Ch.5Home Outside Is Dangerous (2)

Meanwhile.

Team 1 of the Cheongbaek (Clear White) Guild, to which Baek Seoha belonged, was progressing very smoothly through the B3-rank dungeon.

“This is faster than expected. At this rate, we might be able to finish by tomorrow, right?”

“The advance team says they’ve already finished scouting the boss room, so let’s recover our stamina and then complete the raid.”

According to their reconnaissance, this dungeon’s boss was a Puppet Spider.

It was a monster of moderate difficulty—neither too easy nor too hard.

With the map reading complete, there was essentially nothing left to be concerned about.

Soon the leader gave instructions, and Baek Seoha also began packing up her equipment, intending to end today’s raid.

At that very moment, the gem on the item hanging around Baek Seoha’s neck shattered.

“Oh, Seoha. That thing…”

Chae Hwaryeon, who understood the meaning of this, opened her eyes wide in shock, and Baek Seoha unconsciously clenched her fist.

‘A dungeon? He’s trapped in a dungeon?’

With the gem’s destruction, she could now determine Baek Eunha’s current location through the item’s effect.

The location was near their home; it seemed he had been caught up in a dungeon seed’s activation while in close proximity.

Baek Seoha’s judgment was swift.

‘…Even if I go now, what could I possibly do?’

That was the logical thought. They hadn’t even finished clearing the B-rank dungeon they were currently in.

The probability of directly rescuing her brother through her actions was slim.

Yet, even as she thought this, Baek Seoha’s body was already charging alone toward the dungeon’s boss room.

For someone who had lost even her parents to a dungeon incident, this was beyond what reason could control.

“Baek Seoha! Where are you going! Stop right now!”

Caught off guard by this sudden development, her guild members followed in confusion, but Baek Seoha was incredibly fast.

Kieek!

Kieek!

‘How annoying.’

Although she knew the boss room’s location, monsters still blocked the way.

Two Poison Spiders and three Spider Halos. Each was a B-rank monster that couldn’t be taken lightly.

But Baek Seoha knew.

‘I can sweep them all away.’

If she went all out, they would pose absolutely no threat.

Kwang!

Purbubuk!

Puhwak!

With her muscles tensed, she leaped in an instant and thrust her spear at vital points.

The Poison Spider, just about to spew its venom, received three large holes in its body and died immediately.

It probably didn’t even realize how it had met its end. That’s how fast she was.

By the time her companions finally caught up, what they witnessed was artistry that seemed to have reached divine levels.

Puhwak!

Poison sprayed simultaneously from two directions, and a spider web targeted her from behind, but she charged through the gaps.

Seoguk!

With a sudden stop, she faked out the Halo that had climbed the wall to attack, narrowly avoiding its front legs.

Pueok!

Puhwak—!

Then came a swift thrust.

With a sound like an exploding bomb, the Spider Halo’s body burst apart.

It was an acrobatic feat that no sane person would attempt, but the effect was undeniable.

After this process repeated several more times, no monsters remained in the path. It was a complete slaughter.

“Was she, was she always this strong?”

“…”

Her companions who had hurriedly followed could only gape at her with open mouths.

They had never seen Baek Seoha so violent and ruthless before.

As she followed Baek Seoha, who was advancing unstoppably toward the boss room, Chae Hwaryeon thought to herself.

Perhaps her true skill level had already reached S-rank.

#

What welcomed me after I realized I’d been dragged into an undead dungeon was a skeleton wielding a crude sword.

“…”

From the looks of it, it wasn’t a Warrior.

It was literally just a skeleton with a sword.

Basic. Standard option. Pure and untainted like a 500-won soft-serve ice cream.

“…So this isn’t a high-rank dungeon?”

That was fortunate amid the misfortune. Against an opponent like this, I was confident I could handle it even barehanded.

Gigik!

The skeleton, apparently recognizing me as an enemy, began approaching me on its stubby legs.

For some reason, I found it utterly pathetic.

“…Crossing the line.”

How dare it not recognize its senior!

Hwung.

Wheeek!

I calmly waited for its attack, easily dodged the skeleton’s sword swing, and grabbed its arm and neck before slamming its body down.

Kwaang!

Wudeuk!

“Ughek.”

