Toward the End (8)
Myeong Si-yeong, who had been quietly observing the chaotic situation, frowned and spoke softly to Woo Jae-dam.
“Hyung, doesn’t that seem strange? It looks like it’s not in its right mind. Look at its eyes. It’s gone crazy.”
Woo Jae-dam nodded in response to Myeong Si-yeong’s words. One possibility for why the dungeon boss would act this way did cross his mind, but the person capable of such a thing didn’t exist on their team.
An S-rank mental Esper. Unless there was an S-rank mental Esper on the team, it would be impossible to control the mind of a dungeon boss-level monster with just the few A-rank mental Espers they had. Unless someone had deliberately concealed their rank. Of course, with the significant technological advances related to ability users nowadays, hiding one’s rank was impossible.
Moreover, even the idea that an S-rank Esper could control a dungeon boss’s mind was just Woo Jae-dam’s personal hypothesis; it wasn’t certain whether this was actually possible in reality.
Was the dungeon boss’s mind really disturbed, as Myeong Si-yeong suggested? If so, why was the dungeon boss behaving strangely only today, when this had never happened before? Did it have some correlation with the emergence of the S-rank dungeon? But if such unusual circumstances existed, the Ability Department would surely have informed them during their first meeting.
His thoughts continued to branch out. However, there was no time to keep pondering alone. No matter what strange events were occurring, Woo Jae-dam was the leader of the team conquering this dungeon, and a leader had to guide the team. He needed to make swift and accurate decisions to prevent his team members from becoming anxious.
Even if there was only one option known to everyone.
Woo Jae-dam called out to the team members who were approaching the dungeon boss.
“Everyone, step back.”
At Woo Jae-dam’s warning, the team members who had been approaching the dungeon boss hesitantly retreated. A dungeon boss-level monster would have enough intelligence to assess the situation. And that intelligence varied greatly depending on the dungeon’s rank. This opponent was the boss of a dungeon with increased difficulty compared to the usual A-rank dungeons.
It must be acting so docile because it had some scheme or target in mind.
The monster’s vertically elongated pupils scanned the conquest team. It swayed its body from side to side while lying down. As if it might roll over and put its back on the ground at any moment. Woo Jae-dam grew anxious at the thought of what might happen if the monster’s back, with its sulfur gas-spewing crater, touched the ground.
Just as Woo Jae-dam was about to open his mouth to give instructions to the Espers, the monster’s pupils, which had been rolling around, seemed to loosen, and then with a loud “thud,” its body collapsed limply to the ground.
The pupils of the Espers who witnessed this unbelievable scene up close dilated widely. They stared blankly at the monster and then spoke with bewilderment.
“…Huh?”
“What’s this? Is it… dead?”
“H-hey… we didn’t do anything, how could a perfectly healthy dungeon boss just die?”
“…No, what’s going on here? The dungeon boss died without us even touching it? Why suddenly?”
The Espers were clearly flustered. The same was true for Woo Jae-dam, Myeong Si-yeong, and Sa Hae-geon. Especially Myeong Si-yeong, who muttered in disbelief while using his shadow to probe various parts of the collapsed monster’s body. In response, the monster’s body trembled briefly before going limp again.
Soon, Myeong Si-yeong’s voice, filled with astonishment, was heard.
“…T-this is impossible. It’s really dead?”
How could a dungeon boss that had been perfectly fine until just a moment ago die without any warning? Is this even possible? Despite his young age and relatively short career, Myeong Si-yeong had accumulated considerable experience as an Esper going through dungeons, and he simply couldn’t accept the current situation. While conquering a dungeon without much effort was certainly a good thing, that wasn’t all there was to it.
He was unbearably concerned about how this variable might affect future dungeons and whether it might trigger other variables. Regardless of his concerns, the other Espers made carefree comments.
“…Well, it’s surprising, but isn’t this good for us?”
“R-right. We were worried because the difficulty was high, but we’ve essentially conquered it without major losses. That’s fortunate, isn’t it?”
“But what happens to our achievements? The dungeon boss just died on its own. And what are we supposed to explain to the outside…”
“Is there anything special to explain? This is a first for us too, won’t the Ability Department or the Dungeon Research Institute investigate it themselves?”
Myeong Si-yeong’s eyes hardened as he looked at the Espers.
“Your way of thinking is so simple, must be nice to live that way. How can you say it’s fortunate in such a serious situation?”
