Memorize

"Trap… escape…."

"I got caught in a trap. I escaped."

Even though the male priest was speaking slowly, breaking the words into pieces, he continued with an extremely strained expression. However, when I managed to grasp the meaning and repeat his words, a hint of relief crossed his face. He probably mistook us for fairly skilled players.

The player gave a faint nod and stammered out his next words.

"Companion… betrayal… kidnapping…."

"...."

"Help…!"

I could see his eyes trembling as he struggled to keep them open. Death was right at his doorstep, yet he desperately endured. Finally, as if he had exhausted every last bit of strength, he uttered the last word, "Help," before his eyes rolled back, and he fell still. Whatever life he had managed to hold onto had been completely drained by the effort of speaking to us. I heard the others gasp as they watched the priest's body slump onto my lap.

I laid him gently on the ground and placed a hand over his eyes to close them. A somber and heavy silence hung over us. Sol's face, in particular, had gone completely pale. It was proof that she still couldn't remain indifferent when confronted with death. But we didn't have time to let our emotions take over. For now, the priority was to piece together the keywords the player had left us and deduce the information.

I slowly repeated the words he had spoken.

"Trap. Escape. Companion. Betrayal. Kidnapping."

"Hyung, do you think it might have something to do with the vagrants?"

Ah-hyun, who had also heard what the player said, offered his own guess, but I shook my head. That was possible, but as someone who already knew the future, I knew it wasn't even close. After organizing my thoughts for a moment, I, too, began to form a possible theory.

The children looked anxious. Seeing them repeatedly wetting their lips, I felt the need to explain. As they silently waited for me to speak, I opened my mouth in a calm voice.

"At the entrance to the Forest Of Midnight... I told you there were players who entered before us, remember?"

"Yes, I remember... Ah. Then?"

Hyun, who had been nodding immediately, looked at me with realization in his eyes. On a normal day, I often thought he was clueless, but in situations like this, he showed a completely different side of himself. It was reassuring—knowing that his mind worked well in emergencies was a huge relief. After giving him a confirming nod, I continued.

"Yes. It seems that the caravan discovered this dungeon before us. However... for some reason, they were wiped out or faced an incident close to annihilation."

"T-then, oppa... the words that player mentioned—what do they even mean? That…."

"Hmm...."

Trap. Escape. Companion. Betrayal. Kidnapping.

At Yun-Jung's question, I began to concretely visualize the vague ideas that had been forming in my mind. Until now, I had assumed that the caravan had been wiped out due to the lack of a proper guide. But now, it was clear that my prediction had completely missed the mark.

The answer came when I thought back carefully to the corpses we had seen upon first entering the dungeon. If I thought about it properly, it was impossible for them to have died right after entering. There were no immediate threats around the entrance. That archer—the one whose body we had seen—must have made it deep into the dungeon alive. And undoubtedly, someone in that caravan had been guiding the party.

After organizing my thoughts, I spoke again, my voice low and steady.

"The caravan was likely heading in the same direction as us. But if you look at the direction the player we just saw collapsed in, his head was facing the way we were going. Given that his lower body was torn apart and there was a large hole in his back, it means he was running toward the direction we came from and was struck down from behind. In other words, the words trap and escape mean that they entered the dungeon earlier, got caught in a trap, and suffered a major incident, causing them to flee back the way they came."

"Then... What about companion, betrayal, and kidnapping?"

"The player we saw when we first entered the dungeon was an archer. He must have originally been part of the caravan as a companion. But for some reason, it looks like he betrayed them. The word betrayal can have multiple meanings, but in the context of this dungeon... it most likely means he ran away to save himself."

As I finished explaining the keyword betrayal, I could see the kids' faces twist with a storm of negative emotions. It was quite the sight, but I had warned them early on to steel themselves mentally, so I offered no further cautions. Now, it was time to explain the final keyword: kidnapping.

"And the last word... it likely means that some of the caravan players were kidnapped by the Dungeon Master."

"Is that even possible?"

Hyun asked, his eyes wide with disbelief. I looked at him with a matter-of-fact expression and answered.

"Of course. Hall Plain isn't a game—it's a real world. Some alchemists are known to experiment on human bodies. Have you forgotten where we are right now?"

The moment I finished speaking, all of their faces turned pale.

We walked in silence for a while. If our group had leaned more toward chaos, they would have suggested turning back and heading straight for the city without a second thought. However, Sol and Yun-Jung leaned more toward order, so the consensus was to try and rescue the kidnapped players. The priest's final word—"Help."—was a powerful motivator. As for me, I didn't particularly care how we proceeded; as long as we explored further, I was satisfied.

The underground passage widened as we advanced. After what felt like an endless walk, I raised my hand to signal the group to stop. My sensing ability, which I had been maintaining more intensely and over a wider range than usual, was picking up detailed information bit by bit. Dungeon battles carried too many uncertainties, even for me, so I figured it was better to explain everything in detail before diving into a fight.

"If we advance about 100 more meters, there's an open space up ahead. In that space, there's a group of monsters gathered. The number is roughly over twenty… and the monsters appear to be Renga."

"Renga? Hmm… that sounds familiar."

"They're monsters that resemble dogs about 80 centimeters to 1 meter in size. They're incredibly fast and have sharp, hook-shaped claws at the ends of their paws."

"Correct. One more thing to add: Renga's tails are also a formidable weapon. While they aren't as flexible as a scorpion's tail, their destructive power rivals their claws."

