Chapter 5 — The Choice of the Weak
The dungeon had turned into hell.
Screams echoed behind them as hunters ran for their lives.
The once organized raid formation had completely collapsed. What remained was chaos—people sprinting through stone corridors, spells firing blindly behind them, and the relentless thunder of monstrous footsteps chasing them down.
Lucas ran.
Not wildly.
Not blindly.
But fast.
His breathing was controlled, his eyes sharp as they scanned every corner of the dungeon path.
Behind them, the sounds of death were constant.
A scream.
A roar.
A crunch of bone.
Then silence.
Another hunter gone.
Lucas didn't look back.
Looking back slowed people down.
And slowing down meant dying.
Beside him, Elvanor August moved like a streak of white lightning. Even while retreating, her posture remained sharp, her movements precise.
Ice formed under her feet occasionally, letting her glide across rough terrain.
But even she was breathing heavier now.
Mana exhaustion.
An S-rank could fight monsters that wiped out armies…
But even S-ranks had limits.
Behind them, several A-rank hunters followed as well. Only a handful had survived the third-floor collapse.
The rest…
Lucas pushed the thought away.
His mind was busy doing something else.
Mapping.
The dungeon.
Every turn.
Every chamber.
Every slope and corridor they had passed earlier.
Lucas had never been a strong hunter.
But he had always been observant.
When you were weak, details kept you alive.
And right now—
Those details might save them.
Lucas's eyes suddenly widened.
He grabbed Elvanor's arm.
"Wait."
She instantly reacted, turning toward him with a sharp glare.
"Don't slow—"
Lucas pointed toward a massive stone wall beside the corridor.
"Break that."
Elvanor frowned.
"…What?"
Lucas's voice remained calm.
"If you break that wall, it connects to the slope above the first-floor river."
One of the A-rank hunters behind them snapped angrily.
"You expect us to trust an E-rank's guess right now?!"
Lucas didn't even look at him.
He kept staring at Elvanor.
"Shortcut."
For a brief moment, Elvanor hesitated.
Her mind raced.
The first floor river…
Her memory replayed the route they had taken earlier.
Then her eyes widened slightly.
He's right.
If the wall connected the way Lucas described—
It would skip almost half the escape route.
But one thing bothered her.
She looked down at him.
"When," she asked slowly, "did you memorize the dungeon layout?"
Lucas blinked.
"…When we walked through it."
There was no time to question further.
The roar of monsters echoed closer.
Elvanor raised her hand.
Ice mana surged.
The temperature dropped instantly.
"Move back."
Lucas stepped away.
Then—
CRASH
A massive spear of ice slammed into the wall.
Stone exploded outward.
Cracks spread across the surface.
Then the entire section shattered.
Cold air rushed through the opening.
Beyond it—
A steep rocky slope.
And below it—
The first-floor river basin.
The A-rank hunters stared in shock.
"…Holy—"
"Jump!" Elvanor ordered.
Lucas didn't hesitate.
He leapt first.
The slope carried him sliding downward rapidly. Cold water splashed around his boots as he landed in the shallow river below.
One by one, the others followed.
Elvanor landed last.
"Run."
They ran again.
Now the exit wasn't far.
The glowing dungeon gate flickered faintly in the distance.
But the monsters had noticed the shortcut too.
Heavy footsteps thundered behind them.
Elvanor clenched her teeth.
Her mana reserves were nearly empty.
But they were close.
So close.
They reached the gate chamber.
The exit glowed like salvation.
Elvanor suddenly stopped and turned around.
Ice mana gathered in her hands.
The last of it.
She slammed both palms into the ground.
"Ice Dominion."
A massive wall of solid ice erupted behind them.
It stretched across the entire corridor.
Thick.
Dense.
Reinforced.
The monsters slammed into it seconds later.
The wall trembled violently.
But it held.
Lucas stepped closer to the gate.
The surviving hunters began escaping one by one.
Then—
BOOM
The ice wall shattered.
A massive horned beast crashed through the frozen barrier.
One of the boss monsters.
Silence filled the chamber.
The situation was clear instantly.
Elvanor's mana was gone.
The A-rank hunters were exhausted.
And the monster…
Was fresh.
There were five humans left inside the gate chamber.
Elvanor.
Four A-ranks.
And Lucas.
Someone had to stall it.
One of the A-ranks whispered.
"…Shit."
Lucas looked at the monster.
Then at the hunters.
Then at Elvanor.
His mind calculated quietly.
Those four A-ranks were strong.
If they survived, they would continue protecting cities.
Saving thousands of people.
Elvanor…
She was something even more important.
An S-rank.
A rising prodigy.
The kind of hunter the world needed.
But Lucas?
Lucas was just…
Lucas.
A weak E-rank hunter.
A carrier.
Disposable.
He thought of Sarah.
Her tired smile.
Her endless hospital shifts.
Then Anya.
Her angry shouting.
The plate she threw this morning.
Then…
His little brother.
Sleeping silently in a hospital bed.
Lucas's chest tightened.
…Sorry.
The monster roared and charged.
Lucas stepped forward.
The others shouted.
"Lucas!"
"What are you doing?!"
He didn't answer.
The beast's massive jaws opened.
Lucas didn't run.
Didn't dodge.
Didn't fight.
He simply stood there.
And let the monster grab him.
In one motion—
It swallowed him whole.
Blood sprayed across the stone floor.
Inside the monster's throat, Lucas felt crushing pressure.
Teeth tore into his body.
Pain exploded through his nerves.
His vision went red.
Outside—
Elvanor stood frozen.
Her mind refused to process what she had just seen.
Lucas Dilihavia.
The calm, strange E-rank boy.
Just…
Gone.
The A-rank hunters grabbed her arms.
"We have to go!"
"Move!"
They dragged her toward the gate.
She resisted for half a second.
Then the monster roared again.
The hunters forced her through the exit.
They collapsed onto the mountainside outside.
Behind them—
The dungeon gate flickered violently.
Then it sealed shut.
The entire area fell silent.
Medical teams rushed forward.
Survivors were dragged away for treatment.
Elvanor remained kneeling on the ground.
Her mind replayed the moment again.
Lucas standing still.
Lucas not running.
Lucas letting himself be taken.
It didn't make sense.
He didn't look like a hero.
He didn't act like one either.
He was practical.
Detached.
Someone who just wanted to survive.
So why?
Why sacrifice himself?
The answer refused to come.
Hours later, the official announcement spread through the camp.
"A double dungeon has formed."
Protocol activated immediately.
When a double dungeon emerged, the gate became unstable.
It could not be entered again for three days.
After that, a large-scale raid would be organized.
But none of that mattered to Elvanor right now.
She stared silently at the sealed gate.
Her chest felt… strange.
Heavy.
An ache she couldn't explain.
Lucas Dilihavia had been weak.
Insignificant.
Yet…
He saved her.
Her fingers slowly curled into fists.
"…Why?"
Her voice barely escaped her lips.
Why would someone like him save someone like her?
The answer waited…
Deep inside the dungeon.
Inside the stomach of the monster that had swallowed him.
Where death was supposed to come.
But something else was waiting instead.
The end...