THDR 59

Chapter 59

Vroooom.
With a loud roar, a silver truck kicked up clouds of dust as it sped along.

The old-model 903 truck, designed for dungeons, had several times more power than a regular truck. Its tires could adapt to different road conditions, letting it navigate even the roughest terrain with ease.

Shin Chae-young, pressing the accelerator joyfully through the dungeon area, felt a rare sense of freedom.
“Nice.”

Like most Awakened, she didn’t particularly enjoy entering dungeons unless it was work-related. Healers, especially, used their skills to treat the injured, which meant they had little reason to enjoy dungeon trips.

But Shin Chae-young enjoyed being in the dungeon even when she wasn’t working.
Her cynical, end-of-the-world outlook made her appreciate the desolate, ruined atmosphere of the dungeon.

Riiing.
Her phone, strapped to her arm, rang. It was Chohong.

Chae-young. There’s an injury report.

Stopping the truck, she looked at the screen, where a red dot blinked on the map.
“Stadium Dungeon, huh.”

Yes, that’s right.
“Perfect. I’m nearby, so I’ll be there soon.”

Pressing the accelerator again, she turned the wheel sharply.

The D-rank dungeon, Stadium.
Unlike typical dungeons, both its interior and exterior were modeled to mimic modern architecture. Shin Chae-young stared at the approaching stadium building. If it weren’t for the scattered, glowing orange seeds throughout the structure, she might not have noticed any difference from a regular city building.

Screech.
Stopping the truck in front of the Stadium Dungeon, she spoke to the screen attached to her arm.
“There’s no one here.”

Really? Maybe they went back inside the dungeon?

Chae-young frowned at Chohong’s voice over the screen. Communication inside the dungeon was cut off, so rescue signals had to exit the dungeon to work.

There were only two scenarios where injured people might re-enter the dungeon: either they returned after requesting help to save their teammates, or a hidden monster suddenly appeared near the dungeon.

After a moment of thought, Chae-young said,
“I’ll go inside now.”

Wait. I’ll send Eunho immediately.
“That might take too long. It’s just a D-rank dungeon anyway.”
But it could be a hidden monster.
“In that case, I’ll exit and report immediately.”

Chohong hesitated for a moment on the screen but then nodded.

If it’s dangerous, get out immediately.
“Yes.”

Nodding, Shin Chae-young entered the dungeon without hesitation.

Inside the Stadium Dungeon, the orange stones—used like blocks—were scattered everywhere.
“This is where they mine bangbangstones.”

Bangbangstone is a unique dungeon material that can be powdered and used like cement. It has dozens of times the strength of normal cement, making it ideal for building houses or interior construction.

Screech.
Opening the large glass doors at the dungeon entrance, she saw a wide lobby with long corridors extending in all directions.

Carefully surveying her surroundings, Chae-young noticed a trail leading up to the second-floor stairs.
The streaks of blood and bodily fluids suggested someone had dragged an injured person.

Danger.
Her instincts screamed a warning.

In D-rank dungeons with low-level monsters, Awakened rarely die.
It must be a hidden monster.

Looking at the clock on her screen, Chae-young calculated,
Eunho should be here within ten minutes at most.

Resolved, she headed up the stairs. She could handle a monster around danger level 5,000 for ten minutes alone.

Boom!
In the distance, a loud explosion and dust clouds erupted down the hallway.
Rrrr!
“Retreat!”

Groans and screams echoed. Judging by the urgent voices, it seemed the Awakened team was fighting the monster.

Sssht.
Shin Chae-young ran forward, extending her wrist-mounted portable monomolecular cutter.
“…!”

Reaching the large second-floor lounge, she froze in shock.

A grotesque monster with a shark-like body and two legs was tearing into people.
Its reptilian skin glistened with sticky fluids, and its sharp teeth rotated like a chainsaw.

It was a hidden monster, the Landshark, danger level 9,500.

But Chae-young wasn’t just shocked by the Landshark.

Thud-thud-thud, rrrr, boom! Bang!
The six or so Awakened fighting it held modern weapons—machine guns and grenades.

“You’re crazy! Stop!”

Shin Chae-young shouted, drawing startled glances from the youthful Awakened. They all looked barely over twenty.

The Landshark changed its target, lunging at Chae-young with its enormous jaws.

