Chapter 65

When they went to Taehyeok Sa’s room, they found a projector set up in a room much larger than Cho-i’s. Cho-i felt her previously good mood turn sour and forced a wide smile.

“I’m sleeping here.”

“…No, you’re not.”

Taehyeok Sa rejected her with a smile. Cho-i ignored him and lay down on the sofa. Dongju Kim and Yeonhan Kim were already huddled together on the left sofa. When Suui Kim sat next to Cho-i, Cho-i wiggled over and rested her head on his thigh.

“What is this now?”

“It’s Cho-i.”

She giggled and then asked Taehyeok Sa,

“So, why did you call us?”

“You should know a little about the dungeon we’re going into.”

“Oh, right. Go ahead and spill it.”

“…”

He kept his mouth shut and went to sit on the right sofa. Soon, Yeonhan Kim got up and pressed the projector’s remote control, bringing the screen to life.

“The place we’re entering is Spider’s Mansion.”

“Spider’s Mansion?”

Cho-i asked. Yeonhan pressed the projector’s remote control again, displaying a cross-section of the mansion drawn by someone.

“This is a cross-section created by hunters who previously cleared that mansion. We can’t be sure if it’s still accurate, but we got it from the Shire as it’s better than nothing.”

“Alright, what should we be careful of?”

“Since we haven’t entered yet, we don’t know exactly what kind of dungeon will unfold. We don’t know if it’s merely an upgraded version or a completely new dungeon. However, the original dungeon featured spider monsters. A monster called the Nine-Legged Spider.”

As the screen changed, a monster drawn by someone else appeared. It looked like a giant spider with a small body and long legs, but it had nine legs.

“The ninth leg, located under its jaw, is the problem. The leg itself is a venomous stinger, flowing with poison, and merely brushing against it can damage the skin.”

“I see.”

“As you all know, it was originally S+ Rank, but it was suddenly upgraded to SS-Rank.”

Cho-i raised her hand.

“I didn’t know that!”

“That’s something to be proud of.”

When Dongju Kim chimed in, Cho-i tried to kick Dongju Kim, but realizing he was too far, she began an exercise-like movement, lifting and lowering her legs.

“So, what kind of attacks do they have?”

“Ah, right.”

Yeonhan pressed the remote control again to change the screen. The screen showed an illustration of the monster spewing spider webs and spider webs spread throughout the mansion.

“True to their name, they use spider webs. And they’re said to stab the leg under their jaw into prey caught in the web, melting their internal organs.”

“What a nuisance…”

“The spider webs seem to be the problem.”

“Right.”

“Can they be cut with a sword?”

“Probably. But the blade will likely dull. I heard they’re quite strong.”

“Should we bring a flamethrower or something…?”

Knock, knock, knock. Just then, someone knocked on the door, and Suui Kim got up. Cho-i, losing her pillow, instead of just dropping her head, got up and looked towards the door.

“Isn’t that a reporter who snuck in?”

Dongju Kim spoke, and Suui Kim asked from beyond the door.

“Who is it?”

“Hey! Open the door!”

That voice… As Suui Kim opened the door with a disgruntled expression, standing there was none other than…

“Everyone’s gathered here without me?”

It was Hwayeon’s Gihyeon Park. While everyone else had a look that asked, ‘Why are you all here?’, only Cho-i was grinning.

“You’re here, Flame Thrower.”

And so, Gihyeon Park was sitting squarely on the sofa in Taehyeok Sa’s room. The problem was that he was next to Cho-i. Dongju Kim sighed, then separated the two and sat between them. Taehyeok Sa gave a look that said, ‘Well done.’

“So, why are you here?”

“I heard an SS-Rank dungeon appeared, so I came to help, and this is the reaction I get?”

“I can’t believe you came to help without any compensation.”

“What’s wrong? I’m just a normal person who sometimes wants to do some volunteering.”

As he said that, he met Cho-i Hyeon’s eyes and winked shamelessly. Cho-i Hyeon raised his middle finger. This time, Dongju Kim didn’t stop him.

“I’ve already contacted the Shire side.”

“What did they say?”

“They welcomed it with open arms.”

“Even though it’s an SS-Rank dungeon, look at how many S-Ranks there are now. It’s certainly worth welcoming.”

“Moreover, the Shire side only has A+ Ranks, except for their Guild Master and a healer. It’s understandable.”

The current personnel to enter the SS-Rank dungeon, Spider’s Mansion, were Taehyeok Sa, Dongju Kim, Yeonhan Kim, Cho-i Hyeon. Suui Kim, who is A+ Rank, plus Shire’s Guild Master, and an S-Rank healer named Jane, one A+ Rank healer, and two dealers. But with Gihyeon Park joining, it felt a bit excessive. Of course, it’s better to have too much than not enough.

“Since that dungeon’s maximum capacity is 10 people, one A-Rank dealer decided to drop out.”

“So this was the plan all along.”

“I was a bit disappointed. Even if Paehyeok is the world’s #1, there was no contact from this side. Still, wouldn’t it be better if I were in that dungeon?”

“We’re fine without you.”

“Let’s not do that. I’ve come all this way, so let’s just work together nicely.”

