The Headless Innkeeper
The moment they entered the dungeon, a sudden bustle of noise filled the air. Buildings straight out of a medieval Western film, people strolling casually through the streets, the everyday clamor of conversations and movement. Seoya stood in the heart of a village where it all coexisted.
It was far too peaceful a scene to fit a dungeon.
“A scenario dungeon?”
Baek Yena, who had followed Seoya inside, glanced around and spoke in a calm tone.
Seoya turned to her with a dazed expression. “Scenario dungeons... are they all like this?”
“Pretty rare. I hear they've only opened a handful of times worldwide.”
“Doesn't seem like a scenario dungeon. Our guildmates who came here before said the same—no quests or scenarios or anything. It's just a dungeon with a virtual world as its field~.”
“Then what are those people?”
“The virtual characters inside dungeons are called NPCs. They're not real, so no need to worry if they die or get hurt.”
As Baek Yena explained various dungeon concepts to Seoya, a middle-aged woman approached and spoke to them.
“Oh my~ what are you folks doing here~?”
“This feels so weird.”
Baek Yena spoke without even pretending to have heard the woman. “A medieval Westerner speaking in that hearty Korean dialect.”
“Come on now. You look like travelers—don't just stand there gawking. You need a room, right? Let me take you to our inn~.”
She eyed their mismatched clothes, utterly out of place in this medieval village, and spoke with warm friendliness.
Baek Yena ignored her completely and asked Kwon Yooseok, “Hey, Kwon Yooseok. This really isn't a scenario dungeon? Feels like a story's about to kick off.”
“Well, we'll know if a quest pops up later or not.”
They followed the woman to the inn anyway, faces etched with suspicion. To clear the dungeon, they'd probably have to follow the NPCs' lead.
The place they arrived at was small but fairly clean. Not somewhere they'd pay to stay in the real world, but considering it was inside a dungeon, it was a relief.
“Huh, not bad.”
“Hmm. Our guildmates probably stayed here too. It'd be good if we found some trace of them.”
“Hee-hee, glad you like it! So you'll be staying here~? How many rooms do you need?”
Her words felt almost like she understood their conversation, stirring an uncanny chill in Seoya—the discomfort of something inhuman mimicking humanity so closely. She took a step back.
“Baby, what's wrong?”
“You said it's not really human, right?”
“Yeah, there are NPCs like this that chat just like people.”
Kwon Yooseok acted as if it were nothing, so Seoya tried to push down her unease and accept it.
“Two rooms, please.”
Baek Yena took two room keys from the NPC and handed one to Kwon Yooseok. “Alright, Seoya and I'll unpack in our room and check around. See if there's any clues in yours, then meet us in the hall.”
“Sounds good~.”
Seoya grabbed Baek Yena's hand and climbed the creaky wooden stairs, each step groaning underfoot.
They inserted the key into their assigned room's door, turned it with a click, and stepped inside.
“Pretty ordinary.”
Baek Yena scanned the room and gave her short verdict. As she said, nothing seemed off: a double bed, a small desk and chair, a window, even an attached bathroom...
“...At least the bathroom's modern. The System takes care of stuff like that.”
The tiled floor, marble sink, toilet, bathtub, and showerhead felt absurdly out of place in this medieval setting—almost comical.
Seoya rummaged through the desk drawers but found no records left by previous hunters. Made sense; why write notes when you could just chat?
After searching, they headed to the hall and met Kwon Yooseok, who had been waiting.
He shared the same conclusion. “Nada. Not sure if we're in a dungeon or just on vacation for the night.”
“Then let's head to that market where we spawned. Might pick up info from the crowds.”
“Yeah, info's key anywhere.”
“You could stand to obsess a little less.”
As they grabbed a few essentials from their bags for any monster encounters and left the inn, the NPC who had brought them called out.
“Out sightseeing~?”
“Yes. Any recommendations?”
Baek Yena tried to fish for directives, but the response was disappointing.
