It looks like there's nothing, but there is. This is a phrase that Choi Jin uses when describing a certain reptile that exists on Earth. Rather than the obvious method of hiding and blending in among thick trees, its characteristic is that it uses a advanced magic to remain hidden, waiting for the perfect moment to launch a surprise attack.

[Nest of the Grass].

This was an A-rank gate known to be the habitat of the 'Green Dragon,' one of the three dungeons where dragon-type monsters appear. And I already knew the method to deal with the treacherous monsters that emerge from there.

I had prepared for this day by receiving direct advice from Choi Jin, who is famous as a dragon hunter. Moreover, the information I collected back then is recorded without missing a single word.

[Strategy Tips] — When you first enter the dungeon, all the Green Dragons will be in hiding, so you need to use an analyzer and scan the surroundings 360°. — The invisibility state is only dispelled when the dragon is hit. — The crawling speed is inherently slow, so there's no big problem if you take them one by one. However, be careful as a dragons in the invisibility state can approach during a chaotic battle. (If they group up, it's game over.)

In addition to this, they have high resistance to physical attacks, comparable to golems. They also have a color similar to that of plants, but surprisingly, they're not weak to fire, and so on.

When I opened the notebook I had brought, the meticulously handwritten information about the Green Dragon was revealed in fine detail.

"Those who haven't received their buffs yet, please come this way—"

"How many potions did you bring? Three? Wow, you really stocked up. Weren't high-grade ones in short supply lately because of resellers?"

"You all remember your positions, right? Don't panic inside the dungeon later. Make sure to activate your analyzer at the right timing from your designated angle."

But why has it been so noisy around me for a while now? I stopped reviewing the strategy and lifted my head. Then, all I could see were hunters wearing various types of equipment.

This place was none other than a bridge in Daejeon, where [Nest of Grass] had appeared. The people before me were fellow hunters who would join me in the dragon hunt.

"Team Leader, please check out this new equipment I bought. I got it last time at the market..."

But.

"I barely found something that fits..."

Glance.

The hunters from the Korea Magic Tower, who were preparing for the raid at the gate entrance, kept glancing at one particular spot for some reason. And the reason for their discreet gazes was undoubtedly that young man.

"Wow. Seeing Jung Haseong in person... His magic power is seriously insane..."

"Hey, shut up. Close your mouth. An S-rank's hearing is on a whole different level from ours, so he can definitely hear you."

Standing in this place was the most famous awakened hunter in Korea.

A white coat adorned with an endlessly repeating diamond-shaped pattern. Two layered bracelets and a crimson one-handed sword. The outfit seemed like it would be a bit too warm for this kind of weather. However, from the perspective of a hunter, where functionality is more important than style or seasonal trends, this was probably the obvious choice.

I silently observed the young man draped in an item known as [White Scale Coat]. Perhaps sensing my gaze, he turned his head and met my eyes.

"What's the matter?"

To be precise, I'm hoping that nothing 'happens' moving forward, though.

"No. It's nothing."

For now, as evidenced by me standing side by side with Jung Haseong, we had successfully been granted permission to join the dragon hunt.

"You're bringing Haseong-ssi along? And the pay will be the same as the other A-rank hunters?"

"— Yes.

Ah— Then of course it's OK. It's definitely OK.

Since this was a raid permit won through a fierce bidding war with Neo Sisters, I thought they would refuse such a request.

Upon hearing the details, it seems that dragons are indeed creatures of high economic value. However, at the same time, they possess extraordinary strength, making the hunting process quite dangerous, with a significant chance of casualties. So, if an S-rank hunter participates, the guild actually welcomes it. Since the number of participants is small, I here's no need to share a large portion of the reward, but with the participation of top-tier hunters, the risks for the guild members can be drastically reduced.

"As I mentioned before, Esther herself couldn't make it in the end, likely due to having a lot to take care of regarding C harman Go."

Anyway, it's a relief that the participation request was accepted without any issues.

