Dungeon & Commander

Dungeon & Commander – 22

“So, this was your plan all along,” Yoo Min-jung said.

“Bingo. Honestly, I didn’t expect it to be you. You can’t imagine how happy I was. Today, I finally get to repay the humiliation from the past. Don’t be too disappointed. We lost a dealer, and you lost a buffer. Being Yoo Wan-seop’s daughter, you can probably take down monsters with one arm, right?”

An Seong-ho smirked as he spoke, retreating while maintaining the barrier.

Yoo Min-jung glared and tried to follow, but soon had to stop. The poison was stronger than expected, and moving too much would spread it throughout her body.

Panting, Yoo Min-jung mustered her magic to create a sphere of light in the air.

An Seong-ho’s team disappeared into the darkness.

Yoo Min-jung collapsed to the ground.

Choi Moo-hyun quickly set up a barrier around her.

Kim Joon dragged the dealer with broken arms and legs over to them.

“…What are you doing?” Choi Moo-hyun asked, his voice tinged with sorrow.

The dealer was incapacitated by poison, and the buffer was dead. They had no way to detect approaching monsters or defend against attacks, let alone kill them.

“The test isn’t over yet,” Kim Joon said firmly.

Yoo Min-jung, inspecting her blackened left arm, looked up at Kim Joon. Sometimes, she envied his ironclad resolve.

How could he remain so calm? Was it because he was a carrier? Did he not understand the pride of being a raider? Did he have nothing to lose?

Kim Joon extended his hands forward.

“Huh?”

In his hands was a shimmering stone that changed colors constantly.

“It’s an Owacum,” Choi Moo-hyun recognized it.

Kim Joon knew the carrier had deliberately left the Owacum behind, but with the dealer from the opposing team still conscious despite his injuries, he couldn’t reveal the truth.

“They must have dropped it.”

“They didn’t have time to take it,” Choi Moo-hyun nodded.

Kim Joon knocked out the opposing team’s dealer with a punch to the jaw, then sat in front of Yoo Min-jung, holding the Owacum.

“Try it.”

“…What?”

“You know that Owacum is a raw material for awakening enhancers. That means it’s also a raw material for recovery and healing potions. Sure, there might be side effects. But we’re inside a simulator, right?”

“……”

Yoo Min-jung glared at Kim Joon.

In reality, it would be a gamble, but here, it was a reasonable suggestion.

Why hadn’t she thought of this?

She wondered what Kim Joon was seeing right now. Somehow, it felt like he was observing something different, broader, and much deeper.

‘I want to have that kind of perspective too.’

Having made up her mind, Yoo Min-jung pulled out the dagger from her waist and scraped the surface of the Owacum.

The fragments that fell off the Owacum changed colors over time. Yoo Min-jung put them in her mouth and waited for the effects.

Meanwhile, Kim Joon stripped the unconscious dealer of his clothes, taking essential items like the dagger and bandages. He left only the crucial parts covered.

Choi Moo-hyun watched Kim Joon with curiosity.

Sitting down, Kim Joon used the dealer’s clothes to fashion a makeshift bag capable of holding several cores. He placed the Owacum in the improvised bag and slung it over his shoulder.

Even after jumping a few times, the Owacum stayed secure in the bag. It was a makeshift solution, but it seemed to work well enough.

Choi Moo-hyun was impressed.

“I need you to do something,” Kim Joon said, standing in front of Choi Moo-hyun.

“What is it?”

Kim Joon whispered something, causing Choi Moo-hyun’s eyes to widen.

After a moment, Choi Moo-hyun slowly nodded.

Following Kim Joon’s request, Choi Moo-hyun woke the opposing dealer with a few slaps infused with emotion.

Kim Joon sat a bit away, scraping the surface of the Owacum with a knife. He put the sparkling core fragments into a separate pouch.

‘You never know what might happen.’

Kim Joon glanced at the dealer. The dealer looked visibly confused.

In this simulation, there was no way out except death. Since it was an official test, the disconnect option was disabled.

The dealer opened his eyes. Seeing Choi Moo-hyun, he trembled, realizing his clothes were gone.

“W-what’s going on?”

“Name.”

“Name?”

“I asked for your name.”

Choi Moo-hyun slapped the dealer’s cheek. Fear filled the dealer’s eyes as his head whipped to the side.

“…Baek Seung-tae. I-I didn’t have any personal grudge. We just thought we couldn’t pass the test on our own… so we came up with that plan.”

“I don’t have any personal grudge either.”

Choi Moo-hyun grinned.

After a few more threats, Baek Seung-tae became compliant and answered all their questions.

Through Choi Moo-hyun, Kim Joon learned everything about Baek Seung-tae’s team, including their specialties and tendencies, even things that were hard to express in words.

After revealing everything, Baek Seung-tae was logged out by a punch from Choi Moo-hyun. He was dead.

