S-Class Except Me

Author: rolypoly

Around Seo Dojoon, a long and thin magic thread gently floated. And in an instant, the body of the stone statue was bent and wrapped around it.  

Boom—! 

The stone statue that attacked Haeun and the others was shattered.

The magic stone embedded in the head of the stone statue rolled over due to the impact of the explosion. It was blue.

「Wow, that’s A-Class.」

Rick, who had been ducking and dodging from a distance, was amazed.

「It’s hard to find blue magic stones! Are you going to take it?」

「Why are you curious about that?」

「Because it’s mine! If it wasn’t for me, I think you guys would have been able to enter this dungeon, ugh.」

The magic that tied Rick tightly shook threateningly for a moment. Seo Dojoon looked at him with contempt.

「Of course not. And I wouldn’t have been exposed to this risk.」 

「Ah, ah. It hurts. Hey, it hurts!」

「The reason I let you live is to make sure you pay the right price for your sins. However, if there is no possibility of self-reflection, there is no need to go into such trouble.」

Seo Dojoon swept his chin lightly.

「It might be better to make an empty spot so that another hunter can come in to rescue us.」 

It is a dungeon that only six people can enter. Seo Dojoon told Rick he would kill him and create an empty spot. 

「Do you want that?」

It wasn’t until after a terrifying threat that Rick shut his mouth. Seo Dojoon picked up the fallen magic stone.

At that moment, the magic stone vibrated.

“Be careful!” 

Likewise, Jung Jinho, feeling the change in the magic stone, shouted. A light flickered from the depths of the mana stone. It’s about to explode.

“Soyeon-ah!”

Baek Doohan urgently wrapped and protected Baek Soyeon.

There was silence. Nothing happened. Baek Doohan raised his head in wonder.

Inside the magic stone, there was a slight golden light that vibrated and turned green.

Crush—.

The magic stone was shattered into powder with the slightest force of pressing with the fingertips. Looking at the broken magic stone in his hand, Seo Dojoon remembered the Gangnam crack incident. 

Even then, the magic stone was broken. In the dungeon with Haeun.

He instinctively looked for Haeun. He looked at Haeun thoroughly with a sharp gaze, but Haeun just tilted her head as if she didn’t understand.

“I, is it okay?” 

Baek Doohan, who embraced Baek Soyeon, asked cautiously. After a while, Seo Dojoon took his gaze away from Haeun and nodded slowly.

“Yes. I must have been mistaken.”

[The Constellation ‘Mutant of the Abyss’ says it was a close call.]

Haeun sighed inwardly.

Originally, the magic stone was a typical by-product that could be obtained from raiding dungeons, condensing powerful energy. Because it is a new energy source with high efficiency, it is very useful in the world outside the dungeon.

However, this dungeon doesn’t seem to have any intention of offering even such a small item. The moment someone touches it, the energy condensed in the stone causes it to explode at will. 

Instead, Haeun received the price.

[SYSTEM: Synchronization rate increased by 0.02%.]

[SYSTEM: Current synchronization rate 21.13%]

Haeun sighed at the inevitable change.

However, while looking at the system window, something strange suddenly caught her eye. 

‘It was originally 21.13%, right?’

It couldn’t have been Haeun’s misunderstanding. It was because she was paying attention to the synchronization rate to the extent that Haeun looked a bit obsessive.

‘I’m glad it hasn’t changed… but why?’

Is it because the power used is not great? However, the original system used to reflect each of those small forces in detail to the synchronization rate. 

At that moment, the bracelet on Haeun’s wrist vibrated. 

“Noodles?” 

Haeun, wondering if Noodles had woken up, hurriedly checked it, but before she knew it, Noodles were quiet again. Haeun sighed in disappointment.

“Just in case you don’t know, it’s better not to touch that nuke in the future.” 

“I agree.”

Fortunately, Seo Dojoon and Jung Jinho seemed to realize that the by-products of this dungeon were dangerous.

Feeling reluctant, the group set out again. 

There were often dangerous situations, but Seo Dojoon moved more carefully than before, so Haeun didn’t have to step out. 

‘It would be nice if we could just go like this.’

She doesn’t know why she keeps feeling ominous. Haeun bit her lower lip, feeling anxious. 

“Looks like we’ve reached the center.”

Beyond where Seo Dojoon pointed, she saw a round altar filled with stone statues of angels with broken wings.

And in the middle of it stood a big stone statue.

A place where time seemed to have stopped made her feel strange just by looking at it. 

Haeun glanced back at Baek Soyeon. Soyeon was trembling. Soyeon’s hand gripped Baek Doohan’s clothes. 

