Ch.16Dungeon Tour Is Dangerous (2)

“W-what’s going on here?”

“…I’m not sure myself.”

It was quite a malicious trap.

A surprise attack designed to bypass the vanguard and mid-range frontline, targeting the vulnerable rear positions.

The trainees caught in the trap were scattered and isolated. The same applied to us as well.

“Is everyone okay?”

“No one seems to be injured. However…”

Kim Seungmin’s expression was dark. This was certainly not a good situation.

Some of the instructors who had been guarding the rear, as well as other trainees, were nowhere to be seen. All around us were nothing but tunnels with no discernible path.

“This dungeon isn’t small after all.”

As Kim Seungmin said, the surrounding terrain had expanded to more than twice the size of before.

The thin mana distribution must have been because such a vast space was hidden here.

“…What should we do?”

“I don’t think it’s wise to move rashly. Let’s wait for rescue.”

Han So-eun and Choi Eunsol seemed to agree, but I knew things wouldn’t resolve so easily.

The presence of such traps meant there would naturally be follow-up measures, wouldn’t there?

Rustle.

Rustle.

No sooner had I finished that thought than strange sounds began to echo throughout the tunnel.

Sounds like something scratching at the walls, or insects crawling around.

What appeared were monsters resembling soldier ants.

“A-Antworps!”

Even Kim Seungmin, who had maintained the most composure among our group, showed surprise.

And for good reason—Antworps were D1-rank monsters.

They were among the strongest within the D-rank category.

Three Antworps at once. And there was a good possibility more would appear.

‘I need to deal with this quickly.’

The sooner we acted, the better.

Without hesitation, I activated the mental stabilization magic on my ring.

Whoosh.

Instantly, the fog in my mind cleared as if swept away, and a refreshing sensation spread through my chest.

For the next 10 minutes.

I become an invincible social butterfly.

“Shoot at them to slow their movements.”

Startled by my suddenly fluent speech, Han So-eun, the ice mage, asked in confusion:

“W-where should I…”

“The one at the front.”

Being an aspiring hunter, Han So-eun quickly composed herself and used a simple ice spell.

“Frost!”

Crack!

Since it was used in haste, it wasn’t particularly powerful, but the cold slowed the Antworp’s movements somewhat.

“Keeek.”

Swish.

A single glance as I turned my head.

That was signal enough.

Living up to his reputation as the most promising trainee of the 3rd quarter government-sponsored class of year 21, the quick-witted Kim Seungmin immediately charged toward the leading Antworp.

Crash!

Using his shield to charge, he exposed the Antworp’s weak spot—its abdomen—and swung his sword to cut it in half.

Slash!

“Keeek!”

It was a movement without excess for a beginner.

This would be a fatal wound; though not completely severed, it would soon die.

Ping!

Ping!

While there was a delay in action, Choi Eunsol used arrows to keep the other two at bay. Then she shouted:

“How about it! Can we take them?”

“If these two are all we have to deal with!”

But as if Kim Seungmin’s words were a jinx, two more Antworps crawled out from the front of the passage.

Just as everyone’s faces were turning ashen, an eerie energy began to spread through the tunnel.

It was because I, standing at the back, had released the death energy (死氣) stored in my magic stone.

Whoosh.

I slightly turned my head to look at the Antworp that was on the verge of death.

Its trembling body could no longer continue even the slightest movement, and the light of life was clearly draining from its black eyes.

In short, death was near.

‘…It must be frightening.’

Living beings, most of them, express their final will to live when faced with death.

It is truly intense and desperate.

Therefore, that earnest desire for survival becomes a medium that calls forth even greater power.

“Undead call.”

Death energy flowing from the magic stone seeps into the Antworp, which has now reached complete death.

And the Antworp stood up again, straightening its body as fluids dripped down.

To become a faithful servant of death.

“Attack.”

“…Keeek.”

Rustle.

Rustle!

The undead Antworp’s movements were fast. It moved at a speed hard to believe for a creature that had been dying just moments ago.

“Keeek!”

“Keek!”

Two of the four Antworps rushed in, but even in a favorable 2-on-1 fight, they were constantly pushed back and struggled.

