Chapter 66

It was perhaps only natural that the Cha family's situation had turned out this way.

‘Of all things, a virtual dungeon with no choice in participation?’

Cha Eun-hyeok’s expression, who was hiding under a desk while protecting his two younger siblings, contorted with disillusionment toward the world.

‘Among the people left, I, the only semblance of an adult, am not a Hunter, and this flower pig, Cha Ara, will obviously be of no help. But it’s also not a situation where I can ask the remaining prospective priests to save us….’

He didn't know what the condition was this time, but a virtual dungeon forcibly dragged in everyone who met the corresponding condition.

Cases where all participants were annihilated in a situation without a proper Hunter, like now, were common.

“……”

“……”

Cha Eun-hyeok and Cha Ara, drenched in cold sweat, exchanged glances in silence.

Cha Eun-hyeok nodded his head.

‘You’re the only hunter here.’

‘Ah, I'm fucked.’

‘That’s how it is.’

But there was nothing to be done.

Weren't they called ‘prospective’ priests for a reason?

The young priests here were no different from civilians, not a single Hunter among them.

This meant that the only Hunter in this cavern was Cha Ara.

After confirming there were no monsters nearby, Cha Eun-hyeok whispered in a faint voice that couldn't be heard from a distance.

“Hey, F-Class porter.”

“The fuck do you want.”

“Isn't there some kind of countermeasure for times like this? Something Hunters learn….”

“I think this is the best we can do right now.”

The Center advised not to gather in one place in very bad situations.

That way, even if the worst happened, they wouldn't be easily wiped out, and spreading out here and there would increase the survival rate.

“…Isn’t that just a bait tactic….”

“Anyway, objectively, it’s the method with the highest chance of survival.”

“That’s true, but.”

It felt shitty as hell.

‘It’s telling us to scatter and pray that people other than me get caught.’

For the Cha family, who had the thick blood of pushovers, it was a countermeasure they didn't like at all, but they didn't move rashly either.

Without any abilities, the only way to save people was to bait themselves.

“……”

Newly realizing how screwed the situation was, Cha Ara pushed the youngest, hiding behind her back, further inside.

“Hey, Cha Isol. Get in deeper. Deeper.”

“There’s no more room to go in….”

“You’re so small, what are you whining about, hurry up and squish yourself in.”

“Ngggh….”

“Don’t make a sound.”

The place they hid was under the stainless steel desks installed at regular intervals throughout the cavern.

Perhaps thanks to the considerable number of desks installed, the prospective priests who were still alive also seemed to be hiding under them, just like they were.

Even if they hid like that, he didn't know how long they could remain undetected by the monsters roaming freely in all directions, but….

‘Still, while I or my brother are causing a ruckus, at least Cha Isol will be safe.’

The youngest one, so tiny there was nothing to eat on him, would probably die instantly if bitten once.

It was a selfish thought, but wanting her own sibling to live longer than the other children was an unavoidable wish.

“Noonaaa….”

“Ah, seriously, stop acting cute.”

“Wow, no, it’s not cute, I’m being wronged here.”

“Tsk.”

Cha Eun-hyeok, positioned at the very edge of the desk, glanced at his bickering siblings in disbelief.

‘Look at these tension-less things.’

In truth, it wasn't that they lacked tension; he already knew they were acting fine because they were too nervous.

With a hardened face, Cha Eun-hyeok broke out in a cold sweat and looked around.

A monster was approaching, making a sloshing sound.

“……”

“Hu, hun, hu-hu-hu, hun… gry… hun….”

“……”

Was it possessed by a ghost that died because it couldn't eat?

‘This is why you have to set up a memorial service table. If we die here, it’s all because the world has become so heartless that it won’t even set up a single memorial service table….’

It was nonsense, but Cha Eun-hyeok engraved the wisdom of his ancestors in his heart and pressed his siblings further back.

The youngest, already crumpled at the very end, had no more room to move, but that didn't seem to be the case for Cha Ara, as the sound of her rustling as she was pushed down could be heard.

