A moment ago, after being sucked into the gate, Jiwoo had opened her eyes in a pitch-black indoor space.
There were no monsters in sight. It was a completely safe interior.
Fortunately, it was the starting point of the dungeon she had entered.
And Jiwoo wasn’t the only one there.
“Where… where are we?”
“Mom! Mom, snap out of it!”
“Waaah… Minji… are we dead? Huh?”
Besides Jiwoo and Onara, around thirty other people packed the room.
They were residents who had happened to be nearby when the gate appeared.
Jiwoo immediately swept the room with her Search skill.
‘An ascending-type dungeon… We got lucky.’
An ascending dungeon was one of the standard dungeon types.
It normally began with a safe first floor containing no monsters, while each higher floor gradually became more dangerous.
It was a difficult type of dungeon to clear, but…
‘It’s perfect for staying put like this!’
Jiwoo cheered inwardly.
Now all they had to do was quietly hold out until reinforcements arrived.
If things got bad, she could always run to the Safe Zone.
Feeling much more relaxed, Jiwoo hugged her knees and sat down.
She chose a dark corner where people wouldn’t notice her. Beside her lay the unconscious Onara.
‘When is Ms. Nara going to wake up?’
Even after entering the dungeon, Onara still hadn’t regained consciousness.
She occasionally groaned and shifted in her sleep, but otherwise didn’t seem to be in any danger.
‘What in the world is happening…?’
Far too many things had happened in such a short time.
She had only come to meet Onara after hearing she was quitting the guild, yet somehow she’d encountered the doppelgänger everyone had only talked about—and even heard that a demon race wanted to meet her.
‘So that demon race member is somewhere inside this dungeon?’
She had no idea when the doppelgänger’s master might appear.
‘I need to stay as quiet as possible and keep my head down.’
Jiwoo buried her face in her knees.
But fate had no intention of leaving her alone.
Not long afterward, several people found a door leading upstairs.
“This looks like the exit.”
“Let’s open it.”
One of the men reached for the doorknob.
“W-Wait!”
Just before it turned, Jiwoo jumped to her feet and shouted.
“Don’t open it carelessly! When you’re inside a dungeon, the safest place is always the starting point.”
Everyone immediately turned to look at her.
“A dungeon?”
“What do you mean, a dungeon? Are you saying we’re inside one?”
Whispers spread throughout the room.
Recently, unidentified gates that the Hunter Association couldn’t detect had become much more common, but for ordinary civilians, they were still anything but normal.
‘I wanted to stay quiet like a sack of barley in the corner!’
But it was too late to retreat now.
‘Well… that’s just my luck.’
Jiwoo let out a small sigh and reassured everyone.
Rather than explaining she was an E-rank healer…
“I’m a hunter from the Blank Guild.”
…it was much simpler to introduce herself that way.
Once people heard she belonged to a guild under a major corporation, their attitudes changed immediately.
Of course, not everyone believed her so easily.
“You’re really a hunter? Then show us your hunter ID.”
A rough-looking middle-aged man stood with his arms crossed.
“…”
Without a word, Jiwoo clenched her fist.
“Antman’s Super Strength, activate.”
She swung her fist straight at the white wall.
BOOM!
The wall cracked loudly, and white dust scattered everywhere.
That silent demonstration was enough to make the man slowly uncross his arms.
“C-Cough… Well… you’re stronger than you look.”
“Of course she is! She’s a hunter! Stop standing there and come over here, Danbi’s dad!”
A woman who seemed to be his wife grabbed him and pulled him away.
Jiwoo walked over and stood in front of the door.
“Anyway, everyone, please don’t leave this room until the rescue team arrives. This place is safe, so—”
Right then, a sharp cry interrupted her.
“Waaah! A dungeon?! We’re all going to die!”
“Mom… your useless son is going first… I’m sorry for always yelling at you…”
Several people began crying in panic.
One man stared hopelessly at the phone that had stopped working after passing through the gate.
