Chapter 15

Byun Dae-sang, an intern of the Hunter Management Agency’s Rift Control Team, checked the time with his smartphone.

10:40 AM.

 

An hour and 40 minutes have already passed since he changed shifts with Cha Seok-woo, another intern.

Two days ago, a Rift suddenly appeared within a store named “Hanwoo Village” in Deokyang-gu, Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do.

Kwon Hyuk-soo, the official in charge of this Rift, ranked it as C-class.

Orcs were some of the denizens identified inside the Rift which are the most common amongst C-class monsters.

‘That’s strange.’

On the Rift Entry Record,

A total of 37 Hunters entered the Rift two days after it appeared.

However, only 5 Hunters came back out as of now.

The five Hunters who returned were the first team to enter on the first day of its appearance. They only came out 8 hours after entering the Rift.

Then, in the next 12 hours, a total of 25 additional Hunters entered the Rift.

And there are no signs of them returning back.

Normally, Hunters usually stay inside the Rifts for an average of 8 hours.

Inside the Rifts, there is nothing to eat and nowhere to rest, that is why…

‘Sleeping inside the Rift is like committing suicide.’

‘Hmm, does this mean that the Hunters who haven’t come out until now are still hunting without eating and sleeping?’

‘Should I notify the headquarters?’

At that moment, two people came in front of Byun Dae-sang.

One was a typical Hunter wearing a Suit with a sword in her hand.

‘That Suit looks pretty good.’

That Suit was worn by a woman in her early 20s. It looked classy and luxurious, which was different from the mass-produced type.

In contrast, a man in his mid to late 20s, who appeared to be just her traveling companion, was not dressed like a Hunter at all.

He was like a typical office worker that you see everyday.

“Good day, sir. I’m Lee Do-jun from the Rift Management Department of the Seoul City Hall, and this is Hunter Cha Yeji, our Contracted Hunter.”

“…Ahh. No wonder. I thought your outfit was quite unusual. So, you two must be here for the Rift Exploration today.”

Nod.

Do-jun took out his ID from his pocket and showed it to him.

Byun Dae-sang then put out a fingerprint scanner, and Do-jun placed his right thumb on the scanner as if he were familiar with the process.

– Mr. Lee Do-jun of the Rift Management Department. Confirmed.

Afterwards, Cha Yeji handed out her Hunter ID card.

At that moment, Byun Dae-sang had suddenly realized something and exclaimed…

“Oh! Aren’t you the one who refused to join the Icarus guild…?”

Unknowingly,

Cha Yeji had become quite famous.

The guild in which the S-class Hunter Kang Min-hyuk belonged, the Icarus Guild.

Even though Kang Min-hyuk himself recruited Cha Yeji, she refused his offer.

It was something that an average person could not understand.

“Can we enter now?”

“Of course. Haha. You’re working hard for our country, after all.”

“Thank you. Keep up the good work.”

Do-jun and Cha Yeji then entered inside the Rift shimmering with light.

The two bodies disappeared, and Byun Dae-sang had confirmed that they had successfully entered the Rift.

‘Oh, right! I should’ve told them about that.’

That most of the Hunters still hasn’t come out yet for more than 30 hours already.

Byun Dae-sang then decided to notify the Hunter Management Agency of this now.

＊ ＊ ＊

After entering the Rift, Do-jun took out the ‘Space Tab’ from his briefcase.

Then, he clicked on the <Rift Management System> application installed in there.

– Mr. Lee Do-jun. Welcome to the Rift Management System.

‘Glad to hear your voice again.’

‘Hmm, was this voiced by a professional voice actor?’

Do-jun discarded those useless thoughts and clicked on the [Register New Rift Information] button located at the bottom right. He then selected the specific area he is in right now.

– You have registered a Rift in Gyeonggi-do, Goyang-si, Deokyang-gu, Seongsa-dong – 001.

– Please select a rating for the Rift. If you enter the rating of the emerging monster, the rating of the Rift will also be automatically entered. Also, select the ‘Exception’ option if the Rift is measured to have a higher grade.

Do-jun just inputted the emerging monster first based on what Kwon Hyuk-soo said.

According to him, Orcs appeared in this Rift, since they were C-class monsters, thus it became the main reason why the Rift was classified as C-class, but he still left a room for doubt (about its ranking) and poised himself to make a judgment after evaluating the Rift personally.

Click.

After taking some pictures around the area, he then worked on mapping the area inside the Rift with the pictures as the basis.

In the upper right corner of the tab, a map outline that appears like in RPG games was displayed.

It was completely dark except in the area where they were.

From then on, he had to map the whole area by himself.

‘…By the way.’

Whoosh.

About 20 Hunters were scattered around the entrance.

The area was filled with an eerie and deafening silence.

And the bloodstains all over their Suits were already dried.

There were also some people who shrieked and groaned like the sick in the intensive care unit.

At that time, a middle-aged Hunter who seemed to be in his early 40’s groaned and faced Do-jun. The middle-aged Hunter then shook his head.

“The scapegoats have increased again. By the way… you, the one wearing a suit, are you in your right mind? Are you really a Hunter?”

Do-jun showed him his government ID.

“I am Lee Do-jun, a member of the Seoul City Hall’s Rift Management Department.”

“Why are public officials here… Oh. Come to think of it, I’ve heard of you guys. You manage Rifts below C-class, right? Well, that’s something.”

What all Hunters knew is that the Hunter Management Agency was the one actually managing the Rifts, not the government, that’s why the middle-aged Hunter was surprised.

“If you don’t mind, could you tell us about the situation here? I can see that some of you don’t look too well, but why aren’t you going out of the Rift?”

