Chapter 139

Kang!

A paper shredder that had swollen in size lunged at Soram. This one felt more intimidating than the other mutants. It meant that quite a few people here were afraid of it.

"Are they scared of getting their hands caught in the machine, or of accidentally shredding important documents?"

"Well. Probably a combination of both."

Soram, who had flown up high, took his position in the air after a long time and clashed his sword.

Kang! Kang! Kang!

The roller part that tears paper and the sword collided roughly.

Keeeng!

As the hard surfaces slid against each other, crimson sparks flew.

"Wow, it's tougher than I thought."

Soram enveloped his sword with blue mist. Then, as he twisted his shoulder and slashed widely, the machine shattered into pieces and soon turned into black smoke.

In spaces with many such pieces of equipment, even Soram tended to refrain from using airplanes. It was nice to fight excitingly with just a sword after a long time, but since the opponent was a blunt machine, it might look like a scene from a low-budget horror movie.

"Han Tae-un, how much time has passed?"

"It's been 30 minutes since we arrived on this floor."

"Maybe it's because there are so many of them. It's taking longer than I thought."

Unlike the 4th-grade where they could quickly land effective hits, this place had tougher defenses, and the attacks on the hunters were also more threatening.

"Next floor, let's go up right away!"

But it was undeniable that the three were the most specialized for this dungeon. No other team could have crushed a 2nd-grade mimicry dungeon at this speed. The humming sounds and threats from the mutants continued, but it wasn't a problem at all.

Bang!

The three kicked off the emergency staircase and entered the next floor. As expected, it was the same office scene. The three alternately smashed various office equipment and monitor screens as they advanced. Since the mutants weren't human-shaped, there was even less hesitation in attacking them.

After excitedly smashing an approaching monitor and jumping by stepping on someone's desk with a crunch, Ayoung suddenly made an "Oh my" sound.

"It's all good, but I feel really sorry for the people who use this office."

"No. The owner of the broken desk spot might be happy because they can legally not work."

"Oh, that perspective."

They felt anew that Director Park Jae-seon had made an appropriate assignment. It was a suitable intensity for Soram and Tae-un, who had been hospitalized for a long time, to rehabilitate, and also a good starting point for Ayoung, who needed to start participating in more difficult dungeons from now on. He had also attached protectors beside them.

Keeng― Kang! Kang!

Kadduduk!

The swarming mutants that had gathered were shattered in droves. As much as the three moved excitedly, the office also seemed to be taking a lot of damage, but well, as long as pillars weren't collapsing and ceilings weren't being punctured, it would be excusable. He didn't particularly want to stop his team members whose tension was high.

As if the dungeon felt a sense of crisis, the attacks and voices pouring down on the three grew louder and louder. Of course, it was of no use at all.

'I heard Shin gwajang-nim quit!'

'Gasp, but there were no signs at all. Suddenly?'

'That's why he secretly prepared behind our backs and bolted. None of the team members knew. He didn't even pack his things, just suddenly disappeared one day without a word.'

'Oh my. That's not quitting, it's fleeing in the night. There must have been many team members he was close to, to disappear overnight without knowing the reason...'

Pueok!!!

"Ah."

"Han Tae-un...?"

Tae-un, who was violently hit by a flying conference board, was slammed into a partition.

Kung, kuung, kung! Kudangtangtang!

He was pushed all the way to the wall, pushing desks back with his back. Both Soram and Ayoung gave bewildered looks towards Tae-un, who had flown far away noisily.

Tae-un quickly got up from the debris, dusted off his shoulders, and came back.

"Sorry. I let my guard down."

"..."

"Oh no. Tae-un oppa seems to have been traumatized... Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I'm fine."

Although he had no idea what the two were talking about, Soram quietly peeled off the post-it note that had clung to Tae-un's back. He also ignored Tae-un's gaze that lingered on him intently.

The three sprang forward again. The once-tidy office was becoming a mess as if it had been bombed, but the number of mutants was also noticeably decreasing. It was evidence that the number of mutants created by the rift couldn't keep up with the speed of their attacks.

"Kuuu, this is totally a cathartic pass! I wish all dungeons were like this!"

This time, Ayoung charged forward. Ayoung, who had jumped off Aila's back, sprang forward, stepping on walls and desks. As Ayoung and Aila attacked the mutants from left and right respectively, their speed doubled. Ayoung's skills had also improved significantly, as she had apparently undergone special training while Soram and Tae-un were hospitalized.

"Yah!"

Ayoung's weapon shattered several monitor screens.

Chaengang―!

From behind them, voices burst out as if they had been waiting.

'I heard A and C are dating, even though A, B, and C used to hang out well together.'

'Ah, as they say, when three men and women gather, one becomes like a duck egg in the Nakdong River...'

