Chapter 420 – Chapter 420. Hwadong Dungeon Exploration

“Yum yum yum.”
“Is it delicious?”
“Ugh. Sweet.”

Omnyomnyomnyom.

I smiled at Liliana, who was eating like a hamster with chocolate in each hand.
A few days have passed since I met Dr. Kang Hyo-rin and decided to join the investigation team.
Now is the time to get in touch.

“Didn’t you say you had work today?”
“Yeah. But I don’t know when I’ll go out.”
“Cheer up. I’m going to buy something to eat.”
“Yes, yes.”

I smiled as I watched Liliana eat.
You eat well.
They say that ghosts who died after eating are beautiful, but I think Liliana will be pretty even if she dies.

‘Is it true what the pandemic did?’

Hwadong Dungeon where mana measurement fails frequently.
It is said that today’s investigation will find out the detailed reason.
It is said that Iris Guild branches all over the world are gathering information at the same time.

A fairy tale of earth and hell.
It is a phenomenon in which the earth’s dungeon is gradually becoming hell.
For some reason, Pandemic’s plans were accelerating.
Because the future scenarios I know have already happened.

‘Is it because I became stronger? Or because he captured the heroine too quickly?’

I tilted her head and pulled Liliana from behind her.
It was just frustrating because it was a question that no answer came out even after thinking about it.

It could be because I got really strong, or it could be because I attacked the heroine too quickly.
In a world where destiny exists, such things are possible.
Or maybe the butterfly effect I created in the process of becoming stronger returns as a typhoon.
What I ended up doing.
I also have to solve it.

But for now, let’s rest while touching the soft Liliana.
I put my hand on Liliana’s stomach.
How can I not have belly fat when I eat like this?

“Why the ship?”
“I just want to hold you.”
“I understand. It’s okay if I touch your chest.”

Liliana surrendered her body to me as if she were used to it.
Touching the body became a daily routine, so I wasn’t particularly awkward.
I thought as I hugged Liliana.

‘Maybe the demon king will appear soon.’

In France, he found out that Liliana was the daughter of the Demon King.
Every time I see Liliana since then, that sweet word is on her mind.

The daughter of the Demon King that I saw in Chiron’s Memory Orb.
Liliana Calliope.
That look still haunts me.

“…”

She closed her eyes tightly and brushed the memory away from her.
Even if something bothers you, if you have decided to believe, you must believe until the end.
If I believe in Liliana and if Liliana believes in me, it won’t change whether the earth becomes hell or the demon king appears before my eyes.
I took a deep breath and made up my mind.

“Why are you sighing behind me. It’s okay to touch my chest. Or the bottom is okay.”
“… It’s nothing. Let’s stop snacking and eat. I’m hungry.”
“Ugh. Okay. I want some chicken.”
“Why do you only eat chicken every day?”
“I don’t know! Buy it! Get it quickly!”

Liliana whined to order her chicken and she clung to me.
Okay.
I feel more at ease because I act like this.
Even if the demon king appears, I think he will quickly kill it and ask to eat chicken.

Belt ring-

As I was about to order chicken, my smart watch rang.

“Wait, wait a minute. I’ll do it for you.”
“Then ask for Aloe Chicken!”
“… Why is there a chicken restaurant like that?”

I checked my smart watch.

– Dr. Kang Hyo-rin: Cadet Lee Ho-yeon. Departure is at 7pm today. I will attach a photo of the meeting place.
– Me : yes. Okay.

They said they would contact me that day, but they actually informed me on the same day.
It’s probably because there are security issues or other issues.

“…Aloe Chicken is real, right?”

I ordered the chicken Liliana wanted and closed the smartwatch.

*

7:00 pm.
I got around the meeting place.
It was quite far from the academy, but there was a mountain that was pretty cool.
Beautiful natural scenery and well-maintained hiking trails.
It was a hill in the back of a well-maintained neighborhood.

“… But why is the meeting place here?”

There was a beautifully maintained hiking trail, and the meeting place was behind it.
A mountain slope with no roads or signs.
The Iris guild members naturally gathered in front of it.

“Hello.”
“Yeah, nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you.”
“Thank you for today. Cadet Lee Ho-yeon.”

I greeted the investigation team and approached.
Dungeons appear randomly without any creation conditions.
It could be in a place like this.

Among the personnel were Irene and Dr. Kang Hyo-rin.
Those two are probably the core of the investigation team.

“Now that we’re all gathered, let’s go.”

Dr. Kang Hyo-rin opened a barrier to cover the investigation team and started to climb the mountain.
The Iris guild members climbed the mountain as if they were used to it.
You seem to have had a lot of experiences like this.
“What’s so steep?”

I muttered quietly.
Moving as a team like this, I remember chasing Chiron in France.
Come to think of it, Irene was there at that time too.
I talked to Irene.

“Irene. Is the road very rough?”
“… Yes. It’s not a dungeon reported to the Hunter Association yet.”
“Aha.”

So the road was rough.
It was a place where the Iris Guild investigated alone.

“Does Irene have a lot of experiences like this?”
“… Quite?”

Irene gave a short answer and avoided talking to me.
Can I talk to you on the way up? I’m bored.

“Weren’t you two on good terms? I thought it was good because he asked me to join the investigation team.”

At that time, Kang Hyo-rin intervened in the conversation.
Irene opened her eyes wide as if slightly surprised by Kang Hyorin’s words, and I smiled and joined Irene’s side.

“No. We’re close. Right? Mr. Irene.”
“…… Yes. We’re close. I’m not feeling well today.”

