The hunters began to express their doubts and fears one by one.
Since their own lives were at stake, they had to be careful and meticulous.
However, too much caution could result in missing out on an opportunity for a large profit, which practically fell out of the sky by itself.
Mr. Song apparently thought this was one of those cases.
- Do you want to come back empty-handed after all this?
Song placed his hands on the door.
- We can be the first to penetrate these dungeons. Those who don't want to go can come back. I'll understand. If necessary, I will go there myself.
Apparently, Mr. Song has become very determined to find out what is behind this door.
Typically, this hunter, known in the community as an old-timer, was considered rather prudent and sensible.
Song was a C-rank hunter with ten years of experience.
If it weren't for his age, which is over sixty, at least medium-sized guilds would be ready to fight for him. And maybe even bigger ones too.
And when such a Hunter expressed his opinion with such confidence, the others began to feel less anxious than before.
After all, someone among them who was considered reasonable and not willing to stick his neck out unnecessarily wanted to go in there, and no one would have thought that this honest mage would expose them to unnecessary risks.
He just wasn't that type of person.
Several hunters began to remember rumors of double dungeons.
Everyone searched their memory for any clues on which they could base their next decisions.
- I heard there are amazing treasures hidden in the double dungeons. Apparently, when such a dungeon opened in Greece, hunters came back with a hell of a lot of good equipment.
- I heard that a small guild from South America got quite rich after such a dungeon operation. But... which country was it?
- After all, monsters in the dungeon always have more or less the same strength no matter where they are, so the hunt itself shouldn't be too difficult...
- Basically yes. A Category D dungeon is a Category D dungeon.
What if the double dungeon held incredible treasures, as rumored, and the monsters behind those doors were about the same difficulty as the D and E rank monsters they had been fighting so far?
The difficulty would be small and the gain would be enormous.
- After all, what could happen in a D-rank dungeon? Well, without exaggeration...
- Postpartum care, clothes, care items, school fees for the first child, and additional rent...
Most hunters at this point had very similar opinions. Even most of those who initially wanted to turn back seemed interested in making a big profit at an easy cost.
Jin-Woo also felt very excited at the prospect of making money.
He didn't know anything about the double underworld, or even that such a thing existed.
But everyone here unanimously talked about the large profit, the small gap between the monsters in the inner and outer dungeon. There were experienced hunters in the group. Mr. Sung and Mr. Kim were already old and each of them had been in this profession for over five years.
More than half the time since gates even started appearing.
If there was even a hint of danger, they would object.
But they didn't. They were both among the most eager to get in there.
He couldn't go home with one E-rank magic core. He could barely buy groceries with that core. And in a few days, he will have to pay for the apartment...
He still had to earn something. At least two more E-rank cores.
Or maybe even one more.
But... He didn't even have to leave here with more cores.
If there really was treasure behind that door...
Treasures or rare loot found in the dungeon would normally be divided equally among all raid participants.
Unless, of course, it was a guild and an independent group. It was obvious that in the guild the champion and vice-champion receive a dozen or even several dozen percent more.
Depending on how strong and large the guild was.
But their group were freelancers subordinated to the Association.
It was better to put it this way than to say out loud that no guilds wanted hunters... especially those of E rank.
Dividing the loot was completely different from dividing the magic cores that you had to get yourself by killing the monster. Whoever killed the beast took the core. This was the rule among freelancers.
And even some parts of the guild also had this rule, instead of accumulating everything you get in the dungeon.
Jin-Woo swallowed nervously.
Mr. Song pushed open the door, which looked decidedly massive, old, and rough.
However, it turned out that there must have been some mechanism installed in the door if it was a physical force A sixty-year-old man who was a magician was enough to open it easily.
Although the hinges still creaked and groaned as the door opened. What would you expect from an unused old door?
Now that the door was wide open, the vast, open interior was revealed. The hunters hurried inside.
Mostly forget to stay alert. Deceived by the possibility of great loot at an easy cost.
