The Shadow Soldiers quickly closed the gap!

    However, the ferocious movements of the ice bears were far faster than the Shadow Soldiers .

    Boom!

    Crack!

    A single swipe of the bear’s claw obliterated a Shadow Soldier . If it was a human in that pitch black armor and not a shadow, it would’ve been a gruesome sight .

    ‘Hmm…’

    Jinwoo furrowed his brows .

    ‘As I thought, was it too much?’

    Whether it was strength or size, it unfortunately looked like it was too much for Shadow Soldiers to face the ice bears .

    But suddenly, something surprising happened .

    ‘What the!’

    Jinwoo’s eyes widened .

    The body of the Shadow Soldier that was destroyed by an ice bear turned to black smoke before it fully hit the ground .

    shooooo-

    The black smoke gathered at some distance away, then reformed into its original shape .

    ‘Oh shit!’

    Jinwoo’s face lit up .

    Undead .

    He had forgotten about the true nature of these shadows and was now reminded .

    Realizing its attack had no effect, the ice bear panicked and roared .

    Roooaaaar!

    While the Shadow Infantry kept the ice bears busy, the Shadow Mages had finished their casting .

    Flaaaare-!

    Bang!

    Kaboom!

    The fireballs released from the mages’ hands exploded here and there . While the Shadow Infantry caught by the explosion regenerated immediately, the ice bears caught on fire and thrashed about .

    “Kuwaaaah!”

    “Kuwuuh!”

    The Shadow Infantry continued their attacks, swinging and stabbing their swords at the burning bears .

    slash!

    stab!

    At first, the ice bears looked like they had the advantage, but they were slowly being pushed back by the combined attack of the infantry and the mages .

    ‘Whoa…’

    Jinwoo watched the battle with great interest .

    The infantry’s fast regeneration .

    The mage’s powerful firepower .

    The might of Shadow Soldiers exceeded his expectations . The ice bears were soon overwhelmed and were pushed all the way back to the caves . It seemed like the battle was over-

    ROOOOAAAAR!

    With a roar that shook the eardrums, something giant appeared from the cave .

    “That’s…”

    Jinwoo’s eyes widened . It was an ice bear a head taller than the rest and also much wider .

    ROAR!

    At a single swipe of its claw, many Shadow Soldiers were swept away .

    BOOM!

    Craaaaack!

    Even their quick regeneration speed could not keep up .

    Crack!

    Smash!

    “Looks like the alpha made his appearance…”

    Of course, he had expected that a den of bears would have an alpha bear . But the thing’s size and power surpassed his expectations .

    ROOOOAR!

    The giant ice bear slapped away the Shadow Soldiers and ran toward Jinwoo . Suddenly, a message appeared,

    ring~

    You are out of mana . The Shadow Soldiers cannot regenerate .

    You are out of mana . The Shadow Soldiers cannot regenerate .

    What?

    He checked his mana in panic . Just as the System said, his mana was at zero .

    MP: 0 / 1,860

    With his mana gone, the Shadow Soldiers no longer regenerated after being destroyed . Instead, they turned into shadow and returned to Jinwoo’s shadow . Jinwoo realized that it was his mana that allowed the soldiers to regenerate .

    ‘That goddamn mana…’

    He found yet another reason to raise his intelligence stat . Jinwoo scratched the side of his head . The appearance of the alpha had completely turned the tide of the battle . However, Jinwoo still had a trump card up his sleeve .

    ‘If their boss came out, I should send mine out as well . ’

    With his arms crossed, Jinwoo called for the one who was worthy to be called the Shadow Soldier’s boss .

    “Ygritte!”

    A single shadow slid out from Jinwoo’s shadow . From the shadow rose a knight wearing a helmet adorned with a plumage . Jinwoo raised a chin at the alpha . Ygritte bowed his head to Jinwoo then shot forth towards the giant ice bear .

    step, step, step, step!

    Ygritte dodged the alpha’s swipe and slid between the ice bear’s legs . While in motion, he quickly took out the daggers at his side and cut the tendons of the beast’s legs .

    “Kuwwaaah!”

    This was only the beginning .

    Unsheathing his long sword, Ygritte skillfully dodged the torrent of attacks from the alpha while carving it up like a sculpture .