I told Haseong to wait here and headed toward the place where the guild members of the Korean Magic Tower were gathered.

Before departure, I wanted to do a final check to make sure nothing had been overlooked.

"Team Leader, both Haseong and I are ready. How many minutes until departure?"

"It looks like we can start soon. We just finished our final check as well."

But somehow, a strange atmosphere was suddenly noticeable. Just a moment ago, this area was quite noisy, but as I approached to talk to the Team 1 leader of the Magic Tower, the murmuring abruptly quieted down.

"What is it?"

Sssk.

I turned my head to check, and through my limited vision, I noticed hunters quickly averting their eyes in a hurry.

"Ahem."

"Keuheem."

Aha... Since I also appear to be an S-rank Awakener, I must have been drawing attention as well.

"Without even realizing that what they're looking at is nothing but an empty shell, they're staring like that."

How pitiful.

A moment before the dragon hunt, I glanced over the hunters gathered on the bridge, lost in thought.

I never expected a day like this to come after being reincarnated with an F-rank body. But now, receiving special treatment as a powerful individual again, I can't help but feel a strange sense of emotion.

"Wow, what kind of gaze is that..."

"I heard that seeing Hunter Kim Goryeo in person would make you instinctively mind your manners..."

There were some differences in the detailed evaluations. Still, I decided to be satisfied with the fact that I was being treated as an S-rank Hunter, just like Jung Haseong.

***

The dragon hunt began soon after.

"Haseong-ssi, fighting!"

"Both of you, be careful!"

The excitement over the participation of an S-rank hunter was short-lived. When the actual hunt began, Jung Haseong ended up separating from the Korean Magic Tower team. After all, sticking too close to an S-rank promancer would only increase the number of casualties for no good reason.

Haseong and I were assigned to separate teams and began our own strategies. Ironically, though, our smaller group progressed much faster. That was thanks to the great mage beside me, whose instincts alone functioned like an analysis device.

"Oh... The stealth level is definitely high. This is way better than that Park Juntae or whatever his name was."

Unlike the Korean Magic Tower, which cautiously checked the enemy's position using tools as if crossing a stone bridge, the S-rank group strode forward with large steps. Before long, they spotted a dragon curled up and sleeping. Now that the target was in sight, it was time to get to work.

"Jung Haseong."

I raised my index finger and precisely pointed at the enemy's location. Then, in this stance, I spoke.

"Cast it as 'clearly' as possible."

In response, Haseong reacted quickly. Before I could add any further explanation, he summoned a spear of red flame into the air and shot it directly ahead.

"Kaaaaaaaah!"

The dragon, struck by Haseong's skill, was forced out of its invisibility and let out a pained cry. The Green Dragon's wing, pierced clean through by the attack, now had a perfectly round hole, as if punched out by a machine. The edges of the wound weren't entirely smooth yet, but compared to the past—when his flames were so weak and formless that they could barely be called proper fire—this was a remarkable improvement.

"Good job."

This was the result of past efforts. I had significantly corrected that primitive sorcerer's habit of carelessly leaking mana whenever he cast a spell.

"Now it actually forms a proper circle."

Seeing how much sharper his magic had become in just a few weeks, it was clear—even with my eyes closed—that Jung Haseong had been putting in relentless effort.

And that was precisely why my conscience was growing heavier...

"Hmm."

Since Kang Changho was locked up in a detention center, I needed another labor force to use for dragon hunting. So, I had coaxed Haseong into this by telling him I wanted to see if he was applying what he had learned in my lessons properly.

But Haseong had no idea that some alien was not only skipping a week's worth of lessons but also trying to dump work onto him.

"Hunter Kim, which one do you think was better—the first or the second?"

"Huh?"

"The first skill I used spread the mana evenly along the spear-like part, and the second one concentrated the power on the tip of the spear. I'm not sure if it worked well."

