Chapter 7 …
Instant Dungeon (3)
“Seriously amazing, Yeon-hyung!”
Goseong-yoon exclaimed in excitement.
Just three minutes ago, he had been looking up at Choi Yeon with a terrified expression, but now…
“The orcs can’t find you, and you’re just taking them down one by one… It was seriously awesome!”
He gave Choi Yeon a double thumbs-up as if those fearful moments had never happened.
Choi Yeon chuckled quietly at how much he had changed.
It was for the best. Even if someone only saw him once, it would be understandable, but it was better than being feared every time they met.
If they were to encounter him on the street and panic, others might get the wrong idea.
“I’m saying I was impressed!”
“Impressed is… a bit much…”
Choi Yeon twisted his lips in embarrassment.
Luckily, it was just the two of them here. If other hunters were around, they would have thought he was overreacting. After all, what was so special about a C-rank hunter taking down a C-rank monster like an orc?
Choi Yeon decided to change the topic.
Even praise is enough once or twice; if it continued for several minutes, it would just be embarrassing.
“…Ah, over there!”
Just as he was thinking about how to shift the conversation, it became unnecessary.
A path in the forest appeared at the tip of Goseong-yoon’s extended finger.
At the center of the path was a wide clearing. The orcs seemed to be surrounding it, as if their purpose was to become the barrier.
Choi Yeon pulled out his crossbow scope from the holster to observe the orcs’ strange behavior more closely.
“What on earth are they doing?”
He muttered in disbelief.
The orcs surrounding the clearing were moving their heads back and forth, like a drunken person bashing their head against a wall late at night.
So, the orcs weren’t hitting an empty space.
They were wasting effort trying to break through an invisible wall in a clumsy, brute-force manner.
The child inside wasn’t visible because of the orcs’ massive bodies, but judging from their continued efforts, she seemed unharmed.
“Huh…”
Choi Yeon breathed out in admiration.
He had been unsure…
“There really is a barrier, huh?”
He spoke the words he had swallowed when Goseong-yoon mentioned it.
The invisible wall blocking the orcs was indeed a barrier. Goseong-yoon had not lost his mind over the child’s supposed death.
It was a relief.
But still… why would a dungeon have a barrier?
“Ah, that was a barrier?”
“Yes. I’ve seen it before when I went to support a dungeon break. They used it exactly like this to stop monsters.”
“Oh… I see… Wait. But why is there a barrier in the dungeon?”
Goseong-yoon, curious after realizing the nature of the invisible wall, asked Choi Yeon.
He couldn’t answer.
Choi Yeon had had the same question as soon as he saw the barrier.
Without an answer, Goseong-yoon’s gaze returned to the barrier.
“Did a magician come in with us? No… besides me and Chae-eun, there was no one else… and if there was, then why…”
No one could answer; the question lingered.
Choi Yeon’s thoughts weren’t much different. Many ideas came and went.
The difference was that while Goseong-yoon got caught up in doubt, Choi Yeon didn’t care much.
The important thing was that the barrier existed and was protecting the child.
What mattered now was to safely extract the child before the barrier disappeared, which could happen at any time.
Swish.
Choi Yeon looked through the crossbow scope at the forest again, planning his next move.
Fortunately, the barrier didn’t seem likely to disappear anytime soon.
There were no warning signs of it flickering or weakening.
“Hmm…”
Choi Yeon noticed that the orcs in the forest could be divided into three groups:
Orcs banging their heads against the barrier,
Orcs standing still behind them,
Orcs sneaking away from the forest.
“…That’s strange.”
The scope captured one of the orcs standing still.
Goseong-yoon, muttering to himself, turned to Choi Yeon.
“What is it, hyung?”
“It looks like all the orcs in this dungeon have gathered in this forest.”
“Eh? Isn’t that normal for monsters?”
Monsters are naturally hostile toward humans. It would make sense for them to gather where humans hide.
Goseong-yoon’s answer was based on common sense, but there was a missing piece. Choi Yeon pointed it out.
“It’s not entirely normal. Even an Orc Centurion is here.”
“Orc Centurion…?”
“Captain Baek, I mean the Orc leader. He must be the dungeon boss.”
“Oh, you mean the big one compared to the other orcs?”
“Exactly. That guy… Hey, Seong-yoon, can you see him?”
“Uh? Yeah, I can see him.”
Goseong-yoon tilted his head.
Choi Yeon laughed softly at the sight of him, ears drooping like a rabbit, asking again.
He could actually see the figure of the dungeon boss from hundreds of meters away, even in a mascot-like disguise.
“Your eyesight is incredible, huh?”
“Hehe.”
“…Anyway, dungeon bosses don’t usually leave their territory.”
Choi Yeon returned to his previous point.
“It’s strange for a dungeon boss to be out in the forest.”
“Now that you mention it, it is strange.”
“And the orcs don’t look healthy either. They look like sick chickens… I don’t think I’ve seen them like this in the wasteland.”
“Ah! That’s probably because of the forest.”
“The forest?”
Choi Yeon looked at Goseong-yoon.
He knew nothing about the barrier, the Orc Centurion, or the dungeon boss’s territory. Yet he seemed to know why the orcs looked weak. Fascinating.
Goseong-yoon answered immediately.
