Chapter 27

At those words, Kim Suui couldn’t find anything to refute and fell silent. Since it was an unprecedented situation, everyone was scared by his words. What if boss monsters kept appearing until everyone was dead? Everyone’s eyes trembled with anxiety. And then Cho-i spoke.

“For now, let’s split up and look for the boss monster. From what I’ve seen, we killed every monster on the way here, so there shouldn’t be anything left, right? If someone finds something, let’s gather back here and go there together.”

“But Hunter Cho-i Hyeon. It’s too dangerous to split up in this situation.”

“I don’t think so. As I said, we’ve already dealt with all the minor monsters on the way.”

“Right?”

“If something is left, it’s probably the new boss monster. And I told you to come straight back here if you find it from afar, so there’s no additional danger. You’re not going to challenge it alone, are you?”

“That’s true, but…”

Then Nam Yeonsu intervened.

“Then let’s do this. For exactly 20 minutes, let’s split up and search the surroundings. And anyone who finds something comes back immediately, and those who don’t just come back within 20 minutes.”

“Ugh.”

Kim Suui pondered with her arms crossed alone, then finally nodded.

“Alright. Everyone has a dungeon timer, right?”

“Yes.”

“I do.”

“I don’t.”

Cho-i raised her hand confidently. And Nam Yeonsu sighed and handed over her Watch.

“I’ll stay here and guard this spot. Just in case. If the dungeon gate opens.”

She rummaged through her bag and pulled out a signal flare. It was something she had prepared to use if she was forced to separate from her party members.

“I’ll fire this, so gather around.”

“Okay.”

“Got it.”

“Exactly twenty minutes. Understand? How about it, Hunter Cho-i Hyeon?”

Cho-i nodded.

“That’s enough.”

She said it in a somewhat subdued voice. But no one noticed her mood, and they scattered in all directions. Cho-i walked back the way they came, heading towards the stone slab. And she looked around. There was no one else nearby. Queen’s Cocoon, Egg Sac. Gather them. And from them, it will be born. Cho-i let out a hollow laugh. And she glared at the system window blinking before her eyes.

[You have become the new boss monster of the dungeon! Defeat the intruders!]

Cho-i wanted to burst out laughing at the ridiculous situation, but no laughter came out.

“Am I stupid?”

She couldn’t understand how she had become the boss monster, nor could she understand the system window telling her to eliminate everyone here. ‘I’m human, not a boss monster.’ She had a method, much simpler than the Entity’s. She entered a deep forest where no one could see her and raised her sword.

“Damn it, in all my life, I’ve never…”

With those words, she slit her own throat with her sword. Blood gushed out.

“Ugh, gurgle.”

Her eyes rolled back, showing only the whites. Then, with a thud, she collapsed onto the grass. Her body convulsed faintly before finally stopping. Cho-i Hyeon, she was dead. Not long after, a signal flare shot up from the direction where the boss monster had been.

“Cough. Gulp.”

Cho-i groaned and braced herself on the ground, in pain from her throat regenerating. She slowly got up, her face completely contorted. She felt disgusted.

* * *

When Cho-i returned, covered in blood, chaos erupted. Cho-i made up an excuse, saying that there was one small Mantis left, and she got hurt because she was careless. Although no wounds remained, she pretended to be healed after receiving a healing skill.

“You worked hard.”

Everyone congratulated them on their safe return. So, what happened to Cho-i Hyeon? She said she was tired and immediately took a taxi. She wanted to go home, specifically to Nara Shim’s house, regardless of whether the B-Rank hunters were hugging and crying, or the A-Rank hunters were reporting to other guild members.

“Hey, why are you guys only just arriving!”

As soon as Cho-i arrived, Nara Shim raised her voice, then her eyes nearly popped out when she saw the blood-soaked clothes below Cho-i’s neck.

“What, how badly are you hurt?!”

She rummaged through Cho-i’s clothes to check her neck, but there was no sign of a wound. Nara Shim sighed, tidied her clothes again, and then asked,

“What happened?”

“I was dragged into a dungeon that was upgraded to A+ Rank.”

She rampaged the most inside.

“And then I got hurt inside.”

She stabbed herself.

“I’m on my way back after resolving everything.”

She dropped everything and came home. Fortunately, Nara Shim had the knack of understanding Cho-i’s words at once. So she laughed heartily and wondered if she should contact Paehyeok Side.

“No, it’s fine. They have all our personal information, so they’ll contact us if they need to. Hey, first, go wash up and eat. I haven’t had dinner yet either.” “What are we eating?” “Let’s order mala hotpot.” “I haven’t tried it.” “Then try it now.” “Okay.”

