Si-Hyun waved her hand lightly at Kim Hunter, as if to say not to worry.
She casually let her sword hang loosely in one hand.
Kim Hunter watched her with a tense expression.
‘...Does this mean she’s confident?’
If she handles it on her own, that would be convenient for him as well. In the end, the time instructor would be responsible for handling the swarm of ants.
Kim Hunter thought, Let’s trust her this time, and turned his gaze back to the front. The unwavering stance of the woman seemed resolute, and a small sense of trust began to form. He then refocused on dealing with the ants nearby.
Having successfully conveyed her intention to the other party, Si-Hyun turned her attention to the students in the back.
I want to make the most of this opportunity.
A swarm of ants like this could be dealt with even while yawning. But simply defeating them isn’t meaningful.
She wanted to show her students something valuable.
Si-Hyun quickly decided on her strategy and moved into action.
Swish—
Si-Hyun’s wrist shot up like lightning, and she cleanly sliced through one ant’s head with a swift motion. The sword spun smoothly in her hand, slicing diagonally to strike down another ant.
Kieek!
Before the ant’s scream even settled, Si-Hyun swung her sword downward, cleaving another ant into two in one swift motion.
In an instant, three ants lay dead on the ground.
But the ants didn’t just target Si-Hyun.
Kkiii—
Kkeek—
Two ants veered toward the students, while the rest focused on Si-Hyun.
Crunch—
Thud.
Si-Hyun continued her relentless assault, cutting down the two ants advancing toward her students. But there were still many more ants closing in.
In this moment, Si-Hyun had to make a choice.
Should she sweep them all away in a flashy move?
Should she deal with the ants trying to pass by her with ranged attacks?
Or should she act like a tank?
Si-Hyun’s choice was swift. She had already decided on a method before the fight began.
“Professor!”
“Professor?!”
The students screamed in surprise.
Si-Hyun ignored the ants charging straight at her. She systematically dealt with the ones attempting to pass by her first.
Swish—
She cleaved one in half.
Crack.
An ant latched onto her thigh.
Crunch.
She quickly took down another one. In the meantime, another ant attached itself to her calf.
“......”
Having first dealt with the ants targeting her students, Si-Hyun returned to cutting down the ants in front of her. As she moved, she sliced through the ones on her legs as well.
Throughout the battle, Si-Hyun never once made a sound of struggle. She quietly assessed the situation, showing the ideal behavior of a C-rank tank.
Watching from behind, Jae-Woo realized something.
The virtue of a tank...!
Silence!
Calmly analyzing the situation and focusing on protecting the party!
The lecture from a few days ago.
Professor Si-Hyun was now demonstrating it in real-time.
This is what a true tank looks like!
The vivid scene unfolding before his eyes.
Not a single monster managed to pass her.
But she wasn’t just blocking or dodging for the sake of it.
She made the most efficient movements, knowing exactly what she could and couldn’t do.
Each time the razor-sharp sword flashed, another ant fell.
She was the steadfast warrior guarding the front lines.
Jae-Woo, forgetting even to blink, absorbed every move, making sure to never forget this moment.
I will never forget this brilliant sight.
I’ll engrave it in my memory forever.
“Phew...!”
Si-Hyun adjusted her stance.
In the end, despite the dozen or so ants charging at them, not a single one managed to reach the students.
Jae-Woo, ready to jump in if any ants breached, breathed a sigh of relief. He was now reaffirming the path he needed to take in his mind.
“P-Professor!”
Areum ran forward, gasping for breath.
Meanwhile, the Dawn Guild members were wrapping up their battle at a similar time.
Kim Hunter let out a light exclamation.
“Ho, impressive...”
He had been occasionally glancing at the observers throughout the battle, ready to assist them in case something went wrong.
However, no help was needed.
The woman who stepped forward to protect the students had excellently fulfilled that role.
No matter how E-rank the students were, they were still hunters.
