Free Web NovelThe moment we stepped into the Gate, the sight was nothing like what I’d seen back in Sokcho.
'Yeah, this definitely isn’t Earth.'
Not that dungeons were ever Earth in the first place.
A floor blindingly white, walls and ceilings blurred in a way that made inside and outside hard to distinguish. The uniformity of the color and space made it feel vast one second and oppressively cramped the next.
'Better not think about it too long.'
Anyone who lingered on the strangeness of this space would get lost in confusion, no question. It was designed that way — psychological pressure as part of the architecture.
And more than that, the real attention-grabber wasn’t the space itself but the massive status window — no, the quest window — dominating the view.
Party size fulfilled.
Would you like to view the first quest?
Viewing a quest is an automatic acceptance.
Quest will be opened with approval of 1 party member.
“This is really... a first for me. Never seen a dungeon like this.”
That was Im Haekyung’s voice — excited. Hold on. Excited?
I turned to see him. A moment ago he’d been all unreadable composure, now he was smiling silently, like this whole thing was fascinating.
Honestly? I kind of felt the same.
Maybe it didn’t have the tension of monsters or a boss popping out, but experiencing an event the original novel glossed over was pretty damn fun. Even if Lim Sungyeon’s writing was trash.
I pulled my eyes from the quest window and scanned for the Infinite Guild bastards who’d arrived ahead of us. Sure enough, after searching the warped space with my gaze, I found them — three of them sprawled on the floor, unconscious.
'The hell? What’d they do to end up like that?'
I eyed their limp bodies with suspicion.
'Well, first things first.'
I leaned toward Do Yehyun and kept my voice low.
“Recognize any of those pricks?”
“Just one.”
“Scared?”
“No... I don’t know.”
So is that a yes or a no? I chewed on his vague reply, then gave him the textbook answer.
“We’re inside a dungeon. Even if those assholes wake up, there’s no way for them to harm you directly. Infinite Guild’s going to be wiped out, so no payback later either. Na Seokgyung will get caught soon.”
“...”
“Focus on something else. Isn’t it scarier just being in your first dungeon?”
“...Yeah. I think it is.”
“Good.”
Exactly. The fact he was shaken by being in a B-rank dungeon was more reasonable than him quailing at those clowns.
I followed his gaze back to the unconscious guild members.
What a ragtag lineup. On the ground were two Es and one F, while our party had a D, an E, an F... and an S towering over everyone.
'An S-rank standing tall in the middle of scrubs. What a fucked-up picture.'
Im Haekyung waited quietly while Do Yehyun and I whispered, not rushing us at all. Then Do Yehyun asked, hesitating,
“Hyung... you’re not scared?”
“No.”
“Why not? You’re F-rank.”
Should I tell him it’s because without a boss monster, the chance of dying was cut in half? But the obvious answer was right there, so I gave him what he wanted to hear.
“Because of you.”
“...”
“You said you’d save me.”
Judging by his face, that hit the mark. I turned away, unimpressed. Honestly, Do Yehyun was the hardest one to deal with. Joo Seowon barely counted as a challenge, and Im Haekyung was simple: never drop your guard. But with Do Yehyun... it wasn’t that easy.
What he wanted wasn’t just the right words. He wanted my actions to change. Saying what he needed to hear was easy enough — but he’d expect me to follow through afterward.
And if I didn’t? Would he think he’d been betrayed?
'What a pain.'
Still, he had improved. Before, he’d just stare silently. Now he actually voiced what he wanted, clearly. Even if he became more burdensome later, I wasn’t planning to ditch him.
He was worth the risk.
I leaned in with a mischievous smile and whispered in his ear.
“You better awaken your skill properly here.”
“...”
“And heal all my injuries while you’re at it.”
“Are you... okay right now?”
“Half and half.”
I wasn’t in terrible shape, but only thanks to potions. Once they wore off, who knew. Either way, after being such a bother, it was about time he awakened.
Maybe sensing I was done placating Do Yehyun, Im Haekyung moved closer to the unconscious thugs.
“These the kidnappers?”
“Yes.”
“Funny, they look awfully docile for kidnappers.”
“They weren’t unconscious when I shoved them in here.”
He stared at me for a moment, then with a flick of his hand, woke them up in an instant. They stirred, blinking like they’d just been napping, then scrambled to awareness at his light gesture.
“...Ugh. Huh?”
“Where the hell—gah!”
“H-holy shit, Im Haekyung...!”
“No, wait, we gotta get out, Im Haeky—”
As soon as they woke, they looked around dumbly and broke into a comedy act. I watched with contempt and quickly opened the quest before more time got wasted.
“Quest open.”
'Quest opened with approval of 1 party member.'
“The quest’s open!”
“Hey, that bastard did it!”
“Fuck, Seo Jehyun! You tricked us all!”
“Wait, isn’t that Do Yehyun? It is, right?”
“What? Do Yehyun? I don’t know him!”
“Me neither, I just heard he ran from Seokgyung hyung.”
'Dumb and dumber. No, dumber and dumberer.'
I ignored their bullshit, waiting for the quest text to update. A B-rank quest-type dungeon would have, what, six to ten quests at most? If we pushed, we could clear it fast.
First Quest.
For the sake of trust, each person must reveal one secret about themselves.
If you have no secrets, you may remain silent!
However, if you lie or fail to complete within the time limit, a penalty will apply.
Penalty: Random 1 person dies.
Time limit: 60 minutes.
'Easy enough.'
People might hesitate at “secrets,” but most here barely knew each other. They could just spout anything unknown. The only complication was that I knew their names and skills already. And... I knew a lot about Im Haekyung too.
“Secrets?”
“Just share something the others don’t know. If it’s already known, you need to admit it. Simple.”
Im Haekyung nodded. We needed minor, throwaway secrets — nothing real. Before anyone went too deep, I spoke first.
“I don’t drink.”
The Infinite Guild idiots, who’d been panicking at the quest window, froze at my words.
I looked over them calmly.
“Hello, Infinite Guild members.”
“You—”
“Of course, you realize coming here is the result of your own karma. Did you hit your heads on the way in?”
“What?”
“Good. Better if not. You do remember how you all shoved and fought each other to get in here, right?”
Their mouths shut. Not out of conviction — one °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° of them, Bae Inho, was trembling because the stun gun I’d used on him had scarred him. The others? Any sane bastard wouldn’t dare act up with Haeseong’s Im Haekyung standing right there. fгeewebnovёl.com
Finally, one of them managed to ask, voice steadier than the rest,
“Where is this place?”
“Inside a dungeon. Does this look like an arcade to you?”
“...”
“Here’s the short version. It’s a quest-type dungeon. We’ve got six people, and as long as we clear the quests, we can get out.”
Luckily, they seemed to get it — even if they were grinding their teeth, they nodded. Im Haekyung crossed his arms, watching the exchange with interest.
“Why the hell did you bring us here?!”
“What are you talking about? You walked in yourselves. Okay, I tossed one of you, but the rest came on your own two feet.”
“When do we get out of here....”
“How would I know?”
“You son of a bitch! You—yeah, Min Tae. Min Tae was right when he called you a psycho freak. You’re not really F-rank, are you?”
Even after “understanding,” they wouldn’t shut up. I spread my arms wide, wearing the most benevolent smile I could muster. Clearly, they thought they still had room to complain.
So I gave them the most basic, honest explanation.
“Gentlemen.”
“...”
“I have... a very deep hatred for you all.”