Jin-Woo was afraid of being left behind, so he grabbed Ju-Hee's hand and began to gently pull her inside, anxious.
Ju-Hui's face flushed slightly as she followed him without much objection.
***
As soon as the Hunters entered, flames erupted from the numerous torches tightly packed on the walls at the same time.
Interestingly, the color of these flames was blue. Fire must therefore have been undoubtedly magical.
Thanks to this, the interior became much brighter, illuminated with cold blue light.
- What the hell?! What turned on all these lights?!
- But this is big...
- Something here seems... Different.
The hunters observed their surroundings carefully. The overall atmosphere of the place was that of an ancient temple.
Not only that, but an old and somewhat ruined temple, something that could be buried and hidden dungeon; moss and weeds appeared sporadically on the floor, walls, and ceiling.
The ceiling was a large, deep dome. The dome showed the signs of time. Water stains, small cracks, as well as moss and various types of weeds.
Various stone statues lined the walls of this circular room. Up to ten meters large.
Some of them had weapons in their hands, others had instruments, books, and even unlit torches. None of them were empty-handed.
The most eye-catching statue, however, was the one opposite the door. It's at least twice as big as all the others.
A statue sitting upright on some great throne. His blank stone face stared straight ahead, expressing no emotion.
Several hunters stepped back, slightly disturbed by the monumentality and cold silent atmosphere.
- It's scary here.
- It feels... weird. As if something was watching me.
- It's cold... There are so many big torches here, but they don't give any warmth.
- What do you expect? It's magic fire. He doesn't have to heat up...
Leaving the terrified and very unsure hunters behind, the four strongest of the group went deeper.
- Let's search this place and get out.
The interior was senselessly huge. It was as big as several Olympic stadiums connected together.
- It's impossible for this big stone beast to be a boss, right?
Shocked gasps came from the hunters.
The first image that appeared in Jin-Woo's mind was the Statue of Liberty in New York. If this statue sat on a chair, wouldn't it be as big as the statue of this unknown... king? Prince? God?
Most of the hunters looked at the sitting statue, as if afraid that it was about to come to life.
But the statue didn't move an inch.
Totally damn lucky.
Even Song breathed a sigh of relief.
If this thing was a boss, everyone would be dead by now.
Now that they had some freedom, the Hunters broke into groups and began searching the area.
- There isn't a single monster here.
- There must be a boss around here somewhere.
- What's up with the monsters? I don't even see any stupid bug here. No ant or spider.
- Hey... Actually, now that I look at it all, despite the dirt and dust... there are no cobwebs.
The stone statue's chamber may have been massive, but its actual internal structure was frankly poor.
There were countless torches on the walls. And in front of these walls, more stone statues, taller than a man, stood straight and still.
But despite all this, the room was... terribly empty.
No visible treasure or even monsters.
- These statues are terrible, but you can't say they aren't... beautiful.
- They really are impressive.
- Like works of art.
- Great, it feels like a stupid museum. Where's the money?!
- It looks more like a pagan temple than a museum.
- A museum, a temple... What difference does it make? This place is empty!
Mr. Song sighed, scratching his jaw. Then his gaze fell to his feet.
- Isn't this... Some kind of magical seal?
It looked mysterious, and the shapes drawn in it were unlike anything he knew. It looked more like jagged, irregular blobs.
However, he was interrupted from his thoughts by an uncertain voice that addressed him from another part of the room.
- Mr. Song! Something... something is written here. Please approach.
One of the hunters discovered a statue that was different from the others.
The other hunters gathered around the statue Song was heading towards.
Initially, in the multitude of statues, when you looked around the room for the first time, you could miss this statue.
But it was obvious that he was different from everyone else.
He was not wearing armor like those figures holding weapons, nor was he wearing a toga-like those others wielding instruments or books.
This stone figure was clothed from head to toe in a robe.
The statue had a pair of wings as large as herself, but folded and held close to her body, and in her hands in front of her chest was a large stone tablet. What the hunters focused on were the letters carved on this board.
- It's... a runic text.