Chapter 53

Chapter 53

Level 2 Player

Undead Hidden Dungeon

“The trail cuts off here.”

At the words of the player who had learned a tracking skill, Jucheonguk frowned.

[The Undead Dungeon is currently being cleared. You cannot enter.]

“Did they go into a hidden dungeon?”

Open dungeons have no limit on the number of people. Anyone can enter and leave at any time. However, in the case of hidden dungeons, until the party that first entered is wiped out, a new party cannot enter.

Once the party that entered completes the clear, the hidden dungeon itself disappears. When an existing hidden dungeon disappears, a new hidden dungeon is later generated in a different location.

“Set up a perimeter and wait.”

Jucheonguk stared at the entrance of the hidden dungeon with a hardened expression.

‘Please don’t die.’

Hidden dungeons have an exceptionally high clear difficulty. That was why there were many cases where parties aiming for a jackpot entered a hidden dungeon and the party itself was wiped out.

‘Safely clear the hidden dungeon and come out alive. Then die as painfully as possible by my hand.’

Even if they died inside the hidden dungeon, it would mean that the enemies who killed his sworn younger brother and real younger brother had disappeared. However, Jucheonguk wanted to cut off the enemies’ lives with his own hands.

Moreover, he did not want their lives to be cut off easily and quickly, but for them to feel pain for as long as possible, suffer, and die slowly.

‘They’re the bastards who wiped out Janghong’s party. They won’t get wiped out while clearing something like a hidden dungeon.’

Jucheonguk, fully prepared, waited together with the elites of the Hwangryong Guild for his enemies to jump out of the hidden dungeon.

However, even after one day passed, then two days, and a week of time flowed by, the enemies showed no sign at all of coming out of the hidden dungeon.

***

Jin-su and Shin Su-a, unaware of the fact that Jucheonguk and the top elites of the Hwangryong Guild were gathered outside the hidden dungeon, focused intently on hunting.

Living surrounded by undead monsters in a closed environment delivered tremendous mental pressure.

“These days I dream of fighting undead monsters even while sleeping.”

Shin Su-a said as she ate breakfast inside the safe zone created within the Sanctuary.

“Me too.”

It was not just dreams. Whether awake or asleep, the bizarre shrieks of the undead monsters and the sounds of battle made it impossible to get proper sleep, to the point of developing a neurosis.

“Well, even so, the levels are rising really well, so it’s bearable. Achievements are rising well too.”

Shin Su-a said as if it was something she could sufficiently endure.

“That’s true.”

Jin-su, who was level 2, was at a level where level-up system messages floated up in real time.

“Meow...”

Leo rolled around on the ground as if he was bored to death. They had been trapped in the hidden dungeon for over a week. There was no need to gather monsters with a roar. Since they were undead monsters, no meat came out either.

Although he filled his stomach with the monster meat Jin-su gave him, from Leo’s perspective the hidden dungeon was inevitably extremely frustrating.

“If you’re that bored, just go back.”

As a summon, Leo had a dimension where he originally lived. If he was really bored, he could just return to the place he originally lived through reverse summoning.

“Nyaaang!”

Leo let out a sharp cry and strongly refused to go back. The meaning of “I don’t want to” was also intensely transmitted into Jin-su’s mind.

“Why does he hate it that much when it’s the place he originally lived?”

Jin-su simply could not understand it.

“Maybe the meat there doesn’t taste good?”

At Shin Su-a’s words, Jin-su nodded as if it had credibility. If he stayed by Jin-su’s side, it was boring but he could eat meat until his stomach burst.

“That could be. Or else, maybe Leo’s hunting skills are so poor that it’s hard for him to eat meat?”

“Nyaang! Nyang! Nyang! Nyaang!”

At Jin-su’s words, Leo strongly protested. It seemed the words that his hunting skills were poor had bothered him.

“Leo is small in size. In the place he originally lived, he might have been in a position where he had to run away so he wouldn’t get eaten by other demon beasts.”

At Shin Su-a’s words, Leo opened his mouth wide as if he was dumbfounded, then tapped his chest with his small front paws as if he was dying of injustice.

