NOVEL WEB Chapter 25 - Seoul Songpa District
Translator: FenrirTL
Editor: KYSOIWDI
================
[ Chapter 25: Seoul Songpa District ]
Entrance to Seoul Songpa-20210406-0103 Dungeon.
Initial report rating: D.
“Are you sure it’s really D-grade?”
“Of course.”
“No chance something like a Minotaur will suddenly pop out, right?”
“I’m telling you, it’s fine.”
Lee Mi-sun checked the tablet handed to her by the Hunter standing next to her and then passed it to Hong Seok-young.
“There are insect-type monsters, but they aren’t toxic and are small in size. No hidden spaces detected either.”
“Hmm….”
“And of course, there are no monsters worth naming.”
Quickly skimming through the dungeon exploration report on the tablet, Hong Seok-young nodded.
“Are they going to reclassify the dungeon ratings?”
“Oh, did they finally decide to do it? Honestly, it should have been done a long time ago. It was so inconvenient when working with foreign Hunters. They’d say Korean dungeon ratings couldn’t be trusted, accusing us of cheating….”
Lee Mi-sun shook her head.
“A lot will be exposed.”
“How about you?”
“Me?”
Lee Mi-sun opened her eyes wide.
“Hong Hunter, I’m Lee Mi-sun. Lee Mi-sun of Dayeon and Dasun. I earn well without resorting to such dirty tricks.”
“Did I underestimate you?”
“Of course. Apologize quickly.”
“Sorry.”
Laughing, the two soon hardened their expressions and prepared their equipment.
The number of people entering the dungeon was unusually small. This was possible because it was a D-grade dungeon, and Hong Seok-young was accompanying them.
The Hunters selected by Lee Mi-sun from Dasun also finished their preparations to enter the dungeon.
The dungeon gate was made entirely of light. The light gathered like fireflies and then scattered, floating around as if being drawn and released repeatedly.
Lee Mi-sun took out a recorder.
“Ahem. May 24, 2021. Seoul Songpa-20210406-0103 Dungeon. Total entry: five people. Lee Mi-sun, Ji Yoo-gun, Kang So-yoon, Choi Dae-hyun of Guild Dasun. Independent Hunter Hong Seok-young. Current time: 1:00 PM. Entering the dungeon.”
Without hesitation, the five Hunters threw themselves into the gate.
* * *
“…….”
“…….”
“…….”
“…….”
“…Would you care to say something, Hong Hunter?”
“What is there for me to say?”
Hong Seok-young scratched his head and looked around. A starry night sky. A plain stretched out below. A forest could be seen in the distance….
“A peaceful dungeon, indeed.”
Even the timely breeze was exceptionally pleasant.
Hong Seok-young nodded.
“It does seem to be D-grade. You can’t feel this kind of calmness in C-grade.”
Though it looked like night if you only looked at the sky, the inside of the dungeon was as bright as day.
If not for that incongruity, one might think this was a secluded place. Grass brushing against their ankles and nameless flowers blooming in between. Though Hong Seok-young didn’t know much about flowers, he was willing to bet his spear that these flowers couldn’t be found anywhere on Earth.
He looked at the sky again. No moon. Naturally, no sun either. He couldn’t tell where the light filling the dungeon came from, nor whether the stars in the sky were real.
The sky full of stars was a common feature observed in every dungeon around the world. Several Grand Mages had tried to uncover its secrets but all had failed. Some said it was merely an illusion within the dungeon.
Hong Seok-young looked around. There were no monsters detected in the plain.
“Where were the monsters found?”
“In that forest.”
The dungeon was too vast for it to be inhabited only by insect-type monsters as small as the palm of a hand.
“What’s the number of individuals?”
“We haven’t identified them all, but there aren’t many.”
“Hmm…. What about the eggs? Being insect-type, they might have laid eggs somewhere.”
“No, that too….”
Lee Mi-sun shook her head.
“Have any of you ever seen eggs?”
“No. We have not seen any, Master.”
“We didn’t find any the last time we went in either.”
Hong Seok-young stroked his chin.
“Then what about food? Even if there aren’t many of them, they have to eat to survive.”
The hunters of Dasun exchanged glances before speaking up.
“Well, our guild has a dungeon exploration manual.”
“I know. Who do you think created that?”
“Uh, oh, yes! My apologies. According to the manual, we investigated the monsters’ habits. As far as we can tell, their diet is herbivorous….”
“Herbivorous?”
Most monsters were carnivorous. Herbivorous monsters weren’t unheard of, but they were so rare that his tone naturally became sharp.
The Dasun hunter flinched for a moment but continued explaining.
“We could immediately see them gnawing on leaves. They didn’t react to the meat we brought. They weren’t uninterested, but they didn’t eat it.”
The hunters took turns reporting their findings about the monsters.
“They are curious about humans too. They only hovered around without attacking. It was the same even when we killed one of their kind right in front of them.”
“Their body fluids are harmless to humans. Unlike what’s often seen in insect-type monsters, they aren’t acidic.”
“Their exoskeletons aren’t hard either, making them easy to cut through.”
“Oh, and they didn’t react to blood either.”
Hong Seok-young listened quietly to the hunters’ reports and then looked at Lee Mi-sun. For some reason, she had a proud expression on her face.
Seeing her face, Hong Seok-young twitched his lips.
“What’s with that look? Hurry up and praise them. Don’t dawdle.”
“Now that you’re asking for it, I don’t feel like doing it.”
“But there’s nothing lacking in the report, right?”
“…….”
