I Have Contracted Too Many Constellations

Chapter 11 Dungeon Practicum (3)

The dungeon progression was easy.

After all, it was an event to teach us about the dungeon’s “environment.”

The only monsters were Small Ents.

‘With teammates like these, it’s strange if it’s not easy.’

So, without resting, we moved and reached the campsite before nightfall.

The campsite was a small building.

A place that served the exact purpose of being a “building,” with nothing else inside.

But this was sufficient.

Better than sleeping outside.

“It seems pretty spacious, doesn’t it?”

“It looks like five people can sleep here.”

It seemed small from the outside.

But since there was nothing inside, it was spacious enough to sleep in.

We went inside and decided to take a short rest.

Even if it was easy, it was still a dungeon.

The accumulated fatigue for each of us wasn’t minor.

As we were resting for a while, Lee Shinwoo spoke first.

“I’m hungry, isn’t there anything to eat?”

“We haven’t eaten anything since we entered the dungeon, right?”

“Except for the basic rations of jerky.”

Besides fatigue, there was also hunger.

It had been several hours since we entered the dungeon, and it was mealtime.

We hadn’t eaten anything worth calling a meal.

The basic jerky we were given wasn’t enough for a meal.

“Shall we look for something to eat?”

Well… even if we say that.

To be honest, I wasn’t that hungry.

It was just one missed meal.

A contractor’s body doesn’t feel such a big hunger.

But having food is always better.

“Do you think there’s anything edible around here?”

“Well, we have to look first, right?”

I didn’t know if there was anything in this jujube forest.

There should be at least one thing edible.

If not, it couldn’t be helped.

“Hmm… then, why don’t you and I go? The rest should rest.”

As Jin Juha said, the only ones in decent shape were her and me.

Small Ents appeared only at the beginning from behind.

After that, they kept coming from the front, so Lee Se-ah and Lee Shinwoo fought continuously.

Sung Harim, who provided buffs and healed them when injured, was also quite exhausted.

If we were to move, it had to be Jin Juha and me.

‘Have we gotten closer?’

Was it because we had spent several hours together as a team?

The sense of distance between her and me seemed to have decreased a bit.

“Are you okay? You’ve used a lot of magic.”

“This much is fine.”

Jin Juha seemed to have used quite a lot of magic, but her mana reservoir was large.

She still seemed okay, so we left the building and headed into the forest.

The forest was gradually getting darker.

It wasn’t completely dark yet, but the sun was setting.

If we wanted to bring back food, we had to hurry.

‘Is there really something in this jujube forest?’

Honestly, I wondered if we could find anything in a forest full of jujube trees.

Here a jujube, there a jujube.

The only other thing I had seen was Small Ents.

Eating jujubes raw was a bit…

‘I’d rather not eat.’

“It would be nice if there were some animals.”

“How would you cook them?”

“You have your lightning.”

With an ultra-high-temperature natural battery, what’s the problem?

“…Don’t use my power for that.”

With that, we started looking for food.

We checked if there were any other fruits besides jujubes.

We also looked for animals.

But nothing appeared.

Really, nothing.

A forest full of only jujube trees.

‘As expected, it’s a dungeon.’

It looked normal and had a low grade, but a dungeon was still a dungeon.

It was a bit different from a normal ecosystem.

Seeing that there were no animals, it was true.

Even after searching for about 30 minutes, we found nothing.

It was already dark.

It was time to go back.

“Jin Juha, let’s head back. It’s getting dark.”

“Yeah… let’s do that. It’s getting dangerous.”

While we were searching, perhaps fortunately, no Small Ents appeared.

They had appeared at regular intervals until we reached the campsite.

Even though the time had passed, none appeared.

Well… it’s good for me.

‘They don’t live near the campsite.’

At that moment,

Boom-!!

A tremendous roar came from the distant forest.

It wasn’t just a simple explosion.

The vibration that shook the ground.

Even though it seemed quite far, the shaking ground was unusual.

“….”

“…This is.”

Jin Juha and I froze simultaneously, unable to move.

This was definitely not a shock that could occur here.

It was an impact that first-year academy students could never produce.

There was no monster in this forest that could show such strength.

In other words, it was an unexpected variable.

A variable that I couldn’t even guess.

‘What is it?’

