The Party That Doesn't Return (2)
The first login after moving the capsule went smoothly with no issues at all. Everything felt clean and stable. Right after logging out, I hopped in the car and headed straight for the electronics district and the medical equipment stores.
“You’re looking for UV lamps? Something really bright?”
“Yes, do you have anything that spreads UV rays in all directions?”
“Are you from a hospital? We have radial models used in postpartum care centers. This one’s a new product—its sterilization range reaches up to 5 meters.”
The clerk showed me several products. There were all kinds of large UV sterilizers designed for disinfection.
“Obstetrics and postpartum centers are very sensitive to germs, so these units are popular. People turn them on for thirty minutes to sterilize an empty room.”
“Can I turn one on and see how bright it gets?”
“Haha, you’re a dangerous one, aren’t you? If the UV reaches five meters, that means the light is extremely intense. It can cause burns on human skin. Hospitals only use them in rooms with no people inside, and they’re very careful to avoid exposing anyone’s skin.”
I had been planning to just blast undead monsters with UV lamps, but apparently it was dangerous for people too.
“That’s risky.”
“Exactly. That’s why we also carry flash-type models that concentrate the light on a specific area instead of spraying it everywhere. These can reach up to thirty meters.”
He pulled out a flashlight-sized unit. The controls were identical to a regular flashlight.
“Never shine this directly into someone’s eyes. When you turn it on, the UV rays concentrate inside the head, allowing you to sterilize distant targets.”
“Oh! This is exactly what I was looking for. I’ll take this. Also, do you have the radial ones that spread light in every direction running on batteries?”
“There are models designed for places without electricity, but they’re quite expensive.”
The flash-type cost 200,000 won each. The radial sterilizers that could disinfect an entire room went for a staggering three million won. Still, if they could wipe out monsters in the Undead Dungeon, the price was more than worth it. I bought two of each.
On the way back, I stopped to buy empty beer and soju bottles from elderly waste collectors, then swung by a pharmacy and grabbed an entire box of empty Bacchus bottles. I also picked up gasoline, thinner, and sugar, then spent several more hours making Molotov cocktails. I was even running low on cloth for the wicks, so I had to buy old clothes from a junk shop.
It didn’t feel like I had come out to rest. It felt more like I was just preparing to go back in.
When it was finally time to sleep, log back in, and something occurred to me, I bought some food and climbed into the capsule.
When I woke up after taking turns on night watch, the dungeon was still pitch black. The mood was far from pleasant. The Green Dungeon had been full of colors and natural light, so it never felt claustrophobic. But this place was a maze of tight, blocked corridors steeped in darkness. The oppressive atmosphere seemed to weigh even heavier on the mind.
The mental pressure from this environment was definitely dealing damage. At least I had been able to step outside, breathe fresh air, eat whatever I wanted, and take a proper shower to relieve stress. The others didn’t have that luxury, and it worried me.
So I took out a table, a burner, and a pot, then started boiling the food I had brought. Today’s menu was pork soup.
It was too dark to clearly see the milky broth, but the rich aroma rising from the pot made everyone’s noses twitch. I added the chopped green onions and seasoning sauce I had prepared, brought it to a boil once more, then ladled it into bowls with a bit of salted shrimp and glass noodles. I handed them out with forks and spoons.
It was just regular neighborhood pork soup, so it was probably loaded with Prima creamer and MSG to create that signature white broth. But that thick, savory flavor from the creamer and the umami punch of MSG completely captured everyone’s tongues.
“Whoa, this broth is incredible. As a priest of water, I’d say this soup has been blessed.”
“I agree. I usually eat quietly, but this makes me smack my lips without even realizing it.”
If even the priests were reacting like this, the rangers and mercenaries were even worse. The dungeon wasn’t cold, but they had all slept wrapped in cloaks on the chilly floor, so their bodies were cold. The hot soup made them sniffle as snot ran down their noses.
“Khh! This white rice and the noodles just melt away the moment they touch my tongue.”
Pyutel was sweating buckets, as if he had taken some kind of tonic. Sweat poured down his forehead and even ran down his back from eating something so hot. Yet it wasn’t the sticky kind of sweat—it was the refreshing kind that came after a satisfying meal. His whole body seemed to feel lighter.
“I thought we’d be stuck with that dried jerky and bread again today. Eating this wonderful soup has given me real energy.”
The rangers stood up with renewed vigor. Meni and the women, however, were still eating.
“Master. When did you make this white stew?”
“While you were all sleeping. I’ll teach you how to make it, so next time you girls will have to cook it.”
Everyone ate with gusto and began preparing to move. It was clear that full bellies made people sharper and more energetic. Just like the saying back home—when people’s stomachs are full of warm meat soup, they become kinder and more positive. It seemed the people of this world received the same kind of buff from a hearty, hot meal.
[Ding!] You have played for 7 hours and 48 minutes. Your physical responses are normal and all systems are stable.
While Meni was thinking something felt off, she instinctively raised her shield. An arrow flying in from somewhere bounced off it with a clang.
“Skeleton warriors and archers! About twenty of them!”
Unlike the living armors, these could be dealt with using blessed weapons, so the warriors stepped forward and took care of them. Then eight more living armors appeared. Once the priests handled those, another wave of skeleton warriors and archers showed up.
