Minhae entered one of the narrow passages, leaving the others behind without a word.
The hunters who remained at the fork of the tunnel were left dumbfounded by his nonchalant attitude.
"What was that for?!" one of them shouted, his voice echoing down the cave — though Minhae barely heard it, already too far ahead.
"He's so rude. I know he's a brat, but at least he could show some politeness to his own teammates," another muttered.
"Hyunseok, you should say something too. You're at least ten years older than him. He needs to be scolded for his behavior sometimes," someone else added.
Hyunseok stayed silent, staring at Minhae's small figure as it slowly disappeared into the darkness. When the boy was completely out of sight, he turned to the others with a calm smile.
"How about we talk about this later? We've got more important things to deal with right now."
Though most of them were dissatisfied with his response, there was nothing they could do except follow his lead.
A few moments later, they moved after Minhae, but the distance between them remained wide. His figure was still visible — just a small silhouette far ahead in the tunnel.
"Lucieeel! Don't walk too fast! What if something suddenly jumps at you from the dark?" Hyunseok called out. There was at least a ten-meter gap between them.
Minhae didn't slow down. He kept walking at the same steady pace. Even in the darkness, he could clearly sense everything around him. A hunter's senses were far sharper than a normal human's.
Then—
A sharp crack echoed beneath his feet.
The ground gave way.
Minhae dropped straight into the darkness below.
Hyunseok's eyes widened. Panic flashed across his face as he rushed forward.
"Luciel! Luciel, can you hear me?!"
Inside the Pit
Minhae landed safely at the bottom of the hole. It was deep — deeper than it looked from above — but he didn't panic. He had a flying skill, after all.
"I'm fine," Minhae called up calmly.
"Luciel, can you fly up? I can't see you at all — it's completely dark down there!" Hyunseok shouted back.
"I can. Wait a bit."
A pair of luminous wings unfolded from Minhae's back. He was about to fly up when a faint spark of light in the distance caught his attention.
The wings faded as his focus shifted.
Now that his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he realized the pit wasn't just a hole — it connected to a hidden tunnel. The faint glimmer came from deeper inside.
Curiosity pulling at him, Minhae walked toward the light.
After a few steps, he found the source. Something was buried beneath the soil, reflecting a thin ray of light from above.
Minhae knelt down and brushed the dirt away.
A dagger emerged — its blade dark, its hilt embedded with several faintly glowing jewels.
He immediately used Inspect.
A blue screen appeared before his eyes.
[Name: Unknown
Type: Weapon
Grade: Unknown
Ability: Unknown
Special Ability: Unknown
Description: Restricted]
"…What is this?" he murmured. "There's never been an item I couldn't read before."
After a moment's thought, he stored the dagger in his inventory.
"I should take this with me."
Only then did he return to the hole's entrance.
Back Above
Hyunseok waited anxiously near the edge, worry written all over his face. He knew Minhae was strong — an S-Class Hunter — but he was still just a kid.
When he finally saw Minhae rise from the darkness and land safely, relief washed over him.
"I was worried about you, Luciel. You didn't answer when I called after you said you'd fly up. I thought something happened," Hyunseok said.
"I told you not to worry. There was something I needed to do down there, so I didn't respond. But I'm fine now."
Without another explanation, Minhae continued forward, carefully avoiding the collapsed spot. The others followed behind. Many still looked unhappy, but no one complained.
Too Quiet
They walked through the long, straight tunnel for quite a while.
But no monsters appeared.
"It's weird… Why hasn't a single monster shown up?" one of the hunters said uneasily. "Dungeons are usually crawling with them, but we haven't encountered even one."
The atmosphere grew tense.
"Isn't that a good thing?" someone else said. "We can reach the boss room faster this way."
Minhae suddenly stopped.
"We're here."
Ahead of them was a massive open chamber. It no longer felt like a cave — the ceiling was gone, revealing the sky above.
Scattered across the ground were huge white shapes that looked like oversized cotton balls. Thick strands of webbing stretched from wall to wall.
The team slowly stepped into the center of what looked like an ancient stone altar.
One hunter reached out and patted one of the white spheres.
"What's this? Cotton? But… it's hard underneath."
Hyunseok's expression turned grim. His voice trembled slightly.
"Do you know why no monsters attacked us earlier…? It's not that there were none."
He looked around at the countless white masses.
"They just haven't hatched yet."
Everyone froze.
They looked around again — and realization hit like ice water.
Those weren't cotton balls.
They were spider cocoons.
Hundreds of them.
The ground began to tremble.
Something massive was approaching.
All eyes turned toward the tunnel they had come from.
A giant spider crawled into the chamber, its many legs scraping against stone. The cocoons near its feet began to crack open.
"So they hatch… when they sense large movements nearby," Hyunseok muttered, forcing a strained smile. "Damn it… We have to destroy them all at once."
The team immediately attacked the smaller spiders as they burst free, but none of their attacks could pierce the giant spider's thick hide.
Panic began to spread.
"I can do it," Minhae said quietly from behind them.
Everyone turned.
"Finish them all at once… I can do it."
He looked at Hyunseok — not with arrogance, but with a silent request.
Hyunseok understood instantly and let out a short laugh.
"Haha… Don't worry. My barrier can protect all of us."
Minhae rose into the air, wings spreading wide.
Below, the giant spider advanced, and more cocoons cracked open with every step it took.
From above, Minhae looked down without emotion.
Then, in a quiet voice:
"Starfall."
The sky above shimmered.
Moments later, massive rocks began crashing down, like a divine meteor shower raining judgment upon the dungeon floor.
Hyunseok laughed under his breath.
"…This crazy brat."
The falling stones crushed the smaller spiders instantly, reducing them to nothing. Even the giant spider couldn't escape the relentless barrage, its massive body battered by countless impacts from above.