Chapter 134 – The Immortal Monster  

Yoon-sik Oh smirked as he looked at the eight hunters following him.  

‘They’re all high-level hunters, aren’t they?’  

Their levels ranged from 2,300 to 2,500—upper-tier hunters even among their party.  

‘Their insight is sharp, given their levels. They didn’t fall for Min Do-jun’s nonsense.’  

Lower-level hunters, lacking experience, had made poor judgments, but high-level hunters were different.  

‘They saw through the lies instantly. How could a monster be immortal?’  

But Yoon-sik didn’t realize one thing: most of them had joined his side not because they believed him, but because they couldn’t endure the cold.  

“Thank you all for trusting and following me. I know our numbers have dwindled, but don’t worry. With only high-level hunters left, we can handle the hunt just fine.”  

Acting as the leader, Yoon-sik reassured the party and repositioned them according to their roles.  

“Now that we’ve warmed up, shall we begin the hunt in earnest?”  

The nine of them, including Yoon-sik, walked down a torch-lit corridor. The pyramid’s interior was as hot as a sauna, so the cold was the last thing on their minds. In this optimal state—neither too hot nor too cold—they were confident they could tear apart any monster that appeared.  

Groooaaar—  

Then, a three-meter-tall humanoid monster wrapped in bandages appeared.  

It was the pyramid’s signature monster—a mummy.  

“Everyone knows how to deal with this, right?”  

“Why bother with strategy? Just cut it down.”  

“Exactly. It’s just one monster. What’s there to plan?”  

“Just be careful not to get caught in each other’s skills.”  

The party members readied their weapons. They were professional monster hunters who had slain tens of thousands of monsters. A single one was nothing to strategize over.  

The only thing worth worrying about was how much damage they could deal to claim their share.  

“Haha, even though it’s our first time facing this monster, everyone’s brimming with confidence. Well then…”  

Yoon-sik raised his staff and shouted,  

“I’ll take the first strike!”  

Dozens of ice spears shot from his staff, homing in on the mummy. Though the mummy dodged with surprising agility, the spears curved mid-air and struck its back.  

Groooaaar!  

The mummy roared in pain—clearly, the attack had hurt it.  

Following Yoon-sik’s lead, archers and mages unleashed a barrage of attacks. Melee fighters charged in, ruthlessly tearing apart the mummy’s bandages.  

The mummy’s limbs were torn apart in less than 30 seconds.  

As the mummy dissolved into smoke, the party members scoffed.  

“Wasn’t it supposed to be immortal?”  

“Guess not.”  

“How absurd.”  

“I knew it.”  

Yoon-sik also smirked.  

‘Of course. Immortal? What a joke.’  

But their smugness turned to confusion when someone spoke up.  

“Wait, this is weird.”  

“What is?”  

“Why aren’t we getting any experience points?”  

Everyone checked their message logs, puzzled.  

“I didn’t get any either.”  

“Same here.”  

“I definitely landed all my hits and skills.”  

“This is strange.”  

But the anomaly didn’t end there.  

“L-Look over there!”  

The smoke that should have dissipated began swirling back together, reforming the mummy’s figure.  

“S-So it really is immortal?”  

The smoke solidified, restoring the mummy to its original form.  

Groooaaar!  

Its roar confirmed that what they were seeing was no illusion.  

“A-Attack again!”  

Panicked, Yoon-sik struck first. Archers, mages, and warriors followed, shredding the mummy’s limbs once more.  

But then—  

“It’s coming back again!”  

“This is insane!”  

The mummy revived right before their eyes, sending the party into a frenzy.  

‘Damn it! It really keeps coming back?’  

No experience points, and it resurrected in seconds—just as Min Do-jun had warned.  

“That hunter was telling the truth…”  

“Ugh… I should’ve listened to him…”  

Between killing the mummy and its next revival, the party members groaned with regret.  

Yoon-sik didn’t say it aloud, but he felt the same.  

“But that hunter also entered the dungeon, right? Why would he come in if he knew?”  

“Huh? Good point. If he knew they were immortal, why would he?”  

“Maybe… he knows how to counter it? A way to undo the immortality?”  

The moment that thought crossed their minds, the hunters turned to look back.  

If they retraced their steps now and found Min Do-jun, maybe he had a solution.  

Groooaaar!  

Crash! Thud!  

After killing the mummy for the tenth time, they had a brief window.  

“Now’s our chance! Before it revives, let’s go back! It’s our only hope!”  

Min Do-jun was their only way out of this nightmare!  

Realizing this, the hunters turned and fled.  

But then—  

Grrrrrr—  

Three shadow hounds, drawn by the scent of humans, blocked their escape route.  

‘Oh, for fuck’s sake.’  

The hunters’ faces twisted in despair.  

They knew.  

This place would become their grave.  

