Round 233

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The First Dungeon Expedition.  

Kyu-seong felt himself unconsciously tense up.  

“Will the kids be okay?”  

As they left the Dungeon of Gluttony and approached the Slime Dungeon that would soon serve as their cafeteria, Mammon and Ras widened their eyes in surprise.  

“This is the entrance to the dungeon!”  

“It’s so small; I feel like expanding it myself.”  

Listening to their impressions, Kyu-seong led them to the entrance on the ground.  

“Once we pass through here, we’re outside.”  

“I’ve already experienced the outside world! No problem at all!”  

The area was already laced with poison as a precaution.  

Mammon, Ras, and Poispois had all completed their disguises with poison.  

“I’m not afraid. The only thing I fear is my own power,” said Ras, trying to look composed, though his drooping tail betrayed him.  

“Ooh! As expected from Ras! So cool…”  

“Ah, you’re being fooled,” Kyu-seong said, chuckling softly as he patted their heads in response to their innocent reactions.  

“Ras, do you want me to hold you?”  

“I’m fine. I’m not scared at all.”  

“Well, what if I just want to hold you anyway?”  

“…Permission granted.”  

Kyu-seong held Ras, while Ara held Poispois in her arms, and they all joined hands as they stepped outside the dungeon.  

The view greeted them: a lush landscape surrounded by trees, a spacious clearing, and neat lighting set up.  

The mountain scenery around them was beautiful, though to Ras and Mammon, it wasn’t much different from the dungeon landscape.  

“Come to think of it, is this Poispois’s first time outside too?”  

Squelch!  

Kyu-seong remembered that, except for Bokkeum, the other slimes had never been outside before.  

Yet, Poispois didn’t seem fazed and simply signaled, “Shall I use my magic detection now?”  

Meanwhile, Ras, nestled in Kyu-seong’s arms, was busy scanning his surroundings.  

“Alright, Poispois. Can you search for the closest dungeon here?”  

Squelch!  

Immediately, Poispois activated his ability.  

Light emanated from his three horns, and the magic detection began.  

His horns moved like a radar, eventually pointing in a specific direction.  

Squelch!  

“Oh, did you find it?”  

“Yes! It’s a bit far away!” Ara translated Poispois’s sounds.  

Ara then lifted Poispois up and began sprinting, almost like she was using him as a compass.  

“Ah, Ara! Wait for us!”  

Kyu-seong quickly followed, gathering Mammon and Ras.  

Though it was helpful that Poispois could detect the dungeon, Kyu-seong couldn’t pinpoint its exact location, making the ability somewhat frustrating.  

“Should I teach Poispois about directions and distance measurements?” he mused, uncertain just how far “a bit far away” might be.  

Would they need to travel to another city? If so, maybe driving would be better.  

Lost in thought, Kyu-seong watched as Ara, holding Poispois high, headed into the mountains.  

“Wait, aren’t we supposed to be going down?”  

Seeing Ara head up the mountain left Kyu-seong even more puzzled.  

Were they really being led on the shortest route?  

What if they had to cross the mountain?  

What if it was over 100 kilometers away?  

As he pondered all these possibilities, Ara and Poispois suddenly shouted out.

Squelch!  

“We’re almost there! It’s definitely faster than going alone!”  

“What? We’ve already arrived?”  

Was there really a dungeon near our home?  

Ras, who had regained his dignified demeanor, spoke to the bewildered Kyu-seong.  

“The outside world is nothing special. Kyu-seong, where are those buildings and cars you mentioned?”  

“Uh… there aren’t any here. This is the mountains.”  

It was a direction Kyu-seong hadn’t anticipated at all.  

He had expected to drive, not to have a dungeon right next door.  

Poispois’s mention of it being “a bit far” had also misled him.  

“I forgot that ‘far’ is different by slime standards.”  

Following Poispois as a compass, they arrived at a well-hidden dungeon entrance.  

“Wow, is this really a dungeon?”  

It was definitely a dungeon.  

Awakeners could sense the strange energy emanating from a dungeon entrance.  

The problem was that they didn’t know what Level the dungeon was.  

What rank could it be?  

If it were a high-Level dungeon, Kyu-seong hesitated to enter.  

“It shouldn’t be high-ranked.”  

High-ranked dungeons are easily detected due to their strong magical energy. Since this dungeon had gone unnoticed until now, it was likely low-ranked.  

“Poispois, how strong do you think this dungeon is?”  

Kyu-seong asked just in case.  

Poispois bounced in response.  

Squish!  

“It’s about the same as Poispois!”  

“Oh? So, it’s a Level 1 dungeon?”  

It was just as he expected.  

If there had been a dungeon near his house, the Awakener headquarters or guild would have dealt with it or at least reported it.  

Since he hadn’t heard anything, it must be an undiscovered, low-Level dungeon.  

“Shall we go in?”  

On second thought…  

Kyu-seong wondered if he was being overly cautious.  

Given his current companions, he had familiars powerful enough to destroy an entire country.  

Even a single Deadly Sin could easily obliterate a city, and he had three with him.  

With their combined strength, they could easily rival a nation’s military power.  

And yet, here was Kyu-seong hesitating to enter a low-Level dungeon…  

“We’re going in!”  

