Chapter 21: Chapter 20

A tropical rainforest area with humid air. This was a type commonly seen in real dungeons. It was also a type that appeared frequently in hunter exams due to the great variety of vegetation in different regions.

“Ugh, it’s really freaking hot. Hack, ptooey!”

Uncomfortable with the sweltering weather, a man covered in tattoos grumbled in an irritable tone and spat phlegm. A high school girl in uniform nearby frowned and distanced herself from the tattooed man.

“Hey, Chinatown healer. You said you can do support roles too, right? Do something about this heat.”

Ryu Seo-ha, who had been observing the bespectacled man while assessing the surrounding terrain, shifted his gaze to the tattooed man who was ordering him with a flick of his finger. Rather than frowning at the rudeness, he felt puzzled first.

‘I don’t think he was this obnoxious in the original work.’

Of course, not all applicants’ personalities were described, but if he had shown such conspicuous behavior, he would have received a so-called “lesson” from Choi Gang-hu and then some. Ah, perhaps he was the type to particularly look down on support classes.

“Come on, did I put you in charge of buffs?”

“What did you say?”

Before he could answer, a man in military uniform interjected, chiding the tattooed man. Judging by his closely shaved head and youthful face, he seemed to have awakened right after enlisting.

“We should try to be polite to each other as much as possible. You know, cooperation is included in the scoring.”

“What the hell are you…”

“Come on, everyone calm down. We don’t have time to argue like this. We need to quickly form a movement formation.”

As the tattooed man raised his voice, bristling at the young soldier’s candid words, a man with hair grown to his waist quickly stepped in to mediate. He was the one who had volunteered for the leader role in the original work too.

“And who the hell are you, kid?”

“I’m an exploration-type awakened. I checked for the dungeon core and it’s closer than we thought. I’d like to decide on positions and set out right away.”

“Let’s do that.”

“I agree.”

“Me too.”

As the high school girl, soldier, and Ryu Seo-ha came out in support of him, the tattooed man also shut his mouth. Under the long-haired man’s lead, each person’s position during movement was decided. In order of tank, melee DPS, healer and support, ranged DPS.

This would have been impossible in a real dungeon. If they had fumbled around like this, they would have been wiped out without even responding to monster attacks. It was only possible because a tacit short preparation time was given even after entering.

The conquest difficulty of artificial dungeons for hunter exams is not very high. The test is meant to weed out those unfit for combat. Barring any extreme variables, passing shouldn’t be a problem.

The important thing was to publicly expose and weed out the doppelganger’s identity. Until that timing came, he couldn’t miss even the slightest movement from it. To avoid creating helpless victims like in the original work.

“Why are you doing that?”

Even while positioned in the rear, he didn’t let up his surveillance of the bespectacled man at the front, when Choi Gang-hu approached him and quietly expressed his doubt. However, the psychological burden was too great to reveal the truth right away.

If he was challenged on how he knew and asked for evidence, he would have nothing to say. He couldn’t answer that he had read it in advance in a novel. For now, he had to wait for the creature to take suspicious actions.

“Doing what?”

When he feigned ignorance and asked back, Choi Gang-hu, who had been staring intently into Ryu Seo-ha’s eyes, silently stepped back. It felt a bit regretful that he gave in so easily. Still, it shouldn’t take long until he could reveal the truth. This was because the doppelganger was estimated to have sneaked in during the break a few hours ago.

Doppelgangers that have recently parasitized often make mistakes in the process of absorbing the host’s memories, speech patterns, and habits. As they try to act based on the host’s personality, those characteristics become awkwardly exaggerated. Like the bespectacled man who was completely silent while stiffly frozen. In the current situation, it would just look like normal nervousness.

“Well then, shall we depart…”

“Wait a moment.”

Just as they were about to start moving after finally forming their formation, Ryu Seo-ha had to stop the group.

“I think it would be better to detour northeast.”

This was because they were trying to head straight towards the dungeon core. He had been trying not to stand out unnecessarily if possible, but…

“Huh? We need to go north for the shortest route to the dungeon core.”

“That way, it will be difficult to deal with monster attacks if we encounter them en route.”

Densely spread to the north was the habitat of D-rank Shadow Thorn Trees. While it might be fine for a party of 4-5, it was quite a risky terrain for 12 people moving together in a small-scale raid formation.

“You sound like a veteran first-generation hunter.”

The tattooed man sneered with a smirk. Actually, if only considering the period of activity, he was first-generation. It’s just that he was trapped in the quarantine zone and couldn’t awaken for a long time.

“People are praising you, so you want to show off? You’ll die like that. Take this advice from your senior in life.”@@novelbin@@

Cleanly ignoring the tattooed man who was picking a fight out of context, Ryu Seo-ha shook his head at the others.

“The northeast is a bit inconvenient to move through because it’s swampy, but it’s much easier to secure visibility and maintain formation. Even if we encounter monsters, we won’t have to deal with interference from Shadow Thorn Trees as well.”

“Interference?”

“Shadow Thorn Trees have a habit of interfering when other species are hunting prey and snatching away the target.”

Plant-type monsters that enjoyed eating meat were common. Shadow Thorn Trees themselves were a rare species, so even active hunters rarely saw them.

“Hmm… then shall we decide by majority vote?”

The long-haired man scratched the back of his head with a troubled expression and suggested a vote. The people who had been reading the atmosphere quickly agreed. Thus, the travel route decided by majority vote was the shortest route directly north.

“Um, well… it came out 8 to 4… so we’ll be taking the fastest route. Is that okay?”

