Adapting in the 41st Zone
The natives of the third dungeon had always treated players as humanoid monsters. They had simply fallen from the sky, all of them carrying absurdly powerful strength, and they kept trying to tear apart the order of the world with concepts no one could understand. That image of them as villains had been burned into custom for centuries.
They had long opposed heroes and villains in a strict relationship. The players, too few in numbers, had eventually vanished into the shadows after a long struggle. If they kept fighting the natives like that, they would never escape the dungeon. Their true enemies were the four demon kings, not the locals. So the bastards needed to be forced to submit. Players like that had blended into the third dungeon and the modern world.
It happened only occasionally that freshbies were grabbed by the heroes right after arriving, but the organization usually found them first. As long as you weren’t the unluckiest of the lucky, there was nothing to worry about in the third dungeon.
Kang-jun figured out which zone he was in. The forty-first. Considering that each zone number one had its own branch of the organization, the members would have no trouble locating him.
He circled the neighborhood several times and returned to his starting point, then spotted a pair of suspicious lovers slinking around a corner. To outsiders they looked like an ordinary couple, but the moment Kang-jun saw them he knew they were organization members.
They were about to pass when the man whispered.
“How many?”
If he had been a completely clueless freshie he would have jumped, but Kang-jun answered without hesitation.
“Two hundred twenty-four.”
The pair exchanged a glance. The information was roughly correct. Though suspicion was far from gone, even if they were spies the branch would sort them out later.
“Follow us.”
The man nodded once. Kang-jun trailed after them without question.
Because branches moved around, Kang-jun didn’t know the route. The villain organization had layered protections to avoid drawing the heroes’ eyes.
“You’ll have a rough first week, but you’ll adjust quickly.”
The sharp-featured woman reassured him. Kang-jun simply nodded.
The walk felt endless, so he opened the stat window. The display had changed slightly from the tutorial.
- **Level**: 39 (+24)
A new line had appeared under level. It showed the total of all stats, giving a rough measure of overall strength.
A freshie who had just fallen into a dungeon boasting level sixty-plus was absurd on paper, but Kang-jun had pulled it off. Thanks to the title bonuses, of course… Still, after decades of grinding, he deserved some reward.
He kept scrolling until he reached the traits tab and muttered “When I level up it’ll probably be something decent,” feeling a faint unease. Just then the man signaled they had arrived.
Kang-jun closed the window and pressed close to the pair.
His eyes brushed a sign. Zone number 22-1. They slipped into a narrow alley and took a corridor leading downstairs into a building that looked like any ordinary pub. It was, of course, the branch disguised as a bar.
The iron door with its opaque window rattled open. A bell rang. Kang-jun had assumed the place was empty, yet a few patrons were already inside. As expected, they weren’t real customers.
“Three of you?”
A young madam with lips painted bright red like a rat’s muzzle eyed them. The man answered.
“Corner table. Milk.”
At the mention of milk the madam’s gaze landed on Kang-jun. Her red tongue flicked across her upper lip.
“You’re early. You must be the first-timers. Lucky you found us near here?”
“Forty-first zone. We got lucky.”
“You’re handsome. How old are you?”
She propped her chin on one hand and smiled attractively. Kang-jun answered without shame.
“Twenty-eight.”
“Oh, perfect age.”
The woman’s voice softened as she spoke, so the man cut in quickly.
“Hey, don’t touch him. He’s still a newbie.”
“Pfft, newbies are people too.”
The man tugged him toward the door. The madam blew a kiss and called, “See you later.” Kang-jun smiled back in reply and followed the couple inside.
They passed a door marked “Staff Only.” Stacks of supplies lined both sides of the corridor. That was the extent of the camouflage.
When they pushed through the next door, a completely different world opened up. Kang-jun swept the wide hall with a single glance, head turning left then right. A reception desk sat in the center. A hanging sign above it read:
- **41st Branch**
The three headed straight for the desk. The woman working behind it looked up.
“Mission complete.”
“You’re early.”
“We were close.”
“Good work. Come with me.”
She tapped something on the computer. They were moved again, this time into a meeting room large enough for about forty people.
“I’ll report to the team leader and come back.”
The man spoke. The woman nodded. Their eyes briefly met. It was clear they were ordered to watch Kang-jun for any suspicious behavior.
He sat down because there was nothing better to do and opened the chat window.
- Right now if I tap you ten times.
- Just ate that lip-baring bitch earlier.
- Hero submission sex is the best lol
- Please let me eat your ass
- Hero virgin tour starting now
These guys really only talked about sex. Kang-jun wondered if the gods had somehow left him in a state of endless frustration for reasons he didn’t know. Anyone would think the same… if they were human.
