“Can you all see this? This is the door. The door that leads into the Tower of Hellnest!”
[It’s even bigger up close]
[What are those symbols on the door?]
[Looks eerie as hell]
[Wait, we’re supposed to go in there?]
[Ji-won, be careful ㅠㅠ don’t let your head get chopped off]
Out of nowhere, Yoo Ji-won came zooming past us on a skateboard. No one knew where he even got it. Oh Kwon-hyuk, who was acting as our group’s guide, didn’t say a word, just watched him go by without batting an eye.
“Let’s go in.”
The space that opened up could easily fit more than fifty people, including me. It looked like an ancient ruin. Strange symbols were etched all over the walls, and though the place had clearly been cleaned up, traces of the advance team were scattered here and there.
[A new quest has been updated.]
[Dungeon: <Tower of Hellnest>]
[??? ??? 1st Floor ???
Estimated Rank: S
Reward: ???]
This was the place where Oh Kwon-hyuk and I got into a fight. Or to be precise, where I got completely beaten up. Yoo Ji-won was zipping around broadcasting the symbols on the walls, while Oh Kwon-hyuk silently walked toward the staircase. Baek Tae-beom followed behind him without a word, calmly keeping pace by my side.
“Remember this place, guys? I was practically scraping the walls trying to find the button to go to the next floor~!”
[That part was hilarious]
[The way all those Hunters were wiping the walls with serious faces, LOL]
[The news article about it was the funniest]
[I thought Lee Myung-won was the funniest during that run]
[He got so close to the wall looking for clues, he broke his glasses lol]
[Lee Hae-ran called him a water strider after that]
[Water strider LMAOOO]
“Where’s the staircase?”
“This way. Stay close. Anyone who falls behind will be reassigned to Group 3.”
Oh Kwon-hyuk turned around briefly to say that in his usual gruff tone, then resumed walking. The staircase was absurdly large, smack in the center of the ruins, to the point that you had to wonder how we hadn’t seen it earlier. Each step was so tall it came up to my chest.
When he mentioned people falling behind, I thought something serious was about to happen—
[CH.#fdl990/One More Dazzling Than the Sun] : You sure you won’t collapse before even reaching the top?
[CH.#fdl990/One Who Seeks to Prevent Destruction] : Could you please be quiet? I’m begging you.
[CH.#fdl990/Warrior Who Protected Civilization] : You there!
[CH.#fdl990/Warrior Who Protected Civilization] : Are you the one who possesses both the form of a human and a Constellation simultaneously?!
[CH.#fdl990/Warrior Who Protected Civilization] : Truly astounding! Many gods were once human, but to exist as both at once is unheard of!
[CH.#fdl990/One Who Holds Two Snakes] : Warrior,,,,,, your voice,,,,,, is too,,, loud,,,,,
This is exactly why I didn’t want to chat in this thing.
[CH.#fdl990/One Who Seeks to Prevent Destruction] : Hello.
[CH.#fdl990/Warrior Who Protected Civilization] : You there!
[CH.#fdl990/Warrior Who Protected Civilization] : Such commendable manners! A true upholder of justice and virtue!
[CH.#fdl990/One Who Holds Two Snakes] : Warrior,,,,, please,,, your voice,,, is still,,, too loud,,,
[CH.#fdl990/One Who Holds Two Snakes] : But,,, are you,,, really human,,,?
[CH.#fdl990/One Who Seeks to Prevent Destruction] : What do I look like to you then.
[CH.#fdl990/One Who Holds Two Snakes] : I just,,, thought you might be,,, a god pretending,,, to be human,,, or something,,,
[CH.#fdl990/One Who Holds Two Snakes] : But you do,,, kinda,,, seem like a human,,,
[CH.#fdl990/One Who Seeks to Prevent Destruction] : Can you… please stop putting ellipses everywhere?
[CH.#fdl990/One Who Holds Two Snakes] : Trying,,, to change,,, others,,, without consent,,,
[CH.#fdl990/One Who Holds Two Snakes] : Isn’t,,, the right thing,,, to do,,,,
I want to ignore all of them and just log out.
While I was stewing in mental agony, Oh Kwon-hyuk and Baek Tae-beom were already leaping up the stairs like they were perfectly normal steps.
Meanwhile, I was clinging on and pulling myself up like I was on a damn jungle gym.
“You okay, hyung?”
Baek Tae-beom had casually come back down a few steps and now stood just above me, extending a hand with a worried look on his face.
“Take my hand.”
The moment I grabbed his hand, Baek Tae-beom effortlessly pulled me up. It was as if he didn’t even feel my weight, firmly planted with both feet while hauling me up the step.
“Think you can make it all the way?”
I’m worried already. Nearly a third of our group looks like they’re about to fall behind right here. As I glanced up toward the top of the stairs, I saw several people—probably from Team 1—leaning against the steps, clearly worn out. If I were climbing this alone, I’d end up just like them.