It was commendable that she managed not to make a sound, likely having heard the monster approaching.

“Hungry? Hungry. Hun. Hun, hun, hun, I’m hungry. Hungry….”

“……”

The monster, whose form he hadn't even properly seen yet, came close.

Thanks to that, Cha Eun-hyeok got to see the monster's damp legs to his heart's content, something he never wanted.

‘Is it my time to die?’

At the very least, I will save our flower pig and the youngest.

Please remember me, the one who baked the cheapest and most delicious pastry in the Republic of Korea.

It was just when he had steeled his heart.

“—You vermin!!!”

Fwoooosh!!!

The monsters burned one by one, turning to ash.

“Uh, uh…?”

It was so instantaneous that it felt surreal.

Instead of the sloshing sound, the sound of crisp ash pattering down could be heard and the cavern's eeriness was forcibly consumed by the heat of the fire.

“……”

“……”

The Cha family, bewildered, turned to look at the cavern entrance they hadn't even known was there.

“Vermin…??”

“Vermin….”

“Ah, wait a minute.”

Cha Eun-hyeok belatedly realized who the owner of the ‘vermin’ that had resounded thunderously through the cavern was.

“…Priest Kang Seo-dam?”

The priest with long, wavy blond hair and pale green eyes that stood out, Kang Seo-dam, was panting heavily, looking completely disheveled.

Their eyes met—Kang Seo-dam, his face flushed with veins bulging, so angry for some reason, and Cha Eun-hyeok, quietly breaking into a cold sweat.

It felt like he had encountered a taboo that should not have been seen.

“……”

“……”

Kang Seo-dam, his face returning from that of a demon to a priest's, asked in a neat tone.

“Are you alright?”

“No, just now, you said vermin….”

“What else would you call a vermin but a vermin?”

“Wow.”

“I apologize that you had to hear my profanity so suddenly when you must have been frightened.”

Had he not heard that clearly accentuated ‘vermin,’ Priest Kang Seo-dam continued to speak calmly with a response so kind it would have been purely touching.

“I too was in a state of chaos, having been dragged into a virtual dungeon out of the blue, but I am glad to see that many survivors remain.”

Priest Kang Seo-dam, whose clean priestly robes had become tattered as if he had been through quite a lot, looked around.

Only then did Cha Eun-hyeok also look around the cavern, but not a single monster remained, whatever Priest Kang Seo-dam had done just now.

“Hmm.”

Kang Seo-dam quietly made the sign of the cross with his characteristic cool, expressionless face.

“The Goddess has watched over us.”

“……”

I’m pretty sure you were the one who did the watching over.

‘Are there really no sane people among Hunters, except for our flower pig?’

A priest who officiated an initiation ceremony had to be at least a B-Class Hunter.

Judging by his skill in burning all the monsters in the cavern to death in an instant, he seemed to be A-Class or quasi-S-Class, which made Cha Eun-hyeok feel a little relieved.

Since he had no strengths other than a sturdy body, it was a relief that even if he died, he had found a strong person to whom he could entrust his siblings’ safety.

‘…What a relief.’

Cha Eun-hyeok let out a long breath and wiped his face.

He could finally breathe a little.

“Pr, Priest-nim….”

“Hwaaaang….”

“Priest Kang Seo-dam…!”

Only then did the prospective priests who had been hiding in various places crawl out.

“Yes, Priest Kang Seo-dam is here. If there are any surviving brothers, please gather by my side.”

As if accustomed to the tearful clinging of such survivors, Priest Kang Seo-dam expertly organized the situation.

He looked back at Cha Eun-hyeok and Cha Ara and added.

“The same goes for the guardians of Priest Cha Isold over there.”

“Ah, yes….”

Led by the stable voice that was hard to find in a dungeon, all the survivors in the cavern gathered in front of Priest Kang Seo-dam, but their number was not very large.

Most had been bitten to death by monsters, or had eaten each other afterward.