“I told you I couldn’t pass the barrier, right? I even got bounced back! I thought I was done for. But no matter how long I waited, the orcs didn’t catch me. When I opened my eyes, they were outside the forest.”
“Outside…? They didn’t come into the forest? The ones chasing you?”
“That’s it exactly!”
“…?”
“Thanks to that, I could rest a bit in the forest. That’s when I learned Chae-eun’s name. Otherwise, I’d have run out of stamina before reaching you.”
“Hmm…”
Choi Yeon looked at the forest filled with dozens of orcs.
It was a forest he could enter, but one he would hesitate to enter. A forest that instilled psychological pressure.
This was also puzzling.
Orcs usually appeared in plains or wastelands, occasionally in forests, and then moved around freely.
He had never seen them avoid or hesitate in a forest before.
“….”
Even in his confusion, Choi Yeon thought carefully.
A forest the orcs avoided, the barrier inside, the girl within.
Right. The important thing was the child.
Everything else was just a distraction.
Having observed, it was time to decide.
“Seong-yoon, left or right?”
“Uh…?”
“Choose. Which way?”
“Uh, well… I don’t know why you’re asking, but if I have to choose… right?”
“Right it is, then.”
Choi Yeon moved forward.
Was it really just a question about direction?
He headed toward the path on the right side of the forest.
Thunk! Thunk…!
The sound of heads banging echoed loudly.
The orcs were hitting their heads against the invisible barrier. Even if their heads cracked and bled, they didn’t stop.
If they were living beings, the repeated impact could easily have killed them.
But the barrier remained intact.
Not a single crack appeared.
Only the teeth of the orcs, clenched in frustration, showed any damage.
The orcs, including the Centurion, knew this wouldn’t break the barrier.
They kept banging their heads for one reason: to instill fear in the human girl inside.
However…
The girl sat calmly.
She showed no sign of fear, as if she was confident the orcs could not enter.
Seeing her like that, the orc banged his head even harder against the barrier.
Thunk!
Although the barrier wasn’t broken, the girl’s small head turned slightly toward the noise.
“…!”
The girl’s eyes widened.
The orcs cheered, thinking she was finally afraid.
Thunk-thunk, they hit harder and punched.
“Cchik, shut up!”
It didn’t last long.
The Orc Centurion gave a stop command.
After ordering them to continue, he now told them to stop because it was noisy?
Some orcs looked dissatisfied but turned and left.
It wasn’t because the Centurion tried to strike them with his massive axe.
He had noticed a red light appearing in the sky.
The Orc Centurion questioned his troops.
“Hey, has anyone seen that before?”
“….”
No one answered.
He nodded, as expected. Even he, the oldest warrior here, had never seen it, so the stupid subordinates couldn’t have.
He decided to act immediately.
He would send his subordinates to check.
“Hey! You there! Go check it out!”
“Cchiik!”
Five orcs, excited by the new order, set off.
They had disliked banging their heads against the invisible wall; it made them look foolish.
The five orcs left, envied by the others, and didn’t return until the Centurion folded all ten of his thick fingers.
In their place, a new red light appeared in the sky.
“Cchiik? Cchiik…!”
The Centurion sent more troops.
This time fifteen, folding three fingers on each hand, unlike the previous five.
This time they should succeed. The subordinates would return.
“….”
Yet they did not return, even after he folded and unfolded all ten fingers.
The first five, the next fifteen—none.
Seeing this, the Centurion grew curious about the source of the light.
Then,
Flare!
A third light appeared.
The orcs looked at their Centurion with concern.
They weren’t worried about the missing comrades but about who would go into the forest next.
“Cchiik!”
The Centurion snorted.
He had no intention of sending more subordinates.
The two previous failures proved his troops were insufficient.
Sending them would be pointless.
Instead, it was better to act to boost morale.
He would go himself.
“I’m going in! You stay here!”
Leaving his admiring subordinates behind, the Orc Centurion entered the forest boldly.
Soon, he saw the trampled grass, flattened and unable to rise again.
He followed the path his subordinates had taken.
Step by step, he folded his fingers at regular intervals. When only one finger remained,
Huff…
A pungent smell hit his nose.
He adjusted the axe handle on his shoulder.
The reason the smell was familiar was obvious: his subordinates had died. All of them, without exception.
Soon, with his last finger folded, he discovered their bodies scattered in pieces.
How had it come to this?
As he wondered, a foul smell rose.
It was the scent of fear, meant to be instilled in the human girl within the barrier.
“Cchiik…!”
He snorted sharply.
Trying to push away the smell, the Orc Centurion realized the scent wasn’t coming from outside—it came from within him. Fear was rising from deep inside his own body.
Vroooom!
Unwilling to admit the truth, the Orc Centurion swung his axe.
It struck only the trees and his subordinates’ heads, harmlessly.
At that moment,
Pook.
Something pierced his side.
It was a dagger, and its wielder was, inexplicably, a human with eyes closed.
“Cch… Cchiik…?”
A shocked sound escaped the Orc Centurion’s mouth.
He had never let down his guard since his subordinates failed to return. Not even for a moment.
And yet… how had this human suddenly approached and stabbed his side?
All he could tell from the large head of his attacker was one thing:
The smell.
A vile, fearful smell.
