The foul stench of bloody flesh grew increasingly pungent as they ventured deeper into the cavern hall. The flashlights mounted on the seniors' helmets illuminated a mound of dark flesh in the corner of the room.​"Wait, Captain," the dual-axe wielder whispered, kicking a severed wolf leg lying on the ground. "This is a lycan carcass. It's fresh."​Gatot narrowed his eyes, examining the torn remains of the carcass. The wounds consisted of massive bite marks that had crushed bone in a single chew. He immediately recalled the pack of lycans they had slaughtered in the corridor earlier. No wonder their movements had been slow and their blood was already draining before they were slashed. They were not weak monsters. They were the remaining fugitives, already dying from an attack by the ruler of this place.​"Look at the center of the cave," the leader whispered, signaling one of his members to dim the magical illumination they had been using. "It's sleeping."​In the center of the hall,

Gery's panic reached its absolute peak when he saw the hot steam begin to gather within the Behemoth's dual jaws. His brain froze, yet his hands moved entirely out of his control. In a reflex action triggered purely by desperation, Gery gripped the hilt of his expensive weapon and threw it with all his might toward the center of the room.​"B-Brother! Catch!" Gery screamed, his voice splitting into a high-pitched shriek.​The silver sword sailed through the air, spinning and reflecting the dim, magical light of the cave. The moment the weapon left his hand, Gery immediately curled back into a ball, pressing his body against the stone wall with his knees tucked tightly to his chest.​"Can that sword even kill the monster? And... will he kill me with it afterward?" Gery murmured hoarsely, lamenting his own stupidity for just handing a weapon to the terrifying, fake E-rank figure before him.​Gatot saw the flash of silver hurtling toward him. Utilizing his remaining agility points, he va

An excruciating pain suddenly struck Gatot's solar plexus, forcing him awake from the darkness. Someone had just landed a solid kick right there.​Ugh!​Gatot groaned, curling up reflexively on the surface of the ceramic tiled floor, which felt incredibly cold. Both of his hands clutched his stomach, while his breath caught for a few seconds from the sudden impact.​"Wake up! Don't just comfortably sleep here!" a deep voice barked from above.​Suppressing a wave of surging nausea, Gatot forced himself into a sitting position. He blinked repeatedly, trying to dispel the remaining dizziness that still spun around his temple from the blow of the iron mace inside the cave. He looked around, trying to process this unfamiliar environment. Where is this?​This was definitely not inside a gate. There were no stone walls or the metallic stench of monster blood. In front of him, several people in crumpled clothes sat cross-legged on the same ceramic floor. They all had tattoos decorating their

Gatot leaned his back against the plastic chair rest while continuing to stare at his cracked phone screen. His fingers moved constantly, scrolling page after page on the official Indonesian Hunter Association forum site. Finding a new job for tomorrow was his top priority now. For an independent hunter officially still registered at E-rank, the options available on the digital bulletin board were incredibly limited and degrading. Most of the offers placed him purely as cheap bait or a living shield, exactly like the trap scenario that had nearly claimed his life yesterday.​After filtering out a dozen dubious offers, Gatot's eyes locked onto a few vacancies in the rear-route logistics section. The open jobs were merely positions as magic crystal miners and cargo haulers for the leftover remains of slaughter inside gates that had already been cleared by the primary raid team. The pay was obviously nothing compared to the frontline fighters, but for Gatot, this was the most sensible ch

The footsteps of dozens of miners echoed in the vast cave passage. This is the interior of an A-Rank Gate, a giant underground labyrinth whose stone walls emitted a purplish-blue glow from the veins of crystals frozen within.The concentration of magical energy in this place is so dense, it makes the air inhaled feel cold and tickle the lungs at the same time.One absolute rule applied by the Hunter Association and the Garuda Knight Firm in this expedition is to let the *boss gate* stay alive for a while. As long as this dimension's overlord monster is not dead, the portal connecting to the outside world will not close.This gives the logistics division a very valuable time to dredge up all valuable resources, especially high-quality magic stones scattered along the cave.In a corner of the crystal-laden stone wall, miners worked with great agility. The clanging sound of pickaxes hitting hard rock echoed throughout the room.However, a contrasting scene was visible near the large stone