Chapter 60: Déjà Vu (4)
A group forced to navigate a dangerous dungeon together.
To ensure smooth coordination, everyone revealed their jobs and levels.
First was the guild leader, Jo Seung-joo, age 32, the brother of the woman he had saved earlier. He was an A-rank warrior, a "Sword Dancer," at level 5. He had short hair and a slightly lean build, standing at 180 cm. With thick eyebrows and a well-defined T-zone, he had a strong and handsome appearance. Despite his height, his arms and legs were unusually long, likely giving him an impressive reach in combat.
Next was the party's tank.
"I'm Park Cheol-min."
The man who introduced himself as Park Cheol-min was a towering figure, appearing to be over 190 cm tall. Despite his large build, he had a gentle and friendly demeanor, which made him seem approachable. At 30 years old, his job was a B-rank tank called "Iron Wall," and he was at level 4.
"I'm Kim Sung-min and thank you for helping us."
Kim Sung-min was shorter, standing in the high 160s, and wore thick horn-rimmed glasses. He had the appearance of a typical studious type. His job was a C-rank electric mage, and he was at level 3.
The last member was the party's only female, whom they had rescued earlier.
"My name is Jo Mina. Thank you so much. If it weren't for you, Suho oppa, I would have died."
She was a 25-year-old woman with natural brown short hair, complemented by a red headband. She was in the low 160 cm range, with a slim build similar to her brother's. She had a cute face, and when she spoke shyly, dimples appeared on her cheeks. Her job was an S-rank beast tamer called "Wings of Dream," and she was at level 5.
‘An A-rank and an S-rank, plus a tank and a mage. This party is stronger than I thought.’
Considering the two members who had been swallowed by the monster, this party was likely even more solid before.
Hyun Suho quickly grasped the composition of the party. The core member wasn't the leader, Jo Seung-joo, but rather Jo Mina. She was an S-rank tamer—a job that allowed her to tame beast-type monsters and use them in battle.
With an S-rank job, she would be highly sought after by any major guild. A tamer was as valuable in a party as a mage or healer, so she must have received numerous offers. The fact that Jo Mina hadn’t joined a major guild but stayed with Cheonrima Guild likely meant she wanted to stay with people she was close to. After all, her brother was there.
While many siblings in real life are portrayed online as constantly at each other's throats, these two seemed to have a strong bond.
"Did all your tamed beasts die?"
With Jo Mina being a tamer, the absence of any beasts likely meant they had been killed by the masked figures earlier.
As expected, Jo Mina's eyes welled up with tears.
"I had Yeppi and Nokdori... sniff"
"Yeppi and Nokdori...?"
Despite their cute names, they were tamed monsters. In reality, they were probably quite fierce.
‘Cute names, though.’
[Master, you're not one to talk, considering you named Bipo.]
"Ahem!"
Once the introductions were over, it was Hyun Suho's turn.
"As you can see, I'm an armored soldier who uses a gun."
Jo Mina then cautiously asked,
"Suho oppa, what level are you? You must be over level 6, right?"
The members of Cheonrima Guild had fought directly against the masked figures, so they knew how strong they were. Hyun Suho had taken down 30 of those masked figures in an instant. Naturally, they assumed he had an extremely high level and a powerful job.
While he didn’t want to lie, he couldn’t exactly tell them the truth either. After a moment of deliberation, he decided to use the specs of his alter ego, Light Bringer.
"I recently reached level 7."
"Wow! That's amazing!"
"Oh, you look so young, and you're already at level 7?"
"I've been lucky."
In reality, he was level 5, but telling them that wouldn't be believable.
"I'm an A-rank shooter. Leave the rear support to me."
Given the circumstances, he kept his introduction brief. Fortunately, the members of Cheonrima Guild were more experienced and higher-leveled than he had expected, so they wouldn't hold him back.
It was just a bit disappointing that Jo Mina, the S-rank tamer, had lost all her tamed beasts.
[This is a hidden epic quest. You must not let your guard down. Also, in a confined space like this, you should be careful using the plasma weapon.]
Even though plasma could melt anything with its high temperature, if it created a hole in the cave, it could cause the ground to collapse. In other words, it was best to avoid using the plasma beam and to be cautious with bullets.
[I will provide you with as much information as possible, Master. Please, be careful.]
Normally full of mischief, Nova was deadly serious in situations like this.
