Seo Yu-ju was covered in some blood, but she didn’t seem to be injured.

The fact that she had taken on six people alone, finished them off faster than we had, and then came to help us once again reaffirmed her combat prowess.

'What a monster.'

"It’s a relief that you’re safe, Yu-ju. You finished them off incredibly fast."

Realizing that she had indeed wrapped things up too quickly, she hurried to explain.

"Ah! They were just really weak. It seemed like they had never been in a proper fight before... When they saw me, they got completely flustered..."

Seo Yu-ju started rambling, sharing details no one had even asked about.

The more I observed her, the clearer it became—she was undeniably strong, but she wasn’t exactly the sharpest tool in the shed.

'Or rather... should I say she has an airheaded side to her?'

"Ahem... Anyway, no one got hurt, and everyone fought really well."

"It seems like their overconfidence played a big role. Since we have two kids and a high percentage of women in our group, they must have underestimated us. Once the fight started, they didn’t know how to handle magic at all."

"Hmm... Now that you mention it, I also got the feeling that these guys survived by ambushing lone travelers and those fleeing from monsters rather than actually fighting."

Hearing Seo Yu-ju’s words, Kang Iseo frowned and spat.

"Shit, those cowardly bastards. Guess fighting monsters was too damn scary for them. Worthless trash..."

Everyone silently agreed. If what Seo Yu-ju said was true, these guys had chosen to kill and plunder people rather than face monsters.

"Anyway, let’s keep moving."

Seo Yu-ju took the lead, and we followed behind her.

Not even ten minutes after we resumed our march, I noticed everyone except Seo Yu-ju sneaking glances at me.

'...I screwed up.'

It seemed my behavior earlier had unsettled them. They were clearly watching me more cautiously than usual.

As we continued in silence, Kang Iseo spoke up.

"Hey, you’ve got quite a temper, huh? I was honestly shocked. I thought you were just some mild-mannered guy, but you looked like a real villain back there. Haha..."

"...I don’t normally act like that. I guess I was just stressed."

Seo Yu-ju, overhearing our conversation, looked confused, as if she had no idea what we were talking about.

Uncle Ho-won didn’t seem to care much, while Yu-rim and Yu-hyun... Yu-hyun seemed a bit awkward, while Yu-rim acted like it didn’t bother her at all.

'Or maybe she’s just pretending, I should check in with her later.'

The real problem was Song Ha-eun. She seemed genuinely scared of me now, keeping a slight distance.

'Hah... Do I have to start my progress with her all over again? This is frustrating.'

I had been trying to get on her good side, but one moment of aggression had ruined my efforts.

My plan to impress a future talent had gone straight off a cliff.

"Honestly, I liked it. It made you seem more human. Let’s be real, who gets dragged into this world and doesn’t curse once? I totally get it."

'Is she just thoughtless, or is she saying this to lighten the mood?'

"Actually, I found it kind of sexy. I think it suits you. Just drop the polite act and curse more."

"...No thanks."

"Tsk, why are you forcing yourself to act all polite? Just let loose."

Kang Iseo’s face fell slightly, making me wonder if she was actually serious.

'No way... right?'

For some reason, I had a feeling that if I actually cursed at her, she’d enjoy it.

'Now I’m genuinely curious about how she’d react.’

As Kang Iseo and I chatted, Seo Yu-ju, seemingly clueless about our conversation, finally spoke up.

"What exactly are you two talking about?"

Caught off guard, I coughed awkwardly. Kang Iseo smirked and turned to Seo Yu-ju.

"Oh, you won’t believe this, but Yun-seong actually got a confession from their leader. That guy said he liked men and asked Yun-seong to join him."

Seo Yu-ju’s eyes widened in shock, her voice faltering.

"W-what?! Seriously?!"

'Hah... How does she fall for jokes this easily?'

Seo Yu-ju then mumbled quietly to herself.

"That’s not good... Yun-seong is supposed to be mine..."

I pretended not to hear her.

As Kang Iseo teased Seo Yu-ju and our group slowly resumed conversation, Seo Yu-ju eventually halted and spoke up.

"I think we’re getting close to the center. From here on, those of you who can use mana should start sensing the surroundings as we move."

Seo Yu-ju, myself, Song Ha-eun, and Yu-hyun focused on using mana detection as we cautiously advanced.

About twenty minutes passed, but despite Seo Yu-ju knowing the dungeon’s location, she still hadn’t spoken up.

'...Is she pretending not to have found it?'

The others couldn’t see her status window, so they weren’t suspicious yet. But her behavior was undeniably odd.

She was absurdly strong and the one making most of the tactical decisions.

Maybe she was deliberately holding back information, worried that revealing too much would make people suspicious later.

'Hmm... She’s leading us in the right direction. Either I or someone else will find it soon enough.'

