I PICKED UP A CHILD IN A DUMPSTER-Chapter 77: OH F###.
「One-Breath Focus — Perfect concentration for one second.
Calm Mind — Panic reduced.
Stamina Flicker — Energy equivalent to one full breath.」
The world narrowed.
Sound dulled.
Movement slowed.
Not because the world changed— but because he did.
His body felt light. Not stronger. Not faster. Just... aligned.
As if every nerve, every muscle fiber, every breath had finally agreed on a single purpose.
The tremor in his hands faded. The chaos in his chest quieted. The fear that had clawed at his thoughts only seconds ago dulled into something distant and manageable.
He opened his eyes.
And stood.
The motion was silent. Measured. Controlled.
The Munches just stood there.
Just a few paces away.
Watching.
Its massive frame loomed in the cavern’s half-light, shoulders hunched, long arms hanging low, claws nearly brushing the stone floor. Torchlight crawled across its gray, coarse fur, carving deep shadows into the ridges of its muscles. It didn’t bare its teeth. It didn’t snarl.
It simply looked at him.
Its small, sunken eyes were fixed on Si Hon’s face— unblinking, unhurried.
Like it had all the time in the world.
The dagger moved.
It wasn’t fast in the way panic is fast. It wasn’t wild. It wasn’t desperate.
It was a single, clean slash, drawn through the air as if the world had been waiting for that exact line to exist.
No wasted motion.
No hesitation.
The blade met its neck.
For a fraction of a second, he felt it— the density of flesh, the subtle grind of bone, the shudder that traveled up his arm as steel parted something living.
And then it passed through.
The Munches body froze.
For half a second, nothing happened.
Si Hon remained still, arm extended, breath steady, eyes empty.
Then—
The creature’s head separated cleanly from its shoulders.
It slid downward without drama, without spray, without sound— just gravity doing what gravity always does.
The body swayed once.
Twice.
Then collapsed.
Heavy.
Final.
The impact echoed through the cavern like a dropped stone in an empty well.
Arven stumbled backward, boots scraping against rock, her face was shocked, and she was looking directly at Si Hon.
Hana didn’t scream.
She didn’t move.
She just stared— not at the corpse, but at Si Hon.
At her Dad.
And now was in front of her.
Si Hon looked down at the worn dagger in his trembling hand. The alignment was gone. The shaking returned. The weight of what he had just done pressed into his chest, slow and suffocating.
A translucent message pulsed in the air before him.
[600 EXP ACQUIRED]
"Shit— woah... yo?! I did it!!!" Si Hon shouted, throwing one arm into the air in triumph.
Han-Gyeol and Mimi popped into existence right in front of him like a summoned mascots.
「아빠!!! See?! Ambush worked! Ambush strong! (≧▽≦)」
「(⌐■-■) Shut your mouth, Mimi. It was clearly due to my assistance.」
The two immediately started bickering again, floating slightly off to the side like background commentators.
Si Hon ignored them completely.
Instead, he crouched in front of Hana and gently patted her head.
"Miss me?"
Hana didn’t answer with words. She launched herself at him and kissed his cheek tightly. "Yes, Dad!!! ಥ_ಥ"
Arven, still sitting on the ground, let out a shaky breath of relief. "Haha... thank God you’re here... you know, you’re kind of du—"
Before she could finish, Si Hon grabbed her hand and pulled her up, steadying her as she stumbled against his chest.
"Yeah, yeah. Roast me later. Let’s escape first. You do know we’re inside the Munches’ lair, right?"
Arven blinked. "Wait... what? We’re in their lair? How did you even get here then?"
"Hmm. Secret."
She pouted but didn’t argue further, allowing him to support her weight as they moved.
"Let’s just get away from here first," he muttered, adjusting her arm over his shoulder. She nodded, offering a small smile.
They walked down the long cavern hallway toward the faint glow ahead. The air felt lighter near the exit—
Then—
"BOOM."
The explosion-like sound shook the stone beneath their feet.
Si Hon immediately quickened his pace.
When he reached the edge overlooking the cathedral chamber, he froze.
In the center stood a woman covered in scars, her presence alone dominating the entire space.
The blue-green light reflected off her skin as if even the dungeon itself was wary of her.
"ಠ_ಠ... Seorin...?"
The Munches King trembled visibly, raising its clawed hand and pointing toward Si Hon. "There! Not kill! We give human back!"
Si Hon’s gaze snapped toward the Fifth Chain.
Fourteen humans.
All slumped over.
Defeated.
His mouth slowly dropped open.
(Wait... what the hell...? How strong is Seorin actually is...?)
Seorin turned her head toward him, her expression flattening instantly.
Meanwhile, Si Hon carefully helped Arven down from the ledge while keeping Hana secure in his arms.
When they reached the platform, he noticed dozens of Munches scattered across the chains— some unconscious, some badly wounded, some very clearly dead.