“…There are many things you’ll want to know. You’ll find out later. Don’t rush.”
The woman sitting quietly spoke up. He almost said he hadn’t asked anything, but changed his answer to avoid suspicion.
“Got it.”
The conversation paused. Uncomfortable with the silence, she introduced herself.
“I’m Kookna. I was originally a goblin… Surprised?”
Kang-jun had only been in the Earth-only tutorial, so he had never seen other species, but the dungeon gathered everyone. Of course races were diverse. After crossing the dungeon they took on forms suited to the place.
A perfectly normal-looking woman could claim goblin heritage without raising eyebrows. Kang-jun feigned surprise.
“Really? You don’t look like it.”
“After coming here I changed. I was shocked too at first. Now I’m used to it.”
“Amazing.”
“Right?”
They chatted on until a presence entered. They turned. It wasn’t the earlier man. A freshie like Kang-jun had arrived. One of the two who had brought him clicked his tongue.
“Wow, someone faster than me?”
The freshie’s tongue kept flicking out. His eyes met Kang-jun’s exactly. He moved like a lizardman.
“Sit.”
“Yes.”
The lizardman freshie took a seat. More freshies kept arriving. When the room was nearly full the trainer stepped in. Kookna left to make room.
She stood and took the microphone. Hoo-hoo, beeeeep. Fresh species who had never heard such sounds flinched.
“Shhh, lower the sound a bit. Yeah, a little more. That’s good.”
Ahem, the trainer cleared his throat.
“Welcome to the forty-first branch. Some of you may be startled by the sudden change in environment. Don’t worry. Spend the month getting used to it and you’ll be fine.”
He ran a hand through his half-bald hair and scanned the freshies sharply.
“Explaining what kind of place this is will take time, so we’ll cover it in the next lesson. What I want you to remember is that even though our environments and races differ, we all came here for the same goal. Don’t forget that. Especially remember that betrayal is our greatest sin.”
He clenched a fist.
“Being weak isn’t a crime. But betrayal is. It drives every comrade here into a grave. No matter what else, we will never tolerate it. So never betray the organization. That’s all you need to remember.”
A storm of words passed, then calm returned.
“Earlier I mentioned it: you’ll train here for a month. Training is different from the tutorial. You’ll only receive the training you need. The rest of the time is yours to use however you like. …Of course travel will be restricted until then, so keep that in mind.”
The trainer finished. He ordered the instructors to take charge of the groups. Three instructors led roughly thirty trainees out. The veterans inside smirked. “Freshie babies,” they chuckled. If they had been Korean they would have called them “old-timers” instead.
The trainees paired off and were assigned rooms. Kang-jun ended up with a bald man who had thick lips and an enormous build. Both words and actions showed he was unnaturally quiet. Yet Kang-jun felt burning passion surging inside him. That was not the aura of an ordinary person. He had clearly been another race before becoming human.
“Ogre? Or troll?”
Kang-jun asked the man sitting on the bed, chin on knees. The man, arms on knees, stared at the floor. Slowly he lifted his head. His eyes looked calm, but it was just the instinct to hide killing intent.
“…Ogre.”
Kang-jun’s left eyebrow rose at the reveal. That was unexpected. Not as rare as fairies, but still one of the harder-to-find species. Among sentient races they were exceptionally strong.
He couldn’t help but use two coupons to buy an information scanner from the shop. Even if it was single-use, he could check a person’s stat window permanently afterward. Efficiency was high.
- **Name**: Yal Jarahkumba (224th generation)
- **Age**: 126
- **Gender**: Male
- **Level**: 68 (+5)
- **Stats (Primary)**
= Strength: 20 (+5) / 20
= Agility: 14 / 20
= Intelligence: 5 / 20
= Stamina: 20 / 20
= Luck: 3 / 20
= Magic: 6 / 20
- **Traits (1 / 3)**
= That’s Exactly This Guy (A / A): +5 Strength.
Compared to other freshies, the Ogre’s innate physique had filled his strength and stamina to the cap. The passive trait added another five.
“I could take him with one punch.”
Even as a freshie he was already over level seventy.
Of course not everything about Ogres was perfect. His intelligence and magic were low, while strength and stamina were high. In short, his role in a party was fixed.
“I’m just a tank.”
As a tank his build was excellent. Solid for the early game.
But he was an Ogre. No matter how human his appearance, his core instincts remained. The savage aura constantly leaking out proved it.
“…Let’s see how he turns out.”
Kang-jun’s eyes treated the man like a lab rat.