## Chapter 147 – 147. Dungeon Survival
147. Dungeon Survival
My daily life in reality isn’t anything special.
I wake up in the morning, roughly wash up, and grab some food. These days, I don’t make it myself; instead, I go into the ‘Baekhwan’ world and bring back Yuria’s food to eat in reality.
The food doesn’t have any special powers, so the taste doesn’t degrade.
Then, I go to school. If I really don’t want to go, or if I get bored or annoyed during a lecture, I just run away.
After lectures, I go to the Yeongcheon Sword Hall. I work out intensely with Jin Seyoung.
I’m consistently training my body. The problem is that it’s not as effective as it should be. In the beginning, if I worked out hard, my strength, stamina, and agility would increase, but now, even if I work out like crazy all day, they don’t budge.
Because of that, I’m not really motivated to train physically. These days, I only spend about two hours at the Yeongcheon Sword Hall.
The rest of the time, I hunt monsters in dungeons. Even though I look like this, I’m an E-rank hunter. And I have a desire to become a higher-ranked hunter.
To become a higher-ranked hunter, the most important thing is skill, and the next is performance, so I consistently go to dungeons.
I don’t have days off.
If I want to rest, I can go to the ‘Vampire Detective’ world or the ‘Baekhwan’ world. I can rest there.
Physical fatigue in reality? I can make it disappear instantly with Complete Recovery. Since I can use it once every 12 hours, I’m actively using it like this.
‘I haven’t heard from Na Ayeon at all…’
Na Ayeon, the actress I blackmailed with videos and photos and then slept with, hasn’t contacted me even after about a month. I was expecting her to contact me, unable to forget the taste of my dick, but she seems to have more self-control than I thought.
‘Well, it doesn’t matter.’
I’m not going to contact Na Ayeon first. She’s an actress, but she’s not so incredibly beautiful that I need to force a relationship with her. If I’m being objective, she’s a bit less attractive than Jin Seyoung.
‘And more than anything, I can sleep with Na Ayeon in the ‘Vampire Detective’ world.’
Reika from ‘Vampire Detective’ and Na Ayeon are the same person. The taste of their pussy is the same. If I want to hold Na Ayeon, I can just hold Reika. Well, the real one is a bit more exciting, but there’s not much difference.
Right now, a lecture was in progress.
Sitting in the corner of the lecture hall, Oh Junhyuk and I weren’t focusing on the class and were busy doing other things. I was sitting blankly, lost in thought, and Oh Junhyuk was engrossed in his smartphone.
The professor didn’t say anything to us, even after looking at us. The professor knows that we, who are already working as hunters, don’t care if we get expelled. And we’re not the only ones not paying attention in class. It’s a common sight in the hunter department.
“Hey. Hey. Look at this. This is the girl I’m seeing right now. She’s a year younger than me, and her looks are no joke, right?”
“Let me see.”
I craned my neck to look at the photo Oh Junhyuk was showing me. There was a girl with short hair taking a selfie with Oh Junhyuk. It looked like it was taken at some restaurant, and the girl’s face was ordinary.
“She’s average.”
“Huh? Hey. What do you mean average? She’s top-tier!”
Oh Junhyuk was right. Objectively, the girl’s appearance was above average. She just wasn’t my type at all.
“Ah. I guess so. I think I’ve been watching too much TV lately. I’ve been watching celebrities on TV so much that my standards have gotten too high.”
Because of the pleasure app, my standards for women have risen considerably. Now, I don’t really think a woman with above-average looks is pretty.
“Dude. You’re losing your sense of reality because you’re always at home. In that sense, wanna go clubbing with me today?”
I let out a chuckle.
“You need to stop going to clubs so much. You’re even seeing this girl, right? Does she know you’re a club rat?”
“I met her at a club too. And we’re just seeing each other right now. Once we start dating properly, I’ll stop going to clubs.”
“Yeah, right.”
I can guarantee it. Oh Junhyuk can’t stop going to clubs. He broke up with his last girlfriend because of clubs.
