The shift inside the dungeon was instantaneous.

Soo-Jin, slightly behind the rest of the group, stepped in after them. With his very first steps, a brief wave of dizziness washed over him, as though the air itself had thickened. His legs stiffened. A dull pain spread through his ankles, and the pressure around him grew heavier, crushing.

He vomited immediately.

It was nothing like the outside. Here, everything felt as if it were closing in on him. The air compressed his chest, wrapped around his lungs, and created an unbearable sense of suffocation.

He stopped, bent over, and vomited again.

“Are you okay, Soo-Jin? You hanging in there?” Kyung-Ah asked, visibly worried.

“Koff… koff…” He raised a trembling hand to his mouth, stifling a harsh cough that burned his throat.

“Yeah, I’m fine… it’s nothing. Koff… koff… I can handle it, don’t worry.” He straightened up, adjusted his backpack, and resumed walking.

Kyung-Ah stayed close to him, in case his condition worsened.

Do-Hyun didn’t object. They were more familiar with each other, so it was likely the best choice for now.

Min-Jung glanced back toward the rear of the group.

“Let’s hope he makes it…” he muttered.

The hunters moved forward, weapons in hand for those who had them. Their motions were fluid, almost mechanical. The dungeon’s natural light was cold. Luminous stones and crystals embedded in the walls lit their path with a spectral glow

With every step, Soo-Jin sank deeper into this unknown world. His heart was pounding in his chest. He knew a few things from the books his parents had owned—guides about hunters, Catalytes, their functions… But nothing could compare to firsthand experience. He realized then that the ground beneath his feet was anything but natural.

The rocks trembled beneath his steps. Even gravity itself seemed distorted to him.

Yet, around him, the others remained unaffected. They were prepared, seasoned. Most had already explored several dungeons.

Kang Do-Hyun and Yoo Hae-Rin led the way, alert to the slightest sign of danger. Each was ready to strike decisively the moment a threat appeared. Yoo Hae-Rin seemed relaxed, but her vigilance was evident in every move.

A heavy silence reigned.

The first few meters passed without incident, until they reached a darker area, almost devoid of light. A sinister hiss echoed, snake-like:

Pssiiiii…

Several hunters immediately lit magical torches, crafted from dungeon crystals. Seeing this, others followed suit.

Soo-Jin didn’t understand why they hadn’t used regular wooden torches. As far as he knew, that’s how it was done. But those with experience knew what it meant… And soon, shapes appeared in the distance. Moving in a group.

The first presence made itself known.

THE SIRIKHAS.

Humanoid creatures with lizard-like bodies and serpentine heads. Blind, they didn’t rely on their eyes. Instead, they emitted faint clicks and screeches to orient themselves. Extremely sensitive to sound. A mere scuff of a shoe was enough to alert them.

A series of muffled scraping noises echoed off the dungeon walls.

“DON’T MOVE!” shouted Kang Do-Hyun.

All the hunters froze in unison. Soo-Jin stopped just in front of Kyung-Ah. All eyes turned toward the shifting shadows down the corridor.

“They’re Sirikhas…” Min-Jung whispered, his gaze as hard as stone.

Soo-Jin felt a lump of panic form in his throat. He had never seen creatures like these. Their skin was a dark, almost black green. He stood frozen. The monsters kept advancing.

Yoo Hae-Rin whispered to the group:

“There must be a lot of them. Sirikhas aren’t very smart, so alone they’re not a big threat. But in groups, if they detect us, they become dangerous fast.”

Two E-rank hunters reached to snuff out their torches.

“No need for that,” Yoo Hae-Rin intervened. “Sirikhas are blind. Light doesn’t bother them. But their hearing is off the charts. They navigate only by sound.”

That’s why no one had lit wooden torches: the crackling was too noisy.

“If they’re heading toward us, it’s because they heard us. But now that we’re motionless, they’re disoriented. They’ll pass right by us without seeing a thing. That’s when we strike,” Kang Do-Hyun explained.

It was a strategy meant to protect the less experienced. A frontal attack might have worked, but it was too risky. If they didn’t kill the Sirikhas in one blow, the novices would be in danger. This trap was the best way to wipe them out in a single move—and to teach the newbies how to deal with group-based monsters.

Soo-Jin shivered but forced himself to stay still. His posture was awkward, and his backpack threw off his balance.

In a voice barely audible, Yoo Hae-Rin whispered:

“Inhale as quietly as you can… then hold your breath.”

Everyone obeyed.

The Sirikhas finally emerged from the shadows. They stood nearly twice the height of a man. They focused on sound, but hearing none, they continued forward blindly.

They were getting close.

The E-rank hunters exchanged panicked looks, trapped in a silent terror. The strategy, logical as it was, felt suicidal to them.

Suddenly, one of the creatures stopped. It turned its head and stared directly at Soo-Jin.

It couldn’t see him. But to Soo-Jin, it was obvious—he’d been detected, as if the creature had guessed his exact position. His stomach twisted in panic.

He stepped back.

His foot landed on a loose stone, and he stumbled. He fell backward.

He was about to crash down. That movement would give the whole group away.

But Kyung-Ah, just behind him, caught him with a firm grip and instantly held him still.

The other Sirikhas froze. They had sensed movement. Their heads swiveled in all directions.

