#6. Hell Spider 

[A naga warrior has killed a horned rat.]

[A naga warrior has killed a horned rat.]

[A naga warrior has killed a horned rat.]

[A naga warrior has killed a horned rat.]

Messages appeared as soon as the battle began. The nagas were overwhelmingly powerful, in contrast to Kim Jin-Woo’s initial concerns.

The naga warriors swung their weapons and shields indiscriminately at the giant rats, which were at least two meters tall.

The horned rats’ bodies and skulls were crushed into pieces. They squealed and rolled on the floor.

[A naga warrior has received insignificant damage from the horned rats.]

The naga warriors were fearless. They charged right into the middle of the swarm of horned rats and wreaked havoc.  Kim Jin-Woo received occasional messages showing that the warriors were receiving damage, but he wasn’t the least bit concerned. They had only received light cuts or scrapes at most.

Kim Jin- Woo stopped to observe the battle between the nagas and the horned rats.  The naga warriors were masters of shields and blunt weapons, while the naga soldiers were great spear users. He didn’t even have to interfere.

[The battle has ended. Kim Jin-Woo (The Naga’s Labyrinth) is victorious.]

Unsurprisingly, a message declaring the end of the battle appeared soon afterward.

“Raaaah!” The nagas stepped on the tattered corpses of the horned rats and crowed over their victory. There were too few naga soldiers and warriors to form an army, but they had been victorious nonetheless.

Kim Jin-Woo felt his heart race. It was a trivial battle, but he felt a strange burst of emotion after defeating the invaders.

[Kim Jin-Woo has led the labyrinth to its first victory. The horned rats have been annihilated. The soldiers and warriors that participated in the battle have gained more experience. They can rise in level with additional battles.]

[The naga warriors and soldiers are slightly more used to combat. The opponents were too weak for them to gain much experience.]

[Kim Jin-Woo, the dungeon master, was the commander. It is an achievement for all troops to leave the battlefield unscathed. The dungeon master’s charisma has increased slightly.]

Still, Kim Jin-Woo couldn’t afford to become emotional. He paid attention to the last message about the increase in the dungeon master’s charisma.

[Naga’s Labyrinth] (Active)

• Master Kim Jin-Woo (Level 6) (Novice Commander)

• Level 3 Labyrinth (Size 18x18)
  • Dungeon Energy (8/100)
  • Durability 2148/2148

• Facilities
  • Master Room (Level 2)
  • Portal (On Cooldown 20:17:15 0/1)
  • Gate (350/350)
  • Storage (540/2500)
  • Naga’s Nest (30/40)
  • Level 4 facilities can only be activated after upgrading.

• Military Strength (30/40)
  • Naga Maid (Dominique/Heroine) 1/10
  • Naga Warrior (Level 2) 2/6
  • Naga Soldier (Level 1) 2/2
  • Naga Worker (Level 1) 4/1

A new column appeared, as expected.

Kim Jin-Woo was immersed in thought. Meanwhile, Dominique skillfully commanded the nagas to move the corpses of the horned rats to the storage.

A trail of blood ran across the passageway, but nobody cared. This was the Underworld, after all.  The winner had the right to claim all of the loser’s possessions. Corpses would be dismantled, and everything from bones to skin would be kept.

“Master, congratulations on your victory.” Dominique’s refreshing words and the intense smell of blood didn’t combine well.

Kim Jin-Woo sighed and turned around. He didn’t feel great after smelling the blood of so many cursed Underworld monsters.

*** 

It had been a long time since Kim Jin-Woo visited Mr. Baek.

They had become wary of each other since that incident, but Kim Jin-Woo believed that there wasn’t a better source of information than Mr. Baek.

“What brings you here? Did you regret ditching me?” Mr. Baek snickered when Kim Jin-Woo asked him about the hell spiders. He didn’t seem to have kept Kim Jin-Woo’s disgraceful attitude from before in mind.

“It’s a little late, but how about joining the team?” Mr. Baek asked.