After four repetitions of this pattern, the battle fell into a rhythm. The priests began using their holy magic more freely on the living armors, knowing the warriors would handle the next skeleton wave while they recovered their strength.
“This time it’s skeleton warriors and…”
At the sound of bones assembling, Pyutel moved to the front and spoke—only this time the sound was slightly different.
“Huk! They’re not human-shaped! Kugh!”
Just as Pyutel said, the skeletons that appeared this time came in all sizes. Tiny ones no bigger than cats rose alongside massive ones over two meters tall, carrying bones that looked like they belonged to grizzly bears.
With small skeletons slipping under shields and large ones slamming down from above, even Pyutel and Meni at the front struggled to block everything. On top of that, arrows kept flying in, forcing the two rangers and Pyurie to focus entirely on protecting the priests and mages.
“Please hold them off until we recover our strength!”
Since the priests had no holy magic saved up, Sezanne stepped forward.
“Fire Wall!”
A wall of flames rose in front of the charging skeletons, with additional walls forming on both sides. The tide of battle flipped in an instant.
Just when everyone was starting to relax, three figures appeared from the rear. I thought they were living armors attacking from behind and moved to intercept—only these were different.
Living armors were just empty suits of armor floating in the air. These had actual bodies inside the armor. Red eyes glowed from within their helmets, and they wielded massive greatswords. They were nothing like the living armors we had faced before.
“Those are death knights!”
“Death knights!? How are they here?”
The priests who had been recovering their strength cried out in shock. As if that were a signal, the creatures charged.
I could tell they were powerful. We couldn’t afford to be pushed back, and we definitely couldn’t let all three get close. I raised my shield and rushed to meet them head-on.
The death knight’s greatsword slammed into my shield with a thunderous boom.
The impact was on a completely different level from any monster I had faced so far. Attacks coming in from both sides were also noticeably faster. It really felt like I was fighting living knights.
Winning a straight-up fight against all three at once seemed impossible. If I couldn’t get stronger, I had to weaken the enemy. While blocking their attacks with my shield, I cast healing buffs on each one individually.
Since they were undead, the reaction was immediate. A sizzling sound came from inside their bodies as if they were taking internal damage. Heat surged out, followed by rising smoke. It seemed the healing buff was eating away at them from within.
Knowing I could deal with the most dangerous ones this way brought some relief. Once the priests recovered their strength, we should be able to finish off the death knights.
“Kyaaaak!”
A piercing scream from behind made me turn. Pyurie was being grabbed and lifted into the air. The two rangers jumped up to catch her, but she was already too high to reach.
“Filthy vampire!”
“Holy Light!”
Priest Pelani must have recovered enough strength. A burst of white light shot out. Above the struggling Pyurie, a human figure with bat wings became visible. Unfortunately, the vampire twisted its body and dodged the Holy Light that had been cast with every ounce of strength the priest could muster. It flew higher and hurled Pyurie into the wall.
With a heavy thud, Pyurie slammed into the wall and fell to the ground. She twitched but couldn’t move. Small skeleton creatures swarmed toward her.
“Hahaha! Despair, humans! Be consumed by darkness and perish!”
Sezanne and Yanne immediately launched Fire Bolt and Arrow, but the vampire spun through the air like it was performing acrobatics and dodged every spell.
While the mages kept the vampire occupied, the rangers tried to rescue Pyurie. The skeletons, apparently under orders, blocked their path.
“Damn it.”
If we left her like this, Pyurie would die. Even if someone wasn’t a major combat asset, losing a party member created a huge ripple effect. I wanted to save her somehow, but I couldn’t break away from the three death knights.
If I could just buy time, the healing buffs would eventually melt the death knights from the inside. I knew I could win that way—but Pyurie would die before then.
“Kraaah!”
The vampire that had been dodging magic snatched up one of the rangers trying to save Pyurie and flew upward. I decided it was time to use the method I had been saving.
Enduring wounds, I pushed the death knights back, then pulled a radial UV sterilizer from my inventory—the kind used to disinfect rooms in postpartum care centers. I hadn’t wanted to use it if possible since it was harmful to people too, but I had no choice.
Radial UV Sterilizer (48V 3kW Battery Model)
The device sprayed blue light in every direction. If Priest Pelani’s small glass bottle of holy water was like a candle flame, this sterilizer equipped with twenty-four UV lamps was like a blazing fluorescent light.
The death knights touched by the light didn’t just smoke—they began to melt. Knowing strong UV rays were bad for people too, I immediately spun around and ran toward Pyurie. I gave the skeleton creatures still clinging to their prey another generous dose of the radial UV sterilizer.
“Kyaaaak!”
Unlike the death knights, the skeleton bones melted instantly under the powerful UV light. The vampire that had been darting through the air dropped the ranger and fled into the darkness to escape the light.
I quickly dragged the collapsed Pyurie out. Thankfully she was still breathing. I applied a healing buff and left her with Sezanne, then went to find the ranger who had fallen from the air.
After giving buffs and potions to the two injured, it looked like all the attackers had retreated into the darkness to avoid the light. But when I opened the map, I saw they hadn’t disappeared—they were simply hiding in the shadows.
I immediately pulled out the flash-type UV sterilizer, aimed it at the darkness where the vampire seemed to be hiding, and pressed the power button.