Chapter 87

# 87

User Manual for the Regressor 087

We'll Be Together Forever (1)

While reading the letter that Yeri Kim had brought from Ji-hye Lee, the voice of Sang-hee Lee was heard.

"Then let's get started."

"Yes."

Nodding my head slightly was only natural.

I roughly stuffed the letter into my pocket and got up from my seat.

By the time we come out of the dungeon, the plan will likely be in progress.

For now, we should focus on heading to the dungeon.

The total number of people is 14.

Six from Hyun-sung Kim's party, seven from Jeong-yeon Hwang's party, and Sang-hee Lee, who leads the expedition.

Although the number of people was insufficient, the composition was quite good.

Most importantly, Sang-hee, who is a paladin with a stat of 90.

While she lacks leadership qualities, she is an exceptionally talented combatant.

She is the most ideal tank I have ever seen, with a low agility but a magic stat of 77 and the ability to self-heal, which no other tank in Lindel can match.

'Hwang Jeong-yeon's party is the same.'

The second party also has decent stats, maintaining a range of 70 to 80, and their potential abilities are not bad either.

They probably have stats suitable for entering a hero-grade dungeon.

"Due to the lack of time, we will brief you while we move. I will repeat this, but our goal is not to conquer the dungeon."

"Yes."

"Our goal is solely to confirm and rescue survivors. If we determine there are no survivors, we will immediately withdraw. While rescuing survivors is important, your safety is the most important thing. Please keep that in mind."

"Yes."

"The dungeon we are entering is a hero-grade dungeon, and its name is the Cursed Altar. The types of monsters that appear are wraiths and undead, and no other detailed information has been confirmed. We plan to search for survivors as safely as possible until reinforcements arrive."

"How long will it take?"

"The dungeon was discovered in the undead hunting ground in the western region of Lindel. It will take about 8 hours to reach our destination."

"It won't take that long, then."

It's clear that the preparation for the dungeon expedition was rushed. Even if that's the case, it's quite surprising that we only have this much information.

I could understand why so many parties entered the dungeon and ended up in this situation.

It's hard to believe that only the location of the dungeon and the types of monsters that appear were confirmed.

If the dungeon was a rare-grade, I would have nodded in agreement.

'Did they have a reason to enter?'

'They must have thought, "What could go wrong with this much power?"' This might have been the cause of their failure.

Out of curiosity, I naturally opened my mouth. In response, Jeong-yeon Hwang nodded and spoke.

"The information is a bit lacking."

"I think they entered a bit hastily at the time."

"Was there a reason?"

"Yes... The guild didn't have enough time to prepare for the expedition. It was a mistake to think that something could happen in a hero-grade dungeon, given that almost all of the guild's forces were involved. You know that the guild master of Blue was cursed, right?"

Of course, it was the first time I heard this.

"No. It's the first time I'm hearing this."

"Oh. It was a secret to the public. Although people around might have guessed, it wasn't exactly a secret. I'm sure Sang-hee would have mentioned it at the right time."

"Hmm..."

"It happened before Ki-yeong joined the party. The guild master was cursed for an unknown reason, and to lift the curse, they entered the Cursed Altar. At the time, I didn't think it was too risky. The guild members who went on the expedition were veterans specialized in hero-grade dungeons and large monster hunts."

'Even I...'

I might have thought the same.

If I consider that there were five parties as well-structured as Jeong-yeon Hwang's, it would be possible to attempt a legendary-grade dungeon.

They probably didn't think they would be held back by a hero-grade dungeon.

"Is there a hint that the Cursed Altar can lift the curse?"

"Actually, even that wasn't certain. The curse on the guild master was obtained during the discovery of the Cursed Altar, so they thought the solution might be in the dungeon that caused the curse. The guild master reached out to open the entrance to the dungeon..."

"I see."

In short, the guild master of Blue was cursed during the discovery of the dungeon, and the rest of the members entered the dungeon to lift the curse.

It felt like the dungeon was pulling people in.

'They had no choice but to enter.'

A slight sense of unease crept in.

It reminded me of a pattern in horror movies.

Usually, those who follow to save their comrades end up in bad situations.

I could only hope that wouldn't happen this time.

"You don't seem very surprised, Ki-yeong."

"No, I actually expected something might happen to the guild master of Blue. I was curious, but I didn't think it was necessary to pry. I was focused on growing at the time."

"Ah, yes. Sang-hee probably didn't want to burden you with other matters."

"Yes, that's probably it."

"Bro..."

"Ah, Hyeon."

I must have spent too much time with Jeong-yeon Hwang.

Hearing Hyeon Jung's voice calling for me, I briefly greeted her and started to match my pace.

