*Huh. I’m not sure if this is the right choice.*

A man sighed and thought.

He was leading a small group in a submerged city.

He had some skills, so the group was managing fairly well, but...

*The city’s food supply is running low. A fight is bound to happen soon.*

Food obtained through fishing or bread gained through points couldn’t feed all the humans in the city.

In the past, there had been a major fight over food.

The man, thinking that humans would soon draw swords against each other again, started hunting.

To level up a bit and gain points to obtain more food.

One day, someone came to him.

—I’ve figured out a way to escape here.

It was Chang-soo, the leader of the group known as the Avengers, composed only of battle-mad warriors.

He had reportedly joined forces with soldiers from outside.

He said they were planning to escape together.

Upon hearing this for the first time, the man thought.

*Those revenge-crazed fools. More nonsense.*

While no one lacked hostility towards the monsters, their level of obsession was excessive.

Most of the surviving humans in the city shied away from them.

It was the same this time.

*Now they’re trying to drag us into their revenge.*

He had heard stories about the soldiers from outside.

There were tales of how Tae-wan's group welcomed them and then parted ways badly.

When he heard that, he thought it was foolish to drive away people who might cling to them for help.

*But if those soldiers are shouting about hunting monsters together, I’d definitely refuse.*

Sorry to say.

The man had no intention of getting involved in such matters.

Even if he had become trapped behind an unknown wall and couldn't leave the building.

His mindset was that he wanted to live at least one more day.

To hunt monsters was one thing, but to enter the center and catch their leader? 

That was a unique method of suicide, and anyone who valued their life wouldn't join in.

As he shook his head to refuse, he heard...

—I understand it’s hard to believe. But isn’t it possible to visit our building for a moment and hear us out?

—What reason do we have to do that...

—We’ll provide food for three days.

—...Three days' worth?

Though it was said to be three days’ worth.

In a situation where even a day's worth of food was precious, it was an extraordinarily generous condition.

*I came here on a whim, captivated by that offer, but I wonder if it was the right choice.*

Around him, a few others had also come under similar conditions.

There was also the consideration that it wouldn’t be bad to become close to Chang-soo's group, which was filled with strong individuals.

However, aside from that, the method Chang-soo mentioned seemed unrealistic, the man thought.

*Hunting those monsters is a life-risking endeavor. There’s no way we can hunt their leader.*

Still.

If he could get three days' worth of food for wasting a little time, that would be a gain.

Thinking that, he climbed up to the roof of the building.

What he saw was...

“...Huh?”

*Vroooom...*

*Rumble...*

In the center of the city.

A massive storm cloud filled the sky.

* * *

After entering the dungeon.

Lightning wizards had essentially become useless.

The reason was simple.

*They became too powerful to be practical.*

This dungeon.

The water covering the ground, not to mention the humidity in the air, was overwhelming.

While the insides of the buildings were a bit better, there was still moisture on the floors.

*It’s probably because of the dungeon’s peculiarity that no diseases have spread yet.*

Anyway.

With water spread everywhere that had exceptional conductivity.

The lightning wizards.

Their magic had become overwhelmingly powerful.

*Even if they threw lightning from a distance, the lightning would affect their allies.*

Even inside buildings, the waterfall flowing down the exterior walls ultimately impacted those around.

There were lightning awakened individuals in this city, but.

They were all treated as part of the backup force.

*Low-level wizards don’t have that long a range anyway.*

Using magic in close quarters would likely harm their allies and themselves.

On the other hand...

**[Ingredient Identification (Enhanced)]**

**[Lee Min-jae]**

**[Lv. 21 Intermediate Lightning Wizard]**

**[Hwang Seon-wook]**

**[Lv. 16 Junior Lightning Wizard]**

Our wizards were quite high-level.

"If we really minimize the power and shoot it at maximum range... we might be able to make some impact. But..."

"We're not specialized for long-range attacks like snipers. I don’t know how helpful it would be to reduce the power and shoot it far."

The wizards I had gathered at my request had expressions of uncertainty.

Hearing their words, I let out a hollow laugh and replied.

"No. We shouldn’t reduce the power."

"Excuse me?"

"Then in the end, it will still affect our allies. The environment of this dungeon is..."

"That’s true, but let’s change our thinking."

Reducing the power simply because a problem arose was too passive a thought.

"We need to go the other way."

"...?"

"We increase both power and range."

The magic that had already become strong.

Let’s enhance that.

"Even so, if there's a range where it won’t affect our allies, it should be fine."

"No."

"There’s no way that’s possible..."

"Is that so?"

"If it doesn’t work, then we’ll make it work."

*I have the ability to do so.*

Memories of reclaiming the armored battalion came to mind.

Corporal Seo Soo-hyuk, who fainted after eating a dish I prepared with all my strength.

What he said just before he passed out:

*That level of buff is something you should restrain yourself from as much as possible.*

*I managed to hold on, but if someone had a weaker mental strength, they would have passed out long ago.*

After hearing that, I had gradually adjusted the effects of my cooking.

*If I give up on that adjustment... the story changes a bit.*

I grinned.

I reached into the shadows and began taking out the ingredients inside one by one.

"Is it really impossible?"

"......Um."

