Kim Heeyeon
Kim Heeyeon.
She was a player with a remarkable gift for dungeon exploration. He had pulled her out of danger once before.
"Heeyeon? What are you doing here...?"
When Yujun asked, puzzled, a shadow crossed Kim Heeyeon's face.
"I was captured by the demons too."
"I don't think I saw you earlier."
"I must have looked too shabby. I didn't recognize you at first either. You've changed so much since then..."
"Ah. A change of gear would do it. My face was a grimy mess, too, so I didn't recognize you right away."
"...I didn't think you'd say it so plainly."
"But you were captured?"
"Yes... I was. It wasn't for long, though."
"How did that happen?"
"Mmm... it's a little awkward to explain the whole thing."
"It's all right. Take your time."
Yujun said it with a smile, meaning only to put her at ease, and Kim Heeyeon began to tell him everything.
"I'll keep it short. One day I found a hidden dungeon, and of all things, demons had gathered there. There were hundreds of them, so there was nothing I could do... I nearly ended up as a sacrifice for their ritual. That's all."
"Hm."
"Not much of a story, is it? Anyway, thank you. Truly. It feels like I keep owing you my life."
"...Right. Where is that hidden dungeon? Has it already been cleared?"
"No. It looked like the demons were using it as a hideout. The dungeon should still be there."
A hidden dungeon did not vanish unless its boss was slain. If the dungeon remained, the boss was still very much alive. Greed kindled in Yujun's eyes.
"So where is it?"
"Yujun. Your eyes are frightening."
"Where?"
"I can't explain where a hidden dungeon is in words. I'll guide you there myself."
"You're not angling for a cut of the spoils, are you..."
"A person's got to eat. ...That was a joke. It's just hard to explain. I think I can only show you the way if I'm walking it myself."
"Fine. Let's go together."
Finished with Kim Heeyeon, Yujun turned toward Palchio.
"Given how things turned out, when can I expect the reward?"
"I can give you the low-grade gem at once. In truth, from the moment you agreed to help, I intended to hand it over regardless of success or failure. And you exceeded expectations."
"Then you might have given it to me sooner."
"...My apologies. Please, take it."
Palchio drew a gem from his inventory and held it out. Yujun accepted it carefully, and the first thing he did was check the item information.
◈ May be socketed into a trait.
◈ Slightly increases the power of the socketed trait.
It would certainly fall well short of a Trait Gem (High). Even so, it was an exceedingly rare item, and Yujun paused a moment over where it ought to go. Equanimity, or Keen Senses. By any ordinary measure, the greater gain lay in socketing it into Equanimity, the higher-grade trait. And yet—
Spending a low-grade gem on Equanimity feels like a waste. He might come into a finer stone later. Equanimity was, to his mind, a top-tier trait, and he wanted to keep its socket in reserve. I'll use it on Keen Senses.
The Trait Gem (Low) vanished from his hand. It had sunk into the Keen Senses trait.
"The reward for your performance will be settled later, after consultation with the Coalition's councilors."
"Understood."
He didn't expect much from whatever they meant to give him, so he added one more thing.
"If it's all the same, give me something other than equipment."
"I beg your pardon? What do you mean?"
"I don't particularly need equipment right now. But rewards are usually that sort of item, aren't they?"
"Th-that is true, yes."
"Consumables, or... somewhat rare materials, and I'd be satisfied..."
"...Understood. I will do my utmost to convey your wishes. I cannot promise anything, however. They are a terribly stubborn lot."
"Thank you."
"Well then, that concludes the matter of compensation. By any chance, have you given thought to joining the Inter-Species Coalition—"
"I haven't. Not yet."
"As I thought. Should you change your mind, please say so at any time."
"I will."
With their messenger contacts exchanged, he had no further business with the orc. No. I'll see him again when the reward comes through.
Yujun didn't go so far as formal farewells with the expedition. He simply said he was leaving and took himself off. No lingering here. Every nerve in him was fixed on the words Kim Heeyeon had spoken: hidden dungeon.
"You've climbed quite a few levels yourself, Heeyeon."
Yujun glanced at the party window.
⊳ Level: 120
It was nothing beside his own, but the pace was staggering. And her presence here meant she had already reached the twenty-first floor.
"I have Dungeon Search to thank. It's been earning its keep. I tagged along with a high-level party, raised my level, and cleared the climbing trials without much trouble."
"In short, you got carried."
"...That's right."
"And you're wearing some pretty fine gear, from the look of it."
"I've got a decent stock of points. Not hidden dungeons, but I've sold dungeon locations and information."
"Didn't that nearly get you killed last time?"
"So I traded carefully. I never showed my face. Everything went through a proxy."
"I see."
In truth, those minor details didn't interest him much. He moved on to the point.
"What grade was the hidden dungeon?"
"B+."
"That'll be fairly difficult."
"Which is why the demons didn't spare the boss. They couldn't clear it."
"So they didn't leave it alone on purpose?"
"I overheard them talking. They said the boss was too strong, so they just seemed to be using the place as a base."
"Hundreds of demons, and they still couldn't clear the boss? There was even a high-grade demon among them... Strange."
Was a B+ hidden dungeon really that formidable? Were they worried about losing strength? If they had known the Inter-Species Coalition was coming, they would never have risked a clear.
"A strong boss is good news, if anything."
"Yujun, you're really—"
"Don't worry. I'll look after my own life."
"No. That's not it. I was going to say you're really something."
"..."
"I suppose that's how you got so strong."
"Flattery won't get you anything extra."
"Tch."
