*Crackle...*

*Crackle—*

A tremendous amount of lightning descended from the storm cloud that had settled in the sky.

Even from this distance, the oppressive force of the lightning was palpable.

As the lightning struck the ground...

*Thud...*

An enormous number of fish.

No.

The corpses of mermaids floated to the surface.

Though the surrounding buildings obscured the view of the center, 

it was still clear that there were countless bodies.

And then...

**[Those who received your cooking performed extraordinarily in battle!]**

**[The chef's reputation spreads.]**

**[You gain experience.]**

**[You gain experience.]**

**[You gain experience.]**

*Ugh.*

I felt a tremendous energy surge into my body.

I felt a slight pain from the energy flooding in all at once.

*If I, who am indirectly receiving experience, feel this much pain,*

then...

How much experience are the wizards who participated in that magic gaining?

And what about Corporal Lee Min-jae, who cast the magic?

*This is amazing.*

It seemed that the claim about the increasing density of monsters as we approached the center wasn’t a lie.

If we had tried to break through those monsters, we would have had a hard time.

Just as I was starting to feel good about the unexpected results...

*GROOOOOOAAAAAH!*

“!?”

“What is that sound?”

In the center of the city, where the lightning had struck.

A massive roar echoed from deep inside.

It sounded like something was screaming in pain.

Given that the scream resonated all the way out here, it was definitely not something ordinary.

*Boss monster.*

The one responsible for turning this city into a dungeon.

That must be it.

The lightning just now was the maximum attack our guild could unleash at this moment.

That must have impacted the boss lurking inside.

The aftermath became evident immediately.

“Whoa. Look over there!”

“The water level is dropping...!”

Terraforming known as the dungeon.

The boss monster was responsible for that.

As we approached the center, the water level had risen to the point where it filled even the upper floors of many tall buildings in the city.

But now...

*The water level is dropping.*

It wasn’t just the center.

The water level throughout the entire dungeon seemed to be gradually lowering.

This area, which had previously been submerged up to the chest, 

was now only touching the thighs.

*I didn’t expect this much.*

I tried to suppress the smile that wanted to break out as I turned around.

“Th-this is insane.”

“The water level is dropping. It can’t be a coincidence, can it?”

“Of course not. I don’t know for sure, but those soldiers must have done something.”

The people, unable to comprehend the sudden phenomenon,

gazed at the soldiers with astonished expressions.

“I heard that the problem is that as we approach the center, there are more monsters, and the water level rises.”

As if that was nothing,

with an attitude that miracles like summoning lightning from the sky were commonplace.

“So, we tried to reduce the number of monsters and lower the water level.”

“......”

“My goodness.”

Gulping.

The people looked down at the ground.

There, the corpses of mermaids floated around, bobbing in the water.

Seeing that, they cautiously murmured.

“W-wait a minute.”

“Maybe we can actually raid this place...”

* * *

“Is it really possible?” 

“Ha ha. As long as you trust us and follow along, there shouldn’t be any problem.”

The people Chang-soo brought were handed over to Lieutenant Kim.

With a bold and confident demeanor, Lieutenant Kim instilled trust in the people.

“I thought we were doomed to die of thirst in that building.”

“What a terrifying thing to say. Even in the most dangerous moments, there’s always a way to survive. The reason we entered this city was also part of a plan.”

“Exactly...!”

“Those soldiers are impressive. I can trust them!”

Having seen the lightning strike, those who had hoped for a chance to raid the dungeon 

were now filled with unfounded confidence from Lieutenant Kim.

At that moment.

As I watched Lieutenant Kim and the others, a medic approached me.

“Corporal Shin.”

“Yeah?”

“The wizards who participated in that attack have all fainted.”

“......Let’s speak quietly.”

After moving to a place where other awakened ones couldn’t hear,

I listened to the medic’s report.

“What’s their condition?”

“Since they experienced both magical overload and magical exhaustion, they’ll likely be out for at least a week.”

“......”

“Even if they come to, they won’t be able to cast that level of magic again.”

