TRHSOS 23

Chapter 23

“Kyaaaah!”

So this is what it meant when Becca said she could create a dungeon?

Yeah, I get it. A Dungeon Break has to happen at least for the balcony to have been blown away—that explains it.

Rubbing my eyes with my hands, I checked the message in the window once more.

[!!WARNING!! A Dungeon Break is occurring. <Grade: SS>]

Even after rubbing my eyes, it was still an SS grade.

“Becca, if you can create a dungeon, shouldn’t it also be possible to adjust the difficulty so it’s easy to clear?”

[‘Master of the Tower’ says, “Difficulty adjustment is possible.”]

But then… why is the dungeon graded SS?

[‘Master of the Tower’ swishes its tail like a cat waiting for praise, saying, “So I prepared it at a playground level.”]

“How on earth can an SS-grade dungeon be considered a playground? Right now, the top-ranked hunter is only S!”

[‘Master of the Tower’ looks shocked. “How can the number one be only an S-ranked hunter?” and laments that the world is in its end times.]

“The world has already been in the end times since the very first Dungeon Break happened on Earth!”

The pupils of Park Si-woo, looking at me, trembled nervously.

I’d never seen his face go that pale before.

It was a rare sight for me.

Since the day my parents went missing, Park Si-woo had never shown a truly vulnerable side in front of me.

“Park Si-woo, your expression is hilarious right now.”

Honestly, I wasn’t in a rush.

After all, Becca was the one who created this Dungeon Break.

As long as the Mark of the Sea Spirit is on me, he won’t let me die.

I could enter the dungeon quietly, try to activate the Mark, and if it still didn’t work, I could try pestering the constellations later.

For all of this to work, I had to enter the dungeon alone.

If I revealed the Mark in front of anyone, my existence would be exposed to the world.

[!!WARNING!! You will soon be swept into the dungeon by the Dungeon Break. <Time remaining: 2 seconds>]

Just two more seconds…

“Damn it! Park Su-on! Wait!”

Park Si-woo, who had been quietly stepping back in the darkness while keeping his face visible, suddenly started rushing toward me.

What the…?

He’s definitely charging straight at me.

No way he’s planning to jump into the Dungeon Break with me, right?

That can’t happen!

If Park Si-woo comes, all my plans will be ruined.

I might have to take the harder path instead of the easy one.

And most importantly, Park Si-woo could get hurt.

“Park Si-woo! Don’t come! Stay back!”

“Unni!”

“I’m coming too!”

As Park Si-woo took the lead, Ji-ho and a man with a familiar, gentle voice simultaneously leapt forward behind him.

Why is everyone acting like this? Really!

“Stay back! This is an SS-grade Dungeon Break! If you come here, you’ll all die! Dammit!”

[Matches the code for ‘Hot Spring Master Key (EX)’.]
[Cannot move to hidden field ‘Hot Spring (EX)’ from this location.]

Even in the desperate moment, my Master Key worked as expected. Despite my warnings, the three men, as if on cue, leapt boldly into the Dungeon Break.

“Can’t leave unni behind! If we die, we die together!”

Ji-ho clutched me tightly, shouting desperately.

I don’t want to die!

At the same moment, the remaining time reached zero.

[Moving to Dungeon Break <Grade: SS>.]

“Ow… ow…”

Swept into the Dungeon Break, I stood up, rubbing my rear where I’d hit the tile floor that looked like it belonged in a bathhouse.

“Hyun Jeong-woo, open the portal first.”

Even though we’d been swept into the Dungeon Break suddenly, Park Si-woo calmly gave instructions.

Following his command, a man with gentle light-brown eyes spread his hands in the air and attempted something.

So that’s Hyun Jeong-woo.

I had heard a lot about him from Park Si-woo and Ji-ho, but this was the first time I was seeing his face.

I guess there’s a reason people say S-ranked hunters can be recognized by their faces.

Hyun Jeong-woo had a neat, puppy-like face, but with a gentle demeanor like a small Maltese puppy.

“As expected, it says this is an area where portals can’t be created. Even though my skill is S-ranked, it doesn’t work in an SS-grade dungeon.”

Jeong-woo ruffled his hair apologetically and smiled at Park Si-woo.

And that gentle voice… I recognized it.

