Ch 184: The Length of Four Days and One Second （1）
'What a bolt from the blue.'
Come to think of it, even though red gates and blue gates seem similar at first glance, their generation processes are quite different.
In the case of the red passages that intermittently spew out monsters, the pre-generation signs are clearly revealed, to the point that it's possible to make predictions based on probability.
However, this blue gate was so quiet in its process that even I only noticed it right before it opened.
You could even call it sudden.
I'd guess that this difference is probably because blue is a much more stable form than red.
"Oh, my gosh! No, is this probability… is this even possible? In all my life, this is the first time I've ever seen a gate appear right next to me!"
"You can say that again."
Esther seemed flustered by the sudden appearance of the subspace, stuttering and patting her chest in surprise.
Still, as the leader of a guild, her recovery was quick. A few minutes later, the Guild Master picked up the internal phone on her desk and called the analysts downstairs.
"What is all this?"
"Huk."
"Wow, how can it appear right in the middle of the representative's office like this…"
The Magic Tower personnel who arrived moved busily to investigate the mysterious gate. However, in the process, some rather anticlimactic information was revealed.
━Beep.
Then, one of the Magic Tower employees, holding an analyzer, put his right arm into the gate.
'Oh, that's one way to do it.'
By the time he pulled his arm out, the machine displayed a message that eased everyone's tension, making their earlier caution seem unnecessary.
[Unidentified Gate]
[Rank: F]
"It's F-rank?"
"It's an F?"
A difficulty level that even a non-awakened person with no mana could handle with just an iron club.
A low-quality hunting ground assessed as the lowest level of danger.
"Ah, what is this."
The gate that appeared before us was none other than an F-rank dungeon.
Well, it's already absurd that a gate suddenly appeared among people who were just sitting around drinking coffee, so it's unlikely that we'd also have a rare case like an A-rank gate on top of that.
At that point, I should just go buy a lottery ticket.
"I was worried for nothing!"
Esther organized her breathing with a relieved voice.
And as the shock subsided, curiosity gradually began to rear its head.
When you think about it, this gate is a safe zone with a danger level of only F-rank, but the dungeon name is displayed as [Unidentified Gate].
In other words, it contains an environment that has not yet been discovered anywhere in the world.
Or, it's also possible that someone has already discovered the dungeon but hasn't reported the information to Pixy.
"Hmm."
Either way, we, the discoverers, are in a situation where we have an advantage in information.
"A completely new dungeon."
The woman with curly hair on one side of the representative's office narrowed her drooping eyes and began to ponder something. After waiting for a while, a new proposal popped out of her mouth.
"You know, Giryeo-ssi."
"Yes."
"This gate, since it appeared right in the middle of the room like this, we have to clear it quickly, even if it's just because it's inconvenient, right?"
"Yes."
"But I don't think we necessarily have to involve the Association in this? I know from a similar case in the past. Those people looked at the internal information themselves while investigating a mere D-rank, saying it was for the protection of the hunters. Even though I was the one who reported it, they were so annoying."
Seo Esther's lips twitched upwards.
"So, this time, the Magic Tower should solve it autonomously. And if it's okay, could you help me explore the gate a little?"
"Me?"
"Our Giryeo-ssi has a much better eye than others, right?"
Ignoring the Association and secretly sharing information between the discoverers.
Since this side has no connection with any national institution anyway, it's not a proposal that makes me feel particularly resistant.
'The problem is that it's Sunday.'
As I said before, today is the weekend.
Moreover, this Sunday, I was planning to refrain from going out for one other reason besides the purpose of resting.
'11 a.m.'
I take out my phone and check the current time.
But at this time, a flat tone flowed in from the direction where Esther was standing.
"Well, since there might be some more strange things like reinforcement materials, going back and forth while keeping the boss alive should take about 30 minutes."
That's more than enough.
If you're an S-rank hunter, you can break through an F-rank dungeon in under 5 minutes, not 30 minutes.
"Giryeo-ssi, please. Just give me 1 hour and 30 minutes."
"1 hour and 30 minutes?"
