R1 Chapter 24

Chapter 24

 

Huff, huff! Was it because their debuffs had reached 0%?

Even after my punches landed on Shin Yeoul and Baek Hwan, neither of them budged an inch.

Not a scratch, not even a red mark to show for it. Only my hands throbbed in pain.

There was clearly a reason why they wouldn’t wake up no matter what I did.

Huff, huff! You damn jerks! You said you wouldn’t embarrass me anymore!

I had no choice but to give my all to haul Shin Yeoul out of the water.

And oh, the weight! It was impossible to drag him out from the outside, so I had to step into the hot spring and use my whole body to push him out.

Worried about where to touch him? I didn’t even have the luxury to think about that.

I just had to get him out.

 

[Time until the dragon awakens: 2 minutes]

 

The hot spring effect that read, “Your body becomes drowsy,” had definitely appeared when I dipped my feet in earlier.

That had to be the cause.

It was why I had dozed off, and why these two were completely out cold.

And deeply, too!

If that wasn’t it, there was no other explanation.

In conclusion, this was the only way. To wake these two up, I had to get them out of the hot spring.

That was the bare minimum condition.

“Ugh!”

With all my strength, I shoved Shin Yeoul as hard as I could. His body tipped over and slid out of the hot spring.

Thud! The sound of him hitting the rock floor echoed.

For a second, I worried he might’ve hit his head too hard, but I didn’t have time to fret about an S-rank.

If it woke him up from the pain, I’d consider it a blessing.

I carelessly threw a towel that was floating in the water over Shin Yeoul.

Now it was Baek Hwan’s turn.

Thankfully, Baek Hwan was lighter than Shin Yeoul. But that didn’t mean he was actually light.

“You’ve got to be kidding me!”

Ugh, Baek Hwan, you’re heavy!

His completely limp body doubled his weight.

Thud! After exerting every ounce of energy I had, I finally managed to push Baek Hwan out of the hot spring as well.

Huff huff—I caught my breath and checked the remaining time.

 

[Time until the dragon awakens: 1 minute]

 

Barely a minute left.

Dragging these two to the gate by myself? One minute wasn’t even close to enough.

I was tempted to give in to the rising urge to just run away.

Seriously, should I? These two were already fully-fledged S-ranks, while I was nothing more than an E-rank weakling.

But how could I abandon them like this?

Sure, S-ranks were strong, but right now, these two were utterly defenseless. They were practically naked, with just a towel covering them.

This was insane.

“Please wake up! Snap out of it!”

I grabbed Baek Hwan’s shoulders with the last shred of hope I had. At this point, I was ready to beat just one of them into consciousness.

“Wake up!”

I pushed, pulled, slapped his cheeks, and even grabbed his hair, shaking him for all I was worth.

“Baek Hwan!”

In a desperate moment, I even pried open his eyelids. If this didn’t work, you’re done for, buddy!

“Uh….”

Gasp. Is he waking up?! Baek Hwan let out a faint groan.

Hope surged within me.

If Baek Hwan woke up and carried Shin Yeoul and me to the gate, it’d be game over for this mess.

Hey! Wake up, you S-rank!

“Zzz….”

But the only sound that followed was his snoring.

Of course.

That faint noise? Just a sleep mumble—nothing more, nothing less.

Thunk! My fist flew on instinct. Argh! But the pain was all mine.

 

[Time until the dragon awakens: 0 minutes]

 

Ding! A sound I didn’t want to hear rang through the air.

Haha. I guess it’s time to run now, huh?

 

[SS-rank boss monster ‘Bubbling Dragon’ has awakened!]

 

But I couldn’t even take a single step to run away.

Hold on. SS-rank?!

 

[Due to the appearance of the boss monster, the dungeon’s rank has increased!

A-rank → SS-rank]

 

Another rank-up…

You’ve got to be joking. How did everything and everyone suddenly become SS-rank?

I wanted to deny the reality before me.

When the dungeon was still A-rank, I’d planned to hang on using the ring Shin Yeoul had given me. It was an S-rank defensive item, after all.

But now….

This wasn’t just bad—it was life-threatening.

I closed my eyes in despair.

I couldn’t just abandon these two and run. If I left them here, they’d surely die.

Not that running would’ve done me any good in the first place.

Rumble! A deafening roar erupted, and the ground shook violently. I stumbled as my body wavered.

I could see the entire area crumbling apart before me.

The hot spring water shot up like a geyser, and scorching steam hissed as it spread everywhere. I ducked as low as I could.

It felt like my skin was about to melt.

This was an SS-rank monster. It was essentially a natural disaster.

I had no idea what to do.

All I could do was hold onto the two unconscious people and brace myself to not fall into the collapsing ground below.

Shin Yeoul and Baek Hwan, blissfully unaware of the chaos, remained in their deep slumber. At this point, I was starting to wonder if they were cursed or something.

And then, in the next moment, a chilling sensation ran through my entire body.

BOOOOM! The deafening sound was as if the entire world had exploded.

A bolt of lightning flashed through the dry sky, and a massive blue dragon burst from the ground, soaring into the air.

 

[You have encountered the SS-rank boss monster ‘Bubbling Dragon.’]

 

The dragon’s gaze locked onto me. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t breathe.

