Chapter 1

“Oh, wouldn’t it be better not to go in?”

Cho-i said. The party’s C-Rank tank, Cho-i Hyeon. She looked around at the other party members, seeking their agreement, but no one nodded. Currently, Cho-i’s party was inside a C-Rank dungeon. And they had discovered a hidden dungeon, a dungeon within a dungeon. Cho-i Hyeon was a timid and overly dramatic C-Rank outcast, so no one paid attention to her voice.

“Hyeonchan, think about it. How much does your uncle really take care of you? If we clear it ourselves and keep our mouths shut, no one will ever know, I tell you.”

Sangyeop Choi, the party’s main dealer and a B-Rank spearman, said. He subtly flattered Hyeonchan An, who was the party’s de facto leader and a B-Rank healer. Cho-i looked at Hyeonchan. She hoped he would make a good decision as the leader. And she secretly thought he would side with her. Because Hyeonchan was Cho-i’s boyfriend.

“I think Mr. Sangyeop is right. Honestly, even if you just calculate by minimum wage, we’re not getting paid that much, are we? What kind of minimum wage is there for a hunter? Minimum wage, really.”

This time, the sub-healer, C-Rank buffer Nara Shim, spoke with her arms crossed in dissatisfaction. And as if her words were the decisive blow, Hyeonchan finished his deliberation and opened his mouth.

“Let’s break through it ourselves.”

“Alright!”

“Honestly, that’s what we should do.”

“Hy-Hyeonchan…”

When Cho-i called his name with a tearful face, Hyeonchan secretly sighed, then put on a mask of a gentle smile. Thus, he began to give her a command in the guise of persuasion, in a voice kinder than anyone else’s.

“Cho-i. Honestly, when do opportunities like this come along? I’m putting up with a lot because it’s my uncle’s guild, but for me and other B-Rank hunters, we can just leave and have no problem making a living. But what can you do without me, Cho-i?”

“N-nothing…”

At those words, Cho-i lowered her head, looking defeated. Her long straight hair fell down, covering her face.

“Right? I’m here not just because it’s my uncle’s guild, but because of you. You’d never be able to join another guild. Wouldn’t you agree?”

“Y-yes.”

Just then, Sangyeop cut in from the side. His voice was boisterous, but the content was far from it.

“That’s right, Cho-i. Where in the world is there a tank as timid as you? It’s a good thing Hyeonchan is your boyfriend. And because Hyeonchan is your uncle, he let you join the guild. You’ve received a lot of help, haven’t you!”

At Sangyeop’s words, Cho-i had no choice but to nod. And Suyeon Park, a B-Rank swordsman who was a dealer and could also act as a sub-tank if necessary, who had been leaning nearby, straightened up immediately.

“Is it finally over? If we’re going, let’s go now. What are you doing? It’s something we obviously have to do.”

She glared at Cho-i. Cho-i flinched her shoulders at her gaze and subtly lowered her eyes. Suyeon walked past Cho-i and stood in front of the hidden dungeon’s door. The hidden dungeon’s entrance was made entirely of Rusty Iron Gates.

“Cho-i, hurry up! What’s a tank going to do if they’re not quick?”

“Exactly. Hey, come on!”

As Sangyeop and Suyeon urged her, Cho-i grabbed her shield and sword and scurried to the front to take her place. Nara Shim, who was watching from the side, frowned and said,

“Ugh, seriously. Those people always give orders. You should speak up if you have something to say too. Don’t be so frustrating.”

“I-I’m sorry.”

“Why are you sorry? Oh, never mind. I’m frustrated now too.”

Nara Shim stood behind them, and Cho-i went to the very front and grabbed the doorknob to open the door. But then, something dropped onto her hand.

“Aaaah!”

She shrieked, jumped up from her seat, and ran far away.

“What is it?”

“What’s going on?”

“Is it a bug again?”

What had actually fallen into her hand was a small bug. The Mantis-like bug, with a faint green glow, scurried away from the people, leaving behind only the cold stares of the others. Hyeonchan sighed.

“Yes, I know you’re scared of bugs. Let’s try. Stand up quickly.”

“It’s not just one or two times, what is this really? You were like this in the Mantis Dungeon we went to recently too! After seeing it three times, you should be used to it by now!”

“I-I’m sorry.”

“If you had just watched bug videos instead of looking at that, you’d be half cured.”

She apologized again and stood in front of the door, opening the iron door with all her might. The iron door was very rusty and stiff, but it wasn’t so much that Cho-i, a tank, couldn’t open it. And as soon as they opened the door, they were met with a long, stone path, like a maze, with a blocked ceiling.

“Oh, there’s nothing inside?”

“Come out for a moment.”

Hyeonchan pushed her shoulder and looked inside. Fortunately, no monsters were visible. Instead, the path split into a straight path and a left path. The right side was blocked by bricks, with no path.

“I see light at the end over there.”

