Chapter 25: Awakening Dungeon (4)

No one could win. 

Everyone instinctively knew they were overwhelmed by its sheer power. 

The axe hurtling toward Ho Changwoo was deflected in midair. 

The blade didn’t pierce properly, likely due to the thick hide! 

It only left shallow, negligible wounds. 

“I’ll buy time, so take the kids and escape outside!” 

Ho Changwoo, the only A-class hunter, was immobilized. 

Among those left, I was the only one who could hold off the Minotaur. 

“How are you going to handle this alone, Teacher?!” 

“I’ve got a plan, so hurry and escape!” 

Kokko, carrying the children on its back, bolted toward the exit. 

The tightly shut door was now open. 

If there was even a small gap, they could escape. 

“S-Sorry!” 

The hunters, supporting Ho Changwoo, began fleeing toward the exit. 

“Teacher! Let me down for a second!” 

Shin Ahyeon tried to get off Kokko but was restrained by the hunters following behind. 

“Teacher’s still back there! Teacher!” 

Her tearful voice echoed and faded away. 

Soon, only the Minotaur and I remained at the altar. 

Perhaps enraged at allowing a powerless being to wound it, the Minotaur’s eyes glowed red. 

Its killing intent was suffocating. 

It was on a completely different level compared to the High Orc. 

‘How did I end up in this mess?’

I never particularly liked children. 

They’re a hassle to raise, and they demand so much from adults. 

Even when I raised kids at Hongyeom, it wasn’t out of affection but a sense of duty. 

I thought it was the only thing I, with my S-class skill, could do. 

When did it start? 

The point when dealing with kids shifted from reason to emotion. 

‘This is why raising kids is so tough.’ 

Clumsily recalling past memories, I adjusted my stance. 

I had observed the movements of high-class hunters while training them. 

I pulled my sword back and spread my legs a step apart. 

Though an E-class hunter, I intended to mimic the movements of top-tier hunters. 

Right now, I was the children’s teacher. 

The Minotaur’s attacks were as crude as other monsters’. 

But each strike was heavy and fast. 

Boom! 

As I twisted my body, the axe blade narrowly missed me. 

If I’d been 0.1 seconds slower, my body would’ve been torn apart. 

Though threatening, compared to Blunt, this was dodgeable. 

After evading the Minotaur’s attack, I aimed for a follow-up strike. 

Using Lee Chanho’s straightforward swordsmanship, which targeted an opponent’s openings, I slashed at its arms and legs. 

Green blood splattered through the air, and the Minotaur glared with frenzied eyes. 

‘I can’t stop attacking now!’

Squeezing out every ounce of mana, I unleashed explosive sword strikes, crushing the Minotaur’s body. 

Though I clumsily imitated Seol Ahyun’s Ice White Sword, its power was considerable. 

The tough hide was pierced, leaving deep gashes. 

‘I couldn’t land a fatal blow…!’ 

Despite exchanging dozens of blows in a short time, I couldn’t inflict a critical wound. 

Its hide was maddeningly tough. 

My breath grew ragged, and I felt the limits of my stamina. 

Mimicking the swordplay of top-tier hunters as a mere E-class hunter felt like my muscles were tearing apart. 

On top of that, I hadn’t recovered stamina from fighting the undead. 

Leaping back, the axe blade smashed the ground. 

Debris flew like bullets, striking my shoulder. 

I gasped in pain, my breathing disrupted. 

The Minotaur didn’t miss the chance, swinging a fist charged with fierce mana. 

Clang! 

I tried to block with Jormungand’s Fang, but the blade shattered like glass upon impact. 

Instinctively, I raised my arm to guard. 

Boom! 

The heavy fist sent my body flying backward. 

“Urgh!” 

Sticky blood pooled in my mouth. 

Before I could register the pain, another blow followed. 

It felt like being pummeled with steel beams. 

My organs twisted, and my mind began to blur. 

If my stats hadn’t increased, I’d already be dead. 

“…Done hitting me…?” 

I spat out foul-smelling blood. 

I couldn’t move; my body was at its limit. 

The fist raised for the final blow would surely kill me. 

[Master of Investment trait activates.] 

