Rift Exploration Division (3)

There's basically only one way to close a rift. You have to find the dungeon's master and cut off its breath. If you don't, no matter how many monsters you slaughter, the rift will stay open forever, its maw gaping wide.

The same rule applied here. The pro hunters from the Volcano Guild had deliberately left the boss alive for us. That meant the dungeon master was still breathing somewhere in here. So letting our guard down was absolutely out of the question. As long as the boss lived, the monsters had the ability to regroup. Even if ninety-nine percent of them had already been wiped out.

My entire body snapped to high alert in that instant.

A sharp whistle cut through the air right after. The target was the girl from Class 2 standing right in front of me.

"Duck!"

I immediately grabbed the back of her head and shoved it down.

"Eek!"

Something shot over our heads at that exact moment and slammed into the wall, causing a small explosion.

Boom!

Someone's shout rang out right then.

"I-it's a centipede!"

At the same time, small screams erupted from all around us. When I looked up, several truly grotesque insects were staring our way, licking their antennae. They really were centipedes. True to their name, they looked exactly like oversized versions of the real thing. Of course, their size and menacing shape were on a completely different level.

The thing that had just flown at us was probably a spine spike fired from one of them. The typical hunting pattern for these things was to hit their prey with the spikes first, then leap at the wounded target in an instant using their massive hind legs.

"Tssshhh—"

The one making that threatening noise since earlier was clearly pissed off that it had missed. The sight was beyond disgusting—it was downright terrifying.

"Hiiik! So gross!"

The girls who were already scared of bugs had gone from pale to completely blue in the face. Their appearance really was that of giant, bizarre insects.

That was when Hunter Kim's voice cut through.

"Calm down. There are only three of them."

He flicked his fingers, gathering the students.

"The ranged attackers will take the lead first. We'll strike before they can charge."

"Us?"

"What? Can't do it?"

The students who had been terrified at first began to shift as soon ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠as he gave the order. Those capable of long-range attacks raised their weapons. Among them, the most decisive was Yu Hae-rin.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Yu Hae-rin released her arrows without hesitation. Then—

Kwaaang!

The centipede at the very front was turned into mush. Her skill, Rapid Fire, had brilliantly finished off the first one.

Not to be outdone, the other ranged attackers quickly joined the assault.

"D-die!"

Swoooosh—

Following Yu Hae-rin's magic arrows, two fireballs flew out in succession. The centipede hit by An Gyeong-tae's fireball went up in flames, delivering the final blow.

"Tssshhh……!"

Even though there had only been a few, the students who had taken down the centipede swarm finally let out relieved smiles.

"W-we did it!"

It was a small victory, but their first real win against monsters.

"We won!"

"No way! Did you see that just now?"

An Gyeong-tae and the other ranged attackers jumped around like little kids while staring at the centipedes they had defeated. I felt genuinely happy for them too. As a proud member of the party that had slain humanity's enemies.

Of course, as the designated pack mule, I hadn't actually done anything….

Then the girl from Class ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠2 tapped me on the back and spoke up.

"Um… thanks for saving me."

The lion-haired girl expressed her gratitude with a shy expression. I think her name was Im Yu-bin? The fierce image she usually gave off seemed strangely softened.

"Yeah, no big deal."

"You're Ha Yeonjun, right? I'm Im Yu-bin from Class 2! Let's be friends!"

At that moment, I felt an inexplicable sense of unease. I pushed Im Yu-bin, who had been trying to grab my arm, behind me and scanned our surroundings.

"Y-Yeonjun…?"

Was that really the end? Amid the students who kept cheering, I observed the cave with an objective eye.

"……."

Something felt off. What exactly had I missed?

Killing intent. I had roughly guessed that enemies still remained. And also….

That's it! The headcount was short. Only then did I start figuring out who was missing. The one person connected to the unease I had felt when Im Yu-bin approached me….

"That's right—Park Dong-su… Park Dong-su is gone!"

"What?"

Hunter Kim turned around with a startled expression at my shout. The other students did the same. That was when a sinister energy washed over us.

Whooooosh—

Black mist began rising from the far side of the cave, then surged toward us like a tsunami.

"Kyaaa—!"

"W-what is that?!"

A heavy black storm soon swallowed us whole. No matter how skilled a pro hunter was, there was no way to deal with a prank like this.

"S-stay calm! Grab onto whatever's next to you!"

