Chapter 67: Clearing the Western Dungeon (1)
“Everyone, take a look at Channel 31.”
Jo Yoon pointed to the broadcast monitor set up on one side of the arena. At his words, all eyes turned to Jo Hwi, the head of the Jo family.
“Yeah. Looks like Jeonghu has a plan. Let’s watch.”
With a nod from Jo Hwi, his eldest son Jo Pyeong-sik bowed his head slightly and gave orders to his subordinates.
Tsssh-!
Channel #31 appeared on the broadcast monitor.
There, in front of everyone’s eyes, stood Jeonghu and Jeonghyeon.
Jeonghyeon wrapped one arm around Jeonghu’s neck like a bully tormenting a student, then leaned into the drone’s camera with a playful grin.
“Aah. Like this? Streamer Punisher. Today’s content!”
Jeonghyeon mimicked the streamers he’d seen back in his porter days as a kid, flashing a smile.
“We’re clearing the toughest dungeon in Seoul’s Western District! Special guest is Jo Jeonghu, the youngest of the Jo family~! Wow~!”
Unlike his mischievous smile, the madness gleaming in Jeonghyeon’s eyes as he stared straight at the camera was palpable.
And that madness spread to the rest of the Jo family watching the monitor in the arena.
“He’s finally doing it.”
They’d chalked up Jeonghyeon’s past antics as mere stunts that drew eyes to the West but stayed within controllable limits. But this was on another level entirely.
It was tantamount to declaring he’d cut off the Jo family’s lifeline—they’d deliberately let the dungeon proliferate unchecked to profit from it.
This wasn’t just about smashing one guild like Kingdom. It wasn’t the same scale as barging in and challenging Han Serin to a 1v1.
If he succeeded in clearing it, he’d dismantle the very foundations of the West’s crime and black market dealings.
If he failed, death.
All or nothing. A gamble with everything on the line.
Even knowing the ripple effects, Jeonghyeon feigned ignorance with an innocent smile.
“Of course they are.”
Anyone betting on the arena fights wouldn’t be bottom-feeders in the West—they were surely profiting off the dungeon’s illicit gains.
“They’re watching their own cash cow get robbed in real time. Bet they’re all clutching their hands, sweating bullets. Jack up the viewing fee and make a killing off it.”
With that, Jeonghyeon dragged Jeonghu into the dungeon’s depths.
***
Once inside, Jeonghyeon activated his analysis skill. Thanks to Philip, Uldran’s awakener, and the shared experience and Attribute Domination still in effect, he could trigger the Dungeon Eye skill.
🏛 Rank: C → Max Proliferation. Currently Estimated A
⚔ Structure: Simple Layout
💀 Features: A dungeon that mid-tier hunters could’ve handled easily. But constant proliferation made it insanely tough.
📍 Notes: Still holds to C-rank framework, thankfully. Clear rooms to reach the boss. Infused with barren earth energy. Full clear might yield unexpected perks?!
Jeonghyeon frowned at the final hint.
No one would’ve known how deep it sprawled underground.
And with the Jo family’s iron grip on Seoul’s Western District, they’d have zero interest in scouting it.
The dungeon info now adapted itself for Jeonghyeon’s convenience—no need for monster specifics or room layouts anyway.
‘Okay. Clear rooms till the boss pops out, got it?’
This intel alone was plenty to dismantle it.
Like he’d been waiting forever, Jeonghyeon opened his inventory.
“Come out, Nus. Your turn.”
“Uwaaaah!! You filthy human mongrel, how long you gonna make me wait?! I thought I’d die of boredom!!!”
The moment the inventory opened, Nus burst out roaring.
“Sli…… slime? This is your servant?”
“What? You little shit, grown a bit and you dare mock me?”
The slime stretched itself out and smack! whacked Jeonghu square in the back of the head.
With a juicy thwack!, the stunned Jeonghu glanced between Jeonghyeon and the slime, while Jeonghyeon casually perched it on his shoulder.
“Come on, you’ve seen it all. Cut him some slack.”
“Shut your trap! That punk just insulted me!”
“Alright, alright. You’ve been cooped up forever—go wild.”
“Hahaha! This puny dungeon? I’ll make it my damn nest!”
Jeonghyeon nodded in satisfaction and held out his hand to Jeonghu.
“Hand over the gauntlets.”
“Pardon?”
“Gimme.”
One slip-up and he’s taking my gear? Dirty bastard. Grumbling inwardly, Jeonghu obediently handed them over. Jeonghyeon slipped them on right away.
76%
‘Not bad. Might hit Epic Weapon status by the end of this dungeon if things go well……?’
Impressive growth.
Jeonghyeon infused mana into the Demon King’s Eye and strode forward.
