Event Dungeon (5): Easy Prey

When I opened my eyes, the star-filled night sky had already brightened into clear daylight. Ji-su, who had been lying beside me, greeted me with a bright smile.

“Master! Are you awake now?”

I sat up on the mattress. Damn, even my mind felt exhausted, so it didn’t really feel like I’d gotten any proper rest. I pulled myself together and spoke to Ji-su.

“Yeah, I’m up. Anything happen overnight?”

“No, Master. The people searching the area have all left. They were digging up the ground, searching everywhere, and even got into fights over nothing… It was pretty noisy for a while.”

Just as Ji-su described, the scene outside the Cradle of Rest was utter chaos. Pits had been dug all over, with blood and corpses scattered everywhere. It was a complete disaster. I scanned the ruined surroundings and asked her.

“Did you manage to contact the others?”

“Yes. For now, Juniel has taken first place in that event dungeon. The dungeon where Daejang-ajeossi, Si-eun unnie, and Ji-yun went still hasn’t assigned rankings yet. It seems to be a testing period to evaluate the levels of the users who entered. Once the test ends, a raid monster will appear based on the test results, and everyone has to work together to defeat it.”

“Hmm… No major incidents?”

“They say nothing particularly noteworthy happened. There’s no need to worry about Juniel, and Si-eun unnie disguised herself thoroughly… Apparently some people tried to harass the two women, but after she neatly broke a few backs, no one else dared to approach.”

Hmm. Good to hear everything was fine. Unlike the dungeon I was in, the other two didn’t require fights between users, so I figured there wouldn’t be many clashes. This damn ‘treasure hunt’ dungeon was the real problem. Well, that was exactly why I’d entered it myself.

I rummaged ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠through one corner of the Cradle of Rest, pulled out some food, and began chewing. I had another brutal day ahead, so I needed to eat properly. As I chewed the bread, my mind drifted back to the conversation I’d had with Jun the night before.

After hearing my explanation, Jun’s eyes widened into perfect circles as she stuttered in shock.

“It’s not a joke. That’s why I kept telling you it was a unique sub-class…”

“…That’s correct. The situation at the time was like that… the correlation between survival instinct and sexual desire, I suppose. Anyway, what can I do about it? It’s not like I asked for this sub-class!”

Jun stared at me with a completely devastated expression.

“Do you understand what helping me train my sub-class actually entails?”

Jun trailed off, mumbling in obvious distress. I let out a sigh as I watched her.

“Honestly, I had no intention of dragging you into it. What I originally meant by training here had nothing to do with my sub-class skill. But then you suddenly went and made that ‘Fairy’s Promise’ without warning…”

Jun looked like she wanted to say something, but eventually she lowered her head deeply. She stood there motionless for a long time, head bowed. The awkward silence stretched on until I couldn’t take it anymore and started to call her name.

“Um…”

Jun spread her small, delicate hand out to stop me and said.

“Time to think?”

Jun nodded at my question.

“Alright. Take all the time you need. As for me… it’s about ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠time I got going. I’ll head out now.”

[…]

I watched Jun for a moment as she remained silent with her head bowed, then disconnected from the shop and returned to reality.

By the time I finished recalling the events of last night, the bread in my hand had completely disappeared.

“Master? Are you alright?”

Ji-su was watching me with clear concern. I snapped out of my thoughts and told her.

“Ah, I’m fine. Come on, let’s leave this place.”

“Yes, Master. Where would you like to go?”

I brushed the crumbs from my hands and answered.

“Let’s head to the gate first. We’ll wait there, and the moment a treasure appears on the map, we’ll jump straight to the nearest gate.”

“Understood, Master.”

After speaking, Ji-su fetched my clothes and helped me dress. Hmm. Lately she’d been listening well, showing no signs of resentment. She had become quite obedient. I gently stroked Ji-su’s hair as she helped me with my clothes. She looked surprised for a second, then gazed up at me and smiled brightly. I gave her lips a light kiss before stepping out through the Gate of Rest.

