NOVEL WEB Chapter 225.2
Chapter 225.2. Adventurers
As the leader had said, after a few dozen minutes, they arrived at a spot where the ground between a ruined building and a burned-down house had caved in, revealing a gaping hole.
Zombies, with dried, darkened blood clinging to their tattered, torn clothes, roamed the area around the dungeon. Their lips were half-missing, exposing their gums, with broken teeth visible. Their bodies were mangled, with flesh torn away and bones poking out, as they staggered along like scarecrows swaying weakly in the wind.
Among the zombies, some ghouls were mixed in, oozing green blood. Poisonous liquid dripped from their sharp fangs, and they walked with a more steady gait.
The men hid in the shadow of a building, spying on the scene.
“What do you think? That’s the dungeon we’re after. Doesn’t look too tough, right? Just be careful, they’re resilient.”
“Thank goodness, the dungeon actually exists. I was starting to have my doubts.”
The young man scratched his head as he spoke to the leader, laughing nervously.
“If you’d been tricked, you’d just have to pay it back. You guys are lucky!”
Crossing her arms, the young woman puffed out her chest in a huff. The middle-aged men, finding it understandable given the shady proposal, laughed heartily as they readied their weapons.
“Alright, let’s take care of this!”
Everyone responded with a firm “Yeah!” and they all sprang from the building’s shadow. The zombies noticed the adventurers and began shambling toward them.
But, these low-level monsters were no match for the group, who eagerly swung their weapons. A zombie lunged with outstretched arms, but a flash of a military knife cut it down, the blade slicing into its neck. The leader’s powerful strike easily severed its head, and the zombie swayed and collapsed.
“Hmph.”
“Yah!”
The other middle-aged men slashed with their knives, beheading zombies and stabbing the brains of advancing ghouls, sending them flying back into other zombies.
Impressed by the seasoned movements, the young couple swung their clubs, smashing the zombies. Blunt weapons were more effective against zombies. Despite the monsters’ toughness, the magic-enchanted weapons took them down with ease.
“Looks like we’ll have no problem clearing the dungeon.”
“No doubt.”
“Let’s tackle this dungeon together.”
The leader grinned as he continued cutting down the zombies around the dungeon’s entrance.
“Of course, with us here, it’s a given.”
“We’ll do our best.”
The young pair nodded, returning the smiles. They felt confident about the strength of their group.
“Come to think of it, we haven’t introduced ourselves yet. I’m Hei, the leader.”
“I’m Kou.”
“And I’m Otsu.”
Wiping the blood off their weapons, the three men gave obviously fake names, causing the young couple to exchange amused glances and chuckle.
“F-Fake names? Well, I’m Matsu.”
“I’ll be Ume.”
“We can reveal our real names after we become Silver-ranked. Let’s get going.”
Hei laughed as he entered the dungeon, with the others following behind.
Inside, the dungeon was a graveyard. Rows of Western-style gravestones stood tall, and gnarled, withered trees, their twisted trunks resembling human faces frozen in agony, grew everywhere. It was a fitting dungeon for the undead.
“As long as we’re properly equipped, we’ll be fine.”
After walking for a while, they encountered five zombies and one ghoul.
Otsu charged at the ghoul, slipping in close and slashing with his knife. Just like with the zombies, he sliced through its neck, while the others quickly took down the remaining zombies.
“We have a map. It should be a straightforward path.”
Hei navigated confidently, quickly finding the staircase and moving to the next level.
“You seem really familiar with this place.”
“I’ve done a few dungeon attacks before, but we were always short on hands. Right, guys?”
Matsu’s words prompted Hei to slump his shoulders and answer, while Kou and Otsu gave rueful smiles. Matsu and Ume nodded in understanding.
Even the mummies were no threat to the party, as they easily defeated them. After about three hours of exploration, they reached the boss room.
“We make a pretty good team. Let’s stick together even after we reach Silver.”
“Y-Yes, let’s keep working together once we’re Silver-ranked.”
The rusted iron door was covered in death masks twisted in expressions of agony, and a sinister miasma lingered around it.
“The Giant Zombie is about three meters tall, with a bloated body like an over-inflated balloon. Its attacks are simple—grappling, punching, and biting—but it doesn’t feel pain or fear, so be careful. It can keep attacking even while being hit, and it’s hard to dodge. A single hit from its powerful attacks could be fatal.”
Hei placed his hand on the door with a serious expression. The door creaked open, revealing the Giant Zombie, waiting with its horrifying dead face turned toward them.
“Let’s take it down together, alright?”
Hei’s lips curled into a thin smile as he initiated the battle.