“……”

Priest Kang Seo-dam, grimacing as if holding back a heavy sigh, opened his mouth.

“I apologize for making you experience such an incident at an event I was officiating.”

“N-No. It was an accident….”

“It is also my role to prevent such accidents beforehand. Formal compensation for the damage will be arranged as soon as the situation is resolved.”

The priest, who bowed his head to express his apology, continued.

“I will create a barrier for you, so the survivors, please go inside and rest. I will collect the remains of the others.”

“…I will help you as well.”

At Cha Eun-hyeok's words, Cha Ara raised her hand.

“Ah, then I do too….”

“If you insist, I will only accept Hunter Cha Ara's help.”

Priest Kang Seo-dam looked back at Cha Eun-hyeok.

After a moment of thought, he opened his mouth.

“I am grateful for your sentiment, Guardian Cha Eun-hyeok, but this is not a task that should be entrusted to a civilian and above all, you are the only adult remaining, Mr. Cha Eun-hyeok.”

“Ah….”

“I would like to ask you to comfort the young brothers so they do not become more afraid. Your willingness to offer a helping hand even in a difficult situation will be rewarded later in the name of the Sun.”

As she approached the vicinity of the corpses that had turned into monsters and then into ash by the light of the Sun, Cha Ara asked.

“Um, but you know all of our names…? Is that normal?”

“This is an event that I am officiating, so I must not be negligent in my responsibility. I have memorized the names of all those who formally participated after putting their names on the list.”

“Woooow….”

After meeting nothing but shitty Hunters for a while, a person so full of responsibility felt incredibly unfamiliar.

‘If I had only met Hunters like this, I wouldn’t have been abandoned in that damn cave, fuck.’

Feeling an unwarranted sense of relief, Cha Ara continued to speak while collecting the light corpses that looked like they had just come out of a crematorium.

“It feels like it’s been a long time since we’ve seen you after being dragged into the dungeon. Where have you been until now?”

“I apologize.”

“Ah, no, I’m not scolding you for not coming sooner….”

Fuck, my words.

‘Let’s think before I speak.’

Cursing her own intelligence, Cha Ara continued speaking despite stammering.

“This cavern itself is quite large and a lot of people were dragged here, so we thought this was everyone who was brought in.”

“…I was dropped alone in a different cavern from this one.”

Priest Kang Seo-dam replied, making the sign of the cross toward the ashen corpses and bestowing a blessing of rest.

“The number of monsters was large, their skills were considerable, and the escape gimmick was complicated, so it took time.”

“Alone in a place like that…?”

“If you think about it that way, it seems the people who gathered at the initiation ceremony were randomly scattered.”

“…What? Ah, if that’s the case….”

“It did not seem to be completely without a standard.”

Saying he had faced a large number of monsters, Priest Kang Seo-dam wiped the blood flowing down his forehead and continued.

“In my case, as the most threatening force to the dungeon, I was dropped alone in a place swarming with monsters. On the other hand, all the prospective priests are gathered in this cavern.”

“All of them? You confirmed that already at that time?”

“They are the brothers I am in charge of, so I remembered their faces.”

“…Huh? No, but as I recall, surely….”

“Yes, I understand what part you are finding strange.”

Kang Seo-dam swung his wand, which was as long as he was tall, and bestowed a blessing on the entire cavern.

The corpses, which had taken the form of ash, soon transformed into the appearance of whole people.

“……”

Priest Kang Seo-dam, who had shown a small miracle with the power of the Sun, soon opened his mouth.

“…Brother Eun-ha is not in sight.”

In this place where all the prospective priests had gathered, only that one boy could not be found.

“I did not find the body of a prospective priest here, so I believe he is likely somewhere else.”

“……”

“We can figure out why he was dropped off alone later. Hunter Cha Ara, do you still have stamina left? Visually, you don't seem to be injured, is there anything wrong?”

“Ah, no, there isn't.”

