Shadows in the Black Gate? Dungeon (Part 4)
Ji Yu-chan had been meticulously studying every twitch of movement when Do-hyun raised his hand, and Zerprael’s swing came swinging toward them. Just then, Do-hyun realized it was an attempt to stop the other elves.
The elves froze the instant Zerprael’s hand lifted. Do-hyun’s group watched him with intense focus.
“No time for fighting these mongrels. Get out of here.”
With that, the elves quickly retreated.
While they left, Zerprael’s gaze never landed on any of Do-hyun’s party. He only hurried his search around them, as if hunting for something precious.
Do-hyun noticed that and his eyes flashed for a split second. Unfortunately, Zerprael didn’t catch it before he left them.
Even after the elves fled, the group kept their guard up. But when Do-hyun lowered his weapon, the tense atmosphere around them slowly loosened.
Do-hyun, however, kept using a monstrous level of concentration, completely out of step with the relaxed mood.
‘What are they looking for?’
Zerprael, the elf leader, had been an E-grade seeker and tracker. Do-hyun was a D-grade. But that didn’t even matter with his Analysis trait leading the way.
If they combined those factors, maybe the elves could figure out what they were searching for—and maybe even find it first?
Do-hyun thought so and started ultrasonic detection while pushing Analysis to scan the entire area.
His focus was staggering; he didn’t react at all when anyone spoke to him, locked only on his task. Among Do-hyun’s party who had nearly died moments ago, none noticed his intensity.
Hana Rin and Ji Yu-chan were also breathing heavily from tension, while Park In-su’s group wiped sweat off their faces in double time.
“It’s really a relief.”
“Seriously.”
“We almost died.”
Park In-su’s party recalled the elves’ danger with those words. Hana Rin and Ji Yu-chan felt the same way.
They had heard elves were dangerous, but actually seeing them made the impression far heavier.
They had heard they were strong, yet none expected this level of threat.
Hana Rin and Ji Yu-chan had been imagining a fight.
And naturally.
“There were five more behind us.”
“Yeah, two archers and three warriors.”
“At least the mages were gone. The elf we thought was the leader was truly impossible.”
Hana Rin spoke with her own impression.
Ji Yu-chan didn’t speak but nodded in agreement.
If they had fought, he and Hana Rin would have each taken two, leaving Park In-su to handle one while the others couldn’t. Even with just stat analysis, their guesses were probably spot-on.
Luck had given Jung Yoon and Kim Jin-ha one extra, but that still meant six against three. Do-hyun alone had to face four, including Zerprael. Even assuming victory, it was basically impossible, so everyone swallowed their pride.
No matter how much stronger they were, planning for defeat felt strangely unsatisfying.
Park In-su’s party sank into gloom, but the proud and high-spirited Hana Rin and Ji Yu-chan barely cared. They had already faced Do-hyun once; this was nothing new.
Rather.
“Next time we meet, we should strike first and weaken them a little. There might still be a chance.”
“It’s not certain. We were too late this time.”
“If we bring Do-hyun Oppa in, we can at least kill four minimum. Let him handle the leader and we’ll take the rest. We win.”
“Of course.”
As Hana Rin and Ji Yu-chan planned their next strategy, Park In-su’s group blinked in surprise while watching them.
When the defeated party felt crushed, yet the other two were already plotting perfect victory, something completely different in mindset clicked in.
‘Ah.’
‘This difference is huge.’
‘…This is what it means to be from a different dimension.’
All three felt it at once.
Not just talent or skill, but a difference in mindset itself.
Realizing they were different, the Park In-su group joined the discussion with Hana Rin and Ji Yu-chan to plan their approach.
“Ten people total over there. Instead of facing the elf leader head-on, why not have us ambush while Do-hyun holds him down?”
“Hmm. Since Do-hyun Oppa will draw the leader out anyway, it’s better for him to pin the leader and let us rush the rest.”
“No, that won’t work. Do-hyun is the fastest and strongest. If he doesn’t join the ambush, it loses all meaning. We have to reduce their numbers for any chance.”
“Hmm, I see.”
“Indeed…”
They were the ones usually challenging ideas, yet they felt their perspectives widening as they talked.
