Dungeon & Commander (270) - Mission: Moderasaurus
Kwon Joo-chan popped open the lid of a water bottle and tilted it, pouring water over Choi Muhyun's face, which was sprawled on the ground.
"Ugh... ugh..."
Choi Muhyun finally opened his eyes, his face twisted in agony from the onslaught of pain. He looked utterly confused, unable to understand why his head throbbed or why his shoulders, arms, and legs ached so fiercely.
Kwon Joo-chan felt like he was gazing down at a massive bug.
He'd loved observing bugs ever since he was a kid. Rip off a wing or two, and they'd have no choice but to crawl helplessly on the ground. Watching them always lifted his spirits somehow, washing away even his pent-up frustrations for that fleeting moment.
And the finale was always the same.
Crushing them under his sneaker.
The satisfying crunch of the hard-shelled insect giving way beneath his sole sent waves of pleasure surging through his entire body.
It was a secret joy, one no one knew about—not even his mother.
Choi Muhyun spotted him and looked up.
"...What happened?"
Kwon Joo-chan burst out laughing at the idiotic question. How could someone be this slow on the uptake?
At some point, he'd realized that among people, there were bugs mixed in. They looked human on the outside, but their worth was less than a bug's—hell, treating them like bugs was too generous. They were everywhere.
Seeing them stirred two emotions at once.
Relief that he wasn't one of them.
And the overwhelming urge to crush them.
If he'd given in to that impulse, he might have ended up like Yoo Gwan-ho, the Medici Team dealer—a serial killer slaughtering people on whims, ruining his life.
Luckily, he had ironclad self-control. It let him ignore bugs when he had to. Of course, if the opportunity arose, he'd savor stomping them flat anytime.
This moment was a rare, thrilling chance.
A golden opportunity to exterminate a bug in one go.
His mood suddenly soared.
Kwon Joo-chan decided to show a bit of kindness.
"You're bait. Bait to catch Kim Jun."
Choi Muhyun's face twisted.
He glared at Kwon Joo-chan and struggled to rise, but bound tight in Icarus Chains, all he could manage was pathetic wriggling.
"This is all because of that guy. If things had gone according to plan, you and Pink Team would've made it out of the relic—out of the dungeon—safe and sound. But he ruined everything, and now look at the mess we're in."
Kwon Joo-chan spoke the truth.
The tragic deaths of Captain Jeong Myeong-ho and Team Leader Kim Jun—that had been the expedition's true goal.
"It won't go your way."
Choi Muhyun glared daggers.
"You trust him that much? Well, sure—he took down a Medici tanker and dealer, so I get it. We did a thorough investigation on Kim Jun while prepping for this expedition, and the results were shocking. Explained why Jeong Taek-su and Yoo Gwan-ho lost to him. And how we can crush him completely."
Choi Muhyun's face remained resolute. His trust in Kim Jun ran far deeper than expected.
Would that hold once he knew where they were?
Once he learned what was about to happen here?
Kwon Joo-chan smirked and conjured a fireball.
Light flooded the space, revealing the jagged floor, stalactites dangling from the ceiling, and the thick darkness ahead.
Choi Muhyun glanced up, and his eyes wavered.
"That's right. This is underground in the Second Zone. Or more precisely, the nest of the Moderasaurus."
As expected, the name made Choi Muhyun flinch. He knew just how dangerous a Moderasaurus was.
"Because that bastard Kim Jun pretended not to notice... Mars, following Lincoln, started digging for the dungeon item. They fell in here. Cost us two buffers. No need to explain how, right?"
"The buffers fought each other?"
"Unfortunately."
Kwon Joo-chan had no intention of telling him that the second dealer had attacked the buffers.
"Is that why you dragged me here?"
"Payback."
"How pathetic. I thought Ju Shin raiders fought fair and square against Kim Jun."
A bug daring to lecture him.
Kwon Joo-chan wasn't annoyed in the slightest. But he did want to correct the misconception.
"Why would Ju Shin play fair? That's not our style. Results matter more than process. You can't survive long in Ju Shin being all honorable. Unless you've got overwhelming power like Yoo Wan-seop, that is. But good results fix everything. You don't seriously think we need pure heroism like Peter Pan to win, do you? That naive crap is what leads to this."
Talking so much irritated him.
What he craved now was the moment that bug's faith shattered. The instant his trust in Kim Jun crumbled, that twisted expression—he wanted to see it all.
Oh, right. He'd almost forgotten something important.
Then came a heavy thud.
A core mine explosion, not far off. At least ten in a chain reaction. A fitting fireworks finale for the idiot Pink Team.
"...What was that?"
Choi Muhyun asked.
"Why are you here alone? Where's the rest of Pink Team? Think they triggered those core mines?"
"......"
His face crumpled—just what Kwon Joo-chan wanted.
In that instant, Choi Muhyun's arms glowed white.
Myeong Ok Bi!
A normal chain would've snapped, and he'd have charged. But the Icarus Chain held firm against even that sharpness.
Something emerged from the darkness beyond Choi Muhyun. A massive eye-shaped monster: the Moderasaurus.
Kwon Joo-chan instantly unfurled his Icarus Wings and took to the air.
From above, he watched the Moderasaurus circle the bound Choi Muhyun. The thrashing man went still.
Its madness had claimed his mind.
Preparations complete.
Now, just for the protagonist to take the stage. Faced with killing his madness-crazed friend to survive, what choice would that tragic hero make?
