Infinite Competitive Dungeon Society - Chapter 288

Chapter 288

Chapter 288 . The Last Member (5)

“Hwaya? What do you mean!?”

“Dear Husband was the only one that went in, and Hwaya followed in right after . After that, the gate closed and no one could enter… Eh? D-Dear Husband!”

Licorice who was recounting what happened after I entered the dungeon suddenly pointed behind me with a shocked expression . When I turned around, a grey shadowy circle made its appearance .

It was a gate .

“What’s happening now?”

I murmured astonished . Next to me, Licorice asked carefully .

“Dear Husband, did you really clear the dungeon?”

“I didn’t just clear the dungeon . For a moment, I even had the right over it! I killed one of the kings and…”

Suddenly, I felt thunderstruck . I recalled what the Beast King said, that all kings had come out this time . In that case, there could only be one answer .

“This is a different dungeon . ”

With that, I quickly reached out to the gate . However, an unbelievable power flung my hand back . Daisy approached me silently .

“No use . Not even a god’s power, could break it . ”

“You used yours?”

“Just one . To fight the King of the Dead, I saved the others . ”

Daisy’s had an unusual worried tone . She touched my arms and face, then spoke with a relieved face .

“I thought you and Hwaya were both trapped… I was worried . ”

It felt like this was the first time Daisy ever said something like this . If she used a god’s power to try to break in, I could understand how worried she was . When I thought about how Daisy might be more concerned about us than I previously thought, I suddenly felt touched .

“Thanks, Daisy . I’m safe and I even killed a king . Though… There weren’t any survivors . ”

“What about, Hwaya?”

“It looks like she’s in another dungeon . There were two gates in the same location . ”

Once I entered the Beast King’s gate, it shut itself off to prevent anyone else from entering . Hwaya quickly jumped into the gate in front of her, but that gate had been a different gate all along .

Did they plan on separating me and Hwaya from the very beginning? When the thought crossed my mind, a chill went down my back . The Beast King underestimated me and was taken out, but there was no guarantee that the other kings would do the same . More importantly, I could see the prudence of the existence controlling the kings . He was undoubtedly the one who came up with this plan to separate our forces .

When the day I had to face him came, I… No, now wasn’t the time to be thinking about this .

“Kang Shin, are you okay?”

“… No, sorry . ”

Was Hwaya safe? How much time passed since she entered the dungeon? How strong was the other king? I just had too many questions .

“Worried about Hwaya?”

“Obviously! … Sorry for shouting . I’m just thinking about something . ”

“Un, it’s okay . ”

Daisy was staring at me calmly and that helped me calm down . Meanwhile, the plane carrying other Revival members came down above the gate . Ina who was waiting inside jumped into my arms with a teary face .

“Daddy!”

“Yeah, yeah . ”

“Mommy went—”

“I know, Mommy’s in the dungeon, right?”

“Un! But I can’t go in . I tried to use Skadi’s power, but Daisy said not to . ”

Daisy knew it would be of no use . I consoled Ina who was tearing up .

“When did Hwaya go in exactly?”

“13 minutes 27 seconds . ”

“If it’s Hwaya, she should be holding on… Damn it, we don’t even know who’s inside!”

I examined the gate again and saw several traces of Daisy’s power . Did she use a decomposing ability? A part of the gate was dug in . If a god’s power could only do this much, how were we supposed to force this gate open? How?

“Maybe with Shiva’s Eye…”

“Let’s find another method . If Kang Shin uses that, we’ll save Hwaya, but we’ll all die to the Demon Lord . ”

“…”

Ciara’s prophecy wasn’t absolute . Still, with her eyes open, Ciara’s ability was incomparable to before . Although she didn’t know all kings had come out, she still saw the existence of two kings and their identities . It was likely that I really needed Shiva’s Eye to fight the Demon Lord .

Damn it! What use was there to obtaining the power of the Destruction God Shiva!? Once per year? How was I supposed to use something like that!?

… Wait .

“I need to go to the dungeon . ”

I suddenly thought of something . Without a moment of hesitation, I opened the gate to the First Dungeon . Before I entered, however, Daisy shook her head .

“I already went . Right now, can’t contact other administrative guilds . Dungeon is very busy . ”

“Have you gone to Fairy Garden?”

“Fairy Garden? I don’t know, how to get to that place . ”

“Alright, that’s fine . I’ll tell you later . ”

I left Ina to Licorice and jumped into the dungeon . Then, I rushed to Fairy Garden .

[Prince-nim!]

[He’s gotten even stronger!]

[That day must be coming closer!]

[Ah, he’s coming here!]

“Guys, where’s Loretta?”

[Pavilion!]

[She’s at the Pavilion!]

The elements seemed to have noticed that I was in a hurry, as they answered quickly without joking around . I pictured Fairy Garden’s pavilion in my head and walked forward . Soon, Loretta and over ten other Fairy Garden members appeared in front of me . Loretta’s ear perked up, somehow realizing I had arrived .

“Shin-nim!”

“Loretta, do you know what’s happening on Earth right now?”

“Ah, r-right now, a world is on the brink of ruin, so we’re pressed for time… Did something happen on Earth?”

I held myself back from letting out a deep sigh . This wasn’t Loretta’s fault . We were just unlucky! Meanwhile, Loretta stealthily passed the document in front of her to the man sitting next to her .

“Noonim! I already have my hands full!”

It was Lin .

