Chapter 23
“Over there, around the corner.”
Kijun went silently in the direction the voice indicated. He seemed like he was going to the bathroom, but he came back almost immediately. This time, he was looking for water.
“I’ll bring it to you. Stay at the table.”
But Kijun didn’t move.
“Why?”
“I just want to drink it here before leaving.”
“Ah… wait a second. The fridge is inside.”
Kijun stood quietly, waiting until Sori brought the water and poured it into a cup.
Plop.
“Here, drink.”
Kijun drank the water in one go. After leaving about half in the cup, he put it down on the counter and finally got to the point.
“Don’t you have any eyes for people?”
Sori looked at Kijun with a confused expression.
‘What are you suddenly talking about? Did I really eat something wrong?’
“What?”
“Is that the best guy you can meet now? Your standards have really dropped, Kang Sori.”
Kijun’s voice was full of irritation.
“What do you mean? Speak clearly.”
Sori asked, almost accusingly:
“You wore clothes that didn’t suit you and sat there so cozy with that guy…”
Kijun reluctantly added a hint of sarcasm in his explanation. Only then did Sori realize what he was talking about. Was this because of meeting Cha Yoonmin yesterday?
“Why? What’s wrong with that person?”
After showing up for the first time in years, that’s all he has to say? Sori got angry.
“No matter who I meet, what does that have to do with you?”
“Kang Sori, do you even know what kind of guy that is…!”
Kijun stopped mid-sentence. He needed to calm down. Sighing, he pressed a hand to his forehead. This wasn’t why he came here. Kijun immediately regretted his careless words.
‘I never imagined you would be with someone inferior to me.’
The Cha Yoonmin Kijun had observed was like a “rat,” always slipping toward the advantageous side. However, he knew this person wasn’t lacking in private matters. Ultimately, there was nothing wrong with Sori’s words. She had long since broken up with him. He had no right to stop her.
“Oh, right. Now that I think about it, why did you come yesterday? After business hours, too.”
Kijun’s careless interference turned back into an attack. The reason he came late to the restaurant was to ask something: under what conditions and frequency does the Happy Restaurant appear before a hunter inside a dungeon? Could it be controlled somehow? He wanted to know if Sori knew anything about it.
From what Kijun had heard from the “Infamous Manager,” the restaurant appears if one truly desires it. And indeed, it appeared in the dungeon as promised. But it wasn’t always so easy. Some hunters wandered hungry and saw neither a restaurant nor even a small convenience store. Surely, this was what he came to ask about. Probably.
“Nothing special.”
Such a conversation couldn’t happen in this atmosphere. And the restaurant was still operating. Kijun decided to retreat for now.
“The food… it was good.”
An awkward comment. Sori looked completely bewildered.
The boss quest was still active. After work, Sori stepped out onto the street feeling relieved.
‘Best to forget about Kijun quickly.’
She didn’t know why, but dwelling on it would only make her mood worse. She was on her way to meet Minjeong. Claiming it was her first normal day off in a while, she had called Sori to chat. To reach the café where Minjeong waited, she had to take the elevator up a building and exit on the upper opposite side. After meeting Minjeong, Sori planned to return to Agora Market. To defeat the boss, she had to prepare thoroughly. Right now, Sori was nearly defenseless.
Sudden dungeons were still a fearful concept for Sori—something she didn’t want to imagine. While general dungeons that appeared when a gate opened often kept half their life force, sudden dungeons appeared in the city without warning. Ordinary, unprepared civilians were often caught in them. Most sudden dungeons were also time-limited; after a set period, a dungeon break occurred, making them extremely dangerous. Sori had occasionally read news about deaths in sudden dungeons.
As soon as she stepped out of the elevator, she encountered a freshly spawned dungeon.
A newborn dungeon (D) has appeared!
Her worst fears had come true.
“What do I do?”
She wasn’t ready yet.
“I was going to buy potions and armor later!”
But it was already too late. Her phone was long out of signal. The only relief was that it appeared to be a D-rank, restricted, closed dungeon. Restricted closed dungeons were relatively small, did not expand, and had fewer monsters. Unfortunately, no one else knew it existed yet. Sori first explored it like a regular office, checking if anyone else was present.
“Is anyone there?!”
Silence. The worst part: it seemed she had been thrown into this newborn dungeon alone.
“Damn. Am I screwed?”
