Breaking Up with the Heroine of the Female-Oriented Game - Chapter 25

Chapter 25 – Side Quest Dungeon Exploration Failure and Strategy (5)

Dungeons. Following a cataclysm unprecedented in human history, these ‘monster lairs’ emerged worldwide. The dungeon within the game set on Youngdeung Mountain was named “Mad Wizard Kate’s Laboratory.” In the past, a wizard named Kate discovered this dungeon and conducted experiments to fuse humans and monsters into a single entity. To prevent intrusions, Kate turned the dungeon into a fortress by setting traps and releasing monsters within.

The dungeon was well-designed, having already seen the failed attempts of heroes to conquer it. Especially the traps. There were falling rock traps, collapsing floor traps, tentacles that shot up from the ground, ceilings that came crashing down, and teleportation traps that randomly relocated people. The traps in Youngdeung Mountain Dungeon could be considered even more dangerous than the monsters themselves. But here’s the thing: a trap only shows its true worth when its presence is unknown. What if one were to enter the dungeon already aware of its layout, traps, monsters, and mechanisms?

“Hold on a moment.”

A team of seven, following the path of the vanguard, was exploring the interior of Youngdeung Mountain Dungeon.

“Let’s stop here for a second.”

Lee Jinhyuk, who had been cautiously following, suddenly called everyone to a halt. Oh Jeongnam and Park Sangcheol stopped and looked back, wondering why they were being summoned.

“What’s the matter?”

“Could you look over there?”

Lee Jinhyuk pointed to an area of the ground a little distance away. The team focused their gaze where he indicated and realized that there were rectangular tiles slightly protruding from the surface.

“I think that might be a trap.”

“Huh?”

Oh Jeongnam, who was responsible for leading the way and ensuring the team’s safety, gave Lee Jinhyuk a direct look.

A trap? This corridor had already been traversed by the vanguard. Moreover, as the scout, Oh Jeongnam hadn’t detected anything. Could it be that a trap missed by a seasoned veteran was discovered by a newly enrolled Academy student?

“If you look closely, you can see a mechanical device in the cracks of the floor. It seems to be a trap that activates when stepped on.”

Oh Jeongnam furrowed his brows slightly. Had Lee Jinhyuk identified something so minute with the naked eye? While slightly skeptical, he inspected the ground again, more slowly this time.

Indeed, just as Lee Jinhyuk had said, a mechanical device was visible between the slight opening, confirming it was a trap. Despite leading the team with thorough checks, this oversight was on Oh Jeongnam. If they had continued walking, someone from the team would have undoubtedly triggered the trap.

“Oh… I’m sorry, I must not have checked properly.”

“No, it’s not your fault. This place was overlooked by the vanguard, and it’s quite dark, so it’s hard to see.”

Indeed, upon reflection, Oh Jeongnam realized the trap was so well-concealed it was difficult to notice initially. He might have detected it if he had scrutinized every inch, but knowing the vanguard had passed safely, he might have unconsciously been less vigilant.

“But Lee Jinhyuk, how did you spot that in such a dark place? Your keen eyesight is impressive.”

Oh Jeongnam’s question wasn’t driven by wounded pride but pure curiosity. Lee Jinhyuk had mentioned he was an archer, and with Union full of talents, he might have eyesight even keener than Oh Jeongnam’s.

Lee Jinhyuk’s answer, however, was unexpected.

“I watched the body cam footage of the vanguard. That’s how I knew about it.”

“The body cam?”

That was something Oh Jeongnam had also seen.

“Yeah, I upscaled the video, maximized the brightness, and paused it frame by frame to find any anomalies.”

“Really?”

“So I found about 108 suspicious spots, among which I identified those likely to be traps and submitted that information to you.”
T h i s w a s c o p ie d f r o m k in g m tl . o r g

“Ah, yes, that…”

“It’s okay. I probably wouldn’t have worried too much about it either. It was a place already passed by the vanguard, and after all, I’m just a hero hopeful who doesn’t know much about the field.”

Listening to Lee Jinhyuk’s easygoing explanation, Oh Jeongnam silently admired him. It would have taken considerable concentration and memory to review the footage and memorize it all day. To memorize 108 suspected trap locations just like that? It was impressive to realize a place memorized only through lantern-lit footage, especially in the pitch-black dungeon.

He remembered hearing that Lee Jinhyuk had excellent theoretical scores. He got into Korea’s top hero training institution just on his written exam scores. Wasn’t his acceptance into Union based on pathetic practical scores after all?

