fled despite seemingly being on the brink of it.

“Take back what? What did I say?”

“About calling me a coward!”

“Ah, the part where I called you a coward?”

Kang Jin-hyuk realized that his words had deeply offended Kang Jun-tae.

It was shocking to see someone who was willing to run away still had a wounded pride.

“Why are you getting angry? Did I say something wrong?”

Recalling the past, Kang Jin-hyuk could visualize how Kang Jun-tae had poisoned someone in order to avoid a more direct confrontation.

He had even graciously allowed the first blow to someone like Seo Sang-ho.

“Do you think trying to run away will let you avoid my wrath?”

In an instant, he released a poisonous gas, seeking to eliminate Kang Jin-hyuk with any means necessary.

By any measure, Kang Jin-hyuk found himself in disbelief over how low Kang Jun-tae had stooped.

“Becoming upset about the truth won’t help you.”

Kang Jin-hyuk analyzed the karma value of Kang Jun-tae.

Even if it was lower than Jo Won-cheol’s, being above 300 left little room for doubt about his morally-questionable actions.

From a neutral standpoint, it was evident that Kang Jun-tae’s character was bustling with wickedness.

“I’ll make you regret you ever spoke.”

With his face heated in rage, Kang Jun-tae gripped his mace tightly.

“What? You think you can?”

Kang Jin-hyuk found Kang Jun-tae’s mockery utterly amusing.

In response, Kang Jun-tae’s skin flushed crimson with heat, emanating a fierce energy.

It wasn’t a result of embarrassment or shame; rather, it was the intensity of his power rising.

“Did you use a buff?”

Ignoring the question, Kang Jun-tae wielded his mace in one hand, showcasing strength in a single motion.

From his inventory, he retrieved another mace with his free hand.

With a mace in each hand, Kang Jun-tae prepared for combat.

“Very well.”

Kang Jin-hyuk suddenly noted the obvious healing done to Kang Jun-tae’s earlier injury.

“So, you used that time to heal, huh?”

“Unbelievable…”

Kang Jun-tae should have fled. Instead, he had fallen into the trap of provocation, willingly stepping into a brush with danger.

‘It has to be just one blow. That’s how we settle this.’

The buff he activated significantly boosted his attack power at the cost of draining his HP.

The lower his health dropped, the more pronounced the buff became.

Kang Jun-tae held on, desperately awaiting the moment when he could unleash the full potential of his buff.

His skin gradually darkened, until it shimmered like molten metal.

When it turned jet black, Kang Jun-tae charged forward without hesitation.

“Gravity Crush!”

Kang Jun-tae unleashed his mightiest skill, delivering a brutal attack intended for Kang Jin-hyuk.

The dual maces descended upon him from both sides with crushing force.

Kang Jin-hyuk spent precious moments deciding whether to dodge or absorb the impact head-on.

To utterly crush his opponent’s pride, taking the latter approach would be more satisfying.

Deciding this, Kang Jin-hyuk launched his baseball bat in a powerful swing, carving an arc through the air.

The bat effortlessly met the maces, which splintered under the force without any resistance.

In that moment, the power transmitted through the bat shattered Kang Jun-tae’s grip.

He witnessed his weapon crumble to pieces, leaving his hands empty.

Not a moment passed before he felt a jolt of regret for what had just occurred.

Kang Jin-hyuk followed up the momentum with another swing of the bat, slamming it directly into Kang Jun-tae’s side.

Crunch.

The enhanced sensitivity from his buff allowed Kang Jun-tae to hear the disturbing sound of his bone fracturing.

Every surge of pain made him acutely aware, sending searing sensations racing towards his brain.

“Gaaah!”

A torrent of blood exploded from his mouth like a vivid scream.

As Kang Jun-tae collapsed on his back, he felt akin to a squashed worm.

With his weakened body, the backlash from the strike completely incapacitated him.

“Gahh…! Cough!”

Even though he couldn’t lay helplessly, he was determined to rise.

Yet, as he attempted to lift his upper body, blood gushed forth, forcing him to faceplant onto the ground once more.

