Ordinary Art Factor [EN]: Chapter 163

How did I know that, you ask?

Ahem.

Well….

“Probe, one unit, summon.”

You come to know after repeating these words hundreds of times.

Wanna try it?

Do you have any idea how frustrating it is to chant the same words hundreds of times in a confined, pitch-black space?

It’s only thanks to the remaining Dark Assassins and Dark Warriors that I can even do this.

Well, at least the summoned units won’t get crushed to death… um, they might survive even if they do get crushed… Ah, no, are these guys even alive in the first place?

Anyway, enough with the random thoughts.

So, I found out that air was getting through, and the next step was… well, obvious, right?

‘Clang!’

‘Scratch… Scraaatch!’

What’s that sound, you ask?

Don’t ask.

Just take it as it is.

‘Scrape… Thud.’

‘Clang! Scraaatch!’

I said, just take it as it is!

After several instances of extreme regret, I took off my top, tore my sweat-soaked undershirt, took out water from my inventory, washed up roughly, soaked the cloth thoroughly, and covered my face.

No, should I say I covered my mouth and nose, not my face?

The reason is the massive amount of dust.

Why is there so much dust, you ask?

Just think for a moment, just a brief moment, why do you keep asking bothersome questions about things you can figure out quickly?

Right.

I’m digging.

Not digging downwards, not digging upwards, not that I’m the one digging, and I’m not even sure if ‘digging’ is the right word, but the Dark Assassins and Dark Warriors are relentlessly smashing the rocks behind us.

That’s why there’s so much dust.

Okay?

Don’t ask any more questions. It’s hard to breathe.

I don’t know how much time has passed.

It’s still dark all around.

I took a short nap in the middle, ate some food roughly, and took care of small business… the problem is the big one.

I definitely ate, so I definitely need to… in this narrow space… so… um… never mind.

I’ll hold it in as long as I can, and if I really can’t, I’ll dig a hole, do my business, and then fill it in.

But… I don’t have any toilet paper… Ahem.

Whenever I was hungry, I took out a bowl of rice, mixed it with canned spam, kimchi [fermented Korean cabbage], and gochujang [Korean chili paste], and ate it roughly, but the problem is that I can’t light a fire, and an even bigger problem is the smell.

The dust is somewhat filtered by the cotton undershirt since there’s enough water, but the smell of what I buried after doing my business is subtly irritating.

Moreover, I’m getting a little tired of eating the same food, the same taste, every time I’m hungry.

No. Let’s be grateful that I’m still alive.

If I didn’t have any food left in my inventory, I would have starved to death, right before eating those buried things… Ah, no. That’s just a pointless thought.

Still, it was a stroke of genius to go grocery shopping at the supermarket before entering the dungeon. Ahem.

…….

‘Clang!’

‘Thwack… Thwack!’

‘Clang! Scraaatch!’

I have no idea how much time has passed.

The greatswords of the summoned Dark Assassins and Dark Warriors are starting to chip.

They’re still quite usable, but the ‘clang’ sound is the sound of the sword hitting hard rocks or stones, and the ‘thwack’ sound, which I didn’t hear at first, is the sound of the greatsword embedding into the rock.

Originally, I should be hearing ‘scrape’ or ‘scratch, scraaatch’ sounds. Tsk… The digging speed is getting slower and slower.

But it’s still okay. Still.

…….

‘Clang!’

‘Thwack… Thwack!’

‘Clang!’

‘Thwack! Thwack.’

Are those damn bastards all on drugs?

Why do they keep slamming their swords into the rocks… Huh?

Normally, three units stand side by side and dig or scrape the ground, while the other seven or eight units carry the dug-out dirt to the side or build a solid road, but today, for some reason, they keep hitting the rocks and making sparks.

That’s why the swords are getting damaged, and because the swords are damaged, the digging is getting slower!

Um, but when all three of them are making sparks like that….

“Hold on! Everyone, step back.”

At my command, the digging moles stepped back, and I carefully walked forward, constantly summoning Probes.

Um….

Ummm….

So… this is… shit!

It’s a huge boulder.

No wonder the swords are chipping when they’re hacking away at this thing.

When did I ever tell you to make a straight road like a highway?

I just told you not to block the air flow, to prevent collapses, and to dig carefully while assessing the situation!

Anyway, what do I do with this?

