Dungeon

“It looks ominous.”

“How embarrassing.”

The Magic Sword couldn’t contain its Magical Power and was extending its ominous energy around it.

Born from Gumiho’s Foxfire, the Magic Sword burned the hand of the person holding it like a ruffian.

Americano’s hand was also scorched by the flames.

“Are you sure it’s really okay?”

“Yes.”

As she poured Magical Power into it, the flames of the Magic Sword gradually extinguished and disappeared.

She had practiced with an orc axe and understood the Magical Power characteristics of Foxfire.

“Your Magical Power manipulation is fantastic. When they said you didn’t have to tame all the Magical Power, I thought it was nonsense… I’ve met a genius. Luck was on my side, not yours. Heh heh.”

Americano swung the Magic Sword lightly a few times.

She even released flames at will,

Getting used to the Magic Sword.

Tang So-hye had already arrived at the meeting place.

Thirty minutes earlier than the appointed time.

“You’re early.”

“Of course, I made the appointment! But you, I thought you’d be punctual, but 30 minutes is too early, isn’t it?”

“It’s normal for me?”

Normal?

Now that she said it, she wasn’t sure.

She didn’t have any friends.

Trial Square.

They met at the entrance.

Americano followed Tang So-hye.

“As I wrote in the note, there will be five other teams in this Dungeon besides us. Because we’re not going to conquer it, but to investigate.”

“Hmm.”

“For reference, our team consists of you, me, and one other person, so three in total.”

The Dungeon was located in the sewer.

A typical place for a city Dungeon.

Gospel was large enough to be called a city, and a large sewer system was built beneath it.

There was an entrance to the sewer on the outskirts of the town.

Strong-looking soldiers stood guard at the sewer entrance.

Several parties were gathered.

Judging by their appearance, three teams.

Not everyone had arrived yet.

One person was standing apart from the others, and Tang So-hye pointed at him with her finger, saying he was the remaining member of their party.

“That’s the party member I told you about.”

Tang So-hye waved her hand, and Mu Jin-soo approached.

They met in the middle.

“This is Mu Jin-soo. If you need anything, ask him to do it. …?”

“…Cough.”

“Hey, what’s with the silence? I know she’s so pretty it’s breathtaking, but snap out of it.”

“Yes…”

“Introduce yourself.”

“I’m Mu Jin-soo. Nice to meet you.”

After joining the party, they waited at the Dungeon entrance until all five teams had gathered.

Tang So-hye had a lot to say and kept talking non-stop.

What she had been doing.

How she had been living.

Americano answered vaguely that she was doing well, and Tang So-hye rattled off detailed stories of her past that no one had asked for, leaving no room for silence.

She also asked what she had been doing in reality, and

“I was catching monsters.”

She replied.

She looked puzzled, wondering if she had been hunting Hunters with that face, but didn’t press further.

Wasn’t talking about reality in the game bad manners anyway?

“Hmm…”

Recalling the past, she realized that things weren’t much different then and now.

The her of the past.

No, he?

Anyway, she had been catching monsters back then too.

As an Unawakened Hunter, she hunted in the body of an ordinary person who hadn’t even Awakened, believing the rumor that hunting was good for Awakening.

With a weapon embedded with Mana Stones, even ordinary people could catch monsters.

Of course, hunting with Mana Stone weapons was not profitable, so no one used that method.

But,

‘My goal is Awakening.’

It didn’t matter if money didn’t accumulate in her bank account.

She didn’t worry about retirement or anything.

An orphan with no family.

If she died while catching monsters, that was it.

She didn’t want to die, but living without Awakening seemed even more boring.

She armed herself with expensive Mana Stone weapons and hunted monsters.

That’s how a year passed.

She started exercising.

She started training.

She started hunting.

A year after that, Americano was able to achieve Awakening.

“Excuse me.”

At that time.

“I think everyone’s here.”

One of the parties approached and reported to Tang So-hye.

Tang So-hye was the leader of this party alliance.

‘She’s not an ordinary person after all.’

Tang So-hye of the Sacheon Tang Clan.

She might have used the Tang surname to match the concept, but it was worth suspecting that she had enough connection to match the concept.

Even though it was a Dungeon in a beginner village, she had been given the authority to do so, so it was reasonable to assume that she was related by blood, or rather, that was more understandable.

“….”

“…?”

The man from the other party who had come to report stared intently at Americano.

It couldn’t be her chest…

It was mostly covered by her chest armor.

Was it her face?

‘I’m a woman now.’

If she was popular, it was mostly with men.

Her expression twisted inside.

‘Well, I can just ignore it.’

No one could stop anyone from being attracted to someone.

It would be a headache to worry about such things.

Since it was just a game, what could the other person do even if they showed interest?

‘It’s not like they can grab me and rape me.’

…Huh?

“…?”

For a moment, she remembered her naked body in the bathroom.

Full Dive.

Game.

She frequented the strategy sites, but was there something she hadn’t noticed because of her preconceived notions about the game?