"I thought it would be perfect to explore the dungeon for 30 minutes and then have lunch together at a restaurant. Would that be okay?"
"…."
"Of course, I'll calculate your hourly wage very generously. We just got some good magic stones in the guild!"
Paying for labor with magic stones.
For reference, this is a country where the minimum wage is around 10,000 won.
Moreover, a wealthy person who is kind enough to pay an hourly wage in magic stones wouldn't try to split the bill for something as small as the cost of a meal.
Given the flow of the conversation, there's a high possibility that the other person will pay for the meal afterwards.
"…What kind of menu are you thinking of?"
"Huh?"
When I suddenly asked about the lunch menu, Esther stuttered for a moment before answering.
"Uh, well, I don't know? Ah, maybe something like a steak or a Korean set meal?"
Then, someone's refreshing consent flowed out.
"Okay. Let's go."
There's a saying in this world that you should be wary of people who buy you beef, but honestly, if it's free steak, wouldn't it be okay to close my eyes and be fooled just once?
◈◈◈
"It's dark, as expected."
"And it's damp."
"That's how caves are."
"Oh my, please be careful of the floor."
"Why are there so many rocks?"
A little later.
We finished our simple preparations and entered the dungeon.
What we brought were Esther's main weapon and analog writing tools.
Thanks to the monster that was loitering at the entrance, we were able to reconfirm that the dungeon was F-rank before starting. Even if our luggage is light, there's nothing to worry about.
"Monster 10 meters ahead."
Thud!
I was just standing in place, looking around the walls, when a dull thud hit my ears.
It was the sound of Esther dealing with an obstacle in front of her.
They were like existences that rose up, staggering, piercing through the dry ground, like plants sprouting.
"By the way, I was expecting something new since it's a new dungeon, but these monsters have very familiar faces?"
The inhabitants of this place were none other than [Old Bones].
To be exact, they are monsters that appear so frequently in F-rank dungeons that their example photo is included in the new hunter guidebooks distributed by the Hunter Association.
"Even if it's not the monsters, the dungeon structure is ordinary too."
Moreover, unlike what I had hoped, this gate was a cave-shaped otherworld commonly found in various hunting grounds.
I don't really want to think about it, but….
The incident where I was almost robbed by the frog criminals because of the Twin Guardian Angel. Yes, if I had to find a comparison, this dungeon is exactly like the F-rank gate I entered back then.
Red, dark, and with a ceiling that curved like an animal's esophagus.
"Hmm."
The only difference is that the path is straight.
"Well, there's nothing to see here."
We explored a little more, just in case, but in the end, we couldn't gain any significant results other than discovering this structure.
"It's a fountain."
"It's a bit small."
"Why is this here?"
"How would I know."
It was like a carved fountain that I had seen in the White Maze was suddenly stuck in the middle of the road. No, what is this hodgepodge bait box that seems to have mixed all the leftover elements?
"...."
"...."
Esther and I exchanged a brief glance.
No matter how you look at it, this dungeon seems like a subspecies of a common F-rank cave. So, rather than wasting our labor.
"It hasn't been long since we came in, so should we just go back?"
"Yes, Giryeo-ssi. At this level, my secretary could clear it while eating cup ramen."
Opinions quickly gathered.
So, we unanimously decided to give up on the raid and leave.
It took about 10 minutes to get to this fountain, but considering that we stopped in the middle for analysis, the time it would take to return would probably be.
Less than 5 minutes.
…That's what I thought until just now.
'Huh.'
How many minutes had passed since then?
Esther and I were returning to the entrance, having a casual conversation, when I intuitively noticed that the atmosphere here was unsettling.
To be precise, the luminosity is strange.
If we had walked this far, we should be able to see the blue light emitted by the gate, but the end of that long path is still shrouded in dark shadows?
'Well, well?'
Cold sweat runs down my spine.
This wasn't just because I felt a sense of unease.
I focused my senses to confirm a sudden hypothesis, and as a result, I obtained some kind of result.
"No way...."
"Giryeo-ssi?"
Tap tap tap tap.
I put my weight on my shoes and ran forward. But no matter how much I ran, I couldn't see the entrance we had come through.
