Awakening in the Dungeon
As if emerging from general anesthesia, my blurred vision slowly began to clear from total blackness.
"What the hell... is this?"
The unpleasant sensation enveloping my entire body felt eerily similar to being teleported by a space mage, but it was far more disorienting and jarring by comparison.
"Urp, uweeeck! Weeeck!"
A retching sound came from behind me. I rubbed my bleary eyes and slowly turned my head, spotting a figure with his face buried in the ground, vomiting his guts out.
"This fucking shiiit—buweeeck!!"
Short blond hair. As far as I knew, there was only one guy with that haircut who'd puke while cursing like that.
"...Jinwoo. Jinwoo Bivalt."
"Ugh... Boss? Is that... the boss...?"
Jinwoo's eyes were glazed over from the repeated heaving as he turned his head toward me.
"What... what the hell happened? What was that shock just now? Why's my stomach—uweeeck!!"
"...I'm figuring it out myself."
My vision hadn't fully recovered yet.
[Switch to Night Mode?]
[ Y / N ]
For now, I switched the Smart Lens to night mode and waited for my vision to recover bit by bit. The surroundings gradually came into view.
"...Where is this?"
"Why? Where are we?"
Droplets fell steadily from stalactites on the ceiling, and the stalagmites scattered here and there created a very familiar atmosphere.
"...A dungeon."
"What? A dungeon?"
Hearing my answer, he lifted his head and slowly scanned the area.
"Wh-what? It's a real dungeon? No way, Boss, we were just in the classroom... How is this even possible?"
Jinwoo rubbed his eyes, mumbling in disbelief.
There was only one scenario that could lead to this.
"...Terror attack. The Villain Union pulled off a terror attack."
"Terror attack? You mean us ending up here is because of a terror attack? That... makes sense?"
"Theoretically, it's entirely possible. We learned about it together in Dungeon Studies not long ago."
"Dungeon Studies?"
Using a high-grade mana stone with immense power to artificially create a dungeon. When a dungeon forms artificially and rapidly, the spatial coordinates twist dramatically, sucking in nearby lifeforms and transporting them inside.
That had to be the terror method they targeted at the academy.
But according to the original story, they were supposed to strike on the day of the freshman welcome party.
"...Things got seriously twisted."
Because Sinchulguwi died? Or did Latte successfully escape?
It seemed my interventions in the villains' activities had changed something.
I'd thought it wouldn't be a big issue since the event in the game always aligned with the 'Freshman Welcome Party' date.
Who would've guessed they'd invade a day early?
'In that case, it might be an independent action... No, they could be aiming for something else.'
"But Boss... doesn't this place look kinda familiar?"
At that moment, Jinwoo, who seemed to have finished retching, slowly stood and looked around.
"Familiar?"
"Yeah, take a good look. The shape of the rocks, that bug crawling by over there."
As Jinwoo said, I focused and examined the surroundings more closely.
"Yeah... it does feel familiar somehow."
Suddenly, the construction site I'd seen on the way to school flashed in my mind.
Did they need to dig up the ground for construction?
...No way.
"They must've come through the construction site."
"What?"
The puzzle pieces were starting to fit together.
"Jinwoo, you saw the construction when you entered the main building, right?"
"Ugh, my stomach... What? Construction? Yeah, I saw it. They put up those barriers a couple days ago and started, didn't they?"
As Jinwoo said, barriers always blocked the view around construction sites, so we couldn't check inside properly. In the game, it was just stage setup for the event, so I hadn't paid much attention—never imagined they'd use it.
"They disguised themselves as construction workers and infiltrated the academy."
"What? Even so, the academy wouldn't miss something like that."
Right, so there were two possibilities. One was using that guy's ability from the Villain Union to fool the internal surveillance. And the other...
'No, let's not think about that yet.'
It was still just speculation. Solving the current situation came first.
"Anyway, they definitely dug a tunnel under the academy here."
"A tunnel?"
The distance from their construction spot to our classroom in the main building was about a five-minute walk. Of course, the academy wasn't so lax as to fall for such a simple ploy. The special materials surrounding it on all sides were far too sturdy to allow a mere tunnel.
So, only one person could pull this off.
Miner. A villain with the special ability to shatter any ore regardless of hardness.
Only he could execute this plan. "The villain Miner mixed in with the Niflheim escapees. He could've dug a tunnel to the main building basement in two days. And then... artificially created a dungeon right under our feet."
In the original, they disguised as invited heroes, infiltrated, and triggered the dungeon mid-welcome party. Most students and instructors get swept in, and the player rescues students while handling villains.
But they twisted it like this. I had to hand it to them—one hell of a curveball.
"Hey? Boss, where you going!"
I started walking immediately, and Jinwoo hurriedly followed from behind.
"We need to find the other kids swept up here first. In cases like this, sticking together is the way."
"Huh? Oh, right."
