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Translator: penny
Chapter: 24
Chapter Title: Dog Hole
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"...This wasn't part of my plan."
"What the hell are you talking about? Dickhead, don't you know we almost died because of you?!"
I glanced back casually. In the darkness, cautious footsteps were trailing us carefully.
Those footsteps would turn completely transparent the moment they reached a brightly lit area, then slowly reappear once it grew dark again.
Isera the Reaper—the future S-Rank assassin—was following us for some reason.
'Revenge?'
I suspected that for a moment, but her youthful face held curiosity rather than vengeance.
Come to think of it, even Isera was human, so she must be interested in party hunting too. Compared to other parties, ours was overwhelmingly stable, wasn't it? With outstanding results to boot, maybe that had piqued her interest.
'The timeline hasn't gotten messed up already, has it?'
Isera was supposed to grow rapidly on her own. Watching the little stray cat sneak along after us, I let out a deep sigh.
"A sigh? You think you can just sigh like everything's fine? Sis is holding back, but you—say something!"
"Uh? Well..."
"It's not like you're taking a dump or anything. Why'd it take so long? Don't you know we almost died because of you?"
Like she'd finally caught one of my mistakes after so long, our Crimson Flame Witch seized the moment and grabbed me by the scruff of the neck, nagging relentlessly.
It was her classic tactic.
Gaslighting, they called it.
The flashy way she mounted a man and swung wildly at her whim had even dragged around Chris, the Rank 1 in my first playthrough.
Of course, after watching it for over ten years, it held no thrill for me.
"Seo-yeon, that level of talk—can you wrap it up appropriately?"
"Huh? Are you seriously lecturing me right now? And we almost bit the dust because of you—think you can just brush it off?"
She seemed delighted when I pushed back. That meant she was about to latch on and really tear into it. I countered with a serious face.
"Not lecturing. A girl using words like that comes off cheap. Every time I look at you up close, it makes me think of shit."
"..."
Unable to retort, Shin Seo-yeon glared at me fiercely, huffing for a good while.
"Fine. I'll avoid that wording. But you admit your screw-up today, right?"
"Screw-up?"
"Yeah, screw-up! The Saintess and I almost died because of your genius business! I'll collect on that debt proper—"
It was then.
Thwack.
"Ow!"
Shin Seo-yeon clutched the back of her head and screamed. She whipped around with an incredulous look.
"What the—? Something hit me from behind."
I couldn't understand it either.
Oh Ha-eun... no, Isera had picked up a bone and whacked Shin Seo-yeon on the back of the head.
Why the sudden outburst?
"Ah, shit. Anyway, Dickhead, we almost died because of you, so you owe us big time... Aack!"
Shin Seo-yeon grabbed the back of her head again as she tried to chew me out.
"S-Seo-yeon? Why are you acting so spooky?"
"Sis, did you see something fly at me from behind just now?"
"N-No, I didn't see anything."
"Fuck, what is this."
Shin Seo-yeon shot me a piercing glare. Under that suspicious stare, I raised both hands in innocence.
"I had nothing to do with it."
"Don't play dumb. It was obviously you... Ack!"
Every time she snapped at me without fail, a corrective bone flew in. Shin Seo-yeon jumped up and down in place, fuming like she was about to lose her mind.
"What the hell is going on?!"
"S-Seo-yeon, maybe it's a curse?"
"A curse?"
"You know, the quest description said the whole monastery is under a curse."
Now that she mentioned it, yeah, there was something like that.
"A curse is fine by me! Why is it only hitting me?!"
Behind the wailing Shin Seo-yeon, Isera shook her bone with a snort. No idea why, but every time Shin Seo-yeon glared daggers at me and yelled, the budding reaper smacked her right on the back of the head.
Flinch.
Then, apparently out of mana, Isera bolted into the shadows. Watching the whole sequence awkwardly, I turned back to Shin Seo-yeon.
"So, Seo-yeon, what were you trying to say to me earlier?"
"...Dunno."
Protecting the back of her head, Shin Seo-yeon glanced around warily before answering cautiously.
"Shin Seo-yeon?"
"Ah, don't make me talk. Damn it."
"..."
She probably wouldn't yap for a while.
"Well, looks like we're done talking, so let's move on."
We pressed deeper into the monastery ruins.
The Saintess had mostly recovered her wits, so we weren't sprinting desperately anymore.
I pulled out the map and took a sharp turn at the corner. Along the way, doorways to rooms appeared sporadically on either side.
Creeeak. Creeeak.
Some doors were intact, but most were shattered and dust-covered, clearly showing how long this place had been abandoned.
"Hmm, not seeing many skeletons anymore. Sis, anything over there?"
"Nope. Looks like we passed the dangerous stretch."
Shin Seo-yeon and the Saintess peeked into the rooms as they followed me. I warned them.
"Sightseeing's fine, but don't peer in too obviously. I saw plenty of rooms with patrolling skeletons on the way."
"Eek, really?"
Our kind and diligent Saintess immediately dropped her curiosity and stopped peeking at my word.
Shin Seo-yeon started to retort but hesitated, then protected the back of her head.
"What're you doing?"
"...Don't ask."
The saying about the stick being the cure fit perfectly here.
"Dickhead, where are you headed anyway? This isn't the way down to the lower level."
I was a bit impressed.
