I opened my eyes with a faint headache. Looking around, I found myself in an unfamiliar space. A spacious, clean hotel room.

That’s when memories of the previous night gradually came back.

“Ah, right. We had a champagne party at the hotel for the second round.”

My goodness, a champagne party at a hotel.

Saying it like this makes me feel like some third-generation chaebol heir. Well, Team Leader Choi might actually be a third-generation chaebol.

“KHRRRROOOAAAR KHECK!”

But that guy is a real bandit.

What kind of snoring sounds like shouting? Even Jin-ho snores a lot, but he’d be on mute compared to this man.

If I were the hotel manager, I would have kicked him out long ago…

Knock knock!

“Who is it?”

For a moment, I thought it might be a hotel employee coming to notify us of forced eviction, but it wasn’t.

A clear, refreshing voice came from beyond the door.

“It’s me. Song Song-yi.”

Wait a minute. Who?

“J-just a moment!”

I ran at the speed of light to open the door. But not before spraying some of the hotel’s complimentary cologne and checking my appearance.

Click.

My heart pounds as Song-yi’s lake-like eyes stare at me. I barely managed to squeeze out a trembling voice.

“Ah, did you sleep well?”

“No. I couldn’t sleep because of the snoring.”

“Ah.”

Not a good start. I turned the topic away, inwardly cursing Im Kkeokjeong, who was still snoring ferociously.

“What brings you here?”

“It’s breakfast time, isn’t it?”

“…You mean a meal?”

Song-yi replied with a look that asked what was wrong.

“Yes. Why?”

Why? Because I’m thrilled.

Never in my life did I imagine I’d have breakfast alone with a woman. Especially one who’s my ideal type. I feel like my eyes are getting moist.

“Finally, an oasis has appeared in my desert-like life.”

With her, I wouldn’t mind eating combat rations for breakfast. I answered resolutely.

“I’ll get ready right away.”

“Then could you wake up Mr. Kkeokjeong first?”

“…Why Mr. Kkeokjeong?”

“Didn’t you see the message?”

Song-yi held out her smartphone.

The screen displayed the guild group chat we’d created last night.

• Team Leader Choi: Is everyone awake? 
• Guild Master Kim: I’m up. 
• Song Song-yi: I’m up too Team Leader Choi: What about the other two? 
• Song Song-yi: Snoring away. 
• Team Leader Choi: …Please wake them and come to the restaurant on the first floor.

Damn it. Just when things were getting good. This is my life.

Song-yi turned away, leaving me looking glum.

“I’ll go down first then.”

I gazed endlessly at her back as she departed with light steps.

“Even her back view is pretty.”

“KHRRR, KHRRROOOAAAR!”

Is this guy really not a former bandit?

I finally managed to wake up Im Kkeokjeong and went down to the first floor.

Team Leader Choi, sitting by the window, waved to get our attention.

“I ordered in advance. Eat before it gets cold.”

I thought hotel breakfast might be something like pasta with miserably small portions, but what was on the table was steaming hangover soup.

“Ah, as expected of Team Leader Choi!”

“You really know your stuff, Team Leader.”

With some lingering hangover, a bowl of this soup would make qi circulation unnecessary.

Team Leader Choi shook his head at our reaction.

“Song-yi ordered it. I wanted pasta.”

“Ms. Song-yi did?”

“Yes.”

Judging by his gloomy expression, he must have really wanted that pasta.

But Song-yi ordering hangover soup? Looking at her appearance, she seems like a pampered rich girl, but considering how she acted yesterday, she has some unexpectedly down-to-earth aspects.

“Mmm, this is good. What are you all waiting for? You should eat while the broth is hot.”

Watching Song-yi deftly consume her hangover soup, I feel a warmth in the corner of my heart. She even eats heartily.

“So this is what they mean by being full just by watching.”

The meal concluded as I was in a state where I couldn’t tell if food was going into my nose or mouth. When everyone except me was sprawled out in satisfaction, Team Leader Choi spoke.

“Now that we’ve eaten, shall we move to our next location?”

What? I thought we were heading home to rest.

“What location?”

Im Kkeokjeong interjected, patting his bulging stomach.

“Where else? We need to continue from yesterday. How about makgeolli today? I know a good place.”

“Ah, I’m quite fond of makgeolli too.”

Guild Master Kim, who had been quietly listening to our conversation, smiled gently and continued.

“Though I’m sorry to say, we should save that place for our next gathering. We have more important matters today.”

While Guild Master Kim holds the title, the decision-maker is clearly someone else.

Under everyone’s gaze, Team Leader Choi spoke.

“Now that we’ve eaten, drunk, and rested, it’s time to work.”

Peace Guild’s first raid.

Humanity was shocked when the Great Cataclysm struck.

Gates that appeared without warning one day, and the unidentified creatures that poured out from them.

“W-what is that?”

“Monsters! Monsters!”

They might have been less surprised if skinny-limbed, big-headed aliens had invaded. But these creatures didn’t come in spaceships or fire guns.

“SQUEEEEEK!”

“KARUK! KRURURUK!”

Eyes glistening with terrible stench and killing intent. Monsters that tore humans apart like paper swept through and burned cities.

Creatures that should only exist in novels, movies, or myths.

The Minotaurus was one of them… according to what I learned in history class.

“You know about Minotaurs, right?”

At Team Leader Choi’s question, Im Kkeokjeong proudly answered.