Yoo Min-jung stood up.

“How are you feeling?”

Choi Moo-hyun rushed over.

Yoo Min-jung’s gaze was fixed on Kim Joon.

Kim Joon, having organized and secured Baek Seung-tae’s belongings, slowly walked towards Yoo Min-jung.

“You’re a genius,” Yoo Min-jung said.

Kim Joon was taken aback.

Choi Moo-hyun’s mouth fell open. He never expected such words from the prideful Yoo Min-jung.

“And it seems the heavens are on our side.”

Yoo Min-jung raised her arm. The blackened skin had turned white, fully healed.

“Wow!”

Choi Moo-hyun exclaimed in admiration.

“More importantly… after choosing between the buffer and dealer, I had completely lost the buffer’s unique sensing ability. But now, it’s back. I can sense everything happening around us. It’s like I’ve become a buffer.”

“It’s probably because of the Owacum,” Kim Joon said, his expression not particularly bright.

“What’s wrong?” Yoo Min-jung asked.

“There’s a high chance you’ve lost your dealer abilities.”

At his words, Yoo Min-jung attempted to conjure a fire arrow, but she felt her magic falter and break apart internally. It was like trying to light a match in the rain—she kept failing.

She was flustered. Eating the Owacum fragments had changed her from a dealer to a buffer.

“It’s temporary. We’re in a virtual space,” Kim Joon reassured her.

“So, we’ve lost a dealer but gained a buffer,” Choi Moo-hyun said.

“What should we do?” Yoo Min-jung set aside her pride as a team leader. Now wasn’t the time for such concerns.

“It’s time for the world’s first and strongest ‘dealer-tanker’ to step up,” Kim Joon said, smiling at Choi Moo-hyun. His gaze was filled with genuine expectation.

“Dealer-tanker?”

“A tank as powerful as a dealer.”

“……”

Choi Moo-hyun’s eyes glazed over.

Yoo Min-jung’s mouth fell open.

‘Wow, he’s really something.’

With just a few words, Kim Joon had boosted Choi Moo-hyun’s confidence to the max. It felt like a seasoned psychiatrist hypnotizing a patient.

Having seen Choi Moo-hyun’s Golden Fist in action, Yoo Min-jung knew he could fulfill the dealer role, but the problem was that Choi Moo-hyun was their only tank.

Since the dungeon first opened, raider attack styles had remained similar. Defense followed by attack was widely known as the most successful method.

The reason a dealer-tanker was practically difficult was that focusing on defense made it hard to immediately switch to offense. Most monsters exposed their weaknesses right after attacking.

For a tank to play the dealer role, another tank had to provide solid support.

Kim Joon looked at Yoo Min-jung, his eyes conveying that he was already aware of this issue.

“Do you have a solution?”

“We have the universe’s strongest carrier here.”

“……”

Yoo Min-jung didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

====

***

====

The silent, tedious, and dangerous journey continued.

A refined voice broke the silence.

“How did you know?”

Yoo Min-jung, advancing slowly towards the darkness, turned her head slightly to ask Kim Joon beside her.

Hearing the question, Choi Moo-hyun, who was leading, turned to look at Yoo Min-jung.

“Sorry. I thought you were talking to me.”

He turned his attention back to the front.

“What?”

Kim Joon asked.

“You knew that the dealer in An Seong-ho’s team wasn’t actually injured, didn’t you?”

“Did you really know?”

Choi Moo-hyun turned back again, joining the conversation.

“Even though I carried him and walked fairly quickly, he didn’t groan once. I even ran, and it was the same. If his bones were broken or cracked, just being jostled would have caused unbearable pain,” Kim Joon explained.

Choi Moo-hyun and Yoo Min-jung exchanged glances.

Listening to the explanation, it seemed like a basic deduction based on obvious facts, but it had proven accurate.

When An Seong-ho attacked, Choi Moo-hyun hadn’t seen it because he was blocking, but Yoo Min-jung had caught a glimpse of what happened beyond. The dealer, who was being carried, had indeed tried to kill Kim Joon.

Kim Joon, having anticipated this, had thrown the dealer down in a judo-like move, amplifying the impact by throwing himself on top of the dealer. As a result, the dealer’s arms and legs were broken.

If Kim Joon had been caught off guard… they would have all been killed on the spot, and the test would have ended.

A patient who doesn’t groan.

This single suspicious fact had saved the team.

Yoo Min-jung almost asked why he hadn’t informed them but stopped herself. If they had shown any sign of knowing, the attack would have started immediately.

Kim Joon’s actions were the best course.

‘What is this guy, really?’ Yoo Min-jung glanced at Kim Joon.

At that moment, she sensed movement ahead. Without specialized training as a buffer, it was hard to accurately identify the type or distance of the monster.

