Chapter 17
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 17
Chapter Title: End of the Tutorial (1)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Morning came, and after everyone woke up and finished their meal, they headed to the dungeon entrance. Looking at it, An Tae-woo spoke up.
"...The entrance is small compared to the size of the dungeon."
".... We'll proceed inside."
Everyone wore tense expressions. After all, no one except Seo Yu-ju knew what lay within the dungeon.
You have entered the Tutorial Dungeon.
You cannot leave until you clear the dungeon.
'As expected... So that's why they told us to challenge it after growing strong enough.'
When I'd heard the guide's explanation yesterday, I'd thought we could just enter the dungeon and flee outside if things went south. But of course, it wouldn't be that easy.
Looking back, the entrance was sealed by a transparent barrier.
"Once you're in, there's no way out. They really fucked us over with this shit."
"Yeah, sis. Basically, if we can't clear it, we're all dead for sure... I was worried the dungeon would be dark inside, but luckily there are torches spaced out along the walls."
It was a huge relief that torches were mounted on the walls at intervals. The dungeon had a pyramid structure, so I'd been concerned about lighting, but now that worry was gone.
After traveling a bit, a ladder leading underground came into view.
'...This is different from the pyramids on Earth.'
As far as I knew, Earth's pyramids were structured to ascend toward the North Star.
This dungeon seemed to go downward instead.
"I'll go down the ladder first."
Seo Yu-ju spoke up and started descending first. The others followed one by one.
About three minutes in, Kang I-seo spoke up, realizing we still hadn't reached the bottom.
".... Why is this thing so damn deep?"
There was no end in sight. Torches lit the way at intervals here too, but it was still too dark to see far below.
Roughly ten minutes later, the bottom finally came into view.
Thud.
Kang I-seo stretched her stiff arms and grumbled.
"Ugh, fuck... I thought I was gonna suffocate just climbing down this ladder forever."
The scene below revealed a cave, with a narrow passage that could barely fit three people side by side.
Kieeeek—
A monster's cry echoed from far down the tunnel. Hearing it, Seo Yu-ju spoke.
".... Everyone, be careful. It seems monsters start appearing from here. Unless it's an emergency, Ha-eun and Yun-seong, conserve your mana. I'll take the front line with Ho-won and Hyun-jin. We'll move slowly and cautiously. From now on, whisper or speak softly if you need to talk."
"......"
Everyone fell silent and began advancing carefully.
After some distance, something came flying at us.
—Whoosh.
Ting.
Seo Yu-ju instantly swatted it away with her spear.
'......An arrow?'
I was shocked that an arrow had flown at us. Did that mean someone else was here besides us?
'No, impossible. We found the dungeon and camped right there, entering the next day. No one else could...'
While I puzzled over the arrow, the others—except Seo Yu-ju—looked equally stunned.
Soon, the monsters appeared before us.
"Keruk. Keruk. Keruk. Keruk."
Their appearance wasn't much different from the ones outside. The notable difference was their color: green instead of red.
And finally...
"W-what the fuck! These bastards are holding weapons!"
"How the hell... They know how to use weapons?"
The small creatures wielded swords, shields, spears, bows—weapons meant for humans.
'Fuck... So that's why they said to prepare thoroughly before entering?'
The monsters shrieked and charged at us. Their weapons made them threatening, but the real issue was their numbers—easily over twenty.
Seo Yu-ju shouted urgently.
"Everyone, battle stations! Watch for incoming arrows, and ranged fighters, prioritize the archers if you can!"
Luckily, the narrow passage helped us hold them off. Kim Ho-won blocked with his shield while Seo Yu-ju and Cha Hyun-jin stabbed through the gaps.
Song Ha-eun summoned her spirit and, with Kang I-seo, targeted the archers.
"Kek!"
—Puuk!
"Agh!"
"Hyun-jin!"
Despite Kim Ho-won's shield, a monster slipped through a gap and stabbed Cha Hyun-jin's arm.
Kang I-seo yanked him back, and An Tae-woo filled the spot.
"Hey, you okay?! Yu-hyeon! Check Hyun-jin's wound!"
"Y-yeah! Hold on!"
The blade had pierced clean through midway between his wrist and elbow—bad luck.
"Guhhh..."
