Jennifer, cutting through the bushes and traversing the dungeon without even bothering to hide, checked the time repeatedly as she moved.
‘Twenty-six minutes. Fortunately, the monsters ignored me and headed toward the device, which saved me some time. I should be able to reach the dungeon entrance within the time limit.’
The entrance was just a little further ahead.
If no other problems arose, it seemed she would arrive at the dungeon entrance in about thirty minutes.
Of course, that was provided that no other problems arose.
Jennifer, moving at a tremendous speed, arrived at the entrance and left the dungeon’s interior after about three minutes.
‘Done!’
As soon as she saw the portal leading outside, she dashed toward it without looking back. But at that moment.
“Not so fast! Chain of Light!”
Someone appeared and cast a skill, and chains of light emitting a faint glow wrapped around her entire body.
Since the portal was right in front of her, she hadn’t even considered that someone might be nearby.
Even if there were, she had judged that they wouldn’t be able to keep up with her speed.
However, that was her fatal mistake.
*Clatter!*
“Wait! Wh-what is this!”
In an instant, her body was entwined by the chains of light and dragged somewhere.
*Rattle!*
“Ugh!”
After being dragged, she couldn’t regain her senses, feeling as if she had been struck hard on the back of the head with a blunt weapon.
In the meantime, she heard people talking.
“Chang-su. Strip off the hood before she wakes up. Let’s see her face.”
“Yes, Brother.”
While she was still dazed, it seemed they were trying to remove her hood.
‘N-no!’
Even in her delirious state, she could hear their conversation.
She felt a strong sense of repulsion, but she wasn’t in a state to do anything right then.
She had been stunned, and her body was out of her control.
Eventually, her hood was pushed back, and the mask she was wearing was removed, revealing her full face.
Simultaneously, three seconds passed, and the stun wore off.
“Damn! G-get away!”
She struggled the moment she regained her senses, but strangely, she couldn’t leave the spot.
[Status Effect [Immobilized] is in effect. You cannot move for ten minutes.]
Jennifer’s expression turned frantic as she checked the notification.
“What? Immobilized? This is crazy!”
With less than five minutes left until the dungeon lockdown, she was in a situation where she couldn’t move for ten minutes.
This meant she was bound to be swept away by the monster wave inside the dungeon.
However, there was someone who recognized her.
“Huh? Is-is that Choi Ju-yeon of Red Spirit?”
It was Chang-su.
He shouted with a surprised expression after confirming her face.
At that, Yuseon hurried over, startled.
“What? You mean Choi Ju-yeon, the main vocalist of the girl group Red Spirit? For real?”
Red Spirit was a girl group that had debuted just over a year ago.
They were quite well-known in Korea and had begun to make a name for themselves internationally.
The group consisted of five members, and among them, the main vocalist, Choi Ju-yeon, enjoyed the most popularity.
“Y-you have the wrong person!”
Jennifer desperately denied it, claiming they had mistaken her for someone else.
Seong-jun approached her and spoke.
“Whether you’re really Choi Ju-yeon of Red Spirit or not doesn’t matter. This strange phenomenon happening in the dungeon right now—you caused it, didn’t you? Did you activate a device here?”
Jennifer looked flustered by Seong-jun’s question.
“Huh? S-Saint Kim Seong-jun? Why are you here!”
Since various media outlets covered Seong-jun’s activities so extensively, there was almost no one who didn’t know his face.
Naturally, Jennifer knew what he looked like as well.
Seong-jun cast Divine Eye on the flustered Jennifer.
‘Divine Eye!’
As he used the skill, Jennifer’s information appeared in a long list.
[Analysis Results]
Choi Ju-yeon: [A-rank Bloody Shadow]
Average Stats: [A]
Detailed Stats: [Available]
Weakness: Attack power and critical rate are lower than other assassin classes of the same rank.
Difficult to handle due to various movement skills, but easy to suppress if movement is blocked.
Combat Style: [Dynamic and speedy combat using various movement skills.]
Core Skills: [Gale Walk / Blink]
Reliability: 31
Psychological State: [Extremely flustered by her identity being discovered. Anxious about escaping before the dungeon closes.]
