“Then let’s head straight into dungeon training tonight.”

“Huh?”

Seo Yui’s eyes widened at my words.

“A little while ago, the principal himself gave us a direct assignment. He told us to clear the third floor of the Bag Toter Mine.”

“Bag Toter Mine? There’s a dungeon like that?”

“You’re a second-year and you’ve never been?” Meiling asked.

“Mm. The only times I’ve gone into dungeons were for Academy training. I’ve never even heard of Bag Toter Mine. But… why would the principal give you that assignment? Asking first-years to tackle the third floor of a dungeon is unusual.”

“It’s because of HAUT. He wants us to sharpen our skills before the program begins.”

“Ah, HAUT.”

Seo Yui’s expression showed immediate understanding.

“Um, Senior Yui… are you really not going to HAUT?” Lumina asked cautiously.

“When I was stuck in Valhall, it was impossible to participate in external programs, so I had no choice but to decline.”

“Ah… right.”

Meiling nodded, satisfied with the explanation.

“Then wouldn’t it be better to tell the teachers now? If you agree to join HAUT, the Academy will welcome it. And if you get connected with a sponsor through HAUT, you won’t even have to worry about tuition.”

“Come with us, Senior Yui,” Lumina and I said almost at the same time.

Seo Yui nodded. “Alright. I’ll talk to my homeroom teacher later.”

We agreed to regroup after class and returned to our respective classrooms.

Later, when we met in the hallway, Seo Yui—with her characteristic sleepy expression—spoke up.

“I asked if I could go to HAUT, and my teacher got immediate approval from the principal.”

“Wow.”

Lumina’s face lit up.

“And I told them I’d be joining your squad. They congratulated me, said it was about time.”

‘Tch. As if they didn’t already know.’

The moment Seo Yui transferred here, the principal, vice-principal, and homeroom teachers must have been fully aware of her background.

We went down to the office and filled out the paperwork to officially add Seo Yui to our squad.

“Ah, the principal also asked me to give this to Student Seo Yui.”

The staff handed her an unlimited leave permit and a dungeon access license.

“He said you’ll need these to prepare for HAUT.”

“Wow, Senior Yui, that’s amazing! Now you can go out with us anytime!”

“Mm.” Seo Yui nodded at Lumina’s cheer.

‘Huh.’

That was fast. They’d prepared everything she needed without us even asking. Nothing wrong with it, but… something about it felt off.

After finalizing the paperwork, we left the Academy and took a taxi I’d called ahead of time, heading for the dungeon.

“Bag Toter Mine monsters aren’t easily hurt by physical attacks. They also love inflicting nasty status effects like petrification. And there’s a lot of them, so it’s dangerous. Keep that in mind.”

This time, it wasn’t me explaining but Meiling.

Since she’d been here before, she was playing the senior role, lecturing Seo Yui like a proper veteran.

Seo Yui, however, listened calmly, showing no change in expression.

“Got it. Thanks for the heads up.”

“Heh.”

At her gratitude, Meiling’s nose lifted proudly.

Watching her puff herself up like that annoyed me.

“As Meiling said, it’s a dangerous place,” I added, “Last time we came, we couldn’t handle the monsters and had to run for our lives. Meiling was so frustrated she started yelling at the top of her lungs—”

“Hey! Nam Yein!!”

Her face flushed bright red.

Yeah, that’s the reaction I was waiting for.

“Anyway, before we get into serious hunting, let’s share our roles and abilities properly.”

I redirected the focus away from Meiling.

Twenty minutes later, we were battling on the third floor.

“Woooooo!!”

Seo Yui raised her shield and roared.

It was a skill gem I’d bought beforehand at the Hunter Market: Taunt Shout.

As the name implied, it drew the monsters’ aggro.

The moment she used it, every nearby creature turned and rushed at her.

Surrounded by blows, she stood her ground with shield raised, a half-blue mask covering her face.

