By Zephyria 
It’s not just one?
‘That son of a bitch employee.’
If there were multiple of those mindless S-Class monsters, it wouldn’t be strange to apply a murder charge.
While I was spewing out all sorts of curses in my frustration, Potato told me to calm down and explained what he had figured out about this Simulator dungeon.
[I sense the energy of a monster. Not multiple. There’s only one more besides that cockroach-like thing.]
‘Is it as big as that one?’
[…Yeah.]
‘I’m going crazy.’
[B, but there’s a chance of winning.]
‘In what way?’
[If the thing chasing us is a cockroach, the other one is an antlion.]
As expected, the person who designed the monsters in the Simulator dungeon must have had a bizarre taste. Setting it up so that only grotesque monsters appear.
‘Should I just die?’
[What are you saying!]
‘Sorry. I was just saying it.’
I haven’t even found the guy who killed me in my past life yet, I can’t die here.
Even if I end up being identified as an S-Class Guide and have to get out of here, I have to stay alive and find the murderer who killed me.
Potato looked at me, frustrated.
[No! You idiot. There’s one way you don’t have to use Guiding with your ability! Did your brain harden while living peacefully?!]
My own ability is dissing me. How upsetting.
‘What am I supposed to do here?’
[Think hard! You’ve encountered a monster that looked like an antlion before!]
‘When did I… Ah.’
I had. I had dealt with a giant monster that looked like an antlion.
It was in my fifth year of working in the front lines.
Just when I had become skilled at resolving minor Dungeon Breaks, big guys popped out of the Dungeon, as if sensing a crisis.
-Kroooooooo.
They were just disgustingly huge. Their behavior patterns were simple and ignorant, as if they had used all their brainpower to inflate their bodies. But I didn’t know that before fighting them.
The newly emerged giant monsters were a living terror to us at the time, as each attack of their limbs was threatening.
They were huge, but also moved fast. And in the case of S-Classes, they were covered in tough hides, making them difficult to subdue.
Hyeon Jae-ha and I, along with our colleagues, thought our lives were over that day.
We even exchanged our dog tags in advance and scribbled out our wills.
We went out prepared to really die, but the crisis was resolved in an unexpected way.
-Krrr!
-Hiss, hiss, hisss.
-Kyaaak!
“…Those guys, they seem to be fighting each other?”
The moment we were surrounded by monsters and cornered.
The gazes of the giant monsters collided.
At first, I thought they were going to join forces and attack us together.
But they weren’t.
-Krrk, Kyaaaaak!
-Kiee!
The giant eagle-shaped monster drooled as it looked at the plump, maggot-like monster that boasted a well-ripened body.
I vividly remember that day because I almost got hit in the head by that drool.
If Jae-ha hadn’t put up a barrier with his telekinesis, I would have been covered in that filthy lump of drool. The monster’s drool contained a strong acid that melted flesh, so I would have been done for if I had been hit, so I was incredibly grateful to Jae-ha. I repaid that debt later with a song.
Anyway, the giant eagle-shaped monster couldn’t resist and rushed at the maggot-like monster… and the other guys also charged at each other.
-Kiek!
-Kueee!
-Krrk, Kak!
The monsters’ green fluids splattered everywhere. We were so grateful that they were fighting each other that we retreated to the corner to watch quietly. We had safely evacuated.
They bit and clawed at each other. After about an hour, there were no living ones left. They were all dead and lying down.
“…I’ve never seen such stupid monsters before.”
“Right. Usually, they have the intelligence to cooperate and share their prey.”
“I have to report this. Even in case we encounter these guys again.”
Jae-ha was very interested in the phenomenon of these giant monsters and recorded it in the report he had to submit regularly.
Those giant monsters had invested all their brainpower in inflating their bodies, so they had no intelligence. They didn’t seem to feel any sense of camaraderie with the same monsters.
They were just pathetic guys with only the primal desire to hunt and devour prey because they were hungry.
After figuring out their characteristics, I wasn’t afraid of them. All I had to do was stall for time and then bring a similar monster in front of them.
It was easy because if I put two of them together, they would fight each other and destroy each other.
‘Right. That happened.’
Having found a solution, I asked Potato.
‘Where is that antlion giant monster?’
[Just go 700 meters in the 2 o’clock direction from here! There’s an antlion’s hell where the antlion is ambushing.]
Antlion’s hell is a trap made of sand where the ground is sunken.
It is a trap dug by the antlion to catch and eat ants that can’t climb the slippery sand slope and struggle.