'This is why office romance is... Sigh.'

'Oh, are you two going to eat? Then can I join...'

'Um..., we want to eat just the two of us, could you please read the room...'

"Aak?!"

"Kiang!"

At that moment, this time Ayoung was pushed by a monitor that approached her face and flew far away.

Kudangtangtang―!

"Kning! Kiang!"

Aila, startled, ran busily to find her owner who had flown away. Ayoung, who sprang up from among the debris, shouted in bewilderment.

"Wh-what? I wasn't scared of anything? Why suddenly?"

"Kiing...!"

Soram's eyes rolled towards Tae-un.

"...Han Tae-un, you didn't give Ayoung the cold shoulder while I was gone, did you?"

Soram whispered in a low voice.

"Of course not. I didn't even think of that."

"I obviously didn't either. ...Hmm, I wonder if our Ayoung's intuition is also 1st-grade."

"..."

Without anyone taking the lead, they both approached Ayoung, dusted off her shoulders, and helped her up. Fortunately, after that, none of the three were thrown flying again as they remained tense.

Probably here too, the biggest fear was human relationships. But unlike the school where it was manifested as lynching and direct bullying, here it was in a more subtle and gloomy form. As the three couldn't properly understand the appearances revealed through monitor screens and sounds, the difficulty level was greatly lowered.

Kwang―!

Finally, the cleaning of the office spanning two floors came to an end. The Flight Team cut through the black shadow-like mutants as they went up through the next emergency staircase. At last, the next floor was estimated to be where the rift, the origin of the dungeon, was located.

Soram, who had stopped after cutting down the mutant right in front of the steel door, tilted his head.

"This is strange."

"What is?"

"No matter how I look at it, it's not up to 2nd-grade, so why was it measured like that?"

Even considering that it was a dungeon favorable to the three of them, it clearly wasn't to the extent of being classified as 2nd-grade. However, it would be careless to simply assume that the measurement was wrong.

"Let's be a bit more cautious on this floor."

In front of the last floor, the three took a moment to regroup. Ayoung also climbed back onto Aila's back. After catching their breath, Soram pulled the handle. As soon as the door opened, three weapons were raised sharply.

Keeek―

"...Huh?"

Seeing the appearance of the floor that appeared, all three opened their eyes wide. The next floor was an empty floor with nothing on it.

"I guess they're remodeling or something."

The 12th floor wasn't even properly painted, with splotches all over the walls. It was even more of a contrast since the floor right below had been a tidy office.

"Soram oppa, that pitch-black thing on the right is the rift, right?"

"Yeah."

"But why is there nothing around it? It's even more unsettling."

The mutants that should have been guarding the rift in strong forms were just writhing on the floor in a black mass state.

"The guide says it's the computer room."

"Umm... This feels ten times more unsettling than when we were riding up the elevator."

Soram peered inside and stepped onto the gray floor covered in dust first.

"Let's get rid of the rift first."

Charrruk―!!!

"!!!"

"Soram...!"

Something quickly fell on top of the three from above the ceiling.

Tung!!!

What fell crashed roughly onto the floor. It was a firewall.

"Uh..."

Behind Soram, where Tae-un and Ayoung had been standing, now only a gray wall could be seen.

Charrruk―!!!

Tung!!!

Then a firewall fell from the opposite side as well. The place where he was standing became pitch black, blocked on all sides without a single point of light.

"Huh."

Soram clicked his tongue.

"Right, sad premonitions are never wrong."

It wasn't for nothing that many people empathized with that phrase. Since the difficulty of the lower floor had been boringly easy to the point of being excessive, this level of trap was to be expected.

"Everyone step back! I'll break this wall!"

Soram shouted, wrapping his sword with blue mist. However, no answer came from beyond the wall.

"Ayoung-ah? Han Tae-un?"

Come to think of it, it was strange. If they had been separated from Soram, the two would have shouted loudly calling for him, but the surroundings were too quiet.

"Lee Ayoung! Lee Aila! Han Tae-un!"

"..."

"Tae-un-ah!"

Still, there was no answer. Soram bit his lip and struck the wall hard with his powered-up sword. There was a kwang! sound, but the wall only dented a little without breaking.

"...Ha."

This was evidence of agitation. Soram's sense of fear was directly reflected, reducing the effect of the attack.

His hand gripping the sword tightened. His mind knew it was really not much of a crisis. If the three had faced this situation together, Soram would have been the calmest. But as soon as he was separated, a commotion immediately arose in his mind.

An even larger blue mist gathered around Soram's sword. No matter how much it fed on fear, a 2nd-grade dungeon couldn't possibly withstand the full-power attack of a 1st-grade hunter. Soram's arm was raised high.