CHAPTER 290: DUNGEONIZATION [1]

"How do you like my acting? I’m a great actor, right?"

That was the first thing Ryen said as he walked out of the door, his grin as smug as ever.

My face twitched at his words. Honestly, what was I supposed to say? He saw right through everything.

"...How did you know? Was my acting that bad?"

"No," he replied easily, brushing imaginary dust off his sleeve. "It’s just that the seniors weren’t very good at acting. Guess they don’t pull stunts like this often."

I clicked my tongue. "You’re incredibly perceptive in useless areas."

"Is that a compliment?"

"Does it sound like one?"

Ryen chuckled under his breath, unbothered. Then his eyes narrowed curiously. "Since you know I already figured it out, let me ask—was there actually any meat?"

"Yeah," I admitted with a sigh. "My sister and Professor Lena brought some as part of the event."

"Aha, that’s a relief. I was looking forward to grilling meat." His eyes lit up like a kid at a festival. "Then let’s head back in. The girls must be shocked out of their minds."

"We should," I agreed, pushing myself up.

But just as I took a step forward—

–The main quest has started early due to special factors.–

The mechanical chime rang out in my head, cold and impersonal.

Before I could even process it, the ground beneath us lurched violently. My balance slipped, the world tilting sideways as the earth itself groaned.

"Huh?" My voice came out strangled.

"...What’s this...? Rin!"

I expected him to laugh, to throw out a line like, "Is this another prank?" But no—Ryen’s face hardened instantly. His instincts kicked in, sharp and precise, as if a switch had been flipped.

He reached for me without hesitation, hand outstretched.

But the tremors were too violent. If you weren’t already braced or standing close, even reaching for someone felt impossible. The ground heaved again, knocking me down to one knee.

"What the hell is going on...!?"

Dust scattered from the lodge roof, the trees nearby swayed dangerously, and the air was suddenly heavy with the kind of tension that screamed real danger.

The prank, the laughter, the lighthearted teasing—it all vanished in an instant, replaced by the raw, unfamiliar weight of an unfolding crisis.

And all I could think was—

The main quest wasn’t supposed to start yet.

It couldn’t be helped, then.

I had to proceed as planned.

"Hey, Ryen."

He turned, confusion flickering across his face. "Huh?"

I forced a steady tone, even though the air around us was already beginning to hum unnaturally. "Don’t panic. Keep your eyes open and look around. If anyone’s in trouble, you go help them. Widen your field of vision and put what you’ve learned at the academy into practice, got it?"

Ryen blinked, unsettled by my sudden seriousness. "What are you even talking about? Rin, what’s going on? Do you know something?"

I opened my mouth, but the answer came on its own.

Red mana bled into the air, thick and oppressive, curling like smoke. The ground quivered faintly under our feet, and space itself began to warp, like glass bending before it shatters.

"...It seems like," I said quietly, "we’ve been caught in a dungeonization."

The words made the air heavier. Gasps rippled from the others. Even Ryen’s usually unshakable confidence faltered as he instinctively stepped closer.

A little earlier than I expected, but not catastrophic. At least it wasn’t happening at midnight like in the original story. If anything, this was a blessing in disguise. We could handle it now—and then, hopefully, enjoy our barbecue later.

"Dungeonization...!?" Ryen’s hand shot out toward me. His face, usually bright and relaxed, was pale with urgency. "Rin, grab my hand—hurry!"

Ah, there it was.

Our Ryen, reliable as always. He must’ve thought a frail kid like me couldn’t handle a sudden incident like this. And honestly, to anyone else, he’d be right.

But I wasn’t worried.

I gave him a faint smile. "...Too late, man."

His eyes widened. "Rin—!"

"You can do it, right? I believe in you."

The distortion split wide like a wound in reality. Crimson light swallowed the edges of my vision, and the familiar world shattered away.

Ryen’s figure stretched and blurred, reaching for me even as the boundary collapsed.

And then—he was gone.

The ground vanished beneath my feet, and the dungeon took me whole.

---

Ryen’s POV

"Rin—!"

His voice cracked as the red light swallowed everything. One second Rin was there, calm as ever, smiling faintly like he had planned this, and the next—gone.

The dungeon’s distortion sealed shut with a low, final thrum.

