Chapter 108

Chapter 108

Kwak Ji-hyuk looked down into the bottomless pit.

Inside the enormous pit, large enough to park five 45-seat buses side by side, the cries of various monsters echoed.

‘So they say the rumored creature is in here?’

The man named Lee Do-jae had arrived faster than him and hunted the monsters in the area.

And he’d specifically targeted only the powerful ones, Grade 3 or higher.

‘That bastard. Snatching all the good ones for himself.’

Kwak Ji-hyuk was certain that man was inside the pit.

He had been hunting monsters with Dawn’s Guildmaster Park Kang-joo when he saw the golems all head toward one spot at once.

“Mr. Representative, are you really going in?”

“What, scared?”

“No way! Who do you think is here with me?”

“Ha ha ha. Who cares about the Hunter Bureau or the Extermination Corps? If that picky bitch gave the okay, then Jeong In-gon must have approved too.”

“Alright, let’s go!”

Kwak Ji-hyuk leaped down, followed by the Taebaek Guild members tumbling into the pit.

Shushushush-!

A deep pit nearly 50 meters deep.

Some clung to the pit walls as they descended, while others leaped off, pushing off the walls.

Kwak Ji-hyuk used flight magic to glide smoothly to the bottom.

“This is…”

Inside the pit, paths wound like a dungeon, and dozens of monster corpses lay scattered along the passages.

Traces of swords.

Traces of magic.

Of course, if he wanted to, he could wipe out dozens of these low-level monsters in a single blow.

Even hundreds could be wiped from this world in an instant.

But using large-scale magic in this narrow passage would only drag him into the chaos too. The man who broke through here must have known this; almost all the marks were from small-scale magic and sword cuts.

The man was clearly skilled in both magic and the sword.

“Only Chief Choi and Manager Shin follow me! The rest of you move slowly and follow!”

– Aye!

Kwak Ji-hyuk began running through the pit.

A little further in, living low-level monsters appeared, but he ignored them completely and kept running.

Just like that man.

“Mr. CEO! There’s another pit over here!”

Manager Shin shouted from afar.

Kwak Ji-hyuk and Chief Choi sprinted toward Manager Shin and, just as he said, discovered another large pit not far from the entrance.

“Is this even possible?”

A pit similar in width to the one they entered through.

The only difference was a small light visible deep below.

But then, something emerged from within the pit.

“Kiiiiing!”

Three Pegasus monsters flapped their enormous wings as they rose up.

But these were not the sacred creatures of Greek mythology we imagined. They were violent, powerful Level 6 monsters that merely resembled Pegasus in appearance.

“Kiiing!”

The Pegasus charged toward Kwak Ji-hyuk, its red eyes blazing.

If it slammed into him there, the impact would be no less than colliding with a large truck.

But who is Kwak Ji-hyuk?

An S-rank magic hunter, he unleashed a magic skill at a speed no one could have imagined.

“Ice Arrow!”

Ten ice arrows materialized in the blink of an eye and shot toward the Pegasus, creating ten large holes in its white body and wings.

“Kiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii

The Pegasus, unable to flap its wings properly anymore, fell straight back into the pit.

Chief Choi and Manager Shin, proving their B-rank Hunter status, took down the Pegasus without major incident.

“Looks like there are stronger monsters down below.”

“So monsters get stronger the deeper you go… Then what kind of monster is waiting at the very bottom?”

Kwak Ji-hyuk looked down into the depths from the edge of the pit.

An inexplicable unease washed over him.

“Should we go in?”

“Well, if that guy went down, I can’t very well stay up here.”

Kwak Ji-hyuk clenched his fist and plunged back into the pit.

***

– The death toll from the Dungeon Break incident in Busan has surpassed 900. Among the 1,182 injured, 312 are in critical condition, and the number of fatalities continues to rise….

Beep-.

“Huuu…”

Jeong In-gon let out a deep sigh.

South Korea was in turmoil due to the unprecedented damage from the Dungeon Break following the Great Cataclysm.

Various media outlets were busy reporting on the Dungeon Break situation in Busan, and at one point in the morning, some communication networks even became paralyzed.

“Things aren’t looking good…”

This was the nature of a dungeon break.

People within the blast radius died helplessly, and even those outside the radius often suffered severe injuries from the shockwave.

And that wasn’t all.

Even those who managed to survive relatively safely faced the high likelihood of a full-blown massacre of innocent civilians, thanks to the endless waves of monsters pouring out.

Once triggered, a Dungeon Break inflicted immense damage.

That’s why countless people strive to observe the dungeon, but perfection was impossible for humans.

Knock knock.

Director Go Yong-beom entered the Association President’s office and stood before Jeong In-gon.

“Reporting. The Hunter Bureau has elevated the response level to the final stage 5. A large-scale monster horde is moving south of the blockade line formed by the extermination force, resulting in fierce combat. Additionally, the mana of a Class 1 monster has been detected.”

“Class 1…”

Jeong In-gon murmured.

The detection of a Class 1 monster’s mana meant this Dungeon Break was far from easily resolved.

“We’ve relayed the situation to each guild and requested support. Daeho and Yujin have agreed to send hunters immediately, and other guilds are responding in turn.”

“Who’s going from Daeho?”

“Kim Se-hoon.”

“So Gwak Ji-hyeok and Kim Se-hoon… that makes three in total?”

Go Yong-beom was unaware, but instructions had already been issued through Director Song Eun-young.

“Huh? There are only two S-rankers…”

“No. You’ll hear about it later through Director Song. If Kim Se-hoon joins too, I can finally breathe a sigh of relief.”

