Chapter 56
Safe Dungeon, northwest side, association-operated rest stop, “Cloud Bridge.”
Inside the rest stop, where a cloud-shaped structure was displayed at the entrance, Awakened Ones gathered in small groups to eat or take a break.
In a corner at an outdoor table, a woman in a nano suit was drinking iced coffee.
Her cold, sharp eyes and expressionless face gave off an aura of chilling frost. This was Shin Chae-young, the healer of the Special Response Team.
“Shall I call it a day?”
Shin Chae-young rose, gazing at the sky reflected in the energy barrier.
The recent abnormal appearances of hidden monsters had gradually subsided, and the dungeon had regained peace.
It seemed like nothing out of the ordinary would happen today either.
“Well… maybe I shouldn’t say that.”
Indeed, for Shin Chae-young—or rather, the Special Response Team—there was always one unresolved matter: the handling of Cheonma, an unregistered Awakened One living next door.
“Even if the team leader is fine with it, Eun-ho and Manjae oppa seem completely smitten…”
Lost in thought while sipping her coffee, Shin Chae-young suddenly heard a dull thud, followed by murmurs at the entrance of the rest stop.
Thundering over, she saw Awakened Ones writhing in pain, collapsed on the ground, shivering.
“Huuugh…”
Pushing through the crowd, she saw men groaning in agony.
They wore work clothes marked with a round emblem, not combat nano suits, suggesting they belonged to a company that harvested dungeon materials.
“Damn it! The medicine’s not working!”
One of the fallen Awakened Ones threw his medicine bottle in frustration. Recovery items and treatment potions were scattered across the floor, indicating severe injuries.
“Is there anyone here with healing skills?”
A concerned employee shouted, but the surrounding Awakened Ones just stared at each other.
Healing skills are extremely rare. That’s why, when forming a team of Awakened Ones, the most valued skill is that of a healer.
“I can do it.”
Without hesitation, Shin Chae-young stepped forward.
Healing skills are divided into several types: fatigue recovery, wound repair, detoxification, vitality enhancement, and more.
But Shin Chae-young was a super-class healer, capable of using the S-rank healing skill “Healing Factor”, effective across all areas.
“Where are you injured?”
She examined the victims, preparing to use her skill, only to notice something odd.
No matter how closely she looked, there were no visible wounds or symptoms of poisoning.
“W-what do you mean injuries?”
One man, barely opening his eyes, responded.
“There’s no injury.”
“Where does it hurt? I’ll heal you.”
The man trembled violently, biting his teeth to endure the pain.
“H-healing?”
“Yes.”
“Don’t.”
“Excuse me?”
“I’d rather… just die. Dying is better.”
The man began rambling nonsense, foaming at the mouth again.
“I don’t want healing!”
He convulsed violently, then passed out before Shin Chae-young could react.
Reluctantly, she injected the man with Healing Factor, which also had a powerful vitality-enhancing effect.
“He’s fine…”
No matter how much she injected, Healing Factor had no effect. His body was perfectly healthy.
“Ugh… kill me. Just kill me.”
“Excuse me, the skill isn’t taking effect. You’re fine right now.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. I’m dying right now.”
The man continued rambling, writhing in pain.
As Shin Chae-young blinked in confusion, a bystander clicked his tongue.
“Looks like it’s appeared again.”
Shin Chae-young turned to see a man with long hair tied in a single ponytail locking eyes with her.
“What’s that?”
“The fake clinic that was in the news before.”
“Fake… clinic?”
“You know, that crazy guy who handed out weird medicine that messed up the Awakened Ones.”
Shin Chae-young recalled the chaotic incident among Awakened Ones.
A masked stranger had appeared, distributing “recovery” items to injured Awakened Ones, which actually contained drugs that made them violent.
As a result, many Awakened Ones became berserk, throwing the dungeon region into chaos.
“Rumor has it that crazy guy has appeared again. He supposedly ‘heals’ people by tormenting them to near death.”
