Chapter 6 : The Back Mountain Dungeon (1)

Usually, when a dungeon appeared nearby, it was normal for hunters to come running.
But this time, there was no sign of any hunters.

An unregistered dungeon.

“You guys stay here for a bit.”

“Where are you going!? The bet isn’t over yet!”

Kim Seogeon shouted and tried to block the way.

Sweat ran down his face, and it was clear he was already exhausted.

His strong competitive streak wouldn’t let him accept defeat.

When Han Yuseong disappeared from sight, he started getting anxious.

“We can pick this up later, just stay put here.”

Before Kim Seogeon could say anything more, I ran into the bushes.

Han Yuseong had likely experienced life many times before, and probably knew how to clear a dungeon.

But if, by some chance, he died, it would be the end of the world!

Han Yuseong might just return upon death, but I’d be the one left behind in a ruined world.
No thanks.

I didn’t know how powerful he was before his regression.

But right now, he was just a powerless little kid!

Even a small threat—if I could stop it, I would.

I followed Han Yuseong while hiding my presence.

The thick overgrown grass kept getting in my way.

I did lose sight of him partway through, but following a child’s trail wasn’t that hard.

I caught up quickly.

—Woom!

Not long after I started walking again, the dungeon’s unique vibrating sound surrounded my ears.

I peeked out from behind a tree and saw a space beneath the tree cracking open.

Of course, Han Yuseong was standing in front of it.

‘I didn’t expect the dungeon to be this close…’

If a dungeon isn’t cleared within a certain time, monsters spill out.

And they go where people are.

The only nearby place with people was the school with the children.

With kids to protect, I couldn’t handle the monsters alone.

Even if I called for hunters, they’d take time to get here.

In the end, I had no choice but to clear it now.

Han Yuseong walked into the dungeon entrance like he’d done it a thousand times.

“Still gives off the same creepy vibe…”

It had been a while since I’d seen a dungeon entrance after retiring from being a hunter.

I’d just been raising kids all this time.

A foul energy was pouring out of the dungeon.

Just as I was about to follow Han Yuseong in, a system window popped up in front of me.

[Emergency Quest]
[Quest: Save the Regressor!]
[Details: The dungeon monsters are stronger than before Han Yuseong’s regression.
Clear the dungeon and ensure Han Yuseong doesn’t die.]
[Reward: (Unknown)]
[Failure: Han Yuseong dies.]

“Han Yuseong dies?”

It’s not like they were advertising this dungeon as particularly hard.

‘I just wanted a normal life after retirement…’

A regular E-rank would’ve run away in fear.

Even if they fought with all their might, the chances of clearing the dungeon would be practically zero.

But for me, it seemed doable.

Once I made up my mind, I jumped straight into the dungeon.

A bright flash of light, and I felt my body lift.

Once the light that had filled my eyes faded, I was finally able to open them.

The wind brushed through my hair.

The soft soil underfoot and the presence of small animals made it hard to believe this was a dungeon.

“Looks like I made it in safely.”

Inside, it was nothing more than an ordinary forest.

If you didn’t know it was a dungeon, you wouldn’t even be able to tell it apart from reality.

As I touched a nearby tree, my expression hardened.

“Damn it. Of all things, a field-type dungeon?”

Dungeons are usually one of two types:

The basic cave-type, or the field-type.

Field-type dungeons are notoriously difficult.

Cave-type dungeons give you some warning—you can get a feel for what kind of monsters are inside.

Field-type ones are different.

The fear of a field-type dungeon lies in not knowing what’s coming.

“Why is my luck so bad!?”

My mouth filled with a bitter taste.

A few years ago, there was a case where a Chinese guild entered a field-type dungeon and was completely wiped out.

Even a famous top-ranker had died—it was a global shock.

“Looks like Han Yuseong isn’t nearby.”

I crouched down and cleared away some dry leaves.

On the dirt path were small footprints—clearly a child’s.

He couldn’t have gone far with those short legs.

If I ran at full speed, I might be able to catch up before he encountered any monsters.

“If he’s already run into something, though, that’s bad…”

The best-case scenario would be to find him and leave the dungeon together.

But if he’d already encountered a boss monster—

Running away would be nearly impossible.

I started sprinting, tracking his footprints with all I had.

Han Yuseong was still alive.

If he’d died, the quest would’ve already failed.

While I was chasing the trail, a sharp, acrid smell hit my nose.

‘There’s something there.’

The closer I got to the source of the smell, the thicker the smoke became.

I started coughing dryly.

Before long, I found the source.

As I passed through the bushes, the scene around me came into hazy view.

“What the hell!?”

Houses turned to ash, and severed chunks of flesh were everywhere.

Puddles of green blood—definitely not human—stained the ground.

I approached the village, staying alert.

“Damn it, of all things… orcs.”

The curse slipped out on its own.

Orcs were monsters with exceptional regeneration, and bodies twice the size of an adult man.
They were incredibly dangerous.

‘Just my luck today…’

Even experienced hunters had trouble with orcs.

I counted about seven orc corpses scattered around.

That many corpses… It was enough to suggest the formation of a small village.

“They were killed by precisely targeted weak spots.”

Orcs had an incredible healing ability — wounds would regenerate almost instantly.