No, damn it! Wait, looking at it closely, it's not just that I can't see the light.
"The passage!"
"Huk!"
The woman who followed behind gasped.
Shockingly, the entrance we had come through was completely blocked by a red stone wall.
The gate was no longer there.
Thud.
I stared at the end of the cave blocked by the wall and stopped in dismay.
Damn it. It's been a while since I dealt with that Nacha Temple, so why is something as absurd as the entrance disappearing happening now?
'Could it be a characteristic of the dungeon itself?'
But I hadn't predicted it at all.
When Esther went in first to check if the rank analysis was correct.
Even when we hunted the monsters at the beginning, the gate was clearly working normally.
"My goodness, how did this happen?"
"I don't know."
"Could it be that someone outside used an item…? No, that can't be. This was clearly the top floor of our guild!"
Let's calm down.
It's quite disconcerting that the entrance disappeared, as it's not a common occurrence, but we still have other means left.
"There's no other choice. As it is, we have no choice but to kill the boss to get out."
Gate clear.
Thankfully, there is an absolute condition in the otherworld that opens an exit.
"That's right. Let's not panic and just calmly go out through the raid."
.
.
.
But a full three hours later.
"Oh my god...."
We finally discovered the last peculiarity that this dungeon was hiding.
'The length....'
The unidentified gate that appeared in the representative's office of the Magic Tower.
Its true nature was.
'The path doesn't end!'
It was a new type of dungeon with a very abnormal length!
I had heard from An Yunseung that the scale of the dungeons that gates contain is gradually increasing these days. The dungeon called [The Deepest Place], which is divided into spaces with three floors, is a prime example.
However, this phenomenon only occurred in high-level dungeons of A-rank to B-rank.
Such changes were not noticeable in low-level hunting grounds where weaklings go in and out. It is common knowledge in this industry that an F-rank gate is small enough to be able to go back and forth in an hour.
"Oh my, no matter how much I walk, I can't see the boss."
Esther said that and let out a light laugh, as if trying to lighten the mood.
But I wasn't in the mood to match her tone.
I had been persistently trying since earlier, and what I found out was that I had just obtained the frightening search result that 'the boss here does not exist within the perception range of a Great Magician.'
Damn it, how can this kind of thing happen....
"I really picked the wrong day."
Realizing the situation, I repeated a certain sentence.
I started to ramble with a kind of anxiety, saying that an accident had happened on a day like today.
"Why? Did you have other busy things to do?"
At this, the S-rank hunter showed an awkward reaction.
She was walking ahead of me, so I couldn't see her face, but judging from her tone, she probably had a rather sad expression on her face.
"I'm sorry. I made a useless proposal and made our Giryeo-ssi waste his time."
"...."
"Um, well. How about we both run as hard as we can from now on? How about a running race? If we, as S-ranks, pick up the pace, we'll surely be able to reach the boss…"
But then, the peaceful conversation suddenly stops.
At the same time, the sound of shoes that had been flowing regularly also stops.
What filled the cave was an unnatural silence.
"Giryeo-ssi?"
Swish.
When she didn't hear her companion following, Esther tilted her head and looked back, and thanks to that, I was able to make eye contact with her for the first time in a few minutes.
But it's still difficult to respond to her call.
"Hunter Giryeo?!"
This was because it was virtually impossible to speak due to the constant backflow of blood from my throat.
I quickly covered my mouth. But when the blood pooled in my mouth hit my uvula, an uncontrollable cough burst out.
Cough. Gurgle.
Blood foam was coughed up along with a rattling sound.
The blood that flowed down my chin fell endlessly, staining my collar reddish. Unpleasant marks stuck between the lines of my palms, and after a few seconds, even the blood vessels in the whites of my eyes burst.
"Cough."
That's right.
This was the true nature of the 'slightly unpleasant disadvantage' of the [Sacred Tree Sapling].
But those born in Alpha Uri usually know how to solve this situation. I told the sorcerer in front of me, meaning not to be surprised.
"…It's ok."
To be precise, I was trying to speak.
But the moment I opened my mouth to convey that I was okay, I ended up coughing up blood again....