S-Classes That I Raised to Devour - Chapter 67
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 67. Lotto Dungeon (3)
The Shadow Bag and Venometric Amulet were both Legend Tier equipment. When I obtained them, the smile on my face didn’t fade for an hour.
But the moment Chae Mujin laid eyes on them, his expression went blank. He wondered if this was a dream.
‘This is the kind of item the Hunter Association director and the association chairman would drool over.’
Its applications were endless. There were no limits to what objects it could transform into.
Under normal circumstances, he could transform it into defensive gear, then switch it to weapons at the moment of attack.
But that wasn’t all. Chae Mujin’s ability copied the equipment’s options exactly as they were.
It was excellent for transforming into equipment with passive and active skills, then deploying it strategically wherever needed.
Its worth couldn’t be measured in money. But if he were to put it up for auction?
‘It would start at one trillion won.’
Was Kim Bonggu an idiot who didn’t know the value of this equipment?
That couldn’t be. He was a hunter who’d crossed the hundred-level threshold. Even if he didn’t know the exact value, he could’ve made an educated guess.
“Didn’t you check the options?”
At my question, Kim Bonggu shook his head.
“I did.”
“Then why did you just hand it over?”
“Returning something that’s fallen to its original owner—isn’t that such an unusual thing, is it?”
“I suppose not, but it’s not something everyone can do either.”
It was like finding a bag with a hundred billion won on the street, not pocketing a single note, and taking it straight to the police station.
What kind of genuinely good person exists in this world?
“By the way, were you from the Detection job line? The equipment had concealment on it.”
The reason I’d overlooked the equipment in the first place was because of an option attached to it: automatic concealment upon the wearer’s death.
“Yes. My job is Hunter, and I found it using a skill called the Eye That Sees All Things.”
The Eye That Sees All Things was an A-Rank skill that even Chae Mujin knew about.
《Skill—Eye That Sees All Things (A)》
Upon activation, you gain the following effects.
• You discern concealment, camouflage, and illusion states.
• You visualize non-visible information.
• Consumes 30 mana per second.
A detection skill that was worth as much as an S-Rank skill in certain situations.
I’d thought Kim Bonggu was just a simple gambling addict, yet he possessed such a premier skill.
‘He’d be perfect as a security guard for our company.’
With him around, anyone sneaking in through concealment or transformation would be caught immediately.
‘And with integrity like his, there’s no way he could be bought.’
Meeting the right person really was the best way to find talent.
Chae Mujin didn’t want to lose someone so genuine, so he gently pushed him back.
“Kim Bonggu. From the next room onward, I’ll go alone. The company address is written on the back of my business card—go ahead and wait there.”
“No, sir. I’ll assist you to the end. Hidden items might appear again, mightn’t they?”
“You know that almost never happens. This time was genuinely special.”
“It’s thanks to you, sir, that I realized—this dungeon doesn’t test luck. It tests something else. Please, let me be your eyes. Just once more, let me come with you.”
The words “just once more.” The very words I hated most.
If I refused, it would sound like I didn’t trust him. If I agreed, it would make me irresponsible.
So I’d decided long ago what to say when I heard such words.
“Don’t expect me to save you when things get dangerous. I’m giving you fair warning now.”
“Yes. I’m not relying solely on this one skill either.”
Looking at the passion burning in his eyes, I couldn’t bring myself to tell him to turn back.
The desire to prove one’s abilities and earn recognition—that’s the nature of people, especially men. I couldn’t coldly refuse someone asking for a chance.
“Let’s go.”
And so I entered the third room with Kim Bonggu.
* * *
The third room was a tunnel with no visible end. Beneath dim lighting, only Chae Mujin and Kim Bonggu could be seen.
It was starkly different from the first and second rooms, where other hunters had been present.
“That’s… strange. I’ve never seen a pattern like this before.”
Kim Bonggu was especially bewildered. The Lotto Dungeon had fixed patterns.
That’s why everyone held onto the hope that if they kept challenging it, they’d eventually clear it.
Chae Mujin had a hunch about why Kim Bonggu had never encountered this pattern.
“It seems the dungeon changed it because of me.”