A cold light flashed in Shin Chae-young’s eyes.
“I need to catch him!”
Judging by the condition of the Awakened Ones writhing in pain, the perpetrator might still be within the Safe Dungeon area.
Turning back, Shin Chae-young injected the unconscious man with Healing Factor again—but this time, with a powerful anesthetic effect instead of healing.
“Ugh…”
Instantly freed from pain and fatigue, the man shot upright.
“W-what happened? The pain… suddenly disappeared…”
“Where’s the person who did this?”
“Who?”
“The one who put the man in that state.”
Confused, the man replied,
“Near the Scarecrow Dungeon to the southeast…”
Before hearing more, Shin Chae-young leapt forward.
As hidden monster appearances quieted, now someone was spreading fake medicine to confuse Awakened Ones.
If they didn’t catch this person, the Safe Dungeon area would fall into chaos again.
Her clothes whipped in the wind as she ran.
Although a healer, Shin Chae-young’s physical awakening level was Grade 3, and each stride cut through the air like an arrow.
In the distance, a shadow crouched in front of the darkened Scarecrow Dungeon, wearing a rabbit mask.
“That’s the culprit.”
The rabbit-masked figure was thin, hair flowing beneath the mask.
Seeing bedding and medicine bottles on a small table before the figure, Shin Chae-young was certain she had found the culprit.
“Wait! Stop!”
Leaping through the air like a hawk, Shin Chae-young blocked the rabbit mask.
“You’re the one who ran the fake clinic before, right?”
“Excuse me?”
A clear female voice with mechanical undertones came from the mask’s speaker.
“Fake clinic?”
“The incident where someone wearing a kettle mask distributed weird drugs in the dungeon, causing chaos.”
The rabbit-masked woman shook her head.
“I don’t understand what you mean.”
“Don’t lie. I just heard about the Awakened Ones who survived your hands.”
“What are you talking about?”
Despite pushing people to the brink of death, she remained shameless.
“You endangered many Awakened Ones and committed illegal acts in the dungeon.”
Shin Chae-young raised her eyebrows and showed her ID.
“I’m Shin Chae-young, Special Response Team of the Korean Awakened Association. Under the Awakened One Special Law, you’re under emergency arrest.”
“Me? Why?”
“You attacked Awakened men here just now.”
“No, I was healing them.”
“Under the guise of healing, you’re harming people.”
Behind the rabbit mask, the woman’s voice carried indignation.
“They were attacked by Mystic Scorpions—two poisoned, one with dislocated bones.”
Looking at Shin Chae-young, she said,
“Treating poisoned people and realigning bones—is that a crime?”
Shin Chae-young recalled the Awakened Ones at the rest stop: though they were in pain, there were no poisoning symptoms, and their lives were not at risk.
“Don’t lie. They weren’t poisoned, and their bones weren’t damaged.”
“I aligned their bones and administered counteracting antidotes to the Scorpion poison.”
“Counteracting antidote?”
“It’s the principle of using poison to counter poison. Since an antidote couldn’t be made immediately, I administered a corresponding poison.”
Could she really create an antidote on the spot? Shin Chae-young’s eyes were full of distrust.
“You made a counteracting poison on the spot?”
“Yes.”
No doctor possesses such a skill. So this rabbit-masked woman must be an Awakened One with a poison-neutralizing ability.
“You a healer too?”
“No.”
“Do you have a medical license?”
“No.”
“Then this is unlicensed medical practice.”
The woman replied shamelessly,
“I only healed people on the verge of death. Is that a crime?”
If true, while technically illegal, she saved lives. In terms of urgency and legitimacy, society could even condone it.
“I have a duty to prevent danger and chaos in the dungeon.”
But Shin Chae-young’s expression and voice remained unchanged.
“Even if what you say is true, it doesn’t change the fact you committed illegal acts.”
“If saving lives is illegal, I’ll break the law a thousand times over.”
