Chapter 279: Before the Dungeon
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 279: Before the Dungeon
“So, you want me to recommend one?”
I looked at Choi Seulgi and nodded. Seeing the chieftains’ expectant faces, I knew I couldn’t make a rash decision. Choi Seulgi, who had gathered information from all over, would surely have better intel than me. That was why she was here by my side.
“Let me get this straight. The chieftains representing each region chose to conquer a dungeon to get stronger, and you all decided to go on a preliminary survey. But you couldn’t keep your mouth shut and now you need to save face, is that it?”
Her words struck right at the heart of the matter, her eyes filled with pity.
“Hah… I thought you’d changed a little, Kim Taesung, but you’re the same as you ever were.”
I had nothing to say to that.
“I just got a little carried away by the mood. Seeing their expectant eyes, I just… you know how it is. It’s not entirely my fault.”
“What exactly did you say?”
“‘The scent of danger and the looming fear of death… how I’ve missed it…’ or something like that…”
I’d spoken without thinking, and seeing Choi Seulgi’s expression, I realized my mistake. She was clutching her stomach, trying to stifle her laughter.
“Pfft-hahahahaha!”
“…”
“You’ve never even been inside a proper dungeon. The guy who refused to enter a dungeon we stumbled upon back in the day is talking about the scent of danger and the looming fear of death? Yeah, right. I’m sure you missed it so much. You’ve never even felt it before! Pfft-hahahaha!”
I wished she hadn’t brought up old memories. I vividly recalled the time our party found a dungeon by chance during an expedition with her, and we all agreed not to enter. We ended up selling the dungeon’s location to a mid-sized clan, only to regret it later when we found out it was easier than we’d thought.
I had acted like I knew what I was talking about, but the truth was, I didn’t know a damn thing about dungeons. Everything I knew was from hearsay or books. Still, I felt I had to say something to Choi Seulgi, who was still laughing, so I opened my mouth again.
“Didn’t I tell you I’ve been to the Ancient Warrior’s Grave?”
The very same Ancient Warrior’s Grave where I’d obtained the Ancient Flame. It wasn’t that we cleared it ourselves—it was more like we ambushed the humans who had—but we definitely got the reward and the system recognized our clear. A clear is a clear.
“Just the Ancient Warrior’s Grave? Listen here, kiddo. This big sister of yours has been everywhere.”
Choi Seulgi had grown strong by focusing on dungeons, so I really had no comeback.
“The Tomb of the Ice Dragon, the Land of the Giants, the Undead Temple, the Princess’s Sanctuary, Where the Hero Sleeps, the Cave of Severe Cold.”
“…”
“Want me to list more?”
There was no need. The dungeons she’d just named were quite famous—all of them boasted the highest and most brutal difficulty levels.
“I’m surprised you succeeded. Even with the Queen of the North… you must have gone in when you weren’t as strong as you are now…”
“It’s not a problem if you know the strategy, but… I definitely came close to dying a few times, and some people actually did die. On one unlucky run, barely half of us made it back alive. To be honest, we threw caution to the wind. I wasn’t exactly in my right mind back then…”
“Well, nobody living here is exactly normal.”
I knew I was the cause of that, so I gave a noncommittal reply. Choi Seulgi seemed a little embarrassed and cleared her throat.
“Ahem. Anyway, a dungeon recommendation… I can’t really think of a suitable one off the top of my head. We went through hell to get strong in the beginning, but once everyone established themselves, things got more relaxed… The fact that we cleared them in the past means they can be cleared now. Towards the end, there were times when it was just me and So-Hye. Though those weren’t the most difficult dungeons.”
“That’s certainly true…”
If a dungeon was cleared in the past and a strategy guide was written, it meant it could be cleared in the present. That was especially true for us, since we would already know the strategy.
“A dungeon run by someone stronger than the Queen of the North and a group of warriors on her level… What’s the party composition?”
“It’s nearly perfect, aside from a healer. Then again, we might not even need a priest… since they probably won’t get hurt.”
“If you’re right, then no matter how hard you try, you won’t be feeling any ‘looming fear of death’ or ‘scent of danger.’ Heh.”
The way she smirked at me, I had a feeling I’d be teased about the “looming fear of death” for a while.
“Try to remember. You’ve read more books than I have.”
“Hey, how long ago was that? You expect me to remember all of it? Even when I took So-Hye, I was relying on a really faint memory… It might not be a bad idea to try an uncleared dungeon instead… don’t you think?”
“What if something happens?”
“Do you think something will happen?”
I shook my head at her question. Nothing would happen. And even if something did, I was confident we could handle the situation. But that wasn’t what I was worried about. I was thinking about the possibility that the uncleared dungeon might be anticlimactic.
“I know what you’re worried about. How about this? You said Green Skins value strength, honor, and wisdom, so let’s find a middle ground.”
“Huh?”
“How about a dungeon that tests wisdom, though it requires a bit of strength? What do you think of that concept?”
