The Ring That Wasn’t
“Huuu……”
Irene stepped into the dungeon and took one deep breath. She blinked.
A moment ago she had been in bright sunshine. Now, the instant she passed through the oval darkness, an entirely different world opened before her.
The cool, damp air made her rub her arms.
This was not her first time, yet every hair stood on end from tension.
Because of that, Michael had asked several times whether she was truly all right.
She had only explained it was her first dungeon and she was nervous, but the tremor refused to leave her.
It’s because it’s similar to the place where I died.
A place without knights, chased by monsters, where death came quickly.
The layout of this lower dungeon was almost identical, so the memory of that final moment flashed before her eyes the instant she entered.
“I should really turn back. I……”
“It’s all right.”
No matter how many times he urged her to leave, Irene finally let out an exasperated sound.
Then she realized her mistake and quickly smoothed her voice.
“It would be best to finish quickly and return. Once I follow Michael-nim, I’ll have to get used to at least this much fear.”
Of course she had no intention of coming back twice. Still, thinking this was the last time, the lie flowed smoothly.
“……I understand.”
Fortunately he did not press further.
Instead, his lingering concern made him step a little closer than before, narrowing the distance between them.
“I will light up a light. This will make our movement easier, but the monsters will also see the light and come closer. Prepare your heart in advance.”
“I understand.”
Michael took a small bead from his pocket and tossed it into the sky.
The marble rose twice as tall as a person, spun in place for a moment, then began to glow brightly.
As it did, the interior of the dungeon was illuminated.
A high ceiling and a cave stretching deep inside appeared.
‘This is the most common type of lower dungeon.’
It made sense now why everyone had gone wild when artifacts were discovered here.
Who would have guessed an artifact with such a useful power would come from such an ordinary place?
‘Speaking of which, since I entered here……’
It meant the pair that entered this dungeon had headed to another one.
‘I’m sorry. I’m truly sorry.’
Irene apologized to them in her heart again and again.
Of course, apologizing did not make her heart feel lighter.
‘Is there a way to pay the count what’s left of the reward money?’
Of course she would set aside money for their future life, but could she truly deny compensation to those who had their chance at a second life stolen from them without knowing?
As Irene lingered in thought, Michael spoke.
“You don’t seem surprised.”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
Thinking something had appeared, Irene hurriedly looked around.
But the only sound was a distant monster roar; no presence was felt nearby.
Michael noticed her bewildered expression and pointed upward with his finger.
The marble was glowing above their heads.
“Usually, seeing this for the first time is incredibly shocking. But you say nothing as if you’re familiar with it.”
“Ah.”
Irene realized her mistake.
Just as he said, when she had first seen it she had been shocked and amazed.
But after seeing it several times she had grown used to it and knew it was one of the artifacts from the Temple.
Of course, that was all from her previous life.
What should she say? She hesitated briefly.
Irene answered calmly.
“Actually…… I have heard a lot about Michael-nim’s remarkable achievements. That’s why I’ve heard much about this strange artifact. When the caves of Gedan Mountain collapsed, those isolated people endured thanks to relying on this strange bead, didn’t they?”
It was a story she had heard before meeting Michael. In it, the bead was always mentioned.
Because she answered so quickly, Michael nodded shortly, understanding, and continued forward.
Kiiiieek!
Michael swung his sword once, and several monsters collapsed at once.
The broken pieces trembled briefly before dissolving like melting ice.
‘There were many water-attribute monsters.’
As reported, the monsters in the dungeon were mostly water type.
‘That’s good.’
Among the various types, water-attribute monsters were relatively easy to handle.
They had little strong energy and, after death, dissolved leaving water instead of blood, so the sight was less disturbing.
And most importantly, they were weak.
‘It’s unbelievable that an artifact would appear from a dungeon this easily cleared.’
The deeper Michael and Irene went into the dungeon, the harder her heart beat.
It’s almost over.
Soon it will be over.
She didn’t know why she had returned to repeat the same life.
‘But she hadn’t come back intending to repeat it.’
Passing through one door changed the air. The marble that had been circling above their heads revealed a ceiling it could not illuminate.
Unlike before, the space was much wider.
In the center of the cave was a vast open area. It was an enormous lake.
Depthless water rippled, and a crude wooden bridge crossed it. At the end lay the reward chamber.
‘So when we cross that bridge, monsters will attack from below.’
The monsters would probably emerge from the water beneath the bridge.
“Wait here.”
Michael looked back, wondering if he had forgotten anything.
Finding no remaining monsters, he left Irene and crossed the bridge alone.
The moment he reached the middle of the bridge, a huge splash echoed. A gigantic monster rose from the lake.
‘What is that?’
The instant she saw the monster, Irene jumped back in genuine shock.
‘It couldn’t appear here.’
Irene remembered this dungeon clearly. It had been such a peculiar event.
The pair who had entered had only faced ordinary monsters until the reward chamber.
Meaning, such a giant monster should not have appeared.
The monster, shaped like a long snake, immediately opened its mouth toward Michael on the bridge.
“Michael!”
The moment she called his name, the monster that had been about to swallow him stopped moving.
Kiii.
It made a strange, pondering sound and tilted its head, examining Michael.
It was as if it was studying him. Michael also stared at the monster in silence.
When Irene tried to shout for him to run,
Whoosh!
He moved like lightning and swung his sword. A red line appeared on the monster’s neck.
Kiiieeeeek!
A horrifying roar filled the air as the monster thrashed. But its body was already being sliced and splitting open slowly.
Splash!
Pieces of the split monster fell into the lake, followed by the sound of water churning.
“Oh my god……”
Irene stared at Michael standing on the bridge.
She knew he was strong. But she had never seen him fight a monster like this before.
He had always been behind the others.
‘He dealt with it so easily.’
No matter how strong he was, killing a monster that size in one blow—was it even possible?
At that moment, Michael turned his head and looked at Irene.
Their eyes met briefly, then he turned away and crossed the bridge alone.
Irene, stunned, snapped out of it and hurried after him.
“Wait a moment, Michael-nim! I’ll go with you!”
But when Irene reached the wooden bridge, Michael had already entered the reward chamber alone.
“Michael-nim!”
He had always been so careful inside the dungeon—why was he suddenly going alone?
When Irene finally arrived at the reward chamber, gasping, Michael held a small wooden box.
“That……”
“Check it.”
Michael handed the box to her as if he had been waiting.
Irene snatched it, then took a moment to catch her breath.
‘Finally.’
She shook the wooden box. Something inside rattled.
‘It’s real. That ring!’
According to the pair’s record, shaking the box would make one object clink.
A smile bloomed on Irene’s face.
‘It’s finally over.’
With this, she could live a life unrelated to dungeons forever.
In the Kingdom Alliance’s farthest city, she would live quietly, never hearing the words “purifier” or “pair” again.
Thinking that, Irene opened the wooden box.
And the instant she saw what was inside——
“Eh?”
Irene’s eyes widened.
If her memory was correct, the box should have contained a ring.
Dungeon 181, lower dungeon with water-attribute monsters.
No matter how she thought about it, she remembered that dungeon clearly.
“A stone……?”
Inside the wooden box was not a ring but a stone of similar size.