You Vermin!!!
In a way, it was only natural that the Cha family had ended up like this.
Of all things, it had to be a virtual dungeon with no choice about joining.
Crouched under a desk with his two younger siblings shielded behind him, Cha Eun-hyeok’s face twisted with pure disgust at the world.
Among the people still left, I’m the closest thing to an adult—and I’m not even a hunter. Cha Ah-ra, that flower pig, is obviously going to be useless. And we can’t exactly beg the remaining trainee priests to save us either…
He didn’t know what the entry condition had been this time, but virtual dungeons forcibly dragged in everyone who met the criteria. Cases where every participant was wiped out because there wasn’t a single proper hunter present were all too common.
“…….”
“…….”
Cold sweat running down their faces, Cha Eun-hyeok and Cha Ah-ra exchanged a silent look. Eun-hyeok gave a small nod.
You’re the only hunter here.
Ah, we’re so fucked.
That’s how it is.
There was no helping it. They weren’t called “trainee” priests for nothing. The young priests here were no different from ordinary civilians. The sole hunter in this chamber was Cha Ah-ra.
After confirming there were no monsters nearby, Cha Eun-hyeok whispered in a voice too faint to carry any distance.
“Hey, F-rank porter.”
“Fucking speak, then.”
“Isn’t there some kind of protocol for this? Something hunters learn…”
“This is probably the best we can do right now.”
The Center recommended that when things got truly bad, people should not clump together in one place. That way, even if the worst happened, they wouldn’t all be wiped out at once; scattering raised the overall survival rate.
“…Isn’t that just bait tactics…?”
“Objectively speaking, it’s still the method with the highest survival rate.”
“Yeah, you’re right.”
It left a filthy taste in his mouth all the same.
Basically, scatter and pray someone else gets caught instead of you.
For the Cha family, whose blood ran thick with sucker tendencies, it was a thoroughly unappealing strategy. Still, they didn’t move rashly. Without any real power, the only way to save others was to become bait yourself.
“…….”
Freshly reminded of how utterly shit the situation was, Cha Ah-ra shoved her youngest brother even deeper behind her back.
“Hey, Cha I-sol. Get further in. Further.”
“There’s nowhere further to go…”
“You’re tiny and you’re still whining? Hurry up and fold yourself smaller.”
“Urgh…”
“And keep quiet.”
They were hiding under one of the stainless-steel desks installed at regular intervals throughout the chamber. Thanks to how many there were, the other surviving trainee priests seemed to have done the same.
Even so, how long they could stay hidden from monsters that roamed freely in every direction was anyone’s guess…
Still, while Oppa and I make a scene, at least Cha I-sol should make it.
The youngest was so small there was nothing on him worth eating; one bite and he would be dead on the spot. It was a selfish thought, but wanting her own brother to outlast the other kids was an unavoidable wish.
“Nunaaa…”
“Ugh, stop with the cute act for real.”
“Whoa, it’s not cute acting. I’m just suffering here.”
“Tsk.”
Positioned at the outermost edge of the desk, Cha Eun-hyeok glanced over at his bickering siblings with a look of pure disbelief.
Look at these completely tension-free idiots.
In truth he already knew it wasn’t a lack of tension—they were so tense they were forcing themselves to act normal. Face set hard, cold sweat dripping, Eun-hyeok scanned the surroundings.
One of the monsters was squelching its way toward them.
“…….”
“Hu-hungry… hung… hung-hungry…”
“…….”
Did a ghost that starved to death possess that thing or what?
This is why people say you have to set out a proper memorial table. If we die here, it’s all because the world got so cold it won’t even put out a single offering tray…
It was nonsense, but he etched the wisdom of the ancestors into his heart anyway and shoved his siblings further back. The youngest was already crumpled into the far corner with nowhere left to go, but Ah-ra apparently still had room; a rustling sound came from her being pressed flat. She had heard the monster approaching and, to her credit, managed not to make a sound.
“Hungry? Hungry. Hun. Hun, hun, I’m hungry. Hungry…”
“…….”
The monster, whose shape they still hadn’t clearly seen, closed in to arm’s length. Thanks to that, Cha Eun-hyeok got an unwelcome, unlimited view of its damp legs.
So this is where I die, huh.
At the very least I’m getting my flower pig and the little one out of here. Remember me—the guy who baked the cheapest, tastiest bungeoppang in Korea.
Just as he steeled himself—
“—You vermin!!!”
Whoooooosh!!!
The monsters went up in flames one after another, crumbling into ash.
“Wh-what…?”
It happened so fast it felt unreal. The squelching sounds were replaced by the soft patter of dry ash falling, and the chamber’s chill was forcibly swallowed by the heat of fire.
“…….”
“…….”
The Cha family, stunned, turned toward the chamber entrance they hadn’t even known was there.
“Vermin…??”
“Vermin…”
“Ah, wait.”
Cha Eun-hyeok belatedly realized who had thundered the word “vermin” through the chamber.
“…Priest Kang Seo-dam?”