    Tendons, claws, paws, legs . Bit by bit, the alpha’s flesh was being cut off like being worked by a butcher .

    “Huh…”

    Jinwoo watched Ygritte’s flowing, artlike movements with great admiration .

    The head was the last to go .

    Slash!

    The giant ice bear’s head was cleanly separated from its body . Before it could hit the ground, Ygritte snatched it from the air . The knight approached Jinwoo then knelt before the Hunter .

    drop

    Ygritte placed the bear’s head in front of Jinwoo feet, as if offering a trophy to his king . Jinwoo stared at the knight and gulped,

    ‘If he used his sword from the start back then, could I have defeated him?’

    The remaining ice bears were thrown into chaos after losing their leader and were quickly routed by the soldiers . The battle was over . The results greatly satisfied Jinwoo .

    Shadow Infantry (Lv . 2)

    Shadow Infantry (Lv . 3)

    Shadow Infantry (Lv . 2)

    Shadow Mage (Lv . 2)

    The soldiers had leveled up here and there . Since the Shadow Soldiers themselves were Jinwoo’s skill, the Hunter had also gained 3 levels . And above all else,

    “Arise . ”

    You’ve succeeded in Shadow Extraction .

    You’ve succeeded in Shadow Extraction .

    You’ve succeeded in Shadow Extraction .

    He had earned new friends .

    ROOOAR-!

    Including the alpha, Jinwoo had selected several ice bears . From their shadows, a large black mass rose .

    ‘I expected a bear wearing an armor…’

    The reality was a little different .

    The ‘Shadow Beasts’[1] that arose maintained some semblance to a bear but at the same time had a form that seemed to shift between solid and gas . A black steam continuously spewed from their figures .

    ‘The visuals are a bit lacking, but still, it’s those ice bears’ shadows . ’

    Their strength and capacity for destruction . He would surely have a use for it . Suddenly,

    rooooar

    Jinwoo’s ears perked up at a cry sounding from a distance . It was not just one or two .

    ‘Looks like there are more dens in the area . ’

    It was getting a little late in the day . He’ll check it out tomorrow .

    A bright smile appeared on Jinwoo’s face .

    “Uwaaaaak!”

    “Kuk!”

    His teammates were screaming left and right . Kim Cheol’s eyes were wide open .

    ‘There is no way!’

    That he, Kim Cheol, would fail like this! He was someone would become Baekho’s elite . He had even received special training for that goal . And now, he was going to fail?! The A-ranker could not accept it .

    Their party had endured the cold and hunger and fought with yetis . After that were the ice giants . They had lost two of their members but managed to prevail against them too . The Raid appeared to be going smooth .

    But .

    But!!!

    The moment they had triumphed over the ice giants, the White Walkers ambushed them from all directions, as if they had been waiting . Those bastards had been watching their party, waiting for their stamina to hit rock bottom . What followed was a massacre . The Hunters fell, one after another, in an instant .

    “L-leader!”

    A fallen Hunter stretched a bloodied hand toward Kim Cheol . Kim Cheol stepped backwards . A White Walker appeared out of nowhere and slit the throat of the Hunter on the ground . While the man gurgled and choked on his own blood, the White Walker raised his head towards Kim Cheol . The A-ranker screamed,

    “U-uwaaaah!”

    He turned around and ran into the forest . The forest had ice bears? Those bears were nothing compared to the yetis, ice giants and the White Walkers . Kim Cheol ran with all of his might . Watching his figure disappear into the distance, the White Walkers raised their bows and took aim . But before they could fire, a White Walker raised his hand and stopped them . It was an ice elf with hair flowing down to his waist . The other White Walkers lowered their bows .

    ‘ . . . ’

    The long hair pointed and gestured to follow Kim Cheol . One by one, the other White Walkers disappeared from sight .

    Kim Cheol leaped through a bush .

    “pant, pant, pant . ”

    His lungs felt like they were on fire . The image of the White Walkers that smiled while slaughtering his teammates was still fresh on his mind . The man looked down at his hands . The frostbitten hands were losing their sense of touch . His toes had long since lost all feeling . He could not fight properly in his current condition .

    ‘This damn cold… No, if we just didn’t starve for the past few days, we would’ve won . ’

    To the bitter end, Kim Cheol could not acknowledge his failure . While muttering to himself, Kim Cheol raised his head .