There was no way there would be no cost to unleashing such a powerful attack.

I had gathered all the wizards who had nothing to do,

feeding them the food imbued with an incredibly strong buff.

That was how this powerful surge of magic had been possible.

*‘It’s probably impossible to use it again.’*

All the wizards who participated in the manifestation of magic were now exhausted.

I had expected this to a certain extent.

“Take good care of them. The humidity is high here, making it a favorable environment for illness. They say there hasn’t been an outbreak of any plague yet, but you never know. Others might have just been lucky.”

“Of course. Leave it to me.”

After all, these wizards would have struggled to exhibit their abilities in this dungeon.

We should consider it significant that we could draw the other awakened groups using them.

In reality...

“I wonder if we really needed to be here.”

“True. If we fire a few more bolts of lightning like that, won’t all those monsters be wiped out?”

“Ha ha ha!!!”

The people who had just joined after witnessing the magic were now confidently talking about raiding the dungeon.

Of course, it was difficult to unleash those bolts of lightning again.

It would probably take at least another month before that was possible.

*‘...It’s better not to reveal that!’*

I decided to bury the uncomfortable truth.

If we included the awakened individuals from the groups Chang-soo brought, the number would be two to three times that of our squad.

It had been a long time since I’d seen this many humans after the day of the apocalypse.

*‘I wonder if any group has a level as high as our squad’s.’*

That Chang-soo's group also only had high levels.

Most of the points they had earned were invested in food.

They certainly didn’t benefit from the collective skills of our guild or the effects of items created by production-type awakened ones.

“The numbers have increased tremendously, but in terms of power, it’s only about 1.5 to 2 times what we had when it was just our squad.”

“That’s still incredible.”

“True, but...” 

Corporal Seo Soo-hyuk looked at me with an untrustworthy expression.

What could be done?

It would be a luxury to hope that the other individuals would be as elite as our squad members.

*‘We have to raid the dungeon with this force.’*

Fortunately, there was a silver lining.

“Thanks to the drop in water level, it seems we can perform some reconnaissance, at least.”

Jeong Soo-ah approached me.

Her class was a spirit master.

Since her combat ability wasn’t that strong, 

she was always used as a drone.

The spirit she contracted was none other than a water spirit.

*‘A spirit that can move through water... In this dungeon, that means it can see just about anywhere.’*

In terms of combat, we could probably expect more than we could outside.

For her, it was a dungeon that matched her well.

“In the center, the water level was so high that we couldn’t see what was happening inside, and whenever we tried to get in, we were met with resistance, making reconnaissance difficult.”

“Now that’s changed.”

“Yes. The presence that was obstructing our view must have suffered serious damage. Now we should be able to scout the central area, even if only roughly.”

The ability to conduct reconnaissance is significant.

The survivors in the city had scattered across the outskirts and were actively engaging there.

No one knew how the center was functioning.

Even just knowing where the enemy mermaids were most densely distributed would be a great advantage.

However.

“Hmm? This is unexpected.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

In the center of the submerged city,

though the water covering it was clear, 

the sun rarely shone in, making it difficult for any light to penetrate.

“There are buildings.”

Even the survivors living in high-rise buildings wouldn’t have been able to see inside those.

“I’ve never seen structures like that in any book.”

“Hmm.”

While everyone’s eyes were covered,

it appeared they were constructing buildings inside.

“Even before the city was submerged, there would have been many buildings. What happened to those buildings?”

“All the submerged buildings disappeared.”

“Could it be that they demolished them?”

“I’m not sure, but I can’t imagine what the landscape was like before it was submerged.”

Those buildings constructed from some unknown white material.

“Well, if we assume that the dungeon is undergoing terraforming, it wouldn’t be strange for them to build structures suitable for their own lives. It’s only natural for them to construct buildings for their own sustenance.”

“It’s surprising that a species capable of building structures is so advanced culturally.”

We had only visited the outskirts of the city so far.

Though this was called a dungeon, aside from the special environment of being submerged, there wasn’t a major difference from the outside.

