Chapter 2: Lost Technology (2)
The dimensional gate is the most special among the dungeons that appeared in the era of hunters.
A passage leading to completely different worlds, galaxies, dimensions, and time periods.
Sometimes, like now, it would summon you right into the middle of space.
At first, people tried to understand the exact phenomenon and reason behind the gates, but now most have given up.
What's important is that some transcendental being gives quests to humanity, and if those quests are cleared, immense rewards can be obtained.
Unlike Hyeon Su-ho, who entered a gate for the first time, the Jinryong Guild had already cleared several of these dimensional quests.
Even though they were suddenly dropped in the middle of a spaceship, they didn't panic at all and began to act.
"We've confirmed the quest difficulty and objective. There's no time limit on this quest, but we'll move as quickly as possible!"
Difficulty level: 3.5 stars.
The difficulty is not absolute but relative. It's determined based on the expedition team's strength.
1 star is very easy, 2 stars easy, and 3 stars average.
The number of stars can increase infinitely depending on the expedition team's combat power.
There were 90 hunters and only 10 support workers.
A large-scale party of 100 people began to move together.
"We don't know what might come out. Everyone, be careful!"
Dimensional quests usually summon you right before a special event occurs.
From simple tasks like dealing with monsters attacking a village, to landing in the middle of a battlefield and capturing the leader of a rebellion.
Even though the fact that they were in space was concerning, they judged that a 3.5-star quest was at a slightly difficult level and deemed it clearable.
In an unknown dimensional gate, quick and accurate judgment is crucial.
Since the quest was to enter the self-destruct code, they decided to head to the spaceship's cockpit.
Upon identifying the cockpit through the windows, the party started walking down a long corridor.
Step, step.
"Why is it so quiet?"
"If aliens come out, do we fight right away?"
"Of course. They won't just watch us try to blow up their spaceship."
It was a spaceship of advanced science incomparable to Earth.
Their weapons would also far exceed the scientific level of modern humans.
The hunters imagined green aliens using beam lasers as they moved forward.
It was then.
[Screech!]
At the eerie sound, someone at the front shouted.
"Everyone stop! Check your surroundings."
The hunters looked around with visibly tense expressions.
The threat soon revealed itself.
From the vents all around the spaceship, something black and bug-like began to pour out.
The sound of hard exoskeletons hitting the metal floor echoed.
Scuttlescuttle!!
"Damn it! It's a monster!"
The emerging monsters looked like cockroaches with armor-like exoskeletons.
Each was about 30 cm in size, but there were too many to count.
Like iron filings attracted to a magnet, they all headed towards the party.
Scuttlescuttle!!
As they approached rapidly, the expedition leader shouted sharply.
"Everyone, maintain formation! Those who can attack, move first!"
At the leader's command, those with long-range skills quickly used their abilities.
"Burn!"
"Lightning Nova!"
"Multi-Shot!"
Boom, boom, boom!!
Thankfully, the attacks were effective.
As tremendous firepower poured out simultaneously, the monsters fell as if sprayed with insecticide.
[Screeeech!]
Most were down, but there were so many that some managed to break through the long-range attacks.
Those were left to the close-range attackers.
"They're coming! Shield-bearers to the front!"
Clang, clang!!
While the shield-bearers blocked in front, the close-range attackers swung their swords and axes.
"Double Attack!"
"Rapid Slash!"
Attacks so fast that ordinary people couldn't follow with their eyes.
The monsters that barely broke through the long-range attacks were shredded like being in a blender.
In such chaotic battles, the most at risk were the porters.
The hunters were busy protecting their own lives. They had no time to look after the porters behind them.
"Damn it!"
Hunters tended to disregard firearms.
No matter how improved, they couldn't contain mana, making their power insufficient.
But for support workers without attack skills and with low levels, firearms were their only means of self-defense.
Hyeon Su-ho knew this well and never neglected his shooting training.
He pulled out dual pistols from his coat and held them in both hands.
For support workers who had to carry heavy loads, even a rifle was a luxury.
Rat-a-tat-tat!
Hyeon Su-ho's arms swung left and right, crossing repeatedly.
The bullet tips were made of monster materials, specially designed for anti-monster rounds.
They were powerful, but the high cost was a significant drawback.
But in this situation, there was no other choice.