For her, it would have been easier to take care of the ants first and then help the students.
But.
That was not a consideration in her actions from the start.
She moved without hesitation, prioritizing the protection of the party.
It was the ideal image of a front-liner.
Now I understand why the deputy and the assistant were so eager to recruit her.
She was a hidden talent.
Kim Hunter now fully understood the confidence of the time instructor through the recent battle.
She was someone with the ability to protect the students.
He decided to stop worrying about the observers and focus solely on the task at hand.
“Not much left. Let’s take a short break and then advance again!”
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“Yes, understood!”
“Yang Chae-Uk, can you heal me?”
“Yes, coming!”
Yang Chae-Uk hurriedly went around checking the condition of his fellow recruits.
Swollen wrists, legs bitten by ants...
He used his support skills to heal the wounds.
The presence of a supporter was a vital mental pillar for the hunters themselves.
Rather than using expensive potions, they provided stable, continuous support for the party.
It was a different level from temporary measures like bandages.
Thanks to this, the hunters, after a short break, advanced deeper into the dungeon without losing the momentum from the beginning.
After many battles, the group finally reached the boss room.
Taking one last rest, Yang Chae-Uk let out a long sigh.
“Phew, I’m glad Kim Hunter’s here. What kind of monster has this many damn ants...”
“Hmph, no. If it were just you all, you should have backed out after assessing the situation. You’re doing great.”
“R-really? Haha.”
Yang Chae-Uk awkwardly laughed, and Kim Hunter nodded in acknowledgment, continuing.
“The number of monsters is already at a B-rank level. Fortunately, there’s no special variant.”
“Well, it is a C-rank dungeon after all. I’ll do my best till the end!”
“Good, just keep it up like you’ve been doing.”
“Yes, understood!”
Kim Hunter lightly praised the new recruits.
They had been doing very well.
If their level had been any lower, they wouldn’t have made it this far.
But.
That one person stands out too much.
Kim Hunter looked at Si-Hyun.
The new recruits were too busy with their own tasks to notice, but her efforts to single-handedly deal with the straggling ants were impressive.
“Alright, let’s get up. Let’s finish this off cleanly.”
“Let’s do it! Let’s end this now!”
“Understood!”
The Dawn Guild hunters finished preparing one by one.
Si-Hyun and the students entered the boss room with them.
And what awaited them was—
“Kieeeeek—!”
As expected, it was the gigantic queen ant.
The high-pitched screech reverberated through the cave, almost tearing at their eardrums.
“Ugh, disgusting.”
“Terrible.”
The hunters hardened their expressions and observed the boss.
The massive body of the queen ant was sprawled on the ground, covered in a glossy black exoskeleton.
From her swollen abdomen, a constant stream of new ants emerged.
These were the same ants that had tormented them all day.
It’ll be tough, but it’s definitely doable.
Kim Hunter quickly assessed the situation.
He had expected a boss of this type to appear.
With a loud voice, he shouted.
“Let’s go!”
“Yes!”
And the battle began.
“Huff!”
For this dungeon, they decided to focus more on clearing it than on training.
Kim Hunter, leaving the safety of the rear to the new recruits, charged through the swarm of ants.
Kieek!
Kiiik!
True to his fame, his performance was impressive.
In no time, the ants were sliced away.
“Kieeeek—!”
If the queen fell, the battle would end.
Naturally, the ants’ attention shifted toward Kim Hunter.
An intense battle of one against many continued.
“Hurry, reduce their numbers!”
“We can’t let Kim Hunter get isolated!”
The Dawn Guild recruits weren’t just standing by.
They diligently eliminated ants while following Kim Hunter’s lead.
Amid the fierce battle, a mage hunter shouted loudly.
“I’ve run out of mana!”
The archer, also handling the ranged attacks, urgently called out.
“I still have some arrows, but my mana is low! I can’t put enough power into them!”
After battling through so many fights to get this far, the ants’ sheer numbers had successfully drained the hunters’ mana.
