Ch.4Home Outside Is Dangerous (1)

“It’ll probably take a few days even if we finish quickly.”

That sudden news was like a bolt from the blue for me.

“So make sure you eat properly, and if anything happens, call the number I gave you. If you get too lazy just because there’s no one at home, I won’t give you allowance next month.”

Of course, I knew something like this would happen soon.

But when it actually happens right in front of me, I can’t help feeling depressed.

“…Come back as soon as possible?”

As I muttered with a hint of dissatisfaction, my sister paused briefly before responding with what sounded like a happy voice.

“I-I’ll be back soon.”

From now on, I too had to prepare for what was coming.

#

“What a pain…”

Day 3 after Seoha left.

I muttered with a dejected expression while doing laundry.

In the current era, A-rank Hunters are essentially treated as pillars of the nation and guilds. Naturally, Seoha was also one of the core forces of her guild and an indispensable resource for conquering high-rank dungeons.

“…”

It seems she’s been deployed to conquer a B3-rank dungeon that appeared near Songdo, so I probably won’t see her face for a few more days, as she mentioned before.

For reference, dungeon danger levels are ranked alphabetically, and within each grade, they’re further classified numerically from 1 to 5.

1 is the highest value, and 5 is the lowest. Therefore, a B3-rank dungeon means it has a mid-level danger within the B-rank.

“Was the Skeleton Giant barely a B5-rank?”

Thinking about it that way, B-rank dungeons must certainly be a terrifying threat to the people here.

If it were the old me, I wouldn’t have used something like a Skeleton Giant even if it were given for free.

“I hate doing dishes.”

Anyway, because Seoha is gone for such reasons, I found myself in a situation where I had to handle all the housework on my own.

With Grandmaster rank right around the corner, having to waste precious time on mere dishwashing.

It was truly vexing.

Clatter.

Clatter.

“My summons used to do all these chores…”

It feels really awkward doing housework myself after so long. Suppressing my annoyance, I finished washing three days’ worth of dishes and trudged to my room to turn on the computer.

Then I realized a new problem.

Click. Click.

“What’s wrong with this now?”

I moved the mouse diligently, but it remained motionless.

Seeing that right-clicking didn’t work either, it seemed the connection was completely severed.

Push.

Press.

Even pushing in the cable or rebooting the power didn’t help.

In short, the mouse was completely broken.

“…”

With Seoha gone, there’s no one to ask for help. I could order a delivery that would arrive in a day, but not being able to use the computer until then was unthinkable.

“With Grandmaster rank right around the corner…”

Yesterday’s win rate was an impressive 75%.

Knowing that in these types of games, you need to push forward when you’re on a roll, giving up today’s games wasn’t an option.

But the problem was that it was the mouse, of all things, that had broken.

Since it was an extremely sensitive element in terms of control, I always made a point of using only the same type of mouse.

And for that, I needed to visit a medium-sized computer store located a bit far away.

“Ugh…”

The deliberation was brief. Even as I hesitated, time that could be spent playing a game was passing by.

In the end, as much as I hated it, I decided to go out and buy one myself.

Ring.

Click.

Whoosh.

I pulled my hood down deeper than usual and set out.

The store was a bit of a distance away, and I had to pass through main streets, so I needed to minimize contact with people as much as possible.

But despite that, I could feel gazes gathering on me after just a few minutes.

Silver hair that shimmered and red eyes. Though I tried to hide them, my current appearance was quite eye-catching.

“My stomach hurts…”

Though it had improved, there were still many problems. Receiving so many direct stares inevitably brought on dizziness and heartburn.

I steadily moved my feet while trying to hold back my increasingly gloomy mood.

Finally, I arrived at my destination.

Ding.

The doorbell announced a customer’s arrival.

As it was quite a popular place with no small number of people, I grabbed a mouse without looking back and headed to the counter.

Just as I was about to proceed with the payment, a sudden anomaly occurred.

Thud!

“B-Boss!”

“What’s wrong? What happened?”

“We need to evacuate quickly! Customers, please go outside immediately!”