Another twenty minutes passed when suddenly, Song Ha-eun tensed up.

"W-wait!"

Rumble—

The ground trembled, and a dungeon entrance emerged from beneath us.

At last, the dungeon revealed itself before us.

'...It’s smaller than I expected.'

The dungeon’s appearance... resembled a small pyramid. Compared to the pyramids in Egypt, this was almost laughably tiny.

About 20 meters in both width and length. Height—approximately 15 meters? I wasn’t exactly sure. Regardless, from the outside, the dungeon looked like a pyramid, with a narrow entrance visible.

The regressor examined the dungeon for a moment, their expression complicated, before speaking.

"...So this is the dungeon. Ha-eun, good work finding it."

"Yes... It's incredible."

Who on Earth had ever seen a pyramid with their own eyes? Even though this was noticeably smaller than those in Egypt, everyone was awestruck and momentarily speechless.

"Shit... It’s huge inside. Do we really have to go in there? Are we sure we can clear it on our own?"

As soon as Kang Iseo cursed at the sight of the dungeon, the same voice from the start of the tutorial echoed.

[ Congratulations. Someone has discovered the tutorial dungeon. We commend those who, after much hardship, have finally located the tutorial dungeon. ]

[ If you clear the dungeon, all currently living individuals will enter Eras, regardless of whether they participated in the dungeon raid. The dungeon has a somewhat high difficulty, so it is recommended that you grow stronger before attempting it. ]

Hearing the guide’s warning about the dungeon’s difficulty made me uneasy.

'...Are we sure we can clear this?'

I glanced at Seo Yu-ju, but she showed no sign of doubt regarding the dungeon’s completion. That reassured me.

[ We wish you success in clearing the dungeon. ]

The guide’s voice disappeared after that, it seemed the instructions were over.

Uncle Ho-won spoke up.

"The guidance seems to be over... But is entering the dungeon right now really the best choice?"

Even Uncle Ho-won looked worried after hearing the guide’s warning.

"...Not today, we’ll camp here and challenge it tomorrow. I believe we can clear it."

Yu-rim, clearly concerned about her brother’s safety, questioned Seo Yu-ju.

"...Unnie, could you tell us why you think so?"

"Because we have no way to get stronger anymore. We’ve all acquired classes and traits suited to them. We’ve explored every building in all four cardinal directions. There’s nothing left for us to search for."

"...Then what about bringing more fighters? If we return to the camp..."

Seo Yu-ju shook her head slowly.

"No, the people at the camp will never fight. We weren’t the only ones who heard the guide’s message, those still at the camp heard it too. They already refuse to fight the monsters outside the camp—do you think they’d risk their lives to enter an even more dangerous dungeon?"

"Then what if we find people outside the camp who are already fighting monsters and bring them along..."

"Yu-rim, think carefully about what the guide just said."

"...What do you mean?"

"The guide stated that, regardless of participation, clearing the dungeon will bring all surviving individuals into Eras."

Realization dawned on Yu-rim’s face as she responded.

"From their perspective, there’s no reason to participate in the dungeon raid."

"From their point of view, there’s no need to risk their lives by entering the dungeon. They can just wait for someone else to clear it."

Seo Yu-ju was right. From the moment the guide had announced the message to everyone, the situation was set. Most people would simply wait for someone else to clear the dungeon for them.

Some might argue that we, too, didn’t have to enter the dungeon. But once everyone had heard the guide’s message, we no longer had a choice. No one else would voluntarily risk their lives for this.

'Damn... If the so-called gods designed this system on purpose, then this is one twisted setup.'

For a brief moment, I wondered—this time, we had a regressor, but what about the first attempt?

'It must have been absolute hell.'

I could imagine everyone trying to avoid entering the dungeon. People must have procrastinated until food supplies ran low, forcing them to send someone in.

Perhaps... the exact scenario I had imagined had actually played out.

Lost in thought, I snapped back to reality at Seo Yu-ju’s next words.

"Anyway, my point is that, from the moment the guide’s message was announced, we have no choice but to clear the dungeon ourselves."

Technically, there was one other option—forcing others into the dungeon.

If we entered together and used them as fodder to clear it, the difficulty would drop significantly. Whether they died by our hands or by the dungeon’s traps and monsters, the result would be the same.

The problem was... no one here would even consider such a plan. Their minds wouldn’t even go there. Or, more accurately, they would refuse to let their minds go there.

Because they were all good people.

Only someone like me, whose personality was warped, could even think about it.

Something dark stirred within me, but I swallowed it down.

In the end, everyone silently accepted Seo Yu-ju’s words.

"...If there are no further objections, we’ll set up camp here. We’ll assign night watch shifts, sleep, and enter the dungeon after breakfast tomorrow."

Everyone nodded in agreement.