Chapter 6
Dungeon ranking.
Since the system didn’t assign one.
Humanity had no choice but to quantify difficulty subjectively.
A famous Ranker once said on TV.
“Want to know the dungeon’s rank beforehand? Sorry, but there’s no way. You have to go in yourself and check the difficulty.”
The system was an oddball.
Sometimes, it was considerate.
But at other times, it was so unhelpful you’d wonder if it was doing it on purpose.
It’d be convenient if it just told you before you went in.
“If you want a tip, check the brightness of the color surrounding the dungeon. The darker it is, the higher the chance it’s a high-difficulty dungeon.”
But, this wasn’t exact either.
Difficulty was subjective to begin with.
And people called it a flimsy rumor based on probability statistics.
So, the World Hunter Association had no choice but to set their own standard.
The standard was simple.
“If five or more hunters of that rank can’t clear it, the dungeon gets bumped up a grade!”
For example, let’s say more than five A-rank hunters participated but couldn’t clear it.
Then that dungeon would be reclassified as S-rank.
It was a pretty crude standard, but the hunters were satisfied enough.
There were far fewer dungeon accidents compared to when there were no standards… Well, either way, it still meant—
Someone’s sacrifice was unavoidable.
In short, because of problems like this.
– ‘What do you do about a dungeon where people go in, but no one comes out?’
– ‘Yeah, until someone actually goes in and checks, all you can do is guess.’
– ‘So who goes in?’
– ‘There are teams that go in, hoping to hit the jackpot.’
– ‘Hmm, well… It’s their freedom, but shouldn’t a high-level guild check it out? There are people who get scared, after all.’
The dungeon I’m about to enter.
We call these dungeons “Unclassified Dungeons”—
In the end, for dungeons like this.
If they aren’t cleared after a certain period, the major guilds directly get involved to check them.
It sounds mandatory since it’s designated by the Association.
But it’s not really about noblesse oblige.
High-difficulty dungeons promise high rewards.
That’s why there’s fierce competition to bid for them.
‘Still.’
Even for the major guilds, safety management is essential.
If they send in their second or third string without thinking and lose them all, that’s a massive hit to their power.
So they—
Send in a “scouting party” before the real expedition.
Thanks to that.
I could catch the scent of the dungeon much earlier than other mercenaries.
—
‘A cave?’
[You are entering the dungeon.]
With a tingling sensation, the scenery around me changed.
The field type was a cave.
Drip, drip!
Water dripped from the ceiling in several places.
Thankfully, there were glowstones sparsely attached to the walls, so visibility wasn’t an issue.
“Oh, glowstones? Those would sell for a nice price if we took them.”
“Don’t. Be careful. Don’t you know about the hunters who died messing with dungeon stuff?”
“I’m just saying.”
Unlike me, tense and on edge.
Ki Soyul and her members started stretching casually and spoke up.
Four members in total, not counting me.
Except for S-rank Ki Soyul, all of them wore purple A-rank name tags.
“……”
Gulp. I swallowed hard.
The ones joking and laughing next to me like neighborhood uncles were anything but ordinary.
Hunters at the top, the kind you’d only ever see on TV.
And.
Hunters with epithets.
“Don’t let your guard down just because things look easy, everyone.”
First, Shadow Empress Ki Soyul spoke.
“First, Speed Sword and Little Flame, you’re coming with me for a lap around this place.”
“Yes.”
“Understood.”
Was it the aura of a Ranker?
The A-rank hunters, who seemed friendly with each other, bowed politely.
“And Guide Kang Sunwook?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Please look for the exit. And cover the porter too.”
“Knew you’d say that.”
Middle-aged hunter Kang Sunwook glanced at me and nodded.
“You’re confident, right?”
“If I said I wasn’t, my epithet would cry.”
His rather unique epithet, Guide.
He got the name for being ridiculously good at finding paths in dungeons, apparently granted by the system.
A perfect fit for a scouting party.
“Then let’s get moving.”
Ki Soyul ran ahead without another word to me.
‘Did she even say anything to me?’
No name, no epithet.
Just the word “porter.”
No matter how rare my unique ability, “Necromancer,” was.
No matter that I’d ruled E-rank dungeons like a king for three years.
To them, I was a rookie.
That was my place for now.
“Hey, porter. Nervous?”
Kang Sunwook asked, flashing a smile.
Since he was older, I’d already told him he could speak casually with me from the start.
He was outgoing enough to tell me to call him “hyung” right from the first meeting.
“Uh? Well… I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t.”
“Then keep being nervous.”
“Huh?”
I tilted my head.
“Just so you know, there’s something off about this dungeon. Shadow Empress didn’t tell you to be careful for nothing.”
“Oh, really?”
Now that I thought about it.
Ki Soyul did look a little anxious.
It’s unclassified, sure, but it’s just a dungeon a handful of mediocre teams failed in.
So why is a Ranker in the world’s top 1,000 in such a hurry?
“This dungeon’s way too quiet. The layout’s simple, and there probably aren’t even any monsters. If there were, in a cave this narrow, there’d be echoes or vibrations. Hmm, so that means there might be some unusual gimmick hidden here…”
“Wow, you can tell that even before scouting?”
“Of course, kid. I’ve been at this for years.”
He chuckled.
“Just follow me. Let’s find the exit like we were told.”
“Yep.”
I followed after him.
We went in the opposite direction from where Ki Soyul had gone.
Sweat beaded on my back and palms, but I didn’t hesitate.
Still, with a pro like him, I felt a little more reassured.
But that feeling didn’t last long.