There seemed to be a subtle psychological battle between Gihyeon Park and Taehyeok Sa. Cho-i wanted to crunch on some popcorn in between them, but unfortunately, there wasn’t even nachos, let alone popcorn. Cho-i sat up and said,

“It’s good if it’s easy. Leave him be. He said he’d work for free.”

“It’s all because of you, isn’t it? To look good for you.”

Gihyeon Park tilted his head, looked at Cho-i, and smiled. It was a quite charming smile, but…

“Bullshit.”

Cho-i giggled and poked Gihyeon Park in the eye.

“Agh!”

“Hahahaha.”

Taehyeok Sa watched them and chuckled. Anyway, it seemed like it would get noisy whenever those two rascals were together. Dongju Kim wrapped his arms around Cho-i’s waist from behind, pulling him away from Gihyeon Park, who was covering his eyes and enduring the pain.

“…You bastard, I know I was harsh on you.”

“If you know, then lower your eyes, you bastard.”

Cho-i was always cheerful. The problem was that he would spout vulgarities with that cheerful face. As the pain in his eye subsided, Gihyeon Park slowly blinked and spoke.

“That’s what makes him charming, I guess.”

“That bastard must be out of his mind.”

Cho-i pointed. This time, Dongju Kim conceded. It seemed certain that they would be entering the dungeon together anyway. It would only be a disadvantage to them if there was trouble while they were going into the dungeon together. Taehyeok Sa called Shire to confirm Gihyeon Park’s presence. Shire’s side spoke in a bright voice.

“He’s such a generous person! It’s amazing that he came all the way from Korea to the USA just to help us this time!”

Shire’s Guild Master seemed very happy, and Taehyeok Sa abruptly hung up the phone. It seemed he had decided to just accept it, as neither of them was being helpful.

“Are you going to be okay?”

Taehyeok Sa asked Cho-i. After all, Cho-i had suffered severe injuries in the fight with Gihyeon Park. As soon as she woke up, she seemed to detest him so much that she reacted almost like a seizure. However, Cho-i, still held by her waist by Dongju Kim, pointed two fingers at Taehyeok Sa.

“What are you talking about? You’re the biggest jerk, you know?”

“…Then it’s fine.”

Taehyeok Sa didn’t even break even and just got cursed at by Cho-i. There were now two people getting cursed at by Cho-i Hyeon. Yeonhan Kim, Dongju Kim, and Suui Kim briefly looked at the distant city outside the window and smiled subtly. It was a smile that said, ‘whatever happens, happens.’ Would this party really be okay?

* * *

The next morning, as promised, Shire sent a pickup vehicle. The only difference from yesterday was that Gihyeon Park was among Paehyeok’s Party Members. Thus, the pickup vehicle headed to the protected area near Las Vegas. The place where a dungeon had appeared in what was originally a protected area, and which Shire had taken over and was managing, was a low mountain, and a road had been built for easy access.

“Is there still any meaning as a protected area?”

Cho-i asked, and

Suui Kim advised, “You shouldn’t be asking about things like that.”

The large van stopped a few tens of meters from the dungeon. As they got out of the vehicle, the Hunters from Shire who had already arrived greeted them.

“Welcome.”

“It’s a shame to meet you like this, but it’s still good to see you.”

The only familiar faces were Shire’s Guild Master and S-Rank healer Jane, whom they had seen yesterday. An A+ Rank healer and a dealer greeted them.

“Seeing this, it’s really excessive.”

Taehyeok Sa looked at the Shire Guild Master and spoke. The Guild Master smiled bitterly and said,

“We had to consider the possibility of a dungeon break.”

“I understand if that’s the case.”

A dungeon break. That phenomenon, which plunged the entire world into chaos when dungeons first appeared. Hunters eventually emerged and managed to resolve the situation, but looking back, it was truly hell. The dungeon break, which caused millions of casualties, was enough to instill the fear of dungeons in people. At that moment, the Shire’s dungeon management team shouted,

“You must enter now!”

“Understood! Come on, let’s go.”

Ten Hunters approached the dungeon with determined expressions. No, there were nine. Cho-i Hyeon was busy strolling around, looking at her surroundings. When she made eye contact with someone from the dungeon management team, she would smile brightly and wave. The Shire’s Hunters slightly frowned at her carefree demeanor.

“So that woman is the S-Rank tank who’s been doing well lately?”

“She doesn’t look like it, but it seems to be true.”

“Who are you talking about right now?”

Cho-i interjected between the two. They gasped and shut their mouths. She smiled slyly and warned the two of them,

“Be careful when you go in. Understood?”

To anyone else, it would have sounded like a warning to be careful inside the dungeon, but all the Paehyeok Guild members knew. That she wasn’t telling them to be careful of monsters.

“Entering!”

At that moment, Jane, the Shire’s healer, shouted. The Shire’s Guild Master and Jane, who were walking ahead, stepped into the dungeon first. One by one, everyone stepped into the dungeon, and the unique dizziness of the dungeon arrived. But it was slightly different than usual. Her entire body tingled as if to prove it was an SS-Rank. As if static electricity had occurred. Cho-i smiled savagely. She felt strangely bad.