Into the Ant Queen's Lair
The dungeon interior was pitch black.
Not a breath of wind stirred the air. It was utterly still.
Damp, humid air rushed up against Choi Jae-jun's face.
Is this indoors?
Coming from the bright outdoors into sudden darkness, he couldn't see a thing ahead.
Jae-jun blinked a few times, waiting for his eyes to adjust.
Soon, the surroundings came into focus.
He was standing in a cave.
Stalactites stretched down from the ceiling like icicles.
Drip.
A water droplet trickled down a stalactite somewhere and fell to the floor with a faint sound.
The cave was riddled with tunnels branching off in every direction—no clear entrance or exit. Some even shot straight up vertically.
These weren't natural formations. Someone—or something—had carved them out deliberately.
That's when Jae-jun's senses picked up faint vibrations.
What the hell?
A quest has been generated.
Slay the Queen Ant!
📍 The Queen Ant's territory has expanded too far—it's becoming a real headache!
📍 Kill the Queen Ant and wipe out the ant horde!
🎁 Reward:Top-grade Magical Core (C-rank)
💀 Failure:Unable to escape the dungeon
A quest had appeared.
But that wasn't all.
The current dungeon rank is higher than the user's.
The title 'One Who Transcends Rank' has been activated.
All stats increased by 50%!
Yes!
Jae-jun clenched his fists tight.
This was why he'd dared enter a D-rank dungeon without hesitation—the effect of this title.
One Who Transcends Rank
All stats +50%
A surge of heat coursed through Jae-jun's body, power swelling within him.
Even judging solely by the boosted stats, Jae-jun now straddled the line between D-rank and C-rank.
Kiririk! Kiririk!
Every time the ants twitched their antennae, a creepy clicking sound echoed.
Then, the lead ant's eyes locked onto Jae-jun.
Kiiiiirik—!
Its fist-sized round eyes spotted him, letting out a long, shrill cry—an alarm signaling an intruder.
In unison, the ants surged forward.
They skittered across walls and ceiling alike, charging straight at him.
For a split second, Jae-jun felt like a black tidal wave was crashing over him.
He swiftly retreated down a rear passage.
'Fire.'
Fire
Mana consumption varies with flame size.
3000 mana per second.
A stream of fire erupted from his hand, racing along the cave walls.
Boosted by his enhanced stats, the flames roared fiercer than ever.
Sizzle!
The cave's moisture boiled away in an instant, filling the air with scalding steam.
Flame attacks were perfect against the ants.
Their tough exoskeletons hid tender flesh beneath—and it burned away, dropping them dead.
Kiiiiirik—!
Kiririk—!
Screams of agony erupted from every direction.
Worker Ant defeated.
Yes!
Every time an ant collapsed, the satisfying chime of a level-up rang out.
But then the ants pulled back from the flames, retreating to safety.
They raised their round abdomens toward Jae-jun, tips pointed like spears.
What now?
Jae-jun had a bad feeling. He backpedaled quickly, casting a shield.
'Shield.'
Shield
5000 mana per second.
Pew! Pew!
Pew! Pew!
Acidic liquid shot from the ants' abdomens, piercing the flames and flying at Jae-jun.
Ugh!
A few hits cracked his shield until it shattered.
He recast it and retreated further.
Siiiizzle!
Bubble bubble!
The acid was vicious enough to melt the rocky cave walls.
Yellow smoke rose from it.
Exposed to acidic smoke.
HP decreases by 1% per second.
Damn it!
Jae-jun distanced himself from the smoke as much as possible.
Meanwhile, ants beyond the flames shifted positions.
Footsteps echoed from the tunnels riddling the walls—they were splitting up to attack from multiple angles.
Without closing in, they just reared up and sprayed more acid.
Pew! Pew!
'Getting surrounded would be bad!'
Jae-jun pulled the Frost Blade from his inventory.
Without a second thought, he launched himself into the tunnel with the fewest ants.
It was a vertical shaft straight up.
He kicked off the wall and leaped inside.
Kiiiirik—!
An ant inside thrust its pincer-mouth at him.
'Strike!'
Strike
Mana gathered at his blade's tip, piercing the ant's tough shell in one thrust.
Even with its body half-shredded, the ant lunged its pincers at him.
Tough bastard!
Kiiiirik!
He swung again, severing its head.
'Fire!'
Fire
3000 mana per second.
Siiiizzle—!
Siiiiizzle—!
The handful of ants in the tunnel burned up, converting to experience.
But the ants' footsteps still thundered behind him, pursuing relentlessly.
He needed to find cover first.
Open spaces were a disadvantage.
Jae-jun dashed deeper into the tunnel, scanning for a good hiding spot.
There!
A dead-end chamber with a single entrance.
He cast the largest Fire he could at the entrance.
Then, gripping his sword, he waited inside for the ants.
Whoosh!
Kiiiiirik—!
Kiririk—!
A few ants broke through the flames and entered.
'Strike!'
Whenever one showed its face, Jae-jun swiftly decapitated it.
Bodies of sword-slashed and flame-charred ants piled up like a hill at the entrance.
Worker Ant defeated.
Kiririk! Kiririk!
Suddenly, the ants twitched and scattered in all directions.
Soon, they vanished completely.
Phew. That was tiring.
Confirming they were gone, Jae-jun slumped to the floor to catch his breath.
'Status window.'
He hadn't been in the dungeon long, but his fatigue was already at 65.
Still, six levels up. Not bad.
With a moment to breathe, Jae-jun looked around the chamber.
The stench of rotting monster corpses and ant droppings assaulted his nose.
It seemed like a storage room for their leftovers and bodies.
Hm? What's that?
Something glittery caught his eye.
It was buried in mud beside a decayed corpse, reduced to just bones.
He carefully dug it out, revealing an item.
◈ ?
Acquire.
Cursed Key has been moved to inventory.
Jae-jun opened his inventory to check the cursed key.
Palm-sized golden key.
No usage instructions—just a question mark.
No idea what it's for.
Still, tossing it felt wrong.
Especially with a name like "Cursed Key." It didn't seem like junk.
I'll hold onto it for now.
That's when he spotted another unfamiliar item in his inventory.
The random box from his previous quest reward.
He'd totally forgotten about it amid the leech chase and meeting Ji-hoon.
Should I open it?
As he reached for the random box, a system window popped up.
Would you like to open the Random Box?
Yes.
Random Box opened.
Reward quality increased due to Giant Leech hunt.
The box trembled faintly with a hum, then click—it sprang open.
A burst of white light exploded from within.
Jae-jun winced at the glare, then peered inside and froze in shock.
Huh? This is...?
What emerged was an item Jae-jun had never even dreamed of.