"I warned you about the core mine zone, and this still happens. Truly tragic."
Mars's second tanker, Song Deok-hwan, shook his head and muttered.
His mournful expression and tone were convincing. Anyone who didn't know him well might buy the act.
Hwang In-su glanced at him, then stepped forward and picked up a rock.
Beyond it, the passage was completely collapsed, blocked by massive boulders. Even outside the dungeon, clearing that rubble to find Pink Team crushed beneath would take ages.
Hwang In-su scanned the area.
Someone who should be here was missing. With Kim Jun gone, wasn't Choi Muhyun the acting team leader for Pink?
Why wasn't he here?
He turned and stood before Song Deok-hwan.
"First time hearing you brought core mines."
"Captain and sub-captain decided that."
Not something a chief team leader needed to know. If you want to argue, go find the missing Captain Jeong Myeong-ho or Mars leader Kwon Joo-chan.
"How many did you plant in that passage?"
"Three nearby."
"Three core mines collapsed the passage?"
"I find that odd too. Per the scout report, the relic's floors, walls, and ceilings have odd embedded cores sometimes. Probably amplified the blast."
Perfect excuse.
To prove excessive planting, you'd have to dig through the rubble—but lingering too long in the relic made that impossible.
Maybe Song Deok-hwan knew that and was lying through his teeth about the report.
Hwang In-su sighed.
This expedition was doomed from the start.
Jeong Myeong-ho's greed for a dungeon item to join Brave's Five Stars, and Kwon Joo-chan's revenge against Kim Jun for tarnishing Ju Shin's honor.
With the captain and sub-captain forgetting the mission's purpose, no wonder it fell apart.
Jeong Myeong-ho craving the item and Kwon Joo-chan targeting Kim Jun—they'd clearly allied for their goals.
Kim Jun knew and entered anyway.
Canceling a scheduled raid was impossible anyway.
It'd bring massive penalties from the Association. For Uramata, it could even mean losing their guild license.
As expected, Kim Jun vanished.
Deep in the relic.
Missing in a dungeon equaled death. Countless raiders were legally "missing" after dying in this harsh world.
But another missing person was the issue.
Why Jeong Myeong-ho too? Did Kim Jun sacrifice him like some drowning ghost?
To find answers, Hwang In-su visited Lincoln Team. Knowing the pain of losing a leader, he offered condolences—but their reactions were off.
All avoiding eye contact.
Like they'd done something gravely wrong.
"What happened?"
Second dealer and current acting leader Kang Hyeon-woo approached.
"Curious how the captain went missing. Details, please."
"As I said, a mana vortex suddenly intensified abnormally."
"What kind? Flame? Bug? Gravity?"
Hwang In-su pressed.
"...Lightning."
Kang Hyeon-woo hesitated just a fraction.
Hwang In-su backed off without pushing, but suspicions grew. Lincoln was hiding something.
No reason to cover if Kim Jun attacked Jeong Myeong-ho.
Then Kwon Joo-chan arrived.
Hwang In-su eyed the acting captain. With the captain incapacitated, sub-captain took over automatically.
"There you are. Take sub-captain. Can you?"
"Of course."
"Grintree and Apgujeong entering for search will unbalance things. Search'll take time. Have Pacific exit the relic and handle the rear."
Hwang In-su stared silently.
This was blatant exclusion. Whatever happens here, Pacific's uninvolved—get out and stay out.
What if he refused?
Pink Team, massacred by core mines, came to mind.
"Understood."
Hwang In-su nodded, thinking of his daughter waiting for her father. He wouldn't forget his duty to get his team out alive.
Pacific had no real role in this expedition from the start. Just a participation record.
He relayed orders, prepped the team, then gazed into the darkness.
If things wrapped neatly, Kwon Joo-chan wouldn't boot him—Pacific—out. So Kim Jun... was alive somewhere in there.
Hwang In-su prayed Kim Jun worked another miracle and emerged safely.
The surroundings fell quiet.
Bang Yun-a felt the stares.
Pink Team members were looking at her. Kim Jun missing, Choi Muhyun absent... she had to lead temporarily.
"That was close."
She finally spoke after a long pause.
True. A slightly clumsier response, and Pink Team would've been shredded in the core mine chain blast, buried under rubble.
Bang Yun-a eyed Do Jin-yong.
She'd never liked the brute—simple, reckless, spouting nonsense about men leading teams—but today, she had to admit he saved them.
If he hadn't butted in about the ground feeling off, she'd have stepped on the core mine first... lost a leg... watched the rest explode, bodies scattering. If she was lucky enough to survive that long.
"I did good this time, right?"
Do Jin-yong seized the moment.
"Yeah, you did."
Bang Yun-a grinned and conceded.
"Don't forget—when we get out alive, it's thanks to Do Jin-yong. What's that award for sacrificing for comrades?"
"Corona Kiwi Award."
Yeom Sang-taek said. He remembered because Kim Jun had won it.
"Right, that. Association'll handle it after the raid, yeah? I've always wanted one."
"I'll make sure you get it. If they blow it off, I'll fund it myself. Deal?"
Bang Yun-a listened to the light banter between Do Jin-yong and the team, pondering their next move.
Mars's second tanker Song Deok-hwan had given no warning. Hadn't even mentioned core mines.
That blatant lie proved Mars was systematically trying to wipe Pink Team. Song Deok-hwan wouldn't act alone—must've been Kwon Joo-chan's orders.