Chapter 4
“It’ll probably take a few days even if I finish as quickly as possible.”
That sudden news had been like a bolt from the blue.
“So make sure you eat properly, and if anything happens, call the number I gave you. And don’t get too lazy just because there’s no one at home. If you do, I’m not giving you any allowance next month.”
Of course, I had known something like this would happen sooner or later.
But now that it was actually happening, I couldn’t help feeling depressed.
“……Come back as soon as you can?”
I muttered those words with a hint of dissatisfaction, and my younger sister paused for a moment before answering in a strangely happy voice.
“I-I’ll be back soon.”
From now on, I would have to prepare myself for what was to come as well.
“This is such a pain……”
It was the third day since Seo-ha had left.
I muttered to myself with a dejected expression while running a load of laundry.
In the modern era, A-rank Hunters were essentially treated as pillars of the nation and their guilds.
Naturally, Seo-ha was also one of the core forces of her guild and an indispensable asset when it came to clearing high-rank dungeons.
“…….”
Apparently, this time she had been assigned to clear a B3-rank dungeon that had appeared near Songdo, so as she had said before, I probably wouldn’t see her for several more days.
For reference, dungeon danger levels were classified alphabetically, with each rank further divided into levels one through five.
One was the highest, while five was the lowest.
Therefore, a B3-rank dungeon meant a dungeon with a medium level of danger among B-rank dungeons.
“Was the Skeleton Giant barely B5-rank?”
Thinking about it that way, B-rank dungeons must indeed be terrifying threats to the people of this world.
If it were the old me, I wouldn’t have used something like a Skeleton Giant even if they gave it to me for free.
“I hate washing dishes.”
Anyway, because Seo-ha wasn’t around, I was now forced to handle all the household chores myself.
With the Grandmaster right around the corner, having to waste my precious time on something as trivial as washing dishes.
What an unfortunate situation.
Clatter. Clatter.
“All my summons used to do this kind of tedious work……”
It felt incredibly awkward having to do housework myself for the first time in ages.
Forcing myself to endure the annoyance, I finally finished the three days’ worth of dishes that had piled up, dragged myself into my room, and turned on the computer.
Then I discovered a new problem.
Click. Click.
“What’s wrong with this now?”
I moved the mouse vigorously, but it wouldn’t respond.
Even right-click wasn’t working, so apparently the connection had been completely severed.
Press. Press.
I tried pushing the cable in and even rebooted the computer, but nothing changed.
In short, the mouse was completely broken.
“…….”
With Seo-ha gone, there was no one I could ask for help.
I could order a new one and have it delivered within a day, but the thought of being unable to use my computer until then was simply unacceptable.
“The Grandmaster is right around the corner……”
Yesterday, my win rate had been a whopping 75 percent.
I knew that with games like this, you had to keep pushing when you had momentum.
There was no option to skip today’s games.
But the mouse was the problem.
It was an extremely sensitive factor when it came to control, so I always used the exact same type of mouse.
And to get one, I would have to go to a medium-sized computer supply store a little farther away.
“Ugh……”
My hesitation didn’t last long.
Even while I was standing there, precious time in which I could play another game was slipping away.
In the end, although I really didn’t want to, I decided to go buy one myself.
Ding-a-ling.
Click.
Thump.
I left the house with my hood pulled down even deeper than usual.
The store was a little far away, and I would have to pass through a major road, so I needed to minimize contact with other people as much as possible.
Nevertheless, only a few minutes passed before I could feel people’s eyes gathering on me.
Silver hair that shimmered in the light and red eyes.
Even though I was trying to hide myself, my current appearance was quite conspicuous.
“My stomach……”
Although I had improved, there were still plenty of problems.
Whenever I became the direct focus of many people’s attention like this, dizziness and an upset stomach inevitably followed.
I desperately tried to steady my increasingly gloomy mood as I continued walking.
Eventually, I barely managed to reach my destination.
Jingle.
The doorbell announcing a customer’s arrival rang.
Since it was a fairly popular store and there were quite a few people inside, I didn’t even look back.
I grabbed a mouse and headed toward the counter.
Just as I was about to pay, however, something unexpected happened.
Bang!
“B-Boss!”
“What is it? What’s wrong?”
“We need to evacuate immediately! Customers, too! Everyone, please get outside!”
