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“Kkyu-woo!”

Worn-out Fairy cried out as if drained of energy. She looked like she was falling asleep, but sadly, there was no way to rest comfortably in this Neverland.

I gave her a gentle pat to help her close her eyes, even if just for a moment.

‘Breaking through the maze isn’t that hard.’

I had been wandering for a while, following a smell, but the end wasn’t in sight yet. However, based on the sensor density I was sensing, the end of the maze should be approaching soon. There’s a reason breaking through the maze was easier than crossing the labyrinth.

‘The steel skeletons can be damaged but will recover.’

As long as they were inside the maze, the steel skeletons wouldn’t die easily, no matter how many times they were broken or mashed. Even if they did die, they would come back to life. That was the reason why, despite the assault team having made headway, they were still dealing with those monsters.

‘But that’s not the case for the maze.’

The assault team couldn’t take down all the monsters in the maze, but the activity I sensed was minimal. And among them, I stabbed at a shadow that seemed to be creeping up from below.

[You have consumed a burrowing worm. Experience and fullness have increased.]

I devoured it in one go. Even with the thick mist muddling all my senses, my perception manifested as a D-rank skill, and with detection factored in, it was impossible to mess with my senses.

‘Looks like the underground demon is taken care of.’

It was the non-boss boss of the maze, not unlike the steel giant from the labyrinth. Soon, as I weaved through the mist, I found a horrifically torn and crushed corpse.

‘Oh.’

Seeing the dead underground demon, I couldn’t help but swallow. The word “windfall” came to mind.

The burrowing worms that could move freely in this maze and the underground demon who led them had the abilities far exceeding Class A, yet they couldn’t stop the assault team. It seemed like things were still proceeding smoothly.

‘…Then what the heck is causing the annihilation?’

The assault team couldn’t be foolish. They wouldn’t be reckless. It’s been over ten years since Neverland opened, and there’s a wealth of information piled up by then—could they really be making reckless choices? The only likelihood would be if they were caught in a frenzy right before the closure.

‘For now…’

I consumed what was left of the unrecognizable underground demon.

[You have consumed the underground demon. Experience and fullness have increased.]

[Experience has reached maximum. Lv.27 → Lv.28]

‘Just from this?’

In the novels, the underground demon controlled burrowing worms and was a monster that resembled a mix between a dozen-meter-long worm and a dragon. But what remained now was just bits that could be called leftovers, yet I obtained a ridiculous amount of experience.

‘Originally, it must have been…’

I chuckled, thinking it might have been a monster on par with or even surpassing the Earth Serpent. I was reminded again of how this was the worst dungeon, and I followed the traces remaining in the maze to chase after the assault team.

***

“Wow. This really seems endless.”

With a whistle, I struck the swamp monster with my sword, and the jungle split apart. No, it wasn’t the jungle; it was the monster that had disguised itself as part of it. Just like cutting through water with a sword was futile, it would regenerate soon.

“Damn it… Are we there yet?!”

I glanced back and saw that it would take a bit more time for the mages’ spell chanting to finish. It would have been easier with Hong Yu-ri around. Meanwhile, someone shouted loudly.

“Add! 7 o’clock direction 2. 1 o’clock direction 3!”

“We’ll handle 7 o’clock, so 1 o’clock is Euna… Dammit, there’s nobody! Temple! Is that possible?!”

“Of course. Leave it to me.”

Baek Gun-tae nodded at the bishop’s affirmative words and surveyed the battlefield with his command staff in hand.

“They’re spilling out at 5 o’clock! These bastards! Can’t you keep it together?!”

“Damn it all! Re-load!”

“Aren’t the chicks throwing supplies?!”

Chicks; that referred to hunters below C-class who didn’t have separate roles. It seemed somewhat derogatory, but it was a clever name to suggest they should stop being reckless. When they first entered Neverland, they were nearly twenty, but now hardly half remained.

‘They died, but…’

Most were scared out of their wits and had joined the rear guard. The so-called healthy Tae-ho was letting the rookies gain experience in Neverland while he called for the heads of each clan. Thanks to that, they were not lacking in numbers, but Baek Gun-tae wished they would all stick with the rear guard. However, whether it was due to clan pressure or just recklessness, they were determined to follow.

In any case, a hunter below C-class would rarely be of any help in Neverland. Those rookies could at most throw supplies to the fighting hunters.

‘At least…’

“Distort!”

Baek Gun-tae looked back at Euna, who had shouted. With her C-class Magic Detection. I hadn’t expected much since she had come as a sensor shuttle, but surprisingly she was being quite helpful. The monsters hesitated for a brief moment in the distorted space, allowing the hunters to find their footing and start fighting back, but Baek Gun-tae’s expression twisted at Euna’s next voice.

“Add! One at 3 o’clock!”

“Not the clan we’re rotating… Damn it!”

There was no room for idleness. As Baek Gun-tae rushed out, Euna, who had been using Magic Detection, frowned.

‘Magic is slowly…’

No matter how much I gritted my teeth and endured, there was no changing this. I hadn’t rested even for a second in nearly two days. In Neverland, there wouldn’t be a chance to rest until the entire segment was completed. Even then, due to the particularity of Area 1, resting there was impossible.