“Take care of it, Guild Master . Noona’s got a business to take care of . ”

“Uuuuuk, fine!”

“Shin-nim, tell me . ”

Loretta quickly pushed her work away and approached me . I felt like I should apologize for bothering her, but I was too much in a rush to waste time with small talk . I explained the current situation as quickly as possible . Event Dungeons that completely surpassed Sherafina’s control, dungeons that trapped one person inside and how to break into them .

After hearing about the full story, Loretta’s expression stiffened .

“Impossible, there’s no way they can ignore the dungeon’s power to that extent . ”

“It’s the truth, Loretta . ”

“That isn’t just ignoring the dungeon’s power, that’s using the dungeon’s power for themselves! Whether it’s demons or Five Kings or whoever, there’s no way that’s possible!”

“Loretta . ”

“S-Sorry . ”

When I called her voice solemnly, Loretta drooped her ears and head . But right now, I didn’t even have time to accept her apology .

“What do we need to do to go in?”

“Go in? The dungeon’s power doesn’t work against them . Not even Lord can do anything about it . ”

“What if we’re not using the dungeon’s power? For example, will Shiva’s Eye be able to open the gate?”

After thinking about it for a bit, Loretta placed her hand on my forehead . As I knew what she was trying to do, I recalled what I felt from touching the gate and transferred it to her . Loretta then nodded .

“Most likely yes, but if what Shin-nim says is true, that power is needed to fight the Demon Lord…”

“Then let me ask again . Is there an explorer in the dungeon with a power rivaling Shiva’s Eye?”

When she heard this, Loretta seemed to freeze . Not even a second later, she glared at me sharply .

“… Shin-nim had this in mind before coming here, right?”

“Yes . ”

“I didn’t want to see him again…”

“Then let me go alone . I just thought I should tell Loretta before going over . ”

I didn’t have time . Since Loretta affirmed my plan, I just needed to act . When I turned around to head off, Loretta grabbed my shoulder .

“Let me go too . I can help convince him . ”

“But Loretta . ”

“I’m indifferent now . I just didn’t want to see his face again . Or, do you doubt me, Shin-nim?”

“Of course not . I just didn’t want to force Loretta to see someone Loretta didn’t want…”

“Let me go . It’ll be better that way . ”

Loretta spoke with a stiff expression . I looked into her eyes and lightly nodded .

“Master, are you leaving?”

Sikatra asked Loretta . Loretta held up her hand holding onto mine and retorted .

“I already passed my official authority to Lin . You’ll be fine without me, right?”

“There won’t be any problem to our work, but that still goes against Lord’s rule . Master, are you prepared for her punishment?”

“Yeah, I am, so let me do what I want for now . ”

“Fine . Tell that person I said hi . ”

Perhaps Sikatra wanted to create this series of events . Somewhat understanding her intentions, I lightly bowed to Sikatra . She also smiled and nodded back . Immediately afterwards, Loretta and I left Fairy Garden and headed to Beyond’s Residential Area .

Right, there was one candidate I had in mind as someone with equal power to Shiva .

Beyond’s first explorer .

“As you might already know, he has Odin’s power . ”

“Odin . ”

“Odin isn’t just famous on Earth . He has great influence in other worlds, just like Greek gods do on Earth . ”

“I knew it . ”

“Gungnir should have enough power . If he sets his target to the king, it can probably deal critical damage to him even after breaking through the gate . ”

“That’s nice to know . ”

With that, we both saved our breath . It was enough to know what power he had . Not long afterwards, we arrived in front of a giant castle . It was still the eerie place it was before, letting out fluffy ominous aura .

When we neared the castle’s gate, a message rang out in my ear . He had detected our presence .

[You didn’t bother me all this time . Why have you come again, Third Explorer?]

His voice was still dark, but it carried a calamitous charm . I could tell now that his charm was on a similar level as mine .

Wait, then did my voice also sound like this to others? I held back my uneasiness and spoke .

[I have a favor to ask of you . ]

[The answer is no . Go back . ]

He cut down my request instantly . This rude little bastard… I gritted my teeth and was about to ask again, when Loretta placed her hand on the metal gate and asked .

[I came to ask you for a favor, Kain Zerahard . ]

Even though she wasn’t a Beyond explorer, her voice was ringing out in Beyond’s explorer communication channel . It was to be expected from Fairy Garden’s guild master .

The moment the first explorer heard Loretta’s voice, his voice trembled .

[You’re… Loretta?]

[Yes, I’m Loretta… Shin-nim needs your help . Please listen to him . ]

[No, I’m… Go back . ]

[You must listen to him… I hope you remember, you are indebted to us, to me . ]

I couldn’t raise my head . I knew things were going to turn out this way, but I was too embarrassed to face Loretta . Uuu, to save Hwaya, I was forcing Loretta to threaten her first love . If I die, I was sure to go to hell…!

[… I see, he is your…]

[Yes . I have never resented the fact that I have to stay in the dungeon this much . ]

[I see… In that case, there’s no other choice . ]

That was it . We didn’t need to convince him anymore . He accepted my request just by Loretta asking for a favor . I was too afraid to think about what debt he owed to Loretta, or how much burden this put on Loretta .

The iron gate, which had stayed closed for hundreds of years, opened this easily . A wide garden appeared beyond it, and we could see the door to his castle .

[Come in . I’ll at least hear you out . ]

The dungeon’s strongest explorer was welcoming me .