Gun gun.

Irene shook her head and climbed the mountain in the lead.
Kang Hyo-rin, who was next to me, tilted her head and started climbing the mountain again.

“Here it is.”

And the leading guild members found the entrance to the dungeon.
It’s really hard to find if it’s hidden like that.
It’s a place where people don’t go, but the entrance is also incredibly narrow.
The investigation team crouched and entered the cramped entrance, and I followed them.

“There’s probably no big risk. We’ve already dealt with the boss of the dungeon in the preliminary investigation.”
“…?”

While listening to the guild member’s briefing, I felt something strange.

‘Why did so many people come when there is no risk factor?’

It doesn’t sound like much, but when you think about it, it’s strange.
The force of the investigators was not strong.
That’s why I thought that Dr. Kang Hyo-rin and Irene followed.
But if there were no risk factors, there would be no need for Irene and Dr. Kang Hyo-rin to come.

I spoke to Dr. Kang Hyo-rin who was walking next to me.

“Dr. Kang Hyo-rin.”
“Huh? What’s going on?”
“If you’ve dealt with the dungeon boss, there’s no danger. Why did Irene and Dr. Kang Hyo-rin come?”

Dr. Kang Hyo-rin listened to my words and thought for a while before continuing.

“Originally, only the investigators were to come. But Irene said that she would come along with cadet Lee Ho-yeon.”
“Oh really?”
“Yes. Did you say surveillance…? I don’t know why.”
“Aha….”

I just nodded.
Fearing that I might do something strange, Irene followed me to keep an eye on me.
Then you understand
Somehow, the investigators looked nervous the whole time. It must have been because Irene suddenly got involved.

“I feel sorry for Dr. Kang Hyo-rin. It would be uncomfortable if the boss suddenly got involved in the plan.”
“No. I also heard that Mr. Irene was participating, so I came myself.”
“… Why?”
“I thought something interesting would happen.”
“…”

She is a strange woman too.
The investigation team is the most pitiful.
How burdensome is it when two executives suddenly intervene?
I left Dr. Kang Hyo-rin, who was laughing so hard, and followed Irene.

The interior of the dungeon was quite strange.
If you go inside through a narrow passage, you will find a large cavity, and all over the cavity there are unpleasant vines climbing up the walls.
They were plants I had never seen before, but they seemed to have changed their grotesque appearance while eating the abundant mana in the dungeon.

‘Thinking about it, this is the first time I’ve ever been to an actual dungeon.’

Excluding the dungeons I entered for training at the academy, it was my first experience entering a naturally created dungeon.
It’s kind of funny that I decided to make a fake dungeon and didn’t go to the actual dungeon.
I’ll have to go with Rebecca next time.

When all the guild members entered together, the older guild member of the investigation team looked at everyone and said.

“From now on, we will go to our respective locations. All monsters, including the dungeon boss, have been eliminated, so don’t worry.”
“Okay! Scatter!”

Investigators scattered throughout the dungeon.
I’ll probably check something like mana concentration.

‘Shall I move alone too?’

You can just listen to the investigation team’s results, but if that’s the case, there’s no reason to come in person.
It would definitely be helpful if I walked around feeling the magic of the dungeon directly with my mana response.

“Sup, ha. Seup, ha.”

I felt the magic as I entered the inside of the dungeon without an investigation team.

‘It’s definitely strange.’

I couldn’t feel the magic of hell that Liliana said, but the concentration of magic power was changing in real time.
Even at this moment of worry, there was a change in mana concentration that went up and down.

‘Is this a phenomenon unrelated to the pandemic?’

By chance, a phenomenon similar to that in the original scenario may appear.
It’s unlikely, but I’ll have to think about that possibility.
I concentrated and sensed the dungeon’s mana.

‘Can I make this unexpectedly?’

I put on a pleasant smile.
Although the existence of dungeons is unknown to humans, there are many areas that have been revealed.
The most basic of these is the danger check of the dungeon.
It is a way to calculate how strong enemies are in the dungeon by calculating the mana concentration and size of the dungeon.
However, if the mana concentration changes randomly, as it is now, the data itself accumulated so far will be useless.
Even if a new type of dungeon comes out, they will be less suspicious.

In other words, even if my fake dungeon lacks detail, I can sneak past it.

‘I think I can get help from the investigation team of the Iris Guild.’

The fake dungeon was intended to be opened in the academy anyway.
At that time, you just need to get help from the investigation team of the Iris Guild, who is on good terms with the academy.
If Irene, who is part of the investigation team, says just one word, ‘This is a new anomaly,’ while investigating together….

“It’s okay.”

My head is spinning around today.
The plan was perfect.
After all, Irene should be involved in the fake dungeon plan.

‘Now that things are going well, shall we join soon?’

You should also listen to what the dungeon investigation team is investigating.
There may be other things I don’t know about.

Swoop-

The time when we tried to go back together.
I stopped walking at the magic I felt from the depths of the dungeon.

“… Well?”

An unpleasant magic that I have met so many times that I am used to it now.
It was the demon’s magic.

Thump- thump-
Come and go-

Unpleasant magic was rapidly approaching from the depths of the dungeon.
It was an urgent movement, as if running away.

‘Why is Mine here?’

She said she’d removed all the dangers for sure.
That means that Mine came in after the preliminary investigation was over.
Is it also related to the pandemic?

‘Let’s kill it first, no, let’s subdue it and think about it.’

If you hit me, I’ll tell you the information.
I raised my magic and prepared for battle.