RFH Chapter 07

Episode 7

“This is...”

Min Hyemi’s face turned pale as she finally grasped the situation.

On rare occasions, when a rift occurs, it consumes everything in its vicinity.

And now, unfortunately, Lee Ruri had been swallowed by the rift.

“No... This can’t be...”

She might have wished every day for all humans to die, but still...

As Min Hyemi stared blankly into the air, she soon realized someone was approaching her.

It was Seon Jejun.

“I’ll take care of it.”

“Ah...”

“I’ll bring her back.”

Come to think of it, if Seon Jejun was an S-rank hunter, a B-rank rift would be nothing to him.

He could easily take down the boss in no time.

When the boss of a dungeon is defeated, the dungeon collapses, ejecting everyone inside.

As Min Hyemi began to relax and nodded slightly, a system window suddenly appeared in front of her eyes once again.

[‘Find the Savior’ Intermediate Quest (1)]

[Contribute to clearing the B-rank dungeon <Inferno – Hell Chapter>!]

[As a reward, you will receive 1/3 of a hint about the ‘Savior’!]

'What... What is this?'

She stared at the air with a bewildered expression.

The system was now forcing her to enter the dungeon.

But wait...

'Is this going to turn into a romance plot with Seon Jejun?'

Usually, that’s exactly how things unfold in typical female-lead action-romance novels.

‘Should I just ignore it?’

Min Hyemi debated whether to disregard the quest but soon thought of Lee Ruri.

‘Lee Ruri... she hates scary things.’

Despite possessing the 'Flower Field Head' skill, which allowed her to handle gruesome sights, she couldn’t tolerate scary things due to her obsession with Japanese school idols and their 'moe points.'

She could handle seeing corpses, but there was a high likelihood she wouldn’t be able to deal with live monsters attacking her.

A vision of Lee Ruri screaming cluelessly in fear flashed through her mind.

“Eeeek! No way, am I trapped here alone? That’s impossible! Kyaa! Please save Ruri!”

No. If she acted like that in the dungeon, it would be a disaster.

In the end, Min Hyemi closed her eyes tightly and spoke to Seon Jejun.

“I... I’ll go with you.”

After all, Seon Jejun was an S-rank hunter, and as long as she stayed with him, nothing dangerous would happen.

Seon Jejun, with an unreadable expression, nodded.

“Yes.”

“Do you have any guesses about what the dungeon might entail?”

Dungeons usually had a central theme or story running through them.

“Judging by the title, it seems to reference Dante’s Divine Comedy. Since it’s the Inferno chapter, it’ll likely involve the kinds of monsters you’d commonly imagine.”

“Hmm... probably.”

Min Hyemi glanced at Seon Jejun’s face.

He looked like he wasn’t thinking about anything at all. Oddly, that gave her a sense of reassurance.

“Let’s head in right away. We need to save her quickly.”

“Ah, okay.”

After taking a deep breath, Min Hyemi stepped toward the dungeon entrance.

Seon Jejun entered the dungeon first, without hesitation.

Not wanting to lose sight of him, she hurriedly followed behind.

***

“Huff...”

Even though she was a hunter by profession, this was her first time entering a dungeon. She was more of a government worker than a real hunter, to be honest.

Before her eyes stretched a massive gate.

Amidst a world glowing white, a towering black door loomed, so tall it was impossible to guess its end.

“The Gate of Hell...”

Recognizing it for what it was, Min Hyemi muttered.

Above the Gate of Hell, the following words were inscribed.

[Through me, the way to the desolate city.

Through me, the way to eternal sorrow.

Through me, the way among the forsaken.

My maker was moved by justice.

Supreme power, infinite wisdom,

And primordial love created me.

Before me, nothing but the eternal was made,

And I endure eternally.

Abandon all hope, ye who enter here.]

‘...How ominous.’

She couldn’t help but frown reflexively.

At that moment, a system window appeared before them.

[You have entered the B-rank dungeon <Inferno – Hell Chapter>!]

[Dungeon Type: Mission-Based Dungeon]

[Mission: Clear the dungeon by reaching the <9th Circle>!]

“Damn it...”

A curse escaped from Min Hyemi’s lips.

Why was her luck always this bad?

She had expected this to be a typical dungeon where clearing it involved killing the boss, but of course, this dungeon required completing a mission instead.

This meant Lee Ruri would have to endure being alone for a longer time.

‘Will Lee Ruri be okay on her own?’

As Min Hyemi bit her lip anxiously, a low voice came from beside her.

“I’m going to speed up a bit. Are you okay with that?”

“Yes, yes. Please move as fast as possible.”

Fortunately, Seon Jejun didn’t speak further and confidently pushed the door open.

What followed was truly rapid progress.

To reach hell, they had to cross a river. Before the ferryman could even approach, Seon Jejun used his skills to lift her into the air and leaped across the river in a single bound.

“Huff...”

By the time Min Hyemi blinked and opened her eyes, they had already cleared the 1st circle and arrived at the 2nd circle.

‘The higher we go, the stronger the monsters will get.’

[You have entered the 2nd Circle: <The Lustful Circle>.]

A violent storm made it nearly impossible to keep her eyes open.

She brushed her hair out of her face, struggling to secure her vision.

Meanwhile, Seon Jejun calmly observed the monster before them.

At that moment, recognizing the monster’s identity, Min Hyemi let out a scream.

“T-that’s!”

“...What?”

“Wait, wait, wait! I know where this is going!”

As the name <The Lustful Circle> implied, the monster blocking their path was a massive tentacle creature.

Yes, tentacles...

‘Do you think I’ll fall for this plotline?!’

A tentacle monster. She could vividly imagine what would happen next...

Although Seon Jejun was an S-rank hunter, her distrust in life far outweighed her trust in him.

What if Seon Jejun lost for some absurd reason, leaving her to be captured by the tentacles?

“Excuse me, may I ask what genre you’re from?”

“Pardon? …Mythology.”

“Ah, mythology.”

Thankfully, that genre didn’t have anything to do with tentacles.

Min Hyemi stuck closely behind him and pleaded,

“Please, please, please make sure those tentacles don’t notice me. If you let your guard down, the next development is way too obvious. Of course, those things must be ridiculously weak against someone like you, Mr. Seon Jejun, but please don’t let your guard down and stay alert at all times...”

“Yes, yes...”

Seon Jejun blinked, looking slightly flustered. Then, without warning, he swung his hand.

In an instant, the tentacle monster disintegrated, leaving not a single strand behind.

‘...That easy?’

Up until now, her life had been like a 19+ hardcore narrative, but having an S-rank hunter by her side completely avoided that kind of development?

Suddenly, her resolve to complete the quest burned brighter than ever.

She nodded with a bit more confidence.

“Alright, let’s head to the 3rd Circle.”

Since people caught in the rift were randomly scattered, there was no way to know which circle Lee Ruri might be on.

She wasn’t on the 2nd Circle, so they had to move on to the next.

On the 3rd Circle, Seon Jejun once again dispatched Cerberus without even breaking a sweat.

However, upon reaching the 4th Circle, Min Hyemi’s voice trembled with anxiety as she muttered,