Maybe Baek Tae-beom picked up on my thoughts, because he gently held my hand and said,
“Want me to carry you?”
Why would you say something like that while holding someone’s hand? Seriously, is this guy going to cause a scandal someday? Baek Tae-beom’s very existence is a ticking social time bomb. I mean, how can someone with a face that pure and innocent say something like “Want me to carry you?” with a straight face?
“Could you give me a piggyback ride instead? Or just grab me by the scruff like a kitten and lift me—that’s fine too…”
“How could I carry you like that? Come here. I’ll give you a proper piggyback.”
Baek Tae-beom crouched down in front of me with his back turned. I hesitated for a moment, glancing around at the other Hunters who were still grunting and struggling their way up the steps, then climbed onto Baek Tae-beom’s back.
After that, it was smooth sailing. Even with me on his back, Baek Tae-beom climbed the stairs effortlessly. Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if one of his skills turned out to be Stride Through Space. Oh Kwon-hyuk looked at me riding on Baek Tae-beom’s back with a strange expression and spoke.
“Can your legs not function properly?”
Is there any way to shut that bastard’s mouth for good?
When we finally reached the top, the view behind us was brutal. We were so high up we couldn’t even see the bottom. It genuinely felt like we’d just climbed a mountain. One wrong step and you’d tumble all the way down, your skull cracking open. The other Hunters must’ve been thinking the same, since they were hugging the stairs like their lives depended on it.
Oh Kwon-hyuk looked down at the rest and said flatly,
“We leave in ten minutes. We won’t wait for stragglers.”
Oh Kwon-hyuk and Baek Tae-beom weren’t even slightly out of breath. Made me wonder just how far the limits of an S-Rank Hunter really went. Yoo Ji-won eventually showed up too, climbing with all kinds of dramatic flair despite clearly struggling. One by one, the rest of the Hunters followed.
“Looks like we’re missing around ten people?”
Even though we were short on heads, Oh Kwon-hyuk didn’t hesitate for a second before heading for the next door.
“We’re moving.”
And then, what unfolded before us—what I first laid eyes on—were massive columns of Mana Stones growing up like towering pillars. At first I thought they were just minerals, but even from afar, I could feel the overwhelming energy radiating off them. That told me they were definitely Mana Stones.
[A new quest has been updated.]
[Dungeon: <Tower of Hellnest>]
[??? ??? 2nd Floor ???
Estimated Rank: S
Reward: ???]
From the ceiling of this cavern, which had to be tens of meters tall, waterfalls cascaded down like silk threads, and coral-like structures grew long and wild like tangled vines. Beautiful, barnacle-covered columns stood upright as if supporting the entire cave. If you called this place a spectacle, that would be an understatement. It looked like the ruins of an ancient temple lost to time.
“Wait, are those really Mana Stones?”
Yoo Ji-won muttered, dumbfounded. The one who answered wasn’t a person, but the chat window on the Constellation Communication Net.
[CH.#fdl990/One Who Holds Two Snakes] : Anyone can see,,,, those are Mana Stones,,,
[CH.#fdl990/One Who Holds Two Snakes] : Did you,,, know? What humans call Mana Stones,,,
[CH.#fdl990/One Who Holds Two Snakes] : Are actually,,, remnants of mythology,,,
[CH.#fdl990/One Who Seeks to Prevent Destruction] : Remnants of mythology?
[CH.#fdl990/Free Wind] : Basically, they’re like the fossilized leftovers from our stories—something that retains a fragment of divine power, you know? You can tap into it, zap zap, indirectly use a god’s power.
[CH.#fdl990/One Who Guides the Dead] : Wherever our. traces. remain deeply. These kinds. of things. are found.
So in other words, either this dungeon is absurdly dangerous—or it’s a genuine temple. That explains why Mana Stones are piled up like pillars of salt.
Even divided among two hundred people, there’d still be plenty to go around. No wonder everyone’s face was lighting up.
Oh Kwon-hyuk took out a radio from his jacket and began to communicate. Judging from his stance, he was likely contacting the group ahead of us.
While watching him, I slowly approached one of the pillars and brushed my hand across its surface. The engravings looked almost like a map—nine distinct landmasses. I scraped away some of the barnacle-like growths stuck to the pillar, revealing a part of an enormous tree drawn there.
A tree…?
No way… could this be…
I hesitated, then called Baek Tae-beom over.
“What does this look like to you?”
“A tree. Hm… a really big tree. And… it looks like the tree’s covering all nine lands.”
So my eyes weren’t wrong. Based on Baek Tae-beom’s description, the image etched into this pillar was clearly Yggdrasil, the World Tree from Norse mythology.
But then, why was something like that carved onto a pillar here?
Could it be…
I reminded myself of the dungeon’s name: Tower of Hellnest. Names could be arbitrary, sure, but most dungeons still offered some clue as to what lay within.
“Hyung?”
I couldn’t answer Baek Tae-beom. All I could do was exhale a stunned breath—hah.
We might be walking straight into hell itself.