Oh Jeongnam nodded to himself, accepting the situation that wasn’t quite acceptance. The world was full of eccentrics and geniuses. Some could remember anything they saw or calculate dozens of digits in their head instantly. He had once seen someone with perfect memory in the Gaon Nuri Clan.
T hi s wa s co p ie d f ro m k in g m t l . o rg

Later on…

“Kiiieeek, eeeeeeek!”

“Kiieek, kiieeek!”

“Red vampire bats spotted up ahead.”

Bats soared energetically towards them, flapping their large wings, ready to dive in hungrily.

“Everyone, get ready for combat.”

Han Seowoo gripped her whip firmly. The monsters weren’t powerful, but they were numerous and agile, with an ability to heal wounds instantly by drinking blood. A careless fight would drain stamina.

“Park Sangcheol, could you take the aggro at the front…?”

It was then that something unexpected happened.

“Wait, you!”

Suddenly, Lee Jinhyuk was spraying something into the air like a can of repellent.

“What in the world are you doing?”

Han Seowoo frowned deeply, rushing to stop him from his pointless actions.

The bats that had been rushing in like arrows started to falter, evidently in distress.

Th i s w a s c o p i ed f r om kin g mt l . or g
Some crashed head-first into stalactites, splattering blood before collapsing to the floor, trembling helplessly. The rest quickly fled.

“What just happened?”

After dealing with the surviving bats, Han Seowoo approached Lee Jinhyuk for an explanation.

“Red vampire bats have a very sensitive sense of smell. They’re particularly vulnerable to certain chemical scents.”

“What?”

“Just like humans can detect geosmin, a substance they are very sensitive to, even at high dilution rates, those bats are much more sensitive…”

“Wait, wait.”

Han Seowoo waved her hands, interrupting him.

“How do you know all this?”

“I read it in a paper recently.”

“A paper?”

“Yeah, it was published two days ago by Professor Guk Seokyeon… It detailed the biological evolution of the red vampire bat, its characteristics, and their ecological dynamics. That’s where I found it.”

“Huh.”

Han Seowoo was flustered.

What is this guy talking about? He read a paper about vampire bats and figured out their weakness?

Was it not curious that a busy Union hero trainee was reading papers, let alone accurately predicting the appearance of red vampire bats?

“You, how did you know red vampire bats would appear? They weren’t in the vanguard’s report.”

“I didn’t know.”

Huh?

He didn’t know?

“I just made a guess.”

Lee Jinhyuk continued nonchalantly.

“Based on the vanguard’s reports, the environment near Youngdeung Mountain, the dungeon’s temperature, humidity, geography, levels of magic concentration, and its flora suggested about 53 possible monster types.”

“Oh, um.”

“And from those, I narrowed down the most likely monsters and searched the internet for their characteristics and countermeasures.”

“Really?”

“Of course, I also brought items for other monsters too.”

Lee Jinhyuk then began to pull various items out of his backpack. A 100,000-lumen flashlight, an ultrasonic repeller, a 170-decibel noise device, pheromone perfume of the lotus claw frog, among other things. These were highly effective against several monsters that could potentially appear in the dungeon.

Han Seowoo’s face soured slightly.

“All that in one day? You found, memorized, and prepared all this?”

“I knew a lot of it already, and thankfully, when I asked Yoo Seolhyun, she was able to prepare it quickly.”

Han Seowoo was speechless.

“And you memorized all those potential traps from the body cam footage in just one day?”

“Yes.”

Is he insane?

How did he research and memorize all that in just one day?

“It’s always best to be well-prepared, right? Preparedness prevents poor performance.”

“Umm.”

“And I didn’t tell you about these preparations because I wasn’t certain those monsters would appear, and I didn’t want you to think I was strange.”

She couldn’t really argue with that.

Th i s w a s c op ie d f r om ki ng mtl . o r g
‘Now that I think about it, he mentioned he had compiled data from his research. Could Yoo Seolhyun have given him advanced information during the previous expeditions?’

After all, thorough preparation could never be a bad thing.

However, she needed to warn him about acting on his own. If left unchecked, he might continue to act independently.

With that thought, Han Seowoo was about to speak when…

“I’m sorry.”

“Huh?”

Lee Jinhyuk had preempted her.

“There’s such a thing as team positioning, and I think I acted a bit rashly. I was lucky this time, but that doesn’t mean I always will be.”

“…Well, that’s true.”

“Sorry, team leader Han Seowoo. I won’t move on my own next time.”

“…Alright, as long as you understand.”

What could she say when he was the first to bow his head and admit his mistake?

Besides, he had just saved the team from an unnoticed trap and his demeanor had been polite enough to attract sympathy and support from the other team members.