Surely, in the original work, such a roar never occurred.

If there had been such a huge roar, it would have been described somehow.

But this was the first time I had heard such a sound and vibration.

“What should we do?”

Although I wanted to go to the source of the sound right away,

the team leader was Jin Juha.

As I asked her, being the first to recover from the shock,

she hesitated briefly, then moved her body and said,

“Let’s go. At least we need to understand the situation.”

With that, we ran towards the source of the sound without a word.

The source was in the neighboring area, slightly outside our zone.

She was in Class A, and since I was not slower than Class A, we quickly ran there.

When we arrived, we saw a devastating scene.

‘What the hell is this.’

It looked like a bomb had exploded, the area was devastated.

The ground was just dirt.

There was nothing there.

“Yoo Jinwoo, look over there.”

No, there was.

In the center of the crater, on the opposite side from us.

Although it was too far to see clearly, there was definitely something moving.

“…Let’s go around carefully.”

Following Jin Juha’s words, we crouched and walked around towards it.

Making sure it couldn’t see us.

Very cautiously.

As we got closer, the scene we saw was more shocking than the devastation earlier.

‘Damn it, what is this.’

Blood splattered on the surrounding trees.

The limp bodies of… students.

And Small Ents that seemed to have been destroyed and thrown around.

Finally, a woman in the center.

6

No, could that be called a woman? A person?

She had slitted eyes, horns made of wood on her head.

And the roots of trees writhing around her, seemingly alive.

She was far from human.

[The Constellation, ‘Nine Heavens Mysterious Girl,’ warns you to be careful.]

[The Constellation, ‘Nine Heavens Mysterious Girl,’ advises you to run away.]

As soon as I saw her, the Nine Heavens Mysterious Girl warned me.

It was my first time experiencing this situation.

What could she be?

The question was answered shortly after.

[A fairy-tale level demon species, ‘Corrupted Dragon of the Forest,’ has appeared.]

A fairy-tale level demon species.

Though I heard the name for the first time, it was definitely a demon species monster.

Why was it here?

‘This wasn’t in the original work.’

Encountering a demon species in the original story happened much later.

There was no way we would encounter a demon species here.

But why was it here?

No, the important thing now was to get out of here.

“….”

I moved slowly to tell Jin Juha, who was frozen like me, that we needed to run away.

Very slowly, making no sound.

It seemed we hadn’t been noticed yet, so if we stayed calm, we could escape….

Crack-!

“…Damn it.”

Of course not.

The demon, who hadn’t looked this way because it was busy finishing off the students, now noticed us.

It shot a blunt piece of wood towards us.

“Jin Juha!! Come this way!!”

“….!!”

I reacted instantly, grabbing Jin Juha’s hand and rolling back.

Boom-!!

A huge piece of wood struck where we had been.

If we hadn’t dodged, we would have been crushed.

“Hey, isn’t running away impossible?”

“…It’s difficult. It will take at least an hour to get back to the starting point.”

All the people here were students.

There was no safe place in this dungeon.

We had to reach the “safe zone,” the starting point… but it was too far.

Then Jin Juha spoke.

“We have to either go back to Sung Harim or hold out until the professors arrive.”

Sung Harim was Gabriel’s contractor.

With her, the chance of subduing the demon species would increase significantly.

No, it would be almost certain.

The divine power she provided was that strong.

But the problem was.

Could we safely return to the campsite?

‘Almost impossible.’

The chances of dodging all those brutal attacks and returning to the campsite were slim.

‘The second option…’

The second option was to hold out until the professors arrived.

Such a huge incident wouldn’t go unnoticed by the professors.

They were probably on their way now.

But… I didn’t know if we could hold out until then.

‘Considering our abilities, about 20 minutes.’

Could we hold out in that time?

No matter how promising Jin Juha was in the guild.

She was still a first-year academy student.

Could the two of us hold off that demon species?

“What will you do? You need to decide quickly.”

Had the demon finished dealing with the dead students?

It turned its head towards us.

Think.

What can we do here?

‘Think.’

What can

I do?

In this forest full of jujube trees.

The best action I can take.

“…Jujubes?”

Wait, jujube trees?

And.

Jin Juha.

“…I’ve found it.”

A way to get out of this situation.

No, perhaps even a way to kill that demon species.

I think I’ve found it.