Chapter 175
Chapter 175
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 175
Chapter Title: Russian Expedition (1)
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‘Bong Jae-young.’
Gi So-yul frowned slightly, looking displeased.
‘That guy again?’
Iron Fist Bong Jae-young.
She had run into him a few times at banquets or association events.
A man who treated other rankers rudely, relying solely on his skills.
A man who couldn’t hide his lecherous gaze whenever he saw a woman.
- Isn’t that Bong Jae-young guy always harassing the association’s female staff? Shouldn’t someone say something?
- Sure, but who’s gonna tell him? He’s on the verge of becoming a high ranker. Even the association president knows and lets it slide.
- Sigh, really... His ranking is respectable, but putting up with his bragging is tough.
Just from the rumors circulating among actual rankers.
His personality and character were clear.
‘I wanted to cut him out.’
From Gi So-yul’s perspective, Bong Jae-young was an unwelcome guest.
The relief from increased firepower was overshadowed by the discomfort of traveling with him.
But.
“Understood. Let’s head in together?”
The leader and workshop master had already accepted.
Suggesting they move separately now would be ignoring him.
Just because her own feelings were unsettled.
Gi So-yul didn’t want to disregard Joo Dong-hoon.
“......”
After finishing her preparations, Gi So-yul glanced up to check Joo Dong-hoon’s expression.
‘Is he okay with this?’
Bong Jae-young was definitely rude.
To a higher-ranked ranker like him, spouting off about association orders and such.
Not content with half-assed informal speech.
He had outright ignored Joo Dong-hoon’s intentions and insisted on joining.
Didn’t that bother him at all?
“So-yul?”
As her gaze lingered, Joo Dong-hoon asked.
“Yes, yep?”
Gi So-yul replied, slightly flustered.
She felt embarrassed, as if her petty feelings had been exposed.
“Your expression’s been off since earlier. Is something wrong?”
“Ah.”
Joo Dong-hoon’s face was perfectly calm.
Calm to the point of overflowing leisure.
‘I see.’
It wasn’t that Bong Jae-young was ignoring Joo Dong-hoon.
On the contrary, Joo Dong-hoon was ignoring Bong Jae-young.
Truly.
A being not worth a second thought.
More precisely, not ignorance, but indifference.
Suddenly, she felt her twisted feelings unwind comfortably.
“No, everything’s fine.”
She answered.
Why was that?
In her eyes, his shoulders looked impossibly broad.
‘Dong-hoon’s gaze is always directed upward.’
Aiming for higher places.
Never bothering to look at what lay below.
The unpleasant emotion in Gi So-yul’s chest vanished.
And that space filled with a sense of pride.
“Just.”
So she replied.
“Now I’m ready to go.”
“Ah, got it? Then let’s head out?”
With Joo Dong-hoon’s casual words.
Bong Jae-young, Kwon So-ye, and Im Soo-jin entered first.
Joo Dong-hoon followed behind them.
Sss!
Gi So-yul swiftly followed after him.
* * *
Sss! Shhh!
A thick fog filled the dungeon entrance.
However.
‘Hm.’
I tilted my head.
What was this?
It was understandable for fog to be at the dungeon’s entrance.
‘But Poison Fog is reacting.’
The Poison Fog nestled in one side of my chest writhed.
At the same time, a sensation hit my mind.
An unpleasant smell.
That moment.
“Hm, what’s this?”
Bong Jae-young muttered, tilting his head.
“Looks like this isn’t the dungeon we’re after...?”
“Right? I wasn’t the only one thinking that?”
Druid Kwon So-ye agreed.
“Let’s head back out. I don’t think this is it either.”
Asura Im Soo-jin chimed in.
As if enchanted by something, they all turned to leave.
‘Hah.’
I sighed inwardly.
A phenomenon like this was a first for me.
“Dong-hoon, what are you doing? Should we head out too?”
Even.
Gi So-yul was trying to leave.
‘Illusion poison?’
Within the Poison Fog.
Even for me, who had compounded and decomposed every poison in the world, this was a new type.
“Hey!”
Then, Bong Jae-young shouted at me.
“What are you doing standing there like an idiot? Come out! I said it’s not here!”
“Hurry and come out! There’s nothing there!”
Kwon So-ye and Im Soo-jin shouted after him.
“......”
Suddenly, chills ran down my spine.
They were rankers too.
A poison that could manipulate rankers’ minds so easily...?
Of course, it didn’t work on me.
[Skill: Immunity to All Poisons]
[Grade: S]
[Effect 1: Resist all poisons in the world.]
[Effect 2: Analyze all poisons in the world.]
[Effect 3: Handle all poisons in the world.]
In this world.
There was no poison that could harm me.
“Hold on a moment.”
Step.
I took a step forward.
“Dong-hoon! You’re going deeper?”
“Yeah, looks like we need to clear this fog first. Then we can rethink.”
Poison counters poison.
‘No.’
Poison absorbs poison.
‘Poison Fog.’
I awakened the Poison Fog slumbering in my chest.
Wriggle!
As if it had already woken and was watching outside, it signaled me.
‘I need to tempt it.’
Poison Fog wasn’t a power I could control.
It was an entity with its own ego.
It moved when it wanted to.
‘It’s a type of poison you’ve never seen before. Doesn’t it look tasty?’
Wriggle!
It reacted faintly.
Roughly meaning it piqued its interest.
But worry came through too.
After it rampaged, would this cozy home still be here when it returned?
And if it grew bigger, could I handle it?
What if.
I couldn’t accept its enlarged form and collapsed?
‘Don’t worry.’