The wizards looked at me with a hint of hope in their expressions.

"Is it possible, this?"

* * *

The result was that.

What appeared in the sky now.

"What on earth did you do?"

A massive dark cloud appeared in the sky.

Surrounding that dark cloud were dangerously visible sparks flickering.

Chang-soo was sweating coldly as he looked at the cloud.

"Since being trapped here... there hasn’t been sunlight, and it hasn’t rained. The winds haven’t blown. There have been no common weather phenomena at all."

"Is that so?"

Now that I think about it.

Tae-wan also mentioned something like that.

He said the sun hadn’t risen and that the clouds themselves had disappeared.

"That is... certainly not an ordinary weather phenomenon."

Well, of course.

There wouldn’t be a storm cloud suddenly forming in a space that had no clouds at all.

The storm cloud was a type of natural disaster.

It was something considered impossible for humans to reproduce, pouring down rain and filled with lightning.

*That wasn’t quite at that level, but...*

Everyone was sweating and staring at it in awe.

But compared to the real storm clouds, there would be a significant difference.

The dungeon’s interior, where everything was sealed off and devoid of clouds.

Moreover, since it was located at a lower altitude, it seemed unnecessarily massive.

In reality, the size of the storm cloud filled with lightning wasn’t that big.

*It was big enough for us, though.*

Though it didn’t perfectly replicate the scale of a natural phenomenon,

It was certainly an impressive feat.

With that in mind.

There was a price to pay.

"Ugh..."

"......Grrr."

The lightning wizards.

And even the fire wizards, whose powers had diminished, were groaning in pain.

Some were even foaming at the mouth.

The reason they were suffering like that was none other than me.

*Having eaten the dish I prepared with all my strength, it must be unbearable.*

The taste might be one thing.

But the buff gained from it was crucial.

*Excessively strong powers put a strain on the user too.*

It might be a bit embarrassing to say this myself.

But after going through various incidents, my stats and levels have increased disproportionately compared to the other squad members.

The dishes I made with all my effort provide buffs that are tough for the squad members to handle.

As a result, they were suffering quite a bit.

But receiving the buff wasn’t the end of it.

*Magical transfer.*

The inherent characteristics that wizards typically possess.

Wizards who ate my food had their magical power explode.

They were...

Transferring that amplified magical power to one place.

*Crackle...*

The strongest wizard in the squad.

Corporal Lee Min-jae.

With his magic held in his hand, he chanted.

"I’m going to die..."

Corporal Lee Min-jae had also eaten the dish I made with 'all my strength'.

In that state, he was absorbing the magical power of the other wizards.

*He’s probably feeling the most pain here right now.*

Perhaps even more than what Corporal Seo Soo-hyuk experienced.

But.

Despite that, he was the second person in our squad to awaken.

"To think I’d have to endure this kind of agony right after saying I would become useless in the dungeon..."

**“So I told you. I’d need you to work hard.”**

As the most senior member of the squad, I was also doing my part.

How could he try to slack off?

And...

**“You’ve had a delicious meal, so it’s time to work.”**

“Ugh... you bastard.”

Even while sweating profusely, Corporal Lee Min-jae didn’t lose consciousness. He raised his hand.

The lightning spear he frequently used was gripped tightly in that hand.

*Thwack!*

It was hurled toward the storm cloud in the sky.

**“That magic...”**

Corporal Lee Min-jae was a mid-level lightning wizard who had only recently surpassed level 20.

Naturally, the variety of magic he could wield was different from when he first awakened.

One of those was precisely this.

The effect was simple.

It allowed the wizard to concentrate magic within the storm cloud and unleash it in one go.

*While it might not be possible to maintain that distance or produce something of that size, it should be sufficient now.*

Now that he was enveloped in a buff, things were different.

The lightning was continuously consumed by the storm cloud, which was now located far above, in the center of the city.

Probably right above where the dungeon’s monsters and bosses were gathering.

It was a considerable distance from the building we were in.

No matter how powerful the lightning was, 

It wouldn’t inflict damage on us.

I glanced back.

**“What the hell is that...”**

“What is happening?” 

The members of the other group brought by Chang-soo were all in shock as they gazed at the storm cloud that had formed in the sky.

After all, the intent behind this was to persuade them.

People who wouldn’t participate in the dungeon raid without certainty.

Then.

*We just needed to show them overwhelming power to give them that assurance.*

It seemed we had sufficiently drawn their attention.

Though I wanted to increase the power a bit more,

**“Grrr...”**

If I delayed any longer, people might start fainting.

I placed my hand on Min-jae’s back and spoke.

**“Commence fire.”**

“...Commencing!” 

Corporal Lee Min-jae, responding to my command.

I thought the same thing while watching him.

*Isn’t it illegal to fish with electricity in the sea?*

It was because the risk was so high that it could injure even the fishermen.

Even so, there were still fishermen who kept inserting batteries into the sea, often making headlines.

The risk of potentially losing one’s life.

Still, the reason why people consistently took on that danger was...

*Because it’s simply too effective.*

At that moment.

Lightning struck the center of the submerged city.

*Crackle...!*

It was nothing short of what could be described as divine punishment.

A colossal spear of lightning.