The Villainous Me Turned the Losers into Blackened Bosses-Chapter 172 - No Way Back?

—

Deep within the dripping, icy caverns of the dungeon, two doors appeared on the frosty walls.

They were the same translucent ice doors Will had seen countless times throughout this dungeon, seemingly offering a faint glimpse of the world beyond—but in reality, it was just a reflection of shadows on this side.

Except this time…

There were two.

Normally, there was only one door leading to the next floor.

Never before had there been two.

In fact… why would there ever be two doors to the next floor?

The already tense and eerie atmosphere of the adventuring party, made worse by the earlier discovery of the “missing mass-produced monsters,” now grew even heavier.

Everyone was glancing around, not just at each other but also carefully inspecting the surroundings of this floor.

Especially…

The area between the two doors became the focus of everyone’s scrutiny.

Although no one spoke, it seemed as if everyone had fallen into a shared, unspoken sense of “dread.”

Everyone except…

Shuna.

“Oh, now this is interesting.”

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Shuna snapped her fingers, breaking the silence.

She casually strolled over to the two doors, pacing back and forth between them, occasionally glancing at the space in the middle.

She was the only one who seemed calm, which, ironically, made her presence even more unsettling.

Her nodding, frowning, and chin-rubbing all felt, to Will, like subtle signals that “something’s wrong here.”

“Hmm… Little Will, this situation feels like one of those spooky dungeon legends. You’ve heard of them, haven’t you?”

“…I’ve heard of them.”

Back when he spent hours in the library, Will had the fortune—or misfortune—of reading a compilation of Dungeon Legends and Supernatural Tales.

One of the stories in the collection described a dungeon floor where two doors to the next level were discovered.

The two doors were identical, with no visible differences to suggest one was fake.

The team exploring the dungeon, brimming with overconfidence like characters in every ghost story ever, believed they could not only conquer the two doors but also reach the final floor.

So…

To avoid the risk of one door being “fake,” they split into two groups and entered both doors simultaneously.

Of course…

It turned out that this might have been the optimal solution.

Will was interrupted at this point by the shield-bearer in the group—

“Th-this, that… that means we definitely shouldn’t split up! We have to stick together!”

“The story might not even be true. But… dungeons always have an ‘exit’—that’s a fundamental rule. So at least one of these doors must lead to the exit. On the flip side, if one door leads to the exit… does that mean the other could lead to a dead end?”

For some reason…

The more dangerous and unprecedented the situation, the more excited Shuna seemed to become.

She stood with her arms crossed, exuding an energy that made Will think she’d walk through both doors simultaneously if she could.

But Shuna’s reasoning wasn’t wrong.

If this were a branching path in a dungeon, the standard protocol would be to stick together and explore one path at a time before moving to the next.

However…

Doors were different.

The fundamental rule of dungeons was that if a dungeon didn’t allow adventurers to backtrack, there must be an “exit” ahead.

But if these two doors were somehow linked, it was entirely possible that one door led to the exit while the other was a “dead-end trap”—like exploiting a glitch in the system.

In the original story, Will had never encountered such a situation. But… given the malevolent tendencies of some dungeon rulers in the story, they absolutely would exploit glitches like this.

Especially in a dungeon that seemed to hold so many secrets.

Still…

Will crossed his arms, holding them tighter.

Why did he feel like this wasn’t what it seemed?

A sense of being watched—something Will, with his typically dull senses, rarely felt—crept over him.

The two doors, separated by a small gap, looked to Will like a pair of enormous eyes.

Eyes that were watching them.

Forcing them to make a choice.

But something felt off…

Standing on the far right of the group, Will noticed that the doors on the wall seemed… slanted. No, wait—weren’t they straight just a moment ago? Had they shifted positions?

By changing their orientation and placement…

They created the illusion…

That they were staring directly at him.

Unwavering.

Were the doors targeting him?

“These two doors basically mean we have to split up. If we all go through one door, we risk getting trapped and losing contact with the outside world, unable to call for help.”

Shuna made her decision.

“Here’s the plan: Will, the shield-bearer, and I will take one door. The rest of you take the other.”

She didn’t give anyone time to argue, immediately assigning the groups.

“Vice-Captain! That’s unfair! You’re taking the strongest fighter and the only healer—are you planning to leave the other side to die?!”

The swordsman was the first to protest, likely due to his experience.

“Yeah, that’s unreasonable!”

“You’re insane.”

The three left out of Shuna’s group voiced their objections immediately.

In this tense atmosphere, the eerie, ghost-story-like vibe of the situation only intensified.

Everyone’s nerves were stretched to their limits, their survival instincts kicking into overdrive.

“If you’re just going to take the captain and run, leaving the rest of us to die, then we shouldn’t open either door! Let’s call for help right now and forget about the dungeon points!”

One of them even stood in front of the doors, blocking them with outstretched arms.

Will looked at Shuna.

Something wasn’t right…

Why was Shuna so insistent on pairing herself with him? If splitting up was necessary, the healer and the strongest fighter should’ve been in separate groups.

Otherwise, the weaker group would be left with almost no chance of survival.

Shuna smiled and looked at Will.

She…

She seemed to be deliberately creating a “choice” for him…

A choice in a life-or-death, eerie situation.

It was as if…

She was giving him the chance to personally choose his fate.

“So, our dear healer and captain. What do you want to do? Stick with me… or take two others with you?”

“Without a doubt…”

Will believed in himself…

He wouldn’t die before the iconic scene a year later where he gets crushed by a slime!

“I’ll take the shield-bearer and the swordsman!”

“Not bad.” Shuna crossed her arms, looking pleased with his decision. “Alright, it’s up to you, Captain Will~ Go ahead and pick a door.”

Will stepped forward to face the doors.

Behind him stood his two burly teammates.

No matter which door he chose, it should be…

Perfectly safe.

Perfectly stable.

Absolutely foolproof.

Right?

He stared at the two doors, but the gaze he felt emanating from them seemed to deny the confidence in his thoughts.

The strange events that had been happening since morning seemed to culminate in this moment, as his hand reached for the doorknob.

“Whatever, let’s go!”

—

“Heh~”

“As expected, Will.”

“You always make this choice.”

“Every time we did experiments, I watched which test tube you’d pick first.”

“It’s your habit.”

“It’s something I’ve seen with my own eyes…”

“It’s the little details between us that can’t be broken…”

“Leading you straight to me.”

“Will.”