Chapter 23: Awakening Dungeon (2)

He abruptly stood up from his seat and paced around.

“Where are you going?”

“I need to check something for a moment.”

Whenever the children were in danger, the system notified me through quests.

Would such a system allow children to be abandoned in the desert?

Children whose lives would be at risk after just a few hours under the scorching sun.

Damn it, what the hell is the system thinking?!

In frustration, he secretly kicked a pile of sand.

The system invited us to this dungeon, so there must be some intention behind it…

“Teacher…”

At that moment, Shin Ahyeon approached me.

Thinking she might be scared and intending to comfort her, I couldn’t help but flinch.

Something about Shin Ahyeon seemed off.

The Shin Ahyeon who had been trembling in fear moments ago was no longer shaking.

A faint greenish glow shimmered in her eyes, exuding an otherworldly aura that didn’t belong in this world, much like the dungeon itself.

“Over there.”

Shin Ahyeon pointed toward the distant horizon.

Something faintly appeared above the heated sand.

At first, I thought it was a mirage, but squinting, I realized something was approaching.

“Everyone, get up!”

My shout drew everyone’s attention.

There’s no way wild animals would be in a dungeon.

That means a monster is charging toward us.

“Monsters are coming!”

“What!? Monsters!?”

The E-rank hunters scrambled, unable to even form a proper formation.

Only Ho Changwoon and the association staff grabbed their weapons and prepared for combat.

A monster, resembling an ostrich but easily over three meters tall, was charging toward us.

It was fast.

We’d clash with the monster in less than a minute.

“Kids! You guys fall back for now!”

Just as I was about to send the children to safety, something happened.

As if entranced, Shin Ahyeon slowly walked toward the monster.

“Ahyeon!”

I drew the Fang of Jörmungandr and ran to save her.

But the monster reached her faster than my hand could.

Given its size, it could swallow Shin Ahyeon in one bite.

I planned to paralyze it with the Fang of Jörmungandr and save her.

As I charged forward, kicking up sand, something unexpected happened.

“Huh…?”

Caught off guard by the sudden turn of events, I dug my feet into the sand dune to slow down.

The monster, which had been drooling profusely, started rubbing its face against Shin Ahyeon.

It was as if it were greeting a long-lost friend.

The others watching were equally dumbfounded.

Monsters are inherently ferocious and attack humans.

This was true for all monsters.

I had never heard of a monster that didn’t attack humans.

[Shin Ahyeon, a child blessed by the gods, gains the favor of certain monsters.]

A child favored by the gods, earning the goodwill of monsters.

Honestly, even seeing it with my own eyes, I couldn’t believe it.

Who could believe such a scene?

Is this the trait of a child blessed by the gods?

I had expected her trait to manifest after awakening, but…

“Uh, Teacher… what do we do about this?”

Ho Changwoon, spear in hand, looked to me for answers.

My head’s a mess right now!

“For now, everyone, lower your weapons.”

“You’re telling us to lower our weapons with a monster right in front of us? Are you out of your mind!?”

Those who grasped the situation lowered their weapons, but a few E-rank hunters still clung to theirs.

Weapons would only provoke the monster unnecessarily.

“Do as I say.”

When Ho Changwoon glared at them, the E-rank hunters reluctantly dropped their weapons to the ground.

The authority of a higher-rank hunter, perhaps.

As I stepped forward, the monster let out a warning cry.

It looked ready to charge at me any moment.

Only when Shin Ahyeon scratched under its chin did it finally calm down.

“Teacher, I think it’s hurt.”

“It looks like it.”

Green blood was dripping from near its wings.

As I approached to check, the monster, still wary, clacked its beak to show its displeasure.

“I don’t like you either, you know?”

There were several bite marks near its wings.

Did it lose a territorial fight with another monster?

Monsters dying in territorial disputes were common in dungeons.

I felt something inside its puffed-up feathers.