“What? No, what’s so serious? Nothing’s gone wrong…”
“Haven’t you heard the saying ‘don’t look at the tree, look at the forest’? What if what just happened has a butterfly effect? What if the dungeon boss’s power is absorbed by the energy of the S-rank dungeon that’s about to break out!”
“Ah, come on. Why are you thinking so complicatedly? Can’t we just be happy about it and move on?”
As Myeong Si-yeong clenched his fist and fumed at one Esper’s words, Woo Jae-dam stepped forward as if to mediate.
“Both of you, stop. Even though Si-yeong spoke aggressively, his opinion isn’t wrong. This isn’t a normal situation.”
“Even so, investigating and figuring it out isn’t our responsibility, is it? Why take it out on innocent people, really…”
“What did you say? That’s because you all…!”
“Stop it, Si-yeong.”
When Woo Jae-dam restrained him in a low tone, Myeong Si-yeong hesitated and then turned his head sharply.
“Esper Yang Dong-jae, was it? As Esper Yang Dong-jae said, investigating this matter isn’t our responsibility. But we should maintain a sense of vigilance. Not feel at ease.”
Woo Jae-dam sighed as he said this.
“Let’s head back to the base camp for now. Continuing to discuss here won’t lead to any conclusions, and it might be better to quickly hand this over to the Ability Department and the Dungeon Research Institute. Also, we need to check if other teams have experienced the same thing we have.”
As Woo Jae-dam, who had clearly summarized the situation, walked past the corpse of the dungeon boss, the conquest team, watching for cues, began to move after him. Left alone, Myeong Si-yeong alternately looked at the dungeon boss and the back of Woo Jae-dam’s head before belatedly joining the group.
Sa Hae-geon’s face looked troubled as he walked. Lee Cheol-min, walking beside him, nudged his shoulder and spoke.
“Hey, Sa Hae-geon.”
“Yes.”
“Let’s meet up later for a bit.”
“When exactly do you mean by ‘later’?”
“When else? After the conquest, outside. With Guide Do-min too.”
“…Why hyung?”
At Sa Hae-geon’s lukewarm response, Lee Cheol-min answered with an exasperated expression.
“You really… Are you afraid I’m going to eat Guide Do-min? Why do you have such strange worries about me? I’m just suggesting we have a drink together as a wrap-up. Can’t you tell?”
“A drink?”
“Yes. Even though the situation is like this, shouldn’t we have some time to catch our breath over a drink?”
“But with only a few days left until the S-rank dungeon, is that okay?”
“You’re so rigid. Sa Hae-geon, it seems you don’t know much about the ways of the world yet. Normally, before a major event, people have a drink to relieve tension. Anyway, ask Guide Do-min. He’ll probably like it. And besides drinking, I have some things to discuss.”
Since Lee Cheol-min’s last words seemed quite significant, Sa Hae-geon suppressed his desire to express dissatisfaction. When they arrived at the base camp, the Espers and Guides who had been guarding it rushed out to welcome the conquest team.
“Everyone worked hard! How are you feeling?”
“We were worried. Are you all okay? The boss was moving around, did anything happen?”
“Oh my, look at your faces. You’re completely exhausted.”
The Espers, who had been staring blankly at the hands offering high-calorie rice balls, energy bars, and ion drinks, were silent for a moment before breaking into broad smiles.
“…Ah, don’t even mention it!”
It was because of the deep relief that, although it might not have been a satisfying victory, they had completed this conquest with their bodies intact. Sa Hae-geon also walked, almost running, to Chae Do-min, who was looking at him with concern. He embraced Chae Do-min, who was silently gazing at his face, and whispered.
“I’m back.”
“…Welcome back, Hae-geon.”
Sa Hae-geon wanted to devour Chae Do-min’s lips, which were releasing a soft voice, right away, but remembering that they were still inside the dungeon, he held back. Instead, he relayed Lee Cheol-min’s invitation.
“Esper Lee Cheol-min suggested we meet outside the dungeon.”
“Outside?”
“Yes. He said we should have a drink and talk.”
“…Hmm, alright. Let’s do that.”
Chae Do-min, who had been considering briefly, soon gave a positive answer. Sa Hae-geon, who had secretly hoped he would decline, muttered that if hyung was okay with it, he was too, but as if acting petulantly, he deliberately tightened his arms around Chae Do-min.
“…Ugh. Hae-geon, it hurts.”
Though a pained sound came from Chae Do-min, Sa Hae-geon pretended not to hear it.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