A young man suddenly rushed out from the employee entrance and shouted urgently.
Everyone stopped what they were doing and stared at him.
Seeing that, the young man couldn’t hide his anxiety and shouted again.
“There was a dungeon seed in the underground storage! And it’s already in the middle of—”
That was as far as he got.
A powerful tremor and deafening roar followed immediately, causing everyone to lose their balance and collapse onto the floor.
When they came to their senses, the store was already gone.
Surrounding them on all sides were strange structures.
A hellish abyss that devoured people.
A dungeon had appeared.
“Aaaah!”
“Call the authorities! Q-Quickly, call them!”
“How are we supposed to call them? There’s no signal!”
What followed was utter pandemonium.
People screamed and panicked, unable to make rational decisions.
Then a man’s harsh shout silenced them.
“Shut up, all of you!”
“Gasp.”
After shouting once and calming everyone down, the man quickly surveyed the terrain and continued in a low voice.
“Do you people not have brains? You’re screaming like that inside a dungeon. Do you all want to die?”
“S-Sorry. I was just startled……”
The man barely acknowledged the apology before looking around a little more carefully.
Eventually, he came to a conclusion.
“There are no signs of them. The monsters haven’t properly dispersed yet. If you want to live, shut up and follow me.”
“……Who are you?”
“I’m an apprentice Hunter. Is that important right now?”
“N-No, sir. Let’s move.”
Thanks to the man’s quick response, the group seemed to regain at least some semblance of calm.
But there was one person who couldn’t do so.
Who else could it be but me?
“H-Huuugh……”
I’d already barely managed to make it to the store while enduring everyone’s stares.
Now that I was confronted with the chaotic sight of all these people in a place like this, I couldn’t get my head straight at all.
From the moment the apprentice Hunter began shouting, I had already collapsed against one side of the passage, weakly groaning as I tried to regain my senses.
“Th-That girl doesn’t look well……”
“You want us to worry about a patient in this situation? Don’t say useless things. If you don’t want to die, come this way. We don’t have time.”
“Th-That’s right, miss! Hurry up! What are you doing?”
A girl who looked like a high school student stared at me with concern.
But when the others urged her to move, she squeezed her eyes shut and left.
Even after everyone else had gone, I remained dazed for a while before finally coming to my senses.
What the hell is going on……?
Honestly, I was bewildered.
Even though the age of dungeons had begun, something like this wasn’t particularly common.
It was practically guaranteed to make the evening news at nine o’clock.
I soothed my aching stomach and barely managed to stand before beginning to assess the situation.
“There really aren’t any signs of them.”
I’d once read on the Internet that immediately after a dungeon seed bloomed, the monsters gathered in the boss room gradually dispersed into their respective territories over a certain period of time.
Apparently, that was true.
It was definitely an emergency.
If this had happened a few days ago, I probably would have been genuinely terrified as well.
But things were different now.
That was why I could afford to remain so calm.
“Good thing I took out insurance……”
I took the magic stone I always carried with me in case of emergencies and held it in my hand.
It was the one Song Ha-yeon had filled with death energy and given me as payment for teaching her.
If I hadn’t had this, things might have gone very badly indeed.
I sincerely thanked the version of myself who had been obsessively watching that tiny stream that day.
“First of all……”
I needed to hide myself as quickly as possible.
I did have a means of defense, but I still had no idea how dangerous this dungeon actually was.
“Ah.”
Come to think of it, Seo-ha had given me a necklace for use in emergencies.
Hadn’t she said that if I broke it, a signal would be sent to the other side?
It had only been three days since she entered the B-rank dungeon, so I probably couldn’t expect help.
Still, there was no harm in increasing my chances.
Without hesitation, I broke the necklace.
“I think she said it also had a one-time automatic barrier function……”
I’m pretty sure she’d said it would still activate even if I broke the gemstone.
If things got dangerous, I would at least have some protection.
Tap. Thump.
Just as I was about to start walking, I sensed something coming from the passage on my left.
Creak.
I listened carefully.
Along with an unpleasant scraping noise, I could hear the sound of bones knocking against one another.
Creak-creak.
It was an incredibly familiar presence.
But I hadn’t summoned anything yet.
If that was the case, then this meant—
“An undead dungeon……”
Realizing just how ironic the situation had become, I could only break into a cold sweat.
