Chapter 175

‘Bong Jaeyoung.’

Ki Soyul frowned slightly, as if disgusted.

‘Him again?’

Steel Fist, Bong Jaeyoung.

She’d run into him a few times at banquets or Association invitation events.

A man who relied on nothing but his skill and acted rude to other Rankers.

A man who couldn’t hide his lecherous gaze whenever he saw a woman.

– Shouldn’t someone say something about Bong Jaeyoung constantly messing with the Association’s female staff?

– Sure, but who’s going to? He’s a High Ranker. Even the Chairman knows and just lets it slide.

– Haa, seriously… I’ll admit his ranking, but it’s hard even listening to him show off.

Just hearing the rumors that circulated among Rankers told you what kind of person he was.

‘I wanted to cut him off.’

From Soyul’s perspective, Bong Jaeyoung was an unwelcome guest.

More uncomfortable than reassuring, even with the increase in manpower.

But—

“Understood. Let’s go in together?”

The leader, President-nim, had already accepted.

And suggesting they move separately now would be the same as ignoring him.

Just because her own feelings were uncomfortable,

Soyul didn’t want to disrespect Joo Donghoon.

“……”

After finishing her preparations, Soyul lifted her head slightly and checked Donghoon-ssi’s expression.

‘Is this really fine?’

Bong Jaeyoung was unmistakably rude.

To a Ranker higher than him, he was spouting off about “Association orders,”

speaking in casual language like it was nothing, and then hammering it in that he’d be joining them without caring about Donghoon-ssi’s opinion.

Was he really not bothered at all?

“Soyul-ssi?”

As her gaze lingered, Donghoon-ssi asked.

“Y-yes?”

Soyul replied, a little flustered.

She felt embarrassed, like her petty feelings had been exposed.

“Your expression’s been like that for a while. Is something wrong?”

“Ah.”

Donghoon-ssi looked completely at ease.

No—he looked so relaxed it was almost overflowing.

‘I see.’

It wasn’t Bong Jaeyoung looking down on Donghoon-ssi.

It was Donghoon-ssi looking down on Bong Jaeyoung.

No, not looking down—just not caring at all.

Not contempt, but indifference.

At that realization, Soyul felt the knot in her chest loosen.

“No, it’s nothing.”

She answered.

Why was it?

In her eyes, his shoulders looked unbelievably broad.

‘Donghoon-ssi’s gaze is always aimed upward.’

Because he was aiming for something higher, he didn’t even bother looking at what was beneath him.

The unpleasant feeling in Soyul’s chest faded.

And the space it left behind filled with a quiet pride.

“Just…”

So she said,

“I’m ready to go.”

“Ah, yeah? Then shall we head out?”

With Donghoon-ssi’s calm words,

Bong Jaeyoung, Kwon Soye, and Im Sujin went in first.

Donghoon-ssi followed behind them.

Ssssh.

Then Soyul swiftly followed after him.

—

Ssssh! Sssshhh!

The Dungeon entrance was filled with hazy fog.

But—

‘Hm.’

I tilted my head.

What is this?

Fog at the entrance could happen, sure, but—

‘The Toxin Mist is reacting.’

The Toxin Mist lodged in one side of my chest writhed.

At the same time, a sensation prickled in my mind.

A foul smell.

In that moment—

“Hm, what is it?”

Bong Jaeyoung muttered, tilting his head.

“Somehow, I don’t think this is the Dungeon we’re looking for…”

“Right? It’s not just me thinking that, is it?”

The Druid, Kwon Soye, too.

“Let’s go back out. I don’t think this is it either.”

Asura, Im Sujin, too.

As if bewitched, they turned their backs and tried to leave.

‘Haa.’

I lamented inwardly.

This is the first time I’ve seen something like this.

“Donghoon-ssi, what are you doing? Should we go out too?”

Even Soyul-ssi was trying to head outside.

‘Hallucinogenic poison?’

