Chapter 66: Special Dungeon—2

Special Dungeons were a completely different type of dungeon from regular ones.

Their method of conquest was different from regular dungeons, where you simply cleared out the internal monsters.

That was because they were dungeons that could only be cleared by satisfying the conditions presented for each Special Dungeon.

'Like finding a hidden object inside the dungeon. Or moving to a target location.'

A hologram would appear for the Hunters who entered the dungeon, and they had to satisfy that condition to clear it.

As far as Kim Hyeon-jun knew, there were dozens of different types of conditions.

'When the investigation team went in and came out briefly… they said it was a defense-type dungeon.'

The dungeon they were about to conquer this time seemed to require blocking monsters for a set period.

Since some Special Dungeons close their entrances if you stay too long, they had apparently only checked what type of dungeon it was.

In any case, preparation for various situations was essential.

The squad members gathered near the dungeon entrance.

If you turned your gaze, you could see the members of this conquest team carrying backpacks that were at the level of full combat gear.

That was the same for Kim Hyeon-jun as well.

Cold weather gear, heat-resistant gear, gas masks in preparation for toxic gas.

He had meticulously packed even various potions, including antidotes.

That was because they didn't know what type of monster would appear.

Some soldiers were carrying several heavy-looking bags: storage bags containing military tents.

And storage bags containing combat rations.

'Camping inside the dungeon. I never tried it even once before the regression.'

That was because, before the regression, he had never entered a Special Dungeon due to lack of capability.

The soldiers who conquered it back then always said they were tired no matter how much they slept.

He was curious about what it actually felt like.

"Hey, guys. Why do you all look so grim? The chance to conquer a Special Dungeon isn't that common."

Kim Hyeon-jun encouraged the squad members who were checking their equipment with dark expressions.

It was a dungeon where you could gain a lot if you did well.

"Corporal Kim Hyeon-jun… No matter what you say, we don't want to eat and sleep in a dungeon for over three days."

"I also want to sleep in the barracks, sir."

It didn't seem to have much effect, though.

"Loyalty! Second Lieutenant Yoo Chae-min of the Black Horse Unit."

A moment later.

The squad members of the Black Horse Unit joined the assembly point.

"Loyalty! Second Lieutenant Kim Dong-woo of the Biryong Unit. I look forward to working with you."

The squad leaders from each unit exchanged salutes and handshakes.

The composition in terms of personnel numbers and combat branches was similar for each unit.

The Black Horse Unit, specialized in magic soldiers, had a slightly higher number of magic soldiers.

"Everyone, don't be too tense just because it's a Special Dungeon. The grade itself isn't that high."

"Yes, sir!"

"As this is a joint conquest, cooperation with each other is important. Keep that in mind."

"Understood!"

Before entering the dungeon.

The squad leaders from each unit relayed precautions to their squad members.

Since the dungeon conquest would take at least three days, more words than usual were spoken.

'Hyeon-jun!'

Amidst that, a soldier from the Black Horse Unit quietly waved at Kim Hyeon-jun.

It was Senior Private Park Ye-rin, a magic soldier.

She wore a faint smile, perhaps happy to see him after a long time.

'Yeah. Good to see you.'

Kim Hyeon-jun briefly acknowledged the greeting and then raised his hand, pointing to the squad leader.

It was a gesture to focus on the briefing.

'Okay. Let's work well on this dungeon conquest.'

After exchanging glances, the two turned their heads away.

'…What's their relationship?'

Meanwhile.

Senior Private Jeong Ye-na, who was standing far away, didn't miss that gap.

It was understandable.

She had been sneaking glances at Kim Hyeon-jun since earlier,

'…That unnie is really pretty. Is that Corporal Kim Hyeon-jun's type?'

Thanks to her Hawk Eye trait with vision over 4.0, she couldn't miss it either.

Senior Private Jeong Ye-na admired Senior Private Park Ye-rin's dazzling appearance.

Even as a fellow woman, she was really pretty.

Her appearance and hair color were such that she could appear as a princess from an ice kingdom in a fairy tale.

"Wow… Park Ye-rin is really pretty."

