"So this is Castorice's power..."
Cha Hae-in was actually seeing Castorice in action for the first time.
Although she had long known about it and could vaguely sense an aura of death around Castorice, witnessing death's very concept materialized and brought into reality truly felt like an eye-opening experience.
That was the polite way to put it.
In truth, even as a teammate and companion, her intense survival instincts were screaming at her to get as far away from here as possible.
The fear of death had unsurprisingly planted its seed within her.
But Cha Hae-in promptly drowned that seed with boiling water before it could ever sprout.
It wasn't that her rationality was overwhelmingly strong; she was simply stubbornly convinced that Castorice wasn't a bad person and posed no threat.
Nearby, how could the High Orcs, with their sharper wild instincts, possibly miss the aura even Cha Hae-in could sense?
The giant High Orcs who had been swinging their weapons at her immediately froze, then let out roars before turning and fleeing headlong deeper into the caves without a backward glance.
This scene was all too familiar to Castorice.
Having visited numerous dungeons, she had seen it too many times—every magical beast reacted the same way upon witnessing her power.
Compared to Cha Hae-in and the High Orcs, the other hunters in the assault team lacked such keen perception.
In their eyes, Castorice and Cha Hae-in had simply displayed such might that even the savage, fearless magical beasts were sent scrambling in panic.
This heavily reinforced their filter of 'S-Rank equals overwhelming power.'
As the saying goes, knowing something and seeing it right before your eyes are entirely different.
Only by personally experiencing the oppressive presence of the enemy could they understand how real the strength displayed in those videos truly was.
However, Cha Hae-in had no intention of letting the tigers return to their mountain.
Unlike Castorice, who remained composed knowing she had backing, Cha Hae-in, with her understanding of dungeons and standardized procedures, recognized the advantage of picking off enemies one by one.
The moment the High Orcs tried to flee, she decisively switched from defense to offense.
Her sharp blade carved golden arcs through the air, cutting down every High Orc that passed by her.
These High Orcs, a serious threat to A-Ranks, were merely mobs to her, cleared away with only a bit of serious effort.
Seeing this, Castorice naturally joined in the harvest. Under the pursuit of two S-Ranks, escape became an unattainable luxury for these three-meter-tall giants.
"All handled."
Only after killing every last High Orc did Cha Hae-in sheathe her longsword.
"Good work," Castorice said with a smile.
"Not at all, you did most of the heavy lifting just now," Cha Hae-in waved her hand dismissively, a smile also appearing on her face.
"It's your first time in an A-Rank dungeon, yet you seem even more at ease than I am."
She wasn't the type to cling stubbornly to seniority.
Castorice's performance had exceeded her expectations and imagination, so she naturally wouldn't presume any superiority as a senior.
On the contrary, having a reliable teammate filled Cha Hae-in with both relief and joy.
"Well, Cha-sunbae isn't exactly in peak condition," Castorice replied.
She was aware her starting point differed from others, but being overly modest seemed inappropriate.
Since neither approach felt quite right, she opted for a gracious remark. After all, it was the truth.
However, the point about different starting lines was something Cha Hae-in could deeply relate to.
In this world where the starting line was often the finish line, Cha Hae-in was a natural-born powerhouse.
Coupled with the fact that she also didn't see herself as superior to others, she could easily empathize with Castorice's perspective.
Even knowing she might not have done better at her absolute best, she just smiled and didn't press the matter further.
Though to the other hunters, their interaction sounded like nothing more than mutual admiration.
They had been scrambling desperately just to barely keep up with the two women's pace of pursuit and slaughter.
"Hunter Cha... Hunter Castorice... what should we do next?" a panting hunter managed to ask.
"Gather what ore you can manage, then we'll deal with the dungeon boss," Cha Hae-in instructed. "Don't push yourselves. Take only what you can carry without hindering movement."
This ore wasn't part of these hunters' payment; their rewards had been settled before entering the dungeon.
So, whatever they carried out now would solely be Cha Hae-in and Castorice's income.
Although Cha Hae-in didn't really worry they'd overburden themselves for her and Castorice's sake, she felt the need to remind them anyway.
The fee for hiring these hunters hadn't been low initially, as the plan was to avoid the boss for a while and make several trips to transport the magic crystals out... sigh.
Normally, Cha Hae-in wouldn't have to think about such things.
Hunters, the publicly acknowledged strongest guild, had its own mining teams. But this time, the gate had been purchased under her personal name... and then it got sealed off...
The more she thought about it, the more unlucky it felt. Cha Hae-in let out a sigh.
"It's fine, we'll be out soon enough," Castorice offered in comfort, noticing her sigh.
"It's not about that... Well, actually, safety is more important," Cha Hae-in started, wanting to say her worry was about failing to repay a favor and instead causing trouble, but they were still in a 'dangerous situation.' It really wasn't the time to dwell on that.
However, the hunters didn't prioritize their own safety as Cha Hae-in imagined they would. Instead, they stuffed themselves to the absolute limit with magic crystals.
From their perspective, getting through the gate ultimately depended on the two S-Ranks.
Even if they worked themselves to death, they couldn't help much; this was all they could do. Frankly, if even S-Ranks couldn't protect them, they doubted carrying less ore would make escape possible.
Besides, Cha Hae-in's payment was exceptionally generous. Hoping for potential future cooperation, they wanted to make a good impression.
This response left Cha Hae-in at a loss for words. She could only nod gratefully.
Once the magic crystals were gathered, the assault team ventured deeper into the caves.
Since they were here anyway, Castorice took the opportunity to give Cha Hae-in some basic guidance on magical energy application.
This was common knowledge in her previous world, but that common sense was the accumulation of hundreds, even thousands of years—an immensely precious treasure for this world.
Feeling even more indebted, Cha Hae-in grew increasingly embarrassed. Simultaneously, however, she couldn't help but wonder about Castorice's origins.
Even she didn't believe any country in this world possessed such advanced magical knowledge.
If one did, results would have shown long ago. But Castorice had done her a great kindness. Not wanting to strain their relationship, Cha Hae-in hesitated and ultimately kept her questions to herself.
During this not-too-long, yet not-too-short practical lesson, the group finally arrived at a massive underground palace.
If the High Orcs's plaza was the most impressive scene Castorice had witnessed among magical beasts, then that ranking was now obsolete.
Compared to the plaza's primitive tribal style, this throne room was significantly more magnificent, brimming with medieval European architectural flair, worthy of being called resplendent.
Rows of giant High Orcs stood rigidly on both sides, guiding everyone's gaze along the red carpet towards the room's center.
There sat an enormous throne. Upon it was a giant figure clad in gray robes, holding a staff, its face concealed behind a mask.
Judging by the exposed hands and feet, it was still a High Orc.
"So this is the boss?" Cha Hae-in narrowed her eyes.
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.