“No. Unnie misspoke. Leo, I’m sorry.”

Shin Su-a smiled and stroked Leo’s head. Then Leo climbed into Shin Su-a’s arms and rubbed his head and body against her while acting cute.

‘No matter how I look at it, that thing is not a demon beast but a cat.’

Jin-su let out a hollow laugh as he looked at Leo acting cute toward Shin Su-a. Except for the ability to draw monster aggro and an unbelievable level of appetite, no matter how he looked, it was just a baby cat.

‘The ability to call monsters alone is sufficient, though.’

The reason Jin-su had regretted only being able to stay for three days in the Asura Ant Nest, and the reason he had come to the undead hidden dungeon, was also because of hunting efficiency.

‘Normally, more than half of hunting time is spent looking for monsters.’

After Leo joined, the movement time spent looking for monsters had decreased sharply, but in the end they still had to move. On the other hand, in the Asura Ant Nest or the undead hidden dungeon, monsters came looking for them nonstop on their own, so there was no waste of time at all.

‘It’s also advantageous for acquiring titles and the growth of the Blessing.’

All kinds of various species of monsters inhabit the field. Because of that, the speed of growing the Blessing or piling up achievements is slow. However, the Asura Ant Nest or the undead hidden dungeon, where only a single species of monster appears, was a different situation.

‘The results are already quite good.’

In particular, the growth momentum of the Blessing was fast. Because he could catch zombies, skeletons, and ghouls in units of 2, 22, 222, 2,222, and 22,222. On top of that, whenever the growth momentum of the Blessing was about to slow, a slightly higher-grade new undead monster was refilled, so it was truly worthy of being called the best hunting ground.

‘How far will it go?’

At this level of difficulty, even if 2.2 billion or 22.2 billion or more appeared, he would greatly welcome it.

“Then let’s start again.”

“Okay.”

After finishing breakfast, Jin-su and Shin Su-a canceled the Sanctuary.

“Grrr!”

“Uuuugh!”

The moment the Sanctuary was canceled, undead monsters that were horrifying just to look at rushed in from all directions.

Hwareureuk!

Kwaaaang!

Jin-su opened the battle with a magic attack skill. Shin Su-a also applied buffs and then, under the protection of the Stone Golem and shadow knight, firmly gripped her staff with both hands and swung it toward the heads of the undead monsters.

While Jin-su and Shin Su-a, who had slept soundly and eaten their fill, were once again heating up in hunting undead monsters.

Jucheonguk and the Hwangryong Guild members waiting outside the undead hidden dungeon were gradually reaching the limit of their patience.

***

“When the hell are they coming out!”

Jucheonguk shouted. At first, his eyes had rolled back in anger and he had waited blindly. Since even hidden dungeons were usually cleared in a few hours, it was only natural.

When one day passed, he thought it was taking a bit long. But as that became two days, three days, four days, past five days, and over a week, irritation welled up instead of anger.

At Jucheonguk’s irritation, one Hwangryong Guild member attempted to enter the undead hidden dungeon.

[The Undead Dungeon is currently being cleared. You cannot enter.]

“They’re not dead.”

“Aaaah! Then why the hell aren’t they coming out!”

At the report of the Hwangryong Guild member who had attempted to enter the undead hidden dungeon, Jucheonguk once again let out a loud shout. The hidden dungeon was neither in a state where entry was possible nor had it disappeared.

That meant that the bastards who had wiped out Janghong’s party were still hunting monsters inside there.

“I’ll wait one more week.”

Jucheonguk said while gritting his teeth.

“Understood.”

The Hwangryong Guild members answered in voices mixed with dissatisfaction.

‘Damn it.’

Jucheonguk felt like he was going crazy from frustration because of the enemies who were not coming out of the hidden dungeon.

The players gathered here were the top elites of the Hwangryong Guild.

That also meant they were the ones who had the least remaining time they could stay on Floor 100 of the Tower.