Inside the Toxin Mist—even for me, someone who’d mixed and broken down every poison imaginable, it was a new type.

“Hey!”

Bong Jaeyoung shouted at me.

“What are you standing there for? Aren’t you coming out? I’m telling you, it’s not here!”

“Come out already! There’s nothing in there!”

Kwon Soye and Im Sujin shouted along with him.

“……”

A chill ran through me.

They were Rankers too.

A poison that could manipulate Rankers’ minds this easily…?

Of course, it didn’t work on me.

[Skill: Ten-Thousand-Poison Immunity]

[Grade: S]

[Effect 1: You resist all poisons in the world.]

[Effect 2: You identify all poisons in the world.]

[Effect 3: You control all poisons in the world.]

In this world, there was no poison that could harm me.

“Just a moment.”

Step.

I took one step forward.

“Donghoon-ssi! You’re going further in?”

“Yes. I think we need to clear this fog first. Then we can decide again.”

Poison is burned with poison.

‘No.’

Poison is absorbed with poison.

‘Toxin Mist.’

I woke the Toxin Mist that had been sleeping peacefully in my chest.

Writhe.

As if it had already been awake and watching outside, it sent me a signal.

‘I need to tempt it.’

The Toxin Mist wasn’t power I could directly control.

It had its own will—something with rank of its own—and it moved when it wanted to.

‘It’s a poison you’ve never seen before. Doesn’t it look tasty?’

Writhe.

It reacted faintly.

More or less, it meant it was interested.

But along with that came a feeling of worry.

After it rampaged and returned, would this comfortable nest still remain?

And if it swelled itself up, could I handle it?

What if—

I couldn’t accept it after it became bigger than it was now, and I collapsed?

‘Don’t worry.’

I smiled.

‘If you want to run wild, then run wild whenever you want. This place you can return to will always be here. I’ll keep it sturdy, no matter what.’

Ssssh.

It answered.

With green smoke, the power of poison began to seep out slowly.

“Hey! What are you doing in there?!”

Bong Jaeyoung kept shouting, but I didn’t bother responding.

This was the moment to focus.

Fwoooosh!

The smooth Toxin Mist spread and began to cover everything.

Accepting my request, it started madly devouring only the fog.

Crunch! Crunch!

Greedily, it began sucking the fog in as if it were a vacuum cleaner.

‘I don’t know how wide this place is.’

Feasting for the first time in a while,

the Toxin Mist was clearly excited.

‘Eat your fill, then come back.’

Twitch!

Soyul-ssi, who’d been staring at me with a strange expression, flinched.

“Huh? That’s… Toxin Mist?”

“I told you. I ate Toxin Mist during the first trial.”

“Ah, right… huh? But—what did I say earlier?”

As the fog vanished, her eyes, which had been slightly unfocused, cleared.

“Did I… tell you we should leave this place, Donghoon-ssi?”

“You did.”

“……”

Silence fell.

Sssht, sssht!

As the fog cleared, Bong Jaeyoung’s group also shook their heads as if they’d been bewitched.

“What the hell. Where are we?”

“This is weird. This is definitely a Dungeon, but why was I trying to leave it?”

“It felt like… it was just obvious there’d be nothing here…”

Kwon Soye looked flustered.

Im Sujin rubbed her arms as if she had goosebumps.

“Right.”

Snap!

Soyul-ssi flicked her finger, like she’d remembered something.

“I definitely saw something like this while researching. That Octavia went on an expedition here recently and then just left.”

“Octavia… you mean the 18th-ranked Ranker?”

World rank 18.

Dual Swords Octavia Spencer.

She was from France, right?

“Yes. There was something she said.”

Soyul-ssi murmured softly.

– I can see the country is falling apart. The streets are quiet, and wherever you go, it’s mafia everywhere. But strangely, it doesn’t feel out of place. Hm… it feels like that’s just how it’s supposed to be.

“Hmm.”