"Is the dungeon far?"
"We're almost there."
She had called it a demon hideout, yet the hidden dungeon lay not far from the place where they had meant to offer a sacrifice and conduct the rite.
"It looks like an ordinary cave."
For a hidden dungeon, it sat far too openly in plain sight. Dungeons were usually tucked away somewhere, or at least hard to find. Hidden dungeons, all the more so.
"I thought it was strange too. This isn't exactly a remote spot."
"Let's go in."
The moment they stepped inside, the scent of demons clung thick in the air. No—not a scent so much as the residue of something gloomy, a presence that seemed to stick to the skin.
"Ugh..."
Kim Heeyeon shuddered once. She had been thoroughly done in by demons and nearly made a sacrifice. The reaction was understandable.
"How did you even think of coming back here? If it were me, I'd have been too scared."
"Because I figured demons wouldn't be any trouble for you."
"Demons vary. If something worse than a high-grade demon showed up, I'd be in danger too."
"Even so, I believe you'd win."
"..."
Yujun wore a look of pure disbelief. Well. A demon with a noble title isn't going to show up. In the game, demons of that sort were usually called named, and named demons were almost never seen. They were the kind you couldn't meet even if you went hunting for them in the Demon Realm, so the odds of one lurking in a dungeon like this were vanishingly small.
The moment they entered, a message rose before him.
"Heeyeon."
"Yes?"
"Is the boss monster the only thing left in here?"
"It should be."
"That's strange."
"Why?"
"I can sense monsters. A great many of them. Or... are they even monsters?"
"What?"
At Yujun's mutter, Kim Heeyeon startled.
"No. There was nothing all the way to the boss room."
"You're sure?"
"Yes! I'm sure. I saw it with my own eyes when they dragged me here."
"Could they have respawned?"
"I was dragged here only two days ago. No—it might not even have been that long. And monsters don't artificially regenerate in a hidden dungeon, do they?"
"They don't."
Then what were the presences his senses were catching now?
"Seeing for ourselves will be faster. Let's go."
"Okay."
Their footsteps echoed through the cave. It ran deep, and the presence of monsters really did reach him from far off.
"Wait a moment."
"Why?"
Yujun halted and spoke.
"Paranet."
With a hiss and a flare, a magic circle spilled blue light across the floor, and Paranet rose into view above it.
"Hah..."
Kim Heeyeon's mouth fell open.
"That's the skeleton soldier from last time, isn't it?"
"Yes."
"Why did he get so big?"
"Good question."
It was possible only because Yujun had poured rare items into him without restraint. A fair share of luck had played its part as well.
"Master! You called!"
"I did."
"What would you have me do?"
"Nothing yet."
"Ah."
"If things turn dangerous, you protect Heeyeon here first. That's your task. Okay?"
"Okay. Understood. Guarding someone—that, I can do."
Listening to the two of them, Kim Heeyeon burst out laughing.
"...Why are you laughing?"
"I just didn't know the undead said okay."
"Kids these days. They pick things up fast."
"Kids these days? Isn't Paranet older than both of us?"
"Ah. Right."
Chatting, Yujun and Kim Heeyeon pressed deeper into the cave. The path ran straight in a single direction, so there was no misfortune of losing their way.
A monster revealed itself. More precisely, a demonic beast. Demonic beasts were animals—or monsters—that lived only in the Demon Realm. Ordinary monsters were savage by nature and charged any player they saw, but demonic beasts were worse. Driven by a ceaseless hunger, they tried to devour whatever entered their sight, and they did the same even to their own kind. That was why demonic beasts never traveled in packs.
The one that appeared before Yujun and Kim Heeyeon was alone as well.
"Krrk..."
A rhinoceros with two heads. Scars covered its body, and hideous insects crawled over it. More or less, that was how demonic beasts looked.
"Ah... it's horribly grotesque."
That was the impression of Kim Heeyeon, seeing a demonic beast for the first time in her life. It was Yujun's first time seeing one in the flesh as well, but he had hunted plenty of them in the game, and the shape didn't startle him much.
"Creatures like that wander the Demon Realm in droves."
"What? Yujun, you've been to the Demon Realm?"
"No. I was told about them."
"Are they very strong?"
"Yes. You can think of each demonic beast as a named monster."
"...Then isn't this dangerous?"
"Hard to say. That one's mid-grade, so it shouldn't be too dangerous."
The average level of a mid-grade demonic beast was 300, about the same as a demon. In raw physical ability, though, a demonic beast stood ahead of a demon. Demons, by contrast, were more rational and could wield a wider array of powers.
The beast lunged at Yujun and Kim Heeyeon and closed the distance in an instant.
Shhk!
Yujun's sword fell in one clean stroke from high to low and split it in two. Kim Heeyeon's mouth fell open.
"...What was that."
"What was what?"
"How did you kill it so easily?"
She asked as if she couldn't believe it.
"What kind of question is that? I'm stronger, so of course it's easy."
Yujun answered with an equally incredulous face.
"No... you didn't even use a skill just now, did you?"
"I didn't."
There had been no need. His attack power was so overwhelming at the moment that using a skill would have been little more than a waste of strength.
"Only now do you grasp how strong my master is? Frail little human."
"Uh... huh?"
Paranet declared it, full of himself. Before Kim Heeyeon could answer, Yujun cut in.
"Hey. I'm human too. If you go around insulting humans, where does that leave me?"
"M-my apologies."
Yujun, about to press on, stopped. The corpse of the demonic beast he had just slain lay before him, and a strange light entered his eyes.