Chapter 13 - First Dungeon Trip (1)

“Could the family head have secretly assigned escorts for you, Young Master? Since it is your first dungeon trip today.”

A plausible guess.

But thinking about it a little more deeply, the possibility was not high.

“Even with you here, Ho-joong? And in an E-rank dungeon, no less?”

“Well, that’s true, but.”

“And knowing my father's personality, it’s definitely not that.”

Although I hadn't known my father for long, I knew he wasn't the type to assign escorts behind his son's back.

If he had been worried about me going alone with Choi Ho-joong, he would have assembled a full expedition team. This kind of secretive method was definitely not his style.

“If they are not people sent by the family head, then who could they be?”

“I wonder.”

There was one thing that bothered me.

The time difference between our entry and the five who came in later was only about 5 minutes. The fact that they followed us was clearly intentional.

Naturally, they wouldn't have received official permission for dungeon entry either.

“There’s a high chance they’re not from the main family.”

“Why is that?”

“Just a feeling.”

With my first dungeon trip being publicly known, it was hard to believe that someone from the main family other than my father would do something like this.

In that case, it was reasonable to assume that the five who came in later were from a branch family or were related to them. Therefore, the question of why they followed us still remained.

“But anyone from the Haewon Sword Family can see that I applied for a dungeon trip on the app, right?”

“Yes. Regardless of whether they are from the main or branch families, they can see the list of who is scheduled to conquer which dungeon. That way, there are no overlaps and no one gets upset.”

“I see.”

“However, even if they are from a branch family, the possibility of them doing something like this without prior consent is low.”

“That's why it's even more unsettling. Because we don't know their intentions.”

“If they are indeed from a branch family, I will protest sternly as soon as we encounter them.”

“For now, take the lead. Let’s start conquering the dungeon.”

“Yes, Young Master.”

We set aside our questions for a moment and began to conquer the dungeon.

The monsters that would appear in this dungeon were twenty-one goblins.

As we walked a little further down the path, a goblin started charging with a familiar cry.

Kerrrreuk!

“Ho-joong, step aside.”

Shwaaaak!

I drew the Reapersword from its sheath.

The way it fit perfectly in my hand from the moment I drew it was extraordinary; a fine sword was indeed a fine sword.

And the owner of this sword, whose draw alone was exceptional, was a far more excellent master.

Swish!

In an instant, the goblin’s head was cleanly severed and fell to the ground.

“Y-Young Master!”

“What.”

“It’s nothing! I was just so surprised.”

“What’s there to be surprised about? Anyway, watch carefully every time I swing my sword. These are scenes that will become your flesh and bone.”

“…Ah. Yes.”

“Your answer is a beat late?”

And then another goblin charged right at me.

Swish!

It was ridiculous to talk about the performance of the Reapersword while hunting mere goblins, but I quite liked this thing.

With just the pure physical strength I had improved through weightlifting, I could slice a goblin’s neck like tofu, and the performance of the Reapersword played a big part in that.

[Goblins remaining: 19]

“Young Master! Your skills have improved beyond recognition!”

“Yeah. Not recognizing things is your specialty, after all.”

He was truly a consistent character.

In any case, at this rate, it seemed possible to conquer the dungeon without Choi Ho-joong’s intervention.

It would be a different story if the goblins attacked in a group, but I could handle defeating them one by one like this even with this frail body.

Swish!

And again, another goblin’s head fell to the ground.

One strike, one kill. I was in top condition.

“That’s a relief. Looking at the state of the goblins, this seems to be a fairly easy dungeon among the E-rank ones.”

“There’s nothing to be relieved about, is there? You said if the dungeon difficulty is low like this, the rewards are likely to be trash.”

“Yes. It’ll probably just be a single Mana Stone the size of a pebble.”

“Then, what about a Mana Rune?”

“I told you. It’s greedy to hope for something like that in an E-rank dungeon. Young Master! To your left!”

Of course, I knew.

Swish!

This time, the Reapersword drew an elegant arc and split the goblin’s torso in two.

It was a much higher difficulty than cutting off the neck, but it wasn't that hard.

A surprising change compared to when I was first reincarnated.

Choi Ho-joong’s mouth was wide open.

“Ho-joong, isn’t it strange?”

“…Yes. It is very strange. The Young Master I know is…”

“Not that, I mean the five people who followed us. Don’t you think it’s too quiet?”

In truth, we were walking along the dungeon path at a relatively slow pace because we were hunting.

And yet, we still couldn't feel the presence of the five people.

If their purpose for entering the dungeon was to escort us, they should have caught up long ago, and the same would be true if their purpose was to conquer the dungeon.

That was why the ominous feeling was growing deeper.

Swish!

Swish!

Swish!

Still, for the time being, we continued to conquer the dungeon.

Another 30 minutes or so passed, and finally, there was only one goblin left.

“Ho-joong, how many minutes did you say it usually takes for a dungeon to disappear after it’s cleared?”

