You Will Be Blessed If You Do Good Deeds¿

Jeong Da-on and Son Hyeong-hwa, who had gone to check the terrain, soon returned.
Son Hyeong-hwa handed the map to Lee Hyeon-jun, shaking his head.

"The terrain on the map is completely different. Could the map have been drawn wrong?"
"The map probably wasn’t drawn wrong," Han Jae-young immediately responded.
"I’ve met the guild leader managing this dungeon a few times. I don’t think that’s the case."

"Then that means the entrance stayed the same, but the contents changed. Does that even make sense?"
"...It’s something I’ve never heard of before."
Lee Hyeon-jun frowned.

"Theoretically speaking... Earth and dungeons are different dimensions, so the connections between them are unstable. It’s not unusual to crash into a different place than planned."
"You're talking about dimensional accidents."
Han Jae-young nodded, being familiar with dimensional accidents.

"But right now, the system is connected normally, so... it’s not that kind of case."
"Which means this is something unprecedented. The system is really a piece of junk. A dungeon being flipped upside down—what the hell is going on?"
Lee Hyeon-jun clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction.

System message: The system is doing its utmost to ensure the survival of humanity.
 
The system message appeared as if it was protesting, but Lee Hyeon-jun didn’t pay it any attention. Regardless, it was clear that something abnormal was happening with the dungeon.
"It’s not surprising that something as unreasonable as this happened. If such an incident hadn’t occurred, Han-ul wouldn’t have gone missing..."

"But that’s not the only strange thing."
Jeong Da-on interjected, and Lee Hyeon-jun furrowed his brow.
"What else is it?"

"The flow of magic is strange. It’s not just the magic detected by the magic detector..."
Jeong Da-on pointed toward the distant highlands, still looking far off.
"It feels like magic is flowing into that direction. It seems likely there’s something there. Let’s go check it out."
"Wait a minute."

Lee Hyeon-jun frowned at Jeong Da-on.
"I’m sensitive to magic too, but you’re telling me you felt the flow from that far away? So quickly?"
He felt an odd discomfort. His instincts were raising a subtle alarm.

Jeong Da-on’s words didn’t seem like a discovery of new facts... Rather, it felt like she was speaking as if she already knew.
And Lee Hyeon-jun trusted his senses.
"In a dungeon where no one expected such an anomaly to happen, to immediately pinpoint where the anomaly is occurring... Is that even possible?"

"What are you trying to say?"
"It’s just too strange. To find a problem this quickly in a flipped dungeon... that’s..."
"Is it impossible according to common sense?"

Jeong Da-on’s dark eyes turned toward Lee Hyeon-jun.
"Such a surprising question."
In Lee Hyeon-jun’s view, it almost seemed as if a mysterious black mass was speaking to him.

"Now that a rookie, who just awakened, is using incantation magic, is there really anything that can’t be done?"
There was a threatening tone in Jeong Da-on’s soft words that couldn’t be concealed.
‘...Did she overhear my conversation with Jae-young?’

Lee Hyeon-jun subtly gripped the short wand hanging at his waist, preparing in case she attacked.
And seeing this, Jeong Da-on’s eyes narrowed.
Moreover, the gray-colored creature guarding Jeong Da-on revealed its teeth.

"Grurr..."
It seemed to sense Lee Hyeon-jun’s hostility toward Jeong Da-on.
"Hold on, both hunters, stop..."

Han Jae-young tried to intervene, but Lee Hyeon-jun, with his hand on his wand, glared at Jeong Da-on.
If it were the usual Lee Hyeon-jun, he would have tried to resolve this with a conversation.
There was nothing to hold back from his earlier conversation with Han Jae-young, and since she was a young hunter they had just met, he could have easily apologized if needed.

But that wasn’t possible.
‘No matter how I look at it, this isn’t normal.’
The sense of foreboding that could cover the entire vast plain.

It wasn’t something that could simply be brushed off as magic.
The magic—no, the very soul that emanated from Jeong Da-on was extremely threatening.
It didn’t seem this intense when he first heard the rumors.

‘Does it make sense that this is the magic of an awakened hunter?’
Although it was calm now, if Jeong Da-on changed her mind, that ominous disaster could strike humanity at any time.
Such thoughts were unavoidable.

