Roots from the Depths
‘The abilities I’ve been given right now… this is all there is.’
He had no choice but to accept it, regretful as it was.
At that moment, the buffer spoke up.
“Nine o’clock, forty-five meters out.”
The team halted.
Yoo Min-jeong twisted to the left, gazing at the faint outline of the grassland.
“One, two, three… no, they’re coming in a pack. Small builds. High chance it’s Haren Saurus or Ulpen Saurus.”
It was the buffer’s analysis.
F-rank dungeons were mainly for newly formed teams or those from small guilds, not because the monsters were weak, but because the cores they dropped weren’t worth much.
Kim Jun recalled the seven hundred raid videos he’d studied while writing reports under Go Cheolmin’s orders. A few had been F-rank dungeon raids.
Ulpen Saurus resembled wolves. Haren Saurus looked like scavengers from the African savanna, their hyena-like bodies slightly bulked up.
Both hunted in packs and were cunning as hell—if you let your guard down, they’d make you pay dearly.
“Defense formation number one.”
Yoo Min-jeong gave the order.
The diamond formation shifted.
Unlike the spaced-out diamond ideal for movement or frontal assaults, the defense formation was built for protection.
The team members clustered until their backs nearly touched, and Choi Muhyun’s energy enveloped them all. A golden barrier shimmered into existence.
Carriers were usually excluded from this kind of setup, hiding inside the ring of awakened. But Kim Jun took the rear like a second tanker—Yoo Min-jeong’s call.
He pulled the digger from beside his storeback, gripping it with both hands, eyes locked behind them.
Unlike other dungeons, F-rank ones retained a hazy light, so even beyond the buffer’s glowing orbs, shapes were vaguely visible.
Glowing red eyes darted through the grass. Not just one or two.
One lunged forward in three bounds.
It bounced off the golden shield, but Kim Jun caught a glimpse of its razor claws and the fangs jutting from its gaping maw.
A Haren Saurus, black stripe running vertically down its torso!
“Buffer.”
Yoo Min-jeong glanced at Yeom Sang-taek, who read her intent and shouted.
“Attacking time! Ten, nine…”
When the countdown hit “three,” flames erupted from Yoo Min-jeong’s hands. At “two,” the two fireballs split twice, becoming eight.
Yeom Sang-taek called “one,” and Choi Muhyun withdrew his energy. The golden barrier vanished in an instant.
Yoo Min-jeong thrust her hands forward, unleashing fire arrows. The eight fiery projectiles skimmed the ground.
One struck a nearby Haren Saurus in the flank, flames spreading across its body. It writhed in agony—if it weren’t for the lack of rain, the whole grassland might’ve gone up.
A Haren Saurus lurking in the rear seized the moment the shield dropped and charged.
Kim Jun stepped forward and swung the digger.
Whoosh!
The iron rod sliced the air, smashing the beast’s muzzle. Teeth shattered and flew; its jaw caved in.
But it shrieked in pain and slashed with its claws anyway.
Kim Jun retreated a step, then brought the raised digger down on its skull.
His leather armor tore with a rip from the claws.
They raked from chest to gut, skin splitting, blood pouring. Kim Jun ignored it, smashing the digger into its head again.
He stomped its ribs to splinters, then scanned the rear. More Haren Saurus prowled beyond the grass.
They’d swarm if he gave them an opening.
Bending low, Kim Jun plunged his hand into the dead one’s flank. In seconds, an apple-sized core was in his grasp.
He held it up.
The others vanished into the shadows.
Kim Jun turned, checking the surroundings.
A Haren Saurus with broken legs lay before Choi Muhyun; two more convulsed in front of Yeom Sang-taek.
Choi Muhyun stomped them out. His tanker strength crushed them with final screams.
“Buffer.”
Yoo Min-jeong again.
“…Nothing within forty meters all around.”
Yeom Sang-taek finally spoke, still rattled from the two that had charged when the shield dropped. Without Choi Muhyun blocking, his neck would’ve been torn out.
“Huh?”
Yeom Sang-taek approached, eyeing Kim Jun’s clothes.
“I’m fine.”
“Fine how?”
Yeom Sang-taek sat him down and cast a healing spell. Mana gathered into a dark glow over the wound—new flesh knit before their eyes.
Yeom Sang-taek’s eyes widened. This wasn’t basic healing; it was mid-tier quillo healing level.
“Thanks.”
“…Yeah, sure.”
Only then did Yeom Sang-taek remember the contamination from the Ryposaurus. That’s why recovery was so fast.
Yoo Min-jeong stepped up to Kim Jun, having glanced at the Haren Saurus he’d killed.
“You’re hurt, though?”
“Just scratched.”
“Can you extract cores?”
“Of course.”
Kim Jun nodded, set down his storeback, and gripped the digger in one hand while circling to harvest cores from the corpses.
Nine in total.
Choi Muhyun got three, Kim Jun one, Yoo Min-jeong five. Five of the eight fire arrows had hit.
“Nine of ’em, but that’s not even thirty million won.”
Choi Muhyun’s take.
Harenium cores from Haren Saurus were valuable for alloys—even diggers used it. Average 3 million each, up to 5 million for rarities.
Twenty-seven million total.
F-rank raids truly sucked for income. One Gelu Saurus netted 100 million; you’d need thirty-plus Haren Saurus to match.
But F-rank dungeons had upsides.
Scattered nationwide, they’d survived Devils Day untouched. Some Dungeon Research Institute experts claimed they occupied physically separate spaces from higher ranks.
Perfect for new guilds or teams to test their mettle.
Yeom Sang-taek frowned into the dark.