Hyun Suho had no intention of letting his guard down, either.
"Let's move out."
The party, now in formation, slowly moved forward.
* * *
“Hopefully, something easy will pop up.”
As they moved a little further, the sound of something flapping its wings echoed from the dark cave ahead.
"Is it a large bat monster?"
"Sung-min! Use Scan."
"Oh, right! Scan!"
When the mage, Kim Sung-min, used the Scan spell, the basic details of the creature became visible.
◆ Monster
Lesser Succubus
(Elite)
(LV 5)
Everyone was shocked when they saw the result.
"A S-succubus?"
"Damn it! It's a demon type? Of all things…"
Even at the same level, the power of a monster can vary greatly depending on its species.
Some of the strongest types are dragons and demons.
Even with the word "lesser" in front, this was not a monster to be underestimated.
"On top of that, it’s an elite grade."
Just like items, monsters are also categorized into three grades: Normal, Elite, and Boss.
Elite monsters are generally known to be about 1.5 times stronger than regular ones, while Boss monsters are about twice as strong.
So, this meant the actual difficulty level was equivalent to something over level 6.
The succubi noticed the party and began to approach.
"Oh my! Handsome guys!"
"Come here, let's play."
As they drew closer, their appearances became clearer.
Large bat wings, long tails, and horns on their foreheads—these were demons.
Aside from these three features, they didn’t look much different from ordinary women.
Except for their frighteningly beautiful appearances, that is.
Succubi naturally emit a magical power that enchants the opposite sex, like a pheromone.
As soon as the men in the group saw them, their pupils dilated.
"Come on! Stay here with us forever."
"My body is so hot, can you cool me down?"
As the succubi enticed them, their magic spread, leaving the male hunters like butterflies caught in a web, unable to move.
Nova warned,
[It’s a human-binding spell. Be careful.]
Succubi weaken their opponents' mental resistance with enchantment, then completely immobilize them with binding magic.
Is there a more effective combination than that?
Of course, this had no effect on Hyun Suho.
With his immense mental strength, he not only resisted the enchantment but also broke free of the binding spell.
"Let's go."
[I’ll support you.]
Considering the opponent, Hyun Suho went all out from the start.
He drew his lightsaber and charged forward.
Vwoom!
The swordsmanship he had obtained as a reward from the previous dimension gate was not just a manual; it also included footwork, body movements, and even the ultimate techniques that the creator had realized late in life.
All martial arts, excluding the internal power cultivation method, had been unified into this single technique.
Even with the talent of the Heavenly Demon’s body, its full depth remained uncharted.
It seemed as though it was tailor-made for someone like Hyun Suho, who didn’t use internal power.
Now was the moment when this swordsmanship would be unveiled to the world for the first time.
As Hyun Suho resisted both the enchantment and binding spells, the succubi shrieked in frustration.
"Kill him!"
Their earlier sweet smiles vanished, replaced by snarling faces with sharp, ugly fangs.
This was the true nature of the succubi.
Although they were specialized in support magic, their close combat abilities were not weak.
When their magic failed, they didn’t hesitate for a second before brandishing a whip studded with sharp thorns.
Shwik!
The whip curved like a living snake, aiming directly at Hyun Suho’s vital points.
The vicious thorns on it wouldn’t just cause deep gashes—they’d tear flesh right off.
Could it be cut with the lightsaber?
Hyun Suho was confident in the lightsaber crafted from the Genocide Core, but he wasn’t willing to gamble on an unpredictable outcome.
He had a more effective method.
Zztzztzzt!
With Nova's help, he could see the trajectory of the whip.
It was a near-instant moment, but with his current abilities, it was enough.
Instead of swinging his sword, he simply used his footwork to close the distance.
“Kyaaah!”
“Get away!”
The succubi cried out in surprise at the sudden turn of events.
The whip was a long-range weapon. No matter how skillfully they wielded it, it wasn’t effective against an opponent who had already closed the distance.
The succubi tried to flee, but Hyun Suho was faster.
Vweeng!
His sword slashed through the air, creating a web-like net that trapped the succubi, preventing their escape.
Soon, thin red lines appeared on their bodies, and then…
Pssh!
They disintegrated into dust and scattered.
“……”
“……”
It was over in an instant. Completely annihilated.
The Cheonrima Guild members, who had been ready to fight for their lives against the succubi, took a while to comprehend the situation.