“Something is approaching from the one o’clock direction.”

“Raider team? Monster?” Kim Joon asked.

“Judging by the speed, it’s a monster.”

“How many?”

“One.”

Yoo Min-jung looked at Kim Joon. While Choi Moo-hyun could fend off a monster a couple of times, he couldn’t exploit an opening to finish it off.

“Can you cast a help spell?” Kim Joon asked.

“Probably.”

Help was a basic spell for buffers. With Yoo Min-jung’s level 6 dealer mage skills and sense, it was certainly possible.

“Support the tank.”

“…What are you planning?”

“Lure it.”

Kim Joon set down the makeshift bag he had crafted from the leather clothes and loosened his ankles on the spot.

She remembered the first time she saw Kim Joon in the dungeon.

The scene where, as a carrier, he had run into the darkness to attract the monster’s attention and lead it back… it had haunted her dreams for a while.

It seemed Kim Joon intended to use a similar tactic to lure the monster here.

With a sigh, Yoo Min-jung cast Speed Up twice in quick succession. The two buffs seeped into Kim Joon’s body.

“Wow, I feel really light.”

“Be careful.”

Yoo Min-jung created a sphere of light to follow Kim Joon’s movements.

“Once you’re ready, shoot up a flare in about five minutes. I’ll come back then, so finish it in one strike.”

Kim Joon looked at the tank.

“Okay.”

Choi Moo-hyun nodded.

Kim Joon sprinted into the darkness.

The sphere of light attached by Yoo Min-jung followed Kim Joon, but it only pushed back the darkness within a radius of about 5 meters.

Running at high speed with a 5-meter radius of visibility felt like a monster with sharp claws and a gaping maw was waiting just beyond the edge.

His body and muscles felt like they were freezing with fear.

“Huuh.”

Kim Joon exhaled deeply to expel his emotions.

If they didn’t pass this test, the guild house would be in trouble.

If Guild Master Go Chul-min, who had been drowning his time in alcohol, collapsed again, they might not be able to get him back on his feet.

What would happen if Uramata closed its doors? They would scatter in all directions.

Most importantly, while he could join another guild as a carrier, he wouldn’t be as recognized as he was here.

Having meticulously watched and analyzed over seven hundred videos, Kim Joon knew better than anyone how much carriers were disregarded. Guilds like Uramata and masters like Go Chul-min were almost nonexistent.

‘I can’t let it end here.’

Kim Joon slowed down and stopped.

Standing alone in a space surrounded by darkness, fear washed over him. It felt like he could almost grasp it with his hands… fear that even had a form.

He felt vibrations from the ground.

The sound of something approaching from afar.

It was getting faster.

“Shall we run?”

The ferocious visage of the Wyresisaurus pierced through the darkness, and Kim Joon darted to the left.

Its claws narrowly missed his back.

The roar of the beast echoed in his ears.

He could feel the breath of the creature.

Thud, thud.

The footsteps grew closer.

The sensation of claws digging into his spine, severing it, played vividly in his mind. No, he could see that image in his head.

He couldn’t afford to lose here.

His legs pushed harder.

Even though his muscles screamed as if they were tearing apart, he ran even faster. The sound of claws slicing through the air grew slightly distant.

‘Stay calm. Stay calm. The Wyresisaurus is good at straight-line attacks. It’s weak against zigzag movements.’

Kim Joon put strength into his ankles and changed direction.

The Wyresisaurus, charging with a roar, couldn’t control its momentum and tumbled to the ground but quickly got up and chased after him fiercely.

Whenever it seemed like he would be caught, Kim Joon changed direction to escape the danger.

Then, a flare exploded not far away. A red flower hung in the air.

‘They’re ready.’

Kim Joon mustered his strength and ran towards the flare.

He could hear the creature’s breathing behind him.

The sound of claws tearing at the ground.

The force of claws grasping at the air.

His thighs felt like they would burst.

His ankles twisted, ready to give out at any moment.

Finally, he saw Choi Moo-hyun in position.

Kim Joon gave his all to run forward, sliding between Choi Moo-hyun and Yoo Min-jung.

A golden aura erupted towards the charging Wyresisaurus.

Bang!

With immense force, the Wyresisaurus’s neck twisted 180 degrees, and it tumbled to the side. The monster, kicking up a cloud of dust, convulsed a few times before going limp.

Panting heavily, Kim Joon got up and walked towards the Wyresisaurus, then collapsed.

Yoo Min-jung ran over.

“Stay down.”

She placed her hands on his chest and cast a healing spell.

The energy slowly seeped into Kim Joon’s body.

Choi Moo-hyun, who had killed the Wyresisaurus with one blow from his Golden Fist, dragged his heavy body towards the creature to ensure it was dead and began searching for the core.

Even after 30 minutes of searching, he couldn’t find the core.