Hidden Dungeon: "Am I Really Gonna Survive This?"
After shoving An Jeong-hwa to safety, he'd been plummeting into the pit for what felt like minutes now. With gravity pulling at full force, hitting the bottom at this speed would surely kill him—but oddly enough, his survival instincts remained eerily dormant even in this dire situation. Just as he began to suspect something was seriously wrong with them, the floor finally came into view.
"Urgh!!"
Thud—
He was falling so fast that the moment he spotted the ground, he slammed right into it. But instead of hard stone, he landed on something soft and cushiony, sparing him any major injuries. Looking closer, he saw he'd crashed into a pile of fluffy wool-like fur.
"Phew, somehow I made it."
Letting out a sigh of relief, he immediately scanned his surroundings. No telling what dangers lurked in a place he'd fallen into via trap.
"A storeroom...?"
The area looked like a warehouse for miscellaneous junk. Piles of fur, dried grass roots, jars that seemed to hold food and drinks, various tools—all sorts of things were scattered about. Confirming no immediate threats, a system message popped up.
You have been forcibly invited to the hidden dungeon: Nuker's Maze.
This labyrinth, designed by the Labyrinth Lord, consists of countless rooms and branching paths. Only one room among them leads to the exit.
The dungeon's master, Nuker, is furious that a man has entered instead of the intended female sacrifice. If you fail to escape within 12 hours, Nuker's tracking magic will pinpoint your location exactly.
Nuker is an extremely powerful monster. Direct confrontation is not recommended.
Survive Nuker's pursuit and escape the dungeon!
📍 Core Goal: Escape the dungeon (0/1)
📍 Additional Goal: Rescue hostages (0/3)
📍 Excess Goal: Defeat pursuer Nuker (0/1)
"A hidden dungeon?"
He'd only heard rumors about hidden dungeons, never dreamed he'd end up in one himself. Known as dungeons within dungeons, they boasted higher difficulty than standard ones but offered massive rewards for clearing specific conditions.
"Pissed off because I came in instead of Jeong-hwa? Heh, seriously. Do monsters have a thing for women too?"
From the sound of it, this Nuker guy was male.
"And the hostages are probably..."
Considering the boss's reaction to a man substituting for a woman, the additional goal's "hostages (0/3)" were likely female. Human, subrace, or just female monsters—who knew? But since it was a system objective, better to aim for it if possible. Even without that, his sense of justice urged him to save them.
His guess was they were people who'd been hunting centaurs with him and fallen in here too. Hunter disappearances weren't uncommon when dungeon management bracelets malfunctioned, leaving folks lost in mazes.
Sticking around wasn't smart if Nuker was tracking him, so he decided to move. Cautiously cracking open the storeroom door, he peeked outside. No other room—just an empty passageway.
Following it a short way led to a fork. He took the path with the most signs of traffic.
"Sob, sniff."
"Mommy..."
"Why is this happening to us..."
A door with an external lock came into view. Muffled sobbing from several voices leaked through—human voices, unmistakably.
People are in there?
Pressing his ear to the door confirmed it: definitely human sounds. But he didn't fling it open recklessly. Without knowing the dungeon's difficulty, rash moves could backfire.
System's additional hostages? Or monsters mimicking humans as a trap?
Such traps popped up occasionally in 9th-grade dungeons, so a tougher hidden one like this? Very possible.
Knock knock—
"......"
Silence fell instantly inside.
"I'm here to rescue you, but first, mind answering a few questions?"
"Rescue team?!"
Someone inside shouted desperately at his words.
"Save us! Before that crazy horse bastard comes—hurry!"
"Tae Jeong-tae-se?"
"Huh?"
"Tae Jeong-tae-se?"
"What the hell are you saying?! Open the door already!"
"Answer the question first. Tae Jeong-tae-se?"
"......."
"Tch."
No response to a question any Korean would know. Human voices, but not humans.
Mimic. Common in maze dungeons, disguising as boxes small or rooms large to lure and devour greedy intruders. This whole room was a mimic, the voices decoys to trick people into unlocking and entering.
"A whole room as a mimic? What grade is this place...? At least 8th-grade."
Room-sized mimics were rare even in 8th-grade, typical of 7th or higher. He upped his assessment of the hidden dungeon's danger.
I figured 9th-grade at worst, but 8th? Worst case, 7th.
Only been in 7ths with Jeon So-young. Can I solo it?
During service, he could solo 9ths, handle 8ths solo depending on matchup. 7ths? Just running for his life due to physical gaps.
But not anymore.
With his Onahole Master authority boosting his stats threefold since service, soloing a 7th-grade might be feasible.
"Wish I had oil. A big mimic like this would drop plenty."
Mimics were easy once spotted—just oil and fire. He hadn't expected one, so no oil. Small chest-sized? Hack away. But room-sized meant smashing from outside; cold weapons sucked for that.
Time-consuming, and with the boss hunting him, he shelved the regret and moved on past the mimic room.
As his footsteps faded, the sobbing resumed behind him—eerie, like ghosts wailing. Mimics didn't know human speech; they mimicked devoured victims.
"How many people have died here?"
Back at the fork, he took the other path. Scattered bones—human, by the look—with clear bite marks, like discarded meal scraps.
Step step.
He kept walking. True to "maze," half a day in and he'd hit dozens of forks. Tons of rooms: mostly empty or mimic-disguised.
At this rate, he'd die lost before Nuker found him.
Crunch crunch—
Chewing emergency rations from inventory, he pondered.
Better to face the boss now while fresh than exhaust myself wandering and meet him drained?
Keep wandering, and after 12 hours, tracking magic pins him—then Nuker comes. Better to pick a favorable spot, conserve energy, and wait.
Room over passage. One more search.
Wider rooms beat narrow halls for fights. He checked one last room.
Surely not another mimic? Most were empty.
"Sob sob..."
As if mocking him, a woman's cry echoed from the next door.
"Ha, another mimic? Keep looking."
"H-Hey, is someone there? Help!"
"Nah~ Not falling for it. I know you're a mimic~."
"No, I'm not a mimic! I'm real! Sisters, wake up—it's a person!"
Local mimics had similar scripts: save me, rescue team, open the door. But this one? "Sisters"? New pattern.
Fifth mimic; he asked routinely, no expectations.
"Tae Jeong-tae-se?"
"Huh? Uh, mun-dan-se?"
"Wait, a real person?"
The response stunned him—something no dungeon mimic would know. Real human? In his final room search?
"I told you, I'm real!!"
"What? Someone's actually here? Hey! Open the door quick! Before that crazy horse-headed freak comes!"
"Rescue team?!"
Not one, but all three hostages in one room—two more female voices joined the first.
Seemed legit, so time to open up.
"There's a padlock. Gonna smash it, so back away from the door."
"...! Okay! Sisters, back, back!"
Scrambling sounds as they retreated. Gripping Abigail's sword two-handed, he took stance.
"Hoo—"
Sense expanding, a virtual domain formed around him. Imaginary line from sword tip to lock visible.
First time slicing solid iron, but it felt doable. Trusting instinct, he held a perfect tension-relaxed balance and lightly slashed along the line.
Shing—
Clang!
The padlock split cleanly, clattering to the stone floor.
"It worked?"