I glanced at Oh Junhyuk’s smartphone and said,
“Still, her boobs look pretty big. She must be a C-cup.”
“Right? Her body is petite, but her boobs are big. And her face is top-tier too… Lately, I’ve been thinking about what it would be like to marry her.”
“You’re crazy.”
Marriage, my ass.
We’re still in our early twenties. It’s too early to get married. Besides, the higher the hunter’s rank, the better they’re treated. Even if you’re just a C-rank, you can meet and marry a more beautiful woman.
‘They say hunters should get married when they retire.’
Hunters earn a high income, but it’s also a dangerous job. The mortality rate is very high compared to other high-income jobs. If you’re careless, even a veteran hunter can die.
‘Two of my classmates died too.’
They died from monsters in dungeons. One of them at least had their body recovered, but the other one was eaten alive by monsters and wasn’t even found.
We weren’t that close, so I didn’t feel sad. All I knew about them was their names.
‘I can’t die. I have the pleasure app, it would be such a waste if I died.’
I’m careful when I go to dungeons. I never push myself too hard.
I can earn as much money as I want, so there’s no need to overdo it.
“Sung Yujin. Can I see you for a moment?”
Someone called me.
I turned my gaze from the window, and Professor Park was next to me.
Park Chunwoo. The youngest professor in the hunter department. Commonly known as Professor Park. Maybe because he’s young, he’s more interested in the students than other professors. Despite his blunt tone and expression, he’s a very nosy guy.
“Me?”
“Yes. Come to my lab.”
“Now?”
“Do you need to go to the bathroom? Come by in 10 minutes.”
Professor Park left after saying that.
Tap tap. Oh Junhyuk tapped my shoulder and laughed annoyingly.
“Our Yujin is screwed? What kind of trouble did you get into? Huh?”
He was enjoying it rather than worrying about me. I clicked my tongue briefly.
“I’m not screwed… I didn’t do anything wrong.”
My grades are terrible, but it’s not just me. Oh Junhyuk’s grades next to me are about the same level. There are many other students with worse grades than me.
“Don’t you have any idea? Really? Professor Park wouldn’t just call you for no reason, right?”
That’s true. Even if I’m late or skip class, he’ll nag, but he doesn’t call me separately to scold me.
“I don’t know. I’ll find out when I go. I’ll be back.”
I said casually and got up from my seat.
***
I entered Professor Park’s lab for the first time. The lab was neatly organized. There were specialized books related to monsters on the bookshelf.
‘The history of hunters is quite long.’
It hasn’t been long since hunters became popular. The number of psychics and monsters has increased rapidly in modern times. Before the Hunter Association was established and the existence of psychics, wizards, and martial artists became known, the general public had no idea.
The existence of monsters was disguised as yokai, etc. The monsters in folklore are actually real, a common story.
‘There are monster byproducts too.’
I don’t know what kind of monster it is. And I didn’t care what kind of monster Professor Park was researching.
“Sung Yujin. This way.”
I heard a voice calling me from the room on the right. I headed that way.
There, not only Professor Park but also Han Harin was sitting on the sofa with her legs crossed. She’s a haughty woman, no matter when I see her.
‘Why is Han Harin here… Could it be with Professor Park?!’
It didn’t seem like that. Han Harin’s cold expression and atmosphere don’t change even if she’s talking to a professor.
I sat next to Han Harin. Professor Park was on the opposite side.
“The reason I called you two today is… I want to recommend this.”
Professor Park placed some documents on the table. Han Harin and I looked at the documents. Looking closely, there was a flashy flyer tucked in.
“Dungeon Survival Reforged?”
“Yes. Sung Yujin. Do you know about Dungeon Survival?”
“It’s a program that was on a few years ago. It was a hot topic back then, so I know about it. But I remember it flopped.”
Dungeon Survival.
It was a program that the terrestrial broadcasting station SOX ambitiously prepared about five years ago.
The content was about hunters living in a dungeon for a few days and competing with other hunters. As the name ‘survival’ suggests, they had to survive in the dungeon.
