The guards exchanged looks the moment they saw him walk out alive, and although they recovered quickly, the brief surprise on their faces was obvious enough to irritate Zich immediately.

One of them straightened slightly and looked past him toward the dungeon entrance.

"You survived," the guard said slowly.

Zich narrowed his eyes.

"That sounds like you expected otherwise."

The guards coughed awkwardly at almost the same time, clearly realizing they had revealed more than intended. One older guard scratched the side of his beard while avoiding direct eye contact.

"It is... rather common in dungeons like this," he admitted carefully. "Especially hard-ranked ones shared by multiple groups." 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

Another guard sighed and crossed his arms.

"We were honestly more surprised you came back alive. Usually, it is the other way around."

Zich stared at them quietly for a few seconds.

His clothes were stained with dirt and blood, and although most of the blood did not belong to him, his expression had become colder after hearing that explanation.

"So you knew something like this could happen," he said calmly, "and nobody thought reporting it might be useful?"

The older guard gave a helpless look.

"It would not change anything. Failures have their own network inside Layer One and above. Small groups, hidden camps, informants... people who gave up on ascending but still want resources."

Another guard snorted softly. "They prey on beginners, extort weaker teams, rob dungeon clears, and sometimes recruit useful people into their circles. We hate them, but they are difficult to erase completely."

Zich thought back to Natalia trying to recruit him.

The invitation had sounded ridiculous at the time, but hearing this explanation made the situation clearer. Those women were not random bandits wandering around blindly. They belonged to a larger group of people who had already accepted they would never climb higher.

’A bunch of parasites surviving off newcomers.’

His irritation eased slightly after understanding the structure behind it.

Zich adjusted the backpack on his shoulder and looked toward the guards again. "How do I return? The dungeon access period is still active."

The guard pointed toward the black token hanging from Zich’s waist.

"You wait until the contracted time expires," he explained. "The marketplace transfer system will automatically pull you back to your registered location afterward."

Zich glanced at the timer.

Only a few minutes remained.

He could wait.

Without saying much else, he walked toward a nearby rock near the entrance area and sat down while resting his backpack carefully beside him. His sword leaned against the stone within arm’s reach, and after straightening the straps on the bag absentmindedly, he waited.

The guards occasionally glanced toward him while pretending not to.

One of the younger guards eventually spoke up after several moments of silence.

"You should not stress yourself too much over killing them," he said while shifting awkwardly. "Failures like that would have done the same thing to you without hesitation."

Zich looked at him briefly and spoke in a plain voice. "I am not stressed."

The younger guard blinked once, clearly not expecting to hear that from him.

Zich rested his arm over one knee and replied in a matter-of-fact tone.

"I simply want to go home, remove these dirty clothes, and sleep."

Silence followed immediately.

The guards stared at him with strange expressions, not knowing whether to feel impressed or uncomfortable. Most beginners who survived their first player-killing experience either vomited, panicked, or sat quietly questioning themselves afterward.

Zich only seemed irritated that the fight had delayed his schedule.

The older guard coughed lightly.

"You are... adapting quickly."

Zich did not answer. For the next several seconds, he simply waited with a bored look plastered across his handsome face.

He looked at the shelter farther in the distance. Its outer walls were built similarly to those of his own shelter, but he had no urge to check it out.

During this time, the guards had tried to make small talk with him, but he ignored them outright. Moreover, he also had fleeting thoughts.

These guards... in a way, they were failures too, or they had simply decided to remain here. Looking at them and gauging their setting, he could not help but think it was the former.

Still, back in the real world, even though they were merely guards here, they were celebrities admired by kids.

He used to admire them as well, but now... he saw himself as equal to them.

The timer finally reached zero.

[Ding! Dungeon contract expired.]

[Ding! Beginning return transfer.]

The world twisted around him again.

His vision folded inward while the wasteland, guards, and dungeon entrance blurred into streaks of color, and a moment later the familiar shelter room snapped back into place around him.

Zich stumbled once before steadying himself.

The room felt strangely quiet after everything that had happened inside the dungeon. Without wasting time, he dropped the heavy backpack onto the bed, and the mattress dipped deeply under the combined weight of monster parts, potions, and equipment.

BOOM!!!

The sound echoed lightly through the small room.

Zich exhaled and rolled his stiff shoulder once.

His clothes were filthy.

Dust, monster blood, sweat, and dried poison stains covered most of the fabric, and after fighting continuously for hours inside the cavern, even he found the smell unpleasant. He pulled off the upper layer first and tossed it onto the floor beside the bed.

Several faint cuts and bruises marked his body underneath.

None were fatal, but the fight against Natalia had come closer than he preferred. The numb feeling still lingering in one arm reminded him clearly of the level difference between them.

’Need stronger summons before the next dungeon.’

He removed the rest of the ruined clothing slowly and stretched his neck once while standing bare-chested near the side of the bed. His thoughts had already begun shifting toward fusion materials, future summons, and how quickly he could fill another tomb slot again.

Right then, a knock came from the door.

Knock. Knock.

Zich frowned immediately.

Very few people even knew his room location, and he had not made the sort of acquaintances that would casually visit him after midnight. His hand instinctively moved toward the sword resting near the bed before he relaxed slightly.

Another knock followed.

Still bare-chested, Zich walked toward the door carefully and rested one hand near the handle. His expression remained cautious as he slowly pulled it open and looked outside.

"....You?"