As soon as Kim Jin-Woo spoke, the air was cut apart, revealing a door. Nagas began to flood out from it.

[The Nagas will be joining the battle. As this is their first time stepping out of the labyrinth, they are slightly confused. They may need some time to adapt. The combat abilities of the Naga Soldiers, Archers, and Warriors will drop.]

It wasn’t exactly a delightful message, but Kim Jin-Woo didn’t falter as he commanded, “Prepare for battle!”

[Kim Jin-Woo, the dungeon master, has become the commander in this battle. This has greatly increased the Nagas’ morale.]

Clink, clank.

The Naga Warriors stood in front of the portal and blocked the passageway. They formed a barrier of shields, while the Naga Soldiers stood behind them with their spears up and roared. The Naga Archers’ eyes glistened as they drew longbows befitting their long arms.

The Nagas’ fierce spirit caused the hell spiders to freeze and stumble backward. But the heightened tension didn’t last long.

It all began when the hell spider in front leaped up to the ceiling.

Whoosh!

An arrow flew and pierced through the hell spider’s eye. The monster shrieked and collapsed onto the floor.

Keeek!

The rest of the hell spiders charged at the Nagas. A Naga Archer fired another arrow that pierced through another hell spider, but there were still many hell spiders left. 

Ooaaahhhhh!

With a mighty roar, the Naga Warriors clutched their shields tightly and braced themselves for the collision.

Bang!

The hell spiders slammed into the shield barrier, causing the Naga Warriors to flinch. At that moment, Kim Jin-Woo leaped from a Naga Warrior’s shoulder and charged at the hell spiders, yelling, “Haiya!”

A hell spider opened its hideous jaws in response, but Kim Jin-Woo plunged his knife into the monster’s flesh. The hell spider shrieked and snapped its jaws shut, but he had already left to find more victims.

Kyaaak!

Surrounded by the hell spiders, Kim Jin-Woo swiftly darted between their unsightly, hairy legs and sliced their abdomens open. The hell spiders howled ferociously and struggled to stomp him to death, but they were surprisingly vulnerable to blows on their bellies.

Thus, Kim Jin-Woo was able to slaughter the hell spiders in a blink of an eye.

“Ooh! Aah! Ooh! Aah!” The Naga Warriors stuck their shields out and roared. The wall of shields began to move forward, pushing the hell spiders backward.

The Naga Soldiers didn’t miss this opportunity. They plunged their long spears into the hell spiders’ hard carapaces. The spears slid off the smooth, rounded surface of the spiders’ carapaces in many cases, but they did go through in a few lucky instances. 

Keeek!

The spiders screeched. The predators of the Underworld had been intimidated by another, stronger predator.

That wasn’t to say that the Nagas were miles above the spiders in strength. The only difference between them was the presence of a commander.

The Naga warriors had heightened morale thanks to Kim Jin-Woo. They slammed their spiky maces into the hell spiders, shattering their rock-hard carapaces instantly. A stream of sickening body fluid leaked out from the spiders’ bodies.

“Haaaaa!” yelled one Naga Warrior that caught Kim Jin-Woo’s eye. Not all Naga Warriors were the same. This one - a head taller than the other Nagas - mercilessly split the hell spiders’ carapaces and heads open.

Keeek.

Kim Jin-Woo was too distracted by the Naga Warriors to notice a spider crawling right up behind him. When he finally noticed it, he intended to whip out his knife, but he saw an arrow embedded deeply into the spider’s eye. Only the arrow’s fletching could be seen.

The rest of the battle was chaotic. Only the blue light from the portal illuminated the battlefield. The hell spiders’ shrill cries and the Nagas’ roars continued to resound through the passageway.

***

[You have defeated the mighty hell spider army. Unfortunately, two Naga Soldiers have lost their lives.]

[All the soldiers and warriors have increased combat proficiency. They are no longer recruits.]

[The Nagas admire your courage and leadership for successfully leading them to victory. Your charisma level has increased.]