I'd only unfolded the map for brief moments, but in that split second, she'd pretended disinterest while mapping our entire path.
'Shin Seo-yeon's sharper than she lets on.'
Especially her instincts and situational awareness—they were uncanny. Well, to manipulate those around her, her mind had to turn quick.
I answered simply.
"A rest spot."
"Rest spot?"
"Ah, you're planning to set up camp like in the Tutorial!"
Nod.
We'd been traveling for five hours either way. Time was now around 7 PM. Best to wrap up the day and prep for sleep.
'Nights in Trial zones buff monsters. Some special spawns only appear at night.'
So players didn't operate at night. They hid to rest or fled till dawn if circumstances demanded.
'This dungeon has constant buffs since it's a dungeon.'
Why dungeons outclass fields in difficulty.
Anyway, we needed a sleep spot. [Recovery Authority] had limits for handling rest.
"So where do you plan to camp? Got a good spot?"
"Looking now."
We wandered the cursed underground monastery—where day and night blurred in sealed confines—pressing onward.
Truth be told, even I had never been here before, so I didn't know exactly what lay where.
My ten years of risking life and limb had etched instincts into my brain, letting me intuitively skip danger zones. That was all.
Sometimes feeling along walls, other times dispatching scouting skeletons, after about two hours of this—
'Hm?'
Pat pat pat.
No footsteps sounded, but they felt like they should. Isera darted ahead with nimble steps.
She gestured for us to follow.
"Huh? What's up, Dickhead? Why the sudden run?"
The sprint didn't last long. She plunged into darkness and vanished from sight in an instant. Even [Full Appraisal] couldn't spot her.
'Only one reason then.'
I dove into the dark too, crouching to probe the wall.
"What is it? What's there?"
"Hold on."
...Found it.
A long corridor. Unusually stretched between intersections, beyond the blue glow of statues at each corner.
A small hole in one pitch-black wall face.
"Ha-na, mind holding my pack for a sec?"
Reeking of artificiality, the hole was just big enough for one person to squeeze through. Oddly, the floor around it was dust-free.
Someone used it often.
'Heave-ho.'
I slipped in. Looking up, faint light glimmered far in the deep dark.
'A door?'
A rectangular glowing door. Light leaked through cracks from some luminary beyond.
I approached cautiously and opened it.
Whoosh.
Blinding light stung my eyes briefly before settling. I surveyed the vast stone chamber bathed in soft blue glow.
This grand space, once providing monks a comfy dining hall, had tables and chairs scattered everywhere.
One side had a clean channel; pristine water flowed from the wall along it, vanishing somewhere.
Moss thick with moisture clung to midway statues, sprinkling green light.
And at the center of this banquet-hall-like vast dining area was the light source.
Moonlight. From a tiny hole high above, it poured in suddenly, softly illuminating the expanse.
The serene ruins, eroded slowly by centuries of turmoil, melted cozily into the moonlight, wrapping the chamber gently.
"Hey, what're you doing? Can we come in?"
"Come on."
The party entered one by one; Shin Seo-yeon and the Saintess's eyes went wide.
"Whoa, what is this place?"
"Looks like a dining hall."
As I replied, I skirted the walls, moving quickly for safety checks. Thankfully, though countless attached rooms dotted it, no back doors or side paths.
'Main entrance... blocked.'
The door wide enough for four abreast had collapsed from massive impact, debris fully sealing it.
'Recent by the traces.'
7 days? 8? Around then. Singe marks on fragments suggested someone blasted above the frame with a [Unique Ability] to topple it.
'With just the dog hole, blocking the front secures a comfy rest spot inside.'
No matter how abysmal survival rates or harsh conditions here, humans use their heads basically.
Navigating Trials, you'd often spot courtesies left by those who'd gone ahead.
"Min-jun, come here! Someone left writing!"
『We've secured the remains and departed first. Remains exist in the depths, basement level 3... Water confirmed safe to drink. Entrance is solely the dog hole you entered...』
"We'll camp here."
"This place safe?"
"Yeah, definitely."
No recent bone prints among floor tracks.
Monsters via the channel would be trouble, but my decade-honed eyes spotted no anomalies.
The moment I thought that—
'Hm?'
From 10 meters away, Isera waved frantically for me to come. Approaching to wash hands or such, her gestures grew more urgent.
'No way.'
Splash.
Dipping my hand in, she hopped in place, gesturing wildly. Perfect [Stealth] hid her voice, but I got the gist.
'Ah, that kind of thing.'
Shing. Drew my sword, nicked my hand, let blood drip into the flow. Like ink in water, red aura spread languidly.
Rooooaaar!
From the dark channel maw, something enormous burst out.
"Kyaaah!"
"Fuck, what is that?!"
I slung my sword over my shoulder, backing up as I answered.
"Lake Worm."
"What's that?!"
What else.
"Fucking huge earthworm."
The lengthy worm, easily 2 meters thick, reared its head and roared. Then snapped it down to glare at me.
'A Lakeside raid boss squatting here as a regular mob.'
It hit me anew.
Trial zones earned their name.
A single lapse in vigilance meant instant death.
And I'd returned to that hellhole.
Rooooaaar!
As if welcoming me back, the Lake Worm flexed its massive body fluidly, gaping jaws lunging at me.
About ten years since our reunion—I gladly raised my sword and met it head-on.
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