“Man, this is making me uneasy.”
“Hmm, strange… No traps, no clues… This is one weird dungeon.”
“Hey, porter. Don’t you feel heavy? Is it just me?”
“……”
The more we walked, the stranger Kang Sunwook’s expression became.
The air got heavier and smellier, and just like he said, my body started to feel weighed down.
Something thick and sticky seemed to pull my whole body down to the ground.
A chill ran down my spine.
“This is creepy, Guide hyung… Are we really supposed to keep going?”
“Not sure. Never felt anything like this before. Not even around Rankers.”
“What?”
“It feels like there’s something impossible up ahead. Damn, you said you’re a Necromancer, right?”
“Yes.”
“Summon something, just in case. I’ll help if I can, but you never know, right? If things go south, you’d better look out for yourself too.”
“……”
Scary as that was.
Still, I had to listen to an expert.
[‘Bones1’ appears.]
[‘Bones2’ appears.]
[‘Bones3’ appears.]
[‘Bones4’ appears.]
[‘Bones5’ appears.]
Creak, creak!
I used 50 energy to summon every Skeleton I could.
After that, I put Bones4 with a shield at the front.
Bones3 with a bow and Bones5 the mage on the flanks.
Bones1 and Bones2 brought up the rear.
‘Damn, did I give them names too carelessly?’
When I first got my unique ability and had to name them.
I didn’t know they’d grow like this, so I just picked names at random.
Never thought I’d still be using those names now.
“Oh, skeletons? Got anything better?”
“No, that’s all I’ve got…”
I grumbled, a bit embarrassed by his question.
But I didn’t get to finish.
“Ugh?”
A foul energy spread through the air like it was happy to see us.
The pressure was so intense I could barely breathe.
Like sitting in a sauna for over ten minutes, my whole body started to heat up.
“G-Guide hyung?”
“Shit! Just a little further! There’s an open area up ahead!”
“Ugh… What’s so different about an open area?”
“I don’t know! But I can feel a few presences there! If someone’s there, it’s better than nothing, right?”
“Presences?”
“I don’t know! Could be the advance party, could be monsters. Just move!”
Crap, whatever.
Now I couldn’t even open my mouth, couldn’t even open my eyes.
My ears felt plugged, and the pressure forced me to my knees.
That’s when Bones5 used a skill.
[Skill, ‘Air Shield’ (Lv.1) is activated.]
[‘Air Shield’ (Lv.1) is destroyed.]
“Gah!”
Blood spurted from my mouth.
Unbelievable.
The skill was smashed the instant it appeared, from the pressure alone!
Instinctively, I shouted.
“Damn it, Bones1!”
I had to use the skeletons’ strength to get out of this hallway.
That was all I could do.
And Kang Sunwook was already far ahead.
“Ugh…”
Is this for real?
A dungeon that popped up in Paju is hard enough to make even Rankers nervous?
Even my unique ability is only half working!
Does some holy transcendent have it out for me for some reason?
Damn it.
I want to live.
Forget being a Ranker or whatever.
You can only achieve anything if you survive!
As I was desperately chanting that to myself—
“Haaah!”
The suffocating pressure vanished as if it had been a lie.
I’d finally reached the “open area” Kang Sunwook had mentioned.
[You have reached the stage ‘White-Haired Old Man with Deep Regret.’]
What the hell.
White-Haired Old Man with Deep Regret?
What is this now?
—
The open area was about three times wider than the cave tunnel.
There was a pattern drawn on the floor, and a pitch-black artificial “door” was set in the middle of the left wall.
Then, another message appeared.
[Ding!]
[Stage: Han Deep White-Haired Old Man]
[The “Han” is so deep that frost forms on the old man’s hair.]
[Enter the room and defeat the old man.]
“Huh?”
I just knew instinctively.
The white-haired old man in that artificial “door” was the boss monster of this dungeon.
And all that pressure so far had been coming from that “door.”
So, the closer you got to this open area, the stronger it got.
‘But inside the open area, it’s survivable…?’
I looked down at the pattern on the floor.
Hmm, maybe it’s some kind of magic circle that blocks the energy?
No, more importantly.
“A person!”
“A hunter finally arrived! A-are you the rescue team?”
There were about a dozen men and women gathered in the open area.
Judging by the colors of the name tags at their waists.
Most were C-rank (green) or D-rank (yellow) hunters.
They cried out to me and Kang Sunwook in desperation.
“Purple name tag! An A-rank hunter!”
“And a Necromancer with skeletons? You must be the rescue party! Please, get us out of here. Please.”
“No, before that, some food or water, please. I’m so thirsty.”
Old or young, male or female—they all had one thing in common.
They were completely dried out.
Well.
There wasn’t any food or water inside this dungeon.
If they’d been trapped here for ages with no exit?
It made sense they’d look like that.
“Whew, let’s hand out the emergency rations first.”
Kang Sunwook looked at me.
“……”
I was a little annoyed at him for running off to save himself.
But, well, I had to understand.
He did give me a heads-up, and that’s just how dungeons are.
Nodding, I handed out some chocolate bars and bottles of water.
As a porter hired by a major guild, I always packed emergency rations just in case there were survivors.
“W-water!”
“Food!”
They rushed over like a horde of apocalypse zombies, devouring everything.
“……”
It made my chest tighten.
If I wasn’t careful, that could be me in the future.
“All right, take your time.”
Middle-aged Kang Sunwook stroked his beard and stepped up.
After a while.
When they’d finally finished eating, he spoke slowly.
“Can you tell us what happened here?”