EP4. Cursed Dungeon

Miyuu—

Crunch crunch—

Hestia was munching on the E-grade mana cores that Jae-jun had tossed her.

They weren't much compared to the C-grade ones she'd eaten yesterday, but there were two of them, so she savored them carefully.

She was in her growth spurt, always hungry no matter how much she ate, but she never threw tantrums like a bad dragon. She ate whatever was given to her obediently.

But Jae-jun had been staring blankly into empty space for a while now, lost in thought.

Miyuu—

Even when she called out to him from the side, he didn't budge.

Hestia soon turned her head away and went back to crunching her mana cores.

Gulp—

Then, a change came over Hestia's body.

Her dragon heart began pulsing out mana intensely.

At the same time, her form automatically unsummoned itself.

“Huh?”

Jae-jun jumped in surprise at the sudden system window.

'First Growth Phase?'

He'd figured she'd grow someday, but he hadn't expected it so soon.

'Worth feeding her those expensive mana cores.'

He was looking forward to seeing what Hestia would look like after her first growth in seven hours.

Jae-jun checked the rewards he'd received from the arena.

They were a Feather of Resurrection and a low-grade armor set.

First, he pulled up the Feather of Resurrection from his inventory.

He'd suspected as much, but it really was an item that could bring the dead back to life.

The 3-hour limit made it tricky to use freely, though.

'I'll just stash it in my inventory for now.'

Next up was the arena's low-grade armor set.

He didn't have high hopes, given the "low-grade" label.

But his ogre armor series had been shattered by the vampire's attacks anyway, so he couldn't afford to be picky.

When he selected the box-shaped item from his inventory, a system window popped up.

'Open it.'

The box opened, and the armor items were automatically added to his inventory.

The set consisted of four pieces: helmet, chestplate, gloves, and boots.

'Better than I expected.'

Jae-jun's eyes ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠filled with satisfaction as he checked the items.

He hadn't expected much from the "low-grade" name, but compared to his other gear, these were top-tier.

He equipped all four pieces.

Then, an additional effect appeared.

'Jackpot.'

'If low-grade is this good, how insane must the higher tiers be?'

To check his boosted stats, Jae-jun opened his status window.

'Status window.'

'I've surpassed B-grade!'

Ssshhh—

Jae-jun felt his blood boiling throughout his body.

His entire frame tingled as if burning in flames, making him want to shout at the top of his lungs.

“Huum!”

He felt like challenging that vampire—the enemy that had given him the most trouble—right now.

The thrill of his surging power was exhilarating.

And that wasn't all.

Now he could use Mana Force once more to evolve his skills to B-grade.

Without hesitation, Jae-jun upgraded all his skills to B-grade right away.

The biggest change was that Counter now had no cooldown.

Even without focusing on it, it would automatically react to any counterable attacks.

For Jae-jun, with his S-grade Agility, it was a welcome upgrade.

Next, Shield had evolved into Shield: Reflect.

His old Shield wasn't used much in his fast-paced style, or it was single-use at best.

But now that it cast automatically, that inconvenience was gone.

Inferno had become Ragnar Blast.

Jae-jun tilted his head slightly at that.

Inferno was instant-cast, but Ragnar Blast had a brief casting time.

And his most-used combat skill, Acceleration: Blink, now had its cooldown reduced to 5 seconds.

'Arena.'

One entry meant waiting a full day.

'Then I'll head to the cursed dungeon in the meantime.'

Now that he knew the location, there was no reason to hesitate.

'It has a fragment of Lucifer's soul, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠so the rank and rewards should be top-notch.'

Time to use that cursed key he'd just been stashing in his inventory.

'Gosu Cave, right?'

A quick internet search confirmed it was a cave in Danyang.

'I should call Association President Jang Gil-san before I go.'

Clearing the dungeon would take time, and he might not make it back before the S-rank hunter announcement.

He figured he'd give advance notice.

Jae-jun pulled out his phone and dialed Jang Gil-san.

Ring— Ring—

But it just rang without answer.

'Busy, huh.'

Jae-jun hung up, got dressed, and prepared to leave.

Strike while the iron is hot—he'd head out right away.

Click.

'Oh, right.'

He grabbed the door handle but paused, kicked off his shoes, and headed back to the living room.

He placed his card on the dining table and left a note on top.

As he stepped out, Jae-jun's steps felt much lighter.

—

Jae-jun headed straight for Gosu Cave.

To minimize fatigue, he took the bus and arrived around evening.

He made for the cave entrance right away.

'Whoa, tons of people.'

Even though it wasn't a weekend, the entrance and surroundings were packed with tourists.

The publicly accessible part of Gosu Cave was only 600 meters from the entrance.

Beyond that, it was restricted for tourist safety and nature preservation.

'I'll wait until nightfall.'

Jae-jun didn't like drawing attention.

Plus, something might happen deep inside, and he didn't want civilians caught up in it.

Better safe than sorry.

Grrrowl.

Come to think of it, he hadn't eaten anything all day.

'Might as well grab some food while I wait.'

He headed to a nearby gukbap restaurant.

By the time he finished eating slowly, a "Closed" sign was up at the cave entrance.

'Time to go.'

'Acceleration!'

His body shot forward in a blur.

A ticket booth worker finishing up outside heard only a whoosh of wind and missed Jae-jun entirely.

Thud thud thud!

'Feels good.'

That was Jae-jun's first impression upon entering the cave.

The cool cave breeze brushed his face, refreshing him.

The cave wasn't too ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠narrow or too wide.

He'd worried about getting lost, but the paths for tourists were well-marked, so no issue there.

The deeper he went, the more it resembled an underground palace with stunning scenery, leaving Jae-jun wide-eyed.

The path soon ended.

'This must be where the tourist section stops.'

Jae-jun pressed on into the dark beyond.

As light faded, the cave's true face emerged.

Bats clung to the ceiling, and the floor was covered in their droppings.

'How far do I have to go?'

The question was short-lived.

Woooong—

Once he crossed a certain boundary, the surroundings changed completely.

A barrier enclosed the area, inaccessible to normals.

The cursed key flew out from his inventory, humming softly.

And there, deeper in, was the gate he'd been seeking.

A dimly burning brazier nearby provided enough light to survey the area.

“A red gate?”

Unlike the usual blue, the entrance rippled blood-red.

Not large, but ominous. Jae-jun stood before it, observing for a moment.

'What rank is it?'

His question was interrupted by a sharp, rough voice from behind.

“Who goes there!”

Jae-jun whirled around, on guard.