Awesome Shut-In Necromancer

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“The difficulty is D4 rank, and the size is estimated to be small.”

The training schedule was nearing its end.

Now, what remained was the final obstacle known as the Hunter Program’s national-sponsored dungeon exploration.

“The raid will be conducted by a carefully selected team of instructors. However, for those who wish, there will be situations and locations provided to experience actual combat.”

Basically, there was nothing for us to do directly.

We were to observe the exploration process of the strategy team, learning about the points of caution in actual combat and how dungeon raids are conducted.

The previous training was all for this moment. Naturally, the teams were organized from the people we had spent time with and coordinated with.

“It shouldn’t be too difficult, but let’s do our best together.”

“Um, I’m a little nervous.”

“Hey, don’t worry too much. With Seung Min here, there’s no way it’ll be dangerous in a dungeon of this rank.”

In our group, aside from me, there were three others.

The shield warrior Kim Seung Min, the ice mage Han So Eun, and the archer Choi Eun Sol.

“Eun Ha is a Summoner, right?”

“…Y-yes.”

Due to the incident with the mackerel, Han So Eun and Choi Eun Sol seemed to hold a good impression of me. So, it was possible to have brief conversations.

“It’s a rare class in Korea. What title do you have?”

“Um…”

At Choi Eun Sol’s question, I quickly racked my brain.

I hadn’t fully awakened yet. Naturally, I didn’t have a title. So, I had no choice but to make something up.

“By the way, I’m called the Agile Hunter. Not that impressive, right?”

In this world, titles were quite mysterious yet intuitive.

Sometimes there were titles with unknown meanings, but one thing was certain.

Those who had decent-looking titles were generally strong.

Because of this, people often inferred talents or skills from the content of the titles.

‘If it’s a title…’

I could come up with plenty that sounded good.

If I wanted to keep it simple, perhaps “Lord of the Underworld” would do?

That should be a name fitting for my great achievements.

I prepared to speak with a proud expression.

“…Speaking of which, there was someone from another group who had the title ‘Guardian of the Earth,’ right?”

“Oh, that guy? I couldn’t stand how he flaunted his fancy title.”

“Indeed, it wasn’t a pretty sight. He seemed to lack basic skills. After all, fundamentals are important.”

That was the consensus from Han So Eun, Choi Eun Sol, and Kim Seung Min.

Seeing this, I hesitated and nervously blurted out my name from my beginner Necromancer days.

“Uh, I’m the Envoy of the Old Haystack…”

I was a traditional and respectable Necromancer.

I absolutely could not be associated with the notion of being a lowly corpse manipulator.

“I assume everyone is equipped with their gear. In that case, we will enter.”

After a bit of small talk, we finished our preparations seriously and finally entered the dungeon with the strategy team.

“Trainees, maintain a safe distance from the front and move in formation.”

As expected, the raid itself was going smoothly.

It was an easy task for a team of instructors who could be considered veterans. We simply followed behind, analyzing the battles.

“Training trainee number 21, the rear guard is lax.”

“Oh, I’m sorry!”

However, there was a reason this dungeon exploration was referred to as the greatest obstacle.

Just walking and watching the fights made the trainees tire out faster than anticipated.

No matter how much they aspired to be Hunters, for those who had never set foot in a dungeon, the intentions of monsters and the gloomy magic of the dungeons were not easily dismissed.

“We will take a 20-minute break. During this time, please quickly familiarize yourselves with the guarding methods in a stationary situation.”

Through this final process, it would be determined who could progress as a Hunter and who could not.

In simpler terms, it was a sort of filtering system.

Though everyone had gone through rigorous training and accumulated knowledge, there were certainly those who couldn’t properly implement it in real situations.

It would be unfortunate, but such people could not genuinely become Hunters. They lacked the qualification.

“Training trainee number 13, are you okay?”

“…Ugh.”

And that was me.

Not only had I failed to maintain a state of alertness, but I felt like I was about to vomit.

‘My stomach hurts. I have a headache.’

There were simply too many people around. If it were just my four group members collaborating on the dungeon raid, it might have been different, but such large-scale communication seemed nearly impossible for me right now.