Should I go around it and make a path?

Or should I just break it?

If I do that, the space itself might collapse like last time… but making a new path to the side would take a long time… Um, if things keep going like this, I don’t know when I’ll get out of here… Ahem. First, let’s see how big this damn boulder is.

I summoned about 100 Probes?

After examining the dug-out areas around it, it doesn’t seem to be getting any bigger on the right side. Just in case, I borrowed a Dark Assassin’s greatsword and wiggled it around, trying not to let the tip touch the boulder, poking and pulling it out dozens of times… and as expected, I think I can make a path this way.

“See? This is how you do it. Don’t just swing blindly, do it like this, like this, and if you pull this out like this, you can dig a lot easily….”

Huh?

Uh oh?

What, what is it?

A lump of dirt poured out, and without summoning a Probe, light, light is leaking out. So, if light is leaking out like this, that means….

“It’s, it’s the exit! It’s the exit! Hooray! I, I finally dug through this damn thing! I dug through it!”

I jumped up and down on the spot, then stepped back and shouted at the summoned units.

“Dig around there, focusing on that spot! Everyone, get to it!”

The ten or so units rubbed against each other and rushed forward, swinging their greatswords blindly.

Damn it, I gave a stupid order.

Instead of everyone swarming, it would be more efficient to move in groups of three like before… Oh, but it’s not bad?

The units that were rubbing against each other got tangled up and randomly stabbed at the wall, causing a lump of dirt to pour down, and the light became clearer and clearer, gradually increasing in size.

“Good! That’s enough! Everyone, step back and wait… Ah! No. Um, you there. You go out this way first and wait. If a dungeon unit attacks, don’t engage, just run away.”

I was going to get out first, but I changed my mind, just in case, and decided to send a summoned unit out first.

If the dungeon hasn’t been cleared, if this exit is that huge open space, if there are any remaining humanoid dungeon units, then this is a sacrificial lamb to buy time.

There’s no need for me to go out first and get my head smashed.

The guy who heard my order lowered his posture, crawled on the ground, and stuck his head into the hole where the light was leaking out.

Um, seems okay?

There’s no reaction from outside. In that case….

I pressed my chest to the ground, dug through the dirt with both hands, and squeezed my body into the hole where the unit had gone out.

How many times did I wriggle?

My eyes are so bright.

In that dark darkness where I don’t even know how much time has passed, on the border between life and death… Huh? Did I hear something?

I crawled out of there, struggling to open my eyes, carefully took a stance, and savored this feeling of abundant light, when I thought I heard some voices from somewhere.

Something about the goddess Idea… Uh… huh?

‘Wham… Wham!’

What, what is it?

I can’t see, so I don’t know what’s going on… Uh, huh?

“There’s one over there too! Tear of the goddess Idea! Wall of ice!”

“Focus fire! Support heal, mages focus!”

“We need to take care of that one first. It’s running away!”

“No! This way first!”

Eh… so… these voices are….

“… You~ you son of a bitch, you son of a bitch~.”

Suddenly, a strange silence fell at my loud shout, and then,

“Joooo… Goooooon!”

Psy’s loud shout is heard.

A moment later.

“Heads down properly, got it?”

“Ugh. Yes.”

“O, oppa [term used by females to address older male friends or brothers]! It wasn’t me! I didn’t cast any magic attacks!”

“Shut up and keep your head down!”

“H, hyungnim [term used by males to address older male friends or brothers]. I didn’t even give any heals? Why am I being punished too….”

“Denied! If the guild members do something wrong, the team leader gets punished! If you say another word, I’ll extend it by 10 minutes!”

“… Yessir.”

Han Deuk, Gil Su, Ji Hye, Mi Hye, Kim Eun Hee, and Choi Eun Ji.

The team leaders are bowing their heads to the ground in front of me, with their hands behind their backs.

It’s called a ‘military punishment’ [TL: 원산폭격, a painful bowing position used as punishment].

How dare you mistake this body, who is like the sky, like a god, your lifeline, for a humanoid dungeon unit?

Even if my appearance is covered in dirt, black, and so messed up that you can’t even recognize me, you shouldn’t do that!

Why did I shout ‘Probe summon’ endlessly in that pit, tear my undershirt to cover my nose and mouth, eat the same thing every day, and live anxiously in the ground for so long in that place filled with that smell?

