Chapter 23 - The Scent of Something Wrong
Jhin quietly stared down at the cute flying squirrel plushie in his hand.
It was his longtime companion from around level 150 —
his third shutdown reward.
「Demonic Beast Gregory」
To him, it was simply: Kimmy.
’Kimmy was always set to only eat things born and raised inside dungeons.’
He wouldn’t touch human food.
Wouldn’t react to anything that wasn’t pure dungeon energy.
In other words —
if Kimmy was reacting right now, it could only mean one thing.
Something dungeon-related was nearby.
’Why is he reacting here, of all places?’
This was just an abandoned subway platform.
A survivor camp.
There shouldn’t be anything dungeon-related lingering here.
’Is he reacting to the players?’
He considered it for a second.
But Kimmy had never once reacted to players before.
Not even when surrounded by them.
’Maybe... the Skeletons?’
If they were the Skeletons freshly spilled from a Dungeon Break, maybe it made sense.
The smell would be thick and fresh.
Still, Jhin abandoned that idea too.
’If it were them, he would’ve attacked already.’
E-rank monsters, especially undead like Skeletons, barely had any intelligence at all.
They wandered aimlessly.
They didn’t think, they didn’t plan.
If a threat was nearby, it should’ve already been dealt with by instinct.
Jhin’s eyes narrowed slightly.
There were only two real possibilities left.
’Either Kimmy’s senses are malfunctioning...
or something is really here.’
He decided, for now, to bet on the first option.
Blindly trusting a shutdown reward that had clearly been nerfed would be foolish.
’It might just be penalty effects kicking in.’
Out-of-spec shutdown rewards often came with penalties.
Just like his other reward, the Heavenly Martial Body, had been sealed.
Maybe Kimmy’s true powers were being suppressed —
reduced to a mere fraction of his original strength.
After all, the creature was currently a plush toy.
’And his strongest trait was his sense of smell.’
Kimmy had always specialized in sniffing out hidden dungeons and rare items.
If anything was going to get crippled by penalties, it would be that.
’Probably just a false alarm.’
Still—
When Jhin casually glanced around the camp again, he noticed something strange.
The survivors.
Red faces.
Labored breathing.
Some lay slumped on the floor, moaning lowly.
At first, it looked like fatigue or injuries.
But then he caught a glimpse —
fingernails, blackened with strange discoloration.
And that made him stop breathing for a second.
’...So that’s what it is.’
Unfortunately for him —
the odds had shifted toward the second possibility.
Something was here.
A little later.
At one side of the survivor camp, people had gathered in a rough circle.
Tension hung heavy in the air.
Almost every gaze was pinned to Caleb.
"You want to go... hunting Skeletons?"
"Yes."
"Isn’t that just asking for more trouble?"
Most of the survivors were against it.
They couldn’t understand why Caleb would want to deliberately seek out the enemy.
Before, when they had charged into the dungeon, it had been unavoidable —
to prevent a full Dungeon Break.
But now?
Now they could avoid the Skeletons.
The monsters would scatter across New Capital soon enough.
If they just hid for a few days, they could survive without risking their necks.
Why go out of their way to fight?
Caleb didn’t lie.
"It’ll be dangerous.
We’re tired.
And we’ll be facing dungeon monsters, E-rank at that."
He paused, swallowing dryly.
"But it’s necessary."
"We get that, but..."
He understood their hesitation.
Monsters spawned by Dungeon Breaks had no leash.
They could wander anywhere.
He didn’t want to just sit and let them spread unchecked.
"If we don’t act now," Caleb said carefully,
"it’ll only get worse later."
"And more than that..."
he added, voice firm,
"this might be an opportunity."
"Opportunity?"
Several people looked up, with hope flickered in their eyes.
"Leveling up." The words shifted the room.
Leveling up, it wasn’t a game anymore. It was life and death.
Strength meant survival, and skill meant protecting the people you cared about.
"Listen carefully," Caleb continued.
"The Skeletons out there aren’t the same as the ones we fought inside the dungeon."
"They’re much, much weaker now."
"What do you mean?"
"There are two reasons." Slowly, Caleb explained.
The room, once filled with muttering and doubt, grew still.
First, monsters inside dungeons were strengthened by the Dungeon’s Blessing —
a buff effect that made them stronger than their natural form.
But once a monster escaped a dungeon, that blessing faded away.
No more artificial power boost.
And second — the sun.
It was broad daylight outside.
Undead monsters weaKyleed under sunlight.Their movements slowed, their attacks dulled.
’They’re hit with two debuffs at once.’
In other words — this was the perfect chance.
A rare moment when even low-level survivors could safely kill high-level monsters and boost their levels rapidly.
"I won’t force anyone," Caleb said at last.
"This is a matter of life and death.
The choice is yours."
And just like that, the room split.
Some decided to stay behind and guard the camp, others chose to fight.
The Skeleton Hunting Party had been born.
Naturally, Jhin didn’t even hesitate.
He joined the hunting party immediately and the reason was simple.
’I can’t pass up a leveling opportunity like this.’
In broad daylight, weak Skeletons would be slow and stupid, and they were still lurking within Stoneveil city’s range.
To Jhin, they were nothing but walking experience points.
After being trapped for three months doing nothing but tutorial quests— this was salvation.
’Besides...
I need to find something too.’
That part — was even more important.
"Everyone in the hunting party, gather over here!"
Before they set out, Caleb suggested a quick briefing and introductions.
Some newcomers had joined. It was better to at least know names and faces before charging into battle.
Caleb stood at the front.
"I’m Caleb," he said.
"Former police detective.
I’m fairly confident in close combat."
He moved with the nimbleness of someone who’d fought real fights before.
His level was still low, and his spear skills needed work — but he had potential.
Next came a man with a friendly smile.
"I’m Evan.
Used to be a sales rep."
"And I’m—"
"I’m—"
One by one, the new recruits introduced themselves.
Unfortunately, there was a small problem. Caleb’s detailed self-introduction had accidentally set a bad example.
Now, everyone was over-sharing, job titles, hobbies, even hometowns.
It started sounding more like a high school reunion than a hunting party.
Jhin sighed quietly.
’This is gonna be a long day.’