“Then let's get moving. I came here because this was the closest cavern to where I was dropped, but there are probably survivors in other places as well. There weren't many Hunters who attended this event, so if we don't respond in time, it will become dangerous.”

“The other kids and my brother are….”

At Cha Ara's words, Kang Seo-dam confirmed the survivors by the barrier and nodded.

“We can’t leave them here, so it seems they will have to come with us. The barrier is difficult to maintain if the distance is great, and there is also a time limit. It would have been better if there was a more skilled priest, but I do not specialize in barriers.”

“It certainly seems like you don’t specialize in protection….”

The expression on Priest Kang Seo-dam's face, who had turned all the monsters to ash with a single swing of his wand, was truly that of a demon that had crawled up from hell.

If he had specialized in protection or healing with that impression, it would have sounded rather strange.

Without adding anything else, Kang Seo-dam nodded his head.

“The bodies have been collected and blessed, so they will not be further disturbed or rot.”

“Then what do we do now….”

“Fortunately, I have subspace skill. I will place them in here, so I believe there will be no major problems with the collection afterward.”

“Yes, yes.”

“If we delay any longer, we don't know what might happen, so Hunter Cha Ara, please help the prospective priests move.”

“Ah, I understand.”

“Hoo….”

Kang Seo-dam, wiping his blood-soaked face, looked around.

‘…Could it be the mischief of that black god I saw at the initiation ceremony?’

That man who was wearing a black cape pulled down low. He had definitely felt divinity, but even if it wasn't a monster from the corresponding dungeon, a god could open a dungeon at will.

If so, that would mean he had quite strong authority for an evil god, and the aura he felt was close to death, which made him suspicious for a moment.

‘…No, but that being was one the Goddess had looked upon with such a favorable gaze. A god who has a high understanding of humans and seemed moderate in building relationships would not suddenly commit such a massacre.’

Rather, the suspicious one was Eun-ha, that blue-haired prospective priest.

“……”

Even though he felt a cold aura, he had just thought, ‘Is he a child who intends to serve a god who harbors coldness?’, but with the situation having come to this, he had no choice but to be suspicious.

‘The coldness I felt from Eun-ha-gun is remarkably similar to the coldness filled with the aura of this deep sea. If I can recognize it at a glance, it means that Eun-ha-gun had no intention of hiding his identity even after creating the incident.’

Either he planned to kill everyone here from the start, or he planned to visit Earth just once and then leave.

‘In this case, it seems to be both. It is a very dangerous dungeon….’

It was when he was looking around, worried about the situation that would follow.

“……?”

The air changed.

‘…In a positive way.’

Unlike the previous air, which seemed desperate to kill anyone, a strangely warm energy subtly enveloped the entire dungeon.

“One moment.”

Kang Seo-dam entrusted the survivors to Cha Ara and went out into the corridor.

Not long after he began to survey the surroundings, he saw something far down the corridor that resembled a temple submerged in the deep sea.

“……”

“……”

The man wearing a pitch-black cape took off his hood.

‘…Ah.’

From within the deep shadow that felt as if nothing should be there, platinum blond hair resembling sunlight was revealed.

“……”

“Brother Kang Seo-dam.”

It was the god presumed to be favorable to humans, ‘Seo Jio.’

“The temple was wider than I imagined, so I was lost, but I am pleased to meet a child of the Sun like this.”

“……”

“Do you perhaps know where the other survivors are? You seem to be injured, so I can help you.”

“……”

“Brother Kang Seo-dam?”

“My apologies.”

To find out what kind of god he was like this.

‘So there was a reason the Goddess gave him her gaze. They were of the same lineage….’

Although it seemed they were not of a completely identical lineage, judging by the strangely serene atmosphere, Kang Seo-dam was relieved by the familiar light of the sun and thought.

‘It was an ambiguous situation to ask for help, but it seems you have wrought some kind of miracle before I could even ask.’

‘Seo Jio’ must have played a large part in the dungeon becoming gentle.

In truth, it was a bit much to call it a miracle, but it was not an incorrect guess anyway.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.