Chapter 550

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Chapter 550: The Aesthetics of the Circle (1)

“An artifact…?”

Yeongwoo’s eyes widened as he read the dungeon’s description.

This was the first time he’d ever seen a dungeon ranked at Artifact level.

And then, the title:

[The Aesthetics of the Circle]

| Dungeon Rank: Artifact

| Difficulty: B

| Minimum Party Size: 8

| Recommended Party Size: 32

*If you yield just a little, everyone can live.

“Minimum of 8, but recommended 32? What kind of dungeon is this supposed to be?”

The gap between minimum and recommended numbers was fourfold.

Considering that previous dungeons had at most double the minimum, this was odd.

‘Feels like a hellhole already. And that “yield a little” line? Doesn’t sit right with me either.’

Even while thinking this, Yeongwoo had already stepped toward the portal.

His curiosity had won.

Besides, he’d already used up his golden sphere—he had to get his money’s worth.

Ssk.

As soon as Yeongwoo stepped inside, the familiar sensation of spatial transfer wrapped around him.

Whoosh—!

In the blink of an eye, the scenery changed.

“Huh?”

Before him stretched an endless stone floor.

And then—

Thud!

He slammed into the ground before he could even brace himself.

“What the—did I just fall from the sky?”

As Yeongwoo lay face-down, brushing dust off his forehead, someone extended a gold stick toward him.

Ssk.

“…?”

Lifting his head, Yeongwoo saw something bizarre.

“…Uh?”

A frog—yes, an actual frog—decked out in glittering jewelry, holding out the stick.

“What the hell is this.”

As he stared, dumbfounded, the “frog” opened its huge mouth.

—This? How dare you call me “this”?

The frog trembled in rage, and the gold and jewels on its body clinked noisily.

Thanks to that, Yeongwoo snapped out of his daze.

‘What is this guy, rich or something?’

A frog of indeterminate origin draped in every ornament imaginable.

It was about a meter tall, and the only “weapon” it held was that gold stick.

In other words, for someone inside a dungeon, its armament was pathetic, and its appearance far too conspicuous.

Nor did it radiate the aura of a powerful being.

‘Looks like I could crush it in two seconds flat.’

Honestly, Yeongwoo was confident he could kill it and loot all those jewels before it even blinked.

But—

—Insolent creature! Yet, given the circumstances, I shall overlook this once!

Even as it babbled, something about the frog’s haughty tone pricked at him.

It acted as though it were unquestionably the superior.

Nine times out of ten, that meant nobility—royalty even.

“Um… forgive me, but may I ask your name?”

The frog straightened up proudly and looked down at Yeongwoo.

—If you must know, I am the Tragic Jewel, Kanaph Izori.

‘Tragic jewel… Kana-what?’

Yeongwoo felt an almost overwhelming urge to stomp the frog flat, but restrained himself once more.

“…So you’re royalty?”

—Royalty? Something like that. I am the only younger sister of Duke Dalqui.

“What.”

The younger sister of Duke Dalqui.

So not a princess but a noblewoman.

“Oh, that’s all?”

At that, Yeongwoo decided it was time to establish who was in charge.

“Nobility? And not even the duke himself, just his sister? I’ve got friends who are royalty, you know.”

He stood up, and in an instant their eye level reversed.

Ssk.

Now Yeongwoo was the one looking down at Kanaph.

At his waist hung the legendary sword Bastard and, until now hidden beneath him, Aratubank.

Any fool with eyes would recognize such prestigious gear.

—…

Sure enough, Kanaph lightly tapped Yeongwoo’s fingertip with her gold stick as she added,

—By now my brother is desperately searching for me. Whoever protects me and delivers me safely to Duke Dalqui will be richly rewarded.

Yeongwoo’s face lit up like sunshine.

“Why didn’t you say so sooner? So you’re the one the Duke’s looking for.”

But one thing still didn’t add up.

“How exactly did you end up here?”

This was a dungeon.

You couldn’t just stroll in from the garden.

Kanaph’s face turned sullen.

—While traveling outside the duchy, I was attacked by villains. No doubt scoundrels with a grudge against my brother.

“Attacked? But instead of killing you, they sent you here?”

—The blood of House Izori never washes away. If I bleed, the trace lasts forever.

“Ah.”

In other words, the attackers dumped her into a dungeon to hide their tracks, counting on other participants to “handle” her.

‘So they left her here in all her finery to get killed by someone like me.’

By sheer misfortune for them, the first “someone” Kanaph met was none other than Jeong Yeongwoo 07.

For Duke Dalqui it might spell trouble, but for Kanaph it was pure luck.

“You must have done a lot of good in your past lives, running into me like this.”

—Rude, but not stupid, I see.

“But this is still a dungeon, Kanaph…”

—Call me Lady Kanaph.

“Ah, right. How exactly am I supposed to get Lady Kanaph out of here?”

