Super Chat 100K: Critical Hit Nullified

Eventually, I found myself standing in a dungeon again. This time, my assigned spot was the capital's Sector 6 D-class dungeon, Crater Cave.

I hit the reject button. Three times, even.

The story about that 100,000-won donation from yesterday was still stuck in my head.

But even clearer than that was the penalty fee.

It wasn't the money that saved me—it felt like the money was trapping me even more.

"Everyone, stay sharp! The boss this time is a Flame Golem!"

The C-class tanker, our party leader, slammed his shield into the ground and shouted.

The boss room was suffocatingly hot.

The floor was melted in spots, pooling with lava, and the air reeked of sulfur.

And right in the center, a massive fireball over four meters tall lumbered around with heavy thuds.

"Grroooaaar!"

The Flame Golem roared, blasting out heat that nearly singed off my bangs.

Instinctively, I ducked behind the pillar nearest the entrance, the farthest back from the party.

"Mr. Minsu, we'll handle this! Just watch comfortably from behind!"

The leader winked at me.

That damn "Mr. Minsu" nonsense was still going strong in this party too.

Word about the abandoned mine dungeon must've blown up weirdly among the D-class hunters.

"Ah, y-yes... Be careful..."

I huddled behind the pillar, whispering in a voice like a mosquito. Watch comfortably? Bullshit.

It was so hot I felt like I'd get burned. I hugged my backpack to my chest like a shield and curled up.

This creepy number had been holding steady above ten thousand since yesterday.

"Shine? If I die, just send condolence money to the funeral home..."

I mumbled, hugging my knees.

The fight was fierce. The tanker blocked the golem's attacks, dealers stabbed its sides, and the mage unleashed ice spells.

But the Flame Golem wouldn't go down easy. The intense heat pouring from its body kept melee dealers from even getting close—they bounced off.

"Grrraaak!"

Suddenly, the golem raised both arms high.

The red magic stone embedded in ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠its chest pulsed like a heartbeat, glowing wildly.

The whole boss room's temperature shot up dozens of degrees in seconds.

"Danger! Breath pattern! Everyone scatter!"

The leader yelled in panic. The Flame Golem's ultimate move: lava breath.

A fan-shaped blast ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of over 1,000-degree liquid lava straight ahead—an instant kill. Even a tanker's shield would melt instantly.

The party scattered like mad to the sides.

And unfortunately, as they spread out, the view in front of me cleared wide open.

"Huh...?"

The golem's red magic stone was locked right on me.

It had switched targets, picking me—the guy hiding farthest back—as the next one.

"Groooaaar!"

Its mouth gaped wide.

Inside, scarlet lava bubbled up.

I froze solid.

Not even the thought to dodge crossed my mind.

Taking that insane heat head-on, I wouldn't even feel pain before turning to charcoal.

"Mr. Minsu! Dodge!"

The leader's scream echoed from afar, but it was too late.

Fwoosh!

A waterfall of lava crashed toward me. My vision flooded red.

A split-second before the heat scorched my skin, I squeezed my eyes shut.

Mom, sorry. Tell them to handle the loan themselves...

In that instant.

"...Huh?"

I opened my eyes.

I wasn't dead.

Not hot either.

The scene before me was nothing short of a miracle.

The massive lava blob from the golem had split apart like it hit an invisible wall just 30cm from my nose. Like Moses parting the sea, the lava waterfall parted around me, spraying left and right.

The pillars on either side melted down, the floor bubbled and boiled, but the spot where I sat was perfectly safe. No heat at all.

"What... is this..."

I stared blankly at the splitting lava.

Only after another alert rang in my head did I realize what happened.

That 100,000 won just now.

It saved my life.

And that fact didn't make me happy at all.

The chat exploded.

No! No casthide bullshit—it's just the system doing its job for the cash!

I slumped down, suppressing the urge to puke up my heart. My legs gave out; I couldn't stand.

"Phew... got lucky..."

I muttered in a trembling voice.

I really did. If that 100K hadn't hit right then, I'd be a handful of ash.

But my honest mutter,

reached the party members witnessing from behind—and got completely twisted.

"Got lucky...?"

The party's C-class mage mumbled in a daze.

"You deploy a no-cast barrier that defies all logic, make the golem's attack miss, and call it luck?"

"As expected... on another level."

The warrior leader clenched his fist, eyes glistening with感動 tears.

"Mr. Minsu took the breath for us!"

No! I was just hiding and got targeted by bad luck!

And the barrier wasn't mine—it was that 100K donor!

I wanted to scream, but no voice came.

The party's morale skyrocketed.

The delusion of an 'absolute protector in the back' turned them into berserk maniacs.

"Charge! We can't disappoint Mr. Minsu!"

"Raaah!"

The party rushed in.

The Flame Golem, mana-drained after its breath, couldn't withstand the frenzied assault.

Boom! Rumble!

Finally, its red magic stone shattered, and it collapsed into a heap of rocks.

The chat was still buzzing over the barrier play.

I pulled out my whining smartphone from my pocket.

It really came.

Real 100,000 won hit my account.

This insane system blocked the crit and paid me the cash.

"Does... this even make sense?"

I tilted my head, staring blankly at the screen. Where the hell does this money come from?

I get that viewers donated, but how does it land in my real bank? This isn't some crime I'm getting roped into, right?

Not getting dragged to the station later?

"Mr. Minsu!"

The leader rushed over and grabbed both my hands.

"Thank you so much! Without your barrier, we'd have wiped!"

"Ah... yeah. Sure..."

I answered dazedly. At least I survived.

The money came, but it scared me more. Just get out of this creepy dungeon now.

"We'll settle rewards through the bureau and give you the biggest cut. Let's withdraw!"

The party cheered, turning toward the gate.

I slung my heavy backpack and followed.

But.

The party halted in front of the gate.

"Huh? Leader... the gate's color is weird."

The mage said in a shaky voice.

Cleared dungeon exit gates are normally blue.

But the one before us churned with blood-red darkness.

Woooong—!

Space around the gate warped, emitting eerie noise.

"Wha... Break?"

The leader's face went white.

Dungeon Break.

Even after boss kill, runaway mana bursts the gate, flooding the real world with leftover monsters—the worst disaster.

Rumble!

From deep in the tunnel we just cleared, hundreds of footsteps echoed.

The trash mobs we'd passed by on the way to the boss.

Goblins, bats, spider swarms gone mad from mana overload, charging the gate.

"Run! We gotta get out now!"

The leader yelled, hurling himself at the gate.

Party members tossed weapons and dove in desperately.

"M-me too!"

My heavy backpack slowed me.

I ditched the bag and ran, but the lead goblin from the surging horde blocked the gate first.

"Keeek!"

It cut me off, raising its pickaxe.

"Ah..."

The party had already passed through. I was trapped alone as the break loomed.

Before me: the sole exit gate. And blocking it: hundreds of rabid monsters.

No escape.

The chat flashed wildly with red alerts.

And these ten thousand crazies saw this disaster as just another show.