NOVEL WEB Chapter 79
Seora had been receiving calls from Seong Jarim for a while, informing her that she had been bored to death after moving in alone. The calls had stopped recently, leading Seora to believe that she might have stumbled upon something interesting. And indeed, she had discovered the community.
True to expectations, it was only natural to engage in quarrels with Kang Hanseo, regardless of how long one had been a part of the community.
After reading the comments with tired, unfocused eyes, Seora decided to close the window for the sake of her mental well-being.
The administrator must have enabled it for a reason, but Seora never anticipated that everyone would be playing together like this.
“If this keeps up, rumors of ‘Headbang being a ghost’ will start circulating.” Will I end up with another nickname like Bang Ghost? Hahaha. Seora chuckled silently to herself, refraining from doing so out loud.
Quietly, Seora retired to bed, suddenly feeling drained. Returning to her small apartment, where she had previously relished the freedom of living alone, now felt more challenging than when there were two of them.
No, let’s focus on positive thoughts. Falling asleep in this state might lead to a nightmare. Good thoughts, good thoughts. Think about money~!
“Yes! That’s right. I should have received that S-class weapon for looking after Seong Jarim!”
The thought of Song Hanna’s personal armory, filled with all sorts of treasures, made Seora’s weariness vanish, replacing it with excitement.
Yes, this is it. Money truly is the best. Hahaha! Which treasure should I bring home this time?
【Administrator: (╬◣д◢)】
“Ah, Liza-ssi. I must admit, hearing your voice makes it hard to adjust to the emoji.”
【Administrator: ʘ̥ㅁʘ!!!】
【Administrator: ｡ﾟ(´□`)ﾟ｡】
“I understand, I understand. It’s my fault. But don’t you think so too? Your voice sounds like that of a handsome man, and this emoji…”
〖“It can’t be helped. I’m sorry to say that, Seora.”〗
“Ahh!”
Startled by the sudden voice, Seora tumbled off the bed, causing half of her remaining beer to spill onto the floor.
【Administrator: (◔ㅁ◔);;;;】
“The beer that’s like my lifeblood! Excuse me, Liza. Please don’t use that voice out of nowhere! Ah, my heart is racing.” His voice could save the world just by existing, but her heart was too weak to handle it.
【Administrator: (._. )…】
【Administrator: (•̥ˍ•))】
Now he was crying. Seora, while cleaning up the spilled beer, quickly denied, “It’s not that I don’t like it. There’s no way I could hate it. If someone dislikes that voice, their eardrums must be damaged. I just want you to give me a warning beforehand.”
〖“So, I can continue doing it?”〗
“Well, of course!” Seora dropped the beer can she was about to pick up. She was overwhelmed with joy, as laughter tickled her ears.
“You do enjoy playing around!”
【Administrator: ٩(๑>∀<๑)و】
“Well, it’s fine as long as you enjoy it…”
Whenever Seora mentioned that he shouldn’t do it too often, but then gave him permission, he would get incredibly excited, like an unrestrained young horse.
***
When the cellphone on the bedside table rang, Seora’s eyes instinctively opened.
“Ah, please, please, please, please, pleaseee!”
This ominous ringtone was never a good sign, especially in the middle of the night!
‘A ringtone only for work…!’
In other words, there was a 500% chance that a dungeon would appear tonight.
“Hic.” Even the name that appeared on the screen was Director Do. Seora’s throat tightened with unease and the ominous thought of having to work all night. “H-hello?”
— I’m sorry for contacting you so late. I had to reach out because of a dungeon.
As expected, her gut feeling was right.
“Where?” She jumped out of bed and quickly started getting changed. Since this kind of situation happened frequently, changing clothes while on the phone was no longer a hassle.
— Songpa.
But upon hearing the reply, Seora froze in place. She had no choice but to stop moving.
Dungeon Management Team 1 was responsible for the Gangbuk area, while Team 2 handled the Gangnam area. And Songpa was part of Gangnam.
“Did you call because it’s a special dungeon?”
— Yes, that’s correct, but there’s a problem with the location. It’s at Seong Jarim’s house.
If it was that close, Seong Jarim could have handled it herself. However, judging from the fact that he contacted Seora, it seemed to be a tricky dungeon.
“I’ll be there right away. Please send me the exact location.”
Once she was ready, Seora quickly got into her car and headed to Songpa. Her eyes widened when she saw the precise location sent to her phone.
Th-this was the apartment…
“Isn’t this exactly Seong Jarim’s house?” Even the lake was specified.
