Dungeon Clearance (3)
"Jo-jun-ah, I'm really nervous today."
Alice trembled slightly as she gripped my hand tightly.
I held her soft, petite hand firmly and replied, "Don't worry, Alice. With this combination, it's weird if we can't clear the dungeon no matter what we do."
"Even so..."
Today was the day of the dungeon clearance—the final exam that would mark the end of the first semester at the Great Demon Subjugation Academy, a long yet short institution.
Thinking that the end of the first semester was finally approaching, I felt a strange emotion bloom in my chest for a moment.
Was it because I had realized how well I had adapted to this world?
Squeeze.
Feeling the warmth of Alice's hand as she held mine, we left the school grounds and headed to the B building's athletic field to find Class 1-5.
The moment I spotted the person who looked like our homeroom teacher—chewing vigorously on a Monami Pen—we hurried straight over.
"Good morning, Teacher. It's a beautiful morning."
Like a proper class president, I greeted the teacher cheerfully, but he frowned deeply, staring silently between me and Alice.
"You're really annoying from the moment you wake up."
Stopping his chewing, the teacher let out a long sigh.
"Yeah, that's right."
A familiar voice rang out from behind, and when I turned, the girl with long purple hair fluttering in the breeze—Violet—came into view.
Her elegant fingers brushing aside strands of hair swaying in the morning breeze made her look like a scene straight from a painting.
Squeeze.
That feeling vanished quickly thanks to Alice's firm grip on my hand.
"Hee~ Did I come late~?"
Not long after, the girl with fluffy brown hair spreading wide—Maya—finally arrived.
Once all our dungeon clearance party members had gathered, the teacher nodded and told us, "Well, if you head to the C building parking lot, you'll see a yellowish-green van with the Namu Guild logo waiting for you. Go there, and we'll divide the dungeon guidance and supplies before we depart."
The teacher rummaged through the pocket of his slightly disheveled white shirt and handed me a card.
"Don't get hurt. Do well. Well, you'll do well anyway."
Even though the teacher grumbled, the warmth in his eyes made me smile as I accepted the card.
"Of course. Who am I?"
"Scum."
With that disgusted yet proud expression, we headed toward the C building parking lot.
"Hee~ But what if it's a really difficult dungeon? Like the boss is a hidden boss and all that...?"
Maya blinked her large, sheep-like eyes anxiously as she walked.
Even after weeks of practice, the timid and pure-hearted Maya had died quite a few times in battle, but in everyday life, she was still Maya.
"Don't worry. The chance that the dungeon suddenly turns into a hidden boss is almost zero."
Violet declared firmly, as if to reassure us.
At that, I couldn't help but break out in cold sweat.
The fact that the dungeon we were entering had a high probability of containing a hidden boss weighed heavily on me.
Maybe something like the previous hidden dungeon would happen—the boss would change or some weird intervention would occur?
"Even if it does, this guy can handle it."
Violet's intelligent eyes stared at me silently.
I laughed awkwardly and twisted my body, but Alice pinched my side and shot Violet a fierce glare.
"Hmph."
Violet accepted Alice's gaze without flinching, while Alice glared even more sharply at the back of Violet's head.
While we bickered and chatted, we reached the C building parking lot. As the teacher had said, among dozens of vans, one strikingly yellowish-green vehicle stood out.
"Ah! Here it is! Here!"
A small-statured woman with a green van jumped around waving excitedly at us.
Interestingly, her hair color matched the van's yellowish-green perfectly.
Was the guild name "Namu" (Tree) and all the matching done in yellowish-green?
"Ah, hello. Are you the guild member assigned to our dungeon clearance?"
I bowed and handed over the card the teacher had given me.
"Hehe, you don't have to take this... Well, I memorized everything because I was briefed on you guys a week ago!"
Proudly thrusting out her chest and letting out a loud "pfft," the guild member made a fart sound.
Unfortunately, her flat chest didn't show much, matching her small stature.
"Ah, yes."
Adapting to the high tension of the welcoming guild member, I answered hesitantly. The staff member, misunderstanding my doubt, cleared his throat and called out our names one by one.
"Really, right?! This side's class president is Jo-jun-nim, vice-class president Alice-nim, and secretary Violet-nim."
Violet's eyebrows twitched.
It seemed the secretary trauma still lingered.
"And this side..."
Maya clasped her hands together, her big eyes sparkling.
"Maya-nim! Right!"
"Yes~!"
Maya's eyes sparkled with joy.
"See? I prepared diligently a week ago, right? I even prepared all the items with the good stuff."
Hurrying behind the light-green van, she opened the trunk, groaned while lifting a large box the size of her body, and placed it in front of us.
"Here are the pouches and... possibly bio-healing potions and..."
Rummaging through the box, the small staff member took out items one by one and handed them to us.
Since preparation had been thorough, the items were all practical and well-made.
The bio-healing potion was a one-use item that automatically injected a needle into your body in emergencies and delivered the healing potion. There was also a portable flashlight, a compact pouch with air rope, and various other excellent items.
"You really prepared a lot, huh?"
Since I'd used many of these in-game, I skillfully wrapped a pouch around my waist and stuffed everything in.
"Hehe, of course. I took all the money and non-money from our guild and prepared it for you."
Smiling shyly and proudly while thrusting out her chest, the staff member suddenly looked pitiful.
"No, why go that far?"
