In the Name of God - vanish into fiction

I examined the second sentence of the message closely.

‘Looks like someone has been talking about me.’

There was no need to figure out who it was.

Since taking over Seong Do‑yoon’s body, I have participated in a total of four dungeon clear quests.

Most of the party members during that time were novices who looked flashy but could not even properly use their weapons.

While we could manage normal monsters somehow, facing bosses nearly led to total party wipes. If I, the only rank 9 among rank 8s, had not run around firing my guns until I was exhausted, it would have been disastrous.

After seeing that, the party members all called me a ‘mad rank 9,’ so it was not surprising that some strange rumors were circulating somewhere.

‘This guy openly wants to just watch, huh. That’s kind of funny.’

Well, it was better than dealing with inexperienced rank 8s running wild.

I asked the party applicant for their rank. Since the recruitment was rank‑agnostic, it didn’t matter what they answered.

[Rank 9.]

-Oh.

…Maybe that matters a little?

Echo shook his head and clicked his tongue. At a glance, it looked like he was trying to scrape some snack off the roof of his mouth.

‘Rank 9.’

I had not met any rank 9 other than myself yet, so I could not gauge this person’s skills.

But seeing that they rushed to join a party where they didn’t have to do anything, I guessed they were not confident in their ability but rather a hurried newbie trying to rack up dungeon runs.

After all, the only way for a ridiculed rank 9 to escape mockery is to accumulate dungeon clear counts to take the promotion test.

“Now I understand why you applied.”

This person must have also struggled as a rank 9.

I looked at the message with pity and typed a reply.

Rank does not matter.

As long as they stay quiet and do not get in the way, that is fine.

[You found your way well.]

[I will make sure you do not regret it.]

***

The Ilsan F-8913 dungeon appeared on the hill behind a high-rise apartment.

With a tremendous roar, the ground rose, and between fallen trees, a huge maw opened.

The dark, damp cave-shaped dungeon was created about a year ago.

Even 20 years after the holy war ended, dungeons still intermittently appeared around the world.

It was presumed that dimensional toxins had seeped through cracks between dimensions, lying dormant at certain points until suddenly activating, transforming the surrounding terrain and forming dungeons.

The dungeon functioned as a monster-producing plant.

While monsters did not pour out uncontrollably like during the height of dimensional instability, if left unattended, the internal monster population would accumulate and eventually overflow outside.

The Awakened Association measured the dungeon’s grade and scouted its interior, assigning numerous awakened to clear it officially as a quest. The monsters’ corpses and their cores were extremely valuable, so the rewards were very generous.

‘A million won per party…’

Clearly, F-rank and F-rank rewards differed significantly.

This dungeon had four bosses and required splitting the party, so its rewards were especially high. The maze-type dungeon in which Seong Do‑yoon had died offered 20 million won, most of which went into the temperature-regulating coat and various weapons I wore now.

For now, I only needed enough money to survive.

I did not know when I might die, and as a rank 9, it was hard to collect money ambitiously. If I wanted enough money for my deposit, I needed to pass the promotion test. Once promoted, money would follow naturally.

Of course, that was just my perspective; others would be the same.

My partner who just arrived at the dungeon, rank 9 awakened Lee Sunho, was likely in the same situation.

“Hello. I am Lee Sunho.”

Without asking, he approached directly, ignoring everyone else, as if he knew me very well.

-Master looks like he’s a 9th level.

“Are you insulting me right now?”

Echo did not answer and disappeared back into the hood.