"Hang in there, hyung."
Light emanated from Lee Yu-hyeon's hands, and the wound on Cha Hyun-jin's arm began to heal.
"Hoo... Hah... Thanks, Yu-hyeon. It's... better now."
The pain lingered, but the wound looked much improved.
"Yeah..."
Lee Yu-hyeon looked drained, his mana heavily depleted.
"Hey, man up, dude... This is nothing! Rest back there. Your sis here will wipe these fuckers out."
"Hoo... You be careful too, noona. They're way different inside the dungeon with those weapons."
Up front, Seo Yu-ju seemed fine, but Kim Ho-won was tiring. The accumulated damage from blocking so many attacks was taking its toll.
I shouted to them.
"Both of you, fall back!"
They retreated at my words.
I hurled flames at the oncoming monsters. As fire engulfed the first wave, it spread to those behind, filling the tunnel with their agonized screams as they burned.
"Kiiiiieeeek! Kieeeeeek!"
"I-seo, Ha-eun! Now...!"
They caught on immediately. While the flames kept the monsters at bay, Kang I-seo loosed arrows to thin their ranks, and Song Ha-eun's spirit unleashed gusts of wind.
"Ah!"
Song Ha-eun suddenly realized something and directed her spirit.
The spirit stopped hurling wind blasts and instead fanned the flames backward, spreading the inferno.
"Kweeeeeek! Kiyaaaaak!"
The monsters' screams echoed through the cave for a while.
With the battle over, everyone collapsed in exhaustion.
"Hoo... Fucking hell... This is just the beginning? Why's it so brutal?"
An Tae-woo replied to Kang I-seo.
".... Lucky the passage is narrow. If it were wider, we'd all be dead."
My guess was the Tutorial Dungeon wasn't designed for groups larger than ten. We could manage because of Seo Yu-ju—she'd killed as many alone as the rest of us combined.
I checked on Cha Hyun-jin.
"Hyun-jin, can you fight? How's the arm?"
".... Thanks for worrying, hyung. I'm good. Still stings a bit, but... we all have to fight to survive."
"Glad to hear it... More importantly, Ha-eun. How'd you think to spread the fire with wind? That was brilliant."
"Yeah, unnie. We avoided more casualties thanks to you. Amazing."
Song Ha-eun blushed at the praise, fidgeting as she bowed her head.
"Uh, it just popped into my head... It wasn't that great..."
"No, Ha-eun. You prevented more injuries. And Yun-seong did great too—kept them from advancing with your magic."
Seizing the chance to shift attention to me, Song Ha-eun jumped in.
"R-right! Oppa Yun-seong used magic there, and I just built on it!"
"Oppa?"
"Ah...! S-sorry! It slipped out."
"No, it's fine. Call me oppa. 'Yun-seong-ssi' feels stiff. This is nicer."
This was my chance to close the emotional distance with Song Ha-eun.
"Y-yeah! Use banmal with me too, oppa...!"
"Sure thing, Ha-eun?"
Seo Yu-ju's expression darkened as she overheard us. Kang I-seo smirked and snarked.
"Jeez... Romance blooming in the dungeon. Shooting a rom-com in a horror flick?"
"Y-yeah?"
"Not at you, Ha-eun. You're innocent. It's this jerk. See? My guess was spot on—he must've been a total player back on Earth."
Feeling a pang of guilt, I averted my eyes.
"Hah... Now pretending you didn't hear that?"
"......"
"Ahem!"
Kim Ho-won drew attention and addressed Seo Yu-ju.
"Anyway, we've confirmed the monsters use weapons, and things are different from outside. What's the plan going forward?"
".... I think, but the monsters will ambush us a few more times."
"May I ask why you think that?"
"Simple. This time, they didn't stumble upon us—they ambushed us first, like they knew where we were."
Thinking back, we'd been silent while moving, yet they attacked preemptively.
"Then..."
"We'll advance slowly in small steps, always assuming an ambush. Plan our responses ahead."
"How about using my magic and Ha-eun's spirit arts to block them like this time?"
Seo Yu-ju shook her head.
"No. No guarantee clearing means just surviving ambushes. This was our first, so magic was fine, but save it for emergencies. Stronger monsters might appear."
'.... There are, huh?'
A boss monster, or something like it.