Chapter 50
‘I’ve heard that even low-level buff mages get treated like treasures, and now it makes sense. His trait must be amplifying it even more.’
He moved through the Nothingness. Killing indiscriminately, he accidentally struck a couple of enemies from the other teams.
The other teams were still barely holding back the waves thanks to the buffs. But the problem was that the buffs couldn’t last forever.
Even the two heroes were feeling the effects. The female hero had finally let loose and enjoyed the fight. She kept the monsters just barely alive so her team could finish them off. This way she minimized mana waste while letting her teammates shine.
After fighting for a while, Kang-jun noticed the mana veins on the ground slowly fading. The buff mage’s mana was almost gone. Or maybe she was trying to conserve it.
Thankfully, the monster horde’s assault had also begun to ease up at that moment.
‘Their levels have risen quite a bit.’
By the time the second wave ended, the monsters were around level 190. That was still within the range of a low-tier dungeon. Of course it wasn’t a problem for Kang-jun, but it worried the others. Several teammates had already shown signs of fatigue from fighting the slippery little guys. Still, the buffs had kept them going.
The other teams were in almost the same situation. They were starting to feel the strain. They had no idea how many more waves were coming.
Using the brief lull, the team leaders quickly gathered in the center. They needed a new plan.
“Doesn’t anyone have a clever idea?”
The female hero’s team leader asked. Of course there wasn’t. The three leaders exchanged silent glances for a moment.
“We can hold out for the next wave, but I can’t promise after that.”
“How long can the buffs last?”
“Right now my mana is almost depleted. I’ve been resting, but even if I push it, it won’t last long.”
The situation wasn’t great… no, it was terrible. The two heroes arrived at the meeting spot.
“Do you have any solutions?”
The question cut off. If there had been one, they would have used it by now.
“If not, what do we do? Just wait like this?”
The female hero was about to scold them, but her leader spoke first.
“The enemies won’t just disappear if we retreat. We need a real plan right now…”
“So we keep fighting? Do you even know how many waves are left?”
Of course shaking the woman like that wouldn’t produce a better answer. That was when Kang-jun spoke up.
“Then we push forward. There’s no way anyone outside is coming to save us.”
Everyone fell silent. The second part was true. The monster pack kept coming, and sooner or later they would all tire and collapse.
“The entrance is still a decent distance away.”
“We have no choice. We’ll go the shortest route possible.”
It would take at least a day and a half even without fighting. With the monsters, it would probably be longer.
But there was no other way. No one was coming to rescue them, so they had to escape on their own.
“If there are still teams still alive out there, we can link up with them while moving. It’ll be easier that way.”
A ray of optimism tried to spread, but it didn’t feel convincing.
In the end, the teams agreed to push forward. The ground was littered with valuable monster corpses, but no one had the luxury to sit down and loot them. If they were going to move, they had to do it quickly.
“Let’s go.”
Kang-jun gave a quick nod to the team resting nearby. They took deep breaths, stood up, and started walking with heavy steps. They could now feel the dungeon’s danger in their bones. Their earlier confidence had crashed to the bottom.
“So we’re going straight to the entrance like this?”
“That’s right. No one’s coming to save us… The outside cleanup crew is probably busy too. How could they care about what happens inside the dungeon? If we wait that long, we’ll all be dead. That much is certain.”
Tzush nodded at Kang-jun’s words. One hundred percent accurate. Hye-mi chewed her lip, wondering if she could really make it.
The three team leaders walked at a steady pace. Flickering lamp lights swayed above them. Everyone looked like they were staring at ghosts.
Kang-jun checked the mini-map for the shortest route. If they kept moving through the night, they might even cut the time down to a single day. It would be hellish, but if it meant survival, so be it.
“Just endure one more day. Then we can get out.”
The magic words gave the teammates a small spark of energy. Hye-mi was already imagining a soft bed waiting for her.
After walking for about an hour, strange fluctuations began rising again. The third wave was coming.
Kang-jun stopped the team and readied them for battle. The air around them already reeked of blood and death. This was on another level even from the last time.
“Here they come.”
This time the numbers were fewer, but the levels were high. They were almost at 200 now… How strong would they get?
They would do whatever they could. …If this kept up, they’d all level up massively. They had already gained three levels after the last two waves. If they all survived to the end, it would be perfect experience.
The battle resumed. No buffs this time. They were conserving mana as much as possible for the next crisis. But it still wasn’t a life-or-death situation.