No matter how valuable, money was not more important than life.
Rat-a-tat-tat!
Even though the bullets were expensive, all they did was push the monsters back.
Their exoskeletons were tougher than expected, and the bullets didn't penetrate well.
Still, to survive, he had to keep firing.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Other support members also followed Hyeon Su-ho's lead and started firing their bullets.
However, their accuracy was abysmal, likely due to a lack of training. The combined bullets from the other nine members barely matched the effectiveness of Hyeon Su-ho's shots alone.
Fortunately, after about three minutes of relentless shooting, the flood of monsters ceased.
Confirming that no more monsters were emerging, everyone finally let out a sigh of relief.
"What the hell were those things? Space monsters?"
It had been a critical moment.
The support members, still trembling with fear, spoke to Hyeon Su-ho.
"Impressive shooting! Thanks to you, we survived."
"Yeah. If it weren't for you, half of us would be dead."
They were support members who had been pushed to the brink of death.
Even after the fight ended, none of the hunters seemed to care about them.
If it weren't for Hyeon Su-ho's shooting skills, it wouldn't have been surprising if there had been fatalities.
"Not just your shooting skills, but also your nerve... You're better than most professional hunters."
Hyeon Su-ho gave a bitter smile at this.
"It's just a trick. I'm still just a mechanic."
No matter how good he was at shooting, it didn't matter.
Even if you were an F-rank, without a combat-related job, you couldn't become a hunter.
Knowing this, the others felt sorry for Hyeon Su-ho's wasted talent.
"What a waste. If you had even a lower-tier decent job, your life would be completely different from ours."
"That's true for everyone."
Hypotheticals don't help at all.
Everyone has probably imagined having a better job than what they currently possess.
Hyeon Su-ho knew it was a pointless exercise.
"By the way, what were those monsters?"
The others shared his curiosity about the monsters.
The hunters had traveled through dimensional gates and fought various monsters from different dimensions.
But they had never encountered such grotesque creatures before.
Luckily, there were no casualties, but the expedition had just begun.
After checking for casualties, the expedition leader shouted.
"We'll take a short break to recharge our mana. Be cautious, there might still be live monsters around."
It was standard to recharge mana as much as possible before proceeding, especially in unknown dimensional gates.
Despite the strange monsters, it was impossible to check and finish off each one of them.
But in any large group, there are always some who don't follow orders.
Hunter Park Kwang-yeol, who had just graduated from Hunter Academy and had been rude to Hyeon Su-ho earlier, was one of them.
He started poking at a fallen, trembling monster with his sword out of boredom.
"Ugh! This thing is disgusting."
Seemingly out of boredom, he even tried to dissect the monster.
That's when it happened.
[Keeek!]
The seemingly dying monster sprang up like a spring.
"Uwah!"
Park Kwang-yeol reflexively swung his hand, but his thick reinforced glove was slashed, spilling blood.
The monster, knocked to the ground, immediately lunged at Park Kwang-yeol's face.
He tried to swing his sword, but it was a bit too late.
The monster was already inches from his face.
In that moment...
Bang!
With a gunshot, the monster was flung back.
Startled by the sudden noise, people turned to see Hyeon Su-ho standing there with a smoking gun.
"Phew!"
Once again, Hyeon Su-ho's incredible shooting skills saved the day.
And there was an unexpected bonus this time.
'My experience points increased.'
He had delivered the final blow to a nearly dead monster.
Despite their small size, the monsters here granted significant experience points.
For a support member without attack skills or a party, it was almost the only way to level up.
There were hardly any monsters you could kill with a gun.
While some rich folks could hire hunters to level up, Hyeon Su-ho couldn't afford that luxury.
'I'm almost at level 1.'
Each level-up granted new skills and significantly boosted stats.
Hyeon Su-ho planned to quit his porter job as soon as he reached level 1.
It was then that he heard a deep female voice.
"What happened here?"
The expedition leader, who had been in a strategy meeting, had come running after hearing the gunshot.
Hyeon Su-ho turned around and was startled.
A woman with long, ebony hair tied back, large eyes, and sharp, defined features stood there.
With a height of about 170 cm, her curvaceous figure was evident even through thick armor.
Even without a trace of makeup, she was more beautiful than most celebrities.