With her auto-defense mode active, every strike clashed against her shield harmlessly.

Thanks to her soaking up all the attention, Meiling could unleash her magic freely.

“Here it comes!”

She swung her wand, sending eight fireballs—each the size of a fist—hurtling into the mob.

Each flame pierced straight through its target, dropping eight monsters in an instant.

It was another new skill gem I’d bought her: Flame Cluster.

Since her old Mana Bullet had grown too weak for third-floor monsters, this had become her new staple attack.

Some monsters turned toward her, their aggro shifting.

But she immediately followed up with her second main skill—Mana Bomb.

A deafening blast shredded ten monsters into pieces.

The survivors, enraged by their comrades’ deaths, now focused on her.

“Woooo!!”

Right then, Seo Yui unleashed another Taunt Shout.

The monsters instantly returned their focus to her.

While she absorbed the blows, Meiling’s cooldown ended, and another barrage of fireballs streaked out.

A textbook tank-and-damage-dealer combo.

While those two handled the main swarm, Lumina moved with a different purpose.

Pop!

The sound of a balloon bursting echoed from behind the monsters.

Lumina, cloaked in stealth, had ambushed a Stone Cloud from the rear.

These troublesome creatures exhaled petrifying gas, harassing the group from the backline.

With Seo Yui drawing attention, Lumina had freedom to slip through and eliminate them.

‘Still… she’ll need new weapons.’

She was still using the daggers I’d crafted from the Ashen Butcher’s materials.

Their attack power was too low here, and worse, their attributes clashed with the dungeon.

Those daggers specialized in frost and bleeding—perfect against beasts and flesh-type monsters.

But Bag Toter Mine monsters like Iron Men and Stone Clouds resisted frost and were outright immune to bleeding.

Fortunately, Bag Toter Mine was practically a treasure trove of weapon and armor materials.

A few minutes later, the battle ended.

A perfect victory—without a single scratch.

“Ahahaha! Yes! This is what monster hunting should feel like!”

Meiling stood with her hands on her hips, laughing triumphantly.

“Nam Yein! That skill gem you gave me is fantastic! I just fling it out and it automatically locks onto the monsters! No need to worry about hitting allies either!”

“Glad to hear it.”

That was exactly why I’d chosen it.

Her Mana Bombs were powerful but dangerous; one mistake and an ally could be caught in the blast.

Even with Seo Yui’s defense, wasting it to block Meiling’s magic was inefficient.

Flame Cluster, with its homing function, solved that problem neatly.

“This shield is incredible,” Seo Yui said, walking over.

“It took everything those monsters threw at me and it’s still pristine.”

“It’s thanks to your ability too, Senior.”

I bent to pick up monster materials scattered around.

Her Twin Masks ability’s defense mode amplified her shield’s durability.

The boost was so immense that, paired with a rare-grade shield, monsters at her level couldn’t even scratch it.

It even enhanced resistance against elemental and status effects, making her an outstanding tank.

“Senior Yui, you’ve made hunting so much easier. Before, it was chaos.”

Lumina joined me in gathering materials, her face bright.

“I’m glad I could help,” Seo Yui replied with a faint smile.

“Alright! Let’s clear the entire third floor of Bag Toter Mine!” Meiling shouted confidently.

“Not so fast…”

I set the materials down and looked at everyone.

“First, we need to craft new gear.”

“New gear? But the Hunter Market’s already closed at this hour.”

Seo Yui gave me a puzzled look.

“There’s no need to go to the Hunter Market. We’ll make the equipment right here.”

I picked up a few of the materials scattered on the ground.

“What do you—huh?”

Seo Yui’s eyes widened, her mouth forming a small “O.”

“…What did you just do?”

Her finger pointed at my hand.

“Item crafting. That’s my real ability.”

I lifted the freshly forged dagger.

“Lumina and Meiling will get brand-new sets—armor, weapons, accessories. As for you, Senior, you already have the weapon and shield I gave you, so I’ll craft you armor and accessories.”

