Chapter 166

[Translator – Night]

[Proofreader – Gun]

Chapter 166: Sharing the Bed with Enemies (1)

Dungeon.

Every night, emerging through the extraordinary climate and using the golden orb was the only way to enter the otherworldly space.

As a reward, it guaranteed at least one unique equipment, but it was never easy for those who had ventured into the dungeon once to challenge it again.

That’s because the dungeon’s difficulty was high and it was structured unpredictably.

Knowing how ruthless the dungeon was, it was inevitable that the revisit rate would plummet.

Even at this moment.

‘If it’s like this, nobody would want to come back to the dungeon.’

Yeongwoo looked at the now considerably closer dungeon portal with a dumbfounded expression.

The portal was so massive that its edge wasn’t even in sight at the moment.

Kwaaah!

As the tower carrying the two entered inside the ring of light outlining the portal, the information about this dungeon was finally revealed.

Pahat!

[Sanctuary of Valor]

|Dungeon Grade: Normal

|Difficulty: C

|Recommended Participants: 6

“Recommended participants 6…?”

As Yeongwoo made a slightly surprised expression, Jeonggu asked with a fearful face.

“Why… Why? What’s going on?”

“The number of participants is twice as many as last night.”

[Pain of Illya]

|Dungeon Grade: Normal

|Difficulty: D

|Required Participants: 3

The dungeon Yeongwoo acted as a guide for yesterday had a difficulty grade of D with three required participants.

However, this time, it was ‘recommended’ for six participants with a difficulty of C.

It meant it was more difficult than “Pain of Illya” and required more people.

“But still, since it’s recommended… it means it’s possible even if all six don’t gather, right?”

“That’s the problem. It means we might start the dungeon with insufficient personnel.”

“….”

Jeonggu, who hadn’t visited the dungeon yet, only felt vague anxiety, but Yeongwoo was different.

‘Why is it recommended? Is there no specific essential role this time?’

As Yeongwoo sweated nervously, the tower carrying the men entered inside the portal.

Kwaaah!

As the surroundings turned blue, the surroundings were engulfed in pitch darkness in no time after passing through the portal.

Suaaht!

No, to be precise, it should be said that they had transitioned to a completely different space while passing through the portal.

From the temperature and the air felt on the skin, it was markedly unfamiliar.

“What, what’s this?”

Jeonggu looked around tightly gripping his sword, and at this moment, faint light entered the top of the tower, still carrying the two.

Thunk!

Then finally, the two realized the space they were in.

Whoosh!

Although the distance was considerable, there was a massive wind sound with a sense of huge volume.

Yeongwoo and Jeonggu were inside an incredibly large cave.

“Damn it.”

Jeonggu, who inadvertently looked down, trembled at the abyss of immeasurable depth.

“Where is this…? Is this how it’s supposed to be?”

“Yes. It’s probably somewhere in outer space.”

Shuck.

As Yeongwoo looked up, he saw something tiny and yellow in his field of vision.

And as soon as he saw that ‘spot’, he had a premonition of what was going to happen next.

“That’s the waiting room entrance over there.”

“Huh?”

“It looks like a spot from here, but it’s still far away from the other side. In reality, it’s probably a hole that exactly matches the size of the floor we’re standing on. The reason it looks yellow is probably because of the lighting inside.”

“How do you know that?”

“It’s my second time.”

Although it was his first time visiting this dungeon, he had similar experiences anyway.

‘The development is completely opposite to last time. Back then, we went down from the top, but this time, we’re shooting up from below.’

If one wasn’t nervous, it would be a lie.

Everyone tends to get scared in dungeons, but especially for Yeongwoo, it was not a trivial challenge as he had to endure relatively greater losses.

‘There are no dwarves or goblins here. So using weapons of choice is impossible. We have to deal with what we have.’

Of course, he had quite a lot compared to others.

Currently, he had five weapons with him: the myth-grade one-handed sword ‘Bastard’, the epic one-handed sword ‘Dragon’s Legacy’, the mutated one-handed sword ‘Dullahan’s Sword’.

And.

– Wheeing.

The legendary two-handed sword ‘Golden Trail’, which was still functioning within the dungeon.

And adding the epic-grade bow ‘White Fire’ worn on his upper body, he had a total of five weapons.

Still, the absence of the goblin felt significant.

“Why… why do you keep checking your weapons? Are you unsure too? That would be troublesome.”