The top elites of the Hwangryong Guild were all people who had lived in the Tower for over ten years. That was why their memories of Earth were faint and their memories of the Tower were clearer. Naturally, the lifestyle of the Tower was more familiar to them than the lifestyle of Earth.

For such people, not being able to hunt for over a week was a great loss. They could not pile up experience and could not obtain items. Moreover, it was not even a proper rest, and they were in a situation of camping on the dirt ground without even proper camping preparations.

On top of that, they were buying food with their own points from the auction house to make do with meals and even standing night watch to monitor enemies who might not come out, so there was no way they would not have complaints.

At first, they had been swept up in the public opinion that they had to take revenge for their comrades along with the anger of Guild Master Jucheonguk, so even if they had complaints they could not express them. However, once a week passed, the situation changed.

‘Please come out within a week.’

If they did not reveal themselves within a week, he would have no choice but to leave surveillance behind and withdraw.

A week of time flowed by.

However, Jin-su and Shin Su-a, who had entered the undead hidden dungeon, were still completely silent. That said, they had not died in the undead hidden dungeon either.

“Withdraw.”

In the end, Guild Master Jucheonguk had no choice but to order a withdrawal.

“Rotate the quick-footed ones and just keep watch.”

“Understood.”

In the end, the top elites of the Hwangryong Guild all withdrew after wasting only two weeks of time. And in their place, among the Hwangryong Guild members in the nearby city, those who were quick on their feet began taking turns monitoring the entrance of the hidden dungeon.

***

Jin-su and Shin Su-a, who did not even know the fact that the Hwangryong Guild had returned after wasting time for two weeks, leisurely focused on hunting undead monsters.

The closed and uncomfortable environment, and the shrieks of the undead monsters, induced mental stress. However, Jin-su and Shin Su-a were holding up well in their own way.

Because rewards that made the physical and mental stress worth enduring kept coming in steadily. In Jin-su’s case, the upward trend of achievements and the Blessing was prominent, and in Shin Su-a’s case, achievements and levels rose quickly.

In particular, because they had to cast skills as soon as mana recovered, the rise in skill levels was also quite steep. On top of that, items dropped generously as well.

Items they could use directly or skill books worth learning also came out well, and unnecessary ones were sold at the auction house and converted into points. Yet the speed at which points were earned was more than ten times that of hunting in the field.

From Shin Su-a’s perspective, it was like having received proper financial treatment. Although there were times when the situation of camping alone with Hyun-su without any private life was uncomfortable, it also felt good in its own way because the bond between them seemed to have deepened.

‘Good.’

When Shin Su-a held up better than expected, Jin-su’s doubts also rose. Achievements were achievements, but the growth of the Blessing in the undead dungeon was extremely encouraging.

[The Blessing of Hwangsin has grown.]

[The Blessing of Hongsin has grown.]

...omitted...

The Blessing did not grow just once but grew consecutively.

‘As expected, catching the same monsters was the correct answer.’

Unlike achievements, system messages do not float up. However, he could roughly tell why it had risen.

‘It seems we’ve now broken through the 2.22 million unit.’

Catching a specific monster in units related to 2 plays a big role in the growth of the Blessing.

‘Especially if it’s in the million units like now.’

[The Blessing of Hwangsin has grown.]

[The Blessing of Hongsin has grown.]

...omitted...

Not long after the Blessing had grown consecutively, the Blessing grew once again.

‘The previous rise was because of zombies, and this time it’s skeletons?’

For ghouls, it seemed he would have to wait a bit longer. But there was no need to worry. After ghouls there were giant zombies and skeleton warriors, and after that fanged ghouls, giant two-headed zombies, and skeleton great warriors were waiting.

‘Do Dullahan, Death Wizard, Death Knight, Banshee, and Specter not come out?’

Jin-su hoped that the variety of undead monsters would increase. Only then could he pile up achievements and raise titles even faster.

‘First, let’s check what rose with this growth.’

Due to the Blessings that had risen so far, the stat increase rate had grown to 72.2%, the item fixed level to 322, and the skill fixed level to 422. And a new level-fixed Blessing had been created.