Sung Joon healed Byung Chul for an hour and thirty minutes as anticipated. Byung Chul could now return to the battlefield. The healing had taken quite a long time due to the severity of the wound.

“Even though our rating will go down, shouldn’t we just give up?” Byung Chul carefully asked when the group started moving again.

Sung Joon looked at Joo Yeon.

“What should we do..”

The girl seemed to be earnestly considering giving up the dungeon run. Sung Joon lightly bit his lip. His rating would plummet if he gave up in the middle of a dungeon run.

That’s why it had been almost impossible to improve his low rating in the past. He had given up quite frequently in dungeon runs.

‘I worked so hard to improve my rating.. I can’t just give up like this.’

Sung Joon once again bit his lip. He organized his thoughts and looked at both Byung Chul and Joo Yeon, saying, “I’ll take the lead.”

“But wouldn’t a Healer taking the lead be a bit..” Byung Chul attempted to dissuade him. Sung Joon smiled faintly.

“Do I look like a normal Healer?”

Byung Chul smiled for the first time. He was right. Sung Joon possessed a Presence Detection that far outstripped Detection Magic, he had fatal swordsmanship, and he had been so amazing that it seemed like the Sword Saint himself had descended. Sung Joon was anything but a normal Healer.

“Plus, you two don’t want your rating to drop, right?”

“Of course. It’s really tough to raise your rating back up,” Joo Yeon replied.

Sung Joon had been able to go up from rock bottom due to his solo play. But if a Hunter’s rating dropped as a result of matching, it’d be difficult to raise it back up again.

That’s because Hunters of similar skill were matched together.

In the worst case scenario, you might be matched up with a ‘Troll’ and your rating might plunge all the way to the bottom, to the ‘Abyss’.

It was different from a game. It was an occupation where lives were risked. Though most Trolls lacked skills, they still existed.

There were high ranking Trolls that were mostly psychopaths, but they wouldn’t die in the dungeons.

‘I was in the Abyss before.’ Sung Joon recalled his past and hid his bitter laughter.

“I’ll carry you,” he said confidently.

‘Carrying’ meant that an individual lead the party to a successful dungeon run, largely due to their individual actions.

Sung Joon’s expression brimmed with confidence, though both Byung Chul and Joo Yeon felt extremely anxious. They looked at Sung Joon with both fear and envy.

He not only had incredible physical abilities on the level of a Combat Hunter, but also a high healing power. With him, they thought it might be possible.

“But it’s not free. When we’re paid, I want more of a cut,” said Sung Joon.

“We’ll add 17% to your 33%.”

The party leader, Joo Yeon, promised an extra share. It was preferable to tanking their rating. Sung Joon recorded her just in case she changed her mind

“Mr. Ji Byung Chul, I’m counting on you to guard Ms. Seo Joo Yeon.”

“Please leave it to me,” replied Byung Chul.

Sung Joon grasped his own combat abilities. Though he had gotten stronger due to his training, he still lacked compared to his past life.

He needed the support of Joo Yeon’s magic to get through the B-rank dungeon safely.

“We won’t need Detection Magic. Ms. Joo Yeon, please focus on offensive spells.”

“I’ll put my faith in you, Mr. Kang Sung Joon,” she replied.

Sung Joon had already proven his Presence Detection in the dungeon, so Joo Yeon obediently followed him.

Both Joo Yeon and Byung Chul had come to trust in Sung Joon much more than before due to his active role in the past battle.

“They’re coming! There are twelve of them!”

They advanced from the front. The monsters moved stealthily, as if they were depending on their ambush, but they couldn’t trick Sung Joon’s senses.

“I’ll give you some light!”

Joo Yeon’s magic illuminated the darkness, revealing the monsters.

“There’re four Trolls and eight Orcs. Mr. Ji Byung Chul, I’ll leave the defense to you!” said Sung Joon.

Sung Joon shot towards the monsters like a gun.

“Fire Arrow!”

A volley of five Flame Arrows formed in the air, aimed at the Orcs, and were fired. The five Orcs were pierced in their abdomens or chests and then engulfed in flames.

“You’re in my way,” Sung Joon coldly spit out.

He nimbly evaded the Orc’s sword and strode deeper into the enemy line, swinging his sword with the experience gained from his past life.

He swung thrice and the Orcs collapsed, spewing blood from their necks. Then his attention moved to the Trolls.

‘Four left!’

He absorbed the mana from the Orcs and sped off towards the Trolls.

The four Trolls stabbed at him with their spears, aiming at vital areas, but Sung Joon calmly stepped back, evading three of the spears. He couldn’t dodge the last spear, so he used his sword to deflect it.

He moved quickly, instantly closing the distance to the front-most Troll, and accurately pierced its heart in a single blow. It certainly hadn’t missed its mark.

Though Trolls had a high regeneration rate, their hearts wouldn’t regenerate. The pierced Troll let out a short shriek and toppled onto the floor.

Joo Yeon oversaw the battlefield from the rear and absorbed the gathered mana in her staff. As Sung Joon was currently in the midst of close quarters combat, she couldn’t risk using magic that could potentially hurt him. But it was honestly a situation where magical support wasn’t really necessary.

“Byung Chul, how good is he?” Joo Yeon asked.

“If we’re just comparing combat abilities, he’s better than me.”

“He’s that good?” Joo Yeon repeated herself, completely taken aback.

Byung Chul nodded and said, “He’s able to aim for vital areas in a melee, something that only skilled veteran Hunters are capable of. It’s easy in theory, but the practical application is difficult.”

“Are you sure it’s only possible for veteran Hunters? Didn’t you say that Mr. Kang Sung Joon awakened as a Healer?”

“Just a little while ago, he was a C-rank Healer, but his body was honestly worse than a D-rank Hunter’s.”

“That’s amazing. In that short time, he improved that much?”

While the other two conversed, Sung Joon had killed the rest of the Trolls.

“Absorb.”

He didn’t forget to absorb their mana. He recovered his stamina and mana, and his memories became a bit clearer as well.

“Ms. Seo Joo Yeon, what is that?” Byung Chul asked Joo Yeon, after closely observing Sung Joon as he absorbed the mana.

“It looks like he’s absorbing mana,” she replied.

“Isn’t that a particularly rare ability, even amongst Mage Hunters, that requires a certain affinity?”

Joo Yeon nodded. “That’s right.”

Byung Chul was past astonishment and felt fear.

Sung Joon was at the level of a Combat Hunter, had superb swordsmanship and a healing power that exceeded the norm. To add to that, he also had the rare Mana Absorption ability!

He might even be hiding a Supporter Hunter buff skill, so Byung Chul felt afraid.

“He’s special.” Byung Chul spoke without realizing.

He was correct.

Sung Joon sure was a special Hunter.