I’ll Retire After Saving the World

Chapter 25: Songpa District Dungeon

TL: SHW

Seoul, Songpa District.

Seoul Songpa-20210406-0103 Dungeon Entrance.

Initial report grade D.

“Are you sure it’s really D-grade?”

“Of course.”

“It won’t suddenly throw out a Minotaur or something, right?”

“I’m telling you, it won’t.”

Lee Mi-seon checked the tablet handed to her by the Hunter standing next to her and then passed it to Hong Seok-young.

“Insect-type monsters do appear, but they’re non-toxic and small. No hidden spaces detected either.”

“Hmm….”

“And of course, there are no monsters worth naming.”

After quickly scanning the dungeon exploration report on the tablet, Hong Seok-young nodded.

“Do you know they’re re-evaluating the dungeon grades?”

“Oh, so they’re finally doing it? They should have done that a long time ago. It was so inconvenient working with foreign Hunters. They kept saying Korean dungeon grades can’t be trusted, that we’re deceiving them….”

Lee Mi-seon shook her head.

“A huge number will be caught.”

“And you?”

“Me?”

Lee Mi-seon opened her eyes wide.

“Hong Hunter-nim, I’m Lee Mi-seon. Lee Mi-seon of Daeyeon and Daseon. I make a good living without doing such dirty deeds.”

“I seem to have underestimated you.”

“Of course. Apologize quickly.”

“I’m sorry.”

Laughing and chatting, the two soon hardened their expressions and prepared their equipment.

It was unusual to have so few people entering the dungeon. It was possible because it was a D-grade dungeon and they were accompanied by Hong Seok-young.

The Hunters handpicked by Lee Mi-seon from Daseon also finished their preparations to enter the dungeon.

The dungeon gate was made entirely of light. The points of light, like fireflies, gathered and then dispersed, floating in the air as if drawn by some force.

Lee Mi-seon took out a recorder.

“Ahem. May 24, 2021. Seoul Songpa-20210406-0103 Dungeon. Total of five people entering. Lee Mi-seon of the Daseon Guild, Ji Yoo-gun, Kang So-yoon, Choi Dae-hyun. Independent Hunter Hong Seok-young. Current time is exactly 13:00. Entering the dungeon.”

The five Hunters dove into the gate without hesitation.

* * *

“…….”

“…….”

“…….”

“…….”

“Would you like to say something, Hunter Hong?”

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“What is there for me to say?”

Hong Seok-young scratched his head and looked around. A starry night sky. A plain stretched out below it. A forest could be seen in the distance….

“What a peaceful dungeon.”

Even the wind blowing at that moment was refreshingly pleasant.

Hong Seok-young nodded.

“It seems it really is D-grade. You can’t feel this kind of relaxation even in a C-grade.”

The sky looked like night, but inside the dungeon, it was bright as day.

Without that incongruity, one might think it was a deserted place somewhere. Grass brushing against their ankles and nameless flowers blooming in between. Hong Seok-young didn’t know much about flowers, but he could bet his spear that those flowers couldn’t be found anywhere on Earth.

He looked at the sky again. No moon. Naturally, no sun either. It was impossible to tell where the light filling the dungeon came from, and he couldn’t be sure if the stars in the sky were real.

The star-filled sky is a common feature observed in any dungeon in the world. Several Archmages tried to uncover the secret but all failed. Some even said it was just an illusion inside the dungeon.

Hong Seok-young looked around. There were no monsters in the plains that his senses could detect.

“Where were the monsters found?”

“In that forest.”

It’s too vast a dungeon for hand-sized insect-type monsters to inhabit.

“What about the number of individuals?”

“We haven’t fully grasped it, but there aren’t many.”

“Hmm…. What about eggs? Since they’re insect-type, they might have laid eggs somewhere.”

“No, that too….”

Lee Mi-seon shook her head.

“Guys, have you seen any eggs?”

“No, we haven’t seen any, Master.”

“We couldn’t find any last time we entered either.”

Hong Seok-young stroked his chin.

“Then what about food? Even if there aren’t many, they need to eat to survive.”

The Hunters of Daseon exchanged glances and then spoke up.

“Well, our guild has a dungeon exploration manual.”

“I know. Who do you think made it for you?”

“Oh, uh, yes! My apologies. According to the manual, we investigated the habits of the monsters. From what we’ve identified, their diet is herbivorous….”

“Herbivorous?”

Most monsters are carnivorous. While herbivorous monsters exist, they are so rare that it was only natural for his tone to be sharp.

The Daseon Hunter flinched for a moment but continued explaining.

“We directly observed them nibbling on leaves. They showed no reaction to the meat we brought. While they weren’t completely uninterested, they didn’t eat it.”

The Hunters each took turns reporting their findings about the monsters.

“They are curious about humans. They just circled around us without attacking. Even when we killed one of their kind right in front of them, their behavior didn’t change.”

“Their bodily fluids are harmless to humans. Unlike many insect-type monsters, they don’t have acidic properties.”

“Their exoskeleton isn’t tough, so they’re easy to cut through.”

“Oh, and they didn’t react to blood either.”

Hong Seok-young listened quietly to the Hunters’ reports and then looked at Lee Mi-seon. She had a somewhat proud expression.

Seeing her face, Hong Seok-young’s lips twitched.

“What’s with that look? Hurry up and give them some praise. Don’t dawdle.”

“The more you ask, the less I want to.”

“But there are no shortcomings in their report, are there?”

“……”

“Admit it, Hong Hunter.”

