Kim Geun-cheol's Bizarre Adventure # 2
Kim Geun-cheol's Bizarre Adventure # 2
The word dungeon instantly had my nerves firing.
"Ah, fuck."
I got summoned without my sword. I groped around on instinct, but my hands came up empty.
"No weapon."
I stood up and dusted off my ass.
Couldn't stay sitting forever. I slowly took in my surroundings to figure out what kind of mess this was.
"..."
A maze.
Yeah.
The first thing that hit me—this was a maze.
The floor and walls were smoothly finished gray stone. The ceiling looked about three meters high, and the corridor was maybe six meters wide. Fairly big. Not so roomy you'd get in each other's way while moving.
Maze equals minotaur, obviously. If this maze had a boss, how huge and hulking would that bastard be?
The thought alone gave me chills, so I unthinkingly let out a scream.
"Gyaaahh."
For now, it's empty.
All I could see was the passage stretching ahead and the darkness at the end of it.
The weird thing was, my vision was clear even though there wasn't a single light source anywhere. So it didn't really feel dark.
"The shadows..."
My shadow was spreading on the ground as normal.
That's clearly wrong.
"Hey, Kitty! Kitty! You there? Show yourself if you are!"
I called out softly at first.
I tilted my head way back to look up, but there was no sign of whatever hole I'd fallen through. No kidding, I was alone in this maze. Without a single weapon!
"You can't just dump me in a dungeon by myself!"
A dungeon.
A dungeon!
I know the basic gist. It's a piece of an otherworld isolated, detached, and woven into our world.
Think of it like cake.
I'm a resident of this chocolate cake, and someone sliced off a chunk of cheesecake from somewhere else and plopped it down on top of our chocolate cake. So now they're connected.
That's roughly the dungeon concept. And naturally, something linked to another dimension is dangerous.
Usually you discover one and occupy it fast.
Because if you don't, the monsters inside spill out into our world. You wipe them all out in there to prevent that.
Dungeons aren't just a nuisance, of course. Since they're otherworldly territory, they often contain all kinds of special resources. Like Dimension Mineral—the ore is super common in dungeons, but it's packed with high energy and gets used in all sorts of industries.
But this is a maze, so it doesn't seem like the kind of place you'd mine for resources.
Anyway.
"I'm in one of those fucking places right now."
This is not a joke!
Unarmed, alone in a dungeon! And not even as a proper Hero or a battle-hardened hunter but as a mere cadet!
"Kitty! Come save me!"
If this isn't one of Kitty's malicious pranks, it's possible the dungeon really did randomly pop up in my room. But that's way too unrealistic. Which naturally means Kitty did this... So shouldn't she at least show her face?
What's with the silent-treatment act!
"I didn't end up as a dimensional lost child, right?"
The thought crossed my mind, but knowing Kitty's habits, there's probably a reason she sent me here.
"..."
No way.
"Ah."
Was this what she meant by making me stronger? Go slaughter monsters in a dungeon and level up?
—Shudder.
Does Kitty know how I grow? That I use status windows to get stronger, like a game?
Gives me the creeps.
I really don't want a secret like that getting out.
"Kitty."
No matter how many times I call.
She's not picking up.
Situation analyzed. Kitty sent me here and has no intention of showing her face. She wants me to do something here. And that something probably means exterminating monsters.
—Trudge, trudge.
I started walking along the visible path. The way behind me was blocked. Naturally, moving forward was the only option.
"Bring it the hell on."
If it's a monster, I'll beat it to death. If it's a monsterkin, I'll beat it to death and take its weapon. Though if a villain shows up and starts shooting, I'm done for.
With those thoughts rattling around, I kept moving.
The path was a single corridor. In the distance it looked dark, but the space naturally lit up as I approached. Truly a bizarre space.
"..."
A thought suddenly struck me.
If Kitty invited me here, what exactly is this place? A strange stone maze. A structure that was clearly built by something intelligent. Have there ever been records of artificial constructs like this showing up in dungeons?
"I've seen it in movies."
I always thought dungeons were more like jungles or wastelands.
Anyway.
I was musing over that while walking.
—Shhk.
A fork. Naturally, you go right at a fork. I turned into the right-hand passage without hesitation and pushed on.
After about ten more minutes of moving.
"Kiririrk."
I began to hear the sound of a monster.
"...!"
Tension surges up. A space with no weapon. If a pack of monsters shows up, I'm in trouble. The corridor's even awkwardly wide—they could surround me.
I have to bring everything I've got to bear.
I immediately pressed my back against the wall and gauged the enemy numbers by sound. I felt one. Just one. I can handle that.
—Gwooooh.
