NOVEL WEB Chapter 28
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[You have consumed a Living Hound. Your fullness increases.]
‘…This isn’t good.’
No matter how much I ate, leveling up was impossible. It had been two days since I first entered the dungeon. During that time, for reasons unknown, even though Koo Sang-seop had died, only the hunters at the entrance had briefly come in, and there hadn’t been a large-scale investigation.
‘It’s a job where you risk your life, yet…’
It left me feeling bitter. Or maybe there was a reason I didn’t know. After all, I was just a reader of the story, not an inhabitant of this world.
‘I guess I should leave the dungeon?’
I pondered seriously. It seemed like there was nothing left to gain in this dungeon anymore. Above all, the condition to reach level 20 was a problem.
‘0.1% of progress.’
[Mountain Tyrant (Worg {Undefined}) Lv.19] [EXP 36777 / 36777]
[Progress 0.07%]
[Body Length 1.79m] [Height 81.4cm] [Weight 58.5kg]
[Strength 123] [Agility 140] [Health 210] [Magic Power 94] [Endurance 1]
With hitting level 20, my stats rose. I’ve filled all the experience points, but I still couldn’t meet the conditions to reach level 20, stuck at the threshold.
‘This is frustrating.’
Out of curiosity, I opened the evolution list, but the conditions were still unmet.
The condition to level up was 0.1% of progress. Currently, I had 0.07%.
‘In other words, I need to gain an additional 0.03%.’
But where could I get that?
Stopping the sewer disaster that would throw Busan into chaos gave me 0.02%
Defeating Koo Sang-seop, the cornerstone plan to shatter the Light Circle, gave me 0.04%.
‘But after meeting Hong Yu-ri…’
Having experienced a near-death situation and gained endurance brought me 0.01% more. What was the condition? Facing a life-or-death situation? Or overcoming it? Or was there another condition?
[Endurance: The will to overcome oneself]
‘Will?’
I firmly resolved, whispering to myself.
I will stop the disaster and save the world from destruction… For about 10 seconds, I took it seriously, but then I felt embarrassed and quit.
‘Ugh, I can’t do this.’
Just to check, I looked at my endurance, and it was still at 1. If I could gain progress through such an artificial means, that would make even less sense. Regardless, it meant I didn’t need to stay here any longer. It was better to stop another calamity or take out someone on the hit list.
‘There is someone in Daegu, but I don’t even know if he’s still around at this point.’
And at this moment, I also wanted to see the protagonist, who would still be an academy student.
‘If I could team up with them, gaining progress would be easier.’
Though the protagonist in the novel failed to prevent destruction, they managed to stop many disasters. If I could join that line, gaining progress would become much easier.
‘Of course, that would be two years later.’
The earlier events weren’t detailed. The protagonist seemed closer to a growth-type rather than a munchkin, solving problems from their academy days, and probably not seamlessly.
‘But what if I, who knows the plot, am there?’
I could draw the protagonist’s growth.
My heart raced. Maybe I could truly prevent the destruction in the novel. Knowing the developments in the novel means I could act a step ahead. I might be able to lead to a proper ending rather than the sudden “And so the end came (完)” nonsense that came too late.
‘It might be possible…?’
A real sense of hope emerged. Laughing joyfully, I headed towards the dungeon entrance when a skill alerted me. Strong presences— “Presence Detection” identified them as humans.
‘Humans? Hunters have come in? After two days of silence, suddenly?’
Heading recklessly to the entrance was dangerous. It was confirmed by Koo Sang-seop, but cautious hunters could see through my stealth. The one who had just been bitter about the absence of hunters changing their attitude made me self-deprecating.
‘Though my level has increased…’
After spending two days in the dungeon, my skills had naturally risen overall. Stealth was now level 5. But could that be enough to fool that many hunters?
‘…6 people? No, 10.’
They charged into the maze as if they knew the way—no, they really did. Among them were warriors and archers from Koo Sang-seop’s party.
‘Can I escape?’
In that short time, they reached the place they had escaped from. After that, with no guide, their speed of penetration slowed down.
‘Part of this is my fault.’
For these two days, I had consumed quite a few monsters, leaving monsters themselves in short supply. Thanks to that, I had memorized the terrain of this dungeon.
‘And I roughly understood how dangerous this place is.’
Hunters aren’t fools.
They always prepare thoroughly and anticipate the worst scenario. It would be hard to imagine that they wouldn’t grasp even the level of trouble in a dungeon.
‘The news said the representative clan would be handing it off to another clan, right?’
