Midterms had begun.
They would last for five days.
The first day was all written theory exams, so it went by easily.
“How was the test?” Im Naeun asked, having finished around the same time as me.
“Hmm, I’m not sure.”
It was all material I already knew, and I’d written my answers down meticulously, but I couldn’t be sure of the result.
When you live as a Hunter for a long time, you get used to practical shortcuts that deviate from the textbook methods.
Many of those habits are so ingrained that even when I knew I should write down the official answer, I kept adding my own personal methods to it.
In the end, my score would depend on how the grading professor decided to interpret my answers.
“You did well… I see.”
“Huh? Hehe.”
I didn’t even need to ask. Her expression said it all.
When everyone else looked miserable, a person smiling from ear to ear could only be one of two things: either they didn’t care about the test in the first place, or they did so well they didn’t have a single worry in the world.
Knowing Naeun’s personality, the former was impossible, so it had to be the latter.
“Let’s go get lunch. My treat!”
She was so happy she even offered to pay.
Normally, I would have gladly joined her, but…
“Sorry. I have something urgent to take care of today, so I have to go.”
“Oh… really? Well, I guess it can’t be helped…”
Im Naeun’s face fell.
I patted her on the shoulder and replied in an apologetic tone.
“I’m sorry. I’ll buy you lunch tomorrow instead.”
“Okay, it’s a promise?”
“Yeah.”
Only after we linked our pinkies did her expression brighten.
I parted ways with her and immediately got into one of the taxis lined up in front of the school gate.
“Dong Seoul Bus Terminal, please.”
“You got it.”
The reason for heading to the terminal was obvious.
My business today wasn’t in Seoul, but outside of it.
I took the taxi straight to the Dong Seoul Bus Terminal and bought a bus ticket.
My destination: Taebaek, Gangwon Province.
My purpose: to find something I had hidden there.
I grabbed three rolls of kimbap for a quick meal and boarded the bus on time.
The trip to the Taebaek Intercity Bus Terminal took two hours.
It struck me just how much the times had changed.
“Two hours to Taebaek. The world’s really gotten better.”
It was thanks to the express buses powered by magic stones, which were significantly faster than regular buses.
I hailed a waiting taxi and headed somewhere else.
My final destination was the entrance to Taebaek Mountain.
This was where the reason for my long journey was hidden.
“Whew, this is going to be a pain.”
I could already tell it was going to be a rough day.
I only remembered the general location, so there was a high chance I’d have to wander around a bit.
I hoped it wouldn’t come to that, but I might end up spending the night on the mountain, so I’d packed some simple provisions.
Some beef jerky and water.
After finishing my preparations, I stepped onto the mountain trail.
The occasional hikers I passed would glance at me as they walked by.
It was probably because my attire, from head to toe, was completely unsuited for hiking.
I followed the trail for a while, and once I confirmed no one was around, I abruptly changed direction.
I left the designated path and entered a wilder, untamed part of the mountain.
“Where was it… this way?”
Using my faint old memories as a guide, I headed further up, stepping on the rustling fallen leaves.
Every step I took was a struggle.
“Hmph… this isn’t it.”
A lot of time had passed, and the season was different, making it incredibly difficult to get my bearings.
“I don’t think I’m in a completely wrong spot, though…”
A very faint sensation told me I hadn’t strayed too far off course.
But that was it. From here on, I’d have to rely on my eyes and legs to do the hard work.
I used my mana to mark the spot I vaguely remembered, then began searching the surrounding area with that point as my center.
If a place felt completely wrong, I’d return. If it felt vaguely familiar, I’d leave another mark.
Before I knew it, evening had arrived.
“Tsk… I’m cutting it close.”
If this took much longer, I might not be able to return to Seoul today.
“Was I too hasty?”
Maybe I’d acted too rashly.
Thinking about it calmly, I could have done this after midterms…
“Ah, but that would be too late.”
Midterms wouldn’t be over for at least five days, and by then, it would be too late.
It would have already fallen into someone else’s hands.
“First, let’s get something to eat…”
I filled my stomach with the beef jerky and water I’d brought from the base of the mountain.
The price was ridiculously high, but it tasted completely cheap.
After a short rest, I resumed my search.
With the early darkness and cold setting in, I used Light magic to secure my vision and Warming magic to keep my body heated.
I wandered like that for about another hour.
Finally, I found a clue.
A clue that only I, in this entire world, could discover.
“Huh.”
At a certain point, the flow of mana changed drastically.
The mana, which should have been flowing freely in all directions, was now all streaming in the same direction.
I followed its path.
As I got closer, the current of mana grew faster.
After walking for about five more minutes, I arrived in the middle of an ordinary-looking mountain.
The mana was seeping into the ground beneath a large tree.
“…Finally found it.”
The tree, which looked no different from the others around it, had a small mark on it.
A tiny square carved near the base.
I used magic on the ground where the mana was flowing.
`Dig.`
It was a basic earth-attribute spell that dug a hole in a certain radius.
The leaf-covered ground caved in.
What was revealed was a massive boulder.
Old memories came flooding back.
To make sure no one would find it, I had scoured the area for a huge boulder and thrown it in here.
“That thing… hmm.”
I pondered how to break it.
In the old days, a single punch would have shattered it to pieces.