At that moment, from the 5 o’clock direction, where Baek Gun-tae had instructed to hold, a Horned Mammoth dashed through, having skewered supplies thrown by the hunters with its horn, rampaging straight into the center of the formation.

“Spread out! Spread out!”

Who would dare to stop a gigantic mammoth standing 10 meters tall? Hunters scattered in a panic. But it was too late. Not because the mammoth was fast, but because the hunters were too slow.

For just a moment, Euna thought, if she could buy a little time. Taking a step forward, she focused her mind, and soon.

“Explosion―!”

As she shouted, an explosion erupted from the ground, and the mammoth’s front foot sank into a pretty deep pit. The mammoth, which had been charging, couldn’t maintain its momentum and awkwardly hovered in the air with its front foot trapped.

‘Did it…?!’

It should have fallen just as I had planned. But it seemed unable to resist the unexpected power, and despite that, it continued moving and overturned itself into the air. As the mammoth’s back hit the ground after flipping halfway,

“Detrude!”

Using the magic to prop herself up, Euna barely managed to escape the shadow of the mammoth. Dust erupted behind her, and the thunderous noise made her ears ring, but the beast was still trying to rise.

“……!”

Just as the mammoth stood up and readied for another charge, Gu Jin-ha, who had noticed the formation was collapsing too late, rushed in and finished it off.

One swift strike! The mammoth wobbled, and Gu Jin-ha shook the blood off his blade.

“Well done, Euna.”

“……Thank you!”

“But it’s not over yet. Keep detecting. Got it?”

Euna nodded softly and resumed her Magic Detection. Area 2 of Neverland—originally a zoo known as Ju-topia, now a gruesome jungle. Monstopia.

Against the endless waves of monsters pouring in, all she could do was.

“Add! Two at 9 o’clock!”

Raising her exhausted voice, she remained true to her role.

***

Getting through the maze wasn’t that hard. Looking back, the mist was still thick. It wouldn’t have been unreasonable; they must have felt nauseous with their senses muddled.

‘But the real problem is.’

This place, the plaza. After passing through the labyrinth and maze, the final area of Area 1 revealed its might.

It was more like a coliseum than a plaza—almost akin to a dais. Area 1 had “Equitable Death” – The peculiar nature of Plaza 3. Even if steel skeletons were broken, they would restore; the monsters in the plaza would pour out endlessly.

‘This is something we have to fight.’

The only way to enter Area 2 from the plaza was to spill death within this plaza. The “Equitable Death” of Area 1 meant that it didn’t matter whether the death was from the assault team or the monsters. When the necessary amount of life, of existence, faded in this plaza, doors leading to Area 2 would finally open.

‘For me, that means two.’

I only had to fulfill my share and the Fairy’s. Thankfully, it wasn’t necessary to wipe out in bulk like the assault team, but even that might not be easy.

{Эми тест тапшыруучу келгендиктен, тест башталат!}

An unknown voice. That was the voice announcing the onset of battle for the plaza.

{Өзүңүздү кан жана өлүм менен далилдеңиз!}

Monsters began to appear from the periphery—none of them appeared weak. At the minimum, they were beyond an Annarea, and usually packed a power comparable to the swamp dragons seen in other dungeons.

‘Thank goodness.’

And so, I could feel a bit relieved. With just this much, it didn’t seem like a problem. The blackened transformation began to blaze with flames.

***

“Something feels off.”

“What do you mean?”

At the words of Euna, the leader of the rear guard, Kim Joo-seop, the representative of the Daegu clan, tilted his head.

“It’s as if… nothing is happening.”

“……”

“…How long do you think it’ll take?”

“Since we swept the entrance, there shouldn’t be a problem. At most, 1 or 2 hours? We should be able to join with the main team within that time.”

The rear guard’s objective was to build a stronghold and construct a ship. If they managed to get to Area 3, it would be a different story, but since their goal was to secure Area 2, establishing a base camp was necessary.

Area 2’s structure was that of a massive jungle, with a long river running through it. For convenience, they referred to the area before crossing the river as Area 1, and afterward as Area 2.

If the advance team and main team cleared all the monsters before the river, they would rest at the pre-installed base camp, and the rear guard would need to cross the river on a crafted raft to clear the entrance to Area 2 first.

Once the advance team and the main team had reunited and dealt with all the monsters in Area 2, they would finally fulfill the exploration goal for that expedition.

‘Clearly, this expedition should be successful.’

They hadn’t overextended themselves. Euna nodded inwardly. No matter how many variables she thought of, the probability of failing in Area 2, not 3 or 4, was low.

Since blocking off Area 2 was the goal, there wouldn’t be a need to move on to the next area. Even if a frenzy broke out… lost in thought, Kim Joo-seop spoke up.

“Don’t worry too much. Within a day or two, the exploration will conclude. You seem a bit tired. Would you like to rest?”

“…I’m fine. I guess I’m just being overly sensitive.”

Even as she said that, the unease still didn’t fade away.

Even though they were on a forced march, it seemed likely to end smoothly. But why? Even when everything was seemingly proceeding well… an unease that whispered that something or someone would lead them to ruin was shaking her.

“……”

Euna bit her lip in anxiety.

 

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