So that meant—

the fog here was potent enough to manipulate even a High Ranker’s mind…

“Ahem.”

That was when Bong Jaeyoung cleared his throat and stepped forward.

“You cleared the fog, right? I thought your rise to High Ranker was just luck. Turns out you had some skill.”

“……”

“You did your part, so I’ll take responsibility from here. I’ll go first, so follow along properly.”

Thud. Thud.

He smacked his right fist into his left palm and strode ahead with confidence.

As I was watching him—

“Kind of selfish, isn’t he?”

Someone whispered beside me.

It was The Druid, Kwon Soye.

“He’s always like that, so it’s easier if you just ignore him. After you deal with him a few times, everyone just accepts it.”

“He’s embarrassed, that’s all. If it weren’t for Skeleton King-nim, we would’ve walked right into that trap.”

Im Sujin chimed in beside her.

Quietly, of course.

“You two! Aren’t you coming?”

“Y-yes!”

“We’re coming!”

Scurry!

Watching the two women hurry after him—

I let out a small laugh.

In a way,

the world of Rankers wasn’t all that different from office life.

—

Step, step.

Soyul-ssi and I walked through the Dungeon slowly.

Even if Bong Jaeyoung’s group was leading, we couldn’t afford to let our guard down.

Hummmm.

Even while walking, I was still using the Supreme Azure Mind Method.

“The Dungeon’s bigger than I expected.”

In the silence, Soyul-ssi’s voice came out quietly.

“We really can’t let our guard down. It’s been so long since I fell into a trap this blatantly. If it weren’t for you, Donghoon-ssi… I might never have known.”

Her expression had been stiff since earlier.

‘It couldn’t be helped.’

By someone else’s will,

her memory had been manipulated, and she almost wouldn’t have even realized it had happened.

Just like the many Rankers who had come to Russia before.

Even I—

my attitude toward this Dungeon had completely changed compared to before.

Instinct.

My instinct was clearly telling me.

This place—

wasn’t ordinary.

“……”

As I walked, I looked up at the sky.

Thick storm clouds hung low, as if a typhoon might hit at any moment.

Crunch! Crunch-crunch!

From the distant sounds, it was clear the Toxin Mist was still happily feasting on the fog.

‘For now, the field type is forest.’

Because of the dense brush, it was a space where you couldn’t see far.

If we’d tried to walk through a place like this while the fog was still there, there was a high chance we’d end up lost.

Step, step.

We kept walking.

The more we walked, the more time passed, and as time passed, the light slowly faded.

The sunset came, and darkness began to settle.

Sssshhh.

The sound of the wind and the rustling brush was eerie.

“Hey, hey!”

That was when Bong Jaeyoung closed the distance from up front.

“It’s getting darker, you know? I’ll slow down the pace, so keep your head on and follow.”

In his confident voice,

you could clearly hear a hint of unease.

‘Understandable.’

Because since earlier, from that central direction,

I’d been sensing ghostly energy, immense killing intent,

and all kinds of negative auras.

“Come on.”

Im Sujin snickered.

“Since when did you start feeling nervous? Don’t tell me you’re getting scared.”

“What?”

Bong Jaeyoung’s eyes went wide.

But the expression in them was so serious that Im Sujin broke into a cold sweat.

“Ahaha, I was joking. What, I can’t even joke…?”

“Get a grip, Im Sujin. You think a Dungeon is a joke? This is a real situation. If you want to play games, go do it somewhere that matches your level.”

“Y-yes… sorry.”

“Anyway, Joo Donghoon.”

“Yes?”

“Since the sun’s going down, I think we should move for about thirty more minutes and set up the tent—”

Right as he was laying out the plan,

from far away—

“Aaaah!”

A strange woman’s scream rang out.

“What—what was that?”

Bong Jaeyoung turned his head.

The rest of us also looked toward where the sound came from.

“Looks like…”

I murmured,

“we should check that way first.”

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