The pickaxe thrown in front of Taeyoung Jeong landed on the floor with a dull thud.
He stared at the pickaxe, unmoving for a while.
“How dare…!”
He was the vice guild leader of the Fire Bird Guild. The one who would become the next master, and he was following the orders of a mere monster?
It was absurd.
Moreover, he didn’t like Namgung Hyuk, who was behind the Death Knight.
How could an A-Rank Hunter of the Fire Bird Guild surrender to a monster?
“What kind of nonsense is this…”
He was furious. If they got through this situation safely, he would overhaul the entire guild.
He had specifically decided to get rid of Yerin Jeong.
Taeyoung Jeong motioned to the surrounding Hunters.
No matter how disadvantageous the terrain was, there were many A-Rank Hunters. They were determined not to surrender, even if there were casualties.
Just as the Hunters, who received the vice guild leader’s signal, were about to draw their weapons, they heard murmurs from another passage in the maze.
“Krrrk! Krrrk!”
With sharp screams, Goblins poured out. In front of them stood a giant Goblin wearing a crown.
“G-Goblin Lord!”
Someone shouted. As he said, the opponent’s identity was indeed the Goblin Lord.
“D-Does this make any sense!”
Taeyoung Jeong exclaimed in disbelief at the sight.
This was supposed to be the Minotaurus Dungeon.
Then why were there no Minotaurs, and instead, a Death Knight and a Goblin Lord appeared? And both were A-Rank Monsters.
Moreover, the Goblin Lord was holding a mana gun in his hand.
Seeing that it had taken a Hunter’s weapon and was using it meant it had high intelligence.
“……!”
Taeyoung Jeong and the Hunters wore expressions of shock. Of course, Namgung Hyuk, who had already experienced the incident, and the members of the subjugation team he led were unfazed.
“Vice Guild Leader, the situation is too disadvantageous.”
A Hunter said with a trembling voice.
They were now completely surrounded, with the Death Knight and its Undead legion on one side, and the Goblin Lord and its Goblin horde on the other.
Cold sweat broke out on Taeyoung Jeong’s forehead.
‘What in the world is going on!’
His mind was a mess.
Should he break through one side?
‘No, that can’t be.’
The combination of a Death Knight and a Lich was extremely unfavorable for Hunters.
If hit by the Death Knight’s sword, one would revive as an Undead monster. Most importantly, the presence of the Lich in front of the Death Knight was also a burden.
Liches were monsters with a skill that could detonate corpses, so Hunters could be annihilated if they were not careful.
However, fighting the Goblin Lord was not an option either.
The Goblin Lord was one of the monsters for which there was currently no known strategy, and the only one who had defeated it was, ironically, Yerin Jeong.
‘Yerin Jeong…’
Just then, Namgung Hyuk approached him.
“Vice Guild Leader.”
Surprisingly, there was no sign of fear on Namgung Hyuk’s face.
“This place is beyond our capabilities. It’s best that we work together.”
Namgung Hyuk handed him a pickaxe lying on the ground.
“What nonsense are you talking about…”
Taeyoung Jeong’s voice trembled with anger.
He was someone who wouldn’t say such things in the guild, yet he was speaking so carelessly.
However, Namgung Hyuk, with a serious expression, added in a low voice,
“That is the only chance to return alive. If you resist now… all of us will-”
Before he could finish his words, a Hunter, unable to endure it, drew his sword and charged towards the Death Knight.
“Hyaaaah!”
However, the Death Knight, simply by moving the shield on its back, sent the Hunter flying into the air and slammed him against the wall.
“…?!”
All the Hunters were shocked by the sight.
By the fact that the Death Knight used its shield instead of its sword.
And.
“V-Vice Guild Leader! That guy, on his shield…!”
They were shocked by the fact that a Maid Outfit was attached to the shield the Death Knight was holding.
Taeyoung Jeong was also shocked by the sight.
What kind of sorcery was this!
One with a shield adorned with a Maid Outfit, and the other holding the Hunters’ weapons, and they were monsters.
Moreover, for some reason, that Maid Outfit looked oddly familiar.
However, everyone was so terrified that their minds weren’t working properly.
“Kch.”
Taeyoung Jeong’s hands trembled. All sorts of thoughts raced through his mind.
The guild’s reputation, his own pride… After weighing all these, he slowly knelt and picked up the pickaxe that had fallen on the ground.
A look of relief flashed across Namgung Hyuk’s face at Taeyoung Jeong’s action.