Nara stood on tiptoes behind him and pointed far away. Indeed, light was visible at the end of the straight path.

“Let’s go forward for now.”

Cho-i gripped her shield and sword tightly with trembling hands and began to walk ahead. The path was incredibly damp and wet. The floor was slippery due to the moss. Still, Cho-i thought it was a relief that the path wasn’t long. Really, just at that moment. After exiting the long path, what they saw was a flat area that seemed to be in the middle of a forest.

“W-what is this?”

“You son of a bitch!”

The problem was that the flat area was full of Mantis-shaped monsters. It felt like an intentional act, as if they had caught Mantises and put them in a box, trying to make one survive. Thanks to Sangyeop’s loud shout, the monsters turned their heads.

“Screech.”

“Screech!”

Everyone was flustered and scrambled to form a formation upon seeing the Mantis-like monsters. Fortunately, the place they emerged from was a narrow entrance, so they could quickly take positions inside and form a stable formation. However, this was under the premise that Cho-i, who was at the very front, could hold out.

“Cho-i. Hold on.”

Hyeonchan’s chillingly low voice came from behind. But Cho-i didn’t hear him and trembled violently. Cho-i, who feared bugs the most, absolutely detested bug-type monsters. Yet, this situation with dozens, no, hundreds of mantis-type monsters was enough to send her into a panic. Hyeonchan, who knew the Entity well, forcibly pressed down on Cho-i’s shoulder.

“Hold on.”

“H-hold on. I have to hold on.”

Cho-i repeated his words with trembling eyes. And she somehow put strength into her legs and raised her shield. If Hyeonchan told her to hold on, she had to hold on. Otherwise, he might get angry again. For Cho-i Hyeon, Hyeonchan An’s anger was the most terrifying thing. Screech, the bugs cried out again and immediately began to attack them. Clang, clang! Their forelegs were sharp like blades. Hyeonchan said,

“Still, there aren’t many strong ones among the ones gathered! We can hold on and kill them with area-of-effect skills!”

“Can’t miss out on hidden items!”

“Let’s go!”

While Cho-i held out with her shield at the very front, the buffer cast health enhancement and damage reduction buffs on Cho-i, and the two dealers began to attack three or four monsters at once with their area-of-effect skills. But then.

“These guys… they don’t die easily, do they?”

Nara Shim gulped. The monsters they thought would die in one or two hits were still not dead, only injured, even after four or five skills. They sweated with tension. They couldn’t go back now. If they ran, all those monsters would surely follow. The distance to the monsters was also too close.

“Aaah!”

Just then, a sharp foreleg grazed Cho-i’s shoulder. A deep wound appeared on her shoulder, as if cut by a saw. The injury, so deep that the flesh was gouged out and bone was exposed, looked serious at first glance. Hyeonchan urgently used a healing skill and shouted to keep the people focused.

“Concentrate! My magic power and potions are enough, so we’ll be fine!” “Y-yes. We have to be!” “Damn it, who knew it would come to this!” “This is driving me crazy!”

Shouting one after another, the people began to continue their attacks and healing as if enduring. And the same was true for Cho-i. She blocked the monsters’ attacks with her shield, and if a small gap appeared, she would stab their thinnest forelegs or bellies with her sword, doing her job as a teammate. Her face turned pale every time the Mantis’s body fluid splattered, but she diligently moved to follow Hyeonchan’s command, which wasn’t really a command.

“H-Hyeonchan, I’m so tired!”

Because she was at the very front, she had to fight while only looking at the monsters. She could only confirm the presence of her teammates through the occasional healing skills and buff skills, and the area-of-effect skills of the dealers visible beyond her shield.

“Hold on longer!”

“O-okay!”

Thus, her lonely battle continued. But for some reason, the mantis monsters kept increasing no matter how many she killed. It felt like more and more Suui’s bellies were pouring out of the forest every time she killed one. There must have been hundreds, no, thousands of them. She had made a wrong judgment. She shouted.

“I can’t hold on any longer!”

It seemed her teammates were also exhausted, as no healing skills or buff skills came in. The flying area-of-effect skills were also gone. They might all be drinking potions as their magic power dwindled. Seeing the duration of her tanking skill decreasing, Cho-i finally shouted behind her.

“M-me too, give me some potion. I-I can’t get it out and drink it right now. Hmph, ah!”

Just then, Cho-i screamed again as her thigh was impaled by a monster’s foreleg. But no answer came from behind. Cho-i once again used all her strength to block the front. Dozens of forelegs seemed to hack at her entire body. She eventually began to sob.

“Q-quickly. I-I’m losing strength!”

She screamed like a dying person and turned her head.

“Huh…?”

She found her back empty. Neither Nara Shim, Sangyeop Choi, Park Suhyeon, nor even Hyeonchan were there. Cho-i felt her jaw trembling. No, no. It can’t be. Turning her head, she looked far away. She saw their backs. The backs of her teammates abandoning her and running away.