Chapter 117
Chapter 117
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 117
Chapter Title: 30. Night Dungeon (5)
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What in the world was going on?
Ottavio from Sicily in Italy, and Ricardo from Tocantins in Brazil, were overcome with a bizarre mix of joy and fear.
For one thing.
Kwaaang!
The boat was moving along quite swiftly, which was incredibly encouraging.
At this rate, they wouldn’t have to play that deadly game of Russian roulette where one of the three had to die as punishment for mission failure.
But.
Puuuung!
The fact that this Easterner sucking up the mutants with the heaven-sent “subspace bombs” was the one steering the boat filled the two with dread.
“Hey, it’s really light!”
Wasn’t he constantly muttering to himself in the air like that?
It looked like he was reporting to someone, sure...
Even in a world with dragons and quests, this was something that shattered all common sense after the Reset.
Of course, it was thousands of times better than dying unnoticed in this abyss.
That would be a death utterly devoid of meaning.
Puuuung!
Soon, another explosion rang out, and Yeongwoo seized the moment to swiftly pull the boat forward.
Deureuk, deureuk!
Then he scooped up the dodecahedron that had fallen to the floor at the blast site.
Tap.
Next.
Click.
He pressed the outer shell to activate the timer, then hurled it back into the darkness ahead where ominous presences stirred.
Hwwoot!
As always, the dodecahedron split open in twelve directions like it was disassembling, sucking in every mutant near the throw point.
Kuiiaaaat!
“Huh, huwaaak!”
“Save me!”
“Aaaaah!”
Each time, the mutants let out agonized screams, but they didn’t last long.
The moment their bodies touched the pitch-black space inside the dodecahedron, they were instantly silenced.
Shuwaaak!
Once the “space” finished sucking everything in, the dodecahedron reverted to its original form and plopped back to the floor.
Seeing this, Yeongwoo advanced forward again.
Deureuk, deureuk!
This was the entirety of how the trio from three nations navigated the dungeon.
Of course, mutants were still pouring in from the rear and flanks beyond the bombs’ range, but it was incomparable to the difficulty before.
‘If we keep this up, we’ll make it...!’
‘We can survive!’
Like the two harpooners whose hopes were brightening, Yeongwoo too felt certain they could escape alive.
The only issue was.
‘...I’ve got nothing left to say.’
An efficient hardware structure usable even by aliens with a hundred arms, a mysterious mechanism that exploded without flashing light, an astonishing suction power that left no corpses behind—everything.
He’d said everything there was to say about this “product.”
Click.
As Yeongwoo activated another subspace bomb, the harpooners in the back subtly glanced his way.
They were secretly anticipating what nonsense he’d spout this time.
“Hmm.”
Meanwhile, oblivious to his companions’ stares, Yeongwoo tossed the bomb forward just like before.
Hwot!
The mutants charging toward the flame like moths to a fire.
Puuuung!
Were sucked into the void with an explosion right above their heads.
Kuiiaaaat!
A mysterious hole that selectively pulled in only those hostile to the user, without any conditions inputted.
Staring at the hole even blacker than the surrounding darkness, Yeongwoo murmured entranced.
“This is surely hell, so what lies within that hole darker than hell itself? The void incarnate, perhaps.”
The Eastern old hand had become practically a poet.
With distant eyes, he recited his line and stepped forward once more.
Deureuk!
And so the three continued their voyage through the darkness.
* * *
Hell.
When he’d seen Lim Bonghui, who had been obliterated by the Flesh back then, lingering here, it was fair to call this place hell.
‘All those hit by the Flesh were gathered here. Turned into monsters worse than beasts.’
Back then, the “Flesh” had been a one-way attack method, but it was also the only defense against incoming Flesh.
In other words, hurling Flesh at others meant wagering your own life.
And flipping that around.
‘Being hit by Flesh means someone bore an immense grudge against you. A grudge so deep the aggrieved staked their life to denounce you.’
Like Lim Bonghui, who had actually been a rapist, for instance.
Suk.
Picking up the dodecahedron from the floor as usual, Yeongwoo suddenly felt a sense of incongruity and cast his gaze into the darkness beyond.
“......”
Silence echoed back.
The presences of mutants, which had come as naturally as breathing until now, were no longer detectable.
“Huh...?”
For the first time, Yeongwoo advanced the boat without throwing the dodecahedron.
Deureuk, deureuk.
The two harpooners, realizing there hadn’t been any flank or rear ambushes for some time, widened their eyes like wanderers spotting an oasis in the wasteland.
“Is it... over?”
“...For real?”
Reflexively, Ricardo checked the campfire.
“Ooh.”
As he hoped, the flame in the center of the stone floor burned steadily.
Which left only one thing.
Deureuk!
Keeping the boat pulled until the old hand reached some unknown destination.
Deureuk!
After Yeongwoo silently dragged the boat carrying the two another hundred meters or so, Ricardo suddenly spoke in a shy tone.
“Th-thanks, Korean. I’ll never forget your efforts till the day I die.”
At that, Ottavio poked his side and chimed in.
“It’s Jeong Yeongwoo. Time to memorize the name by now.”
“...Eastern names don’t stick well.”
The two had grown quite close by now.
They’d probably sliced and kicked away tens of thousands of mutants together.
