Returnee's S-Rank Management Guide

Dungeon Exploration Team (2)

"Well then, we'll begin entering soon. Hunter team, please get ready!"

At the shout of PD Jung Jun-su, the chief producer of the Dungeon Exploration Team, everyone started moving on their own.

The staff double-checked the filming equipment one last time before shooting, while the hunter team gathered both main assault and reserve members to begin a briefing on the upcoming dungeon.

"Ah, Ah, hello. I'm Kim Dong-hwan, and I'll be leading the expedition team for this dungeon."

A middle-aged man with a good impression greeted the hunters with a friendly smile.

The main team responded with a short cheer at his introduction, but the faces of the reserve members were far from pleasant.

"Like it matters to us anyway."

The Dungeon Exploration Team consists of a main raid team of 7 and a reserve team of 5 as the standard for filming.

As the name suggests, the raid team is responsible for the actual dungeon raid, while the reserve's main role is to escort the filming crew and assist with shooting.

Of course, the official reason for the reserve's existence is to fill in should something unfortunate happen to a member of the raid team, but such cases are rare.

Because these are not just simple dungeon raids—the dungeons selected for filming have to meet certain safety standards, making it highly unlikely that there would be any vacancies unless something truly unusual happened.

"Well then, I'll start calling names. First, the raid team..."

The camera zoomed in on Dong-hwan's face as filming began.

After he had called out the names of the raid team members, he moved on to the reserves.

This moment was, in reality, the first and last time the reserve members' faces would be shown on camera.

"Hunter Song Byung-gyu, and... Is Hunter Shin Ah-yeon here?"

The room stirred a little at the mention of Shin Ah-yeon's name.

That name, Shin Ah-yeon, held its own weight—even as a reserve member, it wasn't insignificant.

However, there were hunters who snickered at her being listed as a reserve rather than a raid member, and some among the reserves felt jealous of Shin Ah-yeon for drawing even a bit of residual attention.

"Hunter Shin Ah-yeon? Where are you?"

For some reason, Shin Ah-yeon was nowhere to be seen among the gathered reserves.

If she hadn't shown up at all, no one would have thought much of it, but it felt odd since she had been seen in the waiting room earlier and now had disappeared.

"Maybe she got cold feet once filming actually started?"

"Well, considering she dropped from being a revered S-rank hunter to just a reserve, it makes sense."

The room was abuzz with mocking speculation.

Dong-hwan, the raid team leader, sighed slightly at the team's rocky start and opened his mouth.

"Well, if Hunter Shin Ah-yeon is absent, she'll be considered to have dropped out of the raid—"

"E-excuse me."

Dong-hwan's hand, which had been about to draw a red line through Ah-yeon's name on the list, stopped.

In addition, the other noisy hunters turned their gazes toward the source of the voice.

There stood Ah-yeon, clothed in quite a flashy outfit, her face flushed.

"Sorry, it took a bit longer to change clothes than I thought. I'm sorry."

"N-not at all."

Dong-hwan's own face went a little red at seeing her.

Ah-yeon's extravagant appearance was truly stunning.

And it wasn't just Dong-hwan; the cameras all turned to Ah-yeon, busy capturing her on film.

"Is she an attention-seeker? Guess she made a late entrance on purpose just to get noticed."

"Seriously. And that outfit... looks familiar—where have I seen that?"

Voices among the other reserve members grew sharp as Ah-yeon drew all the attention.

Some among them even felt a mysterious sense of déjà vu at Shin Ah-yeon's unusual attire.

They had no idea.

The fact was, the outfit Shin Ah-yeon was wearing came from a 'game'.

And it was a special avatar only top-ranking players could equip.

***

'This is it.'

Whether good or bad, Park Jung-woo smiled faintly as he watched Ah-yeon draw all eyes.

After dressing Ah-yeon, he'd joined the filming team a little late himself.

"I was wondering why you were so late— I guess you were busy helping Hunter Ah-yeon get ready, huh?"

Chief Manager Yu Dong-suk, already with the film crew, quipped at him with a sneer.

"That outfit—looks like something straight out of an online game. Who exactly approved that?"

His tone was clearly mocking, but I couldn't help but be startled.

"Wait—how did you know?"

"... What?"

"It's an outfit from an online game, actually."

Chief Manager Yu's pupils trembled at my words.

He turned to look at Ah-yeon again, checking if I was serious.

"You mean, she entered the dungeon in an outfit from an online game?"

"Oh, but it's not just a regular costume. It's a bona fide artifact. It's already passed inspection, so there's really nothing to worry about."

"Does that even make sense? An artifact fashioned after an online game costume exists? Who on earth would make such a thing..."

Normally, equipment made from minerals mined in dungeons or monster materials undergoes special processing, tailored for dungeon use and to grant magical defenses.

Only with 'magical processing' does it earn the title of 'artifact'.

No matter how rare or expensive, equipment without special magical effects is just that—equipment.

Since only a minuscule number of people could craft genuine artifacts by hand, Chief Manager Yu's shock was justified.

"I just happen to know someone with a knack for crafting."

And that crafter was—

'Of course, it's me.'

Though I wasn't the absolute top artifact craftsman, making something of that caliber was no problem for me.

Naturally, I'd used crafting techniques from the other world, so this kind of equipment would be considered quite high-grade here.

When I recalled how shocked the filming team had been when they reviewed the specs, I knew for sure.

"But, Chief Manager Yu."

"Wh-what? Why are you calling me like that?"

"Where's the bracelet?"

"...!"

He flinched at my words, but quickly composed himself and replied coolly.

"I was bothered by what Manager Park said earlier, so I left it somewhere else."

"Ah, I see."

"W-well, I have some other business to attend to, so I'll leave the rest to you."

Chief Manager Yu hurriedly turned away, almost running from the scene.