“My phone… I just bought it on a sixty-month payment plan…”
“Who cares about your phone? You’re about to die and high-five the Grim Reaper!”
“Don’t say ‘die’! Words become reality! Hurry and spit on the ground three times!”
“Oh, shut up with that spit-spit-spit nonsense!”
The woman who had been yelling suddenly turned toward Jiwoo.
“Wait! You’re a hunter, right? Hunters carry communicators! Just use yours to call the rescue team!”
“Yeah! In the movies, hunters always charge straight into gates!”
“Umm… about that…”
Jiwoo scratched the back of her neck awkwardly.
She didn’t want to destroy everyone’s hope.
But she couldn’t lie either.
“Normally… it takes about three or four days for a rescue team to arrive.”
And that was the optimistic estimate.
It took that long just to organize a rescue team, and they’d also need time to assess the dungeon and make a plan.
‘Though with Kangwoo… maybe one or two days.’
If it were Kangwoo, he wouldn’t wait for any rescue team.
He’d charge straight into the gate first.
Just thinking about him calmed her nerves.
Unfortunately, while Jiwoo relaxed, everyone else became even more agitated.
“W-We have to stay trapped here that long?”
“We don’t have food or water! Are we just supposed to die?”
Unless someone had a serious medical condition, going a week without food wouldn’t kill them.
‘Hmm… but we will need drinking water.’
That wasn’t a major problem.
She could always sneak into the Safe Zone and bring some back.
Before panic spread any further, Jiwoo spoke first.
“Everyone, please don’t worry too much. I’ll go upstairs and scout the area. We might be able to find food and drinking water up there.”
“You’re going by yourself?”
“Isn’t that too dangerous?”
Some people worried about her.
Others shamelessly responded differently.
“Dangerous? What’s dangerous about it? She’s a hunter! It’s her job!”
“Danbi’s dad, keep your voice down! Seriously, what’s wrong with you?”
“Did I say anything wrong? We pay taxes, so of course—”
“Idiot. Like you pay enough taxes to matter.”
“What?”
The man stopped talking and looked around for whoever had spoken.
A man wearing a cap pulled low over his face smirked.
“Did I say anything wrong? How much tax do you even pay that you’re acting so high and mighty? You look broke as hell.”
“You little punk! You got a death wish?!”
“I said what I said. What are you gonna do about it?”
The man took off his cap.
Even under the dim lighting, his crimson eyes gleamed vividly.
Everyone gasped.
Colored eyes—the unmistakable mark of a hunter.
Jiwoo was just as shocked.
‘Kang Jaegyu… why are you here?’
Red hair.
Flashy piercings.
She’d suspected it the moment she heard the sarcastic tone and foul mouth.
But she had never expected Kang Jaegyu to actually be here.
“S-Sorry! We’re so sorry! Honey! Please, just stop talking!”
“Cough… My apologies.”
The quarrelsome couple hurriedly apologized.
“So saying ‘sorry’ makes everything okay? You picked a fight with someone who was minding his own business, and now you’re trying to run?”
Technically, Kang Jaegyu had been the one to start it.
Knowing his awful personality, Jiwoo stepped in before things got worse.
“Mr. Kang Jaegyu! Wait! It is you, right?”
“…Tch.”
He clicked his tongue and turned away.
He tried to disappear into the crowd, but with only about thirty people, there was nowhere to hide.
“Mr. Kang Jaegyu, why are you here?”
Shouldn’t he be with the East Sea Guild?
Why was he suddenly in Seoul—and right in the middle of a newly formed dungeon?
Jiwoo remembered all the phone calls he’d relentlessly made.
‘Wait… don’t tell me… because I never answered, he actually came all the way here to find me? …No way.’
That was such an absurd thought it deserved a slap.
She awkwardly scratched the back of her neck.
“Anyway, what a coincidence, haha. I don’t know what brought you all the way to Seoul, but—”
“Then why the hell wouldn’t you answer your phone?”
“Huh?”
“Why didn’t you answer, so I had to come all the way here?!”
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