SSS-Grade Cafe in Front of The Dungeon - Chapter 46

I made this for Grandma … I was going to say that.

“Drink first.”

Gulp. The cold and sweet taste came into my mouth and I finally calmed down.

“Have you calmed down?”

“Yes, thank you … Ah! I need to watch the news.”

I went to the front of the television right away and turned it on.

All channels were reporting about Suwon’s dungeon. An anchor with a firm expression reported the dungeon in the studio, and soon the screen was connected to the live scene.

— We will connect a reporter on Suwon to check the damage situation. Reporter Choi Sera! What’s the situation at the scene?
— Yes, as you can see from my side, the impact of the dungeon is quite large here. Transforming into an A-grade dark attribute dungeon, this whole area was literally devastated.

Beyond the screen was chaos. Completely collapsed buildings, injured people, hunters rushing to evacuate people, and … the entrance to the dungeon where the space appears distorted.

— The area is now closed and residents are evacuated, but the situation has literally turned into a chaos due to the occurrence of irregular shock waves.
— According to the briefing by the Dungeon Management Office, many civilians, including elementary school students, were caught in the rift. Reporter Sera Choi, what’s the rescue plan?
— Yes, according to the survivors, many elementary school students were caught up when the rift occurred, and a hunter entered straight away to save them. It is not yet known who the hunter is, but it is presumed to be an E-class.
— An emergency rescue party is now organized, and they will start as soon as the shock wave subsides. However, as it is a high-risk dark dungeon, thorough preparation is required.

From there, the screen returned to the news studio. The anchor explained the dangers of dark attribute dungeons, but none of them came to my mind.

For a long time, I’m just staring nervously at the news screen until the anchor delivered the news with an urgent expression.

— Oh, right now! Breaking news just came in. I’ll connect you to the site right away. Reporter Choi Sera!
— Yes, I just got some surprising news at the site of the dungeon in Suwon … What? That’s kind of absurd.
— Calm down and tell me. What’s the situation at the scene?

Instead of answering, the camera lit the entrance to the dungeon emitting blue light.

“…..!”

Through the gap, I could see curly golden hair and familiar blue training suits.

Thank Goodness. Choi Yichan is unharmed.

At the moment of relief, the reporter shouted with an excited look from beyond the screen.

— S-class! A new S-class hunter has been born

…. Huh?

***

At the road that he happened to walk by, as soon as the rift broke out in front of his eyes, Choi Yichan jumped inside without hesitation. It was a waste of time to even think about it.

The moment he jumped into the gate, it was humid and acrid air that greeted Choi Yichan. Every time he breathed in, the unpleasant smell filled his lungs, and when he exhaled, his head ached.

His only weapon, a dagger, was taken out, but no strength went into his hand. It’s because of this unpleasant air. The black and sticky thing mixed into his breath seemed to fill his lungs and made his body heavy.

“……Ha.”

The moment he wiped the sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand and fixed the dagger again.

Kkkkieee!

An insect-type monster with a black, glossy shell appeared and attacked Choi Yichan.

Swish!

Choi Yichan rolled to the side. The grass where he had just been was cut off by the sharp front paws of the monster.

If he had been a little late, it would have been his ankle, not the grass, that was cut.

“Ugh……”

Sweat dripped down his eyes and made them sting.

He has to get his act together. If he doesn’t come to his senses, the children won’t be able to….

Swish!

Again, the monster jumped at him.

He narrowly avoided the subsequent attack and swung his arms wide. The monster’s shell cracked with an unpleasant sensation.

“Ugh….!”

He pressed down the dagger so hard that his arm trembled. After stabbing for a long time, the nucleus was finally destroyed.

“Haaa, haaa…….”

He defeated the monster at the end of a fierce battle, but his arm was wounded. The blood from the wound turned black as soon as it touched the air, giving off a strange smell.

The headache that had been tormenting him since earlier was getting worse, and now it was hard to control his body. If the monster appears again, victory will no longer be guaranteed.

He can’t even see where the children are.

He needs to find them quickly and escape…..

Leading the heavy body, Choi Yichan thought.

‘Why am I so weak?’

Choi Yichan wanted to be a hero.

When he was a child, he was caught up in a rift near his home. At the moment when he thought he was dead, a Hunter who jumped into the rift alone saved him.

He wanted to save others like the Hunter who saved him. If there was someone in need around, he helped without hesitation. However, as an ordinary human being, there were few things he could do.

That’s why he was happy when he’s awakened.

How many times have you dreamed of this moment? The moment when he can save children in the same situation as himself with his own power.

But he’s still powerless.

Choi Yichan inadvertently fiddled with the pendant hanging from his neck. He kept wearing it around his neck as he was told not to take it off his body.

If it was a gift she gave him, he would happily keep even a roadside stone 

He knows best that Rieul has no other meaning. Nevertheless, the word ‘reunion commemorative gift‘ lingered in his heart.

