Ch.65The Returnee Shin Doyun (3)

The interior of the dungeon was quite pleasant.

It felt like looking at a well-constructed temple. From the energy emanating around, it seemed to be a lower B-rank dungeon.

After briefly scanning the surroundings, Shin Doyun drew up his magical power and said to me.

“Let me clear the area a bit.”

At the same time, I sensed numerous presences approaching from the front.

What eventually appeared were mummy-type monsters wearing armor and equipped with weapons.

Shin Doyun chanted a spell in a language I’d never heard before and immediately activated an attack spell.

Whoosh.

Crack!

Crunch!

Smash!

The monsters were instantly crushed as if pressed down by some invisible force and annihilated in an instant.

Was it some kind of gravity magic? It was clearly powerful just from a glance.

‘…He’s quite strong.’

That single strike alone clearly put him above Jackson. I remained vigilant and heightened my tension.

Boom!

Crash!

Shin Doyun slaughtered the appearing monsters alone, as if showing off his power.

Once the surrounding monsters had been mostly cleared, he approached me with a swagger in his shoulders and said.

“That should do it.”

“……”

“Let’s have our talk now.”

Since he wasn’t showing any immediate hostility, I sat down nearby and nodded slightly.

Shin Doyun’s face twitched as if he didn’t like my attitude, but he began to speak.

“I made a contract.”

“A contract?”

“I don’t remember the appearance or identity of the other party. That was probably part of the contract terms.”

An interesting story from the start. In some ways, it’s similar to Gordon’s case. As I focused on his story, Shin Doyun continued slowly.

“And in return, I received this power to detect dungeons.”

“Detect dungeons?”

This was even more suspicious.

Could there really be an entity capable of freely granting such a quick and accurate dungeon-finding ability?

I had been observing carefully before, but these dungeons have quite a peculiar structure.

At the very least, it was clear that they weren’t phenomena that just anyone could easily interfere with.

‘If that’s possible.’

It meant that at minimum, this entity might be connected to this unprecedented dungeon situation.

“Then what did they want from you in return?”

That was important.

I felt somewhat excited as I waited for Shin Doyun’s answer.

However, Shin Doyun merely showed a complicated expression without giving any answer.

After a long while, when he finally spoke, his words were utterly disappointing.

“I don’t know.”

“You don’t know?”

“I don’t remember any specific details, and since returning here, I haven’t done anything related to the contract. You could say I’ve just been left idle.”

I made an incredulous expression at his words.

If someone went to the trouble of making a contract by giving something up, they surely must have had some purpose in mind. It made no sense.

“So your conclusion is that you know nothing.”

“That’s not wrong. To be honest, I’m more curious than you are.”

What a useless fool. I thought I might finally get some important information, but this was completely deflating.

‘But…’

It was somewhat helpful. Particularly the fact that the contract granted him the ability to detect dungeons.

This meant that whoever made the contract gave him dungeon detection abilities for their own purposes, implying that such abilities would help achieve their goal.

Though it’s too early to make definitive statements, this was still interesting information.

As I was lost in thought, Shin Doyun addressed me again.

“Now it’s my turn to ask questions.”

“……”

That’s right. Why had Shin Doyun gone out of his way to call me here?

Meeting my questioning gaze, Shin Doyun opened his mouth.

“Do you know anything about a guy named Lee Jichul?”

Lee Jichul was definitely South Korea’s S-rank hunter known as the Tyrant. I shook my head to indicate denial.

“I’ve never met him.”

“…A first-year returnee is completely useless.”

Hey, look who’s talking.

As I showed my displeased expression, Shin Doyun asked another question.

“Do you have any insights about the entity I contracted with?”

“No.”

“I’ve heard stories from various returnees, but you’re particularly unusual among them.”

“……”

“So I thought you might know something, but this was ultimately meaningless.”

Shin Doyun turned away with a harsh swish, then revealed an enigmatic expression with a meaningful smile.

“…Or perhaps you’re hiding something.”

Rumble.