The already dark cave became pitch black. I couldn't even hear the screams anymore. Inside the black storm where I couldn't see even an inch in front of me, I struggled to keep my balance. It felt like I was being sucked into a whirlpool in the ocean.

"Damn it…!"

That was how I got absorbed into the unidentified black smoke.

*

"Ha Yeonjun, how long are you going to stay like that?"

"Uh… huh?"

At someone's whisper, I slowly opened my eyes. Thankfully, it seemed I hadn't completely lost consciousness. What unfolded before me was a landscape sparkling with a brilliant purple glow. It looked like an amethyst cave at first glance… Had we ended up here because of that black smoke earlier?

"You're awake."

At that moment, Yu Hae-rin's face with her golden bob cut filled my entire view.

"Whoa, you scared me!"

"What?"

Yu Hae-rin frowned, clearly displeased with my reaction. That was when a desperate voice called out.

"Hae-rin! Forget about Ha Yeonjun and help me!"

The owner of the urgent voice was An Gyeong-tae. The cries of insects followed right after. Yu Hae-rin grabbed her bow and quickly stood up. I looked in that direction too.

"Tssshhh—"

An Gyeong-tae was fidgeting helplessly while facing off against three centipedes.

"T-take this!"

A fireball began forming from the staff he held. Yu Hae-rin drew her bowstring as well. Since these two had personally taken down centipedes just moments ago, I wasn't particularly worried. The real problem was on my side.

"Tsssh!"

Right then, a centipede burst out of a large hole in the ground. It grabbed my right leg roughly with its spiked foreleg. It was clearly trying to drag me into its tunnel.

"You bastard!"

I slammed my relatively free left fist straight down onto the centipede's head.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

"Tssshht—!"

Green bodily fluid splattered across my face. Then a familiar narration rang out.

That was enough to finish it? I looked back and forth between the dead centipede's corpse and my blood-stained left fist. A smile soon spread across my face.

Yeah. This was the result I had wanted from the beginning. I had been fairly confident, which was why I had wanted to run this experiment. The violence that Beating Maestro wanted was the stimulating kind filled with bloodshed. In other words, living monsters counted too. If I could complete the violence mission without needing to target humans, it meant I was essentially freed from the pressure of committing violent crimes.

"Things are going way too smoothly."

With that happy thought, I looked around. It seemed Yu Hae-rin and An Gyeong-tae's fight had ended as well. By the way… where exactly were we?

That was when Yu Hae-rin approached, brushing dust off her clothes.

"Looks like we've been caught up in a Dungeon Chain."

"Dungeon Chain?"

"Yeah. We've entered a rift within a rift. Look up."

I followed the direction of Yu Hae-rin's finger and looked at the ceiling. I couldn't hide my astonishment. The tops of Hunter Kim Du-sik's and the other students' heads were visible as if reflected on a glass window. Moreover, the place they were standing was the exact cave we had been in before. It seemed only the three of us had been swept up in the Dungeon Chain….

Yu Hae-rin continued with an endlessly serious expression.

"There are two ways for us to get back. Either they kill the boss that's tied up on their side, or we kill the boss here."

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"What? No way! Going after the boss by ourselves would basically be suicide!"

An Gyeong-tae, who had been listening, freaked out. Yu Hae-rin added,

"You're right. So the best option is to wait until our teammates kill the tied-up boss. However…"

Yu Hae-rin pulled something out of her pocket and showed it to us. It was a name tag from Raven Academy. And the name written on it was Park Dong-su!

"It looks like Park Dong-su entered this place before us. And it seems he went off somewhere alone."

"P-Park ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Dong-su…?"

An Gyeong-tae's voice began to tremble. I felt the same way.

"Then we have no choice but to find Park Dong-su quickly."

"Yeah."

"The probability of Park Dong-su clearing the dungeon by himself is close to zero percent."

"H-Ha Yeonjun, even you…!"

Yu Hae-rin nodded. An Gyeong-tae didn't seem to agree, but still… this was dangerous.

I bit my thumbnail. I didn't know where Park Dong-su had gone, but he had probably headed for the boss room. The worst-case scenario might have already happened on the way there. If he had woken up an aggressive boss, our lives could be in danger too.

That was when I heard a ding!

A sudden mission had appeared out of nowhere! But after reading the mission objective, I couldn't help but doubt my own eyes.