That meant they were also a clan based near the Gyeongsan area.
[Remaining Skill Points 8]
I checked the last remaining skill levels. I had enough to obtain two D-grade skills.
‘Should I level up stealth to C-grade?’
Since it was still at level 5, if I used all my skill points, it should rise to C-grade. That way, I could slip away calmly…
‘But it feels wasteful.’
The thought of wastefulness held me back. Until I gained that additional 0.03% of progress, any further growth was unnecessary. Using skill points had to be my last resort.
‘-0.03%?’
Then, a thought suddenly struck me.
‘Destruction- no, this world is being destroyed because of monsters, right?’
Not like natural disasters or pollution on modern Earth, but a world crumbling because of monsters. And the main cause of that destruction, the monsters, include natural-born beings like the Worg or Slime of Jirisan, but dungeons are part of that too.
‘Then just clearing the dungeon should gain me progress, right?’
Why hadn’t I thought about this simple thing until now?
No, I had been thinking from the wrong perspective. For a dungeon, but that’s not how I genuinely saw it—after all, I saw it strictly from a reader’s perspective.
‘A dungeon isn’t a hunting ground.’
It’s a place that accelerates humanity’s destruction. Knowing the protagonist was rolling around in danger, the clichés from the novels I’d read until now had been holding me back.
‘I had reversed my purposes and means.’
Humans chose the means of “leveling up as a hunter” with the purpose of “stopping the dungeon” to prevent destruction. On the contrary, I considered “growing and becoming stronger” as a means with the purpose of “dungeons as hunting grounds” to bring about a happy ending. I pulled a wry smile, realizing that I still wasn’t fully accustomed to this world.
‘If I clear the dungeon.’
I wasn’t sure how much progress I could gain, but at least it would definitely reduce the destruction probability by over 0.03%.
‘Why, you ask?’
Because of the system. Looking back at everything the system had said and done, the answer must be close.
‘So, clearing this dungeon seems the most plausible.’
Perhaps, no, it was likely that the original story’s protagonists failed to conquer the dungeon. Because of this, hunters died, and thus the system was subtly telling me to clear this dungeon.
‘Above all, I can’t clear this dungeon alone.’
But what if I worked with others? If I helped those hunters clear the dungeon?
‘It’s possible.’
In any case, I intended to act as a helper to assist the protagonist’s growth. I didn’t want to get involved directly. Let’s take this opportunity and make it a cornerstone for that.
***
“Hey. Did you hear my words? It’s not here.”
“Seems like it’s really not here.”
No matter how much we searched the entire Jirisan area, besides the Law Enforcement Bureau, I couldn’t find anything that looked like wolf tracks. However, Hong Yu-ri must have said,
“I told you I’m not there, you bastard.”
“Don’t swear. Let’s rethink this once more.”
“You made me run around for no reason today. Damn it.”
At the team leader’s words, Hong Yu-ri sighed heavily. “Gu Jin-ha this bastard. Seriously thorough.” The team leader tried to ignore that.
“What about your eyes?”
“The traces dispersed faster than expected. Normally, there would be traces left behind large enough…”
There definitely was an Alpha in the law enforcement bureau. A big Worg trace was clearly felt. But after that, I couldn’t read Alpha’s movements. It couldn’t have suddenly gotten lighter or disappeared. Could traces really just vanish so quickly? That was oddly suspicious.
‘Has it evolved and grown wings or something? Or did it go on a diet?’
“But… no. Anyway, it’s not in Jirisan.”
“……?”
“It’s nothing. Anyway, there’s no need to be here, right? If it’s up on the mountain, I’ll break some bones.”
“If you say that much…”
The team leader nodded in agreement. If even Hong Yu-ri, who was among the three search teams, couldn’t track it down, it would be impossible unless the Light of the Plateau didn’t show itself. She frowned, trailing off.
‘What’s nagging…’
There was a strangely familiar aura that felt like I had met it somewhere before; I couldn’t be sure. It felt vague and faint, but even though it was a bit bothersome, if I couldn’t remember, that was as far as it went. Hong Yu-ri shrugged it off as if it were nothing.
“Anyway. It’s not on the mountain. We should go down and check another direction. Gripping onto what’s not working won’t change anything.”
“…Let the second team know as well.”
Why had Alpha suddenly disappeared from the Law Enforcement Bureau? And what about the whereabouts of the other one? If it indeed went down the mountain, why was nothing happening yet?
Everything was shrouded in mystery, but the fact that we needed to chase Alpha didn’t change.