“A wise decision, Vice Guild Leader.”
As the vice guild leader picked up the pickaxe, other Hunters also laid down their weapons one by one and picked up pickaxes.
As far as Namgung Hyuk could see, at least the monsters here were different.
Usually, monsters were hostile to Hunters, but here they weren’t hostile; they were giving orders.
That alone gave him hope of surviving.
“……”
The Death Knight nodded as if satisfied. It was the moment new laborers were created to break down the maze walls.
“Clap!”
The Lich next to it also nodded.
***
Taeyoung Jeong realized then that the dungeon was dangerous.
‘Damn it!’
Yerin Jeong was right. No, rather, she, who had sacrificed only one guild member and brought everyone out safely, seemed amazing.
‘Tae Kyung Yoon, you son of a bitch!’
Taeyoung Jeong irritably thought of Yoon Tae Kyung’s name for no reason. But calling out the name of the deceased Yoon Tae Kyung changed nothing.
‘How do I get out of here?’
He had followed the Death Knight and the Goblin Lord and reached the center of the dungeon.
There was no joy in escaping the maze.
This was because he was currently kneeling and paying his respects to the master of the Minotaurus Dungeon.
“I am Baalcherit, a descendant of Vampire royalty.”
The master of the dungeon, the Vampire, Baalcherit.
He didn’t know why the master of the Minotaurus Dungeon was a Vampire.
But he couldn’t deny it, as the Minotaurus Chieftain and Minotaurs were lined up beside her.
The Minotaurs had glum expressions for some reason, but that wasn’t important now.
“Humans came last time too, but you are different ones.”
‘You came last time too?’
That meant the master of that dungeon had met Yerin Jeong.
‘Let’s think, let’s think.’
Although there were many monsters in this dungeon, Yerin Jeong had returned safely.
Even though Yoon Tae Kyung had died, in a place with a Death Knight, a Goblin Lord, and a Vampire, that level of damage was practically negligible.
Then how did she return safely?
Taeyoung Jeong was puzzled.
‘H-Hold on, did she offer Yoon Tae Kyung as a sacrifice?’
He had heard that some masters played such pranks.
From a monster’s perspective, humans were no different from toys.
Wasn’t there a transaction where one person was sacrificed in exchange for saving their life?
Otherwise, how could Yerin Jeong, who was merely a healer, and her team, without A-Rank Hunters, return safely?
He, whose team was composed of the top Hunters of the Fire Bird Guild, was struggling, yet Yerin Jeong alone managed to return alive?
‘Yes! Something must have been traded!’
Taeyoung Jeong was convinced. He felt like he had discovered a sliver of hope.
He buried his head on the floor and shouted.
“To the great master of the dungeon and descendant of Vampire royalty!”
“Hmm, hmm, I am indeed great.”
Taeyoung Jeong inwardly exclaimed, “This is it!” at the other party’s reaction.
It seemed the master here was weak to flattery.
If he flattered the other party and induced a transaction, there would be a chance of survival.
“I will offer one human as a sacrifice to the noble one!”
“Oh, fresh blood!”
Baalcherit’s eyes sparkled. Taeyoung Jeong smiled inwardly at the fact that his guess was correct. He looked around, his gaze shifting.
He was choosing the most suitable guild member as a sacrifice.
“I… I will offer him.”
Taeyoung Jeong pointed to a B-Rank Hunter behind him.
Not an A-Rank Hunter, just a B-Rank Hunter who had come along as support. He didn’t even know his name.
“V-Vice Guild Leader?”
The targeted Hunter looked at Taeyoung Jeong with disbelief. His face had already turned pale.
“This is unacceptable! You’re discarding us so easily as guildmates!”
Namgung Hyuk exclaimed with an enraged voice.
He could not overlook a situation where a guild member was offered as a sacrifice.
“Vice Guild Leader! We are the Fire Bird Guild. Abandoning our comrades is against our tenets!”
Other Hunters also began to raise their voices one by one. Even though they were surrounded by monsters, they could not accept the fact that their comrade was to become a sacrifice.
“If this is how it’s going to be, why did you bring us here?”
At the Hunters’ complaints, Taeyoung Jeong’s gaze turned cold. His pride was hurt by the complaints of those who were nothing.
“Shut up, all of you!”
Taeyoung Jeong shouted. His cry echoed through the dungeon.
“I am the vice guild leader! For the survival of the guild, sacrifices are sometimes necessary! If we lose one person but everyone survives, that is a rational judgment!”
