The dungeon waited.

  Not like a door. Not like a cave. It waited like a mouth that had forgotten how to breathe. Its entrance gaped open in the cliffside, edges uneven and dark, the stone curving inward as if the mountain itself had once bitten into something too large to swallow. No wind escaped it. No echo returned from its depths. The silence clung thickly, heavy enough to feel like it had weight.

  Isaac stopped just before the dungeon's gaping entrance. His eyes narrowed as he scanned the stone, jaw tightening. There's something wrong.

  He took in the surroundings with a quick sweep. Four bodies behind us. Three went in. Judging by their behaviors in the tunnel, they should be making lots of sounds. Why. Why don't I hear any? Could they already be dead? This early? I don't think they are these incompetent. Something is definitely wrong.

  His gaze flicked to me, silently seeking answers. Wait. Llyne's senile Master.

  "What's wrong? I-kun got tummy ache?" Rona tilted her head, her voice light, but her eyes were sharp.

  "No." Isaac exhaled slowly. "Just thinking about what your senile master said. If we need to stay quiet inside… we need another way to talk."

  "Ah!" Rona brightened. "Chat function!"

  We browsed the interface. As expected, the option existed.

  "At time like this, I would appreciate a tutorial mode." I grumbled. Says the person who always press the 'skip tutorial' button.

  "Got it. Now let's team up." Isaac sent the invitation.

  Rona and I accepted, joining the team chat with a soft chime rang in our minds.

  Llyne: Hey! We can message through our heads. Kinda like telepathy. Cool!

  Isaac: It works perfectly.

  Rona: Rona here!

  Isaac: Remember. No talking once we're inside. We don't know what might be lurking. Only use the team chat. Got it?

  Llyne: Be vigilant. Surprise attacks might come from anywhere.

  Rona responded with a trembling puppy sticker.

  Isaac: Llyne. You lead.

  Llyne: Why not together?

  Isaac: The main character always takes the lead.

  Llyne: What main character? Have you seen one with my kind of luck? Maybe Rona's the protagonist. She's a walking cheat.

  Isaac: Who makes a stupid person the protagonist?

  Is he saying I'm smart? My chest swelled with a little pride.

  Rona: Rona is hungry again.

  Llyne: Okay, Rona. Let's just go in together, Isaac.

  Isaac: Fine. But cover me.

  Llyne: Seriously?! Your defense is twice mine, you wuss.

  Then, a low growl. Isaac and I lowered our body, examined our surroundings, ready to strike anything coming our way.

  Llyne: You guys heard that? Monster outside?

  Rona: No. That's Rona's tummy.

  Her stomach rumbled again, louder this time. Isaac and I exchanged glances.

  Isaac: Let's finish this dungeon before she eats us both.

  Llyne: Right.

  Weapons checked. Formation steady. We stepped into the dungeon.

  What greeted us wasn't a monster, but something far worse.

  A stench.

  The smell hit first. It wasn't just a scent; it was a physical weight. It slammed into us like a wall of wet rot. Sweet, sour, and heavy with the copper tang of old blood. The air felt thick and oily, coating the back of my throat until I could taste the fermentation on my own breath. It was a layered decay, like a stack of corpses left to liquefy into a grey soup. Every time I tried to swallow, the greasiness clung to my tongue, refusing to leave.

  It burned our eyes, clawed at our lungs, but the worst part was the corridor itself. It was spotless. Pristine. There were no bodies to account for the filth I was currently inhaling. It was as if the air itself had died... and decided to stay.

  There were just endless... walls. Walls that pulsed. Slow, wet, subtle. They breathed.

  My hand hovered an inch from the stone. The surface quivered. From beneath the walls, something pale and tubular began to heave. It formed a wet, worm-like bulge that pressed outward, translucent enough that I could almost see the fluids shifting inside. It slid past my fingertip. Slow. Raw. It felt like touching an exposed organ, slick with a warmth that shouldn't exist in a dead hallway.

  My hand jerked back as nausea surged up my throat. I clamped my mouth shut, eyes burning.

  Llyne: Guys… the walls... are alive. There... There are pulses. We're not in a dungeon. We're inside a living thing, aren't we? Urk!

  Isaac: Are you trying to jinx us, witch?

  A blue screen flickered into existence.

  [Welcome to The Dungeon of Doom]

  [Participants: 6 | Survivors: 3]

  Llyne: Three are already dead?!

  Isaac: Not surprising. They looked like they were ready to kill each other before the dungeon even started.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

  Rona swirled around, couldn't care less about the dangerous when she suddenly noticed something.

  Rona: There's holes in the walls…

  We leaned closer. The walls were dotted with tiny circular pits, barely noticeable. Isaac leaned in, the heat radiating from the hole brushed his cheeks.

