Returnee's S-Rank Management Guide

Dungeon Exploration Team (3)

The request that Chief Manager Yu made to Lee Sung-yun was incredibly simple.

"I'll lend you this bracelet, so if you get the chance, approach Shin Ah-yeon and find out her magic power level."

That was why Lee Sung-yun accepted so readily.

He didn't care for Chief Manager Yu's arrogant attitude, but even more, he wanted to mess with Shin Ah-yeon.

"Arghhhh!!"

But who could've predicted things would turn out like this.

Lee Sung-yun rolled on the ground in excruciating pain, thinking,

'That bracelet, it's because of that bracelet!'

The reason so many monsters were swarming, something unimaginable for a C-rank dungeon.

It was all because of the bracelet Chief Manager Yu had given him.

He had thought he was imagining things when it seemed like the monsters were targeting him more than anyone else, but it wasn't a delusion.

Right after his arm was ripped apart, the monsters began fighting among themselves for the bracelet, not even paying attention to him collapsed on the ground.

And this was the result.

A monster that should have been a B-rank troll became A-rank.

"Grrrrrr."

With the vicious roar of the beast, the hunters around it faltered and stepped back.

Lee Sung-yun, collapsed right in front of it, had nowhere to run.

Writhing in agony had left his legs powerless, and his entire body was frozen by the energy radiating from the troll.

"Damn it..."

He had never imagined he would die like this.

"Gwoooooo!!"

As the huge troll's roar reverberated through the air, Lee Sung-yun resigned himself and closed his eyes.

No frightened hunter was going to save him now.

KWAANG!!

Then, suddenly, a fierce explosion drowned out the troll's roar.

"Kuwaaak!!"

The hunters blankly stared at the troll, which clawed at its mouth in pain.

'This can't be...'

A few hunters who hadn't looked away from the troll saw it clearly.

The moment it opened its mouth wide to roar, as if someone had waited for it, a small fireball shot toward it.

And that fireball exploded far larger than its size would suggest.

It scorched the troll's entire mouth.

If it were a normal monster, it would have been killed instantly.

Surviving that was proof enough that the troll now qualified as an A-rank monster.

"What are you standing around for?!"

A woman shouted at the frozen hunters.

Up until a moment ago, she had pulled down a large mage's hat, but now she was standing among the hunters—no one had noticed when she stepped forward.

She raised the brim of her huge hat, revealing sharp eyes like a cat's.

"E-Everyone, form up and retreat!"

At her words, Dong-hwan snapped back to his senses and shouted urgently.

But Ah-yeon quickly raised her hand to stop him.

"Are you crazy? You want to turn your backs and run from an A-rank monster?!"

"B-But..."

Even though he was the raid leader, Dong-hwan was still a B-rank hunter.

It was his first time both facing an A-rank monster and being in such a crisis.

"The reserves, stay put and protect the camera crew. And if you can use support magic or long-range magic, back us up from a distance!"

With that, Ah-yeon stretched her hand forward.

Suddenly, Lee Sung-yun, who had been sprawled on the floor, floated into the air and landed in front of Ah-yeon.

'What is this? Magic?'

Was there magic for lifting people and moving them like that?

Those versed in magic were stunned by what Ah-yeon had just done.

Modern magic mainly focused on controlling the elements—there was no such thing as "telekinesis" magic considered basic in circle magic.

"Ugh!"

Suddenly hurled through the air, Lee Sung-yun let out a groan and started convulsing.

He had lost so much blood that he was going into shock.

"You're going to be alright, you can survive. Breathe calmly."

Ah-yeon quickly used her magic to stanch the bleeding from Lee Sung-yun's arm, then pointed at a man nearby.

"You were Hunter Mun Chang-hoon, right? Take Lee Sung-yun to the camera crew immediately. If you get him to the medics standing by, they'll save him."

"M-Me?"

"You're quick on your feet."

Ah-yeon, who had been staying back as reserve personnel, had been watching the action closely.

She already memorized who was good at what and what everyone could do.

The title of "Great Mage" wasn't given for nothing—memorization was as easy as breathing for her.

"A-Alright."

Hunter Mun Chang-hoon hoisted the unconscious Lee Sung-yun and ran, while the other hunters trembled as they faced off against the monsters.

The fireball Ah-yeon threw had made the troll hesitate, giving them precious time—but only for a moment.

