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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 11
Chapter Title: Flesh Plunderer's Den
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[Baekya Guild B-grade Awakener Shin Ayoung-nim's exclusive Staff Yoo Seongwon-ssi, your E-grade dungeon training application has been completed.]
'Oh~ As expected, fast. By the way, their guild name is Baekya. Anyway, application complete.'
Exclusive Staff training.
For high-rank Awakeners and Hunters B-grade and above, the abilities of their Staff—who helped maintain their skills and provided various support—were extremely important.
To that end, they often used low-grade dungeons as testing grounds and training fields to keep their own abilities sharp or test weapons and gear.
'Of course, not just anyone can apply for this...'
The fact that it was possible spoke volumes about the guild's mid-tier scale and strength.
In truth, I'd never heard of Baekya Guild before, so I didn't have much else to say.
"Then I'll head straight to the dungeon now."
"Yes! Go ahead. We'll coordinate the sparring date via phone. Zap! Invited you to the group chat."
[Path of a True Man (2)]
[Universe's Strongest Ayoung: Invited you.]
[Yoo Seongwon: ...]
The group chat name was weird enough, but what the hell was that ID?
I couldn't fathom the kids these days' sense—it gave me chills—but I decided to ignore it and headed out immediately to clear the E-grade dungeon.
'All my gear's in the inventory, so convenient.'
Not for nothing was it called a logistics revolution.
There were status restrictions, sure, but this convenience was something ordinary people could never experience.
The downside? If you died, you spilled everything inside like a treasure goblin. Still, the convenience was undeniable.
"Let's see… is this the place?"
Leaving Academia behind, I headed north toward my target E-grade dungeon.
Even E-grade dungeons were home to real monsters, unlike F-grade ones on the level of wild animals.
The benchmark monster was, of course, the goblin—the poster child for E-grade. But there weren't many in Korea.
"Even if other monsters wanted to come, the Constellations up there and out in that sea are too strong."
Naturally, I was talking about the ones hostile to humanity.
The major threats to Korea were 'Slaughter King,' based in the North Korean region, Liaodong, and northern Hebei, and 'Eternal Wrath,' lurking in the East Sea and Pacific.
Slaughter King's forces were terrifying, composed of demons that devoured humans, as the name implied. Eternal Wrath led an army of demons that reveled in indiscriminate destruction.
"Well, I'm not dealing with that level..."
Of course, I had no intention of facing them. The upshot was that Korea had more demon-type monster dungeons than anything else.
'Probably shifts the blame around or something.'
"Is this it?"
"Yes. Thank you."
I took a taxi near the dungeon, then walked the rest of the way.
The road to the dungeon bustled with vehicles and people.
Among those coming and going, some might die today, while others could strike it rich.
"Ugh~ I hate night dungeon raids."
"No choice. If we don't meet our quota, we're in trouble~"
It was an unfamiliar sight to me, who'd only worked inside Academia.
I kept my nerves on edge, staying vigilant as I pressed on.
'Wish I could slap on the golden armor and dash like I'm flying...'
But I wasn't dumb enough for that foolishness.
As I neared my destination, the crowds thinned until I was alone.
The closer I got to the dungeon, the more the stench of blood and rotting flesh assaulted my nose.
'Monsters might pop up on the way, but the minimap shows everything...'
Thanks to the (Unique) KMG TECH Master Device skill's expanded status window, enemy positions en route were crystal clear.
Even more surprisingly, the red dots representing enemies were fleeing on their own.
'Ah, do these things instinctively sense my stats? No hassle on the way is fine by me...'
Pushing through the ruins and forest thick with blood and rot, I entered my target dungeon.
Upon entry, a status window popped up: 'E-Grade: Flesh Plunderer's Home,' listing clear conditions and rewards before the scenery shifted.
[Dungeon Quest: Slay Flesh Slicer 0/1]
[Reward: ???]
'One target means take out the boss, huh... Ugh.'
As the dungeon's interior came into view, my mood soured.
A small house stood in the middle of a forest, surrounded by towers of human bones. The rotting stench was far worse than outside.
Keehehehehe!