  The interior wasn't jagged rock; it was a tunnel of shredded, fibrous tissue. Deep spiral grooves bored infinitely into the dark, looking like the rifling of a massive cannon. The edges were layered with serrated bite marks where the creature had ground the "stone" into a pulp.

  There were no chips on the floor. No debris. Whatever had passed through here hadn't cleared a path. It had eaten the way forward, leaving the walls slick with a translucent, hardening bile.

  Teeth marks. Most likely worm monsters.

  Isaac: They're monsters.

  Llyne: M-Monsters?! Will they come out and kill us?

  Rona: Edible?

  Isaac: Let me test something.

  Isaac tossed a pebble. Click. The sound hadn't even finished echoing before grotesque limbs exploded from the holes. Serrated arms shredded the stone into dust, then vanished.

  Llyne: ...That's why we didn't see any bodies.

  Rona: Stone must've tasted good.

  Isaac: This is what happens if you make a sound.

  Rona sent a sticker of a puppy shivering and crying.

  The air felt heavier, drawing sweat from our skin. We turned, wanting to go back to the forest but the door had vanished, replaced by a seamless slab. No hinge. No escape.

  We listened to the dungeon breathe with us. One look at each other was enough. We're screwed.

  Seeing we had no choice, we turned and went deeper. The deeper we went, the more the silence began to ache. It wasn't the silence of an empty room; it was the suffocating stillness of a held breath. The air grew thick and "pre-chewed," tasting of salt and old copper. Every scrape of our boots against the floor sounded like a scream, and the rhythmic thud-thud of my own heart felt like a drum being played inside someone else's chest.

  The holes stopped. The walls smoothed out, turning into a polished, fleshy marble. For a heartbeat, relief flickered. A brief, foolish hope that the "infestation" was over. Then the vibration began. It didn't start in my ears. It started in my teeth, stitching through the air into a frantic wet buzzing, like wings beating inside a ribcage.

  Oui.

  Bzzt. Bzzt.

  Llyne: That sounds... like bugs?

  Isaac: Not just bugs. Flying ones.

  Rona: Edible?

  She licked her lips. Drool fell like a waterfall.

  Isaac: Be my guest.

  Llyne: There could be poison!

  Isaac: I know. Rona, go ahead. You have my full support.

  Rona rushed forward. I grabbed her before she got too far.

  Smack!

  I hit Isaac's head. A little steam curled off Isaac's head.

  Llyne: Stop bullying Rona.

  Then, I turned to Rona.

  Llyne: No eating bugs, Rona.

  Rona: Boooooo!

  The buzzing grew louder. From the shadows emerged a massive winged creature. A health bar glowed above its head.

  Rona: It's huge…

  Rona smacked her lips, stomach rumbling in agreement.

  Llyne: We're definitely on its menu.

  Isaac: Let's go. Llyne, Rona. Move!

  I hurled my poison-coated dagger. It struck. I clenched my fist in victory.

  But...

  [Damage: 0]

  Llyne: Zero?! I hit it!

  [Iron Wall King Beetle was struck with confusion]

  Llyne: It's confused? What about me?! I'm more confused than that bug!

  It began swirling around on top. It somewhat reminded me of that drunken fly I saw when I was in Iz's classroom. No way... Begone, Demon!

  Isaac's eyes lit up with his skill.

  [Name: Iron Wall King Beetle]

  LV: 10 | HP: 50 | MP: 18

  ATK: 20 | DEF: 87

  STA: 50 | AGI: 35 (-5) | LUCK: 15

  [Skills]

  Passive: Hard Shell | Levitation

  Active: Bite | Never Give Up!

  [Status]: Poisoned | Confused

  Isaac: We have to break its Hard Shell. Rona, buff me with 'Merry Go Lucky!' Then use Taunt and Iron Wall. Llyne, strike after I drop its defense.

  Rona nodded and proceeded to do a random dance and a glow enveloped Isaac. Isaac gave Rona a suspicious look. Was that dance necessary? … Nevermind, as long it works.

  Isaac: Thanks, Rona.

  The beetle screeched, the confusion debuff wearing off. It locked onto us. Rona used Taunt. The creature roared and dove at her. Isaac equipped his gun, activating Hunter's Game.

  [Hunter's Game activated.]

  [Weakness: Underbelly]

  Without missing a beat, Isaac pulled the trigger. The gun recoiled, a trail of smoke emitting from the barrel.

  Bang.

  His bullet pierced the beetle's underbelly. Its armor shattered. The beast froze mid-air.

  Perfect.

  I lunged, twin daggers flashing. I jumped on the wall, using the pulsating surface to propel myself upwards. I drove the blades into the cracked underbelly, twisting and tearing through its flesh. Green mucus exploded across my face. It smelled worse than the dungeon. Isaac and Rona dodged, pinching their nose, as I landed in a crouch, covered in bug guts.

