〈B-Rank Gate ― Mapo Sector 7〉
Dungeon Name: Rock Canyon
Monsters: Golems
Estimated Clear Time: Approximately 4 Hours
The moment they entered the dungeon, a heavy sensation washed over them, as though they had plunged underwater.
Cold pressure compressed Siul’s lungs, while a low hum reverberated in his ears.
The entire dungeon was a vast expanse of gray.
Rock formations stretched overhead, while the canyon walls rose in chaotic, twisted shapes streaked with various shades of stone.
Purple minerals scattered across the rocky ground gave off faint, intermittent glimmers.
Their irregular light reflected against the stone walls, causing them to flash from time to time.
“As I mentioned, those faint lights are all we have in this dungeon. Visibility is poor, so everyone should use a Light Orb.”
At Team Leader Min’s instruction, Siul and the other party members opened their inventories.
『 Light Orb 』 ― E-Rank
Illuminates your surroundings.
It was a pure white sphere about the size of a baseball.
Once thrown into the air, it emitted light and followed within a one-meter radius of its user.
“I can see much better now.”
Park Do-hyun grinned as he spoke to Siul.
Since the two of them shared the Supporter position, they walked together at the rear of the group.
“How many times have you been in a B-rank dungeon, Siul? This is my first.”
Park Do-hyun had casually started a conversation, but then suddenly flinched.
“Ah, sorry. I won’t talk to you….”
Apparently, Team Leader Min had given him another warning in private, because Park Do-hyun took a step away from Siul.
“It’s fine. We still have quite a walk before we reach the deeper sections, so I’d rather have someone to talk to.”
“Really?”
Park Do-hyun’s expression immediately brightened.
After exchanging a few words, Siul discovered that Park Do-hyun was extremely outgoing and quite the chatterbox.
“Then everyone in your family is a hunter, Do-hyun?”
“Yes. My father awakened first, then my mother, and I was the last.”
“That’s interesting.”
“Right? Maybe awakening runs in families. Haha.”
THUD—.
A massive reverberation came from somewhere in the distance.
“Stop.”
Team Leader Min, who had been walking at the front, quickly raised his hand.
BANG…! THUD…!
The ground shook repeatedly.
The vibrations were also gradually drawing closer.
“They’re coming.”
Team Leader Min spoke in a low voice.
At that exact moment, enormous rocks came RUMBLING! toward them from nearby.
“Golems. Everyone, battle formation!”
At Team Leader Min’s command, the raid team spread out into formation.
‘So those are golems?’
Siul frowned as he saw a golem for the first time.
They were hulking masses of stone standing three meters tall.
Their silhouettes resembled humans, but in reality, they were crude monstrous creatures formed entirely from rock.
They were generally classified as C+-rank monsters.
‘No quest.’
Siul glanced at the unresponsive Quest Window as he examined the golems.
‘Does that mean a C+-rank monster doesn’t reach Danger Level 10…?’
Just as disappointment began to set in, something strange appeared in Siul’s vision.
A translucent number ‘7’ floated above each golem’s head.
“Do-hyun, do golems normally have numbers floating above their heads?”
“What? What numbers?”
“Those. They say 7.”
Park Do-hyun stared ahead before tilting his head.
“I don’t see anything.”
“…….”
Only then did Siul realize.
Those numbers were visible only to him.
‘Those are their Danger Levels?’
He had been too overwhelmed during the Wyvern Goblin incident to notice, but this time he could see them clearly.
‘So whenever something I recognize as an enemy appears, its Danger Level is displayed like that.’
Siul’s goal in this raid was to determine the quest’s criteria numerically.
This was already a useful discovery.
“Siul, they’re coming! Be careful!”
“You too, Do-hyun.”
Fifteen golems surrounded the raid team.
There were more than twice as many monsters as the seven hunters in the party.
‘C+-rank and Danger Level 7. Not bad for my first opponent.’
A faint smile appeared on Siul’s lips as he loosened his wrist.
This was his first battle since reawakening as a C-rank hunter.
The enemies were technically ranked above him, but they were not opponents he could not defeat.
『 B-Rank Longsword 』
Siul reached into his inventory and pulled out a sword with a silver blade.
After the Wyvern Goblin incident, the Hunter Association had awarded Siul and Jang Jin-young seventy million won in monster-subjugation compensation.
Siul had invested forty million won of that money into purchasing a B-rank longsword.