Despite all that, how dare you… no, how could you do that to me who came back alive… no, I wouldn’t say anything if all the guild members didn’t recognize me.

Psy recognized me! Psy!

“Psy.”

“Yes, my lord.”

At my words, Psy, filled with spirit, scurried forward and stood at attention.

“Relax. First, tell me what’s been going on.”

“Yes, my lord. I will tell you as I remember it. Should I start from the beginning?”

“The beginning? What do you mean by the beginning?”

“Before we came here, when we were heading towards the 9 o’clock direction of Dolsan….”

“Yeah. Do whatever you want.”

“Yes, so… you told the art team to detour to the 9 o’clock direction of Dolsan first and summon bio units to buy time….”

Yeah. Start from the beginning, repeat what you said, talk nonsense, or have a moment of silence, I don’t care.

The longer you talk, the longer the team leaders will have to do the headstand punishment.

“…After that, I made all the evolved zerglings attack the bottom right of the stone pillar. It was a brilliant strategy that only my lord could devise. And thanks to my lord’s excellent strategy, the stone pillar began to crack, and the crack that started from the very top gradually extended down to the bottom….”

“Kkeueueung….”

“Aaaagh, Psy, just skip it! Skip it, please! Oppa [older brother/term of endearment] knows all that stuff already!”

“Where is this local broadcast coming from? Should I extend the time?”

“Kkeueum.”

“Oh, Oppa!”

“Um… yeah. I know up to there. What’s next?”

“Yes, my lord. Even in that dangerous situation, my lord, full of virtue and cherishing talent, ordered us to take refuge in the cave for our sake, and he stayed in his place, watching the situation, looking around, and preparing for any possible emergencies. How can I, a lowly and incompetent guild member, dare to fathom the high and deep intentions of my lord, who sacrifices himself in every way for us….”

“…….”

“…When the stone pillar, the mature tower, collapsed, and the cave collapsed in a pitch-black situation where you couldn’t see an inch ahead, I felt it. Everything my lord did must have a valid reason. I believed so, and I was sure of it. As expected! When the cave where the guild members were collapsed, the repayment of grace for staying in my lord’s place to the end was carried out. The result of enduring countless dangers has arrived. It was the dungeon clear notification. The moment that notification rang….”

“…What? Wait! What did you say earlier? Clear notification?”

“Yes? Yes. My lord. Even the heavens were moved by the actions of the great lord. The primordial dungeon, that new….”

“Just the conclusion!”

“Yes. As the dungeon clear notification rang, we were moved here. I don’t know the reason, but the fact that we were able to survive safely even in the situation where the cave was collapsing is all thanks to my lord’s great grace and fortune, and all the support guild members are….”

Psy’s explanation fades from my ears.

I can’t hear Psy’s voice.

Did the dungeon clear notification ring?

Was the dungeon cleared?

Then the dungeon was cleared, and everything is over, but why isn’t this damn huge mature tower regenerating and staying as it is, and why have I been crawling around in that dark cave, desperately digging in the ground until now?

No! Putting that aside, why were you guys summoned here at the same time as the clear notification rang, and why am I smelling poop and eating dirt in that damn cave, in a bleak situation where I can’t see an inch ahead… Keueuk, keueueuk!

“Ssiiiiibaal [Korean swear word]! Why, why is it only me who’s like this!”

Psy is startled by my loud shout and suddenly starts hiccuping.

As if he’s caught in the delusion that his explanation was too long and his lord got angry.

“Ssibal [Korean swear word]! Fucking world! If the dungeon is cleared, it should be applied equally. Someone crawls around in the ground, and someone is comfortably moved and playing around. Even if the Awakener system is like that, why is the dungeon system like this again? Ha… really dirty, dirty.”

“…….”

Psy fidgets next to me at my grumbling. With eyes as if wondering when this crazy bastard will explode again… Ah, is it not? Never mind.

“Ehyo~. That’s it. My life is always like this. Everyone, get up!”

The team leaders who were doing the headstand punishment wriggle a few times in an awkward posture and then get up from their seats and fix their hair.

“Okay, the dungeon is cleared, so what are the issues?”

“…….”

“…….”

“Oh? No one’s answering? Should we do it for another hour? You still haven’t come to your senses….”

