Encounter with the Dungeon Manager
In the enveloping darkness, the only thing that caught Han Ji-woo's eye was the bipedal cat with its cheese-tabby pattern. It wore boots, a cape, and even a cowboy hat—a getup that reminded him of some familiar character from somewhere.
"What the hell are you?" Han Ji-woo demanded.
"I'm the dungeon manager, Ferrofero-syo!"
"Dungeon manager?"
"That's right-syo! I've never once neglected my dungeon management duties. But because of you, my perfect record as manager nearly got stained-syo!"
Ferrofero pointed at Han Ji-woo with its sharply extended claws.
"Hidden Space? How in the world did you get in there-syo?!"
At the absurd question, Han Ji-woo bristled right back, jabbing a finger at Ferrofero and shouting.
"How the hell should I know? You're the one who kidnapped me into this dungeon—you explain it! Did I build this place?"
"Oh ho. Are you yelling at me-syo? Don't you value your life-syo?!"
"...Hey. Aren't you a bit slow?" Han Ji-woo replied flatly.
"Did you just insult my noble cat pride-syo?!"
"Think about it. If you could kill me, you'd have done it already. But instead of that, you go through the hassle of sending me to this Dungeon Prison or whatever?"
Ferrofero's brow furrowed deeply.
"Want to test if I can or can't-syo?"
To be honest, Han Ji-woo's nonchalance was all bravado. Sure, they said even a tiger bite could be survived with a cool head. Emerging from Hidden Space for the first time had him scared, flustered, and anxious as hell. But wallowing in those feelings would get him nowhere. To seize even a tiny thread to unravel this mess, he had to keep his wits sharp and take control. The silver lining? This cat seemed simpler than expected—not the sharpest tool in the shed.
"Hey, manager. Why are you doing this to me? At least tell me the reason before you ship me off to this Dungeon Prison."
"Because you're constantly creating errors that shouldn't exist in the dungeon system-syo!"
"What errors? All I've done is bust my ass every day just to stay alive."
"The buildings you've made and the crops you're growing—they're being shared across the entire dungeon-syo!"
"Is that my fault? What power do I have to make that happen?"
"Of course it's not your fault-syo! But Hidden Space is what's making it possible-syo!"
"That's why I'm asking—who created Hidden Space?!"
"I don't know-syo! Its very existence is a mystery-syo!"
"Then why did I end up there? Why couldn't I be with the others?!"
At that question, Ferrofero flinched, its expression guilty.
"Th-that's...!"
Han Ji-woo didn't miss that split-second shift in emotion.
"Aha, you screwed up somehow, didn't you? Right?"
"Wh-what are you talking about-syo?!" Ferrofero's voice trembled violently.
Han Ji-woo had indeed ended up separated from the others and fallen into Hidden Space because of Ferrofero's mistake. It had misjudged the Siamese twins as one person and abducted 100 humans, including Han Ji-woo. But the dungeon system recognized the twins as two, summoning only 99 to Floor 1 Underground. In the chaos, the straggler Han Ji-woo had tumbled into Hidden Space.
Seeing Ferrofero's uncertain face, Han Ji-woo pressed harder.
"Bingo! Man, now I see you're one nasty-minded cat. You mess up and send me somewhere else, and now you're trying to kill me because I'm the problem?"
Han Ji-woo's words stabbed like a dagger, and Ferrofero's ears drooped limply.
"Th-that's... ...Sorry about that-syo. But because of you, I had to burn through my lifespan buying a 'Temporary Rank Boost' item-syo!"
It was an item that massively amplified Ferrofero's rank for one minute. Unable to withstand Hidden Space's power, Ferrofero had tearfully traded life force for it. Leaving Han Ji-woo be risked the worst: if the dungeon got cleared, all its accumulated efforts would go down the drain. So it buffed itself temporarily to extract him safely. This pitch-black void was a sub-space prepping transfer to the Dungeon Prison.
"Anyway, your actions violate the dungeon system's order, which is crime enough for imprisonment in the Dungeon Prison-syo!"
"Who makes that call?"
"The dungeon system does-syo! The very fact that the Monster Wave started proves it's already judged you a criminal, a bug, an error-syo!"
Without Hidden Space's protection, the system was rushing to incarcerate him in the Dungeon Prison.
"In a dozen seconds or so, you'll be locked in the Dungeon Prison-syo. It's crawling with terrifying monsters, so don't expect to survive-syo! It's all over now-syo!"
Time was short. Han Ji-woo racked his brain.
'Gotta squeeze out every last bit of info.'
He hadn't gotten much useful yet. The one new tidbit: the cat's screw-up had dumped him in Hidden Space.
"Hey. Since I'm dying anyway, just one question. Who made this dungeon? Why kidnap people?"
"I don't know-syo!"
"Shameless, and your mouth's full of lies. What a rotten-personality cat."
At Han Ji-woo's mockery, Ferrofero bristled.
