Dungeon Hunter - Chapter 15

Chapter 15: Episode 4. Deceptors (4)

Three girls were covered with their own tears and sweat and fell down on the ground. They didn’t have enough strength to sit straight. One of the girls put her head between her knees and another one held her heart as if she needed something to hold onto. The other looked around. They were trying to find a way to survive.

Their legs were shaking; they knew they couldn’t walk or run anymore. They didn’t even have any energy left to have a conversation. They wanted time to stop, or better, they wanted to go back to before they came in…

“What about the…others?” Lee Jihye asked, breaking the silence.

Magicians usually have high intelligence, so it was not strange that she was the only one who was trying to assess this situation rationally.

The other two girls couldn’t say anything. They knew if they said something, that would only be negative. Especially about Kim Suhwan and the sub-leader, Kim Inpil.

Those two had abandoned them here to die.

“Do you…happen to know where we are now?”

Of course, they didn’t know. They all had little experience in the dungeon. They were always following the others, so they never even tried to memorize the map of the dungeon.

Lee Jihye looked at the others desperately but didn’t look at me. She thought I was just a beginner who knew nothing about the dungeon. I knew everything about my own dungeon, although I didn’t raise my hand to tell her so.

Thanks to Park Euntak, the scenario didn’t go as i expected. I wanted to know how this would end.

“So, nobody.” Lee Jihye sighed.

It was so dark around us. Everyone had thrown their torches away, so I was the only one who had one. It wouldn’t last more than a few hours.

“Plan… let’s make a plan.”

“What the fuck we are going to do with a plan! We will just die here!” One of the girls became hysterical.

Lee Jihye looked at her in silence. The hysterical girl started to blame her. “It’s all your fault. If you didn’t tell us to wait for five more minutes, we wouldn’t be in this shit. It’s your fault!”

“So what?”

“What?” The girl looked at Jihye as if she wanted to kill her, but Lee Jihye didn’t seem to care much about what she was saying.

“It’s all in our past. Or are you going to kill me?”

“You stupid bitch!”

“If you don’t want to kill me and you don’t want to die either, let’s make a plan about what to do next.”

I nodded when I saw Lee Jihye’s cold but rational reaction in this. She didn’t have high potential, but how she was managing this situation was something much more than potential or abilities. Or… did I see it wrong? I wanted to be sure, so I activated my Mind’s Eye.

Name: Lee Jihye

Occupation: Warrior (The Magician of Water)

Title: N/A

Abilities:

Power 22, Intelligence 41, Speed 18, Strength 26, Mana 35

Potential (142/277)

Others:

Skills: Water Spear(N)

I was right, her potential was not great at all. Does that mean she has something that she was born with?

She was being a bit tough, but it was rational and decisive. When we were with everyone I didn’t see it, but now she was doing just great. This was a perfect person to be a manager. She was not supposed to be in the attack unit, but she could support and manage the unit outside of the dungeon…

My eyes started to shine. ‘She’s not bad.’ I felt like I had found an unexpected treasure.

If I stepped up that would make it impossible to tell if she was a pebble or a pearl, so I decided to let her do her thing for a while.

“First, let’s look back to where we came from. Can I use your torch?”

I handed my torch without a word. She put the torch down on the floor and picked up a small stone to mark on the floor. With the stone, she started to make white marks to draw the map. She couldn’t continue because she was not able to memorize everything while running for her life.

“This is all I remember. Do you remember anything more than this?”

The other two girls were following the lead of Lee Jihye.

Lee Jihye touched her forehead and looked at the map on the floor. “Anyways, I have no plan to use this path. If we go back, the monsters that tasted human flesh would be waiting for us anyways.”

“Maybe…they are still alive…”

“Who? Those three who abandoned us? Or Park Euntak who sacrificed himself for us?”

“Maybe Park Euntak is alive.”

That was just a hope. She’d heard the scream of Park Euntak. There was absolutely zero possibility of his survival.

“Even if he is alive, we don’t know the way out. On our way to try to find it, we would face some monsters.” Lee Jihye was clear that she didn’t want to go back.

The girl who was talking to Lee Jihye started to bite her lips. “Then why did you draw it on the floor?”

“A map. I should move around to understand where we are. I wish we had paper and pen, but since we don’t, we need to use the floor.”

She seemed like she was calculating and started to talk quietly. “I have a full understanding of the entrance of the dungeon. If only we could make it near…”

“What if we walk deeper into the dungeon?” I asked a question for the first time. It was obvious that we were disoriented, and it was possible that we would just walk deeper into the dungeon.

