“Last check.”
“Oh, it’s already the third time, Vice Captain.”
“We can’t skip the final check. That’s the rule.”
“Y-Yes.”
I heard there’s been a trend recently of underestimating the Black Star Dungeon.
Heavens above, how many people are over there?
Eight?
Those bastards must be thinking the Black Star Dungeon is a joke or something!
No matter how experienced they are, you need at least one combat team of eight and two reserve teams to swap and fight properly.
With just one combat team, the moment one person slips, it’s like dominoes falling—mass murder is all but assured.
“Ah, damn it. That’s the standard that comes later.”
I mixed up the timelines.
The tactic of having two reserves happens much, much later.
That’s a strategy set after a lot more blood flows in the Black Star Dungeon.
So, rushing in like that…
“I can’t stop them.”
These guys won’t listen if I tell them to stop.
If they were the type to heed warnings about the danger of the Black Star Dungeon, they sure wouldn’t have taken a train all the way from the Southern Continent.
There’s only one way to stop them.
Reveal that I’m the Black Star Slayer and block them.
But even if I suddenly claim to be the Black Star Slayer, would they believe me…?
I mean, there’s just no answer to this.
“Let’s get ready! So far, it’s been just the mobs, but now it seems like the strong monsters are going to start appearing!”
“Yes!”
“If you don’t know, then you’ll just have to die.”
Every rule in this world is written in blood.
Their deaths will serve as a great advertisement to warn others about the dangers of the Black Star Dungeon.
Hiding behind a rock, I watch the mercenaries slowly enter the dungeon one by one.
“The front-line humans are handling the traps and monsters before dying. They’re conserving stamina like this, huh? Very economical! If this continues… Huh? Where are you going?”
“Follow me.”
I can’t just let them die.
If they die, the fear of the Black Star Dungeon will spread even more.
It’s actually more beneficial for me that they’re actively trying to conquer it recklessly.
…
…
…
“Hah…”
Thirty minutes into the dungeon entry.
The Vice Captain, who had come to a halt, let out a shallow sigh.
I thought we were all set.
Since we’re challenging the Black Star Dungeon, against the Mercenary Council’s orders, I had to be even more thorough.
I had selected only elite troops from within the mercenary group.
I had even put them through severe training until recently.
I didn’t skimp on the preliminary research either.
“This used to be the site of a clock tower?”
“Yes, that’s right. The one in the city is the new one built after the old clock tower collapsed.”
“Why did it collapse?”
“Nobody knows. It just suddenly fell down on the completion day…”
The dungeon’s location, terrain, all of it.
I gathered every bit of information I could find about the dungeon.
Even what seemed irrelevant was not discarded.
We discussed tactics day and night.
Everyone was already expecting it to be a tough fight.
To ease the tense atmosphere, they even tried cracking jokes.
But, but…
“Why is this so easy?”
Against all expectations, the dungeon’s difficulty was too easy.
Almost bewilderingly so.
Of course, it was far from an insignificant dungeon.
It was a dungeon where the type of monsters changed during the encounter.
At first, it was mostly undead like skeletons and zombies.
Then, suddenly, mechanical monsters(?) appeared midway.
“Have you heard of these monsters?”
“No, this is the first time I’m seeing them.”
They were different from my research, but I decided not to think too much of it.
They were few in number and not particularly strong.
They just randomly attacked, seeming like mechanical arms or industrial digging machines.
Unlike monsters filled with malicious intent to harm humans, these machines didn’t require much effort to break down.
Usually, if you targeted the power source, they would stop, so their weakness was clear and intuitive.
“It looks like a completely new type of monster.”
“I think so too. We need to report this to the Mercenary Council.”
It’s been over ten years since the first dungeons appeared.
I thought the classification of monsters and their types was already settled five years ago.
But what we’re facing here definitely seems more like malfunctioning or rampaging machines than monsters.
“Here’s the fork in the road. Should we call what we’ve broken monster corpses… or mechanical scraps? Anyway, should we head back to report to the Mercenary Council, or should we finish conquering the dungeon first? By the way, we’re about halfway through.”