“Oh, we’ve arrived at the forest. Let’s see how accurate Lee Mi-seon Master’s Hunters are.”

“Admit it! My team is perfect!”

The weather was dry and cool as they crossed the plain from the gate. However, the moment they entered the forest, it became hot and humid.

Despite their noisy entry into the forest, the monsters didn’t show much interest in humans, just as the Hunters had reported. They briefly peeked out but quickly disappeared into the undergrowth when Hong Seok-young approached.

Swish….

Lee Mi-seon shivered.

“Ugh, if it weren’t for this job, I would never come into this dungeon.”

“Do you hate bugs?”

“I really hate them!!”

Lee Mi-seon screamed as she spotted a monster crawling between her legs.

Hong Seok-young quickly surveyed the surroundings. Despite the noise, the monsters showed no aggression.

D-grade. Peaceful. Why was Ark concerned about this dungeon?

“I hate anything with more legs than I do!”

Did the child hear and record things properly? Is there a chance the information was contaminated?

“But look at that! It doesn’t just have a lot of legs, it has an insane number of legs! And they’re huge!”

“They’re only as big as a palm.”

“I hate bugs even as small as a pinky nail!”

“Hmph.”

Hong Seok-young struck a passing monster with his spear.

Crack.

Bright green fluid splattered out. As he twisted and lifted the spear, the impaled monster’s corpse was raised with it.

Hong Seok-young extended it towards Lee Mi-seon.

“Here you go.”

“Kyaaah!!! Get that away from me!!! Away, I said!!!”

She really is a delicate lady in this regard.

But the Hunters around Lee Mi-seon also flinched and backed away.

People can have their dislikes.

Scratching his head, Hong Seok-young swung his spear towards an empty spot, flinging the monster’s corpse and its fluids around. Frankly, even he found the sight of the palm-sized centipede lying belly-up rather unpleasant.

“Alright. Let’s finish checking and get out of here quickly. Where’s the dungeon core? The report said it’s exposed.”

“It’s in the center of the forest. It’s not buried in the ground… it’s easily accessible. There are no monsters guarding it either.”

“Truly a typical D-grade dungeon.”

Except for its sheer size.

Hong Seok-young meticulously checked as he headed towards the dungeon core, ensuring there was nothing the Hunters might have missed. No matter how low the grade, complacency within a dungeon is dangerous.

However, even with his keen eyes, he didn’t notice anything unusual.

At least not until they got closer to the core.

“The number of monsters has increased, eek!”

“Oh my, a hunter should maintain composure at all times.”

“Everyone has their weak points!”

To prevent centipedes from occasionally falling from the trees, one of the Hunters took out an umbrella from their bag and held it over Lee Mi-seon’s head.

Hong Seok-young shook his head.

As they neared the dungeon core, a buzzing sound began to fill the air. As its name suggests, the dungeon core is the power source that maintains the dungeon. Breaking the core causes the dungeon to collapse, so raiding a dungeon starts with locating the core.

Some dungeons are left alone for the resources they contain. However, even in those cases, the core’s location must be known to close it if necessary.

Because the core is directly linked to the dungeon’s maintenance, it is usually well hidden. Monsters, too, seem to understand the core’s importance, often nesting around it. This instinct likely explains why the number of monsters increases as they approach the core in this dungeon.

“Hold on.”

“…Yes?”

Hong Seok-young halted the group and squinted his eyes.

The thick smell of grass, the buzzing resonance of the dungeon core, the sound of centipedes rustling through the underbrush.

And amidst all that, the scent of decay.

Hong Seok-young swiftly made a hand signal used among Hunters.

Quiet.

Eliminate any noise.

Follow me.

Without any questions, Lee Mi-seon and the Hunters followed Hong Seok-young. There was no one more reliable than Hong Seok-young inside the dungeon.

Soon, the others caught the stench that Hong Seok-young had detected.

Moving cautiously, Hong Seok-young approached the source of the nauseating smell coming from the direction of the dungeon core.

“Wow.”

When its source was finally revealed, Hong Seok-young clicked his tongue in what might have been admiration.

Branches and underbrush were broken and scattered messily. Dried blood splattered everywhere. The same could be seen on the ground. It didn’t take a great detective to figure out what had happened. Someone had been dragged and had resisted.

The blood trail led directly to the dungeon core. The shimmering light, similar to the dungeon gate, flickered in mid-air. Hong Seok-young briefly gazed at the core and then looked below it.

Right beneath the dungeon core.

There was a corpse.

A young man in a black suit.

“When was the last entry?”

“F-four days ago.”

“I’m asking just in case, but there wasn’t anything like this then, right?”

“No, there wasn’t!”

Hong Seok-young rubbed the bloodstains on the ground with his foot. He also prodded the corpse with the tip of his spear.

It hadn’t been long since the man had died.

Hong Seok-young frowned.

“When you were determining their diet… did you offer them fresh meat?”

“Are you referring to the monsters? Yes, that’s what I understand.”

“There was a reason they didn’t react to the meat.”

Hong Seok-young carefully flipped the corpse with his spear. Normally, nothing would be touched to preserve the scene, but this time there was no choice.

The corpse finally revealed its face. With eyes half-closed and mouth slightly open, it seemed to want to convey something to Hong Seok-young.

But instead of looking at the face, Hong Seok-young focused on the torso.

“Ugh….”

Lee Mi-seon quickly covered her mouth.

“These things prefer rotten meat.”

The area where the internal organs should have been was empty. With a blank expression, Hong Seok-young removed the monsters feeding inside the corpse.