In the world I was reincarnated into, there were no gates, but there were plenty of dungeons.

Naturally occurring, ancient liches, and the schemes of the Demon King—there were all kinds of dungeons, and I cleared many of them.

And now, the scene unfolding before me was strikingly similar.

A dark cave, the musty smell that assaulted my nose, and the green monsters that occasionally popped out.

It felt familiar.

What should I think about this? The monsters looked exactly like the ones I saw in that other world.

Feeling dazed, I glanced around at my temporary party members.

“What? Why are you staring?”
“......”

The woman who introduced herself as a magic-type hunter was currently using her fire spell to light up the dungeon’s darkness.

But something felt off. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, but it didn’t seem like she was controlling the magic herself.

Even when I observed the other two people fighting, I got a similar feeling.

“Hah!”
“Huah!”

Their basic movements were awkward. Since the party was made up of E-rank or D-rank hunters, I could understand that.

But when they used mana, their movements became noticeably smoother, as if they were being forced to act more skillfully.

“Kerrrk!”

A short, green monster—a goblin—rushed at me from the side. I smoothly sidestepped to avoid its club.

As its stance faltered, I kicked it hard in the stomach. The goblin slammed into the wall and collapsed.

Han-gyeol, the friendly guy who was first to greet me, swiftly finished it off with his sword.

“Nice one, Si-hyun!”

I casually took out the goblins in the open area. After the fight was over, I finally understood the source of my discomfort.

“Status window!”

Honestly, I was at a loss for words.

All three of them shouted something strange, except me.

Then they pointed into the air.

I watched them in confusion as they fiddled with nothing, yet all their belongings—including the goblin’s mana stones—suddenly disappeared.

Storage magic. I had a bracelet that could store a small amount, but…

That kind of thing was pretty expensive.

“Um, excuse me.”
“Yes? What’s the matter?”

I approached Han-gyeol, the most approachable member of the temporary party. He gave me a friendly smile.

Well, it’s always good to ask questions when you don’t know something.

“I’ve only awakened recently.”
“Wow! And yet you’re fighting so well?”
“...Ahem! Anyway, could you explain the status window to me?”

I had to hold back a smile trying to creep onto my face.

The compliment hit me out of nowhere, and it was so natural.

After a life filled with nothing but scolding, I realized my immunity to praise was pretty low.

“The status window? Oh, it’s not difficult. You’d learn about it in the academy, but I get it—tuition is expensive.”
“...Yeah.”
“Just try opening your status window.”

“......”

I really didn’t want to do this… but I had to. I decided to say it as quietly as possible.

“St-status window…”
“...Alright, once you see it—”

Han-gyeol explained the system to me, occasionally asking, “Do you see it?” I just played along, pretending it existed for me too.

In summary, it’s like this: after the cataclysm on Earth, people started awakening.

These awakened people grew like they were in a game system, supported by something called a status window.

…Why don’t I have one?

Was it because my soul was from Earth, but my body was from another world?

It felt a little unfair. I used to be good at games.

Why was I the only one left out…?

If I thought about it, I wasn’t an awakened person anyway.

But still, it’s disappointing.

“Ha! You came to a dungeon without even knowing how to use the status window? Isn’t that basic?”

I heard a mutter of disbelief and turned my head.

It seemed the woman was deliberately trying to provoke me.

But after seeing all kinds of people, I wasn’t fazed by such low-level baiting. I ignored her easily.

“Let’s get moving. We’ve delayed long enough.”

The man who had been observing quietly stepped in as if trying to mediate.

I nodded and followed his lead.

Though he occasionally gave off unpleasant glances, he was clearly the most skilled among us.

It seemed he considered himself the leader, and he continued directing us through the dungeon.

We finished clearing the E-rank dungeon and gathered outside to distribute our earnings.

“I split it evenly among the four of us. Does anyone have a problem with that?”
“Nope, thank you for your hard work!”