I smiled.
‘Rampage whenever you want. This spot will always be here for you. I’ll keep it sturdy.’
Shhh!
It responded.
A green smoke slowly flowed out, carrying the power of poison.
“Hey, what are you doing standing there!”
Bong Jae-young kept calling, but I didn’t respond.
Now was the time to focus.
Shoooo!
The smoothly emerging Poison Fog began covering everything.
At my request, it madly devoured only the fog.
Crunch! Crunch!
Voraciously.
Like a vacuum cleaner, it sucked up the fog.
‘I don’t know how big this place is.’
After a long time without feeding.
Poison Fog was clearly excited.
‘Eat your fill and come back.’
Flinch!
Gi So-yul, who had been staring at me oddly, froze.
“Huh? That’s... Poison Fog?”
“Told you. I ate Poison Fog during the first trial.”
“Oh, right. Huh? But what did I just say?”
As the fog cleared, her slightly dazed eyes sharpened.
“Did I tell you to leave this place, Dong-hoon?”
“Yeah, you did.”
“......”
Silence fell.
Shhh, shhh!
As the fog lifted, Bong Jae-young’s group shook their heads as if snapping out of a trance.
“What? Where are we?”
“This is weird. It’s clearly a dungeon. Why was I trying to leave?”
“It felt like there was obviously nothing here...”
Kwon So-ye looked confused.
Im Soo-jin rubbed her arms as if getting goosebumps.
“Yeah.”
Snap!
Gi So-yul snapped her fingers as something occurred to her.
“I remember reading about this during the investigation. Recently, Octavia came here on an expedition and just left.”
“Octavia... Rank 18?”
World ranking 18.
Twin Swords Octavia Spencer.
From France, right?
“Yeah, she said something.”
Gi So-yul murmured quietly.
- You can see the country falling apart. The streets are quiet, and mafia everywhere you go. But strangely, there’s no sense of wrongness. Hm, it just feels natural?
“Hmm.”
That meant.
This fog was potent enough to manipulate even a high ranker’s psyche...
“Ahem.”
That was when Bong Jae-young cleared his throat and stepped forward.
“You cleared the fog, huh? I thought you got to high ranker by luck. Guess you’ve got some skills.”
“......”
“You did your part, so I’ll take responsibility from here. I’ll lead, so follow closely.”
Thud! Thud!
He slapped his right fist into his left palm and strode forward confidently.
As we watched him.
“Pretty self-centered, right?”
Someone whispered beside me.
The Druid, Kwon So-ye.
“That’s just how he is, so ignoring him is easiest. After a few encounters, everyone just shrugs it off.”
“It’s embarrassing for him. If Skeleton King wasn’t here, we’d have fallen right into the trap.”
Im Soo-jin chimed in from beside her.
Of course, in a quiet voice.
“You lot! Hurry up and follow!”
“Yes, yes!”
“Coming!”
They scurried after him.
Pfft.
I let out a chuckle.
In a way.
The world of rankers wasn’t so different from office life.
* * *
Step, step.
Gi So-yul and I walked slowly through the dungeon.
Even with Bong Jae-young’s group up front, we couldn’t let our guard down.
Hummm!
I was circulating the Azure Heaven Heart Technique even as I walked.
“This dungeon’s bigger than I thought.”
In the silence, Gi So-yul’s low voice flowed.
“We can’t let our guard down. It’s been so long since I fell for a trap this blatantly. If not for you, Dong-hoon... I might never have known.”
Her expression had been stiff since earlier.
‘Can’t be helped.’
She had nearly had her memories manipulated by someone else’s will.
Without even realizing she’d been tampered with.
Just like the many other rankers who’d come to Russia on expeditions.
Even I.
My attitude toward the dungeon had completely changed.
Instinct.
My instincts were telling me clearly.
This place.
Was no ordinary dungeon.
“......”
As I walked, I looked up at the sky.
Thick storm clouds hung heavily, as if a typhoon were coming.
Crunch! Crunch!
From far away, I could hear it—Poison Fog still excitedly devouring the fog.
‘Field type is forest for now.’
Dense foliage blocked long sightlines.
If we’d wandered in the fog, we’d have gotten lost nine times out of ten.
Step, step.
We kept walking.
The more we walked, the more time passed, and as time passed, the light faded.
Twilight fell, and darkness began to settle.
Shhh!
The blowing wind and rustling bushes were eerie.
“Hey, hey!”
That was when Bong Jae-young closed the distance from ahead.
“It’s getting darker. I’ll slow down, so stay sharp and follow.”
His confident voice.
Carried a hint of fluster.
‘Understandable.’
Truth be told, since earlier, from the center ahead.
Ghostly energy, massive killing intent.
All sorts of negative auras were palpable.
“Pfft.”
Im Soo-jin snickered.
“Acting all bold leading the way. Don’t tell me you’re getting scared?”
“What?”
Bong Jae-young glared.
But his eyes were so serious that Im Soo-jin broke into a sweat.
“Haha, kidding. Can’t I even joke...”
“Get your head in the game, Im Soo-jin. This dungeon a joke? This is real. If you wanna joke, go do it somewhere matching your level.”
“Yes... Sorry.”
“Anyway, Joo Dong-hoon.”
“Yeah?”
“Sun’s setting, so let’s move another 30 minutes and pitch tents...”
As he laid out the plan.
From far away.
“Kyaaaaah!”
A strange woman’s scream echoed.
“W-What?”
Bong Jae-young whipped around.
The rest of us watched the direction of the sound.
“Looks like.”
I murmured.
“We should check that out.”