I chuckled inwardly as I watched Sol describe Renga as "dogs" and "puppies." If Renga had any semblance of intelligence or emotional awareness, those words might have been enough to drive them into a frenzy. Still, Sol's careful response showed she was taking this seriously, and I gave her an approving nod.

However, there was one more point that needed to be addressed before we moved forward.

"The problem is that the Renga I'm detecting right now seem a little different from the usual ones. Everything matches the description you gave—hooks, tails, body type—but... some of them are walking on two legs."

"Huh? That can't be! I've always heard that Renga are quadrupeds. Maybe you're mistaking them for another monster? Ah! No, never mind. There's no way you would be wrong, Su-Hyeon oppa. It's definitely me who's mistaken."

If it weren't for that last sentence, I might've actually been impressed with Sol. Watching her play both the drum and the flute on her own—going back and forth between confidence and self-doubt—made me let out a sigh.

"The hooks, the tails, and even their body shape—it all matches. Anyway, let's check it out for ourselves first. If we want to move forward, we have to pass through there."

Ah-hyun and Yun-Jung, who had been watching my conversation with Sol, just stood there blankly. Then they exchanged glances and shrugged their shoulders at each other. Well, I couldn't blame them; it's hard to join in when you don't understand the details. I'd told them before to study a bit more, but they never listened.

That lighthearted moment didn't last long. The closer we got to the clearing, the more tension surged through the group like a current. My pace quickened with every step until, eventually, I was almost speed-walking toward the clearing.

I'd fought Renga before during the first time. They were sharp-witted but hot-tempered, and they lacked the ability to coordinate tactically. That meant the best approach was to rush in quickly, take down as many as possible in the initial charge, and then switch to a defensive stance while baiting the enraged stragglers.

The others were now running behind me, drawing their weapons in preparation. Moments like this made me wish we had an archer or a mage with us—someone who could deal a massive opening blow and chain follow-up attacks for greater impact. Still, the thought didn't linger for long. I'd just have to cover for that myself.

"Hyung! Are you okay?!"

Hyun, panting heavily as he ran, shouted toward me with a powerful voice. Judging by the tight grip he had on his spear, his characteristic combat aggression was starting to come out. I raised a hand, signaling that I was fine, and used the moment to lay out a more detailed tactical plan.

"Don't overuse your magic. Focus on maintaining formation, and don't worry about me. Once we enter the clearing, charge into the closest group we see, take them down quickly, and then slowly pull back toward the walls. Renga are known to be fiercely protective of their own. If even one of them dies, the rest will go berserk and charge at you. Their defenses are weak, but they're incredibly fast, and their hook-like claws are razor-sharp—stay alert. Also..."

"Got it."

"Keep in mind that these might not be normal Renga. Be prepared for anything. We're going in. Don't hesitate—take out the ones right in front of you first."

Normally, I would've thoroughly tested and verified our tactics before proceeding, but speed was crucial here. Renga had keen senses of smell, and if we stalled, we risked being ambushed instead.

While sprinting, the rectangular passage I had mentioned earlier finally came into view. Beyond it, I saw the clearing—a wide space with dark, black soil spread across the ground. Without a moment's hesitation, I crossed the passage and charged into the clearing.

As expected, I immediately spotted them—more than twenty Renga prowling and scuttling about.

Sure enough, they were as sharp as I remembered. The moment I set foot in the clearing, every single Renga snapped their heads toward me in unison. They let out sounds that resembled the air being squeezed out of balloons—a low, shrill cry. I took no time to hesitate and chose my target in less than a second, kicking off the ground to launch forward.

"Skit! Skit!"

Just as I swung my sword toward the nearest Renga, a spear shot past me like a bolt of lightning, cutting through the air. The spear struck its target—a Renga just turning its head—with pinpoint precision, crushing its face in a brutal, decisive impact.

The creature's face didn't just break—it caved in completely before shattering to pieces. That was… odd. The way it broke felt unnatural, and a strange sense of discomfort washed over me. But as its body collapsed lifelessly to the ground, I decided it didn't matter—dead was dead.

"One down!"

The spear's owner was Ah-hyun. He had followed close behind me as I entered the clearing and used the long reach of his spear to land a preemptive strike. The faint shimmer of heatwaves clinging to the spear's tip showed it was infused with a significant amount of mana.

Thanks to Ah-hyun's opening attack, I had a brief window to redirect my focus. I turned sharply toward the group of Renga near his target and cut into them with merciless precision. Even though it was a surprise attack, my sword carried the weight of years of experience—there was no way those creatures could dodge my strikes.

In a single swing, I severed the necks of two Renga. That's when I finally realized the source of the strange feeling I'd had earlier. There was no blood.

More importantly, the sensation that traveled through my sword wasn't that of slicing through soft flesh—it was like cleaving through hard shells. This wasn't natural.

Chimera.

"Kriiieeeeek!"

The sudden ambush threw the Renga into complete disarray. They had recognized us as enemies but were still scrambling in confusion. Seeing them flounder made me want to press the attack a little more.

That greedy thought only lingered for a moment. Before I could act, I caught sight of Yun-Jung dashing past me to my right.

"Wait…!"

She was already far ahead. Yun-Jung was rushing toward a Renga slightly separated from the others. Her body was bent low as she sprinted, her dagger dangling downward with the sword pointed to the ground.

Her charge was bold but slightly mistimed. By now, the Renga were starting to regain their senses. The one Yun-Jung was targeting was already flicking its tail—dangerously poised like a whip.

Watching it move, a pang of frustration hit me. Yun-Jung's timing was just a bit too slow, and that flicking tail was the Renga's clear signal of an imminent counterattack.

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