His eyes were a mixture of madness and fear. He was ready to accept any criticism if there was even a shred of hope.
However.
“Ho ho.”
Baalcherit intervened in the humans’ quarrel.
“I never said I would spare you, so it’s quite strange, isn’t it?”
“……”
Everyone fell silent at her remark.
Especially Taeyoung Jeong’s face turned ashen.
An aura of fear filled the dungeon. The color drained from the Hunters’ faces.
Baalcherit rose from her seat and slowly approached Taeyoung Jeong. Her red eyes shone even more clearly.
“You humans are quite amusing. Definitely different from adventurers.”
Baalcherit’s small hand stroked Taeyoung Jeong’s cheek.
“I will choose myself.”
“W-Wait!”
Taeyoung Jeong screamed, but it was too late. As Baalcherit flicked her small finger, his body suddenly stiffened.
“Uh… Uuugh!”
Groans escaped his lips. At first, his body contorted strangely, and then red liquid began to flow from all the pores of his body.
“Kuaaaak!”
Blood poured out from his eyes, nose, mouth, and ears… he screamed in agony as if his whole body was being squeezed.
But even his screams were filled with blood and turned into red foam.
“S-Save me… Please…”
He weakly stretched out his hand, but there was no one to help him anywhere. The Hunters recoiled in terror, and Baalcherit burst into laughter as if enjoying herself.
She looked like a child who had received a new toy.
“Fresh blood!”
Taeyoung Jeong’s body expanded like an inflating balloon, and then began to shrink on the spot.
The sight of all the blood being pulled out like threads was itself a horror.
“Ugh…!”
His screams grew weaker, and eventually, his body withered and lay on the floor like a mummy.
The breath of Taeyoung Jeong, who was once the vice guild leader of the Fire Bird Guild, was completely extinguished.
***
After passing Hunter Jinwoo Lee, Yerin Jeong continued to advance through the dungeon.
Soon, a maze unfolded.
“You need to be careful from here. You might get lost.”
She cautioned Kanghyeon Lee.
Although Yerin Jeong and her team had entered once before, Kanghyeon Lee was entering this place for the first time.
Yerin Jeong tilted her head, watching Maru, who was leading the way in the maze.
From what Maru had shown just moments ago, it wasn’t a mere Skeleton.
‘It’s not a simple Undead monster.’
Yerin Jeong had never imagined this.
Holy Power was the natural enemy of the Undead. Light naturally burned away the energy of death. However, this Skeleton not only remained unharmed after receiving a Holy attack but also absorbed that power and made it its own.
She slightly turned her head and looked at Kanghyeon Lee, who was following behind.
The subtle surprise on Kanghyeon Lee’s face when Maru displayed such an astonishing ability, and his subsequent natural reaction, kept bothering her.
‘The Monster Wave Incident.’
Suddenly, an incident came to mind.
A large-scale Monster Wave that once occurred in Korea.
On that day when the nation fell into chaos, countless monsters, including a Death Knight, a Goblin Lord, and an Arch Lich, descended upon the streets.
How big of an incident was it?
A scene captured by a camera on a live broadcast, the Death Knight holding a shield with a Maid Outfit attached, was still being rehashed as a meme on the internet.
But that wasn’t important.
The true heroes of that day were two masked figures. Or rather, one Familiar and one Hunter believed to have the Summoner trait.
Even now, the Hunter Association, domestic and even overseas guilds, are desperate tofind that Hunter.
At that time, the Familiar showed an overwhelming presence, subduing both the Death Knight and the Arch Lich.
For some reason, that appearance overlapped with Maru’s.
‘Could the person who stopped the Monster Wave back then…?’
Although both hid their identities by wearing masks, Yerin Jeong somehow felt that their identities were Kanghyeon Lee and Maru.
‘…No, that can’t be, right?’
It seemed like too hasty a thought.
She shook her head and bit her lip.
But what if, what if it was true?
What if Kanghyeon Lee and Maru were the ones who stopped the Monster Wave?
Her heart began to beat violently.
While expectations surged in one corner of her heart, conversely, the fact that she still didn’t know much about Kanghyeon Lee made her anxious.
‘Still, Kanghyeon is a talent we absolutely must secure.’
Whether Kanghyeon Lee and Maru were the ones who stopped the Monster Wave or not, the fact that she had to secure him remained unchanged.
‘Even if it means giving him the Vice Guild Leader position…!’
Yerin Jeong clenched her fist.