“…No other choice.”
Time for some manual labor.
Using the mana of the earth, I quickly fashioned a tool.
`Earth Hammer.`
A crude hammer made of rock formed in my hand.
Maybe because I made it for myself, the handle fit perfectly in my palm.
“Ptui!”
I spread my mana wide to muffle the sound as much as possible, then spat on my palms for a better grip.
Then, using my entire body, I swung down with all my might…!
CRACK!
With the power of my spring-like muscles, the hammer in my hand dug into the boulder.
Crrrack!
A long fissure spread out from the dented spot.
A few more hits like this should do it.
I swung the hammer again.
CR-CRACK!
CRUNCH!
After swinging the hammer frantically about ten times, the boulder finally shattered.
I tossed the large fragments out of the pit to clear a path.
At last, a small tunnel, just big enough to crawl through, appeared.
I hunched over and crawled to the end, where…
“Found it.”
There was a small rift.
The kind of rift that leads to a dungeon.
Dungeons could form anywhere, at any time.
Most were discovered by detecting precursor phenomena with mana concentration detectors installed in the area, but sometimes, dungeons with low mana levels went unnoticed.
This was one of those places.
A so-called ‘Unconfirmed Dungeon’ that had never been reported because the rift was too small to reach the threshold that would trigger the detectors’ alarms.
Normally, the rule was to report an unconfirmed dungeon to the Association immediately upon discovery, but…
“Who cares about trivial laws in the face of enormous profit?”
Every major guild secretly owned three or four unconfirmed dungeons.
The reason was obvious… they were beneficial to the guild in many ways.
They could support the growth of their affiliated Hunters by letting them clear the dungeons, and the byproducts from within were traded on the black market, so they didn’t have to pay taxes.
Our guild, of course, also owned several of these unconfirmed dungeons.
To be honest, moving around secretly behind the scenes wasn’t my style, so I’d suggested we just report them several times, but my words fell on deaf ears.
A guild isn’t run by the sole discretion of its master.
This was one of the unconfirmed dungeons owned by our guild.
In fact, it was a top-secret location known only to me and a few other executives.
Its name was ‘Moonview Cave.’
The monsters that appeared here were enhanced versions of orcs and goblins, the ‘Moonlight-Corrupted’ types.
Creatures with that kind of prefix are about 1.5 times stronger than their normal counterparts.
Frankly, it wasn’t a very profitable place.
The monsters were 1.5 times stronger, but the byproducts you got from them were no different from those of regular monsters.
In other words, it was a thankless job—more effort for the same reward.
Nevertheless, there was a reason this dungeon was kept unconfirmed instead of being reported.
And that reason was what had brought me all the way here.
I immediately reached for the rift and moved into the dungeon.
[You have entered Moonview Cave.]
I dismissed the message that popped up, got to my feet, and took in the scenery.
A soft light was seeping out from the dark walls.
This was one of the reasons it was called Moonview Cave.
The moonlight that shone down into the boss room permeated the entire cave, making it glow with a gentle luminescence.
“No monsters… good.”
A dungeon only resets after a certain amount of time once the boss monster in the boss room has been killed.
The fact that there wasn't a single monster in the cave meant that all the regular monsters had been cleared out, leaving only the boss.
This was perfect for me.
It meant all I had to do was walk straight to the boss and take its head.
I followed the winding path.
Even though I was walking at a brisk pace, it took a full 30 minutes to reach the door to the boss room.
“So long…”
If monsters had been scattered throughout, it might have taken two or three times as long.
Before opening the door, I briefly recalled the boss monster that appeared here.
“What was it again…?”
It was ten years ago, so I couldn’t remember clearly, but I thought it was a pretty disgusting creature.
“…Well, I’ll know when I go inside.”
I couldn’t remember exactly what it was, but I was certain of one thing.
Its rank wasn’t very high.
So, I didn’t need to worry too much.
With a light heart, I pushed open the massive door with all my strength.
Creeeeak…
The door opened with a loud groan, revealing an interior filled with soft moonlight.
“Huh?”
It was a huge cavern.
But the boss that was supposed to be there was nowhere to be seen.
“…What’s going on?”
A sudden ominous thought flashed through my mind.
Could it be that they had already cleared the dungeon and taken it?
“Please, please, please.”
I repeated the word ‘please’ over and over as I crossed the cavern.
At the very far end of the cavern was a small area where silver-mana-infused moonlight poured down endlessly.
And there… a single flower was in bloom.
A single, pale-yellow flower, on the verge of opening its petals after absorbing moonlight as its nourishment for 99 years and 360 days.
“Phew!”
The moment I confirmed the flower’s existence, a sigh of relief escaped me.
Thankfully, it seemed they hadn’t taken it first.
Wait.
Isn’t that even weirder, then?
“The flower is here, so why is the boss missing…”
Just then.
I felt an intense presence from above.
Kiiieee!
An ominous sound.
I quickly twisted my body and looked up.
Something was plummeting straight towards me from the ceiling.
“Ah, I remember now.”
Seeing its face, it all came back to me.
“The Moonlight Spider.”
Just like the beautifully blooming pale-yellow flower, it was a giant spider that had grown up here, endlessly feeding on the moonlight.
Its sharp legs shot toward me.