Welcome to Hell
All the fundamentals of conquering a dungeon begin with reconnaissance. Knowing how many monsters await at which points along the path to the boss room makes an enormous difference. It allows you to adjust your formation or devise strategies accordingly. From that perspective, even if a path had been cleared once before, the passage of time rendered that fact far less advantageous. The previous raid hadn't eliminated every monster inside the dungeon, after all. Monsters were living creatures, not static structures, so they kept moving. There was no guarantee the party would avoid encounters entirely on the way to the site where the mana stones were buried in large quantities. While the odds were in their favor, the possibility remained real.
Fortunately, the solution to this problem was surprisingly simple. It would consume a bit more time, but the assassin could scout the entire route ahead and then rendezvous with the rest of the party waiting at the entrance. This approach took longer than the usual method of scouting and advancing simultaneously, yet it offered far greater safety. Any normal party would have chosen this method. However, the leader of this group—who had only ever tackled minor dungeons and never faced real crises—thought differently. He saw no reason to waste time on such a slim possibility. Besides, he believed that even if something unexpected happened in a dungeon of this difficulty, they could handle it flexibly. His burning desire to strike it rich as quickly as possible likely influenced that judgment as well.
The leader recalled the mana stones they had been forced to pass by the day before and licked his lips. Becoming the richest man in this area was now only a matter of time. Nothing stood in his way anymore. Lost in visions of that rosy future, he suddenly winced at a sharp pain in his neck. At the same time, the face of the porter who had struggled to the very end flashed through his mind. The more he thought about it, the more the man seemed like a leech. Couldn't he have died cleanly instead of leaving behind such an ugly mark? The memory still made his blood boil, but he forced it away. The porter was already dead. Dwelling on a corpse during such a celebratory moment felt wrong. Yet no matter how hard he tried to push the thought aside, the expression the man had worn as he fell from the cliff remained burned into his memory.
Clicking his tongue to dispel the distraction, the leader ordered the party to move out. Contrary to his earlier worries, the path they had traversed the previous day was quiet. The surrounding area lay in such deep silence that his earlier caution now seemed laughable. The leader snorted, inwardly congratulating himself on his correct decision. Unlike before, however, the dungeon interior was filled with a sour stench. Though he couldn't pinpoint the cause, the other members appeared to notice it as well—their expressions were far from pleasant. The leader dismissed it as just another unknown phenomenon typical of dungeons and pressed onward. His instincts as a veteran hunter were sounding alarms, but he deliberately ignored them. His greed had long since surpassed the limits of rational thought. In the end, the unease over this mysterious situation fell entirely on the shoulders of the other party members.
The assassin, who had been assigned the porter role and was now carrying all sorts of mining equipment and bags, looked especially distressed. His restless eyes resembled those of someone walking a precarious single-log bridge. Moving as though treading on thin ice amid the tense, storm-before-the-calm atmosphere, the party eventually reached the midpoint of the path they had traveled before. In other words, they had reached a point where turning back would be quite awkward. Now they had no choice but to push forward to the end, whether it led to fortune or disaster. Since the leader's decision was absolute, no one could raise an objection.
They continued advancing without pause, unaware of what awaited them ahead. Having ignored even the slightest warning, they soon came face to face with hell.
"...??! What in the world is that...!! Everyone, weapons up! There's a whole swarm of monsters up ahead!"
The first to notice was Park No-in, the party's tank walking at the very front. Holding a massive shield as large as his own torso, he stared ahead once, then paled and lowered his voice before urgently signaling a warning to those behind him. The other members following a short distance back looked at him in confusion. But the moment they heard the sound gradually approaching their ears, they understood the situation immediately.
Scratch-scratch, scratch-scratch…
A steady, orderly noise echoed through the tunnel. It was not a sound one would ever hear in an ordinary cave. It was the distinctive noise made by the ant-type monsters native to this dungeon as they moved. What that sound coming from up ahead meant was crystal clear. The party members quickly drew their weapons and formed up in preparation for the battle that was about to begin.
Yet that eager display lasted only a moment. Upon confirming the number of monsters ahead, every single one of them was struck with horror. The ants blocking the path were so numerous it looked as though every ant in the vicinity had gathered together. Covering the floor so densely that not even a single crack remained visible, they resembled a black wave. The person most shaken by the sight was the party leader. That was only natural—he had been the most optimistic about their situation, so the sudden appearance of such a massive obstacle hit him hardest.