Keehihihi!
'Ugh, unlike F-grades, this is hard to get used to.'
Through the windows, I saw Flesh Plunderer demons feasting away.
Seeing them chew on dripping raw meat turned my stomach— I had zero tolerance for gore, grimacing at the deep revulsion rising within.
'Should I toughen up with horror movies or gore games? Or pick a mental fortitude skill?'
Realizing stats and talents weren't everything, I donned my golden armor, drew my sword, and charged through the front door.
At the same moment, seizing the initiative, I dashed at speeds the dining demons couldn't react to and sliced their necks.
Kiaaaak!
Kyek!
'Nice! Two down! Three! Four!'
Kieeeek!
I cleanly decapitated the ones interrupted mid-meal, but didn't chase the fleeing ones recklessly.
This was their dungeon—their home turf.
Chasing without caution could lead to disaster, so I double-tapped the hearts of the beheaded ones for good measure before checking the house interior.
'Worse inside...'
It looked like a normal modern home, but no trace of humans remained.
Smeared in blood and flesh, filled with signs of demon feasting and revelry—this grotesque scene was still beyond me.
Staying on high alert for traps, I methodically cleared the interior.
Kieeeek!
Kiiik!
'Phew~ Good thing they're obvious.'
Some had hidden to ambush for my flesh, but they were already in my grasp.
I flanked the would-be ambushers, stabbing from behind and severing necks, feeling a sense of relief.
The raid progressed smoothly until another issue hit.
[Respect the code of chivalry. You who walk the Path of the Great Knight! Slaying evil demons is good! But you must raise your name and seize honor. Wave your banner and proclaim yourself.]
"What? You want me to get myself killed? Talk sense! It's life or death here! What chivalry?"
[Honor is all. Chivalry is all. Defile it further, and we will commence the chivalry tutorial.]
You force-awaken me on your whim and now this.
What even was chivalry? Just something nobles invented to glorify massacres and wars.
Honor itself was nonsense. Dead men get nothing, yet they pin medals on corpses and call it glory...
[Commencing chivalry tutorial.]
"Hey, why read my thoughts?"
[Tutorial 1. First, introduce yourself as a knight.]
Proclaiming your name on the battlefield by waving a banner is vital. It gives hope to allies, terror and fear to foes, and establishes chivalry. So, introduce yourself loudly and spiritedly to the enemies in this battlefield.
Reward: Remove all prior chivalry penalties.
"Here? You nuts?"
It looked like a house, but it was smack in the middle of a dungeon. Self-intro here?
Are you insane? With overwhelming stats and minimap, I could pick them off safely. What madness was this?
Self-intro, no less—like a college orientation?
"…But deleting the penalties is too tempting to pass up."
Wiping skill, gear, and knight summon penalties for just a self-intro was a steal.
Plus, no audience meant no embarrassment, and it was just an E-grade dungeon anyway.
"…Just don't know what to say..."
[Here's an example.]
[Hear me! Evil demons threatening humanity! I am XXX, knight of XX. In the name of chivalry and oath, I shall judge you!]
Even cartoons for kids these days wouldn't have lines that cringey.
Reassured I was alone, I took a deep breath and followed the damn chivalry tutorial's instructions.
Phew~ Deep breath, rehearse the line, plant my sword in the ground, and shout.
"Hear me! Demons threatening humanity in this dungeon! I am the Golden Knight, guardian of mankind. Today, you face divine punishment—fear death and repent!"
Ah, I did it. I actually said it.
A grown man over thirty, not some chuunibyou kid. Thank god no one saw, or I'd be teased forever.
'...If anyone witnessed that, I'd be kicking bedsheets in shame.'
Especially worrying: I'd see Ayoung again, and if she heard? Unimaginable horror.
Kiiik!
Kiiik! Kiiiik!
As I shuddered in self-loathing, sure enough?
Flesh Plunderers burst from everywhere in the house, charging me—clearly drawn by my idiot loudmouth announcement.
"Figures. Witnesses, huh?"
Even if they couldn't understand human speech, they'd heard my cringey rant. No letting them live—I charged with sword raised.