Chapter 9 …
Instant Dungeon (5)
The orcs around the barrier kept looking around nervously.
They clenched and unclenched their hands as if worried that something might jump out from the deep forest. With each motion, their courage drained away and anxiety took its place.
The reason for the orcs’ restlessness was the scream they had just heard.
The seasoned Orc Centurion had let out a scream of agony, so it was only natural that the orcs scattered in panic.
The orcs still remaining here either had courage… or lacked the wisdom to anticipate what was coming next.
Rustle, rustle.
The sound of the bushes being disturbed reached their ears.
They all turned their heads at the approaching sound. Hope flickered across the orcs’ faces.
It wasn’t just a vague hope—it had some basis, however flimsy.
If it were an enemy, it wouldn’t come making a sound.
—A justification as thin as paper.
From the forest emerged…
“Chhh! It’s a human…!”
“Enemy! The enemy’s here!”
Naturally, it was Choi Yeon.
The orcs thrust their weapons toward him, and Choi Yeon slowly counted them.
“Twenty-nine? More than I expected. I guess a scream alone wasn’t enough.”
With that, he swung his left hand.
The orcs gripped their weapons tightly as they saw the round object fly from his hand. But it only took an instant for his hand, which had turned white from exertion, to return to normal.
Chhh!
A hiss, like a scream, escaped his nostrils.
“The Centurion’s head!”
“The Centurion’s been taken…!”
“I knew we shouldn’t have entered this forest! Chhh…!”
The orcs fled in terror.
None of the warriors stayed behind to take revenge; only the pigs ran off in panic.
The mere fact that Choi Yeon hadn’t dropped his weapon proved he wasn’t just a pig.
Tap, tap.
Instead of chasing the scattered orcs, Choi Yeon brushed the dust off his hands.
He could have chased them, but bringing the rescue targets back was more important.
Bpong, bpong.
From the dark part of the forest, Go Sung-yoon stepped out.
“Wow… They really all ran away like you said, hyung?”
“Well, that’s how it is with the top guy…”
Choi Yeon remained silent.
He decided to soften his approach, considering the gaze of the child watching him from inside the barrier.
“You see, when the general falls, soldiers tend to flee.”
“Oh…”
“Unless there’s strict military order, half of them would have fled already. Without concern for others, it’s only natural they behave like that.”
“Oh! I see!”
The rabbit ears bounced up and down enthusiastically.
Though hidden by the costume, Choi Yeon felt the child’s excitement, almost as if she were gazing at someone extraordinary, and he felt a little embarrassed.
He thought about adding that any hunter could do this, but he refrained—Go Sung-yoon would probably admire him for being humble.
“Hi. You’re Chae-eun, right?”
Choi Yeon walked toward the child, Park Chae-eun, who hadn’t taken her eyes off him since earlier.
Even after the orcs had fled, she remained inside the barrier.
Perhaps she didn’t feel completely safe yet. Choi Yeon thought that made sense and sat a little distance away from the barrier to ease her guard.
“Y-yes, hello…”
Park Chae-eun greeted him while glancing at Go Sung-yoon, clearly feeling more comfortable with the one she met first.
Understanding her feelings, Choi Yeon showed his upper arm.
“See this?”
On his left upper arm was the logo of the Daejeon Central District.
“I’m a hunter from Seonhwa-dong. I came to rescue you.”
“Th-thank you…”
“…?”
For some reason, the child’s reaction was odd.
It would be understandable if she were cautious of an unfamiliar adult, but even hearing that she had come to rescue her didn’t seem to reassure her.
Go Sung-yoon, noticing this, crouched beside Choi Yeon.
“Chae-eun, what’s wrong?”
“Rabbit hyung…”
“Huh?”
“You see, my dad said….”
Park Chae-eun whispered into Go Sung-yoon’s rabbit ear.
Since Go Sung-yoon couldn’t pass through the barrier, his head was almost buried against it. The child whispered so quietly that Choi Yeon couldn’t hear—but, being right next to him, he caught everything anyway.
“People’s eyes tell you who they are! You need to look at someone’s eyes to know them…!”
“Ah, um…”
A flustered sigh escaped Go Sung-yoon’s mouth.
Glancing at Choi Yeon, his mouth twitched slightly.
“…It’s okay, Chae-eun! Yeon-hyung may squint, but he’s trustworthy!”
Go Sung-yoon took it upon himself to persuade Park Chae-eun, feeling it was his role to stay with her a bit longer.
He didn’t realize that his words might have unintentionally embarrassed Choi Yeon even more.
“He may seem sly at first glance, but he’s actually really kind and generous! And he even takes all the flyers every time he sees them!”
Choi Yeon’s mouth twitched harder than before. He held back only because he knew it was meant kindly; otherwise, he might have jabbed Go Sung-yoon’s side with his finger in frustration.
In any case, Go Sung-yoon’s persuasion worked.
Because Choi Yeon had scooped up the child without hesitation and run, it had reassured her completely.