[You have risen to the rank of ‘Average Commander’.]

A string of messages appeared, and light immediately emanated from the surviving Nagas. When the light eventually faded, the Nagas looked more brave and ferocious than before.

“Kyaaak!” The naga warrior that had gone on a rampage in the battle roared triumphantly. The other Nagas followed suit. Only two Naga Warriors and one Naga Archer had survived, but their battle cry was loud enough to make one shudder.

[The Nagas have won against the hell spider army. News of the Naga’s Labyrinth is slowly spreading in the Underworld. Your reputation has increased.]

Kim Jin-Woo, who had been staring blankly at the Nagas, frowned upon reading this message. Only he had known about the Naga’s Labyrinth previously. He felt uneasy letting others know about its existence.

Despite that, he soon shook those trivial thoughts away. He had seen this coming ever since he’d decided to chase after the hell spiders. There was no time for regret. It would be wiser to upgrade the labyrinth in the meantime.

<We found a total of nine medium-high grade down gems.> Dominique appeared as soon as the battle ended. She spoke as she inspected the hell spider corpses dismantled by the Naga Workers.

Kim Jin-Woo, lying exhausted on the floor, couldn’t help but gasp. “Nine?!”

<Yes. Also, the hell spider corpses are good trap materials.> Dominique smiled delightfully at the Naga Workers who were transporting the hell spider corpses.

“I’ll leave this to you then. Thanks again, Dominique.” Kim Jin-Woo genuinely meant it.

He had notified her just in case, but she had done a great job sending the Naga Soldiers and Warriors in such a timely manner. She had also been taking care of the labyrinth in his absence. Without her dedication, Kim Jin-Woo wouldn’t have been able to explore the Underworld in peace.

<All glory belongs to you, my master.> The sloe-eyed Dominique bowed mischievously to Kim Jin-Woo.

“I remember passing you a bag last time. Can you bring it over?” Kim Jin-Woo asked.

Dominique had already prepared the bag beforehand. When Kim Jin-Woo received it, a low whisper echoed in his head. <Please return safely to the surface, master.>

*** 

“Phew!” Kim Jin-Woo exclaimed as he gulped down a bowl of spicy soup. Peculiarly, the fact that he had survived only sank in when he felt his lips go numb. 

This expedition had been a gamble to some extent. He had performed a few rehearsals with the Nagas before entering the Underworld, but he could neither gauge their strength nor that of the hell spiders before entering. As a consequence, he’d lost two Naga Soldiers.

From the way even his trusty Naga Warriors had struggled against the hell spiders, this battle had indeed been a risky one. Still, he was the victor in the end.

High risks brought high rewards. Kim Jin-Woo left the Underworld with a sizable bounty. He had obtained several medium-high grade down gems, which were worth over 300 million won. He wouldn’t be able to sell them all at once, but they would come in handy in the future.

Kim Jin-Woo unconsciously grinned.

“Seems like someone is having a good time, while I’m worried sick and having insomnia,” came a voice. Kim Jin-Woo looked up to see Lee Jun-Young biting her lower lip.

“Is that spicy soup delicious? It must be great, huh. You wouldn’t be grinning so widely otherwise,” Lee Jin-Woo said. Despite her acrid tone, she had an ambiguous expression that indicated neither happiness nor sadness.

“You want some?” Kim Jin-Woo shamelessly passed her the remainder of the spicy soup.

Lee Jun-Young snorted. “Of course not,” she said, but her words didn’t match her actions. She sat opposite him, snatched his spoon away, and took a sip of the soup. She frowned as she tasted it. “It’s disgusting, and yet so expensive.”

“That’s a gate restaurant for you,” Kim Jin-Woo said. He tried to snatch the spoon back to finish the soup, but Lee Jun-Young hid it behind her back. Kim Jin-Woo frowned at her.

“Let’s go. Let me introduce you to some nice food,” Lee Jun-Young said.

