Chapter 101
An unsettling aura lingered around the eastern plaza of Pollon Nest. Two groups, separated by a fountain in the middle of the plaza, glared at each other.
One group consisted of a thousand birdfolk, led by a slender but toned owl birdfolk. He had large, black eyes, a round head, a beak that curved downward, and wings that were a mix of white and brown. He was the High Ranker, Saurix, the Watcher Atop the Trees, fourth in the birdfolk ranking.
The other group consisted of a thousand undead. An undead knight in jet-black full-plate armor and helmet, and a giant greatsword on his back, was standing across from Saurix. He was the High Ranker, Krypta, the Extinction Knight, second in the undead ranking.
“Hoot, the one who clears the dungeon quest first takes it all. Any complaints?” Saurix said, his voice echoing as if it were in the dead of night.
“None. No need to quibble over a rule that’s to our advantage,” Krypta replied.
“Hoot, we’ll see about that.”
“As per the negotiation, the Honor Knights will enter first. Gliders will enter ten minutes later.”
“Hoot, you may all be dead within those ten minutes.”
The undead prepared to enter the dungeon after the short war of nerves between Saurix and Krypta. Krypta walked to the fountain in the middle of the plaza and extended his hand toward it. His black gauntlet pushed past the water and touched the fountain pillar.
A hexagonal pillar, fifty centimeters wide and a meter tall, shot out of the fountain.
“Honor Knights! Fight for the honor of the great demon lord, Taizet!”
“Ahhh!”
“Yeah—!”
Krypta entered the dungeon first, and the undead of the Honor Knights followed behind him, their footsteps rumbling the plaza. Seong-Hwi and the other humans entered the dungeon last.
***
[Entering Dungeon: Research in Progress.]
[Dimension: Earth - Weishaupt Research Institute]
[Time: Future]
...
[What to do at a Research Institute (Dungeon Quest)
Rank: S
Description: This world is guaranteed to end. There are two things to do at Weishaupt Research Institute.
Condition 1. Defeat the assistant director, the one in charge of Weishaupt Research Institute.
Condition 2. Help the two remaining resident survivors in Weishaupt Research Institute.]
...
We’re in a building, so it’s a building dungeon. As for the quest, it’s a boss raid, Seong-Hwi quickly analyzed as he looked around the dungeon.
The undead and Seong-Hwi’s party stood in a large open space, walled off on all four sides with thick concrete.
“Earth in the future, huh? How exciting!” Enrique whistled as he looked around. “Weishaupt Research Institute? Has anyone heard of it?”
“Never,” Frank answered.
“It’s probably not in Asia,” Khanh added.
Just then, Krypta approached the human party, the clanking of steel against the floor echoing with each step.
“Who among you is the leader?” he asked.
“I am,” Yuki replied as she stepped forward.
Krypta looked down at the human woman who didn’t even reach his chest level. “I invited you at the Sēmen’s recommendation, but I don’t plan to explore the dungeon with you.” He scanned the ten humans and said bluntly, “Not only will you be of no help whatsoever, but the Honor Knights are not weak enough to need your help.”
Nakivarro mentioned, “Look, this is our dimension. We know this place the best.”
Krypta snorted. “Hah! No one knows what will appear in a dungeon. We are in the same position.”
“What are you getting at?” Yuki asked.
Krypta answered, “The Sēmen said to include the humans in the operation, so I suppose I must at least pretend to. Follow us from the far rear.”
He returned to his subordinates’ side once he finished what he wanted to say.
With his back toward the humans, he continued, “Everything in this dungeon, Karma or artifacts, belongs to the Honor Knights! If you try any funny business...” he trailed off as he turned around, the red eyes in his helmet staring directly at Seong-Hwi and the others. “I will, unfortunately, have to report that the humans died during the exploration.”
The humans remained silent until Krypta disappeared into the crowd of his subordinates.
“Dammit! We have a High Ranker among us, too... Look at him, belittling us because of his dependable backing. So much for being a free race,” Nakivarro complained.
Seong-Hwi remarked, “This is better for us. We won’t have to waste our strength during the exploration.”
