Return to the Dungeon: Growth Through Absorption
The tunnel still carried the stench of blood and the acrid aftertaste of smoke. Kobold corpses lay piled in layers across the floor.
“Eight with one bomb… not bad.” I spun the sword, flicking the blood from my wrist. “The smell, though—that’s another story.”
The reek of charred meat and iron-rich blood clawed at my nose. My ears were still ringing, and my body felt heavy.
“At least the cleanup’s done.”
I picked my way carefully between the bodies, knelt, and split open a chest to extract the mana stone. Blood and air made my fingers slick; the small crystal glowed faintly.
“Worth the effort. In the end, this is all that matters.”
Recalling the final moments of the training, I steadied my breathing and scanned the surroundings.
“Good. Auditory and spatial training is about done. Now I just need to find the core and finish up.”
I pointed with my fingertips. “This way. The flow’s coming from deeper in.”
I moved deeper into the tunnel. The residual heat faded, replaced by a sharper metallic tang. Vibrations rising from beneath the floor grew steadily clearer.
Three kobolds burst from the darkness. One carried a pickaxe; the other two wielded iron clubs and jagged metal scraps.
“Still some left.”
The moment I drew my sword, the first one charged. I leaned in, spun, and the blade carved through its torso, spraying blood. The pickaxe-wielding kobold roared and leapt. I tossed a dagger into the air; the spinning blade severed its wrist. “Next.”
I shoved my sword into the staggering creature’s chest and finished it with a downward cut across the neck. The third rushed me from behind. I pivoted, sliced its arm, then drove the blade deep into its abdomen. A short scream, and it collapsed.
Catching my breath, I picked up the pickaxe. Blood and faint light gleamed on the handle; the weight felt solid.
“Sturdier than I expected… this’ll do.”
Shouldering the pickaxe, I followed the strengthening vibrations. The air grew heavier, and a steady current of mana pressed against me from beyond the wall.
“Only the core left now.”
I pulled a low-grade recovery potion from my bag and downed it. The lingering wounds bubbled and new flesh knitted together.
“Expensive, but potions never lie. I’ll save the next one.”
Standing before the wall where the core’s energy gathered, I gripped the pickaxe with both hands and swung with all my strength.
Crack!
Stone dust flew. Crack! Crack! Crack! The repeated impacts shook the entire wall. My arms tingled and my shoulders sank under the strain.
“Hah… just a little more.”
After digging roughly a meter in, the airflow shifted. Mana bent inward, wrapping warm energy around my fingertips.
“Here. The central axis is this way.”
I set the pickaxe down and scraped away soil and debris with my dagger. The gap deepened, yet nothing appeared.
“…Nothing? Maybe the floor.”
Lowering my stance, I sensed a faint mana current rising from below.
“Up-down sensing is really tricky.”
With a short sigh, I began digging into the floor. Dust stung my nose; breathing grew labored. After clearing a one-meter radius to about fifty centimeters deep, a sharp sensation brushed my fingertips. Blue light leaked from the pile of soil.
Scraping carefully, a round crystal emerged—a Dungeon Core slightly larger than my palm.
“Found it.”
The moment I grasped the core, a heavy heat spread through my fingers. It wasn’t as explosive as before, yet the pressure remained familiar.
“Kuh… still can’t get used to this feeling.”
The blue light that touched my fingertips climbed smoothly up my arm. The pain subsided, replaced by a clearer pulse. Muscles tightened, breath grew taut as if it might snap, but I endured. The light passed my shoulder, sank deep into my chest, then vanished without a trace. Only a faint tremor and a lingering warmth remained inside me.
“Better this time. Still not easy, though…”
I glanced at a nearby pipe and flicked my fingers lightly. The heavy metal rose into the air with a soft clunk, no tremor at all. The movement was far lighter and smoother than before.
“Now I’m starting to feel like a real hunter.”
I bent and straightened my arm. The motion was still heavy, but the internal flow had clearly stabilized.
“Strength’s up, psychokinesis is settled… this is pretty good.”
Fatigue pressed in, yet before it could settle, a quiet sense of internal order spread through my body.
“Let’s call it here for today.”
I looked around slowly. Blood, soil, and metal fragments mingled on the floor; kobold remains lay scattered. “The bombs did their job. Without them I’d probably be flat on my back right now.”
One final check of the tunnel’s depths confirmed no presence remained. Stepping outside, I saw the sun already sinking westward. Faint mana afterglow lingered around the gate, but it quietly faded with time.
I sat beside the truck and pressed the resonance meter. Stabilization reading: 3.8—full stabilization range.
“Nice. Clean finish.”
Removing my gloves, I muttered, “For a 650,000-won bomb, the efficiency is solid. I should make this part of the standard kit from now on.”
“Would’ve been perfect if the air had been better. No wonder everyone runs dungeons.”
I waited another two hours until the gate’s traces completely vanished. Once I confirmed everything was normal, I drove the truck toward Osan city center. As the sun dipped, lights flickered on along both sides of the road—convenience stores, equipment repair shops, restaurant signs. At the end of an alley, the words “Hunter-Only Motel” caught my eye.
“Three hundred thousand won? For a motel… this expensive?”
The clerk’s expression didn’t change. “Includes equipment laundry, mana cleaning, and a secure storage locker.”
“Ah… right. Makes sense, I guess.”
My mouth agreed, but the calculator in my head spun nonstop. Expensive. Really expensive. Is laundry made of gold?