Her mood seemed to have improved, and she smiled.

Since the atmosphere was a bit heavy, I refrained from holding hands or similar gestures, but it seemed Hyeon Jung understood me.

She didn't subtly pull on my sleeve as she usually does.

The path was too rugged for carriages and quite difficult.

While I, with my low stamina, found it a bit challenging, the party moved quickly toward the destination.

'Time was of the essence.'

I understood why they didn't consider those with low stamina.

I had to drink the stamina potion I brought and join the march.

Since we were facing undead, it seemed the priests thought it best to conserve as much holy power as possible.

We arrived at the area with undead before half a day had passed, and this was the first time our party had entered this region.

It was also the first time we faced undead monsters. They were curious and looked around.

"Ugh..."

The priests were openly frowning.

While Sun-hee-young, who has the Dark Priest class, didn't seem as troubled, she was clearly affected.

Yeri Kim, who was more scared than expected, clung to Hyun-sung Kim, and Deok-gu Park, who is naturally timid, was intimidated by the eerie atmosphere.

Among our party members, only Hyeon Jung and Hyun-sung Kim seemed fine.

While Hyun-sung Kim, who knew this place, was an exception, Hyeon Jung's cheerful smile was hard to understand.

The deeper we went, the darker it felt.

It wasn't just because it was night; the atmosphere itself was gloomy.

'Unpleasant.'

The ground was damp and sticky, and the sounds of the undead from somewhere increased the tension.

This place was frustrating. The closer we got to our destination, the stronger these feelings became.

'Curse?'

I couldn't be sure.

Perhaps the place itself was causing these unpleasant feelings.

"Man, this place is really frustrating. It's hard to describe, but..."

"I feel it too. Deok-gu, it will probably get worse when we reach our destination."

"Ugh."

"I didn't want to deal with these undead..."

"We have no choice."

We whispered, and soon we arrived at our destination.

The place was a small room inside a temple.

It was naturally unsettling.

When we moved the bookshelf in the small room, the entrance to the dungeon appeared.

There was an unknown entrance in the room. While I couldn't tell what it was, the inverted animal pendant and other unpleasant decorations were noticeable.

It felt more like a place for...

'Worshiping demons.'

Looking at the entrance leading underground, I understood why the guild master of Blue was cursed upon discovering this place.

The atmosphere was clearly one that could curse someone. I don't know how carelessly they entered, but the guild master of Blue seemed to have overestimated their abilities.

'It feels like you could be cursed just by breathing...'

Bravely reaching out was, in a way, a talent.

I, who would avoid such places until something was confirmed, wouldn't even consider it.

While observing the surroundings and the atmosphere, I heard Sang-hee's voice.

"I will enter first. The 7th party will follow, and the 2nd party will come after. Priests, please recite the purification spell."

"Yes."

I saw Sun-hee-young and the man from the 2nd party reciting the spell.

As soon as light poured down on us, the oppressive feeling in my mind seemed to lift.

'It works.'

It seemed this place itself was emitting negative emotions.

Everyone nodded, and Sang-hee turned and started walking.

"Let's go, Ki-yeong."

"Brother."

"Yes."

Of course, we also entered. Information immediately flooded in.

[You have entered the hero-grade dungeon, the Cursed Altar. Confirmed personnel [??/??].]

I thought a battle would start immediately, but it didn't.

Unlike the Garden of Fear, which completely changed the scenery, the Cursed Altar felt like we were inside a large altar in the temple's basement.

The interior was eerily quiet despite our tension.

As expected, the archer was the busiest, immediately starting to give reports after looking around.

"There don't seem to be any nearby. While I can't tell in detail, the traces around here seem to be quite old."

As the archer said, this area was safe.

It seemed to be a cleared area.

My head throbbed a bit, but I didn't feel the unpleasant sensation that I did earlier.

"Overall, it seems like we moved a bit faster."

"Really?"

"Yes. We can probably move faster."

"I agree. Priests, please be ready to recite the spell at any time."

"Yes, understood."

The party's entry speed was a bit faster than I expected. Of course, they didn't neglect vigilance.

While there were no signs of undead, everyone was aware that this dungeon had swallowed many parties and remained cautious.

'It seems to have been cleared smoothly.'

This was evident even without the archer's eyes.

The deeper we went, the cleaner the interior became.

The lack of significant battle traces indicated that the previous parties had cleared this section smoothly.

"Next."

"Yes."

"We will enter the next room."

"Yes."

"The next room after that..."

"Yes."

At that moment, an unfamiliar voice was heard.

-You will be cursed.

'What is that...?'