    ‘Anyways, how deep am I into the forest?’

    He looked around . The smell of blood poked at his nose from somewhere . The man followed the smell . It was close . Moving through the trees, he came upon a clearing and could not believe his eyes .

    ‘How is this possible?’

    In front of the caves were over 20 ice bear corpses . He had wondered why he hadn’t come across a single bear!

    “What the?”

    He studied the corpses . All the corpses had traces of being cut with something . Some of them also had traces of being burned . Sung Jinwoo and his party flashed across Kim Cheol’s head .

    “It can’t be . . . those bastards did this?”

    No . Kim Cheol shook his head . The wounds on the corpses of the ice bears were made with a sword . To his knowledge, Sung Jinwoo’s party did not have a sword user .

    ‘The two E-rankers didn’t even have a weapon . ’

    There was no way they had survived here . Then there was only one other conclusion,

    ‘The White Walkers are also here!’

    His heart sank . He had thought that he managed to get away from those elves . To think that he had wandered into another group of them . With a great fear in his heart, Kim Cheol held his breath and turned back to the direction he had come from .

    Further . Faster .

    He wanted to get out of the White Walker’s territory .

    At the same time .

    “Wuwaaaaang!’

    An ice bear fell with a death rattle . The Shadow Soldiers swarmed its body and made sure it was dead .

    You’ve leveled up!

    “Alright . ”

    Jinwoo was in a different bear den . It’s been five days since they had entered the Gate . He had gone through three different bear dens since then .

    ‘Looks like I’ve taken care of every bear in this forest . ’

    Thanks to that, both he and his army’s levels had risen quite a bit . At first, it required two soldiers just to hold back an ice bear . Now, a single soldier was capable of winning one on one against the beast . Jinwoo was satisfied . As the abilities of his soldiers rose, he started assigning them different roles . His current limit was 30 shadows . 28 of them would be assigned to combat, while 2 of them would be assigned to the collection of magic cores and meat . Now that he didn’t have to lift a finger to fight or collect drops, life became incredibly convenient for the Hunter .

    ‘I don’t sense any more magic beasts . ’

    It seemed that he had cleared the entire forest .

    Then .

    ‘Is it time to go for the boss?’

    There was still about a month to go, at worst several months, until the Dungeon Break . He had no intention of waiting for that to happen .

    ‘Gotta kill that arrogant elf too . ’

    A mere magic beast that taunted a Hunter . Its arrogant smile still annoyed Jinwoo .

    Kim Cheol’s nose detected the smell of cooking meat from somewhere .

    sniff sniff

    The man’s sense of smell had become sensitive due to his hunger . After entering the Gate, all he had to eat for the past few days was a single rabbit . His mouth watered at the smell of food .

    gulp

    The White Walkers might be eating somewhere .

    ‘But if there’s only few of them…’

    He was confident he could take care of them and steal the food . It was a misguided confidence born out of hunger .

    ‘Let’s check it out . ’

    Kim Cheol did his best to quiet his footsteps and carefully approached where the smell was coming from . Finally, he came upon a clearing where Jinwoo’s team was . Kim Cheol’s eyes widened .

    ‘What?’

    The smell of meat was coming from their campfire .

    ‘How are they still alive?’

    However, he did not see one of the E-rank Hunters .

    ‘Pft . He took the lead with such confidence . Must’ve died first . ’

    That much was obvious . But what wasn’t obvious was the scene in front of him . How to… analyze all this? Something was weird .

    ‘Wait, their clothes…?’

    Warm clothes, blankets, tents and other equipment entered his eye . They were clearly prepared for the environment .

    ‘How the hell?’

    While flustered, Kim Cheol’s gaze became affixed on something .

    It was a piece of bread next to the meat . There was no way they had found or made bread here . It must’ve been prepared beforehand . His confusion quickly turned to anger .

    ‘These fuckers…’

    grind

    Kim Cheol grinded his teeth . These fuckers had all of this with them and walked away on their own .

    ‘If my hands weren’t frozen, no, if only I wasn’t hungry, I could’ve easily taken care of those ice elves . ’

    Thinking about how they greedily hoarded something that should’ve been shared with the Raid team, Kim Cheol could not help it any more . He leaped out into the clearing .