It was the same voice that asked me if I was the hot spring owner on the 46th floor.

So the person who begged for curses on the hunter forum… is this man?

His face didn’t match the ridiculous, cringey post at all.

“If we can’t create a portal here, does that mean we can only leave this dungeon by defeating the SS-grade final boss?”

Park Si-woo sighed deeply, looking troubled.

See? Things just got harder!

Handling my body alone was already overwhelming, and now there are three extra people added to the burden.

“I told you not to come! What did you expect, just blindly following me in?”

I shouted at Park Si-woo, frustrated at him for leading this mess.

“So I should just leave you alone to fall into an unknown place and die?”

“Yes. If I had done that, at least three people would have survived. Did you think you’d say thank you for me going to hell with you?”

“Park Su-on, don’t talk nonsense.”

Silently listening to me, Park Si-woo grabbed my shoulders, growling in anger.

Even though he was angry, I knew exactly what his intention was.

He must have feared losing me helplessly, like my parents, as I was swept into the Dungeon Break.

But because of that, everyone was put in danger. It wasn’t exactly the right choice.

“You can’t die until you pay back all the money I lent you.”

Park Si-woo’s words shattered my composure.

[Constellation ‘Do You Believe in Luck?’ laughs, holding its stomach, saying, “Isn’t this like a loan shark level?”]

Was that the purpose?

“I’ve received allowance before, but I’ve never borrowed money.”

“I’ve never given you allowance. The bank records show everything.”

No wonder he said he’d throw huge sums at me.

Still, making a jobless younger brother pay back all the money he took… that’s petty.

“So, just survive.”

“Do I get to count that as allowance?”

“Yes. So just survive no matter what.”

Surprisingly, Park Si-woo obediently went along with my trick.

This must be his way of showing that he doesn’t want to lose another family member either.

Well, if he’s offering to clear my debt, I have to survive, right?

Not that I ever thought of dying in the first place.

“Right now, only I and hyung can handle the SS-grade boss. Can we actually clear it?”

“If we’re going to die either way, we might as well try.”

At Ji-ho’s worried question, Park Si-woo took the lead as if there was nothing to think about.

Even though Hyun Jeong-woo is an S-ranked hunter, his only skill is opening portals. The boss fight will be handled by the two of us.

If needed, I can use the Mark later. We’ll figure that out when the time comes.

Following Park Si-woo across the tiled floor, empty bath areas appeared on either side.

[Entering dungeon field: ‘Withered Bathhouse’.]
[Dormant beings awaken due to suspicious movements.]

Something bounced up, and a yellow object hopped toward us.

“Ji-ho, get ready. Park Su-on, stay behind me.”

I didn’t trust it, but I followed his instructions.

“Hyung, what about me?”

“Survive on your own.”

“Guild leader, that’s cold.”

Denied by Park Si-woo, Hyun Jeong-woo cried a little, standing beside Ji-ho and watching the object.

“Quack!”

But… that yellow object looked exactly like a duck toy?

“What? Is that a toy duck?”

I wasn’t the only one who thought so. Jeong-woo approached the duck, fearless despite its size.

“When I was a kid, I used to float one of these in the bathtub while bathing. Cute!”

He reached out to pat the duck toy’s head.

“KYAAAAAH!”

The duck screamed as if its ears were being torn apart.

[If you are within the attack range of ‘Twisted Mood Toy Duck (S)’, you take eardrum-terror damage.]

“Ah!”

Caught off guard, Jeong-woo staggered like a paper doll and collapsed.

No matter how strong an S-ranked duck toy is, an S-ranked hunter shouldn’t be defeated so easily!

“Hyung, are you okay?”

Ji-ho used his giant staff with a cube to create a shield and helped Jeong-woo up.

Seizing the moment, Park Si-woo froze the duck and smashed it instantly.

Nice! Park Si-woo!

He’s actually reliable.

“Is it over now?”

Just as I was relieved by my partner’s unexpectedly good skill, something stirred in the darkness across from us.

It felt as if countless eyes were watching us.

[!!WARNING!! ‘Twisted Mood Toy Duck (S)’ begins to rage, angered by the death of its ally.]

With the warning message, a flood of red-eyed duck toys poured out like a waterfall from the darkness.