“Schwarzwald’s closing in. Two o’clock, about fifty meters.”
“Smelled the blood.”
At Yoo Min-jeong’s words, Pink Team veered nine o’clock, evading the approaching moving forest.
* * *
The grasslands rolled in waves of hills, like the earth dancing into the distance.
Atop a rise, Yoo Min-jeong peered at the bizarre terrain ahead, eyes narrowed.
A ochre scar cut through the plains like a river. Barren, not a blade of grass—almost like a massive worm from afar.
“Why’s there not a single blade of grass there?”
Yeom Sang-taek asked.
“Like a riverbed that dried up.”
Choi Muhyun’s guess.
The team left the grassy turf for the soft, easy-walking dirt. Ideal campsite if they had to overnight.
“Buffer.”
Yoo Min-jeong looked to Yeom Sang-taek.
“Nothing within forty-meter radius.”
He answered instantly.
“Short break here.”
With the leader’s call, Kim Jun pulled water bottles from his storeback, passing them out.
“Thanks.”
“Me too, thanks.”
Choi Muhyun and Yeom Sang-taek cracked theirs and chugged.
“You too.”
Yoo Min-jeong said.
Kim Jun set the heavy storeback down and took a sip. Oddly, only then did thirst hit. He glanced up the hill—a distant pillar of light stretched skyward.
“This place… not as scary as I thought.”
Yeom Sang-taek whispered, tension gone, even smiling—unlike their entry.
“F-rank, remember? E-rank’s a whole different vibe.”
Choi Muhyun felt the same.
Without that Daily Raider article, they could’ve hunted carefree and left happy.
“Best part, it’s not pitch black. No getting lost.”
Yeom Sang-taek looked up at the gate’s glow beyond the hill’s silhouette.
Absolute darkness where you couldn’t see your outstretched hand… every raider’s nightmare. Wandering alone, then devoured by a sudden monster.
F-rank’s sole downside: no high-value cores.
Yoo Min-jeong peeked into the storeback.
Room for two or three more hunts’ worth.
After that, trouble.
Kim Jun stood quietly, listening to his friends. Without that article about him, they could’ve enjoyed this worry-free.
Then, soft soil parted—a vine-like root crept toward his ankle.
Sensing the faint motion, Kim Jun whipped his head around.
The root vanished underground, leaving a mysterious hole.
He approached, inspecting the ground. Not a human footprint—wrong shape. Had he seen it walking up?
‘No. Wasn’t there.’
He pressed his palm to the earth. No vibrations.
“Kim Jun?”
Yoo Min-jeong.
“…Nothing. Just tired.”
No need to unsettle the leader with unconfirmed suspicions. Her first raid as team leader, still tense despite the successful hunt.
Kim Jun sat fully, eyes closed.
Then he felt it—eerie motion passing below. Not one or two. Long ropes slithering slowly, sometimes impossibly fast and silent.
He slowly drew his dagger from his belt.
Abruptly, the underground motion stopped. It sensed the metal.
Kim Jun eyed Yoo Min-jeong.
She scanned the distance, not below. Choi Muhyun and Yeom Sang-taek chatted carefree.
Kim Jun’s eyes widened.
Roots burst behind Choi Muhyun and Yeom Sang-taek, inching closer. One eyed Yoo Min-jeong’s ankle.
‘Yell a warning, they’ll swarm. Hmm, what to do?’
Decision made, Kim Jun gripped the dagger right-handed, then handstood on his left alone. He bent and snapped his arm out.
Twisting midair flawlessly, he landed on his feet and bolted opposite the team.
Roots waiting for an opening erupted, chasing him—like great whites trailing a fin.
Yoo Min-jeong, Choi Muhyun, and Yeom Sang-taek spotted the surging vines, startled.
But as roots coiled their ankles, vitality drained, legs buckled. Mana and inner power vanished on contact—they recoiled in shock, too late.
The roots constricted, toppling them. No strength left to scream.
‘This… Absorption Tree! Drains mana and inner power—deadly for raiders. Why in an F-rank? Should be D-rank minimum.’
Yoo Min-jeong realized too late.
Somehow holding on side-lying, she glimpsed Kim Jun fleeing, dagger in hand.
He was their only hope.
Resentment toward the buffer flickered—but she knew his detection spread mana horizontally for range, leaving up and down vulnerable. Aerial or subterranean threats? Veteran leader’s job.
‘My fault for not suspecting Absorption Tree despite the barren grass.’
No excuses.
Kim Jun zigzagged, dodging pursuing roots, but more surfaced, encircling him.
One erupted ahead, snaring his ankle.
He pitched forward.
But curled, slashed the root clean with the dagger. Rolled astonishingly fast past another, then sprang up running.
Yoo Min-jeong was speechless at his agility—like fast-forward video.
‘Right! Absorption Tree doesn’t affect Kim Jun. No mana or inner power as a carrier—doesn’t fully sap him.’
Kim Jun tried reaching the team, blocked repeatedly.
His teammates were being dragged under—half-buried already.
‘Can’t just run.’
He charged forward.
A spear-like root lanced at him.
He dodged slightly, grabbed it, then lassoed a shoulder-aimed one, knotting them instantly. Yanked a back-stabbing root into the tightening bind.
The three thrashed futilely in midair.
Kim Jun exploited it masterfully.
Every path he took left three or four roots tangled, quivering.
Then the Absorption Tree body erupted.
Like a giant black onion, three meters wide, single glaring eye.
Kim Jun tightened his dagger grip.
Like an octopus extending tentacles, it shook its roots, advancing.
No time for knots now.
Over ten roots attacked simultaneously—his arm got bound once, barely freed by dagger.