    “You bastards!”

    Park Heejin jumped in surprise and stood up .

    “Kim Cheol? How are you here?”

    To be honest, it was hard to say that he was a welcoming sight . It was because the man’s eyes were filled with murderous intent . Kim Cheol did not hide his hostility .

    “Our party failed in clearing the Dungeon because we lacked proper equipment and food . Then how the hell are you sitting here with those equipment and food?”

    “That’s…”

    Park Heejin could not answer . She feared that bringing up Jinwoo would turn Kim Cheol’s wrath towards Jinwoo . She did not want to turn in the savior of her life .

    ‘From the start, I didn’t like the way that man looked at Sung Jinwoo . ’

    Park Heejin closed her mouth . Seeing her defy his will, Kim Cheol’s rage increased .

    “I don’t consider every one of you an accomplice . Who hid all this? I’ll spare the rest of you . ”

    The veins in his neck bulged .

    “WHICH ONE OF YOU HOARDED ALL OF THIS AND ENDANGERED THE LIVES OF YOUR COMRADES?!!!”

    His shouting echoed loudly throughout the forest . Kim Cheol realized he would have to up the ante .

    “I’m going to count to three . If no one speaks up, I’ll consider all of you equally guilty . ”

    Han Songyi tugged at Park Heejin’s sleeves .

    “U-unni…”

    Park Heejin hugged Han Songyi . Go Myunghwan and Yoon Gijoong also gulped while sweating . Kim Cheol was an A-ranker . Even if they combined their powers, they could not hope to win against him . Still, not one of them betrayed Jinwoo .

    “One . ”

    Kim Cheol unsheathe the sword at his side .

    schiing-

    “Two . ”

    The Hunters still held their silence .

    Mere low-level Hunters dare to disobey him? Kim Cheol’s anger flared .

    ‘How dare you look down on me…’

    His eyes turned red with murderous intent .

    First would be this woman . The one who betrayed his team and decided to join the weaklings . Park Heejin will be the first to die .

    ‘Yes . She must’ve been hiding something . That’s why she left my team . ’

    That was the only reason he could think of . Kim Cheol stepped up to Park Heejin and finished his countdown .

    “Three . ”

    Park Heejin closed her eyes .

    Suddenly .

    “Four . ”

    Bam!

    Something struck Kim Cheol on the back of the head, and the man fell face forward onto the ground and slid forward for a few feet .

    All the Hunters’ eyes opened wide .

    “Raid Leader!”

    Jinwoo had struck with such a force that his fist was still smoking .

    He spoke, appalled,

    “Who’s the fucker that really endangered the lives of his comrades?”

    Translator’s Notes:

    [1]: “Shadow Beast” (??? ???): Lit . “Shadow Magic Beast Soldier” . I’ve removed “magic” to distinguish them from magic beasts . The reason was because in the context, “magic beast” was clearly referring to the shadow’s bear-like bestial form, but in the general story, “magic beast” refers to any otherworldly entities found in Dungeons . I wanted to avoid the confusion . Also took out the word “soldier” because it felt redundant in most context cases .

    Sponsored Content

    I Alone Level-up: Chapter 62.

    .

    The Shadow Soldiers quickly closed the gap!.

    .

    However, the ferocious movements of the ice bears were far faster than the Shadow Soldiers . .

    .

    Boom!.

    .

    Crack!.

    .

    A single swipe of the bear’s claw obliterated a Shadow Soldier . If it was a human in that pitch black armor and not a shadow, it would’ve been a gruesome sight . .

    .

    ‘Hmm…’.

    .

    Jinwoo furrowed his brows . .

    .

    ‘As I thought, was it too much?’.

    .

    Whether it was strength or size, it unfortunately looked like it was too much for Shadow Soldiers to face the ice bears . .

    .

    But suddenly, something surprising happened . .

    .

    ‘What the!’.

    .

    Jinwoo’s eyes widened . .

    .

    The body of the Shadow Soldier that was destroyed by an ice bear turned to black smoke before it fully hit the ground . .

    .

    shooooo-.

    .

    The black smoke gathered at some distance away, then reformed into its original shape . .

    .

    ‘Oh shit!’.

    .

    Jinwoo’s face lit up . .