“…Okay. Then shall we go back with me?”
“Yes!”
Park Chae-eun answered enthusiastically. The previous caution had completely melted away.
Grateful for Go Sung-yoon’s presence, Choi Yeon stepped toward the barrier.
Thud.
No, he was stopped by the barrier.
“Whoa, hyung, you can’t pass either?”
“…Looks like it.”
Choi Yeon finally examined the barrier.
He had heard that Go Sung-yoon couldn’t pass, but he hadn’t expected it to stop a hunter like him too.
Now that he thought about it, assuming a hunter could pass was vague and naive.
The difference between a hunter and an ordinary person was mostly physical abilities, mana, and skills. If the barrier required something beyond that, even a child like Park Chae-eun would find it hard to pass.
He placed his hand on the barrier, slowly infusing it with mana, and then…
“…Hmm. Not gonna work.”
He gave up cleanly.
He had imagined several methods in his mind, but none succeeded. It only confirmed that this was a perfect barrier.
“Chae-eun, want to step out and try again?”
“Yes!”
Following his instructions, Park Chae-eun stepped out and in again, hopping like a rabbit. She ran around the barrier, and this time there was no resistance at all—unlike before with Choi Yeon and Go Sung-yoon.
What? It discriminates by person?
Questions bubbled in his mind: Why is there a barrier in the dungeon? Why can only Park Chae-eun pass? Why does it hold without a mage?
Simple answers also occurred to him.
It was the first time in eight years, and no similar cases had happened elsewhere.
In short, he didn’t know.
Gender, age, height, weight—there were countless variables for the barrier. He simply couldn’t know for now.
But he thought he understood why the barrier could be maintained without a mage.
“Chae-eun.”
He called the child running with Go Sung-yoon along the barrier.
The child stopped in front of him.
“…Yes! Did you call me?”
“Yeah. Want to dig a little in the middle of the barrier?”
“Dig the ground?”
“Yeah. I think there might be something maintaining the barrier down there.”
“Something…?”
Park Chae-eun tilted her head. She was too young to know the term “medium” or “conduit.”
Choi Yeon explained it in simpler terms.
“Like a magic ring.”
“Wow! So the magic ring came out of the ground?”
Haha, of course not.
Choi Yeon quickly swallowed the words he almost said. To preserve the child’s innocence, he stayed silent and searched his waist holster for a tool to dig.
Hmm…
The shovel was too big, the dagger too dangerous, and the throwing dagger… was coated with poison.
There was nothing suitable to give to a child.
Realizing this, Choi Yeon stopped his hand.
As he pondered, the child had already run into the center of the barrier and began digging with her tiny hands.
Her momentum was impressively unstoppable.
“…Why is the ground so easy to dig?”
Thump, thump.
Every time she dug, the soil yielded effortlessly.
If digging had always been this easy, the world wouldn’t have invented the word “shoveling.”
Was it overdoing it to assume someone wanted the child to dig here?
“Ah! The barrier’s gone…!”
Choi Yeon’s thoughts were interrupted by Go Sung-yoon’s exclamation.
Just as he suspected, once the conduit was dug up from the ground, the barrier vanished.
Holding the item high, Park Chae-eun ran over to Choi Yeon and Go Sung-yoon.
“It’s not a ring, it’s a headband! A magic headband!”
In her small hands was a green headband.
And…
“A sprout…?”
It looked just like the one she wore on her head. The only difference was its incredible realism, as if created by a hyperrealist artist.
“…First, give that headband to me, okay?”
“Why?”
“Well…”
“Why?”
“Uh, not because I want it. Usually, dungeon loot needs to be appraised and classified by the government. If you have a guild agreement, it’s different, but Chae-eun isn’t a hunter, right?”
“Yes…”
“And though you wouldn’t, some people secretly take dungeon items for their own purposes. I’m taking it to prevent that.”
“I see… So I can’t keep this magic headband?”
“Yep, unfortunately.”
Choi Yeon smiled gently at the disappointed child.
In truth, if the headband were insignificant, he could have just let her keep it. But as an item that maintained the barrier, it was likely at least grade B.
He had seen many hunters die horrifically over high-grade items before.
“Here…”
Park Chae-eun handed over the headband reluctantly, her eyes full of regret.
“Thanks, Chae-eun. I’ll buy you a similar one later.”
Choi Yeon received the headband.
But then—
Thud…!
No, it was blocked.
The headband’s barrier prevented his hand from taking it.
“…?”
“Huh? No! It’s not like that…!”
Park Chae-eun’s eyes went wide in surprise.
The headband floated from her hands into the air. As the barrier expanded, it gradually pushed Choi Yeon and Go Sung-yoon back. He tried to resist briefly but was quickly forced to stop.
The barrier filled the clearing and then vanished with a whoosh.
Tok…
The floating headband returned to Park Chae-eun’s hands.
The owner of this item was clearly the child.
“….”
Choi Yeon stood there, stunned.
