Dungeon in the Labyrinth? (Part 2)
**CHAPTER TITLE: Dungeon in the Labyrinth? (2)**
It had been a while since the party had seen a dungeon of any kind. Not since the blind guides had appeared, to be precise.
D-grade dungeons were usually only discovered at the very start of the E-rank ones, and this one was the first they’d stumbled across afterward. They hadn’t felt any sense of rarity, though.
“Do dungeons show up that often?”
Dohyun’s tone sounded almost casual, like he was commenting on the weather.
Hana Rin and Ji Yu-chan both wanted to agree with him, but in their hearts they knew he was wrong.
Dungeons had always been rare and precious. That was why they felt so special. Yet somehow this party kept running into them far more often than anyone should have.
Still, no one was complaining.
“You’re just lucky.”
Dungeons were supposed to appear once every month for most people stuck inside a Black Gate for the whole time. Good fortune was exactly what this felt like.
“And the rewards are decent, too.”
There was no reason to pass up a guaranteed textbook and at least one item. Skipping the dungeon would have been stupid.
Dohyun and Hana Rin exchanged a glance, then both nodded at the same time.
Dohyun took the lead as usual. The others looked a little nervous about what kind of subordinate they’d meet this time.
Last dungeon the subordinate had been blind. That had left them indebted to Dohyun. Now they were all a little tense.
Dohyun himself didn’t seem worried at all.
He had after all.
The party stepped up to the dungeon entrance. Hana Rin and Ji Yu-chan touched the stone wall right after Dohyun. A powerful suction force hit them all at once, mixing with the dizzying sensation of space folding in on itself.
Swooosh—
The swirl of spatial chaos only lasted a second, but it was enough. The party stepped inside and looked around. No blindness this time.
The first thing they had to do was figure out what the subordinate was. Hana Rin and Ji Yu-chan tried to sense it quickly, but they both caught something off.
Dohyun, on the other hand, saw the message pop up in front of him and understood instantly.
[You have entered the domain of the Twisted Fragment.]
[Subordinate of the Twisted Fragment has begun.]
[Analyzing the subordinate.]
[Analyzing subordinate.]
“Hmm… sounds like it’s messing with the spatial sense a little.”
Dohyun’s words made both of them nod.
The sensation was indeed messy—disorienting, like the world might make you vomit. But Hana Rin adapted faster than anyone expected and her face even looked a little more relaxed after a minute.
.
In simpler terms, you knew you were looking straight ahead, but your eyes kept drifting backward as if you were turning your head, even though nothing was behind you. When you tried to turn again, it felt like you were looking up.
It was strong enough to break your sense of balance, but at least your eyes still saw where you turned.
Hana Rin was a mage, after all. She could move less, so she adapted quicker. Still, she turned to Dohyun and Ji Yu-chan with worry in her voice.
“But are you two okay? I mean… compared to me?”
was easy for mages. But for someone whose body actually moved like Dohyun or Ji Yu-chan, the lack of spatial awareness would be brutal.
Ji Yu-chan was barely holding on, trying to stand straight, but he looked like he might collapse any second.
Warriors and swordsmen were supposed to adapt faster, yet the constant shifting of the spatial sense made it almost impossible.
Spatial sense was one of the most important things for anyone who moved. If the foundation suddenly crumbled, you couldn’t keep your footing.
Ji Yu-chan was barely managing it.
“I… think I’m going to die.”
He had never complained this much before.
It was going to make fighting hard. Hana Rin was a mage; she could still chase down enemies with spells or wide-area magic.
But if Ji Yu-chan was this bad, Dohyun must be suffering too. Hana Rin gave him a worried look.
Dohyun returned the stare without a flinch.
“Huh?”
“…?”
Dohyun was standing perfectly fine. Ji Yu-chan stared at him like he was looking at some kind of monster.
The more sensitive a person was, the stronger the spatial distortion felt. Yet Dohyun—who should have been even more sensitive than Ji Yu-chan—looked completely normal.
Dohyun blinked once and smiled.
“Hmm… I guess I’m just spreading mana around and using that as a reference. It’s enough to keep me steady.”
He used detection, ultrasonic detection, and all the time. Even without spatial sense in his own body, he had always felt like he was watching everything from above. That made it easy to adapt.
There was nothing to adapt to at all. He could just keep going exactly as he always had.
There were so many ways to sense spatial awareness for him that losing one didn’t even matter.
