Dungeon Tour

The early morning air was crisp as I stepped into the parking lot. Short Hair was already waiting, standing at attention beside the motorcycle.

"Let's move out."

"Yes, sir!"

This expedition would be just the two of us—me and Short Hair. Hana had to lead a raid with the other squad leaders, and Chaei needed to sync up properly with her raid party members. Thanks to the Well of Purification, there was no need to leave the apartment empty. Besides, after what happened last time, I felt more at ease going alone. It didn't matter that the roads were blocked. That's why I'd chosen a motorcycle over a car.

The best places to find a dungeon... would definitely be spots crawling with zombies.

The first condition was a high concentration of zombies. Both the DC Mart and the department store had fit that pattern. The second condition was a large building. Dungeons were rarely found in cramped spaces.

Then that place should be worth checking out.

The headquarters of a major corporation—the same building where I'd found Kim Hyunseor. Last time I was there, the interior had been absolutely ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠packed with zombies.

"Head to the place where we captured Kim Hyunseor."

"Understood."

Her faint reply drifted through the wind.

As we passed by, I glanced at the department store. As expected, there were no signs that anyone had been there. Honestly, what kind of crazy bastard would come this close anyway? The area around the department store had been completely cleared out, but the surrounding zones were still teeming with mutants. No one in their right mind would approach.

"We've arrived."

"Good. Stay ready to move out at any time."

"Yes, sir!"

I summoned a tower first and swept away the horde of zombies. Even though I'd cleared the area last time, it was swarming with them again. It really drove home just how densely populated Seoul had been.

Once the surroundings were cleaned up, I circled the headquarters building.

"Fire at will."

The sound of shattering glass announced the beginning of the assault.

Papapapapapak—!

Huguguguguguk—!

Pachachachachang!

A relentless rain of arrows poured in from all directions, quickly neutralizing the zombies. The moment the creatures filling the first floor were wiped out, I moved in.

Not yet?

I'd probably need to go higher. As soon as the zombies on the second floor were exterminated, I ascended. By the time I reached the third floor—

The dungeon was the type that locked you in until the boss was defeated. Just like last time.

But there's no restriction on things entering from the outside.

Arrows, boulders, and throwing spears poured into the dungeon interior. By the time we reached the tenth floor, I finally found traces of the boss.

Just how big is this thing?

Every piece of furniture and fixture on the tenth floor had been completely crushed. But that wasn't the important part. What filled the entire space was a pale, tube-like shed skin. It looked exactly like the molted hide of an enormous snake.

It's seriously huge. This thing could pass for an Imugi.

In the corner, there was a hole leading to the floor above. Must be the creature's passage. To think a mutant had truly become a beast. Well, compared to those horrifying things, this wasn't all that surprising.

Grrrrrrrr.

A faint vibration came from above. It was here.

Snakes were stealthy hunters. So how large and heavy did it have to be for its movements to create vibrations?

To think a major corporation's headquarters has become a snake's den.

A chill ran down my spine. I switched my viewpoint to locate the creature. Finding it wasn't difficult. It had uncoiled its massive body from the fifteenth floor and was slowly slithering downward. Its coils were so long that they still hadn't fully unraveled even when it reached the thirteenth floor. Then it flicked its tongue toward the hole leading to the twelfth floor.

Tssst—

After flicking its tongue several times, it opened its mouth wide.

Chwaak—!

The moment it spat out the liquid, the floor began to melt.

Are you fucking kidding me? It can melt through the building's floor?

Not only did it melt the twelfth floor, the liquid even dripped down to the eleventh floor—right above my head. I immediately used Afterimage to escape. Two seconds later, the floor-melting liquid began to pour down.

Chiiiiik—!

The creature casually shoved its head into the hole now soaked with ultra-powerful acidic venom. At this point, I could see it clearly with the naked eye. Our eyes met as it emerged from the hole.

A paralyzing terror gripped my body. To think something this enormous could exist in reality. Even an anaconda would look like an earthworm next to this thing.

It slowly shook its head, widening the hole. There was no need to wait around.

"Summon!"

There was no point testing the waters against something like this. I immediately summoned a Gigantic Beast Slayer Tower right outside the building.

Kuguguguguk!

"Fire!"

I ordered the shot while the tower was still rising from the cracked floor.

Thud!

Kwagagak!!—

Kwaaang!!

Chwarururururu—

The massive harpoon smashed through the building wall with a deafening roar and—

Kwajak!!—

—pierced straight through the creature's seemingly impenetrable scales.

Now it had nowhere to run. The enormous hook attached behind the harpoon head had firmly latched onto its massive body.

"Kieeeeeeeeeek!"

Don't scream just yet. That was only the beginning.

"Pull!"

Chwarurururururuk—!

The gigantic body was helplessly dragged out of the building.

Kuuuung—!

"Keeeeeeeeeeek!"

The creature thrashed wildly in agony. The Gigantic Beast Slayer Tower truly lived up to its name. No matter how violently the monster struggled, the tower didn't budge an inch. Even when it spat its corrosive liquid, the result was the same.

The reason suddenly appeared in my mind as if injected directly. While the harpoon remained embedded, a magic circle protected the tower from taking any damage from its target.

To think there's magic like this....

I only knew because it was my skill. Otherwise, I would've just assumed the tower was insanely durable.

"Time to test this out for real."

I locked the coordinates onto the immobilized creature.

"Summon Heaven's Fall."

A hammer materialized somewhere in the blue sky. And moments later—

It came crashing down, scattering the clouds. An absolutely colossal hammer.

Guhuuuuuuuuuuk!!

The terrifying sound of air being torn apart. It was like a star falling from the heavens.