In fact, it was even safer than outside since there were no zombies, and monsters only roamed in the water.

*‘The center must be different.’*

It was the place where the core power of the monsters and the boss monster were located.

The buildings of the humans that had been there had all disappeared.

What remained were the structures built for their sustenance.

Indeed.

It had truly become a place that could be called a dungeon.

* * *

*Splash...*

Hundreds of humans plunged into the water.

The cold water lowered their body temperatures and made their clothes and gear heavy.

“Ugh.”

“This sensation never gets any easier.”

The water itself was inherently unsuitable for humans.

Of course, it was merely annoying at this point.

But the real problem was about to arrive.

*Pabababababa.*

From within the water,

massive black shapes approached at an incredible speed.

“Over there!”

“They’re coming!”

Originally,

most of the humans in this city had been reluctant to engage in battle with the mermaids.

Those who did fight had to be extremely cautious.

Given the environmental disadvantages and the overwhelming numbers, it was a natural choice.

Ignoring that, Chang-soo's group frequently clashed with the mermaids.

However, those who survived long after fighting were few.

But now.

“Uryah!”

Just moments ago, the man who would tremble at the sight of a mermaid,

“Ha ha! Home run, you bastard!”

He swung a massive hammer and struck a soaring mermaid.

It didn’t end there.

“I feel so light!”

“Ha! Die, you little fish!”

“Gryaaaaaah!!!”

Once prey to the mermaids, 

the humans who had just allied with our squad were now bravely taking down monsters.

“That’s quite the buff.”

The reason this was possible was, of course, due to one thing.

The roars of Lieutenant Kim and my cooking, among others.

The effects of our squad’s renowned area buffs.

“While we do have awakened individuals among us who focus on buffs... the level is different. Especially this environmental adaptation buff.”

*Crack!*

Chang-soo pierced the heart of an attacking mermaid with his spear in a split second.

He looked down at his spear and said,

“Do you know why I started using a spear?”

“Uh? Isn’t it because of your awakened trait?”

“That’s part of it, but to be precise, it’s a bit different. I had very few options to combat enemies in the water.”

In the water, most actions are restricted.

Especially larger items receive more resistance from the water and lose their power.

“The spear, which can stab, or perhaps a dagger with a smaller area of effect. That was the limit for combat in the water.”

“Indeed.”

“Most of our group uses one of those two weapons. It’s one of our unique know-hows that we’ve gained through extensive battles against those monsters. But...”

Unlike Chang-soo’s group,

the other awakened ones hadn’t frequently engaged in battles with the mermaids.

They had only experienced minor skirmishes when awakening new members.

“In the water, swinging a hammer would ordinarily be worse than fighting bare-handed...”

The weapons they wielded varied based on the traits they gained when awakening.

Right from the start, the awakened individual who first took down a monster wielded a hammer.

“Such weapons are working to their full potential.”

The buff obtained from my cooking not only improved stats but also granted temporary traits.

**[Environmental Adaptation - Water]**

**[You possess excellent adaptability to specific environments. While active in water, the restrictions on your actions due to the environment are reduced by up to 80%.]**

“That’s an absurd effect.”

“Sure is, but it’s a bit exaggerated.”

“Exaggerated?”

Chang-soo smiled as if he found it absurd.

“I asked the other soldiers before, but they said that all awakened individuals outside could do something like this. Isn’t that impossible?”

“If only that were the case, it would be nice, but sadly it isn’t.”

“That’s a relief. I almost lost my confidence.”

The reason we could produce such a buff was 

because our squad had faced countless battles and grown stronger.

“Honestly, even if other groups join us, I thought it wouldn’t have a significant impact. Given the environmental constraints, I assumed they would only serve as shields against the monsters.”

“Not anymore.”

As he said,

with their stats boosted and 

the awakened individuals now able to demonstrate their abilities even in the water,

the predator mermaids began to find themselves on the back foot.

Chang-soo chuckled softly and muttered.

“Killing all those bastards... it’s certainly possible.”