While they spoke, Do-hyun suddenly raised his hand to stop them.
The sudden action pulled the tense Park In-su party and Hana Rin and Ji Yu-chan, who had been checking for trouble, toward him.
“What is it?” Hana Rin asked.
Do-hyun looked at them and smiled with a mischievous glint.
“I figured out what they’re searching for.”
Forgetting how he had known, the group was stunned. They had been amazed he was preparing for their next encounter, but this level of precision was too much.
Ji Yu-chan and Hana Rin stared at him in shock, swallowing hard.
Do-hyun glanced at them and grinned wickedly.
“What if we steal what they’re hunting for first?”
* * *
The elves’ infamous reputation spread throughout most non-human races.
Besides elves, all living beings treated them as mongrels and believed only elves were truly superior. So, they avoided fighting them at all costs.
Being long-lived and individually powerful, even upper-species non-humans rarely touched elves.
Yet it was incomprehensible to other non-humans why such arrogant elves were pushing so hard to enter Black Gates.
The ones entering were driven by greed at their core. Why would superior elves deliberately seek points inside the gates?
It was impossible to understand.
They never told anyone why they entered Black Gates.
The true reason was that their practical evolution secrets were about to be revealed as lessons in the dungeons.
The high-elven evolution secret they had practiced long before the gates appeared might appear in the dungeons.
Zerprael’s group, who had confronted Do-hyun’s party, had entered for the same reason.
‘They said a dungeon would appear on Parvi Island today.’
They had heard that, yet after meeting and leaving, Zerprael’s group broke through the forest, searching desperately. They found nothing they wanted.
After quite some time passed without success, Zerprael scowled and clicked his tongue.
They had moved frantically, yet nothing worked.
Instead.
“I should have killed those mongrels earlier.”
He knew it was just venting from before, but things had changed.
After meeting them, the search felt oddly blocked.
Ultrasonic waves spread around him, making detection difficult, but the elves didn’t notice.
Irritated, one of Zerprael’s subordinates approached him.
“Should we attack them now?”
“Expand the search range by splitting up. If you find any mongrels during it, kill them on sight.”
“Yes, understood.”
Zerprael moved irritably while giving the order, yet still saw nothing.
Was the information wrong?
No, that couldn’t be.
‘The Great Prophet said a dungeon would appear here.’
To the elves, the Great Prophet’s prophecy was as absolute as law.
A dungeon had to be forming somewhere on the island.
Other elves sent by the Prophet were also here, but they couldn’t risk letting others claim glory first. Zerprael had no choice but to feel frantic.
He wasn’t expecting the high-elf secret to appear in this dungeon.
But the Prophet had added a prophecy.
“The one who clears the dungeon that spawns in the E-grade zone Parvi Island will open a new transcendence.”
Because of that prophecy, practically every elf in the E-grade zone had rushed here.
Zerprael was frantic and wanted to find it quickly.
But since he couldn’t, he thought they might have to search other areas.
That was when a desperate elf ran up to him.
“I-I found a dungeon!”
He sounded extremely anxious, unlike the words “found.”
Zerprael frowned at the trembling elf.
“Impossible?”
Zerprael asked in disbelief, and the elf shook violently as he answered.
“A brand-new dungeon just formed, but… the door is closed.”
“…”
The closed door meant another party had already entered. Zerprael’s expression turned ice-cold.
Zerprael had been in charge of the search here.
That also meant the dungeon might not have been entered by other elves.
Then the report came.
“…And of the three mongrels we met earlier, two have vanished, while the remaining three were seen using a portal to leave.”
Hearing one of the mongrel parties had entered, Zerprael’s face twisted.
If the prophecy was true.
‘…Those mongrels opened a new transcendence?’
Impossible.
Zerprael’s thoughts stopped there, and he shouted immediately.
“Everyone gather at the dungeon entrance!”
If the mongrels failed to clear the dungeon and died inside, that would be enough. If they cleared it…
‘I will kill them and open a new transcendence.’
Zerprael believed it with all his heart.
So Zerprael’s elves gathered and rushed toward the dungeon. Park In-su, watching from afar, shivered and thought to himself.
‘D-Do-hyun-nim’s words really came true.’
It had only taken a few hours to reach this point.