Chapter 173
Lee Jiryung stood with her arms crossed, staring ahead.
In the distance, a massive ancient castle came into view.
Though it was incredibly far away, its presence was unmistakable.
At a glance, she recognized it as the core of this dungeon.
A grand castle standing out in a lifeless, desolate landscape—
Anyone could tell that was the dungeon’s core.
The problem was getting there.
It looked close, but in reality, it was extremely far away. Naturally, the journey wouldn’t be easy.
At that moment, Jeloei approached her.
“What should we do? Set up a base here?”
“That seems best. We need time for the others to gather.”
Because the Pegasus Strike Team was so large, they had been scattered in all directions.
To properly carry out the raid, everyone needed to regroup.
Jeloei nodded in agreement.
“Got it. I’ll make it flashy enough for everyone to see.”
He returned to the base team and began working.
Structures stored in subspace were brought out one by one and assembled into walls.
Soon, a massive circular wall was erected in the open area.
That alone was enough to function as a temporary base—but it wasn’t enough to satisfy Jeloei.
He shouted:
“We’re deploying Guardian’s Wings! Everyone, get inside the walls!”
At his command, the Awakeners moved inside.
Jeloei then pulled out a massive flag from subspace and planted it in the center.
WHOOM—
An invisible barrier instantly formed, covering the enclosed space in a dome.
“Ha… now I can breathe.”
“As expected of Guardian’s Wings.”
The Awakeners let out sighs of relief.
Guardian’s Wings was an item excavated from a dungeon.
It was a type of base-type artifact that prevented monsters below B-rank from even recognizing the space.
If they couldn’t perceive it, they couldn’t attack it.
That wasn’t its only effect.
While monsters couldn’t detect the dome, it was clearly visible to humans.
That meant allies could easily spot and find it from afar.
As soon as Guardian’s Wings activated, groups of Awakeners began arriving.
They were members of the Pegasus Strike Team who had been scattered.
Soon after, mercenary Awakeners also entered the base.
However, Zeon and Cha Jincheol’s groups were nowhere to be seen.
Lee Jiryung frowned.
“It seems they’ve been dropped far away.”
“Isn’t that common? Both groups are experienced—they’ll find their way.”
Jeloei said casually, but Lee Jiryung thought differently.
“That changes our strategy.”
Originally, the plan was to overwhelm the dungeon with numbers and push straight to the core.
But with their forces scattered, they had no choice but to adapt.
Lee Jiryung called out to the exploration team leader, Gesling.
“Gesling!”
“Yes, Captain!”
“Survey the terrain before everyone gathers. Can you do it?”
“Of course. This isn’t my first time.”
Gesling replied confidently.
The exploration team—composed of a detector, a cartographer, a guide, and a protector—had succeeded even in far harsher environments.
“Want me to assign more people?”
“No need. They’d just slow us down.”
The team had remained four members for so long because their coordination was perfect.
Adding others would only disrupt that balance.
Lee Jiryung smirked.
“Fine. If you encounter any anomalies or large monsters, return immediately.”
“Roger that!”
Gesling led the exploration team out of the base.
Though sending just four people into the dungeon seemed risky, Lee Jiryung trusted them.
They had never once failed her expectations.
I wonder where Zeon ended up…
She didn’t believe for a second that Zeon had fallen to monsters.
Even if he had used a large amount of mana opening the dungeon, she couldn’t picture him dying because of it.
If Zeon and the western sector Awakeners regrouped before the exploration team returned, preparations would be complete.
At that moment—
CRACK!
The ground suddenly trembled.
Like an earthquake, the earth began to ripple.
Sensing something was wrong, Lee Jiryung shouted:
“Everyone, quiet!”
Instantly, the people inside the base fell silent.
Then they felt it too—the vibrations beneath them.
RUMBLE!
Right before their eyes, the ground rose upward.
What is that?
No way…!
Breaking through the earth was a gigantic mole.
From head to tail, it was easily over twenty meters long—a massive demonic beast.
Its back was covered in rock, with fragments falling off as it moved.
Its claws were curved like blades—longer than a grown man and razor-sharp.
Its eyes were almost completely atrophied, barely visible.
The giant mole sniffed the air as if searching for something.
Its nose pointed directly toward the base.
THUD. THUD.
It approached.
Circling the base, it continued sniffing.
Because of its poor vision and the concealment effect of Guardian’s Wings, it couldn’t recognize the people inside.
Still, sensing something strange, it lingered around the area.
The Awakeners gripped their weapons, ready to attack at any moment.
They trusted the barrier—but still prepared for the worst.
CRACK!
Then, another giant mole burst out of the ground.
Like the first, it began circling the base and sniffing.
