The Princess Raising Game

"Finally!" "We're alive. Haha—"

The hunters, who had been suppressing their cheers until now, finally let out their pent-up excitement. They unconsciously began moving toward the stairs leading outside when—

"Everyone, stop right there! Have you all forgotten how dangerous it is to head out now?!"

"Ah...!"

"There are still monsters crawling all over the place out there..."

"We have no idea how many more there are besides the Nargul that followed us. What we saw earlier might have only been the tip of the iceberg."

"What the hell is this difficulty level, seriously..."

"Wait, but if we just sit here, won't more come through the passage anyway?"

"We've already cut their numbers down a lot. Wouldn't it be better to fight them here?"

"The terrain definitely favors us more in here than getting surrounded outside."

Half the hunters were collapsed on the floor recovering their strength, while the other half traded ideas as they discussed their next move.

"That staircase... Maybe we should just close it, y'know~"

I'd once tried to close that door with the same thought. But those stairs seemed to possess a stubborn will that demanded they remain open once the conditions were met. They would probably only close after we had all gone outside.

Creak— Kraaah!

"It's not closing. Damn, it's insanely heavy."

"Ugh! Let's just form a defensive line at the stairs and hold out. That seems better than trying to leave."

Everyone nodded in agreement. It looked like they'd decided to dig in and endure the remaining four days by fortifying their position.

But.

This place is going to collapse soon...

It had gone quiet after that big tremor earlier, but this area wouldn't last long now that the Skeleton Knight was gone. Last time it had held for about two hours... With how much the conditions had changed, this place would probably come down within an hour.

"We cleared a hidden dungeon. Shouldn't there be some kind of reward?"

"Usually they at least give you some mediocre equipment."

"Maybe we'll get something once we all make it outside."

That was correct. Once everyone escaped this cave, every participant would receive an artifact. They were the lowest-grade artifacts with the worst performance, but even those would sell for at least two and a half billion won. For these hunters, it was like winning the lottery. Of course, it was only possible because they'd survived such hellish conditions.

But the real prize is somewhere else.

I carefully observed the others before activating my stealth. I tapped Yeon-hee with my finger to let her know I'd be gone for a bit.

"Hic— Haa, mm..."

After stroking the ear of a pouting Yeon-hee who was pretending to look scary as if asking where ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I was going again, I scaled the cave wall and headed for the ceiling.

The location is the same as before.

I'd grab it quickly and head back out. Tap tap. There was a small empty space on the ceiling that had once been used as a study. I had no idea why it was hidden in such a hard-to-reach spot. Was there another passage? I couldn't sense anything. There was no reason for a study to exist on a ceiling this high in the first place. The dungeon's creation must have twisted the space...

Creeeak—

I spread my senses across the ceiling to create a soundproof barrier so the other hunters wouldn't notice, then opened the hidden door. A door just wide enough for two people swung open lightly, revealing a surprisingly spacious area.

I didn't need the light, but I wanted to make sure there were no differences from what I remembered. It's the same. The places where artifacts are stored barely change at all.

Though thick with dust, the clearly luxurious floor led me a few steps forward until I spotted an ancient wardrobe that looked like it would crumble into powder at a touch, along with a dark brown box.

It's been a while since I acquired an artifact. I'm actually excited.

The item I was about to obtain had some unique aspects, which made it even more thrilling.

Swish—

When I touched the wardrobe, it crumbled away into dust. Two sets of chain mail tumbled out and clattered to the floor. Both were impressively large by modern standards, but they would shrink to fit perfectly once worn, so there was no need to worry.

What made them special was that both the armor in the wardrobe and the earrings in the box formed a set. These were unusual artifacts that activated their effects only when worn together as a couple's look within a certain range.

After shaking the dust-covered chain mail a few times, it began to shine like new.

The option performance... has improved a bit?

In my memory, this chain mail only increased stamina by about thirty, but the numbers had nearly doubled. Was the system trying to balance things by boosting artifact performance?

Well... that's fine with me.

My Bone Armor had 120 defense. This artifact offered 95. It might seem disappointing, but since chain mail could be worn over other armor, the defense was actually quite respectable. Combined with my Bone Armor, total defense would reach a whopping 215. That should be enough to ignore most minor attacks from regular grunts.

The chain mail took up quite a bit of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠space, so hiding it with stealth would take some time. I didn't want to cause a commotion by walking out wearing it, so I stored it in my inventory for now.

Clack.

I opened the small dark-brown box. It had a thick padlock-like mechanism, but it naturally unlocked and vanished when I channeled my sensory waves into it. Inside were two smaller boxes placed side by side, each about twice the size of a ring case.

The wardrobe and outer box looked old and shabby, but the case holding the earrings still radiated brilliant golden light as it shyly greeted me.

Click.