“The spear and shield I got before… those were your work?”

I nodded.

“My god. That’s… unbelievable.”

For once, she was struck speechless, her awe written all over her face.

“Yein’s amazing, right? I was just as shocked the first time.” Lumina grinned.

“If word of that ability spreads, every guild and corporation will try to snatch him up. So it stays a secret, understood?” Meiling said firmly.

Seo Yui nodded, and I got to work.

I already had a clear plan in mind for what to make for each of them.

“All done. This set’s for Lumina, that one’s for Meiling, and this is yours, Senior. I’ll need to change gear myself, so give me a moment.”

I converted my equipment into icons, then headed back into the corridor we’d cleared earlier.

In independent dungeons, once monsters were defeated, they didn’t respawn—making the backtrack path completely safe.

When I was far enough away, I stripped off the heavy armor I’d been wearing and equipped the new gear I’d just crafted.

Up until now, I had to wear clunky plate armor to compensate for Nam Yein’s pitiful stats—one hit was enough to kill me. But now that I can bolster those stats through equipment, I can finally choose mobility.

I’d lost count of the times it pained me that my running speed was slower than Meiling’s, despite her being a mage.

With that in mind, I had crafted a Level 26 rare light-armor set, mixing leather and metal for both protection and speed.

To that, I added a rare medium shield of the same level, plus accessories boosting both defense and HP.

Even at Level 20, Nam Yein only has a base HP of 100. I need every bit of HP I can stack.

Once I’d donned everything except my weapon, I checked my stats—and smiled with satisfaction.

Total defense: about 600.

Total HP bonus: 800.

The Iron Men on the third floor of Bag Toter Mine hit for around 500–700 damage. At last, I wouldn’t drop dead in a single strike.

Of course, I can’t afford to get hit multiple times in a row… but with Seo Yui taking the tank role, that won’t be an issue.

Finally, I gripped my new weapon—something I’d never used before.

A special-class item: the Item Sling.

[Item Sling]

A sling designed to hurl potions, bombs, and other consumables with pinpoint accuracy at distant targets.

It cannot be used as a normal weapon.

Like Ezonnil’s Teachings and Ashen Butcher’s Eye, this was a unique-grade item.

It had no attack, no defense, and no stat boosts.

But as the description said, it extended the range of consumable use and enhanced their effects.

Perfect for a supporter like me.

Equipped in my new gear, I returned to where my teammates were waiting.

All three had already changed into the equipment I’d crafted for them.

“Yein!” Lumina spotted me first.

“How does it feel to wear?” I asked, glancing at her gear.

“It’s shockingly comfortable—like I’ve worn it for years.”

She beamed. Like me, she wore a mix of leather and metal light armor, but while mine focused purely on defense and HP, hers emphasized agility and critical damage.

“Incredible. It fits perfectly.”

Seo Yui inspected the heavy armor I’d given her.

As the tank, she received a set that traded mobility for immense defense and HP. I’d also built in a thorn effect—damage reflection—so she wouldn’t just endure hits but deal some back.

“And you?” I turned to Meiling.

She was clad in a deep-navy robe set.

It was loaded with effects vital to a mage: faster spellcasting, reduced skill cooldowns, accelerated MP recovery, and higher max MP.

“This looks ridiculous,” she grumbled, tugging at the pointed hat atop her head.

“Really? I think it’s perfect.”

I looked up at her hat. It screamed “mage.”

“Yeah! Meiling looks so cute!” Lumina cheered.

“Honestly, I’m kind of jealous. Armor can’t compare.” Seo Yui added.

“R-Really? Well… in that case, I guess it’s fine.”

Her voice softened as she tugged the hat down to hide her face.

I glanced at their hands—both Lumina and Meiling were holding the new weapons I’d forged for them.

“Alright then,” I said. “Shall we move out? Time to test our new gear.”

Everyone nodded in agreement.

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