Dungeon & Commander

Dungeon & Commander – 20

“……”

Yoo Min-jung was at a loss for words.

“It doesn’t seem like it was out of curiosity. Surely, you didn’t seriously think you could take down a Nuklatarus with a few fire arrows, did you?”

“I… I just…”

Yoo Min-jung couldn’t continue.

“If not that, did you lose your composure in front of a Nuklatarus you’ve never seen before? Either way, as a team leader, that’s a failing grade. You know that a team leader responsible for their team must be the most composed, right?”

“…I understand.”

Yoo Min-jung bowed her head.

Go Chul-min glared at Choi Moo-hyun.

His eyes blazed. Choi Moo-hyun’s face was still flushed.

“Are you scared?”

“…Master.”

“If you can’t overcome the Nuklatarus in your memory, you can’t enter the dungeon.”

“……”

Choi Moo-hyun knew that was true.

If a tank in the dungeon acted like he did today, the team would be annihilated.

Go Chul-min then shifted his gaze to Yeom Sang-taek.

“And you?”

“…I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize so easily. It makes you look weak. Why were you so scared?”

“That, that’s because…”

“You have a vivid imagination. That’s both your strength and your weakness. When you’re excited, you can cast any buff you want, but when you’re scared, you can’t do anything. Why? Because you exaggerate it in your mind.”

Go Chul-min’s criticism was spot-on.

Yeom Sang-taek could barely stand. Each word felt like it was piercing his body.

Finally, Go Chul-min looked at Kim Joon.

His icy expression softened like a spring breeze.

“You overcame it.”

“…Not perfectly.”

“That’s perfect enough. You surprised me then, and you surprise me now. The only survivor of the Socrates team said you performed a miracle. I agree. You did well today. You exceeded my expectations.”

The master extended his hand, asking for a down-five.

Yoo Min-jung, Choi Moo-hyun, and Yeom Sang-taek were all stunned into silence.

“Thank you.”

Kim Joon lightly tapped the master’s hand.

Yoo Min-jung silently watched Go Chul-min and Kim Joon.

Mission: Awaquim

The glass cup cracked.

Choi Moo-hyun’s hand trembled as he tried to drink water.

‘Ominous, ominous, ominous.’

Today was the day of the test organized by the Dungeon Association. Why did that glass cup have to break? The mug with flowers and bees on it was Choi Moo-hyun’s favorite cup.

“One of the raiders I know had a cup break like this and ended up embarrassed during a promotion test. He was plagued by that jinx for about three years.”

Choi Min-soo, who was reading the newspaper at the dining table, muttered.

“…Really?”

After closing the newspaper, his father nodded seriously with a solemn expression.

“Raiders are as sensitive to superstitions as sailors. Dungeons are as treacherous as the sea. In fact, I believe in jinxes too.”

At that moment, his mother slapped his father on the back.

“Stop joking around.”

“Joking?”

“You.”

The smile disappeared from his mother’s face.

“Ahem, today’s doenjang-jjigae smells wonderful. How can it have such an aroma?”

Even Choi Min-soo, recognized as the strongest tank in Korea, was a weak husband in front of his wife.

Choi Moo-hyun ate his meal in silence and left the house early.

Staying at home would only subject him to his father’s mischievous words and actions. It seemed better for his condition to leave.

He took out his phone and contacted Kim Joon without hesitation.

“Could he be running to the guild house again today? That guy, really.”

Shaking his head, Choi Moo-hyun hesitated for a moment before pressing the speed dial. The phone rang several times before going to voicemail.

For some reason, Yoo Min-jung also didn’t answer her phone.

Since that training session, Yoo Min-jung had changed.

The smile had disappeared from her face. She still pushed the team members hard, but something was definitely missing.

It was understandable.

She had been publicly reprimanded.

In hindsight, Master Go Chul-min’s extreme measures had escalated the situation. Seeing a Nuklatarus for the first time, it was entirely possible to react by shooting fire arrows.

Choi Moo-hyun himself had been too scared to react properly.

“That guy is the strange one.”

Only Kim Joon had been acknowledged by Go Chul-min.

Choi Moo-hyun began to compose a text message.

Today is the day!

You’ll do great.

I’m sure of it. See you at the house.

Is this okay?

Choi Moo-hyun tilted his head and added a heart emoji. Thinking it was too much, he tried to cancel it but accidentally sent the message.