“What is this…”

Seeing this spectacle of a lone creature disregarding even coordinated attacks, Kim Seungmin, who had been keeping the other two Antworps at bay, uttered a voice full of doubt.

A situation that made no sense by common standards, but to me, it was only natural.

‘It’s actually three times stronger than this normally…’

As I said, my foundation was different.

Even when making the same doenjang jjigae, there’s a clear difference between the results of a master chef and a home cook.

The detailed mechanism was different, but the principle was not much different.

Crunch!

The fight ended quickly.

One of the undead Antworp’s arms was torn off, but in exchange, one of the Antworps lost its life.

Then my task was simple.

Whoosh.

“Undead call.”

Rustle.

Rustle.

It was time to show the true terror of a genuine necromancer, known as the horror of the battlefield, the apostle of death.

#

Necromancer is, in fact, a quite demanding profession.

First of all, you need the corpse of a defeated enemy to properly exert your power, and even the most representative ability, creating undead, doesn’t have a very high success rate.

Unless it’s clearly a lower-ranked opponent, you’d fail about five out of ten attempts with monsters of the same rank—that says it all.

However, because of this, Kim Seungmin couldn’t easily understand the scene unfolding before his eyes.

Whoosh.

“Keeek…”

By now, it was the seventh one, and all had successfully been turned into undead without a single failure.

It was something that didn’t make sense within Kim Seungmin’s common knowledge.

‘…Is this even possible?’

And what about the numbers?

Usually, novice necromancers struggle to control even two or three undead. But Baek Eunha was skillfully manipulating the Antworps without showing any signs of exertion.

Han So-eun and Choi Eunsol, who had initially praised Baek Eunha enthusiastically after the first couple of times, now wore bewildered expressions, sensing that something was unusual.

“Keeek!”

Crunch!

Crunch!

Honestly, there was no need for Kim Seungmin and the others to participate in the battle anymore. If they just stood their ground, the undead Antworps would clear the path ahead neatly.

The sight of them moving in perfect unison to overwhelm their own kind was even somewhat frightening.

By this point, anyone present could clearly tell. Baek Eunha’s skill as a necromancer was not normal.

‘As expected…’

At this level, it was understandable if his own meager swordsmanship seemed trivial. Recalling their sparring session, Kim Seungmin became dejected.

“Wow…”

“How is this even…”

The group couldn’t hide their amazement, and when the fourth battle ended just as easily, they looked at Baek Eunha with exclamations and reverence.

Eyes like those looking at a savior, and the actual results weren’t much different, so it wasn’t strange.

However, the necromancer who had created this overwhelming scene…

“Um, excuse me. Could you please maintain a distance of at least 10 meters…”

Was staggering behind, covering his mouth with one hand, following the group from a distance.

“…”

Faced with this mismatched image, the group could only awkwardly scratch their heads.

#

Following Kim Seungmin’s suggestion, we searched for a path leading upward among the various tunnels.

In the process, we found and joined up with some of the scattered trainees.

“T-ten Antworps?”

“Fall back!”

“Eeeek!”

Each time, there was a commotion due to the undead at the front, but Kim Seungmin quickly stepped in to calm the situation.

“…So you’re from Team 3.”

“I thought my heart was going to stop. Phew.”

Among them were those who had managed to move safely by avoiding combat, but most were not in good condition.

“Urgh…”

“Cheolmin! Stay with us!”

In a way, this was to be expected.

Apprentices who hadn’t even earned their hunter qualifications yet. For them, this place with D1-rank monsters roaming around was like a jungle in the wild, especially when they might only be prepared for D5-rank at best.

“There are people over there too!”

“They seem to be members of Team 5.”

‘…15 meters.’

As more people joined, my safety distance naturally increased. The debuff totems clustering together looked like a swarm of disgusting ants.

Dizzy. Exhausting.

‘It doesn’t even seem like defeating monsters affects my awakening…’

Honestly, at this point, I just wanted to go home, hunter or not.

“Oh!”

As I fell about 20 meters behind the group, we finally encountered some of the instructors who had been searching for the trainees.

“What in the world…”

In front of the real boss room, hidden deep in the dungeon’s underground tunnels.