“Will there even be a vacancy?” Kim Jin-Woo responded.

Mr. Baek hadn’t expected Kim Jin-Woo to accept his offer so easily. Hadn’t the latter given him a flat rejection last time?

“The advance unit has left, so you’ll have to join the main unit. However…” Mr. Baek sounded as if he were unwilling to put Kim Jin-Woo in the main unit. His attitude was completely different compared to before.

Life was indeed about timing.

“What’s your level?” Mr. Baek asked.

“I was born and raised on the twelfth floor,” Kim Jin-Woo answered.

Mr. Baek’s eyes widened upon hearing Kim Jin-Woo’s reply. “You mean….”

“I lived in one of the Underworld Dukes’ labyrinths before coming to the surface.”

Mr. Baek’s jaws dropped. He didn’t bother to save face.

After all, dungeon babies were ranked according to the level and type of the labyrinth they had been raised in. 

A dungeon baby born and raised on the first floor was only slightly better than an ordinary person, while a baby born on the 5th Floor was an uncontrollable beast that could dominate even the most veteran explorers. On top of that, dungeon babies born below the tenth floor were absolute monsters.

Kim Jin-Woo had just revealed to Mr. Baek that he was one of those people. It wasn’t surprising for the latter to be shocked.

Mr. Baek regained his composure after a long time and straightened his posture. He began to look at Kim Jin-Woo in a different light. “You must be the one and only Level 12 dungeon baby in South Korea that doesn’t hunt.”

Kim Jin-Woo didn’t reply. The more they talked, the more he recalled unpleasant memories.  “What’s the plan now? Can you let me join the team?” He asked about the hell spider hunting team, changing the subject.

Mr. Baek nodded without hesitation. “For a Level 12 dungeon baby, I’ll make a vacancy if necessary.”

“I don’t want things to become complicated.” Kim Jin-Woo had only revealed his identity because he felt the need to investigate the hell spiders. He hated getting into troublesome situations.

“Then the pay will….”

“It doesn’t matter. I’ll take what is offered.”

Mr. Baek finally nodded. He had been calculating his profit after realizing Kim Jin-Woo’s intentions, and the latter had merely played along.

“I’ll make it up to you someday,” Kim Jin-Woo said.

Kim Jin-Woo was the only Level 12 dungeon baby in South Korea. Mr. Baek knew how valuable this promise was.

“Well then, I’ll contact you tonight or tomorrow morning,” Mr. Baek said.

Kim Jin-Woo left the office shortly after. 

***

There were two more invasions after the attack of the horned rats. Under Dominique’s command, though, the labyrinth could defend itself without any damage despite its master’s absence. 

Kim Jin-Woo earned six lowest-grade down gems from three rounds of battle.  In addition, there had been one more down gem hidden among the items collected by the naga workers.

All in all, Kim Jin-Woo had basically earned ten million won without even lifting a finger. Still, he tossed the down gems onto the altar instead of celebrating.

Each down gem seemed to carry two units of dungeon energy. His seven gems amounted to four units of dungeon energy in total. 

• Dungeon Energy 22/100 

Kim Jin-Woo couldn’t summon more personnel, as the nest only had ten points of capacity left. Besides that, there wasn’t enough dungeon energy to raise the labyrinth’s rank. Therefore, he had to summon more naga archers to hit the nest’s maximum capacity before leaving to join the hell-spider investigation team.

He gave his parents a watertight alibi and borrowed the newest equipment for the expedition, thanks to Mr. Baek. The new equipment was proof of the great advancements in labyrinth exploration within the five years since he had left the labyrinth. 

Kim Jin-Woo received a special solution and an edged tool made to soften and cut the leather of creatures and beasts. He was also given a crossbow and a reasonably tough set of armor. 

“In other countries, there are crazy bastards who enter the labyrinth with insane weapons such as sniper rifles and RPGs. On the other hand, this is the best we can do in South Korea. But why would anyone use such a loud gun? There’s no reason to carry a gun unless you want to attract all the creatures in the world.” Mr. Baek explained the instructions for the new weapons in detail, but Kim Jin-Woo didn’t look very interested.