“Invading other dungeons! Battle! My purpose!”  

“There’s no need to fear with me by your side.”  

Encouraged by the kids’ reactions, Kyu-seong found his resolve.  

“Alright, let’s go in, take a quick look, and come back out.”  

Kyu-seong had a Return Stone he’d kept from the Wrath Dungeon, just in case. If needed, they could use it to exit immediately.  

With that, he entered the dungeon with the kids.  

***  

“Static. Delta entry confirmed.”  

“Static. Beta, please confirm.”  

“Static. Beta entry confirmed. Alpha, please confirm.”  

Starting from a hotel near Kyu-seong’s residence, a special team quickly followed his path.  

“Where is he going?”  

Kyu-seong led his small familiars into the mountains, and the team leader, James, narrowed his eyes in confusion.  

“Could he have noticed us?”  

“It’s possible one of the familiars has that kind of ability.”  

“Keep a close watch.”  

“Yes, sir.”  

After giving further instructions via radio, the team slowly trailed Kyu-seong.  

Kyu-seong’s movements were unpredictable.  

The trailing team couldn’t help but wonder why he was heading to such a place.  

“Could he actually be aware of our presence?”  

They had studied every detail of Kyu-seong’s habits and movements.  

Yet, he had never ventured into the mountains before.  

Bringing along three familiars, including Poispois, was also unusual.  

“Static. Delta, target’s movement has stopped.”  

“Static. Beta, there’s a mana reaction. It appears to be a dungeon.”  

A dungeon?

Could it be that he was actually moving to reach a dungeon?

“Does he have another residence?”

That was also a possibility.

The fact that he found the location of a dungeon so easily couldn’t be explained by modern technology.

If such technology existed, they would’ve been able to manage all the dungeons around the world effortlessly.

In that case, there would be no reason for the guild to cooperate with the government. The government could even monopolize it instead.

“A hidden dungeon, perhaps…”

News came that Kyu-seong, who had paused momentarily, had finally entered the dungeon.

James, after a brief moment of consideration in response to Delta Team’s request for follow-up entry, nodded his head.

“Since it’s a hidden dungeon, anything that happens inside will go unnoticed by Korea.”

As far as he knew, this dungeon was unknown to both Kyu-seong’s guild and the Korean government.

If they handled matters discreetly here, it could easily be passed off as a simple missing person case.

“Static. Delta entering.”

The rest of the team waited outside while only Delta Team entered.

As Delta Team ventured inside, those waiting for updates began to feel that it was taking longer than expected.

Delta Team’s strength was composed solely of Level 5 Awakeners. With four Level 5 Awakeners in total, plus progressively stronger teams like Gamma, Beta, and Alpha, it was an operation destined for success.

Thus, Venom Guild had invested a considerable sum to commission this high-level assignment.

“They’re running a bit late.”

Growing concerned, James issued another command.

“Send in Gamma Team as well.”

“Yes, sir.”

Soon after, Gamma Team also entered the dungeon.

With Gamma Team now inside, they should emerge from the dungeon within ten minutes.

However, contrary to their expectations, ten minutes, then twenty minutes passed, and none of the team members who entered had returned.

“What in the world is going on?”

James gradually sensed his instincts sending him a warning. Instincts that had kept him alive through countless missions until now.

However, this time he ignored his instincts, for their target’s strength was insignificant.

Vmm—

“Hey! There’s activity coming from the dungeon!”

“These guys, making me tense for nothing…”

James, who was in mid-sentence, suddenly froze.

The other team members also became like statues.

Those emerging from the dungeon were indeed their team members, just as they had expected.

But something looked strange.

They were all unconscious, bound by something.

And holding the rope that tied them up was a young child with tiger ears.

“Heh! Heh! Heh!”

A maniacal laugh burst forth.

The special team members flinched and instinctively stepped back.

“A-Alpha, Beta! Subdue the target!”

“Static. Understood!”

The hidden Alpha and Beta teams emerged from hiding.

In that instant, a flash appeared out of nowhere, and Alpha Team’s ace collapsed on the spot.

Thud.

What just happened?

One of Alpha’s team members, shocked, widened his eyes to scan the scene.

There, standing atop the unconscious Alpha ace, was an adorable-looking gnoll.

“Who dares to lay a hand on me and my comrades?”

An odd speech pattern—no, was this monster actually talking?

The team member, experiencing cognitive dissonance, frantically looked for the gnoll that had disappeared from view but soon felt a strong impact on the back of his neck.

“You’re a hundred years too early to face me.”

With those words, the Alpha member lost consciousness.

And scenes like this unfolded in various parts of the dungeon.

Members were collapsing from poison.

Some were struck down by Ara.

Screams echoed all around.

And those noises reached James’s ears vividly.

The entire special team had been annihilated in an instant.

“Th-this… what is…?”

Watching the events unfold through the body cam with disbelief, James finally spotted Kyu-seong beyond the lens.

Kyu-seong, noticing the body cam, picked it up and leaned his face in close.

Sweat trickled down James’s face.

Unable to swallow his dry saliva, he stood frozen.

Then, Kyu-seong’s voice came through to James’s ears.

“I will find you.”

“And I will kill you.”

James’s face turned ghostly pale.

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