The temperature difference between inside and outside the Cradle of Rest was immediately noticeable. It was quite chilly out here—if anyone had camped unprepared, they would have been at serious risk of dying from hypothermia. Most participants had probably spent the night outside, so it must have been rough for them.

I slipped on the coat I was carrying. The garment was enchanted to provide the wearer with the most comfortable temperature possible, so I felt no cold at all from the moment I put it on. It was definitely worth the price.

Looking at the corpses strewn across the ground, I called out toward one side.

“Dong-seok. Come inside.”

At my call, a corpse stirred and rose unsteadily from somewhere. It was Dong-seok, who had been left outside all night. I could have kept him in the Cradle of Rest, but I hadn’t wanted him around while I was spending intimate time with Ji-su. So the mercilessly banished Dong-seok was only allowed back inside once morning came.

After sending Dong-seok in and closing the Gate of Rest, I began walking with Ji-su. The surrounding landscape hadn’t changed much. This was a space filled with trees planted at regular intervals. It was hard to believe this artificially arranged area—with its perfectly spaced trees, clearings, and streams—was actually on Earth. It must have been created specifically for this event, or perhaps it was a space from another dimension entirely.

If that was the case, then the bastard who created this ridiculously enjoyable game was undoubtedly a ‘god.’ I decided not to dwell on why such a game had been made. Since I was already enjoying it thoroughly, I would simply continue enjoying it to the end. There was no need to trouble myself with pointless questions like ‘why.’

Lost in various thoughts, I soon found myself nearly at the gate in Area A. I planned to wait here until noon. The moment the treasure’s location appeared on the map, I would head to the easiest target.

Both Ji-su and I suddenly stopped walking. We had sensed people approaching us. The presences had been some distance away, but upon noticing us they changed direction and were now heading straight toward us.

In a place where everyone was on edge, approaching complete strangers was rarely done with good intentions. Ji-su and I continued walking. By the time we reached the gate, we came face to face with a group of seven people.

The seven-person team—two women and five men—looked quite surprised to suddenly encounter us. Look at them acting. They had clearly known we were coming.

The middle-aged woman who appeared to be the leader, with deceptively gentle eyes, stepped forward and addressed us.

“Are you here to use the gate?”

I took a step forward and replied.

“Yes, that’s correct. Though not immediately.”

The middle-aged woman glanced back at her group with a flicker of interest in her eyes. She turned back to me and asked.

“Do you not have any other companions with you?”

“No, we don’t.”

“How impressive. The two of you wandering such a dangerous place alone…”

“Dangerous? I’m not sure. There don’t seem to be any monsters around here…”

“Oh, monsters aren’t the real danger. In this world, people are ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠far more frightening than monsters.”

“Ah, I completely agree. People really are terrifying.”

The words themselves were harmless. But there was an unmistakable atmosphere. The look hidden behind those seemingly gentle eyes was anything but friendly toward me and Ji-su. The same cold glint was reflected in the eyes of every member standing behind her.

I prepared to summon my spear at any moment and sent Ji-su a telepathic command to ready herself for combat. The middle-aged woman continued speaking to me.

“We’ve been in this area since last night. Very few people have tried to use the gate, though. The usage fee is quite expensive, after all.”

“Ah, I feel the same way. It really is too expensive. Charging thirty gold per use… It’s not a gate you can afford to use often. Don’t you think?”

“My, from the way you speak, it sounds like you’ve already used it before?”

“I have. I used it yesterday when moving here from another area.”

“Wow. You must be quite well-off. Otherwise, how could you possibly—”

“Enough, enough. Let’s stop there. It looks like they’ve already caught on, so there’s no need to keep talking, is there?”

Our conversation was cut short by the interruption of another member from the back. A middle-aged man with a thick, unkempt beard that suggested he hadn’t shaved in days. As the man cut in, the middle-aged woman spoke to him with clear irritation.