“Darn it…”

He quickly called to explain the mistake.

Yoo Min-jung still didn’t answer.

With a distressed expression, Choi Moo-hyun reached out to an approaching taxi, but it ignored him and picked up a young woman behind him instead.

“…Ominous.”

Choi Moo-hyun whispered.

====

***

====

“Interesting.”

Yoo Min-jung glanced at her phone screen on the dressing table.

A heart emoji?

Somehow, it was both unlike Choi Moo-hyun and yet very much like him.

Her makeup was done. She had picked out her clothes the night before. Just like the message Choi Moo-hyun sent, today was finally the day. The first time she would be evaluated since joining the Uramata Guild!

She felt both excited and scared.

She had been humiliated in front of her team members. She couldn’t sleep that night, thinking over and over about what she did wrong and why she attacked the Nuklatarus.

She found the answer but couldn’t accept it for a while.

A scared dog barks.

Yoo Min-jung had felt fear when she first saw the Nuklatarus, and as a result, she reflexively shot fire arrows. She acted out of fear without making a careful judgment.

She no longer resented the master for publicly reprimanding her and ruining her honor as a team leader. Instead, she was grateful. It had shown her that her ability to handle unexpected situations was lacking.

She needed to be more composed.

If the team leader gets excited, the team members are put in danger.

“Today, I’ll show what I can do.”

If she passed today’s test properly, the team name she had decided on in her heart would become official.

Pink!

The team members would dislike it, but naming the team was the team leader’s prerogative.

She went down to the underground training room. Her father was still in the same position. She approached him.

“Today, I’m going to the Dungeon Association. I’m scheduled to take a test there. Pray that I do well.”

Her father didn’t even look at her.

He just stared blankly into space, at something beyond.

Yoo Min-jung slowly walked outside. Then she left the house.

====

***

====

“Wow.”

Yeom Sang-taek’s mouth opened wide.

“It’s not your first time seeing it, is it?”

Choi Moo-hyun asked, nudging him with his shoulder.

“…Actually, it is.”

“Really?”

“I was assessed and trained at the Daejeon branch of the Dungeon Association.”

Yeom Sang-taek looked up at the towering building.

Inside that building was the headquarters of the organization responsible for managing dungeons in South Korea and discovering and training raiders to enter those dungeons.

A sleek black car, the kind that celebrities or idol groups might ride in, pulled up in front of the Dungeon Association headquarters.

The people who got out chewed gum and looked around arrogantly. The man in front saw Yoo Min-jung and approached her in surprise.

“Yoo Min-jung?”

Yoo Min-jung tilted her head.

“It’s me, An Seong-ho. We were in Jushin together.”

Hearing the name, she vaguely remembered.

Together? Not really.

An Seong-ho had joined Jushin’s youth division as a tank but was released due to a lack of talent and skill.

“Was that so?”

A short sentence packed with meaning.

An Seong-ho understood the implication but didn’t show it. Instead, he smiled broadly.

“I heard you left Jushin too. So, what brings you here? Are you here for the test?”

“Yes.”

“Wow, it’s really nice to see you. I’m here for the test too. We’re from the Gwanpo Guild. The name sounds rustic, right? Our master is a bit old-fashioned. He wants us to build friendships like Gwanpoji. Fortunately, the team leader gets to choose the team name. The level there is low enough that even I could become a team leader. I wanted to name it Mars, but that was already taken. Almost all the Greek mythology names are used up. Anyway, let’s help each other out during the test if we can.”

“Sure.”

Yoo Min-jung thought it was bothersome, and her expression showed it.

An Seong-ho, whose face slightly twisted, walked towards his waiting team members but kept waving and smiling until the end.

As he climbed the steps to the main entrance, he glared at a carrier struggling with a heavy load.

“Why are you so slow?”

“…S-sorry.”

“Hurry up.”

The carrier, sweating profusely, ran ahead. Turning back, An Seong-ho waved cheerfully at Yoo Min-jung and her team members.

“What’s with him?”

It was Choi Moo-hyun.

“Nothing.”

Yoo Min-jung replied.

Yeom Sang-taek looked at Kim Joon. Somehow, he felt that Kim Joon would have an answer to any difficult problem.

Kim Joon shrugged.

“Let’s go too.”

Yoo Min-jung said.

