Chapter 6

Chapter 6

I’d heard some details about the dungeon over the phone.

A D+ grade radial dungeon.

It’s shaped like a spider web, with passages connecting to a central boss room.

The difficulty itself is relatively low, except that the dungeon is so vast that clearing it takes a long time.

In the early days after the world changed, there was no information about dungeons and few Awakened ones, making it impossible to gather intelligence like this beforehand.

However, over time, through direct encounters and accumulated knowledge, along with continuous research, we’ve succeeded in deciphering the dungeons to some extent.

It was during this process that the rankings for Hunters and Dungeons were established.

“Mr. Dojae, can you see this?”

Shim Young-jin displayed a map saved on his smartphone screen.

I had received this map beforehand as well.

GPS doesn’t work inside the dungeon, so it’s just a simple photo.

“We plan to advance straight through here to the boss room.”

Shim Young-jin’s finger traces the map.

He traced the optimal route through the winding passages leading to the boss room.

“Since you’re an F-rank, Mr. Dojae, to be honest, it’ll be difficult for you to keep up with our pace. So…”

F-rank and D-rank.

Both might be considered low-tier, but the gap is undeniable.

Naturally, to Shim Young-jin, I’m a burden.

Meaning bringing me along wouldn’t be the slightest bit helpful.

Knowing that, I preemptively stated my position.

“Yes. Don’t worry about me. And you can distribute the loot without including me.”

“Oh! Thank you! Still, I’ll make sure to give you a little something afterward.”

Shim Young-jin smiled.

It must feel good to be excluded from the loot distribution without even having to say anything first.

“And you said I could act freely, right?”

“Yes, yes. Of course. You can rest here, or take a nap in the safe zone we secured.”

“Understood. I’ll be moving separately.”

“Huh? Move separately?”

“Ah, as per the contract, I’ll take full responsibility for my actions.”

Shim Young-jin looked at me with a puzzled expression.

I nodded once more.

It meant I would take responsibility myself.

Shim Young-jin quickly turned his gaze back toward the dungeon interior.

“Then we’ll be heading out first.”

Shim Young-jin and his group began walking.

After confirming they were out of sight, I checked the map once more.

‘Alright. So the rest of the monsters are all mine, huh?’

***

“Kwaaang!”

Thud-!

The black wolf leapt off the ground.

“Kwaaang!”

Its wide-open jaws reveal thick fangs as sharp as a human sword.

“Kraaak.”

The black wolf sinks its teeth into my shoulder.

Its powerful bite and immense muscular strength made me stumble.

But that was all.

It couldn’t pierce my sturdy stone golem armor.

I immediately regained my stance and plunged my sword into the black wolf’s neck.

“Keeek! Gah. Gah gah!”

The black wolf retched and tried to break free.

But I wouldn’t let it go so easily.

“Seven of them!”

With all my strength, I swung the sword, severing the black wolf’s neck.

Head and torso separated by more than half.

Soon, the black wolf slumped lifelessly.

Pah-!

[Level Up.]

“Oh. Leveled up again!”

Thirty minutes had passed since entering the dungeon.

We kept moving in directions that didn’t overlap with the other party members while hunting.

It was a short time, but whether it was because our levels were low to begin with or because the black wolves gave a lot of experience points, our levels rose quickly.

‘Check Info.’

[Info]

Name: Lee Dojae

Level: 8

Title: Golem Sorcerer

Health: 1900 / 190

[Stats]

Strength: 20 / Stamina: 10 / Agility: 30 / Spirit: 10 / Resistance: 10

(Points: 5)

[Skills]

Passive: Golem’s Heart Lv. Max / Aether Space Lv. Max

Active: Golem Summon Lv. 1 / Golem Armor Lv. 2

Just a day ago, I never would have imagined I could hunt a Grade 7 Black Wolf alone.

These beasts possessed traits perfectly suited to this dark dungeon: lacking eyes, they compensated with an exceptional sense of smell.

Even hunters with stealth skills could be caught off guard.

Darkness was their ally, and hiding in the shadows before launching surprise attacks was their specialty.

But for me?

‘This is useless too.’

Dojae pries open the black wolf’s jaws to inspect.

Cracks ran along its long, flared fangs.

They had snapped off after biting through the golem armor.

‘It’s a shame, but there’s nothing to be done.’

Supporting the jaw with one hand, he pulled out the fangs with the other.

The intact fangs of the black wolf, white and beautiful in color, are highly prized for seals and ornaments.

But cracked ones like these are ground up and used to make cosmetics, they say.

K-Beauty truly is magnificent.

“Subspace.”

Zzzzzz-.

The sub-space opened at the call.

And a status window appeared before my eyes.

[Subspace]

– Magic Stones*3

– Harpy Feathers*57

– Mineral*19

– Water 500ml*20

….

– Black Wolf Fang*11

Aetherspace was a passive skill that vastly surpassed any commercially available inventory.

Inventories required physical space because they were pockets enchanted with space-linking magic.

Moreover, since items placed inside couldn’t be selectively removed, retrieving something meant emptying the entire contents of the inventory.

Because of this, some hunters carried multiple inventories, filling each only with the items they needed.

Swish-.

He reached his hand into the pocket dimension.

Pulling it back out, a single water bottle was in his grasp.

The pocket dimension allowed you to pull out and put away only the items you wanted, without taking up any physical space.

Moreover, there were no restrictions on weight or quantity, so if one was so inclined, even a truck could be stored inside.