Seora hastily parked her car and hurried inside. She couldn’t sense the presence of the association; it was as if everyone had been evacuated.
“Director Do.”
Upon entering, Seora saw Do Junyeong anxiously waiting for her. But he wasn’t alone.
“Brother?”
Her eyes widened upon seeing Yun Jaeheon standing next to him. Why was he here when he had said he would remain in the hospital until he recovered enough to withstand Captain Ali’s punches?
“I heard about the dungeon while we were together. It piqued my curiosity since it’s a unique one.”
“A unique dungeon?”
“You must have heard of it.”
Do Junyeong placed the measuring instrument he was holding against the gate, which emitted a blue glow. And what appeared on the screen was…
【█ning! T█ ra█ of the █eon is no█ sta█!】
…a series of broken strings. It reminded them of the same phenomenon that occurred in the dungeon where Seong Jarim had appeared.
“So…”
“Perhaps we might find another missing person inside the dungeon.”
And if that person had managed to survive for a long time, they could potentially be an L-class Awakened. Only then did Seora grasp the reason why Do Junyeong had called her.
‘The fact that Kang Sejun didn’t inform me in advance suggests that this is likely something unprecedented.’
Just like how he had been unaware of Seong Jarim’s arrival.
“Let’s go inside.”
Seora retrieved her jacket, gloves, and Hit from her inventory, equipping herself, and entered the dungeon.
【█ring the Dungeon ‘Bas█’s ██ Tomb’.】
‘Huh? Bas-something?’
Despite the fragmented words, it wasn’t difficult to discern the message behind it. There was a high possibility that this place was the rumored Baskar that she had only heard about.
“This is…”
Judging from Do Junyeong’s reaction, who had previously entered the Baskar Dungeon, it was almost certain.
‘This is some tomb in Baskar, I suppose.’
Seora picked up a rolling piece of stone. Just as Jarim had mentioned, it was an ore field, and the entire area was filled with broken stones. This desolate place resembled a graveyard of stones. The ground was so ravaged that even the five unidentified planets floating in the sky couldn’t be seen.
‘Seong Jarim’s titles were The Slaughterer of the Battlefield and The Madness-Infused Eyed. Could it be that she made this tomb?’
Killing just one or two wouldn’t have earned her titles related to slaughtering and madness. What had Seong Jarim done in this desolate land for a hundred years?
“I can hear something from over there.”
Though nothing was visible, everyone followed Yun Jaeheon’s words and headed in that direction.
As they drew closer, the roar became louder.
‘But something seems off.’
According to Seong Jarim, Baskar was a complete ore zone, yet on this side, something resembling a new plant was growing. Even chunks of soggy mud were devouring the broken stones.
There was only one reason for such a dramatic change.
“I believe it’s terraforming.”
“Terraforming?”
Seora proceeded to explain to Do Junyeong and Yun Jaeheon, who were unaware of the dungeon’s nature, “I assume that this is the dungeon where Seong Jarim was discovered, and since she’s mentioned that it was an ore zone, so the presence of these plants can only be explained by terraforming.”
“But does that occur within a dungeon too?”
Oops. He still doesn’t know that this is a planet from another dimension.
Unable to provide a clear explanation, Seora shrugged. “I’m not entirely sure either. But there doesn’t seem to be any other possibility.”
“I see.” Though Do Junyeong remained skeptical, he nodded as if accepting that explanation.
Seora felt relieved and continued to survey her surroundings.
If the dungeon was not sealed in time, a Break would occur, followed by terraforming, where the surrounding area transforms into a dungeon. However, this place was different from what happened with Cheorwon. The fact that the entire geological composition had changed over such a wide area suggested that this process had been ongoing for a significant period.
‘I’ll have to ask Seong Jarim about the dungeon more thoroughly next time.’
Only two people knew that the dungeon was connected to an alien planet: Seong Jarim and Yun Seora. Up until now, she had feigned ignorance because there was no need to delve deeper into the matter. However, the circumstances had now changed.
She yearned to understand more about dungeons, gates, and ultimately reach the system administrator.
“Over there!” Do Junyeong, who was at the forefront, pointed ahead.
“…huh.”
“What on earth…”
“What is that?”
The three of them stood there, utterly perplexed.
Seora’s eyes widened in disbelief as she witnessed the scene before her. Seong Jarim, known for her immense strength, was seated on the floor, drenched in blood. Standing in front of her was the adversary, presumably responsible for inflicting such injuries upon her, standing on two feet.