He didn’t know what the third room was supposed to be, but it must have been a room where the Absolute Memory skill of the Akashic Record could be exploited.
If he’d quietly passed without making that stat wager, this wouldn’t have happened. But he had no regrets.
‘I gained one hundred stats unconditionally, after all.’
Gaining a hundred stats with no strings attached was a benefit beyond imagination. That’s why the dungeon’s master was angry too.
Killing the Guardian alone wasn’t enough—the dungeon had created an entirely new type of room.
There was no need to look around. The back was a sealed wall. The only path forward lay ahead.
“Does your Eye That Sees All Things reveal anything unusual?”
“Nothing particularly strange that I can see.”
“If it’s not a trap pattern, let’s just walk forward.”
Chae Mujin began walking slowly.
Kim Bonggu carefully followed behind him.
He would’ve liked to keep the Eye That Sees All Things active the whole time, but at thirty mana per second, he couldn’t maintain it continuously.
As they carefully advanced, they spotted a sign.
–There is but one rule
Just a meter further, another sign appeared. They approached and read it.
–Do not look back. If you don’t, you will escape.
Beyond that, no more signs were visible.
“…What do you think that means, sir?”
“Just as it says. Don’t turn around and keep walking straight ahead.”
“It seemed too easy, so I worried it might be a trick.”
“If anything feels off, activate the Eye That Sees All Things. I’ll follow two steps behind you.”
“You won’t… go ahead of me?”
“Telling you not to look back is designed to trigger fear about what might appear from behind. Wouldn’t it help if I’m there behind you?”
Now Kim Bonggu understood. It was for his sake.
“Th-thank you, sir. I’ll take the lead then.”
Kim Bonggu began walking, far more tense than before. The path was straight and flat. No traps, no monsters—yet this very tranquility drove him mad.
‘I’ve never heard of a hunter dying in the Lotto Dungeon. But what if there were no witnesses?’
From fear, he kept activating the Eye That Sees All Things, and his mana depleted rapidly.
Drip. Drip.
“Gasp! S-sir! Did you hear that too? Something’s falling from the ceiling…!”
“I heard it. But don’t turn around. This is trying to make us look back.”
Bonggu’s voice was already trembling with fear, but Chae Mujin remained calm.
Lick.
“Ahhhhhhh! Something just licked the back of my neck!”
“It did mine too.”
Teehee.
“I—I can feel something behind me ahhhhh!”
“It’s just trying to scare us.”
The dungeon deployed every trick to make Chae Mujin and Kim Bonggu turn around.
Each time, Bonggu gasped and screamed, but because Chae Mujin spoke in a calm voice, dismissing each occurrence as nothing, he managed to keep walking.
About ten minutes had passed.
“I’m not the only one seeing this, right? There’s light ahead.”
“I see it too. It might still be a trick, so let’s move carefully.”
“Haa… haa…”
They’d only walked for about thirty minutes. Yet from the constant tension, Kim Bonggu was already exhausted.
Barely clinging to reason, he followed Chae Mujin’s advice and moved slowly. But the moment he saw beyond the light, his eyes went wide.
“The next room!”
Beyond the light, the number ‘4’ was visible on a door. The light was no trick.
Kim Bonggu bolted forward at full speed without giving Chae Mujin time to stop him. He was complacent—after all, he’d made it this far.
But the moment he drew dangerously close to the exit, Chae Mujin shouted from behind.
“You can stop running now. You’ve entered the safe zone.”
At those words, Kim Bonggu turned around without a shred of doubt.
“Really? Haa, thank goodness.”
“That wasn’t me speaking!”
“What?”
The dungeon had mimicked Chae Mujin’s voice. Kim Bonggu couldn’t avoid the trap.
“Ugh—ugh!”
Terror flooded Kim Bonggu’s eyes.
What he saw were countless hands. Hands stretching from the darkness, seizing his entire body and dragging him backward.
Kim Bonggu sensed death, and he screamed an apology.
“Ahhhhhh! I’m sorry, sir!”
Not a plea for help, but an apology. At that, Chae Mujin rolled up his sleeves.
“The only rule is not to look back.”
Tap-tap-tap-tap-tap!
Chae Mujin rushed forward. He cast a buff on the struggling Kim Bonggu.