Han-gyeol responded cheerfully.

I received ten goblin mana stones. Based on the market price I heard earlier, that meant I earned about 50,000 won.

I casually asked Han-gyeol what the average earnings were. He said it varied, but most people entered dungeons once or twice a day.

This was his second dungeon today.

Still, we were risking our lives in these fights, and the pay felt a bit underwhelming.

Was it because it was E-rank? Would D-rank dungeons yield significantly more?

Hmm… Anyway, it’s all the hero party’s fault.

I had no control over any money. That’s why I have no sense of finances.

“With four people, it’s stable, but that also means the earnings are reduced.”
“Ah.”

I nodded at his additional explanation.

That’s why even D-rank hunters do E-rank dungeons. Life is precious, after all.

As I sorted my thoughts, the man who had taken on the role of leader spoke.

“How about we all tackle a D-rank dungeon together?”
“A D-rank?”
“Yes, both Han-gyeol and I are D-rank hunters. The other two of you may be E-rank, but I think you’re closer to D-rank. I think we can handle it.”
“Haha, I’m almost D-rank! Shall we go?”

The magic-user woman smiled brightly at the leader’s suggestion.

But Han-gyeol shook his head.

“You know D-rank dungeons have more complex patterns and are dangerous. I’m against it.”
“Unless it’s a rare dungeon like a double dungeon, we should be fine, right?”
“…That’s true, but…”

Han-gyeol looked at me, seemingly concerned.

…Ah.

He was worried because I mentioned I had only recently awakened. He really was a kind guy.

But I was starting to miss my sister and wanted to go home to relax...

“D-rank dungeons yield at least five times more than E-rank ones, and sometimes even ten times more. We work well together, so let’s make some money!”

…Even if I didn’t think we worked that well together.

Five times would mean at least 250,000 won, and up to 500,000 won if it was big.

D-rank definitely sounded better than E-rank.

I could buy Si-yoon some nice steak.

“Let’s go.”
“…!”
“You made the right choice.”

The leader smiled smugly, and Han-gyeol looked surprised.

Si-yoon, I might be a bit late, but wait for me. Your brother’s going to buy you something delicious!

“Hah… Hah…”
“Phew…”

After another round of combat, the leader sighed heavily.

As expected of a D-rank dungeon, the variety of monsters had increased, and so had their numbers.

It kept us on edge, doubling the fatigue.

That’s why when people enter multiple dungeons in a day, they usually stick to E-rank ones.

The leader glanced over at me. The beautiful, exotic woman looked around with curiosity.

Her behavior was blatantly novice-like.

Still, she didn’t seem to have much trouble in the E-rank dungeon.

I had hoped to earn some points by helping her out during the tough parts, but it was hopeless.

That’s why I had suggested we tackle a D-rank dungeon, even if it would be a bit tougher.

No matter how talented she was, she was still just an E-rank hunter.

In a D-rank dungeon, there’d surely be a chance to impress her.

As long as nothing unusual happened, we could handle it.

But...

“Han-gyeol, where did you get that sword?”
“Oh, do you recognize it? The master of my guild is a crafting-type hunter.”

This is strange.

He didn’t seem tired at all.

I hadn’t seen him falter even once.

It was in stark contrast to the magic-type hunter woman beside him.

She looked like she could collapse any moment—her face pale from exhausting nearly all her mana.

But this beautiful woman remained unchanged from the beginning.

She hadn’t done anything particularly special, yet she wasn’t tired either.

Could the paladin class have some kind of special stamina-related ability?

I had no information on it since it was a class I had never seen before.

And that wasn’t the only odd thing.

Han-gyeol, the hunter who used a sword like me.

I was sure I had been a bit stronger than him in the E-rank dungeon.

But what about now?

I was growing more and more tired, while Han-gyeol seemed to be overflowing with energy.

It almost seemed like he was getting stronger, faster even.

At this rate, wasn’t he not just a D-rank but closer to a C-rank?