Last Thought: ‘Damn! Why is Kim Seong-jun here? There was no mention of this! No, more importantly, how does he know about the device? What on earth is going on? Ah! Damn it! Anyway, I have to get out before the dungeon is sealed. What should I do? If I stay like this, I’m dead meat!’
Through Divine Eye, he confirmed that she was indeed Choi Ju-yeon of Red Spirit and that she was the person who had brought the device into the dungeon.
Otherwise, she wouldn’t have known that the dungeon was about to be sealed.
After skimming the information, Seong-jun spoke to her.
“There’s not much time left until the dungeon lockdown, is there? Choi Ju-yeon of Red Spirit. I’ll keep your identity a secret, so tell me the truth. If you do, I’ll let you out right now. Otherwise, you’ll be taken out as our prisoner.”
Choi Ju-yeon fell into deep thought at Seong-jun’s words.
“……”
Watching her, Seong-jun continued.
“People don’t know you’re an Awakened, do they? From the looks of it, you haven’t even registered as an Awakened with the Association. That means you’re an unregistered Awakened. Most unregistered Awakened are Villains, and people truly despise Villains who try to disrupt social order. If you’re taken out by us, whether you’re a real Villain or not, people will think of you as one. Not only the group you belong to, but even your parents will be put in a difficult position.”
The main vocalist of a fairly successful girl group was an unregistered Awakened.
People tended to equate unregistered Awakened with Villains. In other words, if she was caught by Seong-jun’s party and revealed to be unregistered, she could be treated exactly like a Villain in an instant.
Naturally, not only Red Spirit, but her parents and siblings could also be ridiculed and pointed at.
“……”
Perhaps because of that, her eyes were shaking violently.
Though he didn’t know for sure, countless thoughts must have flashed through her mind in that short moment, making her head spin.
“If you confess obediently and promise to meet me separately outside, I’ll promise not only to let you go like this but also to keep your identity a secret. For your information, we have no intention of leaving, so you can go out alone. Who knows? Maybe we’ll all die here and your secret will be buried forever. So tell me. Who are you, and what did you do after entering this place?”
She had to make a choice.
Either stay silent and remain here, or speak up and escape.
If she stayed, she would most likely die in the monster wave, and even if she survived, she would be caught by them and revealed as an unregistered Awakened.
Everything she had built up so far would surely crumble, and the organization would likely dispose of her once her identity was exposed.
Conversely, if she gave them the answer they wanted and left, no problems would arise for the time being.
Whether Karl Buckman died or lived, she would have successfully completed her mission and could continue her activities as a girl group member while working as a member of the organization.
And as Seong-jun said, if they died here, everything would be neatly resolved.
But what if Seong-jun survived and left the dungeon?
From then on, she would be in a situation where she was dragged around by him.
“I don’t know how much time is left until the lockdown, but you probably don’t have enough leisure to just stand there contemplating.”
There were now less than two minutes left until the dungeon closed.
A little more time and it would be the end.
Because of that, she finally reached a decision.
“Ugh! Fine! I’ll do as you want. Like you said, I am Choi Ju-yeon of Red Spirit, and I entered the dungeon to test the device on the organization’s orders. I don’t know how you know about the device, but you’re right. The device was activated in this dungeon, and soon it will be sealed, and a monster wave will occur. Happy? Now hurry up and let me go!”
Choi Ju-yeon gave Seong-jun the answer he wanted.
At that, Seong-jun smiled and pulled a recorder from his pocket.
“Everything you just said is recorded on this, so it’s no use trying to play dumb later. So, when I contact you, come out immediately. If you don’t, I’ll take this recorder straight to the Association. Oh! I guess it wouldn’t matter if you plan to leave Korea while we’re stuck here. But can you really do that?”
When he said he had recorded the entire conversation, Choi Ju-yeon’s expression distorted sharply.
“What? A-a recording? Damn it! You’re blackmailing me by recording that like a coward?”
“Think whatever you want. But if you don’t want to lose everything you’ve built, you’d better judge wisely. Brother. Release the skill.”
At Seong-jun’s word, Gwang-taek immediately deactivated the Chain of Light.