A young man who suddenly burst out from the staff entrance spoke urgently, and people stopped what they were doing to look at him.

Seeing this, the young man shouted again, unable to hide his anxiety.

“There was a dungeon seed in the basement storage! And its condition is already…”

The young man’s words ended there.

Following a strong vibration and a loud noise, people lost their balance and fell to the floor.

When I regained my senses, the store had completely vanished. What surrounded us in all directions were unknown structures.

A hellhole that devours people.

A dungeon had appeared.

#

“Kyaaak!”

“Call! Q-quickly call for help!”

“How can we call? There’s no signal!”

What followed was truly a scene of pandemonium.

People were screaming, and in their panic, they couldn’t make proper judgments.

It was stopped by the rough shout of one man.

“Everyone shut up─!”

“Hup.”

After silencing everyone with a single outburst, the man quickly assessed the terrain and continued in a low, resonating voice.

“Are you all brainless? Screaming like that in a dungeon, do you all want to die?”

“S-sorry. I was just so startled…”

The man barely acknowledged the apology as he looked around a bit more. Eventually, he came to a conclusion.

“No signs of movement. The monsters haven’t properly dispersed yet. If you want to live, shut up and follow me.”

“…Who are you?”

“An apprentice Hunter. Is that important right now?”

“N-no, it’s not. Let’s move.”

The man’s quick response seemed to bring a minimum level of stability to the group, but there was one person who couldn’t achieve that.

Why hide it? It was me.

“Hueeek…”

I had already been enduring stares just to reach the store, and now facing the chaotic sight of so many people in such a place, I simply couldn’t gather my wits.

From the moment the apprentice Hunter shouted, I was already crouched against one side of the corridor, groaning and trying to collect myself.

“H-hey, this kid doesn’t look so good…”

“You want to take care of a patient in this situation? Stop talking nonsense and come this way if you don’t want to die. We don’t have time.”

“Th-that’s right, student! What are you doing? Hurry up!”

A girl who looked like a high school student gazed at me with concern, but when people urged her, she squeezed her eyes shut and left.

Even after they had all gone, I remained disoriented for a while before finally regaining my senses.

‘What on earth is going on…’

Honestly, I was bewildered.

No matter how much the dungeon era had begun, such incidents weren’t that common.

This will probably be headline news at 9 PM tonight, won’t it?

I barely managed to get up from my spot, soothing my burning stomach, and began to assess the situation.

“There really are no signs of movement.”

I had read online that after a dungeon seed blooms, monsters gathered in the boss room disperse to their respective areas over a certain period, and it seemed that information was accurate.

This was definitely an urgent situation.

If it had been a few days ago, I too would have been genuinely panicked.

But now the situation was different. That’s why I could maintain this composure.

“Good thing I had insurance…”

I grasped the mana stone I always carried with me for emergencies.

It was the one Song Hayeon had given me, filled with death energy as payment for teaching her.

If it weren’t for this, things might have gone very badly.

I sincerely thanked my past self who had been entranced by Hakko’s broadcast that day.

“For now…”

I too needed to quickly find a hiding place. Although I had a means of defense, I still didn’t know how dangerous this dungeon was.

“Ah.”

Come to think of it, there was the necklace Seoha had given me for emergencies.

She said if I broke it, a signal would be sent to the other half, didn’t she?

Seoha’s Cheongbaek Guild had entered a B-rank dungeon just three days ago.

I probably couldn’t get immediate help, but there was no harm in increasing my chances. Without hesitation, I applied force with my right hand and crushed the necklace.

“I think she said it also has an automatic one-time barrier function…”

I definitely heard that it would work even if I broke the jewel. I could get help if needed.

Thud.

Thud.

Just as I was about to move forward, I sensed something from the left corridor.

Gik.

Listening carefully, I could hear an unpleasant friction sound along with the sound of bones colliding.

Gigik.

A very familiar presence. But I hadn’t summoned anything yet.

That means…

“An undead dungeon…”

Feeling the incredibly ironic situation, I couldn’t help but break out in a cold sweat.