# 023. Long Live the King (7)
“A-A-class dun-dungeon…? That’s impossible…!”
“Ouroboros? Ouroboros? Instructor! What exactly is going on here? A-class, an A-class dungeon?!”
“Well, I don’t know either… If I knew, would I be acting like this? But Jeongwoo-ssi, what do you mean by amplifier? Are you saying an amplifier can arbitrarily raise the grade? Does the amplifier only amplify dungeons? Please, Jeongwoo-ssi! Explain it to me!”
The fact that this was an A-class dungeon was so shocking that even Se-rin, who had been smiling pleasantly, flushed and rushed forward.
But Instructor Jang In-ho was equally bewildered by the situation. For In-ho, even the fact that a dungeon’s grade could be raised was completely new information. The same went for the amplifier. He looked at Jeongwoo with hopeful eyes, wondering if he might answer, but Jeongwoo’s gaze toward him was nothing but cold.
“Do I have to answer all of that? You’re the instructor, not me.”
“B-but if Woo Jeongwoo-ssi would tell me, it would be a great help to the Management Bureau. As soon as I get out of here, I’ll arrange an appropriate position for you with my superiors! The Bureau would always welcome a talented individual like you—”
“They say if you save a drowning person, they’ll demand your bundle too… Figure out the details yourself. First of all, the fact that attackers ambushed us is very strange. It must have been burdensome for them to attack a dungeon guarded by the Management Bureau. There’s not much benefit from this dungeon, and they chose a time when it’s crowded with new Awakened Ones entering. Why would they do such a thing?”
“W-well, security for the practice dungeon isn’t usually very high. Now, when new Awakened Ones are entering for practice, is when security is the strictest. But why would they come in now specifically…?”
Jang In-ho paused mid-sentence and slowly looked at the three of them.
“Then, their target must be among this batch of newcomers. Otherwise, there would be no reason to choose this timing. But I personally checked the profiles of all the newcomers…”
“Who knows. Not everything can be learned from documents. Anyway, we need to conquer this dungeon. Let’s stop wasting energy and think about what to do next.”
At Jeongwoo’s mention of conquering the dungeon, both Se-rin and Jang In-ho were startled and looked at him. The only one not surprised by Jeongwoo’s words was Jaehee. Somehow, Jaehee had felt from the beginning that things would turn out this way.
“But, Jeongwoo-ssi! I understand that you have confidence in your abilities, but this is an A-class dungeon! There are only ten novice Awakened Ones inside right now. A-class dungeons have only been conquered three times so far. Trying to conquer it with just ten beginners is practically suicide!”
“Se-rin-ssi. Would you rather wait here for the rescue team to arrive? Instructor, what originally came out of the boss dungeon when it was D-class? Wasn’t it a snake?”
“Ah! That’s right! The original boss dungeon spawned a snake.”
Jang In-ho nodded at Jeongwoo’s words. The fact that it was a snake in the original D-class dungeon but changed to Ouroboros when it became A-class suggested some connection to the existing dungeon system.
“Then, what if we consider this not as a completely different dungeon, but an upgraded version? Instructor, you know how to conquer the original dungeon, right?”
“O-of course! The dungeon was reset and used for Management Bureau tests, so I know it for certain. In the case of the snake, the most difficult part of conquering it was that it would burrow through the ground. You couldn’t predict where it would attack from.”
As soon as the instructor spoke, Jaehee recalled the monster they had seen earlier, which they had mistaken for an earthquake. It was too large and strangely shaped to be called a snake, but perhaps that was the boss of the original D-class dungeon.
“Jeongwoo, could that thing we saw earlier be the D-class dungeon boss? But there was a problem with the black soil you said was safe. Looking at that, maybe the original rules have changed.”
“That’s right. Ah, as expected, our Jaehee has such deep thoughts.”
“What’s with you all of a sudden…?”
Jaehee frowned at Jeongwoo’s praise. The guy who had been scowling every time he looked at the instructor and Se-rin was suddenly grinning, which made it feel like he was playing a prank. But Jeongwoo paid no mind and moved closer to Jaehee’s side, smirking.
“This is your first dungeon, yet you immediately made this deduction. You didn’t even panic when you learned it changed to an A-class dungeon… That’s our Jaehee for you!”