Ryu Seo-ha nodded without any objection. It wasn’t incomprehensible. They probably wanted to finish the test quickly even if it meant taking risks. After all, it wasn’t like their real lives were at stake, and their hunter grades were already determined. With the unpleasant weather, it was understandable to take the attitude of just wanting to pass.

“Before we depart, it would be good to check antidote items first. Poisonous monsters often appear in terrain like this.”

“Yes, well. Check the items you brought yourselves. Shall we depart right away?”

The people who had casually brushed off even his final advice entered the jungle area densely lined with thorny trees without hesitation. The dense undergrowth made advancing difficult.

While everyone was struggling with the heat and dripping with sweat, only Ryu Seo-ha and Choi Gang-hu maintained dry skin. It was thanks to clothes equipped with temperature control functions. Really, he’d have to repay this later for sure.

“Three steps ahead, watch out for roots.”

It was also thanks to Choi Gang-hu, who gave a running commentary in a low voice about every potential obstacle that might trip their feet. He even removed obstacles in advance with skills when it was awkward to warn verbally.

“Hah, must be nice to be a healer with a chaebol sponsor. Not sweating a single drop…”

The tattooed man, who was trying to sneer while sweating profusely, fell face-first before he could finish his sentence. Ryu Seo-ha immediately deployed [Sanctification] to envelop his body and drew the weapon he had prepared.

“Vanguard, raise shields! Another attack is coming!”

“Wh-what…!”

Ryu Seo-ha shouted while throwing shuriken after spotting a swarm of poison dart frogs beyond the tall undergrowth, but the panicked people only floundered. Only the high school girl raised her kite shield tightly according to his advice.

“Ugh!”

A poison dart shot from afar stuck into the long-haired man’s neck.

“Aaargh!”

As he collapsed, instantly paralyzed all over, something like an unidentified stem flew in with a whoosh and snatched up one of the ranged attackers.

Applies debuff ‘Defense Weakening’ to designated target (1 D-rank Shadow Thorn Tree).

The shuriken Ryu Seo-ha threw sliced through the moving tree stem with a rustle. Before the person who fell with a loud crash could recover,

Applies buff ‘Strength Enhancement (3 minutes)’ to designated targets (C-rank awakened and 2 others).

Applies buff ‘Agility Enhancement (3 minutes)’ to designated targets (D-rank awakened and 3 others).

Stat-increasing buffs were applied to the comrades still standing unharmed.

“Damage dealers, deal damage confidently. The skin of poison dart frogs has significantly lower durability in the air.”

He advised while accurately embedding shuriken between the eyes of poison dart frogs with each throw, but most of the awakened, bewildered by their first real combat experience, seemed to hear nothing.

This is a mess. Even if it’s a realistic illusion, this is a bit much. This must be why academy graduates established to replace the hunter exam are gaining popularity. The shuriken he had prepared in advance were already used up.

Ryu Seo-ha glanced at Choi Gang-hu, who was standing beside him and leisurely throwing stones one by one. He wouldn’t be considering the other applicants by not monopolizing the contribution. He probably just didn’t want to waste energy unnecessarily on a boring rite of passage.

Applies buff ‘Paralysis Detox’ to designated targets (B-rank awakened and 1 other).

After healing the tattooed man and long-haired man who had fallen ungracefully, Ryu Seo-ha picked up the bow that had been tossed on the ground. Originally, the thirsty dig wells. He had no capacity to retake the test.

He nocked an arrow to the bowstring, pulled his arm straight, and firmly fixed the anchor point in the middle of his lips. Drawing without a finger tab made the tender skin of his fingers cry out in pain.

Click, the heavy bow weighing well over 20kg bent flexibly, painfully brushing against his chest that lacked protective gear. The unfamiliar size of the bow caused discomfort.

But the vivid memory engraved in his body skillfully implemented the shooting posture. Just like when he provided covering fire for the guards while hiding in buildings in the quarantine zone.

Aiming with the arrowhead without a sight, checking wind direction with skin texture, were all familiar sensations. So was supporting the evenly drawn bow with back muscles.

Ping─!

He released without hesitation, flinging his hand back. The arrow that left the string in the blink of an eye pierced through a poison dart frog’s head. The remaining arrows fired in succession were all perfect hits as well.

“Holy shit!”

The poison dart frogs that had filled the area about 80m ahead quickly dwindled. The tattooed man, freed from paralysis, exclaimed in disbelief. If he had the presence of mind for that, he should have joined the attack.

“W-we’ve won this fight! Ranged attackers! Pour attacks to the front!”

The long-haired man, finally coming to his senses, raised his voice to boost the morale of his companions.

Applies buff ‘Healing Regeneration’ to designated targets (C-rank awakened and 1 other).

Ryu Seo-ha returned the bow to the tattooed man who was sitting stupidly and returned to his original position. The evaluation criteria for the hunter exam are how well one adapts to the field and how well one fulfills their assigned position, these two things.

After that, everything went smoothly. Because everyone listened to Ryu Seo-ha’s opinions. When moving again after the battle ended, and when preparing to camp after sunset.

He, who was in charge of setting up tents at the campsite, moved busily while not losing sight of the doppelganger, the bespectacled man. Everything seemed to be going well.

“Aaargh!”

At least until a sharp scream rang out. Unlike during the daytime battle, the companions who had formed battle positions quite familiarly rushed to where,

“Why… why…”

The youthful soldier was trembling. In front of the corpse of the long-haired man with a fist-sized hole in his head.