For reference, while it couldn’t hold living beings—a hand might fit—it couldn’t contain a person inside.

Gulp.

Since it came straight from the refrigerator, it was incredibly cold.

Items inside the sub-space remain exactly as they were before being placed there.

‘At this rate, I should be able to level up a few more times before the boss fight is over.’

He began moving forward.

He had no destination.

Unless the boss is his responsibility, he’ll just wander around anywhere and hunt whatever comes his way.

“Grr.”

“Grr.”

“Grr!”

After advancing about 30 meters, three black wolves appear.

A characteristic of beast-type monsters.

They act in packs.

Therefore, it’s not unusual for three to appear together.

And this also meant their base would soon come into view.

It means we’re getting close to the large bases scattered throughout the map.

“Chu chu chu, that’s right! You guys, scratching is fine, but no biting, okay?”

I spoke softly, clicking my tongue as if coaxing a small puppy.

As if handling a cuddly Pomeranian, not a black wolf the size of a tiger.

After all, they’re just dogs too.

“Grr!”

Just as I thought.

They weren’t the sort to be soothed by that.

Pfft!

The front one leaps, and the rest spur themselves on at the same time.

“Watch out!”

One lunged toward my face, flashing its black tongue.

I narrowly dodged it by twisting my upper body.

This was intentional.

I needed to get a good set of fangs.

Swish-.

The sword traced an elegant arc, slicing through the first beast’s thigh.

It wasn’t swordsmanship.

I simply performed the optimal action because I could see and move.

Splash-.

Thud-.

“Kwaaak!”

The rear leg, half severed, prevented a proper landing. The creature lost its balance, slid, and slammed its head into the wall, letting out a pitiful cry.

“Next!”

He adjusted his grip on the sword, baring its edge to the others.

The golem armor covering up to his wrists made his sword and body appear as one seamless extension.

But there was no real restriction on the movement of his wrists.

“Grrr.”

“Grr!”

The remaining two leapt up as well.

This time, I charged toward them.

‘Hand over the experience points!’

***

“Huff.”

I let out a small sigh.

By the time I reached about three, it took more than twice as long as hunting one.

Plus, the mana cost for repairing the golem armor had increased significantly.

‘If more of these show up, it might get tough.’

Three was manageable.

Four.

Five should be manageable too.

It would take a long time and we could take damage, though.

But honestly, more than that is pushing it.

So I couldn’t bring myself to move forward.

After all, I was getting closer and closer to the base.

‘Should I turn back now?’

But it felt wasteful to leave all those experience points right before my eyes.

My stamina wasn’t depleted, and I still had mana to spare.

And my skills aren’t limited to just the Golem Armor.

‘That’s why I didn’t sell it.’

I pulled the three magic stones from the brown box out of my pocket dimension.

I had intended to use this opportunity to hone my combat skills while increasing the Golem Armor’s proficiency and level.

But that doesn’t mean I’m going to do something stupid like put myself in danger.

I placed the magic stones on the floor.

The fundamental skill of the Golem Armor.

I cast Golem Summon.

“Golem Summon!”

Rolling around-.

The scattered stones around the magic stone began to gather.

The stones began piling up rapidly, like an apartment building rising day by day.

10cm.

30cm.

100cm.

And when they reached roughly shoulder height, they finally stopped.

[Stone Golem completed.]

[The Stone Golem has been completed.]

[Stone Golem completed.]

The three completed Stone Golems stood motionless in place.

Seen from afar, their complete lack of movement made them indistinguishable from stone statues.

‘They’re slightly different, aren’t they?’

The basic form of the stone golems was the same.

The angular, robot-like shape popular with children long ago—and still today.

Only their height and thickness varied slightly, with the very first golem being the largest at about 160cm.

And it was easy to see why they differed.

[Info]

Name: Stone Golem

Level: 5

Title: Summoned Creature

HP: 1000 / MP: 0

[Stats]

Strength: 10 / Stamina: 20 / Agility: 5 / Spirit: 0 / Resistance: 30

[Skills]

Passive: None

Active: None

‘So I can see the golem’s info too.’

I checked the information on the remaining golems.

And the conclusion I reached was that their performance followed the quality of the magic stones.

Their level and stats are determined by how good the magic stone is.

Unless it was a magic stone crafted by humans, not a single magic stone obtained in the dungeon was identical to another, and consequently, the golems’ performance varied slightly.

‘Their stats are lower than mine, but they should still be helpful.’

The golems’ stats were generally below my level.

However, their HP and resistance were comparable to mine.

Even if they couldn’t help with direct attacks, they seemed sufficient for drawing the attention of other enemies or holding them off.

‘How do I make them move?’

I didn’t know how to handle the golems.

Since they weren’t living creatures and didn’t have ears or mouths, I had to try various approaches.

After much trial and error, he finally realized simple commands were possible.

“Forward! Halt! Turn around! Roll! Line up!”

The golems moved according to the commands.

They showed quite swift and precise reactions.

I tried issuing commands like “Fight!” or “Retreat!”, but perhaps because there were no enemies, they showed no reaction.

Still, seeing them spread out and take positions even for a command like ‘Form up’ made it seem combat commands were sufficient.

‘Useful, huh?’

I now have three tanks that can distract the monsters’ attention, absorb attacks, and create openings for me to strike.

A stronghold where black wolves gather?

Nothing to fear now.