***
“Is it really this easy? Why are there so few monsters?”
“Isn’t it nice that it’s quiet?”
“It’s a cliché. Suddenly it goes ‘bang’ after being quiet.”
“Oh, really? Have you watched too many movies? You’re not practicing.”
“Ahem.”
“There were many when I came last time… Is everything really alright?”
“Ah. Just hold on to your worries. Speaking of my sister…”
“Yes, I know she’s a C-class hunter.”
Even though it wasn’t a high-risk dungeon, clearing it with just about ten people felt dubious. The archer who was with Sang-seop couldn’t hide his anxious expression.
“…I’m starting to think that we might need more people.”
“Why? It’s going smoothly, right? There’s nothing here.”
True to their word, there were no signs of monsters. Up until now, we had only encountered two orcs? The archer agreed with what the female hunter said but couldn’t shake off his unease; after all, this was the dungeon where Sang-seop had vanished.
“Shouldn’t we join forces?”
“They’ll come on their own.”
“Even so, it’s still a dungeon.”
As the male hunter and archer debated, the expression of the female hunter watching them twisted in frustration.
“Ha~ just too talkative, aren’t you? Then go ahead and leave. You already finished guiding anyway, right? It’s not your place to whine.”
“Sister!”
“What do you want to say?”
The mocking words of the female hunter made the veins pop on the archer’s forehead. Regardless, she continued her speech.
“Seriously, isn’t it embarrassing? You guys occupied it with money and then later say ‘my friend is missing! Please find him!’ How do you think we feel? Seriously, does that even make sense? There should be some sense of common morality. Besides feeling deprived, it’s just ridiculous.”
“……”
“Damn, it was just infuriating. Do you understand? Originally, our clan was meant to take this dungeon, but you secretly claimed it and now entered with us, pretending to look for your clan member. Am I wrong?”
“……”
“Oh, sister. What’s going on with you?”
The chilly atmosphere thickened. The male hunter hurriedly intervened, but to the archer, he only looked like a meddling older sister.
“Let go. You have to say what needs to be said. What? Are you upset? But do you even feel embarrassed?”
“That’s on us.”
“Shut up. The audacity to complain after taking over. How dare a fool who went in three and came out two open their mouth? Of course, I’m appalled at the representative clan that made money and I’m completely baffled at our clan leader who allowed it. But what the hell was that requesting clan thinking?”
“…Have you said everything?”
“No, I haven’t said enough. Care to repeat that? You’re welcome to leave, you know? To be honest, I didn’t want to accept that you guys would guide us.”
The archer’s fist trembled. He took a long breath, but in the end, he had to hang his head.
“I’m sorry.”
“Next time, quit whining. You get what I’m saying?”
“…I’ll be more careful.”
By now, the mood of the party was quite different from before. From 6 hunters, it dropped to 5, staring down one.
‘Damn. I should have gone looking for that guy back then.’
But it was spilled water now and he wasn’t wrong. If the roles were reversed, he might’ve been saying the same things. Lacking any ground for a rebuttal, the archer gritted his teeth and followed behind them. Eventually, they encountered two orcs deep inside but took them down without difficulty.
“In such a trivial dungeon… tch.”
Ignoring the grumbling tone, they finally reached the depths of the dungeon. A large door, unmistakably a boss room.
“Alright. We’re joining with the rear team from here. Whether you found the clan hunter or not, even if you didn’t…”
“…I won’t say anything.”
The female hunter nodded, her expression displeased.
***
“Sang-seop-hyung didn’t go out first, did he?”
One clan member shook his head, denying it.
“No way. If he did, we would’ve heard from the clan.”
“It’s strange. Even if he was dead, we should be able to find at least a body…”
“Oh please. They say words become seeds.”
“Ah, I’m sorry. But shouldn’t we join forces now?”
“Time’s up. It feels like we’ve searched enough. So, shall we just combine now?”
The warrior’s expression was troubled, but the clock signaled that it was time to unite.
“It’s not just Sang-seop, but we need to clear the dungeon too. We feel the same, but as hunters, don’t we need to carry out our duties?”
“…Sigh. Understood.”
After listening to the comforting senior hunter’s words, the warrior reluctantly accepted and turned away.
“I wonder if it would have been better if we had entered back then?”
“You didn’t know it would turn out this way. If you had gone in, who knows how it would have ended for you all.”
Was this truly the correct answer? Even if I understood it logically, it didn’t change the unease in my chest.
“Tsk.”
It was a complicated path, yet they could follow the marks left by the front team.