Time for a choice.
Contrary to expectations, a new type of monster emerged.
Until now, we only faced monsters that were easy to handle.
But how dangerous could the creatures lurking ahead be?
Having a new type of monster to face makes us be even more careful.
“We should advance! You’re not planning to turn back here, are you, Vice Captain?”
“Are you scared?”
“These bastards…”
The responses from the members were exactly as I expected.
Maybe it’s because I gathered the most aggressive and courageous people in the mercenary group.
None of the members seemed to be thinking about stopping here.
“Alright! Let’s go!”
And at this point, the Vice Captain also felt a stubborn need to see the end of the dungeon.
It was obvious that turning back now would be the safer option.
It would be correct to report the newly found monsters, check if there were any similar reports, and then challenge again.
But it felt too wasteful to break this momentum.
This expedition had to inject some energy into the mercenary group that was filled with a sense of defeat.
As the Black Star Slayer had defeated dozens of Black Star Dungeons, I had to show a success in conquering the Black Star Dungeon.
And it had to be as soon as possible.
It wasn’t arrogance or reckless bravado.
I was fully prepared.
At least, that’s what the Vice Captain and the members thought.
“It’s getting quite dark from here. Let’s light the torches.”
“Yes!”
The structure until now resembled a mine tunnel.
Though the path was bumpy, there were lights attached to the ceiling.
But as we neared the end, the structure changed rapidly.
It was still a tunnel, but it didn’t look man-made anymore.
In fact, the tunnel size shrank, making it difficult to pass without bending over.
“Ugh!”
People were bumping their heads and groaning everywhere.
In the quiet tunnel, the only sounds were the heavy breaths and footsteps of the members.
Beyond the endlessly extending tunnel, there was only a deep abyss.
It would have been better if traps or monsters had appeared.
Since nothing was coming out, the tension kept rising endlessly, my heart felt like it would burst.
“Captain, what’s that sound?”
“What? What sound?”
“Don’t you hear a woman sobbing?”
“Stop joking, you bastard. You should know when to joke!”
“I’m serious! Everyone behind me says they heard it too!”
“Where is this woman’s voice from…?!”
Just as the Vice Captain was about to retort with irritation.
A sound from the end of the tunnel got everyone’s attention.
Shield raised and bracing for impact.
[Hate… Hate… Hate…]
From far away.
With a chilling breeze, the woman’s voice came through.
Yet, amidst the noise, the quality was poor—it was clearly a recorded voice.
It seemed like it was coming from a phonograph buried somewhere.
There was absolutely no reason to be afraid.
After all, these were members who had crossed the line of death countless times.
They were elite members capable of self-sacrifice in the face of fear of death.
Having faced massive monsters multiple times, they wouldn’t be frightened by this voice.
“Should we go back?”
“Yes. Let’s go back. I was just feeling tired and wanting to leave anyway.”
“Ouch. My head hurts. I guess because I’m tall, I keep bumping into the ceiling. I might seriously hurt my head, so it would be best to leave quickly.”
“Right. We’re definitely not doing this because we’re scared.”
“Nah, not at all.”
In an instant, their opinions aligned.
They weren’t scared, but they all agreed it was time to get out.
The members, who had been frozen, turned without hesitation and headed the opposite way.
As they redirected, the sound of their gear clanking echoed.
The Vice Captain, having naturally found himself at the rear, heard a faint sound.
It sounded like metal scraping against stone.
“Hey, pass me the torch.”
“Here it is.”
Even with the torch, I could barely see in front of me.
The Vice Captain immediately threw the torch into the tunnel.
“Huh?”
“Oh.”
A shadow cast in the tunnel revealed a human silhouette.
It looked like a person, but it wasn’t human.
With awkward steps, the figure gradually approached.
As the torch got closer, a melted face, frozen in place, came into view.
[Hate… Hate… Hate…]
“A Clockwork Doll?”
Its mouth didn’t move.
Instead, the voice echoed from deep within its body.
