There's No Love In the Deathzone (BL)
Chapter 557 - 551. Dungeon Hopping

Chapter 557: Chapter 551. Dungeon Hopping

Han Joon was the only one who was not a five-star. While his strength and expertise warrant him such a ranking, he didn’t have the chance to take a tower trial again after he got out of prison.

Fortunately, he was one of Scatach’s favored esper. Bearing the goddess’s stigma, like Zein, actually protected him more than the other five-star espers.

It wasn’t just fortunate for him, however, but also for the dungeon team. Because they had no five-star scout--not even Ron--and they were about to jump into several dungeons blindly.

This was the reason why Han Joon came with the dungeon team; reconnaisance.

The success of a raid was determined highly by the amount of information they could have. For this, most dungeons had preliminary scouting to find out the environment inside the dungeon, as well as the predicted type of beasts. This way, a correct team composition could be sent, and the raid would be more efficient.

Naturally, people who first came to scout were exposed to a great deal of unknown danger, which was why only those with stealth ability were being sent. For this reason alone, Han Joon was a great asset to the military. It was how he could rake up a lot of points while he was in prison, granting him early release.

Well, that and a little blackmailing.

It wasn’t just stuff relating to [Kronos] he found out in the database, after all. Surely, he wouldn’t let all that dirty laundry in the deep, deep drawer unrecorded.

While they had no intention to fight the Fallen Star right away, it was still better to know the environment of the dungeon It resided in. Just in case they had to fight in the dungeon, they would already know.

The same went for the other dungeon they would clear before facing the Fallen Star. Coming in blindly through the other side was quite alright, since the dungeon resident rarely came to that place. But the entrance of the star corridor was always located near the core, which meant where the guard--or the boss--located.

Sure, they could just attack right away; with Bassena at the helm and the other high-ranking espers, there was no way they would be defeated. But they could be more efficient with a bit of reconnaissance, which would lessen the burden upon their one and only guide.

"So...what now?" Ashur asked after Han Joon disappeared without sound or trace inside the swirling gate. "Are we going to camp out here?"

"Just wait for a bit, it’s not going to be long," Zein replied. "Time flew faster on this side."

"How fast?" Jock asked, making a note in his commlink.

"About six times," Bassena said while walking further down the corridor. He kept walking until he passed two dungeon gates and stopped, turning around. "Ashur, walk until that edge."

The other esper nodded and walked to the other side, from where they came from. Just like Bassena, he walked until two dungeon gates were passed before turning. Between the two espers, there was another corridor branching out, also containing dungeon gates.

"Six? Seven?" Han Shin tilted his head, and Jock continued to make a note. "Let’s say seven. Where do you want to start?"

"Obviously the closer one," Bassena shrugged.

"Yeah, but which one?" Han Shin stretches his arms. There were two gates across, and one each flanking the Fallen Star’s dungeon.

Bassena tilted his head, and then turned to the Spirit Queen. "What do you think?"

The Queen swayed from side to side as if contemplating, before flying to the front of a gate across the Fallen Star’s one.

"Alright--it’s decided!" Han Shin clapped with a laugh--that was quite a fun way to decide; just let another entity choose! No one to blame! "All we need to do is wait for Hyung!"

"I’m here."

"Aish--" Han Shin grabbed his chest as he flinched when his brother’s cold hand patted his head. Just like how he disappeared, he also appeared like a ghost.

Perhaps they should call him Night Ghost instead of Night Star.

"That’s fast," Bassena raised his brow. It hadn’t been five minutes out here. But well...it meant it was already tens of minutes inside.

"You told me to not go far," Han Joon shrugged. He was still in his semi-stealth mode, so it felt jarring for the espers and Zein who had high detection but couldn’t feel anything. "Anyway, I can’t see that Fallen Star from the entrance...exit--backdoor? The landscape is like a ruin..." he paused, frowning for a bit; his eyes turned colder, and Bassena could figure it was triggering a bad memory. But Han Joon continued after two seconds. "I couldn’t see any minions or the dungeon’s original boss, but I saw some hooded figure--I guessed what you called fragments--flying around, probably patrolling."

"Th-they didn’t see you, right?" Han Shin asked worriedly.

Han Joon smirked and patted the healer’s head again. "Who do you think I am?"

"I see..." Bassena strokes his chin. "I do hope the remaining fragments are being used as patrols inside that gate--fewer spies out there and hopefully, nothing to bother the fog operation and the seaside excursion."

"Mm," Han Joon nodded and shifted his gaze around. "So, which one should I look at next?" he glimpsed the shining Queen parking nicely in front of the gate across where they congregated. "That one?"

Once again, the ghost disappeared.

* * *

With Han Joon’s immaculate reconnaissance, they could enter the dungeon with ample information, allowing the team to make an effective blitz attack.

