Retire 419
by Cristae419 Preparation for the Raid (4)
In modern society, a magician is indispensable for dungeon raids.
This was true twenty years ago, and it will be true twenty years from now.
Thanks to the development of runes and mana pens, the status of magicians isn’t what it used to be. Still, most hunters look for a magician when entering a dungeon—especially for the highest-level dungeons.
Why?
Because magicians work miracles.
They can find the core’s location in a dungeon they’ve never entered, shroud the world in darkness so you’re lost in the pitch black, or make a seed grow into a tree in an instant.
In one way or another, magic ignores the laws of physics and accomplishes things that can only be called miracles.
Of course, magicians aren’t omnipotent.
No matter how skilled, a magician can’t clear a dungeon alone. Magicians need hunters to enter dungeons with them. No matter how miraculous their powers, in the end, magicians are human, too.
If their head is cut off or their heart is pierced, they die just the same.
Even if they’re tougher than most, a magician’s physical abilities are nothing compared to a hunter’s.
What about twenty years from now?
The scales, once tipped toward magicians, were slowly balancing out. Magicians weren’t absolute anymore, and even they had to compete to join dungeon raids with skilled hunters.
But even in such times—
Some magicians would still show miracles.
“You found the core’s location…?”
Jean Robinson’s face was full of disbelief.
If the person in front of him hadn’t been an archmage, he’d have called him a fraud and thrown him out.
Even I found it hard to believe, so I could understand how he felt.
“Yes. I was lucky.”
But Kim Chaemin answered without wavering.
“The fire’s out. At least around the gate? It’s not dangerous for people to go in. Woo-saem said it would take about a week to burn out, and it did.”
I nodded in agreement beside him.
I hadn’t set fire to many dungeons myself, but I’d seen my sister do it often enough.
Just as I’d expected, the fire had burned out. Han Taekyung confirmed it, too.
“That’s how it was possible.”
Kim Chaemin still skipped over the details. Even though that was exactly what Jean Robinson wanted.
“Wait, I don’t know much about magic, but… I thought there wasn’t any spell that could find the core’s location. Or, well, there was, but… I heard it was lost when the caster died.”
“That person?”
“Archmage Park of Korea. The one who used the Pathfinder spell.”
“Oh, right.”
I belatedly recalled Park Seohyun’s grandfather.
That unique spell, which allowed you to pinpoint the dungeon core, was famous for good reason. Korean magicians of that era often worked overseas, too.
But that spell wasn’t truly lost. Unlike before, that precious magic was being passed on by the magician’s granddaughter to her own student.
Kim Chaemin shook his head.
“I didn’t use Pathfinder. That’s why I said I was lucky. I could only do it because of this dungeon. It wouldn’t work anywhere else.”
“…Can I ask how you did it?”
Even I hadn’t heard a full explanation before heading home. I looked at Kim Chaemin, hoping for one now, but he pointed at me.
“It was thanks to Woo-saem.”
“Me?”
“Your fire. The one you set with your item.”
“That?”
Jean Robinson and the other hunters in the meeting room turned to look at me.
“You all know the mana inside a dungeon is different from outside, right?”
“…Yes, I suppose.”
“Normally, dungeon mana doesn’t mix well with the mana humans use. Of course, a really skilled magician can beat even that into submission, but that’s another story.”
Kim Chaemin brushed his hair back as he explained.
“Woo-saem’s item is a little special. No matter what you burn to keep the fire going, it always starts with Woo-saem’s mana.”
“…Is that a problem?”
“Let me finish! It’s not a problem—it’s a good thing.”
Kim Chaemin shot me a look.
“When you let go of control over the flames, the fire burned through the dungeon’s forest, feeding on that mana. But the start was still your mana, and even if it spread, that didn’t change.”
“Could you explain it a bit more simply, Kim-saem?”
He gave me a look as if to say, “How could I make it any simpler?” But after a moment’s thought, he continued.
“…It means your mana spread throughout the entire dungeon!”
“And?”
“I’ve seen your flames at school so often, reading your mana is nothing. My magic used your mana as a conduit to reach throughout the dungeon.”
“So?”
“I was able to pinpoint the core’s location!”
I finally caught up to his explanation.
So, instead of trying to read the dungeon’s chaotic mana, he used my mana as a medium to scan the interior.
…Is that even possible?
If it wasn’t, he couldn’t have done it.
Was that something Kim Chaemin’s unique magic could do?
If it wasn’t, he wouldn’t have managed it.
“One of my spells lets me extend my senses through my vines. That’s basically how I did it.”
“I see…”
“Like I said, it wouldn’t work in any other dungeon. The structure of this one, and a bit of luck, made it possible. If the core had been under the cliff or in the gorge, I wouldn’t have found it. Your flames wouldn’t have reached there.”
Judging by the other hunters’ expressions, most of them didn’t understand half of what Kim Chaemin was saying.