"I'm seeing her for the first time too, but Corporal Kim Hyeon-jun's words that she's prettier than an idol were true."

She poked the soldiers' shoulders for no reason, annoyed by their whispering.

"What? Why are you suddenly like that?"

"Anyway, all men are the same. If you stare that openly, she'll notice."

"You're one to talk. You've been staring holes into Corporal Kim Hyeon-jun's face since earlier… Mmph!"

"Hey! Be quiet!"

Senior Private Jeong Ye-na quickly covered the soldier's mouth.

It would be troublesome if Kim Hyeon-jun heard.

"Then, we will begin the conquest now."

Meanwhile, the squad leader's briefing ended, and the conquest began.

Roughly fifty personnel from both units combined lined up and entered the dungeon.

The moment the full-fledged Special Dungeon conquest began.

---

Ding.

[You have entered a Special Dungeon.]

[You must protect the angel statue for a set period of time.]

[Remaining Time: 80 hours]

[Time until 1st Monster Wave: 1 hour]

A hologram appeared before the soldiers who entered the dungeon.

What appeared before their eyes was a majestic-looking stone building.

It looked taller than a twenty-story apartment building, roughly estimated.

'Its shape kind of resembles a pyramid too.'

Kim Hyeon-jun scanned his surroundings, but no particular dangers were visible.

On flat land with no end in sight.

It felt like they had been dropped in the middle of a desert.

Not a single monster was in sight.

'Well. In defense-type dungeons, monsters don't appear right away.'

"It's a more majestic building than the investigation team reported."

"Yes, sir. It says to protect the statue… It seems to be pointing to the one located at the top of that building."

After briefly exchanging words, the two squad leaders decided on the conquest direction and arranged the soldiers' positions.

The pyramid-shaped building had long stairways extending in four directions, with a hollow center structure.

A wide, large square space was formed at the top.

From a distance, it looked like a thick steel plate placed on top of a pyramid.

And in the center of that upper part was a statue in the form of an angel.

"Ugh… Now that we're up here, it's way too high."

"If you slip and fall on these stairs, won't you die?"

The soldiers positioned at the top of the building looked down and swallowed dryly.

The interior was quite spacious.

It resembled a pyramid in form, but the top part was modified, so it was like that.

It could accommodate a battalion-sized force sufficiently.

However, there were no safety measures despite the dizzying height.

If you accidentally rolled and fell outside, even a Hunter wouldn't be unharmed.

Moreover, a chilly atmosphere seemed to permeate the interior of the building, which looked like an ancient ruin.

It felt like something might jump out at any moment.

"Hey, guys. Relax a bit."

Kim Hyeon-jun eased the tension of such squad members.

Perhaps because it was everyone's first time conquering a Special Dungeon, they were all tensed up.

Of course, it was Kim Hyeon-jun's first time too, but he wasn't particularly nervous.

Maybe it was the influence of having carried out large-scale operations in the Special Mission Unit before.

He was rather looking forward to it.

Since he had entered a dungeon he had never conquered before the regression.

'And if the condition is defense… doesn't that mean monsters will keep pouring in?'

That meant the amount of experience points you could gain would increase over time, right?

If you managed the pace well, you could gain a decent amount of experience points.

"Hey, guys. Defense-type dungeons are on the easier side."

Difficult Special Dungeons had interiors that changed in real-time or spewed toxic gas.

Or monsters that were difficult to deal with appeared.

In such cases, you had to keep moving without a moment's rest.

"Corporal Kim Hyeon-jun, aren't you nervous? We have to eat and sleep in the dungeon for three days, sir."

Meanwhile.

Private Yoo Dong-ha, who was checking his shield at the front of the formation, spoke in a shriveled voice.

Well.

It was understandable for a private.

They usually don't get placed in Special Dungeon conquest teams.

'You could call it the fate of a useful shield soldier.'

Private Yoo Dong-ha would be able to do well.

He had trained hard until now, and whose junior was he?

"The first wave is coming soon! Everyone, focus!"

"Yes, sir!"

As time passed, the time for the first wave arrived.

Each squad leader alerted the soldiers and prepared for the impending attack.