‘For example, adult…’

Her thoughts couldn’t continue,

“What are you doing? If you’re done talking, get lost!”

“Ah, yes!”

Americano woke up from her thoughts at Tang So-hye’s shout.

The parties gathered together.

They exchanged brief introductions.

She wasn’t interested.

This guy was like that guy, and that guy was like this guy.

It was too much trouble to memorize their names since they were people she would only see this once.

‘But it’s polite to at least remember their names.’

“This is Americano. She’s pretty, right? She’s my friend, so if anyone tries anything funny, I’ll personally take care of them. Got it?”

“””Yes.”””

Attention was focused on her.

Yes, she’s pretty.

She admitted it.

Americano was pretty.

This Avatar called Americano was so beautiful that if she claimed to be the incarnation of the goddess of beauty, everyone would believe her.

What to do with this beauty.

Besides,

“….”

Some of their gazes also went down to her chest.

Wasn’t the chest armor enough to cover it all?

The chest armor felt slightly raised against her chest.

The chest armor was pushed forward a bit, enough to touch her back, but she prided herself on having covered it quite a bit.

She sighed inwardly.

What’s the point of covering it?

Look at those blatant gazes.

This chest was harmful to an Outsider.

Anyway,

“I’ll emphasize it one more time!”

Tang So-hye stated the purpose of this Dungeon exploration once again.

“We’re not here to conquer it! We’re investigating the Instance Dungeon that occurred in the sewer! If you find any suspicious traces, immediately preserve the scene and take a screenshot and report it to me! Anything, no matter how trivial, is fine! Anything that seems to be related to reality? Report anything you suspect! That’s your mission. Got it?”

The parties answered “””Yes.”””

After a brief speech, they entered the sewer.

Americano, who was walking at the head of the party alliance, stayed close to Tang So-hye and asked the question that had just arisen.

“Modern items?”

“Ah. I guess I didn’t tell you?”

“That important thing.”

“I guess I got carried away being with you.”

How could she forget something so important while only talking about herself.

“Ahaha, I wasn’t in a position to scold them. So.”

Tang So-hye told her the purpose of this Dungeon investigation.

“If you’ve caught monsters in reality, have you ever cleared a Dungeon?”

“I’ve been inside, but I’ve never cleared one.”

“Dungeon Breaks aren’t common. But you’ve heard of a Dungeon that’s been cleared once appearing again, right?”

“…Yes.”

A Dungeon Break means closing the Gate.

Closing the Gate.

Then it could be reopened.

Just because the Gate was closed didn’t mean that the space where the Dungeon existed disappeared.

Of course, its shape and structure would be different from when it was first cleared, as if hundreds of years had passed, so it was difficult to see it as the same Dungeon.

But there was evidence, so the Dungeon must have reappeared.

“That’s what appeared in the game.”

“….”

For a moment, she understood something.

She understood what she was saying.

But her understanding was half a beat late.

“That’s hard to believe.”

“Me too. But when they showed me the evidence, I had no choice but to believe it.”

Tang So-hye told her what the evidence was.

Americano, who regarded her as a Player NPC, found it difficult to fully trust her even when she heard the evidence.

Tang So-hye’s ‘reality’ and ‘game’ were ultimately in the same computer, so it was not strange at all that they shared the Dungeon.

Modern items.

Traces of battle.

Testimony.

Which reality did the Player who testified come from, Summoned Hero?

She couldn’t say for sure until she proved it.

“You’re seeing me as an NPC, aren’t you?”

“…In the first place, is it possible to distinguish?”

“That’s why you’re a newbie.”

“….”

Wasn’t she a newbie too?

“Listen carefully. The way to distinguish is simple. I’ll ask you just one thing.”

She raised her index finger to emphasize one.

The way to distinguish was surprisingly simple.

A year had passed since Full Dive was released.

This reality and that reality had been separated from each other since then.

Even if they had used the real data as it was and synchronized it until the game was released, they couldn’t do that after the game was released.

In other words,

“A big event that happened in the last year. With just that one thing, it’s easy to tell if you’re from this side or that side.”

“Then…”

“Yes.”

Americano gave an answer to Tang So-hye’s question that was different from what she had expected.

“NPC?”

“Hahaha, you’re a newbie after all.”

“Aren’t you a newbie too, Tang So-hye…”

“I’ve been doing it for half a year. I’m not a newbie. Anyway, this method can only distinguish whether you’re from this side or that side.”

“….”

“Do you understand?”

She understood.

“So, Tang So-hye sees me as an NPC?”

“And you see me as an NPC, right?”

“Yes.”

It was quite complicated.

“It would be easy to prove if I could log in to your reality.”

“I guess you can’t?”

“Yeah. They said I can’t.”

Anyway,

“Which side was the witness from?”

“Your side.”

“….”

Wiggle wiggle wiggle.

Black pit of fire.

A dark fog that light could not penetrate blocked the sewer passage.