Chapter 24

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“Ugh… .”

As soon as I woke up, the first thought that came to my mind was that I felt tired all over.

When I checked my watch, I found that I had been unconscious for about a minute.

It wasn't bad.

[The more you raise your mana or energy, the more time you remain unconscious.]

That was the setting for this strange space.

I looked around, expressing my gratitude for my memory, which, if anything else, remembered this important thing. 

"Nice."

Not far away, Ivan Hunt and Jin Ye-Seul were lying unconscious.

Since Ivan Hunt was here, it wasn't a blank for now.

To be honest, it would have been better if Han Soo-Young was with me instead of Jin Ye-Seul, but I thought it would be unreasonable to expect that much.

“Hey, get a hold of yourself!"

“Ugh…… .”

I tapped the unconscious Ivan on the shoulder to wake him up.

But perhaps he didn't listen to my advice when he was eaten by the dungeon earlier, because he just moaned and didn't get up.

He mumbled a little, but it wasn't in Korean, so I couldn't understand it.

However, from his intonation and the way he spoke in fragments, I was able to get a rough idea that it was a thick profanity.

I think it will take some time to wake him up.

"Where…… .”

I turned my head and there was Jin Ye-Seul passed out, her head buried in her ground.

When I got close to her and shook her shoulder as I had done to Ivan, fortunately, she immediately came to her senses.

"Uh… Wh, where are we?”

"If you're awake, take your gear first.”

Leaving Jin Ye-Seul, who was muttering in a blank voice, I walked back to Ivan.

If he had been any other guy, I would have thrown him away, but Ivan was worth the trouble of bringing along.

“Uh, Cha… !”

‘He’s damn heavy.’

I carried the unconscious and limp Ivan on my back.

He was much heavier than I thought since he was taller than me.

For a moment, I even wondered if the stats that could be raised as a reward should be put on strength.

The moment I carried him on my back, I felt a lot of regrets, but I couldn't throw him away now.

‘But I can't let Jin Ye-Seul carry Ivan on her back.’

I turned around with him on my back.

Then, Jin Ye-Seul, who was staring at me curiously, looked surprised.

“Did you get all your gear?”

“Uh, yes…… .”

“Then let’s go.”

She seemed to want to say something, but I didn't have time to talk to her right now.

Even if I talked to her now, there was no way I could get a straight answer out of her.

And above all, the fact that the dungeon moved itself was a sign that it was better to move as quickly as possible.

‘It looks like someone was the first to arrive at the exit and meet him.’

In the original story, the spirit appeared the moment someone arrives at the exit, and the dungeon changes as soon as they encounter the Spirit.

So it could be said that the concept of this main quest was no different from a kind of speed run.

'The later I go, the more the number of students who have already entered and are fighting will increase.'

In other words, it meant that the more time you take,  the less difficult it would be.

As I was in a position where I had to increase the kill contribution as much as possible, I had to hurry every second.

It was only in the case of the original story that the students were the only ones who could participate in the fight.

It's already been a long time since this world has changed so much from the original.

This is especially true for the professor in charge, Lee Myung-Joon.

'There is a possibility that that human like a tank will pierce everything by himself at the moment.'

If that happened, that would be the worst possible ending.

I clenched my teeth and took a stride.

If it was a normal dungeon, I would have to be careful about the traps and other devices that were supposed to be there, but since this place we were trapped in was not a normal dungeon, I didn't have to worry about that.

“U, um. slow down a bit..… .”

I paused for a moment at the gasping voice I heard from behind and looked back.

Jin Ye-Seul was holding her shield and her one-handed sword, shaking and catching her breath.

No matter how much she's acting, how could she get tired before me, who was carrying a whole person on his back?

Despite this though, I did not show any signs of being annoyed or bothered by Jin Ye-Seul.

Because I wasn't a suicidal person.

“Now, even if it’s too much, you have to move.”

"But…… .”

To Jin Ye-Seul, who hesitated, I tried to sound as reasonable as possible.

“I don’t know what the situation is right now, but at least you know that it’s not normal, right?”

“It is, but…… .”

“And it's not just the fact that we were separated from the party… There are other guys who came before us. Originally, it would be the standard not to move, but it's different in this unusual situation. What if the dungeon moves again?”

"Ah."

“It's better to meet the other guys, even if you have to force yourself to move a bit right now. It seems that it will be difficult for the class to proceed normally... we need to band together as massively as possible and get out of here as soon as possible."

“I, I see…… .”

Jin Ye-Seul nodded as if she was convinced.

“Then we'll keep going at the same speed as before.”

"Uh... I'm sorry for saying something unnecessary.… .”

She lowered her head as if she were sorry.

I didn't answer, just walked even faster than before.

‘It’s more than half of the kill contribution.’

Honestly, not many people would be able to hurt an ancient spirit or something at this point.

Choi Hyun-Woo and Han Soo-Young, co-top Lee Yu-Na and Ivan Hunt, who was on my back.

And Ahn Do-Hoon, whom I hadn't met yet.

I think it was about five people.

“Ugh… What's this. Why from the first day… .”

And Jin Ye-Seul, who was cowering behind me, could do the same if she wanted to, but right now she wouldn't drop the act she was doing no matter what.

‘In the first place, she didn’t even measure her power.’

