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chapter 29
“You’re saying you’ll get first place? Is he insane?”
“They say he got a Hidden skill. Guess nothing looks scary to him now.”
“People only realize after smashing their head first. Like, ‘Oh, I’m trash.’”
Around the dungeon entrance, murmuring voices could be heard.
About half of them didn’t even bother lowering their voices.
“The reaction’s pretty heated, huh?”
-ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-That’s the normal reaction.
-You think Black Dragon looks like a joke?
-Yes.
-Top ten is kind of…….
Despite having watched Hanbit’s actions so far, public opinion was still largely negative.
Ignoring the reactions, Hanbit stepped closer to the entrance.
Ding—
[Challenge Dungeon]
This dungeon requires an entry fee of 500 gold.
Records are updated immediately upon achievement, and accumulated entry fees are awarded weekly to the first-place player (as of Monday).
Level limit: Lv.30 and below
*Rankings
1st: Kim Hanseop (19 min 25 sec)
2nd: Nowaki (19 min 38 sec)
3rd: Odin (19 min 41 sec)
…….
-Info) The 1st place record hasn’t been broken for a year.
-Time-attack demon.
-Used to be a top prospect GOAT.
-Thought he’d make the vanguard.
-Odin in 3rd actually joined the vanguard lol.
-Odin’s just a talent monster though.
‘First place really is on another level.’
The gap between first and second was thirteen seconds.
Considering most of the rankings were separated by five seconds or less, it was undeniably impressive.
That the record hadn’t been broken in a year was surprising enough—but the fact that he wasn’t a vanguard was unexpected.
“How many vanguards are in the rankings?”
“Hardly any. It was early server days, and they probably focused on story progression and internal growth instead of sinking time here.”
Hearing Yeonwoo’s explanation, it made sense.
There was no need for vanguards to pour excessive time into records like this.
Especially back in the early days, when there weren’t even guides—records would’ve been a distant concern.
“Then what about that Odin guy in third? Chat says he’s a vanguard.”
“Odin’s a special case. He set that record on his first try, then joined the vanguard half a year later.”
“He didn’t aim for first and just left?”
“That’s how hard it is. Cutting even one second takes insane effort. Of course, Odin never said why himself.”
-But Odin really is a talent monster.
-Started a year ago and now he’s mid-tier vanguard, crazy.
-Fastest climb among non-launch players?
-Isn’t Luna faster?
-Blood was fast too.
Various vanguard names flowed through the chat.
Becoming a vanguard without starting RP at launch seemed to be a big topic.
But what mattered right now was the dungeon record.
[10th place: 20 min 03 sec]
The benchmark for the mission—10th place—was around twenty minutes.
Still, Hanbit’s eyes were fixed only on the very top.
“Going in solo, right?”
“Challenge dungeons are solo only. I’ll watch via the stream, so you just focus on the run.”
“Hm. Are all the guides public?”
“There are tons. Probably a lot of posts on the RPG community…….”
Yeonwoo quickly moved his hands to search for materials.
It took less than a minute to find results.
“I sent you the link.”
Hanbit opened the link Yeonwoo sent.
The community post was filled with dungeon interior photos and detailed strategies.
‘Exactly the same.’
He checked just in case, but it was exactly the dungeon Hanbit remembered.
From the start, it was packed with traps and complex mazes.
Even structures not shown in the pictures were vividly mapped in his mind.
“And hyung, ignore the mid-dungeon quest.”
“A quest?”
“There’s an NPC named Plona inside. The difficulty’s insane, and the reward’s trash, so skipping it is the meta.”
-Yeah, it’s brutal.
-Ditch Plona?
-If you don’t, you can’t clear.
-Five people maybe cleared it with her?
-Vanguards might’ve managed a few.
As Yeonwoo said, there was a quest listed midway through the guide.
The condition was to clear the dungeon while rescuing a girl named Plona who’d been kidnapped by monsters.
But the combination of absurd difficulty and worthless rewards failed to motivate players.
“Someone’s cleared that quest, right?”
“There are cases. They barely managed it by dumping tons of items. Took over an hour.”
“And then? After rescuing her?”
“Then what? Clear the dungeon, get the rewards, and that’s it. Some cheap herbs and a bit of EXP?”
“…And that’s where it ended?”
Hanbit’s voice came out incredulous.
Plona’s rescue had an enormous impact on early story progression.
To go through all that trouble and then waste the opportunity entirely—
He felt like confronting those players in person.
“Are you really sure about this? If you fail the mission, you’ll have to spend a whole day teaching viewers.”
Seeing Hanbit focused on the guide post, Yeonwoo asked worriedly.
Maybe he thought this could be solved with last-minute studying.
-ㅋㅋ Too late, huh?
-Watching won’t help anyway.
-It’s fine if Black Dragon panics later.
-I’ll backseat the hell out of this.
-Let’s goooo.
The viewers were already revving up.
Backseating or whatever—it didn’t matter.
Assuming there was time for it.
“It’s fine. Just watch. I’ll be back.”
Turning away, Hanbit stepped into the entrance.
Ding—
[500 gold entry fee has been consumed.]
As the entry fee was deducted automatically, the scenery changed.
Inside stretched a cave passage embedded with glowing crystals.
[00:02]
A timer appeared at the top of the screen.
There was an expected clear time, but no harm in hurrying.
Tap—!