“Jeonghu.”
“Y-Yes……?”
“You’ve worked hard. Just follow and take it easy.”
Thud. Jeonghyeon bumped fists with Nus and threw open the first room’s door.
“Straight to the boss, fast as we can.”
Kreeeak-.
The door swung open to reveal a weak C-rank monster: a goblin.
Kir……!
Thud!!!
It didn’t even register the enemy before Jeonghyeon caved in its skull, smashing it into the floor.
“Next.”
“F-Fast……”
Not just Jeonghu—the Jo family and viewers were starting to stir.
The drone’s shameless opportunism even amid the chaos drew a wry chuckle.
“Come on, let’s move.”
Jeonghyeon headed straight to Floor 2 without pause.
Grrroar!!
The monster was a Crawly Bear—now so familiar it felt like an old pal.
Thwump!!
No need for a single slash; pure brute force punched a hole through its gut, ending it.
“Hot damn! Tasty!”
Each time Jeonghyeon one-shot a foe, slime Nus absorbed the lingering mana and mana stone from the corpse.
C-rank mana stones were worthless anyway, and right now, something mattered more.
‘Showmanship. They figured even with Jeonghu’s growth, he couldn’t clear it……’
But Jeonghyeon stepping up changed the story.
Watching him dismantle the dungeon would breed unease. What if that bastard actually clears it? What then? What if he severs my cash flow completely?
That anxiety was key to hitting Jeonghyeon’s true goal.
With Jeonghu already in hand, his ambitions stretched to the entire West.
“Alright~! Next floor!!”
***
It was over in a flash.
No clashing weapons.
Unilateral slaughter. Relentless breakthroughs. Ten floors down in the blink of an eye.
Even the lycanthrope that’d been a C-rank boss got one-shot. With Attribute Liberation hitting over 80%, Jeonghyeon pushed into B-rank territory.
Now monsters came in packs.
Shaa-!
“Wraiths?”
Tricky mana-based foes started appearing.
Grrrl!
Lycanthropes that’d been low-floor bosses were now regular B-rank mobs alongside a few wraiths.
“They really juiced this dungeon on purpose. Wraiths are yours.”
“With pleasure!! You lowly mana scraps ain’t fit to face this body!”
Nus hopped off his shoulder, launched itself into the air, and latched onto a wraith.
Paat-!
Both wraiths and ethereal slimes were mana constructs—but as a top-tier predator, Nus engulfed it in seconds.
As if it’d never existed.
“Tasteless trash! Uahaha!”
Finally free, the ecstatic Nus vacuumed up the wraiths like a Roomba.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Jeonghyeon leaped at speeds the drone couldn’t track, mowing down lycanthropes.
“Next floor!”
After grinding the hardcore 5th-stage tower, a mere B-rank dungeon was boring for both Jeonghyeon and boss-tier Nus.
“What…… is…… this……?”
But to Jeonghu, who’d spent his life in junkyard wastelands, it was mind-blowing.
Could a dungeon fattening the Jo family really shatter this easily?
His foundational beliefs were crumbling.
“What’re you doing? Come on.”
“Y-Yes. Yes.”
The man shattering his worldview advanced without a drop of sweat, utterly unfazed.
The endless charge continued.
Floors 13, 15, 17. Up to 20.
Even named monsters got crushed without landing a hit.
Not even A-rank foes could stop him.
Finally, Floor 30. What seemed like the boss room.
“Boss already?”
97%
Might hit 100% after the boss…… but it felt too easy for one.
‘Mid-boss, probably.’
No way a dungeon this massive coughed up the real boss yet.
The monster before Jeonghyeon was a Dryad Lancer. Elf-like, carved from wood, rooted regally in the room’s center.
‘Analysis.’
Rank: A
Weakness: Fire
Features: Roots into terrain to summon and hurl wooden spears at will. Spear-throwers’ dream, mastery of javelin arts.
Weak ones are pushovers; strong ones rule entire forests—could die to unseen strikes?
‘Got it.’
Still just a spear-thrower. The “strong ones” were from Afraksas’s hellish central swamps.
‘Meaning this one’s weak for a dryad, even if tougher than priors.’
“Die…… human.”
The Dryad Lancer spoke halting human tongue and hurled a wooden spear from its right arm.
“This is how you handle a spear-thrower.”
Jeonghyeon demonstrated personally.
Paat-!
He kicked off the ground in a flash, dodging the incoming spear by a hair’s breadth from his shoulder, closing into its guard.
“?!”
Stunned by the unreal speed, it froze—right as Jeonghyeon loaded mana into his fist for an uppercut.
“Behind!!”
Jeonghyeon’s instincts screamed just as Nus yelled. He halted the strike and ducked low.