‘It’s incredibly light. The manual said its destructive power was ten times that of my C-rank longsword.’
He was extremely curious to see how it would perform in actual combat.
Just then, one of the golems charged straight at him.
Siul swung the sword in a broad arc from left to right.
Silver light scattered along the path of the blade.
BOOM!!
A slash launched from the edge of the sword and cleaved the golem’s torso cleanly in half.
“Gasp.”
Fragments of shattered stone CLATTERED across the ground.
‘This thing is no joke. I guess there’s a reason it costs as much as a mid-sized car.’
Siul smiled in satisfaction and continued fighting.
But the B-rank longsword was not the only thing he wanted to test.
【Skill ‘Dungeon Dash’ has activated.】
Mana surged beneath Siul’s feet.
At the same time, he shot forward as though gliding across the ground and sliced through a golem’s neck at tremendous speed.
‘This feels incredible.’
Dungeon Dash was a skill that used mana to explosively increase his acceleration for an instant.
It was a sensation Siul had never experienced before.
‘I thought I’d never be able to use a skill in my life….’
Skills became available once an Awakened reached C-rank or higher.
Unlike traits, skills were supernatural abilities that could only be used inside dungeons.
C-rank hunters unlocked one skill, B-rank hunters unlocked three, A-rank hunters unlocked five, and S-rank hunters unlocked seven. The types of skills available were the same for everyone.
‘My mana has increased, and now I have a skill too. I can really feel how much stronger I’ve become.’
Siul’s blood surged with excitement.
He could not tell whether the feeling came from his growing exhilaration or from finally satisfying a desire he had carried for so long.
One thing was certain.
From now on, that fire in his chest would only burn hotter.
* * *
“Good work, everyone. Drink a Stamina Recovery Potion, then we’ll move out again.”
Under Team Leader Min’s direction, the party took some time to reorganize.
Meanwhile, Park Do-hyun pulled a round gray disc from his inventory and placed it on the ground.
“What are you doing?”
Siul approached with a curious expression.
“I’m setting up a Mini Gate.”
“A Mini Gate?”
『 Mini Gate 』 ― B-Rank
A portable gateway device consisting of two paired discs. Can connect locations up to 10 km apart.
“If you place the two discs in separate locations, you can warp between them.”
“I think I’ve heard of those. They’re supposed to be really useful. So that’s what one looks like?”
“Hehe. This is almost exactly the midpoint of the dungeon, so it’s a good place to set one up as a precaution before entering the boss room.”
It was a sound decision.
Unexpected situations were common inside dungeon boss rooms.
Preparing some insurance in advance was the sensible thing to do.
“Team Leader, I’ve installed the Mini Gate. Who should stay behind?”
‘Stay behind?’
Team Leader Min pointed to the youngest and least experienced hunter in the party, a woman in her early twenties.
“Hyo-won will stay.”
“Understood. I’ll mine mana stones while I wait.”
Siul looked puzzled, unable to understand why they were suddenly removing a member from the group.
Park Do-hyun kindly explained.
“A Mini Gate only works if someone is present at each disc. So one person has to remain where Disc One is installed, and another has to be where Disc Two is placed. Only then can people travel between them.”
Only then did Siul understand how the Mini Gate worked.
Still, one thing bothered him.
“It doesn’t seem very useful for escaping. Someone has to stay behind at the original location, after all.”
Park Do-hyun gave a wry smile, acknowledging that Siul was right.
“That’s why it’s only insurance. Ideally, everyone leaves together.”
Park Do-hyun added that the best-case scenario was never having to use the Mini Gate at all.
“If everyone’s rested enough, let’s keep moving. We’re almost at the boss room.”
Team Leader Min pointed deeper into the dungeon.
Siul and the other party members gathered their equipment and started walking again.
* * *
As the narrow canyon came to an end, the view suddenly opened up.
They entered a circular stone chamber with an unusually high ceiling.
At its center, an enormous pile of rocks sat motionless in a crouched position.
“That’s the boss, right?”
Siul whispered, and Park Do-hyun answered.
“That’s right. A Giant Golem. It’s roughly three times larger and three times stronger than ordinary golems. It’s B-rank.”
CRACK…!
The moment Park Do-hyun finished speaking, the pile of rocks began to split apart.
Red light flashed between the stones, and a Giant Golem three times the size of an ordinary golem rose to its feet.
“GROOOOAR―!!”
The Giant Golem’s roar engulfed the cavern.