She was Jin Seo-yeon, the heir to the Jinryong Guild and today's expedition leader.
Though in her early twenties, she had substantial experience as a hunter.
Jin Seo-yeon quickly assessed the situation with a glance and first spoke to Park Kwang-yeol, who was bleeding from his hand.
"Are you alright?"
"Ah… yes. I'm fine."
Even the rude Park Kwang-yeol acted like a meek lamb in front of Jin Seo-yeon.
Seeing no serious injury, Jin Seo-yeon brushed her hair back and spoke wearily.
"Dimensional gates have many unpredictable dangers. Please refrain from impulsive actions."
Though her tone was gentle, her words carried a rebuke.
Park Kwang-yeol, his face red with embarrassment, waved his hand and shouted.
"It wasn't me, it was that porter who made a mistake. I was just trying to help and..."
He suddenly shifted the blame to Hyeon Su-ho.
It seemed he wanted to transfer his mistake onto someone else.
Hyeon Su-ho looked at him with an expression of disbelief.
'What is he talking about?'
Although his motive was to gain experience, he had undoubtedly saved Park Kwang-yeol from a crisis.
Just as he was about to shout in anger, Hong Chang-shik, a fireballer standing behind Jin Seo-yeon, stepped forward.
"What nonsense are you spouting?!"
Fwoosh!
His intense emotions alone released a powerful heat.
Park Kwang-yeol, who had graduated from the Hunter Academy with excellent grades and joined the Jinryong Guild, was an upcoming prospect.
But just from the pressure exerted by Ranker Hong Chang-shik, his face turned pale.
"Ugh!"
"Don't you realize that one slippery eel like you can cause great harm to the entire expedition team?! You loudmouthed brat..."
As Hong Chang-shik's emotions flared up, Park Kwang-yeol felt so overwhelmed he could barely breathe.
Finally, unable to bear it any longer, Jin Seo-yeon intervened to calm him down.
"Sir, that's enough. I think he understands now."
"Ah... yes. I'm sorry."
Surprisingly, Hong Chang-shik nodded obediently at Jin Seo-yeon's words.
Even though she was a third-generation chaebol, Jin Seo-yeon wasn't someone a Ranker like Hong Chang-shik would bow to easily.
It seemed they were bound not just by a contractual relationship, but by strong bonds and affection.
Despite being called "Miss," he treated her more like a beloved niece.
With Park Kwang-yeol shrinking back, Jin Seo-yeon approached Hyeon Su-ho.
"Did you fire the gun?"
"Yes."
"Thanks to you, there were no casualties. Thank you."
"It's nothing. I was just lucky."
He had expected her to be arrogant and self-centered, as one might think of a chaebol, but she wasn't.
She was kinder and more amiable than most hunters.
'Although it could just be for image management...'
Regardless, Hyeon Su-ho was grateful for her response.
In previous expeditions, it wasn't uncommon for support members to be unfairly blamed for mistakes clearly caused by the hunters.
'After all, no matter how promising a hunter he might be, Park Kwang-yeol is just one of many rookies for the Jinryong Guild.'
Thinking this, Hyeon Su-ho realized Jin Seo-yeon didn't need to treat him well just for image management.
Hong Chang-shik, too, seemed unfazed by the situation, standing nonchalantly beside her.
Jin Seo-yeon even bowed her head as she spoke.
"Thank you. I look forward to working with you."
As a subtle fragrance wafted past his nose, Hyeon Su-ho nodded.
* * *
The expedition continued after a brief pause.
Monsters appeared intermittently, but not in the overwhelming numbers from before.
With hunters possessing scouting skills leading the way, there were only minor injuries.
Just when they thought they were getting used to this spaceship...
As they were about to cross a large room, they witnessed a shocking sight.
"What is this?!"
There were an enormous number of beds—no, bed-like capsules.
Inside these capsules lay beings that looked very similar to humans, except for their slightly larger stature.
These were cryo capsules.
It seemed these beings traveled in hibernation during long space journeys.
The problem was that none of the aliens inside the capsules were intact.
"Have they been eaten?"
The capsules were in a state of disarray, and the aliens inside had their insides completely devoured.
The cause was evident.
It was the doing of the monsters that had attacked the expedition earlier.
"Now I understand why the mission was to self-destruct the spaceship."