Its slightly parted mouth began gathering light.

It didn’t feel real.

“ROOOOAR!”

For the first time, I heard the roar of a dragon. The light gathered in its mouth shot straight toward me.

The attack was sudden, with no warning.

My mind went blank. I didn’t even have the chance to regret coming into this dungeon.

I couldn’t believe it.

It was absurd.

BOOOOM!

The deafening sound engulfed me, and for a moment, I was sure I’d died.

“Gasp! Huff, huff!”

My breathing was ragged, my heart pounding as if it would burst.

But I was still alive.

 

[‘Blue Fairy’s Ring (S-rank)’ has activated a protective shield!

▸ 90% of the shield has been destroyed!]

 

The ring Shin Yeoul gave me blocked the SS-rank attack. A blue barrier surrounded us.

But the damage was severe.

I looked at the dragon, now gathering light in its mouth again, and despaired. This really was the end.

Why couldn’t it just finish me off in one strike? Why did I have to survive only to face fear again like this? I felt nothing but bitter resentment.

There was truly no way out.

 

[Reward waiting time has ended!]

[Rewards will be given!]

 

The system notifications chimed relentlessly. A belated reward.

But what meaning did that have now?

I was about to die anyway, like a dog in a ditch.

 

[As a special privilege for <Achievement>, ‘Summon Skill’ has been unlocked!]

 

I stared at the system message with dry eyes. What good would a skill do now? What could I possibly accomplish against an SS-rank moster?

 

[Would you like to use Summon Skill?

▸ Available target: Koko

Yes | No]

 

Summon skill? And the target was… Koko?

What was the point of summoning a chicken?

Wait a second. Koko?

I could summon Koko?

A thought crossed my mind. Come to think of it, Koko’s rank was…

SS-rank.

There was no need to hesitate. I accepted the system’s offer without a second thought.

 

[Koko (SS-rank) is being summoned!]

 

Suddenly, everything around me darkened.

No, something massive was passing above me.

It was a gigantic crimson bird, far larger than the dragon. Its feathers blazed like fire, and every flap of its wings sent fierce gusts of wind surging through the air. Its long, fiery tail feathers brushed through the clouds, bending the sky to its will.

KAAA-BOOOOM!

The bird flew straight into the dragon, the impact so forceful that I could feel it from where I stood.

And then it happened in an instant.

Crunch! Rip! With razor-sharp talons, the bird clutched the dragon’s torso and tore off its head with its beak—effortlessly.

It snatched away the dragon’s life in one blow.

What… what was that? Its overwhelming power left me dumbfounded. I couldn’t believe it even as I watched it happen with my own eyes.

The dragon plummeted, and the crimson bird soared higher.

It circled the sky, releasing a triumphant, jubilant cry.

Loud and commanding.

“Cock-a-doodle-doo! Cluck-cluck—!”

The cry was oddly familiar.

Huh?

 

[Koko (SS-rank) Detailed Description

: Sub-space Chicken → Phoenix

*Debuffs are temporarily removed via Summon Skill!]

 

Staring blankly at the bird, the undeniable truth flashed before me in the system message.

It was really Koko.

And… a phoenix? Seriously?

 

[Dungeon successfully cleared!]

 

Before I could process my shock, another message popped up.

The dungeon had been cleared with the death of the boss monster.

 

[<Subspace Administrator Trait> Defeated the Subspace Dragon!

: Safe zone expands! New area ‘Bubbling Dragon Hot Spring’ has opened!]

 

The safe zone expanded?

 

[Unknown Fragment

: Appraisal level too low to identify precise details!]

 

And another one—another mysterious fragment.

Before I realized it, a fragment had appeared in my hand. It sparkled as it caught the sunlight.

It was following the same pattern as when I defeated the rabbit.

 

[The dungeon will collapse soon. Would you like to exit to the outside connected to this dungeon?

Yes | No]

 

But whether the safe zone expanded or a fragment appeared, there was no time to think it through.

The dungeon was already falling apart, and a prompt appeared, asking if I wanted to leave.

There wasn’t much to debate. I needed to get out.

I quickly pressed “Yes.”

The scenery changed instantly.

 

[The Subspace Administrator has left the subspace!]

[Guests can no longer stay in the dungeon. Guests will also automatically exit together!]

 

Thankfully, it was as I had hoped.

Since the dungeon was inside the subspace, exiting the dungeon would bring me and the guests back to the subspace…

Wait. Did I read that wrong?

Left the subspace?

Why does it say I’m outside the subspace?

Something felt off.

I hastily looked around.

The trees were strangely shaped. The grass was an odd color. And… there was even a coastline?

I finally realized that this place was different from the Space-Time Zone I knew.

This… this wasn’t right.

Why did I see buildings in the distance?

Frantically, I pulled out the phone I’d tucked into my inventory. For some reason, it worked here even though it never did in the subspace.

I checked my current location.

– Hawaii

That couldn’t be right. I searched again.

– Hawaii

No matter how much I zoomed in and out on the map, the result didn’t change.

H-Hawaii?!

A wrecked, bedraggled me, two half-naked rankers, and—

An inexplicable illegal entry into a foreign country.

“…..”

Thud. I collapsed onto the grass.

I gave up on thinking.

🌱

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