chapter 11
Episode 11 Hidden Piece (1)
Songnisan Mountain.
On the right, there is a high mossy rock cliff,
On the left is a long forest road with a steep dirt slope.
It was already 3 PM, well past lunch.
Kang Seo-jun and Jin Se-rin’s security team finally arrived at the entrance to the hidden dungeon.
[You have arrived at your destination. The Eye of Providence ends its guidance.]
“Here it is.”
“Yes?”
The bodyguard carrying Kang Seo-jun glanced around and looked around.
“There’s nothing?”
Mossy rock wall on the right, steep slope on the left.
The only thing I could see was dense trees.
When the security guard asked in confusion, Kang Seo-jun pointed down.
“Look below.”
When the bodyguard followed Kang Seo-jun’s finger and looked down, there was an arch-shaped gap like a mouse hole under the rock wall.
The security guard tapped the small gap with his foot and asked.
“Are you sure you’re talking about this?”
“That’s right. Please get off. I need to take a look at the entrance.”
After the bodyguard dropped off Kang Seo-jun, he tilted his head.
This is because the gap at the bottom of the cliff was too narrow and small to be called an entrance.
“The entrance…?”
Kang Seo-jun did not bother to answer that question.
Instead, I knelt down on the floor and carefully inspected the entrance to the dungeon.
It is definitely a small and narrow passage as depicted in the game.
“I need to dig up some ground and widen the entrance. Can you help me?”
It may be a woman or a thin man, but it seemed difficult to pass with Kang Seo-jun’s bloated body.
“How can I dig it up?”
“Just remove the dirt from this gap.”
“Go, assistant manager. Come here.”
“Ah… Why do you always only talk to me…”
The old assistant grumbled with a haggard face and rolled up his arms.
There was no need for a shovel or anything like that to scoop up the dirt.
In Jin Se-rin’s security team, each and every member is a B-level or higher hunter.
Their hands were sharper and harder than steel shovels.
-Park!
The late assistant manager spread his legs wide, took a stance, and plunged the blade of his hand into the dirt floor.
The blade of the hand dug into the soil with an exciting sound, as if a sharp sword had been pierced.
-Park! Pop! Pop!
When I scooped up the dirt between my legs, the narrow gap soon widened to the point where even a large dog could pass through.
-Whoop!
The cold wind of the cave passed by the old assistant’s cheeks, accompanied by a musty, damp smell.
The assistant manager knelt down, took a quick look inside, and then stood up.
“It seems to be connected to the cave.”
“Cave?”
Seo Eun-ha’s expression hardened.
I thought they might have buried some kind of artifact while digging the ground, but they said they went into a cave?
Caves are difficult places to protect VIPs in times of emergency.
The retreat route is limited and it is difficult to understand the terrain, so if the opponent sets a trap, it is easy to be surrounded and helpless.
It was too dangerous a place to enter, trusting a man I had never met before yesterday.
Seo Eun-ha looked at Jin Se-rin with an expression as if this wasn’t a good idea.
“Hmm~ Hmm~♬ The weather is nice.”
“Ah…”
However, Jin Se-rin seemed to have no other thoughts, as if she had come to play in a flower garden.
Seo Eun-ha stepped forward before the situation took a turn for the worse.
“Wait a minute.”
Seo Eun-ha looked at Kang Seo-jun and said.
“Now that we’ve reached this point, I think you need to give us specific guidance on where we’re going and what steps you’ll take.”
If this man was determined to deceive, I had to consider whether such a question would have any meaning.
Kang Seo-jun nodded at Seo Eun-ha’s words.
“Good. Everyone, please gather around me. I was just about to give a briefing.”
Eight bodyguards and Jin Se-rin gathered around Kang Seo-jun.
Seo Eun-ha looked at Kang Seo-jun with blatant suspicion, but he didn’t care and started the briefing.
“This is an unregistered dungeon.”
“Unregistered dungeon?”
The security guards exchanged puzzled looks with each other upon hearing that it was an unregistered dungeon.
I only heard that there might be a battle, but I never thought I would go into a dungeon.
Furthermore, it is not an officially registered dungeon, but an illegal, unregistered dungeon.
Is it okay to proceed like this?
“Yes. It’s not a very large dungeon and most of the monsters that appear are C-rank, so it won’t be too difficult if your skills are good. And…”
“Now, wait a minute.”
Seo Eun-ha cut off Kang Seo-jun’s words.
“You mean it’s an unregistered dungeon?”
“…This is literally a dungeon that has not been reported to the government.”
“No, I mean… How do you know the coordinates of an unregistered dungeon?”
The other bodyguards also looked at Kang Seo-jun with eyes that were not much different from Seo Eun-ha.
Eight pairs of eyes were focused on Kang Seo-jun.
However, Kang Seo-jun did not seem embarrassed at all and spoke as if he was asking an obvious question.
“Is it any wonder that each person’s information is relative? You can tell.”