That’s why knowing their weak points was crucial in dealing with them.

The only parts they couldn’t regenerate were the eyes and the area around the heart.

The dead orcs had all been stabbed through the heart by something.

They hadn’t died in a territorial fight with other monsters.

These were clearly man-made wounds.

“Ha… This must be Han Yuseong’s doing.”

There was no other explanation.

And if Han Yuseong had destroyed an orc village to this extent but wasn’t around,
it likely meant he was still fighting elsewhere.

Maybe against the remaining orcs, or worst-case scenario — he had encountered a High Orc.

“…I shouldn’t let ominous thoughts take over.”

Fighting leftover orcs would be preferable.

Monsters were threatening on their own, but ones like that could still be defeated solo.

‘But if it’s evolved… that’s a different story.’

Like a Skeleton evolving into a Lich —

Or an Orc’s evolved form, the High Orc.

Hunting evolved monsters generally required at least a C-rank hunter.

Their insane regeneration abilities, capable of recovering from lethal wounds in mere seconds, made them extremely difficult to kill.

‘You have to stab the heart, but a low-rank hunter can’t even get through the High Orc’s defense.’

No matter how much combat experience Han Yuseong had, in a child’s body, he wouldn’t last long.

‘I have to find him. Fast.’

And that’s when it happened.

Birds scattered into the sky, and flames wavered in the air from the shockwave.

A powerful blast had erupted not far away.

★★★

“Kugh!”

Han Yuseong’s body was flung through the air and rolled across the ground.

A mouthful of dirt went into his mouth.

“Ptuh!”

He spat it out, red with blood — it must’ve mixed with what was already in his mouth.

Blood trickled from his forehead, tinting his vision crimson.

“Damn it…”

He tried to move, but his muscles had long since stopped listening.

‘How the hell did it come to this?’

He was sure this dungeon only spawned regular orcs.

“There’s never been a High Orc here before.”

Unlike the green skin of normal orcs, this one’s skin was a deep, violent red.

It was also much larger — every step it took made the ground shake.

[You have encountered the High Orc, Chieftain of the Orc Village.]

Across all his regressions, this monster had never appeared at this point in time.

‘This damned system must’ve done something.’

His face twisted in cold fury.

In his current state, his chances of winning were zero.

In a previous timeline, he could’ve taken it down with his eyes closed.

Now, he was just a fragile child.

‘Is this timeline going to end here?’

He wasn’t afraid of death.

Even if he died, the next timeline would begin.

He just had to do better in the next round.

But he needed information.

If he didn’t figure out how or why this High Orc had appeared, he could end up wasting countless timelines without ever identifying the cause.

‘I can’t die now!’

His instincts as a regressor screamed at him.

Every time the High Orc moved and the ground shook, sweat soaked Han Yuseong’s clenched fists.

Then—

Thunk—

A rock, about the size of a fist, flew from the forest and struck the High Orc near the eye.

“Grrk?”

It was a stimulus too strong to ignore.

Sensing a presence in the forest, the High Orc whipped its arm like a massive whip.

Slaaash—!

Ssshhh—BOOM.

With one blow, a massive tree toppled over.

But there was nothing in the exposed area.

“Han Yuseong.”

A voice called out in front of Han Yuseong.

A voice he hadn’t paid any attention to — a voice that shouldn’t be here.

“…Teacher?”

★★★

Whew… at least I didn’t get caught.

No one could see me right now, thankfully.

I had the invisibility artifact.

I should really thank the Guildmaster.

Why did I have an item that should’ve been stored deep in the Hongyeom Guild vault?

Because of Yoon Kanghyun.

[“Mr. Kim Onyu, take this with you.”]

The day before my assignment began, Yoon Kanghyun handed me an artifact called Ba’al’s Eye.

An artifact that not only made me invisible but completely concealed scent, presence — everything.

When I asked why he was giving me this, Yoon Kanghyun said:

“…That artifact might end up saving your life. And take that thing hanging on the wall too.”

Just when I considered selling it, he warned me not to even think about it.

‘Was that guy secretly into fortune-telling or something?’

He hadn’t been wrong — not even by a little.

I carried it every day, just in case, and never imagined I’d actually use it like this.

Suddenly, I remembered the other item he told me to take.

But now wasn’t the time to be reminiscing.

“There’s no time — we need to get out of here.”

“I don’t know how you’re here, teacher… but I still have things I need to do—!”

I didn’t want to hear it, so I smacked him on the head.

Sometimes a good whack was the only way to deal with a stubborn kid.

Honestly, I wanted to give him a full lecture, but there was no time for that.

A deep tremor vibrated through the earth.

The High Orc at the epicenter was relentlessly pounding the empty ground with its weapon.

Orcs were impulsive and dumb by nature.

Now that it had lost its mind in rage and wasn’t paying attention to its surroundings,
this was our best chance to escape.

“Pardon me.”

I hoisted Han Yuseong onto my back and dashed back the way I came.

[“Damn it, I need to clear the dungeon and get the item!”]

Apparently, something in this dungeon was important to him.

But going back to the High Orc was basically suicide.

THUD!

There wasn’t even time to think before the heavy tremors began again.

THUD! THUD! THUD THUD THUD!