The Dungeon Cleaning Life of a Once Genius Hunter

Not even ten minutes had passed since we clocked in, and the team was already steeped in a funeral-like atmosphere.

The workday hadn’t even started, yet the mood was somber and heavy.

Everyone pretended to be fine, but that only made things feel even more pitiful.

Of course, there was no way to overturn the decision handed down by headquarters.

‘Tsk, as much as I’d like to argue for a budget increase…’

Regrettably, in my current position, challenging Seo Min-cheol’s faction would do me no good.

Maintaining a good relationship with the branch director is key to future clearances. Picking a fight now would only bring losses.

With such a public display of retribution, renegotiating would be impossible.

Fine. For the sake of what lies ahead, it’s better not to get entangled at all.

That said, I have no intention of giving up on clearing this issue entirely.

Even if budget negotiations are off the table… well, I can always chip in with personal funds. The association can allocate external support funds as part of the budget, after all.

The problem is, payday is still a long way off.

My current balance is barely enough for living expenses, and taking on a side job might get me caught again, just like this time.

If I need a way to make money without getting caught…

‘There’s only one option.’

As that thought crossed my mind, I immediately raised my hand.

“Team Leader.”

“Yeah? What’s up?”

“I’m taking annual leave today.”

“Huh? Out of nowhere?”

“What are you planning to do? You’re not seriously going back there, are you?”

Kim Min-joo’s startled reaction showed she had guessed something drastic.

It was too much effort to explain, and I couldn’t think of a good excuse anyway.

“….”

“…Sir? Sir!!”

I ignored her protests entirely and walked off without saying a word.

Near Samsung Station, Seocho District

The area, filled with office buildings, was bustling with the lunchtime crowd.

None of them had any idea what was about to happen.

‘Should be any minute now…’

I checked my watch again.

The hands pointed to 1:22 PM and 57 seconds.

I could feel my heartbeat quicken as the seconds ticked by.

As the second hand moved three more spaces, it happened.

Zzzzing—

The sound of dimensions distorting accompanied the sudden appearance of a dungeon.

“What… what the hell?!”

“A dungeon! It’s a dungeon!”

“Quick, report it to the association!”

The street quickly descended into chaos.

People fled in a panic, scattering in all directions.

In contrast, I moved against the flow.

Interception

Intercepting a dungeon means clearing it without proper approval before the association-hired hunters arrive.

It’s a practice often employed by freelance hunters who camp near dungeon-prone areas—an unethical, rule-breaking shortcut.

By regulation, all hunters must secure permission from the association to engage in dungeon-clearing activities. Still, some desperate for money risk their lives in unauthorized raids.

Of course, without proper intel, rushing in can often lead to fatal consequences.

But that doesn’t apply to me.

‘It’s been ages since I’ve done a raid.’

Even after clearing over a thousand dungeons in my time, I couldn’t help but feel the tension.

The operations team would arrive in about 15 minutes. That was all the time I had to finish this.

I mentally reviewed everything before stepping in.

This was a Purple-grade cave-type dungeon, one I had planned operations for in the past. The boss was a “Gigantic Golem.”

For E-rank hunters, this would take about an hour to clear.

Which meant I’d aim to finish it in about…

‘Ten minutes.’

I set my timer and took a deep breath.

Even though it was only a Purple-grade dungeon, without a basic defense skill, one hit from a monster could kill me.

Fortunately, I knew this dungeon inside and out—its layout, the monsters’ attack patterns, and their weak points.

Dodging with my combat-activated Hyper Boost, I focused entirely on evasion until the perfect opening appeared.

Skill acquired: One Counter
[Damage increased by 3,000% when targeting weak points]

With this newly unlocked skill, landing a single decisive hit wasn’t out of reach.

Armed with nothing but a pickaxe and a shovel I’d just bought, I stepped into the dungeon.

***
A Frenzied 10-Minute Raid

“Whew, that was tougher than I thought.”

I wiped the sweat from my brow.

Solo raiding was harder than I’d expected.

Not having any skills made it significantly more challenging.

If only I had a unique skill—or even just a decent main skill—I could have cleared it in seconds.

‘…Looks like they’re here already.’

The distant sound of sirens signaled the arrival of the operations team.

I quickly made my exit.

The rest of the day was a whirlwind of activity. I intercepted four dungeons in total:

A Purple-grade Metallic Boar dungeon

A Navy-grade Junior Succubus dungeon

A Navy-grade Chaotic Specter dungeon

A Green-grade Dimensional Ant dungeon

Considering that an operations team hunter clears an average of 3–4 dungeons in a week, this was a massive interception spree.

Even so, since these were low-grade dungeons, the profits wouldn’t amount to much.

By sunset, association vehicles were swarming the area.

The headquarters seemed to have gone into emergency mode.

Well, of course they’d panic—losing four dungeons in a single day to an unknown raider would enrage anyone.

If they caught me, I wouldn’t just face a pay cut. I’d likely get fired, and in the worst-case scenario, I might even have to pay damages.

Still, the idea of the mysterious interceptor being a janitor? Unthinkable.

‘That’s enough for today.’

It was getting risky, so I decided to stop for now.

If I picked it up again tomorrow, I could earn a decent sum without pushing myself too hard.

‘Now, let’s see… which dungeons are expected to appear tomorrow?’

I walked home, mentally preparing for the next day.