“But what if they find the Elixir first? We’d be fucked,” Gardner said anxiously.
Enrique replied, “I doubt it. We know there is an Elixir in this dungeon, and they don’t. That’s a huge difference.”
The others nodded. Just then, the Honor Knights began their advance.
Yuki quickly ordered, “Assume a 4-3-2-1 pyramid formation. Avant-garde positions: number one, Enrique Vidal. Number two, Yuri Nazakov. Number three, Le-Yeyo.”
A pyramid formation consisted of more members assigned to the rear, specialized for securing an escape route and rear defense.
“Mid-garde positions: number four, Cheon Seong-Hwi. Number five, Gardner. Number six is me. Arriere-garde positions: number seven, Sonya Gerhard. Number eight, Khanh Huyen. Number nine, Nakivarro. Number ten, Frank.”
Nice arrangement, Seong-Hwi thought as he followed Yuki’s order.
For the avant-garde positions, she placed Enrique Vidal, the volante, as the sole vanguard to handle detection and scouting. Directly behind him were Leo, the stopper tank, and Yuri Nazakov, the crack attacker who could charge at the enemies if needed.
For the mid-garde positions, she placed Gardner, their healer, in the center of the formation and herself directly beside him, as she was the strongest in the party. She also placed Seong-Hwi in the mid-garde since he had to assist in various areas as the wing.
As for the arriere-garde positions, she placed Sonya, the complete magic attacker, and Khanh Huyen, the emitter raumdeuter, in the rear. She also maintained balance in the formation by placing Nakivarro, the sweeper, and Frank, the cursore attacker.
Seong-Hwi deemed Yuki a trustworthy commander based on her lightning-fast, fine judgment.
“I may switch the formation to a reverse pyramid based on the situation, so focus on my orders, rearguard attackers,” Yuki remarked.
The reverse pyramid formation was designed to place many attackers at the front. It was for giving up on rear defense and going all-in on offense.
“Let me remind you of what our mission is. Our objective is not to clear the dungeon quest but to secure the Elixir. Avoid unnecessary greed and sacrifices. Understood?”
“Yes, Commander!”
“Good.”
“Logical...”
The dungeon excavation began.
***
The bubbling of water and the sound of machinery noisily echoed throughout the director’s room, located on the deepest floor of Weishaupt Research Institute.
“Number 1,000, Number 1,002... You’re the only two remaining. The Ark must be born between you!” a white-haired old man mumbled as he stared at the two babies in giant cylindrical water tanks.
Each tank contained a bubbling green liquid that seemed to function as a mother’s amniotic fluid, and the two babies were asleep.
“The Earth... is done for. Humans are no longer its masters.”
The old man recalled the powerful monsters bustling outside the research institute. They were once human but were reborn as a new race known as Chaos.
“I am no different, but... the bastards outside are but beasts that have lost their humanity! They must be exterminated! A new seed must be sown! The seed of the new humanity!” he mumbled crazily.
Just then, someone banged on the door of the director’s room.
“What is it?”
“Assistant Director Adolf! We have intruders! Over two thousand of them!”
“Intruders? From outside the research institute?”
“No. They seem to be travelers.”
Adolf, the assistant director of Weishaupt Research Institute, frowned. One day, intruders began to appear, one or two at a time. They did not break through the barrier; it was as if they were magically generated inside the building. They called themselves travelers and referred to the people in the research institute as residents.
Adolf once had high hopes for them, thinking they might be helpful to the Ark Project. However, they were all but petty thieves. Not only were their genes inferior, but they coveted anything they laid their eyes on.
“Unleash the failures! Exterminate them all!” Adolf shouted.
“Yes, sir!”
Adolf turned back to the water tanks and mumbled, “Just one... even one of the two is fine... at least one must succeed!”
***
Five drones lightly buzzed as they flew along the dark corridor. Enrique, a handsome, blond man with green eyes, handled a black device resembling a game controller. This controller was what made him the Adventurer King.
[Spy Drone Controller (Destiny Weapon)
Rank: B(77)
Description: A controller that uses mana to conjure and manipulate drones, each with different abilities—cam drone, shooting drone, blade drone, stealth drone, tracking drone, etc.
