Dungeon & Commander

Dungeon & Commander – 23

“Feeling better now,” Kim Joon said as he stood up. He walked over to Choi Moo-hyun, who was covered in blood, and reached into the monster’s innards to pull out the core like picking fruit. The core was also smeared with blood.

Choi Moo-hyun shook his head and then collapsed.

Kim Joon gestured towards Choi Moo-hyun with his eyes. Yoo Min-jung went over to him and began healing.

As Kim Joon placed the Wyresisaurus core into the leather bag, the reality of their success hit him.

Unconsciously, he clenched his fist and let out a victorious roar.

Choi Moo-hyun and Yoo Min-jung looked at him.

“That guy seems really happy,” Choi Moo-hyun said.

“You did very well,” Yoo Min-jung whispered.

“Really?”

“You were the best.”

With that, Yoo Min-jung walked over to Kim Joon.

They had secured two cores so far. This meant Kim Joon would have to lure another monster. To perform such a crazy task again, he needed to be in better shape.

Mission: First Test

Lee Do lay down with his arm as a pillow, staring up at the pitch-black sky.

This was a virtual space, so naturally, the sky above wasn’t a real night sky. Yet, why did he hope to see stars twinkling?

Suddenly, the thought grew: why shouldn’t he hope?

“Jun-hyun,” he called.

“Yes,” answered Kang Jun-hyun, who was sitting nearby.

“Can we see some stars?”

“…Excuse me?”

“Stars like the Milky Way. It’s just so dark, it’s a bit boring. Please?”

Kang Jun-hyun, flustered, looked around for help, but no one met his gaze.

After pondering alone, he modified a signal flare spell and shot it into the sky. It exploded magnificently but didn’t twinkle like stars.

“I guess that’s all you can do. I shouldn’t have asked,” Lee Do said, causing Kang Jun-hyun to blush and lower his head.

Carrier Goo Yeon-soo, who had been staring into the darkness beyond the light, looked at Lee Do.

“At this rate, we might run out of huntable monsters.”

At those words, Lee Do, who had been lying down with his arm as a pillow, sat up and glanced at Kim Soo-nam.

Kim Soo-nam approached like the wind and stabbed a dagger into the chest of the carrier. The carrier, shocked, had a flicker of fear in his eyes. As the carrier died, the body slowly disappeared.

Despite the team leader killing a team member, there was no disturbance. To them, the carrier was not considered a team member.

Kim Soo-nam spoke up.

“Today, we are not hunting monsters but hunting teams. There are 32 teams participating in the first test. Only seven teams will remain.”

Some team members quickly understood the explanation, while others tilted their heads and frowned. Kang Jun-hyun, who had failed to meet Lee Do’s expectations, was among the latter.

“Senior, what do you mean?” Kang Jun-hyun whispered to Park Min-woo.

Park Min-woo was a level 7 buffer with the light attribute, known as BL7.

“You idiot, the Dungeon Association requested the Blade Guild to reduce the number of teams participating in the second test.”

“Why?

“…”

Park Min-woo gave the junior buffer a light knock on the head.

“Buffer, identify the direction and location of the nearest prey,” Kim Soo-nam said.

Nodding, Park Min-woo sat cross-legged on the ground and focused his mind.

By reshaping his circular sensing ability into a long staff, its range increased nearly tenfold. He could scan over 500 meters like a radar.

By narrowing the width of the staff, he could extend the range up to 1 kilometer—a skill Park Min-woo had developed himself.

“At 7 o’clock direction, 850 meters away, a raider team detected,” Park Min-woo said slowly, his face pale from the exertion of releasing so much magic at once.

“Good.”

Kim Soo-nam looked at Lee Do.

Lee Do, who had been bored to death, now had eyes sparkling with excitement. Although it was a shame this was a virtual space, he could still feel the “thrill of the hunt.”

“Let’s go.”

Lee Do started first.

Kim Soo-nam followed.

It was an attack by just the two dealers. The slower tank and buffer stayed behind.

They didn’t light up the surroundings. Such an act would be like shouting to the enemy to prepare for their approach.

Instead, Lee Do released dark magic like a mist, forming a rounded barrier ahead. This was to prevent the enemy buffer from detecting them.

It was by chance that Lee Do discovered that maintaining the dark magic in a streamlined shape like a fighter jet cockpit could deceive the buffer’s sensing ability. He called this skill “Dark Stealth.”

The team, resting after catching three monsters in a row, had no way to stop Lee Do and Kim Soo-nam, who suddenly charged through the darkness.

Lee Do swung a black sword forged from deathly magic. Kim Soo-nam created thin but strong vines that strangled the raiders.

Heads were severed.

Some raiders were quartered by the vines pulling from all directions.

Only the team leader remained.

“Attacking us! I’ll lodge an official complaint!”

“Go ahead.”

“…What?”

“But how will you prove it? Whether you were attacked by monsters or not. Do you think the Dungeon Association will obediently give you the simulation footage? The test environment itself is confidential. As a team leader, you should know that.”