“Of course. I saw them in a Greek mythology comic when I was in elementary school. They looked really cool, with bulging muscles.”

“…What about you, Tae-kyung?”

“I’ve never even seen one.”

The Minotaurus is a creature ranked fairly high among B-rank monsters.

For me, who was perpetually F-rank, they were about 500 light-years away.

“That’s alright. You can see one now.”

Is a gate some kind of zoo? Just going to observe?

Team Leader Choi, who spoke so casually as if it wasn’t his problem, handed me a tablet.

“Here.”

“What’s this?”

“It’s a next-generation tablet powered by C-rank magic stone. With its sleek design and superior performance, it’s exclusively sold to a limited number of VIPs…”

“Just the point.”

“I’ve loaded a raid video. Watch it.”

Should have said so from the beginning. Im Kkeokjeong and I put our heads together and watched the video stored on the tablet.

“Now, stay calm. Stay calm. Especially the tanks! Hold those shields tight. If they break through, everyone here dies. Of course, you’ll die by my hand first.”

“Yes, sir!”

About a dozen hunters form a formation in perfect unison following the raid leader’s instructions. They all look visibly tense.

“Four tanks, melee and ranged damage dealers. There’s a magician and even a healer.”

The teamwork seems good, and so does the team composition.

And then…

“So that’s a Minotaurus.”

The B-rank monster I’d only seen in encyclopedias made its appearance.

“MUUUOOOO.”

A bull’s head on a human body. Seven half-human, half-beast Minotaurs approach the intruders.

No, they charge.

“MOOOOOOO!”

Their bellowing echoed through the cave. Beneath the stone dust falling due to the vibrations, the battle began.

“Ranged! Fire!”

The raid leader shouted at the top of his lungs. Simultaneously, about twenty arrows imbued with mana pierced the head of the lead Minotaurus.

Thud! Thud!

It was a good choice to focus fire on one target instead of spreading out attacks. Especially effective was aiming precisely for the head.

No matter how strong a B-rank monster is, they can’t reinforce their eyeballs.

“MOOOO!”

The creature that was clawing at its own face in agony met its end at the hands of its following comrades.

SPLASH!

A dark iron club shattered the bull’s head. And then.

THUMP THUMP THUMP!

“Huh.”

They use the dead one’s corpse as a shield and charge forward. Arrows and magic fly in, but they only turn the corpse into a rag, while the Minotaurs hiding behind remain unscathed.

“These creatures…”

They know how to use their heads. They’re at least as intelligent as goblins, and dozens of times stronger.

Which makes them more dangerous.

“Hold—ARGH!”

At the leader’s cry, the veins on the tanks’ necks bulged. Shields glowing with pale mana block iron clubs carrying massive force.

TAP TAP TAP

In the midst of this, a small shadow dropped suddenly from the air. This hunter, specializing in stealth, jammed a blackened dagger into another Minotaurus’s eyeball and vanished.

“MOOOOO…”

B-rank monsters aren’t invincible. With the addition of other melee damage dealers, archers, and magicians’ support, two more fell in the blink of an eye.

But the crisis arrived swiftly.

“They’re breaking through!”

Just as I thought this, the precarious tank line collapsed.

CRASH!

“ARGHHHH!”

“Healer, healer!”

Screams and roars filled the air. Through the rising dust, bull-headed creatures could be seen swinging iron clubs, disrupting the formation.

“MUUOOOO!”

“Tanks, dealers! Ranged, don’t spare any mana, pour it all out! Ranged, keep your distance—”

TAP TAP TAP

“MUUOOOOO!”

“HEALERRR!”

The video continued for about 10 minutes before cutting off. The battle hadn’t completely ended; the camera was smashed by an iron club.

“MUUOOOOOOO!”

Static.

The screen turned black and white with the Minotaurus’s roar. Im Kkeokjeong gulped.

“…This is no joke.”

Of course not, sir.

I handed the tablet back to Team Leader Choi and asked.

“Which guild is this?”

“This is a raid video from the Bucheon Terminal Guild last week.”

Whoever named that guild had quite the sense. As someone who just joined Peace Guild, I shouldn’t say this, but it’s better than Bucheon Terminal Guild.

“What was the outcome?”

“All Minotaurs were exterminated. Two hunters died.”

Death during raids isn’t that rare. Being a hunter means repeatedly coming close to death and escaping.

Nevertheless, it’s impossible not to feel heavy-hearted. It’s a weight that the survivors must carry for the rest of their lives.

Just like me now.

“I see.”

That was all I could manage to say. I took out my smartphone and searched, finding a few related internet articles.

[A Certain Bucheon Guild. Sacrifice Brought by Reckless Raid.]

“On the 16th, C-rank Hunters Mr. Lee and Mr. Park died in the B-rank gate ‘Minotaur’s Labyrinth.’ The Hunter Association authorities…”

So the deceased were C-rank Hunters. Well, a mid-sized guild like that wouldn’t have the talent pool to send a dozen fully equipped B-rank Hunters.

“Then…”

I quickly scanned the guild members.

But my [Qi Sense], activated a step ahead, had already displayed their level windows.

Ding. Ding. Ding.

[Lv.75 Choi Minwoo] [Lv.80 Kim Hwa-jong] [Lv.64 Song Song-yi]

And the next moment, I made direct eye contact with Im Kkeokjeong.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

I tried to answer casually and looked away, but my inner thoughts were different.

[Lv.24 Lim Hyuk-jun]

This raid is dangerous.