Only then did Jeong In-gon feel a little relieved.

Kim Se-hoon, the deputy guildmaster of Daeho and an S-rank hunter, leading the guild members would be an immense force.

Especially three S-rank hunters.

Even a Class 1 monster wouldn’t be a threat to this combination.

“The Association must spare no support for the dispatched guild. Order promotional materials to be produced immediately and relay that. Instruct the staff currently in the dungeon to ensure the hunters’ safety at all costs. It’s precisely at times like this that the Association must step up as much as possible.”

“Understood. Then…”

Go Yong-beom exited the Association President’s office.

Jeong In-gon picked up the phone, about to call somewhere.

But someone abruptly pushed open the door, forcing him to set it down.

Thud.

“Dad!”

A beautiful woman stepped into the association president’s office.

Jeong In-gon’s eyes widened in shock at the sight of her.

“Eun-hee, why are you here… More importantly, what’s with that outfit!”

Eun-hee wore long boots reaching below her knees, leather pants clinging tightly to her legs, and a thick leather coat draped over them.

Not only that, but she even had a sword sheath at her waist—a beautiful one adorned with traditional Korean patterns.

“I’m coming too.”

“Where? No, if you mean going to Busan, that’s out of the question!”

“Dad! You don’t know what the situation is over there, do you?”

“I know. That’s exactly why you can’t!”

Thud!

Jeong In-gon slammed the pen he was holding down hard on the desk.

Eun-hee remained unyielding.

“Why can’t I go? I’m a hunter too. Let me go, Dad!”

“What do you think you can do out there? You can’t even stand the sight of blood. Go back.”

“No! I can handle it. I’ll go and help.”

“Go do your job properly! Think monsters are only there? Just this morning, forty dungeons appeared in Seoul.”

“There are others who can handle that without me…”

“Jung Eun-hee!”

Jeong In-gon jumped to his feet.

Eun-hee flinched slightly at the fierce glare in Jung In-gon’s eyes.

He wasn’t a gentle man even normally, but this was the first time he’d ever gotten this angry.

“Deputy Manager Jung Eun-hee. This is the association. And I am the association president, am I not? Are you refusing to follow my instructions?”

“Th-that…”

“Go back. And I’d prefer you not show up unannounced like this. Follow the procedures and protocols. I didn’t raise my daughter that way.”

Jeong In-gon sat back down, shifting his gaze to the desk.

It meant he had nothing more to say to Eun-hee.

But Eun-hee had no intention of backing down.

Thud!

“Then I’ll quit effective immediately. Is that acceptable?”

“You…!”

Eun-hee removed the sword sheath she had been wearing and placed it on the table.

Then, ignoring Jeong In-gon’s call, she stormed out without looking back.

“Eun-hee! Jung Eun-hee!”

***

Near the eastern blockade line.

Yeong-jin and Ji-yoon were the ones fighting the hardest against the endless waves of monsters.

“Ji-yoon! One’s heading your way!”

Young-jin shouted at Ji-yoon while thrusting at a monster.

“Got it!”

Ji-yoon swiftly severed the neck of the monster in front of her, then swung her sword at the approaching monster.

Clang!

Clang-.

“Dammit!”

Ji-yoon’s sword collided with the Grade 7 monster, Blade Mantis, snapping clean in half and falling to the ground.

The Blade Mantis was a mantis-like monster with arms as sharp as steel, true to its name.

Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii

Blade Mantis’s arm flew toward her, and Ji-yoon barely managed to block it with her sword.

But the already broken sword was severely cracked, and the Blade Mantis’s blade shattered it completely, piercing through Ji-yoon’s waist.

Clang-!

“Are you okay?”

Yook Hyeon-jae, who had appeared suddenly, pulled Ji-yoon back and struck away Blade Mantis’s blade.

Son Jeong-gyu, arriving shortly after, joined Yuk Hyeon-jae in thrusting their swords into Blade Mantis’s body.

“Aren’t you pushing yourself too hard?”

“Yeah. Ji-yoon, Class 3 will handle this. Just rest a bit.”

Yook Hyeon-jae and Son Jeong-gyu stood in front of Ji-yoon, who was clutching the sword with only the hilt left, and said.

Ji-yoon had been swinging her sword frantically, perhaps because it had been so long since she’d coordinated with her Class 3 teammates.

She trusted in her growth from consistent sparring with Dojae.

But the utterly ordinary supply sword couldn’t withstand her power and shattered into pieces.

“Nothing left?”

“There should be a supply unit at the blockade line. Take a break while you’re at it.”

“With Sergeant Shim Young-jin and our Sergeant Park here, there’s no need to worry.”

Ji-yoon looked toward the front where the battle raged.

Young-jin was hunting monsters with tremendous momentum, and the other members of Squad 3 were joining forces with the newly arrived Squad Leader Park Han-gyeol to drive the monsters back.

“Got it. I’ll join them right away.”

Ji-yoon left Yook Hyeon-jae and Son Jeong-gyu, who nodded at her, behind and began running toward the blockade line.

And she chastised her own arrogance.

“Without the Cape of Judgment, I would be…”

Ji-yoon realized how much she had relied on the ‘Judgment’s Cape’ after receiving it as a gift.

She felt pathetic that switching to a different sword meant she couldn’t even perform at half her usual level.

Meanwhile, she had already reached the blockade line and was searching for the supply unit.

A familiar face caught Ji-yoon’s eye.

“Huh? Who are you?”

“Huff… huff… Are you perhaps a member of the Guardian Guild?”

The woman asked, gasping for breath.

It was Eun-hee.