“You’re a bit late, huh?”
At the words of the female hunter at the front, the senior hunter nodded.
“Sorry about that. Have you checked the boss?”
“As you can see.”
The female hunter shrugged her shoulders. It wasn’t out of the ordinary in a maze-type dungeon for the boss room to be locked tightly, so the senior hunter responded that he understood and pressed his ear against the door.
“Oh my. Do you perhaps possess a hearing skill?”
“It’s E-grade.”
“Ah~ I see. That’s why you can hear?”
“Well, no sound at all. Let’s open it. We have to clear unless we’re returning, right? Is there a sharp method?”
“None.”
The two briefly glanced around their party, but no one raised their hands. The archer had moved his position from the female hunter’s clan back to his own.
“What about Sang-seop?”
“No, I couldn’t find him.”
“…I kind of figured that.”
“Alright, let’s open it.”
The massive door to the maze began to slowly open. And beyond the door displayed a room filled completely with white threads.
“This is…”
As the one who called the female hunter ‘sister’ reached for the cobweb, the fully opened door slammed shut with a loud bang! In that brief moment where everyone’s gazes shifted to the door,
“AAAAAAAH!”
The hunter who touched the cobweb was being dragged away.
“Aranea?!”
“Ji-tae! Kim Ji-tae!”
“It’s a spider monster, right? What about the door? Will it not open?”
“Idiot! How can we leave a boss room! Quickly, get ready for battle!”
At the frantic words of the female hunter, everyone armed their weapons.
From the start, one was already gone. A 1 vs 9 match. The expressions of those facing the dungeon’s owner, Aranea, were all rigid.
***
Eventually, they had been unable to find Koo Sang-seop’s corpse on their way to the boss room. The dungeon had remained peaceful. Over the past two days, I had dealt with most of the monsters myself. I had managed to eliminate even the ones that were around them unnoticed.
‘…It’s hard to believe that such monsters could have done anything to hunters.’
It hadn’t been too difficult either. In fact, I thought I could handle the orcs, but since no experience points were involved, I didn’t bother overextending myself. After bringing down all the leftover orcs, the hunters finally began to open the door. But the real issue would start from here.
‘The boss is probably…’
No matter how hard I tried to sense the presence beyond the door, I couldn’t feel anything. I pondered the thought of whether I should stop them the moment they opened it. They couldn’t see it, but I did.
‘Above the ceiling…!’
A huge spider lay waiting for them. Among the webs covering the entire room, eight red eyes gleamed ominously. I instinctively used my surveil skill on it.
[Maze Spider (Aranea)]
[Body Length 6.32m] [Height 2.61m] [Weight 940kg]
[Strength 325] [Agility 438] [Health 346] [Magic Power 244]
‘This is the worst.’
Despite its size, its weight was modest, essentially stating it was light. The proof was its agility exceeding 400. Moreover, with magic power of 244, it was stronger than any monster I had encountered so far. Aranea was much more formidable than that monster wolf from Jirisan.
‘…Can these hunters defeat that?’
Maybe Jeon Woo-taek or Hong Yu-ri could, but could these people really take down Aranea?
[Yoo Ah-hyun (Human)]
[Height 172.1cm] [Weight 53.9kg]
[Strength 228] [Agility 256] [Health 252] [Magic Power 196]
[Park Mu-taek (Human)]
[Height 174.9cm] [Weight 70.1kg]
[Strength 222] [Agility 234] [Health 261] [Magic Power 189]
Even among them, the exceptional female hunter and the middle-aged hunter fell well behind Aranea in every category. Although comparing a boss’s status to that of hunters was nonsensical…
‘Still, this is pushing it.’
As the door slammed shut, I locked eyes with Aranea.
‘Shit…’
It could see through my stealth. Should I go in or stay out?
The door continued to close. If I left the dungeon now, I could escape alive. I could gain progress elsewhere. The door was closing quickly, and I needed to make a decision.
‘…Screw it. I’ll risk it.’
I activated my skill and narrowly slipped in through the closing gap of the door. During that time, the dazed hunter who had touched the web was already being pulled up.
“AAAAAH!”
With that scream echoing, everyone grasped their weapons. In this critical moment, the hunters wouldn’t recognize me, hidden in stealth.
‘Dammit.’
One was already lost from the get-go. The worst beginning and the worst situation.
Aranea rolled its eight red eyes.
A few of those eyes locked onto me.
‘Ah, I shouldn’t have come in…’
Regret hit me belatedly, but it was already spilled water.
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