She took off all her clothes for a shower and went into the bathroom. She pretended not to hear Nara Shim’s angry voice from outside the bathroom, as she shed her clothes as if shedding skin, leaving a trail. She turned on the shower. As the water hit her, her long hair tangled around her cheeks and body. She fell into thought in that state. It’s always best to think things through in this state. There’s a reason why shower scenes appear in novels. Wait, is that not it?

‘First.’

What was inside her body was a Mantis. There was no way she couldn’t know. Her heart had pounded as soon as she saw the Mantis dungeon, and then there was the boss monster replacement incident at the end. She squeezed out shampoo and applied it to her hair. So she wondered if she and the Mantis were identifying as one because the Mantis was inside her belly. Ah, damn it, shampoo got in my eye. She rinsed her hair and continued her thoughts.

‘Second.’

The Mantis in her belly had probably grown beyond a certain point. Looking at the first growth, it seemed it hadn’t hatched yet. If it had completed one stage of growth and she could now read the characters that looked like claw marks, it probably meant that this growth was clearly affecting her body as well.

“What should I do about this?”

She hadn’t seen the stone structure where she had died repeatedly, but one thing was certain.

“It’s definitely the same world.”

This dungeon and the previous hidden dungeon share a world. Otherwise, things like her reading the characters or the boss monster changing wouldn’t have happened.

“Then, is the dungeon another world?”

She mumbled to herself as she finished her shower and came out. Just then, Nara Shim, who was unwrapping the delivered mala hotpot, said,

“Huh? What did you say?” “Nothing. I’m hungry.” “Come here and eat. Tell me in detail what happened while we eat.”

Cho-i went and sat on the opposite side of the table Nara Shim had set. And she slowly began to tell the story of what happened in the dungeon. After all, she had already confided so much in her that there was nothing to hold back. Oh, except for the suicide. That was a bit much. She thought it might get noisy. After hearing the whole story, Nara Shim chewed on her chopsticks for a moment in thought, then blinked and asked.

“Let’s go to the hospital tomorrow.” “Why? Are you sick somewhere?” “You said there’s something in your belly, right? Then an X-ray or a C-rank T scan should show something.” “Oh.”

Cho-i admired, ‘Why didn’t I think of that?’ and Nara Shim looked at her disapprovingly before scooping mala hotpot into her bowl and saying,

“Let’s go early tomorrow morning.” “Okay.”

After eating dinner, Nara Shim and Cho-i Hyeon immediately went to bed, and the next morning, they headed straight to a large hospital nearby. An X-ray was the easiest thing to get. She began to wonder if it could be surgically removed.

‘Can a scalpel wound me?’

It was a serious concern in its own way. But despite her worries, the doctor’s words were firm.

“There’s nothing.”

“Nothing?”

“Yes.”

“But she’s complaining of abdominal pain. How about we take a C-rankT?”

“If you want to take it, then take it.”

Since there were no problems on the X-ray, there was a high probability that there would be no abnormalities even if a C-rankT was taken. Still, Cho-i, who had stubbornly taken the C-rankT, received the same answer that there was nothing wrong and had to leave the hospital.

“Hey, they said there’s nothing.”

“That’s strange…”

Cho-i blinked and tilted her head. She definitely felt something in her stomach, but there was nothing. She thought about it quietly for a moment, then shook her head.

“I don’t know!”

“Think about it. It’s your problem!”

“What do you want me to do if I don’t know? Do you know?”

“I don’t know either.”

“First, I’m going to find the hidden dungeon again. I’ll only go to dungeons for a while.”

“It takes up to a month for the acceptance letter from Paehyeok to arrive. Are you going to only do lower-rank dungeons until then?”

“I heard there are some illegal dungeons with ranks. I’m thinking of going to those.”

“Hey, those places are run by gangsters. If something big happens there…”

Nara Shim, who was speaking, suddenly looked at Cho-i. Oh, she said her rank had gone up. She smiled faintly, said it was fine, and dropped her worries.

“But I don’t know where it is. I should contact Dongju Kim.”

Ring- Just then, her phone rang. The caller’s name was Dongju Kim.

“You can’t be a nobleman, can you?”

She laughed and answered the phone. Then the voice on the other end said,

-Why do you always grin when you answer the phone? “There’s a reason. Anyway, what’s up?” -Are you busy right now? “No.” -Then come to the guild now. “I don’t want to.” -I’ll tell you the results of the pass or fail. “Nara Shim’s too.” -…Alright, Nara Shim’s too. “Okay.”

Nara Shim looked at her, puzzled that her name had been mentioned on the phone.

Cho-i grinned, looked at her, then took her hand and started walking with brisk steps.

“They want us at Paehyeok now.”

“Why?”

“They said they’ll tell us if we passed? You too?”

“What? Let’s go!”

Nara Shim immediately hailed a passing taxi. It was an amazing skill.