"It's true-syo! I'm a victim too-syo! Some god or whatever who made the dungeon... Eep!"
In its blabbering slip, Ferrofero clapped a paw over its mouth in shock.
"You got kidnapped too? You weren't the manager from the start?"
Ferrofero blinked wide eyes, still covering its mouth.
"God? A god made this dungeon? Why? For what?!"
Transferring Han Ji-woo to the Dungeon Prison.
With the system message, Han Ji-woo vanished.
"Th-that was close-syo!"
Left alone in the dark void, Ferrofero sighed in relief, patting its chest.
* * *
Thud!
"Master!"
Nyaang!
Pao and Lucy were shocked when Han Ji-woo, who had been fine moments ago, suddenly collapsed. Pao scooped up the fallen man and laid him inside the house.
"Master! Master! What's wrong?"
Pao roughly shook Han Ji-woo's body. Lucy, entering just then, let out a low growl.
"Gah! Not bullying master! J-just... shaking to check if okay!"
Nyaaooow.
With an unhappy mewl, Lucy climbed onto Han Ji-woo's chest. Feeling the rise and fall of his belly, it realized he wasn't dead.
Nyaao?
Tap. Tap.
Lucy prodded its master's face with a paw. But no reaction came from Han Ji-woo. They'd never seen him like this, so both pets were filled with worry. Utterly confused, the pair had no idea what was happening.
* * *
You are imprisoned in the Dungeon Prison.
As light filled the surroundings, Han Ji-woo tensed and scanned his vicinity. In the spot where darkness had lingered and faded stood a lush forest encircling him.
"This is prison?"
It looked too peaceful for a prison, with fresh green foliage everywhere.
Then, the system message suddenly typed out incomprehensible text.
Only your soul has come to the Dungeon Prison; your body remains asleep in Hidden Space.
You are currently in a virtual body—an avatar. The flesh left behind without its soul falls into a sleep state, unable to perform basic life functions. Nutrient loss accelerates far beyond normal fasting. Typically, such a body lasts less than three days before death.
"What...?"
Scanning your body's status to estimate survival time.
Scan complete.
81:37:12
81:37:11
81:37:10
A chilling countdown began. 81 hours. Just over three days. If he didn't find a way out by then, his body would die. Without a body to return to, his avatar trapped in the Dungeon Prison would follow.
Of course, if the avatar dies, your body dies as well.
The message pointed out what he'd overlooked. Even if his body in Hidden Space still lived, avatar death meant body death too.
'The Dungeon Prison is full of monsters, so odds are the avatar dies before the body starves.'
Worst case all around. But he had zero intention of dying quietly. Just like always, he'd survive and return somehow. His not-insignificant time in Hidden Space had tempered his mind and body, teaching him never to give up easily.
But the situation offered no breather.
Rustle. Rustle. Rustle.
It sucked him straight into the crisis vortex. At the ominous sounds from the nearby bushes, Han Ji-woo went on high alert and opened his Inventory. He'd worried it might not work since only his soul came, but no issue. All his stored items were intact.
He pulled out the Black Hatchling Shell Armor and Single-Horned Steel Sword. As he equipped them—
Rustle. Rustle. RUSTLE!
The bushes shook violently, and something burst out, charging like the wind. Despite its hefty bulk, the monster's agility was unbelievable as it slashed with razor claws.
Clang!
The claws aiming for his throat met his sword.
"Yahap!"
With a kiai and a surge of strength, Han Ji-woo shoved the claws back! The monster couldn't withstand the power and retreated swiftly.
Grrrrr!
Crouched low, fangs bared in a growl—the beast was a Werewolf.
'Werewolf. Mid-to-high-grade monster, maybe?'
Definitely way stronger than goblins. One could easily demolish five. But still no match for Han Ji-woo.
The problem?
Rustle! Rustle!
Over twenty werewolves emerged from the bushes.
"A lot of 'em."
Twenty. If he stayed sharp, he could take them. But that was just the start. The Dungeon Prison teemed with even stronger monsters, no doubt. That's why Ferrofero was so sure he'd die.
'Why are these guys here?'
They didn't seem like system-judged errors like him. Probably native residents...
'From what Pao said, even the dungeon monsters fighting humans got dragged from other dimensions.'
So these werewolves likely got conscripted too. No time for deeper thoughts.
Graaaah!
The pack charged all at once, murder in their eyes! Terrifying, sure, but training his nerve staring down Pao's mug paid off.
"Not scary at all compared to Pao's mug!"
Han Ji-woo yelled, targeting the first in range—its throat.
Swoosh—the blade arced horizontally in a textbook trajectory. Pure basics, honed to perfection. No fancy techniques. Among swordsmen, the deadliest weren't the flashy ones, but those mastering the fundamentals.
Slice!
The werewolf's head severed cleanly by the unadorned blade.
And then.
Thud!
"...Huh?!"
From the limp werewolf corpse, Han Ji-woo spotted something.