At least Jean Robinson and Funès, with their experience, seemed to get the gist.
I wasn’t sure I’d fully understood either, but…
“…Impressive.”
At least I knew Kim Chaemin had done something amazing.
“Thank you. Thanks to you, we can enter the dungeon much more safely.”
Jean Robinson didn’t understand the magic, but he understood the result.
At the veteran hunter’s simple, sincere thanks, Kim Chaemin twisted his hair around his finger.
“We’re all raiding together, after all. It’s good to help each other, isn’t it?”
He smiled with clear satisfaction.
The whiteboard was covered with writing.
A simple map of the dungeon. The core’s location. The fairy’s appearance. Its abilities. The raid party’s composition. The members. Their roles.
There wasn’t really a meeting room in the villa. There was a small study, but it was too small for nearly thirty hunters.
So the dining room was used as a makeshift conference room. A huge whiteboard appeared from somewhere, and the walls were plastered with materials related to the raid.
The dining table, which could seat ten, was banished to the garden. The hunters sat on the floor, discussing the raid in a democratic fashion.
“With the firepower we saw in Marseille, can we assume the forest is completely burned?”
“There might be some trees left on the outskirts. The fire started near the gorge, so… this area’s all burned. The far side might still have some left.”
“I really want that item… So there won’t be anything blocking our view near the gate.”
“Even a fairy can’t ambush us if there’s nowhere to hide.”
“I’ll check again before we go in. As long as Woo-saem’s mana hasn’t dissipated, I can do it.”
“The core’s to the north?”
“Magician Kim and Woo Hunter should head straight for the core as soon as the fairy’s location is confirmed. We’ll split into three teams: Alpha will handle the fairy, Bravo will guard the gate, and Charlie will support Kim and Woo. If any other unknown monsters appear, we’ll adjust as needed.”
The meeting flowed smoothly.
Most of it was just confirming decisions already made, but whenever something seemed lacking, people spoke up freely.
“What about the eel, Master?”
“Given its nature, it’s unlikely to come out. Ignore it for now, but be alert for vibrations.”
Very…
Very satisfying.
No, really. I don’t just mean that as an empty phrase—I was genuinely satisfied. It was almost moving.
Since coming to the past, I’d never entered such a high-level dungeon with so many people. Even the dungeons I’d taken Han Taekyung into were ones with few monsters by design. Honestly, they were easy for their rank. Han Taekyung alone could clear them without me stepping in.
The only real S-rank raid I’d done was with Funès’s guild in Toulon. How many people went in? Ten?
But that didn’t involve a meeting like this. Funès handled the strategy, and the guild members just followed the plan.
Well, the closest thing to this kind of group planning was the Yangseong High practicals. But did I prepare for those? The kids did—I just gave advice from the sidelines.
So when was the last time I’d gathered information, collected opinions, and made a plan like this?
Of course, back at the Bureau.
I remember shouting out the plan, telling people to speak up if they had any changes or complaints, and seeing the faces of the hunters pretending not to hear. They’d ignore me then, only to complain later about what they didn’t like.
If only those brats had been half as cooperative as these French hunters, my work life would have been much better.
……
The trust between Jean Robinson and his guild members was strong. The feeling was mutual.
I couldn’t imagine that man running his guild carelessly. But twenty years from now, the Banner of Glory guild in Marseille would be nothing but a name. Of course, there are too many guilds to count, and they disappear easily, but…
As I lay on a sunbed under the Okinawan sun, I managed to recall an old memory.
It wasn’t a good one, which was probably why I’d tried to forget it. Not because I knew the Robinsons personally.
It was before I’d even graduated from college, probably when I was busy with my senior project. Over ten years ago, a TV program aired about the Myeongdong Incident. They made up all sorts of stories, criticizing the inexperienced young hunters who’d stayed behind to rescue civilians as irresponsible and lacking.
My father, my sister, even Han Taekyung went wild. The show aired only three episodes before being canceled with an apology. I think it was the first time I’d seen my father threaten to sue someone.
I’d watched the show, squeezing it into what little free time I had. The show itself was titled something like “The Tragedy in the Dungeon.” Episode 2 was about the Okinawa dungeon.
A young hunter who’d come to Okinawa on vacation went missing in the dungeon, and her famous hunter parent entered to find her. Neither of them made it out.
“Lunchtime!”
Eva Robinson burst into the dining room, calling out brightly.
Jean Robinson glanced at his daughter and announced a break.
“Dad, once the raid’s over, can I go to Korea?”
“Would you not go if I said no?”
“I’ll at least pretend to think about it.”
Could those have been Jean and Eva Robinson?
I don’t know. The show used actors and fake names, and all I knew was that it happened in Okinawa and the hunters were French. I could have tracked down their real names, but what good would that do? It wasn’t a happy story.
Just… knowing that maybe a different future had been created is enough.