The troll's burns were completely healed, and it glared at the hunters with murderous eyes.

"Hunter Shin Ah-yeon-nim, what do we do now?"

"Are we going to survive?"

Now, the hunters turned to Ah-yeon for guidance instead of Dong-hwan, who had been the commander.

They had scorned her, saying she was a so-called S-rank hunter only in name, but when cornered, they looked to that very S-rank title for salvation.

"... Until I give the word, don't move."

With that, Ah-yeon gazed at the monsters in silence.

As if she was focusing on something.

"PD-nim, what do we do? Are we going to survive?"

"Goddamn it, I knew something was going to go wrong!"

Meanwhile, the rear where the reserves and the camera crew were gathered had plunged into chaos.

With so many there who lacked combat ability, all they could do was watch the hunters and monsters' standoff in anxiety.

"Producer Jung Jun-su."

Someone spoke to PD Jung Jun-su, who was just as rattled.

When he turned, he saw Park Jung-woo, hunter Shin Ah-yeon's manager, with whom he had exchanged greetings earlier.

"W-What is it? Has something happened to Hunter Shin Ah-yeon?"

"No. It's just—I wonder if you should be standing here like this."

"... Excuse me?"

As he blinked in confusion, Jung-woo gestured toward the explorers facing down the monsters.

"You should be filming."

"Now, that?"

When he stared, as if to ask if Jung-woo was being serious, Jung-woo nodded.

"Producer-nim, this is an opportunity."

How could this be an opportunity? What kind of crazy talk was that?

That was his first thought, but as Jung-woo continued, PD Jung Jun-su found himself captivated by his words.

"Being scared isn't going to change anything. Instead, I think it's better to film these hunters risking their lives to fight. And above all... you have Hunter Shin Ah-yeon, don't you?"

"!!"

His eyes widened.

That's right—Shin Ah-yeon was here now.

It was said that she had lost her strength, but so what?

She had just saved Lee Sung-yun from mortal danger and prevented the monsters from overrunning everyone.

'If—if I can get this on air...'

Now he understood why Jung-woo had told him to film.

If only they could make it out alive, this footage would be a sure-fire hit.

An A-rank monster suddenly appears.

The hunters are plunged into crisis.

And in that moment, the quietly reserved Shin Ah-yeon steps up and takes command from Dong-hwan.

A hunter absent from the public eye for three years,

Recently a hot topic, but who was said to have lost her S-rank powers—Shin Ah-yeon.

If she were to miraculously turn things around and lead them all to safety—

'I might beat Hunter Duel.'

Hunter Duel was a hot new TV show airing in the same timeslot as Dungeon Exploration Team—the very program that had stolen Dungeon Exploration Team's ratings and soared as the latter's numbers kept sinking.

With Dungeon Exploration Team being such a long-running show, the odds of overcoming this crisis had seemed slim... but now, at last, an opportunity had come.

"What are you all doing?! Get those cameras rolling!"

Having concluded his thoughts, PD Jung Jun-su shouted harshly at the frightened camera crew.

He was acting more desperate than his usual polite self.

"A-Are you crazy? You want us to film now? That?"

"If you're too scared, do you plan to just tremble here? Why did we come here? To film! Can't you see what's happening out there?"

Fortunately, the cameras had kept running all along.

The footage wasn't perfect, but at least they hadn't missed anything.

From here on, if they captured every detail and managed to get out alive, dungeon Exploration Team was sure to become the biggest topic of the season.

"B-But if we keep filming and something awful gets caught on tape, we'll never be able to use it anyway..."

Everyone nodded at a staffer's muttered words.

It was good to film, but if the footage showed hunters dying, broadcasting it would be worse than nothing.

You couldn't just air a program where so many hunters had died.

"You don't need to worry."

The one who responded wasn't Producer Jung Jun-su, but Jung-woo, standing beside him.

"If it's Hunter Shin Ah-yeon, she won't let a single hunter die."

Faced with his resolute declaration, PD Jung Jun-su and the other staff were left speechless.

It was just too absurd to believe.

Not a single casualty, with an A-rank monster before them?

"... Anyway, let's film. The Hunters will do their job, and we do ours."

After all, filming was all they could do in this situation.

All they could do now was hope Shin Ah-yeon would save them, just as Jung-woo had said.

***

"Kuwaaa!!"

The end of the tense standoff was announced by the troll, fully recovered from its wounds.