"Make human way!" the King screeched.
The Munches quickly parted, forming a path.
(...So what was the point of me rushing here to save them...?)
Slowly, Si Hon walked forward through the parted creatures until he reached the glowing center of the chamber.
Seorin stepped toward him.
"Si Heon."
"Seorin."
"Si Heon."
"Seorin!" he shouted dramatically, placing Hana down and spreading his arms wide.
Hana: "¯\_(ಠ_ಠ)_/¯"
"Si Heon!!!"
SMACK!
The sound echoed sharply.
Si Hon staggered back, clutching his cheek. "ಠ_ಠ...?"
"Didn’t I tell you to stay on the TOWER?!" Seorin yelled, looking more like an enraged Mom than a teammate.
Si Hon slowly dropped to his knees. "...I got paranoid and thought... why not? ʘ‿ʘ"
She raised her hand again.
He flinched and shielded himself instinctively, though both of them knew it wouldn’t help if she actually hit him seriously.
Seorin exhaled heavily instead and glanced around at the thousands of watching Munches. "Forget it. Let’s just leave."
"Yeah..." Si Hon stood, rubbing his cheek. "So... how?"
Before Seorin could turn to threaten the King for answers, Arven spoke calmly from behind. "Si Hon. Spatial bag."
"Huh?"
"Give it to me."
He handed it over without protest, setting it beside her.
Arven opened the bag and rummaged through it before pulling out a familiar scroll.
"...Arven. Isn’t that the scroll from your cave?"
She stared at him flatly. "ಠ,_｣ಠ Ew. What kind of phrasing is that?"
"I mean— the cave where we first met!"
"I know. I’m just teasing you."
She placed the scroll on the ground and began chanting.
Rune particles formed in the air, glowing symbols weaving together before sinking into the parchment.
***
(5th chain)
From the Fifth Chain, one of the captive women whispered, "That... that’s a Rune Word..."
"Then that means she’s—"
***
(Back to Si Hon of course.)
Back in the chamber, the scroll began to glow intensely as the rune particles merged fully into it.
Seorin leaned closer. "Oh? Teleport scroll. Didn’t expect her to use a rune magic."
"Teleport?" Si Hon said.
Arven opened her eyes. "Step onto it. Now."
She stepped onto the glowing parchment, Hana quickly following her. The light shimmered stronger.
"Si Hon," Arven called.
He didn’t move.
"Did you forget about Sixxy, Boreas, and Nivalis?" he asked quietly. "We can’t leave them."
Arven froze before lowering her gaze. "You’re right..."
"Smack."
Seorin hit the back of his head this time. "Idiot. I can handle it. You wanna follow me? You can’t even keep up with me."
She shoved him toward the scroll. "I’ll come back."
Two small system windows appeared beside him instantly.
「Death flag...? ಠ_ʖಠ」
「아빠!!! Isn’t that what they call a death flag?! щ(゜ロ゜щ)」
Si Hon’s eyes widened.
"You’re right."
「All-Directional Movement.」
His arm shot forward at impossible speed. His hand caught Seorin’s sleeve—
And he pulled.
Unfortunately for her, the force dragged Seorin straight onto the scroll, right beside Arven and Hana.
The light flared violently.
And in a blink—
They vanished.
The chamber fell silent.
Si Hon stood alone in the middle of the Munch cathedral, surrounded by thousands of stunned creatures.
"...ಠ_ಠ"
"GET HUMAN!!!"
The King’s shriek echoed through the cathedral like a cracked gong.
Si Hon didn’t even hesitate.
"OH FUC—"
The Munches swarmed him.
***
(Prison cell)
The cell was warmer than expected, but the stone floor was damp and uncomfortably cold.
Si Hon sat cross-legged against the wall, hands resting behind his head as if he were waiting for a bus instead of being imprisoned by a race of gorilla-like monsters.
He gave a soft whistle.
"Well... I guess I’ll just wait for Seorin," he muttered casually. "But I’m kinda worried... I wonder what Sixxy and the others are doing right now..."
The thought lingered for a moment.
Then he paused.
Slowly, he looked down at himself.
He stood up.
"...Now that I think about it."
They had dried him off. Confiscated his clothes. Taken his pants. His boots. His bag.
Everything.
He was currently standing there in nothing but a pair of slightly stretched boxers.
"...Rude."
His gaze shifted toward his hand— specifically toward the faint, translucent goo ring that used to be pure black, or glowing random color.
Han-Gyeol. Mimi.
He lifted his hand slightly and smiled.
"Luckily... they couldn’t take you. I mean... they tried everything."
***
(Earlier)
Si Hon had been seated dramatically in a wooden chair in the middle of the chamber, a bright crystal-lamp aimed directly at his face like he was in a crime drama interrogation.
Which, technically, he was.
"Human! Take everything! Take everything to human too!" one of the black-furred Munches barked.
