Chapter 92
Chapter 92
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 92
Chapter Title: Staircase-Type Dungeon-3
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“I’ll be the bait.”
Those words were as good as saying he was ready to die here.
Provoking them in this desert terrain that favored the Sandstorms, only to get dragged into the sand—if that happened, the person was as good as dead.
That was because the monsters’ pincers and tails packed serious power.
Even getting dragged off by just one of them would be impossible to escape with ordinary strength stats.
That was how much power the Sandstorms wielded once inside the sand.
“Sergeant Kim Minjun. I can’t allow it.”
The company commander responded firmly.
He knew full well that the sergeant always delivered unexpected results.
But he was the company commander.
He had a duty to lead these company members safely.
And that naturally included Sergeant Kim Minjun.
“These aren’t just any monsters—they’re Sandstorms. Even for you, volunteering as bait here would be suicide.”
“Company commander, take a look around. From what I see, rooting out every Sandstorm hiding in the sand one by one would take more than 24 hours.”
Kim Minjun began briefing the dungeon’s situation and the company’s status with a calm expression.
They had cleared the first and second floors with plenty of time to spare, so the soldiers’ stamina was still in good shape.
But on the third floor, they’d run into a harsher environment and tougher monsters than expected.
“We use their habits to our advantage. How about this?”
Kim Minjun’s proposal was as follows.
Tie multiple military ropes around his body and let them trail long behind him.
It was a safety measure in case he got dragged away by a Sandstorm.
“If something happens to me, the company members can act as the brake.”
“Hmm…”
The company commander fell deep into thought.
Monsters in staircase-type dungeons followed certain patterns.
They’d prepared based on that data, but they’d unluckily run into Sandstorms, which almost never appeared.
‘24 hours… No, even 30 hours wouldn’t be enough.’
Normally, dealing with Sandstorms in an environment like this required monster detectors.
For a dungeon this vast, they’d need at least ten of them.
‘Without detectors, we’d have to lure them out one by one, of course…’
The first and second floors had swarmed with that many monsters, so the third floor undoubtedly had a hefty number of Sand Worms lurking.
‘Tch. Of all places, why’d these guys show up on the third floor?’
Staircase-type dungeons were variable dungeons.
That meant it was fine to exit the dungeon mid-clear.
Assuming, of course, the monsters didn’t follow them out.
However.
Exiting from the third floor would reset the entire staircase-type dungeon.
They’d have to start over from the first floor.
‘Better to bet on Sergeant Kim Minjun than face that nightmare horde again.’
After much deliberation, the company commander approved Kim Minjun’s plan.
He judged that reclearing hundreds of monsters would be far riskier.
“Sergeant Kim Minjun. Are you absolutely sure about this?”
“We know your strength stat is high, but… those things are no joke in the sand.”
As Kim Minjun calmly tied the ropes around himself, the hunters voiced their concerns, insisting this wasn’t right.
Using a hunter army officer—not even a regular soldier—as bait.
It went against the established rule of clearing dungeons safely.
“You think we can lure and kill them one by one? You confident you won’t tire out first?”
“…You’ve got us there. Nothing to say to that.”
In a dungeon, stamina depletion was just as terrifying as the monsters.
Especially for a company-sized force, not even a platoon.
One by one, they’d drop, and the exhaustion would snowball.
“You know what happens if we exit a staircase-type dungeon, right? It resets.”
“Ugh… having to face all those guys again? No thanks.”
The hunters shook their heads as if the mere thought drained them.
Dungeon reset.
Hearing that might make someone think staircase-type dungeons were infinite experience farms.
‘What a shame. Experience points. No, even items—if they gave the same rewards, it’d be a gold mine.’
That was how most dungeon traits worked.
Even in resetting dungeons, you couldn’t gain the same stat experience or items again.
In other words.
Re-entering a reset dungeon meant pure suffering.
Sure, it had the advantage of letting you train against monsters endlessly, but still.
“I was gonna let you guys have a shot, but not this time.”
Preparations to lure the monsters were complete.
Kim Minjun smirked at the company members before striding forward without hesitation.
“Sergeant Kim Minjun! You can’t just charge straight down the center like that…!”
Paat! Pat!
Before Corporal Lee Dongjin’s worried words could finish, sharp objects pierced through the sand.
The monsters’ tails.
There were roughly eight of them, by his estimate.
Eight Sandstorms wrapped around Kim Minjun’s body wildly.
“Everyone, brace yourselves! Don’t let Sergeant Kim Minjun get dragged away! Hold those ropes like your lives depend on it!”
Unlike the calm-faced Kim Minjun, chaos erupted on the other end.
It wasn’t just one Sandstorm—it was eight, striking as if they’d been waiting.
“Just lie flat! Like in a tug-of-war—lie flat!”
“Yes, sir!”
“Got it!”
Dozens of company members grabbed the ropes connected to Kim Minjun and threw their weight into it.
“No, I told you it’s fine. Why are these guys overreacting?”
Their combined force actually dragged Kim Minjun back a little.
‘Time to show them what I’ve got.’
But their numbers weren’t limited to this.