—  

Meanwhile, Min Do-jun and his eight companions walked through a dark corridor.  

To an outsider, it might seem like Yoon-sik had abandoned them, but Do-jun saw it differently.  

‘I’m the one who abandoned Yoon-sik.’  

He knew exactly what Yoon-sik’s group was facing.  

‘They’re probably struggling hard by now.’  

One immortal monster was manageable, but the real problem was when others joined in.  

‘What happens when an endless horde of unkillable monsters surrounds them?’  

Trapped with no escape, they’d eventually be devoured alive.  

Hunters had finite stamina, but the monsters’ strength was limitless.  

That was the true terror of immortality.  

“Excuse me, Hunter Min Do-jun?”  

One of the new team members called out to him.  

“Earlier, you said we survived because of you, right?”  

“Does that mean you have a way to overcome this situation?”  

“If you have a plan, could you share the details?”  

Though they’d trusted him enough to follow, their anxiety grew without a concrete plan.  

‘No point hiding it now.’  

Do-jun answered casually,  

“The plan is simple. We’ll find the boss room of this pyramid and kill the boss. That will nullify the monsters’ immortality.”  

His tone was calm, but the others gaped in shock.  

“K-Kill the boss?”  

“There’s a boss in this pyramid?”  

Even those familiar with the dungeon were stunned—they’d never heard of a boss.  

But their doubts didn’t last long.  

“Yes. The guide I read mentioned it.”  

The mention of a guide made it hard to dismiss. After all, hadn’t he also predicted the enhanced monsters in the Oasis Dungeon?  

The new members’ doubts faded, but the original D-team members grew suspicious.  

“Wait, Hunter. Back in the Oasis, did you know it was the boss room when you entered?”  

They asked as if it had been a coincidence.  

“I knew there was a boss room from the guide, but I didn’t know that was it.”  

“Ah, I see.”  

“This time, we’ll have to search for it.”  

Do-jun emphasized that finding the boss room had been accidental. If he admitted he’d known, they might feel betrayed, thinking he’d used them to enter.  

‘I’ll need their cooperation to enter this boss room too, so no need to reveal the truth.’  

As the D-team nodded in understanding, the new members asked,  

“Oasis boss room? There was a boss there too?”  

“Yeah. Hunter Min Do-jun stumbled upon it and went in.”  

“It was a giant turtle. While we were frozen in fear, he took it down alone.”  

“That’s right. We almost died to that boss… We were lucky Hunter Min Do-jun was there.”  

They chattered excitedly, but one detail stuck in the others’ minds.  

“He… killed the boss alone?”  

The idea of a boss in the Oasis was shocking enough, but solo-killing an S-rank boss? That was harder to believe than immortal monsters.  

“Enough talk. Let’s find the boss.”  

Do-jun led the way, and the team followed without another word.  

They didn’t know how strong he really was, but right now, they had no choice but to follow.  

“But what if we run into monsters along the way?”  

“What else? We kill them.”  

“But they’ll just revive in seconds. How do we kill them?”  

“Exactly. Even one monster would be a huge problem.”  

“Quiet down. If you keep talking, you’ll attract every monster in here.”  

“……”  

Do-jun silenced the nervous chatter and focused on walking.  

‘They’re right. Even one monster would be trouble.’  

No matter how strong he was, he couldn’t permanently put down an immortal monster.  

‘If a fight breaks out, the noise will draw others.’  

Especially in a dungeon with sound-sensitive demon hounds. Once combat started, detection was inevitable.  

‘The more monsters swarm us, the slimmer our chances of survival.’  

He could kill them over and over, but the real issue was his team’s endurance.  

‘I can protect myself, but not all of them.’  

If they fell, reaching the boss room would be impossible.  

At least five had to survive.  

‘The best option is to avoid every monster until we reach the boss room.’  

Navigating the corridors without encountering a single monster seemed impossible—but not for him.  

‘With my Presence Detection trait, I can sense monsters within 30 meters.’  

This let him choose paths to avoid them.  

‘Plus, my Cat’s Night Vision lets me see clearly in the dark, so we won’t get lost.’  

By evading every monster, they finally reached their destination.  

Without fighting even once.  

“This must be it—the boss room.”  

Do-jun stopped before a stone door, pretending it was a chance discovery.  

The team lit up with relief.  

“Really? It looks just like the one in the Oasis Dungeon.”  

“Wow, we didn’t run into a single monster on the way here.”  

“Seriously, how are we this lucky?”  

“I was sweating bullets the whole time, thinking we’d run into one…”  

As the team sighed in relief, Do-jun placed a hand on the stone door.  

“Let’s go in.”  

One by one, all eight members touched the door, and a message appeared:  

[You have entered the Pyramid Dungeon’s boss room.]  

[You cannot leave until the boss is defeated.]