──Found You.
“──Found you.”
I charge at the guy still glued to the screen and throw a straight punch.
“Huh? You psycho!”
Sensing the killing intent, he snatches up his pickaxe and blocks my fist just in time.
“How the hell...?!”
“How? Took the elevator, obviously.”
I taunt the flustered bastard and detonate the aura gathered in my fist. His body flies back from the rebound force.
“How does a dungeon even have an elevator...?!”
The first ambush worked at least a little—he grimaces and shouts.
Jinwoo bursts out laughing at the sight.
“Dungeons these days could have elevators, y'know. What, pissed? Heh heh.”
“You little shit...!”
I could kinda understand why the Miner was so furious. I hadn't expected things to go this smoothly either.
“Don't be so salty. We just got lucky, that's all.”
What we'd found on the first floor of the dungeon was the freight elevator from the club room.
I'd figured this dungeon overlapping the one under the club room might share similar traits and layout, but I never dreamed the elevator connecting to the club would be implemented here too.
Whoa, this thing's here too, boss? Can we ride it?
When Jinwoo spotted the elevator and said that, even I was skeptical. There'd been nothing like this in the game.
Does this even work?
The issue wasn't just finding it—it was how to get it to go down. Dungeon elevators only light up for cleared floors.
But...
[D1] . … …… ……… [D10]
Huh? Isn't that the 10th floor lit up? Oh, it lit up when I pressed it.
Maybe because the villain bastards had already taken the bottom floor. The moment I hit 10, the elevator we boarded hummed smoothly to life.
Ding-dong.
──Underground 10th Floor.
We arrived on the 10th floor just like that. The Miner standing there with a look of utter injustice on his face was quite the sight.
“You think 'luck' makes a situation like this happen?!”
Our casual stroll out of the elevator must've shocked him senseless—he points his pickaxe at us and yells.
Well, I could see where he was coming from. Normally, you'd have to clear the upper floors first, arriving exhausted on the 10th. That's probably what they planned for.
But what now? This dungeon's basically mine.
“You're the ones who tried illegal entry first, yet here you are yelling at the owner... Pathetic.”
“What?”
“You were the guy who got caught because you were so damn unlucky from the start. Nothing new there. And...”
I glance at the screen he'd been staring at.
So that's how he was monitoring the whole dungeon. The other screens show most of the kids safely progressing under the instructors' protection.
“Illegal entry and voyeurism. When did the Villain Union turn into the Pervert Union?”
“...Watch your mouth, punk.”
“You should be the one watching out.”
Clang!
Jinwoo's thrown dagger bounces off the Miner's hardhat.
“No way—is that helmet that tough? I threw it full force.”
Taking advantage of our chat for a sneak attack, Jinwoo rubs his wrist with a grimace.
“Childish tricks... You think that hits me?”
“Dude's bragging about his rock head like it's a flex. What now, boss? We could take him two-on-one and end it quick.”
Jinwoo sounded confident, but I had other plans for him.
“Jinwoo.”
“Yeah, I'm ready.”
“Forget that—see the hole above the Miner?”
“Hole? ...Yeah, I see it.”
I whisper my orders to him quietly.
“When I give the signal, jump through there and help the 9th floor.”
“Wait—skip fighting the Miner and help the 9th floor kids?”
He pauses, questioning it. But there was good reason.
“To escape this dungeon, we gotta take down the 10th floor boss anyway. Better conserve strength. Help 9 first, then link up with the others here.”
“...Leaving you alone with him?”
“I can handle it solo.”
“If you say so, boss... What's the signal?”
Better to show than tell.
“Now.”
I concentrate aura in my legs and dash at him in one burst.
“Damn brat! Think I'll fall for it twice?!”
To block my charge, he raises his pickaxe and slams the ground.
The floor shakes, sand smoke billows, obscuring his position—but that alone meant phase one was a success.
“Boss! Kick his ass!”
Jinwoo had slipped into the hole the Miner used to infiltrate the 10th floor.
Without us, he'd have gone up to join Snowgirl Pa and attack the kids... But now I'm holding the 10th floor.
No way he'd abandon it to chase up. Especially not this Miner chickening out to some freshman.
“As if.”
He wasn't that type.
The dust settles slowly, revealing the surroundings bit by bit. No sign of him.
But I'd been through something like this before—and knew how to handle it.
“Like this, right?”
I emit aura through my soles, scanning the ground.
The search method I'd seen from Elder Gwak Chunsik during the kobold dungeon raid.
The old me might've been clueless, but after practicing aura control with the bracelet he gave me, I could vaguely sense the intruder's shape underground.
“Hiding there, huh.”
An unnatural form below. Looked like he was set to burst out for a surprise attack anytime.
“Not a fan of whack-a-mole.”
I leap toward it and slam my fist into the ground.
BOOM!
Aura-packed punch craters the area in an explosion.
“Crazy! How...?!”
There he was, blocking with his pickaxe, arms trembling.
“Curious? Someone else good at finding you taught me.”
I focus aura into my fist—his face twists.
“Aura user with detection...? No way. Gwak Chunsik's disciple?!”
Mention of the guy who threw him in Niflheim ignites rage in his eyes.
“So what if I am? Spoiler: Kneeling and begging won't get you an apology.”
Provoking him on purpose—he grinds his teeth.
“Brat's got balls...!”
Flash from his headlamp blinds me in an instant.
“I'll grind you to hamburger!”
Figured blinding me would create an opening. Might've worked on the old me.
But...
Aura Sonar
Aura spreads from my body, illuminating the dungeon interior.
Miner right in front, pickaxe raised to strike.
I grab it mid-swing and headbutt what I figure is his face. Crunch! Something squishy gives.
“Kyahaak!”
Nose? Then once more—
“──Get lost!”
His shout brings agony to my solar plexus, choking me.
But it doesn't stop—I fly backward.
“Hup!”
Ukemi softens the landing. Vision clearing, I spot him extending a leg my way.
“Hah...! Hah...!”
Blood streaming from his nose.
“...Hancheol-ization.”
[Hancheol-ization]—his custom gear, made from the insanely hard-to-process hancheol found in dungeons. Suited for a digger like him.
That explains it. Aura-shielded my gut just in time—or it'd been serious.
“...Kicked to burst you open, but you're sturdy.”
He snorts out a blood clot and glares.
“That all you got? Felt like a mosquito bite.”
“What? Krhahatahaha!”
I mime scratching the spot—he laughs in disbelief.
“Tough face for that... Why not just offer your head clean? Less pain that way.”
Surrender for a painless death? I flip him off instead.
“Fix that mangled nose first, worm.”
“...What?”
His face hardens instantly.
“Did you just... call me, the great Miner, a worm?”
“Oh yeah, that nickname was his too, right? PTSD kicking in?”
Not a fond memory for him. Only one person ever called him that.
“Gwak Chunsik said you should've changed your villain name to Worm. All you do is dig and shit—worm fits perfect.”
Well, that was sanitized. The old man's real rant mixed profanity, family digs, parental health jabs, and character smears... Too crude for me.
So, nickname it is.
“Suits you, worm. Bet your folks love 'Villain Worm' for their boy.”
My toned-down taunt hits hard—he lowers his head, trembling.
“Right... Worm... Heh. Heh heh heh heh. But you know what?”
He grips the pickaxe like a golf club, swings into position.
“Even that bastard Gwak Chunsik couldn't handle this!”
BOOM!
Shattered rock flies at me at insane speed. Mana-coated, they glow ominously.
No, even for you, this is a bit mu—