The leader frowned.

Maybe I was just imagining things because I was so tired.

“Aagh! Quit talking and finish the dungeon! I’m exhausted!”
“Let’s do that.”

The magic-user woman screeched, and the leader shook his head, approaching Han-gyeol and me.

“Let’s keep moving.”
“Understood.”
“…”

The woman with a cold, icy expression briefly glanced at the leader before facing forward again.

The leader couldn’t help but feel a bit wronged.

We hadn’t even done anything yet.

Why was there such a difference between how people treated Han-gyeol and me?

“Hmm…”
“Is something wrong? If you’re tired, you can tell me.”
“No, it’s nothing like that.”

Han-gyeol looked at me with concern. I waved my hand to signal that I was fine and scanned our surroundings.

The leader’s sticky gaze lingered on me, and the woman kept glaring.

It wasn’t exactly a pleasant situation, but it didn’t really bother me. After all, I was also treating them differently.

I had lightly buffed Han-gyeol, but left the others untouched.

It was a different buff from the one I used on the subway, and Han-gyeol was surely feeling the difference in his abilities by now.

Occasionally, when too many monsters showed up, I would even cast a small spell to obscure their vision.

Kind and innocent people like him should be protected.

That aside, what was really bothering me was the strange presence I felt in the area.

It was something I noticed thanks to my occupational habit of keeping a thin layer of mana spread around, ready to cast buffs or debuffs at a moment’s notice.

“Excuse me.”
“Yes? What is it?”

I approached the leader, who had been keeping an eye on me.

“How much of the dungeon is left?”
“We’re almost at the end. If you’re tired, we can take a break.”

The leader smiled sleazily.

I ignored him and pointed toward a section of the wall a bit farther away.

“There. There's a hidden space.”
“What?”

Everyone turned to look where I pointed—a dark wall partially obscured by rocks and vines.

The leader cautiously approached the spot I indicated. He pushed aside the vines and disappeared into the crevice. When he returned, his expression was stunned.

“How did you notice this?”
“Hmm… It just seemed suspicious.”
“It’s a secret room. Usually, only specialized hunters who focus on exploration can find something like this. Impressive.”

He responded in a tone filled with genuine surprise.

A secret room!

It sounded like something important was hidden inside.

I looked up at the leader with a hint of expectation in my eyes.

The leader covered his mouth with his hand and turned away before saying, “Ahem. We should take a vote.”
“Vote? For what?”
“This is a D-rank dungeon, after all.”

What was he talking about? I glanced at Han-gyeol, who explained the situation with a serious expression.

“In D-rank dungeons, you can encounter different types of rooms. Sometimes they contain treasure, and sometimes you’ll find hordes of monsters that delay your progress.”
“Ahh…”
“There’s also a small chance that the dungeon is a rare variant. If that’s the case, it can be incredibly dangerous.”

He muttered the last part as if he had only heard about such dungeons secondhand.

“If we ignore the treasure room, what happens?”
“The dungeon collapses along with everything inside. No one knows how or why.”
“…”

So it was a matter of weighing risk and reward. This was one way dungeons here were different from the ones in the other world.

From my experience, this D-rank dungeon didn’t seem too difficult for me. But the treasure was not guaranteed, and it was all based on luck?

At this point, it would be better to just go home and recharge by spending time with my sister. I already had enough to buy her a nice dinner.

“The leader’s opinion is that we should explore it. It’s too good an opportunity to pass up.”
“I agree! We’re almost done with the dungeon anyway. What’s there to be afraid of?”

The leader and the woman both voted to enter the hidden room. That made two votes in favor.

I turned to Han-gyeol. He just shrugged, indicating he would go along with whatever I decided.

…

“Let’s go.”

There was no point in arguing. It would just waste time. Better to check the room quickly and move on.

If we found something valuable, great. And if it increased our earnings, I could treat my sister to something even better for dinner.