The Expansion of Imbalance

The four of them seemed to have many questions for us, but I pointed at the gate, signaling that we should enter first. No point in starting late and slowing everything down.

Given the terrain—stone slabs floating across the swamp—the sooner we began, the better. It was also why we had arrived so early. They must have agreed with my reasoning, because they immediately started moving. Yeonhee and I stepped up to the gate.

"It's huge. I wonder how big an S-grade dungeon gate is? Do ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠they really stretch all the way to the sky like people ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠say?"

Yeonhee asked while sending the four-man team through first. Since I had never even seen an S-grade dungeon, I could only reach out and playfully stroke her earlobe.

"Eep—! Hey, seriously. Not out here!"

Yeonhee glanced around nervously in case anyone was watching. Her flushed cheeks looked like perfectly ripened peaches, and for a moment I found myself thinking thoughts entirely inappropriate for a skeleton—until Yeonhee grabbed my arm at just the right moment and pulled me into the C-grade dungeon.

"Haaa..."

The moment we stepped inside, Yeonhee pressed her palms against her eyes several times, trying to shake off the wave of exhaustion that hit her.

Same as always in here.

The landscape that unfolded before us was something no modern person could ever dream of encountering in their lifetime. Everything was covered in thick, viscous mud, and the swamp was littered with the rotting remains of nameless plants and animals, turning the entire view into a nauseating mess.

"Ugh—ptoo, ptoo! Why are there so many bugs?"

Even in a dungeon, swarms of flying insects were inevitable in an environment like this. Behind all those obstacles lurked countless creatures perfectly camouflaged and waiting to strike. It was an exhausting dungeon, to be sure. But at least there were occasional safe zones scattered throughout—small areas that weren't very large, yet once you stepped inside, the dungeon's creatures couldn't intrude. They were true safe zones where you could rest without worry.

If there were no safe zones, this place might have been called the worst C-grade dungeon of all.

"Let's go. We cleared it once yesterday, but this is your first time. I'll leave the pacing to you."

The slender man named Red Fang spoke to Yeonhee, who simply nodded in silence.

"Most of them hide and attack from range. As long as you don't get caught by a Siren's song, it's not that difficult."

"Understood. I'm fine too. Let's move."

Since other people were waiting behind us, we set off right away.

And ten minutes after we began—

Whoosh—!

Something needle-like flew at us from somewhere. It was a poison dart fired from the mouth of a Frog Folk, the dominant species of this dungeon. Since they lived in groups, three darts came flying at once. Our party members easily deflected or dodged the attacks.

Crunch—

Yeonhee also blocked the assault with Lime wrapped around her body and the Mysterious Membrane, then immediately drew her bow and counterattacked.

Twang—!

Thud—!

The arrow flew true, striking perfectly in the eye of a Frog Folk that had only peeked out to observe our condition.

"Krrraaaaagh!!"

As the creature clutched at the arrow piercing its eyeball and tried to flee into the swamp, two harpies snatched its head and arm, hurling it into a position where Yeonhee could shoot comfortably.

Thump—

The two lizardmen who had been waiting for the harpies to drop the frog immediately grabbed its arms and legs, pinning it down.

Thwip thwip thwip—!

Yeonhee unleashed a rapid volley of arrows into the immobilized Frog Folk, finishing it off without much trouble.

Oh— Yeonhee's starting to pay attention to the quest. She's even pre-coordinated combo patterns with the summons?

The way the summoned creatures' coordinated plays flowed like water made it clear that the battle with Maeng Seong-yong had been a major turning point for her growth. The pace was still a bit slow, but at this rate, she could easily rack up over fifty kills a day.

We'll get another unique summon within ten days. I'm actually getting excited.

Having already gauged the value of the Shadow Drake, I couldn't help but look forward to it. What would come after the drake? In a world where something as ridiculous as a golden goblin could pop out, I had no idea what to expect.

I casually turned my head to look beside us. The four from Veil were maintaining a decent level of tension as they fought.

They're staying alert even though they cleared it yesterday. Impressive.

That tension came from ingrained discipline rather than actual danger. The combat itself didn't seem to be straining them at all.

Thwack— Thump—!

The four of them are relaxed too. Nothing major to worry about.

All I really needed to do was make sure Yeonhee didn't suffer any unexpected critical injuries. Thanks to the Protection trait, she was unlikely to die as long as I remained alive, but I didn't want her pretty face getting ruined by poison again.

Monsters are handled. Now let's see—any bad actors around?

I expanded my senses and focused my perception as widely as possible. This was to keep an eye on the other hunters. As the wave of my awareness spread, I detected quite a few party presences within a four-kilometer radius centered on us. They were advancing while maintaining precise intervals. The higher the rank, the less conflict between parties—probably because their mastery of such abilities improved.

No one particularly suspicious. Still, this is the perfect place to work quietly if you wanted to.

A single push off a stone slab was all it took to send someone to their death. Even with a guide, this wasn't a place to wander around with a careless attitude.

Slice—!

Every time a Frog Folk showed its face above the swamp, I detonated a fireball. While they staggered away wrapped in flames, I flew over and cleanly severed their heads.

They're really weak when taken one by one. As long as you have the defense to withstand their group attacks, it's a piece of cake.