"Aaaargh!"

Even though I'd covered my ears, the tremendous impact left them ringing. My head was spinning.

What happened to the monster?

I approached the shattered outer wall to check.

"Holy... fuck...."

It was an absolute atrocity. The road had caved in from the massive impact. The giant snake's head had been flattened like dried squid, its contents splattered everywhere. The truly astonishing part was the hammer. That enormous thing didn't even have a single crack. It was perfectly intact.

Just how durable is that thing?

The hammer vanished as if it had been unsummoned. All that remained was the corpse of the giant snake.

"Hahahaha!"

Laughter burst out of me uncontrollably.

"That was fucking awesome."

A hammer falling from the sky? It was insanely cool. The sight was even more satisfying than I'd imagined.

Time to check the items.

I leaped out of the building.

Whoosh— whoosh— whoosh—

I deployed Afterimage repeatedly against the outer wall, landing on the ground in an instant.

"Ha! This is seriously badass."

The afterimages I'd left along my descent path slowly faded away one by one. I wished Hana and Chaei could've seen this.

What about the items?!

Glowing objects were visible near the crushed snake.

"Whoa, three items dropped."

I examined the Last Scale first. It looked like armor at first glance.

It was black scale mail that reminded me of a snake's scales. No, it literally was made of snake scales. The glossy sheen made that obvious. The next item was the same.

The Arcane Venom Gland was clearly related to the snake as well. It looked like it contained some unpleasant liquid inside. I stored it in my inventory with just a fingertip. Even with leather gloves on, it felt gross.

"It definitely didn't drop ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠items related to the monster before, right? Has that changed too?"

Then what about the Mugeuk's leather...?

Hmm. It probably wasn't the case for everything. I suddenly felt the urge to take it off immediately.

No, Mugeuk had nothing to do with the creature it came from.

Even if there was a connection, it didn't really matter. Leather armor was originally made from the hides of hunted beasts anyway. Yeah! There was no problem at all.

After finishing this miraculous rationalization and reaching an agreement with myself, I checked the final item.

It was a potion that permanently raised a stat. I was starting to just accept these things now. From a survivor's perspective, this was actually a good thing.

Judging by the fact that this is the first one I've seen, it must be extremely rare.

How much would something like this go for? Equipment could be replaced, but stats were forever. The price would probably be whatever the market could bear. After all, raising levels and stats would only get harder from now on.

After collecting all the items, I summoned the Altar beneath the snake's corpse. Since it was so long, I had to burn it section by section.

I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠should check the clear rewards too!

Using Afterimage, I searched thoroughly from the third floor upward. Since the names appeared just by getting close, I didn't need to touch everything.

Damn, nothing this time.

I even checked the rooftop, but there were no clear rewards.

Well, still, three items is a huge haul.

Not only that, burning the boss on the altar had given me stat and skill points.

That's enough for today.

When I came outside, Short Hair pulled up on the motorcycle.

"Are you finished, sir?"

"Yeah. Let's head back to the apartment."

"Yes, sir!"

I pondered how to distribute the items. The Last Scale was quite heavy for leather armor. Too heavy for me to wear. Same for Hana. It wouldn't suit her focus on agility.

Should I give it to Chaei?

I was planning to give her Mugeuk. The longer the blade extended, the heavier it became. She'd need to invest in strength to wield it properly anyway. The ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Last Scale—heavier than typical leather but lighter than metal—seemed perfect for her.

In that case, maybe the Vitality Essence too?

Hana and I weren't in immediate danger. At least not until the second wave. But Chaei didn't have any mobility skills. Right now, she was the most exposed to danger. Plus, with her lower level, she didn't have spare stat points to invest in stamina. She needed this the most.

For now, I'll give it to Chaei. If another one drops, I'll give it to Hana.

I had the altar anyway.

I ran into Chaei at the apartment entrance.

"Chaei."

"Oppa? You're back already?"

I'd told her yesterday that I'd be going on a short expedition. She probably hadn't expected me back this quickly. Honestly, I'd wanted to check a few more places, but since the Unique tower had a cooldown, there was no need to rush.

"Are you not happy to see me?"

"It's not that. We saw each other yesterday too."

"Tsk. I even brought you a present, but maybe I should just give it to Hana instead."

I pulled a small shopping bag from my inventory. It was the Vitality Essence. I'd even wrapped it nicely in a bag that had once held perfume.

"Ah! Of course I'm happy to see you! I've been working hard while thinking about you all day, you know?"

"Hehehe."

The moment Chaei grabbed my arm and acted cute, my defenses completely crumbled.

Now that I look at her, she must be exhausted.

She looked pretty worn out. Coordinating with the raid party members couldn't have been easy. Unlike swinging a sword alone, she had to consider her teammates' positions. The long blade must have gotten in the way a lot. She must have been nervous too.

In times like this, raising your stamina stat is more effective than any fatigue recovery potion.

I knew from personal experience. I'd tried it when I was tired.

"Here, take it."

"Thank you, oppa!"

I handed her the Vitality Essence first.

"Wow, what is this?"

"It's a potion that permanently raises your stamina stat. Extremely rare."

She stared at the red liquid inside the glass bottle with fascination.

"Can I drink it now?"

"Yeah, go ahead."

She pulled out the cork and gulped it down in one go.

"Whoa, it works great! I feel so energetic!"

"You looked tired, so that's perfect."

Chaei had been smiling brightly, expressing her joy, but her expression suddenly froze.

"Hm? What's wrong?"

"My body... it's getting hot...."

"What?"

"Why is this happening? Oppa, what do I do?"

I could feel her arm, which was holding mine, growing increasingly warmer. What the hell was going on?