====

***

====

32 teams, 189 participants, took the test.

A typical team consisted of six members, usually with two dealers and two tanks. The largest team had eight members, and the smallest had four. The Uramata Guild was the only team participating with just four members.

In a hall-like space, people sat scattered wherever they wanted, looking around. Their gazes were more hostile than curious.

After the test, some of the people here would taste the bitterness of failure.

Yoo Min-jung chose a seat at the back of the hall. Choi Moo-hyun, Yeom Sang-taek, and Kim Joon sat beside her.

“This is the best spot.”

Yoo Min-jung whispered.

“The best spot?”

Yeom Sang-taek, who was hesitating whether to take the calming pill he brought, responded to Yoo Min-jung’s words.

“Those sitting at the front are impatient. Since nothing about the test has been revealed, they unconsciously moved forward.”

“And the middle?”

Choi Moo-hyun asked.

“The seats themselves aren’t bad. But those who keep turning their heads to check behind them… they’re weak teams. You can ignore them.”

“And here?”

Kim Joon asked.

Yoo Min-jung was pleased with Kim Joon’s question. She liked that he showed interest in her words, though she didn’t know why.

It felt like being acknowledged, somehow.

“I think those who want to see the whole picture instinctively choose the back.”

At her words, Choi Moo-hyun and Yeom Sang-taek observed a few teams occupying the back seats.

If Yoo Min-jung’s judgment was correct, those teams would be the obstacles they would face in passing the test.

Just then, people started entering the hall.

Yoo Min-jung frowned as she spotted a man with a short, sporty haircut.

The man recognized her as well. His eyes sparkled as he waved.

He gracefully leaped onto the chairs, moving from one backrest to another like a feather, finally landing in front of Yoo Min-jung.

The acrobatic display drew everyone’s attention.

“Long time no see.”

“…Why are you here?”

“Why else? I’m here for the test.”

“You don’t need to take tests.”

Yoo Min-jung left the rest unsaid.

This guy, with a face like a chestnut burr, was Lee Do, the younger brother of Lee Hwan, who was highly likely to become South Korea’s top raider, following Yoo Wan-seop.

He was part of the Brave Guild, one of the top five guilds.

“We have our reasons. I can’t explain in detail. Are these your team members?”

Lee Do glanced at Choi Moo-hyun, Yeom Sang-taek, and Kim Joon. A hint of disdain flickered across his face but quickly vanished.

“Yes.”

“Different from your time in Jushin.”

“We’re better than back then.”

Yoo Min-jung spoke impulsively.

No matter how much training improved their skills, they couldn’t be better than Jushin’s raiders. Jushin was the strongest guild in South Korea.

“Really?”

“I don’t lie.”

Yoo Min-jung’s pride was strong.

“Then, how about a bet?”

“…A bet?”

“Whoever scores higher in the test, the loser grants the winner one wish.”

“……”

Yoo Min-jung hadn’t expected Lee Do to propose this.

“Oh, sorry. I forgot I have a significant advantage considering my team members’ levels. Should I remove one of our dealers to make it fair?”

“No need. We’ll do just fine as we are.”

“Wow, that’s the Yoo Min-jung I know.”

“You’re lucky.”

“What?”

“This is a simulation test. If it were a real dungeon… you might need diapers.”

Yoo Min-jung whispered the last part about diapers.

Lee Do’s face twisted momentarily but quickly returned to a smile.

“Looking forward to a great match.”

As he turned and walked back to his team, a fierce aura emanated from him.

“Diapers?”

Choi Moo-hyun asked.

“That guy wet himself the first time he entered a dungeon out of fear.”

“Really?”

Choi Moo-hyun burst into laughter, followed by Yeom Sang-taek.

Only Kim Joon remained serious.

Yoo Min-jung looked at Kim Joon.

‘This guy knows who Lee Do is. How does a carrier know that? Oh, right! He watched and meticulously analyzed all the raid videos Uramata Guild had. There must have been videos of raids Lee Do participated in. That’s how he knew.’

Yoo Min-jung shifted her gaze to Choi Moo-hyun and Yeom Sang-taek, who were still laughing, and spoke.

“Don’t get too excited. That guy is Lee Hwan’s younger brother.”

“Lee Hwan? You mean, that Lee Hwan?”

“Yes.”

“……”

The laughter abruptly stopped.