It was heavier than I expected, making me gasp, but my attack landed cleanly.

I took the sword from the broken skeleton’s grasp and finished it off.

Wadeuk!

“What a nothing.”

Honestly, I hadn’t expected to win so cleanly, and it felt somewhat satisfying.

At that moment, I realized something strange.

‘I’ve wondered about this before…’

Apparently, the mental side effects didn’t occur when facing monsters.

“Hm.”

If that was the case, things were simple.

In a dungeon with mere skeletons like this, my mental state was perfect. No human debuff totems around.

“Huhu.”

This was truly a situation where I had no match.

“This cold and heavy sensation…”

Though the sword was quite flimsy and crude, it wasn’t difficult to wield with my strength.

It seemed the time had come to show off my sword skills, which even a master swordsman had acknowledged.

Deudeuk.

Gigik!

Gik!

Enemies were approaching. I moved forward with a confident face, but after confirming their identity, I immediately turned tail and ran.

Tadadak.

“Huk.”

Three Warriors, two Archers, and even a Mage.

Apparently, it wasn’t such a low-rank dungeon after all.

“Hu. Huak. Hu.”

Only after running until I could taste sweetness in my mouth did I finally escape the monsters’ sight.

I noticed while running that this dungeon was quite large for not being high-rank.

And being an undead dungeon, the monsters seemed to move in groups rather than being widely distributed.

If that wasn’t the case, escaping like this would have been difficult.

“This is troublesome…”

It didn’t seem like an extraordinary dungeon, but it was still difficult to imagine that I, in my weakened state, could clear it.

If I had all three magic stones I’d brought, maybe, but I only had one.

‘I’ll just wait.’

A dungeon of this rank would soon be cleared by nearby hunters who would be mobilized. Surviving until then wouldn’t be difficult.

As I was about to enter a hiding spot between pillars in the corridor, I discovered someone already there.

“Eek! Ah. Y-you!”

The girl who let out a shrill scream upon seeing me was the female student who had followed the apprentice hunter group earlier.

Ah, damn. A debuff totem.

I pulled my hood down further, resisting the emotional changes rising within me, and asked with an icy demeanor.

“Um, excuse me… Wh-what about the people from before?”

This was truly maddening.

#

The girl’s answer was quite unexpected.

With a trembling body, she recounted everything that had happened.

According to her, the apprentice hunter and the others were all either dead or in unknown conditions.

‘A dungeon that shouldn’t be that dangerous, and they were defeated so quickly?’

It was difficult to understand based on my common sense.

Of course, even mere skeleton series monsters might be threatening to the people here.

Honestly, if they were apprentice or rookie hunters, it wouldn’t be strange for them to struggle against two or three armed civilians.

It was a matter of experience, not physical specs.

But the apprentice hunter from earlier seemed to have sufficient prior knowledge about dungeons.

How could a party led by such a person be wiped out so quickly in this spacious and sparse dungeon?

This wasn’t a simple matter.

“Th-there was something scary…”

“…”

“A huge skeleton soldier suddenly attacked us and. Hic.”

Hearing her words, I frowned and fell into thought.

A huge skeleton soldier?

If that’s true, it’s almost certainly a Skeleton Giant.

But a Skeleton Giant is at least a B-rank monster. It shouldn’t appear in a low-level dungeon.

‘Not a low-level dungeon…?’

Then what about the original Skeleton and Skeleton Warriors I saw earlier?

Those were undead that appeared in lower dungeons, unlike the Skeleton Giant.

However, if they were gathered together in a higher dungeon, there could be only one explanation.

‘There’s a high-level undead.’

Nothing else made sense.

From Skeleton soldiers to Giants, they weren’t originally from this dungeon but were summons of another being.

In other words, the entity that summoned all of them existed within this dungeon.

‘Things are getting strange…’

If that’s really the case, this wouldn’t be resolved by just nearby hunters forming a rescue team.

At least a properly prepared force would need to be assembled before entering the dungeon.

The girl and I remained hidden, holding our breath, as time continued to pass.

After two hours without any sign of a rescue team, I could finally be certain.

‘This isn’t a low-level dungeon.’

Kung!

Kuung!

Simultaneously, the sound of footsteps carrying enormous weight began to echo.