The Dungeon Cleaning Life of a Once Genius Hunter

A multi-zone dungeon.

It’s basically classified as a green-grade cave-type dungeon.

The dungeon itself isn’t very dangerous.

However, due to its special multi-zone structure and the condition that you can’t leave until the hunt is complete, it requires a high level of attention.

“Honestly, I was a little scared before entering…”

While handling the boss of the first zone, ‘Pentagram Balrog’, Moon So-yeon spoke up.

“But it’s surprisingly peaceful.”

I nodded at her words.

It had been two hours since the hunt began.

When we first entered, everyone was on edge, but once the work started, it seemed like everyone relaxed, realizing it wasn’t much different from usual.

“No matter how large-scale the operation is, we’re just doing the cleaning. We probably won’t meet the hunting team until the end.”

“Ugh, I wanted to see some of the hunting action. At this rate, the whole point of a joint project is lost.”

“You idiot, aren’t you a hunter? We just need to do our job well.”

Team Leader Park scolded Han Sang-hyeok.

He was right.

Sure, there was probably fierce fighting going on at the front lines, but what does that have to do with us?

As long as the cleaning team does their job, everything is fine.

“Alright! If the dissection’s done, let’s handle the chemicals now.”

Team Leader Park straightened his back in front of the dismembered monster.

“Not a single monster should rot before the hunt is over. After treating with the chemicals, don’t forget to vacuum-pack them with plastic!”

“We got it!”

“Try to bear with it this time. We’re not the only ones working. If we mess up even a little, it could be a big problem. So, we need to check everything thoroughly.”

Team Leader Park’s voice was serious.

Here, we can’t take the dismembered monsters outside. But we also can’t just leave them as is.

To prevent the corpses from rotting, we decided to soak them in chemicals, wrap them in plastic bags, and vacuum-seal them.

It made the work a lot more complicated, but… it wasn’t really hard, just tedious.

“When do we get to eat?”

“You idiot, how long has it been since we came in and you’re already asking about food?”

“How about a snack?”

“Wait, you brought snacks?”

“I thought ahead and brought some chocolate bars. Here, take one, Jun-woo.”

“I’ll have the strawberry-flavored one.”

The mood lightened as tension eased.

Though casual chatter continued, there were no mistakes in the work.

Everything was going smoothly.

We just had to do what we normally do.

Everyone seemed to think that way, and I had no objections.

Five hours into the operation.

Everyone was starting to look a bit tired, but it was still okay.

Eight hours in.

Moon So-yeon seemed to be feeling the fatigue, and I was the same.

Ten hours in.

During the dissection, Han Sang-hyeok accidentally hurt his hand while dozing off. Fortunately, it wasn’t a major injury.

Fifteen hours in.

A small issue arose in a previously worked area. The vacuum-sealed bag for a monster burst.

We had to reprocess it, slowing down our work speed, and the progress began to fall behind the hunting team.

Then, at hour 18 of the operation.

“Ah, cleaning team, cleaning team. The gas levels inside the dungeon are rising, please check.”

The problem had finally emerged.

“I-I’m sorry. We’re falling behind in our zone.”

“Falling behind? What zone are you in?”

The hunter’s voice asked sharply as Team Leader Park quickly counted on his fingers.

“We’re at… Zone 5.”

“Zone 5? We’re already at Zone 10. You’re five zones behind?!”

“I’m sorry. We’ll take a one-hour break and try to move as quickly as possible.”

“What kind of nonsense is that? If you take an hour’s break, what are you going to do with the monsters that are still behind? The gas levels are still rising. Are you going to leave them like that?”

The hunter’s voice grew louder, as if he didn’t know the situation.

Why couldn’t they just adjust things on their end if we’re falling behind?

Unable to tolerate it, I grabbed the walkie-talkie and spoke up.

“Everyone’s exhausted right now. Continuing like this is impossible. Please request a temporary halt to the hunt from Leader Kim Min-ju.”

I was also extremely annoyed, as the fatigue had become overwhelming.

If we couldn’t finish soon, at least I wanted to rest for a bit…

“…That’s not going to happen. We’ll be late if we do that.”

An absurd response came back.

“So, are you saying we should just continue like this? We can’t keep going anymore.”

“That’s the cleaning team’s problem, isn’t it? You need to figure it out yourselves.”

I barely held back my curse.

Yeah, this is still an operation.

Losing my temper during an operation is unprofessional.

I tried to calm myself down, speaking in a controlled voice.

“Then at least send over some hunters who aren’t on rotation. At this rate, we’ll just keep falling further behind.”

“…That’s not possible.”

“You son of a bitch. Change the team leader right now.”

Professionalism, my ass.

I was so frustrated I couldn’t hold it in anymore.

“…”

But the walkie-talkie remained silent.

And that was the last transmission we received.

I could feel the blood rushing to my head.

Assigning personnel and forming teams for the operation is the responsibility of the mission planner, the team leader.

The hunting team was formed with 60 people, divided into three teams on rotation. But with only four of us, we were grouped into a single team.

Naturally, as time passed, the fatigue built up, and our work speed slowed.

