Orc Plains
Boundless plains stretched out wide.
A cluster of light gathered at the spawn point of the ticket dungeon, and the shape of a person materialized.
The man opened his eyes and gazed at the expansive landscape.
"This is... a ticket dungeon...."
Whoooosh—
The blowing wind felt refreshingly cool. How long had it been since he'd felt a breeze like this? An open vista. And in the distance, monsters and people dotted the horizon here and there.
Monsters and people... they were all moving around.
Unlike the shelter dungeons where everyone staked out a spot and mindlessly waited for respawns, here people roamed freely, hunting monsters at will.
With ample monster numbers and a decent respawn rate, plus a moderate number of explorers assigned without overcrowding, it felt worlds apart from shelter dungeons.
Victor felt liberated from the stifling oppression he'd always sensed in those shelter dungeons. The cutthroat hell of eyeing each other warily, fighting over spots, and even drawing blades if things got heated.
Yeah, that place forced you to fight other people too.
In contrast...
"This place feels so... spacious...."
And free.
Victor closed his eyes, savoring the moment.
He'd spent every day grinding orcs in the mid-lower layers, envying ticket dungeons, and finally, on the second day of the dungeon update, he'd scored an [Orc Plains Ticket].
A gentle breeze rustled through.
With only two hours on the clock, he needed to hunt fast, but the pleasant wind had him standing there dazed.
As he stood there with eyes shut for a moment, a light shimmered nearby, and a new figure appeared.
"Heave-ho!! Praise be to Dungeon Hwang today too!!!"
Pop—
Victor instinctively leaped back, on guard against the sudden arrival.
A habit ingrained from years in shelter dungeons.
Anyone appearing nearby triggered automatic tension and vigilance.
You couldn't afford to let your guard down there.
Human hunting didn't happen in dungeons purely because the low layers were too crowded with watchful eyes.
Put another way, if there weren't many eyes around, you could get jumped by fellow humans.
This Orc Plains was wide open in all directions, letting you spot people or monsters from afar with no blind spots, so an attack seemed unlikely—but old habits die hard, and his body reacted on instinct.
"Hm...?"
The other guy noticed and glanced over.
"Hahaha!! No need to be so on edge, friend! First time in a ticket dungeon, eh?"
Laughing heartily, the man approached Victor and extended a hand.
"Meeting on the same channel in the same dungeon's gotta be fate—let's introduce ourselves!!"
"Ah...."
Victor froze for a second.
The hand extended so naturally. No hint of hostility, just pure, genuine friendliness.
Goodwill you'd show a fellow worker, not a rival.
'This... is a real dungeon...?'
Victor grasped the offered hand and shook it.
"I'm... sniff... call me Victor, sir...."
How many years had it been since a proper greeting with another person?
His nose stung inexplicably.
Shelter life had stripped away everyone's leisure. He'd craved simple human warmth for so long. Was this mundane handshake the moment he'd yearned for amid years of dungeon battles?
Ridiculously, tears welled up.
"Sob...."
"Sheesh... what's got you crying like that, buddy? Everyone breaks down the first time in a ticket dungeon... especially the pretty ladies. Watching a burly guy like you bawl is rough, though."
The man scratched his head awkwardly but patted Victor's shoulder in understanding.
"Yeah, no one's had any breathing room. Resources are scarce, so we compete fiercely just to outlast each other."
"Hic... sob...."
"Ha... seriously... gotta deal with newbies crying every greeting... pretty girls aside, it's a chore with dudes."
The man waited patiently as Victor composed himself.
Few in the shelter maintained real human connections, so guys like Victor were common.
People who'd endured isolation too long, surviving solely on instinct.
"I... still haven't heard your name...."
"'Cause you burst into tears first! Wasting ticket time like this... call me Vera's Dad. Folks here use gallery handles over real names, so keep that in mind."
"...I'm anonymous...."
"Then snag a handle while you're at it! Saw the notice? New party tab means handles will be handy for explorers like us."
"...I'll think about it."
"Alright, quit blubbering, man—time to hunt. I'll head out too; catch you later if we cross paths!"
And with that, Vera's Dad departed.
"Ha...."
He never imagined something like this would make him cry. Probably more worn out than he realized.
"Anyway, where to now?"
In a shelter dungeon, he'd seek an empty spot.
But this was a ticket dungeon. Monsters were plentiful enough for every explorer present.
Victor walked around, surveying.
Orcs seemed abundant—no need to compete. Not too clustered either; nicely spaced.
Sometimes two or three grouped up, and nearby explorers cooperated to take them down.
If a new orc respawned behind someone fighting, a nearby explorer dashed over for backup.
'So this is the vibe...'
Less snatching each other's rice bowls, more helping out if there's spare time.
Vera's Dad's easygoing attitude must stem from this atmosphere.
"Just a change in environment makes this much difference...."
Victor felt oddly deflated.
"Makes sense... everyone who tries ticket dungeons hates shelter ones now."
Just hours ago, a post like that had popped up.
He hadn't even started hunting yet, but the vibe alone made him never want to return to shelter dungeons.
"Tch... gotta grind those tickets harder...."
Victor approached a nearby orc.
Years of daily grinding meant orc attack patterns were crystal clear.
Swoosh—
He dodged the swinging fist and slammed a clean counter into its head.
Thud—
Smooth as flowing water.
Thump—
The orc's massive body crumpled.
"Ha... normally I'd butcher while waiting for respawn...."
Orcs littered the area just a glance away.
Butchering would take longer than hunting here.
Like that, he hunted for about an hour.
Stab—
Another orc felled in one hit.
—Kwaaaah!
The orc let out a death cry as it fell.
As he familiarly butchered it, someone approached.
"Whoa, buddy... your skills are insane!"
A familiar voice.
"Oh, Vera's Dad again. Orcs are routine for me."
"...Routine? Looks pro-level to me. You're drawing a crowd just watching...."
Vera's Dad glanced around.
Sure enough, a few people stood at a distance, arms crossed, observing.
"...Not much hunt time left—why watch?"
"Eh... knock out your quota casual-like, then everyone chills watching others. It's the culture here."
How much leisure do they have...?
Or rather, not leisure so much as...
Victor peeked at his sub-space backpack.
An hour in, and it was nearly full.
'Got it... fill the bag, then kill time till the 2-hour ticket expires.'
"With skills like yours, you'll crush this event, right?"
"Event?"
"Ah, you were too busy hunting. Dungeon Master's hosting a 'Strategy Contest'—check it out."
"Strategy Contest?"
Victor opened his community window and checked the gallery.
Isekai Survival Gallery
The gallery buzzed with the new hot topic.
The culprit: a post from just tens of minutes ago.