Chapter 55

The Kised, having lost their command entity, crumbled easily.

They remained fierce, yes, but the uncanny coordination that had made them move as a single body was gone.

Their attacks grew increasingly sluggish as well.

Mopping up the rest was not particularly difficult.

[ 1 / 1 ]

[ 200 / 200 ]

[ Conditions have been met. ]

[ ‘Enseodotar’s Head Pillar +6’ pulses violently! ]

The moment the last Kised fell, a pillar of light shot skyward alongside the message.

It came from the direction of the pillar.

The pillar had responded to the objective’s completion.

The party members tensed.

They had handled things somewhat easily, but this was still a Hidden Route.

It was a situation where nothing would be surprising, no matter what happened.

[ You are currently progressing through the Hidden Route. ]

[ The boundary dividing the tropical rainforest collapses by the power of the restored pillar. ]

[ For the first time, a path between the entrance zone and the deep zone has been opened. ]

[ The great migration of magic beasts has begun. ]

In that instant, the forest erupted.

From every direction that had been quiet, the cries and presence of magic beasts surged forth.

Across the blue sky, flying-type magic beasts shrieked and clashed with one another.

A great migration in every sense.

The beasts, invading each other’s territories as they moved, had begun to collide.

But that was not all.

[ New objective updated. ]

[ Activate ‘Enseodotar’s Soul Pillar’ located in the ‘Deep Tropical Rainforest’. ]

The message was demanding they traverse this hell.

Every face in the group hardened.

“Are they insane? They want us to cut through that chaos?”

“Damn it. I knew it was going too smoothly. And then they pull this crap at the end.”

“……”

Jang Taeju, Jin Baekseon, and Seo Eunhyun all grew tense.

In the past, perhaps they could have managed.

But cutting through this pandemonium now would inevitably inflict massive casualties.

With magic beasts invading each other’s territories and brawling in chaotic free-for-alls—

Passing through unscathed was virtually impossible.

They would be lucky to escape with their lives.

Siyoon, however, did not waver.

“…No. There’s a way through without fighting.”

Siyoon, who had been standing still, spoke abruptly.

All three pairs of eyes locked onto him at once.

“What?”

“Is that true?”

“How? There’s no safe path on the surface anymore.”

So startled that they practically demanded answers, the three pressed him.

Siyoon pointed toward the pillar of light.

“We’re heading back to the Head Pillar we saw earlier.”

“You’re suggesting we go through that underground passage again?”

“I could find a route on the surface, but…”

Then Siyoon’s gaze drifted to the side.

The three who had been watching him followed the direction naturally.

In that moment—

Kwadeudeudeuk!

-Kkieeeeeeeh!!

-Kaeng! Keureureureong!!

A tree snapped as a massive wolf-like magic beast lunged at two Aindar.

They watched the Aindar’s outer carapace get shredded mercilessly by razor-sharp claws, and swallowed dry.

“Underground it is.”

“…I agree.”

The decision was unanimous.

Even they recognized that this chaos was out of the question.

Siyoon nodded.

“I’ll be moving fast. Keep up.”

And with that, the party’s next destination was set.

* * *

Siyoon’s recollection of the underground passage was no coincidence.

The sudden upheaval alone confirmed that the underground was safer.

But ultimately, it was Path Finder’s influence that sealed the decision.

The moment he saw the message, both instinct and intuition screamed at him to take the underground passage.

‘If anything, going without the underground passage means risking grave danger. It’s the obvious choice.’

Even without Path Finder, Siyoon would have chosen the underground passage.

It was far safer than the surface.

Depleting their strength here would have been a terrible decision.

To defeat the boss and fully conquer the dungeon, they needed to preserve their stamina.

After avoiding the magic beasts as much as possible, they returned to the base of the central pillar where a staircase awaited.

Similar to the entrance zone.

Buwoong.

Siyoon summoned a light orb with his bracelet, just as before, and they descended the staircase together.

The only difference from last time was that they had tied their arms together with rope.

‘With the surface in that state, assuming the underground passage is completely safe would be naive.’

Getting separated again in this situation would be dangerous.

This time, they had taken every precaution to stay together.

But as it turned out, the precaution was unnecessary.

‘…So that’s why we all got separated last time.’

Siyoon’s vision suddenly fractured into multiple staircases.

Branching paths had materialized instantly, one for each member, subtly guiding the party into the darkness.

It was so insidious that without Path Finder, they never would have noticed.

Teok.

“Not that way. Come back up.”

“What?”

Jang Taeju, walking at the front, blinked.

The others were no different.

They looked back and forth between themselves and Siyoon, belatedly realizing the staircase was wrong.

“There are multiple staircases connected here.”

“It was definitely a single path just a moment ago.”

“The darkness lowered our perception and guided us toward different routes.”

Siyoon calmly explained to the bewildered group as they climbed back up.

It was a trap.

Without Path Finder, they likely would have fallen for it just the same.

Thanks to the skill, he had detected and seen through the trap.

‘Good thing I caught it in advance.’

Siyoon descended the staircase with the party.

Soon, the familiar scenery of the passage emerged alongside light.

“We’re all together this time.”

Previously, they had been completely split apart, each wandering at random locations.

Thanks to Siyoon, they had avoided being separated this time.

But that wasn’t the important thing right now.

“Let’s move.”

The surface was currently a pandemonium of magic beast migration.

With no way to predict what variables might arise, they needed to push toward the deep zone.

Understanding his intent, the party members nodded.

* * *

They walked through the underground passage.

The passage they had already traversed once still carried the same atmosphere.

Plants covering every surface and weathered bricks.

“Haa…”

At that moment, Jin Baekseon let out a heavy sigh, thick with fatigue.

They had already been in the dungeon for several hours.