‘In that case, it’s better to decide while we still have energy.’
Just as Lee Hyeon-jun was about to pull out his wand, a cheerful voice suddenly interrupted.
"Well, this is great."

In the midst of rising tension, Son Hyeong-hwa casually butted in with an upbeat tone.
Instantly, the mood deflated.
"...What’s so great about this?"

"Jeong Da-on Hunter said the flow of magic is strange, right? And the source seems to be that highland area."
"...So?"
"Then, the probability that Han-ul is up there is high, right? Finally, we’ve found Han-ul, so that’s good."

Her completely inappropriate comment caught everyone off guard. Just like Lee Hyeon-jun, Jeong Da-on blinked slowly at Son Hyeong-hwa’s words.
"...You’re very optimistic."
"Hahaha, I had to be this optimistic to survive in the era I grew up in. Ah, is that a boomer statement?"

Without hesitation, Jeong Da-on nodded.
"Yeah, a little."
"Younger people are nice because they’re so honest."

Of course, Son Hyeong-hwa wasn’t an easy match either.
"Well, complaining about something that already happened won’t solve anything. My motto is to solve what’s in front of me first."
As she spoke, Son Hyeong-hwa subtly glanced at Lee Hyeon-jun.

Having lived as a couple for several decades, Lee Hyeon-jun quickly understood Son Hyeong-hwa’s intention.
‘...Shut up and stay quiet, is it?’
Lee Hyeon-jun’s suspicion was valid. And if such suspicion existed, it would be the right decision to clear it up before the full exploration started...

But Son Hyeong-hwa was suggesting to let it go.
In truth, it wasn’t like Son Hyeong-hwa couldn’t sense the threat Lee Hyeon-jun was feeling.
But still, Son Hyeong-hwa intervened because... maybe finding Han-ul came first, or perhaps she had another thought in mind.

"Let’s move for now. Jae-young, did you bring the car?"
"Yes, I brought it."
And Han Jae-young, along with Son Hyeong-hwa, stepped in as mediators.

Han Jae-young naturally inserted himself between Lee Hyeon-jun and Jeong Da-on, blocking their gazes.
If you are reading this translation anywhere other than .net or SilkRoadTL, it has been stolen.
The fairy-like, dazzling magic of his own sparkled slightly, covering the ominous hue of Jeong Da-on’s magic from Lee Hyeon-jun’s sight.

"Let’s find Han-ul first. Though I’ll get back at him for making me do this troublesome task."
"Why are you trying to extort Han-ul when you have so much money? Give me the car keys, I’ll drive."
"Let me drive... Senior Hyeong-hwa, you have other things to do."

"Well, that’s true."
Son Hyeong-hwa grinned.
"I’ve been really stressed out lately."

Boom!
As the car raced across the vast plain, kicking up a storm of dust, the mountains in the distance still seemed far off despite the car’s speed.
It was a literal stormy drive.

And it wasn’t just the car speeding through the plains; Son Hyeong-hwa was as well.
Whenever they encountered a monster group detected by the magic detector, Han Jae-young didn’t even need to get out of the car.
Lee Hyeon-jun, who volunteered for the passenger seat, was holding the magic detector when he gave a signal to Son Hyeong-hwa, who was leaning out the back window.

Boom! Bang!
This time, the sound wasn’t from the car kicking up dust.
It was from Son Hyeong-hwa, who had declared she would rampage and was literally annihilating a group of monsters.

Monster Detected: Dokdo Lizard (B-rank)
 
The lizards, which had been digging underground, buried themselves back into the dirt after realizing they had found prey.
Han Jae-young, holding the steering wheel, laughed in disbelief.

"How much did you upgrade that prosthetic arm? That’s not just a prosthetic, it’s a cannon."
It was just as he said.
The prosthetic arm on Son Hyeong-hwa’s missing right arm was literally a cannon that shot magic.

Even though she had retired, the magical power of an S-rank hunter didn’t disappear, and Son Hyeong-hwa was relentlessly firing the cannon.
Because of this, the lizards, who had been trying to attract prey by digging, quickly hid back into their burrows in fear.
Looking at his wife shooting the cannon outside the window, Lee Hyeon-jun chuckled.