The disciple soon waited for an evaluation with an utterly meek expression. His appearance even resembled that of an honor student who had achieved excellent grades, eagerly awaiting praise from a respected teacher.

"Haseong-ah, this is exactly why the Association has been taking advantage of you..."

As expected, Jung Haseong remained oblivious to someone's scheming and maintained his earnest attitude.

However, mere guilt wasn't enough to make me stop this act. No, if anything, I had to grit my teeth and make full use of that young man's kindness.

'If I can increase the chances of obtaining a dragon's lung by even 0.1%.'

If not for this overflowing greed, I wouldn't have stepped into a monster's den in the first place.

"Hmm, simply burning a dragon to death seems like too easy of an assignment."

Right after the first green dragon fell, I gave an order to the young hero. From now on, instead of killing the green dragons instantly, he had to find a way to incapacitate them.

"T, this is all for your sake, you know? It's meant to help you practice controlling your strength—"

Haseong started to try various things towards the new dragon he met.

At first, he attempted to disable their mobility by burning their limbs, but the monsters couldn't withstand the damage and died—failure. Next, he tried suffocating them by consuming the surrounding oxygen with flames, but when he withdrew the fire, he found the dragon had been perfectly crisped—another misstep. There were a trial-and-error moments, but that S-rank hunter could quickly get the hang of it.

"It's done."

Using the same thin flame spear as before, he precisely targeted and damaged only the monster's critical muscles.

'Now that I've brought Jung Haseong into the gate, I can see it clearly. His hunting-related experience is definitely not something to be underestimated.'

Whoosh.

I approached the dragon corpses, which were trembling on the ground with their eyes wide open. Then, using the Hydra's Fang I had prepared in advance, I stabbed their tongues multiple times. With this, their barely hanging lives would be severed by the accumulating poison damage.

"Kieeeek."

It was an action commonly referred to as 'spooning' in technical terms. The threshold for when rewards for top contributors start to drop if I had prepared in advance, I had the approach to the mouth. It's not something to be added in the additional items.

Of course, Haseong didn't find this situation particularly strange. After all, what I did was just a common practice in the hunter industry. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

'It's just that hardly anyone tries it on dangerous monsters like dragons.'

The only regret was that I was the only one reaping these great benefits. But of course, as the fourth S-rank Hunter, I can't let others see me just taking advantage of the situation like this.

"Jung Haseong, I'll handle the finishing blow from now on. You just focus on your practice..."

I decided to be content with this for now.

But then.

"Kaaah!"

"Euggh."

Ting.

Just as I was about to press my sword against the next dragon for the poisoning process, the dragon on the ground suddenly jerked its head and knocked away the approaching blade with its mouth. It only seemed like a slight movement, yet the impact was strong enough to nearly twist my wrist.

'I missed the sword.'

Sparkle.

It seemed to be the dragon's last struggle, as a new item soon floated up beside Haseong. However, instead of checking the reward given to him, Haseong walked toward where the deflected sword had landed.

"Ah, I'll bring it to you."

Judging by his calm tone, it seemed that the secret of someone's hopelessly weak grip strength hadn't been discovered.

At that moment, just as Haseong bent down to pick up the sword, his shoulders suddenly flinched.

"Huh?"

"Ah."

Wondering what had happened, I focused my gaze and saw a thin red line drawn across the hero's fingers, as if a scarlet silk thread had been laid upon them. No, seriously, you should pick up the sword by the hilt if the blade is lifted then you just grab it by the edge—!

"What? Did you cut yourself?"

As I strode toward him, Haseong, who had been picking up [Hydra] again, spoke with a slightly surprised expression.

"Yes. I didn't expect the item's magic conductivity to be this high. But it's not a deep cut, so it's fine..."

Sssk.

Haseong stopped talking and looked down at his index finger.

"..."

"..."

And there, his skin was turning a bluish hue. Haseong and I stood side by side, exchanging a silent, expressionless conversation.

"Excuse me, but what level was this sword?"

"Epic."