Deep in the sand, their presences were faint, but there had to be at least fifty.
‘Might as well take them all out at once.’
Kim Minjun kept luring more Sandstorms even in that state.
Paat! Pat!
As time passed, more tails coiled around him.
With each one, the corners of Kim Minjun’s mouth slowly rose.
‘This timing’s perfect.’
He grabbed their pincers and poured strength into his entire body.
“Come here!”
Then yanked.
“Gekgek!”
“Gek!”
The overwhelming force dragged the Sandstorms out of the sand, where they went limp the moment they emerged.
The power they prided themselves on had weakened.
‘A black mage with this strength? Who’d believe it.’
He hadn’t used any skills.
No magic either.
Just pure physical strength to haul them out of the sand.
‘This is why I do the hunter army.’
Part of it was his naturally high stats.
But he wouldn’t have reached a strength stat of 78 without joining the hunter army.
Ten.
Twenty.
Thirty.
Thanks to Kim Minjun’s inexhaustible strength and stamina, they cleared them all in under an hour.
“He’s insane, for real…”
“Sergeant Kim Minjun, aren’t you going to collapse?”
To think they’d take down such tricky monsters in so little time.
The company members stared in shock, eyes flicking between Kim Minjun and the ropes still tied to him.
“Hey, I’m human too. See? Sweating and everything.”
“No… you’re barely even sweating! How is that possible?”
Just a few drops, at most.
He’d exerted that much effort—enough to drop anyone—yet he walked back casually.
“…Sergeant Kim Minjun. Outstanding work. Still, drink a recovery potion.”
“Sergeant Kim Minjun, thank you.”
The company commander even handed over his own share of potions.
Kim Minjun didn’t need it, but he drank it to appreciate the gesture.
If he refused, they’d probably drag him to the med bay by force.
[Your Strength stat has increased by 1!]
[Your Stamina stat has increased by 1!]
[The skill rank of Strength has risen to B!]
A moment later.
Dungeon clear messages popped up, along with notifications.
It had been a while since he’d pushed himself, but he hadn’t expected stat gains like this.
‘Nice. All good, but…’
What he really needed right now was magic stat.
A strength stat that easily surpassed 80?
Great, of course.
But to reclaim his fundamental power, he needed magic.
‘Oh?’
As he felt a twinge of regret and headed out of the dungeon, a new message appeared.
[You have met the reward conditions for the Staircase-Type Dungeon.]
[Additional rewards will be granted.]
At the same time, something dropped from thin air with a thud.
He snatched it up quickly before anyone saw and pocketed it.
‘Reward conditions met, huh.’
He didn’t know what it was, but it was definitely an item.
‘Feeling better already.’
Countless types and forms of dungeons had appeared over time, with tons of research published on them.
Yet unknown facts like this one were even more common.
Like how clearing certain dungeons granted system rewards.
“Ugh, I’m beat.”
“Every time we go into a staircase-type dungeon and come out, it feels like my soul got sucked out.”
Back at the barracks, the squad members flopped down like they’d collapse.
They hadn’t done that much, really, but they’d spent a long time in the staircase-type dungeon.
Of course they were exhausted.
“You lot, wash up, eat, and sleep. Or at least shower before crashing. If you get sand everywhere, you’re dead.”
“No way, Sergeant Kim Minjun?”
“You’re not heading to the training room right now, are you?”
The squad members, sprawled out flat, gaped at Kim Minjun heading out in workout clothes.
“Yeah. Still got energy to burn.”
“Damn…”
“He’s a freak, seriously.”
“You’ll burn out from overwork…”
The squad members replied in defeated tones.
Kim Minjun told them to at least shower, then headed to the training room.
“Alright, what’s this?”
He rummaged in his pocket and pulled out the dungeon clear reward.
“What the heck.”
It looked just like a button.
A black button.
Press.
Without thinking, he pushed it, and a translucent hologram appeared before him.
[Lucky Roulette Mk2]
A Las Vegas casino.
The kind of roulette wheel you’d see there all the time.
Diring. Ding.
“Can’t turn off this cheesy BGM?”
Background music flowed into his head.
Frowning, he leaned closer to the hologram.
[Draw count: 1]
“…What? So this is the whole reward?”
A circular board marked with 100 numbers.
Seeing the rewards inside, a bright smile spread across his face.
[Reward List]
Sage’s Ring
Dark Stimulant
Elixir
Helmet Infused with Darkness
At least four items that sounded insanely powerful just from their names.
“96 are total junk. These four are the real deal.”
A gacha item as a dungeon clear reward?
“First time I’ve seen legit loot like this.”
Even the hunter army hadn’t secured items like these.
No way he was passing them up.
“Who’d I give this to? No chance.”
Maybe if they promoted him to major—no, colonel.
“Let’s test my luck.”
Kim Minjun pressed the button to use the item.
Chalaraak!
A golden ball dropped into the spinning roulette wheel.
The wheel whirled nonstop, the ball bouncing between numbers.
Ding.
A moment later.
A dazzling burst of light accompanied the message.
“Luck’s on my side.”
He’d won.
And it was exactly the item he’d wanted.