Chapter 107
Chapter 107
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 107
Chapter Title: Double Dungeon-3
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‘What the hell is that guy doing?'
Before entering the double dungeon, Colonel Lee Pil-du had emphasized several precautions multiple times.
Do not get close to the spot shimmering with blue light.
No matter the type of double dungeon, this was a common trap found in all of them.
It was extremely dangerous, too.
And just now, the medical officer had triggered that very trap.
"You idiot, what the hell are you— you crazy bastard!"
Affected by the trap, the medical officer was violently flung backward.
Colonel Lee Pil-du turned around and was stunned.
He never imagined a problem would arise from the point he'd stressed repeatedly during two full briefings.
Rumble rumble rumble.
The blue energy the medical officer had touched began to amplify, growing in size.
In an instant, it expanded into an oval large enough for a person to pass through, and monsters poured out of it like mad.
They were the stone statue-like gargoyles they'd been facing one or two at a time up until now.
"Battalion commander! Permission to use the mana sword!"
Kim Min-jun quickly equipped his mana sword and enveloped the blade in aura.
Over thirty gargoyles had emerged in just a few seconds.
With no telling how many more would come, he needed to thin their numbers fast.
"Shrieeeek!"
The gargoyles charged wildly, assuming combat formation.
'Ants are still just ants, no matter how many there are.'
If the hunters here had been Team 2 or Team 3, it would've been total annihilation.
The trap the medical officer triggered was that catastrophic.
But to Kim Min-jun, wielding not just any mana sword but a second-generation model, they were nothing more than stacks of achievements and experience points.
'Man, I was thinking of saving it for the boss monster, but damn, this thing's performance is insane. Good thing I got it early.'
Gargoyles couldn't be killed with a single stroke even with a mana sword.
Their hides were that tough.
Tests by other units reported it took an average of three minutes for a first-generation mana sword to sever a gargoyle's body parts.
Slash!
But with Kim Min-jun's second-generation mana sword, every swing lopped off a head in one go.
'It's heavier than the first-gen and drains more energy, but the firepower is no joke.'
No matter which direction they attacked from, the result was the same.
Even if they veered mid-attack toward another officer, there was no way he'd let that happen.
'You can thrash all you want—you won't get close.'
For twenty minutes, he held off the endless stream of gargoyles.
In the meantime, Colonel Lee Pil-du relayed the situation to the scattered team members and supported his own combat efforts.
'Oh yeah, colonels aren't just anyone for nothing.'
He deflected monster attacks with his weapon while minimizing stamina drain with concise movements.
He wasn't moving just to kill monsters recklessly.
Colonel Lee Pil-du had moved to assist Kim Min-jun's fight from the start.
"Sergeant Kim Min-jun! Ignore the ones flying over to the rear! I'll handle them!"
"Yes, sir!"
With minimal movement, he continuously created optimal attack opportunities.
The two processed the monsters with movements as if they'd rehearsed beforehand.
"Hoo."
Only when the ground at their feet was piled high with gargoyle corpses did the problematic trap finally vanish.
[Your Strength stat has increased by 1.]
[Your Agility stat has increased by 1.]
[Your Stamina stat has increased by 1.]
He'd smashed so many monsters that even his usually stagnant stats had risen.
Kim Min-jun had taken down that many gargoyles.
"Hoo. Sergeant Kim Min-jun. We'd have been in real trouble without you."
"Sergeant Kim Min-jun reporting. No, sir. It was thanks to your support, Battalion Commander."
"What I did was nothing compared to you."
After catching his breath a few times, Colonel Lee Pil-du leaned against the wall only after confirming the situation had ended.
Even minimizing stamina use, the number of monsters from the trap had been overwhelming.
As battalion commander, he'd held out this long, but any other hunter would've collapsed from exhaustion ages ago.
"Hey! Medical officer!"
"C-Captain Ma Seok-du!"
The storm-like moment passed.
Colonel Lee Pil-du's gaze fixed on the medical officer.
His eyes burned like roaring flames.
He looked ready to charge and beat the man senseless right then.
"You new to double dungeons or what?"
"No, sir! This is my third raid..."
"And you're the asshole who's cleared it twice before who goes and triggers a trap? What's your excuse!"
"Th-that was..."
"Tell the truth. Cut the bullshit."
Double dungeon traps were easy to spot.
Shimmering blue haze.
You could tell from afar, 'That's a trap.'
Unless you were colorblind, of course—but no colorblind hunters existed.
They were screened out in physical exams.
"Sorry, sir! I spotted what I thought was a rune stone and tried to secure it carefully, but I accidentally triggered the trap! I'm truly sorry!"
Lying poorly would just mean harsher discipline.
Judging that, the medical officer stuck to the facts.
There'd been a rune stone near the trap, and he'd tried to snag it but touched the trap instead.
