Finding_SeoYa_04
It would've been a hassle to enter if there were crowds in front of the dungeon, but fortunately, no crazies seemed willing to charge in on their own. Only a handful of police guarded the site. The reporters shoving cameras around didn't expect any hunters to emerge just yet—they were just jockeying for the best spots.
"Huh?"
Seoya halted abruptly as she drew closer to the dungeon.
A translucent window hovered before the gate. S-Rank Dungeon.
The internet said these system windows floating in front of dungeons indicated their rank. So there was nothing weird about the window itself.
The problem was the name below the rank.
"It's looking for me."
Her heart pounded wildly.
"This is weird. Seriously weird."
This world was truly bizarre.
The police and reporters spotted her suspicious figure and turned their gazes her way. But Seoya ignored them, pumping strength into her legs and bolting forward. With each silent step, the ground cratered beneath her feet. Finally, she pushed off her toes, launching her body into the air.
The police reaching out to grab her were below.
If they're guarding in front of the gate, I just need to go over it.
Seoya soared effortlessly into the gate.
She had to go in. Now, she really had to enter the dungeon.
The dungeon was calling her.
"Agh, aaah!"
Pained groans echoed from the rear, where the ranged-skill hunters fought.
"Damn it, this mental debuff is driving me insane, ah…."
"This ain't right, this is seriously not right…."
Tears streamed from Ji Sein's eyes, hidden beneath Baek Yena's hand.
"For real… I just wanna die…."
Yet Ji Sein kept conjuring streams of water through her magic skills without pause. Like an ebbing tide, the water repeatedly surged outward around them, sweeping the monsters far away. The beasts tumbled into the distance, only to charge back and get flushed away again in an endless cycle.
It was a fight with no end in sight.
"We gotta pull back now!"
"Hey, up front! Block 'em first!"
They had to kill the monsters, but also keep them from getting too close. Those things were definitely contaminating the area.
Thanks to some hunters' ranged defense skills, holding them at bay wasn't too hard.
But landing any threatening attacks was impossible.
Mental strength was the issue.
Just looking at those monsters with the naked eye drained your sanity bit by bit. So the hunters had split into teams of three: two alternating to relay the monsters' positions, while the third fired skills.
But attacking with skills drained even more mental strength than glancing at them. The hunters targeting the monsters now looked ready to snap any second.
"Damage is stacking on them too! Keep attacking!"
Lee Gayeon bellowed, straining her throat.
"No big attacks!"
The biggest problem here was that stronger skills guzzled way more mental strength. For instance, Ji Sein had just ripped off a monster's arms with her most powerful attack spell—but her mental strength plummeted below 10 instantly, leaving her useless.
So it was better for lots of people to spam weak attacks, spreading the sanity drain around.
But how the hell do you kill those monster freaks?
Baek Yena ground her teeth hard enough to hurt.
Just seven humanoid monsters.
Yet over fifty hunters hadn't properly taken down a single one.
Fifty-plus people can't handle seven….
The fighters probably suspected it too. To wipe those monsters out, they'd have to be ready to lose their minds.
"Ha, seriously…. Ji Sein, check your mental strength."
"…17."
Baek Yena checked her own status window. Her remaining mental strength: 46.
Of course, even that was ticking down from just looking at the monsters.
"Baek Yena Hunter, let's switch."
"…Yeah. Ah… this is insane…."
Baek Yena swapped with her teammate, closing her eyes. She needed to recover even a little in this brief moment.
If Ji Sein goes down, I'll handle ranged magic. Pre-draw the magic circle in my head….
"Damn it."
She tried thinking positively, but it wouldn't stick.
Yeah, maybe… just maybe… some sacrifices would be needed.
If Baek Yena went all-out without worrying about the aftermath, she could probably take one monster. She'd lose her mind, but the world….
Suddenly, Seoya's face flashed in her mind. Baek Yena shook her head, forcing herself back to focus.
"I… I gotta survive and go back…."
She wasn't the old Baek Yena anymore. She had someone to protect, reasons to live.
"This is insane."
She was scared of dying now.
"But what do we do about this mess…."
Come to think of it, the System had updated recently. Things had gotten way too intense.
Who could even kill those monsters?
Baek Yena rasped at Ji Sein.
"…Hey, Ji Sein. Are these ridiculous monsters part of the update too?"
"Sniff, the devs are trash! This, this wasn't even made with users in mind!"
Ji Sein sobbed her answer.
Probably right. Then Go Heejae's last words from the chat popped into her head.
This probably isn't….
A dungeon made for humans to clear.
Not for Earth's humans.
"Ibin, run!"
Taesa burst through the steel door with a bang, yelling.
Terror filled his eyes at the thought of losing someone again.
Ibin turned, nose stuffed with tissue to stem the bleeding. Blue mana threads still linked from her hands.
Cough—
"What's going on."
Bloody spit flecked out with each cough.
Taesa cried out desperately.
"The boss knows! He knows everything!"
"…We're screwed."
Yet Ibin showed no sign of leaving her post.
Unknown equations scrolled wildly across the monitors. The massive magic amplifier hummed, holding open a hole in the air. Ibin's mana snaked through it, twisting into complex patterns.
"Just a bit more. This time, Seoya will really come."
"I know the plan! But what's guaranteeing she'll go in? We don't know the dangers in that world! Who'd walk into a dungeon blind?!"
"If she didn't see the dungeon name you set?"
"Eh, she'd still go."
Ibin smiled faintly.
"An S-rank dungeon's about to burst and kill people. How could she not?"
"Even if she doesn't know if she's strong enough…!"
"Taesa, I know Seoya best."
Ibin's eyes grew distant, reminiscent.
"That's how she was raised."
"You need to run first! The boss knows you siphoned magic stones, suspects you're up to something! I can't talk my way out this time! The plan's busted!"
"Taesa, listen."
Ibin turned from Taesa back to the monitor.
"Get out now. Act like you're not involved."
"Hey! Even so…."
"When Seoya returns, someone has to tell her what's happening. You go first. No time to explain."
"Ibin! At least promise you'll survive!"
"I don't make promises I can't keep."
Ibin never had.
She shoved Taesa out with mana, slamming the door shut.
Just a little more. Before the boss arrives….
Footsteps. Soldiers' boots.
Then the door flew open.
"Ibin! You dare betray us?!"
The boss's furious roar.
But Ibin didn't turn.
Just a little more….
Soldiers seized her arms. She resisted, straining, but couldn't match their strength.
Just a little more….
"Drag the traitor away!"
Red error text flooded the monitor.
Ibin's hands flew. She'd simulated this day thousands of times in her head, fearing failure.
She glanced at the calendar. Perfect timing.
"How fitting."
Today or never.
She tore a scrap from her desk, scribbled wildly with a pen, folded it, and tossed it into the hole.
"Ungrateful wretch…!"
The boss smashed her head with his gun. Hot blood poured.
Ibin staggered.
As consciousness faded, she felt it.
Success.
"What the."
You have entered the S-Rank Dungeon 'Finding_SeoYa_04'.
Target Confirmed: Error
The moment Seoya entered the dungeon, familiar yet alien air enveloped her.
Red error text scrolled before her eyes, vanishing in a flash. A single status window appeared.