D-rank… no, at this size, more like C-rank…
It was a type of demonic beast they had never encountered before.
Naturally, they didn’t know its name or its abilities. That’s why they observed it first.
They could have killed it if they wanted, but they needed to understand how many of these creatures existed in the dungeon—and where they stood in the overall hierarchy.
Fortunately, the giant mole beasts failed to detect the people inside the Guardian’s Wings and eventually returned underground.
“Whew…”
“Damn it…”
Only then did the Awakeners relax their guard and collapse to the ground.
The tension had finally released.
Lee Jiryung called over the assault team leader, Bronson.
“Have you ever seen a monster like that?”
“Never. At least not in any dungeon we’ve cleared.”
“What rank would you estimate?”
“At least D-rank, but given its size, it could reasonably be considered C-rank.”
“That matches my thoughts.”
Larger size meant greater strength and defense.
They didn’t yet know what attack abilities the mole possessed, but its sheer size alone made it dangerous.
Lee Jiryung stroked her chin and muttered:
“I can’t even begin to guess what kind of creature rules this place.”
“The exploration team will figure it out.”
“Tell everyone to stay alert until then.”
“Understood.”
Bronson left after responding.
Left alone, Lee Jiryung murmured:
“Zeon… where are you?”
***
CRASH!
A giant mole burst out of the ground.
“A monster!”
“Squad One, enter combat mode.”
Cha Jincheol gave the command without hesitation.
WHIRR—
Ten Awakeners from the western sector stepped forward.
They were Squad One.
They immediately entered combat mode.
CLANK! CLANK!
With mechanical sounds, their arms and legs transformed into combat-ready forms.
Their metallic limbs gave off an eerie presence.
“Move in.”
Squad One attacked the giant mole simultaneously.
BANG!
The squad leader struck the mole’s head with his fist—but it had no effect.
From head to tail, its body was covered in rock. The hardened stone didn’t even flinch under the blow.
Still, it wasn’t meaningless.
“Defense level: C-rank or higher. Physical attacks alone cannot inflict damage.”
The data gathered during the attack was transmitted in real time to the western sector Awakeners.
They shared it through a link.
That was what made them dangerous.
Though they were individuals, the shared data allowed them to analyze enemies and respond instantly.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Squad One continued their relentless assault.
Each strike chipped away at the rocky armor, though plenty still remained.
“Highly resistant to physical attacks. A magic-type Awakener would likely subdue it more easily.”
Most of the western sector Awakeners were mechanized types.
They possessed destructive power comparable to martial-type Awakeners—but were limited to physical damage.
To compensate, they equipped various enhancements.
FWOOOSH!
One such enhancement ignited—flames erupted from the squad leader’s arm.
Superheated fire poured directly into the mole’s mouth.
ROOOAAAR!
The intense heat caused the creature to thrash violently, exposing its underside.
The squad seized the opportunity.
BOOM!
A compressed air blast fired from a member’s arm and struck the mole’s belly.
A massive hole tore open, and blood burst out.
“Identified weak point: abdomen. To defeat it, force exposure of the belly and attack.”
With the data shared, Squad One focused all attacks on its underside.
The mole thrashed wildly in pain, but they persistently targeted its weak point.
“No notable special attack abilities detected. Conclusion: manageable opponent if size is handled carefully.”
That was the squad leader’s final assessment.
With sufficient data gathered, there was no reason to delay further.
They intensified their assault—and before long, the giant mole collapsed with a final scream.
For such a massive creature, the battle ended surprisingly quickly.
“That was nothing.”
“If they’re all like this, this dungeon will be easy.”
Cha Jincheol smirked.
From one example, he believed he could judge the whole.
“Honestly, we might not even need the Pegasus team.”
“We could clear this dungeon ourselves.”
Emboldened, the western Awakeners gathered around him.
His smile deepened.
But Zeon was watching the scene with a grave expression.
The corpse of the giant mole was shriveling at an unnatural speed.
Its cheeks sank, its belly caved inward.
Unaware of this, Cha Jincheol and his men were celebrating their victory.
Brielle grabbed Zeon’s sleeve.
With her High Elf instincts, she sensed something ominous.
“Zeon!”
Zeon held her hand and spoke to Cha Jincheol:
“Be careful.”
“Careful? Of what—”
At that moment—
Ssshhh—
A chilling wind swept through.
And then it appeared.
A translucent humanoid figure, cloaked in a robe and wielding a massive scythe.
It looked around slowly, like a ghost.
“What is that?”
“Is that another monster?”
The western Awakeners muttered in curiosity.
At that instant, Zeon shouted:
“That’s a Grim Reaper. Everyone, get away!”