Repeating nothing but combat and movement without proper rest, exhaustion was inevitable.

“I understand wanting to rest, but the situation isn’t ideal right now.”

“…Sorry. I wasn’t trying to complain. I know that well enough without you saying it.”

Dalgak.

At Siyoon’s response, Jin Baekseon apologized and drank a potion.

It was a potion that aided fatigue recovery and stamina enhancement.

Though unspoken, Seo Eunhyun and Jang Taeju showed clear signs of exhaustion as well.

Seeing this, Siyoon pulled potions from his bag.

“I’ll hand them out one by one. Drink up.”

“Stamina recovery potions?”

“Yeah. Drink them now.”

What Siyoon handed over were low-rank Stamina Recovery Potions.

The notable difference was that, like the doping agents he had given them before, these had been enhanced to +3.

That alone put them well beyond the efficacy of standard potions.

They came with the added option of immediate stamina and fatigue recovery.

“…What is this, a doping agent? I can suddenly feel strength surging through my body.”

“It’s the sensation of accumulated fatigue and depleted stamina being restored.”

“Where on earth do you even source something like this?”

The party members who drank the potions asked in astonishment.

Growing tired of making excuses every time, Siyoon gave a vague answer.

“I had them custom-ordered through a private commission.”

“You really threw money around on this. Still, it saved our lives, so I suppose it was worth it?”

“Take it as a compliment.”

Well, it wasn’t entirely a lie.

After all, he had enhanced the potions’ effects—that much was true.

The party, having recovered their stamina with Siyoon’s potions, picked up their pace.

But the journey was no longer as smooth as before.

-Keureureuk.

-Kirik, kkeureureure.

From beyond the passage, magic beasts resembling insects appeared in swarms.

Generd—low-rank magic beasts that looked like cockroaches.

Given that they inhabited dark and damp underground environments, their appearance was no surprise.

The problem was their overwhelming numbers.

Brown bodies the size of a palm.

Abnormally developed with twelve legs and three eyes.

Dozens, then hundreds of the hideous creatures crawled toward them, their mandibles clacking.

“Wait, those weren’t here before. Why now—”

“Is that really the issue right now? Run!”

They broke into a sprint simultaneously, fleeing through the passage to escape the insects.

How powerful those magic beasts were didn’t matter.

With their current numbers, they couldn’t possibly face that overwhelming quantity of Generd.

Sakak.

Sakaksakaksakaksakak.

Insects poured endlessly through every gap—ceiling, floor, walls, it made no difference.

His heightened instincts were screaming warnings as well.

Escaping by the shortest route took priority over engaging.

“Damn it, where did those things suddenly come from?”

“Probably affected by the great migration mentioned in the message.”

“No time for chitchat! Watch the front!”

Siyoon pointed ahead.

Palm-sized Generd were already emerging from the front as well.

At this rate, they would soon be completely surrounded.

Then, something caught Siyoon’s eye.

A synesthetic image of the passage, formed through heightened senses and perception.

Observing it as though from a third party’s perspective, Siyoon understood.

Why the skill was called Path Finder.

‘A path is visible.’

Not just any ordinary path.

The movement patterns of the enemies within the space, and his own movement patterns.

A single breakthrough point where he could weave through without colliding—flashed like lightning.

No time to hesitate.

“Jang Taeju!! Raise your shield and charge along my path!”

The moment he shouted to his party member, Siyoon kicked off the ground.

He dodged every insect surging from the front, slipping through the gaps between them.

A hair’s breadth—any hesitation and he would have been attacked.

Taeju registered this, and executed without delay.

Kwadeuk, kwajeujeuk!

Magic beasts that failed to penetrate the shield scattered to either side.

Behind him, Seo Eunhyun and Jin Baekseon ran with their bodies lowered.

Siyoon, in the gap between them, leapt toward the blocked path ahead.

Kwaaaaang!

His fist struck the wall, shattering it to reveal another passage.

Beyond it lay the now-familiar staircase.

No further discussion was needed.

They sprinted toward the stairs with everything they had.

And the moment they climbed what seemed like an endless staircase—

* * *

Hwak!

A fierce wind struck their eyes.

The party emerged from the staircase atop a cliff.

A sight none of them had ever seen in the dungeon.

“Haa… We almost died.”

“But the risk was worth taking.”

Siyoon said, gesturing toward the rainforest visible in the distance.

The pillar of light rising toward the sky was far enough to appear small.

[ Current location: ‘Deep Tropical Rainforest’. ]

In that brief span, they had traveled from the central zone to the deep zone.

Siyoon looked at the message displaying “Deep Tropical Rainforest.”

This was a result he had anticipated to some degree ever since entering the underground passage.

‘There was never any way to know where it would lead, after all.’

Entry point: random. Exit point: random.

One could assume it was entirely randomized.

But the underground passage was clearly divided into zones.

After acquiring Path Finder, Siyoon had grown certain of this.

‘Unlike where we entered from the entrance zone, we came out in the central zone.’

And the location where they emerged was close to the central zone’s pillar.

Was this coincidence?

No. Siyoon refused to believe that.

Path Finder helped find the correct path.

In other words, even if he entered the underground passage again, he would be able to find the route to the deep zone.

And that was exactly what had happened, proving his theory correct.

‘It was dangerous, but the fact that we shortened the distance is undeniable.’

Besides, his instincts had been telling him since earlier.

The deep zone’s pillar was nearby.

They had succeeded in reaching this point while minimizing contact with magic beasts.

Just then, Seo Eunhyun approached.

“Lee Siyoon, I think we need to move immediately. I’m sensing multiple magic beast presences nearby.”

“I was planning to leave anyway. The deep zone’s pillar happens to be close from here.”

“Perfect. We can head there while taking out any beasts in our way.”

Siyoon nodded.