He was clearly planning to stay clear of the filming site.

"As expected."

Watching his back for a moment, I soon turned away myself.

Now, it was the filming team's turn to enter the dungeon.

***

'This is crazy, this is crazy!'

Ah-yeon pulled her big mage's hat down low, hoping no one would recognize her.

Her appearance right now was the very picture of an online game mage.

'They keep staring...'

Some hunters had already guessed where her outfit came from—some were even pointing.

Luckily, the main raid team hunters seemed clueless, but since the reserve members had been chatting as they moved, the rumor had spread.

"Ugh."

Even so, even the cameramen, moving with the group, instinctively captured her on film from time to time.

Just as Jung-woo had said, for a reserve member, she was certainly getting an inordinate amount of attention.

Though, the attached descriptor was now 'attention-seeker'.

'This really isn't working...'

She already dreaded the inevitable news headlines.

'Shin Ah-yeon's shenanigans? Dungeon cosplay show goes too far!'—that would probably be the main title.

'... If only it were subpar equipment, I could've refused somehow.'

The most ridiculous part was that this cosplay outfit she was wearing was on par with the artifact she wore during her prime.

Sure, better equipment probably existed nowadays, but it definitely ranked among the very best.

'He says he just knocked this together in a few days?'

He'd even made it in his spare time while teaching her magic and working at Unique.

'And in that world, this is considered only mid-high grade...'

It really emphasized just how advanced "magic" had become in that other world.

And yet, something still felt off.

'Just what has he been up to over there?'

He'd said that magic wasn't even his specialty, though he was more than proficient enough to teach her.

It was the same with equipment crafting.

He claimed his skills barely reached "usable" level—not first-rate by any means.

But in Shin Ah-yeon's eyes, there were maybe a handful of artisans in Korea who could make something like this.

Could one person really be this multi-talented?

'He was just an ordinary person three years ago.'

Could it be Park Jung-woo only awakened in the other world, rather than here?

But the flow of magic power in Jung-woo's body felt different.

She couldn't sense any magic power being stored.

Even the "circle" formed in his heart merely had magic flow through it, never being retained.

Just like a regular, non-magical person.

"... Huh?"

Lost in thought about Jung-woo, she suddenly sensed something odd.

It was a strange feeling, distinct from the previous glances laced with mockery or jealousy.

To put it simply, it was the same ominous aura she had felt from Chief Manager Yu's bracelet earlier.

Jung-woo had called it demonic energy (魔氣), and there truly was no more accurate word for it.

'Lee Sung-yun.'

Ahead, the main raid team was visible.

The raid team hunters pressed forward through the dungeon, dispatching monsters with ease.

The camera was busy capturing every bit of their feats, including shots of Lee Sung-yun in action.

'He's definitely got skill.'

He'd be among the top performers even among B-rank hunters.

He had the right to boast in Unique.

'What did he say, again...'

Ah-yeon recalled Jung-woo's earlier words.

Right before she joined the raid team after donning her new equipment, he had said this:
'Keep an eye on Lee Sung-yun. There's a high chance Chief Manager Yu will hand the bracelet to him.'

Furthermore, he'd said that the bracelet held demonic energy, and this demonic energy would attract monsters.

And, as if to prove his point, the number of monsters attacking the raid team was swelling at an alarming rate.

Dong-hwan, the team leader, had also noticed and did not look pleased.

The number of monsters was starting to exceed what seven team members could reasonably handle.

"Boss, I think we need to pull out—the monsters are just too many!"

A hunter spoke to Dong-hwan, but Dong-hwan bit his lip and hesitated.

It had been no easy feat for him to earn the position of expedition leader.

And now he was supposed to withdraw before clearing the dungeon?

'I can't allow that...'

There had been incidents on the Dungeon Exploration Team before, but never a failed dungeon raid.

With a roster of sufficiently skilled hunters, that was natural.

But if he became the first leader whose team failed to conquer a dungeon?

He could already picture all the ridicule and mockery he would face.

"We can still handle this for now. If it gets worse, we'll deploy the reserves."

"But..."

"You had to work hard to get here too, right? Do you want to be aired on TV as a hunter who couldn't even clear the dungeon?"

"T-that's..."

Even the hunter trying to persuade Dong-hwan fell silent.

He too didn't want to be the only failure on the Dungeon Exploration Team.

"It's rare for monsters to swarm like this. Give it a little time—things will settle down soon."

Having cleared countless C-rank dungeons, Dong-hwan spoke with conviction.

But contrary to his expectations, the number of monsters did not decrease.

"Haah, haaah..."

"When are these monsters going to stop coming?!"

The hunters were growing exhausted, and as even the reserves were about to be deployed—

That's when the unexpected happened.

"Leader, it's an A-rank monster!!"

"... What?"

A C-rank dungeon had never seen the appearance of an A-rank monster.

Dong-hwan swallowed dryly as he felt the heavy presence drawing closer.

Bulging muscles, long arms, disproportionately short legs.

A monster commonly called a 'troll'.

A B-rank hunter could easily handle a troll, but there was something off about this one.

"Grrrr..."

Skin bulging with brightly colored veins, fur stained black.

Twice as large as a normal troll.

Among the frozen hunters, only Ah-yeon kept her composure.

With a hard expression, she stared intently at a single spot.

There, a man lay collapsed and bloody.

'... Lee Sung-yun.'

Ah-yeon had been keeping a close eye on Lee Sung-yun the entire time.

She was wary, in case he tried anything.

But Lee Sung-yun hadn't done anything unusual.

He simply—

Had his right arm bitten off by the troll's teeth.

The very right arm that had worn the bracelet.

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=
Damn, I thought he would get beat up, but he just got dropped by a monster.
Is the the Troll a boss monster?
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