She regretted not earning money quickly in the tutorial to buy items. Sori looked up at the ceiling, tangled in massive vines. Then the system window appeared.
If you’re a talented awakener, this is nothing. A D-rank newborn dungeon? Child’s play! Shall we try to take down a boss?
Quest Name: Defeat the Boss of the D-Rank Newborn Dungeon (0/1)
Reward: 1000 EXP, ???
Failure: Eaten by the boss, death
Suddenly… a time limit.
“Just my luck.”
Sori sighed. How could she be trapped alone in a dungeon? Was there really no one else passing through?
“Better sit and think for a moment.”
Having never fought a boss, she needed a plan. But fate seemed to pile misfortune on her.
The D-Rank Newborn Dungeon has detected an intruder! Timer activated. Remaining time until dungeon collapse: 59:20!
Sigh. A conditional time-limited dungeon. If she didn’t defeat the boss within an hour, the dungeon would break. She returned the chair to its place and stood up, suspecting it was a system trap.
Red Ginkgo Tree (D) has appeared!
Finally, monsters began to appear in the empty dungeon, previously visible only as vines.
Red Ginkgo Trees (D) had lived nearby as street trees for a long time, enduring countless humiliations. Unable to tolerate it any longer, their accumulated rage has darkened them!
“…”
‘So… I’m supposed to feel sorry for it now?’
The “darkened” red ginkgo tree let out a strange cry:
―Woooo!
It had discovered Sori. Would it extend its branches to entangle her? Sori prepared to run. But the roots moved.
“What the… it’s a tree!”
It was no longer just a tree. Using its thick roots, the red ginkgo lifted its heavy trunk and branches in one sweep! Naturally, its accumulated rage was directed at humans. The red ginkgo charged at Sori with a deafening thud-thud-thud!
―Woooo! Woooooo! Kill! I will kill you!
The system even translated its intent. Sori, startled, dodged instinctively before she could even think of using a skill.
Thud-thud-crash!
The red ginkgo failed to hit her; its trunk smashed against the elevator wall directly behind Sori, leaving it unconscious.
―Woooo…
Sori stared in disbelief. Leaves fell everywhere with a rustling sound.
Red Ginkgo Tree (D) defeated! 100 EXP gained!
“Really?”
Despite the absurdity, she felt some joy.
Achievement Unlocked: First Monster Defeated in an Actual Dungeon
Reward: Red Ginkgo Fruit (B)
The fruit was not a byproduct—it seemed valuable.
“Is it expensive?”
Money came first to her mind. Apparently, the red ginkgo tree wasn’t very smart—smashing itself into walls. She had never seen such a dumb monster. Slowly, more red ginkgo trees began appearing from other directions.
Red Ginkgo Tree (D)… Red Ginkgo Tree (D)…
She had only defeated one, so it was hard to fully understand them. But if they charged at humans indiscriminately…
‘I’ll need some time to think.’
“Will the stealth hood work here?”
Using all knowledge at her disposal, Sori put on the stealth hood. She positioned herself near a more distant red ginkgo tree. Did it run at her or not? It seemed to not recognize her. Success. Now she could safely look for the boss.
The only armor she had increased her evasion by 10%.
“Not sure how much this will help against the boss.”
She tiptoed carefully like a cat, not wanting to anger the trees. Most didn’t notice her passing. But where was the boss? She couldn’t waste time wandering aimlessly.
‘Need a strategy.’
Where are bosses usually located? She recalled online forum discussions:
“Deepest area.”
“Most secure place in the dungeon.”
“The spot where a king would likely reside.”
These were answers from communities where many hunters shared insights. In this office-like dungeon, what would be the deepest place, where the boss might be? Sori walked carefully among the red ginkgo trees, surveying. Nothing seemed promising. She noticed a sign: Lounge.
‘No way the boss is in a place like that.’
She passed it. Small office-like rooms had ginkgo trees wandering about. Some shook their branches violently, howling.
―Woooo!
Then a nauseating smell hit her.
‘Oh, crap. Ginkgo smell.’
Warning: The red ginkgo tree’s indiscriminate attacks are disorienting you!
Already, she was feeling dizzy. She quickly covered her nose and cautiously moved forward.
The system updated:
Time remaining: 40 minutes.
Trouble. She considered searching more urgently when something caught her eye:
<Chairman’s Office>
Her heart leapt.
‘This is it!’
Where in an office would the highest person be? Naturally—the chairman’s office.
