A Dungeon Based on Toda? Toda's Peace...?
First off, Seoya had no idea what the hidden story in this dungeon meant, but she decided to discuss the current situation with Jeong Sira.
"I don't really get what a bonus dungeon is, but it looks like we need to clear the condition to get out of here."
"Do you know why the text was glitched? I have no clue what this place is supposed to be based on."
"...No idea what it is, but... yeah. It probably means we have to make this place peaceful or something."
Seoya skirted around mentioning Toda. Jeong Sira, seeming to have sorted her thoughts, calmly summarized the situation.
"For now, let's call the clear condition a 'mission.' And do you have any guesses about this space? To me, it just looks like ordinary nature."
"Hmm, no monster presence around either."
"So there's no real threat, and we're just trapped? Of course, with you here, Seoya-ssi, even if monsters show up, I wouldn't worry much..."
As Jeong Sira spoke, a deafening roar echoed from the sky once more. Just like before the first system window, thunder and lightning had struck—but this time, it felt different from the previous ones.
‘■■’ is generated.
"Is it just me seeing it filtered right now?"
‘Mana’ is generated.
"Mana...?"
Unlike Jeong Sira, Seoya muttered as she read the system window.
Crack— Soon, with a sharp sound tearing through the air, something began falling from the sky. A red trail like flames lingered in its wake.
"What's that? A meteor?"
In that instant, Seoya's instincts—never wrong before—flared.
"We have to go where that's falling!"
"Pardon?"
"We need to find it!"
Without further explanation, Seoya bolted toward the meteor's trajectory. Jeong Sira, looking anxious, followed belatedly.
BOOM— The meteor crashed into the ground, shaking it violently. Seoya braced her legs to steady herself. Once the tremors stopped, she trudged toward what looked like the impact site.
And muttered in confusion.
"What is this?"
The ground was deeply cratered where it had fallen. At the deepest crack in the fractured earth sat something pitch-black embedded there. Contrary to expectations, it looked like an ordinary, unremarkable stone. Barely larger than Seoya's fist.
"Ah, hot!"
Seoya yanked it from the dirt, nearly burning herself on the friction heat, and tossed it away hastily.
"What is this thing?"
Jeong Sira, who had caught up, crouched beside her. From afar, it had seemed like a black stone, but up close, it shimmered with blue undertones. As if layers of blue piled so thick they appeared black.
Wait, this feels like...
Wouldn't a magic stone compressed intensely look like this?
It said mana was generated earlier.
Magic stones held mana, so if mana was generated and a magic stone fell, it wasn't strange. So this stone must be a compressed magic stone?
"I have a guess, but it's not certain."
As Seoya replied, the stone on the ground suddenly began to vibrate.
Jeong Sira and Seoya instinctively stepped back.
Pop—! With a small explosion, cracks spiderwebbed across the stone, and fragments burst forth.
"As expected, a magic stone."
The fragments were magic stones—familiar ones Seoya knew well. Only then did she grasp what the stone was: a fist-sized compression of magic stones, now spawning more.
The spawned stones scattered across the ground, unchanging. The original fallen stone remained the same size.
I wonder what magic stones do in this dungeon.
‘■■ ■■’ is generated.
"Something else is generating...?"
Jeong Sira stared piercingly at the system window.
‘Contaminant’ is generated.
"Contaminant?"
The ominous word made Seoya jump to her feet. Near a nearby tree, black energy began oozing up. It slowly took human shape, even attempting to move like one.
Seeing it, Seoya muttered.
"Mutant..."
To witness a Mutant forming like this...
Jeong Sira, hearing her, asked in shock.
"Pardon? You mean the humanoid monsters from S-rank dungeons? So we just need to take that one out? But the 'story dungeon' part bothers me..."
"Me too."
Because it looked slightly different from the Mutants Seoya knew. More like a hologram in Mutant form—without substance.
Once it fully formed, Seoya hurled mana at it.
Bam— But only the nearby tree snapped; the Mutant took no damage. Seoya's mana passed right through.
Turning to Jeong Sira, Seoya asked.
"Jeong Sira, how's your mental strength?"
"Huh? Now that you mention it, it's fine? I heard those monsters drain mental power like crazy."
"No clue what's going on."
At least Seoya was certain: it wasn't a real Mutant. Just a hologram. But the system demanded she protect Toda's peace, so eliminating these Mutant holograms was likely the way out.
The Mutant stood motionless, as if waiting for something.
"Seoya-ssi, by any chance... Ah!"
Flash— As Jeong Sira started to speak, the scattered magic stones from the compressed one began glowing. Just as black energy had formed a Mutant, now lights coalesced into human shapes—or rather, hologram humans.
‘■■■’ is generated!
"The text keeps glitching, so I can't make sense of it."
Unlike the troubled Jeong Sira, Seoya read it clearly.
‘Pioneer’ is generated!
"Pioneer?"
At the name, Seoya flinched.
What is unnie trying to tell me through this dungeon?
She couldn't even guess what Ibin meant...
Then the human holograms began moving: an elderly man with a long beard, a young woman with flowing hair... All different ages and appearances.
Soon, the Mutant holograms faced off against the Pioneer holograms. Battle erupted next.
They fought—Mutants dying, Pioneers dying. But new ones formed, so the fight stayed balanced, endless.
"Are we just supposed to watch these holograms?"
Seoya and Jeong Sira seemed unable to intervene, like viewers of a film.
With each new Mutant, the lush nature withered, the surroundings now resembling Toda as Seoya knew it.
Then Jeong Sira spoke as if realizing something.
"It said it's a story dungeon! These holograms are telling a tale, and we need to find clues, right? I don't know exactly what 'restore peace' means, but peace probably involves stopping their fight..."
Seoya slowly shook her head.
The Mutant-Pioneer war could never stop. Mutants couldn't coexist with humans, so harmony was impossible.
To restore Toda's peace, we have to eliminate the Mutants.
Suddenly, Seoya recalled Ibin's words to the Pioneers.
-This is inefficient. No matter how many we kill, Mutants keep coming. It's endless, no matter our efforts.
Just like this situation.
-Pioneers kill Mutants, Mutants kill Pioneers, new Pioneers kill Mutants. That's the endless cycle on Toda now.
What is Ibin unnie trying to convey through this dungeon?
At that moment, the central compressed magic stone flashed brightly.
"What?"
It glowed intensely once, then went still, as if nothing happened. No new Pioneer holograms appeared.
This is exactly like Toda...?
A meaningless, unchanging war—but on Toda, the Pioneer-Mutant balance held through cycles. Until no new Pioneers awakened.
Seoya was the last. Her overwhelming strength let the dwindling Pioneers hold against Mutants.
But if all other Pioneers die and I'm left alone...
That's what Seoya had feared: a lonely, endless fight. And the future she dreaded was unfolding right here in this dungeon.