Lee Jihye explained calmly, “There are monsters called bats.”

“The flying things you mean?”

Carnivore Bats were the majority of the monsters in the dungeon. Usually, they ate dead bodies or attacked Goblins and Kobolds. They only attacked humans when they were starving or if humans invaded their territory.

“Yes. Usually full-grown Carnivore Bats tend to sleep during the day and gather around the entrance during the evening.”

“Why do they have such habits?”

“Because there are some insects around the entrance. So they learn how to hunt with insects.”

“…Okay.”

Of course, the insects came from the outside of the dungeon. It had been only a few months, so it was natural that there were more insects around the entrance. Regular monsters couldn’t walk out of the dungeon without a Dungeon Master’s permission, so they had to gather around the entrance without getting out.

I was sure that it wasn’t Lee Jihye who found out about it, but that was quite a good observation. It took only eight months for humans to understand Carnivore Bats’ habits and characteristics.

I’d never really cared about it, so I had no idea. Recently there were too many of them, so I put in some Aisle Snakes, but that was it.

“So should we follow Carnivore Bats from now on?”

“We need to check if we are safe around here first. Then the next step would be finding the base of Carnivore Bats because we need to check if they are heading to the entrance or coming back from it. We can’t just follow them without knowing.”

Better to be safe than sorry. It was clear that we had to be safe, especially in a situation like this.

Lee Jihye looked around and checked people. “Let’s move when we still have a bit of energy.”

“I… I don’t think I can.” One girl just gave up.

The girl who was angry at Jihye was staring at her as if she wanted to kill her. “Aren’t you even sad?”

“I am sad. But I can’t just sit here and wait to die.”

“Bitch.”

Lee Jihye simply turned around and looked at me. “Mr. Randalf? We should get going.”

“Sure.” When I started to move, the other two girls started to look anxious. I’m sure the only male was someone they wanted to rely on.

“I… I will come with you.” The girl who had given up decided to join us.

“…” The last girl didn’t look happy at all but joined us. I’m sure it hurt her ego, but she still wanted to save her life.

Moreover, there was only one torch. She didn’t want to stay in the dark by herself.

When she checked that everyone was ready, Lee Jihye told us, “Well, let’s get going.”

It was safe around us. The four of us came back to where we first had the conversation and started to make our plans. The first thing we did was make traps to know if a monster was approaching. It was possible because the space was quite narrow.

We dug a hole, put sharp arrows in, then covered it up with some grass. It wasn’t the best trap ever, but it was much better than nothing.

We were able to rest a bit, and then the next day, we ate a little bit of food and water and started to move again. We were walking very carefully so we didn’t face any monsters. The problem was that we didn’t know anything about the dungeon, and we were completely lost.

All we could do was find where the Carnivore Bats are gathering. Finding the base and following a young bat to escape the dungeon was the best scenario for now.

The first day, we failed. By the second day, we had nothing to eat. They checked with a watch, so It wasn’t 100%, but it was definitely the second day.

The Magician Lee Jihye was collecting water in the air so we could drink a bit, but it took a lot of time and consumed energy. We were all very hungry, so we had to solve the food problem.

“…I think we can eat it.” Lee Jihye said after she cut the head of an Aisle Snake with her Water Spear.

Two girls were horrified. They were hungry, but eating a monster was out of the question for them. It looked like a snake, but it was a monster. A murderous monster!

Lee Jihye didn’t care much. She collected some grass and leaves to remove moisture on them, then handed me a small rock.

“Can you work it out?”

She wanted me to start a fire, and I did. I hit another stone with the small rock. With my speed and power, the fire started in a few minutes.

We skinned the snake and put it on the fire. A nice smell was spreading. When it was cooked, Lee Jihye had a big bite.

‘Cold and rational calculation. Survival skills. She is active and doesn’t care what others think.’ She made me smile with satisfaction. ‘She is really good.’

I think she just passed. ‘One last thing though.’ The last condition to leave the dungeon.

I was waiting for it.

Three Goblins attacked us.

We killed them all, but not everyone was unharmed. One has bitten; it was the girl who was scared from the beginning, unlike the girl who kept fighting with Lee Jihye.

“I’m sorry…” She started to have a fever. She was bitten on her waist, and it seemed like she was infected by something. She had a high fever and keep losing consciousness. When she woke up, she would say sorry to us.

“That is not very good.” Lee Jihye sighed quietly.

