First, Level Up (5): The Master of the Dungeon

I walked blindly toward the direction of the sound. Soon, a massive door that had definitely not been there before appeared before me.

"This is..."

As I stood before the door, deeply lost in thought,

"Haa, haa... P-Please, wait a moment..."

Adelaide's ragged breathing suddenly drifted from behind me.

"Why... why are you so fast..."

"What? Since when have you been following me?"

At Adelaide's resentful question, I finally turned around and asked back calmly.

"I've been following you from the very beginning!"

"From the beginning?"

"Did you really not notice at all?!"

"I had no idea."

Adelaide looked up at me in sheer disbelief. I stared back at her, tilting my head slightly in confusion.

"But you managed to keep up. Do you perhaps have dungeon experience?"

"Of course not! I only made it safely because you swept away every single monster in sight!"

"Ah, is that so..."

"What's with that disappointed tone?"

"It's nothing. Don't ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠worry about it."

Honestly, I was a bit disappointed. If she had the grit and speed to follow me this closely, we could have formed a party to maximize our grinding efficiency. It was a real shame that wasn't the case.

"I really thought I was going to die from breathlessness."

"So, why did you follow me?"

At my dry question, Adelaide immediately furrowed her brow in displeasure.

"...It seems you don't care about my well-being in the slightest."

"It's dangerous here. It's not too late, so return to the base camp immediately."

"It's already too late. Besides, I don't even know the way back."

Adelaide spoke weakly, taking a deep breath.

"I know I'm not in a position to say this. But I still must say it."

"Say what?"

"How can someone who calls himself a knight leave a lady behind and just run forward like that?"

Adelaide spoke carefully, trying her best to calm her ragged breathing. At the same time, she brushed the thick dust off her dress.

"A knight is supposed to protect the weak and never turn away from those in distress."

"...?"

"Besides, I told you my name. Why do you refuse to tell me yours?"

"..."

"Even though I've been cast out of the duchy and have nothing left but my name, I believe showing basic courtesy is the least we can do as human beings."

Adelaide's candid thoughts poured out like rapid fire. Hearing her words, my mind was instantly filled with baffling questions.

"Come to think of it, I haven't told you my name yet."

"...Just to be sure, you didn't stay silent on purpose, but actually forgot?"

"Yes. I had a lot on my mind, so I forgot."

"..."

The moment I finished speaking, Adelaide let out another hollow, dumbfounded laugh. But that was only temporary.

"It seems you never received formal knightly training."

As if convinced of something, Adelaide carefully scanned me from head to toe, speaking with a solemn expression.

"Otherwise, there is no way you would treat me, a former lady of the duchy, like a common pebble rolling on the side of the road."

Her words were sharp enough to cut. Unfortunately for her, my attention was firmly fixed not on Adelaide, but on the massive door right in front of me. The thorny words pouring endlessly from her mouth entered one ear and drifted uselessly out the other.

"Since we're on the subject, let me ask. Who on earth are you?"

"You seem to be misunderstanding something. I am not the noble knight you think I am."

At my dry, unhesitating reply, Adelaide flinched violently.

"I knew it. I thought something was off. You're a wandering mercenary pretending to be a knight—"

"My class is just a knight, but I am a certified newbie who knows absolutely nothing about this world."

At my calm confession, Adelaide stopped mid-sentence and stared at me blankly, her mouth slightly agape.

"N-Newbie...?"

A dazed word escaped Adelaide's lips. She looked utterly bewildered, as if she had just heard some incomprehensible alien language.

"And my name is Dojun."

Nevertheless, I calmly introduced myself without batting an eye. There was no point in dragging out this unproductive conversation.

"Even your name is strange... I've never heard such a name in my life..."

"I suppose so. I understand."

"You understand? What country are you really from?"

"I came from Korea."

"K-Korea...? Where on earth is that..."

I replied calmly, staring intently at the massive door before me. Adelaide's expression contorted in even deeper bewilderment.

"Even after hearing your answer, I still don't know. Please, tell me in a way I can understand..."

"Anyway, I don't know why you followed me, but that's not what's important right now."

I couldn't afford to waste any more time. So, I firmly cut Adelaide off and took a step closer to the door.

"Based on my long RPG experience, this room is definitely a boss room."

"...Pardon?"

Adelaide asked blankly. Ignoring her, I lightly placed my hand on the door and continued calmly.

"A creature on a completely different level from the monsters we've faced so far must be waiting beyond this door."

"A boss room... Are you saying the master of this dungeon is beyond this door?"

"Yes. Absolutely."

My current level was 32. A truly awkward range. But the fact that this door had proudly revealed itself to me meant it was about time to graduate from this place. Even after reaching 32, my level hadn't budged despite grinding for a long time. It seemed I had scraped up every last bit of experience I could possibly get from this dungeon.

"That's impossible. I've never heard of this dungeon having a master."

"That's because people didn't look thoroughly enough."

"That can't be. This dungeon has existed since long before I was born."

A dungeon that existed long before Adelaide was born... It had a much deeper history than I thought. Countless adventurers must have swept through this dungeon over those long years. There was no way all of them had left empty-handed. Which meant—

The moment my right palm fully touched the door, a bluish window popped up across my vision. As expected, there was an entry level requirement. The door only appeared once you reached level 30.

"I get the gist of it now. I understand why everyone went home empty-handed."

"What? What do ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠you mean all of a sudden?"

"Let's head inside first. We can talk about the rest slowly afterward."

"No, you just said this is the room with the dungeon's master. Why should I..."

Without waiting for Adelaide's answer, I pushed hard against the firmly shut door. At that moment, the heavy stone door slowly ground open with an eerie screech. An unidentified chill blasted through the gap, instantly blurring my vision.

"Since it's come to this, let's work together to clear the boss."

"C-Clear it? Are you telling me to fight right now?!"

"Isn't that why you followed me all the way here?"

"No! I only followed you because I was terrified you'd abandon me ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠without a word!"

Adelaide cried out in panic, clinging tightly to my side. Terrified, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠her body began to tremble violently like a leaf.

"It seems only one party member needs to be over level 30."

"What is this... What on earth is happening..."

As the door opened completely, a vast, desolate hall stretched out before us. In the center of the hall sat an abnormally large throne. Atop that throne, a massive figure wearing a rusted crown slowly raised its head toward us, its red eyes flashing through the thick, hazy smoke.

Sssss...

This was the first boss I had encountered since coming to this world. I had faced countless bosses in numerous RPGs before, but those were merely clumps of data beyond a monitor. This was my first time facing a boss in actual reality, not a game.

"..."

Yet, strangely, my heart was pounding not with fear, but with a strange sense of anticipation. What was the identity of that boss? What kind of mechanics did it have hidden up its sleeve? And what kind of amazing items would it drop?

"I-It's moving... That thing is moving...!"

Just as I was deeply lost in various calculations, Adelaide's trembling voice snapped me back to reality.

"What on earth is that..."

Adelaide, who was clinging tightly to my side, buckled under the overwhelming pressure radiating from the creature and was about to collapse. However, my right hand shot out reflexively, lightly grabbing her arm and pulling her back up.

"You'd better not expect a free carry. I absolutely despise leechers."

"What does that even mean?! No, more importantly, this is no time to be talking so casually!"

"We'll distribute the loot fairly based on contribution."

As I comforted the terrified Adelaide as gently as possible, preparing for the final phase of the boss battle—

A window briefly displaying the boss's information popped up before my eyes once more.