The pressure was now on Kim Hunter.
...That’s enough!
Kim Hunter pressed forward, forcing the ants back.
He steadily reduced the distance between himself and the queen ant.
Then, at that moment.
“Kieeek!”
The queen ant, who had been focused solely on producing ants, suddenly made an unexpected move.
She lifted her massive front legs.
Boom—!
She slammed her legs into the ground, creating a loud noise.
Kim Hunter quickly retreated, narrowly avoiding the attack.
The shattered remains of a single ant scattered where he had been standing.
As the queen ant raised her legs, the other ants crowded the spot.
The distance between them grew again.
This won’t be easy...
Kim Hunter grunted.
Si-Hyun and the students watched from a distance.
Si-Hyun, reading the flow of the battle, spoke in a soft voice.
“Everyone, did you hear the rear-line people yelling just now?”
“Uh, yes... They said they’re out of mana.”
“If it were you, what would you do?”
Si-Hyun asked, and Areum pondered deeply, rolling her eyes.
Eunbyeol hesitated before answering.
“Wouldn’t proper management prevent this...?”
“Mm, that’s right. So, what’s the most effective way to use it when there’s little mana left?”
“Um...”
Eunbyeol also fell into thought.
In the meantime, Si-Hyun stepped forward.
Kieek—
She swiftly sliced through a few ants that had sneaked through.
Si-Hyun spoke in a calm tone.
“You just need to use it as efficiently as possible. Watch closely.”
Si-Hyun slowly walked forward.
She skillfully sliced through the approaching ants with her sword.
In the meantime, Kim Hunter had reached the queen ant again.
The queen lifted her front legs again.
All the boss’s attention was now solely on Kim Hunter.
At that moment!
Ssssh—!
The queen ant, with a dagger lodged in one of her eyes, screamed in pain.
She couldn’t bring down her raised front legs and cried out in agony.
“Ho, excellent!”
Kim Hunter didn’t miss the opportunity and pushed forward.
The queen ant, now desperate, raised her massive legs again.
One leg defended her head, while the other prepared to attack.
As a result, Kim Hunter’s range of movement increased significantly.
Si-Hyun quickly threw another mana-infused dagger.
The dagger bounced off the queen’s enormous front leg.
It didn’t cause any damage.
But that was enough.
In the gap created, Kim Hunter pressed forward again.
Si-Hyun quickly returned to the students.
And in an instant, Kim Hunter, who had reached the queen, poured all his remaining mana into a final, devastating strike.
“It’s over!”
His sword cleaved through the boss’s body.
At that moment, Si-Hyun placed her hand on Areum’s shoulder and spoke.
“Areum, barrier for all of us.”
“Ah, yes!”
Boom—!
The queen ant’s body exploded in a violent burst, and sticky mucus sprayed across the cave.
With the unpleasant smell, the dirty mucus covered the floor and walls.
Si-Hyun and the students were shielded by the barrier from the mucus.
But the rest of the hunters weren’t so lucky.
“Gah! What is this!”
“Ugh, the smell!”
Every single one of them was drenched in the sticky mucus.
The deputy of the Dawn Guild was waiting outside the gate.
He had come to warmly welcome the hunters after their dungeon conquest.
The first person he noticed, however, was the group of observers.
They looked as clean and healthy as when they entered.
“Oh, it looks like you’re done! How was the tour, everyone?”
“It seems like it was a great experience for the students. Thank you.”
“Haha! That’s good to hear! I hope to see you again next time!”
“...Mm, yes. Take care.”
Si-Hyun left with her students.
Soon after, the hunters from the Dawn Guild emerged from the gate.
However, their appearance was far from ordinary.
Not just the new recruits, but even Kim Hunter, every single one of them.
They were all covered in sticky green mucus, dripping with it as they walked out.
The deputy was taken aback.
He looked at Kim Hunter with a questioning gaze.