    .

    Undead . .

    .

    He had forgotten about the true nature of these shadows and was now reminded . .

    .

    Realizing its attack had no effect, the ice bear panicked and roared . .

    .

    Roooaaaar!.

    .

    While the Shadow Infantry kept the ice bears busy, the Shadow Mages had finished their casting . .

    .

    Flaaaare-!.

    .

    Bang!.

    .

    Kaboom!.

    .

    The fireballs released from the mages’ hands exploded here and there . While the Shadow Infantry caught by the explosion regenerated immediately, the ice bears caught on fire and thrashed about . .

    .

    “Kuwaaaah!”.

    “Kuwuuh!”.

    .

    The Shadow Infantry continued their attacks, swinging and stabbing their swords at the burning bears . .

    .

    slash!.

    .

    stab!.

    .

    At first, the ice bears looked like they had the advantage, but they were slowly being pushed back by the combined attack of the infantry and the mages . .

    .

    ‘Whoa…’.

    .

    Jinwoo watched the battle with great interest . .

    .

    The infantry’s fast regeneration . .

    .

    The mage’s powerful firepower . .

    .

    The might of Shadow Soldiers exceeded his expectations . The ice bears were soon overwhelmed and were pushed all the way back to the caves . It seemed like the battle was over-.

    .

    ROOOOAAAAR!.

    .

    With a roar that shook the eardrums, something giant appeared from the cave . .

    .

    “That’s…”.

    .

    Jinwoo’s eyes widened . It was an ice bear a head taller than the rest and also much wider . .

    .

    ROAR!.

    .

    At a single swipe of its claw, many Shadow Soldiers were swept away . .

    .

    BOOM!.

    .

    Craaaaack!.

    .

    Even their quick regeneration speed could not keep up . .

    .

    Crack!.

    .

    Smash!.

    .

    “Looks like the alpha made his appearance…”.

    .

    Of course, he had expected that a den of bears would have an alpha bear . But the thing’s size and power surpassed his expectations . .

    .

    ROOOOAR!.

    .

    The giant ice bear slapped away the Shadow Soldiers and ran toward Jinwoo . Suddenly, a message appeared,.

    .

    ring~.

    .

    You are out of mana . The Shadow Soldiers cannot regenerate . .

    .

    You are out of mana . The Shadow Soldiers cannot regenerate . .

    .

    What?.

    .

    He checked his mana in panic . Just as the System said, his mana was at zero . .

    .

    MP: 0 / 1,860.

    .

    With his mana gone, the Shadow Soldiers no longer regenerated after being destroyed . Instead, they turned into shadow and returned to Jinwoo’s shadow . Jinwoo realized that it was his mana that allowed the soldiers to regenerate . .

    .

    ‘That goddamn mana…’.

    .

    He found yet another reason to raise his intelligence stat . Jinwoo scratched the side of his head . The appearance of the alpha had completely turned the tide of the battle . However, Jinwoo still had a trump card up his sleeve . .

    .

    ‘If their boss came out, I should send mine out as well . ’.

    .

    With his arms crossed, Jinwoo called for the one who was worthy to be called the Shadow Soldier’s boss . .

    .

    “Ygritte!”.

    .

    A single shadow slid out from Jinwoo’s shadow . From the shadow rose a knight wearing a helmet adorned with a plumage . Jinwoo raised a chin at the alpha . Ygritte bowed his head to Jinwoo then shot forth towards the giant ice bear . .

    .

    step, step, step, step!.

    .

    Ygritte dodged the alpha’s swipe and slid between the ice bear’s legs . While in motion, he quickly took out the daggers at his side and cut the tendons of the beast’s legs . .

    .

    “Kuwwaaah!”.

    .

    This was only the beginning . .

    .

    Unsheathing his long sword, Ygritte skillfully dodged the torrent of attacks from the alpha while carving it up like a sculpture . .

    .

    Tendons, claws, paws, legs . Bit by bit, the alpha’s flesh was being cut off like being worked by a butcher . .

    .

    “Huh…”.

    .

    Jinwoo watched Ygritte’s flowing, artlike movements with great admiration . .

    .

    The head was the last to go . .

    .

    Slash!.

    .