“…Yes?”
Seo Eun-ha was mesmerized by his attitude, which was not only shameless but also confident.
She could no longer bear the ominous feeling.
Seo Eun-ha said, leading Jin Se-rin back.
“Miss. Please talk for a moment.”
“Eh? Why?”
Jin Se-rin asked in an innocent voice and followed Seo Eun-ha.
Kang Seo-jun crossed his arms with an expression of trouble.
Seo Eun-ha glanced at Kang Seo-jun and spoke to Jin Se-rin in a whisper.
“As expected, it’s suspicious. The fact that you’re learning illegal hexes makes me uncomfortable, but you even know about unregistered dungeons. The coordinates of unregistered dungeons are something that can only be obtained through the illegal black market. I have a bad feeling, lady. That man is definitely a shady man. “I’m from your side. It’s not good to get involved. I think it would be better to cut it off here.”
“…What’s wrong, I’ve been doing this since yesterday… No. I have to keep going.”
“Lady…!”
Jin Se-rin sighed.
She then spoke in a voice so low that only Seo Eun-ha could hear.
“Going back from here doesn’t mean there is any other way. I tried all the proven methods for two years, but they didn’t work. I think it’s time to seize this opportunity.”
Jin Se-rin sighed once again, as if she was feeling frustrated after speaking to herself.
“I’m only two weeks away from entering the academy. But I’m still at a standstill. I understand everything she’s saying, but I can’t go back now just because I feel a little reluctant. There’s no other way. I have to do something now. “I know it’s dangerous, but now I’m in a situation where I have to take risks. I told you that when I came here.”
[The Eye of Providence reads the nearby conversation.]
Kang Seo-jun was watching everything as if he were looking at chat history.
“…If that’s what you mean, young lady… I understand.”
Seo Eun-ha lowered her head with a bitter expression.
The master’s will was so stubborn that the servants had no choice but to follow.
“I’m sorry. But I’m going to go to the end today. And today, I’m being suspicious of you too much.”
Jin Se-rin returned again with a sigh, and Seo Eun-ha followed a beat later.
Kang Seo-jun clapped once to attract attention and started the briefing again.
“Then let’s continue. Most of the monsters are ghost types and are grade C…”
Kang Seo-jun fluently listed information about the dungeon as if he had wings in his mouth.
The skill of accurately pinpointing the key points of the dungeon and condensing the necessary information efficiently was as good as that of a professional briefing from a large guild.
It was the result of my experience writing countless strategies as a member of [Grand Hunter Academy].
‘Why is the briefing so specific and skillful? .’
However, in Seo Eun-ha’s eyes, Kang Seo-jun looked like a person who had conquered not only this dungeon, but numerous dungeons countless times, which aroused even more puzzlement.
‘Besides, how do you know so much information about a dungeon that you haven’t even conquered yet…? .’
As the briefing progressed, Seo Eun-ha’s lips protruded more and more forward.
All kinds of doubts and anxieties flooded my head, but I couldn’t do anything about it, so the words came out of my mouth.
After finishing the briefing with a brief explanation of the boss battle, Kang Seo-jun glanced at the group and said.
“The boss battle will be explained in more detail before the boss battle begins. Do you have any questions up to this point?”
No answer.
Because the briefing was so perfect, there were no questions about the dungeon.
However, the security guards also exchanged glances with each other as if they were wondering if this was okay.
“Okay then. Let’s finish the briefing. Let’s go in.”
However, Kang Seo-jun did not care about such public opinion.
Anyway, as long as you clear the dungeon without any problems, their attitude will change on its own.
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
───────《Quest》───────
Clear the dungeon 《Sealed Shrine》!
◆Description
-Eliminate all monsters in the dungeon and get rewards!
◆Success Rewards
-Random ability +1
◆Failure penalty
-Favorability of adventure-related constellations -10
-Favorability of justice-related constellations -10
──────────────────
After passing through the narrow passage and entering the dungeon, a quest occurred.
The condition for success is annihilation of all monsters in the dungeon.
If Kang Seo-jun was alone, there would be no choice, but now he had 8 mercenaries, excluding Jin Se-rin.
Every one of them is an elite class B or higher.
It was truly reassuring.
There is one thing Kang Seo-jun has to do.
Roughly, every time there was a fork in the road, it would show you which way to take, and when you came across a locked puzzle door, it would solve it.
‘And once the boss is cleared, the hidden pieces are destroyed.’
The main reward of this dungeon should be handed over to Jin Se-rin, but it is a reward that Kang Seo-jun does not need anyway.
This is because the reward is actually an item exclusive to Jinserin.
But still, Kang Seo-jun would have come to this dungeon alone later.
This dungeon contains a hidden piece that is so valuable that it cannot be compared to the reward that only increases ability points by a few points.
‘If only we had that, the growth rate could be accelerated several times.’
Kang Seo-jun moved forward with a pleasant smile as if the hidden piece was already in his hands.