When I pressed the small square button underneath, the case opened with a cheerful sound. Inside were teardrop-shaped earrings that shone with the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠same dazzling gold as the case itself—one for each ear. From my previous experience, one person had to wear the left earring while the other wore the right for the effects to activate.

Definitely... on another level.

The numbers far surpassed anything I'd seen from artifacts before. But the real highlight was the special effect. An insane option that let you instantly escape a dangerous situation. On top of that, it granted one hour of [Invincibility] and a full day of [Petrification] that reduced both physical and magical damage by ninety percent.

Of course, [Petrification] came with the downside of reducing movement speed by ninety-five percent, turning the wearer into a snail... but if you were in a situation bad enough to need this, just surviving would already be a blessing.

It could only be used five times. If I ever needed to use it more than twice, I'd have to seriously reflect on my own incompetence.

I immediately applied stealth to the earrings. I pressed one against the right side of my skull, and it sank into the bone like a tattoo.

That's fascinating.

It really was a mystical thing. I stored the other one in my inventory and stood up to leave the room when a few sheets of parchment on a bookshelf caught my eye. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I hadn't noticed them during my previous visit.

Hmm...

They were filled with passionate expressions of affection and love for a woman named Adrinne. But at some point, the writing shifted to words filled with resentment toward her, and by the end, it had reached the level of pure hatred.

From what was written, it seemed Adrinne had dumped the Skeleton Knight and married Nargul. The Skeleton Knight had transferred his desire for revenge onto Nargul, engaged in a fierce battle, ultimately lost, and fled here...

These chain mail and earrings were probably ordered before that happened, intended to be used together with Adrinne.

...Tough break.

That was the extent of my feelings on the matter. But I couldn't completely dismiss it as someone else's problem—my own circumstances weren't exactly comfortable either. Carrying a slightly bitter feeling in my chest, I leaped outside.

Ruuuumble—!

Huh?!

The moment I emerged, the cave began shaking violently again. It trembled so fiercely it seemed ready to collapse at any second. There was no disagreement that everyone needed to get out of there immediately.

"Damn it! Everyone outside! This place is coming down!"

"Haha—! At least the ones still inside the cave will be trapped!"

"Those things seem like they'd chase us even if the cave collapsed."

We paused for a moment as the reward message flashed in our minds, but we all shook it off at the same time and looked in the same direction.

Graaaawr—!

The sight of dozens of giant skeletons and thousands of undead charging toward us was truly...

"Fuck..."

"Please, just leave us alone, you worthless bastards—!!"

"Run!"

The words came out naturally. I immediately hoisted Yeon-hee onto my back.

"Kyaa—!"

Let's go. There are way too many.

Everyone was exhausted. As if by prior agreement, the hunters began running after me as I leaped forward with Yeon-hee in my arms. The party members rode on the Lizardman as usual, moving together.

"Stone Wall!"

"Ice Field!"

Of course, they didn't just ride comfortably. Bae Jua and No Hayun timed their spells perfectly to make it difficult for the monsters to follow. The fact that Lizardmen Two and Three drew attention from the very back with their taunts was also a huge help.

Thanks to that, we managed to completely shake them off. We ran without stopping for a full thirty minutes. The hunters looked like they didn't have the strength left to lift a single finger.

Many of them had already used up all three servings of Irmana's lake water inside the cave, so now natural recovery was their only option.

We made camp beyond a broken stone bridge marked with heavy burn scars. The reason we chose this spot was that the area below the bridge dropped into an endless abyss, and the bridge itself was long enough that enemies could only approach from that single direction.

The width was narrow enough that I and my summons could hold it off. As long as the rest of us endured a bit of hardship, we'd be fine.

While the others were resting, I called Yeon-hee over separately. Bae Jua, Baek A-rin, Ham Eun-yeong, and even No Hayun had all fallen asleep the moment they sat down, so no one found it strange. Since I rarely called her aside, Yeon-hee looked at me with a small spark of anticipation in her eyes.

"Wh-why? Do you... have something to say?"

What was she expecting from someone who couldn't even speak? I took out the earring and handed it to her.

Yeon-hee looked puzzled for a moment, but when her hand touched it and the stealth was released, she clapped both hands over her mouth in shock.

(Wh-what is this?)

Her expression as she whispered urgently was incredibly cute. Without a word, I took the earring back and gently attached it to her left ear.

"Ah... Mmm... Where did you get something like this again..."

The moment it touched her ear, the earring clung perfectly to her earlobe and shrank slightly to fit. The design itself was so beautiful that it made Yeon-hee's appearance even more striking. There was no one else to see it, of course, but I was extremely satisfied.

"Clack clack clack!"

"Mmm. Thank you..."

Was it the fun of decorating her piece by piece? I wondered if this was what made raising a princess in a game so enjoyable.