“It’s not that we don’t want to, sir. We are unable to get out. ”

The middle-aged Hunter then pointed towards the exit.

It was only then did Do-jun realize that the portal wasn’t functioning normally.

Usually, the portal should have been shining brightly.

But now, it was achromatic.

‘…This.’

He had experienced it inside the Dark Ogre’s Swamp.

This phenomenon only happens during a Rift Distortion.

So, is this place a Great Rift?

‘Is it ‘distorted’? No, that’s not it. If that was the case, then we wouldn’t have been able to get inside the Rift.’

In Great Rifts, if a Rift Distortion occurs and a boss monster appears,

Both the entrance and the exit will be blocked.

“A Rift Break…”

Cha Yeji muttered.

Rift Break.

If ‘Distortion’ only happens in Great Rifts, ‘Breaks’ could happen in all Rifts, including Great Rifts.

This is a strange phenomenon that only occurs when special ‘conditions’ are met.

Cha Yeji then looked at the middle-aged Hunter and said,

“Can you tell me what are the conditions?”

The middle-aged Hunter nodded and gestured in the air.

Afterwards, a holographic message appeared before Do-jun and Cha Yeji.

[Rift Break]

[Activation Condition: Number of challengers entering the Rift should be 25↑]

[Clear Condition: Eliminate all regular monsters inside the Rift]

[Perfect Clear Condition: Eliminate all monsters inside the Rift]

[Penalty: Challengers are unable to exit Rift during the ‘Break’]

[Clear Rewards: All Challengers will receive +5 stats on their Strength, Agility, and Vitality]

[Additional Reward: Rewarding of a random B-class or higher weapons to the challenger/s who defeats the boss and champion monsters]

[Remaining Regular Monster(s): 280]

[Remaining Champion Monster(s): 3]

[Remaining Boss Monster(s): 1]

“280?”

Looking at the numbers, it was a lot.

Fighting all of them would be a daunting and overwhelming task for them.

The monsters here are Orcs.

If there are about 30 C-class or B-class Hunters, then they would be able to kill up to 500 Orcs at best, but…

“It’d be better if you guys just wait here too. Some of the Hunters here have already been here for days. So, if the agency finds out that they still haven’t come out, maybe they’ll send some good Hunters.”

“If you guys work together, wouldn’t you be able to easily catch 280 Orcs?”

When Do-jun asked, the middle-aged Hunter laughed.

Yes, generally speaking, it was possible.

“Do you even know what kind of monsters are here?”

“I heard they’re Orcs.”

“Yeah, that’s what we heard too. They were really just Orcs. Only in the beginning…”

In the beginning, it was just Orcs, but furthermore, inside the dungeon, a completely different monster appeared.

“Moving on further inside… Trolls appear, and they are B-class monsters. Now, do you understand why we’re just staying behind here?”

At that statement,

Cha Yeji’s expression hardened.

In all honesty, she had the confidence to win with at most 5 Orcs.

Since she was able to kill 8 Orcs during the Hunter Rating Assessment.

Moreover, she hadn’t neglected training her skill, the Scholar’s Swordsmanship since then.

But if there are Trolls inside this Rift, then that would be a different story.

Cha Yeji has never faced that kind of monster before, and B-class monsters are way stronger than C-class monsters.

In addition, Trolls won’t be killed with just a few injuries because of their monstrous regenerative ability.

To kill them, they should be dealt with a fatal blow on their weak spots.

And the most important thing was Do-jun’s safety.

She wasn’t sure if she could absolutely protect him along the way if they decide to travel.

After a while, Cha Yeji came to a conclusion.

“I’m against going further.”

“Can you tell me why?”

“I can’t put you in danger, Manager.”

“As I said earlier, that won’t happen.”

“No. If the Trolls attack all at once, I won’t be able to protect you. I completely refuse to go any further.”

Do-jun then pondered with him on his chin.

It doesn’t matter to him if they could go hunting or not.

No, of course he shouldn’t go.

If he was just a normal person.

[Additional Reward: Rewarding of a random B-class or higher weapons to the challenger/s who defeats the boss and champion monsters]

Do-jun then looked at Cha Yeji’s D-class weapon, the Skeleton Soldier’s Sword.

The Rift Management Department still could not provide her with D-class weapons or of higher rank as of the moment.

With that said, he also couldn’t buy a weapon with his own money.

‘This a great opportunity for her to change weapons though…’

At that time, Do-jun saw three Hunters.

And they were about to go hunting.

“Ms. Yeji, if my safety is guaranteed, would you then agree to go hunting?”

“…What. Well, if that is so then I don’t exactly disagree with that…” 

“Let’s join a party.”

＊ ＊ ＊

Whoosh.

Cha Yeji looked back every three seconds.

Do-jun was taking a picture on the Space Tab about 10 meters away from her and kept on tapping on it as if he was busy doing something.

“Sigh.”

Cha Yeji sighed.

Half an hour ago, Do-jun approached the three party members and asked if she could go hunting with them with a smile.

They were a team similar to a traditional party composed of a tank, a healer, and a long-distance damage dealer.

They immediately accepted Do-jun’s proposal since they needed a close combatant.

“Hunting shouldn’t be a problem as long as we remain cautious of our surroundings.”

The party leader, Choi Ho-jun, said while carrying a shield on his back.

Then, he glanced at Do-jun, who was following him from behind, and said,

“Follow me carefully, sir. We can’t have a civil servant die on us now, can we?”

Do-jun was still tapping on the tab with his head down when suddenly he spoke.

“There are three trolls 30 meters ahead. Get ready to fight.”

“…What? Right now? Where are they?”

After two seconds,

Three trolls appeared behind a huge tree.