Chapter 41
Chapter 41
Real Raid - 2
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The Maze.
While it literally meant a labyrinth, in the Hunter world, it referred to a “labyrinth dungeon.” Similar, yet different.
A maze involved choosing the correct path from multiple branching paths to reach the destination.
A labyrinth, however, involved following a single, winding path to reach the destination.
While the English word “labyrinth” was more accurate, the original story strangely used “maze” to refer to labyrinthine dungeons.
Perhaps it was because the maze dungeons in *Hidden Piece Academy* had winding paths like labyrinth, hidden rooms, various traps to avoid, and mechanisms to activate to proceed to lower levels.
Due to their narrow paths, maze dungeons were easy to hunt in, as you only had to watch out for what was in front of you.
However, navigating the complex paths made them challenging to conquer.
And we had just taken our first steps inside.
- *Whoosh.*
Darkness enveloped us as we stepped through the portal.
A damp, musty smell filled the air.
Maze dungeons were also among the quietest dungeons.
With their low ceilings and narrow passages, there were no distracting noises from rain, wind, or animals like in Forest or Gate dungeons.
Only our own sounds…
…and the sounds of the monsters lurking within the maze.
Occasionally, the clear sound of dripping water echoed through the passages.
Although, even that pure sound felt eerie in the oppressive atmosphere.
“Soo-ah.”
“Yes, brother. Holy Light.”
The first step in conquering a maze dungeon.
At my call, Soo-ah cast [Holy Light].
The jewel embedded in her wooden wand emitted a white light, illuminating our surroundings like a torch.
Han-na, at the front of the group, raised her large shield which was nearly as large as her body.
Mi-jin gripped the hilt of her newly acquired greatsword, holding it diagonally, ready to strike.
I followed behind, an arrow nocked and ready, matching Han-na’s pace.
Han-na raised her hand, the one holding the one-handed sword.
It was a signal that something was approaching.
I channeled my mana, preparing to cast a skill.
“It’s a Red Worm.”
Red Worm.
An insect-type monster commonly found at the entrance of maze dungeons.
Despite its large size, comparable to an adult human, it was among the weakest E-rank monsters, relying on simple physical attacks like headbutts and flailing with its dozens of short legs.
It was essentially a giant grub.
With its slow movements, weak defenses and attack power, and useless drops, it was a monster meant to be slaughtered.
- *Screech!*
The Red Worm spotted us and charged.
*Thud.*
Han-na easily blocked the charge with her shield and pushed it back with a counter-force.
And then…
“Rush Rise!”
Mi-jin dashed forward, her greatsword lowered, and then swung it upwards.
The Red Worm was easily cleaved in two.
One hit.
As the weakest of E-rank monsters, it was no match for us.
We continued onward, slaughtering Red Worms.
After defeating about 40…
I acquired a new title.
[Title: Red Worm Slayer acquired.]
[When equipped, grants the Red Worm’s ability to perceive surroundings through enhanced senses instead of sight in deep darkness.]
[Duration: 1 minute]
[Cooldown: 3 hours]
It was a basic title.
Since Soo-ah’s Holy Light, a passive skill with low mana consumption, illuminated the maze, the Red Worm’s one-minute ability wasn't very useful.
It was mainly sought after by those collecting titles for achievements.
Even E-rank Hunters often reached D-rank without ever raiding a maze-type dungeon.
“Wow, Red Worm Slayer? Did everyone get the title?” [T/N: wait wut… they all got the system?]
“Yeah, it’s a basic title.”
Everyone nodded at Mi-jin’s question.
Their expressions were indifferent.
As we continued forward, we reached a fork in the path.
In maze dungeons, forks always led to two paths: the main road to the boss room and a short path to an event room.
Event rooms were unique to maze dungeons.
They contained treasures and named monsters, but you had to avoid traps to enter.
Rewards were given only for the first clear, so the first party to arrive always entered the event room.
The risk-reward ratio was favorable.
It would be incredibly frustrating to skip it and then later hear rumors of the following party obtaining incredible rewards.
Therefore…
“Everyone wants to go to the event room, right?”
“Of course.”
“Definitely!”
“Skipping it would be blasphemous, like passing by a church.”
Everyone agreed to proceed to the event room.
“Okay. Let’s go.”
We stepped onto the side path marked as leading to the event room and continued forward.
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There were four types of traps:
Sudden-type, summoning-type, trick-type, and breakthrough-type.
Breakthrough traps were the easiest.
Trick traps were the most difficult.
Unlike the other types, which could be overcome with physical prowess, Trick traps required solving riddles or puzzles.
'Stop.'
We stopped about 10 meters from the event room and examined the path.
Traps before event rooms always appeared within a 10-meter radius.
If it were a Trick trap, there would be hieroglyphs, slots for inserting something, or some kind of activation device.
But the path was clear.
“Hmm, it doesn’t seem like a Trick or Breakthrough trap…”
Breakthrough traps were already active.