“Hmm…”
It sounded plausible. Dungeons contained all sorts of traps, and not just the life-threatening kind. Some traps prevented you from entering the next room, while others teleported you far away from the dungeon itself. There were dungeons like escape room games where you had to get out of a completely sealed room, and even dungeons where you had to defeat the dungeon master in a game similar to Earth’s chess, or by solving a giant puzzle, as ridiculous as that sounds. The consensus was that such dungeons were usually nothing special, but there was one that stuck in my memory.
“The Secret Magic Tower of Archmage Isaac?”
I muttered it unconsciously, and Choi Seulgi nodded.
“That place might be just right… It’s an uncleared dungeon, and they can still show off their strength. The Green Skins might even find it impossible to clear. What do you think?”
She had a point. The Secret Magic Tower of Archmage Isaac was unique in that its strategy guide was only half-written. The reason was that it had been deemed impossible to clear. The first half was completed, but the latter half remained untouched by humans. The tower was located in the West, and its creator was the same Archmage Isaac who had made my throwing daggers. It was also famous for its incredible rewards.
“Magic is still an unknown realm for Green Skins. They’ll probably be amazed once they get inside… even if they have shamans…”
I nodded again at her words.
“That’s true. It sounds good. The first half that’s already known is quite difficult and a real headache… and if we can get into the second half…”
“It’ll be impossible for the Green Skins. Humans couldn’t solve it, after all. Can I come too? I’m personally curious… and since we’re going to be allies anyway, it shouldn’t matter if I go, right? You said the Werewolves were positive about it.”
“Hmm…”
Looking at Choi Seulgi’s face, she seemed incredibly excited. It was only natural, given that Archmage Isaac’s Magic Tower was famous even in our past life as an uncleared dungeon. Conquering a dungeon was dangerous, but it also provided an unbelievable sense of accomplishment. Choi Seulgi must have felt a certain thrill from clearing all those dungeons.
Having a thief skilled with traps would obviously be an advantage, especially one as smart as Choi Seulgi. But I laid out one condition.
“Hmm… you can’t participate in the hunts unless it’s a truly dangerous situation… and if the goal is to build camaraderie, it might not be a bad idea for the Queen of the North to come along as well…”
“So-Hye is in secluded training. It seems watching you and the Sword Saint fight made a big impression on her… Anyway, you’re saying I should just go as a supervisor, right?”
I was a little dumbfounded that she had committed to secluded training. I couldn’t even fathom how much stronger she intended to become. But since I also had my own ways to grow stronger, I decided not to get anxious about it.
“Yeah. If you join in, we might just clear it at light speed. And it would be good to bring a shaman, too. It’ll be a pain if someone gets hurt.”
I couldn’t quite remember which tribe had a decent shaman as its chieftain.
“Or we could bring a priest…”
“Do you have a priest you can bring?”
“Not really…”
For a moment, I considered bringing Baek Ahyeon, but I quickly shook my head. Unfortunately, she and Lee Wanyong were currently pouring all their efforts into building a temple in the East.
I had the Sword Saint locked up in solitary confinement with Mistilteinn still embedded in her, but the quest wasn’t complete yet. Simply winning a battle and imprisoning her wasn’t enough to finish it. The easiest way would probably be to just kill her. But I wasn’t bold enough to gamble away a precious five million points.
She was suffering enough as it was, but once the underground city and temple in the East were complete, I felt I could finally deal with her there. The same went for the Righteous Knight, who was also being held captive. Just thinking about the two of them gave me a headache.
The right course of action was to complete the quest, unlock the Secret Store, and then sort out all the gains I’d made after the war at once. Of course, once the East was established, I’d be able to extract various emotions, which would give me a chance for Customization.
My goal was to get everything done before the hazy veil blocking our continent disappeared. I decided that after this was over, I would start seriously organizing all the things I had put on hold.
“By the way, how’s Ha Yuri?”
“Same as ever. There’s no fun in tormenting her… She’s just spouting bullshit, saying that if I pull out the spear, she’ll forgive all my sins and let me stand at the very top. Why the hell does that holy sword still recognize that bitch as its master?”
“I’d like to know that too.”
The holy sword Ha Yuri possessed still acknowledged her as its master. Now that the influence of her great sin was gone, this was the biggest problem. It was possible the sword would continue to recognize her as its master even after she died. Stealing it was out of the question to begin with. Her holy sword was a weapon that could be summoned and unsummoned. If there had been a simple way to take it, I would have done so long ago.
“There must be some condition. If we can’t figure it out, we’ll have no choice but to kill her… after tormenting her a bit more… Anyway, an uninvited guest should know when to leave. I’m heading out, okay? I’ll get ready in advance, so we’re leaving tomorrow, right?”
I nodded and gave her a light kiss on the lips. Her face turned a little red.
“What was that? You’re being weird.”
“Just because I like you.”
“Well, it wasn’t bad. See you tomorrow, then. Hehe.”
And with that, Choi Seulgi vanished from my tent. She had used her unique ability to leave the Land of Glory. As I closed my eyes, I had the pointless thought that I should officially invite her to the Land of Glory next time I had the chance.