Ultra-Sized Cockroaches

A pair of long, protruding antennae. A blackish-brown shell covering its entire body. Six legs that never stopped moving...

That's right. The moment I entered the dungeon, what I saw was an endless swarm of cockroaches!

"Gah!"

And they weren't just any cockroaches. These were ultra-sized ones—at least two meters tall if stood on end! Dozens of them were clustered together, scurrying around the cave-like field with that disgusting chittering sound.

"Mom?!"

Suddenly, a flood of messages poured in! So many that my entire field of vision was plastered with system windows—I couldn't even see ahead.

I get it, they're gross, but this is a bit much!

Scratch-scratch!

Sure enough, the nearest "Professor Roach" charged at me while I was flailing around. On reflex, I swung my fist upward, smashing right into the incoming roach's head.

Thank goodness for my high Sense stat letting me react in time. Otherwise...

Ugh.

Crunch! With a sound like popcorn popping, the cockroach's body exploded, spraying bodily fluids everywhere.

"Auntie..."

I'd always thought I knew Mom pretty well. But that was just my misconception. Who would've guessed the legendary warrior was this terrified of cockroaches...

"Sure, but that doesn't mean you have to spam my vision like this..."

"Sure, but that doesn't mean you call your precious son a lunatic..."

"...Huh, Mom?"

No response. She really bailed. Auntie, you're such a drama queen.

Am I totally fine with this? Well, I flinched at first. A cockroach bigger than most adults suddenly popping out? Yeah.

But cockroaches are super familiar to me. I saw them all the time while living alone because I slacked on cleaning. So I built up a tolerance.

...Mom would faint if she heard that.

Anyway, chit-chat's over. Time to hunt for real.

No sooner had I eyed the swarming cockroaches than Pandora's Box handed me a weapon.

What came out this time? "...A staff?"

It was a staff topped with a red gemstone.

Whoosh! As I stared at it, fierce flames wrapped around the red gem.

...I see.

The surest way to kill bugs has always been to burn 'em, right?

Scratch-scratch!

The cockroaches, drawn to the firelight like moths, started charging at me.

I thrust the staff forward without panic. Fwoosh!

BOOM!!

A massive fireball shot out in a brilliant streak, slamming into them. An ear-splitting explosion and scorching heatwave swept the area.

That was firepower nearing A-rank at least! But...

"Th-this is..."

What shocked me wasn't the staff's power. It was something even more incredible.

"All stats rise by 10 each...?!"

Even as I reeled in shock, the messages kept coming.

Looks like wiping out a bunch at once made my level jump by 2. I'd been dying to know how much stats increase per level-up...

It's 10 each, huh?

Mystery solved. And...

That's insane!

The moment I realized it, my heart pounded like it would explode—not just from excitement.

All my stats, starting with Strength, had skyrocketed, flooding my body with vitality. That was the biggest reason.

Just hunting monsters is enough...

Only now did I grasp the true potential hidden in "endless growth."

I can get stronger. Without any limits.

No need to desperately cling to constellation sponsorships like everyone else. No need to blow fortunes on items just to scrape a few stat points. No need to despair over lacking talent.

As long as I hunt diligently and steadily, I can surpass every player in the world.

While everyone else flails in what they call a "trash game" world, only I get to enjoy a "normal game" one.

"This wouldn't be possible if you weren't my constellation, Mom."

I said it with deep satisfaction, heightening my newly enhanced senses. Beyond the cave's darkness, the presences of countless bug swarms seeped into my skin.

...The hallmark of bug-type monsters is "swarming," right?

In other words, massive numbers. Realizing that, this bug-infested field started looking like a treasure island full of gold bars.

"No time limit either, so I gotta milk this for all it's worth."

Burning with resolve, I stepped deeper into the cave.

The interior was a winding maze. Similar terrain to the Gaun Mountain hidden dungeon where I got Pandora's Box.

The difference? ...These are way bigger. Gonna be tricky to navigate.

Back then, at least the skeletons acted as guides. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Now? Nothing. I'd have to rely purely on instinct.

As I sighed in frustration...

Mom randomly sponsored me. With exactly what I needed most.

"...Weren't you just gonna make me handle it myself?"

"Acting like some '90s tsundere character won't fool me, Mom. It's all for me, pure and simple, right?"

I chuckled, focusing on the glowing yellow dot in my vision.

With the activation notice, a translucent hologram appeared—a classic MMORPG mini-map, tangled lines dotted with colorful markers.

"Let's see..."

A brief guide sat at the top: White dot = me, red = monsters, black = boss, green = ally.

"Huh?"

White, red, black—fine. But why's there a green dot in this solo instance dungeon? And it's close.

"Gwaaaah—!"

Before I could question it, a scream echoed nearby. The green dot on the mini-map raced toward me.

I looked up from the map toward the incoming presence.

And there...?

"Eek! Eeeeek! Help, there's peop—huh?"

"Huh?"

A blond young man in medieval-style armor came sprinting, tears and snot streaming down his face, only to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠freeze when he saw me. I tilted my head too.

He pointed at me. "Wh-who...?"

That's my question. I rented this dungeon solo, y'know?

Green dot means not an enemy, though. As I lowered my guard to speak...

Scratch-scratch!

A dozen giant spiders crawled from behind him. Looks like he brought 'em.

...Yeah, I smell trouble.

"Eek...!"

Spotting his pursuers, the young man's face drained of color. He clutched what looked like a B-rank longsword, but...

Why run if you've got that?

Tears brimming, he shouted, "I don't know who you are, but run! These guys are too stro—"

Fwoosh!

BOOM!!

I recognized these from the monster codex: "Red-Eyed Poison Spiders." C-rank swarmers with deadly venom.

But right now, they're just EXP fodder.

Poison spiders? One fireball each. Allure of embers danced in the wake of the blast.

"Wha—wha...?"

The young man gawked like a goldfish. Then his eyes darted around, piecing it together...

"Aha! You're a mage sent by the Empire to help me, right?!"

...And started spouting nonsense.

Empire mage? I'm a buff Korean guy.

The guy who'd been bawling in terror now grinned slyly, slapping my shoulder.

"Man, that was close! They say heroes always get lucky—didn't expect backup!"

"......"

"Check this out. It's me, y'know? The oracle-approved hero. Lordmoon Ades. The one you're supposed to help."

The ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠lunatic waved his longsword in my face like a trophy. No thanks for the save, just...

Whatever—Lordmoon, Front Door, not my problem. But one thing was clear.

System-generated NPC, obviously.

Instance dungeons have wild variables. A fake character popping up isn't weird.

But why this loser?

Things were going too smooth—guess the system threw me a curveball. Why someone this useless...

Already forgot the name. Just call him Mook.

Mook thrust a finger forward triumphantly. "Lead the way! Honor to fight with a hero, right? For your house's glory!"

Best advice from Mom lately. I'd have leveled up again if I'd hunted instead of dealing with this mook.

Reminded of time's value, I tried to continue on.

"...Huh?"

Until I spotted the Soul Core embedded in the hilt of Mook's longsword.

...What the hell? Why is this here?