***
After Two Days of Leave

When my two-day leave ended, I returned to work as a janitor.

When I arrived at work, everyone except me was already gathered.

‘What… what’s going on?’

There, I was greeted by an unexpected guest.

“Ah-hem.”

The man let out a deliberate cough as soon as he saw me.

It was none other than Lee Soo-yong, the leader of Operations Team 1.

The operations team leader had come to visit the cleaning team in person.

‘Why the hell is he here?’

Damn it. Did he find out?

I quickly scanned the situation, gauging everyone’s reactions.

Park Team Leader seemed to be doing the same.

“Uh, what brings you here?”

“Just observing.”

Lee Soo-yong’s tone was calm and composed.

It was sickeningly insincere.

“Observing…?”

“Yes. I think occasional interactions between teams are important. It helps foster understanding and camaraderie.”

“Ah, I see…”

Bullshit.

All three of us, except for Park Team Leader, silently mouthed the word at once.

Thankfully, Lee Soo-yong didn’t notice.

“Don’t mind me. Just go about your work as usual. I won’t be a bother.”

‘This is troublesome…’

The fact that the operations team leader himself had come down here at this time made his intentions painfully clear.

The past two days of intercepting.

He suspected me as the culprit.

And to make it even more obvious, Lee Soo-yong’s gaze was fixed squarely on me.

‘I didn’t leave any traces, though… Is he just poking around based on circumstances?’

It was no surprise. The timing of the intercepts immediately after the “example” incident couldn’t be ignored.

It was starting to give me a headache.

Of course, I couldn’t let it show. That would only add fuel to his suspicions.

“Alright, shall we get started?”

At Park Team Leader’s prompt, we all headed into the dungeon.

The unwelcome guest’s presence made the atmosphere inside more awkward than ever.

The only silver lining was that Lee Soo-yong truly didn’t interfere. He just silently followed behind, almost like a shadow.

Thanks to that, we were able to fully focus on our tasks after a while.

“This is troublesome… There are way too many monsters here. It’ll take a while to disassemble all of them. Sang-hyuk, how much time do we have left?”

“About an hour. If we hurry, that should be plenty.”

“Min-joo, do we have any reagents left? I’m out.”

“Yes, there’s a bit left. What concentration do you need?”

“Set it to 60%. The flesh is completely hardened, so we’ll need a stronger dose. Oh, and bring me a new mop while you’re at it.”

“So-yeon, what’s the gas level?”

“150 micrograms per cubic meter. The decay is progressing rapidly.”

“Let’s replace the filters on our gas masks. Someone handle Team Leader Lee’s filter too.”

“Sang-hyuk, if you’re done over there, help So-yeon with the disassembly.”

“I can’t right now. The corridor is too bloodied—I need to clean it again.”

“I’ll help So-yeon. You finish up with Sang-hyuk.”

Inside the dungeon, only orderly exchanges filled the air.

Meanwhile, Lee Soo-yong continued to stand with his arms crossed, observing silently.

His gaze remained glued to me.

“Ah, Min-joo.”

It was then that Lee Soo-yong finally broke his silence.

“…Yes?”

“You know about the intercepts over the past couple of days, right?”

My shoulders tensed involuntarily.

Kim Min-joo might misunderstand me as a Hunter. And if it’s revealed that intercepts happened during the days I took leave…

Not just Kim Min-joo, but the entire team would inevitably catch on.

‘Damn it… He’s trying to bait me.’

This was bad.

“Is that so? That must have caused quite the uproar among the Hunters.”

To my surprise, Kim Min-joo’s tone was calm and indifferent.

“Of course. The Director is furious. He’s practically hunting for the culprit, but it’s not an easy task.”

“I see.”

“The Director even decided to offer a hefty reward for anyone who catches the interceptor. Shows how big-hearted he is.”

“A reward?”

“Yes. If a Hunter catches them, they’ll get bonus points on their rank evaluation. If someone from another team catches them, they’ll be transferred to a new team. So, for example… If someone from the cleaning team caught the interceptor, they could transfer to another team.”

At that moment, everyone froze.

“Well, if anyone here is interested, let me know. Like, if you happen to know someone who suspiciously took two days off recently… or something like that.”

“…….”

It was over.

With such a tempting incentive, this was now a race to see who could report me first.

The first to snitch would win.

Damn it. That parachute bastard might be a nepotistic hire, but he’s certainly smart.

“Ah, Joon-woo! Are you feeling better after your injury yesterday?”

“……?”

It was then.

Out of nowhere, Park Team Leader said something utterly random.

“Come on, didn’t I tell you to be careful when disassembling monsters? Don’t get cocky just because you’ve been getting some praise lately!”

“…Right, you idiot! I knew you were trouble when you started singing during disassembly!”

“Exactly, Joon-woo. At least it was only a minor injury yesterday. Imagine if it had happened today in front of the higher-ups? It’d be a disgrace to the cleaning team!”

…What?

“Still, Team Leader Lee made a very generous proposal… It’s such a shame that I can’t think of anyone suspicious in my vicinity. What a missed opportunity for us. Haha!”

“Y-Yeah, really.”

“If I do happen to notice anyone suspicious, I’ll report them immediately! I, Han Sang-hyuk, am a man with absolutely no loyalty!”

I tried hard to make sense of the situation, but it was utterly baffling.

Amid the chaos, I noticed Kim Min-joo, head lowered, wearing a small, subtle smile.