I swiped my card, received the room key, and walked down a corridor where purification filters hummed softly. Opening the door, I found the air inside already pristine. Hot water from the shower streamed over my shoulders, washing away the blood and grime that had clung to me. With that flow, a little of the day’s exhaustion seemed to drain away as well.
The face in the mirror showed unmistakable fatigue, yet the eyes behind it shone far clearer than yesterday.
“Today was rough… so let’s eat some meat.”
I stepped out in light clothes. At the end of the alley beside the motel, the red sign of a samgyeopsal restaurant stood out vividly. The moment I sat, the grill heated up. Pink slices of pork belly touched the surface and sizzled cheerfully. The savory aroma of fat tickled my nose, and the hunger I had suppressed finally stirred.
“Even eating alone, today’s meat tastes all right.”
Putting a piece in my mouth, my body slowly relaxed. The tension and fatigue accumulated throughout the day seemed to melt into the oily air. Outside, traffic noise; inside, warm lighting. For that moment, there was no battle, no report.
Back in the room, my body sank naturally onto the bed. A faint tremor still lingered in my fingertips, and the aftereffects of absorbing the Dungeon Core circulated slowly inside me. I took out my notebook and quietly began recording the day.
[Today’s Record]
Yangju F-02 — 2 bombs used, 14 mana stones
Osan F-05 — 1 bomb used, 12 mana stones, 2 Dungeon Cores absorbed
Total bombs: 3
Total mana stones: 26
Mana stones: 40,000 × 26 = 1,040,000 won
Bombs: 3 × 650,000 = 1,950,000 won
Potion: 1 × 350,000
Lodging: 300,000, consumables: 100,000
Total expenses: 2,700,000 won
Net profit: –1,660,000 won
I closed the calculator and drew a breath. The result didn’t change.
“First-day settlement looks like this…?”
Staring at the numbers for a while, a hollow laugh escaped me. Because it was my first time, I’d thrown three bombs out of unnecessary anxiety. Thinking calmly, even two would have been excessive; one would have sufficed.
“Ah… I was just showing off.”
A short sigh slipped out. If I’d saved the bombs, twenty-six mana stones—worth 1,040,000 won—would have remained. After subtracting lodging, potions, and consumables, at least 300,000 won would have been left. The thought made me feel unfairly wronged. My body was fine, yet my bank balance hadn’t moved.
“Well, call it tuition. I haven’t even done the real combat settlement yet.”
I muttered to console myself. A faint residual vibration from the explosions still lingered in my fingertips, refusing to fade. It had been tough, but my body’s movements felt noticeably lighter than before. Mana continued to circulate slowly inside me. Though my body was tired, my mind was strangely clear. This sensation was probably why people couldn’t leave dungeons behind.
“In the end… I’ll be going in again tomorrow.”
City lights outside the window flickered like mana stones, one by one brightening.
— The next dawn. In front of the Pyeongtaek F-08 abandoned power plant gate.
Early light spread across the factory rooftops. I closed the truck door and checked my gear. The resonance meter showed the stabilization range. Vibrations were steady, airflow even.
“Good. Condition’s solid.”
I took a short breath. “Today’s focus is psychokinesis endurance. Just keep yesterday’s flow going.”
Stepping through the gate, the air changed. Pyeongtaek F-08 abandoned power plant dungeon. Slime oozed down the walls; slimes on the floor emitted low vibrations. I lowered one knee and assessed the situation.
“Humidity’s high, mana density consistent… perfect for holding out.”
“All right. Today’s simple. Maintain, focus, fight.”
The first creature approached with a wet sound. Inside its transparent body, a hazy cluster of light had condensed. I drew my sword and stared sharply at its center—the mana condensation that served as the slime’s core. Using psychokinesis to seize the slime’s movement, I drove the sword tip deep in. The taut surface burst, and its insides spilled out limply. The scattered remains gathered back into one place and soon hardened into solid light grains.
“Crystallization… still pocket change, though.”
I lifted a fragment with my gloved hand and checked the faint vibration on its surface. Slimes don’t carry mana stones—they produce them. That’s why they’re worthless.
I turned to the next creature. Two, three, six. Their sizes had grown, yet my psychokinesis held them more steadily than before. Pressure compressed, slime split, and crystallized mana stones dropped to the floor.
“Good. My fingertips are syncing.”
The battle stretched well past three hours. Slime clung to my clothes and dried; a current-like tremor lingered in my fingertips. Then a faint vibration transmitted from beneath the ground. The air sank low, temperature gradually cooled, and the flow seeping through my soles naturally pointed in one direction.
“Dungeon Core.”
I lowered my upper body and traced the flow with my toes. The texture of the mana touching my fingertips was consistent. Its end lay at the dungeon’s heart.
The slime at the heart had hardened like the floor. Scraping the surface, pressure leaked slightly and blue light spread beneath my palm.
“Found it.”
A blue core appeared between the hardened slime. I pushed the slime aside and slowly cleaned the core’s surface.
“This time too… I’ll absorb it.”
The moment my palm touched it, hot pressure surged back. Mana rose from my fingertips through my arm and pushed deep into my chest. The core gradually turned transparent, then vanished, leaving only light behind. Pressing my hands to the floor, a rough breath escaped. My lungs burned, and a stronger pulse than before remained in my fingertips.
“This… is what growth feels like.”
Somewhere inside my body, a very slow yet certain change continued. Quietly. But clearly.