Rookie Baek Jaesung: The Shifting Rooms of Level House
Rookie: Baek Jaesung 13
We took down the Blaze Boar and Frost Boar. They were stronger than I'd expected, so it took a bit of effort, but in the end, we were the ones left standing on solid ground. If I'd gone all out from the start, it would've been over much quicker.
"Everyone's grown a ton. Teamwork was pretty solid too."
It was a satisfying fight overall. They all knew their roles well enough. Of course, since we'd just entered the dungeon, our coordination wasn't perfect yet.
That would improve naturally as we battled more monsters. Part of why I held back was to let my crew warm up. Though it was a pretty rough warm-up.
"Fuck... gotta get this repaired outside."
Yeonji grimaced at her singed armor. Her gear cost millions to fix at minimum. Blocking the Blaze Boar's scorching heat and only ending up singed was understandable.
"Tougher than I thought from the get-go. All the rooms like this?"
Jisu shook her fractured arm with a worried look. I'd healed her with Light Cure, but it wasn't fully mended. A minor fracture like that would heal clean with a potion.
"No way. If monsters like these kept popping up, the raid rank wouldn't be set so low."
Sujin nodded in agreement with Yeonji's grumbling.
Everyone except me and Rina was wiped out. Yeonji, who'd tanked up front and taken hits to the body, was the most exhausted. And she'd taken some internal damage too.
Tank positions always came with injuries. Inseparable.
"Lemme check your wounds."
I hit Yeonji with Light Heal and Light Cure first, then handed her a potion. Combining recovery skills with potions amplified the healing speed.
"Jaesung, feels like my chest inside got hurt too."
"Hm. Guess I'll have to check with my hands then."
"Seriously? Oppa, unnie—even here we gotta play doctor?"
Rina puffed her cheeks at our teasing. But there might really be an injury.
I slipped my hand under Yeonji's clothes and fondled her soft breasts with my fingers. Couldn't have scratches on my favorite toys.
Luckily, no injuries at all on Yeonji's chest. Her pricey armor earned its keep. Her abilities shone through too.
With her sturdy build, Yeonji recovered fast. Quick recovery was a tank's key trait.
"Check my arm too, please."
Jisu wiped her sweat and said. I prescribed her a potion.
Just the first room, and we'd fought hard enough to need a break. In a dungeon where we couldn't predict the next monsters, a heavy first step was meaningful.
But grueling trials reward those who overcome them. This fight helped our party a lot. Combat experience was a dungeon hunter's irreplaceable asset.
"I'll harvest the monster byproducts."
Byproducts were why dungeon hunters raided. Strong monsters' parts sold for big money. The Blaze and Frost Boars we bagged surely had valuables.
I dismantled them. I was pretty handy at it now. My knife sliced through monster corpses smoothly.
Dismantling skill gauged a hunter's talent too. Same kills, different profits based on butchering—common as dirt.
Per Sujin, their teeth and hides fetched high prices. After ten minutes' work, I had all the boar tusks and leather.
"If it's like this nonstop, not easy."
Rina said darkly.
"Maybe should've run instead of fighting? Original goal was quick run to responsibility zone."
Jisu shook her head at Sujin's words.
"These guys? Dodging would've been tough too."
Jisu was right. With their agility, even fleeing would've meant constant harassment. Aggressive monsters hounded backs relentlessly.
"Hmm. Exploration dragging more than expected."
Yeonji muttered worriedly, shaking soot from her armor. I shot back.
"Longer dungeon runs aren't bad. Builds experience."
Our party was strong but green. Experience was crucial in raids.
If power was a fist smashing foes, experience was the eyes spotting them. High-rank survival rates spiked from battle-honed wisdom.
Not that you could slack physical growth relying on smarts. Both vital for hunters.
"Supplies like food last over a year. No worries."
I passed out date palm fruits. Top recovery items airlifted from Solari World.
They perked up fast. Instant stamina and mana restore—these were my confidence boosters.
"Good. Stamina back—let's move."
Tank Yeonji shouldered her pack and stood. I stowed the byproducts. Short break, but everyone was primed for next fight.
"Straight to that wall ahead."
Rina pointed at the towering wall forward. We walked about 40 minutes to the next room's door.
Level House rooms varied wildly. Only common trait: one door per direction. Rapid environment shifts made raids tough.
Second room: vast beach. We trudged endlessly toward the giant wall. No monsters—lucky.
Next: dense mountain slope. Sheer cliffs beside, cool wind brushing faces. Monsters: sirens.
Siren flock attacked indiscriminately like welcoming invaders. Weaker than first boars, though. Minus aerial harassment, easy pickings.
We cleared them calmly, proceeding. Still matching the map so far.
"Next room?"
Rina unfolded the map at Sujin's question. Per notes: ice room.
"Ice room, huh. Time for winter gear."
Rina said cautiously. As suggested, we donned insulated suits pre-entry. Pricey millions-worth gear.
Opened next door: vast frozen land everywhere. Ice room as mapped.
More precisely: blizzard-whipped frozen forest. Dense conifers iced like crystals. Distant ice lake, penguin-like monsters waddling around.
Penguins?
Minus the cold, didn't fit. Lush trees and penguins felt off.
"No real threats here, per map."
Rina, clutching the eye-straining map, said.
"Which way?"
"Straight."
Lead Yeonji looked up at the massive forward wall. Too huge to gauge door distance.
Path to wall: giant ice lake ahead. From afar, seemed frozen solid bottom too.
Chill grazed cheeks. Good we had suits—otherwise disaster. Hunters didn't drop from cold snaps, but prolonged exposure dropped combat power inevitably.
"What're those penguin things?"
Sujin eyed the waddling cuties. Adorably non-monstrous. Zoo-ready, no dissonance.
"Not in the compendium. Variant?"
Variants might skip books. Not all monsters listed anyway. New dungeons birthed new ones often.
"No preemptive strikes anyway. Good. Matches map—no dangers."
Yeonji said eyeing penguins. Couldn't fully trust scout maps, but vital intel for maze-drifters.
We bypassed penguin flock. They ignored us.
Further on, faint ice lake loomed larger. Soon at its edge.
"Cross on top? Thick enough?"
Yeonji tapped frozen surface. Car-thick ice, but walking it? Unappealing.
Not just break-and-drown risk—worse: monsters below.
"Detour?"
I suggested as leader. All nodded. No need risking unknowns.
Other parties might've crossed—limited supplies forced haste. Our inventory let leisurely pace.
Lake huge—detour took over 6 hours to next door.
"No issues. Just cute penguin sightseeing."
Rina nodded at Jisu.
"Makes sense why monster levels vary per room. Can't relax."
Unknown next room meant taut vigilance. We moved on.