Just like this.

“Aww, it’s alright, Lee Jinhyuk. Thanks to you, we easily drove off the bats. Seowoo will understand too, right?”

The amiable Park Sangcheol defended him, which was to be expected given his usual character. Plus, if Lee Jinhyuk hadn’t noticed the trap, Park Sangcheol would have been the one to trigger it.

“It’s your first time, so just be careful from now on.”

T hi s was c o p i e d f rom k i n gm t l .o r g
Even the mage Erina shrugged, signaling that it was okay, and Han Seowoo had to concede internally, as speaking up in such an atmosphere would do no good.

“Well… let’s regroup and move on.”

And not long after…

T hi s w as c o p ie d f r o m ki ng mtl . o r g
“What’s this now?”

“There’s no other way but this door…”

The team halted before a large metal door blocking their path. On the control panel above, there was a cryptic number display. What could this mean? The team members pondered.

5212 = 0
6202 = 2
9408 = 5
8102 = ?
*3 wrong attempts and boom~!
T h is was c op ie d fr o m k i n gmtl . o r g

“A riddle? Are they kidding?”

“I’ve heard of dungeons like this, but isn’t this a bit artificial?”

“Should we just break the control panel? It might open if we do.”

“Stop, don’t. We might just end up breaking the door for good.”

“Hmm. That door looks solid. It’s gonna take a lot of time to break through.”

“Ah, I give up. I’m terrible at thinking puzzles.”

While the others exchanged opinions, Lee Jinhyuk stepped forward.

“I think I know the answer.”

“What?”

Han Seowoo was taken aback.

He’d solved the weird riddle?

Already?

“Mind if I try entering the answer?”

“Umm… I guess.”

Han Seowoo glanced at the other team members for consensus, and they all nodded, indicating he could proceed. It didn’t seem likely they’d figure it out anytime soon anyway, and they still had more than three tries. Plus, there was a glimmer of expectation after everything Lee Jinhyuk had shown so far.

“What’s the answer then?”

“It’s not certain, but I think it’s 3.”

“3? Why?”

Han Seowoo expressed her confusion.

Why 3?

“If you consider the pattern of the riddle, it’s simple. Just think of each hole in a number as 1.”

“Oh, is that so?”

“Yes. The numbers 0, 4, 6, and 9 have one hole each, so they count as 1. Number 8 has two holes, so it’s 2, and so on.”

“Hmm…”
Th is w as co p i e d fr o m k ing m t l . o r g

How should she put it?

Was it a really intuitive problem?

Although she wasn’t sure if it was the correct answer or not.

Han Seowoo stroked her chin thoughtfully.
Thi s w as co p i e d f ro m k i n g m t l . or g

“Let’s try entering it.”

Then Lee Jinhyuk keyed in the number 3 on the panel.

Han Seowoo watched, wondering what would happen, when suddenly the large door opened with a grind.

Was it really the right answer?

“Really?”

“Admittedly, it was a rather intuitive and one-dimensional riddle, wasn’t it?”

Han Seowoo bit her lip.

She hadn’t even thought of that simplistic solution.

While the riddle might have seemed silly, since Han Seowoo hadn’t even attempted to solve it, what could she say?

“Well, the door’s open now, shall we continue? It looks like the trail of the vanguard being dragged away continues that way.”

“…Yeah, let’s go.”

Han Seowoo internally adjusted her thoughts.

Honestly, this guy…

She had hoped he wouldn’t be a hindrance, but it seemed that thought needed quite a bit of revision.

Not just a bit, but a lot.

***

In a wide clearing.
Th i s wa s c o p i ed fr o m kin g m t l .o r g

A moment of rest.

Separated slightly from the group, Yoo Seolhyun and Lee Jinhyuk whispered to each other.

“Ah, how could I have memorized all that in just one day?”

It was just as strange that he remembered content from a game in his past life so vividly, even though he had forgotten quite a bit too.

“Chuckle, you did well. Saying you had read the paper in advance, dissecting the footage frame by frame… Those excuses were amusing.”

“…But that paper really did exist, published two days ago. I’m serious.”

“Really~? Chuckle.”

“Why does everyone seem to just believe it? If it were me, I’d have looked at him as if he was spouting nonsense.”

“You charmed them with your top theoretical score.”

“Still, that’s no excuse…”

As Yoo Seolhyun watched Lee Jinhyuk’s uncharacteristic excuses, all she could do was chuckle.

You’ve got to make use of the information you foresaw, right, Lee Jinhyuk?

Isn’t that right?