As the troll charged forward with a ferocious roar, the hunters quivered in terror.

'I should have just run!'

Leaving the A-rank monster aside, there were just too many monsters in general.

The moment the terrified hunters squeezed their eyes shut—

"Dig."

KUGUGUNG!!

With Shin Ah-yeon's short command, the dungeon floor caved in, creating a long trench.

The surging monsters couldn't stop their momentum and tumbled into the sudden pit.

"Wh-What the—?"

The hunters, too, were startled by the sudden chasm.

No one in the modern era had seen terrain-altering spells like this.

In fact, the "Dig" spell Ah-yeon used didn't normally create such a large pit.

As a basic 1st-circle spell, it would simply make a shallow dent, about the size of a human footstep—but Ah-yeon had cast it at massive scale.

If the mages of that other world had seen this, they would have been amazed by her magical control.

"Now!"

At Ah-yeon's shout, the hunters snapped to their senses and began attacking monsters struggling to clamber out of the pit. The off-balance monsters screeched, unable to properly resist.

"Kuwaaa!!"

But even then, the A-rank troll roared savagely as it started to climb out of the hole. Even the injuries inflicted by the hunters' barrage were instantly healed.

Their tough hide meant no wound lasted long enough to impede it.

'This is...'

Ah-yeon narrowed her eyes at the sight.

Not just the other hunters, but even she herself didn't possess an attack spell strong enough to overcome the A-rank troll's regeneration.

That's because, after all, Ah-yeon only knew up to 3rd-circle spells.

'Yes, just 3rd-circle.'

Thinking that, she was once again astounded by the equipment Jung-woo had crafted for her.

She'd been confident in her magical control, but never imagined it would multiply her magic so much.

Ah-yeon glanced over at the rear, where Jung-woo was.

She could sense his gaze, as if asking, "Should I help?"

'He's surely not even an Awakened, but somehow he can do anything.'

Ah-yeon found that fascinating.

Park Jung-woo was not an Awakened.

Yet he had shown abilities she'd never seen, and she doubted even that was the extent of his capabilities.

He was the one and only returnee.

So, perhaps, he could help her in ways no one would notice.

But Ah-yeon had no intention of letting Jung-woo intervene.

This was 'Shin Ah-yeon's matter.

"My manager created the opportunity. Now I have to handle the rest."

Clutching the staff Jung-woo had made for her, Ah-yeon pointed at the troll.

"Aquaball, shield."

Basic first-circle magic.

She cast Aquaball, a sphere of water, and Shield, a protective barrier—combining the two.

"Kuwooo!!"

The watery sphere struck the troll's head, and at the same time, a round, transparent barrier surrounded its head.

Thanks to that, the inside of the Shield rapidly filled with water, and the troll now had its head trapped in what was essentially a goldfish bowl.

It was a simple technique, but any mage would have gaped in shock.

The calculations required to precisely conjure a barrier where a monster's head was, and to perfectly fill that space with water, were feats of magical control ordinary mages couldn't dream of.

"Stop it from breaking the shield on its head!"

If the troll hammered on the shield with its strength, it wouldn't hold long.

So, Shin Ah-yeon poured all her remaining magic into the shield and shouted to the hunters.

"Don't let it break the shield on its head!!"

Though the hunters had panicked, they were all still B-rank or higher.

They knew exactly what they had to do.

"Keuruk! Keuruk!!"

"Stop it from breaking the shield on its head!!"

"Attack its arms, its arms!"

The troll struggled to shatter the shield underwater, but the hunters threw themselves at the troll, doing everything they could to keep its fists away from its head.

"Geureuk, geureureuk."

If it had only been the B-rank hunters attacking, they could never have felled the troll.

Its regeneration outpaced any wounds they inflicted.

But now—

The giant troll's form slowly toppled to the ground.

The shield enveloping its head was cracked in places but still held, and the troll's eyes had rolled back in its head.

KUUUUG!!

The ground shook from the troll's huge body crashing down.

The hunters swallowed nervously as they watched the troll, which twitched a few times before going still.

"... Did we defeat it?"

"You idiot! Don't say things like that!"

A hunter muttered without thinking, and another scolded him—but the troll didn't move.

Death by drowning.

Even with its tough hide and extraordinary regeneration, it was a demise the troll could not escape.

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=
This is a first, I haven't seen a troll die from drowning.
This novel could be titled:
I returned and became the great mage's manager!
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