“Truth is, our village ain't got much to see. Kinda weird you travelers even come here~. Just stroll around, check the church or market...”
“Ah, have other travelers been here before us?”
Kwon Yooseok latched onto the key word. “About nine came by not long ago, I think? Can't recall exactly... Aigoo, am I getting old?”
Kwon Yooseok and Baek Yena exchanged grave looks. The NPC remembered the previous visitors—the dead hunters.
“Folks usually just pass through to other villages, but those ones made our spot their destination.”
“Do you know where they went?”
The NPC smiled nonchalantly at Baek Yena's question. “Who knows~? Vanished one day, so probably off somewhere.”
“Did they take their stuff?”
“Wouldn't they have~? No idea.”
“You run an inn—how don't you know?”
Baek Yena sounded exasperated, but the innkeeper dodged with eerie naturalness.
“Pointless~. NPCs are all like that.”
Kwon Yooseok shook his head and turned to Seoya. “Hey, Seoya, got any questions?”
“Uh, um?”
Seoya, clueless on dungeon protocol, blurted something random in her fluster. “What's your name? I'm Seoya.”
“Oh, my name~?”
The woman beamed and replied loudly. “Neshi! That's me!”
“Seoya, you're definitely not the dungeon-veteran type. NPC names don't matter at all.”
As they headed to the market, Kwon Yooseok teased in a playful tone, earning a glare from Baek Yena.
“Hey, you don't even know basic etiquette? Introduce yourself first when talking to people! Our baby's being polite, unlike you.”
“Hunter Baek Yena's not exactly polite herself, haha.”
“Ah, the market.”
Seoya's words cut off their bickering.
“So, shall we chat up folks here for info~?”
“Yeah, let's do that.”
But even after several days, they made no progress. It really was just an ordinary village—natural enough to make them wonder if they were actually on an overseas trip chatting with locals.
“Damn it. Can't attack without a monster profile. How do you clear a dungeon with no monsters?”
“Hmm~. But our guildmates said they saw it before dying. There has to be something that drains mental strength like crazy.”
It had been three days since they entered. Chats with the outside confirmed time flowed the same inside and out—three days had passed there too.
“Tomorrow's day four. Our guildmates started sending those 'impossible things are happening' chats from then on. We'll see the truth tomorrow~.”
“...Yeah. Tomorrow, stay sharp. Wake up early. Equip anything that helps mental recovery.”
The next morning, Seoya snapped awake at the rooster's crow. She had slept with her senses on high alert, like a beast's fur bristling, after hearing something would happen today.
Peering out the window, the village was still dim—the sun just rising, a new day beginning.
She shook Baek Yena awake. “Unnie, get up. Morning.”
“Nngh...”
Baek Yena rose groggily, her face unusually relaxed.
As she washed up at the sink, Seoya heightened all her senses, listening intently. But nothing unusual reached her ears.
“Anything?”
“Nope.”
Baek Yena, freshened up, noticed Seoya's focus and asked about the situation. Seoya just shook her head, disappointed.
“Let's go meet Kwon Yooseok.”
As Baek Yena opened the door, something black flashed past right in front of it.
An unidentified shape—they froze in tension.
“...You see that?”
“Think so.”
Seoya answered Baek Yena's stiff question in a stunned voice.
“What was it?”
“Just... pitch black...”
Something too fast even for Seoya's dynamic vision. Sensing events unfolding, they woke Kwon Yooseok and dragged him to the inn's first-floor dining area.
“Up early today~ Breakfast?”
“Yes, please.”
Neshi, knitting in a chair, vanished into the kitchen.
As they waited, Kwon Yooseok asked Baek Yena, “Any plans for today~?”
“Woke up to something weird. Black thing zipped past our door...”
Explaining the shadow to Kwon Yooseok, Baek Yena froze mid-sentence at the sight of Neshi emerging from the kitchen. Seoya and Kwon Yooseok followed her gaze and stiffened.
“What the...”
Neshi carried their breakfast on a tray. The only difference: no head atop her neck.