“H, Hyungnim [term of respect for older brother/male elder]. I’ll tell you. The guild members’ minor injuries were all healed when the dungeon was cleared, but some will have to be transported out. And I haven’t looked into anything else yet, and it seems like there’s no dungeon clear reward mineral.”

“Eh?”

What is that supposed to mean?

There’s no mineral?

So, you’re saying we cleared the dungeon, but there’s no reward? What kind of nonsense is that?

“What are you talking about? Why isn’t there any mineral? And the potions? Even if it’s high-grade, give it to these guys… Ah… damn it!”

That’s right.

I ate all the low-grade and mid-grade potions in the middle, and I even emptied out the high-grade potions for the last attack… Keueum.

“How hurt are they? Is it serious? Who is it?”

“It’s Warrior Jae-deok from Team 2, and Mage Ho-hwan and Deok-soo from Team 3. Their external wounds are all fine after the clear, but Jae-deok has a broken left arm, Ho-hwan has a broken right leg, and Deok-soo has two broken ribs. It seems like they were buried under the rocks that fell before the clear, and it seems like it will be difficult for them to move for a month or two after we get out of here.”

“Ehyu… Where are these guys? Let’s go see them.”

“Yes. They’re resting over there in the back.”

Han-deuk guides me to where the guild members are resting.

As I start walking with the team leaders who were hesitating, I feel my boiling anger subside to some extent.

First of all, it’s not their fault that I was trapped in the collapsed cave and crawled around, so let’s just say it couldn’t be helped, and I need to check on the well-being of the guys who were injured in the battle situation, no, while clearing.

They were injured while faithfully fulfilling their roles, and if I ignore their condition just because I’m so upset, just because I’m so grumpy, just because I’m so wronged, then there’s no reason for me to be a guild leader, no reason for the guild members to follow me, and no purpose to clear this dungeon as a team will disappear.

The dungeon clear reward is of course important, but people’s lives are more important than that.

People come first, then money; money doesn’t come before people. Of course, sometimes that’s not the case… Keueueum.

As I move behind the collapsed stone pillar with the team leaders, some guild members recognize me and shout.

“G, Guild Leader!”

“Guild Leader! You’re really safe!”

“I’m so glad. I’m really glad!”

“The Guild Leader is back! The Guild Leader is back!”

This is the atmosphere it should have been from the beginning.

The guild members should have welcomed me like this from the beginning.

Instead of blindly launching a magic attack, they should recognize me and welcome me warmly… Keukeum.

I need to check on these guys first.

After a while.

After checking on the injured and giving them words of encouragement, reassurance, and hope that we will be leaving this place soon, I set up a meeting with the team leaders.

Since the dungeon has been cleared, I’m thinking of going outside, but before that….

“…After the clear notification, we were moved here, and after regaining our senses and looking around, we found this.”

Kim Eun-hee puts down about 10 purification items of darkness on the floor.

Probably left behind by the hundreds of humanoid dungeon units that were annihilated with the clear.

“So, this is the only reward? Did you try going outside?”

“Can we go by ourselves without Hyungnim? We waited for Hyungnim.”

“That’s right. I knew you were safe because the zlots Hyungnim summoned were still around. I thought you were looking around somewhere else. I, I really didn’t know you were trapped in the cave.”

“So, you launched a magic attack as soon as you crawled out? To see if I would die or not? Huh?”

“Oppa! You have to say it right. I didn’t attack! And you’re not even hurt.”

“Oh? It’s okay because I wasn’t hurt? There was an intention to attack, but it’s all okay because I didn’t die?”

“Why again! It’s because Oppa looked so much like a dungeon unit….”

“Oh~ I look like a dungeon unit? So you launched a magic attack to get rid of me?”

“Ah~ really! Really Mr. Sardine! You could have misunderstood! How long are you going to sulk about that like a petty man!”

“Aheo… If you misunderstand twice, you’ll be burned to death or frozen to death by a magic attack from the same side. If you misunderstand three times….”

“Aaaagh! Aaaagh!”

Ji-hye screams hysterically.

Keueum. Did I overdo it?

Still, what’s not right isn’t right.

Literally, if those dozens of fire magic and ice magic had actually hit me, I would have died without saying a word, burned to death or frozen to death.

Um, come to think of it, I’m really vulnerable to magic attacks?