Kang Jin-hyuk observed Kang Jun-tae’s excruciating condition, absorbing his suffering without an ounce of sympathy.

What would have happened if he were trapped without an escape route, just like him?

If that were the case, Kang Jun-tae would have likely been the one to fall, instead.

Kang Jin-hyuk composed himself, swallowing his conflicting emotions.

Killing wasn’t something to be taken lightly, yet if it were someone like Kang Jun-tae—out to end his life—mercy wasn’t an option.

“Someone like you wouldn’t repay a life saved. You’d only seek revenge at a later time, wouldn’t you?”

Kang Jun-tae found himself too incapacitated to respond.

Overwhelmed with encroaching agony, he struggled just to maintain consciousness.

Part of him yearned to succumb to unconsciousness for good.

Nevertheless, he sensed the inexorable truth in his heart: surrendering now was a death sentence he wouldn’t survive.

He had to hang on tight, waiting for the right moment to slip away.

But Kang Jin-hyuk had no intention of allowing him that moment.

* * *

Han Young-seok had relocated to a new base with the protection of his guild members after the building collapsed.

Though the state of the warehouse they’d moved into was far from ideal, it was a welcome refuge given the circumstances.

Inside the room, with dust settled, Han Young-seok listened to reports and issued orders to his guild members.

The top priority was to deal with the Hunters from Tyrant.

Tyrant was a guild known for its ruthless methods, thus its members were equally ruthless.

At the start, the Titans faced significant adversity due to their violence and skill.

Now, however, the tides had turned.

Most of Tyrant’s executives would now be imprisoned, throwing their command structure into disarray.

In contrast, the Titans still had the supportive executives, including Han Young-seok, fighting on their side.

As they constructed a resistance, the tide began to shift against Tyrant.

“The reclamation of Zone C has also concluded!”

“There’s reports of the remaining Tyrant survivors retreating!”

Hearing such promising news, Han Young-seok let out a relieved sigh.

”Things are finally looking up. Now, the only one left is Jo Won-cheol.”

Thanks to Kang Jun-tae’s intervention, there had been no news of Jo Won-cheol since the building’s collapse.

Han Young-seok concluded that leaving S-rank Hunters to their own devices was indeed a sound strategy.

“Where’s Jo Won-cheol right now?”

“That’s… well, it’s a chaotic battlefield, so no one has dared to approach.”

“Then we need to at least find out where this battle is taking place!”

“I-I’m sorry!”

As the guild member dashed outside to contact comrades for info on Jo Won-cheol’s whereabouts, a shout echoed through the room.

“…!!”

The commotion outside drew Han Young-seok’s attention, but he couldn’t discern what they were saying.

After a brief while, the guild member returned with a grim expression.

“What’s going on that you’d take this long to provide an answer?”

Even after receiving his superior’s question, the guild member hesitated to respond.

His silence filled the room with a sense of foreboding.

“What is happening?”

“…”

“Tell me what happened! Why aren’t you answering!?”

“They’ve been, uh, caught.”

The guild member, his voice trembling in shock, delivered an ambiguous answer.

Han Young-seok held onto a glimmer of hope, hoping it still bore some good news.

“Who got caught? Jo Won-cheol?”

“Yes.”

Hearing the response, Han Young-seok clenched his fists tightly in joy.

“Good! Then what about Kang Jun-tae?”

“Kang Jun-tae was also caught.”

“What!? They both took each other down?”

The guild member shook his head, forced to sputter out the next words painfully.

“They were both overpowered by a Hunter who appeared suddenly.”

Han Young-seok found the admission incomprehensible.

“So you’re telling me that two S-rank Hunters were brought down by a lone intruder?”

Repeating what he heard didn’t help him process the unbelievable news.

S-rank Hunters were individuals capable of single-handedly exhibiting strength exceeding entire battalions.

To claim that not one, but two had fallen to a single foe was unthinkable.

“Who in the world could do that?”

“Ka, Kang Jin-hyuk.”

The name that emerged from the guild member’s mouth hit like a bombshell, causing the heavy door to burst open.