Duo Leveling LITRPG | Post Apocalyptic | SYSTEM-Chapter 51- The Shortcut Through the Dungeon

Chapter 51- The Shortcut Through the Dungeon

«Pass.»

«Pass.»

«Pass.»

Jhin was conquering the dungeon with unstoppable momentum.

[!] [You have discovered an astonishing achievement.] [Title Acquired: "Rapid Dungeon Conqueror."] [Experience gained in dungeons increases by 2%.]

It was all thanks to shaking down the station goblin.

The master key the creature had carried was a special item that could open the entire F-section, nullifying all the related quests along the way.

Caleb asked in a worried tone.

«Is it really okay for us to do this? Skipping all the quests and getting this far at once... I heard that without clearing the quests, you can’t conquer a theme dungeon.»

Jhin shrugged and smiled.

«You’re right. But that doesn’t mean it’s the only way.»

«Huh?»

«In the end, dungeon strategy comes down to the player’s discretion. You can stick to the quests and play by the book, or you can accomplish other conditions and play by exploiting loopholes.»

«And this is... one of those loopholes?»

Jhin casually shrugged his shoulders again.

«If you want to see it in a good light, it’s an ’easter egg.’ If you want to see it badly, it’s a ’cheat.’ Either way, it’s still a method of dungeon conquest.»

Frankly speaking, if there was a skip button right in front of you, there was no need to sit through a boring story.

Especially when time was of the essence — strategies that could shorten it were desperately needed.

Millie added with a chuckle,

«This sort of thing is going to happen a lot from now on. After all, we have someone with a ’built-in legal cheat’ riding with us. Isn’t that right?»

Just as Millie said, Jhin was a master of unorthodox gameplay.

Where most people would follow the nicely paved asphalt roads, he would race down the rugged backroads to find shortcuts.

As usual, that reckless route had once again led to a shortcut — and a twist no one else could have imagined.

Even if Millie looked at Jhin as if he were some kind of monster, he had no right to complain.

’Not that she’s any better. She’s done worse before...’

Among the top-tier players — those at the summit known as "Sky Beyond Sky" — how many had climbed there by playing fair and square?

To stand above others, you had to do what others wouldn’t even dare to try.

Clark, in that sense, had even once managed a brutal form of gameplay that Jhin himself wouldn’t have easily attempted.

Psshh—

[F-5. You have entered: "Safe Zone – Passenger Cabin Wooden Rest Area."]

Passing through Section F-4, they stepped into F-5, and right away, the air felt different.

If the previous four sections were cargo holds filled with dust and the lingering smell of blood, this place was full of a calming, woody scent that soothed body and mind.

Clearly, this wasn’t a cargo hold.

«This place...»

This was the only safe zone inside the dungeon.

At least here, monsters were strictly forbidden to enter — a place designed to offer players rest and a chance to check their equipment after the grueling dungeon crawl.

It was especially needed for the "theme dungeon players," who would have been thoroughly exhausted after countless battles, night and day, just to get here.

’Though that doesn’t really apply to us.’

Regardless, there were already guests inside.

«Huh?»

«Huh...?»

Opening the door, Jhin and his party came face-to-face with a group busily eating packed lunches.

The name tags floating above their heads were easy to read.

<???>

Red.

The unmistakable color denoting either monsters or red players — those flagged as hostile.

But monsters were forbidden from entering safe zones. That was a system-enforced rule.

Which meant these people weren’t monsters.

Jhin narrowed his eyes, examining their clothing in detail.

’So these guys are the black-market traders.’

Even without knowing anything else, the suspicious bundles they carried — and the pitiful people tied up like sausages — were more than enough to tell.

’Their souls must have already been subdued.’

The chained captives had nothing but the whites of their eyes showing, drooling and occasionally whimpering like broken animals.

One of the traders, wearing everyday clothes under a leather coat, slowly stood up and spoke.

«Do you have a boarding pass?»

Jhin immediately understood.

’It’s a code phrase.’

Inside the goblin’s stolen satchel — the reward for shaking down the station goblin — there had been an unexpected item.

A secret document detailing the traders’ internal passwords.

These ruthless black-market traders had their own secret codes, changing daily, that they exchanged among themselves.

Recalling the correct response, Jhin answered calmly.

«I don’t like hot days like today.»

The exchange of code phrases made no logical sense as a conversation.

But upon hearing the reply, the traders nodded and visibly relaxed.

Damn it. No wonder it was so hard to catch these guys.

’Their codes change daily.’

Knowing just one phrase wasn’t enough.

Even if the question remained the same, the answer would change every day — making it virtually impossible to infiltrate without the right information.

If he hadn’t gotten the goblin’s satchel, they would have been exposed immediately.

«Please, come this way. You’ve worked hard to get here.»

Following the invitation, Jhin and his companions sat down.

Now, he could see the traders clearly: men in their thirties to forties, casually eating and chatting over their lunches.

’Let’s sit too.’

Glancing meaningfully around, Jhin signaled his party, and they quickly caught on, sitting down quietly without drawing attention.

Jhin sat down as naturally as possible, pulling out some food from his inventory to join in the casual meal.

Blending in was critical.

’Besides, I’m starving anyway.’

They hadn’t had time for a proper meal all the way here.

This wasn’t a place where you could skip meals and expect to fight well — keeping up energy was crucial.

«Mmm...»

As he ate, he felt a sharp gaze from across the room.

Looking up, he found Caleb glaring at him, his face full of complaint.

Without saying a word, Caleb pointedly glanced at the chained captives, then at the black-market traders, and finally back at Jhin .

His eyes asked, «Are we really just going to sit here eating while they’re right there?»

In response, Jhin gave a small, firm nod.

’Come to think of it, mindlessly chasing after souls isn’t necessarily the solution.’

The kids were in danger because their souls were being dragged somewhere while detached from their bodies.

As time passed, detached souls would eventually have their sense of self destroyed.

That was why they had rushed so quickly to get here — to retrieve the kids’ souls before it was too late.

’But how are we supposed to bring them back?’

They didn’t know the method or the conditions needed to restore souls.

Jhin ’s sixth sense, the Soft skills, could only read flows — not detailed information.

’Which means we have to find the answer inside the dungeon.’

And conveniently enough, they had just met the black-market traders.

Surely, they possessed information that would help.

’At the very least, if we can figure out the secret behind the contract papers, we’ll have a shot.’

In other words, the children’s survival now depended on how well they could squeeze information out of the traders.