The team leader slowly opened his mouth, realizing that the Dungeon Association was behind this.

Without evidence, no one would believe that a team from the Brave Guild had attacked them.

“Why are you doing this?”

“The reason is simple. Your level is too low. Way too low.”

At Kim Soo-nam’s signal, roots burst from the ground, wrapping around the team leader and dragging him down.

Bones broke, muscles tore, and the team leader disappeared into the earth.

“This is a complete waste of time,” Lee Do said.

“That’s why I told you there was no need to follow.”

“Did you?”

“You came because of that kid, didn’t you?”

“…That kid?

“Yoo Min-jung,” Kim Soo-nam said.

“Team Leader is really smart. He can see right through people. My brother will like him a lot,” Lee Do said, brightening Kim Soo-nam’s face.

The reason Lee Do usually accepted the Team Leader’s opinions was to get closer to the strongest raider, Lee Hwan.

“Really?”

“But be careful. My brother doesn’t keep people who try to look into his mind close. Actually, neither do I.”

“I see.”

Like brother, like younger brother.

Kim Soo-nam knew there was only one way to make up for today’s mistake. He had to find Yoo Min-jung’s team. If he could destroy that team and give Yoo Min-jung an unforgettable memory, Lee Do would be pleased.

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***

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Dozens of 30-centimeter-long spikes flew from behind, narrowly missing Kim Joon as he sprinted.

Tap, tap, tap. As Kim Joon weaved through the spikes embedded deeply in the ground, a monster resembling a Triceratops broke the spikes and chased him fiercely.

The monster’s body was covered in sharp spikes, and as its back twitched, more spikes shot out, targeting Kim Joon.

“Aaah!”

His breath caught in his throat.

No matter how hard he breathed, it felt like his body and brain weren’t getting enough oxygen. Even though he knew this was a virtual space, the suffocating sensation was all too real.

Fortunately, a red light shot into the sky. It was the signal that Choi Moo-hyun was ready.

Kim Joon changed direction and ran, shouting.

A spike grazed his earlobe.

He had no time to worry about that. Using all his strength, Kim Joon ran towards Choi Moo-hyun, wanting to slide gracefully past Yoo Min-jung, but his legs gave out, and he stumbled.

Thud.

Kim Joon fell forward.

At that moment, Choi Moo-hyun’s Golden Fist was unleashed.

The golden aura extended forward, striking the neck of the spike-shooting monster, Stimulus.

Whether the strike was too weak or the monster’s reaction was too fast, the neck didn’t break completely. However, a long wound appeared between its chest and neck, and fluid began to flow out.

Yoo Min-jung, who was assisting Choi Moo-hyun, didn’t miss the opportunity and shot flames. Though not as powerful as the fire arrows she used as a dealer, the signal flare ignited the fluid, and the fire spread internally.

“…Good job,” Choi Moo-hyun said.

“Stimulus is weak to fire.”

Yoo Min-jung’s tone was nonchalant.

She approached the motionless Kim Joon and began healing him.

‘Hmm, could this combat style be used in real battles? It’s risky, but it seems too valuable to waste.’

If they could pour various buffs into his body to increase his defense and make him run twice as fast, most monsters would only be able to chase Kim Joon without touching a hair on his head.

If they could manage that, it would bring a significant change to the passive style of waiting for monsters to approach.

After killing the Stimulus, Choi Moo-hyun began searching for the core. This time, he managed to extract the dark green core in about 25 minutes, succeeding without Kim Joon’s help.

Choi Moo-hyun placed the core into the leather bag. They now had three cores.

At that moment, Kim Joon got up.

“Why?”

Yoo Min-jung felt she had caught a glimpse of fear on Kim Joon’s face.

She used her sensing ability to check. There was nothing. If a monster approached, he would notice immediately.

“…They’re coming. Tank, get ready!” Kim Joon shouted.

Choi Moo-hyun, startled, ran over, but two figures had already burst through the darkness.

Yoo Min-jung recognized Lee Do. Following him was the familiar face of Kim Soo-nam.

“There you are. We’ve been looking for you,” Lee Do said as he kicked Choi Moo-hyun in the chest.

Caught off guard by the internal energy-infused kick, Choi Moo-hyun was sent flying back seven meters.

Lee Do’s next target was the carrier, Kim Joon.

Thinking it would be easy, he thrust a black sword, forged from deathly magic, towards Kim Joon’s chest. However, Kim Joon staggered and dodged it, even moving forward and reaching out.

Thunk.

Lee Do looked at his shoulder in disbelief. A Stimulus spike, with its rippling surface, was embedded in his shoulder. Kim Joon had planted it there.

Lee Do swung his black sword.

Kim Joon retreated, but his chest was grazed. Judging that he had no chance in a direct confrontation, he withdrew into the darkness.

Kim Soo-nam, who had paralyzed Yoo Min-jung by pressing her pressure points, chased after Kim Joon instead of Lee Do. The darkness couldn’t stop him. But soon, he understood why Lee Do had been caught off guard.