"Hey… There was definitely a detour besides this path, right?"
"Yes. It would take us a bit longer, but the route isn't completely blocked."
Since they already knew the mana stones were buried near the boss room, there was no need to force their way through this path. Hearing the answer he wanted from his companion, the leader let out a sigh of relief. Even blinded by greed, he wasn't foolish enough to engage in unnecessary combat just to save a little time. More importantly, fighting monsters of that scale head-on would almost certainly result in at least one injury, victory aside. Having made his decision quickly, the party began slowly retreating at the leader's signal.
Based on their previous dungeon raid, the ant monsters shouldn't have been able to detect their presence from this distance. Relying on that experience, the party tried to slip away quietly—yet they overlooked one crucial fact. Unlike before, the ant monsters were now in a highly agitated state.
Kiiiiiik!!!
At that moment, the ant closest to the party sensed their presence and let out a piercing screech. The sound spread instantly to its companions, and the party's location was exposed to the massive ant horde in the blink of an eye.
……
For a fleeting instant after the two groups locked eyes, silence hung between them. In that frozen world, the party members' ashen faces revealed their despair. The seemingly eternal quiet was shattered by the sharp cries of the ant monsters filling the cavern. As the monsters charged, the party raised their defenses, and the battle began in earnest.
BOOM!! CRASH! CRASH!!
"Kgh!!!...."
The battle opened with a clash between the tank, Park No-in, and the ant monsters. The creatures, with their large bodies and powerful mandibles, slammed into his shield with ferocious force. Yet he endured like the seasoned tank he was, maintaining the standoff with his sturdy build. Of course, there was still plenty of space on either side of him for ants to slip past. Nevertheless, the monsters swarmed toward his shield as though drawn by some invisible force. The reason was simple—it was the effect of one of a tank's basic abilities: "Wide-Area Provocation."
Thanks to his efforts, those in the rear gained precious time to prepare for combat. The first to launch a counterattack was the party's sole mage, a young woman. With a high-pitched hum, spheres of flame materialized in her hands, took shape, and rained down upon the clustered monsters. Thanks to the enclosed nature of the cave and the ants' tight formation, the effect was devastating. Especially vulnerable to fire, the creatures thrashed in agony as they burned fiercely.
Whoosh—
Judging that she had used enough fire magic, the woman immediately summoned a powerful gust of wind. The strong breeze fanned the flames even higher while spreading the fire toward the rear ranks the magic hadn't yet reached. She was an elemental mage—the most common subclass among mages. Yet when combined with the right environment and a well-coordinated formation, her destructive power far exceeded imagination. Moreover, she was a "Dual Magician" capable of wielding two elements at once. Even among elemental mages, those who could handle multiple elements simultaneously were rare. It was no wonder the party leader favored her so much. In a battle where they were outnumbered, the mage's ability to deliver a decisive blow was crucial.
Once the front line was completely devastated by her magic, the pressure on the tank naturally lessened. He adjusted his shield and began advancing slowly. The ants pushed aside by his shield were swiftly dealt with by the warriors positioned directly behind him. Weakened by the flames, the monsters were sliced apart like tofu beneath the party's blades. Yet despite the seemingly favorable flow of battle, the leader's expression remained grim. There were simply too many of them. The mage's mana was not infinite, nor was the tank's stamina. Furthermore, even as they burned and melted, the ants continued to struggle desperately, gradually wearing down the warriors' endurance as well.
The one small consolation was that the battle was proceeding exactly as they had hoped. The steadily decreasing number of monsters reinforced that belief. Just a little more and a fortune would be theirs. That single thought, lodged in every party member's mind, served as a mental pillar. Unfortunately, the future awaiting them was not a brilliant light, but a dark, filthy abyss.
"...Kyaaaaah!!!!"
A terrified scream from a woman rang out from the rear. At the same time, every member engaged in combat turned their heads, and deep despair washed over their faces. Scratch-scratch, scratch-scratch… That ominous sound echoed once more from behind them. Their rear was now filled with an enormous number of ant monsters. They had been surrounded. Deep within the dungeon, encircled front and back by the ant horde. The party leader's eyes trembled as though struck by an earthquake, as if he had already foreseen their fate.
The ants that had appeared from the rear charged without the slightest hesitation the moment they spotted the party. In that instant, the formation the group had painstakingly built collapsed.