Rrrrr.
The screeching teeth of the Landshark clashed with Chae-young’s monomolecular cutter. Sparks flew.

“Ugh!”
With all her strength, she pushed the Landshark back and swung the cutter like lightning.

Bright flashes followed, slicing through the Landshark’s body in an instant.

Ku-hu-hu.
But even the Landshark, struck by a cutter that could easily slice concrete, showed no sign of injury.

“L-let’s run!”

The young Awakened watching the fight abandoned her, fleeing upstairs.
“You’re not the target!”

Shouting, Chae-young saw them running without looking back.

Kahap!
Distracted, the Landshark snapped the monomolecular cutter from her hand, breaking it into two pieces with a crunch.

“Tch.”

Chae-young discarded the broken cutter and pulled out a black orb from her pocket.

A magical tool that could momentarily blind monsters—the Jet-Black Orb.

Puff! Black powder scattered, and the Landshark’s bloodshot eyes turned black.

Kuuu!
Blinded, the Landshark roared, thrashing wildly.

Taking advantage of the opening, Chae-young ran in the direction the fleeing Awakened had gone.

“Over here?”

Turning a long corridor corner, she saw doors leading to stairs. But the iron doors were locked, and terrified Awakened stood with guns aimed.

“Damn.”
“Ughhhh.”

They were crying and snotting, their lack of combat experience clear—some barely seemed Awakened at all.

“From the association?”
A young man with purple hair asked in a trembling voice.
“What about the others? You came alone?”
“You called the medical team, didn’t you?”
“What?”
“I said, you sent a medical team call.”

The young man’s eyes widened.
“So… you came alone?”
“Yes.”
“You idiot! You sent a rescue signal, then climbed in here by yourself?!”

The young man had pressed the medical call button instead of the rescue request while panicking from the Landshark.

Watching him rant, Chae-young realized something.
“You’re not Awakened, are you?”

They clumsily held their guns and wore ill-fitting nano suits unsuitable for combat.

“What? We’re all Grade-4 Awakened!”
“Grade-4? With those guns?”
“These are dungeon guns summoned with an S-rank summoning skill!”

Chae-young chuckled.
“Tanking nano suits for Awakened with hardening skills?”
“Well, the functions are similar anyway.”
Sigh.

She gave a weary look.
“So, these rich kids sneaked into a dungeon and tried fighting illegally.”

The young man bristled.
“What do you know about being rich?”

Chae-young’s eyes narrowed.
“Some things money can’t buy. How did you get in here? Even Awakened phones require identity verification.”

“Hmph, what would a pauper like you know?”

Even facing death, arrogance shone in his eyes.
“Everything’s sold on the black market. Even fake ID phones.”
“The black market?”
“Yeah. Do you know how much an Awakened phone costs? Over twenty million won.”

Chae-young’s eyes narrowed. She knew forbidden artifacts were traded, but fake Awakened IDs too?
Something’s off.

Suddenly, she questioned Director Kim Su-woong’s strange instructions. Could he have known about incidents inside the dungeon in advance?

“Even if you’re not Awakened, don’t you know guns shouldn’t be used in dungeons?”

The young man smiled sardonically.
“These are S-rank summoned dungeon guns!”
“What?”
“They’re sold on the black market. Dungeon guns too.”

Chae-young’s eyes narrowed. An S-rank summoner selling weapons on the black market? Impossible.

“Even if that’s true, you can’t use those guns.”
“What? Nonsense!”
“You need at least an F-rank weapon summoning skill to use summoned weapons. Plus…”

She gave the gun in his hands a cold glare.
“It’s a normal rifle. That’s why the hidden monster appeared.”

“What…? That’s impossible!”

Rrrr.
The Landshark’s roar came from afar, approaching fast—tracking them precisely.

I can’t face it head-on.

Scanning the area, Chae-young kicked open a locked door.
Bang! The metal door collapsed, revealing a dark corridor lined with bricks.

Torches lit the walls, and the air was damp.
Was this here in the Stadium Dungeon?

The long ancient corridor resembled a secret passage to a medieval underground plaza.

“It’s blocked!”

The fleeing Awakened soon found a wide open space, like a small colosseum, surrounded on all sides with no escape.

Chae-young struck the wall with all her might, but the metal structure didn’t budge.
“Damn it, no exit!”

Shivering in fear, the young group faced imminent death, expecting the Landshark to tear them apart.

“Wait.”