“What do you think you’re doing? Can’t you see I’m in the middle of speaking?”

“I’m saying this because it looks like a waste of time. From the looks of it, they really don’t have any other companions, so why are you being so careful and dragging this out? Enough. Let’s stop. If we waste more time and run into another moving team, it’ll become a headache. This guy seems to already know how things work around here, so let’s just get on with it.”

The middle-aged woman glared at the man, then huffed and walked back to the group. The bearded man gave her retreating figure a rotten smile before turning back to me and speaking quickly.

“Well, I think you can tell from the atmosphere how this is going to go. The gold and food you’re carrying… I don’t see any on you. Buying and eating on the spot each time? Whatever. Take everything out. And you, miss, bring out your weapon too.”

Hmm. I had suspected they weren’t approaching with good intentions, but outright robbery was bold. I stared at the bearded man and asked.

“You entered a treasure hunt dungeon, yet instead of looking for the treasure you’re supposed to find, you’re committing robbery?”

The bearded man made a menacing face before letting out a self-mocking laugh.

“Hmph. After trying it for a day, I realized that with only seven people, finding the treasure is nearly impossible. And even if we did find it, there’s no way we could protect it. But we paid a fortune to participate—we can’t just go back empty-handed, can we?”

“Aha. So you decided to attack smaller groups and rob them instead?”

“That’s right. It’s been pretty profitable so far. We’ve already hit three teams and recovered our participation fees.”

“Ah, so we’re the fourth team you’re robbing?”

“Correct. Now that you understand the situation, let’s hurry this up. Hand over everything you have.”

“What kind of confidence makes you commit robbery so openly? What if you run into an incredibly strong person among these small groups?”

My words seemed to be irritating him now. The bearded man’s expression was twisting more and more.

“Since we’ve never met anyone like that, just shut your mouth and hand over the gold. Don’t you realize I’m talking to you like this because I don’t want to kill you? If you just give us everything you have, we’ll let you go peacefully. So stop hiding anything and take it all out.”

“Here.”

Ting. A single gold coin materialized in my hand and flew toward the bearded man. One gold.

The man’s face twisted violently as he caught it. I smiled slyly at him.

“I’m giving it to you because I’m impressed you didn’t immediately rush in to kill us. That should be enough, right? From now on, try working hard and earning money honestly.”

“You fucking bastard! I was going to spare you!!”

The bearded man swung his sword in a rage. Such a short temper. But before the blade could reach me, Ji-su had already moved in front and met his strike with her own sword. With a sharp clang and flying sparks, the fight between Ji-su and the bearded man began.

Oh, Seo Ji-su. Not bad at all.

In truth, with Ji-su’s stats, that single strike could have split both his sword and his body in half. But if she had done that, the rest of the group might have fled. If they scattered in different directions, I had no way to chase them all down. That was why I had ordered her to pretend to be evenly matched.

See? They’re rushing us already.

Just as I expected, the six people behind him charged at us with weapons drawn. I summoned my spear, gripped it firmly, and thrust it straight into the face of the man leading the charge.

With a dull thud, my spear pierced through his skull. Brutal. At the same time, Ji-su’s blade sliced cleanly through the bearded man’s neck, sending his head tumbling to the ground. Since all of them had attacked us, there was no longer any need to hide our strength.

In the blink of an eye, two of them had become corpses. But the remaining five robbers could no longer turn and run—they had come too close.

Then Ji-su began her dance of death. Her sword moved with overwhelming speed and power. The enemies couldn’t even block it.

“W-wait! Let’s talk— Aaaargh!!”

“Just a second! I still— Kyaaa!!”

The seven robbers who had been breathing just moments ago soon lay as cold corpses on the ground.

Why would you bother people who were just passing by peacefully? As I looked down at the fallen bodies with annoyance in my eyes, a welcome message appeared before me.