"A rune stone? You thought trading one rune stone for the lives of everyone here was worth it?"
"Th-that's..."
"Even if it was real, what you did was unforgivable! If this weren't a dungeon, I'd have beaten you half to death!"
"I'm sorry, sir..."
Before the raid, the medical officer had been the most gung-ho among the officers.
His colossal screw-up was a huge issue, especially since he had tons of combat experience and was selected as top-tier.
It implied something wrong with the selection system so far.
'Hard to believe that guy's a captain. Clearing double dungeons twice before without issue is the real shocker.'
Where the trap had been, there was indeed a stone as the medical officer described.
A stone with such intricate patterns, you'd mistake it for a rune stone at a glance.
Though it was just a regular rock in the end.
'That guy's getting disciplined the second we exit.'
Even securing a rare rune stone wouldn't save him from punishment for what just happened.
'If I hadn't been here, all three of us would've died for sure.'
Even top officers would struggle against two gargoyles at once.
Three was manageable with effort; four meant dying without much resistance.
'That's reality for you.'
Hunters were human, after all.
The spec gap between monsters and hunters was that vast.
They narrowed it only through grueling training that felt like vomiting blood and superior gear.
'More importantly, I haven't even done anything yet, and he's already screwing up like this?'
He'd been thinking of summoning familiars to induce a few mistakes, but this was beyond ridiculous.
Even demotion would be a mercy for that one.
"Get your heads back in the game. We're moving. You and me outside the dungeon later."
"Yes, sir..."
They reformed ranks and resumed exploring the dungeon.
Four hours spent inside so far.
They had to find and kill the boss monster somewhere in the dungeon within the next twenty.
-Battalion commander! We think we've spotted the boss monster!
While marking paths and scouting, a radio call came from Team 2.
They'd found what they suspected was the boss target.
"Pull back with plenty of distance and hold position. We'll follow Team 2's markers."
It didn't take long to assemble at Team 2's location.
Teams 1, 2, and 3 constantly radioed updates, and their markers differed.
That minimized pointless movement.
'That trash finally fucked up.'
'Heard he went near a double dungeon trap for some rune stone?'
'Clearing it twice before without issue is the unbelievable part.'
'Should just dishonorably discharge him.'
The other officers whispered upon seeing the medical officer.
His shitty personality had always given him a bad rep.
'Sergeant Kim Min-jun. You saved our asses.'
'Heard gargoyles were pouring out insanely from that double trap.'
While the battalion commander observed the suspected boss monster.
The officers approached Kim Min-jun.
Questions flew wildly: How'd he take down all those gargoyles unscathed? How'd he build that monstrous stamina? How was he still just a sergeant with that insane skill?
They seemed like officers who'd always been interested in him.
"Attention, everyone."
He answered briefly for a moment.
Colonel Lee Pil-du quietly drew their focus.
"That gargoyle we suspect is the boss—it's different from the ones we've faced."
Golden-hued skin.
A body and wings five times larger than the others.
Unlike the stone statue types, it wrapped its massive body in enormous wings.
Its bulging muscles suggested tremendous strength.
"We go full defense at first. No attacks until we've judged its abilities and power."
"Yes, sir!"
"Understood!"
Hunters needed every bit of stamina for the raid.
Judging that, Colonel Lee Pil-du finished the brief and approached the monster.
Ding.
[You have made contact with the boss monster.]
The message floated before his eyes.
The dungeon kindly informed them the golden gargoyle was the boss.
Everyone held their breath, silencing their footsteps.
"Hey!"
"Over here!"
"Come at us!"
They formed a circle, finished combat prep, and roused the seemingly sleeping boss.
[The Golden Gargoyle awakens from sleep.]
[The Golden Gargoyle recognizes surrounding targets as enemies.]
[The Golden Gargoyle possesses strong vitality. Unless you inflict lethal damage, it will recover health.]
[The Golden Gargoyle summons a gale.]
"This... everyone, grab onto something!"
Messages popped up in sequence as the Golden Gargoyle sprang into action.
It flapped its massive wings, creating a gale-force wind.
"What the..."
A completely unforeseen attack pattern.
The hunters panicked but quickly anchored themselves somewhere.
Even bracing with full strength, the wind threatened to hurl them away.
The Golden Gargoyle's unexpected pattern disrupted their formation.
If it attacked now, they were done.
"What kind of insane monster is this?!"
The massive form slowly approached through the gale.
Hunters struggled desperately to respond but couldn't even draw their weapons.
'This... is impossible.'
Colonel Lee Pil-du bit his lip hard.
He realized it now.
With just nine people, resisting that boss was impossible.
"I'll take this thing on!"
The moment he concluded that, a hunter burst from the gale.
It was none other than Sergeant Kim Min-jun.