Now Jeonggu’s face was pale, and Yeongwoo chuckled as he looked at him.

“It is true that I am a little weaker here than when I was outside, but don’t worry too much.”

“This guy, all you do is actions that make me worry.”

While Yeongwoo and Jeonggu were bickering like this, the thing that previously looked like a yellow dot started to appear quite close.

Ssueut……

The yellow dot was indeed a diamond-shaped hole pierced in the cave ceiling, just as Yeongwoo had said.

And from that hole, yellow light was pouring out.

“Oh… it’s real. It’s a hole.”

“By the way, I don’t know how many people might be there.”

“People…? Ah.”

Jeonggu, who belatedly remembered that this was where all the world’s strong gathered, opened his mouth in surprise.

And by this time.

Kuguguguguk!

The tower, which was gently rising, suddenly shook roughly, pushing the two towards the hole.

Dudududduk, click!

The shape of the tower’s top and the yellow hole were perfectly designed to fit together without a single inch of error.

“Wow, damn.”

Jeonggu, confirming that there was indeed another space above the cave ceiling, looked around with an expression of disbelief.

Somewhere, faint yellow light was descending, and this place was a circular stone arena reminiscent of a colosseum.

The diameter of the arena was approximately 500 meters.

And the height…

“Oh, what’s that?”

Jeonggu, now pointing to somewhere above his head as if tired, looked.

As Yeongwoo looked up, he saw a vaguely humanoid figure hanging upside down in the middle of the ceiling, which seemed to be at least a hundred meters high.

It was like a bat hanging upside down in sleep.

“It looks ominous even to me.”

This was a dungeon. There was no reason for such a placement without a purpose.

“That could be our opponent for the fight.”

Saying this, Yeongwoo quickly scanned the colosseum.

Then, he noticed huge doors attached to one side of the colosseum wall, and people gathered in front of them.

“Those people over there are probably the ones who arrived first. Let’s head over there for now.”

* * *

Clank, clank.

Thud, thud.

The reason for the difference in the footsteps of the two father and son was undoubtedly one.

Yeongwoo was the only one wearing shoes.

「Illusion」 – Unique Shoes

【30% chance of detection evasion.】

Meanwhile, Jeonggu was barefoot like any wild wanderer.

“…Why don’t you have anything?”

“My father’s a bit lacking. Merchants must have sold at least one pair of shoes by now.”

After giving Jeonggu this snide remark, Yeongwoo glanced at Jeonggu’s feet.

“Why don’t you at least get some sneakers and wear them? If you asked the staff, they would have given it to you.”

“Even if you got some sneakers and wore them, wouldn’t they tear apart soon? I want to wear something with a grade like the ones you’re wearing.”

“Well, then work hard and earn money to get yourself a pair.”

“….”

Their conversation ended there.

Soon, the people gathered on the other side noticed the new participants and began to turn their heads one by one.

But then.

[Translator – Night]

[Proofreader – Gun]

“The atmosphere doesn’t seem right.”

Yeongwoo wrinkled his nose.

It felt like the smell of blood was rising from somewhere.

And indeed.

Clank, clank.

As they went a bit further, bloodstains scattered on the floor came into view.

There had already been a conflict even before the dungeon started.

‘Ah… today’s going to be a bit painful.’

Yeongwoo was about to scratch his head with his hand but refrained from doing so, fearing it might seem like a provocation.

Because.

『Sandong’s Twin Evil』

『Gowung’s Sword Dragon』

『Miyagi’s Sword Master』

All the swordsmen gathered here today were from East Asian countries.

‘If it’s Sandong, it must be China, and Miyagi is probably Japan. The last one, Gouwong… is it Taiwan?’

And there were two additional Korean Strongest Swords present.

It was obvious to anyone that this was intentionally gathering neighboring countries.

“Uh…?”

“Are they Koreans?”

The three East Asian masters who had arrived early at the dungeon were each startled when they saw Yeongwoo’s title and his father’s.

Until now, there had been one person from each country, which seemed fair, but the balance was disrupted due to the addition of Koreans.

“…Why are there two of them?”

When a middle-aged man with the title “Sandong’s Twin Evil” asked this, Yeongwoo was about to answer obediently, but he felt a strange irritation and retorted.

“Why are you using informal speech?”

“….?”

“Doesn’t China have honorifics? I’m meeting you for the first time.”

