The Road to the Dungeon
I opened my eyes inside the Sanctuary Cradle and headed straight for the shower stall, rinsing off my body in a quick wash. I'd spent the entire night chatting with Jun in the shop. Meeting like this every night and talking would probably make us get close pretty fast. And then... well, the day would come when we'd have to honor the Fairy's Promise. Ahem.
Today was the day we headed for the area where the event dungeon would open. Since the trip was expected to take quite a while, we needed to set out early in the morning. While I scarfed down a simple breakfast, the women cleaned up the shower stall and stored it back inside the Sanctuary Cradle. Then we departed.
Leaving the observatory we'd borrowed for the past few days left me feeling a bit bittersweet. When we descended the mountain, Daejang-ajeossi was already waiting for us. As expected, even long-distance commands worked perfectly. The necromancer class really did seem overpowered.
Daejang-ajeossi greeted me with a bow.
Ughhhhh. Damn it. Goosebumps shot up my back. That kind of line only sounded good coming from pretty girls. I glared at Daejang-ajeossi.
Daejang-ajeossi looked flustered by my words.
Daejang-ajeossi answered with an awkward, fidgety expression, then greeted each of the four women standing behind me one by one. When he reached Juniel, he visibly flinched. Well, he had died from her axe, so that was understandable. Though Juniel probably wouldn't remember it. Her ego had been gone at the time.
Anyway, the five of us—including Daejang-ajeossi—set off toward the region where the event dungeon would appear. The roads that should have been bustling with speeding cars were now littered with wrecked vehicles and shattered pavement, a stark reminder that the world had ended. If the roads weren't in such bad shape, we could've found a working car somehow. What a shame.
As we walked along the highway and talked, it seemed Daejang-ajeossi had managed to clean up the mess in his survivor group pretty well. Since we'd taken all the blame and left, it would've been strange if he couldn't sort things out. He said more people were gathering every day, and with the shop now open, he was considering buying materials to expand their facilities. He was doing a good job. If he kept building it up like that, it would become a huge asset later.
My question made Daejang-ajeossi stammer in panic, while Si-eun, Ji-su, and Ji-yoon stared at him with eyes full of contempt.
Daejang-ajeossi glanced nervously at me and the women, mumbling. I pressed him.
Startled, Daejang-ajeossi lowered his voice and whispered to me.
Understanding what I meant, Daejang-ajeossi brightened up.
He trailed off, glancing at the women. Well, it looked like he was managing just fine.
I replied to his grateful words rather dryly.
Daejang-ajeossi looked far more refreshed now than when he was alive and running his survivor group. Back then he'd seemed... worn down, I guess. Burdened by a lot of pressure. But now he carried himself like a free man who'd shaken off every last worry. I'd saved one pitiful middle-aged uncle. I felt a quiet sense of pride as I walked on.
We encountered quite a few goblins during the journey, but I never had to lift a finger. The women in front of me handled everything. Daejang-ajeossi didn't move either. This guy was basically a weakling without his drugs—barely different from a normal person. Since we needed to save the poison needles for the event dungeon, it was best to conserve them. So his only job was to check the goblin corpses for poison needles after my women killed the monsters and collect them.
After watching him gather needles from a group of dead goblins, I asked,
This guy had doped with six needles when he fought me and turned into some vein-popping monster. What would happen if he took ten times that—sixty needles?
Did this guy think he was some immortal god? If he got torn to shreds, even my Siphon Hand might not be able to bring him back. My life force had its limits too.
I finished talking with him and moved to walk beside my women. Ji-yoon and Si-eun looked a bit downcast. They seemed uneasy about entering the dungeon with Daejang-ajeossi. I tried to comfort them.
Si-eun and Ji-yoon turned to look at Daejang-ajeossi. He gave them an awkward smile and a small bow. The two women let out tiny sighs and bowed back. Daejang-ajeossi smiled in relief. I patted their heads, and they continued walking with slightly more relaxed expressions.
We repeated the cycle of walking and resting, covering quite a distance. We'd encountered a huge number of monsters along the way—goblins and goblin warriors alike. But we hadn't run into a single other human. Until—
"Master. Over there..."
Ji-su, who was walking beside me, pointed to one side. In the direction she indicated, a group of people was approaching. Five of them. It was our first time meeting people on the road like this, so I was curious how they'd react. But they kept their distance and quickly passed us by, disappearing ahead.
I nodded at Ji-yoon's comment.
I nodded. Our current strength was more than enough to protect ourselves, so it probably didn't matter. Even if she disguised herself, people who would recognize her would still recognize her.
Daejang-ajeossi asked me carefully.
Wait a second. Come to think of it, Daejang-ajeossi hadn't shown any reaction when he saw Si-eun. The first time, he'd just come back from the dead so he was too disoriented to notice, but even today he hadn't reacted at all. Could it be...
Wow, he really didn't know. Well, if someone didn't watch TV, it was possible. I nodded in understanding and explained.
Daejang-ajeossi nodded with a solemn expression.
He was ridiculously weak before doping... but since he was promising to do his best, there was no need to rain on his parade.
While we were walking and chatting about this and that, a loud noise came from behind us.
Vrrrrrrrrrrrrrr—
Startled, we turned around to see a black van racing toward us at full speed. Whoa, someone was actually driving a car. How the hell had they gotten through all these wrecked vehicles on the road? Impressive.
We stepped aside to let the van pass. It sped right by us, phased straight through the cars scattered ahead, and disappeared from sight.
Si-eun looked at me with wide eyes.
While I was envying someone else's skill, another sound came from ahead where the van had vanished.
Vrrrrrrrrrrrrrr—
It was even louder than when it had passed us. What the—? As I stared ahead in confusion, the black van reappeared at high speed, barreling straight toward us.
"!!!!!"
The collision happened in the blink of an eye. But we took no damage at all. Juniel had stepped forward on my command and stopped the van cold. The vehicle, blocked by her outstretched hands, came to a halt with its front end badly crushed.
Looking inside, I saw four men bleeding all over. They looked pretty badly hurt. Not surprising, since it was basically like slamming into a wall. I ripped open the mangled door and asked the man sitting inside, still bleeding.
"....."
The man gasped for breath, bleeding heavily. I grabbed his clearly broken arm and shook it.
"Aaaaaaaaagh!!"
The man screamed in agony. Only after I let go of his arm did he finally start talking.
"....."
This guy was really testing my patience. I grabbed his broken arm again and shook it. The screaming man finally spilled everything obediently.
Hmm. Just your average trash. I turned to Juniel.
At my command, Juniel approached and brought her hand axe down on each man's neck. One strike per person. After all four men were dead, a message appeared before my eyes.
You have leveled up. Please distribute your skill points.