"Get your head straight, Jinwoo. This is the real deal."
I left the brief advice and kept moving. As expected in a dungeon, monsters soon appeared.
"Boss, that...!"
"Yeah, I see it too."
───!
- -!
──!
Worm-like monsters crawling leisurely across the floor.
Ah, no way—those things?
Unlike Jinwoo, who recoiled in disgust, I felt my lips curl into a slight smile.
"Who'd have thought something like this would happen..."
"Well, that's a relief at least."
"Huh? Relief?"
Jinwoo tilted his head at my words.
"Yeah, look at those. Familiar, right?"
Examining the approaching bugs again, Jinwoo finally realized and shouted.
"Ah, no way?"
"Exactly. This place... the layout's different, but it seems like our dungeon."
Our training dungeon was under the academy, and the one Miner triggered was too. So they must've merged.
The bizarre rock formations in between clearly showed influence from both. But at their core, they weren't that different.
"If it's first-floor difficulty, the other kids won't get hurt. As long as they cooperate decently, they can hold out. And if even one instructor's with them, they can explore leisurely."
No worries about monsters for now. The club seniors' artificial dungeon was tough but strictly for training. Traumatic maybe, but not lethal from floor one.
More importantly, one of their goals—monster terror—had been thwarted. They never imagined a dungeon already under the academy.
So, what we needed to watch for now was just one thing.
"...Battle stations."
"Suddenly?!"
Jinwoo yelped in surprise, but thanks to recent classes and training, he quickly drew his weapon and went on alert.
Thud—
Thud—
Thud—
Footsteps echoing from afar through the cavern.
I pulled Tommy from the cube into my left hand and aimed into the darkness ahead.
The footsteps grew closer.
Jinwoo crouched low, ready to spring, sweat beading on his forehead as he grinned fiercely.
"You caught that? Boss, your hearing's monstrous too..."
Jinwoo had heard it too.
"Footsteps like that... about five adult males? The clinking sounds mean they're not regular academy students... Boss, villains, right?"
"High chance."
Probably villains who got pulled in with us. Their goal was obvious: target academy students or instructors busy fighting monsters from behind.
So we had to strike first.
"Suppressive fire first. You flank and ambush during that."
I said, rolling up my sleeve.
I didn't want to do this in front of the other kids if possible... but the situation left no choice.
"Got it... Huh? What's that baby bracelet thing?"
"...Training tool."
A restraint device that solidifies aura flow. It lets you control aura more densely and precisely, but that's not what I needed now.
"We'll wrap this up quick."
Aura spreading wide and strong—that's what I needed. My natural aura.
"Just confirming positions is enough."
I raised my empty hand and focused my senses.
Aura Sonar
A slight drain hit me as aura burst from my palm. The red aura swept across the dungeon floor like a whip, revealing the terrain, monsters, and roughly what was where.
"───Ready."
Jinwoo gripped his dagger reverse-style, poised to charge.
No signal needed. Pulling the trigger would be the signal itself.
────!!
────!!
────!!
────!!
────!!
The pitch-black cave flashed blindingly bright in an instant.
"Ambush!!"
"That's no normal gun! Hit the dirt!"
None seemed able to raise shields—they all belly-crawled forward. A few, probably physical enhancers, tried to stand defiantly.
"Shh."
Of course, Jinwoo took them out the moment I stopped firing.
The others panicked at Jinwoo's sudden drop from above, but precise shots from Al Capone's Tommy made their bodies dance. Jinwoo didn't miss, slashing one's throat.
"Gurk—."
A red line appeared on the guy's neck as he clutched it.
"Yeah, that's right. Grip it tight so the blood doesn't spray."
He kicked the body aside mockingly and charged the next.
"Looks like... I don't even need to step in."
He'd started lessons with the Bivalt family recently? The mentor sessions and family training must've worked—or maybe 'cause they're villains. Jinwoo's strikes were ruthless and unflinching.
Probably better than Youngje or Sea-a in that regard.
"Jenard! You damn bastard!!"
Another charged Jinwoo at seeing his comrade fall. The blade came right to his face, but he casually tilted his head to dodge, slamming the guy face-first into the ground.
"Kyahaak!"
"You guys really villains? Feels like the 'big bros' I sparred in training were tougher..."
Those 'big bros' were probably Bivalt family regulars. Makes sense for a combat-heavy family like theirs.
More than that...
"They look like back-alley trash. Hired a bunch of low-level villains just to pad numbers."
"That so?"
Not quite first-year takedown level, but his recent training and mentoring paid off.
"Boss, what now? Should we scout around at least?"
Jinwoo turned after finishing the last one, arm outstretched on the ground.
Dark red blood dripped steadily from his dagger blade.
Jinwoo always seemed so lighthearted, but today I could really feel his growth.
"Yeah, let's do that."
I don't like just taking hits—we had to pay them back.
"Alright, move out. Gotta find the others."