Something hard and smooth, like an egg…?

Is it carrying an egg in its chest?

Given its strong healing ability, it probably doesn’t need special treatment.

The problem, however, is that there might be a stronger monster nearby.

“Is this a beast from another world!?”

“It’s my first time seeing a monster!”

Before I could even say it was safe, Kim Seogeon and Yoon Cheonwoo ran over.

My heart raced as they touched the monster in awe, but thankfully, it remained docile.

If things continue like this, it’ll be fine.

Seeing the kids safe, the hunters’ tense expressions softened.

“A monster friendly to humans… if this gets published, people will be shocked, won’t they?”

Shocked? They’d line up to buy the monster.

“Teacher! I want to take it with me and raise it!”

Shin Ahyeon looked at me with sparkling eyes.

How could I possibly say no to you kids?

“Let’s think about it after we leave the dungeon.”

“Okay! Come here, Kkokko!”

Kkokko…? She already gave it a name?

A name like Kkokko for a creature that looks like it belongs in the Mesozoic era is just too cute.

But if the kids like it, who cares?

[Conditions have been confirmed.]

Before I could even collect my thoughts, the system window appeared.

Just as anger surged at the system, something happened.

“What, what’s this!?”

“The ground’s sinking!”

The sand beneath our feet started collapsing.

It swallowed us up to our legs, rendering us immobile.

Thankfully, the kids were riding on Kkokko’s back.

The hunters used mana to try to escape, but it was futile.

The mana dispersed into the ground.

“Damn it!”

One by one, those who struggled were consumed by the sand.

This was the system’s doing.

Unless the system was trying to kill us, there had to be something beneath the sand.

The sand rose up to my neck, choking me.

“Kids! Hold your breath and hang on as long as you can!”

Right after taking a deep breath, the sand engulfed my entire body.

The pressure of the sand squeezed my whole frame.

Whoosh!

Soon, I fell into an empty space below along with the sand.

The piled-up sand on the floor cushioned my fall, so it didn’t hurt much.

“Phew!”

Sand got into every crevice of my clothes!

Salty grains kept crunching in my mouth.

Pfft! I just ate a chunk of sand.

“Kids, are you okay?!”

“Yes…”

Thankfully, everyone was unharmed, without a single scratch.

The kids were barely covered in sand, probably because Kkokko protected them with its feathers.

“I was trying not to curse in front of the kids, but… what the hell is this place?!”

Ho Changwoon’s outburst echoed through the space.

As if waiting for our arrival, torches on the walls flared to life.

The entrance to a man-made ruin revealed itself.

[Shin Ahyeon’s awakening quest has begun.]
[Quest: Clear the dungeon.]
[Success: Shin Ahyeon’s awakening, (unknown reward)]
[Failure: World destruction]

An awakening quest.

Of course, someone destined to save the world wouldn’t awaken in an ordinary way.

Normally, hunters awaken naturally as they grow.

If clearing a dungeon is the reward for awakening, does that mean the other kids will have to do the same?

The future already felt bleak.

“A ruin like this inside a dungeon… I never thought there’d be another case like this.”

“Do you know something about this?”

The association staff furrowed their brow and responded.

“It happened in the U.S. A field-type dungeon was fake, with the real dungeon entrance hidden.”

So the desert above was fake?

Just a decoy with no boss mob.

“And that dungeon was among the top-tier A-rank dungeons.”

At those words, everyone’s faces turned pale.

Top-tier A-rank.

One step higher, and it would be an S-rank dungeon.

Only a handful of countries had ever cleared an S-rank dungeon.

“But this place probably isn’t A-rank… It’s likely a top-tier B-rank dungeon.”

A top-tier B-rank dungeon would require at least three A-rank hunters.

Or one S-rank.

Here, we had one B-rank and an inexperienced A-rank.

The rest were low-rank hunters, frankly just dead weight.