“Okay. Chain of Light. Release.”
The immobilization wore off, and she could move again.
“Go on. Don’t forget what I said.”
At Seong-jun’s words, she walked toward the portal with a dismal expression.
Then, she turned her head to look at Seong-jun.
“You must keep the promise you made earlier. Even if you happen to survive and come out, you must keep my secret.”
If possible, it would be best if they died in the monster wave, but since her opponent was none other than Seong-jun, the probability of him surviving could not be ignored.
That was why she insisted he keep his promise to remain silent about her even if he survived.
“Don’t worry. If you keep your promise, I’ll keep mine.”
Having received confirmation again, Choi Ju-yeon put her mask back on, covered her face with her hood, and then stepped through the portal.
“I’ll trust you.”
*Flash!*
As she exited through the portal, Yuseon asked with a concerned expression.
“But is it really okay to just let her go like that? It was a golden opportunity to find out about the organization that made the device. To put it bluntly, what if she just disappears?”
What they had found out so far was only that she was Choi Ju-yeon, the main vocalist of Red Spirit, and that she had activated the device here under the direction of some organization.
If they dug deeper, they could have obtained more information, so Yuseon was questioning if letting her go like this was right.
“If she has a brain, she won’t do that rashly. It would be difficult to leave Korea and throw away everything she’s built, but beyond that, if she suddenly acts like that, the organization she belongs to will notice something is wrong.”
The reason Seong-jun had let her go so easily was that she was a member of a currently active girl group.
If she were just an ordinary Villain, she might go into hiding as Yuseon said, but she couldn’t easily disappear because of the nature of her job.
Furthermore, doing so would alert her organization, and they might decide to eliminate her, thinking her identity might have been compromised.
Of course, she could choose to go into hiding despite all that, but for some reason, Seong-jun didn’t think she would.
“Is that so? Anyway, it’s really unexpected. To think the main vocalist of Red Spirit was associated with the organization that made the device. Does that make her a Villain?”
“Since we don’t know what kind of organization it is, it’s a bit early to conclude she’s a Villain. But since it doesn’t seem like they made the device for a good purpose, there’s a high probability she’s a Villain. Well, we’ll find out for sure once we go outside and check.”
At that moment.
*Rumble!*
The dungeon portal was sealed shut.
“Whoa! Dungeon lockdown!”
“Hmm, the dungeon really was sealed. That means a monster wave is a certainty. Can just the few of us handle a B-rank monster wave? No matter how powerful Karl and his team are, their numbers are woefully insufficient. Besides, this isn’t a labyrinth-type dungeon, it’s a field-type. And since the monsters are aerial Harpies, defense won’t be easy.”
If it were a labyrinth-type dungeon, they could choose a place with a narrow entrance and achieve maximum efficiency with minimum defense.
But this was a field-type dungeon.
Even if they were ground-type monsters, they could use the terrain to their advantage, but this was a Harpy dungeon with aerial monsters.
If they attacked from the sky, the terrain wouldn’t mean much.
Above all, if they targeted the damage dealers directly from the air, the existence of a Tanker could lose its meaning.
“If we look around, there should be a suitable place. Before the wave hits, we have to find a good area to take a stand and defend at all costs.”
At Seong-jun’s words, Gwang-taek asked cautiously.
“How about we wipe them out once they gather in one spot, like we did in that C-rank dungeon?”
When the device had been activated in the C-rank dungeon, Seong-jun and Yuseon had led the way in clearing them out.
Gwang-taek was asking if they should do the same this time.
Seong-jun shook his head.
“That will be difficult. Those were C-rank monsters, so we could clear them in one or two hits, but these are B-rank. They won’t be dealt with in a shot or two. And if we do that, we’ll be targeted by thousands of Harpies at once.”
Striking a blow while monsters were gathered was only possible if they could be eliminated in one or two attacks.
This was a B-rank dungeon, and even with Dark Attribute Infusion and powerful area-of-effect skills, the chances were high that they wouldn’t be eliminated in just a couple of hits.
If that happened, the people participating in the attack would suddenly become the targets of thousands of Harpies.