‘This guy is really fast.’

It wasn’t just about running 100 meters in 11 or 10 seconds.

Whenever Kim Soo-nam thought he had him, Kim Joon would change direction. When he thought he had caught up, Kim Joon would adjust his speed, easily mocking his pursuer.

Even after circling several times, the distance neither shortened nor lengthened.

Kim Soo-nam realized that this arrogant carrier wasn’t running away because he was worried about his team members. He smiled inwardly.

‘You’re finished.’

Kim Soo-nam discreetly planted root traps in the ground as he ran.

Using his wood-based magic, the original purpose was to plant them like mines to slow down charging monsters.

As Kim Joon approached after a lap, the root traps activated, and vines sprang up, entangling his ankles and legs.

Kim Joon fell forward.

All the nearby root traps activated, surrounding Kim Joon.

“You bastard, finally caught you,” Kim Soo-nam panted.

In that moment, he decided how to deal with him.

At Kim Soo-nam’s command, the root traps dragged Kim Joon underground. The sound of bones breaking was music to his ears. The screams gradually faded away.

Lee Do approached. Yoo Min-jung and Choi Moo-hyun, bound like fish on a black rope, were dragged along.

“What? You didn’t kill them?”

“I couldn’t just kill them.”

Lee Do grinned at Yoo Min-jung.

“……”

Kim Soo-nam hesitated for a moment.

He could roughly imagine what Lee Do might do.

The problem was whether to allow it or stop it. No matter that Yoo Min-jung was the daughter of Yoo Wan-seop, a once-powerful figure who had lost his strength… crossing the line would be problematic.

There were more than a few raiders who trusted Yoo Wan-seop and would give their lives for him. If they touched Yoo Wan-seop’s daughter… neither Lee Do nor Kim Soo-nam would be safe.

“No matter how much she claims she was raped, this is a virtual space. Without evidence, who would believe her? And technically, it wouldn’t even be considered sexual assault, right?” Lee Do said.

Kim Soo-nam made a decision.

“Keep it reasonable.”

It was a vague statement that left room for interpretation.

Yoo Min-jung turned pale as she listened to their conversation.

====

***

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Darkness and pressure.

Horrible pain.

Yet, Kim Joon became even calmer.

Some people lose consciousness from pain, but for someone who had endured extreme mental anguish for a long time, pain was a stimulant.

Adrenaline began to flood his brain.

The roots constricting his body dug deeper. His oxygen-deprived body was reaching its limit. The energy from the black sword that had slashed his chest was attacking his heart.

There was no way to survive.

Even though it would only mean the end of the simulation, and thus failing the test, Kim Joon couldn’t accept this reality.

He had to do something.

Anything.

A brilliant-colored core flashed through his mind.

The Owacum that not only turned Yoo Min-jung from a dealer to a buffer but also expelled the poison that had blackened her forearm.

Kim Joon forced his eyes open. The torn pocket was right in front of him, and inside the open pocket were scattered, star-like fragments of Owacum.

He had a goal. He had to eat it. Something would happen if he did.

There was no method.

No, he had to create one.

Kim Joon screamed and put strength into his opposite shoulder. The roots on that side reacted by tightening fiercely, breaking his bones. This change in position caused the pocket to open wider, bringing it closer to his mouth.

Owacum powder spilled into his mouth.

Kim Joon gathered saliva and swallowed.

Cores found in dungeons were highly toxic to both awakened raiders and ordinary people.

Only after going through the processing procedures supervised by the Dungeon Association could they be used economically or medically. Depending on the type, raw cores could cause cancer just by touching the skin.

That’s why carriers who handled cores directly always wore specially treated gloves.

‘This is just training.’

Kim Joon swallowed more and more.

His stomach heated up.

His insides twisted.

It felt like his heart was going to explode.

As his consciousness began to fade, an explosion occurred inside his body.

It felt like the Big Bang that created the universe started from the center of his body.

His body shattered into pieces and then reassembled by a strange force, repeatedly.

The immense power released by the Owacum flowed out through his skin, dissolving the root traps.

The magic Kim Soo-nam had infused into the root traps was entirely absorbed by this power.

The deathly magic left by Lee Do’s black sword in Kim Joon’s chest was also swept away by this torrent of power.

A force that fiercely surged through his body!

A force that could shatter his body multiple times!

But the hidden power that healed his body was much stronger.

The power of the Lyposaurus, which had approached and licked his wounds as he was dying from the Nucleotaurus’s massive explosion!

It was the power of Lyphium.

Lyphium, which could even save a dying person.

The potential of Owacum, which absorbed Kim Soo-nam’s wood-based magic and Lee Do’s dark magic, melded perfectly with the power of Lyphium.

His wounds healed.

His bones realigned to their original positions.

Kim Joon frantically clawed at the earth, breaking through to the surface. Breathing in fresh air felt like salvation.