One by one, casualties began to appear. Without buffs or stamina, a single mistake became fatal. If a limb was cut off, they could still survive, but a beheaded body was beyond saving. There was no way to reattach it.
Still, the female hero was a hero. In this desperate situation, the valor of the two women shone brightly. The team leaders moved desperately.
While the female hero was resting a moment, she saw something shocking. It was the same scene she had missed in the chaos.
‘…What is that?’
She watched Kang-jun one-shot monsters, heads and bodies slicing clean through them. She blinked hard, thinking her eyes were playing tricks. Since their levels were nearly 200, even her superpowers struggled to keep up. Her breath grew heavier with each one.
Actually, she had always had a prejudice that a small-team leader with barely 130 levels couldn’t be that strong. She had only ever seen him from afar, but the man right now was something else entirely.
Yet he was one-shotting 200-level monsters? How? Had she misjudged him?
But the same scene kept repeating. It had to be real.
“Miss Neyestani!”
The team leader called out to her. If her gap continued, the damage would be too great.
She returned to the fight. Her thoughts were put on hold. For now, killing the monsters came first.
The battle lasted about twenty minutes before ending. This time the casualties were heavy. Two teammates were dead. Many more were injured.
“What about the bodies?”
“We can’t take them. We’ll have to leave them. Carrying dead bodies only gets you killed too.”
They weren’t dying during the expedition; they were in an emergency escape. They didn’t have time to lug bodies. The leader was right—many had just dropped right there.
“Rest in peace, you bastards.”
“You bastards, why die here…”
A few close friends shed tears. They each took a keepsake from the fallen and moved on. …Before the day was over, those monsters would be decomposing in the depths of the beasts’ stomachs.
After the battle and a short rest, they started walking again. The road ahead was still long. They had just received their second-class badges after completing the tutorial.
The female hero, Belita Neyestani, kept stealing glances at Kang-jun. The more she worried about survival, the more she wanted to know his secret. She had already decided his level was at least 200. The scene earlier had been impossible without that level. And there were no buffs! Even among heroes, that was at least B-rank.
‘…If I stick with him, I might survive.’
Even if the worst happened, if she clung to him, she could at least keep living. For now, her heart finally felt a little lighter.
With a bit of mental breathing room, the earlier scene came back to her. So he was the only one who had felt the mana fluctuations… A piece of the puzzle was clicking into place. The guess was turning into certainty.
Everyone looked exhausted, so the team leaders decided to rest briefly. The moment the order came, the teammates collapsed onto the ground. Hye-mi panted heavily and gulped down water. She was on the verge of death, but she had no choice but to keep moving. She just wanted some comfort.
“Sis, I really feel like I’m going to die…”
“Don’t worry, you won’t. You’ll be fine.”
Tzush’s words were meant to reassure, but Hye-mi felt a chill. The girl was acting crazy, saying not to worry because she wouldn’t die—exactly like Kang-jun. A flicker of the commoner’s sadness between geniuses nearly exploded.
“Think happy thoughts. Then you’ll feel better.”
Happy thoughts? Hye-mi’s mind flashed with the image of Kang-jun pinning her down like an animal… the exact moment pleasure hit her head and then exploded out.
When they got back, she would hang onto the senior all day without letting go.
Chewing her lower lip, Hye-mi made her resolve again. Her strength was coming back.
Tzush imagined something similar. The difference was that Hye-mi dreamed of something intense, while Tzush dreamed of something sweet.
“I love you, Tzush.”
“I love you too, Team Leader.”
And the sweet kiss that followed… Kang-jun caught the look in her eyes, but it only landed on his back and fell powerless.
“Let’s go.”
The two’s fantasies ended there. Stepping out of heaven, they were once again in hell.
Even when they set out, the teams had some color in their cheeks. Now their faces were pale and deathly. When they used up their last strength, they might somehow survive one or two more waves, but they instinctively knew the third would be impossible. Still, the exit was still far away.
Not long after they started walking again, another monster pack appeared. It was the point where dying became normal. Even the healers were exhausted.
The leader decided they couldn’t afford to lose more strength, so he activated the buff. Using it before it ran out was a good call.
“Oh great divine power…”
Someone had called out to the gods. Kang-jun let out a small laugh. He wondered what kind of reaction the god they were summoning would have when he saw this.
Soon a monster appeared. The buff mage drew a mana vein on the ground. Everyone knew it wouldn’t last long. They had to end the fight before the buff faded.
“Kill!”
The team leaders’ orders had turned vicious. Everyone was fighting for survival.