“Are they… dead?”
“He killed… that demon… I mean, those demon bitches… whatever they were… in one blow?!”
The party members had been prepared to face death when the succubi approached. But since they were defeated so easily, they were left in shock.
Even Hyun Suho thought the succubi were surprisingly soft.
[Plasma inherently has light attributes. For a demon like a succubus, that’s a weakness.]
It meant the match-up was favorable.
But Hyun Suho was confident he could have won even without the plasma lightsaber.
Even if he had used a chainsword, he could have toyed with them.
‘Adding martial arts definitely makes it much better.’
[As I’ve always said, software is just as important.]
With this level of skill, I could probably fight the Demoness evenly in a pure contest of strength.
Hyun Suho spoke calmly to the others.
“We still don’t know what kind of dungeon this is. If there’s a chance it’s a timed attack, we should hurry.”
At his words, the members of the Cheonrima Guild nodded and quickly moved forward.
Their faces were full of questions, but they knew now wasn't the right time.
Given that a succubus had appeared, this was likely a demon-type dungeon.
There was a chance that it could be filled with nothing but succubi.
As dungeons typically become more challenging the further you go, they also had to consider the possibility that higher-level succubi might appear later on.
Nova seemed to have reached the same conclusion.
But that thought only lasted for a moment.
The next monster that appeared left Hyun Suho confused.
◆ Monster
Green Skin
(Elite)
(LV 4)
Unexpectedly, the next creatures to appear were orcs.
They were also elite-class, but their level was lower and their species value was inferior.
Normal monsters appearing in a dungeon that had been spawning demon-types?
It wasn’t entirely impossible, but it was unusual.
This time, Hyun Suho fought alongside the Cheonrima Guild members, and they quickly took down the orcs.
As expected, there was nothing particularly special about them—they were just orcs.
"Something feels off. Is it because this isn’t a regular dungeon?"
They set their doubts aside and continued forward, but things only got stranger.
Low-level monsters like kobolds and gnolls appeared alongside higher-level monsters like minotaurs, all jumbled together.
They even encountered a level 1 slime right after battling a level 6 ogre.
The dungeon design didn’t align with any known hunter logic. There was nothing they could be sure of.
“Are we going to run into a level 8 monster out of nowhere?”
Considering it was a hidden epic dungeon, that was entirely possible.
The group pressed on silently, staying on high alert.
How much time had passed since then?
They had encountered numerous monsters, but fortunately, there was nothing Hyun Suho couldn’t handle.
And finally, when they reached the end of the dungeon, everyone, including Hyun Suho, was left speechless.
“...What is this?”
They had arrived at a massive area at the end of a long, straight corridor.
Even though it was an underground space, it was as large as a soccer field, with a ceiling at least 30 meters high.
The area was filled with mysterious stalactites and stalagmites, like those found in a limestone cave.
But what was more important was the floor.
The ground was covered in a sticky, blue fluorescent slime that was bubbling like lava.
Inside the bubbling slime, strange things were visible.
Some were enormous tentacles, others were massive mouths or eyeballs. Some looked like giant parasites.
Most were writhing amorphously, but in some places, distinct forms could be seen.
These forms emerged from the sticky fluorescent slime as if they were being ejected, wobbling before they began to move naturally.
And their appearance was quite familiar.
“Trolls?”
Amazingly, monsters were being created from the blue slime.
This phenomenon was happening sporadically all around them, with different monsters being born each time.
The strange variety of monsters they had encountered earlier suddenly made sense.
“Is this place... a monster factory?”
This was bizarre.
Monsters aren’t created like this.
They grow through normal reproductive processes, just like humans or other animals.
Even if they were made artificially, they would start out as young creatures.
But the monsters being created here were full-grown from the moment they were born.
Moreover, they appeared fully equipped with gear.
They could be thrown into battle immediately.
Nova also remained silent, unable to identify what was happening.
Then the mage, Kim Sung-min, spoke hesitantly from behind.
“I... I used Scan... and this is the result...”
The Scan spell, which reveals the level of the target.
Kim Sung-min had reflexively used it, and to his surprise, it worked on the giant fluorescent slime.
In other words, the massive blue fluorescent slime filling the entire space was a single monster.
Hyun Suho quickly turned around to check the scan results himself.
◆ Monster
Aphos
(Boss)
(LV 9)