Hanbit kicked off and sprinted straight ahead.
Thanks to his increased speed, he reached the first checkpoint quickly.
-First gate.
-Actually gate zero.
-Newbie filter zone.
At a glance, it looked like an ordinary corridor.
But the ceiling, walls, and floor were packed with traps of all kinds.
There were many of them, and shaving time here was critical.
Shing—!
Hanbit drew his sword and lowered his upper body into stance.
Chirp—!
As if sensing his intent, the wind spirit Sylph cried out.
Wind slowly gathered around his legs.
A change brought by the hidden skill, Wind’s Movement.
While it was fundamentally a passive skill that enhanced physical ability, the addition of spirit power was natural.
Thud—
Planting power into his rear foot, he focused straight ahead.
Then he kicked off toward the center path.
Tap—!
His body shot forward at a startling speed.
At the same time, the sword in his right hand slashed diagonally.
Shiiik—!
Clang—!
A crisp sound rang out alongside an arcing trajectory.
Three arrows, their heads severed, scattered through the air.
Shoosh—!
Iron spikes burst up from the floor, as if signaling the true start.
But Hanbit’s legs had already passed that zone.
Shoong—!
The next traps were sharp spears shooting out from the ceiling and walls.
They looked threatening enough to skewer him instantly, but if you knew the exact firing positions and timing, they were avoidable.
Shoong—! Shoong—!
Hanbit twisted his head and body, evading the spears.
Even while doing so, his running speed barely slowed.
-?
-What kind of bug is this?
-Did he dodge that, or just not get hit?
-He memorized all the trap positions?
-Bullshit.
-Didn’t he clear Asla’s trial? This guy’s a trap master.
-It’s a bug, idiots. You don’t know the game.
The chat was a mix of confusion and shock.
Amid the chaos, Hanbit pressed on.
Reaching the target area didn’t take long.
“Hic.”
From a narrow side path branching off a bent corridor.
At its entrance, a red-haired girl was sitting, hugging her knees and crying.
[Plona]
The name floating above her head and her face were all too familiar.
Hanbit approached and lowered his stance.
“Are you okay?”
“…Huh?”
Plona looked up at the sound of footsteps and met Hanbit’s gaze.
Her eyes widened immediately.
“Ah……!”
A face mixing shock, faint relief, and extreme fear.
Realizing he was an adventurer, she still couldn’t bring herself to speak.
She fidgeted hesitantly, unsure whether it was okay to ask for help.
“I’m an adventurer. Name’s Black Dragon. You are?”
“Plona… that’s my name.”
“How did you end up in the dungeon?”
“I came out to gather herbs… hic. Then I ran into monsters…….”
As he asked first, tears welled up in her eyes.
Piecing together her broken answers, the story was simple.
Plona, who lived in the slums, had sneaked out of the city to gather herbs for an injured friend.
She encountered monsters, fled, and fell into this dungeon’s side passage.
-ㅠㅠㅠㅠ
-We can’t leave her.
-Let’s save her.
-You guys all abandoned her though;
-There was no choice.
-The quest’s too hard.
Viewers who had experienced the dungeon before had all passed by Plona.
To them, it was just a faint sense of guilt.
Simply abandoning a quest with bad rewards.
‘I don’t even want to remember.’
The outcome of failing to save Plona here was horrific.
If they knew how brutally she died, and what absurd tragedies followed—
No one would be able to walk past this girl.
‘We need to get out as fast as possible.’
Old memories resurfaced, and Hanbit steeled his resolve.
Soon, Plona herself would ask for help—but returning to the city quickly was best for her too.
“Let’s go. We need to clear the dungeon to get out.”
“You’re… going to help me? But I don’t have any money…….”
Still sniffling, she trailed off.
Children raised in the slums knew their situation all too well.
They didn’t believe help could come freely.
Especially since adventurers usually moved for money.
“You don’t have to give me anything. I’m friends with Ria.”
“Huh? With Sister Ria?”
Ria—the well-known figure of the slums.
At her name, Plona’s face visibly brightened.
-Suddenly Ria?
-They are close.
-There’s a cleaning quest too.
-Playing with cats was super cute lol.
-Say ‘nyang cute.’
That the two were close was fairly well-known.
If you looked around the slums a bit, you’d probably see them playing together.
“Really… you don’t need anything?”
“It’s fine. I’m helping you while I’m at it.”
“But…….”
Hearing that no payment was needed, Plona hesitated.
“Ah!”
After thinking hard, she rummaged through her bag.
She pulled out a single red leaf and held it out.
“I’ll give you this!”
A red herb—extremely common and cheap.
Of course, to a slum girl, it was a precious possession.
“Then I’ll take it after we get out of the dungeon. That okay?”
“Yes!”
Ding—
[Quest]
Plona, a girl who was unexpectedly caught up in the dungeon.
Escort the frightened girl safely outside.
Objective: Clear the dungeon while protecting Plona
Reward: Red Herb, 500 EXP
Time Limit: None
As her bright answer rang out, the quest message appeared.
Closing the window, Hanbit glanced at the timer.
[05:31]
The time was roughly as expected.
But the real run was only starting now.
“I’ll carry you.”
“Huh? W-wait—!”
Hanbit lightly picked Plona up.
Securing the flustered girl in his arms, he kicked off immediately.
“Hold on tight. We’re moving.”
