Trial (2)
Trial (2)
Dojin's party wandered around here and there to find the way. Orion, who was leading the way to scout the path, realized one fact.
"This... isn't us getting lost."
"......Then?"
"The Dungeon... has changed."
Around that time, the noise that had been echoing madly inside the Dungeon was slowly dying down. Only then could Orion fully utilize her hearing.
She captured the sounds coming from all directions like a sonar detector to find the path.
According to the information she gathered, it wasn't that they had lost their way—the structure of the Dungeon itself had changed.
"It's changed... like a Maze."
"Like a Maze......."
Dojin groped along the surrounding walls as he walked. Before long, a fork in the path appeared.
Assuming time was unlimited, the way to escape a Maze was very simple. Dojin walked straight along the left wall.
If he hit a dead end? Even then, it didn't matter. He kept following the left path.
Seeing that, Orion immediately realized what Dojin was doing.
"...It'll take a really long time, but it's certain."
"Yeah."
The Dungeon wasn't that big to begin with. No matter how much they twisted the paths, they could escape within a few hours.
Realizing that, the party let out sighs of relief and followed behind Dojin. They encountered monsters along the way and fought them, or rested when they felt fatigued, but all under the belief that they would definitely find the end.
However, that belief didn't last long.
Drdrdrduk.......
"This sound...."
A now-familiar sound rang out. A grand rumble that made him think the Dungeon was about to collapse.
As Dojin thought that, the walls moved. He saw a distant open path getting blocked by a wall.
"No, what the......."
It didn't even take a few seconds for the noise to stop. That meant the Dungeon's layout had completely changed.
Unfortunately, Dojin didn't know how to navigate a Maze that changed randomly over time.
Fortunately, even in the pitch-black Dungeon where nothing was visible, he could still tell the time. Dojin pulled out an electronic watch he had stored in a sturdy steel case to prevent damage.
The wristwatch he bought for the college entrance exam—never had he felt like buying it was the best decision ever.
The watch showed 11 PM, and 6 hours had passed since they descended to the 29th floor. Dojin had never stayed in a Dungeon this late before.
'She'll be mad when I get back.'
Dojin often stayed out overnight, but not Eunha. The kids would realize that both she and Dojin had vanished at the same time, and figure out they were trapped in the Dungeon.
And surely, they would come to rescue them. That's what he thought.
'......Hold on.'
Dojin stopped and looked around. Come to rescue them? Who exactly?
After living nearly 20 years in the modern world, it was so natural to assume someone would come save you that he had been deluded.
This was the Otherworld, and this was the most fantastical Dungeon even in the Otherworld.
Once you entered, you were isolated from the outside.
There was no way to rescue someone who had entered the Dungeon.
'No way.'
No one was coming to save them. Dojin realized that fact.
Early in the morning, Deokgu looked at Seoyun who had come to find him and asked back about the issue she brought.
"...What?"
"Dojin didn't come back."
"He's probably staying out."
"With Eunha."
"...That's a big problem."
The two headed to the Dungeon. The fact that both of them hadn't returned on the same day meant something had happened to them.
Deokgu immediately rushed to the guild. As a Level 2 adventurer and registered newspaper president in his own right, a guild staff member came running barefoot to greet him.
"Ah, welcome. Deokgu-nim...."
"I came to ask one thing."
"Yes, anything."
"Did that guy Dojin come back yesterday?"
Hearing that, Pion tilted her head and asked back.
"Um, well...... He hasn't returned. Did he not go back home either?"
"Yes. I came to check just in case...."
"I see, Dojin-nim......."
Pion bowed her head deeply, her face filled with regret and longing. Seeing that, Deokgu looked at her strangely.
"What are you doing? Aren't you organizing a rescue team?"
"Pardon? What do you...."
"A person disappeared in the Dungeon, and you're not going to save him?"
"Ah, Deokgu-nim doesn't know much about Dungeons."
Pion, accustomed to such situations, handled Deokgu skillfully.
"Unfortunately, we can't do that."
"Why? If it's money...."
"Physically, there's no way to enter the Dungeon."
"...Ah."
Deokgu, who had forgotten about Dungeons for too long, had even lost such basic common sense.
A Dungeon is fundamentally a space isolated from the world. An Otherworld within the Otherworld. It wasn't for nothing that opening up to the 10th floor had shocked the entire world.
"No, wait... How is that not possible?"
"To begin with, a Dungeon is a place of trials where it tests your abilities in isolation from everyone. If you can't even meet others because you're isolated, how could we go rescue them?"
Even with the sweet reward of leveling up, few did it for a reason.
The psychological pressure of no help.
The extreme environment where a single mistake leads to death.
Anyway, realizing there was no way to save Dojin, Deokgu was stunned.
'Wait, then what do we do now......?'
It had been a very long time since his mind went completely blank. Dojin was their leader and mental pillar.
An unbreakable pillar, the central point leading the kids.
When he delivered the news that Dojin might be dead already, how would Seoyun and Aram react? Deokgu couldn't even imagine.
"R-Really. Really, there's nothing we can do...."
"......I'm sorry, Deokgu-nim."