We were still looking for the base of Carnivorous Bats. We didn’t have much time if we wanted to stay alive.

“Why? You want to abandon us again?” The remaining girl asked with anger.

I suppose she was talking about Park Euntak, but it was not Lee Jihye who left him alone. We all were guilty here. We all knew that he would die, but we left.

That was the only way to save our lives. Lee Jihye knew it, so she shook her head. “That’s not what I meant. I think this is some kind of high fever… let’s see. I will go with Randalf and find something to eat.”

We collected mushrooms and some greens that we could find to make some soup, but the fever was not calming down.

Naturally, it was exhausting for us as well. After a few more days, Lee Jihye was the only person who was moving with me.

Lee Jihye was biting her nails.

The two girls had become a complete burden. Nobody knew why. Maybe they got a disease, or maybe they were just exhausted. This time even Lee Jihye had a hard time making decisions. She was a cold and decisive person, but she had a conscience as well. She couldn’t just leave these two.

She had to find a way, but it felt like she was standing in quicksand.

“We need to find the base of those bats. We find people and come back here quickly. No. that’ll be too late. They have a high fever; they wouldn’t survive a day without water…if someone takes care… no.. monsters…” She started to scratch her head hysterically. It was an impossible problem to solve. She started to lose her poker face.

When she was on the edge….

“F… found you! Finally found you guys!”

Lee Jihye’s eyes became huge with surprise. That was a human voice not far from them.

When she looked around, there was the guy who wasn’t supposed to be there. Kim Suhwan! He’d run away for his life. Why is he here? Lee Jihye couldn’t believe it and asked, “So what happened?”

“Oh, oh my god. Thank god. You guys are still alive.”

“Where are the other two?”

“The unit leader Yoon Hyuksu and the sub-leader Kim Inpil died. I was the only one who survived.” Kim Suhwan looked relieved. His face was a bit unnatural, but it was understandable considering the fact that he has been fighting for his life for a while.

He approached them one step closer.

“How did you find us?”

“Just by chance. I was lost and wandering around and found you by accident. Oh… I really thank God for this.”

Lee Jihye frowned slightly. Was Kim Suhwan like this before? No, Kim Suhwan was a combination of strong ego and vanity. Although lost in a dungeon for a few days by himself could change him a bit…

She was still sharp and rational. Her reason was telling her that something was not right here.

One step closer. Kim Suhwan approached her.

“But two of them are on the ground. Are they…?”

“They just have high fever.”

“Ahah. I’m glad you guys are alive until now. Ha!”

Until now? That sounded too strange.

“This stupid dungeon is too big. It’s not a place for humans.”

One step…

“Kobold, Goblin, Carnivore Bat! Well done. Now let’s get out of this place.”

“Wait. Suhwan. Stop.”

“Why?”

“Before we came to the dungeon, you told me something. You told me you will take me to go driving and introduce your sister who is in the hospital.”

Kim Suhwan nodded like that was a natural thing. “Yes. I did.”

“Will you keep the promise?”

“Haha. Don’t worry. I’m a man of my words.”

“Water Spear.” Lee Jihye created water spear around her and Kim Suhwan was quite surprised by it.

“…why?”

“We said we will go driving, but you don’t have a sister, right? Just a brother….”

“Ahhh! I think I’m losing it. I’ve been in this dungeon too long.”

Lee Jihye looked at him suspiciously and stepped back. Before coming to the dungeon, she had time to chat with Kim Suhwan briefly. Kim Suhwan had asked Lee Jihye to go for a drive, and he also said he would introduce his brother as well.

But can you forget the gender of your sibling, really?

There were so many strange things to look over. Lee Jihye made up her mind. “Don’t come any closer. If you make one more step, I will attack you.”

“Shit. This bitch is not stupid.”

Kim Suhwan suddenly changed. He raised his sword and aimed at Lee Jihye’s neck.

Jihye’s Water Spear pierced his stomach, but Kim Suhwan didn’t stop as if he couldn’t feel the pain.

How he talked, how he walked and how he acted…everything was weird.

That was Kim Suhwan, but he was not the real Kim Suhwan.

She should have attacked him when she felt something was wrong. Regrets come too late.

She couldn’t get away from Kim Suhwan’s sword. She felt her death right away. She was able to see her head rolling around on the ground.

Lee Jihye closed her eyes.

And…

“You passed.” I smiled with satisfaction.

This was what I’ve been waiting for. Lee Jihye was witty as well.

Finally, the last condition has fulfilled.