“Squirrel, have you ever ridden a flume ride before?”

“Yes, I have.”

“Do you think this will be safer than that?”

I went silent for a moment at Victor’s words.

The mine carts were prepared with exactly 6 compartments to match the number of people, and Adrian had even frozen the links connecting the carts so there was no chance of them breaking apart in the middle.

However, just like Victor, I was equally anxious.

“This doesn’t have seat belts, McQueen. You know what that means?”

“Indeed.”

At my words, Victor quietly gripped the edge of the cart. I did the same.

The carts were boarded in order by Allen, Mr. Benjamin, Adrian, Victor, me, and Teacher Gina.

The zombie horde was already running around the mine in circles. More than half of them had climbed up by now.

Victor had been gripping the rope connected to the cart with one hand, winding it around a couple of times.

Originally, it was used to tie the carts to deeply embedded nails.

As Victor’s arm muscles expanded, blue veins bulged on his forearms and the back of his hands.

He glanced at the noisy zombie horde climbing up and shouted loudly.

“I’m letting go of the rope now.”

The old rope slipped smoothly out of Victor’s hand.

At the same time, the cart carrying 6 people slowly began to move down the slope.

When it had just started going down, the speed was slow.

But as it descended the mine without any obstacles, the speed started to increase as if overlapping.

“Ugh.”

From behind, Teacher Gina let out a groan, her face pale. She screamed.

“Ah, I should have asked to make seat belts out of ice!”

Ah, I hadn’t thought of that either.

But it was already too late.

The cart had already picked up speed, and no matter how much we shouted, it was clear that it wouldn’t reach the front where Allen was due to the huge sound of the mine’s wind whistling past our ears.

On the right was the narrow and rough wall of the mine, and on the left was a deep pit that would take several seconds to reach if you fell.

“Just enjoy it, Squirrel. It’s too late now.”

“That’s your last words!”

I screamed at Victor who was acting carefree.

Ah, I’ve never thought about living a long life, but I don’t want to die young either.

I gripped the cart tightly, holding back tears.

Meanwhile, Benjamin Trumpets asked Allen, who was sitting in the front, with a calm face.

“Mr. Jade, shall I take a look at the weakness of the miner zombies for you if necessary? I have a skill that allows me to find out the weakness once after entering the dungeon.”

“No. It’s fine for now.”

Allen said, closing and opening his eyes for a moment in the strong wind.

Allen slowly stood up in the cart. Even on the rattling old cart, he didn’t sway.

With his feet hooked on the front of the cart, Allen looked back at Adrian and said.

“I’ll give you a signal, so freeze the monsters when they approach.”

“What?”

“Then I’ll take care of everything.”

His tone was dry. He seemed used to giving orders. The friendly demeanor he showed towards Juno and her parents was nowhere to be seen.

Adrian, who had been creating ice paths wherever the rails were cut off, decided to follow his words for now, albeit warily.

The cart that had been descending the mine at a fast speed and the zombie horde that had been rushing in a group somehow got closer.

They were on the verge of colliding.

“Now!”

Allen shouted loudly.

Adrian froze 20 zombies that were climbing up the narrow path in a line all at once.

Instantly, Allen laid his sword horizontally and stabbed it into the rock wall on the right.

Clang!

While reducing the threateningly accelerated speed, the necks of the zombies that were standing frozen in a line were hit by the blade and all of them flew off.

The cart rattled consecutively as if it had stepped on something bulging. The severed heads rolled and fell into the deep mine pit.

“With zombies, it’s over if you cut off their heads.”

Allen said.

Benjamin looked at Allen with a slightly surprised face.

* * *

Even after that, Allen took down the rushing zombie hordes without batting an eye.

No matter how much he drove the magic sword into the rock wall or used it recklessly, the sword never lost its edge or broke.

Allen seemed accustomed to handling the magic sword.

Of course, the skill itself is ‘Magic Sword Technique’, so he’s naturally skilled, but it feels like he’s more knowledgeable about the magic sword than that.

As if they are one body.

Even I, who train all day with mana bullet guns after school, wasn’t at that level.

If there was a good thing about sitting in the back, it was that I could witness Allen’s attack methods up close.

Of course, I wasn’t at all happy about the zombies’ heads flying backwards.

Thanks to Allen dealing with all the zombies from the front, I didn’t even feel the need to use my skills.

How many zombies did Allen take out alone, a hundred?

The cart arrived at the bottom pit of the mine, speeding up and slowing down according to Allen’s attacks.