Hmm? Did it upgrade my Stealth?

I had gained a skill that allowed me to blend with surrounding objects and take on their colors, and my Stealth had been enhanced. But there was no immediate way to check exactly how much more undetectable it had become.

Could it even fool the detection ability of that Chaos Residue?

That was something I wouldn't be able to test for a while. Additionally, the bonus from my class change now guaranteed an extra trait theft when killing a new type of monster for the first time.

Swamp Affinity — Movement in swamp terrain becomes significantly easier.

The moment I acquired the trait, I gently pushed my foot into the swamp. My leg moved through it far more smoothly, with almost no resistance.

Definitely useful. Thievery really is overpowered.

It instantly stole the abilities of monsters adapted to the dungeon environment, letting me take only their advantages without any effort.

This might actually be more broken than the 100 trait.

In any case, I had gained two new abilities, and thanks to the Pioneer achievement, my stats had each risen by two. The range I could now sense had already surpassed four kilometers.

Yeah, I really should clear dungeons thoroughly even if it takes time.

The steadily growing sensitivity of my senses was always thrilling.

After the first battle, we steadily eliminated groups of Frog Folk. Thanks to their camouflage, they were hard to spot, but I warned the party ahead of time about any in particularly dangerous positions, so they posed no real threat. Their only attacks were long-range poison darts and mid-range tongue strikes, so we adapted quickly.

However, once a certain number gathered, an event would trigger and a variant would appear. That one would be a bit trickier. But only a bit.

"Yes! Ilwol! I already got two resistance runes! They're intermediate rank, though."

"Clack clack clack!!"

The rune supply was especially good today, and Yeonhee's quest was progressing smoothly. It was a solid start. Thanks to the 20% experience boost, even killing basic Frog Folk gave decent experience. At this rate, I could level up just by staying in this dungeon until tomorrow.

"Sssslurrp—!"

The lizardman troops summoned alongside the harpies seemed completely at home in this environment and were practically flying around. The four from Veil, now with little to do thanks to the lizards' performance, watched with interest as the lizardmen tore off the Frog Folk's limbs and crunched them down raw.

"...Twenty lizardmen. A single summoner really can sweep everything. We're barely getting any experience."

"To have summons so well-suited to this terrain... I'm a little jealous."

"Right? Lizardmen are seriously overpowered here."

Even though the 'Lizardman Swamp' had poorer visibility and thicker viscosity—a completely different environment—the lizardmen moved with almost no restrictions. After testing a few steps, they abandoned the stone slabs entirely, moving through the swamp itself while guarding Yeonhee.

They occasionally received group attacks from Frog Folk striking ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠from below, but such cases were extremely rare. And the creatures couldn't easily penetrate the lizardmen's defense. That wasn't just because of the lizard unit's growth—it was largely thanks to the Mysterious Membrane that Yeonhee had created for them.

"You all look comfortable, but since this is your first time, let's take a short break."

"Alright."

After about an hour of travel and fairly frequent battles, we finally approached our first safe zone. The small island-like safe zone, shrouded in thick, dense fog, had the peculiar property of preventing hunters outside from seeing inside.

Which also makes it dangerous.

Conversely, it meant that once inside, no matter what you did, people passing by outside couldn't help you.

Stepping inside, the feeling of complete isolation was immediately apparent.

It feels much larger than what I experienced in my previous life...

The fact that the zone had expanded to the point where the edges were faintly visible—what did that signify? Had the dungeon itself expanded?

Once inside, we rested a short distance away from the four. An awkward tension lingered for a moment, but soon Black Fang grew restless and started the conversation.

"How is it? Manageable?"

Black Fang asked Yeonhee in a tone that was neither fully polite nor fully casual.

"Yes. The slabs are bigger than I expected, and the supports are solid, so it's not that difficult."

"Hehe— That's because your mana is quite stable. Those slabs tend to shake violently when stepped on by hunters with unstable mana flow."

"I heard about that. Is it really true? My summons stepped on them too and nothing happened, so I thought maybe they just didn't activate."

"It must be proof that your orc and lizardmen are high level. As for us, we've been suffering terribly because of the idiots we partied with just yesterday."

The four spent a considerable amount of time badmouthing the two hunters who had earned the title of 'idiots' after yesterday's events.

They're surprisingly talkative.

The large-built Blue Fang and Yellow Fang were as quiet as they looked, but Black Fang and Red Fang were quite chatty. Thanks to them, the break ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠wasn't boring at all, and I even got to hear about current issues among hunters these days.

"Did you hear? They say a C-grade hunter successfully entered the Lizardman Swamp. It was a test conducted by the Association, of course."

"What? A C-grade in an E-grade dungeon? If that's possible... does that mean the balance has become that unstable?"

"That's what they say. At this rate, we might see the day when high-rank hunters enter low-rank dungeons. That would be truly terrifying."

"Non-awakened people who awaken from now on probably won't want to enter dungeons anymore... It's too dangerous, isn't it?"

That... could be both good and bad for us. On the other hand, it means lower-rank hunters can now aim higher.

Of course, most would think no one would be crazy enough to try it. But my mind was already racing with ideas on how to secretly make such a thing possible.