    The giant ice bear’s head was cleanly separated from its body . Before it could hit the ground, Ygritte snatched it from the air . The knight approached Jinwoo then knelt before the Hunter . .

    .

    drop.

    .

    Ygritte placed the bear’s head in front of Jinwoo feet, as if offering a trophy to his king . Jinwoo stared at the knight and gulped,.

    .

    ‘If he used his sword from the start back then, could I have defeated him?’.

    .

    The remaining ice bears were thrown into chaos after losing their leader and were quickly routed by the soldiers . The battle was over . The results greatly satisfied Jinwoo . .

    .

    Shadow Infantry (Lv . 2).

    .

    Shadow Infantry (Lv . 3).

    .

    Shadow Infantry (Lv . 2).

    .

    Shadow Mage (Lv . 2).

    .

    The soldiers had leveled up here and there . Since the Shadow Soldiers themselves were Jinwoo’s skill, the Hunter had also gained 3 levels . And above all else,.

    .

    “Arise . ”.

    .

    You’ve succeeded in Shadow Extraction . .

    .

    You’ve succeeded in Shadow Extraction . .

    .

    You’ve succeeded in Shadow Extraction . .

    .

    He had earned new friends . .

    .

    ROOOAR-!.

    .

    Including the alpha, Jinwoo had selected several ice bears . From their shadows, a large black mass rose . .

    .

    ‘I expected a bear wearing an armor…’.

    .

    The reality was a little different . .

    .

    The ‘Shadow Beasts’[1] that arose maintained some semblance to a bear but at the same time had a form that seemed to shift between solid and gas . A black steam continuously spewed from their figures . .

    .

    ‘The visuals are a bit lacking, but still, it’s those ice bears’ shadows . ’.

    .

    Their strength and capacity for destruction . He would surely have a use for it . Suddenly,.

    .

    rooooar.

    .

    Jinwoo’s ears perked up at a cry sounding from a distance . It was not just one or two . .

    .

    ‘Looks like there are more dens in the area . ’.

    .

    It was getting a little late in the day . He’ll check it out tomorrow . .

    .

    A bright smile appeared on Jinwoo’s face . .

    .

    .

    .

    “Uwaaaaak!”.

    “Kuk!”.

    .

    His teammates were screaming left and right . Kim Cheol’s eyes were wide open . .

    .

    ‘There is no way!’.

    .

    That he, Kim Cheol, would fail like this! He was someone would become Baekho’s elite . He had even received special training for that goal . And now, he was going to fail?! The A-ranker could not accept it . .

    .

    Their party had endured the cold and hunger and fought with yetis . After that were the ice giants . They had lost two of their members but managed to prevail against them too . The Raid appeared to be going smooth . .

    .

    But . .

    .

    But!!!.

    .

    The moment they had triumphed over the ice giants, the White Walkers ambushed them from all directions, as if they had been waiting . Those bastards had been watching their party, waiting for their stamina to hit rock bottom . What followed was a massacre . The Hunters fell, one after another, in an instant . .

    .

    “L-leader!”.

    .

    A fallen Hunter stretched a bloodied hand toward Kim Cheol . Kim Cheol stepped backwards . A White Walker appeared out of nowhere and slit the throat of the Hunter on the ground . While the man gurgled and choked on his own blood, the White Walker raised his head towards Kim Cheol . The A-ranker screamed,.

    .

    “U-uwaaaah!”.

    .

    He turned around and ran into the forest . The forest had ice bears? Those bears were nothing compared to the yetis, ice giants and the White Walkers . Kim Cheol ran with all of his might . Watching his figure disappear into the distance, the White Walkers raised their bows and took aim . But before they could fire, a White Walker raised his hand and stopped them . It was an ice elf with hair flowing down to his waist . The other White Walkers lowered their bows . .

    .

    ‘ . ’.

    .

    The long hair pointed and gestured to follow Kim Cheol . One by one, the other White Walkers disappeared from sight . .

    .

    .

    .

    Kim Cheol leaped through a bush . .

    .

    “pant, pant, pant . ”.

    .

    His lungs felt like they were on fire . The image of the White Walkers that smiled while slaughtering his teammates was still fresh on his mind . The man looked down at his hands . The frostbitten hands were losing their sense of touch . His toes had long since lost all feeling . He could not fight properly in his current condition . .