What’s the point of being able to summon and produce hundreds or thousands of units?

The main body is a moron.

I was only thinking about fighting the dungeon units that were rushing at me, and I didn’t react to the magic attacks… Ah, dungeon units can’t use magic attacks!

Since they can’t use magic attacks anyway, it seems like there’s no reason for me to worry about this… But if the same situation happens again… Keueueum. I need to think about this separately later.

Anyway,

“Since we cleared the dungeon, let’s get the reward and get out of here. Han-deuk.”

“Yes, Hyungnim.”

“There’s no clear reward mineral?”

“Yes. We couldn’t find any mineral in the cave we’ve searched so far, including the open space. The same goes for gas. The stone pillar should be a mature tower, but something’s a bit strange.”

“Hyungnim, this is just my opinion, but maybe it’s not inside but outside the stone mountain? There was nothing nearby, as Han-deuk said.”

Gil-soo gives his opinion instead of Han-deuk.

Um… maybe that’s right.

We are in this huge stone mountain. If the stone pillar in the numerous caves and large open space inside was the mature tower of the dungeon, then maybe….

“Let’s look around until today. And if there’s nothing, we’ll go outside tomorrow. Tell the others and take a rest. That’s all.”

“Yes. I understand.”

“I understand. Hyungnim.”

As I roughly organize the things to do in the future, the guys scatter around.

But why do I feel strangely empty?

Was I missing something?

The next day.

As soon as it dawned in the dungeon, the guild members scattered in groups of two or three and thoroughly searched the huge open space.

I ordered them to report anything unusual or anything special they found, but no one has come to find me yet.

I was asking Psy, who was following me around, about this and that, and I was surprised to hear that it had been 6 days since the dungeon was cleared.

That means I’ve been trapped in the cave for 6 days, but I thought it had been at least two weeks.

In a dark and narrow space, I spend all day with the summoned dark assassins and dark warriors, or I summon only one probe at a time in that short moment… Uh… so… wait a minute.

Probe and dungeon clear reward… in a situation where I can’t find the mineral… probe summon… so… that’s….

“That’s right! Probe!”

I knew I was a genius!

There’s no reason for all the guild members to scatter around and look for minerals with their naked eyes like this.

It is said that the mature tower or nexus in the dungeon can be found by making items with Psy’s enchant trait because they emit magic power, but I haven’t thought about this until now because the minerals were scattered around it.

Why look for something that’s obvious?

But, in a situation where we can’t find the reward even though the dungeon has been cleared like now, probes or drones are the best.

Why?

Originally, probes and drones mine minerals!

The probe mineral fetching skill that I accidentally discovered in the Yongdam Grade 10 dungeon where I first awakened two years ago. If so,

“Summon 100 probes!”

[Tting! Summons 100 probes.]

Psy looks at me with a curious expression from the side as I suddenly stop in the middle of moving towards the cave, as if thinking about something, and summon the probes.

With an expression that says, ‘This bastard is doing something weird again.’

Whether he does or not, the 100 probes that appeared with white light spin around me, making me feel dizzy.

“Everyone, mine minerals!”

As soon as I finish speaking, the 100 probes mingle together and start moving in a line to one side.

“Ooh~. You, you’re amazing. My lord!”

Psy, who had been making a strange expression, approaches me and sends an admiring gaze while chasing after the probes’ butts.

Am I a bit much?

This is the change in perception.

Depending on how you think about it, even difficult problems can be solved easily with a high level of… uh? Uh?

Hey? Where are you going?

There’s nothing but piles of stones there!

The 100 summoned probes are toddling and crawling to a small stone mountain where huge stone pillars have collapsed and piled up.

There was definitely nothing there, but now that I’m going there… I felt strange as I followed the probes.

Did something change when the dungeon was cleared?

I couldn’t examine the stone pillar mature tower in detail last time because of the humanoid dungeon units, so maybe that’s why?

If, by any chance, something changes in the mature tower as it is cleared, there is no way to do it in this state.

Even if I look at it, this is not a big pile of stones, it’s just a mountain, a mountain.

To put it nicely, it’s a mound made of huge fragments as the stone pillar collapsed.

If there are minerals buried under that mound… I’ll pass. Keueueum.

However, not knowing my feelings, the 100 probes are still toddling and crawling towards the pile of stones in the middle of the open space.