They stepped into the gate.
The interior was a sprawling, subterranean labyrinth of obsidian stone and sulfurous heat. Almost immediately, the ground began to shake. From the shadows of the massive stone pillars, the inhabitants emerged.
Ogres.
These weren't the standard grey ogres found in B-Rank gates. These were Blood-Horned Ogres—standing fifteen feet tall, their skin like cured leather, and their clubs carved from the thigh bones of dragons. There were at least fifty in the first wave.
"They're massive," Kim Seok muttered, raising his shield. "I'll draw the aggro—"
"No," Jinchul said, stepping past him. "Save your energy for the boss. I'll clear the path."
The Ogres roared, a sound that would have paralyzed a B-Rank team. They charged, their massive feet cracking the obsidian floor.
Jinchul closed his eyes for a fraction of a second. He felt the mana in the room. It was thick, chaotic, and angry. He reached out and grasped it.
[Skill: Mana Domain]
A circle of translucent orange energy expanded from Jinchul's feet, covering a hundred-yard radius. Inside this circle, the laws of physics shifted. The Ogres, mid-charge, suddenly felt like they were running through liquid lead.
Jinchul raised his hand, palm upward.
"Collapse."
The mana within the 'Mana Domain' didn't explode; it imploded. Every Ogre within the radius was suddenly struck by an invisible force from all sides. The air pressure spiked so high that the Ogres' clubs shattered in their hands.
CRUNCH.
In a single heartbeat, the fifty Blood-Horned Ogres were crushed into the ground, their massive forms flattened into the stone like pressed flowers. There was no blood, no screaming—just the sound of reality folding in on itself.
Taeshik stopped flipping his dagger. His mouth hung open. "That... that wasn't a skill right?"
Jinchul didn't even look back at the carnage. He continued walking deeper into the cave. "Taeshik, three monsters escaped the initial collapse to the left. Take them."
Taeshik grinned, his shadow-step engaging instantly. "With pleasure."
The raid moved with a speed that was terrifying. While Chiyul and Kim Seok handled the stragglers with clinical precision—Chiyul's sword techniques now cutting through Ogre skin like butter thanks to Jinchul's mana-buffing aura—Jinchul was the storm.
Whenever a group larger than ten appeared, Jinchul would simply gesture, and the 'Mana' would claim them. He was showing them the difference between a Hunter who used mana and a Hunter who ruled it.
"We're ten minutes in," Kim Seok whispered to Chiyul. "We've cleared half the dungeon. At this rate, we'll be out in time for lunch."
"The Chief isn't just clearing a dungeon," Chiyul observed, parrying a stray club with a flick of his wrist. "He's testing his output. He's preparing for something much larger than an A-Rank Gate."
As they approached the massive double doors of the Boss Chamber, the air grew even hotter. The smell of burning sulfur was thick.
"Stay sharp," Jinchul commanded. "The Ogre King isn't alone. He has a shaman."
"Doesn't matter," Taeshik said, appearing from the shadows with blood on his chin. "With you leading, I'm starting to feel sorry for the monsters."
The doors to the final chamber didn't swing open; they were blown off their hinges by a wave of pure, concentrated heat.
Standing in the center of a lake of molten rock was the Ogre King. He was nearly twenty-five feet tall, his skin not leather, but scales of blackened iron. Beside him stood the Shaman, a withered, hunched creature draped in the skulls of humans, its staff glowing with a sickly green
The Ogre King roared, and the lava in the room erupted. Fireballs the size of cars rained down on the team.
"Kim Seok! Shield!" Jinchul barked.
Kim Seok slammed his shield into the ground. [Iron Fortress]. A shimmering wall of blue energy rose, intercepting the fireballs. The impact shook the very foundations of the mountain, but Kim Seok held his ground, his feet sinking inches into the rock.
"Taeshik, the Shaman is yours. Chiyul-ssi, Support him. Seok keep blocking the boss's attack"
Taeshik vanished before Jinchul finished the sentence. He moved through the smoke like a ghost, his daggers coated in a paralyzing toxin. The Shaman shrieked, swinging its staff to create a barrier of skulls, but Taeshik was too fast. He bounced off the walls, a blur of silver and black, slowly chipping away at the Shaman's defenses.
Meanwhile, Song Chiyul danced.
The Shaman swung his staff in a wide arc, a strike with Mana. Chiyul didn't block it. He used the 'Flowing Water' technique, stepping near Shaman, his sword flashing out to strike at the Shaman's eyes.
"Hah!" Chiyul shouted, his voice youthful and full of vigor. "Your movements are sluggish"
Meanwhile Seok was blocking every attack from the King.
The King, enraged, began to glow orange. He was preparing an AOE attack that would incinerate everything in the room, including his own Shaman.
"Everyone, behind me!" Jinchul commanded.
His team didn't hesitate. They had seen what Jinchul could do. They retreated instantly, huddling behind the Director.
Jinchul stepped toward the Ogre King. The heat was so intense it began to singe the edges of his uniform, but he didn't flinch. He slowly solidified his mana into a spear of pure.
[Skill: Mana Piercer]
As the Ogre King unleashed his fire, Jinchul thrust the spear forward.
The two energies met in the middle of the room. The fire was hot enough to melt steel, but the 'Mana Piercer' was an absence of heat. Where the spear touched the fire, the flames simply... ceased to exist.
The spear cut through the firestorm, through the King's iron-scale armor, and straight through his heart.
The Ogre King's eyes went wide. The orange glow in his body flickered and died. He looked down at the small, violet hole in his chest, then up at Jinchul.
The Ogre King murmured something, but Jinchul twisted the spear. The 'Mana' expanded inside the King, consuming his internal organs in a silent flash of energy. The massive iron giant fell forward, crashing into the lava with a splash that sent sparks to the ceiling.
With the King dead, the Shaman lost its focus. Taeshik didn't waste the opportunity. He appeared behind the creature and drove both daggers into its throat.
"And stay down," Taeshik muttered.
The dungeon began to rumble—the signal of a successful clear. The crimson light started to fade, replaced by the natural dimness of the cavern.
Byung-gu ran into the room minutes later, his healing hands glowing. He looked at Kim Seok (unscathed), Chiyul (slightly sweaty), and Taeshik (cleaning his nails). Then he looked at the Ogre King's massive corpse.
"You guys... actually didn't get hit once?" Byung-gu asked, stunned.
"The Chief's 'Mana' is a cheat code," Kim Seok laughed, wiping soot from his shield. "I didn't even have to use my second defensive skill."
Jinchul picked up the Ogre King's mana core. It was a massive, fist-sized gem glowing with an intense heat. "This will do. Byung-gu, help the logistics team secure the area"
As they walked out of the gate, Jinchul saw the flashes of cameras in the distance. News crews had breached the perimeter.
"Director," Taeshik said, looking at the reporters. "The secret is out now. They know the Association isn't just a bunch of guys in suits."
"Good," Jinchul said, looking at his reflection in a shard of obsidian. "Let them know. The rules have changed."