It's safe to say that there are few students with the strength to inflict damage on that spirit.

In other words, the only person I had to pay attention to was Lee Myung-Joon.

‘I just have to get there first.’

Ivan Hunt or Han Soo-young.

If even one of the two of them gave cover fire from behind, it would be nothing more than searching for a gap in the spirit.

And whether I use the Hunter's Mark to scrape off the surface, or someone else tears it off.

All I need to do is shove Nidhogg's fang into the exposed interior, and everything will be solved.

“Ugh…… .”

“But why is he still unconscious?"

I mumbled accusingly and fixed Ivan on the back.

The weight is also terribly heavy.

I couldn't help but click my tongue at the sight of such a lump of burden that made the name of one of the playable characters on the joint top lose face.

He was still groaning because he hadn't come to his senses, but I'm sure he'd come to his senses by the time I get there.

‘Okay, then…… .'

I hastened my steps.

It would be so frustrating to lose it to someone else just because I was delayed.

* * *

‘Then, what should we do now?’

Hiding himself behind a large rock wall, Choi Hyun-Woo caught his breath and thought quietly.

He only knew that something strange had happened, but that was all.

He didn't know anything about the details.

When he just came to his senses, he realized that he had been separated from his party members, and even two remaining people who were with him had passed out.

As he walked around, carrying the two unconscious people on his back, he could vaguely feel that the dungeon itself had become strange.

‘It's not looking so good.’

Let's get out of here quickly.

As he thought this, Yoo Ji-Hyuk's face came to his mind, who wasn't a bad guy, even if he didn't know his true intentions, along with Han Soo-Young, who had been with him in his oldest memories and was truly like family.

'Well… They're both smarter than me, so they'll be fine.'

Putting aside his worries about the two for a while, Choi Hyun-Woo quietly caught his breath.

‘Honestly, this is more of a problem than the two.’

Choi Hyun-Woo took out the piece of mirror he was carrying and carefully shined it in the back.

Then, in the mirror, there was a huge cavity, a place that looked like an exit.

Finally, he could see a huge, human-shaped old tree crouching, blocking what seemed to be the exit.

"Haaa…… .”

Anyone who saw it could tell that it was dangerous and suspicious.

If it was the work of that old tree that changed the dungeon, divided the party members, and made them lose consciousness for a moment, the danger level would be even higher.

When the dungeon was tightened earlier, he just stayed still because of his instincts.

When he saw that he was fine and the other two were still unconscious, he knew that his instincts had been right again this time.

And now his instincts were yelling at him to never go near it.

"Whoo."

No matter how much he thought about it, it was not something that would have happened in a freshman class.

It was clear that something was wrong.

“What should I do? I'm really checkmated.” [ '외통수' - checkmate '?']

The only weapon he is carrying is a two-handed sword for academy students and a simple explorer's kit.

Next to him were two unconscious party members he had met for the first time today.

'I don't even know the opponent's power properly, and I can't say that this gear is useful even with empty words... Besides, there are two people to protect here.'

After pondering for a while, Choi Hyun-Woo nodded his head as if he had reached a conclusion.

‘Let’s wait for now.’

Waiting for professors, staff, or at least other students to arrive.

Choi Hyun-Woo knew how to objectively assess his own abilities.

That's why he never thought of himself as weak, but he also knew that the term was only applicable within the framework of academy students.

And that giant tree was beyond the boundaries of an academy student.

He never thought that he would be able to defeat that giant by himself, and he was also well aware of the fact that attacking it alone in a situation where the opponent's ability was unknown was not courage or confidence, but just plain bravado.

'Soo-Young... Or, if I meet Ji-Hyuk, he can give me a clearer answer.'

Even though he knew it was a meaningless complaint, he had no choice but to do it.

With that in mind, Choi Hyun-Woo tried to quietly gather his strength but was startled when he heard the sound of words coming from the other side.

“… Hay, what the hell is this... go! Why all of a sudden… As soon as I woke up dungeon...!”

“… My legs, please... hey do it.”

He turned his head towards his back, but it wasn't coming from there.

As the voice echoed, Choi Hyun-Woo vaguely guessed that it was that giant tree that changed the very structure of the dungeon.

"Crazy…… .”

Like a bottleneck, it had drilled all the roads towards where it was.

It was when he put strength into his hand holding the scabbard thinking like that.

“Yu-Na-ssi, what is that!?”

Someone shouted.

Immediately after that, he heard a woman's voice telling him to be quiet, but the creepy sound that swallowed the voice, made Choi Hyun-Woo cover his ears involuntarily.

“Ugh… !”

It sounded as if a machine factory that had been rusting away for decades, would make when it started operating.

And with that sound, the giant tree that had just been crouching still began to move its body as if it were stretching.

It was such an unrealistic sight that even Choi Hyun-Woo, who had experienced actual battles many times, was discouraged.

“Ahhhhhh!!! Crazy, what is that, what is that!”

“Really, I told you to keep your mouth shut!”

A man with a voice that he had heard somewhere before, screamed, followed by a woman's voice full of irritation.

Hurry up and get out of here.

What are you screaming about?

It was when Choi Hyun-Woo was thinking like that.

“Hey, hey, crazy! The back is blocked! The road, the road is gone!!!”

When he came to his senses, he was already running at full speed toward the giant tree.

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