Jun-su, as the leader, heard Yoo Jin's story and desired to subjugate it. By themselves, without reporting back to the Association.
He knew that what he was doing was wrong, but he couldn't help himself, and that was what led to the tragedy they were in right now.
In the first place, it was a stated rule that you had to report an unlisted dungeon to the association.
The main reason was that a dungeon's rank could only be determined by special Analyzers who worked at the association. Not only will the difficulty be assigned, but the minimum number of people required would also be given. Gates had to be protected for fear that they could burst at any given time.
However, reporting it to the association like that would cut down their profits by at least 85%.
Just by the feeling, they knew that the dungeon before them was at least D-rank. The profit they could get by clearing this unlisted dungeon would be enough to buy them 7 or more small runes that they recently acquired.
If they reported it, the association would obtain a good 40% of the total share as a guarantor, another 20% would be lost from splitting up the monster's intact carcasses, and the last 25% would be from the rune's value.
A D-rank dungeon.
They had great teamwork, was equipped with decent equipment, and had been promoted to a D-rank hunter.
Looking at each other, a risky agreement was made.
The rash decision the trio took was undoubtedly, what led them to their demises.
"Brat, we'll take care of it, but you have to follow us inside."
Jun-su was smarter in terms of the current world's laws. He said that, but he knew.
What they were doing was illegal. It was dangerous. That was a fact.
However, if they used Yoo Jin, he imagined that things would come up to be different in the end.
If they failed, they could bail out and cooperate with the association. If they were asked, they'd just say that they saw Yoo Jin entering the unguarded dungeon without any preparations and thought that something must've gone wrong.
Upon entering, they just needed to say that it was too late, with Yoo Jin dead presumably from the monsters' ambush.
If they succeeded, they could slip out without telling anybody. The only explanation they'd have to do would probably be to their marginalized guild, but the main Association wouldn't care about a simple D-rank dungeon anyways.
To the Association, it was a miniscule thing. But to them, this was a chance that could potentially overturn their whole lives. Finally set them on a correct path.
And they wanted to take that chance badly.
One needed to take risks in order to prevail, right?
Who would've known... That they identified the dungeon wrongly, that they were currently in a C-rank dungeon?
The difference between a C-rank and a D-rank dungeon was phenomenal. It wasn't something you could overcome with adding the number of Hunters.
Recalling back to the decision he made back then, and comparing it with the danger he was facing right now, he felt like he wanted to turn back as fast as he could and smack the hell out of the past him.
Thus were the sequence of events that led up to the current mortal danger the group was facing.
The Summoner Aria, on the other hand, was in a different peril.
The place she woke up in was far from the crowded places, but she was still dead naked. Her clothes had long been disintegrated by the Unity flame, and she was left with nothing.
"Space." Aria called out, wanting to deploy her personal space.
Nothing responded, the brightly lit status window was still glaring at her.
The items she carried around using her spatial magic should still be intact. Those things couldn't just evaporate out of nowhere, there were literal legendary items in there. Items that could shake the world when used.
"..." She felt distressed after her efforts failed.
Should she risk everything and enter the city, with the high possibility of being spotted?
Aria sighed. She decided to take a detour from the main area, going down to the dark and secluded areas in hopes of finding anything to shield her body with.
As she approached closer to a certain alley, she felt her instincts twinge at the direction of the gate.
'..Mana disturbance.' Unlike the place she saw just now, with someone being able to stretch their voice far and loud to the ends of the city without any signs of mana disturbance, this was a real sensation.
Her magic capabilities was reset, by the looks of it. But she was still familiar with the feelings.
She was sensitive to magical elements from the very beginning.
The feeling made her stomach churn in discomfort.
The source of it was probably the high disparity between her current strength and the disturbance.
Although she was struck down with thirst and hunger, she didn't think much and headed towards the direction she felt the energy from.
Her current priority was making sure that magic still existed.
Who knew how much time had passed?
Exactly because she had lived for God knows how long, she was able to disregard her life in entirety, not minding if she would collapse in the next second.
She was like a zombie. Fearless. She had nothing to lose.
Of course, she had some attachments to the world, feeling like her goals weren't yet accomplished, but the lovely comrades she once had were now completely gone.
All the spirits, monsters, and even humanoid souls, the ones who used to accompany her vanished without a trace.
If there was no way of getting them back, she'd rather die.
Her spirit was crushed. It was broken from all the pain and suffering. She was not at all optimistic of her life from this point on.
Honestly, she just needed magic. It was fine to gain back her cultivation bit by bit from the beginning.
She did it once, she believed that a second time was possible.
She continued to walk and observe the area before reaching a certain landmark.
'..This?' Aria arrived in front of the gate Jun-su and the rest had entered into.
Extending her arm to feel the membrane that was oddly placed in the air, she punctured the spiral hole, only to find that her hand could go through it, disappearing on the other end.
'This is certainly made up of magical substances.' A smile was finally drawn on her face.
Hope was not totally lost.