As Yeongwoo, with his unique shoes “Illusion,” took another step forward, the legendary greatsword “Golden Trail” also moved through the air along with him.

– Wing!

Suddenly, all eyes in the audience were drawn to the golden greatsword.

Not only was the sword just floating in mid-air, but it also seemed to move on its own, revealing itself as a formidable weapon.

“Uh… Swordsmanship?”

The eyes of Sandong’s Twin Evil, which had grown slightly larger, lit up with surprise.

And not only his.

Gowung’s Sword Dragon from Taiwan and Miyagi’s Sword Master from Japan also took a step back, holding their breaths.

At this, Jeonggu turned slightly, muttering to himself.

“Damn, I must look like a total loser.”

Then he quickly turned back and patted Yeongwoo’s shoulder.

Thump!

“Stop it, son.”

“….?”

This time it was Yeongwoo who widened his eyes in surprise.

“What did you say?”

“Let’s not fight since we have to proceed with the dungeon.”

Jeonggu wanted to show that he had a higher status than someone who wielded swordsmanship in front of these Asian masters.

“What the hell….”

Yeongwoo was about to frown and say something, but…

Crack!

Miyagi’s Sword Master, a woman with that title, slammed her sword into the ground, preventing him from doing so.

“Before we start another fight, let me introduce myself first. I’m Tomiko Hayama from Japan.”

『Miyagi’s Sword Master』

Tomiko Hayama.

26 years old, female.

She had an unbelievably innocent face, considering she was someone who had subdued Miyagi Prefecture, with a population of nearly 2.2 million.

Rather, that’s what made her aura even more unusual.

“Yes… I’m Jeong Yeongwoo from Korea.”

As Yeongwoo nodded politely, Jeonggu also greeted Tomiko.

“I’m Kim Jeonggu. And let’s not fight.”

Jeonggu waved his hands as if to calm everyone down.

At this, a young man from Taiwan, who had been silent until now, spoke up.

“I’m Ryu Manho from Gouwong City, Taiwan.”

When Yeongwoo was about to show his teeth again in a rather cynical greeting, Tomiko quickly intervened with a smile.

“Both of them seem to be in a bad mood today. There’s a slight difference in stance on international affairs, so you had a little argument.”

The ‘both of them’ she mentioned referred to Ryu Manho from Taiwan and the middle-aged man called Sandong’s Twin Evil, whose name had not yet been revealed.

Taiwan and China.

Since they were in a difficult situation to get along, they immediately started quarreling as soon as they met and had a conversation in this dungeon.

“No wonder I kept smelling blood.”

Yeongwoo noticed that there were small puddles of blood where Ryu Manho and Sandong’s Twin Evil had been standing.

Although it wasn’t obvious on the surface, they had fought fiercely enough to create small injuries inside their armor.

‘That woman, describing that as a ‘little fight,’ must be unusual too.’

Anyway, now that Yeongwoo had grasped the situation to some extent, he pointed to the giant statue hanging far up on the ceiling.

“Does anyone know exactly what that is?”

Upon this question, Tomiko shook her head regretfully.

“Well… I think we’ll all find out soon enough when we have to fight it.”

“I see.”

This person was an experienced dungeon explorer.

Yeongwoo raised his guard against Tomiko and surveyed the vast space of the arena, which was nothing more than an empty field for now.

“We’re still missing one person to meet the recommended number.”

It would have been nice if Ottavio, the Sicilian, showed up now.

As Yeongwoo hoped for the appearance of the sixth participant with a wistful look, Tomiko pointed somewhere.

“Most likely, the five of us will have to start very soon.”

“Why?”

Yeongwoo glanced curiously at Tomiko, who was grinning, and looked in the direction she pointed.

There, he saw a stone table placed in front of the three door panels lined up on the wall.

On top of it lay a thick book spread open.

‘That must be the rulebook.’

Yeongwoo had a hunch that it contained some sort of rules.

It probably played the same role as the bonfire did in the previous dungeon.

Clack, clack.

As Yeongwoo stepped forward with a metallic sound and stood in front of the table, the familiar numerical format appeared before his eyes.

[5/6]

Out of the recommended six participants, five were present.

Below that was a countdown timer.

[00:00:08]

“Huh?”

Now, a timer was ticking down with only 8 seconds remaining until the time expired.

[Translator – Night]

[Proofreader – Gun]