  This is how you guys show gratitude? What nice friends I have.

  Isaac: You're a mess.

  Llyne: Why was the underbelly soft? Aren't beetles supposed to be tough all over?

  Isaac: It's modified. Too many unnatural features.

  Llyne: Including the whole "flying with teeth" thing?

  Isaac: Mandibles. Not teeth.

  Suddenly, the air tensed.

  [Condition Met. Activating Active Skill: Never Give Up!]

  The beetle lay in a pool of its own translucent filth, a shattered husk of chitin and ruptured organs. The "Active Skill" didn't feel like a heroic surge of energy; it felt like a violation of the natural order. A dry, scraping sound echoed against the fleshy walls. The beetle's severed thorax gave a violent, spasmodic jerk.

  From the jagged tear in its abdomen, the guts didn't just spill out, they began to churn. Coils of pale, wet intestines whipped like dying snakes, lashing against the floor to provide leverage. Then, the sound started: a wet, rhythmic slurping.

  The spilled entrails began to retract, sucking back into the hollow shell with the sound of a boot pulling out of deep mud. The creature heaved itself upward on fractured, twitching legs. One leg was snapped, the jagged end of the limb scratching a frantic, rhythmic line into the floor as it rose. It wasn't a living thing anymore. It was a re-assembled corpse.

  Its mandibles clicked. Not in a hunt, but in a mindless, grinding vibration that sprayed flecks of black ichor into the air. It turned toward us, its multifaceted eyes cracked and leaking, yet focused with a terrifying intent. I was one second away from fainting.

  Rona: Beetle still alive?

  Llyne: Half a body and it's still going?

  Isaac: It's the skill. Push through.

  Isaac noticed its HP was down to 10%.

  Isaac: Llyne.

  I nodded and readied my scythe. Swish.

  [Instant Kill!]

  [Iron Wall King Beetle has been defeated!]

  [Rewards: EXP +1000 | King Beetle Armor x3 | Potions...] [Skill Level Up! – Taunt: Lv. 1 → Lv. 2]

  We equipped the armor. The beetle shell unfolded into overlapping plates, dark and glossy like polished obsidian. The chest piece was a grown dome, shimmering with shades of green and midnight blue. The shoulders flared like hardened wing cases. It didn't feel like wearing metal; it felt like wearing the beetle.

  I glanced at the others. …We look like beetle juniors.

  [King Beetle Armor] – DEF +10

  Llyne: Nice loot. HP and MP restored on level-up.

  Isaac: Let's store the rest in inventory.

  We checked our stats. I stared at the LUCK: 3 on my screen. A tiny, mocking number that seemed to explain every splash of bug guts I'd taken to the face while the others stayed clean.

  Llyne: My stats barely improved compared to you two…

  Isaac: Might be your luck stat.

  Llyne: Still at 3...

  Llyne sent an angry sticker.

  Munch. Munch.

  Our backs stiffened.

  Llyne: ...Another monster?

  We turned. Rona was chewing on beetle flesh.

  Rona: It's juicy.

  [Player Rona sustains poison damage.]

  Beep. Beep. Her HP dropped fast.

  Isaac & Llyne: STOP EATING IT!

  I threw the beetle flesh away and Isaac chugged the entire antidote bottle into her mouth.

  [Poison Removed]

  Llyne: No more bugs, Rona. We'll get you something else.

  Isaac: You're the poison.

  Llyne: Shut up!

  Bzzt! Bzzt! Bzzt! A swarm of beetles approached. Rona pointed at the horde.

  Rona: Food?

  Llyne: ...Yeah, sure. Why not.

  The next hour was a blur of aching shoulders and the wet 'thwip' of daggers meeting chitin. By the time the last wing stopped twitching, my lungs burned from the thick, metallic air, and my boots were slick with yellow ichor. I never needed a bath this much. Silence returned and my ears rang again. Somewhere in the walls, something shifted. Slowly.

  [Level Up!]

  [Dash: Lv. 3 | Heal! Heal! Heal!: Lv. 2 | Iron Wall: Lv. 2]

  Llyne: We've killed so many, and only gained three levels?

  Isaac: They were weaker than us. EXP scaling is real.

  Rona crunched on another winged carcass, her face smeared with content and bug juice.

  Is it really that tasty? A bit of drool escaped the corner of my mouth. I quickly wiped it. Have I gone crazy? Thinking of eating monsters' meat?

  Isaac: Let's rest until Rona finishes her meal. Then we move deeper.

  We nodded, weapons ready at our sides. The Dungeon of Doom had only just begun.

  This chapter introduced our first “silence mechanic” dungeon. One of the few where sound itself is a trigger. From here on, environmental mechanics will get deadlier and more strategic.

  Next: deeper into the Dungeon of Doom. Expect less humor, more horror… maybe.