[Selecting a random individual.] 

The activation condition for the Master of Investment trait. 

Thinking back to when I was buried under rubble, I could easily guess the skill’s trigger. 

It was when my life was in mortal danger. 

[Error]

[The seal of ■■■ is released.]

This is bad. 

My mind wasn’t working anymore. 

I couldn’t comprehend what the system was saying or see the Minotaur preparing its final strike. 

It felt like mold was eating away at my brain. 

Just before the fist that would end me came down, a massive maw snatched the Minotaur. 

It was so enormous that the Minotaur looked like a bite-sized snack. 

A human…? No… It had jet-black fur like eternal night and three heads moving independently. 

It was Cerberus. 

Cerberus pinned the Minotaur with its massive paw. 

The Minotaur struggled to escape but couldn’t budge. 

Crunch!

The overwhelmingly powerful Minotaur was bleeding. 

Its hide was torn by sharp fangs. 

It roared in agony, but no one was there to help. 

A myth was devouring another myth. 

‘Is what I’m seeing real…?’

Even though the Minotaur’s stats were reduced, it was being eaten one-sidedly. 

A clear predator-prey relationship. 

Cerberus was a monster I’d never seen before. 

‘No… The mana emanating from its body feels familiar…’ 

Familiar, yet no matter how hard I thought, I had no connection to Cerberus. 

The Minotaur’s body went limp, no longer moving. 

[Dungeon cleared.] 

[Shin Ahyeon’s awakening quest completed.] 

[Analyzing contribution points.]

So noisy… 

It felt like mosquitoes buzzing in my ears. 

Cerberus, in the middle of its meal, turned its heads toward me. 

Green blood dripped from its maw. 

‘I’m going to die here.’ 

I didn’t have the strength to lift a finger, let alone face Cerberus. 

The only silver lining was that Cerberus was too massive to leave the altar. 

Maybe. 

Closing my eyelids, I took in what might be my final view of the worn altar. 

If I’d known I’d die like this, I would’ve eaten more delicious food. 

[■■■ gifts a fragment of memory.] 

★★★

A tattered doll with frayed threads was in my hand. 

A doll dressed like a princess. 

It was the doll I’d found in my dusty, filthy house. 

A clean house, free of piled-up dust or trash, unfolded before me. 

Looking closer, the hand holding the doll was small and delicate. 

The wrinkle-free hand of a young child. 

*What’s going on…? I shouldn’t be here.* 

I only started living in this house after becoming an adult. 

Then, a soft-furred animal began rubbing its head against my leg. 

Strangely, its entire body was shrouded in bright light, obscuring its form. 

*I never raised a pet.* 

Abandoned at an orphanage, I had no family. 

I couldn’t afford to keep a pet. 

Could I have died and gone to heaven?  

“Onyu-ya.” 

As I was fiddling with the doll, a gentle voice called my name. 

A woman and a man were looking at me. 

However, like the animal between my legs, their faces were shrouded in light, making them impossible to see. 

Wearing school uniforms, I could at least infer they were high school students. 

“What are you doing? We don’t have time for this.” 

“Just a moment. We should at least say hello, right?” 

The man and woman bickered like old friends. 

I wanted to ask who they were, but my mouth wouldn’t move. 

The woman crouched down to my eye level and stroked my cheek. 

She appeared cheerful, but I could sense she was hiding sadness. 

I didn’t know who she was, but I wanted to comfort her and tell her not to be sad. 

My lips moved, but no sound came out. 

“I’m glad you’ve grown up well.” 

With the woman’s final words, a blinding white light enveloped my vision. 

As if returning to reality, excruciating pain coursed through my body. 

“Ow…” 

When I forced open my lead-heavy eyelids, the altar I thought I’d never see again came into view. 

‘Am I still alive?’

The Cerberus that had filled the room was gone, like a mirage. 

Like a fleeting dream. 

How much time had passed…? 

Press. 

Huh? Did something just press against my cheek? 

It wasn’t my imagination. 

The soft sensation of paws kept pressing on my cheek. 

Reaching out while barely able to open my eyes, I felt a fluffy bundle of fur. 

Mongshil? 

“Get up already.” 