Dust billowed through the chamber, and powdered stone scattered through the air.
【Continuous Quest generated!】
【Eliminate the Threat to Your Life】
Personally eliminate the obstacle threatening your life.
Obstacle Danger Level: 10
Success Reward: 3 Level-Up Points
At last, the Quest Window appeared.
Siul smiled without realizing it.
‘So a B-rank monster has a Danger Level of 10.’
A translucent number ‘10’ floated above the Giant Golem’s head.
‘The reward is 3 points. That isn’t enough to reach the 10 points needed to level up, but if I kill three or four monsters like that, my Awakening Rank will increase again, right?’
Other hunters could spend their entire lives without ever changing their Awakening Rank.
Compared to the chance to raise him, that amount of effort was nothing.
‘But why is that thing alone?’
Something felt strange.
Normally, dungeon bosses ruled over swarms of subordinate monsters.
Yet the Giant Golem before them had no followers at all, making the title of boss almost seem undeserved.
“This dungeon is a complete jackpot.”
“Let’s finish this quickly and go out for a team dinner.”
The party members arrogantly drew their weapons.
RUMBLE!!
But then a tremendous roar suddenly shook the chamber.
The raid team turned toward the sound just as an enormous mass of stone crashed down across the passage leading out of the boss room.
Rocks locked together atop one another until the exit vanished without a trace.
“The entrance is blocked…!”
“Don’t panic. This happens all the time. The exit will open once we kill the boss anyway.”
Boss-room lockdowns were one of the more troublesome but common dungeon patterns.
The raid team barely reacted, as though they had seen it countless times before.
But the next sound was different.
CRACK…! CREEEAK…!
This time, an eerie noise came from above.
“L-Look up!”
Someone shouted in alarm.
Siul raised his head and finally realized the true structure of the boss room.
He had assumed it was simply a chamber with an unusually high ceiling.
But then new outlines emerged from the darkness above.
Like a hidden balcony, a second-floor ledge encircling the entire circular chamber slowly came into view.
And standing along that ledge were…….
“Are those all golems?!”
A chill crawled up Siul’s spine.
No fewer than fifty golems stood lined up along the railing.
“Holy shit…!”
The raid team stared in horror.
Fifty golems stood shoulder to shoulder, looking down at them from above.
The sheer pressure they exuded was impossible to put into words.
WHOOSH!
The Giant Golem raised one arm.
Immediately, the golems above moved in perfect unison like soldiers receiving an order.
Each one picked up a massive boulder from beside its feet and hoisted it onto its shoulder.
“Don’t tell me….”
It did not take long to understand.
“Dodge!!”
Park Do-hyun shouted, but it was already too late.
The golems had already hurled the boulders with all their strength.
With the sound of air being ripped apart, fifty massive rocks rained down upon them.
“S-Save me!!”
They were trapped inside a sealed stone chamber.
Dozens of boulders were falling from above.
And below, the Giant Golem was unleashing mana with murderous intensity.
‘We’re going to die….’
Every member of the raid team envisioned the same future.
“Everyone, get over here!”
But at that moment, Team Leader Min snapped the others out of their panic and stepped forward.
【Trait ‘Steadfast Barrier’ has activated.】
A transparent barrier enveloped the raid team.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Team Leader Min’s barrier barely managed to withstand the barrage of falling boulders.
“Urgh…!”
Large beads of sweat formed on Team Leader Min’s forehead.
The impact still took its toll, but thanks to his trait, none of the party members were crushed to death beneath the rocks.
Before they could even feel relieved, however, the Giant Golem raised its arm.
What it held was a colossal boulder far larger than any of the others.
The Giant Golem hurled it with all its strength.
KRAAAASH—!!
The instant the boulder struck the barrier, a clear crack spread across its surface.
“Team Leader!”
Team Leader Min’s face went pale.
‘No…. If we take even one more hit like that…!’
Everyone instinctively realized that the barrier would not survive another attack.
They were paralyzed by fear and shock.
No matter where they looked, there was nowhere safe from the incoming attacks.
There was nowhere to run.
All they could do was stare at Team Leader Min’s trembling back as the barrier protecting them slowly began to collapse.
“……?”
In that hopeless moment, Siul leisurely walked out from among the party members.
Then he quietly called to one person.
“Do-hyun.”
Park Do-hyun turned his head.
Siul’s face was unnaturally calm.
As though he felt no fear whatsoever.
“Open the Mini Gate. I’ll stay here.”