I said that, but to be sure not to be stolen, I fixed the pouch firmly on my waist. The staff member flinched and said, "That's..." then told me, "If you don't have a guild yet... our side is, perhaps..."
Ah, that was the purpose.
"Our guild is definitely a small to medium enterprise... but the guild leader is also very kind... If Jo-jun-nim comes, we'll pour all our budget into growth support..."
The staff member, whose confidence had faded, curled up cutely.
"Let's go first. We'll see what happens today and think about it."
"Ah, yes! I drive really well! If you come to our guild later, I can pick you up one by one!"
The staff member opened the back seat vigorously.
Screech—the back door opened, revealing the interior. Matching the Namu guild name, the car was entirely painted brown.
A guild that truly followed its concept.
"All right, let's depart!"
With the staff member's energetic shout, the van started moving.
And as the staff member had said, the driving was excellent.
*
"Uwaam...!"
As soon as Alice stepped out of the van, she stretched her body like a cat and stretched.
Thanks to the smooth, jolt-free driving, Alice had slept soundly leaning against the window without waking once.
"Is this the place where the dungeon is?"
Violet, who had dozed off in the car, had messy hair.
"Heeeng~."
Maya had just slept while moving around, so her clothes and hair were a mess.
During the nearly two-hour drive, I had also felt sleepy, but I couldn't sleep.
"Hehe, Jo-jun-nim, your driving is good, right?"
Looking at me silently as if waiting for praise, Lee Sae-rom.
Because the Namu guild staff, Lee Sae-rom, had been chattering next to me, I was the only one in our party who hadn't slept during that excellent driving.
"Here's my name tag. If you remember our guild later... please contact me! Please!"
Sae-rom took a light-green name tag from her pocket and pressed it into my hand.
I had heard that green was a comfortable color for the eyes... but if I joined this guild, my eye health might improve.
"Ah.. yes, I'll think about it."
"Definitely! You have to think about it!"
Sae-rom shook her light-green hair and pleaded.
From talking in the car for two hours, the Namu guild seemed like a pretty good guild.
It was lacking only in funds, but the rest of the conditions were at a level surpassing top guilds.
"I see. But where is our dungeon?"
After getting out of the car, I bent my tired body and tapped the handle of my sword out of habit to relieve fatigue.
"Ah, it's over there."
Sae-rom stretched her finger and pointed to a spot.
Following her gaze, I saw a space flickering behind a tree.
That was the 'dungeon' we would enter.
According to what I had heard, it was a goblin cave dungeon teeming with various deformed goblins.
Perhaps there were shaman goblins, shield goblins, or great chief goblins among the deformed ones?
Of course, that was in terms of hard mode. Even the goblin cave in hell mode, which had increased difficulty due to the agreement with the angel, I couldn't predict which 'goblin' would pop out.
"Well, here's the camcorder."
Sae-rom took out a small camera from the car and attached it to my pouch.
A device that recorded the exploration process inside the dungeon one by one.
The video recorded here would be used to evaluate our capabilities and assign scores.
"Huu."
Preparation was complete.
Staring at me silently, the three party members.
I smiled and declared, "Well, let's go. Dungeon clearance."
*
"Kerk."
Green skin covered in pimples, ferocious veins visible beneath the skin.
A goblin with yellowish eyes stared at his own reflection in the pond.
"Kerr~ Kerr."
His crooked nails on his hand stroked his chin as if he were admiring his appearance, as if he had some intelligence.
For a while, the goblin had been admiring his reflection in the well. Suddenly, he felt strange and looked at his own face flickering in the water.
Squeeze.
Something was moving in the transparent water.
"Kerk?"
Waves rose in the pond, and his face gradually began to dissolve.
What was this?
The goblin, filled with pure curiosity, poked his head toward the center of the waves.
Flap flap.
Then, something moving in the water became clearly visible.
A long, white-bodied thing flapping and swimming in the water.
"Kerk!"
The goblin thought, "It's a delicious fish—raw it's savory, grilled it's even more savory. Catch it quickly."
"Kerk!"
Fixing his yellowish eyes on the fish swimming in the water, he quickly reached out and grabbed it.
"Kelkelkel!"
Feeling the solid grip on his hand, the goblin smiled thickly and pulled his arm out of the pond.
And..
"Kerr..?"
Staring at 'something' in his hand instead of the fish, he tilted his head.
Jaw with pincers on the head and protruding stones inside the teeth. Black compound eyes on the eyes.
This wasn't a fish. It was a 'bug' that wriggled, flew, or crawled on the ground.
"Kerk."
The goblin, disappointed, released the bug in his hand.
Then, the bug didn't fall from his hand. It wrapped around the white body and rushed toward the goblin's head.
"Kerk?!"
The long, thin white bug poked into the goblin's nostril.
"Kerk! Kerk! Kerk!"
Realizing something was wrong, the goblin panicked and tried to grab the body of the bug that hadn't entered yet with his hand.
Swoosh!
It was impossible to grab the body of the bug that had entered at an incredible speed.
"Kerrrerk! Kerrrerk!"
The bug that had entered the nose wriggled and advanced.
Everything it caught with its crooked jaw was gnawed, and the bug pried open the nose and went up.
"Kerk. Kerk."
Green blood flowed madly from the goblin's nostrils.
Blood also flowed from the mouth opened by pain.
And for a moment.
Squeeze.
The goblin twisted his neck...
The goblin no longer made sounds full of screams or shook his body.
All stopped.