“I guess so. Let’s hurry, then. We don’t know when the wave will hit, so we should hurry and regroup with the others and find a suitable spot.”
Since Seong-jun’s words made sense, Gwang-taek immediately agreed and suggested they move quickly.
They needed to find a suitable place to defend after regrouping with Karl’s party.
“Let’s go.”
With that, Seong-jun’s party set off to regroup with Karl’s team.
***
As Choi Ju-yeon came out through the portal, Rufus, who had been waiting, approached her.
“You barely made it. What about the mission?”
At Rufus’s question, Choi Ju-yeon answered in a cold voice.
“I came out on time because I succeeded, didn’t I? Were there any people trying to enter in the meantime?”
“None. I guess the dungeon isn’t very popular because Harpies are the main monsters. It worked out well for us. If it were a crowded dungeon, it would have been hard to control the area.”
If it had been a dungeon with ground-type monsters instead of Harpies, there would have been many difficulties in controlling the site.
The more parties trying to enter, the higher the chance that hunters would harbor dissatisfaction, and if any of them filed a complaint with the Association, the Association wouldn’t be able to ignore it.
Since this was a B-rank dungeon, high-rank hunters, including A-rank ones, would mainly visit, and the Association couldn’t ignore complaints from such high-rank hunters.
If an investigation were conducted and it was discovered that this place wasn’t originally subject to control, things could become complicated in many ways.
In that regard, the fact that this was a dungeon where aerial monsters appeared and thus hunters didn’t have much interest in it was a stroke of luck for them.
“Then we can just check that the dungeon is sealed and withdraw.”
The most certain way to confirm that the device was working properly was to see the dungeon being sealed.
Therefore, Choi Ju-yeon suggested they leave after confirming the lockdown.
“I’ll do that. Start cleaning up immediately. We must leave no trace that we were here, so be thorough.”
Rufus told his subordinates to clean up as quickly and thoroughly as possible.
“Yes, sir!”
The subordinates began to clean up in a hurry. And after a while.
*Vrummmmm!*
Finally, the dungeon portal was sealed.
“Oh! The dungeon is sealed. As expected of Jennifer. Your work is always clean, isn’t it? Anyway, does this confirm Karl Buckman’s death?”
The fact that the dungeon was sealed meant the device had worked properly, and naturally, it meant Jennifer had perfectly executed her mission.
Furthermore, it could be seen as confirming Karl Buckman’s death.
Of course, Choi Ju-yeon, who had met Seong-jun’s party in the dungeon, couldn’t help but think about potential variables.
“Who knows? Even if he’s only half-baked, the opponent is strictly S-rank. Plus, all the party members are A-rank. Above all, the strength of the party that entered before them hasn’t been confirmed, so it could act as a variable. It wouldn’t be strange regardless of what happens in there.”
Choi Ju-yeon didn’t bother to reveal that she had met Seong-jun’s party inside.
She judged that there was nothing to gain from saying it in the current situation.
It could even lead to unnecessary suspicion.
She decided it was better to maintain a stance of knowing nothing.
“Heh, you worry too much. This isn’t just any B-rank; it’s a dungeon where Harpies, aerial monsters, appear. It’s a situation where it’s even awkward to use the terrain to their advantage. Well, even if they survive and come out like you said, Jennifer, we don’t need to care. We performed our mission exactly as ordered, and the rest is entirely up to luck. Anyway, let’s leave the cleanup to these guys and withdraw.”
Even if Karl Buckman overcame the monster wave and came out of the dungeon as she said, it wasn’t something they needed to worry about.
They had performed their mission perfectly, and if he still survived, it would be because Karl Buckman and his team were skilled.
“Let’s do that.”
Rufus and Choi Ju-yeon, having left the cleanup to the subordinates, walked away slowly.
Then, Choi Ju-yeon stopped for a moment and glanced at the sealed dungeon portal.
‘I don’t know what kind of guts they have to stay in there, but I hope they all just die. That would be the cleanest way.’
Choi Ju-yeon hoped that Seong-jun would simply meet his end in there.
That way, the fact that her identity was revealed, and the things she had said about the organization and the device, would be buried forever.