Shin Doyun’s magical power began leaking out like a flood, causing the surrounding terrain to shake.

“Was this your real purpose?”

“There’s no need to choose the difficult path.”

That’s certainly a returnee’s way of thinking. Feeling this familiar sensation after a long time, I slightly raised the corner of my mouth.

“True, I prefer this way too.”

BOOM─!

The visible gathering of magical power must have been a distraction, because as soon as I finished speaking, an explosion occurred right behind me.

This combat style felt nostalgic. Most fights over there were like this.

Whoosh.

The spell I had been preparing even before Shin Doyun spoke successfully blocked the attack. I quickly summoned undead while analyzing Shin Doyun’s spells.

‘Is he a mage type?’

Judging by the spells he’s used so far, it seems so.

However, my opponent is a mage from another world that even I don’t know about. I absolutely couldn’t let my guard down.

“Undead call.”

Poof!

Poof!

[Grrrk.]

[Gigigik.]

[Krrrr!]

For now, I quickly summoned Skeleton Masher and Phantom Wolf to buy time.

As Shin Doyun prepared his attack spell, I also immediately took out a medium and began summoning another undead.

“So you really are a necromancer as they said.”

“……”

“Sorry, but I’ve personally killed more than ten necromancers.”

Crackle─!

As Shin Doyun lowered his hand, lightning struck from the empty air.

Zap.

[Kehack!]

I used the Phantom Wolf’s ability to teleport near me to take the attack instead, but the impact was still powerful.

Crackle.

Crackle.

I drew up more magical power to endure while somehow completing the summoning spell I had been preparing.

“Undead call.”

Poof!

Rustle.

[Graa.]

[Grooo!]

Jackson and Madison who had become Doom Warriors, and Zombie Assassin Wei. The so-called Hades executive set.

“Break their limbs and bring them to me.”

Thud.

Thud.

Thud.

Though my expression was playful, these three were the best undead I could summon without using the Book of Death.

Even though they couldn’t use their living abilities, they could still crush an average A-rank hunter through coordinated attacks.

I shook off my slightly tingling body and retreated behind the opponent’s attack range.

Slash!

BOOM─!

Perhaps surprised by their imposing presence, Shin Doyun struggled to catch his breath while dodging the relentless attacks.

Watching from behind, I opened my mouth with a slight sneer.

“What’s wrong? Didn’t you say you killed more than ten necromancers?”

“……”

Looking like his pride was hurt, Shin Doyun clenched his fist and struck the ground.

BOOM!

“…Yes. I definitely said more than ten.”

Crack.

CRAAACK─!

The ground split and rose up like a living creature, instantly swallowing my undead.

Poof!

Crash!

Wei, who had excellent reflexes in life, barely avoided the attack, but was then pierced through by earthen spears that shot up like thorns.

Honestly, I hadn’t expected this sight, so I opened my mouth in slight shock.

“…I-I heard you got thoroughly beaten by an A-rank from the Blue-White Guild in a duel?”

“Is there any need to use my strength for such trivial matters?”

That was certainly true, but there’s a limit. I hurriedly retreated as I looked at Shin Doyun, who had become a completely different person.

“I haven’t seen those so-called S-rank hunters myself, but if such a title is given to those inadequate fools, there’s no reason I shouldn’t receive it.”

Honestly, that seemed a bit self-aggrandizing, but Shin Doyun was definitely strong. Realizing I had no choice, I raised my aura and chanted a spell.

“Book of Death.”

Poof.

Slurp.

Powerful magical power and aura flooded the entire passage. Sensing this, Shin Doyun momentarily showed a surprised expression.

“…You have a dangerous toy.”

“It’s more than just that.”

Hans wouldn’t be a good match, and honestly, the current Jack would struggle against him.

After brief consideration, I decided to summon a new minion and raised my aura to open the book.

Whoosh.

Flip.

Flip!

Page twenty-four.

What was contained there was a totem piece made from the body of Khan, once called the greatest shaman of the ancient Hum tribe of the Western Continent.