Eleanor immediately cast an anti-poison spell and Han Shin put a mental attack barrier as soon as they crossed the dungeon gate--or back door, as Han Joon said it. They landed right behind the core, and while Bassena and Ashur attacked the startled boss, Jock and Han Joon took care of the minions and commanders.

On the back, Cohen put mana barriers on each vanguard while holding his physical shield in front of Zein, Han Shin, and Eleanor. It was a wide, open swamp, so everyone was in Zein’s line of sight, making it easier for him to guide them while they fought. Han Joon, who had never received long-distance guiding before, paused for a bit--but he resumed his attack with no apparent change.

As expected of an ex-military.

Based on their reading, it should be a red gate at least, but even while managing their skill usage, the raid concluded in twenty minutes--and that was because Jock had to chase some minions that ran away.

"A breeze," Han Shin nodded. He didn’t even need to work much--just constantly casting a mental attack barrier for everyone. With their vanguard’s prowess, no one got hurt.

And the best thing about fighting in dungeons; they didn’t need to take care of the remains. Beasts’ corpses that were left in the dungeons would perish, being absorbed by the environment.

"Are we going to make a camp here?" Ashur asked while swinging his mace to get rid of the blood.

"Eww--get that away from me," Han Shin jumped off the blood splatter area, only to get his boots splashing on the mud. "Ugh--I don’t think this is a good place to sleep..."

"Agreed," Bassena nodded--but not because the place was disgusting. "We’re not only here to take care of dungeons, but looking for a path. So let’s figure out where is this dungeon located while looking for a suitable place outside."

"This place isn’t so big--we can get to the entrance in fifteen minutes by walking," Han Joon said, pointing in a direction. "We should check if there’s any stray beast remaining."

And just like that, less than an hour after they entered through the back door, the team already left the dungeon through another side--and almost falling into the river.

"Heh--no wonder it’s a swamp," Han Joon chuckled, jumping to a dry land.

The gate was inconveniently located above a river. Fortunately, it wasn’t a deep kind--more like a creek, with a sandy bank. Bassena jumped over with Zein, while Jock was carrying Eleanor, and they all managed to keep themselves dry.

"This is a perfect place to camp, isn’t it?" Han Shin patted the dry ground with his boots. "Hard enough for tents."

"We’re lucky," Bassena nodded. He glanced at his commlink and looked around. "Let’s split up--me, Ashur, Joon, and Jock will go in four different directions and see what we could find. The rest will make the camp. Cohen--"

"Even if I can’t kill them, you can bet my barrier will stand," the new five-star defender said confidently.

"Right," Bassena smiled and looked at Zein, who wordlessly took out a black dagger, swinging it around his fingers. Chuckling, Bassena faced the three warriors. "For now, let’s just cover two kilometers."

Without a fuss, they nodded and went their separate ways. Each one of them was someone who would be able to face a fragment, so no one was worried. Besides, Zein was sure Bassena put his children or darkness in their shadows--one of them also staying behind, helping the team build the camp.

"Aight! I’ll install the purifying device," Han Shin took out the bulky chest from his storage ring and started to install the temporary safe zone.

Zein, with the little child made of darkness, placed the tents and helped Eleanor build the firepit for their dinner. Cohen activated his barrier while the purifying device was still being installed, as well as making sure their surroundings were safe.

Once the purifying device was installed, Eleanor was in the middle of brewing some water and cooking a meal for the one keeping the night watch later. Jock returned just when the water was boiling, immediately greeted with a warm coffee.

"Thank you," he receives the mug gratefully from Eleanor. "Unfortunately, I couldn’t find anything. It was an empty meadow in my direction, and I ended up on a cliff before the two-kilometer was up. It was a canyon below as far as I see, so I don’t think the desert is that way."

"Did you see any gates down there?" Zein asked.

"I couldn’t tell," Jock shook his head. "Not above the canyon, but who knows if something is behind those boulders and cliffs--ah, here’s Sir Vaski."

From the nonchalant look on Bassena’s face, it didn’t seem like he found anything.

"No dice?" Han Shin grinned.

"Nope," he let out a sigh and sat beside Zein. "It’s a mountain on that side--why are there so many mountains here? I thought it was supposed to be seaside."

"Hmm...maybe we’re on the northern side then," Jock muttered, once again making notes in his commlink. "Let’s see if the other two find anything."

Unfortunately, Han Joon came without a result either. He found a lake, however; a very big one that he almost thought it was the sea. But he could see some kind of ruin on the other side, and there was an island in the middle of the lake with a rather dense forest.

"Maybe there’s a gate there?"

That was their finding so far; nothing really got them to the fog field or another dungeon. They weren’t disappointed or anything, however, since it was just the first dungeon. It wasn’t like they expected an answer on the first try.

That was, until Ashur came back with bated breath.

"I think...I think I found a shard."

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