Unique Skills: (5)]
The drones flew as Enrique controlled with his D Weapon to search the area.
“A manipulator, huh? I’m jealous. My D Weapon is shit, so all I’m left with is my physique,” Frank said in disappointment as he stared at the drones in the air.
“Then you can take my place at the vanguard,” Enrique remarked.
“Whoa, that’s a hard pass. Volantes have the highest death rate among the positions. I’m more than satisfied as a cursore.”
“I’m good with being a raumdeuter, too! Emitters are the best! Right, Sonya?” the Southeast Asian woman Khanh asked Sonya beside her.
“Well... if I were to be put in a category... I’d be a conjurer...” Sonya, the freckled blonde woman, said shyly.
Gardner, the only healer of the party, remarked as he fixed his glasses, “So am I. Enrique at the vanguard is naturally a manipulator, and I believe the two behind him are transformers, correct?”
Yuri Nazakov shrugged, and Leo nodded.
Gardner continued, “And... are you a manipulator, Madam Onie Yuki?”
Yuki was the only one Gardner spoke cautiously to.
“Yes,” Yuki answered as if it were no big deal.
“Frank and Nakivarro, it doesn’t seem like you use your D Weapons,” Gardner remarked.
“That’s right. I mainly use my B-rank item, Flame Sword, as my weapon,” Frank affirmed.
Nakivarro also affirmed, “Haha! You have good eyes. I also mainly use my B-rank item, Tuluta Round Shield.”
Gardner said, “Khanh Huyen, the raumdeuter, is an emitter, and Sonya, the complete attacker, is a conjurer. In that case, what is your D Weapon category, Cheon Seong-Hwi?”
His eyes under his glasses glinted. He had asked about the categories of his teammates’ D Weapons, all to ask Seong-Hwi this question. The others also stared at Seong-Hwi curiously, wanting to know the source of the various skills he had used in Kabuka’s mansion.
Seong-Hwi smiled and said, “It’s nothing worth keeping a secret. I’m—”
Just then, an alarm suddenly blared from one of Enrique’s drones as a red light flashed repeatedly.
“W-what’s going on?” Gardner asked.
Enrique looked at the display of his D Weapon, Spy Drone Controller, and reported, “Commander! Chaos Mana levels detected from the front, and rising! Roughly a kilometer away!”
Yuki asked, “How many?”
“Roughly estimating... around the thousands!”
The team members’ expressions hardened. If Chaos Mana could be detected, the enemies were at least Lapang-rank Chaos. Not only that, but this was only the dungeon’s starting point.
I’d expect nothing less from an S-rank dungeon, Seong-Hwi thought inwardly.
The Chaos approaching them were likely not all Lapang-rank. There could be Shen-rank ones, or conversely, Segal and Adora-rank Chaos.
“Kekek! Serves that black tin can right for acting high and mighty,” Yuri said, cackling as he thought about Krypta.
Since Krypta and the Honor Knights would face the horde of Chaos monsters first, they would take all the damage.
“Get ready to provide reinforcement,” Yuki ordered.
The cackling Yuri frowned, which one could take as a sign of defiance.
Yuki turned to Yuri with blank eyes and remarked, “I believe I told you before we entered that when in the dungeon, my orders are absolute and that I would turn anyone who defies them into a mannequin.”
“Argh... dammit!” Yuri backed down as Yuki emitted intense pressure.
Seong-Hwi stepped in to ease the tense atmosphere. “Think, Mad Dog of Moscow. What use are gums without the teeth? The longer the undead remain as our shields, the wider our range of activity will be.”
Nakivarro added, “Haha, he’s right. On top of that, it’ll be easier to devise a plan of action if we know what types and ranks of Chaos appear in this dungeon.”
Yuri scratched his head and mumbled, “Che, you could’ve just explained that to me. How are brainless humans like me supposed to figure that out? Ahem! Anyway... I got it now. I’m sorry, Commander.”
Yuki remained silent momentarily and ordered again, “Let’s move.”