As experience had shown, when a dungeon ended, all participants were sent back to wherever they came from.

Meaning even if she survived, she might be teleported to some unknown planet.

At that, Kanaph raised the gold stick she held.

Ssk.

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

—Twice a day, I can hide myself inside this sacred relic for a short time. Carry this out of the dungeon, and I come with it.

“You’re kidding. How’d you not get that stolen?”

Jaw slack, Yeongwoo watched Kanaph swallow the stick into her belly.

“…Oh.”

He’d seen this kind of ability before.

Pofu Tenta, another amphibian, had stored a trumpet in its stomach too.

“How long can you hide inside it?”

—Hmm… about a minute?

“So basically you’ll have to walk on your own the whole time.”

That made the situation clear.

‘One way or another, I have to keep this frog lady alive and collect a ransom from Duke Dalqui.’

Technically she was a hostage, but morally, this was good karma.

He’d be returning a kidnapped noblewoman to her rightful place.

“Well, fine. Just stick close to me, Lady. Understand?”

While sizing up his new “client,” Yeongwoo twitched an eyebrow.

“You’ve got a prosthetic leg.”

One of Kanaph’s legs gleamed silver.

—And aren’t you missing an arm?

Her voice turned sharp, apparently displeased at his remark.

“No, I didn’t mean it like that… It’s just funny coincidence. An amputee and a one-armed guy crossing paths in the same dungeon—what’re the odds?”

He glanced around.

‘This place is huge.’

The artifact-rank dungeon The Aesthetics of the Circle was far larger than any he’d seen.

Open land stretched endlessly in every direction.

“You don’t know the dungeon rules yet, do you? Looks like you were here first.”

—I know nothing.

Of course—she hadn’t come here by choice.

So Yeongwoo pointed vaguely ahead.

“Let’s move. Something’s bound to show up after a while.”

He was basing this on the dungeon’s stated scale:

| Minimum: 8

| Recommended: 32

Right now, the only person visible was Lady Kanaph.

Which meant—

‘At least six others are somewhere in here, but I can’t see them. This place is absurdly huge.’

Far off on the horizon was a bluish something.

A wall?

The sky?

He couldn’t tell.

For now, they had no choice but to explore until the next phase began.

“If walking’s hard, let me know.”

Even here, Yeongwoo’s ingrained respect for elders surfaced.

Kanaph stamped her silver leg on the ground.

Crack!

—Hard? I can run.

“Good.”

He nodded and started walking aimlessly.

There were no landmarks—no way to tell front from back.

Clank, clank.

After a while trudging across the vast emptiness, Kanaph asked,

—Why did you come here?

“To make money and get gear.”

—Money?

“Yes. I’m not noble like you; no family fortune to draw on.”

—Then you’re… someone’s vassal?

“I’m the head of my own house.”

—What? You, a head? Impossible.

Yeongwoo glanced over his shoulder.

“What’s so shocking?”

—The head of a house should…

“Yes, yes, I’m sure all the heads you’ve met were classy. But the universe is a big place. Guys like me exist too.”

Renaissance-era head of house Jeong Yeongwoo 07 had no qualms about extortion, kidnapping, or threats.

Kanaph, who’d lived her life draped in jewels, had probably never met a brute like this.

“Still, consider yourself lucky. I’m pretty good at staying alive.”

—But… even you don’t know what this place is yet, do you?

“…Not yet.”

Just then, the dungeon finally shifted.

Boom!

With a thunderous noise, a giant timer appeared on what looked like the sky.

[06:00:02]

“Huh?”

It immediately began ticking down.

[06:00:01]

“What?”

The last digits were seconds.

Which meant—

[06:00:00]

“…Six hours?”

As Yeongwoo muttered, the timer dropped below six hours.

[05:59:59]

Then, for the first time since entering, a system message appeared:

「From now on, the dungeon space will shrink drastically every hour.」

“What?”

Yeongwoo’s head whipped around like he’d been burned.

He suddenly realized what that bluish “wall” or “sky” must be.

‘…A magnetic field.’

「With each partial closure of the dungeon, an escape point will appear at a specific location. Activating it requires two arms and two legs.」

—Ugh? What does that mean?

Kanaph stretched her mouth wide in horror.

Yeongwoo, meanwhile, blinked rapidly.

‘Two arms, two legs… prosthetics and artificial limbs, maybe?’

It made sense.

He and Kanaph both had an artificial arm or leg.

The other participants were probably in similar condition.

Meaning the dungeon’s true objective was,

‘Collect prosthetic arms and legs as you go.’

Realizing this, Yeongwoo immediately drew Bastard from his waist.

Shhhhk!

And—

Slash!

He cut off his own left arm in one stroke.

Kanaph shrieked and bolted.

—Kyaaah! He’s insane…!

But she didn’t make it three steps before he grabbed her.

“Where are you going? We only need one more leg now.”

[Translator - Night]

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