I stoked my fighting spirit and slowly backpedaled. Lure this one a bit farther back. If there's too much noise during the fight, others might show up.
—Slip.
As I backpedaled.
—Ssssssk.
I heard it closing in. Good. It took the bait beautifully. When I retreated a bit faster, it came at me faster in turn.
"Kirik kirik."
At last, the thing's identity was revealed.
"Banker."
F-rank monster, Banker.
It's about a meter tall but with those legs splayed out wide, it spans maybe two meters left to right. A total pushover of a monster that looks like a king crab without the claws. The only real difference from a king crab is that foot-long horn sticking out of its head.
"Kiriririrk."
The thing busily waggled the dozens of little tentacles around its mouth as it came at me. It had caught the scent of prey. If I remember right, they use those tentacles to lay eggs in a corpse...
"You're no match for me."
Now that I knew what I was facing, I had nothing to fear.
—Thump.
I lightly kicked off the ground and charged straight at it. Ssssk. It kicked its long legs into action and came right at me.
—Whap!
Suddenly it jumped like a jumping spider, flinging itself at me with its legs spread-eagled!
"Shit—!"
I instantly launched into a sliding tackle to duck under that high-line attack. The thing passed right over me. The moment I saw that, I kicked off the ground and sprang up!
"Hahp!"
Slammed a kick straight into its back!
—Crrrunch!
My shoe, wreathed in weapon enchantment, made a fantastic weapon. My foot punched straight through its back plating!
"Kirik!"
Bluish fluids sprayed out. The Banker dropped to the ground, and I immediately jumped.
—KWA-BOOM!
Stomped its underbelly flat.
"Grrrk."
With that, it coughed up more bluish blood and croaked.
[Coin acquired: 21]
Victory.
I won. Once I tasted that first win, the dread that had been pressing on my shoulders vanished.
"Heh heh heh."
I immediately flipped the corpse over.
—Snap!
Yanked the horn off its head.
"Weapon get!"
A hard, sharp horn fifty centimeters long. Yeah. Just having something in my hand made confidence overflow! Who dares to kill this Kim Geun-cheol!
* * *
"Kiririk!"
A Banker's underbelly came flying at me like a face-hugger.
"Die!"
I stabbed down with the horn in a reverse grip, every ounce of my strength behind it.
—Crrrunch!
The horn, wreathed in sword aura, was a brutal weapon all by itself. The moment that superhuman down-slam connected with its underbelly—
—FWOOOOSH!
The Banker split clean in two, the halves flying off to either side of me.
[Coin acquired: 19]
Of course, it wasn't just the one. Right then, a second one launched itself at me at full speed.
"Kiririk!"
I used my lead foot as an axis, spun a full circle, and threw a horizontal slash that split it open.
—SHLAAK!
[Coin acquired: 22]
As the thing spewed its foul guts and spat out a coin—
"There's one more of you?!"
—I reacted in a flash. Followed through from the horizontal slash straight into a diagonal rising cut, shredding the one that had jumped me!
"Kiruk?!"
[Coin acquired: 18]
"Ha ha ha ha!"
The laughter just burst out of me!
I'd sliced through three F-rank monsters in an instant! Without a single proper weapon! With nothing but a horn I'd looted, I'd carved through the whole pack!
—Sssssk.
While I was laughing, one more came at me.
"Another one?"
This one's a little bigger.
The same simple approach. It scuttled in at high speed on its long legs, then leapt—coming in for a hug like a flying squirrel.
Should I stab it with the horn?
Nah.
"Mana shield!"
I instantly wrapped my left fist—the one not holding the horn—in a mana shield. Cobbled together a bunch of square protective plates, layered them on top of each other, encasing my fist like a medieval knight's gauntlet.
"DIE!"
One step forward, all my strength behind it.
Power from my hips and shoulder, driving a straight punch home—
—KWA-BANG!
My fist punched clean through the Banker's underbelly.
"Kiriririk...!"
I finished it off by ramming the big sharp horn up its rear end in that position.
[Coin acquired: 27]
The fight was over.
"Hoo!"
Felt ridiculously refreshed!
I'd thrown my body into a real fight and carved monsters apart. More than anything, deep satisfaction seeped right down to my core, followed by sheer euphoria.
I've leveled up this much.
"Send me a stronger one, Kitty!"
F-rank monsters did not even register on my radar!
"Bring me an E-rank monster, Kitty! Give me something satisfying!"
Whacking these chump bastards all day won't even net me a thousand coins!
"So bring me something a little stronger—!"
"Shhhhiiiiiiit!"
"Even the cry sounds different! Who the hell are— Huh?"
Uh.
"Uhhhhhhaaaaaagh?!"
I spun on my heel and bolted!
"What the hell is that thing?!"