Choi Yichan recalled Rieul’s cafe. It still takes a lot of work, but it’s a cozy space. He promised to help her again in the future.

So…..

Rescue the children and return. He wanted to go back and drink the sweet coffee she made for him again.

Having made up his mind like that, he became hungry even though it didn’t fit the situation.

‘That’s right, what Rieul gave me….’

She told him to eat it when he enters the dungeon.

Her repeatedly asking expression bothered him, that’s why he kept it in mind.

Choi Yichan opened the bag he received from Rieul. Inside, there was a meticulously packaged black jelly and a spoon.

When he ate the jelly with the spoon, he could feel the strong coffee taste and sweetness together. It’s unique but delicious.

“Ugh…..”

After eating all the jelly, the headache got worse and his heart pounded.

The moment his trembling knees bent and touched the ground.

…. a voice was heard.

【Do you need power?】

‘Where is this voice coming from?’

It was a desolate field around, and there were no monsters or other survivors in sight yet.

Still, the voice pierced his ears clearly. No, it seems to be speaking through a sense other than hearing.

“Who … who is it? If you’re hiding, come out!”

Suddenly, Choi Yichan felt a hot sensation around his neck and reached out. A small black stone was caught in his fingertips. It was the pendant he got from Rieul.

The pendant was shining.

The black light whispered to him.

【Do you need power?】

The voice is heard again.

At first he was surprised, then he was suspicious.

Why did he hear such a strange voice? It’s been quite some time since he got caught up in the rift. Maybe he heard something nonsense in a state of extreme tension.

However, the moment he held the pendant in his hand again, his senses realized it before his thoughts.

It’s connected to the divine nature of the universe through dark ether contained in the pendant.

【Answer. So what’s your answer? The power to make your wish come true.】

As if led by the voice, Choi Yichan nodded his head.

***

I didn’t mishear.

The reporter in the news screen clearly looked at Choi Yichan and said that he was an ‘S-class hunter’.

Did Choi Yichan become an S-class? What happened to him in the dungeon that he suddenly became an S-class?

It is rare for a Hunter who has awakened once to raise the grade. Even if they do, it will only go up one level or not at all.

As expected, he would have obtained the S-class skills through the pendant and coffee jelly I gave him. Even so, is he going from E-class to S-class at once?

The children came out of the gate behind Choi Yichan. There were a few injuries, but everyone was well.

Choi Yichan took the gate stone in his hand and put it in the entrance of the dungeon that emits blue light. As the ominous blue light subsided, the entrance, which seemed to pour out monsters at any moment, calmed down.

— Woaaaaah!

At that moment, tremendous cheers and applause erupted. The scene was in a festive mood, forgetting the tension from before.

The broadcast did not continue properly due to the cheers, so the screen returned to the news studio in a hurry, but there was no difference. It was because the announcer in the studio was also in tears and gave a standing ovation.

“That’s a relief.”

“Yes, really … it’s a relief.”

The festive atmosphere is understandable. That’s because it was almost impossible for there to be no fatalities in A-grade dungeon.

Moreover, somehow, Choi Yichan even got the gate stone.

Although they are often used interchangeably, “rift” and “gate” are strictly different concepts.

First, dungeons occur with ‘rifts‘ in the real world. This rift is very unstable, sucking in objects around it, and conversely, it spit out monsters.

If you defeated the boss in the dungeon, you can get an item called ‘Gate Stone‘. If you put this item into a rift, the rift turns into a gate, and you can freely enter and exit without the risk of monsters popping out.

So, in general, when a dungeon occurs, the attack proceeds in four stages.

Rescue the victim who has been sucked into the rift. Organize an attack party and defeat the dungeon boss to obtain the gate stone. After that, Hunter enters the stabilized dungeon and proceeds with item farming and dungeon investigation. When sufficient investigation is completed, the dungeon is closed.

….. It was stated in the book I borrowed from Jina.

However, the fact that Choi Yichan came out with a gate stone means that he finished up to the second stage at once. It’s also an A-grade dark dungeon.

This was like a miracle.

The news continued. The public officials of the Dungeon Management Office ran to Choi Yichan, and what he said in an excited fast tone was just aired on the news.

After the situation calmed down a little, the interview began.

All the news, newspapers, and even the guild officials who were at the scene pointed their microphone to Choi Yichan.

Click, click, click!

— Hunter-nim! This way! Please look this way!
— Can’t you see that I’ve been here since a while ago? Don’t cut in line.
— What did you pay here for?
— Move back, Hunter Scope!

There was a brief disturbance in the heated interview atmosphere. Everyone’s attention was focused on the first words of a new S-class hunter that was born after a long time.

Choi Yichan, who was in front of dozens of cameras and microphones, looked puzzled. He didn’t seem to understand what had happened yet.

Haha, he’s popular.

I’m glad that Choi Yichan is alive, but besides that, to become an S-class hunter…..

I felt strange, yet thrilled.