“You really don’t have to-“ Kim Jin-Woo began.

Lee Jun-Young cut him off, asking, “Are you kidding me? Are you satisfied with such a lousy soup despite your efforts in the Underworld?”

Kim Jin-Woo began to wave his hand to decline, but he got up from his seat in the end. It was because Lee Jun-Young looked as if she might break down in gratitude and regret.

“By the way, how did you know I was here?” he asked.

“I asked the gate guards to contact me when they spotted a ragged man who looked like you coming out from the Underworld,” Lee Jun-Young replied. She had indeed been worried sick.

The two entered Lee Jin-Woo’s car. “What happened?” she asked the moment they got in. She couldn’t comprehend how he could have returned alive.

Kim Jin-Woo rested his back against the seat and replied nonchalantly, “I was lucky.” 

“You must be joking. There were ten hell spiders down there. Are you implying that all the explorers who lost their lives to those monsters were idiots?”

“I escaped before the dust settled. I did suffer a lot, but I was lucky enough to survive.”

“You’re trying to make me feel guilty, aren’t you?”

What does she want? Kim Jin-Woo thought. Lee Jun-Young was nitpicking at every word he said. He frowned at her.

Lee Jun-Young was startled and apologized. “I wasn’t trying to accuse you. This is my natural tone. I’m just very happy and thankful you’re alive.”

She wasn’t the most straightforward woman, but Kim Jin-Woo didn’t mind. She was trying her best to show him gratitude and repay her debt, after all. Still, he’d initially thought she was a cool and outspoken woman, but now that appearance was nowhere to be seen.

Kim Jin-Woo couldn’t get used to the way she was acting. He said, “We were both born and raised in the Underworld. Why would there be any debt? To begin with, the fact that we can live on the surface is already a bonus.”

People believed that the end of the war was the reason the dungeon babies had left the Underworld. But that wasn’t true.

‘You are free to go,’ the masters of the labyrinths had declared. They had kept their word, but that was it.

It had been the dungeon babies’ responsibility to escape from the Underworld alive. The masters hadn’t cared how many of them would be devoured by the under creatures and beasts.

“Do you think we’re still in the Underworld? It’s common courtesy to repay one’s debts,” Lee Jun-Young insisted. She was a stubborn woman.

In the end, Kim Jin-Woo received a top-class hotel meal, a designer suit, and some other things against his will.

Lee Jun-Young splurged as if she were trying to flaunt her successful career as a dungeon baby. One meal cost her hundreds of thousands of won, while a few sets of clothes amounted to millions. However, she was still eager to buy him more. 

Kim Jin-Woo was tired. He said, “Ms. Jun-Young, that’s enough. I’m really tired, so I’ll head back now.”

“D-Do you want some massage then? I know a good parlor,” Lee Jun-Young said hurriedly. Her desperation to repay her debt made her look almost pitiful. Kim Jin-Woo could only escape by promising to meet her again.

>You have received 30 million won from Lee Jun-Young.

Kim Jin-Woo’s smartphone buzzed. He shook his head upon checking the sender’s name. 30 million won was an absurdly small reward for such a risky expedition. Still, it was excessive for a failed mission, considering the members of the advance team had probably only received one medium-high grade down gem each. 

“I’m home!” Kim Jin-Woo said as he arrived at his house. His mother welcomed him as usual. He had told his parents that he was going on a vacation trip.

“Have you eaten? What’s all this? You could have just come empty-handed,” his mother asked.

“Ah, these were gifts,” he replied.

His mother was shocked at the content of the so-called ‘gifts’, but she decided not to question him.

It had been a long time since Kim Jin-Woo had last enjoyed the peace of his home. It was a short break, though, and he knew it wouldn’t last long. 

Soon after, Kim Jin-Woo opened the portal and entered the labyrinth, despite his fatigue. Dominique, who had been waiting for him, welcomed him heartily. <Welcome back, master.>

Kim Jin-Woo nodded in response and sat on the Naga’s Throne.