The Simulator Gate is created based on actual data.
‘Then the habit of trying to eat anything that is a living organism will be the same.’
The S-Class cockroach monster here would not be able to escape that habit either.
I slowed down and moved into the middle of the running members.
“Hey! I’m only going to tell you once, so listen carefully. There’s no rerun.”
“…What is it?”
Ra Ho-yeon asked, panting.
“From now on, we’re going to lure the Mr. Cockroach monster chasing us into a trap.”
Seo Yun-chae shouted after hearing my words.
“What nonsense are you talking about! When did you dig a trap? You’ve been running away ever since you got here!”
“Ah, shut up. I didn’t say I dug the trap.”
“What?”
Instead of the dumbfounded Seo Yun-chae, Ra Ho-yeon’s eyes changed and he urged me.
“Tell me more.”
Is it because this guy is the leader, but he’s quick-witted.
I continued the explanation that was interrupted by Seo Yun-chae.
“There’s another monster here besides Mr. Cockroach. It’s an antlion monster, so a giant pit will come out soon. We just throw it to that thing and get out. If we just bring it close, they’ll go crazy trying to kill each other.”
“What? Is that possible?”
“I wouldn’t have said it if it wasn’t possible. It’s getting close soon. We’re going to proceed with this plan. Got it? You guys are the bait. I’m just a weak ‘C-Class’ Guide.”
Even if I die, I’m going to pretend to be a C-Class.
I will definitely pass this damn management bureau’s inspection without using Guiding.
So, you guys cooperate.
Ra Ho-yeon, who understood this, nodded.
“…Okay.”
Then, Shin Tae-beom protested this time.
“Hyung Ho-yeon! That’s too reckless! If what Yeon Yu-jin said fails, we’ll…!”
I didn’t think they would all believe me so easily.
But the bait doesn’t have to be all the young Esper.
I said firmly.
“Quit if you don’t want to. The more bait, the better, but you don’t have to if you don’t want to. But the person who takes on the role of bait will have to make a lot of noise and take more risks.”
“Hey! How can you talk like that when we’re on the same team…!”
“Shin Tae-beom. This isn’t a stage full of shining cheers and enthusiastic fans.”
It’s a battlefield where the question of whether you live or die is at stake.
“Even if it’s an artificially created Gate, this is a Dungeon. If you’re careless, you’ll be reduced to a monster’s meal.”
“……”
“What we need to pursue here is only to get out alive, that’s it. Do you understand?”
Ah, I’m not usually the type to explain things so kindly.
I was considerate because they are baby Espers who don’t know anything about Dungeons.
Shin Tae-beom finally agreed after I said it firmly.
“…Okay.”
“So, are you going to be the bait or are you going to get out with me?”
“…I’ll be the bait. I can’t leave Hyung Ho-yeon alone.”
When I looked at Seo Yun-chae and Cha Si-yoon, they reluctantly nodded.
“Ha, I’ll do it. You said we could all live for sure, so I’m doing it because I believe you. If anything goes wrong, I won’t let you off the hook.”
“…Yujin Hyung hasn’t been wrong lately, so I’ll trust Hyung.”
“Yeah. You thought well.”
Potato shouted at me.
[The antlion’s hell is right in front of you!]
I gave instructions to the members.
“The antlion’s hell will appear soon. When I give the signal, turn around and pour out as much attack as possible. It’s just for stalling time, so say anything that will make them angry while pouring out attacks.”
I did contact Guiding to the members in advance. The given time was too short, so it was all light contact, such as holding hands or grabbing shoulders, but this was better to look like C-Class Guiding.
Seo Yun-chae asked me, clenching his teeth.
“W, what should I say?”
“Any curse you know. Draw a wide range of aggro. You look terribly weak, or even something like that.”
Funnily enough, those giant monsters seemed to know when they were being cursed at, even though they seemed to have no intelligence. Even if they were crazy about food, they couldn’t stand being ridiculed. They were strange creatures.
“If you’ve drawn all the aggro, that Mr. Cockroach monster will charge at you to eat you, but when it’s almost right in front of you, Cha Si-yoon shoots the wind to the side to drop all of you far to the right of the antlion’s hell. After that, they’ll be too busy fighting each other. Got it?”
Cha Si-yoon took a deep breath and answered.
“Okay.”
“If possible, when I give the signal, Cha Si-yoon, you should shoot the wind right away to get me as far away from Mr. Cockroach as possible.”
“…Yes.”
“Good. Let’s go then.”
Three.
Two.
One.