The priest with the long, wavy blond hair and striking pale green eyes—Kang Seo-dam—stood there, thoroughly disheveled and seething. His face was so contorted with rage that veins stood out on his forehead. When his eyes met Cha Eun-hyeok’s, who was quietly sweating cold bullets, it felt like locking gazes with something forbidden.
“…….”
“…….”
The demonic expression smoothly returned to a priest’s face. Kang Seo-dam asked in a perfectly composed tone,
“Are you unharmed?”
“No, just now you called them vermin…”
“If vermin aren’t called vermin, what else would one call them?”
“Wow.”
“You must have been frightened already, only to hear my profanity on top of it. I apologize for that.”
If one hadn’t just heard that crystal-clear “You vermin!!!,” the priest’s gentle response would have been purely moving. Kang Seo-dam continued with calm composure.
“I, too, was dragged into this virtual dungeon without warning and have been rather… occupied. Still, it is a relief to see so many survivors remaining.”
His once-spotless priestly robes were now ragged, evidence of considerable hardship. He surveyed the area. Only then did Cha Eun-hyeok look around as well; whatever Kang Seo-dam had just done, not a single monster remained.
“Hm.”
With his usual cool, expressionless face, Kang Seo-dam quietly made the sign of the cross.
“The Goddess has watched over you.”
“…….”
Pretty sure that was you.
So among hunters, if you take my flower pig out of the equation, is there not a single sane person left?
A priest of high enough standing to preside over an initiation ceremony had to be at least B-rank. Judging by the skill that had incinerated every monster in the chamber in an instant, he was probably A-rank or high S-rank. Cha Eun-hyeok felt a little safer.
He himself had nothing going for him except a sturdy body; the relief came from having found someone strong enough to entrust his siblings’ safety to, even if he himself died.
…Thank god.
Eun-hyeok let out a long breath and scrubbed a hand down his face. He could finally breathe again.
“P-Priest…”
“Waaaaah…”
“Priest Kang Seo-dam…!”
Only then did the trainee priests who had been hiding everywhere start crawling out.
“Yes. Priest Kang Seo-dam is here. All surviving brothers, gather to me.”
Accustomed to tearful clinging from survivors, Kang Seo-dam handled the situation with practiced efficiency. He turned to Cha Eun-hyeok and Cha Ah-ra and added,
“That goes for the guardians of Priest Cha I-sol as well.”
“Ah, yes…”
Drawn by that rare, steady voice in a dungeon, every survivor in the chamber gathered before Kang Seo-dam—though their numbers were not large. Most had been bitten to death by the monsters, or had eaten one another afterward.
“…….”
As if swallowing a heavy sigh, Kang Seo-dam’s face tightened. He spoke.
“I apologize for allowing such a thing to occur at an event I was overseeing.”
“N-no, it was an accident…”
“Preventing that accident in advance was also my duty. Formal compensation for damages will be arranged as soon as the situation is resolved.”
He bowed his head in apology, then continued.
“I will raise a barrier. All survivors, please enter and rest. I will recover the remains of the others.”
“…I’ll help.”
At Cha Eun-hyeok’s words, Cha Ah-ra raised her hand.
“Ah, then me too…”
“If you insist, I will accept only Hunter Cha Ah-ra’s assistance.”
Kang Seo-dam looked at Cha Eun-hyeok. After a brief consideration, he said,
“Guardian Cha Eun-hyeok, I am grateful for your willingness, but this is not work that should be left to a civilian. More importantly, you are the only remaining adult.”
“Ah…”
“Please comfort the younger brothers so they do not grow more frightened. For extending a helping hand even in such hardship, I shall repay you later in the name of the Sun.”
Approaching the corpses that had turned into monsters and then into ash under the light of the sun, Cha Ah-ra asked,
“B-but you know all our names…? Is that normal?”
“It is an event I am overseeing; I can hardly neglect that responsibility. I memorized the names of everyone who formally registered and participated.”
“Whoa…”
After dealing with nothing but trash-tier hunters for so long, meeting someone this responsible felt almost alien.
If I’d only ever met hunters like this, I never would’ve gotten dumped in that shitty cave in the first place. Fuck.
Feeling oddly reassured, Cha Ah-ra kept talking even while collecting remains so light they felt like they’d already been through a crematorium.
“It feels like it’s been a while since we got dragged in. Where have you been until now?”
“I apologize.”
“Ah, no, I’m not blaming you for not getting here sooner…”
Fuck. Think before you speak.
Just think a little.
Cursing her own intelligence, Cha Ah-ra stammered on.
“This chamber itself is pretty huge, and a lot of people got pulled in, so we figured this was everyone.”
“…I was dropped alone into a different chamber from this one.”
Making the sign of the cross over the ashen remains and bestowing a blessing of rest, Kang Seo-dam answered.
“There were many monsters, and they were quite capable. The escape mechanism was also complicated, so it took time.”
“Alone in a place like that…?”
“Thinking about it that way, it seems the people gathered for the initiation were scattered at random.”
“…What? Ah, then…”
“It didn’t appear completely without criteria, however.”