"...No, it's not your fault to apologize."
Deokgu forced his shaky legs to stand. Staggering out of the reception room, he leaned against the wall and fell deep into thought.
'What do I do? How, how....'
"Ah, seriously─ what the hell is that all of a sudden."
"Right?"
At that moment, the voices of high-rank adventurers coming up to the second floor grew loud. Their bodies were covered in dust and dirt, as if they had just returned from the Dungeon.
The man at the front quickly approached his assigned staff and started complaining.
"No, listen, we tried to go past the 30th floor today, but...."
"Some wall blocked the 29th floor...."
"We couldn't go up...."
Deokgu, who had been lost in thought, overheard and focused on their conversation. Summarizing their story:
Something sudden had happened in the Dungeon.
A massive wall blocking from the 29th to the 30th floor.
Hearing that, one piece of info flashed in Deokgu's mind.
'Dojin said there's no Ruler on the 20th floor.'
Dojin had his own theory on why there was no Ruler on the 20th and speculated there would be one on the 30th.
He had brushed it off lightly back then since it didn't interest him.
But now, with the passing adventurers' story, the puzzle pieces fit.
'30th floor, Ruler, anomaly in the Dungeon, wall blocking entry....'
Combining that info, one fact emerged in Deokgu's mind.
Dojin is alive.
Realizing that, he dashed straight to the mansion.
Realizing they were trapped, the first thing Dojin checked was their food supplies.
"Lunch leftovers, one spare each. Some biscuits for emergency calorie supplements."
They had expected not to stay longer than a day at most, so the food they brought was meager.
Orion counted the food and calculated how long it would last.
"Hmm, this should get us through four days."
"...Four days? How the hell do we survive four days on that?"
Raize freaked out upon hearing that. The girl with the smallest body, who seemed like she'd eat the least, actually consumed the most food.
She said a lot of calories were needed to recover magic power. Limiting food meant less magic power recovery.
For a mage like her, lacking magic power was more terrifying than anything.
But to Orion, it was no big deal.
"Then what? Eat all the food just to cast a few spells, starve starting tomorrow, and die in four days?"
"......No, not that, but."
Raize shut her mouth at Orion's reasonable words. However, Dojin agreed with Raize.
"Surviving four days on this is stupid."
"Leader, but......."
"Orion, where are we?"
"The Dungeon, obviously...."
"Yeah, the Dungeon. Not a place where someone comes to save you if you just wait."
Sharing food extends survival time. But if they run into a monster in the meantime?
Exhausted from hunger, they wouldn't stand a chance against it easily, and a mistake could mean injury.
With no way to heal now, getting injured was as good as death.
"Recover strength with that... and even if it's gross, we have to eat monsters."
"M-Monsters?"
Raize asked in horror. Dojin nodded.
"What's the big deal? We eat them in the city all the time."
"I don't!"
"What are you talking about? Minotaur meat and Kamu cows are sold openly."
"......Those are livestock. Not monsters."
"Same damn monsters."
But Dojin could understand Raize's feelings. If he were told to hunt and eat a wild dog when stranded in the mountains, he'd react the same.
Just because dog meat is eaten in society doesn't make it the same as eating a feral one.
Similarly, eating monster livestock in society versus hunting and eating wild Dungeon monsters was worlds apart.
"It's the only way."
But it was the only option.
"Um, over there...."
"Yeah, Eunha."
"Monsters disappear when they die, so how do we eat them...?"
"─Great question."
Dojin said that and briefly vanished, returning with a Werewolf in tow. The Werewolf tried to fight, but it was no match for Dojin, who had faced them multiple times already.
Dojin swiftly subdued the Werewolf and crushed its neck with his foot as he spoke.
"As you know, these guys vanish without a trace when they die... but there's an exception. Know what it is?"
"B-Blood or something. If it's stuck, it doesn't disappear...."
"Yeah, same principle."
Chwaak, Dojin's sword sliced off the Werewolf's arm. He tossed the severed arm casually and looked at his party like, what are you waiting for?
"Meat consumed before death doesn't disappear."
Seeing the party hesitate over the thrown arm, Dojin said.
"What are you doing? Eat it quick."
"H-How do we even......."
"Don't eat, and you die."
Hearing that, Raize finished her mental calculations. He was right. No matter how gross, she had to eat to survive.
Raize slowly lifted the arm. It was heavy. A few kilos, probably. Enough for all four of them for sure.
Hwaaak, up close, the fishy stench hit her. Raize squeezed her eyes shut and brought her mouth to the arm.
Eujeok, chewing the raw flesh dripping with bloody clumps filled her mouth with the metallic taste of blood, making her gag.
But she endured. Swallow, swallow, ......gulp.
"Puhaa-! ......Y-You eat too."
"......What?"
"What do you mean what? I'm eating like you said...!"
Dojin looked at Raize in bewilderment. Then he told her.
"No, I meant grill it...."
"......Huh?"
"Light a fire with magic and cook it... I didn't mean chew it raw. You okay?"
"......Urk."
Guweeeeeek.
Raize vomited up everything she had eaten.