“It varies from dungeon to dungeon, but in my experience, E-rank dungeons took about 15 minutes.”

“15 minutes… That’s a long time if you think about it.”

“Yes. That's actually the most boring time. Because you can't go outside until the dungeon disappears.”

“They’ll show themselves soon enough.”

“Pardon?”

“I can feel their presence. They've gotten a lot closer.”

The five followers who were trailing us. They were emitting a faint killing intent from behind us.

“You can feel their presence? I can’t really feel anything, isn’t it just your imagination?”

“Well, what would you know. Just pretend you don't know and walk nonchalantly. We still have to take care of the last goblin anyway.”

The dungeon conquest was now in its final stages. I had located the last remaining goblin, so I took the lead and walked forward.

Of course, from now on, I had to start paying attention to what was behind me.

The group behind us, exuding an unusual aura, could reveal their true nature at any moment.

Kerrrreuk!

The last remaining goblin charged at me without fear.

Stab!

I thrust the Reapersword towards the charging creature.

The moment the tip of the sword pierced its heart, the dungeon's closing message rang out.

[The dungeon has been cleared.]

[Rewards will be distributed based on contribution.]

In that moment, the rewards I received filled my inventory.

It was a very unfamiliar feeling since it was my first time experiencing it.

[Unidentified Item: 3]

“Young Master, I am empty-handed. I was hoping for something, but it seems my contribution wasn't recognized after all.”

“Isn’t it a thief's mentality to expect that?”

“Well, I suppose so. By the way, Young Master, you got unidentified items, right?”

“Yeah. Three.”

“Three?”

“Why?”

“That's too many! Considering the dungeon’s difficulty, it's normal to get one Mana Stone and be done with it.”

“I’ll take them out one by one.”

I reached into my inventory and took out the first thing I grabbed, which was a pebble the size of a fingernail.

“I knew it. Not only the size, but looking at the state of the Mana Stone, its quality is also the lowest grade.”

“Ho-joong. You seem kind of excited?”

“Hey! No way!”

“Anyway, here you go.”

I handed the Mana Stone to Choi Ho-joong.

It wasn't much, but it was payment for his service as my escort today.

“Take it.”

And without hesitation, I took out the next reward item.

The texture felt different as I grabbed it.

According to what I had studied from pictures, something like this was called a Mana Rune, right?

“Ho-joong. What does this look like to you?”

“Hey! No way!”

“That ‘no way’ reaction of yours makes even less sense. If this isn't a Mana Rune, what is it?”

“Did that really come out?”

“You seem displeased.”

“It’s not that, but Mana Runes are really rare even in A-rank dungeons! I've only had one drop in my entire life as a swordsman.”

“I'm a bit lucky. Anyway, I can't give it to you as payment. This is a bound item, isn't it? Right?”

In reality, I am a very lucky person.

During my Johan Raven days, being born into the best family with the best talent and having the world at my feet was, when you thought about it, all luck.

As if that wasn't enough, I was even reborn after dying, so there was probably no one in the world luckier than me.

“It seems the saying about beginner’s luck is true.”

“Not necessarily. Seeing as how flies are buzzing around me on my very first dungeon trip.”

“Pardon?”

“Don't tell me you still don't know? After five flies have approached this far?”

“Huh? Come to think of it!”

It seemed Choi Ho-joong was only now sensing their presence.

They weren't in sight yet, hidden by the dense forest, but a foul aura was definitely flowing from the path we had walked.

“Warm up. The time has finally come for you to use some strength too.”

“Are you planning to fight? No matter how much you are the son of the main family's head, you can't just pick a fight so recklessly.”

“Just look at those bastards over there.”

Finally, the silhouettes of five people came into view.

Every single one of them was wearing a mask.

And the sight of them walking towards us with swords in their hands clearly held murderous intent.

“Crazy bastards! What are they thinking, daring to do this!”

“We'll find that out after we beat it out of them.”

It would take about 15 minutes for the dungeon to disappear.

Those bastards were probably thinking of ending the situation within that time.

A dungeon is a sealed room completely cut off from the world. No one outside would know what happened inside.

“What's with the masks? Are you not confident you can do a clean job?”

They didn't answer my question.

Following the order of a guy who seemed to be the leader, the group instantly split into two and charged towards us.

‘Four for Choi Ho-joong. And one for me.’

It was a natural calculation for them.

They must have thought that taking care of me would be easier than swatting a fly.

Crack!

I channeled strength into my hand and shattered the Mana Rune.

The mana energy contained within the rune was immediately absorbed into my body.

The intense heat I felt in my dantian was incredibly thrilling.

A new wind brought by the Mana Rune swirled inside my body.

And the fusion between the two energies began.

‘This is useful.’

This didn't dramatically increase the amount of my mana, but since my existing reserves were so meager, the rate of change was considerable.

And this was more than enough.

It didn't take much power to subdue the one rabble rushing towards me.

Shwaaaaa!

The Reapersword flashed, and a smooth, straight line cut through the wind.