But a second passed.

They detected nothing more.

So they resumed their march, blind once more.

Thanks to Kyung-Ah, the group’s position remained hidden.

But everyone was still holding their breath. Air was running desperately low.

No one understood why some of the Sirikhas lingered behind while others advanced… They were now less than five meters from the hunters.

“Just a bit longer… just a tiny bit more…” Hae-Rin whispered.

Suddenly, she leapt. Her blade cut through the air. In a single motion, she slashed the throats of several creatures.

They couldn’t wait any longer—the hunters were suffocating.

But one of the monsters, before dying, let out a cry of agony.

“KRRHHHHHK—Grrâârk… GHHHHrrrâaaaAAAAAAGHHH—!!”

The others immediately understood they were surrounded by intruders. They began screaming as well.

“KRRHHHHHK—Grrâârk… GHHHHrrrâaaaAAAAAAGHHH—!!”

These screeches had a weakening effect. Useless against C-rank hunters, but enough to make D and E-ranks stagger. Their limbs grew heavy. Weapons slipped from their hands… and crashed to the floor.

The Sirikhas rushed toward the source of the sound.

But Seo Ji-Hwan, the group’s healer, dispelled the effect with a healing spell.

With their cover blown, they had to fight.

The first blows rang out. Flashes of light burst forth. Do-Hyun and Gyu-Min launched into the fray.

Gyu-Min charged at one of the Sirikhas. With a sharp thrust, his blade pierced the creature’s chest with a sickening squelch. He withdrew it instantly and spun in a wide arc—

SLASH!

—cutting down three monsters rushing from his right. The strike was clean. Their torsos split in a spray of blood, and they collapsed with stifled groans.

Hae-Rin ordered Soo-Jin to fall back, as planned.

But he was shaking. His mind was stuck on the moment the creature had “looked” at him.

At the rear, Seo Ji-Hwan called to him:

“Soo-Jin! Soo-Jin!!! Get it together! Stay focused! First rule of the dungeon—never lose sight of your enemy!”

Soo-Jin panted. Sweat beaded on his forehead. His hands trembled. He backed away further, ending up behind even the healers.

Meanwhile, Kang Do-Hyun lowered his center of gravity, raised his shield, and charged with a roar.

AHHH!!!

He slammed into a group of Sirikhas, hurling them violently against the dungeon wall. The impact shattered several shells with a loud crack.

Without wasting a second, Im Na-Rae, holding a Catalyte in her left hand, pointed her right toward the monsters and snapped her fingers. Instantly, a jet of flames burst forth, engulfing the creatures crushed against the rock. Screams of agony echoed in the darkness, shrill and inhuman, as their chitinous bodies twisted in the fire, blackened and burned.

The remaining creatures were wiped out in seconds. It was an execution. Thanks to the group’s superior strength, the battle lasted only a few minutes.

The Sirikhas were nothing but a pile of smoldering carcasses.

The situation was under perfect control. Silence returned.

Soo-Jin collapsed to the ground. He was breathing heavily. His heart pounded like never before. He had just experienced a fear unlike anything he had ever known.

He started coughing again, the dungeon’s pressure pressing down once more—but he held on, at least for now.

Kyuang-Ah stepped closer to him.

“I hope you’re okay. That was a close call earlier… but you don’t have to worry anymore. Now that the first wave of monsters is down, you won’t run into any more fights.”

Soo-Jin nodded, struggling to catch his breath.

“Thanks for earlier, Kyuang-Ah… I owe you one.”

She shook her head gently, smiling.

“Don’t say that, okay? You don’t owe me anything. That’s what friends are for.”

Kang Do-Hyun ordered Lee Sun-Woo and Min-Jung to make sure all the Sirikhas had been dealt with.

Meanwhile, the rest of the group moved forward.

After checking the area, Lee Sun-Woo returned to Soo-Jin.

“Alright. These things are dead. Now it’s your turn. Collect all the fragments. Then extract the crystals nearby. There aren’t many, but they’ll do. You’ll only find corpses—just do the same thing and meet up with us. That’s all.”

Soo-Jin stood up, pulled a knife from his pack, and approached a monster. He clenched his fists.

Lee Sun-Woo added:

“If you manage to rejoin us, it means all the monsters have been wiped out. We’re moving ahead. Your turn now. You do know how to—”

Before he could finish, Soo-Jin sliced open the creature’s chest. The fragment emerged.

It was their heart. The resource all hunters sought.

Weapons, artifacts—everything was made from these fragments. The stronger the monster, the more valuable the fragment.

This was just a D-rank, but several fragments could still bring in a decent profit.

Soo-Jin continued, methodically.

Watching him, Choi Min-Kyu said to Min-Jung:

“Well… the kid knows what he’s doing. Turns out bringing him along wasn’t such a bad idea. Tell me, were you the one who trained him?” 

“Let’s go. We need to catch up with the group—the raid’s still ongoing, don’t forget that,”

Min-Jung said simply as he moved forward.

Though, truth be told, he was still wondering how Soo-Jin had known exactly where and how to extract a monster fragment.

“Hey! You didn’t answer me!” Min-Kyu called out, trying to catch up.

“You’re still avoiding me, Min-Jung—that’s not fair!”

“Maybe it’s because you talk too much.”