“Okay, then.” 

Seo Dojoon grabbed Rick by the nape of his neck. 

「Go check it out.」

「Ugh. I, I don’t want to. Arggh!」

Seo Dojoon swung his whip and at the same time Rick, who was at the forefront of them, flew to the middle of the altar and fell. The black magic thread was still tied to Rick’s body.

Rick made a fuss and fell back.

「Ugh.」

Unfortunately or fortunately, the statues did not attack Rick. Rick, terrified and trembling, soon realized that the statues weren’t attacking, and he let out a big sigh. He slowly got up from his position and looked at the stone statue.

「They are similar to the ones before.」

Rick approached the stone statue in the middle of the altar as if courage as small as pellets had sprung up. Rick, who was examining the stone statue carefully, said.

「I think I need to insert a magic stone that fits here.」

「Is that so? What are you doing?」

「Huh?」

「I think you’ve figured out how to attack dungeons. Go ahead and try.」 

Hunter Seo Dojoon raised his mouth and commanded. Rick’s eyes widened at his relentless words. Rick cried and begged.

「Alone?」

「Yes, alone.」

「I heard earlier that it was better not to touch the magic stone.」

「I spoke to Hunter Jung Jinho in Korean. How did you hear it?」 

「Hmp!」

Rick was embarrassed and covered his mouth. Seo Dojoon twisted his lips crookedly. 

“Then I don’t have to use English. Go ahead, R. Before I force you to move.” 

Black energy flowed by Seo Dojoon’s side.

Rick timidly approached the statues with a crying face at the firm command.

The altar had a large stone statue in the center and was surrounded by numerous angel statues with broken wings.

The location of the core varies from stone to stone. Among the many statues, Rick stood in front of the nearest statue. And he carefully touched the red core on the angel’s clothes.

And at that moment.

Bang—.

“Ugh!” 

Rick jumped up in surprise. The red light from the ceiling pierced where he had just been. It was a ray of light that would have turned into powder if it had not been avoided.

And three seconds later.

Boom!

The red core exploded and exploded.

“Cough, cough.” 

It exploded because Haeun didn’t interfere because there was no need to help criminals. Nevertheless, Rick quickly dodged the explosion. He coughed badly, but his lifeline seemed to be long.

At that moment, the inside began to vibrate loudly.

A rough and grotesque sound, as if an old, hardened stone was moving, filled the space.

Seo Dojoon jumped toward the altar. A black wire cut off the head of the stone statue that lunged at Rick. 

Bang—.

The broken stone statue’s head rolled on the floor. A frightened Rick ran out. He hastily pulled a set of keys from his pocket.

Seo Dojoon, who stepped on the stone statue’s shoulder and jumped lightly, turned his body backward and looked down at the altar.

“This…!” 

The statues he broke were moving again. The shattered statue lifted its head onto his neck, snapping his fallen arm into place. At that moment, light poured from the ceiling again.

“Ugh.”

He avoided the attack falling from the ceiling, but because of that, he fell to the very center of the altar. The stone statues rushed at Seo Dojoon as if they were wary of intruders.

The moment everyone focused on Seo Dojoon, Haeun saw it.

Rick pulls out a golden key that wasn’t there before.

And she realized that that was the real key to escape from this place.

“Seo Dojoon-ssi! Take that away right now!”

Seo Dojoon swung a black whip while avoiding the stone statues rushing at him.

“Ack!”

Rick lost the key at the whipping. A surge of magical energy snatched the key. In an instant, the key came into Seo Dojoon’s hand.

“Got it!”

[The Constellation ‘Mutant of the Abyss’ shouts that’s not it.]

The moment the key came into Seo Dojoon’s hand, it exploded with a bang and disappeared.

Haeun turned her head to Rick. The golden key is back in Rick’s hand.

“I, I have to catch him first!”

Wiing–.

At the same time, a glowing door appeared on one side of the altar.

Rick met Haeun’s eyes and winked.

“Bye!” 

Then, he opened the door that floated in the air and disappeared. 

“No!”

Haeun shouted at him.

The con man has disappeared again. Earlier, he said the door wouldn’t open, and he made excuses, but it was all lies! 

[The Constellation ‘Mutant of the Abyss’ warns Haeun.]

But things weren’t good enough to pay attention to Rick, who disappeared. Once triggered, the dungeon’s traps didn’t stop. 

Seo Dojoon smashed the head of the stone statue with his foot. Dark energy rippled like a rolling wave.

A very thin black magic thread began to fill the altar like a spider’s thread.