Allen had been gradually reducing the speed by stabbing his sword into the rock wall even before arriving at the pit.

“We’ve arrived.”

Allen said brightly.

But from start to finish, Allen was the only one who was bright.

Especially Victor, Teacher Gina, and I in the back had our faces pale.

“Ugh, I feel nauseous. I think I’m going to throw up…”

“The zombie heads touched my body. I don’t feel well, Mr. Trumpets.”

Victor and I were dizzy from the bumpy road and the speeding cart, and Teacher Gina felt sick due to the flying zombie heads.

One head even went right into the cart Teacher Gina was riding.

Allen looked at the three of us, tilting his head, then burst into hearty laughter.

“You two are still rookies. You struggled that much just from riding a cart?”

“You’re the weird one, Allen. It’s not just a cart. It’s a cart of death without seat belts.”

Allen was so good at catching monsters, it could be called his calling. No wonder he’s recognized by the New York team.

‘Compared to that, we’re barely past the level of a ragtag group.’

It’s frustrating, but I have to acknowledge the difference in experience.

We got out of the cart, wobbly.

“The boss is inside the mine, right?”

I asked.

‘Usually, when it comes to the leader of zombies, would it be a lich?’

Lich. An undead magician that appears countless times in fantasy novels and movies. It was a suitable monster to lead these numerous zombies.

“Yes, I believe the boss will be underground in the mine. Seeing as it hasn’t come out so far, it seems to be hiding tightly.”

Mr. Benjamin answered.

We didn’t have to search to know where the boss was.

After Allen had smashed them, the other zombies had rushed in unison, but instead of attacking us, they blocked the passage with their entire bodies.

“That’s…”

“They’re blocking the hole where the boss is. Right now, they’re in a state without intelligence, only listening to the boss’s words.”

Allen said, tapping his temple with his finger.

It was clear that the boss was controlling the zombie horde from afar.

Instead of pouncing on unfamiliar enemies, the zombies seemed to be building a zombie defense wall by blocking the only passage.

All for the boss’s safety.

Victor smirked at the sight.

“What can they block with those clumsy bodies?”

“McQueen, do you think you can break through those zombies?”

Teacher Gina asked.

“It’s what I do every day on the training grounds.”

Victor rotated his shoulders and bent his waist to take a stance. Allen watched with his hands behind his back.

Soon, a status window that only Victor and I could see appeared in front of him.

[SYSTEM: Activating Active Skill.] [Executing ‘Stalwart Stand (S)’. Nullifying impact. You do not take damage from any impact.]

Victor ran towards the zombie horde piled up at the entrance with explosive power in an instant. Just then, Adrian froze the zombies standing at the entrance.

Bang!

When he collided with them, the skinny zombies scattered like pins hit by a bowling ball, shattering into fragments along with the ice.

“Clean.”

Allen said.

“But not efficient.”

I glanced at Allen once, then turned my head again.

Thanks to Victor, the zombie horde gathered at the entrance was repelled, but zombies kept coming out after that.

Having no choice, we decided to take down the zombies we encountered as we went down the passage.

This was the 7th dungeon, but the number of low-level monsters was overwhelmingly high.

As expected of a mine of this size, that many miner zombies were needed.

‘But what kind of mine is it mining?’

Allen, who had been sitting in the front and quickly dispatching zombies when riding the cart, stood at the very back as we descended the passage and watched us take down the zombies.

Victor’s ‘Stalwart Stand’, Adrian’s ‘Status Freeze’, and my ‘Mental Focus’.

Relying on the lanterns sparsely placed in the passage, we went down, down, and further down, freezing the monsters that appeared to the bone and shattering them into pieces as we progressed.

And finally, we arrived in front of the room where the boss was likely to be.

A dark and narrow passage made of bumpy rock walls, and a wooden door at the end.

In front of it hung a banner with a strange catchphrase.

[Low wages and high labor revive the mine.]

“…?”

I examined the banner with a questioning look.

‘Isn’t it a lich?’

What is this blatant and materialistic catchphrase that a black company boss would think of?

But it seemed I was the only one who had doubts about this phrase. Everyone else was staring at the boss’s door with a tension-filled expression.

“I’ll open it first. Everyone, please get ready.”

Mr. Benjamin said in a lowered voice.

I, who had been dazed for a moment, also nodded and drew my gun.

As soon as Mr. Benjamin, holding the mana bullet gun, which was a laboratory invention, kicked the door open with his foot, zombies came running out.