Jeongwoo messed up Jaehee’s hair while laughing. It seemed like praise, but it felt strange. It was as if he wasn’t a classmate and friend, but a teacher proud of his young student. Jaehee glanced at Se-rin and Jang In-ho while fixing his hair.
“Even so, this is an A-class dungeon! When conquering an A-class dungeon, they usually take nearly thirty people! Trying to do it with four people is insane! It’s better to wait for the rescue team!”
“Well… Will there even be a rescue team coming into an already activated A-class dungeon? It won’t be a rescue team, but a conquest team. After we’re all dead and the gate opens again.”
“That’s not true! Since he knows I’m here, he’ll definitely send a rescue team!”
Se-rin bristled at Jeongwoo’s words. Once a conquest team enters a dungeon, the door closes. To open the closed door and let a rescue team in would require paying a huge amount of points to the system.
“Se-rin-ssi… Don’t tell me…”
“What are you doing?!”
At that moment, Jang In-ho grabbed Se-rin’s shoulder and lifted her hair. It happened in an instant. As her long hair swayed, a spider-shaped tattoo on the nape of her neck was revealed.
“You, are you perhaps a follower of the Doomsday Cult?”
“What does that have to do with anything all of a sudden?!”
Se-rin glared at Jang In-ho with a flushed face. Jang In-ho gave a hollow laugh and looked at Jaehee and Jeongwoo.
“It seems we should exclude Se-rin-ssi from our conquest team. She’s a Doomsday cultist. Ah, you two came out of the tutorial not long ago, so you might not know what the Doomsday Cult is. It’s a pseudo-religious group claiming that the end of the world is upon us and only those who believe in their leader will survive.”
“Pseudo? Did you just call it ‘pseudo’?”
“As you can see, they’re quite fanatical, and not only ordinary people but some Awakened Ones are among them, so the Management Bureau considers them quite a dangerous group.”
“Ha, I’ll tell all this to our leader when I get out! This is religious persecution!”
Se-rin’s face had become so fierce, like an evil spirit, that no trace of her smile remained. But Jang In-ho did not hide his contempt as he looked at her.
“Se-rin-ssi. I don’t care whether you’re a Doomsday cultist or not. As long as you don’t cause trouble. So if you’re planning something, tell me now. I’ll kill you right here.”
At Jeongwoo’s words, Se-rin closed her mouth. Though they hadn’t known each other long, Se-rin knew that Jeongwoo wasn’t the type to make empty threats. Plus, for some reason, he didn’t seem to like her very much.
Se-rin did have some hidden skills, but she judged it would be difficult to defeat Jeongwoo. She had been observing Woo Jeongwoo ever since she calmly took cover in a tree during the earthquake. She thought his agile movements and quick situational judgment were indeed worthy of her leader’s interest.
“Fine. If you don’t insult our Doomsday Cult and our leader, I’ll stop here too.”
“Well… Then, as a way of assessing our strength, why don’t we start by introducing our abilities?”
Everyone nodded at Jang In-ho’s suggestion. There was no point in fighting among themselves here; it would only drain their energy. Jang In-ho hesitated for a moment, then opened his mouth.
“I’m the Hidden Hand, which means I’m a supporter. That’s why I’m originally in an administrative position… I was assigned to this dungeon practice because it wasn’t supposed to require combat.”
“A supporter? Haa, so that means we have to conquer an A-class dungeon with just three people?”
At Instructor Jang In-ho’s words, Se-rin frowned and let out an undisguised sigh. Jang In-ho’s face reddened slightly.
“I-I may be a supporter, but I can still fight to some extent. It’s just that I don’t have skills suitable for combat.”
Jaehee was also a bit taken aback to hear that Jang In-ho was a supporter, though he tried not to show it. Still, since Jang In-ho would know the most about the dungeon, hearing that he was a supporter was somewhat discouraging.
“H-hey! Where are you trying to go? T-take me with you!”
Suddenly hearing a voice, they turned around to see Kang Min-gyu and Yang Jeong-il standing there in a disheveled state.
Seeing Kang Min-gyu’s face, Se-rin frowned, and Jaehee sighed. Among them, only Jeongwoo was smiling.