Wiping blood from his forehead after facing so many monsters, Kang Seo-dam continued.
“As the greatest threat among those present, I was dropped alone into a place crawling with monsters. In contrast, every trainee priest was gathered in this chamber.”
“Every? You already checked that in the meantime?”
“They are the brothers under my charge; I remember their faces.”
“…Huh? No, but from what I remember, there was definitely…”
“Yes. I understand what you find strange.”
Kang Seo-dam swept his wand—as long as he was tall—through the air, bestowing a blessing over the entire chamber. The remains that had been nothing but ash returned to the full forms of people.
“…….”
Having displayed a small miracle through the power of the sun, Kang Seo-dam finally spoke.
“…Brother Eunha is not here.”
In this place where every trainee priest had been gathered, that one boy alone could not be found.
“I discovered no trainee priest’s corpse here, so I believe he must be elsewhere.”
“…….”
“Why he alone was separated is something we can determine in due course. Hunter Cha Ah-ra, do you still have stamina remaining? From what I can see you are uninjured, but is anything wrong?”
“Ah, no. Nothing.”
“Then let us move. This was simply the chamber closest to where I landed, which is why I came here, but there will likely be survivors elsewhere as well. Few hunters attended this event; if we do not respond in time, they will be in danger.”
“What about the other kids and my oppa…”
Checking the survivors by the barrier, Kang Seo-dam nodded at Cha Ah-ra’s words.
“We cannot leave them here, so they will have to come with us. If the distance grows too great the barrier becomes difficult to maintain, and there is also a time limit. I wish a more skilled priest were present, but barrier work is not my specialty.”
“Yeah, you definitely didn’t seem like the protection specialist type…”
The expression on the face of the man who had turned every monster to ash with a single sweep of his wand looked exactly like a demon that had crawled up out of hell. If someone with that face claimed protection or healing as a specialty, it would have felt wrong.
Without further comment, Kang Seo-dam nodded.
“The remains have been collected and blessed, so they will not be further disturbed or decay.”
“Then what do we do now…”
“Fortunately I possess a subspace skill. I will store them there; recovery afterward should present no major difficulties.”
“Y-yes.”
“If we delay any longer there is no telling what may happen. Hunter Cha Ah-ra, please assist the trainee priests in moving.”
“Ah, understood.”
“Huu…”
Kang Seo-dam wiped a blood-smeared hand down his face and looked around.
…Could this be the mischief of that black god I saw at the initiation?
The man who had kept his black cloak pulled low. There had clearly been divinity about him. Even if one was not a monster belonging to a given dungeon, a god of sufficient rank could open a dungeon at will.
That would mean considerable authority even among evil gods—and the energy he had sensed had been close to death, which had made him briefly suspicious.
…No. The Goddess herself looked upon that being with favor. A god who understands humanity so well and seems so gentle in building relationships would not suddenly commit a massacre like this.
What was truly suspicious was Eunha—that blue-haired trainee priest.
“…….”
Even sensing the cold aura around him, Kang Seo-dam had simply thought, Ah, a child who means to serve a god of cold. But after everything that had happened, suspicion was inevitable.
The cold I felt from young Eunha and the cold that fills this place with deep-sea energy are remarkably similar. If I could recognize it at a glance, then Eunha never intended to hide his identity even after causing the incident.
Either he planned to kill everyone here, or he planned to stop by Earth only once and leave.
In this case it rather looks like both. Given how dangerous this dungeon is…
Worrying over what was still to come, he scanned the surroundings—and then.
“……?”
The air changed.
…In a positive direction.
Unlike the earlier atmosphere that had practically begged to slaughter someone, an oddly warm gentleness now subtly filled the entire dungeon.
“A moment.”
Kang Seo-dam left the survivors in Cha Ah-ra’s care and stepped out into the corridor.
He had not been searching long when, beyond the corridor that resembled a temple submerged in the deep sea, something came into view.
“…….”
“…….”
The man in the jet-black cloak pushed back his hood.
…Ah.
From within the dense shadow that had seemed to hold nothing at all, platinum-blond hair like sunlight was revealed.
“…….”
“Brother Kang Seo-dam.”
It was the god presumed to be favorable toward humanity—Seo Ji-oh.
“The temple was far larger than I imagined, and I have been wandering. I am glad to meet a child of the sun like this.”
“…….”
“Do you know where the other survivors are? You appear injured; I can help.”
“…….”
“Brother Kang Seo-dam?”
“Forgive me.”
He had been curious what lineage of god this was; now he knew.
So that was why the Goddess turned her gaze upon him. The same lineage, is it…
Judging by the strangely tranquil atmosphere, it was not entirely identical, but the familiar light of the sun put Kang Seo-dam at ease all the same. He thought,
It was an awkward situation in which to ask for help, yet it seems he has already worked some miracle before I could even make the request.
The dungeon’s sudden gentleness was almost certainly Seo Ji-oh’s doing.
Calling it a miracle might have been a slight stretch—but the guess was not wrong.
(To be continued)