“If you’re not feeling well, we can move you to the rear guard.”

“I-I’m fine…”

Thus, I decided to take a unique measure once again.

Hooow.

“Curse Blind.”

Once again, I said, if you can’t see it, there’s nothing to fear.

Curse Blind is divine, and I am invincible!

Tick-tock.

“Let’s start moving again. Please fall into formation.”

Though my vision was unclear, I was able to use my senses. For someone like me who had been through trials and tribulations, that was a simple task.

‘This way.’

Sliding naturally into the center of the formation, I soon heard a voice from the trainee beside me. I had no idea who it was.

“Um, that’s my spot…”

“…”

I hid my flushed face, lifted the curse, and returned to my spot.

The delicate gazes from my team members pricked at my heart.

#

The dungeon raid was going smoothly.

However, since the session was also for training the trainees, the time taken to clear it was quite substantial.

“We should reach the boss room in about two hours. Please stay focused and hang in there a little longer.”

The instructors encouraged the trainees and continued paving the way.

Though some of them looked completely exhausted, Group 3, which included Baek Eun Ha, was generally holding up fine. They were even able to chat leisurely while on guard.

“Still, this dungeon is peculiar.”

“Huh? How so?”

At Choi Eun Sol’s question, Kim Seung Min looked around before continuing.

“Do you know about the differences in magic distribution based on dungeon size?”

“What’s that?”

“The smaller the dungeon, the more tightly the magic in the atmosphere tends to be connected. This is due to the presence of boss monsters.”

Boss monsters possess significantly greater magical power than ordinary monsters.

Therefore, the smaller the space of the dungeon, the less room there is for that magic to spread, leading to a phenomenon of concentration.

“I heard this is estimated to be a small dungeon.”

“Yes. It seems the supervisor mentioned that as well.”

“But the magic around here seems a bit faint. It’s not a huge difference, just peculiar.”

What Kim Seung Min remarked had indeed been something the instructors had been keeping an eye on as well.

While it was hard to see it as a problem, it was still a fact that it was an unfamiliar situation.

However, low-ranked dungeons were rare, making them hard to find in Korea. It would be absurd to look elsewhere.

The Chief Supervisor, former C-Class Hunter Choi Jeong Un, spoke up.

“Have any anomalies been discovered yet?”

“No. So far, there is no difference in the exploration results from the advance team, and there have been no signs of abnormalities.”

They had already sent in an advance team to check all areas of the dungeon and locate the boss room. To be honest, there was no way there would be issues.

Though there was a nagging feeling in the back of their minds, Choi Jeong Un tried hard to ignore it.

Finally, the group arrived in front of the dungeon’s boss room.

After the last brief rest, Choi Jeong Un gathered the trainees and spoke.

“We will now enter the boss room. Since we have not checked what’s inside, for safety reasons, trainees will not enter.”

That was the right judgment.

Most trainees, who were inherently a bit scared, nodded in relief at those words.

“Instead, we will be conducting the battle in a straight-line view, so you will wait outside and focus on battle analysis.”

There would come a time when they would need to engage in direct combat with boss monsters. With someone swallowing hard, the instructors finally entered the boss room.

Kuwaaaang!

“Hunter Kang, please secure visibility.”

“Yes. I will light it up.”

Flare!

Basic light magic filled the boss room, revealing the scene for all to see. The boss room was completely empty, with nothing inside.

“There’s no way a D-rank boss can be a hiding type.”

“It might be hiding in the surroundings. Everyone, stay alert…”

It was at that moment that the unexpected happened.

Kwaaaaaang!

Kugwaguang—!

With a noise like the earth turning upside down, the advance team jumped in surprise and scanned the surroundings.

Just as the noise began to die down, someone screamed in a panicked voice.

“Supervisor! Behind, behind us!”

At those words, Choi Jeong Un quickly checked the back, and his face twisted in confusion at an incomprehensible sight.

“What is… this…?”

Just moments ago, the backup team had been waiting in front of the boss room, but they had vanished without a trace, hidden away.