"...No way."

Ryen stood frozen for a heartbeat, staring at the empty space where Rin had been. His outstretched hand trembled in the air before he slowly clenched it into a fist.

The others crowded around him in a panic.

"What happened?!"

"Where’s Rin?!"

"Did the dungeon take him inside!?"

Their voices blurred, background noise compared to the pounding in his head.

Ryen’s jaw tightened. He could still see Rin’s calm expression in those last moments, the quiet words: You can do it, right? I believe in you.

It wasn’t just reassurance. Rin had known. He knew this was coming.

"Damn it..." Ryen muttered under his breath, frustration burning in his chest. He wanted to punch something—tear the distortion open with his bare hands and drag Rin back.

But he couldn’t.

Not yet.

He turned toward the others, forcing himself to stand tall, even though his insides twisted with unease. "Listen up. This isn’t the time to panic." His voice was sharper than usual, cutting through the rising hysteria.

The group quieted, watching him.

"We’ve been pulled into a dungeonization event," Ryen continued. "That means this whole area is unstable. Rin got separated, but..." He paused, swallowing hard, "he’s alive. I’ll make sure we get him back."

His own words felt heavy, almost like an oath.

The others exchanged uncertain glances, but seeing his steady expression seemed to anchor them.

Ryen glanced once more at the spot where Rin had vanished, his hand tightening into a fist again.

Wait for me, Rin. You trusted me, so I won’t let you down.

----

Rin’s POV

Dungeonization.

A dungeon carrying the remnants of another world had forced its way into reality, swallowing everything in its path.

When my vision steadied and the distortion peeled away, I found myself standing alone.

"Aha."

The sound slipped out, half a chuckle, half an exhale.

The air here was heavy—thick with mana that clung to my skin like a damp mist. The walls were jagged and uneven, formed of stone that seemed almost alive, faintly pulsing with crimson veins of light. The ceiling stretched impossibly high, darkness swallowing its edges.

And silence.

Not the peaceful kind, but the hollow silence of a place cut off from the world. The kind that pressed against your ears until every breath sounded too loud.

"This is even better."

I wasn’t panicked. If anything, I felt strangely calm. Maybe because I’d already been planning to split from the group, and now I had the perfect excuse. No explanations needed, no suspicions raised.

A golden opportunity, wrapped in danger.

I ran a hand lightly across the nearest wall. The faint glow under the stone buzzed against my fingertips, like touching the static hum of a charged wire. Foreign, but not hostile. At least, not yet.

"Separated cleanly," I murmured, lips tugging upward. "Exactly what I needed."

Still, I wasn’t foolish. Being alone in a dungeon wasn’t the same as being free. Without the others around, every choice and mistake fell solely on me. No distractions. No shields.

The ground crunched faintly beneath my shoes as I walked forward, my steps echoing far too clearly. Pillars of broken rock framed a wide passage, leading deeper into the dark. Strange markings were etched into the floor—patterns I didn’t immediately recognize, though they reminded me of the boundary runes I’d studied before.

For now, no monsters. No traps. Just a corridor of possibilities.

And yet, the stillness itself felt like a warning.

"...Guess I should enjoy the quiet while it lasts."

I straightened, keeping my senses sharp, and began to move. Each step deliberate, each breath steady. Whatever this dungeon had in store, I’d be ready to turn it into my advantage.

After all, opportunities like this didn’t come twice.

The corridor stretched on, twisting just enough to obscure what lay ahead. My footsteps echoed back at me, too loud in the silence, making it feel like someone was following right behind.

I slowed, glanced back.

Empty. Of course.

Still, the hairs on the back of my neck stood up.

"This place really knows how to set the mood," I muttered under my breath.

I pressed forward, my fingers brushing against the carved symbols lining the walls. Not random scratches. Intentional, deliberate—someone had etched these here long before the dungeon collapsed into this space. Old magic, maybe. Residual runes left behind by whoever built this fragment of another world.

And if there were runes, then there was structure. Which meant treasure.

A faint grin crept across my face. "Legacy dungeons always hide something. That’s the rule, isn’t it?"

Not that I planned to dig around recklessly. No, that would be suicide. But if fate had already handed me this isolation, I wasn’t going to waste it just trembling in a corner.