Watching Dohyun stand so calmly, Ji Yu-chan felt jealous and frustrated. His whole body trembled as he tried to push his legs forward anyway.
Dohyun had said to spread mana around so the space could be projected objectively.
As the detection improved, Ji Yu-chan gradually adapted, but he still shook all over.
Shiver. Shiver.
Still, he could finally take a few steps without falling. Dohyun and Hana Rin took the chance to look around and figure out what kind of dungeon this was.
Instead of the usual labyrinth, they found a wide plain with a huge altar right in the middle. Bright flames were flickering on top of it.
Hana Rin and Ji Yu-chan spotted the flames. Dohyun saw the message appear right along with them.
[Analyzing the Twisted Fragment.]
[Protect the .]
“Hmm… this is probably…”
Dohyun trailed off. Hana Rin finished for him.
“It looks like a defense-type dungeon.”
Defense dungeons were like those defense games where monsters poured out at set intervals. At least the only requirement here was to hold out.
But.
“This is going to be a pain.”
Saying it was defense-type meant monsters would keep spawning every certain amount of time. And with Ji Yu-chan basically useless in combat right now, it would be a waste of time.
Plus this was a D-grade dungeon. D-ranks were already uneven. Defense dungeons were usually designed for five people. Trying to handle one with just the two of them sounded impossible.
Still, two was better than one.
“Installing a lot of magic might work. We can at least slow down the waves.”
“Hmm… installation magic. should work even if it’s not the usual kind.”
“Yes. So Yu-chan Oppa, you should rest for now.”
“I can’t do anything right now. Just hang in there a little longer.”
While Dohyun and Hana Rin talked, Ji Yu-chan gave a small, sorry smile.
“I’m sorry I can’t help. I’ll try to get used to it quickly.”
He said that as he started moving his arms and legs, trying to train his sense bit by bit.
It was like his limbs were moving, but he had no idea which direction he was going. He could only watch his own body and copy the movement visually.
Spreading mana to analyze things was still awkward.
While Ji Yu-chan struggled, Dohyun and Hana Rin studied the terrain around them.
This place was completely different from a D-rank labyrinth. It was an open plain with the altar standing alone in the middle.
Dohyun and Hana Rin looked at the altar and sighed at the same time.
“Ambush from all sides. This is going to be tough.”
“We could build a wall to block them.”
“Hmm… it probably won’t be easy to break, but I bet if there’s a wall they won’t come around.”
The monsters’ intelligence wasn’t high enough for them to go around a tall wall.
If they did try to break it, though.
“I’d rather set up the installation magic right around the wall and just leave one entrance open. Even if we waste some magic, we can at least limit where they come in.”
“That’s a good idea.”
“Then I’ll make the wall. You two install the magic first using .”
Hana Rin nodded. Dohyun waited for the others to finish.
It would cost a lot of mana, but he pushed his limits anyway.
Hana Rin was shocked by how much mana he pulled up in one breath.
Dohyun used to cast the intermediate-elemental magic and the flame magic . The two spells fused together and he stacked them on the wall until it rose higher and thicker.
The ground around the altar started erupting, then thickened into a solid wall that stood tall and sturdy.
Dohyun had already made one entrance right in front of the altar. The two people stood behind thick, 5-meter walls that stretched at least twenty meters high.
It was more than enough defense.
Hana Rin flew up on flight magic, grabbed her staff, and began installing magic around the walls. Most of them were spikes that shot up from the ground or from the walls themselves, all boosted with .
That should be enough to stop anyone from approaching.
And with the entrance clearly visible, the monsters probably wouldn’t even try to come through.
Once the two of them finished, they headed back to the altar. Dohyun looked a little tired.
“Whew… that wasn’t easy.”
“You used almost all your mana, didn’t you?”
“About two-thirds. But I recover fast. It’ll be full before you know it.”
“I’ll probably be back soon.”
Dohyun finished speaking. Ji Yu-chan, who had been meditating with his eyes closed to try to see the spatial sense objectively, opened his eyes and said,
“I’ll get used to it quickly.”
His voice carried real regret, but Dohyun and Hana Rin had already decided to treat Ji Yu-chan as out of commission.
They were better off protecting themselves than trying to include someone who couldn’t fight.
The two of them focused entirely on recovering mana while they waited for the monsters to arrive.
How much time passed?
Roughly thirty minutes after entering the dungeon, a huge cloud of dust rose in the distance. Countless footsteps began thundering toward them.
Thud thud thud—
The first wave was about to start.