A whisper-like voice made me flinch and lift my head. 

Pressing on my cheek was a tiny Cerberus pup. 

“Pathetic weakling, you’re finally awake.” 

A disdainful voice echoed in my ears. 

There was no one around to speak to me. 

No… the mouth of the middle head of the Cerberus was moving. 

“Wait… Did you just talk?” 

“Yeah!” 

Have I finally lost my mind? 

A talking Cerberus… 

There’s no way a creature from mythology would be here. 

“What are you doing?!” 

“Still feels like a dream, so I’m going back to sleep.” 

As I lay down, the pain from the wounds sustained fighting the Minotaur surged through me. 

‘Guess this isn’t a dream.’

A talking Cerberus was something anyone would laugh off as a joke. 

“I’ve never heard of a monster that can talk…” 

“I’m not your average monster!” 

“Are you the pup of the Cerberus that was just here?” 

“Don’t ignore me!” 

The Cerberus bristled at my words and clung to my face. 

It swung its tiny paws, hitting my head as hard as it could. 

The impact was negligible, though. 

“No! I’m the Cerberus that killed the Minotaur and saved you! I used up all my remaining strength to do it!” 

“…The same Cerberus?” 

“That’s right! I am the great guardian of the gates of Hell, Cerberus!” 

Hmm… Even with such a grand declaration, it didn’t feel imposing. 

It sounded more like a doll squeaking. 

“Finally recognizing me? Now bow before my greatness!” 

“…Just a fluffball.” 

Calling it Cerberus didn’t even faze me. 

Sure, it’s a monster from Greek mythology, but I’d already seen all sorts of creatures in dungeons. 

This wasn’t surprising. 

“Among monsters, only a rare few like me can talk!” 

I grabbed the scruff of the Cerberus as it lunged at me again. 

Come to think of it, this thing appeared right after I activated the Master of Investment trait. 

The trait summons someone with a high investment ratio. 

I thought it would summon one of my disciples. 

“Do you know me?” 

Racking my brain, I couldn’t recall ever seeing this Cerberus. 

If I had, I’d definitely remember it. 

“Nope, I was just summoned out of nowhere! Why would I know a weak human like you?” 

So it doesn’t know me either. 

Could there have been an error with the skill? 

I’d never heard of a skill activation failing. 

“Then you’ve been living in this dungeon?” 

“Hah! You think I’d live in a mere dungeon? I was sealed until you woke me up!” 

Now that I think about it, the system mentioned something about a seal being released after the skill activated. 

The Cerberus licked its sharp fangs with its tongue. 

So it was sealed in this dungeon, and I woke it up? 

Ugh… My head hurts. 

The injuries were already making my head spin. 

“If your seal is broken, why aren’t you attacking me?” 

The Cerberus turned its heads toward me. 

Its fierce eyes softened, and it let out a deep sigh. 

With all three heads sighing, the sound overlapped, making it even more grating. 

“To think a guy like you is my contractor.” 

Contractor? 

Seeing my confused expression, the Cerberus pressed its paw against my forehead. 

“Look at the back of your hand.” 

An ornate pattern, like a tattoo, was etched on the back of my hand. 

Rubbing it only made my skin red. 

“It seems we formed a contract when you broke my seal.” 

“What kind of nonsense is that?” 

“We’re now in a master-summon relationship. So I can’t attack my contractor, and we’re stuck together…!” 

The Cerberus sounded thoroughly displeased. 

So… I’m contracted with this thing? 

Without my consent?! 

“Cancel…” 

“No canceling, obviously.” 

A flood of complex information gave me a headache. 

A contract with a monster… That’s unprecedented. 

“Don’t worry, once I regain my strength, I can break the contract!” 

The only silver lining is that there’s a chance to cancel the contract. 

I can’t afford another burden here. 

But since it saved my life, I owe it… 

“I don’t want to stick with a guy like you either. So I’ll look for a way to break the contract as fast as possible.” 

“Wait… If you break the contract with me, won’t you attack other people?” 

“Don’t worry, I have business in the human world, so I won’t attack humanity.” 

That’s a relief, then. 

I looked at the Cerberus, dangling like a lump of baggage. 

“What’s your name?”