A giant axe swinging like a pendulum, flames erupting periodically, or giant spikes shooting out randomly within the 10-meter path.
Like in the old *Prince of Persia* game, Breakthrough traps required timing and agility to avoid the active mechanisms.
So, this trap was either a Sudden or Summoning type.
There was no way to know without triggering it.
And in situations like this…
“Rock, paper, scissors!”
…we used the most primitive, quickest, and fairest method to choose the trigger person.
It was a time-honored tradition, a wise method passed down through generations.
No one questioned or protested the outcome.
Being a Hunter was a life-or-death profession.
Those who acted impulsively, couldn't adapt, or caused trouble were placed on the Association’s blacklist, making it difficult for them to work as official Hunters.
And those blacklisted Hunters often formed “mercenary groups.”
Of course, not all blacklisted Hunters became mercenaries, and some free-spirited Hunters joined mercenary groups by choice, so they weren’t necessarily composed of rejects.
Anyway, refusing or protesting the sacred rock-paper-scissors selection method could hinder one’s career as a Hunter.
In the first round of this sacred ritual, Soo-ah won with scissors.
She covered her mouth, or perhaps clasped her hands together in prayer, and bowed her head.
“I’ll pray for my brothers and sisters’ success.”
…Was that a smirk?
“Rock, paper, scissors!”
Han-na won the second round.
…Where did my luck bonus go?
Had my luck stat become insignificant compared to my other, drastically increased stats?
Had the saying “70% luck, 30% skill” changed to “30% luck, 70% skill” for me?
I didn’t know.
I sighed softly.
“…Oh well.”
“Aww, I’m usually good at rock-paper-scissors.”
Mi-jin also stamped her foot in disappointment.
Honestly, as a newcomer to this world, I felt a little embarrassed.
Back in my old world, there was a stuffy, outdated notion that men should do the dirty work, and there was also a pointless sense of pride that prevented men from competing too hard in such trivial matters.
But what if it was a matter of life or death?
Of course, triggering a trap wouldn't necessarily be fatal.
You could just dodge it, and even if you couldn’t, the injuries were usually minor and easily healed by a healer.
But there was still a small(?) chance of death.
Therefore…
“Rock! Paper! Scissors!”
I poured all my willpower into the final match, and a woman’s mournful sigh echoed through the underground maze.
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“Mi-jin, fighting…!”
I silently cheered for Mi-jin as she walked towards the trap.
In the world of competition, one had to be ruthless.
Accepting the outcome with grace is the true way of a man, and supporting both the winner and the loser without hesitation is what makes a real man.
And treating the main heroines like fragile damsels in distress wasn’t always the right approach.
They weren’t even my girlfriends.
Soo-ah also held her cross necklace and prayed, cheering her on.
“Be careful, Sister Mi-jin.”
And besides me, everyone was close to D-rank.
Although they lacked real-world experience, they received weekly maze trap simulation training at the Academy.
So, I wasn’t particularly worried.
Especially since this was only an E-rank dungeon.
- *Click!*
The distinct sound of a trap activating echoed.
Unlike Breakthrough traps, which were already active, Sudden traps appeared and attacked unexpectedly, and Summoning traps summoned monsters.
Either way, the trap had been triggered.
We channeled mana into our weapons, tense and alert.
Sudden traps were one-time activations, so Mi-jin just had to dodge, and if it was a Summoning trap, we just had to form a battle formation.
- *Rumble…!*
The maze trembled slightly, like a small tremor.
Dust rained down from the ceiling.
We had trained countless times against Sudden traps.
I had even spent three days and nights practicing trap evasion in the VR training room at Park Na-yeon’s mansion to make up for my lack of experience.
Some Summoning traps occasionally summoned named monsters or mid-bosses, but the probability was extremely low.
Statistically, it was about 1% for named monsters and 0.3% for mid-bosses.
And these tremors were usually a precursor to Sudden traps.
So, Mi-jin was preparing to dodge rather than attack, but then…
“Oh… shit.”
We cursed under our breath and rushed towards the trap.
A small, purple summoning circle appeared behind Mi-jin.
Summoning circles were color-coded.
White for regular monsters, red for named monsters, and purple for mid-bosses.
And the summoning circle that appeared was a vivid purple.
A 0.3% chance mid-boss summon was happening.
*Flash!*
A purple light, like swirling snowflakes, erupted from the summoning circle, and a moment later…
…a [Cerberus], one of the mid-bosses in the E-rank maze dungeon, appeared, its three heads roaring ferociously.
It was a truly terrifying roar, unlike anything I had ever heard before.
- *Kwoooh—!!*
A 0.3% chance, triggered on the first try… nothing surprises me anymore.
As they said, even a bad law was still a law.
Was bad luck still a form of luck?
“Form ranks!”
Without a moment to spare, we quickly formed a battle formation.
Real Raid - 3