He would mainly be using a knife made of alloyed steel anyway. It was 1.2 meters in length and 7 centimeters in width.

“I wish you luck,” Mr. Baek said.

“Thank you,” Kim Jin-Woo replied as he left Mr. Baek’s office.

The day before the expedition, he checked the labyrinth’s status and had a good rest. The next day, he headed to the Paju gate, where the team had been told to gather.

“Hurry up!”

“Urgh. We won’t be able to go to the toilet for some time once we descend. Let me go to the toilet in peace!”

“There’s no difference between taking a dump up here and down below. Stop being a wuss.”

The service facility was located in a desolate, mountainous district. It was bustling with people, who were presumably explorers. Even the soldiers on watch were chatting away. There was absolutely no tension in the air.

During the Under War, this had been one of the battlegrounds on which the whole of humanity had fought to the brink of annihilation.

Still, not a vestige of it could be seen today. One could have mistaken the place for an expressway service area if it hadn’t been for the numerous weapons gathered at the center of the facility.

The explorers checked their equipment for the last time.

Kim Jin-Woo was wandering around when a man approached him, asking, “Are you perhaps Mr. Kim Jin-Woo?”

“Yes, I am.”

“Nice to meet you. I am Jung Ji-Hyuk, a beater. Our team is gathered in that corner.”

Explorers had several ranks. 

Most of them were beaters, who distracted and drove the game out of cover.

On the other hand, the dungeon babies and veteran explorers were responsible for inflicting damage on the creatures or beasts.

The beaters were basically shields. Only those who survived such an ordeal were recognized as true explorers. Of course, this was totally irrelevant to Kim Jin-Woo. A dungeon baby didn’t require such a trial.

Kim Jin-Woo followed Jung Ji-Hyuk and saw a team of about twenty explorers in the distance. He couldn’t help but frown at the small size of the team.

At that instant, a woman leaped out from the crowd and greeted him, “Are you Mr. Kim Jin-Woo?” 

“Yes, I am. And you are?” There weren’t many female explorers around. Naturally, Kim Jin-Woo narrowed his eyes and began to inspect her.

The woman grinned and laughed heartily like a man. “I’m Lee Jun-Young, a Level 8 dungeon baby. I’ll be leading the hell spider hunt.” 

Kim Jin-Woo was startled. This was the first time he’d heard that a female dungeon baby had survived on the eighth floor. He looked at Lee Jun-Young in admiration.

Lee Jun-Young laughed again. “Let’s enter first. I’ll explain the details on the way.”

Before Kim Jin-Woo could introduce himself to the team, Lee Jun-Young announced the start of the expedition. Several men got up from the ground and followed her to the entrance to the Underworld.

The Paju gate appeared to be a giant crater.

The soldiers guarding the gate seemed to be tired of conducting even a cursory inspection. They merely recorded the number of team members on a register and let people in.

“Mr. Kim Jin-Woo, allow me to introduce the main attackers of our team.” Lee Jun-Young introduced her teammates the moment they stepped into the Underworld.

There were 22 people, including Kim Jin-Woo. Seven of them were the key players in this hunt. They were all Level 5 or 6 dungeon babies, except for a man called Kim Jung-Tae, who was surprisingly an ordinary explorer.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Kim Jin-Woo, a Level 7 dungeon baby.” Kim Jin-Woo had prearranged a story with Mr. Baek to avoid contradicting each other. So, he faked his level and ended his greetings.

Lee Jun-Young didn’t introduce ordinary explorers to Kim Jin-Woo. He didn’t bother to greet them first, either. It wasn’t wise to grow attached to those explorers, who could lose their lives at any moment. They themselves seemed to be aware of this fact., as nobody had a solemn look.

“Let’s go. We’re quite a distance away from the first team.”

With that, the team of hell spider hunters began to head toward the depths of the Underworld.