But…

You’re not even pausing the hunt, and you won’t help?

This shit—it’s like they’re doing this on purpose.

‘I’m dying of exhaustion and they won’t let us rest…’

I forced my tired eyes open and moved toward the inner zones.

***

The recently completed Zone 10.

Teams B and C, who were off duty, had gathered there to rest.

As I walked in, Team Leader Lim Dong-bin immediately noticed me and quickly approached.

“What the hell are you doing! Didn’t you say you could handle it? Can’t you see the gas levels rising?!”

His voice was filled with anger.

He immediately started yelling, veins popping in his neck.

“Also, if you have time to walk in here, shouldn’t you be working? You’re just slacking off. This is negligence!”

“…Where’s Leader Kim Min-ju?”

Unfortunately, I had no intention of dealing with him.

I asked nonchalantly, but it seemed like Lim Dong-bin wasn’t willing to respond either.

“You go do whatever you want. Seriously… Don’t you think the cleaning team’s behavior right now is a bit of the pot calling the kettle black? I’ve told you countless times to keep the hunt unaffected, but now you’re doing this and I’m the one in trouble!”

“We’ve worked for 18 hours without a break. Isn’t it obvious that we’re exhausted? Are we machines? We’ve hit our limit…”

“So what, are you saying you can’t keep going anymore?”

In that moment, Lim Dong-bin’s expression changed.

“Shit, this is bad. Because of the cleaning team, everything’s falling apart… This is going to ruin the whole operation.”

Then, as if trying to get the hunters to overhear, he muttered loudly.

As expected, all the hunters’ eyes turned toward me immediately.

“Seriously, what is this…”

“Negligence, failure to follow orders, abandoning the operation during the hunt.”

“…?”

“You guys probably haven’t been on a hunt, so you don’t get it, but this is not something you can just let slide. I’m going to hold you fully accountable for the cleaning team’s actions. You don’t think this is unfair, do you?”

Lim Dong-bin’s eyes were fierce as he threw out the warning.

I couldn’t hold back a laugh.

“…You’re laughing?”

“I knew something was off.”

I wondered why they insisted on putting us on the participant list…

It turns out they had planned this from the start.

‘Trying to find any excuse to discipline us… as expected, this guy’s got a twisted mind.’

Well, the hunting team can’t keep walking on eggshells around the cleaning team forever. It seems like they wanted to break our spirit by disciplining us, but…

It’s not something the team leader should be doing, no matter how you look at it.

“…Hey. It seems like you think you’ve got something to back you up and are about to go off. Abandoning the operation? Even the association president can’t cover for you on this. Got it?”

“I get it. Fine, let’s say our team abandoned the operation. Now what? Are you going to keep the hunt going with the gas levels rising?”

Lim Dong-bin adjusted the channel on his walkie-talkie.

Ah, I confirmed the transmission once.

“This is Lim Dong-bin. Are you busy?”

“Team Leader? What’s going on… Hey! Bow your head! …I’m busy, but yes!”

The person on the other end was none other than Kim Min-ju.

“We have a problem. The cleaning team abandoned the operation.”

“…What?”

“Five bodies we couldn’t handle. At this rate, they’ll all suffocate before the hunt even starts. From now on, I’ll take command, so hand over the leader’s position to me.”

“What… what do you mean?”

“Hand over the leader’s position! This isn’t a situation for a newbie to handle!”

I genuinely couldn’t help but admire the audacity.

To think someone would call someone else a “newbie.”

And yet, even in this situation, they’re still trying to steal the results for themselves.

I had to admit, it was pretty impressive.

“You damn thug. Nothing’s changed, has it?”

“What? What did you just say…?”

“Hey, Kim Min-ju.”

“Sir? Team Leader, is it true? Did the cleaning team abandon the operation?!”

Her voice sounded frantic, possibly because of the battle.

“Don’t you think… we’re seriously screwed? If this keeps up, we’ll all die, right?”

“…What?”

There was a brief pause in the transmission.

In the meantime, Lim Dong-bin, unable to wait any longer, jumped in.

“Ugh, you’re so frustrating, you idiot. Just say you’ll hand over command already. Why are you dragging this out?! Just because you were made leader once doesn’t mean you can act like you’re something special!”

“…Fine. I’ll hand it over.”

Only then did Lim Dong-bin smile.

But that smile didn’t last long.

“To Kim Jun-woo, the cleaner.”

“Why the hell—wait, what?!”

“The current leader of the hunting team, Kim Min-ju, is officially handing over command to Kim Jun-woo, the cleaner of cleaning team 3, starting now.”

Crack.

I heard the sound of the other walkie-talkie breaking.

“Hey! Hey, Kim Min-ju…!”

Lim Dong-bin pressed his face against the walkie-talkie, urgently calling her.

Of course, there was no response.

“Well… did everyone hear that?”

I turned to the hunters waiting nearby.

They all had the same look on their faces as Lim Dong-bin—completely confused and unable to understand what was going on.

But now, they would have to figure it out and follow suit.

“From now on, I’ll be leading this operation.”

I was about to enjoy the moment, like I used to back in active duty.