Though wearing a ridiculous mask, her voice was full of conviction.
“Is she insane… or…”
Judging by her attitude, she would resist violently if not convinced. Shin Chae-young subtly pressed the emergency button on her phone and asked again.
“What exactly did you do to make people suffer like that? The Awakened Ones at the rest stop were gasping for breath.”
“Aligning bones and neutralizing poison isn’t easy—it causes immense pain.”
“What about the previous incident… what was your intent?”
“The previous incident?”
“The fake medicine incident. Your stimulants made people go berserk.”
The rabbit-masked woman shook her head firmly.
“It wasn’t a stimulant. I distributed elixirs to recover fatigue and unleash latent abilities.”
Her voice, transmitted through the mask’s speaker, was full of pride.
“Thanks to those elixirs, countless Awakened Ones survived in the dungeon. But some couldn’t control the unleashed power.”
Recalling the time, she shook her head.
“That’s why I stopped distributing drugs and treated the injured again. Was that wrong?”
Shin Chae-young coldly shook her head.
“I said it’s unlicensed treatment.”
“But I…”
Before the woman could respond,
RUMBLE!
Suddenly, the ground shook violently. A huge shadow rose in the western sky amidst dust.
“That…!”
Shin Chae-young widened her eyes at the giant centipede-like monster: the hidden monster Gigant Pep, rated almost risk level 10,000.
Safe Dungeon area, southeast C-rank dungeon “Drum Barrel.”
A shadow carrying a huge bundle ran forward, stirring up a storm. It was Cheonma.
“Strange. Hidden monsters appear under specific conditions, right?”
Standing on the rooftop of an abandoned building overlooking the Drum Barrel Dungeon entrance, Cheonma observed Gigant Pep thrashing Awakened Ones.
“Could it have appeared because I pulled out that broad flower?”
The bundle Cheonma carried was full of heart-shaped flowers, known as Hula Hula flowers, said to have a soothing scent and effective for neuralgia.
Cheonma had come to collect these rare flowers near the dungeon but had to flee due to the sudden appearance of Gigant Pep.
[Probably… that Gigant Pep is paired with the one Cheonma killed before.]
Nameless, perched on Cheonma’s shoulder, looked up at the Gigant Pep.
[Just a guess.]
“A pair?”
[When Cheonma previously dealt with the Gigant Pep, two appeared, not one. Otherwise, a hidden monster would not obsessively track only Cheonma.]
Cheonma clenched his fists while staring at the distant roaring Gigant Pep.
“Anyway, I’ll handle it.”
[No.]
“Why not?”
[The Gigant Pep and the Awakened Ones attacking it are already engaged. Intervening will draw attention.]
Cheonma was surprised. Nameless, who usually advised prioritizing Awakened Ones’ lives over his own, now told him not to interfere?
Understanding Nameless’s reasoning, he said,
[Cheonma, your attacks usually trigger hidden monsters.]
“Hmph.”
[Honestly, I’m afraid if you mishandle this Gigant Pep, a larger hidden monster might appear.]
Indeed, whenever Cheonma acted, rare hidden monsters appeared.
Also, around Drum Barrel Dungeon, not only were Awakened Ones attacking monsters, but there were also delivery specialists collecting dungeon materials.
“Are you telling me to just leave it?”
[Yes. The Awakened Ones currently fighting seem capable of winning without major damage.]
Cheonma watched the Awakened Ones attack together, their combined power formidable.
Teams of Awakened Ones increase the effectiveness of various skills and allow diverse combat strategies.
“Hmph.”
As Cheonma reluctantly turned away,
“Argh!”
Several Awakened Ones fell after being hit by Gigant Pep’s arms.
It seemed the current number was insufficient to handle Gigant Pep.
[Apologies. Seeing Cheonma handle them so easily before, I miscalculated.]
Nameless peeked inside Cheonma’s bundle bag.
[Excuse me, did you bring the mask you bought last time?]