Having crossed the line between life and death with backs to each other, their bond surging was only natural.
Meanwhile, Yeongwoo, who had advanced silently like the group’s father, showing only his back.
Geureuk!
Finally spoke up the moment the friction sound between the boat and ground changed.
“The floor material has changed.”
He bent forward, pulling harder.
But.
Geuk!
This time, the boat didn’t budge an inch.
As if caught on something.
“...Ah.”
At last, a wave of relief washed over him.
Silently, Yeongwoo unwound the chains wrapped around his body.
Chalak, chalaalak.
This was the intuition only the old hand who had single-handedly dragged the boat could possess.
The end of this grueling voyage had arrived.
Chalat!
Having fully uncoiled even the chain around his waist, Yeongwoo stepped forward like a prisoner released after a long sentence.
Then.
Cheolk, cheolk!
Footsteps subtly different from before echoed from the mirage.
Yeongwoo paused to remove his gloves and touch the ground.
Tap.
‘Stone.’
The same material as the “boat” he’d dragged stretched out ahead.
The surroundings remained pitch black, so what lay beyond was unclear.
“Looks like it’s done. I’ll scout a bit further...”
As Yeongwoo took another step into the darkness.
Chaat!
Faint lighting descended from high in the void, illuminating where he stood.
And the stone heap towering right in front of him.
“......?”
The heap resembled the ruins of a massive relic site, completely blocking Yeongwoo’s path.
“What’s that?”
“The path’s totally blocked.”
The two harpooners, unconsciously following Yeongwoo out of the boat, barely stopped themselves.
Remembering the dungeon wasn’t over yet.
「Rule One: Only the old hand may touch the chains.」
「Rule Two: Only the old hand may be outside the boat.」
Given this bullshit dungeon’s nature, even this could be a trap luring rule violations.
“Let’s wait for now.”
“...Agreed.”
Once the harpooners decided to stay by the campfire, the next development unfolded.
Paat!
A holographic message appeared atop the obstructing stone heap.
「You have reached the end of the dungeon.」
“What?”
“This fuck...”
They’d suspected as much, but it really was just a “fishing” ploy.
Still, Yeongwoo didn’t fully trust the dungeon.
“Don’t come out anyway. No new path has opened.”
The way forward remained blocked, and no further guidance appeared on the heap.
Instead.
Deureuk!
The boat Yeongwoo had dragged all this way—the stone floor carrying the campfire and harpooners—reversed on its own.
With no one holding the chains.
“Hey, don’t tell me.”
Sensing something, Ottavio looked at Yeongwoo.
Yeongwoo, seeing the stone floor move, dashed over and hopped aboard.
Cheolk!
The moment Yeongwoo’s foot touched the stone floor, the reversing boat suddenly lifted into the air.
“Oh... it’s going back!”
Ricardo let out a voice thrilled like a child’s.
Ottavio couldn’t hide his excitement either, staring upward.
The boat was flying faster and faster back to where it all began.
Shwaaaa!
Slicing diagonally through the black void, the stone floor arrived beneath the stone structure hole where the three had first descended, as expected.
After some position adjustment.
Shiiiik!
It moved in the reverse direction of their arrival.
Up the long, long passage.
Swiit, swiiiit!
“Ugh.”
“Urk!”
Even top regional powerhouses flinched in the super high-speed elevator.
Ottavio barely managed to speak to Yeongwoo.
“You’ve worked hard. Truly.”
“...No need. We all pulled our weight to survive.”
Ottavio gave a wry smile, then cautiously continued.
“I might not have much time left here, so I’ll ask.”
“Sure, go ahead.”
“Will we meet again?”
“Ah.”
Shyaaaang!
The sharp whoosh cut between their words.
Ricardo, who’d been listening quietly, scratched his cheek.
“You’re not thinking of coming back here, are you? We’ve had our fill...”
He seemed utterly daunted by the dungeon’s difficulty.
But Ottavio’s eyes still burned with hope and determination.
“Yeongwoo, right? That’s how you say Korean names.”
Referring to the family name coming first.
“Yes, that’s right. Yeongwoo’s my given name.”
Whether “Jeong” was truly his family name was uncertain. He’d been alone from birth.
In fact, the orphanage director’s given name “Yeongwoo” lacked roots too.
Of course, he didn’t bother sharing such trivia.
“If we meet again, call me Yeongwoo. In Korea, close friends use just given names.”
“Oh, same here.”
Ottavio extended his right hand to Yeongwoo.
Their first handshake, this European and he.
Thub!
Yeongwoo gladly clasped it, and Ricardo thrust his hand out too.
“My full name’s Ricardo da Silva Tavares Junior. Ricardo, same as my father.”
“Got it. Nice meeting you, Ricardo.”
After shaking with the South American too, Yeongwoo felt the stone floor’s ascent slowing and glanced at the campfire.
Right on cue, new system text appeared there.
[The Agony of Ilia]
|Dungeon Grade: Normal
|Difficulty: D
|Required Personnel: 3
「Dungeon cleared.」
「Survivors: 3.」
Finally, dungeon clear confirmed.
‘So that’s it?’
As Yeongwoo exhaled deeply and looked up, another message floated before the campfire.
「Calculating individual scores for rewards.」