“Movement Speed Buff, one thousand.”
He wondered if it was even possible to apply a buff of one thousand, and before he could even understand what it meant—
Chae Mujin’s palm slammed against Kim Bonggu’s face.
Crack!
“Kuh!”
With that final sound, Kim Bonggu lost consciousness and could no longer look behind. The one thousand Movement Speed Buff sent him hurtling forward like a bullet.
Kim Bonggu flew into the safe zone of the fourth room in one breath.
Chae Mujin followed after him to the fourth stage. Still cautious, he never looked back even once.
Only when the void of the tunnel behind him faded and the light disappeared did Chae Mujin, walking backward to confirm the passage had truly vanished, exhale heavily.
‘This place demands constant vigilance.’
Even with memories and experiences from his past life, the Lotto Dungeon was not to be underestimated.
He left the unconscious Bonggu where he was and surveyed his surroundings. He’d come to this dungeon not for rewards, but to find the strongest.
The fourth trial was a Circular Arena. Chae Mujin and Kim Bonggu stood in the center of the arena, while four entrances and viewing stands were dimly visible.
But the arena held only the two of them, and the stands were empty.
‘If the strongest isn’t here either, then it must be in the final trial.’
Clap-clap!
He slapped Bonggu’s cheek to wake him.
“Mm…”
“Wake up, Bonggu. Do you know where we are?”
“This is… the Circular Arena. But something’s off. The exits should stay open until ten hunters fill the arena, but they’re sealed.”
According to his explanation, the Circular Arena only activated when exactly ten hunters were present.
The exits were both the passage for other hunters to enter and the way out for those who surrendered. Of course, surrender wasn’t free.
To exit, you had to pay ten stats as tribute.
But now the exits were sealed shut. No other hunters could enter, and escape was impossible. Then a System Window appeared before them both.
[Choose one option.]
1. Battle weak monsters. Victory leads to the final trial.
(Advancement chance: 30%)
2. Battle normal monsters. Victory leads to the final trial.
(Advancement chance: 50%)
3. Battle strong monsters. Victory leads to the final trial.
(Advancement chance: 100%)
4. Surrender
(100 Stats deducted)
Bonggu’s expression turned bewildered.
“They want one hundred stats just to surrender? It seems like they’re deliberately targeting us.”
“Apparently so. But have you cleared this stage before? If so, explain it to me in more detail.”
“The weak monsters are at half the average level of hunters, normal monsters match the average level. No one’s chosen the strong option, but… I suspect they’re at double the average.”
Kim Bonggu’s level was 102, Chae Mujin’s was 150. The average was 126.
Weak monsters at 63 would be quickest to dispatch and safest, but—
‘The odds are too low.’
It wasn’t as though they could attempt this multiple times. Just once. A single attempt with only a 30 percent success rate? That was foolish.
Especially now, with the dungeon’s enmity directed at them, even 99 percent odds weren’t truly safe.
He had to choose the third option—the only path guaranteeing 100 percent advancement to the next level.
“Bonggu. I’m choosing the third option.”
“I thought you would, sir.”
The longer one hesitated, the greater the fear, the less the courage. Chae Mujin selected the third option immediately.
[You have chosen: 3. ‘Battle strong monsters. Victory leads to the final trial.
(Advancement chance: 100%)’.
Selection confirmed.]
[During battle, you may expend 100 Stats to advance to Layer 1.]
Grrrrrring.
The sealed exits of the Circular Arena opened with a grinding mechanical sound. Chae Mujin cast a buff on Kim Bonggu as he spoke.
“I’ve given you a full buff at one thousand. Still, don’t stray far from me.”
“A buff of one thousand?”
“If it looks like you’re going to die, don’t worry about me—just call for surrender. Even if one hundred stats are costly, they’re not costlier than your life.”
“Yes, sir! I’ll keep that in mind!”
Watching Kim Bonggu’s spirited reply, Chae Mujin thought to himself.
‘He’s exactly the type I hate most. Why does he have to be so earnest?’
Chae Mujin drew a handgun from his Shadow Bag, loaded it, and hung four hand grenades on his belt.
Soon, the monster revealed itself.
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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