The legs, where the silicon had already fallen off, left only a rusted metal frame.
It was a Clockwork Doll.
One that had sparkled in the city long ago before disappearing…
So, where did all those many Clockwork Dolls wandering the streets go?
Today, that question was answered.
“Battle positions!”
“Ready!”
The Vice Captain and the members raised their swords.
Since we’re in the dungeon, there was nothing to underestimate.
But immediately, a problem arose.
“It’s not just one…?!”
The shadows reflected in the torch began to multiply.
Before long, there were dozens, each in various states of disrepair.
Some crawled without their lower half, and others shuffled toward us headless.
Those things are dangerous.
The instincts of a mercenary were screaming at me.
“Everyone, run at full speed!”
“Yes, yes!”
The moment the command was given, the members hurriedly began to evacuate.
The Vice Captain raised his shield to chest height and prepared to hold the line, watching the fleeing members.
[Hate… Hate… Hate…]
The Clockwork Dolls rushed forward.
The Vice Captain braced for impact.
“Ugh!”
Finally, bang, metallic bodies collided with his shield.
If it weren’t for his innate trait, ‘Strongman,’ he would’ve been blown back from the shock.
Without the shield, his waist would’ve likely broken by now.
Right now, his waist hurt like it was about to break, but the Vice Captain stood firm, legs extended behind him, gritting his teeth.
It was immense strength.
Had it not been for such a narrow terrain, he would have been ripped apart by their sharp metal claws before now.
Even as their iron fingers reached through the gaps in the shield, scratching his face and poking at his side, the Vice Captain didn’t budge.
‘If I can just hold out until the members get to a wider area, then we can fight back at the narrow entrance!’
Just a little longer.
Until all the members can escape.
That was his plan, but…
“Damn it! I let a few through!”
A legless Clockwork Doll slipped between his legs in an instant.
One, then two.
Another Clockwork Doll squeezed through a small gap and bolted behind him.
‘They’re all going to die!’
This was serious.
Even with the strong shield and ‘Strongman’ trait, holding the line was all he could muster.
If any more members faced those things in this cramped space, it meant certain death.
And if the members died, the Vice Captain would also have no way out.
At this rate, he was doomed to die in a pincer attack from both sides.
“AHHH! It grabbed my leg!”
“Shake it off!”
“AHHH! This bastard is strong! My ankle! My ankle! It’s going to break!”
Amidst the screams of the members from behind, the Vice Captain panicked, unsure of what to do.
If this continued, they would all die.
There was no way to overcome this situation.
Grit…
In the midst of this,
The melted-face Clockwork Doll reached out its finger and grabbed the edge of the shield.
The Vice Captain froze, staring into the pale face of the Vice Captain.
“What?!”
And then.
Instead of pushing, it pulled.
Suddenly, the direction of the force changed, leaving no time to respond.
Pulled forward, the Vice Captain found the rusty metal parts of the Clockwork Doll closing in on him.
So this is how I die.
Metal spikes came barreling toward his chest.
The moment the Vice Captain closed his eyes tightly…
“Y-What?!”
He felt a powerful force pulling him.
His body lifted into the air.
Whoosh… he flew along the tunnel.
His vision shifted abruptly, and he landed in a wide chamber, rolling on the ground.
When he looked up, the members were also staring around, bewildered.
They had also been thrown out by the same “invisible force.”
“You are…?”
And there, they saw a man and a child standing before the tunnel.
[Hate… Hate… Hate!]
With mechanical voices filled with rage, the Clockwork Dolls charged swiftly from inside the tunnel.
The man casually murmured, as if it was nothing.
“Fire.”
“…Okay.”
Bang!
From the girl’s fingertips, flames burst forth.
The inside of the tunnel was filled with blue flames in an instant.
The rushing metallic bodies melted away in seconds.
As the sound died down, silence settled in the tunnel once more.
Even with the embers still flickering, the mercenaries stood there, mouths agape, unable to speak.
‘It’s the Black Star Slayer.’
Everyone was having the same thought.
