“You mean… something happened outside that made more explorers go inside a dungeon?” asked Cade. There must have been something that urged many of the explorers to flock the dungeon more.
“I think that is the only explanation. We have been inside this dungeon for eleven days and we don’t know what is happening outside. Maybe something big like another planet disappears and that opens the eyes of many more explorers to start entering the dungeon to train themselves,” said Shihoon.
Cade frowned. That could happen but Cade felt like that was unlikely. What happened to Planet Snowball was because of human stupidity but their stupidity woke up many people.
If Planet Snowball’s government took action at that time, nothing might happen.
The time limit dungeon has become everyone's main priority and they would put a lot of effort into closing the dungeon. Failing seemed unlikely unless something unexpected happened and it was possible to happen because no one knew what was inside the time limit dungeon.
Cade remembered before he got inside the big tongue toad dungeon. The news said that Planet White Snow, Planet Desktra and Planet Lapto had sent hundreds of experienced explorers inside the time limit dungeon to close them.
With that many explorers, Cade cannot imagine them to fail. Cade did not want them to fail either. This concerns the future of their universe.
“Let’s hope nothing like that is happening,” Cade sighed. He did not want to think negatively and hoped for the best of them.
“Something is happening that made explorers flocking the dungeon,” suddenly, a voice came from behind them. Cade and Shihoon turned back and saw a big bulky man standing behind them.
He wore a full-body blue armor with a huge blue shield and a huge blade on his back. He looked cool with his armor. Cade saw the armor and his mouth was opened from awe. Shihoon, on the other hand, took out his camera and started snapping pictures.
“I am sorry for interrupting your conversations. I am Jonathan,” said Jonathan while extending his hand to Cade and Shihoon for a handshake. However, both of them were busy. Cade was in awe staring at the cool armor and Shihoon was with his antics taking lots of pictures.
“Ahaha…” Jonathan lightly laughed looking at the reaction of Cade and Shihoon. Cade snapped back to reality and saw Jonathan’s hand. He immediately grabbed Jonathan’s hand for the handshake.
“I am Cade,” said Cade. “Is your armor a piece of full set equipment?” asked Cade. Sometimes but rarely, monsters can drop a piece of a full set equipment. It usually consisted of full body armor or clothes and a weapon that will work well with the armor or clothes.
Full set equipment was stronger than a collection of equipment forming full set equipment. A full set of equipment was much much more expensive than buying an equipment one by one to form a full set of them.
The full set equipment was also usually sold at an auction rather than in a shop. So, only rich people can buy them. Jonathan might be someone from an influential family.
“My armor and this big ass shield,” said Jonathan while pointing at his shield and he smiled. He then looked at Shihoon taking his pictures and awkwardly smiled at Cade. Shihoon stopped taking Jonathan’s pictures after he felt like he had enough pictures.
He stored his camera back and introduced himself to Jonathan. After that Shihoon asked if Jonathan was part of a powerful family. Only those riches will usually wear the full set equipment.
Without any surprises, Jonathan did come from a powerful family. He came from the Armored Bear family. Although they were a powerful family, it was only in the Biscuit Star System.
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Compared to other powerful families from another star sector, they were not that powerful. Jonathan wore the blue bear equipment set. One of his family members got the drop from the blue bear dungeon that appeared a year ago and gifted it to him when he awakened a few months ago.
He had a C grade growth potential but his family liked him a lot and thus gifted him the blue bear equipment set. The equipment set was just an E grade equipment.
When Jonathan introduced more about himself, to both Cade and Shihoon's surprise, he was only 16 years old, a high schooler. His body build and face looked like he was in his late 20s.
“I thought you were older than me…” said Shihoon, surprised with Jonathan’s age. Jonathan awkwardly laughed at them. He got that a lot from everyone he met.
“A high schooler with a piece of cool full set equipment and here I am a 20-year-old college student with cardboard equipment,” thought Cade while looking at Jonathan’s cool blue armor.
It came to his mind that if he was accepted by his family, will he be treated like Jonathan? Cade sighed. It would be nice if that happened but his family was not as nice as Jonathan’s family.
“Are you here alone?” asked Shihoon. Jonathan was a high schooler and added to that, he was from a powerful family. There was no way he was by himself.
“I came here alone. This dungeon is low risk, so my family sent me here to test me if I can survive in this dungeon by myself,” said Jonathan.
“So, you did not join any party?” asked Shihoon.
“No. My family said that I need to do this by myself,” said Jonathan with a determined face.
“… You won’t be able to survive further if you are by yourself. You should join a party. I am saying this from experience,” advised Shihoon.
“Hmm… but my family wants me to do this by myself,” said Jonathan. He did not want to disobey his family and hesitated if he should join a party.
Jonathan himself knew that it was harder and harder in killing the toad. He experienced it himself and he was also considered it himself if he should advance further without joining a party.
“How about joining our party?” offered Shihoon. “At the moment, there are only me and Cade here. Oh, don’t mind his equipment’s appearance, they are not useless,” said Shihoon while pointing at Cade’s cardboard body armor.
When Cade heard Shihoon, he frowned, “When did I agree to join your party?” asked Cade. He never once agreed on joining Shihoon. He did get used to Shihoon’s presence but that did not mean they were a party.
“Jonathan, stop listening to him. He is a tsundere. He kept saying no but now, he did not mind me staying with him,” said Shihoon while smiling at Jonathan.
“I am not a tsundere,” retorted Cade.
“And about your family’s test. I am sure that they did not mean for you to do this alone and wanted you to realize that forming a party is important. If you look around here, you can see that everyone forms a party including me and Cade,” said Shihoon while he pointed his finger at everyone around them.
“But still…” Jonathan did not know if he should join Shihoon or not. He still hesitated a bit and thought for a bit.
After thinking for a while, he made his decision. Even if he can revive after dying in the dungeon, he did not want to die. He did not want to go through that situation.
Jonathan agreed to join Shihoon’s party and Shihoon was happy that his party grew. With this party, they could survive at the higher floor of the dungeon.
“You said earlier that something did happen outside, what happened?” asked Cade. Cade remembered that when Jonathan was talking to them earlier, he said something about the reason the explorers flocking the dungeon.
“Ah, since you guys enter this dungeon earlier, you might not know that other than the three, time limit dungeons that appeared at Planet White Snow, Planet Desktra and Planet Lapto, another five of them appeared at different planets a day after that,” said Jonathan.
Upon hearing that, both Cade and Shihoon were shocked. Three of them were already a lot and now another five appeared. That meant, eight time limit dungeons appeared at the moment.
No, they were inside the dungeon for a few days already and it was possible that more of them had appeared and the earlier time limit dungeon that appeared before might have
already been closed or finished their time limit.
“And, one of the five dungeons that appeared was located on this star system,” said Jonathan with a serious face. Cade and Shihoon’s face changed.
“Which planet?” asked Shihoon. He hoped that it was not the planet where his family was.
“Planet Chocoky, Planet Dineon’s neighbor,” said Jonathan. Shihoon sighed in relief because his family was on another planet. Luckily, it did not appear on his home planet.
Cade wondered if anyone succeeded in closing the time limit dungeon. He was inside the dungeon and there was no way for him to get any news about what happened outside.