"When our daughter was young, she loved robots so much."
"What kind of robot cartoons did she watch...?"
At least, thanks to her, they weren’t disturbed by the monsters gathering from the scent of the prey.

The silver lining was that, with Son Hyeong-hwa rampaging with the cannon, there was no longer any risk of Lee Hyeon-jun and Jeong Da-on clashing.
For both Han Jae-young and Son Hyeong-hwa, it was somewhat intentional.
After nearly two hours of driving, they finally crossed the plain and reached the foot of the mountain.

As they approached the foot of the mountain, something appeared that hadn’t been visible from the far end of the plain.
"...This wasn’t made by monsters."
"Yeah, monsters don’t make signposts."

It was clear that an intelligent lifeform had made the signpost, which was now standing alone, possibly blown away by the wind. It was unclear what purpose it served, but the neatly carved wooden sign bore signs of human use.
Additionally, a path leading up the mountain, which looked steep, was also neatly organized. There were even traces of carts passing by.
"If we go up this path..."

Just as Son Hyeong-hwa was about to inspect the path, a crunching sound of someone stepping on a branch was heard.
At the same time, Son Hyeong-hwa immediately dashed toward the sound.
"Aaaah!"

And, startled by her charge, someone tried to flee but fell on their backside.
Just as Son Hyeong-hwa had been about to unsheath her sword, she stopped when she saw the woman.
The person attempting to flee was so startled by seeing Son Hyeong-hwa coming that she immediately kneeled on the ground and bowed her head.

The humble basket she had been carrying spilled over, spilling various weeds she had collected.
"S-save me! Please, save me!"
"...Hmm."

It was obvious that the villain here was Son Hyeong-hwa.
As she looked at the woman lying on the ground, Son Hyeong-hwa furrowed her brow.
"Is this... a human?"

"...What’s going on here? Has a human settled here? Or is this some human-like non-human species?"
Unlike the bewildered Lee Hyeon-jun, Han Jae-young wasn’t particularly surprised.
He had already expected this.

Just like the dungeon where the figurines had appeared.
"...I’m sorry for scaring you. Are you okay?"
Instead, Han Jae-young approached the woman who had collapsed in shock and extended his hand.

The woman, still lying face down, saw Han Jae-young’s hand and screamed.
"Uh, uh... no, no! I could never...!"
"It’s fine. It’s understandable."

"Ah... t-thank you."
"Could I ask you a few things in return?"
"..."

The woman closed her mouth tightly, and fear was evident in her eyes.
"Wh-what do you want to ask?"
The boy named Jacks, whom they met in the dungeon with the figurines, had shown unconditional hostility toward outsiders.

But this woman didn’t seem hostile toward outsiders. Instead, she seemed more afraid of receiving punishment.
And she seemed very familiar with violence.
"I’m just a clueless fool. Rather than asking me, you should go up there."

She said this, pointing up the mountain path.
It was a winding path, and it was nearly impossible to know what lay beyond.
"What’s up there?"

"...Pardon?"
The woman widened her eyes.
It seemed like she hadn’t expected Han Jae-young to ask such a question.

"Are you not a magician?"
"Hmm, I’m a swordsman."
"I... I can’t tell the difference. But you’re using magic..."

The woman seemed to be referring to awakened beings who used magic.
"I... I don’t know much. The man who came last time looked similar to you..."
At her words, Son Hyeong-hwa’s eyes sparkled.

Of course.
Anyone could tell that the man she was referring to was definitely Yoo Han-ul.
"Han-ul, no, where did he go?"

"He went up there."
"And what’s up there?"
"It’s our master’s castle."

The woman bowed her head again, as if it were the most natural thing.
"It’s the Castle of the Red Eternal Snow."
And just as everyone processed the woman’s words...

A new system message appeared.
System Warning: The conquest range has exceeded the safety limits for the users.
System Guide: If you proceed further, the dungeon’s territory will expand, and the dungeon difficulty will be reassessed.

The dungeon’s rating will be adjusted.
Monster Appearance: Figurine Monster (S-rank)