A characteristic of defense types was that a much larger number of monsters appeared compared to regular dungeons.

It wasn't over after blocking once; you had to keep blocking.

Until when?

Until the timer displayed on the hologram reached zero.

Therefore, the distribution of stamina and coordination between soldiers was extremely important.

Ding.

[The 1st Wave has begun.]

A hologram appeared before the soldiers' eyes.

"Huh! Look over there, sir! Monsters keep spawning way over there!"

Senior Private Jeong Ye-na spotted the monsters first.

It was a report that monsters were multiplying from empty space.

Precisely in four directions, the directions where the stairways each led.

"Those are… hordes of monster rabbits. There are quite a lot of them!"

Monster rabbits, monsters with bodies about three times larger than regular rabbits.

Despite their cute appearance, they were carnivorous monsters.

They had an instinct to put any living creature into their mouths.

Dealing with them wasn't very difficult.

Their movements were rather sluggish too.

Their level was 2.

They were monsters you'd only expect to appear in a D-grade dungeon.

"Shield soldiers to your positions. Archers and magic soldiers, focus on reducing their numbers."

"Yes, sir!"

"Magic soldiers, be careful not to collapse the building, and refrain from using high mana-consuming magic."

"Understood!"

The soldiers moved to attack according to the squad leader's instructions.

Archers drew their bowstrings and fired arrows, and magic soldiers cast low-circle attack magic.

'That's right. There's no need to waste firepower unnecessarily.'

Kim Hyeon-jun nodded at the squad leaders' instructions.

In defense-type dungeons, the distribution of soldiers' stamina and mana was more important than anything else.

Because they had to eat, sleep, and fight inside the dungeon for three days.

'Even if you rest inside the dungeon, you don't recover as cleanly as you do outside.'

That was because the dungeon itself slowly drained the Hunters' stamina.

Therefore, adjusting firepower according to the appearing monsters was essential.

In that regard, comparing civilian guilds and the Hunter Army, the Hunter Army was much more efficient at clearing this type of dungeon.

Civilian guilds didn't form ranks this meticulously.

At most, there might be one party leader giving instructions to guild members.

Squelch! Splatter!

The defense battle began in earnest.

The monster rabbits died, their bodies bursting apart before even reaching the building.

That was because the level of the assembled conquest team was high.

The ratio of sergeants and corporals was high.

"Cease fire! The remaining ones will be finished off by each shield soldier, sword soldier, and spear soldier! Hold your positions!"

"Yes, sir!"

Dealing with the monster rabbits, now reduced to less than half, wasn't difficult.

Squeak!

Even if they charged with their teeth bared, they didn't even leave a scratch on the shield soldiers' shields.

'Maybe because they're level 2, it doesn't even seem to register.'

Kim Hyeon-jun poked and finished them off with his spear, but it felt like the experience bar didn't even budge.

"Dong-ha. Push them back confidently. No need to use your trait. Try not to use skills either."

"Private Yoo Dong-ha! Understood, sir!"

So, he yielded appropriately so his juniors could grow robustly.

Private Yoo Dong-ha had quite good combat sense.

Using the high building terrain, he pushed the charging monsters off with his shield.

Monsters falling from a high place naturally died instantly.

Meaning he didn't waste strength.

"Combat over! Everyone, check your equipment and take a rest."

The first monster wave was blocked without issue.

No soldiers were injured.

Following the squad leader's instruction, the soldiers relaxed their tension and began to rest one by one.

There was still a long way to go in conquering the dungeon, but the first step was important, right?

[Time until 2nd Monster Wave: 4 hours]

There was also plenty of time until the next wave.

"Archers on watch duty, maintain vigilance at your respective positions."

"Yes, sir!"

Of course, even so, this was inside a dungeon.

You never knew what situation might arise, so you couldn't neglect vigilance.

'I wonder when the level 4 or 5 ones will start appearing.'

Meanwhile.

Kim Hyeon-jun checked the timer and licked his lips.

For other soldiers, it would be a boring and exhausting conquest, but for him, it was no different from an experience point party.

'We could probably handle even twice as many as now.'

That thought suddenly crossed his mind.