“Admit it, Hong Hunter.”
“Ah, we’ve arrived at the forest. Let’s see how accurate Master Lee Mi-sun’s hunters are, shall we?”
“Admit it! My team is perfect!”
The weather had been dry and cool from the gate through the plain. However, the moment they entered the forest, it turned hot and humid.
Despite their noisy entry into the forest, the monsters showed little interest in humans, just as the hunters had reported. They only peeked curiously before quickly disappearing into the bushes as Hong Seok-young approached.
Rustle, rustle….
Lee Mi-sun shivered slightly.
“Ugh, if it weren’t for this job, I would never have entered this dungeon.”
“You hate bugs?”
“I really hate them!!”
Lee Mi-sun screamed when she saw a monster passing between her legs.
Hong Seok-young quickly scanned the surroundings. The monsters did not show any aggression despite the noise.
D-rank. Peaceful. Why was Bangju concerned about this dungeon?
“I hate anything with more legs than me!”
Did the child hear and record it correctly? Could it be contaminated information?
“But look at that! It’s not just many legs, it’s an enormous number! And they’re even big!”
“They’re only as big as your palm.”
“I hate even bugs the size of my pinky nail!”
“Hm.”
Hong Seok-young stabbed a passing monster with his spear.
Crack.
Bright green fluid spurted out. As he twisted and lifted the spear slightly, the impaled monster’s corpse was hoisted up.
Hong Seok-young handed it to Lee Mi-sun.
“Here you go.”
“Eek!!! Get that away from me!!! Move it away!!!”
Such a delicate lady in this regard.
But the hunters around Lee Mi-sun also flinched and stepped back.
It’s understandable not to like it.
Hong Seok-young scratched his head and swung the spear towards an empty area. The monster’s corpse fell, and its fluids splattered everywhere. Honestly, even he didn’t like the sight of a palm-sized centipede with its belly turned up.
“Alright. Let’s quickly check and get out. Where is the dungeon core? The report said it was exposed.”
“It’s in the center of the forest. It’s not buried in the ground and… it’s easy to access. There are no monsters guarding the core.”
“Definitely a D-rank dungeon.”
Except for its vast size.
As they moved toward the dungeon core, Hong Seok-young meticulously checked to ensure the hunters hadn’t missed anything. No matter how low the rank, one should never be complacent inside a dungeon.
But even with his sharp eyes, he didn’t see anything unusual.
At least not until they got closer to the core.
“The number of monsters increased—ah!”
“Sigh, a hunter must maintain composure.”
“No hunter is without weaknesses!”
To prevent centipedes from occasionally falling from trees, one of the hunters took an umbrella out of their bag and held it over Lee Mi-sun’s head.
Hong Seok-young shook his head.
As they approached the dungeon core, they began to hear a buzzing sound. As its name suggests, the dungeon core is the power source that maintains the dungeon. Destroying the core causes the dungeon to collapse, so dungeon raids begin with locating the core.
Some dungeons are left alone deliberately because of the resources found within. However, even in such cases, the core’s location must be known to close the dungeon if necessary.
The core is always hidden because it is directly linked to maintaining the dungeon. Monsters also seemed to understand the importance of the core, often nesting around it. The increasing number of monsters as they approached the core of this dungeon was likely due to this instinct.
“Wait.”
“…Yes?”
Hong Seok-young stopped the group and squinted his eyes.
The thick smell of grass and the buzzing resonance of the dungeon core. The sound of centipedes crawling through the underbrush.
Amid these sounds, there was… a rotting stench.
Hong Seok-young moved his hand quickly. It was a signal used among hunters.
Be quiet.
Eliminate any signs of presence.
Follow me.
Lee Mi-sun and the hunters followed Hong Seok-young without question. There was no one more reliable than him inside a dungeon.
Soon, the others could also smell what Hong Seok-young had detected.
He moved cautiously. They had no idea what might be ahead. The nauseating smell was coming from the direction of the dungeon core.
“Ha.”
When the source of the smell was revealed, Hong Seok-young clicked his tongue, letting out a sound that could have been amazement.
Branches and bushes were broken haphazardly. Dried blood splattered everywhere. The ground was the same. It didn’t take exceptional deductive skills to understand that someone had been dragged and struggled.
The blood trail led to the dungeon core. A shimmering light, like the dungeon gate, flickered in midair. Hong Seok-young briefly looked at the core before looking below it.
Right beneath the dungeon core.
There was a corpse.
It was a young man in a black suit.
“When was the last entry?”
“F-four days ago.”
“I know it’s a silly question, but there was nothing like this then, right?”
“There wasn’t!”
Hong Seok-young rubbed a bloodstain on the ground with his toe. He also nudged the corpse with the tip of his spear.
The body hadn’t been dead for long.
Hong Seok-young frowned.
“When you were determining their diet… did you use fresh meat?”
“Are you talking about the monsters? Yes. That’s what I heard.”
“There was a reason they didn’t react to the meat.”
Hong Seok-young cautiously flipped the corpse with his spear. Normally, he wouldn’t touch anything to preserve the scene, but this time, he had no choice.
The turned-over body finally revealed its face. Its eyes, half-open and unaware, and its gaping mouth seemed to want to say something to Hong Seok-young.
However, instead of looking at the face, he focused on the torso.
“Ugh….”
Lee Mi-sun quickly covered her mouth.
“These creatures prefer rotten flesh.”
Where the intestines should have been was empty. Hong Seok-young, with a blank expression, brushed off the monsters feasting on the corpse’s innards.