    .

    ‘This damn cold… No, if we just didn’t starve for the past few days, we would’ve won . ’.

    .

    To the bitter end, Kim Cheol could not acknowledge his failure . While muttering to himself, Kim Cheol raised his head . .

    .

    ‘Anyways, how deep am I into the forest?’.

    .

    He looked around . The smell of blood poked at his nose from somewhere . The man followed the smell . It was close . Moving through the trees, he came upon a clearing and could not believe his eyes . .

    .

    ‘How is this possible?’.

    .

    In front of the caves were over 20 ice bear corpses . He had wondered why he hadn’t come across a single bear!.

    .

    “What the?”.

    .

    He studied the corpses . All the corpses had traces of being cut with something . Some of them also had traces of being burned . Sung Jinwoo and his party flashed across Kim Cheol’s head . .

    .

    “It can’t be . those bastards did this?”.

    .

    No . Kim Cheol shook his head . The wounds on the corpses of the ice bears were made with a sword . To his knowledge, Sung Jinwoo’s party did not have a sword user . .

    .

    ‘The two E-rankers didn’t even have a weapon . ’.

    .

    There was no way they had survived here . Then there was only one other conclusion,.

    .

    ‘The White Walkers are also here!’.

    .

    His heart sank . He had thought that he managed to get away from those elves . To think that he had wandered into another group of them . With a great fear in his heart, Kim Cheol held his breath and turned back to the direction he had come from . .

    .

    Further . Faster . .

    .

    He wanted to get out of the White Walker’s territory . .

    .

    .

    .

    At the same time . .

    .

    “Wuwaaaaang!’.

    .

    An ice bear fell with a death rattle . The Shadow Soldiers swarmed its body and made sure it was dead . .

    .

    You’ve leveled up!.

    .

    “Alright . ”.

    .

    Jinwoo was in a different bear den . It’s been five days since they had entered the Gate . He had gone through three different bear dens since then . .

    .

    ‘Looks like I’ve taken care of every bear in this forest . ’.

    .

    Thanks to that, both he and his army’s levels had risen quite a bit . At first, it required two soldiers just to hold back an ice bear . Now, a single soldier was capable of winning one on one against the beast . Jinwoo was satisfied . As the abilities of his soldiers rose, he started assigning them different roles . His current limit was 30 shadows . 28 of them would be assigned to combat, while 2 of them would be assigned to the collection of magic cores and meat . Now that he didn’t have to lift a finger to fight or collect drops, life became incredibly convenient for the Hunter . .

    .

    ‘I don’t sense any more magic beasts . ’.

    .

    It seemed that he had cleared the entire forest . .

    .

    Then . .

    .

    ‘Is it time to go for the boss?’.

    .

    There was still about a month to go, at worst several months, until the Dungeon Break . He had no intention of waiting for that to happen . .

    .

    ‘Gotta kill that arrogant elf too . ’.

    .

    A mere magic beast that taunted a Hunter . Its arrogant smile still annoyed Jinwoo . .

    .

    .

    .

    Kim Cheol’s nose detected the smell of cooking meat from somewhere . .

    .

    sniff sniff.

    .

    The man’s sense of smell had become sensitive due to his hunger . After entering the Gate, all he had to eat for the past few days was a single rabbit . His mouth watered at the smell of food . .

    .

    gulp.

    .

    The White Walkers might be eating somewhere . .

    .

    ‘But if there’s only few of them…’.

    .

    He was confident he could take care of them and steal the food . It was a misguided confidence born out of hunger . .

    .

    ‘Let’s check it out . ’.

    .

    Kim Cheol did his best to quiet his footsteps and carefully approached where the smell was coming from . Finally, he came upon a clearing where Jinwoo’s team was . Kim Cheol’s eyes widened . .

    .

    ‘What?’.

    .

    The smell of meat was coming from their campfire . .

    .

    ‘How are they still alive?’.

    .

    However, he did not see one of the E-rank Hunters . .

    .

    ‘Pft . He took the lead with such confidence . Must’ve died first . ’.

    .

    That much was obvious . But what wasn’t obvious was the scene in front of him . How to… analyze all this? Something was weird . .

    .

    ‘Wait, their clothes…?’.

    .