So many unexplainable events were happening that he couldn’t even think straight. He decided to just leave it to the team leader to handle.
“Chae-eun, for now, you can keep it.”
“R-really?”
“Yep, you can.”
He had no way to carry it around himself anyway.
“Wow! Thank you!”
Park Chae-eun jumped with joy, swapped the headband onto her head, and buried the old one in the ground.
Watching her gently tap the ground, Choi Yeon said,
“I said ‘for now,’ but I guess you already forgot that?”
“Yeah, looks like it.”
Go Sung-yoon agreed awkwardly as the child ran over.
“Hehe, all done!”
…It really suited her.
＊＊＊
Central Street was still crowded.
Time had passed, yet the crowd hadn’t thinned—it had grown.
Fortunately, the increase wasn’t just spectators or reporters.
“Kim Min-seok…!”
Team Leader Kim Jae-sang’s requested hunter arrived.
A lean but solidly built man approached the dungeon directly.
Being a city hall hunter operating throughout Daejeon, most residents recognized him and naturally made way.
“Team Leader, what’s the situation?”
“No contact yet. They must be searching inside.”
“Understood. I’ll enter immediately.”
“Good, thanks a lot!”
Kim Jae-sang patted Kim Min-seok’s shoulder.
Despite just handling the Geumsan County dungeon break, the hunter’s readiness to enter again was reassuring.
At that moment—
“Uh, uh…?”
Director Park Choong-jae’s stunned voice echoed.
And it wasn’t just him.
The residents watching gasped, “Wow!”
Team Leader Kim Jae-sang immediately understood why.
Turning hastily, he saw familiar narrow eyes in front of the dungeon.
The girl wearing the rabbit costume and sprout headband was with him—the civilians pulled in during the dungeon incident.
“They were rescued already?”
“Wow, incredible!”
“Huh, our local hunter’s pretty skilled, huh?”
“He’s talented. He even went to Seoul. It’s natural he’s this good.”
Several voices exchanged comments.
Kim Jae-sang, who had been watching with his mouth agape, ran quickly. Kim Min-seok followed quietly behind, feeling oddly useless.
“Good job, Yeon-ah!”
“Yes, thanks. But why are there so many people?”
“Because civilians were dragged in.”
“Oh.”
“If this were another district, it’d be chaos. In Seoul, it would’ve been insane.”
Kim Jae-sang checked on the rescued child, especially the one in the rabbit costume. Though Choi Yeon appeared unharmed, he verified everything personally due to the reporters’ attention.
Fortunately, there were no injuries.
However, the child giggling and caressing the headband didn’t look entirely normal—it looked more like she’d gotten a gift she wanted.
He gestured subtly toward her.
“What’s up?”
“Oh, nothing serious.”
“…Nothing serious, right?”
“Probably not. I think so.”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s long to explain. So—”
“No. Don’t explain here. Too many ears around.”
Kim Jae-sang cut him off urgently.
Understandably so—the crowd numbered in the dozens. Even speaking quietly, someone could overhear.
Reporters might twist a few words into absurd speculation.
“Anyway, good work, Yeon-ah.”
“Can I take a little vacation—”
“Oh, handling the dungeon first?”
“What? When did I say that?”
“Yeah, yeah. Our next ace, indeed!”
Kim Jae-sang brushed Choi Yeon off neatly.
He took the two rescued civilians away in an ambulance, with Go Sung-yoon and Park Chae-eun following.
“Yeon-hyung, thank you! You saved us!”
“Thanks! I’ll use the headband well!”
No, that wasn’t really a gift.
Choi Yeon just waved instead of correcting her, planning to quietly explain to Kim Jae-sang later.
“So… when are we going to catch all those orcs…?”
He muttered as he looked over the dungeon.
Since the orcs had scattered, it felt overwhelming.
As he pondered, Kim Min-seok approached.
“Good work, Choi Yeon.”
“Why are you here? You should be at Geumcheon County.”
“The team leader requested support. Though I’m not sure it was necessary.”
“Ah, lucky. Sorry for making you run around for nothing.”
“Not at all. The rescue went well, so I consider it a restful task.”
Kim Min-seok smiled warmly, clearly a kind-hearted person. Choi Yeon’s mind clicked—he’d found his compass.
“Min-seok, is the Geumcheon County dungeon break urgent?”
“No? It should be nearing completion by now.”
“Then want to come in here with me?”
“Huh?”
“It’d take too long alone. We still have to hunt monsters anyway.”
“True.”
Kim Min-seok nodded slowly.
Whether here or in Geumsan County, monsters still needed to be hunted. A simple grade C monster hunt would be easiest.
“Then… shall we? As a favor between colleagues?”
Seeing his colleague reluctantly agree, Choi Yeon grinned.
With a B-rank hunter with detection skills assisting, dealing with the orcs would take only about thirty minutes.
Choi Yeon entered the dungeon with a smile, accompanied by Kim Min-seok.