‘Oh, right! I can use the Genius Investor trait!’

Randomly summon one person with a high investment ratio.

If I could summon just one S-rank disciple, there’d be nothing to worry about.

[Not possible]
[You have not met the conditions to use the second trait of Genius Investor.]

When I tried to activate the skill, a warning sound and a “not possible” message appeared.

There are conditions for using the skill?!

I’d need to figure out what the system wants to use it.

That meant we had to handle this with our current group.

“Let’s get out of here, find the other hunters, and bring them back!”

A panicked hunter shouted, trembling.

“Don’t be ridiculous. You think you can break through sand that nullifies mana and reach the surface?”

The ceiling we came through was already blocked by sand.

Escaping from here was near impossible.

When we were swallowed by the sand, I felt it—it wasn’t ordinary sand.

It was something that absorbed mana, not just regular sand.

“I should’ve never become a hunter…”

“Sigh… Teacher, what are you going to do?”

Ho Changwoon tapped the floor with his spear, asking.

He was pretending to be calm, but I could hear his voice trembling.

Everyone was sinking into a swamp of fear and panic.

Am I the only one here capable of rational thought?

“Calm down! It looks like we’ll need to clear the dungeon to get out of here.”

“With just us…?!”

“Yes. If you don’t want to come, you can stay here. But we don’t know what might happen, and going into the dungeon could mean death.”

It might sound like I’m just instilling fear.

But with lives on the line, I had to tell them the truth.

“We’ll enter while we still have stamina, so decide quickly.”

★★★

As I stepped into the ruin’s entrance, the surroundings lit up brightly.

“It’s like it was waiting for us.”

Ho Changwoon wrinkled his nose, clearly displeased.

In the end, only Ho Changwoon, the association staff, and two low-rank hunters followed.

The rest stayed behind, clinging to the hope of a rescue team.

“Kids, no matter what happens, stay close to Kkokko or Teacher.”

“Yes.”

The kids were safely placed on Kkokko’s back.

We kept walking down an endlessly long corridor.

At this rate, we’ll die of dehydration…

“Were you a hunter before?”

The association staff asked curiously.

“Huh?”

“You’re so calm in a dungeon and have an artifact, so I thought you might be a high-rank hunter.”

No, I’m just a peculiar E-rank.

Ho Changwoon must think I’m a high-rank hunter, which is why he’s listening to me quietly.

Does he think I’m hiding my mana?

“The artifact is something I got from working with the Hongyeom Guild back in the day. I was never a high-rank.”

“The Hongyeom Guild?!”

Did they ignore the part where I said I wasn’t high-rank?

They looked at me with an expression of trust, which made my stomach churn from the pressure.

“With such an excellent hunter with us, I feel reassured…”

“Shh! Everyone, be quiet.”

I covered the staff’s mouth and held my breath.

With limited visibility, my heightened senses quickly picked up a change.

The ruin was so silent it could make you think no one was there.

A creaking sound came, and something hidden in the darkness moved like a mirage.

A dented suit of armor and pure white bones stepped into the light. An undead.

“Undead? Isn’t this dungeon too easy?”

Ho Changwoon let out a disappointed breath.

Undead usually have little strength and are common mobs in low-rank dungeons.

Ho Changwoon swung his spear at the slowly approaching undead, shattering it.

“We might clear this quickly and get out.”

The relieved hunters burst into laughter.

Undead could be handled even by low-rank hunters.

I was the only one scanning the surroundings with a grim expression.

“Why are you so tense?”

“Something’s off.”

An awakening quest wouldn’t be this easy.

Then, from the direction we came, another undead staggered toward us.

Ho Changwoon rolled his shoulders, ready to take it down.

“…What’s that sound…?”

The sound of bones clattering echoed from all directions.

There were dozens—no, over a hundred of them.

The hunters, who had been laughing confidently, turned pale and backed away.

I knew it!

“Everyone, run forward!”