“This… they’re doing it again this time?”
“Yes. It seems they’ve prepared quite a bit this time. The Hunter Association is also actively involved, and this was sent to us.”
It’s understandable that the Hunter Association is involved. Many people in the general public are afraid of hunters. The Hunter Association wants to change their perception and actively cooperates with broadcasts to improve the image of hunters.
“……Won’t this flop again like last time?”
“Read it carefully. The broadcasting station has put some thought into it. The same thing won’t happen again.”
The previous Dungeon Survival ended after just one episode. The reason was simple. A large number of A-rank hunters participated.
The broadcasting station underestimated the power of A-rank hunters. They swept through the dungeon in a day and fought among themselves. In the process, there was no story or anything. All there was were flashy battle scenes.
Even those weren’t properly filmed. The general public didn’t understand the battles even after watching the battle footage. They couldn’t follow the battles of A-rank hunters from the perspective of an ordinary person.
In the end, Dungeon Survival was a huge flop. It was so spectacularly unsuccessful that there was no other program in the history of broadcasting that failed so badly.
“Young hunters under 24 years old will participate?”
“The biggest reason Dungeon Survival failed was because the balance between hunters and the dungeon wasn’t right. This time, they’ve excluded strong and experienced hunters, so it won’t flop like last time.”
There’s a condition that they have to be under 24 years old and in a team of three.
Early twenties. Most of them are F to D-rank hunters. Since there’s a condition that they have to be in their early twenties, there will be very few C-rank or higher hunters. There’s almost no chance they’ll appear in this Dungeon Survival.
Because the winning prize is only 1 billion won. It’s not a lot of money for a hunter.
“The winning prize is only 1 billion won? We have to survive in a dungeon for a week, and only 1 billion won is not enough.”
“The winning prize is a bit small.”
“I’m not participating. We don’t have to, right?”
Professor Park nodded at my question.
“If that’s your opinion, there’s nothing I can do. I can’t force you.”
“But why are you recommending this at the university? Instead of recruiting officially.”
“Would hunters participate if they recruited officially?”
Unless they’re attention-seekers, they wouldn’t.
“And the Hunter Association requested cooperation. Not only our university but all universities with hunter departments nationwide. Since it’s a program that will be broadcast nationwide, we can’t just have anyone participate. So, they first requested cooperation from our school, which has guaranteed identities.”
“The Hunter Association is working hard.”
I said indifferently.
“Han Harin. What about you?”
“……I’ll participate.”
“Really? That’s good. Since there are two of you, we need to find one more person…”
“No. Wait a minute. Senior. Why are you participating?”
I was really curious.
Han Harin is a D-rank hunter and a gold spoon. A prize of 1 billion won? It’s nothing to her. I thought Han Harin would definitely refuse. She’s not an attention-seeker.
She glanced at me and then answered nonchalantly.
“Since the Hunter Association is actively involved, it’ll be safe, and there aren’t many opportunities to fight other hunters at full power except for now.”
“……Ah.”
In short, her goal is combat experience.
I can have real life-or-death battles in other worlds using other pleasure apps, but that’s not the case for other people.
“Thinking about it, that’s true. I’ll participate too.”
I changed my attitude and expressed my intention to participate. It’s not because of combat experience. It’s because of Han Harin. It would be good to get closer to her with this opportunity.
‘I’ll show you. The changed me!’
I’m not Sung Yujin, who was just a hunter hopeful. I’m going to show my first love, Han Harin, the changed me.
“You’re suddenly saying you’ll participate?”
“Professor. Please. After listening to Senior Han Harin, it seems like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Where else can I have this kind of experience?”
“……It’s good that you’re participating. Here are the application forms. Fill them out. The program will start in a dungeon prepared by the Hunter Association in two weeks.”
The reason Professor Park recommended me and Han Harin is probably because we’re among the strongest in the department. I’m low-ranked, but I can use mana, and Han Harin can’t use mana, but she has the best skills in the department.