    Warm clothes, blankets, tents and other equipment entered his eye . They were clearly prepared for the environment . .

    .

    ‘How the hell?’.

    .

    While flustered, Kim Cheol’s gaze became affixed on something . .

    .

    It was a piece of bread next to the meat . There was no way they had found or made bread here . It must’ve been prepared beforehand . His confusion quickly turned to anger . .

    .

    ‘These fuckers…’.

    .

    grind.

    .

    Kim Cheol grinded his teeth . These fuckers had all of this with them and walked away on their own . .

    .

    ‘If my hands weren’t frozen, no, if only I wasn’t hungry, I could’ve easily taken care of those ice elves . ’.

    .

    Thinking about how they greedily hoarded something that should’ve been shared with the Raid team, Kim Cheol could not help it any more . He leaped out into the clearing . .

    .

    “You bastards!”.

    .

    Park Heejin jumped in surprise and stood up . .

    .

    “Kim Cheol? How are you here?”.

    .

    To be honest, it was hard to say that he was a welcoming sight . It was because the man’s eyes were filled with murderous intent . Kim Cheol did not hide his hostility . .

    .

    “Our party failed in clearing the Dungeon because we lacked proper equipment and food . Then how the hell are you sitting here with those equipment and food?”.

    .

    “That’s…”.

    .

    Park Heejin could not answer . She feared that bringing up Jinwoo would turn Kim Cheol’s wrath towards Jinwoo . She did not want to turn in the savior of her life . .

    .

    ‘From the start, I didn’t like the way that man looked at Sung Jinwoo . ’.

    .

    Park Heejin closed her mouth . Seeing her defy his will, Kim Cheol’s rage increased . .

    .

    “I don’t consider every one of you an accomplice . Who hid all this? I’ll spare the rest of you . ”.

    .

    The veins in his neck bulged . .

    .

    “WHICH ONE OF YOU HOARDED ALL OF THIS AND ENDANGERED THE LIVES OF YOUR COMRADES?!!!”.

    .

    His shouting echoed loudly throughout the forest . Kim Cheol realized he would have to up the ante . .

    .

    “I’m going to count to three . If no one speaks up, I’ll consider all of you equally guilty . ”.

    .

    Han Songyi tugged at Park Heejin’s sleeves . .

    .

    “U-unni…”.

    .

    Park Heejin hugged Han Songyi . Go Myunghwan and Yoon Gijoong also gulped while sweating . Kim Cheol was an A-ranker . Even if they combined their powers, they could not hope to win against him . Still, not one of them betrayed Jinwoo . .

    .

    “One . ”.

    .

    Kim Cheol unsheathe the sword at his side . .

    .

    schiing-.

    .

    “Two . ”.

    .

    The Hunters still held their silence . .

    .

    Mere low-level Hunters dare to disobey him? Kim Cheol’s anger flared . .

    .

    ‘How dare you look down on me…’.

    .

    His eyes turned red with murderous intent . .

    .

    First would be this woman . The one who betrayed his team and decided to join the weaklings . Park Heejin will be the first to die . .

    .

    ‘Yes . She must’ve been hiding something . That’s why she left my team . ’.

    .

    That was the only reason he could think of . Kim Cheol stepped up to Park Heejin and finished his countdown . .

    .

    “Three . ”.

    .

    Park Heejin closed her eyes . .

    .

    Suddenly . .

    .

    “Four . ”.

    .

    Bam!.

    .

    Something struck Kim Cheol on the back of the head, and the man fell face forward onto the ground and slid forward for a few feet . .

    .

    All the Hunters’ eyes opened wide . .

    .

    “Raid Leader!”.

    .

    Jinwoo had struck with such a force that his fist was still smoking . .

    .

    He spoke, appalled,.

    .

    “Who’s the fucker that really endangered the lives of his comrades?”.

    .

    Translator’s Notes:.

    [1]: “Shadow Beast” (??? ???): Lit . “Shadow Magic Beast Soldier” . I’ve removed “magic” to distinguish them from magic beasts . The reason was because in the context, “magic beast” was clearly referring to the shadow’s bear-like bestial form, but in the general story, “magic beast” refers to any otherworldly entities found in Dungeons . I wanted to avoid the confusion . Also took out the word “soldier” because it felt redundant in most context cases . .